Analysis: Neonode Patented Swipe-to-Unlock 3 Years Before Apple

Daily Tech ^ | - February 20, 2012 12:49 PM | Jason Mick (Blog)

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Sorry Apple, you did not invent swipe to unlock

[This is an editorial/analysis piece.]

When I initially searched the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office database and Google Patents, I missed something very interesting in the war [1][2] between Apple, Inc. (AAPL) and Android's "Big Three" -- Google Inc.'s (GOOG) new acquisition Motorola, HTC Corp. (TPE:2498), and Samsung Electronics Comp., Ltd. (KS:005930) -- regarding swipe-to-unlock intellectual property.

Neonode Inc. (NEON) appears to be the first to patent this technology, holding a claim I missed.

I. Neonode Beat Apple to the Patent Punch by 3 Years

As I pointed out in an earlier piece, Neonode -- a small Swedish phone manufacturer -- was the first to deploy the technology commercially. And it also appears to be the first to have patented swipe-to-unlock.

I initially missed this, as it was buried in U.S. Patent No. 8,095,879.

But there it is -- in "User interface for mobile handheld computer unit." Fig. 11 and Fig. 12 (pg. 5).

And the interface element is covered by Claim 12:

12. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the user interface is characterised in, that an active application, function, service or setting is advanced one step by gliding the object along the touch sensitive area from left to right, and that the active application, function, service or setting is closed or backed one step by gliding the object along the touch sensitive area from right to left.

Now Neonode is perhaps not suing everyone because it kindly limited its own patent, writing

In the case that the patent was deemed non-novel at some point and redundant with existing drag-and-drop IP, Neonode attempts to strengthen it with a secondary claim:

12. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the touch sensitive area is 2-3 inches in diagonal dimension.

What a novel notion -- a company narrowing its own patent to cover only what it actually has designed! While we'll never know if this narrowing was intentional or inadvertent, either way.

Despite the apparent strength and broad scope of its patent, Neonode declined/missed its opportunity to try to cash in on its user interface innovation at the expense of stalling the mobile market with crippling lawsuits (as Apple is currently doing).

II. Is There a Difference Between These Patents?

Now let us review the matter at hand:

1. Neonode filed for a patent on swipe to unlock 3 years before Apple did.
2. Neonode's swipe to unlock gesture is identical to that found on the iPhone -- a fluid left-to-right motion.
3. Apple is now suing people over the technology it "borrowed" (presumably without permission) from Neonode and applied for two patents -- U.S. Patent No. 7,657,849 and U.S. Patent No. 8,046,721 on.

Let me address a point of contention I received in an email. Yes, Neonode's display is resistive (diodes-based) touch design, where as Apple's screen is capacitive touch. But ultimately this does not have any major affect the algorithm, as we see it on the original iPhone. And bear in mind, Apple is not patenting capacitive multi-touch. Other people have already done that.

Indeed Apple's patent doesn't even mention capacitive touch in its claims. It claims the invention of the gesture on "a touch-sensitive display" (See Claim 1 of first patent) -- a term which encompasses both resistive and capacitive touch displays.

So is there any difference between Apple's claim and Neonode's?

It would be tempting to state that there is some sort of graphical difference looking at the iPhone versus the Neonode n1, which featured the slide-to-unlock. But the patents are ambiguous enough they don't confine themselves specific look to the unlock mechanism (that would be more appropriate for a design patent, anyhow).

So if the difference is not graphical, what is it?

Apple's algorithm appears to have two unique claims, compared to Neonode's. But they're actually not unique at all. Let's discuss why.

First it claims dragging a graphic. But let's see -- this has been done for over two decades before the filing via the ubiquitous "drag and drop".

Apple's only other seemingly unique claims is that its algorithm mentions that if the finger is removed during the swipe gesture, before the end point is reached, to cancel the result. But ultimately, the Neonode patent simply did mention this. If you swipe halfway across the Neonode phone (reaching the middle diode) and stop, you can't just click the endpoint several seconds later. Neonode's algorithm was less explicit, but it appears to have the same mechanism as Apple's. (See videos below.)

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

*********************************This is an EXCERPT*************************************

[Larry Lucido]

They patented a gesture?

I wonder if anyone has the patent on the gesture for hailing a cab? I could be rich!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Fascinating....

Got to check on this Neonode company;

[USNBandit]

Sounds like Dr. Evil’s father. “He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. “

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Needs electronics....

The company:

NeoMedia Technologies Inc.

No News currently available for NEON

Current stock price:

NeoMedia Technologies Inc.

NEON

/quotes/zigman/597194

€

0.0090

Change

+0.0020 +28.57%

Volume

Volume 812,000

Feb 20, 2012, 4:38 p.m.

Quotes are delayed by 20 min

/quotes/zigman/597194

Previous close

€ 0.0070

€ 0.0090

Change

+0.0020 +28.57%

Day low

Day high

€0.0080

€0.0090

Open: 0.0080

52 week low

52 week high

€0.0020

€0.18

Market cap

€3.41M

Average volume

459,669

P/E ratio

N/A

EPS

N/A

Dividend

N/A

Div yield

N/A

Ex dividend date

N/A

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Average volume

459,669

[VanDeKoik]

Neonode is gonna make bank.

[onyx]

DONATE

Less than $4k to Go!

DONATE

Less than $4k to Go!

[Marine_Uncle]

RE: "Got to check on this Neonode company;"
Buyers beware... :)

[Swordmaker]

Article claims Apple did not invent the swipe to open iPhone, iPad, iPod touch movement but that Maagnus Goertz of Sweden did and assigned it to NeoNode of Santa Clara, CA, three years before Apple claimed to have invented it—PING!

Patent applied for on December 10, 2002, granted January 10, 2012!

Apple Patents Ping!

Please, No Flame Wars!
Discuss technical issues, software, and hardware.
Don't attack people!
Don't respond to the Anti-Apple Thread Trolls!
PLEASE IGNORE THEM!!!

If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.

[Swordmaker]

12. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the user interface is characterised in, that an active application, function, service or setting is advanced one step by gliding the object along the touch sensitive area from left to right, and that the active application, function, service or setting is closed or backed one step by gliding the object along the touch sensitive area from right to left.

There is a major difference... the object the NeoNode patent is referring to is a finger, a stylus, a hot dog, or any other item touching the touch sensitive surface from one side in general to a specific location on the screen to a menu or location.. Apple's patent refers to touching a GRAPHIC OBJECT or ICON on the screen and sliding the graphic object or icon to a specific location! At no time in the NeoNode patent does it mention dragging a virtual screen object to a location... it mentions dragging an object external to the screen to a menu or location ON the screen to activate the choice.

The drawings accompanying NeoNode's assigned invention DO NOT show any object underneath the finger being moved... only target objects that the finger will reach after moving from a blank area of the screen on the left! These target icons will appear, according to the invention, when the "object" is placed on the touch sensitive screen, in preparation to move from the left to select one of the "menu items" on the right. This is not the same invention at all.

Claim 12 specifically it mentions moving from the screen object from Right to Left to cancel that object's actions. Again, that is not something that Apple's invention does.

I read the entire patent. And the claims. One must read exactly what is being described, looking at the drawings and reading the descriptions the inventor provided for the drawings. . . not what one wishes was being described. . .

[Swordmaker]

Looking at the Daily Tech's article, it is so incoherently and incompetently written, that the author claims the phone they are claiming predates the iPhone, the nM1 is a "touch" phone... it is NOT... it uses nine infra-red diodes, aimed at infra-red sensors in an array to determine by timing the positioning of a finger by movement across a non-touchscreen LCD display!

There are NO icons to move at all... it cannot move anything in real time in response to a finger movement! It can only detect that you moved your finger in certain directions... and then change the static display. YES, the swipe from left to right to answer a phone... and to unlock it... but they are NOT doing what Apple's invention does. Read Apple's invention's claims and you will see the glaring differences. In fact, NeoNode's phone does not even USE Magnus Goertz's touch screen invention at all!