METHOD FOR IDENTIFYING INDIVIDUALS USING SELECTED CHARACTERISTIC BODY CURVES

• US 3,805,238 A
• Filed: 05/09/1972
• Issued: 04/16/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/1971
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Esselte Security Systems AB
• Original Assignee: Rolf Eric Rothfjell
• Inventors: Rothfjell, Rolf Eric
• Primary Examiner(s): Robinson, Thomas A.
• Application Number:
  US05/251,807
• Time in Patent Office: 707 Days
• Field of Search: 340/146.3E,146.3AE,146.3AC,149A 40/2.2 356/71 235/61.7B
• US Class Current: 382/118
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1176 Recognition of faces
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/171 Local features and components; Facial parts eye characteristics G06V40/18; Occluding parts, e.g. glasses; Geometrical relationships
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/257 electronically G07C9/26 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 3/0286 provided with adaptations for labelling machines

Abstract

A method for identifying individuals using selected characteristic body curves which are usually substantially constant characteristic facial curves derived from one or more images of the individual being identified. The curves may be used for visual comparison with an image of the individual in an identification card format, or the curves may be stored in data processing apparatus and reproduced for comparison, or automatically compared, with an image of the individual presented for use in conjunction with the data processing apparatus.

Claims

1. A method of identifying an individual, comprising:

providing an image of at least a portion of the individual'"'"''"'"'s face which includes at least one substantially constant body curvatUre;

defining at least one selected characteristic curve from said facial image;

storing said characteristic curve; and

comparing an image of an individual'"'"''"'"'s face to said stored curve to determine whether said curve coincides with a corresponding curve in the compared image.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein a plurality of images of the individual'"'"''"'"'s face are provided, a plurality of selected characteristic curves are defined from said plurality of images, said curves are stored, and a plurality of images of an individual are compared to said stored curves.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said curve is stored in an identification card.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said curve and an image to be compared with said curve are both stored in an identification card.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein data corresponding to points on said curve is stored in a data processing apparatus.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said data is stored in a digital computer.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the image to be compared to said curve is created from the individual himself by an instant access imaging device, information from said imaging device is transmitted to said computer, and data corresponding to a curve stored in said computer is retrieved and presented for comparison with information from a corresponding curve in the image.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the image to be compared is created by a television camera.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein said data and information are presented to an optical projection device for visual comparison.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein said data and information are presented to a comparator within said computer for automatic comparison.

11. A method of identifying an individual, comprising:

providing an image of at least a portion of the individual'"'"''"'"'s face which includes at least one substantially constant facial curvature;

defining at least one selected characteristic curve from said image;

storing data corresponding to points on said characteristic curve in a digital computer; and

comparing an image of an individual'"'"''"'"'s face to said stored characteristic curve to determine whether said curve coincides with a corresponding curve in the compared image, by presenting said image to a reading means associated with said computer, which reading means transmits information corresponding to curves in said image of said computer, and the data corresponding to a curve stored in said computer is retrieved and presented for comparison with a corresponding curve in the image.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said data is presented to an optical projection device for visual comparison of the presented data with the image.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein said data and information read from said image by said reading means are presented to a comparator within said computer for automatic comparison of said data with said image.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the image to be compared to said curve is stored in an identification card with is presented to the reading means associated with said computer.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said reading means is activated by information in said identification card.

16. An identification card comprising, at least one image of the face of an individual;

at least one selected characteristic curve which conforms to a corresponding curve in said image, said characteristic curve being on a separate surface from said image, but superimposed on one side of the image in a position so that it corresponds to a curve in said image;

a laminating material laminating together the image and characteristic curve.

17. The identification card of claim 16, wherein said card is sufficiently translucent for visual comparison of said characteristic curve with the corresponding curve in said image.

18. The identification card of claim 16, wherein said card contains other identifying information concernIng the individual whose image appears therein.