Imaging device, especially for optical fingerprinting

• US 6,429,927 B1
• Filed: 12/23/1999
• Issued: 08/06/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Activcard Ireland, Limited
• Original Assignee: Activcard Ireland, Limited
• Inventors: Borza, Stephen J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Font, Frank G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): MERLINO, AMANDA H
• Application Number:
  US09/471,118
• Time in Patent Office: 957 Days
• Field of Search: 356/71, 382/124-127
• US Class Current: 356/71
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/1324 by using geometrical optics, e.g. using prisms G06V40/1312 takes precedence

Abstract

An optical imaging device such as a fingerprint imager has a prism or another light transmitting element, a light source for illuminating a finger placed on the prism, and a CCD image sensor for receiving a light beam reflected from the finger-contacted surface. A modified optical lens is used to focus and redirect the reflected light beam. The lens has a relatively small reflective coating in the middle of its back surface, the reflective coating constituting an optical iris. The modified lens is effective to partly correct for peripheral aberration, perspective distortion and depth-of-field image distortion of the device and gives rise to a compact design of the device.

Claims

1. An optical imaging device comprising

a light transmitting element having at least a first surface on which an imaged object can be placed and at which incident light beam transmitted through the light transmitting element may undergo frustrated total internal reflection, and a second surface through which light reflected from the first surface may exit as a reflected beam,

an image sensor disposed at a distance from the light transmitting element for receiving an image of said object from said light transmitting element,

a lens disposed in the path of said reflected beam between the light transmitting element and the sensor for focusing said reflected beam to produce a focused beam, the lens having two dissimilar surfaces, a first refractive convex surface facing the incident reflected beam from the light-transmitting element, and a second surface having a significantly lesser curvature than said first convex surface, and

a reflective surface disposed adjacent said second surface for reflecting said reflected beam through said refractive surface, onto said image sensor so that an image of said object can be detected, wherein the incident reflected beam passes through said refractive surface immediately before reflection off of the reflective surface and the reflected beam passes through said refractive surface immediately after reflection off of the reflective surface.

2. The device according to claim 1 wherein said reflective surface is sized to correspond to a portion of said second surface about the optical axis of the lens.

3. The device according to claim 2 wherein said second surface is substantially flat.

4. The device according to claim 2 wherein said second surface is convex.

5. The device as defined in claim 2 wherein said second surface is concave.

6. The device according to claim 2 wherein said reflective surface is contiguously attached to said second surface of said lens.

7. The device as defined in claim 6 wherein said light transmitting element is a triangular prism.

8. The device as defined in claim 7 further comprising a reflective focusing surface disposed between said light transmitting element and said lens for directing and focusing a reflected beam from said element onto said lens.

9. The device according to claim 6 wherein said light transmitting element is a platen having a first flat surface and a second surface with an array of triangular solids thereon.

10. The device as defined in claim 9 further comprising a reflective focusing surface disposed between said light transmitting element and said lens for directing and focusing a reflected beam from said element onto said lens.

11. The device as defined in claim 2 wherein said image sensor is a CCD array.

12. An optical imaging device comprising

a light transmitting element having at least a first surface on which an imaged object can be placed and at which incident light beam transmitted through the light transmitting element may undergo frustrated total internal reflection, and a second surface through which light reflected from the first surface may exit as a reflected beam,

an image sensor disposed at a distance from the light transmitting element for receiving an image of said object from said light transmitting element,

a lens disposed in the path of said reflected beam between the light transmitting element and the sensor for focusing said reflected beam to produce a focused beam, the lens having two dissimilar surfaces, a first refractive convex surface facing the incident reflected beam from the light-transmitting element, and a second surface having a significantly lesser curvature than said first convex surface, and

a reflective coating applied contiguously on said second surface about the optical axis of said lens and sized to correspond to a portion less than the whole of said second surface, for reflecting said reflected beam passed through said refractive surface, onto said image sensor so that an image of said object can be detected.

13. The device according to claim 12 wherein the second surface is substantially flat.

14. The device according to claim 12 further comprising a reflective focusing surface disposed between said light transmitting element and said lens for directing and focusing a reflected beam from said element onto said lens.

15. The device according to claim 13 wherein said image sensor is a CCD.

16. The device according to claim 15 wherein said image sensor is disposed at an acute angle relative to the optical plane of said lens.