US 2,007,150,842 · Filed 2005-12-23

The Gesture Unlock Patent That Defined iPhone Security

Instead of typing a password, you unlock your phone by drawing a gesture on the screen—like swiping an icon to a certain spot or tracing a path with your finger. The phone recognizes your specific gesture and unlocks if it matches what you set up. Visual guides on the screen show you exactly what motion to perform.

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The plain-English version

What it protects

The claim covers a method of unlocking a touch-screen device using gesture recognition. What's protected here is the specific approach of displaying unlock images on the screen and requiring a user to perform a predefined gesture—such as moving the image to a target location or tracing it along a specific path—in order to authenticate and unlock the device. The protection also extends to systems that display visual cues guiding the user through the required gesture.

Why it matters

This patent represents a foundational unlock mechanism for touch-screen devices that became central to smartphone security design. Rather than forcing users to remember and type complex passwords, gesture-based unlocking offers an intuitive, visual authentication method that is both secure and user-friendly. The patent's approach influenced how millions of devices balance security with accessibility in consumer electronics.

Real-world use

Every time you swipe, drag, or trace a pattern on your phone's lock screen to unlock it, you're interacting with the exact mechanism this patent describes.

Original USPTO abstract

A device with a touch-sensitive display may be unlocked via gestures performed on the touch-sensitive display. The device is unlocked if contact with the display corresponds to a predefined gesture for unlocking the device. The device displays one or more unlock images with respect to which the predefined gesture is to be performed in order to unlock the device. The performance of the predefined gesture with respect to the unlock image may include moving the unlock image to a predefined location and/or moving the unlock image along a predefined path. The device may also display visual cues of the predefined gesture on the touch screen to remind a user of the gesture.

Patent details

Publication number: US 2,007,150,842
Filing date: 2005-12-23
Grant date: Application — not yet granted
Assignee: Imran Chaudhri / Bas Ording / Anzures Freddy A / Os Marcel V / Lemay Stephen O / Scott Forstall / Greg Christie
Inventor(s): CHAUDHRI IMRAN, ORDING BAS, ANZURES FREDDY A., OS MARCEL V., LEMAY STEPHEN O., FORSTALL SCOTT, CHRISTIE GREG
CPC class: G06F3/04883

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