METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INDIVIDUAL RECOGNITION

• US 3,614,737 A
• Filed: 09/08/1969
• Issued: 10/19/1971
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/1969
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Charles Sadowsky
• Original Assignee: Charles Sadowsky
• Inventors: Sadowsky, Charles
• Primary Examiner(s): Cook, Daryl W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cochran, William W.
• Application Number:
  US04/855,955
• Time in Patent Office: 771 Days
• Field of Search: 340/146.3,149A 356/71 350/71 197/101 132/73 84/319
• US Class Current: 382/115
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/10 Image acquisition document image scanning and transmission H04N1/00; control of digital cameras H04N23/60
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/144 using a slot moved over the image; using discrete sensing elements at predetermined points; using automatic curve following means
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/1365 Matching; Classification
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/257 electronically G07C9/26 takes precedence

Abstract

A method and apparatus for determining or verifying the identity of an individual wherein characteristics of a designated skin area of the individual, for example on the hand, are transduced into electrical signals which are then matched to or compared with a corresponding set of stored electrical signals representative of the characteristics of the same designated skin area of an individual whose identity is known. The characteristics of the designated skin area are scanned along a linear path by a light source and photoelectric cell and the light and dark representations of the ridges and depressions and/or the variation in contrast of the designated skin area are transduced by a transducer into electrical signal representations which representations are then compared by a comparator circuit in a computer with the allegedly corresponding representations stored in a computer memory bank. If the two sets of representations correlate, the identity of the individual is determined.

Claims

1. In an apparatus for establishing the identity of an individual, including means for detecting distinguishing characteristics of a designated skin area of an individual, means for transducing said distinguishing characteristics into electrical signals representative of said distinguishing characteristics and means for comparing said transduced electrical signals with a set of stored electrical signals known to be representative of the same designated skin area of the individual whose identity is to be verified, the improvement comprising:

means associated with said transducing means to positively orient said designated skin area with a high degree of accuracy repeatedly to the same relative position within a plane parallel to and coincident with said transducing means and to minimize rotational movement of said designated skin area with respect to the proper alignment thereof within said fixed planar orientation thereby to repeatedly expose the same portion of said designated skin area corresponding to the characteristics of said stored electrical signals to said transducing means;

said designated skin area being an area on an individual'"'"''"'"'s hand;

said means to positively orient said designated skin area includes a flat planar surface upon which an individual may place his hand palm down whereby said flat planar surface cooperates with said palm to minimize relative rotation of said designated skin area on said hand with and disposed to said planar surface, and a fixed positioning guide member extending from said flat planar surface to cooperate with a predetermined portion of said individual'"'"''"'"'s hand thereby the planar positively orient said predetermined portion of said individual'"'"''"'"'s hand and fix the relative position of said hand on said planar surface.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said transducing means includes means to scan said designated skin area along a linear path and means to detect distinguishing characteristics of said designated skin area along said linear scan path.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein said means to detect said distinguishing characteristics includes a light source and a photoelectric cell, said cell being oriented along a vertical axis coincident with said linear scan path and said light source being spaced from said cell and disposed at an angle with respect to said vertical axis to direct a beam of light which intersects said vertical axis at a point in a plane coincident with the planar orientation of said designated skin area thereby to illuminate said ridges of said designated skin area and Cause the formation of shadows in said valleys of said designated skin area whereby the image of said illuminated and shadowed areas are detected by said cell and are transduced by said transducing means into electrical signals representative of the distinguishing characteristics of said designated skin area.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein said transducing means further includes means to incrementally laterally displace said transducing means during each linear scan thereby to provide a plurality of discrete linear scan segments along said designated skin area with each successive scan segment being incrementally laterally spaced from the preceding scan segment thereby to eliminate errors due to slight lateral displacement of said designated skin area.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said flat planar surface includes a longitudinal slot therein laterally spaced from said positioning guide member and oriented over said transducing means whereby when said individual places his hand on said planar surface against said positioning guide said designated skin area is exposed to said transducing means through said slot.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 5 wherein said designated skin area is a skin area along a linear path on the palm side of a selected finger of said individual'"'"''"'"'s hand and said positioning guide includes a flat plate member extending from said planar surface and adapted to fit between said selected finger and its next adjacent one with one side of said selected finger being pressed against the longitudinal face of said plate member thereby to orient said designated skin area on said finger within said slot.

7. Apparatus as defined in claim 6 wherein said designated skin area is a skin area along a linear path along the length of the middle finger of said individual'"'"''"'"'s hand and said positioning guide further includes a resiliently urged pressure plate member adapted to engage the other side of said middle finger thereby to maintain said finger firmly against said plate member.

8. Apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein said pressure plate member is pivotally secured to said flat plate member thereby to accommodate variations in the contour of a finger placed in said positioning guide to insure proper orientation of the designated linear scan on said finger with respect to said transducer.

9. A method for determining the identity of an individual by utilizing the distinguishing characteristics of a designated skin area along a linear path on the underside of a selected finger of an individual'"'"''"'"'s hand comprising, fixing said individual'"'"''"'"'s hand in a predetermined orientation with respect to a transducing apparatus, said step of fixing said individual'"'"''"'"'s hand comprising placing said hand palm side down on a flat planar surface with the fingers of the hand extended thereby to preclude relative rotation of the selected finger of said hand and fixing the selected finger against a position plate extending from said planar surface to preclude misalignment of said selected finger, taking an initial linear scan with a photoelectric transducing means along said designated linear path and converting the response to said transducing into a set of electrical signals representative of said distinguishing characteristics, storing said set of electrical signals in a memory bank of a data processing system, repositioning said individual'"'"''"'"'s hand in said predetermined orientation when saiindividual'"'"''"'"'s identity is to be determined, taking a substantially identical linear scan of said individual'"'"''"'"'s designated skin area, and transducing the impressions representative of the distinguishing characteristics of said individual into a set of electrical signals representative of said characteristics and comparing said second set of electrical signals with said first set stored in said memory bank in a computer thereby to determine the identity of said individual.

10. The method as defined in claim 9 wherein said linear scan is taken alonG the length of said selected finger of said hand and the distinguishing characteristics to establish the individual'"'"''"'"'s identity include the ridges and valleys along the linear scan path of said finger as well as the difference in reflectivity from skin tone variations along said scan path.