JP2005301658A - Personal digital assistant device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a personal digital assistant device whose operability is satisfactory, and which can be made compact. <P>SOLUTION: This personal digital assistant device as a portable telephone set includes a fingerprint authentication sensor 100 installed on the side face of this equipment, a fingerprint authentication part 210 for reading the fingerprint of a user through the fingerprint authentication sensor 100 for fingerprint authentication and an operation recognizing part 220 for authenticating the movement of the X and Y directions of the finger of the user on the sensor face through the fingerprint authentication sensor 100 as the operation input of the scroll operation or cursor moving operation of the user. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable information terminal device such as a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistants) notebook computer, and a digital camera.

  As a conventional mobile phone, there is one provided with a fingerprint authentication sensor in order to protect data in a memory unit of the device (see Patent Document 1). Many of such cellular phones are designed to perform cursor movement operations and scroll operations using input keys such as a multidirectional input device and a rotary dial (see Patent Document 2). However, when the input key and the fingerprint authentication sensor are provided in the mobile phone, the device itself is increased in size.

  For this reason, there is one that is designed to be miniaturized by making it possible to recognize an input operation according to the location where the user's finger touches the sensor surface of the fingerprint authentication sensor (see Patent Document 3). As such a fingerprint authentication sensor, there is an electric field strength measurement method in which an electric field is generated between a finger and a sensor element, and the electric field strength is measured as a distance between the finger and the element, thereby reading a fingerprint of the finger. Some have been adopted (see Patent Document 4).

JP 2002-330202 A JP 2000-36856 A JP 2002-335324 A JP 09-251530 A

  However, since the mobile phone of Patent Document 3 recognizes an input operation according to the contact location on the sensor surface, it is necessary to widen the sensor surface. That is, since the width of the fingerprint authentication sensor is increased, a large mounting space is required. For this reason, there is a problem that it is difficult to reduce the size of the mobile phone. In addition, since the user has to move his / her finger in arbitrary X and Y directions and then press down the sensor surface when performing an operation input, there is another problem that the operability is poor.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a novel portable information terminal device that has good operability and is suitable for downsizing the device. is there.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the portable information terminal device of the present invention has a function of reading a user's fingerprint through a fingerprint authentication sensor and performing fingerprint authentication, and the X and Y directions of the user's finger on the sensor surface through the fingerprint authentication sensor. A portable information terminal device having a function of recognizing movement as a user's operation, wherein the fingerprint authentication sensor sequentially reads a user's fingerprint placed on the sensor surface and outputs it as sensing data, and the fingerprint authentication An operation recognizing unit to which sensor sensing data is sequentially input. The operation recognizing unit sequentially generates fingerprint image data based on the input sensing data, and attaches a reference point to a predetermined portion of the image data. The latest image data on the memory unit is compared with the image data recorded before the latest image data. The movement direction in the X and Y directions and the movement amount in each direction from the reference point of the previous image data to the reference point of the latest image data are obtained, and then the movement amount in the X direction and the movement amount in the Y direction are compared. As a result of the comparison, the direction in which the amount of movement is large and the amount of movement are recognized as user operations.

  The fingerprint authentication sensor has a plurality of sensor elements, and is configured to switch between a fingerprint authentication mode and an operation input mode according to a mode switching signal output from the operation recognition unit. While the sensor elements are turned on, it is preferable that some sensor elements that can read the user's fingerprint in the operation input mode are turned on.

  The fingerprint authentication sensor is provided with an electrode for detecting that the user's finger is placed in the vicinity of the sensor surface, and outputs an electrical signal when the user's finger touches the electrode. The operation recognition unit preferably has a function of controlling on / off of the fingerprint authentication sensor in accordance with the electrical signal.

  In the portable information terminal device according to the first aspect of the present invention, the image data before and after the fingerprint obtained through the fingerprint authentication sensor can be compared to recognize the operation in the X and Y directions of the user. For this reason, it is not necessary to widen the sensor surface as in the conventional example, so that even if a fingerprint authentication sensor is provided, the apparatus can be downsized. In addition, when performing the operation input, the user only has to slide his / her finger in the arbitrary X and Y directions on the sensor surface, which is advantageous in terms of ease of use and extremely good operability.

  In the case of the portable information terminal device according to claim 2 of the present invention, in the operation input mode, it is not necessary to read the fingerprint with high accuracy, so that some sensor elements that can read the user's fingerprint are turned on. It is supposed to be. For this reason, the power consumption of the apparatus can be reduced.

  In the portable information terminal device according to claim 3 of the present invention, when a user's finger touches the electrode, an electrical signal is output by the fingerprint authentication sensor. The operation recognition unit turns on / off the fingerprint authentication sensor in response to the electrical signal. For this reason, when the user's finger is not on the sensor surface, the fingerprint authentication sensor can be turned off, which is advantageous in reducing power consumption.

  Hereinafter, a portable information terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a block diagram of the portable information terminal device, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the device, (a) is a schematic front view, (b) is a schematic right side view, and (c) is a schematic rear view. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a fingerprint authentication sensor at the time of sensing of the apparatus, FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the sensor surface of the fingerprint authentication sensor of the apparatus, and FIG. b) is a diagram showing the operation input mode, FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a fingerprint authentication interrupt program processed by the control unit of the apparatus, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an operation input interrupt program processed by the control unit of the apparatus. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing fingerprint image data created by the apparatus, where (a) is a sample diagram of image data recorded before the latest image data, and (b) is the latest image data. Fig. 8 is a reference of image data obtained by the apparatus. It is a figure which shows the moving direction and moving amount | distance of a point.

  The portable information terminal device shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 is a mobile phone, and the fingerprint authentication sensor 100 provided on the side of the device and the terminal device reads the fingerprint of the user through the fingerprint authentication sensor 100 and performs fingerprint authentication. A fingerprint authentication unit 210 that performs the operation, and an operation recognition unit 220 that recognizes the movement of the user's finger in the X and Y directions on the sensor surface through the fingerprint authentication sensor 100 as an operation input of the user's scroll operation or cursor movement operation. Yes. Hereinafter, each part will be described in detail. Reference numeral 400 denotes a main display of the apparatus.

  For the fingerprint authentication sensor 100, an electric field strength measurement type fingerprint authentication sensor is used. As shown in FIG. 3, the fingerprint authentication sensor 100 has a plurality of sensor elements 110 and an electrode 120 disposed around the sensor elements 110. The electrode 120 outputs a high-frequency current, and when the user brings a finger close to the electrode 120, the high-frequency current flows on the surface of the dermis inside the epidermis of the user's finger. As a result, an electric field is generated between the dermis of the user's finger and the sensor element 110. The sensor element 110 measures the electric field strength that changes in accordance with the unevenness of the dermis of the user's finger (that is, the fingerprint), and outputs the measurement result as sensing data. When the fingerprint authentication sensor 100 of the electric field strength measurement method is used in this way, it is possible to read the fingerprint of the user's finger without being affected by the skin of the user's finger skin.

  The fingerprint authentication sensor 100 outputs a predetermined electrical signal to the fingerprint authentication unit 210 when the user's finger contacts the electrode 120. The fingerprint authentication sensor 100 is switched from the fingerprint authentication mode to the operation input mode in response to the mode switching signal of the operation recognition unit 220. In the fingerprint authentication mode, all sensor elements are in the on state ((a in FIG. 4). On the other hand, in the operation input mode, a part of the sensor elements are turned on so that the user's fingerprint can be read, in this case in a checkered pattern (see FIG. 4B). It has become.

  In addition to the basic program of the portable information terminal device, the memory unit 300 includes a fingerprint authentication interrupt program shown in FIG. 5, an operation input lock interrupt program for locking an operation input (not shown), and an operation input interrupt program shown in FIG. Is recorded. In addition, the memory unit 300 stores image data of fingerprints up to the first joint of the user's finger inputted in advance as reference data.

  The control unit 200 is a calculation unit such as a CPU that controls the entire portable information terminal device. The fingerprint authentication sensor 100 and the memory unit 300 are connected to the input / output port of the control unit 200. The control unit 200 functions as the fingerprint authentication unit 210 by processing the fingerprint authentication interrupt program on the memory unit 300, while the operation recognition unit 220 by processing the operation input interrupt program on the memory unit 300. It comes to show the function. The contents of each program will be described later.

    Hereinafter, while using the portable information terminal device, the contents of each program processed by the control unit 200 will be described in detail.

  First, when the portable information terminal device is turned on or no operation input is performed for a predetermined time, the operation input lock interrupt program is processed, and the operation of the portable information terminal device is locked. The fingerprint authentication interrupt program shown in FIG. Then, the control unit 200 determines whether or not an electrical signal is input from the fingerprint authentication sensor 100 (s1). That is, it is determined whether or not the user's finger has touched the electrode 120. If it is determined that the finger of the user has touched the electrode 120 as a result of this determination, the fingerprint authentication sensor 100 is turned on as shown in FIG. 4A (s2). Then, all the sensor elements 110 of the fingerprint authentication sensor 100 are turned on.

  Thereafter, the fingerprint authentication sensor 100 sequentially reads the user's fingerprint on the sensor surface and outputs it as sensing data to the control unit 200 (s3).

  The control unit 200 converts the strength of the electric field into shades based on the sensing data, sequentially creates fingerprint image data, records them in the memory unit 300, and joins the image data to the fingerprint up to the first joint of the finger. Create image data. Thereafter, the image data and the reference data on the memory unit 300 are compared to determine whether or not they match (s4). Specifically, a reference point is attached to a plurality of feature portions of the fingerprint in the image data during the creation process (refer to FIG. 7), and it is determined whether or not the reference points match each other. To do. At the same time, the counter is operated to count the number of times of fingerprint authentication.

  If the result of determination in step 4 is that the control unit 200 determines that they do not match, it is determined whether or not fingerprint authentication has been performed a predetermined number of times (s5). If it is determined that the fingerprint authentication has not been performed a predetermined number of times, the process returns to step 3. On the other hand, if it is determined that the fingerprint authentication has been performed a predetermined number of times, the state where the operation of the portable information terminal device is locked is maintained (s6). Then, the fingerprint authentication interrupt program process is terminated.

  As a result of the determination in step 4, when it is determined that the control unit 200 matches, the operation input lock interrupt program processing is terminated and the operation lock of the portable information terminal device is released (s7).

  Thereafter, the operation input interrupt program shown in FIG. 6 is processed (s8). Then, the fingerprint authentication interrupt program process is terminated.

  First, when the operation input interrupt program is processed, the control unit 200 outputs a mode switching signal to the fingerprint authentication sensor 100 (s10). Then, some sensor elements 110 of the fingerprint authentication sensor 100 are turned on as shown in FIG. Then, the fingerprint authentication sensor 100 sequentially reads the user's fingerprint placed on the sensor surface every predetermined time and outputs it as sensing data.

  When this sensing data is input, the strength of the electric field is converted into light and shade based on the sensing data, and fingerprint image data is sequentially created. As shown in FIG. A reference point α is added to the feature portion of and recorded (s11). Note that the reference point in the latest image data shown in (b) of FIG. 7 is marked with 'in order to distinguish it from the reference point of the previous image data shown in (a) of FIG.

  Thereafter, the latest image data on the memory unit 300 (see FIG. 7B) is compared with the image data recorded before the latest image data (see FIG. 7A). The movement direction in the X and Y directions and the movement amount in each direction from the reference point α of the image data to the reference point α ′ of the latest image data are obtained (see FIG. 8) (s12). Thereafter, the movement amount Δx in the X direction is compared with the movement amount Δy in the Y direction. As a result of the comparison, the direction in which the movement amount is large and the movement amount are recognized as a scroll operation or cursor movement operation of the user's screen (s13). . Then, the operation is output to the main display 400. The operation input interruption program ends when the power of the portable information terminal device is turned off or no operation input is performed for a predetermined time (that is, sensing data of the fingerprint authentication sensor 100 is not input for a predetermined time). Until the process is completed, the processes of steps 11, 12, and 13 are performed according to the sensing data sequentially input from the fingerprint authentication sensor 100.

  In the case of such a portable information terminal device, the image data before and after the fingerprint obtained through the fingerprint authentication sensor 100 can be compared to recognize the user's operation in the X and Y directions. For this reason, since it is not necessary to widen the sensor surface of the fingerprint authentication sensor 100 as in the conventional example, even if the fingerprint authentication sensor 100 is provided, the size of the apparatus can be reduced. In particular, since a line-type fingerprint authentication sensor can be used, it is easy to reduce the size. In addition, when performing the operation input, the user only has to slide his / her finger in the arbitrary X and Y directions on the sensor surface, which is advantageous in terms of ease of use and extremely good operability.

  Any fingerprint authentication sensor 100 may be used as long as it has a function of sequentially reading a fingerprint of a user placed on the sensor surface and outputting it as sensing data. For example, another fingerprint authentication sensor such as a capacitance method may be used. In order to reduce the size, it is desirable to use a line type (sweep type) fingerprint authentication sensor, but it is also possible to use an area type fingerprint authentication sensor. The position where the fingerprint authentication sensor 100 is provided is arbitrary.

  The position where the main display 400 is provided is also arbitrary.

  Although described here as a mobile phone, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to a personal digital assistant such as a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a notebook computer, or a digital camera.

It is a block diagram of a portable information terminal device. It is a figure which shows the same apparatus, Comprising: (a) is a schematic front view, (b) is a schematic right view, (c) is a schematic back view. It is a schematic diagram which shows the fingerprint authentication sensor at the time of sensing of the apparatus. It is an enlarged view of the sensor surface of the fingerprint authentication sensor of the same device, (a) is a view showing the fingerprint authentication mode, (b) is a view showing the operation input mode. It is a flowchart of the fingerprint authentication interruption program processed by the control part of the apparatus. It is a flowchart of the operation input interruption program processed by the control part of the apparatus. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing fingerprint image data created by the apparatus, where (a) is a sample diagram of image data recorded before the latest image data, and (b) is a sample diagram of the latest image data. is there. It is a figure which shows the moving direction and moving amount of the reference | standard point of the image data calculated | required by the same apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Fingerprint authentication sensor 110 Sensor element 200 Control part 300 Memory part

Claims (3)

  A portable information terminal having a function of reading a user's fingerprint through a fingerprint authentication sensor and performing fingerprint authentication, and a function of recognizing movement of the user's finger in the X and Y directions on the sensor surface as a user operation input through the fingerprint authentication sensor An apparatus comprising: the fingerprint authentication sensor that sequentially reads a user's fingerprint placed on the sensor surface and outputs it as sensing data; and an operation recognition unit that sequentially receives the sensing data of the fingerprint authentication sensor. The operation recognition unit sequentially creates fingerprint image data based on the input sensing data, attaches a reference point to a predetermined portion of the image data, records it in the memory unit, and then updates the latest data on the memory unit. The latest image data is compared with the reference point of the previous image data by comparing the image data of the previous image data with the image data recorded before the latest image data. The movement direction in the X and Y directions and the amount of movement in each direction are obtained, and then the amount of movement in the X direction and the amount of movement in the Y direction are compared. A portable information terminal device characterized by being recognized as a user operation.   2. The portable information terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the fingerprint authentication sensor has a plurality of sensor elements, and switches between a fingerprint authentication mode and an operation input mode in accordance with a mode switching signal output from the operation recognition unit. In the fingerprint authentication mode, all sensor elements are turned on, while in the operation input mode, some sensor elements that can read the user's fingerprint are turned on. A portable information terminal device.   The portable information terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the fingerprint authentication sensor is provided with an electrode for detecting that a user's finger is placed in the vicinity of the sensor surface, and the user's finger is placed on the electrode. An electronic signal is output when touched, and the operation recognition unit has a function of controlling on / off of a fingerprint authentication sensor in accordance with the electrical signal. apparatus.