Abstract:
The present invention relates to a personal authentication apparatus which registers biometric information unique to each individual person, captures biometric information on the person anew when authenticating the person, and checks the captured biometric information against registered biometric information, whereby the security of registration is improved. A keyhole into which a physical key is inserted and a sensor which detects biometric information such as palm vein patterns are provided. Registration of a user is permitted only if a key is inserted and turned in the keyhole and a person registered as an administrator is authenticated based on biometric information.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to a personal authentication apparatus that registers biometric information unique to each individual person, and captures the person&#39;s biometric information anew when performing authentication, and checks it against the registered biometric information to authenticate the person.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0004]     Facilities and equipment that require personal authentication for the opening and closing entrance doors of rooms or buildings or operating information processing devices in order to improve security or protect privacy have proliferated in recent years. For such authentication, code numbers have been widely used traditionally. In recent years, more secure personal authentication methods are becoming widespread in which sensors are provided to detect some biometric information unique to every individual, such as fingerprints or palm or pupil vein patterns, for performing personal authentication (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-85539 and No. 2004-112172).  
         [0005]     A problem with a code number is that, if it is known to other person, the person can readily impersonate the holder of the code number. In contrast, personal authentication that relies on biometric information, which varies from person to person, can significantly reduce threat of impersonation.  
         [0006]     However, because authentication relying on biometric information uses a technique in which a person&#39;s biometric information is registered beforehand and biometric information is checked against the registered biometric information during authentication, a malicious, illegitimate person may be authenticated as a legitimate person if the malicious person registers his or her biometric information. The problem is how to allow only legitimate individuals to be registered and how to reject registration of malicious, illegitimate individuals.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances and provides a personal authentication apparatus capable of performing registration with improved security.  
         [0008]     According to the present invention, there is provided a personal authentication apparatus having a biometric information capturing section which captures personal biometric information, a biometric information storage which stores personal biometric information captured by the biometric information capturing section in the past, and an authenticating section which checks biometric information currently captured by the biometric information capturing section against biometric information stored in the biometric information storage to authenticate a person associated with the currently captured biometric information, the personal authentication apparatus including: a biometric information registering section which causes the biometric information capturing section to capture biometric information on a new person for registering the biometric information and registers the biometric information captured by the biometric information capturing section in the biometric information storage; and a key setting section in which a predetermined key is to be set; wherein, if the predetermined key is set in the key setting section and the authenticating section authenticates an administrator who is a specific person among the persons whose biometric information is stored in the biometric information storage, the biometric information on the new person is registered.  
         [0009]     The present invention permits registration of a new person&#39;s biometric information only if a key is set in a key setting section and an administrator is authenticated, whereby high-level security during registration of the biometric information is ensured.  
         [0010]     In the personal authentication apparatus of the present invention, the biometric information capturing section is preferably a biometric information sensor that detects biometric information. Typically, the biometric information sensor may be a sensor that detects a palm vein pattern.  
         [0011]     Also, preferably the key setting section in the personal authentication apparatus of the present invention has a keyhole into which a physical key is inserted, and the key is set only if predetermined operations, including the operation of inserting the predetermined physical key into the keyhole, are performed.  
         [0012]     Furthermore, preferably the biometric information storage in the personal authentication apparatus is capable of storing biometric information of more than one administrator and the key setting section allows only one model of key to be set regardless of the number of the administrators.  
         [0013]     For example, in a control system for the entrance of a relatively large building or a condominium, more than one caretaker or doorkeeper may take care of the building or condominium in shifts. In such a case, it is desirable that the personal authentication apparatus allow more than one person to be registered as administrator. Even in that case, the key setting section allows only one model of key to be set, whereby the security of registration can be highly ensured.  
         [0014]     As has been described, according to the present invention, high-level security during registration of biometric information is ensured. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0015]      FIG. 1  shows an overview of a door control system in which a personal authentication apparatus is incorporated according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0016]      FIG. 2  shows an operation panel of a gate controller;  
         [0017]      FIG. 3  shows a side view of the gate controller;  
         [0018]      FIG. 4  is a block diagram showing a configuration of the gate controller;  
         [0019]      FIG. 5  shows information in a personal information DB;  
         [0020]      FIG. 6  shows a control flow during registration of an administrator;  
         [0021]      FIG. 7  shows an administration function menu;  
         [0022]      FIG. 8  shows an ID input screen displayed during registration of administrator;  
         [0023]      FIG. 9  shows a control flow during user registration;  
         [0024]      FIG. 10  shows an ID input screen displayed during registration of a user;  
         [0025]      FIG. 11  shows a control flow during authenticating a user; and  
         [0026]      FIG. 12  shows an input/output display on which an inputted ID is displayed. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0027]     An embodiment of the present invention will be described below.  
         [0028]      FIG. 1  shows an overview of a door control system in which a personal authentication apparatus is incorporated according to one embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0029]     Shown in  FIG. 1  are, a gate controller  10 , a door control panel  20 , and a door  30 , which are interconnected through a line  40 .  
         [0030]     The door  30  is provided at the entrance of a building or a room, for example, and includes an electric lock (not shown), which is locked and unlocked through control from the door control panel  20 .  
         [0031]     The door control panel  20  drives the electric lock of the door  30  over the line  40  under the control of the gate controller  10 .  
         [0032]     The gate controller  10  is provided near the door  30 , performs personal authentication to determine whether a person is authorized to pass the entrance at which the door  30  is provided and, if it determines that the person is authenticated to pass the entrance, provides a control signal to the door control panel  20  over the line  40  to cause it unlock the electric lock of the door  30 .  
         [0033]      FIG. 2  shows an operation panel on the gate controller  10 .  
         [0034]     Provided on the operation panel  100  of the gate controller are a biometric information sensor  11 , a keyboard  12 , an input/output display  13 , and alarm mechanism  14 .  
         [0035]     The biometric information sensor  11  detects palm vein patterns. When a palm is placed over the biometric information sensor  11 , the sensor  11  detects the vein pattern on the palm placed over the biometric information sensor  11  by using infrared rays.  
         [0036]     The keyboard  12  includes a ten-key pad  121  labeled with numbers 0 to 9, an end key  122 , and a menu key  123 , which are push buttons to be depressed for inputting a user ID or using a control function of the gate controller  10 .  
         [0037]     The input/output display  13  displays the ID input by the user, the result of execution of a control function of the gate controller  10 , operation guidance, an alarm message or the like.  
         [0038]     The alarm mechanism  14  includes an audio output section  141  having a speaker inside it and a light emitting section  142  in which LEDs are provided and indicates the result of authentication by producing sound and turning on a lamp.  
         [0039]      FIG. 3  is a side view of the gate controller  10 .  
         [0040]     The gate controller  10  has a structure intended to be mounted on a wall in a building or room near the door  30  as shown in  FIG. 1 . The operation panel  100  is slanted upward. Provided on a side wall of the gate controller  10  is a keyhole  151  into which a physical key is fit. When a specific key is inserted into the keyhole  151 , the inserted key can be turned to a predetermined angle. When the key is inserted and turned, the gate controller  10  recognizes that it is operated by a right key. In the present embodiment, inserting and turning a right key in the keyhole  151  is referred to as setting a key.  
         [0041]      FIG. 4  is a block diagram showing a configuration of the gate controller  10 .  
         [0042]     Shown in  FIG. 4  are personal information database (DB)  150 , an operation information file  160 , and a control section  170 , as well as the keyboard  12 , input/output screen  13 , alarm mechanism  14 , and biometric information sensor  11 , which are also shown in  FIG. 2 . An administrator key mechanism  15  including the keyhole  151  shown in  FIG. 3  is also provided.  
         [0043]      FIG. 5  shows information in the personal information DB  150 .  
         [0044]     The personal information DB  150  stores personal information and history. Registered as the personal information are both of personal information on users who are authorized to pass the door  30  shown in  FIG. 1  and personal information on administrators who take care of the building including the door  30 .  
         [0045]     Each item of personal information on each person comprises a combination of an ID and biometric information (palm vein pattern, in this example) which identify the person. Each of the user IDs and administrator IDs is a four-digit number. The first two digits of a user ID are any numbers except “99” and the first two digits of an administrator ID are “99”, which allows the person to be identified as administrator.  
         [0046]     History of registration and deletion of users are written in a history file. As will be described later, the registration of a user requires the presence of an administrator. In the event of an accident, the administrator who witnessed the registration of the user can be identified from records in the history.  
         [0047]     Referring back to  FIG. 4 , the description is continued.  
         [0048]     The operation information file  160  shown in  FIG. 4  contains various kinds of information for operating the door control system, such as display patterns to be displayed on the input/output display  13  and audio patterns to be presented to users through the alarm mechanism  14 .  
         [0049]     The control section  170  includes a personal information DB control section  171 , a main control section  172 , a keyboard control section  173 , a display control section  174 , an audio/lamp control section  175 , a biometric information sensor control section  176 , an administrator key state detection control section  177 , and a door control section  178 .  
         [0050]     The personal information DB control section  171  is responsible for accessing the personal information DB  150  according to instructions from the main control section  172 .  
         [0051]     The main control section  172  is responsible for controlling the registration of personal information and controlling authentication. Control by the main control section  172  will be described later.  
         [0052]     The keyboard control section  173  is responsible for detecting operations on the keyboard  12  and communicating them to the main control section  172 . The display control section  174  displays information such as IDs on the input/output display  13  in response to instructions from the main control section  172 .  
         [0053]     The audio/lamp control section  175  controls the speaker and lamps provided in the alarm mechanism  14  in response to an instruction from the main control section  172 . The biometric information sensor control section  176  controls the biometric information sensor  11  to detect a palm vein pattern and sends the detected palm vein pattern to the main control section  172 . The administrator key state detection control section  177  is responsible for determining whether a key is inserted and turned (is set) in the keyhole  151  (see  FIG. 3 ) of the administrator key mechanism  15  and sending the result of the determination to the main control section  172 . The door control section  178  outputs a control signal for locking or unlocking the electric lock of the door  30  (see  FIG. 1 ) to the door control panel  20  in response to an instruction from the main control section  172 .  
         [0054]     Personal information registration control and authentication control performed in the main control section  172  will now be described below.  
         [0055]      FIG. 6  shows a control flow during registration of an administrator.  
         [0056]     First, the menu key  123  on the keyboard  12  shown in  FIG. 2  is depressed (step a 01 ) and the state of an administrator key is determined in response to the depression of the menu key  123  (step a 02 ). The determination as to the state of an administrator key herein is determination whether a predetermined key is inserted and turned (is set) in the keyhole  151  shown in  FIG. 3 . If the key is not set, an NG alarm is generated (step a 03 ).  
         [0057]     If the menu key  123  is depressed and it is determined that the administrator key is set, an administration function menu is displayed (step a 04 ).  
         [0058]      FIG. 7  shows the administration function menu screen.  
         [0059]     Displayed on the menu are “1. Registration of administrator information”, “2. Registration of user information”, and other options. When the “1” key on the keyboard  12  (see  FIG. 2 ) is depressed while the administration function menu is displayed, execution of the “Registration of administrator information” is selected (step a 05 ).  
         [0060]     It should be noted that if the end key  122  shown in  FIG. 2  is depressed while the administration function menu is displayed, the administration function will end without any operation being performed.  
         [0061]     Next, an ID and biometric information for registering the administrator is inputted (step a 06  in  FIG. 6 ).  
         [0062]      FIG. 8  shows an ID input screen for registering an administrator.  
         [0063]     When the “Registration of administrator information” is selected, the screen shown in  FIG. 8  is displayed prompting the operator to input an administrator ID to be registered. When an ID is inputted through the ten-key pad  121  on the keyboard  12  shown in  FIG. 2 , the inputted ID is displayed on the ID input screen shown in  FIG. 8 . Only administrator IDs that have “99” as their first two digits and are not identical to the ID of an administrator already registered are accepted. After inputting the ID, the operator places one of his or her palm over the biometric information sensor  11  to cause it to detect the palm vein pattern.  
         [0064]     Then, the ID and biometric information thus inputted are registered in the personal information DB  150  (see  FIGS. 4 and 5 ) (step a 07  in  FIG. 6 ).  
         [0065]      FIG. 9  shows a control flow during user registration.  
         [0066]     As in the administrator registration (see  FIG. 6 ), first the menu key  123  on the keyboard shown in  FIG. 2  is depressed (step b 01 ), and whether an administrator key is set or not is determined in response to the depression of the menu key  123  (step b 02 ). If not set, an alarm is generated (step b 03 ).  
         [0067]     If it is determined that an administrator key is set, the administration function menu shown in  FIG. 7  is displayed (step b 04 ). If the end key  122  is depressed at this stage, the execution of the administration function will end without anything being performed.  
         [0068]     When the “Registration of user information” is selected by depressing the “2” key on the ten-key pad  121  of the keyboard  12  while the administration function menu shown in  FIG. 7  is displayed on the input/output display  13  (step b 05 ), determination is made as to whether an administrator has been registered or not (step b 06 ), if no administrator is registered, an NG alarm is generated (step b 07 ) to indicate that registration of an administrator should be performed first.  
         [0069]     If an administrator has been registered, the ID and biometric information are inputted, and authentication of the administrator is performed by checking the information against information on the administrator registered in the personal information DB (step b 08 ), and the ID of the administrator and the result of the authentication is written in the history file (see  FIG. 5 ) (step b 09 ).  
         [0070]     If the result of the administrator authentication is unsuccessful (step b 10 ), an NG alarm is generated (step b 11 ). If the authentication is successful, a user ID and the user&#39;s biometric information is inputted (step b 12 ) and the inputted user ID and biometric information are registered in the personal information DB  150  (step b 13 ).  
         [0071]     As shown in  FIG. 9 , the user registration requires both of key setting and authentication of an administrator. Thus, registration of a malicious illegitimate person can be reliably prevented.  
         [0072]      FIG. 10  shows the ID input screen displayed during user registration (step b 12  in  FIG. 9 ).  
         [0073]     When the ID input screen shown in  FIG. 10  is displayed on the input/output display  13  shown in  FIG. 2 , a user ID can be inputted. When an ID is inputted through the ten-key pad  121 , the inputted ID is displayed on the screen for confirmation by the user. Only IDs that are not identical to the ID of a user already registered and have numbers except “99” as their first two digits are accepted.  
         [0074]      FIG. 11  shows a control flow for authenticating a user.  
         [0075]     The ID of an user is inputted through the keyboard (step c 01 ) and the inputted ID is displayed on the input/output display  13  (step c 02 ).  
         [0076]      FIG. 12  shows the input/output screen on which the input ID is displayed.  
         [0077]     In this example, “0007” is inputted.  
         [0078]     Referring back to  FIG. 11 , the description of the control flow is continued.  
         [0079]     After the user ID is inputted as described above, the personal information DB  150  is searched using the inputted ID (step c 03 ) and biometric information of the user that matches the ID is retrieved (step c 04 ).  
         [0080]     When the user places one of his or her palms over the biometric information sensor  11 , biometric information from the palm is inputted (step cO 5 ) and the inputted biometric information is checked against the biometric information retrieved from the personal information DB (step c 06 ).  
         [0081]     If it is determined as the result of the check that the person is registered as a user (step c 07 ), the successful authentication is indicated by audio and lamp indication (step c 08 ) and the electric lock is unlocked (step c 09 ). On the other hand, if it is determined as the result of the check that the person is not registered as a user (step c 07 ), the unsuccessful authentication is indicated by audio and lamp indication (step c 10 ).  
         [0082]     While, beside the processes described above, other processes such as deletion of a user or an administrator and change of an ID are performed in the gate controller  10 , they are not subjects herein and therefore the description of which is omitted.  
         [0083]     While palm vein patterns are used as biometric information in the example described above, the biometric information is not limited to palm vein patterns. Other biometric information such as pupil vein patterns, fingerprints, or faces by which individuals can be recognized may be used.  
         [0084]     While personal authentication is performed and the result is used for controlling the opening and closing of a door in the example described above, the usage of the result of personal authentication is no object in the present invention. The present invention can be used in any applications.