IMAGING SYSTEM AND AUTHENTICATION METHOD

• US 20100107242A1
• Filed: 08/03/2006
• Published: 04/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Ohta, Yusuke
• Granted Patent: US 8,209,752 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/19
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/16 Human faces, e.g. facial parts, sketches or expressions
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/37 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3205 of identification information, e.g. name or ID code H04N2201/3209 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3233 of authentication information, e.g. digital signature, watermark

Abstract

An imaging system is disclosed that performs authentication of a user. The system includes one or more manipulation detecting parts that detect one or more manipulations by the user related to an imaging process, one or more biometric information acquiring parts that acquire biometric information of the user when the manipulation detecting parts detect the manipulations by the user, and an authentication determining part that determines an authentication result of the authentication based on the biometric information acquired by the biometric information acquiring parts.

Claims

1. An imaging system that performs authentication of a user, the system comprising:

one or more manipulation detecting parts that detect one or more manipulations by the user that are related to an imaging process;

one or more biometric information acquiring parts that acquire biometric information of the user when the manipulation detecting parts detect the manipulations by the user; and

an authentication determining part that determines an authentication result of the authentication based on the biometric information acquired by the biometric information acquiring parts.

2. The imaging system as claimed in claim 1, wherein

a predetermined manipulation detecting part of the manipulation detecting parts and a predetermined biometric information acquiring part of the biometric information acquiring parts are grouped together, and the predetermined biometric information acquiring part acquires the biometric information when the predetermined manipulation detecting part detects the manipulations by the user.

3. The imaging system as claimed in claim 2, wherein

the predetermined manipulation detecting part and the predetermined biometric information acquiring part are arranged in a predetermined positional relationship.

4. The imaging system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a biometric information storing part that stores pre-acquired biometric information; and

a matching part that compares and matches the biometric information acquired by the biometric information acquiring part with the pre-acquired biometric information stored in the biometric information storing part;

wherein the authentication determining part determines the authentication result based on one or more matching results obtained by the matching part.

5. The imaging system as claimed in claim 4, wherein

when at least one of a predetermined number of the matching results is obtained and at least another one of the predetermined number of the matching results is not obtained, the authentication determining part determines the authentication result based on the obtained matching results.

6. The imaging system as claimed in claim 4, wherein

authentication failure is determined by the authentication determining part when at least one of a predetermined number of the matching results is not obtained.

7. The imaging system as claimed in claim 1, wherein

when authentication success is determined by the authentication determining part, the authentication success becomes invalid as soon as the imaging process that is related to the detected manipulations by the user is completed.

8. An imaging system that performs authentication of a user, the system comprising:

an imaging apparatus including

one or more sensors that detect one or more manipulations by the user that is related to an imaging process; and

one or more image capturing units that acquire biometric information of the user when the sensors detect the manipulations by the user; and

a server apparatus that is connected to the imaging apparatus and receives the biometric information from the imaging apparatus, the server apparatus including an authentication determining unit that determines an authentication result of the authentication based on the biometric information.

9. An authentication method used in an imaging system that performs authentication of a user, the method comprising:

one or more manipulation detecting steps for detecting one or more manipulations by the user that are related to an imaging process;

one or more biometric information acquiring steps for acquiring biometric information of the user when the manipulations by the user are detected in the manipulation detecting steps; and

an authentication determining step for determining an authentication result of the authentication based on the biometric information of the user acquired in the biometric information acquiring steps.

10. The authentication method as claimed in claim 9, wherein

a predetermined manipulation detecting step of the manipulation detecting steps and a predetermined biometric information acquiring step of the biometric information acquiring steps are grouped together, and the biometric information is acquired in the predetermined biometric information acquiring step when the manipulations by the user are detected in the predetermined manipulation detecting step.

11. The authentication method as claimed in claim 9, further comprising:

a matching step for comparing and matching the biometric information acquired in the biometric information acquiring steps with pre-acquired biometric information;

wherein the authentication result is determined in the authentication determining step based on one or more matching results obtained in the matching step.

12. The authentication method as claimed in claim 11, wherein

when at least one of a predetermined number of the matching results is obtained and at least another one of the predetermined number of the matching results is not obtained, the authentication result is determined based on the at least one of the matching results that is obtained.

13. The authentication method as claimed in claim 11, wherein

authentication failure is determined in the authentication determining step when a predetermined number of the matching results are not obtained.

14. The authentication method as claimed in claim 9, wherein

when authentication success is determined in the authentication determining step, the authentication success becomes invalid as soon as the imaging process that is related to the detected manipulations by the user is completed.