Personal authentication apparatus

• US 20060143470A1
• Filed: 03/23/2005
• Published: 06/29/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Frontech Limited (Fujitsu Limited), Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Frontech Limited (Fujitsu Limited), Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Igarashi, Yasuhiro
• Granted Patent: US 7,818,583 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/186
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/37 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voice recognition

Abstract

The present invention relates to a personal authentication apparatus which registers biometric information unique to each individual person, captures biometric information on the person anew when authenticating the person, and checks the captured biometric information against registered biometric information, whereby the security of registration is improved. A keyhole into which a physical key is inserted and a sensor which detects biometric information such as palm vein patterns are provided. Registration of a user is permitted only if a key is inserted and turned in the keyhole and a person registered as an administrator is authenticated based on biometric information.

Claims

1. A personal authentication apparatus having a biometric information capturing section which captures personal biometric information, a biometric information storage which stores personal biometric information captured by the biometric information capturing section in the past, and an authenticating section which checks biometric information currently captured by the biometric information capturing section against biometric information stored in the biometric information storage to authenticate a person associated with the currently captured biometric information, the personal authentication apparatus comprising:

a biometric information registering section which causes the biometric information capturing section to capture biometric information on a new person for registering the biometric information and registers the biometric information captured by the biometric information capturing section in the biometric information storage; and

a key setting section in which a predetermined key is to be set;

wherein, if the predetermined key is set in the key setting section and the authenticating section authenticates an administrator who is a specific person among the persons whose biometric information is stored in the biometric information storage, the biometric information on the new person is registered.

2. The personal authentication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the biometric information capturing section is a biometric information sensor which detects biometric information.

3. The personal authentication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the biometric information sensor is a sensor which detects a palm vein pattern.

4. The personal authentication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the key setting section has a keyhole into which a physical key is inserted, and if predetermined operations, including the operation of inserting a predetermined physical key in the keyhole, are performed, the key is set in the key setting section.

5. The personal authentication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the biometric information storage is capable of storing biometric information on a plurality of administrators and the key setting section allows only one model of key to be set regardless of the number of the administrators.