Patent Description:
The use of biometric techniques to identify and/or authenticate the identity of a user is increasing. Biometric techniques that are promoted for this use include voice, fingerprint, iris, vein pattern and other scans. Currently, the use of fingerprint sensors for capturing a fingerprint has shown to be specifically promising, for example due to its ease of integration with different types of electronic equipment, such as smartphones, watches, tablets, or any other type of electronic devices where personalized user interaction is advantageous.

In the above typical prior art examples of electronic equipment having an integrated fingerprint sensor, the electronic equipment is generally provided with some form of graphical user interface (GUI) for instructing the user on how to start using the functionality provided by means of the fingerprint sensor. For example, the GUI may be specifically adapted to instruct the user on how to enroll a finger for allowing future authentication of the user. However, there also exists electronic equipment that lacks a GUI for providing suitable instructions to the user during the enrollment process. In such a case, the enrollment process as well as the general use of the fingerprint sensor may introduce an undue burden to the user.

As an alternative and as is disclosed in <CIT>, an external device such as a smart card reader may be used for providing messages to guide the user through the enrollment process while using the fingerprint sensor on the smart card. The external device should be kept secure, thereby not allowing a person who comes into unauthorized possession of the smart card to replace the authorized user's biometric data with the unauthorized user's biometric data.

However, even though <CIT> shows an interesting approach to providing messages to the user during the enrollment process, there seems to be room for further improvement, both from a security and from a usability perspective.

Further attention is drawn to <CIT>, disclosing a transaction authentication card uses a biometric input and a wireless output. The biometric input may be a sensor pad on the transaction authentication card that measures blood flow patterns, temperature, and/or fingerprint patterns to identify a user to permit access. The transaction authentication card is preferably substantially rigid, but may be formed to have some flexibility. Power to the transaction authentication card may be accomplished through an internal battery that is optionally rechargeable. Biometric data is stored on the card only and used for user verification. Biometric data will not be transferred from the card. If authorized biometric data is authenticated the card will transmit a wireless access code to a proximity reader or transaction equipment.

Additionally, in <CIT> there is presented a high security identification card includes an on-board memory for stored biometric data and an on-board sensor for capturing live biometric data. An on-board processor on the card performs a matching operation to verify that the captured biometric data matches the locally stored biometric data. Only if there is a positive match is any data transmitted from the card for additional verification and/or further processing.

In view of the above-mentioned security problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved communication apparatus for allowing simplified interaction with electronic equipment having an embedded fingerprint sensor but lacking a suitable user interface for guiding a user when operating the fingerprint sensor.

According to an aspect of the present invention, it is therefore provided a communication apparatus as defined by claim <NUM>.

By means of the invention, it is possible to provide a simple and intuitive apparatus that allows an electronic equipment having an embedded fingerprint sensor but lacking a suitable user interface, above denoted as an electronic slave device, to be connected to e.g. a smartphone, above denoted as an electronic host device, where the electronic host device will be in control of the operation of the fingerprint sensor provided at the electronic slave device. The communication apparatus is preferably provided together with the electronic slave device, advantageously already connected to the contact pads of the electronic slave device. Thus, once the user acquires/receives the electronic slave device, a reliable wired connection may easily be achieved by connecting the physical interface to the electronic host device.

In a preferred embodiment, the physical interface comprises for example a USB connector, allowing for example the electronic slave device to be arranged in wired communication with the electronic host device, through a standard port provided with the electronic host device. Any other form of universal connector may of course be provided, being within the scope of the present invention. The electronic host may in one embodiment be a smart phone, where the smartphone is provided with e.g. a USB interface for allowing wired communication as well as for charging the smart phone. The USB interface of the smartphone may thus be connected to the USB interface of the communication apparatus.

The cable as mentioned above is in accordance to the present invention a flexible printed circuit, and the control unit could is integrated with the flexible printed circuit. Due to the cable being a flexible printed circuit, it is possible to manufacture the communication apparatus to be both light and cheap. In addition, the flexibility will allow the communication apparatus be easily packed and distributed together with the electronic slave device, allowing the total cost of the combination of the electronic host device and the communication apparatus to be in comparison low.

This is further enhanced by the fact that the communication apparatus typically is provided without any form of user interface for providing any form of messages to the user, but that such messages rather are provided by means of an already available electronic host device, for example being one of the above mentioned smartphone, a tablet, a laptop, etc..

Within the context of the present disclosure, the expression "fingerprint representation" (or fingerprint image) should be interpreted broadly and to include both a regular "visual image" of a fingerprint of a finger as well as a set of measurements relating to the finger when acquired using the fingerprint sensor. A plurality of fingerprint images may be subsequently acquired and fused together, where the resulting information is used as an input for determining the sets of features.

In an embodiment, the electronic slave device is a smart card, for example a hybrid smart card. The connector is in such an embodiment preferably configured to match the physical configuration of the standard contact pads comprised with the smart card. In addition, the connector is preferably provided with an adhesive element for securely connecting the connector of the communication apparatus to the contact pads of the smart card. As may be concluded from the above, an un-programmed ("new") smart card may be delivered to a user (e.g. by post from an issuing party), having the communication apparatus already connected to the contact pads of the smart card. Once received, the user may connect the physical interface, e.g. being the above mentioned USB connector, to his smartphone. The smartphone may in turn be equipped with an application ("App") providing the user with instruction as how to enroll his fingerprint with the smart card. Once the user has been informed that the enrollment process has been completed, the connector may be peeled off (being adhesive) from the contact pads and the smart card may be used as a stand-alone device. The communication apparatus may in then be discarded.

In some embodiments the smart card further comprises a wireless transceiver, for example adapted for at least one of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and NFC communication. The wireless functionality could for example be used once the user has enrolled his fingerprint with the smart card, for example for payment purposes as is known within the technical area of the invention.

Preferably, the control unit comprises means for automatically initiating communication between the fingerprint sensor and the electronic host device. Accordingly and in line with the above exemplary embodiment with the smart card and the smartphone, the control unit can be arranged to automatically activate the app for fingerprint enrollment once the control unit of the communication apparatus has established the wired connection to the smartphone. In a possible embodiment, the control unit has stored program code for the app to be executed at the smartphone and will accordingly transfer the stored program code to the smartphone once the wired connection has been established. Alternatively, or also, the control unit may provide e.g. an Internet link to the smartphone for initiating downloading of the adequate app to the smartphone.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, at least one of the control unit and processing circuitry comprised with the smart card (or generally the electronic slave device) is configured to receive and validate authentication information provided from the electronic host device and only enter into an enrollment process if the authentication information is successfully validated. Accordingly, the user may be instructed to enter a previously provided (e.g. by a postal or electronic letter, or similar, provided separately from the delivery of the smart card) piece of authentication information before the process proceeds to allow the user to enroll his finger with the electronic slave device. Thus, a further security level is provided by means of the synergetic effect achieved by means of the combination of the electronic host device, the electronic slave device and the communication apparatus. The authentication information may for example be a PIN code or a password, to be entered within the GUI provided at the electronic host device.

Following the above discussion, the communication apparatus according to the present invention is preferably provided as a component of smart card system further comprising an electronic slave device in the form of a smart card comprising the above mentioned contact pads. The smart card system may typically be delivered to an end user as a kit of parts where the communication apparatus is pre-connected to the smart card, arranged for future detachment.

It should be understood that the fingerprint sensor preferably is a fingerprint touch sensor; however the invention may also be implemented using e.g. a swipe fingerprint sensor. The fingerprint sensor may be implemented using any kind of current or future fingerprint sensing principle, including for example capacitive, optical, or thermal sensing technology. However, at present capacitive sensing is most preferred. Both one and two-dimensional sensors are possible and within the scope of the invention.

Within the context of the present disclosure, the expression "fingerprint data" should be interpreted broadly and to include both a regular "visual image" of a fingerprint of a finger as well as a set of measurements relating to the finger when acquired using the fingerprint sensor. A plurality of fingerprint images may be subsequently acquired and fused together, where the resulting information is used as an input for determining sets of fingerprint features.

The expression "processing circuitry" as used above should be understood to include any type of computing device, such as an ASIC, a micro-processor, etc. It should also be understood that the actual implementation of such a processing circuitry may be divided between more than a single device/circuit.

In accordance to the invention, the communication apparatus is "locked" once the enrollment process has completed. Accordingly, the communication apparatus may be safely discarded, securing that no further use is allowed, even by the rightful user. The same account for the smart card, which may additionally be locked once the enrollment process has completed. It should be understood that locking also may be done in case authentication attempts failed reaches an unacceptable level.

Turning now to the drawings and to <FIG> in particular, there is schematically illustrated a communication apparatus <NUM> according to the present invention. The communication apparatus <NUM> comprises a cable <NUM>, a connector <NUM> provided a first end <NUM> of the cable <NUM> and arranged to be detachably connected to contact pads comprised with an electronic slave device as will be further discussed below. The connector <NUM> in turn comprises electrical connection elements <NUM> provided with adhesive portions <NUM> for secure connection to the contact pads of the electronic slave device. Furthermore, the communication apparatus <NUM> comprises a control unit <NUM> electrically connected to a second end <NUM> of the cable <NUM>, and a physical interface <NUM> for allowing the control unit <NUM> to be electrically connected to an electronic host device as will be further exemplified in <FIG>. The physical interface <NUM> may in some embodiment be an USB "plug", mini USB plug, USB-C plug, etc..

In some embodiments, the control unit <NUM> typically includes functionality for converting signals from UART to USB or from USB to UART. Such functionality may possibly also be provided by means of an additional chip or as integrated with the control unit <NUM>. In addition, the control unit <NUM> may be unified with the physical interface <NUM> to form a single body for minimization. The general functionality for signal conversion, may as understood, be performed differently, still within the scope of the invention. Furthermore, other protocols may be possible in line with the present invention.

In <FIG> there is provided an example of use of the communication apparatus <NUM> for providing a wired connection between a mobile phone (e.g. a so called "smartphone") <NUM> and a smart card <NUM>.

The smartphone <NUM> comprises a display unit <NUM> with a touch screen interface. Preferably and as is apparent for the skilled person, the smartphone <NUM> further comprises a first antenna for WLAN/Wi-Fi communication, a second antenna for telecommunication communication, a microphone, a speaker, and a phone control unit. Further hardware elements are of course possibly comprised with the mobile phone. It should furthermore be noted that the invention may be applicable in relation to any other type of portable electronic device, such as a laptop, a remote control, a tablet computer, or any other type of present or future similarly configured device. The smartphone <NUM> further comprises an interface <NUM>, a "socket", correspondingly adapted for receiving the plug of the physical interface <NUM>.

The smart card <NUM> is provided with a fingerprint sensing system including a fingerprint sensor <NUM> having an array of pixels and configured for capturing a fingerprint representation of a fingerprint pattern of a finger of a user and processing circuitry <NUM> connected to and configured to control the operation of the fingerprint sensor <NUM>. In this embodiment the fingerprint sensor <NUM> is arranged on the front side of the smart card <NUM>. However, the fingerprint sensor <NUM> may as an alternative (or also) be provided on a back side of the smart card <NUM>. The fingerprint sensor <NUM> may, for example, be used for authenticating the user when performing a payment/transaction, for example allowing the smart card <NUM>, once the finger of the user has been enrolled, to interact with a POS terminal (not shown). Furthermore, the smart card <NUM> comprises a plurality of contact pads <NUM> electrically connected to at least the processing circuitry <NUM>. The smart card <NUM> forms together with the communication apparatus <NUM> a smart card system <NUM>.

The processing circuitry <NUM> further comprises a memory, such as a database, e.g. for storing one or a plurality of fingerprint template for one or a plurality of fingers for the user. The processing circuitry <NUM> may each include a microprocessor, microcontroller, programmable digital signal processor or another programmable device. The processing circuitry <NUM> may also, or instead, each include an application specific integrated circuit, a programmable gate array or programmable array logic, a programmable logic device, or a digital signal processor. Where the processing circuitry <NUM> includes a programmable device such as the microprocessor, microcontroller or programmable digital signal processor mentioned above, the processor may further include computer executable code that controls operation of the programmable device. It should be understood that all or some parts of the functionality provided by means of the processing circuitry <NUM> (or generally discussed as "processing circuitry") may be at least partly integrated with the fingerprint sensor <NUM>.

With further reference to <FIG>, there is conceptually illustrated a somewhat enlarged view of the fingerprint sensor <NUM>. In the case of employing a capacitive sensing technology, the fingerprint sensor <NUM> is configured to comprise a large plurality of sensing elements, preferably arranged as a two-dimensional array. The two-dimensional array may have sizes depending on the planned implementation and in an embodiment 160x160 pixels are used. Other sizes are of course possible and within the scope of the invention, including two-dimensional array with less pixels as compared to the above example. A single sensing element (also denoted as a pixel) is in <FIG> indicated by reference numeral <NUM>.

A further example of use of the communication apparatus <NUM> is shown in <FIG>. Specifically, the communication apparatus <NUM> is provided to connect an electronic slave device in the form of a toaster <NUM> to an electronic host device in the form of a tablet <NUM>. Similarly and as shown in <FIG>, the communication apparatus <NUM> is provided to connect an electronic slave device in the form of a light button <NUM> to an electronic host device in the form of a laptop <NUM>. As understood from the above, any type of electronic slave device, i.e. an electronic device comprising a fingerprint sensing system but lacking a suitable user interface for enrolling a finger of a user, may be provided with a wired connection (using the communication apparatus <NUM>) for connecting to an electronic host device having suitable means for instructing the user during the fingerprint enrollment process. Once the enrollment process has been completed, the communication apparatus <NUM> is typically detected from the electronic host device and removed (e.g. by pealing of the adhesive connector from contact pads) of the electronic slave device.

Turning finally to <FIG>, flowchart illustrating the exemplary steps of the invention for fingerprint enrollment of a user using the smart card <NUM> provided with a fingerprint sensor <NUM>. As a first step, a connection for data communication is established, S1, between the fingerprint sensing system of the smart card <NUM> and an electronic host device, such as the smartphone <NUM>. The connection is preferably provided using the above disclosed communication apparatus <NUM>, but could alternatively be provided using the wireless connection between e.g. the smartphone <NUM> and the smart card <NUM>, e.g. using NFC, Wi-Fi, etc..

Once the data communication between the electronic devices has been established, the user will be provided, S2, with an instruction to enter e.g. the above mentioned PIN number as a piece of authentication information, within a user interface provided using the display <NUM> of the smartphone <NUM>. The authentication information is validated, S3, typically involving information pre-stored to the smart card <NUM>. The validation may also involve communication between the smartphone <NUM> and a remotely arranged server (not shown), for authenticating the user. If the authentication information, e.g. the PIN, has been successfully validated, the user is further provided, S4, with an instruction to position the finger at the fingerprint sensor <NUM>. The instruction may for example include guidance as how the finger is to be positioned, re-positioned in case of a non-correct positioning, etc. Subsequently, a fingerprint image is acquired, S5, using the fingerprint sensor <NUM>. The processing circuitry <NUM> provided with the smart card <NUM> will then extract, S6, extracting fingerprint features from the fingerprint image and form, S7, a fingerprint template for user authentication based on the extracted fingerprint features. Finally, the fingerprint template is stored, S8, within a digital memory comprised with the smart card <NUM>.

In a typical implementation of the present invention, the user interface is provided within an app of the smartphone <NUM>, and the app will also inform once a successful enrollment of the finger has been completed. The smart card <NUM> and/or the communication apparatus <NUM> is subsequently locked from any further use, e.g. for re-enrollment or for us with a different electronic slave device. Also, the smart card <NUM> and/or the communication apparatus <NUM> may be locked in case the validation of e.g. the PIN has failed (more than a preselected number of times), or due to other reasons. The app may in some embodiments be a native app provided with the electronic host device, or to be downloaded when needed, for example from the control unit <NUM>, from the processing circuitry <NUM>, or from a remote server (such as an "app store"). Downloading of the app to the smartphone <NUM> may be automatic, e.g. initiated once the data communication has been established between the smartphone <NUM> and the smart card <NUM>.

The control functionality of the present disclosure may be implemented using existing computer processors, or by a special purpose computer processor for an appropriate system, incorporated for this or another purpose, or by a hardwire system. Embodiments within the scope of the present disclosure include program products comprising machine-readable medium for carrying or having machine-executable instructions or data structures stored thereon. Such machine-readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer or other machine with a processor. By way of example, such machine-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of machine-executable instructions or data structures and which can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer or other machine with a processor. When information is transferred or provided over a network or another communications connection (either hardwired, wireless, or a combination of hardwired or wireless) to a machine, the machine properly views the connection as a machine-readable medium. Thus, any such connection is properly termed a machine-readable medium. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of machine-readable media. Machine-executable instructions include, for example, instructions and data which cause a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purpose processing machines to perform a certain function or group of functions.

Although the figures may show a sequence the order of the steps may differ from what is depicted. Also two or more steps may be performed concurrently or with partial concurrence. Such variation will depend on the software and hardware systems chosen and on designer choice. All such variations are within the scope of the disclosure. Likewise, software implementations could be accomplished with standard programming techniques with rule based logic and other logic to accomplish the various connection steps, processing steps, comparison steps and decision steps. Additionally, even though the invention has been described with reference to specific exemplifying embodiments thereof, many different alterations, modifications and the like will become apparent for those skilled in the art.

Claim 1:
A communication apparatus (<NUM>) arranged to electrically connect an electronic slave device (<NUM>) to an electronic host device (<NUM>), the electronic slave device comprising a fingerprint sensor (<NUM>) having an array of pixels and configured for capturing a fingerprint representation of a fingerprint pattern of a finger of a user, wherein the communication apparatus comprises:
- a cable (<NUM>), the cable being a flexible printed circuit,
- a connector (<NUM>) provided a first end (<NUM>) of the cable and arranged to be detachably connected to contact pads comprised with the electronic slave device,
- a control unit (<NUM>) electrically connected to a second end (<NUM>) of the cable, and
- a physical interface (<NUM>) for allowing the control unit to be electrically connected to the electronic host device,
wherein the control unit is:
- comprised with the flexible printed circuit,
- configured to convert communication signals from the electronic host device to the electronic slave device, the communication signals arranged to control capturing of the fingerprint representation using the fingerprint sensor at the electronic slave device for enrolling the finger of the user, and
- configured to lock the communication arrangement if the enrollment is successful, thereby preventing further communication to be performed between the electronic host device and the electronic slave device using the communication apparatus.