Today the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple relating to the field of optical image sensors in context with verification and/or authentication in an electronic device. While Face ID will continue to be used on premium models of the iPhone and iPad, a next generation of Touch ID is being designed to work under an OLED display and be applied to other devices such as the MacBook Pro (as it is today), Apple Watch, a Mixed Reality headset and possible others. Apple may also decide at some point in time to offer two methods of biometric ID for premium Apple devices as Huawei and other competitors do today.

Apple has been working on this since at least 2013. The first invention was published by the U.S. Patent Office and presented in Patently Apple report in 2015 with one set of patent figures presented below. In fact, the lead engineer on the 2015 published patent application Dale Setlak is still the lead on this most recent patent application that was filed back in Q3 2017 and published today by the U.S. Patent Office.

In summary, Apple's invention covers an electronic device that may include a dielectric cover layer defining a finger sensing surface and at least one optical image sensor and possibly a plurality of image sensors below the dielectric cover layer (the display).

A controller may be configured to sequentially operate respective adjacent subsets of light sources while acquiring biometric image data from the at least one optical image sensor.

The at least one optical element may include at least one pin-hole mask, for example. The at least one optical element may include at least one microlens, for example.

The plurality of light sources may include a plurality of dedicated illumination pixels. The plurality of light sources may include a plurality of display pixels, for example.

The controller may be configured to sequentially operate respective adjacent subsets of light sources in a first pass in a first direction, and in a second pass in a second direction transverse to the first direction. The first and second directions may be perpendicular, for example.

The controller may be configured to acquire the biometric image data as a respective biometric image associated with each operation of the subsets of light sources. The controller may be configured to sequentially operate respective adjacent subsets of light sources so that each subset of light sources has a same shape, for example.

The controller may be configured to sequentially operate respective adjacent subsets of light sources so that at least one subset of pixels has a different shape than a shape of at least one other subset of light sources. The controller may be configured to select the different shapes based upon the biometric image data, for example. The plurality of light sources may include a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs), for example.

A method aspect is directed to a method of acquiring biometric image data in an electronic device that includes a dielectric cover layer defining a finger sensing surface, at least one optical image sensor below the dielectric cover layer, at least one optical element associated with the at least one optical image sensor, and a plurality of light sources below the dielectric cover layer and selectively operable in subsets of light sources. The method may include using a controller to sequentially operate respective adjacent subsets of light sources while acquiring the biometric image data from the optical image sensor.

In 2017 Apple was granted their first patent for Touch ID based on a scanner under the display and in March 2017 Apple filed another patent application for this new Touch ID methodology.

In Apple's patent FIG. 1 of this new patent application we see Apple illustrating that Touch ID could be exercised by touching the OLED display; FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of the electronic device of FIG. 1.

Apple's patent FIG. 3 below is a more detailed schematic block diagram of a portion of the electronic device of FIG. 2; FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating acquisition of biometric image data and a corresponding image.

Apple's patent FIG. 13 below is an enlarged schematic diagram of the optical image sensor: and FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating sensed field of view of the optical image sensor.

Considering that this is a patent application, the timing of such a product to market is unknown at this time. The two other inventors listed on the application include Giovanni Gozzini, Director of Engineering who also came to Apple via AuthenTec that Apple acquired; and Mohammed Yeke Yazdandoost, Senior Sensing Systems Architect who came to Apple via Teledyne DALSA.

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