Microthermistor based fingerprint sensor
US6633656B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 16, 2000 |
| Grant date | Oct 14, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 19, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06V40/1306
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The present invention concerns a fingerprint sensor which is small; demonstrates high sensitivity, low power consumption, high data acquisition rate and is insensitive to vibration and pressure. The sensor produces a high contrast fingerprint representation and is not subject to repeated deformation which could potentially reduces its lifetime. The fingerprint sensor has a microthermistor array for converting temperature variation into an electrical signal, the array being composed of a plurality of microthermistors, each of the thermistors being adapted to output an electrical signal proportional to a temperature variation; a read-out integrated circuit operatively connected to the microthermistor array for receiving the electrical signal and converting it into an electronic output signal representative of the ridge and valley structure of a finger; and a substrate for supporting the read-out integrated circuit and the microthermistor array. The invention is based on microthermistor array. The ohmic resistance of these sensors varies strongly with temperature. The parameter directly measured in this case is the temperature-induced resistance variation of each individual microtherm…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.