Biometric information authentication device and method

• US 7,885,434 B2
• Filed: 03/16/2007
• Issued: 02/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Industry & Control Solutions, Ltd. (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Kitane, Keiji, Aoyama, Yasushi, Uchiyama, Shuichi, Satou, Harumi
• Primary Examiner(s): Chawan; Sheela C
• Application Number:
  US11/724,767
• Publication Number:
  US 20070230753A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,425 Days
• Field of Search: 382/115, 382/124, 382/125, 382/100, 382/181, 382/209, 382/217, 382/218, 382/207, 382/206, 382/201, 382/280, 382/291, 382/278, 382/266, 382/199, 340/5.1, 340/5.8, 340/5.81, 340/5.82, 340/5.83, 340/5.52, 340/5.53, 713/186, 726/17, 726/26, 235/380, 235/382, 235/454, 702/19
• US Class Current: 382/115
• 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 40/14 Vascular patterns

Abstract

At least one wrong template for storing features of pattern information imaged on condition unsuitable for biometric authentication is provided and the wrong template information is collated with collation template information produced by extracting features from biometric information when authentication information is registered. When similarity is low, the collation template information is stored in an authentication template. The collation template is collated with the wrong template upon authentication and when similarity is high, authentication processing is not made. Further, when similarity of the collation template information and the wrong template information is high, a guidance message for solving a problem is displayed to the user. Thus, reduction of authentication performance is prevented.

Claims

1. A biometric authentication device for making authentication by pattern comparison of biometric pattern information, comprising:

a memory storing an authentication template for registering features of biometric pattern information of a person to be authenticated, a collation template for recording features of biometric pattern information of the person to be authenticated acquired upon authentication, and a wrong template for registering features of biometric pattern information acquired on unsuitable condition;

a collation part for making first template collation in which the collation template is data-compared with the wrong template and second template collation in which the collation template is data-compared with the authentication template; and

an authentication control part for authenticating a user in accordance with collation results of the first template collation and the second template collation.

2. A biometric authentication device according to claim 1, wherein the authentication control part controls the collation part to make the second template collation when similarity in the first template collation is low.

3. A biometric authentication device according to claim 1, further comprising display means for urging the person to be authenticated to input biometric pattern information

and wherein

the authentication control part instructs the person to be authenticated to input the biometric pattern information by means of the display means when similarity in the first template collation is high and makes the input instruction by the display means disappear when similarity in the first template collation is low.

4. A biometric authentication device according to claim 1, wherein the wrong template has a plurality of patterns and

the authentication control part controls the collation part to make collation using the patterns of the wrong template successively and to make the second template collation when similarity in the first template collation is low in all of the patterns.

5. A biometric authentication device according to claim 4, wherein the wrong template contains any of template information in case of imaging condition that external light streams in or in case where a biometric information acquirement position is unsuitable or in case where there are not many features of pattern information.

6. A biometric authentication device according to claim 5, comprising guidance display means for notifying a solution method of problem to a user

and wherein

the authentication control part displays, when similarity in the first template collation is high, the solution method of problem by means of the guidance display means in accordance with a pattern of the wrong template having the high similarity.

7. A biometric authentication device for making authentication by pattern comparison of biometric pattern information, comprising:

a memory storing an authentication template for registering features of biometric pattern information of a person to be authenticated, a collation template for recording features of biometric pattern information of the person to be authenticated acquired upon authentication, and a wrong template for registering features of biometric pattern information acquired on unsuitable condition;

a template collation part for data-comparing the collation template with the wrong template; and

an authentication information registration part for, when similarity in the template collation part is low, recording the collation template as the authentication template.

8. A biometric authentication device according to claim 7, wherein the wrong template has a plurality of patterns and

the authentication information registration part makes collation using patterns of the wrong template by means of the template collation part successively and records the collation template as the authentication template when similarity in the template collation is low in all of the patterns.

9. A biometric authentication device according to claim 8, wherein the wrong template contains any of template information in case of imaging condition that external light streams in or in case where a biometric information acquirement position is unsuitable or in case where there are not many features of pattern information.

10. A biometric authentication device according to claim 9, comprising guidance display means for notifying a solution method of problem to a user

and wherein

the authentication control part displays, when similarity in the template collation is high, the solution method of problem by means of the guidance display means in accordance with a pattern of the wrong template having the high similarity.

11. A biometric authentication device according to claim 7, wherein the template collation part includes a user authentication part for data-comparing the collation template with the authentication template and authenticating a user as a registered user when similarity of the collation template and the authentication template is high, and

judgment of similarity of the collation pattern and the wrong pattern is made on the basis of different thresholds in cases where the authentication template is registered and where the user authentication is made.

12. A biometric authentication device according to claim 11, wherein the threshold for judgment of similarity of the collation pattern and the wrong pattern in the case where the authentication template is registered is lower than that in the case where the user authentication is made.

13. An authentication method of making authentication by pattern comparison of biometric pattern information, comprising a computer performing:

a step of acquiring biometric pattern information of a person to be authenticated and recording a pattern indicative of features of the biometric pattern in a collation template in order to register the person;

a step of data-comparing a wrong template in which features of biometric pattern information acquired on unsuitable condition are registered with the collation template; and

a step of registering data of the collation template in the authentication template in which features of the biometric pattern information of the person are recorded when similarity of the wrong template and the collation template is low.

14. An authentication method according to claim 13, wherein the wrong template has a plurality of patterns and further comprising:

the computer data-comparing the collation template with the wrong template successively; and

the computer registering data of the collation template in the authentication template in which the features of the biometric pattern information of the person are recorded when similarity of the collation template and all the patterns of the wrong template is low.

15. An authentication method according to claim 14, further comprising:

the computer displaying, when similarity of the collation template and the pattern of the wrong template is high, a solution method of a problem in accordance with the pattern of the wrong template having high similarity.

16. An authentication method according to claim 13, further comprising the computer performing:

a step of acquiring biometric pattern information of the person and recording a pattern indicative of feature of the biometric pattern in the collation template in order to authenticate the person;

a step of data-comparing the collation template with the wrong template in which features of the biometric pattern information acquired on unsuitable condition are registered;

a step of data-comparing the collation template with the authentication template in which features of the biometric pattern information of the person are registered when similarity of the wrong template and the collation template is low; and

a step of regarding authentication as successful when similarity of the authentication template and the collation template is high.

17. An authentication method according to claim 16, wherein the wrong template has a plurality of patterns and further comprising:

the computer data-comparing the collation template with the wrong template successively; and

the computer data-comparing the authentication template with the collation template when similarity of the collation template and all the patterns of the wrong template is low.

18. An authentication method according to claim 17, further comprising:

the computer displaying, when similarity of the collation template and the pattern of the wrong template is high, a solution method of a problem in accordance with the pattern of the wrong template having high similarity.

19. An authentication method according to claim 16, wherein a threshold for judgment of similarity of the collation template and the wrong template when person to be authenticated is registered is lower than that when the person is authenticated.

20. An authentication method according to claim 16, further comprising the computer instructing to input the biometric pattern information again when similarity of the wrong template and the collation template is high upon judgment of similarity of the wrong template and the collation template when the person is registered and upon judgment of similarity of the wrong template and the collation template when the person is authenticated.