JP2013061946A - Finger vein authentication device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a finger vein authentication device capable of exhibiting easily a plurality of fingers while keeping high authentication accuracy, in the finger vein authentication device using the plurality of fingers.SOLUTION: The finger vein authentication device for a plurality of fingers comprises: a light source for emitting light toward fingers; image elements for imaging the light from the fingers; and an image processing part for processing a taken image. The finger vein authentication device comprises: a finger laying block for defining a longitudinal-directional exhibiting position of a first finger; and a finger laying block for defining lateral-directional positions of all the fingers.

Description

  The present invention relates to a finger vein authentication device, and relates to an improved technique for improving authentication accuracy while maintaining convenience.

  Among various biometric authentication technologies, the finger vein is known as one that can realize highly accurate authentication. Finger vein authentication achieves excellent authentication accuracy because it uses a finger vein pattern inside the body, and can realize high security by being more difficult to forge and tamper than fingerprint authentication.

  As a conventional example of this type of finger vein authentication, for example, a biometric authentication device described in Patent Document 1 is known. In this device, in order to photograph a finger vein at the same time, a device is shown in which a finger is placed inside the device, infrared light is irradiated from the back side of the finger, and light transmitted to the ventral side of the finger is photographed.

  Patent Document 2 discloses an apparatus that emits infrared light from above.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2004-78791 Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-83298

  As a technique for using a plurality of fingers for improving the accuracy of authentication, there is a method of sequentially photographing a plurality of fingers using a conventional apparatus that photographs a single finger. However, in this method, it is necessary to repeatedly present a finger, and there is a problem that convenience is impaired. Moreover, in the apparatus shown in Patent Document 1, since there is no structure that defines the presentation position of each finger, the finger cannot be guided to a certain place, and it is difficult to reproduce the state at the time of registration. there were. Furthermore, when irradiating a plurality of fingers with transmitted light, leakage light that does not pass through the fingers is likely to occur, and the contrast of the blood vessels is deteriorated, and the authentication accuracy cannot be improved. In addition, when a plurality of conventional devices for presenting a single finger are arranged, for example, in the device that emits infrared rays from above as shown in Patent Document 2, it is necessary to put each finger simultaneously into a plurality of holes. It is difficult to use and the convenience is impaired. Moreover, in the open-type device in which the light source is located on both side surfaces of the finger shown in Patent Document 1, when the plurality of fingers are arranged side by side so that they can be presented simultaneously, a wide distance between the devices is required for the installation of the light source. There must be. Therefore, it cannot be presented unless the fingers are spread widely, and it cannot be used by people with small hands.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a finger vein authentication device that facilitates presentation of a plurality of fingers while maintaining high authentication accuracy in a finger vein authentication device using a plurality of fingers.

  In order to achieve this object, the present invention includes a plurality of light sources that emit light toward a finger, an image sensor that captures light from the finger, and an image processing unit that processes the captured image. A finger vein authentication device, comprising: a finger rest that defines a front-rear direction presentation position of a first finger; and a finger rest that defines a lateral position of all fingers. It is.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a highly accurate finger vein authentication apparatus that can be applied to a large-scale authentication system such as entrance / exit management of an office building or the like.

It is a functional block diagram of a finger vein authentication device. It is the schematic of the 1st form of a multiple finger vein authentication apparatus. It is a figure at the time of use of the authentication apparatus concerning FIG. It is a schematic processing block diagram of a finger vein authentication device. It is the figure which showed the system in which the several light source adjusts the light quantity of the area | region in one image. It is the schematic of the interface of a multiple finger vein authentication apparatus. It is the schematic of the multiple finger vein authentication apparatus which can image | photograph a finger outline. It is the schematic of the position correction procedure of the finger concerning FIG. It is the schematic of the multiple finger vein authentication apparatus which has a light source in the upper part. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a finger contour detection method according to FIG. 9. It is the schematic of the multiple finger vein authentication apparatus which slides and images | photographs a finger | toe. It is the schematic of the synthetic | combination procedure of the partial area | region of the finger concerning FIG. It is the schematic of the multi-finger vein authentication apparatus which image | photographs the vein distributed on the side surface of a finger. It is the schematic of the multi-finger vein authentication apparatus which image | photographs the vein distributed on the side surface of a finger. It is the schematic of the multiple finger vein authentication apparatus which irradiates light from diagonally upward of a finger | toe side surface, and image | photographs the belly side of a finger from diagonally. It is the schematic of the multiple finger vein authentication apparatus using a portable terminal and a reader. It is the schematic of the multiple finger vein authentication apparatus which image | photographs the vein pattern of the back side of a finger | toe by grasping a portable terminal.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an authentication system according to the first embodiment of this invention.
The authentication system includes an input device 2, an authentication processing unit 10, a storage device 14, a display unit 15, an input unit 16, a speaker 17, and an image input unit 18.
The input device 2 includes a light source 23 and an imaging device 9.
The light source 23 is, for example, an infrared LED, and irradiates the finger 1 presented on the input device 2 with infrared light. The imaging device 9 images the finger 1 presented on the input device 2. At this time, a plurality of fingers 1, imaging devices 9, and light sources 23 are provided.
The image input unit 18 inputs an image captured by the imaging device 9 of the input device 2 to the authentication processing unit 10.
The authentication processing unit 10 includes a CPU 11, a memory 12, and various interfaces (IF) 13.
The CPU 11 performs various processes by executing a program stored in the memory 12. As will be described later with reference to FIG. 2, the memory 12 stores a program executed by the CPU.
The memory 12 temporarily stores the image input from the image input unit 18. The interface 13 is connected to a device external to the authentication processing unit 10. Specifically, the interface 13 is connected to the input device 2, the storage device 14, the display unit 15, the input unit 16, the speaker 17, the image input unit 18, or the like.
The storage device 14 stores user registration data in advance. The registration data is information for collating users, and is, for example, an image of a finger vein pattern.
The finger vein pattern image is an image obtained by capturing blood vessels (finger veins) distributed under the skin on the palm side of the finger as dark shadow patterns.
The display unit 15 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, and displays information received from the authentication processing unit 10.
The input unit 16 is a keyboard or the like, for example, and transmits information input from the user to the authentication processing unit 10. The speaker 17 transmits the information received from the authentication processing unit 10 by voice.

FIG. 2 is an example of a finger vein authentication device that photographs a plurality of fingers simultaneously. 2A is a top view, FIG. 2B is a front view, and FIG. 2C is a side view.
On the upper surface of the apparatus, an opening 101 for photographing a finger vein, a finger rest 102 for a fingertip, a finger rest 103 for a finger base, and a side wall 104 are provided. Here, these are called finger presentation units. In this embodiment, three finger presentation units are provided so that three fingers can be placed simultaneously. You may increase / decrease these numbers according to authentication precision or usability. The intervals between these finger presentation units are set at close positions in consideration of the distance that can be naturally placed with any hand size. In addition, the central finger presentation unit is located in front of the adjacent finger presentation units. The positions of the finger rests 102 at the fingertips are the same in the depth direction, and are arranged in a line. In particular, the finger rest at the fingertip of the central finger presentation unit is emphasized more than the others. Further, a light source 23 for irradiating the finger is installed on the fingertip side, and these are fixed by a light source support unit 105. It is desirable that the light source irradiates beam-like light having a narrowest irradiation width as much as possible so as not to protrude from the finger. Thereby, generation | occurrence | production of unnecessary disturbance light can be suppressed and the contrast of the blood vessel can be improved. In this embodiment, one light source support unit 105 includes four light sources. However, the number of light sources is not limited as long as sufficient transmitted light can be applied to the finger. Further, in order to photograph these three fingers, an imaging device 9 is installed immediately below each opening. As shown in FIG. 2B, each imaging device 9 is installed in a space surrounded on all sides by a partition 106.

  FIG. 3 shows a state where the finger 1 is presented on the input device 2 of FIG. The user places the middle finger in the central opening 101. At this time, for example, when the right hand is presented, the ring finger is presented in a natural manner in the right opening and the index finger is presented in the left opening. At this time, the fingertip is placed on the finger rest 102, but generally the middle finger is the longest, and the middle fingertip is placed on the center fingertip 102. As a result, the position of the middle finger in the front-rear direction is determined. The adjacent fingers are shorter than the middle finger and do not reach the finger rest 102 of the fingertips. However, since the position of the middle finger in the front-rear direction is already fixed, the front-rear direction of the adjacent fingers is also fixed accordingly. Further, the positions of all the fingers in the left-right direction are defined by the side wall 104 or the finger rest 103 at the base of the finger. In particular, the side wall 104 protrudes upward so that the finger 1 is not displaced in the left-right direction. As a result, the positions of the three fingers are fixed at a fixed position every time they are presented.

  Further, in this embodiment, the central finger rest is enlarged to enhance visually or structurally. Thereby, generally the longest middle finger is easily guided to the central finger rest, and an interface that is easy for the user to use can be provided.

  In the present embodiment, the central opening 101 is shifted forward from both adjacent openings. This is because the vicinity of the first joint is photographed with almost all fingers. Since the first joint has a relatively thin epidermis and the internal blood vessel pattern is easily observed clearly, high-accuracy authentication can be realized by using this part. Since the first joint of the middle finger is located in front of both adjacent fingers, it is possible to photograph almost all of the first joints of the fingers by shifting the central opening forward.

  If the finger other than the middle finger is the longest, since the finger placement base 102 is provided in any finger presentation unit, the finger of the fingertip existing in the finger presentation unit at the position where the finger is most easily placed. You can put your fingertips on the table.

  In this way, the positions of the finger rests are aligned in the depth direction, and the finger positions are determined by placing only the longest finger tips on the finger rests, and the other finger tip positions are , Fixed according to the longest finger tip position. With this structure, it is possible to present three fingers at the same time regardless of the length of the middle finger, the index finger, the ring finger, and the difference in length.

  As illustrated in FIG. 2C, the light source 23 is irradiated obliquely from the fingertip side. In imaging of veins, an image with the highest contrast can be obtained by observing light transmitted from the opposite direction to the position at which the vein is observed. However, in order to irradiate light from a completely opposite position, it is necessary to dispose a light source immediately above the opening. When such a structure exists directly above the opening, it becomes difficult to place the finger, and at the same time, the place where the finger is placed is visually blocked, leading to an increase in the psychological resistance of the user. Therefore, in the present invention, the light source 23 is arranged on the fingertip side, and the finger is irradiated obliquely from above. With this structure, it is possible to relieve psychological resistance when presenting a finger and to perform high-contrast imaging, which is an advantage of transmitted light. By these, high convenience and high accuracy authentication can be realized.

  Further, it is desirable that the transmitted light is uniformly applied to the finger as much as possible, and that the strong light is transmitted through the finger as efficiently as possible. In the present embodiment, a finger thicker than the standard is assumed, and a plurality of light sources 23a and 23b are respectively provided near the root side so as to have an incident angle of about 30 degrees with respect to the surface on the back side of the finger. Irradiation is aimed at the center position of the opening. If the incident angle is reduced, the installation height of the light source is reduced and the device can be miniaturized. However, since the area irradiated by one light source is wide from the tip of the finger to the base side, the incidence efficiency is reduced and the contrast is high. It becomes difficult to obtain a clear image. Conversely, when the incident angle is increased, a narrow range can be irradiated pinpointly, and the incident efficiency is increased, but the position of the light source needs to be increased. This increases the device, and further increases the distance from the light source to the finger, thereby increasing the attenuation of light and reducing the amount of light. Therefore, it is set according to the size of the apparatus, the intensity of the light emitting element used for the light source, the spread angle of the irradiated light, and the like. Further, since the thickness of the finger varies depending on the person, the plurality of light sources 23a and 23b can be controlled independently, and are automatically adjusted so that the overall brightness is as uniform as possible.

  When reflected light is irradiated on the finger surface of the portion where the vein is imaged, wrinkles on the finger surface are emphasized, and the image quality of the vein deteriorates. In addition, when light that does not pass through the finger directly enters the camera, the luminance partially increases and the pixel value is saturated, so that the surrounding veins cannot be observed. Further, this light is scattered inside the apparatus and reflected by the surface of the finger, so that the image quality is deteriorated. In order to prevent such unnecessary external light, in the present invention, the opening 101 is designed to be sufficiently narrow with respect to the finger width so that the external light does not enter directly by the finger closing the opening. Yes. Further, side walls 104 are provided on both sides of the opening 101. The side wall 104 is not only used for alignment of the finger in the left-right direction, but also blocks outside light so that unnecessary light such as outside light is not irradiated on the side surface of the finger 1. These combinations make it difficult for unnecessary reflected light to be generated on the surface of the finger to be photographed, and makes it difficult for light to enter the camera directly. Further, unnecessary strong external light irradiates the side surface of the finger and extremely brightens one side of the finger, thereby preventing the half of the image from being unnecessarily saturated. Therefore, the blood vessel can be imaged with high contrast.

  Further, only the side wall 104 is located in the interval between the three openings. The side wall 104 functions even if the width is narrowed, and further, it is not necessary to install other structures, so that the openings can be arranged close to each other. Therefore, even a user with a small finger can present a finger without difficulty.

  In consideration of the existence of an opening that cannot be blocked by a finger due to finger injury or the like, a structure is required in which external light that has entered through the opening does not adversely affect the imaging of another finger. As shown in FIG. 2 (b), in the present invention, the space below each opening 101 is surrounded by a partition 106, and the imaging device 9 exists inside thereof. The partition 106 functions as a light shielding wall. Therefore, it is possible to photograph the finger vein without being affected by light entering from other than the opening directly above.

  As shown in the present embodiment, when a plurality of fingers are installed at the same time, rotation (finger rolling; rolling) with the long axis of the finger as a base axis hardly occurs. Thereby, since the position of the blood vessel to be imaged is stabilized, the authentication accuracy can be increased.

  FIG. 4 shows a processing block of the authentication apparatus using a plurality of finger veins. A basic authentication processing flow will be described with reference to FIG. First, a finger detection process (S101) for detecting that a finger has been presented is performed. Next, a light amount adjustment process (S102) for irradiating a light amount suitable for photographing a vein is performed. Thereafter, a position correction process (S103) for correcting a finger position shift and the like and a vein feature extraction process (S104) are performed. Finally, collation processing (S105) with the registered feature data is performed to determine whether or not the user is a registrant.

  As a specific example of the finger detection processing, the luminance value of the image obtained from the imaging device 9 is checked by blinking the light source 23, and the luminance value decreases when a shielding object enters between the light source 23 and the imaging device 9. Check the degree. Alternatively, the finger placement table 102 at the fingertip or the finger placement table 103 on the finger base side may be provided with a touch sensor or the like, and this contact may be detected.

  At this time, a process of detecting that the finger is stationary can be performed together. In parallel with the light amount adjustment process described later, a finger vein is imaged, and a feature extraction process and a collation process described later are continuously performed to measure the amount of finger position deviation in real time. If it can be determined that the amount of positional deviation of the finger is slight for a certain period of time, it is assumed that the finger is stationary, and the process proceeds to the subsequent stage.

  In the light amount adjustment process, feedback control is performed so that the luminance value of the photographed image becomes a constant value. Basically, the convergence is speeded up by using a method of estimating a light amount value from which the luminance value of the target image is obtained from the luminance value of the image when the initial light amount is irradiated.

  In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, the light source is installed above the fingertip side, and the finger base side is far from the light source with respect to the fingertip side, and the thickness of the finger is increased. There is a case where it becomes dark because sufficient light cannot be irradiated to the side. On the other hand, light sources 23b and 23a facing two directions on the fingertip side and the finger base side are installed, and each is controlled independently. That is, by controlling the light amount of the light source 23a directed to irradiate the base side of the finger to be stronger than the light amount of the light source irradiating the fingertip side, the entire finger can be irradiated uniformly and there is no uneven brightness It enables imaging of blood vessels with high contrast. However, when a plurality of independent light sources are used in this way, the light quantity control on one side affects the light quantity control on the other side.

  As shown in FIG. 5 (a), when there are two light sources 23b for illuminating the fingertip and light source 23a for illuminating the root, the finger image 120 to be photographed is divided in half, and each light source 23a, 23b Suppose that the brightness values in the regions 120a and 120b on the image are independently controlled to target values. When it is determined that the light source 23b on the fingertip side is weak, the light amount is increased, but the influence also reaches the region 120a on the finger base side. Accordingly, it is necessary to weakly control the light source 23a on the base side, but this influence also affects the region 120b on the fingertip side. In this way, each light source affects each region, and the control eventually becomes unstable.

  Therefore, it is considered to set parameters of influences which are mutually influenced when such a region is divided. Here, this is called a coupling coefficient. The fingertip side region 120b is expressed by a linear combination of the influence of the fingertip side light source 23b and the influence of the finger base side light source 23a multiplied by a coupling coefficient. Therefore, it can be considered that the two regions are affected by either light source but have different degrees of connection. Such a state can be expressed by simultaneous equations. FIG. 5B illustrates the influence of the brightness that the region 120a receives from the light source 23a and the light source 23b. σaa indicates a coupling coefficient indicating the degree of influence of the light source 23a on the area 120a, and σab indicates a coupling coefficient indicating the degree of influence of the light source 23b on the area 120a. Pa and Pb are the light amounts of the light sources 23a and 23b, b0 is the offset value of the image brightness when the light amount is 0, Ia and Ib are the average luminance values of the regions 120a and 120b, and f and f 'are the light sources. This is a function indicating the relationship between the intensity and the brightness of the luminance value on the image. FIG. 5B approximates these relationships by a linear expression. The actual brightness of the area 120a on the image is the sum of the influences of both light sources and the offset value b0 of the brightness of the image. FIG. 5C formulates this state.

  When the equations f and f 'are linear equations (f = ax, f' = a'x), unknown constants a and a 'are obtained by examining P and I. This equation can be solved as a simultaneous equation. When the constants a and a 'are determined, the specific values of the light amounts Pa and Pb for setting Ia and Ib as target luminance values can be calculated backward. The light quantity value finally obtained can be determined as a value that optimally controls the luminance values of both areas.

  Since the coupling coefficient is basically a value unique to the apparatus, an optimum value is experimentally calculated in advance and stored in the memory 12. When adjusting the light amount, the CPU 11 refers to the specific value of the coupling coefficient and obtains the average luminance values Ia and Ib in the image, and calculates the solutions a and a ′ of the above simultaneous equations. As a result, the light amounts Pa and Pb to be irradiated next can be obtained, so that it is possible to always irradiate light with appropriate intensity.

  This method can also be applied to light amount adjustment of a device including a plurality of imaging devices and light sources. For example, in FIG. 2, the central imaging device is not affected only by the central light source, but also by the light sources on both sides. In order to perform the optimum light amount adjustment in this situation, the optimum light amount can be obtained by obtaining the influence of the light sources on both sides as the coupling coefficient and analyzing the simultaneous equations in the same manner. In addition, the amount of light that does not affect other imaging devices without considering the coupling coefficient by operating each imaging device by switching one by one in a time-sharing manner and emitting only the corresponding light source during the operation time Although control is possible, since the overhead of switching time causes a delay in photographing, an imaging device and a light source capable of high-speed operation switching are required.

  Next, a specific example of finger misalignment correction will be described. Since the camera shoots a two-dimensional image, the pattern appears different when the finger is displaced. In order to realize stable authentication, it is necessary to keep a certain position by placing a finger on a finger rest. For example, the angle at which the finger is placed is kept in a certain direction by the side wall 104, and the finger is placed in contact with the finger placing table, so that the distance between the finger 1 and the imaging device 9 is constant and the enlargement ratio is maintained. Be drunk. However, the finger itself is an elastic body, and it is not always possible to place the finger without any deviation due to a difference in pressure when placing the finger. If the angle at which the finger is placed shifts, the matching rate with the pattern at the time of registration decreases during the blood vessel pattern feature amount matching process. Therefore, it is necessary to correct the angle shift of the feature amount of the blood vessel pattern.

  The opening 101 is designed to be narrower than the finger width in order to block outside light. Accordingly, the contour of the finger cannot be photographed, and the blood vessel feature pattern cannot be corrected according to the angle at which the finger is placed. In order to solve this problem, the present invention performs rotation correction without using contour information.

  As a rotation correction method, a pattern is rotated at various rotation angles with respect to a certain center point, all rotation patterns are compared with registered patterns, and the result with the highest matching rate is used as a result of matching. It is possible to use a technique such as a method in which the line components of the pattern are decomposed into direction vectors and the average vector is rotated so as to be directed in a certain direction. In particular, the latter generates only one rotation pattern, so that it is easy to speed up the authentication process and the result of collation with another finger is difficult to deteriorate, but it may be weak against noise on the image. Therefore, the effect can be further enhanced by combining both methods.

  Similarly, for the fluctuation of the enlargement ratio, several enlargement / reduction patterns are generated, and the matching result with the pattern with the highest match rate is adopted by matching the registered pattern with all the enlargement / reduction patterns. By doing so, it is possible to collate in consideration of the change in the enlargement ratio.

  In particular, in the structure of this embodiment, it is assumed that the amount of change in the enlargement ratio varies depending on the part in the image because the fingertip is in contact with the device but the base side of the finger is separated from the device. Also for such enlargement correction, by generating a plurality of patterns in which the enlargement ratio between the fingertip side and the finger base side is smoothly changed, it is possible to perform collation that absorbs the deformation of the pattern.

  In addition to the method of correcting the finger direction according to the direction of the vein pattern as described above, the finger direction may be corrected to be constant using information on the surface of the finger. The information on the surface of the finger has a narrower pitch than that of the vein, and its direction can be corrected only by observing a local region. In addition, when the wrinkles of the finger joints can be observed, correction can be made so that the direction of this line is kept constant. In order to photograph the finger surface, a reflection light source may be installed inside the apparatus.

  In the case of photographing a plurality of fingers, the direction of positional deviation or angular deviation of each finger tends to substantially match. Therefore, the deviation amount of the rotation angle and the enlargement ratio with respect to the registered pattern is obtained only for the blood vessel pattern of one finger, and the conventional estimation range of the deviation amount is obtained for the other fingers based on the result. By narrowly limiting, overall high-speed processing becomes possible.

  An example of high-speed processing is shown below. First, only the finger placed in the central opening is checked against registered data. At this time, as described above, the input pattern is rotated / enlarged / reduced to generate a plurality of patterns having various rotation angles / enlargement rates. The number of images to be generated increases or decreases depending on the rotation angle, the maximum value of the enlargement ratio, and the resolution, but these are set according to the amount of rotation / enlargement deviation allowed by the system. Thereafter, the generation pattern that best matches the registered data is selected to obtain the rotation angle and enlargement ratio of the input pattern. This value is stored in the memory 12. Subsequently, the finger placed on the remaining opening is collated. Similar to the matching of the central opening, the pattern is converted into patterns having various rotation angles and enlargement ratios, and the matching result is obtained from the generated pattern that best matches the registered data. At this time, using the result of the rotation angle and magnification rate of the finger placed in the central opening, it is possible to narrowly limit the maximum value of the rotation angle and magnification rate of the pattern to be generated, and to reduce the number of sheets to be generated It becomes. This is because when the center finger is rotated / expanded, it is assumed that the remaining fingers are also rotated / expanded at substantially the same angle / size. Contrary to this assumption, if the finger of the remaining opening has a rotation angle / magnification ratio different from that of the central finger, it is possible that the finger is subjected to excessive force or is presented with a large deformation. In this case, it is not necessary to consider such a situation because it cannot be correctly collated originally. Therefore, the number of rotation / enlargement patterns to be generated can be reduced without substantially degrading the accuracy of collation by this method, and it is possible to speed up the collation processing method that is resistant to finger rotation / enlargement deviation. .

  As the feature extraction processing, as a processing for emphasizing a line pattern, a method using a matched filter, a method for tracking a line one by one, a method for detecting a depression in a luminance profile, or the like can be used.

  Next, collation processing will be described. The collation processing is performed by comparing the collation data registered in the storage device 14 with the inputted collation data by the CPU 11 and evaluating the similarity. The registration data and the input data are overlapped, and the number of pixels in which the portion that is a blood vessel overlaps the portion that is not the blood vessel is counted, thereby calculating how much difference there is between the two data. A threshold of similarity set in advance based on a statistical method is stored in the storage device 14 or the memory 12, and according to this value, the CPU 11 determines whether or not the pattern matches, and the match is recognized. If so, perform the authentication process.

  In this embodiment, since three fingers are photographed, the registration data is also handled as a set of three finger data. At the time of comparison, one by one is compared separately, and the degree of similarity for each finger is evaluated. At this time, the average value of the three similarities may be used as a final determination criterion. It is determined whether or not each finger matches, and the final value is determined according to the number of fingers recognized as matching. The determination may be performed.

  In particular, in the latter method, authentication accuracy can be flexibly controlled by combining authentication results of single fingers. For example, if all of the presented fingers match with the registered data and authentication is accepted, the rejection rate will deteriorate by the number of fingers, while the acceptance rate will decrease by the number of fingers and improve accuracy. Has the effect of Furthermore, even if there is a finger that cannot capture the correct vein pattern due to injury etc. among multiple fingers, it is set to authenticate if M of the presented N fingers can be confirmed to match the registered data. Authentication is possible. Note that the value of N is a fixed value because it is unique to the device, but the value of M can be changed dynamically according to the system security policy.

  Also, the security level of the process when there is a finger that cannot be photographed is lower than that of the normal authentication process. Therefore, the threshold level for authentication may be changed according to the number of fingers that could not be photographed. By setting the threshold level stricter as the number of fingers that cannot be photographed increases, the security level of the authentication system can be kept high.

  In order to maintain high convenience in a large-scale personal authentication system, it is necessary to perform 1-N authentication that does not require input of an ID number or the like. On the other hand, it is necessary not only to improve the authentication accuracy but also to speed up the matching process. In the above embodiment, three fingers are input, but when all registered fingers are collated one by one, it takes a processing time proportional to the number of registered data. On the other hand, a technique for omitting unnecessary collation processing and speeding up collation processing while maintaining authentication accuracy is effective. An example of this technique is shown below. However, when a plurality of candidates appear in the registration data, the registration data with the highest accuracy is set as the authentication target.

  First, focusing on only the first finger among the three fingers, the first finger of all registered data is collated with the inputted first finger. If this system is set to authenticate only when all three match, the registration data that does not match in this verification will not be authenticated at this point, so it is excluded from the authentication candidates. Then, the verification process after the second finger is omitted. If the authentication is set to match two or more of the three, then the second finger is collated. At this time, if the first and second fingers do not match, the third finger verification process can be omitted. If even one of the three matches, it is necessary to perform the third finger verification process without omission if authentication is set. Even if registered data that satisfies the authentication conditions appears in the middle of these processes, it is necessary to find the one with the highest accuracy. Do. With this method, if even one of the three matches, it is possible to cut off the processing significantly for settings other than authentication, which is expected to speed up. For example, in the case of authenticating with 2 out of 3 matches, if the candidates can be narrowed down to several percent by collating the first and second fingers, it can be completed in about 2/3 of the processing time when all the collations are performed. .

  Further, when collation of the first finger is performed, the processing can be greatly speeded up by rearranging the registered data in descending order of the correlation of the data and aborting the collation of the data having the low correlation. However, in this case, the authentication accuracy is slightly deteriorated, but by setting the number of data to be aborted so that there is almost no statistical influence, it is possible to increase the speed while substantially maintaining the overall authentication accuracy. Also, if the authentication process can be completed when at least one candidate to be authenticated is found, the probability of the candidate appearing at the top is increased by the rearrangement process, thus realizing a high-speed authentication process. it can.

  Furthermore, the processing speed can be increased by using data obtained by compressing the amount of collation data of one finger. For example, by spatially reducing the finger vein data, the amount of data can be compressed while maintaining the original vein shape. By performing collation processing with this data and making data whose correlation is clearly low to be censored, it is possible to further speed up the method described above. At this time, since the amount of data is reduced, the collation accuracy itself is lowered. However, when determining the data to be censored, a threshold value that can sufficiently secure authentication accuracy based on the data before compression should be statistically determined. Thus, the final authentication accuracy can be maintained. For registration data remaining as a candidate, a more reliable authentication process is performed by confirming whether or not it can be finally authenticated by the data before compression.

  As described above, a high-speed, high-precision large-scale 1-N authentication system using a plurality of fingers can be realized by censoring by collation for each finger, data rearrangement according to the correlation value, and use of compressed data.

  FIG. 6 is an example of a finger vein authentication device that defines the position of a finger by a groove provided on the surface of the device. A groove having a smooth cross section is provided on the surface of the input device 2, and an opening 101 is provided in the recess 151 of the groove. At this time, the finger 1 is placed in the concave portion of the groove in a natural manner. Further, the convex portion rising from the concave portion of the groove serves as the side wall 104 in FIG. 2, preventing the lateral displacement of the finger 1 and blocking external light from the side. In particular, if the cross section of the groove is a curve that matches the shape of the cross section of the finger, the finger can be positioned stably regardless of the thickness of the finger.

  FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of a multi-finger vein authentication device that can detect the contour of a finger. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the contour of the finger cannot be observed from the opening 101, and the positional deviation of the finger, such as the finger rotation and the fluctuation of the magnification rate, cannot be corrected accurately. On the other hand, in the apparatus shown in FIG. 7, an opening 161 for observing the contour of the finger and an imaging device 162 for observing the contour of the finger are provided on the fingertip side and the finger base side. The opening 161 is sufficiently wide with respect to the finger width, and the outline of the finger can be confirmed. In order to observe the outline of the finger more clearly, a reflection light source that illuminates the surface of the finger may be provided inside the opening 161. The reason why the imaging device 162 that observes the contour of the finger is provided separately from the imaging device 9 that images the vein is to prevent unnecessary external light from entering the imaging device 9 from the opening 161 that images the contour. is there. An imaging device is separately prepared, and unnecessary light is shielded by the partition 106 between them to prevent image quality deterioration of the vein image.

  If the influence of unnecessary light entry is weak, the imaging device 9 and the imaging device 162 that observes the contour of the finger may be shared. Thereby, cost can be reduced.

  FIG. 8 shows a processing example of finger contour detection of the apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 8A shows a finger vein image 170 used in the prior art. In this image, the outline 173 of the finger is photographed, and information on the parallel position and angle of the finger can be obtained, so that it can be corrected to a certain position and angle. FIG. 8B shows a finger vein image 171 taken from the opening 101 in the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. Since the opening 101 is designed to be narrower than the finger width, the contour of the finger cannot be photographed, and accurate finger position correction is difficult. FIG. 8C shows a finger vein image 171 photographed by the authentication device shown in FIG. 7 and a finger contour image 172 obtained by the imaging device 162 that observes the finger contour. By capturing a finger contour image 172 in addition to the image of FIG. 8B, the position of the finger can be grasped.

  FIG. 8D shows an example in which the finger outline 173 is detected from the inside of the image 172 of the finger outline. The contour of the finger can be defined by the boundary between the finger image and the background image. At this time, the position of the contour of the finger can be acquired by extracting an edge in the image. In particular, when photographing the contour of a finger, the edge portion of the finger can be emphasized by blinking the light source 23 in time series and obtaining a differential image of the contour image when it is turned on and off. A finger center line 174 is obtained from the finger contour 173 thus obtained. By rotating the vein image 171 so that the line is vertical, the rotation of the finger can be corrected. Also, by normalizing the image enlargement rate according to the width of the finger outline 173, it is possible to correct the finger enlargement rate.

  FIG. 9 shows an embodiment of a multi-finger vein authentication device having a light source at the top. 9A is a top view, FIG. 9B is a front view, and FIG. 9C is a side view. In order to irradiate the light source 23 from above, an upper lid 180 is installed in the apparatus, and the light source 23 is installed side by side inside the apparatus. Since light can be irradiated from above the finger 1, the contrast of the vein image of the finger is improved and light can be efficiently irradiated. In addition, since it has an effect of blocking light from above, it is strong against external light.

  In this embodiment, the finger rest 102 for the fingertip of the center finger is installed in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment, but the groove 181 for aligning the fingertips on both sides thereof is an elongated groove-like depression. Yes. This is because it is difficult to visually align with the installation of the upper lid 180, and it is considered that the lateral displacement of the finger is more likely to occur than in the embodiment shown in FIG. By digging, it is possible to more effectively suppress the occurrence of lateral displacement. At this time, the position in the front-rear direction is not fixed.

  The upper lid 180 is installed so as to cover the vicinity of the fingertip, and generally covers only the half of the fingertip side of the opening 101, so that it is more open compared to the shape of the conventional device that covers the entire finger. A feeling of use is obtained. In particular, as shown in FIG. 9 (c), the finger rest 102 at the center fingertip is designed so that it can be visually confirmed from an angle of 45 degrees above the apparatus. For this reason, since the user can easily confirm the position where the finger is placed, the convenience is improved.

  The light source 23 installed on the upper lid 180 is installed at a slight angle so as to irradiate the center of the opening 101 as can be confirmed in FIG. 9C. This is because the upper lid 180 covers the vicinity of the vicinity of the fingertip, and the light source cannot be installed directly above the opening 101. When there is a light source directly above the opening 101, the unevenness of the luminance value of the image to be taken can be reduced. Therefore, the installation angle of the light source 23 can be tilted in the direction of the base of the finger to reduce luminance unevenness and improve image quality.

  The upper lid 180 includes the light source 23 and also has an effect of shielding external light from the outside.

  Therefore, the upper lid 180 is made of a material that blocks infrared light and does not reflect infrared light. Furthermore, unlike the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, for example, the opening 101 widens the opening width so that the image up to the contour of the finger can be captured sufficiently. This is to obtain the effect of realizing accurate correction of the finger position by photographing the contour of the finger by utilizing the fact that the deterioration of performance is reduced because the entrance of external light can be reduced by the installation of the upper lid 180.

  FIG. 10 shows an example of processing for detecting the contour of the finger in the embodiment shown in FIG. FIG. 10A is an image of the finger 1 taken by the imaging device 9 in FIG. Here, the fingertip side is the upper side of the drawing. At this time, the upper lid 180 is reflected on the upper half of the screen behind the finger 1. Since the upper lid 180 is made of a material that blocks external light and does not reflect infrared light, it appears black on the image. The lower half of the screen reflects the background outside the device. Also, since the finger 1 is illuminated by the light source 23, it appears as a bright object.

  At this time, the outline of the finger is clearly displayed as the edge of the image on the upper half of the screen.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10B, the contour 173 of the finger is detected only on the upper half of the image.

  A finger center line 174 is obtained based on this information, and normalization of the finger position and the rotation angle is performed, thereby making it possible to perform collation that is resistant to displacement. In particular, the contour on the base side of the finger may protrude from the shooting range due to the rotation deviation of the finger, but by using the contour only on the fingertip side as in this embodiment, only stable information that is difficult to protrude is obtained. Since rotation correction can be performed, verification that is more robust to rotation is possible.

  FIG. 11 shows an example of the configuration of a multiple sweep type finger vein authentication device that presents a plurality of fingers to the device and images the blood vessel pattern of the entire finger by sliding the finger. 11A is a top view, FIG. 11B is a front view, FIG. 11C is a side view, and FIG. 11D shows a state of light irradiation when focusing on one finger. The light source 23 is installed on the side surface of the finger placing base 103 on the finger base side, and irradiates the finger 1 obliquely from below. If light from the light source directly hits the surface of the finger, wrinkles on the surface of the finger are reflected in the vein image, so here, light is emitted from the opposite side of the side wall 104 and the finger 1 on the opposite side is irradiated. The side wall 104 prevents light from being irradiated on the surface of the finger at a low position. This is shown in FIG.

  Further, the opening 101 for taking a vein image is shorter in the finger length direction, and the apparatus can be miniaturized. The user can acquire a vein image of the entire finger by presenting the entire area by sliding the finger. Also, between the finger rest 103 at the base of the finger and the opening 101, an opening 200 for observing the finger surface and a reflection light source 201 for photographing the finger surface are installed inside thereof. . Further, an imaging device 202 for the finger surface obtained through the opening 200 is installed immediately below the opening 200 for observing the finger surface. A partition 106 is installed between the imaging device 9 for capturing a vein image and the imaging device 202 on the finger surface.

  The user places his / her finger in the depression of the finger rest 103 at the base of the finger. When the finger detection process is performed as described above, the slide start lamp 203 is turned on. The user slides his / her finger in such a way as to pull it forward. At this time, the reflection light source 201 is also turned on together with the lighting of the light source 23. Although a partial finger image is observed from the opening 101, the observation position is shifted in time series and finally a partial image of the entire finger is obtained. By combining these, a finger vein image of the entire finger is obtained and authentication is performed.

  In order to acquire an entire finger vein image from a partial finger vein image, it is necessary to accurately obtain a positional deviation amount when the finger slides. Therefore, in the present invention, information on the surface of the finger obtained from the imaging device 202 on the finger surface is used. The uneven pattern such as wrinkles distributed on the surface of the finger is dense with respect to the vein pattern. When estimating the amount of sliding displacement from the pattern, it is possible to measure the amount of displacement more accurately because the pattern pitch is finer than using the vein pattern rather than using the vein pattern. It becomes possible. In particular, when the device opening is made smaller, it is necessary to acquire the alignment feature from a limited narrow area, which is more advantageous.

  FIG. 11C shows an internal structure for photographing the finger vein and the finger surface simultaneously. A reflected light source 201 that images the finger surface irradiates the finger surface, and the finger surface imaging device 202 captures wrinkles on the finger surface. At the same time, the light source 23 irradiates the finger 1, and the internally scattered light passes through the surface of the finger 1 to reach the inside of the apparatus through the opening 101 and is imaged by the imaging device 9. Thereby, a finger vein can be imaged. At this time, light is shielded by the partition 106 so that the reflected light source 201 does not reach the imaging device 9 directly.

  The opening 200 for photographing the surface of the finger is desirably made as small as possible in view of downsizing the apparatus, but it is necessary to reduce the bonding accuracy as much as possible by making it small. In this embodiment, the opening 200 is narrow in the finger length direction and long in the finger width direction, thereby reducing the depth of the apparatus. However, in order to maintain the bonding accuracy, it is necessary to increase the frame rate of the imaging device 202 on the finger surface.

  On the other hand, the direction of the opening 200 may be long in the finger length direction and narrow in the finger width direction. In this case, the apparatus can be kept small by moving the opening 200 closer to the contour side of the finger and positioning it at a location that does not affect the imaging of the blood vessel pattern. The direction in which the finger is slid is the longitudinal direction of the finger, and since the opening 200 is open in the longitudinal direction, a wide area where unevenness on the surface of the finger can be bonded is taken, and correct bonding is possible even if the sliding speed is fast. Is possible. However, since it is necessary to reduce the width of the opening 101 for photographing the vein, the authentication accuracy is slightly deteriorated.

  FIG. 12 shows a procedure for attaching finger veins partially photographed. As described above, a partial image 211 on the surface of the finger can be obtained as a pair together with the partial image 210 of the finger vein. At this time, a wrinkle enhancement process on the finger surface is performed on the partial image 211 on the finger surface. The position of the partial image 211 on the finger surface acquired at the next timing is slightly shifted. FIGS. 12A and 12B show a process in which a slightly shifted position is photographed. At this time, the images after the wrinkle enhancement processing on the finger surface are compared with each other to calculate the amount of positional deviation. Based on this information, the finger vein partial images 210 are pasted together. In the pasting, a partial image of a new area may be overwritten, or an overlapping portion of images may be averaged. In the case of average processing, although it takes a little processing time, smooth joining is possible. In this way, an overall finger vein image 212 of the finger as shown in FIG. 12C can be obtained. On the other hand, authentication processing can be realized by performing finger vein feature extraction processing.

  For the wrinkle enhancement processing on the finger surface, a generally known method such as edge enhancement filter, matched filter, or detection of a depression in a luminance cross-sectional profile can be used. At this time, the optimum enhancement processing can be performed by adjusting the algorithm parameter based on the typical width of the wrinkle on the image. In addition, by performing the process of emphasizing wrinkles only in a specific direction for a plurality of directions independently, it is possible to accurately obtain the amount of positional deviation with respect to each direction.

  Since the finger placing base 103 on the base side of the finger shown in FIG. 11 may press the finger 1, the distance from the opening 101 for observing the finger vein is separated, and the finger surface is placed in the space formed therebetween. An opening 200 for observation is installed. As a result, it is possible to save space while preventing information deterioration due to vein compression.

  Note that the finger surface imaging device shown in FIG. 11 may use a commonly used fingerprint sensor.

  FIG. 13 is an example of a multi-finger vein authentication device that irradiates a finger from the abdomen side of the finger and images a vein on the side of the finger. 13A is a top view, FIG. 13B is a front view, FIG. 13C is a side view, and FIG. 13D shows a finger irradiation principle focusing on one finger. In the present embodiment, an example in which two fingers are placed is shown, but the present invention can be similarly applied to the case where one finger or three or more fingers are presented.

  The user places the fingertip of the first finger on the finger rest 102 and places the fingertip of the other finger in the fingertip alignment groove 181. In order to place fingers having different lengths, the position of one fingertip in the front-rear direction is defined by the finger rest 102, but the position of the other finger in the front-rear direction is not defined. Only the position in the left-right direction is defined by the groove 181 for use.

  At this time, the light source 23 is in close contact with the ventral side of the finger 1. Thereby, the light from the light source 23 is efficiently incident on the inside of the finger 1. Of the light scattered inside the finger and emitted outside the finger, the light emitted from the side surface of the finger is photographed by the imaging device 9, whereby the vein pattern on the side surface of the finger can be observed. As shown in FIG. 13D, the light source 23 is installed at a position farther from the imaging device 9 than the center axis of the finger. As a result, the distance between the surface of the finger photographed by the imaging device 9 and the light source 23 increases, and the amount of light that reaches the imaging device 9 without passing through the blood vessel portion is larger than the amount of light that passes through the blood vessel portion. Therefore, the contrast of the blood vessel image can be increased. In addition, two light sources 23 are provided for one finger. This is for uniformly illuminating the image. If necessary, one light source 23 may be provided, and the number of light sources 23 may be increased and arranged more closely. .

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 13, the finger rest 102 and finger positioning groove 181 are removed, and the finger surface imaging device 202 shown in FIG. It is also possible to use the device. Thereby, downsizing of the apparatus can be realized.

  FIG. 14 shows an embodiment in which the imaging device 9 is thinned as a flat sensor in the multi-finger vein authentication device shown in FIG. The flat sensor is very thin, and a thin flat sensor capable of photographing both sides can be configured by closely contacting two flat sensors with the surface having sensitivity facing outward. The imaging device 9 in the present embodiment is such a device having sensitivity on both sides, and is thin, so that an imaging device for photographing the side surfaces of the fingers in both directions can be installed in a narrow space between the fingers. . Therefore, it is possible to present the finger easily without widening the finger. FIG. 14D shows an example in which the right side surface of the finger is photographed when attention is paid to photographing of one finger. The light source 23 on the left side of the center of the finger 1 is turned on, and the light source 23 on the right side is turned off. At this time, the imaging device 9 on the right side of the finger 1 captures the light transmitted through the blood vessel on the right side of the finger. At the next timing, the left light source 23 is turned off, the right light source 23 is turned on, and the imaging device 9 on the left side of the finger 1 takes an image of the left side surface of the finger. As described above, by alternately photographing both sides of the finger, more veins can be photographed, and the authentication accuracy can be improved.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 14, the finger rest 102 and finger positioning groove 181 are removed, and the finger surface imaging device 202 shown in FIG. It is also possible to use the device. Thereby, downsizing of the apparatus can be realized.

  FIG. 15 is an example of a multi-finger vein authentication device that irradiates light from a diagonally upper side of a finger on a plurality of fingers. In this embodiment, the light source support 220 is installed between two fingers, and the light source 23 is installed on the upper side at an angle at which the light source 23 is irradiated obliquely from above with respect to the fingers in both directions. ing. However, the member of the light source support part 220 is made of a material that does not transmit / reflect infrared light so as not to cause image quality deterioration due to the entry of unnecessary external light. The light source and the site to be imaged can obtain a vein image with the highest contrast at a position opposite to the finger. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 15B, the light source 23 and the imaging device 9 are arranged at an angle so as to face the position where the finger 1 is placed. Accordingly, a slightly oblique vein pattern is observed with respect to the ventral side of the finger. Further, since the entrance of external light is suppressed by the side wall 104 and the light source support portion 220, the opening 101 is not narrower than the width of the finger as shown in FIG. It can be. As a result, a finger vein image with high contrast can be acquired over a wide area and the contour of the finger can be photographed, so that finger position correction can be performed accurately.

  In order to consider the ease of placement on the apparatus, the light source support 220 has a thin structure, and accordingly, the light source 23 also uses a small element so that the finger does not hit these structures.

  What appears in the photographed image is the finger 1 and the background outside it. As for the background outside the outline of the finger 1, the outside of the apparatus is reflected on one side, while the light source support 220 is reflected on the background on the opposite side. Therefore, in order to perform finger rotation correction, stable finger contour detection can be performed by detecting only the contour of the boundary between the finger 1 and the reflection of the light source support unit 220 that always appears dark. Accordingly, by performing the finger rotation correction based on the contour information, a stable finger rotation correction can be realized. In this way, in this embodiment, the place where the finger is placed is open and the veins can be imaged with higher image quality, so that convenience and accuracy can be improved.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 15, a structure in which two fingers can be presented is shown, but three or more fingers may be provided. In this case, the light source support part 220 is made as thin as possible, so that even a person with a small hand can present a finger without difficulty.

  Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 15, the finger rest 102 and the fingertip positioning groove 181 are removed, and the finger surface imaging device 202 shown in FIG. It is also possible to use the device. Thereby, downsizing of the apparatus can be realized.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize an authentication device that is easy to place and highly convenient, while using a plurality of finger veins to dramatically improve authentication accuracy. This device is an entrance / exit management system with particularly large number of users such as doors of houses and office buildings, access management at important management facilities such as airports, and a system that searches for a person corresponding to a registered list such as a black list. Available to: In particular, it is possible to construct a 1-N authentication system that allows users to easily perform authentication processing with just their fingers without having to input an IC card or password by using high authentication accuracy. Improves. Further, as described above, the sweep type authentication device can be downsized, and can be applied to, for example, PC login and online payment by being incorporated into a personal computer keyboard or the like. Furthermore, it can be applied to financial systems such as ATM and credit settlement.

  FIG. 16 is an example of a multi-finger vein authentication device that performs authentication by photographing a plurality of finger veins while holding a portable terminal. The portable terminal 301 includes a CPU 306, a memory 303, and a wireless communication unit 305. Further, two grooves 304 for placing the finger 1 are provided, and in this embodiment, two fingers can be photographed. As shown in FIG. 16 (b), the light source 23 is installed in the center of the groove 304 where the finger is placed. As shown in FIG. 16 (c), the user grasps the portable terminal 301 so as to fit in the groove 304. At this time, the light source 23 irradiates the ventral side of the finger. In this state, the back side of the finger 1 is brought into contact with the reading terminal 310 separately installed. When the touch sensor 312 detects this contact, the imaging device 313 captures a vein on the back side of the finger based on an instruction from the CPU 315. The imaging device 313 may have as many fingers as the number of fingers, or may be one according to the resolution and the angle of view. The CPU 315 processes a plurality of photographed vein images of the back of the finger to determine whether or not the vein pattern is registered in advance in the memory 303. Although the registration data is registered in the memory 303, the wireless communication unit 305 and the wireless communication unit 314 may perform encrypted communication for the verification process, read the registration data, and send it to the terminal side. It may be sent to the terminal side and the CPU 306 may perform the collation process. In the former case, a high-performance CPU is not required for the portable terminal, and in the latter case, there is no leakage of registered data, which is advantageous in terms of security.

  If the light amount of the light source 23 is not optimal at the time of shooting, the wireless communication unit 305 and the wireless communication unit 314 communicate to transmit the light amount value of the light source 23 to the portable terminal side, or the gain controller 316 has an optimal brightness. Adjust the image quality so that

  In this way, by performing authentication using the veins on the back side of a plurality of fingers, highly accurate and convenient authentication can be realized even in a small device such as a portable terminal. Since authentication accuracy will increase, it can be applied to settlement using mobile terminals.

  FIG. 17 shows an example of a multi-finger vein authentication device that captures and authenticates veins of a plurality of fingers while holding a mobile terminal. As shown in FIG. 17A, the portable terminal 400 includes a grip 401 that can be gripped by the index finger and the middle finger. The grip 401 has a plurality of grooves 304 for placing fingers, and the light source 23 is positioned at the center of the groove. Is installed. The light source 23 is turned on or blinked to detect that a finger is presented, and an image obtained by the imaging device 9 is evaluated to detect that an object that blocks the light source has entered, and authentication is started at that time. To do. As shown in FIG. 17B, when the user grasps the portable terminal 400, the index finger 1a and the middle finger 1b can be hung on the grip 401 in a natural manner. When the light source 23 is turned on in this state, the infrared light passes through the fingers 1a and 1b and reaches the imaging device 9. The finger vein image obtained at this time is shown in FIG. The veins on the back and sides of the fingers 1a and 1b are simultaneously photographed as 402a and 402b by the imaging device 9. The contour of two fingers is photographed in this image, and is divided into two finger regions by edge detection processing or the like. This is to deal with an exception such as injury by collating one finger alone as will be described later. Each finger is compared with two registered finger vein data to determine a match. If both fingers are highly correlated with the registered data, authentication is performed. However, for example, in a state where a finger is injured and a bandage is wound, a coincidence of both cannot be obtained. Therefore, even when it is determined that only one of the correlations is high, authentication is performed. However, by setting the threshold in that case somewhat strictly, it is possible to deal with an exception such as injury without lowering the overall security level.

  The embodiment shown in FIG. 17 can be applied to, for example, a remote controller for a television or a game device. As a result, services such as being able to select programs that meet individual preferences can be implemented, and user authentication and the like can be performed on game machines. Or it can apply to the game etc. which utilized the randomness of the vein pattern. For example, the game can be advantageously advanced if it is placed in good reproduction with respect to the state at the time of registration. The partial shape of the vein is converted into a numerical value and the attribute value used in the game is determined. It can be used to determine compatibility by evaluating the similarity of shapes.

  By providing a push button in the grip portion, it is possible to trigger an authentication start by pressing the button. Thereby, the power consumption of the light source 23 during standby can be reduced, and the user can start authentication with a simple operation. Of course, pressing the remote control button may be used as a trigger for starting authentication. Alternatively, it may be attached to a rifle or pistol, and owner authentication may be performed using a trigger on the trigger as an authentication trigger to prevent unauthorized use.

  Moreover, you may install this in doors, such as an office and a motor vehicle. The key can be unlocked only by grasping the grip, and convenience is improved.

  1 finger, 2 input device, 9 imaging device, 10 authentication processing unit, 12 memory, 13 interface, 14 storage device, 15 display unit, 16 input device, 17 speaker, 18 image input unit, 23 light source, 23a upper light source, 23b Lower light source, 101 opening, 102 finger placement table at fingertip, 103 finger placement table at finger base, 104 side wall, 105 light source support, 106 partition, 120 finger vein image, 120a finger vein image right area, 120b finger vein image Left region, 151 groove recess, 161 finger contour observation opening, 162 finger contour observation imaging device, 170 finger vein image including contour, 171 finger vein image not including contour, 172 finger contour observation image, 173 Finger outline, 174 finger central axis, 180 upper lid, 181 finger alignment groove, 200 finger surface observation opening, 20 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Reflection light source, 202 Finger surface observation imaging device, 203 Lamp, 210 Finger vein partial image, 211 Finger surface partial image, 212 Composite finger vein image 220 Light source support part, 301 Portable terminal, 303 Memory, 304 Finger presentation groove, 305 wireless communication unit, 306 CPU, 310 reading terminal, 311 finger presentation groove, 312 touch sensor, 313 imaging device, 314 wireless communication unit, 315 CPU, 316 gain controller, 400 portable terminal, 401 grip, 1a first finger 2b, second finger, 402a, first finger vein image, 402b, second finger vein image.

Claims (15)

An authentication device used for authenticating an individual using feature information acquired from a living body,
A housing,
A plurality of areas on the surface of the housing on which individual fingers for authentication are presented, and
A plurality of light sources provided corresponding to each of the plurality of regions;
Control means for irradiating light from each of the plurality of light sources at different timings;
A plurality of openings formed in each of the plurality of regions;
An imaging unit that images each of the transmitted light guided into the housing from each of the plurality of openings,
A partition provided between each of the adjacent openings, and protruding from the housing surface;
An authentication apparatus comprising: An authentication device used for authenticating an individual using feature information acquired from a living body,
The body,
A plurality of regions provided on the surface of the housing and presented with individual fingers for authentication;
A plurality of light sources for irradiating the plurality of regions with light;
Control means for switching and irradiating light from each of the plurality of light sources by time division;
An opening provided in each of the plurality of regions, wherein the fingers presented in each of the plurality of regions are irradiated with light from the plurality of light sources, and the light irradiated to the fingers is allowed to pass through;
An imaging unit for imaging light that has passed through the opening;
A partition provided on the surface of the housing so as to partition each of the fingers presented in the plurality of regions, and blocks light generated in each of the plurality of regions from intervening in other regions. And
In the presented finger width direction, an interval between the adjacent partitions is larger than a width of the opening, and the openings are arranged so as to be sandwiched between the adjacent partitions, respectively. apparatus.   The authentication device according to claim 1, wherein the partition is disposed along a major axis direction of the opening.   The authentication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imaging unit images the outline of a finger presented in the plurality of regions.   The authentication apparatus includes a plurality of imaging units installed in the casing so as to capture the transmitted light guided from the corresponding region, corresponding to any of the plurality of regions. The authentication device according to claim 1.   The authentication apparatus includes a plurality of imaging units corresponding to any of the plurality of regions and installed in the housing so as to capture the light guided from the corresponding region. 2. The authentication device according to 2.   A partition that blocks inside the housing from blocking the transmitted light guided from each of the plurality of regions from reaching an imaging unit other than the imaging unit corresponding to the guided region. Item 6. The authentication device according to Item 5.   The partition that blocks the light guided from each of the plurality of regions from reaching the imaging unit other than the imaging unit corresponding to the guided region inside the housing. 6. The authentication device according to 6.   The authentication device according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the partition and the partition are integrally formed.   The authentication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one of the plurality of openings protrudes from the other opening in a direction in which the finger is presented.   The authentication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of finger rests for presenting the plurality of fingers are installed in the plurality of regions.   The light source is provided adjacent to the partition, and a part of the light from the light source is irradiated to the finger presented in an area separated through the adjacent partition, and the other light from the light source The authentication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a part of the separated area is blocked by the partition. A reflected light source arranged to irradiate from the opening side toward the plurality of presented fingers;
A second imaging unit that images the surfaces of the plurality of fingers;
An arithmetic unit that processes an image captured by the imaging unit;
Have
The authentication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the arithmetic unit synthesizes a plurality of partial images acquired by the second imaging unit to form an image of the entire finger. An arithmetic unit that processes an image captured by the imaging unit;
The authentication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the arithmetic unit detects an imaging state of the plurality of fingers and dynamically changes a security level according to the number of fingers that cannot be correctly authenticated.   The authentication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a calculation unit that performs authentication based on a blood vessel pattern included in an image captured by the imaging unit.

Images