PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-9582102-B2
Application Number: US-201514606462-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Electronic device including finger biometric sensor carried by a touch display and related methods

Abstract:
An electronic device may include a touch display that includes at least one display layer, and at least one transparent conductive layer thereon defining touch sensing pixels. The electronic device may also include a finger biometric sensor carried by the touch display and that may include an interconnect layer that includes transparent conductive traces, and a finger biometric sensing layer adjacent the interconnect layer and that includes an array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels capacitively coupled to the at least one transparent conductive layer of the touch display. The finger biometric sensor may also include a transparent dielectric layer between the interconnect layer and the finger biometric sensing layer, and transparent conductive vias extending through the transparent dielectric layer and coupling the array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels to respective ones of the transparent conductive traces.

Claims:
That which is claimed is: 
     
       1. An electronic device comprising:
 a touch display comprising at least one display layer, and at least one transparent conductive layer thereon defining touch sensing pixels; and 
 a finger biometric sensor carried by the touch display and comprising, in a stacked arrangement,
 an interconnect layer comprising a plurality of transparent conductive traces, 
 a finger biometric sensing layer above the interconnect layer and comprising an array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels capacitively coupled to the at least one transparent conductive layer of the touch display, 
 a transparent dielectric layer between the interconnect layer and the finger biometric sensing layer, and 
 a plurality of transparent conductive vias extending through the transparent dielectric layer and coupling the array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels to respective ones of the plurality of transparent conductive traces. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The electronic device of  claim 1  wherein the finger biometric sensor extends over an entire upper surface of the touch display. 
     
     
       3. The electronic device of  claim 1  wherein the plurality of transparent conductive traces have proximal ends adjacent a peripheral edge of the interconnect layer and distal ends coupled to respective ones of the array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels. 
     
     
       4. The electronic device of  claim 3  further comprising a finger sensing integrated circuit (IC) coupled to the proximal ends of the plurality of transparent conductive traces. 
     
     
       5. The electronic device of  claim 1  wherein the plurality of transparent conductive traces comprises at least one trace comprising a first portion having a first effective width and a second portion having a second effective width greater than the first effective width. 
     
     
       6. The electronic device of  claim 1  wherein each of the plurality of transparent conductive traces has a width less than a width of each of the finger biometric sensing pixels. 
     
     
       7. The electronic device of  claim 1  further comprising a lower transparent dielectric layer between the touch display and the finger biometric sensor. 
     
     
       8. The electronic device of  claim 7  wherein the lower transparent dielectric layer comprises glass. 
     
     
       9. The electronic device of  claim 1  wherein the array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels comprises indium-tin-oxide (ITO). 
     
     
       10. The electronic device of  claim 1  wherein the plurality of transparent conductive traces comprises indium-tin-oxide (ITO). 
     
     
       11. The electronic device of  claim 1  further comprising a transparent dielectric cover layer over the finger biometric sensor. 
     
     
       12. An electronic device comprising:
 a touch display comprising at least one display layer, and at least one transparent conductive layer thereon defining touch sensing pixels; 
 a finger biometric sensor extending over an entire surface of the touch display and comprising, in a stacked arrangement,
 an interconnect layer comprising a plurality of transparent conductive traces, 
 a finger biometric sensing layer above the interconnect layer and comprising an array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels capacitively coupled to the at least one transparent conductive layer of the touch display, 
 a transparent dielectric layer between the interconnect layer and the finger biometric sensing layer, and 
 a plurality of transparent conductive vias extending through the transparent dielectric layer and coupling the array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels to respective ones of the plurality of transparent conductive traces; and 
 
 a transparent dielectric cover layer over the finger biometric sensor. 
 
     
     
       13. The electronic device of  claim 12  wherein the plurality of transparent conductive traces have proximal ends adjacent a peripheral edge of the interconnect layer and distal ends coupled to respective ones of the array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels. 
     
     
       14. The electronic device of  claim 13  further comprising a finger sensing integrated circuit (IC) coupled to the proximal ends of the plurality of transparent conductive traces. 
     
     
       15. The electronic device of  claim 12  wherein the plurality of transparent conductive traces comprises at least one trace comprising a first portion having a first effective width and a second portion having a second effective width greater than the first effective width. 
     
     
       16. The electronic device of  claim 12  wherein each of the plurality of transparent conductive traces has a width less than a width of each of the finger biometric sensing pixels. 
     
     
       17. The electronic device of  claim 12  further comprising a lower transparent dielectric layer between the touch display and the finger biometric sensor. 
     
     
       18. A method of making an electronic device comprising:
 forming a touch display comprising at least one display layer, and at least one transparent conductive layer thereon defining touch sensing pixels; and 
 forming a finger biometric sensor carried by the touch display, forming the finger biometric sensor comprising forming, in a stacked arrangement,
 an interconnect layer comprising a plurality of transparent conductive traces, 
 a finger biometric sensing layer above the interconnect layer and comprising an array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels capacitively coupled to the at least one transparent conductive layer of the touch display, 
 a transparent dielectric layer between the interconnect layer and the finger biometric sensing layer, and 
 a plurality of transparent conductive vias extending through the transparent dielectric layer and coupling the array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels to respective ones of the plurality of transparent conductive traces. 
 
 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 18  wherein the finger biometric sensor is formed to extend over an entire upper surface of the touch display. 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 18  wherein the plurality of transparent conductive traces are formed to have proximal ends adjacent a peripheral edge of the interconnect layer and distal ends coupled to respective ones of the array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels. 
     
     
       21. The method of  claim 20  further comprising coupling a finger sensing integrated circuit (IC) to the proximal ends of the plurality of transparent conductive traces. 
     
     
       22. The method of  claim 18  wherein forming the plurality of transparent conductive traces comprises forming at least one trace comprising a first portion having a first effective width and a second portion having a second effective width greater than the first effective width. 
     
     
       23. The method of  claim 18  wherein each of the plurality of transparent conductive traces are formed to have a width less than a width of each of the finger biometric sensing pixels. 
     
     
       24. An electronic device comprising:
 a touch display comprising at least one display layer, and at least one transparent conductive layer thereon defining touch sensing pixels; and 
 a finger biometric sensor carried by and extending over an entire upper surface of the touch display and comprising
 an interconnect layer comprising a plurality of transparent conductive traces, 
 a finger biometric sensing layer adjacent the interconnect layer and comprising an array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels capacitively coupled to the at least one transparent conductive layer of the touch display, 
 a transparent dielectric layer between the interconnect layer and the finger biometric sensing layer, and 
 a plurality of transparent conductive vias extending through the transparent dielectric layer and coupling the array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels to respective ones of the plurality of transparent conductive traces. 
 
 
     
     
       25. The electronic device of  claim 24  wherein the plurality of transparent conductive traces have proximal ends adjacent a peripheral edge of the interconnect layer and distal ends coupled to respective ones of the array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels. 
     
     
       26. The electronic device of  claim 25  further comprising a finger sensing integrated circuit (IC) coupled to the proximal ends of the plurality of transparent conductive traces. 
     
     
       27. The electronic device of  claim 24  wherein the plurality of transparent conductive traces comprises at least one trace comprising a first portion having a first effective width and a second portion having a second effective width greater than the first effective width. 
     
     
       28. The electronic device of  claim 24  wherein each of the plurality of transparent conductive traces has a width less than a width of each of the finger biometric sensing pixels. 
     
     
       29. The electronic device of  claim 24  further comprising a lower transparent dielectric layer between the touch display and the finger biometric sensor. 
     
     
       30. The electronic device of  claim 29  wherein the lower transparent dielectric layer comprises glass. 
     
     
       31. The electronic device of  claim 26  wherein the array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels comprises indium-tin-oxide (ITO). 
     
     
       32. The electronic device of  claim 26  wherein the plurality of transparent conductive traces comprises indium-tin-oxide (ITO). 
     
     
       33. The electronic device of  claim 26  further comprising a transparent dielectric cover layer over the finger biometric sensor. 
     
     
       34. A method of making an electronic device comprising:
 forming a touch display comprising at least one display layer, and at least one transparent conductive layer thereon defining touch sensing pixels; and 
 forming a finger biometric sensor carried by and to extend over an entire upper surface of the touch display, forming the finger biometric sensor comprising
 forming an interconnect layer comprising a plurality of transparent conductive traces, 
 forming a finger biometric sensing layer adjacent the interconnect layer and comprising an array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels capacitively coupled to the at least one transparent conductive layer of the touch display, 
 forming a transparent dielectric layer between the interconnect layer and the finger biometric sensing layer, and 
 forming a plurality of transparent conductive vias extending through the transparent dielectric layer and coupling the array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels to respective ones of the plurality of transparent conductive traces. 
 
 
     
     
       35. The method of  claim 34  wherein the plurality of transparent conductive traces are formed to have proximal ends adjacent a peripheral edge of the interconnect layer and distal ends coupled to respective ones of the array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels. 
     
     
       36. The method of  claim 35  further comprising coupling a finger sensing integrated circuit (IC) to the proximal ends of the plurality of transparent conductive traces. 
     
     
       37. The method of  claim 34  wherein forming the plurality of transparent conductive traces comprises forming at least one trace comprising a first portion having a first effective width and a second portion having a second effective width greater than the first effective width. 
     
     
       38. The method of  claim 34  wherein each of the plurality of transparent conductive traces are formed to have a width less than a width of each of the finger biometric sensing pixels.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to the field of electronics, and, more particularly, to the field of finger sensors. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Fingerprint sensing and matching is a reliable and widely used technique for personal identification or verification. In particular, a common approach to fingerprint identification involves scanning a sample fingerprint or an image thereof and storing the image and/or unique characteristics of the fingerprint image. The characteristics of a sample fingerprint may be compared to information for reference fingerprints already in a database to determine proper identification of a person, such as for verification purposes. 
     A fingerprint sensor may be particularly advantageous for verification and/or authentication in an electronic device, and more particularly, a portable device, for example. Such a fingerprint sensor may be carried by the housing of a portable electronic device, for example, and may be sized to sense a fingerprint from a single-finger. 
     Where a fingerprint sensor is integrated into an electronic device or host device, for example, as noted above, it may be desirable to more quickly perform authentication, particularly while performing another task or an application on the electronic device. In other words, in some instances it may be undesirable to have a user perform an authentication in a separate authentication step, for example switching between tasks to perform the authentication. 
     SUMMARY 
     An electronic device may include a touch display that includes at least one display layer, and at least one transparent conductive layer thereon defining touch sensing pixels, and a finger biometric sensor carried by the touch display. The finger biometric sensor may include an interconnect layer comprising a plurality of transparent conductive traces and a finger biometric sensing layer adjacent the interconnect layer and that includes an array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels capacitively coupled to the at least one transparent conductive layer of the touch display. The finger biometric sensor may also include a transparent dielectric layer between the interconnect layer and the finger biometric sensing layer, and a plurality of transparent conductive vias extending through the transparent dielectric layer and coupling the array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels to respective ones of the plurality of transparent conductive traces. Accordingly, a finger biometric may be sensed during operation of the touch display. 
     The finger biometric sensor may extend over an entire upper surface of the touch display, for example. The plurality of transparent conductive traces may have proximal ends adjacent a peripheral edge of the interconnect layer and distal ends coupled to respective ones of the array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels. The electronic device may further include a finger sensing integrated circuit (IC) coupled to the proximal ends of the plurality of transparent conductive traces, for example. 
     The plurality of transparent conductive traces may have at least one trace comprising a first portion having a first effective width and a second portion having a second effective width greater than the first effective width. Each of the plurality of transparent conductive traces may have a width less than a width of each of the finger biometric sensing pixels. 
     The electronic device may also include a lower transparent dielectric layer between the touch display and the finger biometric sensor. The lower transparent dielectric layer may include glass, for example. The array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels may include indium-tin-oxide (ITO), for example. The plurality of transparent conductive traces may also include indium-tin-oxide (ITO), for example. The electronic device may further include a transparent dielectric cover layer over the finger biometric sensor. 
     A method aspect is directed to a method of making an electronic device that may include forming a touch display that includes at least one display layer, and at least one transparent conductive layer thereon defining touch sensing pixels. The method may also include forming a finger biometric sensor carried by the touch display. Forming the finger biometric sensor may include forming an interconnect layer comprising a plurality of transparent conductive traces, and forming a finger biometric sensing layer adjacent the interconnect layer and comprising an array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels capacitively coupled to the at least one transparent conductive layer of the touch display. Forming the finger biometric sensor may also include forming a transparent dielectric layer between the interconnect layer and the finger biometric sensing layer, and forming a plurality of transparent conductive vias extending through the transparent dielectric layer and coupling the array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels to respective ones of the plurality of transparent conductive traces. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a plan view of an electronic device according to an embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic block diagram of an electronic device of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a more detailed schematic diagram of the electronic device of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic top view of the finger biometric sensor and finger sensing IC of the electronic device of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 5  is a more detailed schematic diagram of an electronic device according to another embodiment. 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic top view of the finger biometric sensor and finger sensing IC of the electronic device according to another embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout, and prime notation is used to refer to like elements in different embodiments. 
     Referring initially to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , an electronic device  20  is now described. The electronic device  20  illustratively includes a housing, for example, a portable housing  21 , and a processor  22  carried by the portable housing. The electronic device  20  is illustratively a mobile wireless communications device, for example, a cellular telephone. The electronic device  20  may be another type of electronic device, for example, a tablet computer, laptop computer, etc. 
     A wireless transceiver  25  is also carried within the housing  21  and coupled to the processor  22 . The wireless transceiver  25  cooperates with the processor  22  to perform at least one wireless communications function, for example, for voice and/or data. In some embodiments, the electronic device  20  may not include a wireless transceiver  25  or other wireless communications circuitry. 
     A touch display  23  is also carried by the portable housing  21  and is coupled to the processor  22 . The touch display  23  may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), for example, or may be another type of touch display, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. Further details of the touch display  23  are described below. 
     A memory  26  is also coupled to the processor  22 . The memory  26  is for storing finger matching biometric template data, for example. The memory  26  may store other or additional types of data, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. 
     As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the touch display  23  acts as both an input device and a display. As such, the touch display  23  cooperates with the processor  22  to perform one or more device functions in response to input. For example, a device function may include a powering on or off of the electronic device  20 , initiating communication via the wireless transceiver  25 , and/or performing a menu function based upon input to the touch display  23 . 
     More particularly, with respect to a menu function, the processor  22  may change the touch display  23  to show a menu of available applications based upon pressing or input to the touch display. Of course, other device functions may be performed based upon input to the touch display  23 . Other or additional finger-operated user input devices may be carried by the portable housing  21 , for example, a pushbutton switch  24 , which may be used for other and/or additional device functions as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. 
     Referring now additionally to  FIG. 3 , the touch display  23  includes a display layer  41 , and a transparent conductive layer  42  thereon defining touch sensing pixels, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. The transparent conductive layer  42  may comprise indium-tin-oxide (ITO), for example. The transparent conductive layer  42  is illustratively carried by or coupled to an upper surface of the display layer  41 . However, in some embodiments, the transparent conductive layer  42  may be coupled to a lower surface of the display layer  41 . Also, in some embodiments, there may be more than one transparent conductive layer  42  carried by a respective surface of the display layer  41  or within one or more display layers, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. Of course, there may be more than one display layer and more than one transparent conductive layer independent of one another. 
     A lower transparent dielectric layer  43  is carried by the touch display  23 . The lower transparent dielectric layer  43  may be glass, for example. The lower transparent dielectric layer  43  is illustratively coupled to the touch display  23  by an adhesive layer  44 , for example, a polyimide layer. Other and/or additional types of adhesives may be used. In some embodiments, the lower transparent dielectric layer  43  and the adhesive layer  44  may be absent. 
     A finger biometric sensor  30  is carried by the touch display  23 . More particularly, the finger biometric sensor  30  is carried by the lower transparent dielectric layer  43  and extends partially over an upper surface of the transparent dielectric layer. Another adhesive layer  45  may be adjacent the finger biometric sensor  30  across the upper surface the touch display  23 , or more particularly, the transparent dielectric layer  43 . 
     The finger biometric sensor  30 , in cooperation with the touch display  23 , senses a user&#39;s finger  40  or an object placed adjacent the finger biometric sensor. When a user contacts the touch display  23 , for example, during a navigation function or other touch display input, data from the user&#39;s finger  40  is acquired, for example, for finger matching and/or spoof detection, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. 
     Referring additionally to  FIG. 4 , the finger biometric sensor  30  includes an interconnect layer  31  that includes transparent conductive traces  32 . The transparent conductive traces  32  may comprise ITO, for example. Of course, the transparent conductive traces  32  may be another type of material. 
     The finger biometric sensor  30  also includes a finger biometric sensing layer  33  adjacent the interconnect layer  31 . The finger biometric sensing layer  33  includes an array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels  34  capacitively coupled to the transparent conductive layer  42  of the touch display  23 . The array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels  34  may be electric field biometric sensing pixels. The array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels  34  may also comprise ITO. Of course, the array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels  34  may be another material. 
     Each of the transparent conductive traces  32  have proximal ends  35  adjacent an edge of the interconnect layer  31  and distal ends  36  coupled to respective ones of the array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels  34 . A finger sensing integrated circuit (IC)  50  is illustratively coupled to the proximal ends  35  of the transparent conductive traces  32 . More particularly, the finger sensing IC  50  has bond pads  51  that are coupled to the proximal ends  35  of the transparent conductive traces  32 . The finger sensing IC  50  is positioned adjacent an edge or periphery of the transparent dielectric layer  43 , and illustratively carried adjacent an upper surface of the transparent dielectric layer. Of course, the finger sensing IC  50  may be positioned elsewhere in the electronic device  20 , for example, remote from the touch display  23  and finger biometric sensor  30 . The finger sensing IC  50  may include medical-style active floating electrometer amplifiers for readout, and more particularly, auto-balanced bridge readouts because of their increased sensitivity. 
     Each of the transparent conductive traces  32  illustratively has a width that is less than a width of each of the transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels  34 , and more particularly, in the sub-micron size range, for example. This advantageously allows for an increased number of the transparent conductive traces  32  to extend across the array of the finger biometric sensing pixels  34  without overlapping, for example. 
     The finger biometric sensing pixels  34  each have relatively high impedance and are much larger in size compared to the transparent conductive traces  32 . This allows the transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels  34  to have an increased coupling to the user&#39;s finger  40  and to dominate stray pickup. Moreover, the transparent conductive traces  32  may be configured so that inactive transparent conductive traces may be used as driven shields around active transparent conductive traces. The finger biometric sensor  30  also includes a transparent dielectric layer  37  between the interconnect layer  31  and the finger biometric sensing layer  33 . The transparent dielectric layer  37  serves as a dielectric buffer so that the transparent conductive traces  32  and the transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels  34  do not short circuit. 
     The finger biometric sensor  30  also includes transparent conductive vias  38  extending through the transparent dielectric layer  37  and coupling the transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels  34  to respective ones of the transparent conductive traces  32 . The transparent conductive vias  38  illustratively extend vertically from the transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels  34  through the transparent dielectric layer  37  to the transparent conductive traces  32 . The transparent conductive vias  38  may be polyimide, for example, but may be another material, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. 
     A transparent dielectric cover layer  46  is over the finger biometric sensor  30 . The transparent dielectric cover layer  46  may be glass, for example, or may another transparent dielectric material. 
     As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the electronic device  20  drives the finger biometric sensing pixels capacitively from the touch display  23 . The touch sensing pixels of the touch display  23  are used as an excitation drive plane. The configuration of the touch display  23  and the finger biometric sensor  30  described herein may have a 20-30 dB better modulation as compared to other touch screen/finger biometric sensing approaches. Moreover, operation is expected through relatively thick transparent dielectric and/or cover layers, for example, on the order of 200-300 microns. However, it is desirable that the transparent conductive traces  32  have a relatively high conductivity to support operation at megahertz frequencies. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 5 , in another embodiment, the finger biometric sensor  30 ′ extends over an entire upper surface of the touch display  23 ′. In other words, there is not an adhesive layer laterally adjacent the finger biometric sensor  30 ′. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 6 , in another embodiment, it may be particularly desirable for the transparent finger biometric sensing pixels that are farther away from finger sensing IC to have a lower resistance, which may increase parasitic capacitance. To reduce the resistance, some of the transparent conductive traces  32   a ″,  32   b ″ include a first portion  62   a ″,  62   b ″ each having a first effective width W 1  and a second portion  63   a ″,  63   b ″ each having a second effective width W 2  that is greater than the first effective width. In other words, some of the transparent conductive traces  32   a ″,  32   b ″ that are generally further away from the finger sensing IC  50 ″ may split. 
     A method aspect is directed to a method of making an electronic device  20 . The method includes forming a touch display  23  that includes a display layer  41 , and at least one transparent conductive layer  42  thereon defining touch sensing pixels. The method also includes forming a finger biometric sensor  30  carried by the touch display  23 . Forming the finger biometric sensor  30  includes forming an interconnect layer  31  that includes transparent conductive traces  32 , and forming a finger biometric sensing layer  33  adjacent the interconnect layer and including an array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels  34  capacitively coupled to the transparent conductive layer  42  of the touch display  23 . Forming the finger biometric sensor  30  may also include forming a transparent dielectric layer  37  between the interconnect layer  31  and the finger biometric sensing layer  33 , and forming transparent conductive vias  38  extending through the transparent dielectric layer  37  and coupling the array of transparent conductive finger biometric sensing pixels  34  to respective ones of the transparent conductive traces  32 . 
     It should be appreciated that while a touch display  23  that includes a display layer  41  and at least one transparent conductive layer  42  thereon defining touch sensing pixels is described herein, the touch display may have initially been a display without touch capability. In this case, the transparent conductive layer  42  may have initially been considered a display electrode to drive the display, which, as in the illustrated electronic device  20 , would become adapted to provide a relatively high resolution touch sensing function in addition to finger biometric sensing. 
     The present disclosure recognizes that personal information data, including biometric data, in the present technology, can be used to the benefit of users. For example, the use of biometric authentication data can be used for convenient access to device features without the use of passwords. In other examples, user biometric data is collected for providing users with feedback about their health or fitness levels. Further, other uses for personal information data, including biometric data, that benefit the user are also contemplated by the present disclosure. 
     The present disclosure further contemplates that the entities responsible for the collection, analysis, disclosure, transfer, storage, or other use of such personal information data will comply with well-established privacy policies and/or privacy practices. In particular, such entities should implement and consistently use privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining personal information data private and secure, including the use of data encryption and security methods that meets or exceeds industry or government standards. For example, personal information from users should be collected for legitimate and reasonable uses of the entity and not shared or sold outside of those legitimate uses. Further, such collection should occur only after receiving the informed consent of the users. Additionally, such entities would take any needed steps for safeguarding and securing access to such personal information data and ensuring that others with access to the personal information data adhere to their privacy policies and procedures. Further, such entities can subject themselves to evaluation by third parties to certify their adherence to widely accepted privacy policies and practices. 
     Despite the foregoing, the present disclosure also contemplates embodiments in which users selectively block the use of, or access to, personal information data, including biometric data. That is, the present disclosure contemplates that hardware and/or software elements can be provided to prevent or block access to such personal information data. For example, in the case of biometric authentication methods, the present technology can be configured to allow users to optionally bypass biometric authentication steps by providing secure information such as passwords, personal identification numbers (PINS), touch gestures, or other authentication methods, alone or in combination, known to those of skill in the art. In another example, users can select to remove, disable, or restrict access to certain health-related applications collecting users&#39; personal health or fitness data. 
     Many modifications and other embodiments will come to the mind of one skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed, and that modifications and embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20150127
Publication Date: 20170228
Grant Date: 20170228
Priority Date: 20150127
Inventors: SETLAK DALE R.
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "G06F3/0412", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0412", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06K9/00033", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/044", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0416", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06V40/1312", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06V40/1312", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/04164", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0443", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/04164", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0445", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 56432569