Method and control device for document authentication

• US 6,141,438 A
• Filed: 07/28/1999
• Issued: 10/31/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Tom F. Blanchester
• Original Assignee: Tom F. Blanchester
• Inventors: Blanchester, Tom F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Boudreau, Leo H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): SHERALI, ISHRAT I
• Application Number:
  US09/362,084
• Time in Patent Office: 461 Days
• Field of Search: 382/100, 382/135, 382/270, 382/137-140, 382/124-125, 382/115-118, 382/287-288, 382/209, 382/214, 382/216-217, 382/305-306, 382/294, 382/317 , 382/312, 700/83, 705/41-44, 235/379-382, 380/51, 283/71-75, 340/825.3-825.34, 358/403-404, 358/456, 707/1-5, 713/186
• US Class Current: 382/140
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/12 Visible light, infrared or ultraviolet radiation
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/2016 using feature extraction, e.g. segmentation, edge detection or Hough-transformation
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/08 by coded identity card or credit card or other personal identification means without personal verification means G07F7/02
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/086 by passive credit-cards adapted therefor, e.g. constructive particularities to avoid counterfeiting, e.g. by inclusion of a physical or chemical security-layer for security documents G07D7/00; for the reading of record-carriers in general G06K7/00; for the design of coded credit-cards G06K19/10
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/125 Offline card verification

Abstract

A document authentication control device has a card positioning device with a document insertion region, an optical scanner, a data processor that receives data from the optical scanner, a database for storing processed optical image data, and a display screen for displaying document, authentication, and other data. The data processor correlates an image region of a document and a reference region of the document to corresponding image and reference regions of the document retrieved from the database, thereby determining the authenticity of the document. The reference region is a region of the document that is spaced away from the image region of the document.

Claims

1. A method of scanning in a control device an identity document or valuable document which includes an image of the document owner, or an image of a pattern significant to the valuable document, wherein the control device is connected with at least one data base containing information concerning the documents, comprising:

scanning with the aid of said control device at least a part of the document which includes a part of the image or the whole of the image by recording in pixels with the aid of an optical device which includes a light source, the intensity of the light reflected by raster points of the image together with the intensity of the light reflected from raster points of at least one reference on the document, wherein the reflected light is recorded simultaneously, and wherein the recorded image includes information for reference to an original document in a data base;

dividing the recorded image into sub-areas which include at least two pixels wherein the scan is digitized and each of the pixels is given a bit sequence corresponding to the intensity of the light reflected for the pixels and coordinate-transforming the image such that the image will always have the same position in relation to said reference, this reference position also being the same for a corresponding document in at least one data base, wherein a document that is already stored in the data base is compared with a document whose authenticity is being checked or a non-registered document is newly registered in at least one data base automatically or manually via the control device, and wherein when scanning and comparing in a data base is relevant there is chosen prior to the comparison at least one sub-area or a limited number of sub-areas for verification with a corresponding sub-area or corresponding sub-areas related to the document in the relevant data base or data bases, whereafter non-selective sub-areas are sorted-out and, in the case of a new registration of the identity document or valuable document, the document is newly registered in at least one data base.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said intensity of the light is normalized with a reference intensity.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the scanned image is itself an identity which refers to a correct location in said database.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein said scanning is with the aid of the optical device of an adequately large part of an identity on a document, such as to limit the search area in the data base to the identity.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein said scanning is with the aid of the optical device of an adequately large part of an identity on a document, this identity referring to a correct location in a relevant data base.

6. A method according to claim 3, further comprising entering an adequately large part of the identity of the scanned document with the aid of a keypad on the control device, such as to limit the search area in the data base to the identity.

7. A method according to claim 1, further comprising inserting the identity of the scanned document with the aid of the keypad on the control device, this identity referring to a correct location in a relevant data base.

8. A method according to claim 1, wherein when making a comparison with a data base, the inserted light intensity values obtained with pixels from a selected sub-area or selected sub-areas is compared with the light intensity of the pixels in a corresponding sub-area or sub-areas of the document in a data base, with the aid of a subtraction operation so as to obtain a comparison value for the pixel.

9. A method according to claim 8, further comprising summing the light intensity of the pixels for each chosen sub-area, and comparing the light intensity division at each chosen sub-area with the light intensity division of a corresponding sub-area in the data base to obtain a comparison value for each chosen sub-area.

10. A method according to claim 8, further comprising comparing each value obtained by said subtraction with a safety level for determining reliability.

11. A method according to claim 8, further comprising determining a value to establish whether an identity exists or not.

12. A method according to claim 11, wherein the determined value is a probability measurement.

13. A method according to claim 1, further comprising inserting through an input writer connected to the control device supplementary image information in the data base, this information not being scanned in conjunction with entering the image.

14. A method according to claim 13, further comprising storing the digitized image with associated additionally inserted information in a storage medium present on the newly registered document.

15. A control device for scanning identity documents and valuable documents that include an image of the identity document owner or a pattern significant to a valuable document, comprising:

at least one data base which contains information concerning the documents;

at least one screen for reproducing the image and for reproducing data associated with information in said at least one data base;

at least one document insertion device which includes a document positioning device, a processor or processors for controlling and monitoring units present in the control device, communication bus lines, control logic including an analog-to-digital converter and sampler, function selection infeed component;

an external data and telecommunications device, and a power supply, the control device includes an optical device having a light source, for scanning the whole image or a piece of said image, said scan including information for reference to an original document in a selected data base, and simultaneously record at each pixel the intensity of the light reflected from the raster points of the image together with the intensity of the light reflected by the raster points of at least one reference on the document,

the device control logic functions to divide the recorded image in the sub-areas, said sub-areas including at least two pixels, the control logic of said control device effects the selection of at least one sub-area or a limited number of sub-areas prior to an authenticity check,

the scan is digitized and each of the pixels is given a bit sequence corresponding to the intensity of the light reflected for said pixel,

the control logic effects coordinate transformation of the image such that said image will always have the same position in relation to said reference, this reference position being the same for a corresponding document in the data base, and

the control logic effects communication with at least one data base for an authenticity check or for newly registering a non-registered document in at least one data base.

16. A control device according to claim 15, wherein the control device is connectable to an external input writer for inserting supplementary information in images in a data base.

17. A control device according to claim 15, wherein means for writing into a storage medium provided on said document supplementary information relating to a document.

18. A control device according to claim 15, wherein the sub-areas are chosen in accordance with a random procedure or are chosen automatically by the control device in accordance with a predetermined, preferred procedure.

19. A control device according to claim 15, further comprising control means for the UV light control of documents provided with UV print.

20. A control device according to claim 15, wherein the control logic includes a photodiode connected to a feedback loop, for normalizing the intensity of the reflected light with the aid of means in the control logic.

21. A control device according to claim 15, wherein an identity document or valuable document includes a grey scale for calibrating the optical device and for normalizing the light intensity.