Apparatus for authenticating vehicle driver
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for authenticating a driver of a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:
- a biometrics authenticating section adapted to authenticate a person in a driver seat of the vehicle based on biological information of the person;
an ignition controller adapted to permit an authenticated person to start the vehicle;
a driver detector adapted to detect absence of the authenticated person from the driver seat; and
a control section adapted to activate the ignition controller to permit the authenticated person to start the vehicle, wherein, if the driver detector detects absence of the authenticated person from the driver seat, the control section requires another authentication process by the biometrics authenticating section in order to activate the ignition controller, and wherein, if the driver detector does not detect absence of the authenticated person from the driver seat, the control section does not require another authentication process by the biometrics authenticating section in order to activate the ignition controller.
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Abstract
A driver authenticating apparatus has a camera for capturing a facial image of a person in a driver seat, and a controller connected to the camera. The controller permits a driver to start an vehicle engine if the captured facial image matches a pre-registered facial image of an authorized driver. When restarting an engine with the driver present in the driver seat, the apparatus allows the driver to start the vehicle engine without an authenticating procedure.
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Citations
6 Claims
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1. An apparatus for authenticating a driver of a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:
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a biometrics authenticating section adapted to authenticate a person in a driver seat of the vehicle based on biological information of the person;
an ignition controller adapted to permit an authenticated person to start the vehicle;
a driver detector adapted to detect absence of the authenticated person from the driver seat; and
a control section adapted to activate the ignition controller to permit the authenticated person to start the vehicle, wherein, if the driver detector detects absence of the authenticated person from the driver seat, the control section requires another authentication process by the biometrics authenticating section in order to activate the ignition controller, and wherein, if the driver detector does not detect absence of the authenticated person from the driver seat, the control section does not require another authentication process by the biometrics authenticating section in order to activate the ignition controller. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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Specification