Personal identification device and method

• US 6,993,160 B2
• Filed: 09/05/2001
• Issued: 01/31/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Miyatake, Takafumi, Miura, Naoto, Nagasaka, Akio
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu, Jingge
• Assistant Examiner(s): UPRETI, ASHUTOSH
• Application Number:
  US09/945,670
• Publication Number:
  US 20020028004A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,609 Days
• Field of Search: 382/115, 382/116, 382/124, 382/125, 382/126, 382/127, 340/5.52, 340/5.53, 340/5.82, 340/5.83, 356/71
• 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 40/10 Human or animal bodies, e.g. vehicle occupants or pedestrians; Body parts, e.g. hands
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/12 Fingerprints or palmprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/1312 direct reading, e.g. contactless acquisition
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/1341 Sensing with light passing through the finger
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/14 Vascular patterns

Abstract

The invention aims at providing personal identification in environments where non-contact is required, with high accuracy even though using a finger vein pattern images unclear and susceptible to positional deviations, wherein it has: a means for acquiring finger vein patterns without contact; a means for carrying out rotational correction using the outline of a finger as a method of taking out a vein pattern contained in the acquired image; a means for normalizing the position of the finger image with reference to the fingertip; a means for acquiring an overall vein pattern statistically by repetitively tracking regions of dark luminance intensities for a desired length from a desired position in the image; a matching means for comparing regions where vein patterns manifest vivid features; and a means for independent matching of subregions and evaluating positional deviations where matching is recognized.

Claims

1. A personal identification device comprising:

an interface having a light source and a camera which captures light transmitted through a finger to form an image; and

an image processing unit which extracts a blood vessel pattern from said image, and compares the blood vessel pattern with a registered blood vessel pattern,

wherein said interface further comprises a slot-shaped gap for accommodating at least one finger, and said light source and said camera are arranged opposite each other with the slot-shaped gap provided therebetween, and

wherein said slot-shaped gap has a main opening and two end openings.

2. The personal identification device according to claim 1,

wherein said slot-shaped gap has a back surface that is substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of said at least one finger when inserted.

3. The personal identification device according to claim 1,

wherein the shape of said slot-shaped gap does not conform to a shape of said at least one finger.

4. The personal identification device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said slot-shaped gap of said interface is arranged in such a way that said at least one finger can be inserted by a motion centering on a person'"'"'s shoulder, elbow or wrist.

5. The personal identification device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein a back surface of said slot-shaped gap is formed in an arc shape, which follows a path of movement of a person'"'"'s hand.

6. The personal identification device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said slot-shaped gap is formed in a vertical direction to the ground.

7. The personal identification device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said image processing unit corrects rotation occurring on a place of imaging when said at least one finger is inserted into said interface, and extracts a vein pattern contained in said captured image having undergone rotational correction for identification.

11. The personal identification device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the blood vessel pattern is registered in an IC card held by the person to be identified, said IC card being input into said personal identification device at the time of personal identification.

12. The personal identification device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein identifying information of a person is read out of an IC card held by the person, and a registered blood vessel pattern corresponding to said identifying information is read out to the image processing unit.

13. The personal identification device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the image processing unit uses a vein pattern of a plurality of fingers as the registered blood vessel pattern.

8. A personal identification device comprising:

a light source;

an imaging unit which captures a transmitted light from a finger;

an interface which includes the light source and the imaging unit and a concave portion; and

an imaging processing unit which extracts blood vessel pattern from an image captured with the imaging unit, and compares the blood vessel pattern with a registered blood vessel pattern,

wherein the light source and imaging unit are arranged opposite each other with said concave portion provided therebetween, and

wherein said concave portion has a main opening and two end openings.

9. The personal identification device according to claim 8,

wherein said concave portion has a back surface that is substantially perpendicular to longitudinal direction of said at least one finger when inserted.

10. The personal identification device according to claim 8,

wherein the shape of said concave portion does not conform to a shape of said at least one finger.

14. The personal identification device, as set forth in claim 8, wherein said image processing unit corrects rotation occurring on a plane of imaging when said at least one finger is inserted into said interface, and extracts a vein pattern contained in said captured image having undergone rotational correction for identification.

15. A security system comprising:

a storage for storing vein patterns of registered finger images, and

an interface comprising a slot-shaped gap into which at least one finger is inserted and a light source and a camera for receiving light transmitted through said at least one finger to form an image are arranged opposite each other with said slot-shaped gap therebetween, means for extracting a vein pattern contained in said image and identifying a person by collating the extracted vein pattern with the vein pattern of the registered finger images, and means for controlling a door,

wherein said means for controlling the door enables the door to be opened when said means for identifying a person judges that an extracted vein pattern is identical with the vein pattern of a registered finger image, and

wherein said slot-shaped gap has a main opening and two end openings.

16. The security system according to claim 15,

wherein said slot-shaped gag has a back surface that is substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal direction to said at least one finger when inserted.

17. The security system according to claim 15,

wherein the shape of said slot-shaped gap does not conform to a shape of said at least one finger.

18. The security system, as set forth in claim 15, wherein said slot-shaped gap is arranged in such a way that said at least one finger can be inserted by a motion centering on a person'"'"'s shoulder, elbow or wrist.

19. The security system, as set forth in claim 15, wherein a back surface of said slot-shaped gap is formed in an arc shape, which follows a path of movement of a person'"'"'s hand.

20. The security system, as set forth in claim 15, wherein said slot-shaped gap is formed in a vertical direction to the ground.

21. The security system, as set forth in claim 15, wherein said means for extracting a vein pattern corrects rotation occurring on a plane of imaging when said at least one finger is inserted into said interface, and extracts a vein pattern contained in said capture image having undergone rotational correction for identification.

22. A personal identification device comprising:

a storage for storing vein patterns of registered finger images;

an interface provided with a light source and a camera for picking up light through fingers to form a picked-up finger image; and

means for identifying a person that carries out personal identification by correcting, with respect to the picked-up finger image, any rotation occurring on the plane of imaging at the time said finger is inserted into said interface, extracting a vein pattern contained in said finger image having undergone rotational correction to identify the person, and collating the extracted vein pattern with the vein patterns of said registered finger images,

wherein said means for identifying a person extracts a vein pattern by repetitively tracking once or more times the regions of the lowest luminance intensity around the current location for a desired length from a desired location in said finger image.

23. The personal identification device, as set forth in claim 22, wherein the location in which tracking of regions of low luminance intensities is performed is determined by a random number.

24. The personal identification device, as set forth in claim 23, wherein the length in which tracking of regions of low luminance intensities is performed is determined by a random number.

25. The personal identification device, as set forth in claim 23, wherein said means for identifying a person, in collating extracted vein patterns, classifies said finger image into blood vessel regions, non-blood vessel regions and ambiguous regions, evaluates the overlapping of said blood vessel regions and said non-blood vessel regions when any finger image is superposed over a registered finger image, and does not evaluate overlapping with ambiguous regions.

26. The personal identification device, as set forth in claim 23, wherein said means for identifying a person, in collating extracted vein patterns, divides each of finger images and registered finger images into subregions and performs independent collation for each subregion.