Week 4 - US Patent #8046721

For this particular US Patent, the first claim states that it is: "A method of unlocking a hand-held electronic device, the device including a touch-sensitive display"
The claim itself goes on to describe a three-step process that is needed in order to work in the same way this patent is describing. The first step is that the touch-screen needs to detect that there is a contact on its screen that occurs in the allocated portions of the screen. Next, the touch needs to be continuous along the screen and maintained where the user is directly interacting with the device. Lastly, the device can be locked when it reaches the predefined location.

Overall, this invention was extremely useful, as it is now a staple part and feature of most smartphone devices. Although it started with Apple, many other companies have instituted an "unlocking feature" as part of their phones now.

Thanks,
Payal