JPH10154232A - Person authentification method, and person authentification system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce required memory capacity in a person authentification system and to provide a person authentification system and the person authentification method with high security. SOLUTION: Fingerprint image information of a finger 1 is fetched by a fingerprint reader/controller 8 with a CCD 6 and an A/D converter 7, etc. Furthermore, a thermal head 9 is driven based on the fingerprint image information and an invisible ink ribbon 10 is pressed against a surface of a card 11 while being heated by the fingerprint reader/controller 8. Consequently, a fingerprint image is printed on the surface of the card 11 by the invisible ink. And, in a terminal device 40, person authentification is performed by comparing the fingerprint image printed on the card 11 with the fingerprint image of a user's finger.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a personal authentication method and a personal authentication system which can be used in electronic commerce, electronic identification, electronic seal stamping, and entry / exit management, and more particularly to loss, theft, forgery and falsification. The present invention relates to a personal authentication method and a personal authentication system that can effectively prevent the authentication.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The integration of computers and communications has been advanced as represented by the Internet and the like, and society will become increasingly sophisticated in the future. In addition, concepts such as electronic commerce, electronic identification, electronic seal stamps, and entry / exit management by electronic control have been developed. In such electronic commerce and the like, personal authentication is performed to determine whether or not the user is a legitimate trader. As a method of performing the personal authentication, a fingerprint is printed on an IC card or an encryption is stored in the IC card, and the fingerprint or the encryption is stored in a predetermined terminal device or the like. There is a method of comparing and matching.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a fingerprint reading system which is an example of a conventional personal authentication system. The fingerprint reading system includes a terminal device 90 serving as an input / output device for an IC card and the like, and a central device 80 serving as a database of fingerprint data.

Next, a case where fingerprint data is registered in this system will be described. A person who intends to become a legitimate user of this system (hereinafter, "user")
Inserts a finger into a fingerprint reader 97 provided in the terminal device 90. The fingerprint reader 97 reads the person's data as digital data using a CCD camera or a scanner. Then, the fingerprint is registered by the fingerprint reader 97 of the terminal device 90. From the fingerprint data read by the fingerprint reader 97, feature points are extracted by a feature point extracting means and are characterized. In place of the method of extracting the feature points, a phase-only correlation method in which the reliability of matching is improved has been considered. The registered fingerprint data is stored in the registration unit 8.
3 is registered in association with the registrant's password. And
The registered fingerprint data is stored in the fingerprint database 84.

Next, a case where a user uses the terminal device 90 will be described. First, a user who intends to use this system inserts a card into the card reader 95. Then, the user presses the numeric key 96 to input a password. In addition, the user can use the terminal device 9
A finger is inserted into the fingerprint reader 97 provided in the “0”. Here, the fingerprint reader 97 takes in the person's fingerprint as digital data. The terminal device 90 transmits the registered fingerprint data of the corresponding person to the central device 80 based on the input personal identification number.
To read from the fingerprint database. Then, the terminal device 90 checks whether or not the registered fingerprint data matches the fingerprint data read by the fingerprint reader 97. As a result of the comparison, if they match, the card and its user are authenticated. In addition, the fingerprint database is arranged in the central device 80, but some are built in the terminal device 90.

[0006]

However, in the conventional personal authentication method or personal authentication system, as the size of the system increases, that is, as the number of registrants increases, the fingerprint data also increases. The storage memory capacity of the
The physical and economic burden on the system also increases.

Further, if the fingerprint database is arranged in the central device, communication between the central device and the terminal device must be performed each time fingerprint matching is performed, so that the communication line usage fee becomes enormous. .

Further, when the fingerprint database is arranged in the terminal device, the registrant's use range is physically limited due to the storage capacity of the terminal device. In addition, if the fingerprint database of all registrants is placed in the terminal device, the terminal device will have registrant data that is hardly used in the terminal device, and a lot of useless data will be generated, lowering the cost performance of the terminal device. Would.

On the other hand, there is a conventional personal authentication system in which a registrant's fingerprint is printed on the surface of a card. However, in this system, since the fingerprint is printed on the surface of the card in a visible state to human eyes, it is relatively easy for a third party to illegally copy or falsify the fingerprint on the surface of the card. There were also points.

[0010] The present invention has been made under such a background, and it is possible to reduce the memory capacity in the personal authentication system and to eliminate the need for communication between the central unit and the terminal unit. An object of the present invention is to provide a personal authentication method and a personal authentication system that can be used.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a personal authentication method and a personal authentication system which can enhance security in a system for performing personal authentication by fingerprint collation.

[0012]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a personal authentication method for printing fingerprint information on a surface of a card using at least invisible ink. The personal authentication is performed by using a card on which is printed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the personal authentication method, the fingerprint information printed using at least invisible ink is read, the fingerprint of the finger is read, and the read fingerprint information and the fingerprint of the finger are read. It is characterized by making a comparison judgment.

[0014] The invention according to claim 3 provides the invention according to claim 2.
In the personal authentication method described above, a medium on which fingerprint information is printed using at least the invisible ink is a card.

The invention described in claim 4 is the same as the claim 2.
In the personal authentication method described above, the fingerprint information is at least one of image information of a fingerprint and information characterizing the image information of the fingerprint.

The invention described in claim 5 is the same as the claim 2.
In the personal authentication method according to the above, fingerprint information printed using at least the invisible ink, on a thin film using a wax as a binder, at least using an invisible ink ribbon coated in a fine particle form of the invisible ink in a plane. And printed.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a personal authentication system comprising: a medium on which fingerprint information is printed using at least invisible ink; a print fingerprint reader for reading the fingerprint information on the medium; A fingerprint reader for reading; and a terminal control device for comparing fingerprint information read by the print fingerprint reader with information of the fingerprint read by the fingerprint reader.

The invention described in claim 7 is the same as the claim 6.
In the personal authentication system described above, the medium on which the fingerprint information is printed is a card.

The invention according to claim 8 is the same as the invention according to claim 6.
In the personal authentication system described above, the fingerprint information is at least one of image information of a fingerprint and information characterizing the image information of the fingerprint.

The invention according to claim 9 is the invention according to claim 6.
In the personal authentication system according to the above, the terminal device compares the fingerprint information read by the print fingerprint reader with the information of the fingerprint read by the fingerprint reader,
If it is determined that the two match, the personal authentication that the owner of the fingerprint is a valid user is performed.

[0021]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. A: Configuration of Embodiment FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a fingerprint printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. This fingerprint printing apparatus is an apparatus that prints fingerprint data on the surface of the card 11 using invisible ink. The fingerprint printing apparatus creates a card used in the personal authentication system according to the present invention.

The finger 1 is the finger of the user of the system. The glass 2 fixes the position of the fingerprint on the finger 1.
The light source 3 irradiates light to the fingerprint surface of the finger 1 through the glass 2. The lens 4 focuses the fingerprint image of the finger 1 on the surface of the CCD 6. The CCD 6 is an image sensor that converts light transmitted through the glass 2 and the lens 4 into an electric signal. That is, the CCD 6 converts the fingerprint image information of the finger 1 into an electric signal. The A / D converter 7 converts the fingerprint image information output from the CCD 6 as an analog signal into a digital signal and outputs the digital signal. The fingerprint reading control device 8 takes in fingerprint image information from the A / D converter 7, performs predetermined image processing on the fingerprint image information, and stores it. The fingerprint reading control device 8
May store the fingerprint image information as it is without performing any image processing. The thermal head 9 converts the fingerprint information output from the fingerprint reader 8 into Joule heat, melts the wax of the ribbon 10, and thermally transfers the invisible ink onto the card 11. The thermal head 9 is composed of fine dots (rods) (for example, 30 dots).
0dpi), this one dot is thermally controlled by the fingerprint reading control device 8 to form a fingerprint image on the card using invisible ink.

The invisible ink ribbon 10 is disposed between the thermal head 9 and the card 11. Then, the invisible ink ribbon 10 is partially heated by the thermal head 9 and pressed against the surface of the card 11. Here, the card 11 proves the legitimacy of the trader in a personal authentication system used in electronic commerce and the like. The platen roller 12 supports the card 11 and moves the card 11.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the card 11 in FIG. As the card 11, a card, a magnetic card, an IC card, or the like is used. The card is an ordinary card, such as an ID card. A magnetic card is a card-shaped information recording medium having a magnetic recording layer. The IC card is a card having a built-in semiconductor storage element and the like and having an information recording function and the like.
A fingerprint 22 and a registrant nomination 23 are printed on the surface of the card 11. The fingerprint 22 is printed with an invisible ink ribbon as shown in FIG. Therefore, the fingerprint 22 is invisible to the human eye. The registrant's name 23 is the name of the owner of the finger that is the basis of the fingerprint 22, that is, the name of the authorized user of the card 11.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a terminal device 40 in the personal authentication system according to the embodiment of the present invention. The printed fingerprint reader 41 optically reads the fingerprint information of the card 11 on which the fingerprint information is printed using the fingerprint printing apparatus shown in FIG. And the print fingerprint reader 4
1 digitizes the image information of the read fingerprint and sends it to the terminal control device 43. The fingerprint reader 42 is
The fingerprint of the user of the card 11 is optically read. Then, the fingerprint reader 42 digitizes data on the read fingerprint image and sends it to the terminal control device 43.
The terminal control device compares the image information read by the print fingerprint reader 41 with the fingerprint image read by the fingerprint reader 42.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing the details of the invisible ink ribbon 10. Here, the invisible ink 71 is in the form of fine particles, and is applied in a plane on the base paper 73 using wax (WAX) as a binder 72.
Here, the base paper 73 has a thickness of about 6 to 9 μm, and PET or the like can be used as a material. The invisible ink ribbon 10 is wound in a roll shape as shown in FIG.

The term “invisible” in the invisible ink 71 means an object that cannot be seen by human eyes, and here refers to a region of light (electromagnetic wave) having a wavelength other than visible light. The visible light region is about 380 nm to 780 nm, and there are wide invisible regions on both sides. The invisible ink used in the present embodiment is a material having a wavelength band in the invisible region.

A case where an infrared light emitting phosphor is used as a material of the invisible ink 71 will be described below. Here, examples of the light emitting body include a rare earth element, a transition metal, and a group IIIb. A representative phosphor that converts infrared light into visible light is (Y, Yb, Er) F ₃ . When the light emitter is irradiated with light energy, it is excited, and the energy resulting from the excitation is emitted as light. The emitted light is electrically read by an image sensor such as a CCD. Electromagnetic waves of wavelengths other than the wavelength required for reading can be cut using the bandpass filter 5.

On the other hand, light emission includes invisible light emission and visible light emission. When light of a certain wavelength is irradiated on a substance, light of another wavelength is emitted. The emitted light is divided into visible light and invisible light according to the nature of the wavelength of the emitted light. In the present embodiment, invisible ink is used, but the present invention is not limited to this, and visible ink can also be used.

Next, a case where a material in the near infrared region is used as the material of the invisible ink 71 will be described. In recent years, fluorescent materials that have a color that emerges when irradiated with ultraviolet light have been developed. Some of them have been put into practical use to prevent counterfeiting of banknotes. Fingerprint printing is performed on the card 11 using this material, and at the time of reading, ultraviolet light is irradiated as a light source 3 to visualize the printed fingerprint, and read using a CCD or an amorphous Se avalanche target (HARP imaging tube). Is possible.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a fingerprint reader according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the fingerprint reader optically reads a fingerprint 22 printed on the card 11 with invisible ink. The light source 33 is
Light of a special wavelength is applied to the fingerprint printing surface of the card 11.
The lens 34 focuses the fingerprint image of the card 11 on the CCD 3
6 on the surface. The band pass filter 35 cuts light of a wavelength unnecessary for reading. CC
D36 is an image sensor that converts light transmitted through the lens 34 and the bandpass filter 35 into an electric signal.
The A / D converter 37 converts image information output from the CCD 36 as an analog signal into a digital signal and outputs the digital signal. The fingerprint reading control device 38 includes the A / D converter 3
The image information is fetched from the memory 7 and subjected to predetermined image processing and stored. The fingerprint reading control device 38 may store the fingerprint image information as it is without performing any image processing.

B: Operation of Embodiment Next, the operation of each embodiment having the above configuration will be described.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the fingerprint printing apparatus shown in FIG. First, users of this personal authentication system
The finger 1 is put on a predetermined position on the glass 2. Next, the fingerprint reading control device 8 reads the fingerprint of the finger 1 as analog image data using the CCD 6 or the like (S1, S2).
2). Then, the fingerprint reading control device 8 uses the A / D converter 7 to digitize the image data of the fingerprint (S3).

Next, the fingerprint reading control device 8 characterizes the digitized fingerprint image information (S4). Thereafter, the fingerprint reading control device 8 sends the image information of the characteristic fingerprint to the thermal head 9 and drives the invisible ink ribbon 10 and the platen roller 12 to print the image information on the surface of the card 11 ( S5).
Here, the fingerprint image itself may be printed on the surface of the card 11 without characterization of the image information in step 4. Thus, a card in which a user's fingerprint is printed on the card surface with invisible ink is completed (S6).

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a fingerprint collation method in the terminal device 40 shown in FIG. First, the user inserts the card 11 on which his or her fingerprint is printed in advance into the print fingerprint reader 41. Here, when a fingerprint image is printed on the card 11, the printed fingerprint reader 41 reads the characterized fingerprint information (S 17, S 18). Then, the print fingerprint reader 41 sends the read fingerprint information to the terminal control device 43 as print fingerprint data.

On the other hand, when the fingerprint image itself is printed on the card 11, the print fingerprint reader 41 first reads the fingerprint pattern printed on the card 11 (S14, S15). Then, the print fingerprint reader 41
Sends the read fingerprint information to the terminal control device 43.
Next, the terminal controller 43 sets the print fingerprint reader 41
The feature of the fingerprint pattern read by is extracted as print fingerprint data (S16).

Further, the user who has inserted the card 11
The user inserts his / her finger into the fingerprint reader 42 (S11).
Then, the fingerprint reader 42 reads the fingerprint image (S12). Thereafter, the terminal control device 43 extracts the features of the fingerprint image read by the fingerprint reader 42 and sets the extracted features as actual fingerprint data (S13).

Then, the terminal controller 43 compares the print fingerprint data with the actual fingerprint data (S19). here,
If the print fingerprint data and the actual fingerprint data match, the terminal control device 43 authenticates that the user of the card 11 currently used is a valid user (S20). On the other hand, if the print fingerprint data and the actual fingerprint data do not match, the terminal control device 43 determines that the user of the card 11 is not a valid user (S21).

Thus, according to the present embodiment, the fingerprint information for personal authentication is not registered in the electronic memory but is registered as print image information on a card owned by the individual.
In the personal authentication system, an electronic memory for storing a fingerprint in a database and storing it can be eliminated. That is, when the user attempts to use the card, the terminal device according to the present embodiment captures the actual fingerprint of the user and the print fingerprint data printed on the card. Since the terminal device performs personal authentication by comparing the actual fingerprint and the print fingerprint, there is no need to store and store the fingerprints of each user in a database.

Further, according to the present embodiment, since the fingerprint information for personal authentication is recorded on the card, personal authentication can be performed at the terminal device installed at any place, The restriction on the installation location of the terminal device can be greatly eased. That is, in the conventional personal authentication system, since fingerprint information and the like are stored in a database or the like of the central device, communication for personal authentication between the terminal device and the central device is absolutely necessary. However, in the present embodiment, since personal authentication is performed only by the terminal device used by the user, such communication equipment becomes unnecessary,
It is no longer necessary to consider an increase in the usage of communication lines due to an increase in the number of users. As a result, the terminal device according to the present embodiment has a greater degree of freedom of installation location than the conventional terminal device. In addition, according to the personal authentication system according to the present embodiment, it is not necessary to communicate with the central device when performing personal authentication. Can be greatly reduced,
The amount of communication lines used can be greatly reduced.

Further, in the present embodiment, personal authentication is performed using a fingerprint, and since the fingerprint represents a physical characteristic that does not last a lifetime, information unique to the individual can be proved anytime and anywhere.

Further, in the present embodiment, since the fingerprint information to be printed on the card is printed using invisible ink, the fingerprint information cannot be seen by the naked eye, and a personal authentication system having high security is provided. Can be built.

C: Modified Example FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the personal authentication system according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the terminal device shown in FIG. 5, the fingerprint reader 42 and the print fingerprint reader 41 are incorporated in one terminal device. The personal authentication system according to the present invention is not limited to this,
As shown in FIG. 7, the fingerprint reader 62 and the print fingerprint reader 61 may be physically separated from each other to form a system. That is, the fingerprint reader 62 and the print fingerprint reader 61 are formed in independent housings, respectively, and each is connected to the personal computer 64.

Thus, in the present embodiment, since the print fingerprint reader 61 and the fingerprint reader 62 are physically separated, the individual devices are more individual than in the case where these devices are integrally formed without being separated. The size of the apparatus can be reduced, the degree of freedom when installing the system is increased, and a system that is easier to install can be provided.

On the other hand, as another application of the present invention, an IC card having a fingerprint printed with invisible ink as shown in FIG. 2 can be applied to a personal authentication system for an electronic seal stamp. Here, the electronic seal is intended to cope with the future of electronic settlement, and is an IC card that performs authentication, signature, or the like instead of the conventional seal using vermilion. This I
When using a C card as an electronic seal, unauthorized use of the IC card by a third party must be eliminated.

Therefore, the fingerprint printed on the card, which is an electronic seal stamp, and the fingerprint of the user's finger are collated each time a commercial transaction is made.
Here, if a third party tries to use the card illegally,
Since the printed fingerprint on the card does not match the fingerprint of the third party, unauthorized use of the third party can be prevented.
Furthermore, since the fingerprint printed on the card is printed with invisible ink, the printed fingerprint cannot be seen with the naked eye, which can further effectively prevent unauthorized use of the card by a third party. it can.

[0046]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since personal information is authenticated by comparing the fingerprint information printed on the card with the invisible ink and the fingerprint of the user's finger, there is no need to register or store fingerprint information and other data used for personal authentication in advance. It is possible to provide a personal authentication method and a personal authentication system that do not require a database for use.

Further, according to the present invention, the fingerprint information printed on the card using invisible ink is compared with the fingerprint of the user's finger to perform personal authentication, so that the fingerprint information on the card can be seen by the naked eye. No, it is possible to effectively prevent unauthorized use of the card by a third party.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a fingerprint printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a card according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a fingerprint reader according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a fingerprint printing procedure according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a terminal device in the personal authentication system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a fingerprint matching method in the terminal device shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a personal authentication system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 shows an invisible ink ribbon 10 according to the embodiment.
It is sectional drawing which shows the detail of.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a conventional fingerprint reading system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 finger 2 glass 3 light source 4 lens 5 band pass filter 6 CCD 7 A / D converter 8 fingerprint reading control device 9 thermal head 10 invisible ink ribbon 11 card 12 platen roller 40 terminal device 41 print fingerprint reader 42 fingerprint reader 43 terminal Machine control device 71 Invisible ink 72 Binder 73 Base paper (PET)

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A personal authentication method comprising: printing fingerprint information on a surface of a card using invisible ink; and performing personal authentication using the card on which the fingerprint information is printed. 2. A personal authentication method, comprising reading fingerprint information printed using invisible ink, reading a fingerprint of a finger, and comparing the read fingerprint information with the fingerprint of the finger. 3. The personal authentication method according to claim 2, wherein a medium on which fingerprint information is printed using the invisible ink is a card. 4. The personal authentication method according to claim 2, wherein the fingerprint information is at least one of fingerprint image information and information characterizing the fingerprint image information. Method. 5. The personal authentication method according to claim 2, wherein the fingerprint information printed by using the invisible ink is formed by applying the invisible ink into fine particles in the form of fine particles on a thin film using wax as a binder. A personal authentication method characterized by printing using at least an invisible ink ribbon. 6. A medium on which fingerprint information is printed using invisible ink, a print fingerprint reader for reading fingerprint information of the medium, a fingerprint reader for reading a fingerprint of a finger, and a fingerprint read by the print fingerprint reader. A personal authentication system, comprising: a terminal control device for comparing information with information of a fingerprint read by the fingerprint reader. 7. The personal authentication system according to claim 6, wherein the medium on which the fingerprint information is printed is a card. 8. The personal authentication system according to claim 6, wherein the fingerprint information is at least one of fingerprint image information and information characterizing the fingerprint image information. system. 9. The personal authentication system according to claim 6, wherein the terminal device compares the fingerprint information read by the print fingerprint reader with the information of the fingerprint read by the fingerprint reader, and performs the comparison. A personal authentication system that performs personal authentication that the owner of the fingerprint is a legitimate user when it is determined that the two match.