Today the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially granted Apple a patent for another biometric methodology relating to a user's Palm ID to authenticate access to a portable device using Apple's famed notch cameras, dot projector and a palm biometric sensor.  

Technically, Apple's granted patent cover electronic devices that may also include a palm biometric image sensor layer beneath the display layer and configured to sense an image of a user's palm positioned above the display layer based upon light reflected from the user's palm passing through the light transmissive portions of the display layer.

The electronic device, such as an iPhone, may further include a controller configured to capture image data from the user's palm in cooperation with the palm biometric image sensor layer and determine a surface distortion of the user's palm based upon the image data.

The controller may also be configured to perform a biometric authentication of the user's palm based upon the image data and the surface distortion.

The palm biometric image sensing layer may include a substrate, a photodiode layer on the substrate, and a narrowing field of view layer above the photodiode layer, for example. The palm biometric image sensing layer may include a substrate, a photodiode layer on the substrate, and a focusing layer above the photodiode layer, for example.

The electronic device may further include an infrared light source, and the controller may be configured to determine palm vein data from the image data resulting from the infrared light source.

The controller may be configured to perform the biometric authentication based upon comparing palm vein data to stored palm vein data, for example.

The electronic device may include a flood light source, and the controller may be configured to determine palm crease data from the image data resulting from the flood light source.

The controller may be configured to determine the surface distortion based upon comparing the palm crease data to stored palm crease data, for example. The flood light source may include a flood light source operable at a wavelength between 450 nm to 560 nm, for example.

The controller may be configured to detect the user's palm being positioned adjacent the palm biometric image sensor layer and capture the image data.  

Apple's patent FIGS. 1 and 2 below illustrate a contactless palm biometric sensor that includes an image projector, and more particularly, for example, a dot projector.

Apple's patent FIG. 5 below illustrates the iPhone's camera notch that includes a biometric palm sensor #40; dot projector #41; IR camera #43; patent FIG. 3 provides an overview of the system; patent FIG. 4 provides an overview of the controller.

Apple's patent FIG. 10 illustrates an Apple Watch that uses Palm ID; FIG. 6 illustrates a detailed palm print capturing dots from the dot projector that provides a view of crack patterns that could be extracted from an image.

In addition to crack patterns, the biometric sensor can detect vein patterns that can be extracted IR based images. Below is a flowchart of the method of Palm ID execution.

Review Apple's granted patent 10,867,159 for finer details.