Patent ID: 11932201
Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Field: Computer technology (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC B  A  G | IPC B  G

Claim 9:
10. A biometric information authenticating system, comprising:
a start switch device comprising a biometric information sensor to detect contact of an operating finger with a reading surface and to read biometric information of the operating finger,
an illumination unit comprising at least one light source, and a control unit to control the illumination unit by an illumination pattern including a combination of turning on and off of the at least one light source; and
a vehicle control unit electromagnetically connected to the start switch device and each unit of a vehicle,
wherein the vehicle control unit determines the state of the vehicle and outputs vehicle information to the control unit based on a detection result of contact of the operating finger with the reading surface, completion and successful reading of the biometric information, operation status of the vehicle, and start status of a drive system, and the control unit controls the illumination unit to produce the illumination pattern corresponding to the vehicle information, and
wherein the reading surface of the biometric information sensor is arranged so as to be able to read the biometric information of the operating finger in contact with an operation surface of an operating portion, and
wherein the illumination unit outputs a circle of light that surrounds the operation surface.