JP2007079791A - Face authentication device and face authentication terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a face authentication device with high authentication accuracy, capable of imaging the face of a person to be authened from the front, using a simple constitution. <P>SOLUTION: A half mirror 14 is fitted into a wall panel 20a of a security gate, and cameras 16 (A-B) are vertically arranged on the surface opposite to the mirror surface the authentication object person faces so that their fields overlap vertically. Since the authentication object person cannot see the cameras on the other side of the mirror 14, the user will not try to turn own face to any one camera 16 located at a specific position. The face of the authentication object person viewing the mirror surface from the front is appropriately photographed by any one of the plurality of cameras 16, and a face image of high quality can be obtained. This face image is compared with a registered face image preliminarily accumulated in a storage means, and when the both match, the person to be authened is recognized to be a person who has registered the registered facial image, and an authentication signal is outputted. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention captures the face of the person to be authenticated by imaging means such as a camera, obtains a facial image, and stores a registered facial image (a registered facial image of the person or a registered facial image of a plurality of people) stored in advance in the storage means, A face authentication device that compares the face image and determines that the person to be authenticated is a person who has registered the registered face image when the two match, and outputs an authentication signal; It relates to a face authentication terminal.
The face authentication apparatus and the face authentication terminal of the present invention can be applied to, for example, a security gate that is installed at the boundary between two areas to be partitioned from each other and manages the entrance and exit of people between the two areas. This security gate is provided at the entrance of a building or a gate between partitioned areas in the building, etc., and is used as a device for managing the entrance and exit of people inside and outside. It is provided in a close outer area, and is useful as a security means that can pass through a gate when the face of an accessing person is photographed and matches the registered person's face.

  When a face image is obtained by capturing the face of the person to be authenticated with an imaging means such as a camera, and the face image is compared with the registered face image stored in advance in the storage means, and it is determined that they match Further, there is known a face authentication apparatus that recognizes that the person to be authenticated is one of registered persons, and outputs an authentication signal to be used for security gate opening / closing control.

Patent Document 1 below relates to such a face authentication device, which illuminates a face portion of a person to be authenticated when a face image is captured by a single camera, and includes a plurality of illumination lamps along the height direction of the person to be authenticated. The height of the person to be authenticated is estimated based on the face image of the person to be authenticated acquired by the camera, and a plurality of illumination lamps are selectively controlled according to the estimated height of the person to be authenticated. Trying to increase the rate.
JP 2004-30156 A

  In conventional face recognition devices, the face image captured by the camera is displayed on the LCD monitor, and the person to be authenticated often confirms whether or not his / her face is properly captured. The device is expensive, which has hindered the spread of the conventional face authentication device.

  In addition, since the conventional face authentication apparatus has one camera as in the face authentication apparatus described in Patent Document 1, a face image in an appropriate state may not be obtained due to the height of the person to be authenticated. there is a possibility. For this reason, in the past, it was common to use a wide-angle lens to widen the shooting range, but in this case, the angle between the camera and the face greatly fluctuated depending on the height, and the authentication accuracy was adversely affected.

  In addition, in order to cover the wide range of the height of the person to be authenticated with a single camera installed in a relatively small place, the camera is often installed slightly upward at a relatively low position. In the case of a tall person, the camera is seen slightly downwardly and the camera looks up from below. In such a case, there may be a problem in accuracy in matching with a registered image obtained by photographing the face from the front. In addition, the image looked up from the bottom may cause a problem in facial feature recognition during face authentication. In some cases, the accuracy was adversely affected.

  Therefore, there is a face authentication device that can move the camera up and down according to the height of the person to be authenticated, but the mechanism is complicated and expensive, and the reliability is low.

  The present invention has no monitor or moving part for transferring a face image, is simple in configuration, can be set at an appropriate price, and can capture the face of the person to be authenticated from the front as much as possible. Therefore, the authentication accuracy is high and there is no monitor. Nevertheless, it is an object of the present invention to provide a face authentication device that allows a person to be authenticated to check the appearance of his / her face by himself and a face authentication terminal used therefor.

The face authentication device according to claim 1 captures the face of the person to be authenticated by imaging means to acquire a face image, compares a plurality of registered face images stored in advance in the storage means and the face image, In the face authentication apparatus that recognizes that the person to be authenticated is one of the predetermined persons who registered the registered face image and outputs an authentication signal when it is determined that both match,
A half mirror whose surface side facing the person to be authenticated is a mirror surface;
A plurality of imaging means arranged to vertically overlap the imaging range on the back side of the half mirror, and to image the face of the person to be authenticated through the half mirror;
The plurality of imaging means are made to image the face of the person to be authenticated, and a face image suitable for comparison with the registered face image is selected from the plurality of face images obtained by the plurality of imaging means. Control means for comparing with the registered face image;
It is characterized by comprising.

  A face authentication apparatus according to a second aspect is the face authentication apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the imaging means is provided in contact with a back surface of the half mirror.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the face authentication apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the face authentication apparatus matches the focal length of the imaging unit in accordance with a distance between the person to be authenticated and a surface of the half mirror determined by an installation space. The image pickup means is provided at a desired distance from the back surface of the half mirror.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the face authentication device according to the first aspect, wherein the face authentication device according to the first aspect is provided with a panel member that shields the entire back side of the half mirror, holds the half mirror, and attaches the imaging means. It is characterized by having.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the face authentication device according to the first aspect, wherein the position of the imaging means in the vertical direction is adjustable.

  The face authentication device according to claim 6 is the face authentication device according to claim 1, wherein the face authentication device is installed at a boundary between the first area and the second area to be separated from each other so as to enter and exit between the two areas. It is provided in the first or second area in the vicinity of a security gate to be managed, and is configured to be able to pass through the security gate when the authentication signal is output.

The face authentication terminal according to claim 7 is:
A face image is obtained by imaging the face of the person to be authenticated by the image pickup means, and a plurality of registered face images stored in advance in the storage means are compared with the face image. In a face authentication terminal used in a face authentication device that recognizes that the person is one of the predetermined persons who registered the registered face image and outputs an authentication signal,
A half mirror whose surface side facing the person to be authenticated is a mirror surface;
A plurality of imaging means arranged to vertically overlap the imaging range on the back side of the half mirror, and to image the face of the person to be authenticated through the half mirror;
It is characterized by comprising.

  According to the face authentication device of the first aspect, since the imaging means cannot be seen by the person to be authenticated, the person to be authenticated takes an extreme posture or forcibly tries to fit the imaging device at a specific position. Do not face up or down. That is, the person to be authenticated only visually recognizes his / her face reflected on the mirror surface of the half mirror from the front in a natural posture, and such face of the person to be authenticated is arranged at intervals in the height direction. Appropriate imaging can be performed by any of a plurality of imaging devices. Therefore, regardless of the height of the person to be authenticated, the quality of the face image of the person to be authenticated is always high and suitable for comparison with the registered image. Therefore, the comparison with the registered image is also quick and appropriate. There are few judgment errors.

  According to the face authentication apparatus of the second aspect, in the face authentication apparatus of the first aspect, since the imaging unit is in contact with the back surface of the half mirror, there is a possibility that unnecessary light may enter the imaging unit on the back surface side of the half mirror. Few.

  According to the face authentication device of the third aspect, as in the example in which the face authentication device according to the first aspect is attached to the wall surface in the security gate, the space between the half mirror and the opposite wall is reduced. If not enough, according to the distance between the person to be authenticated and the surface of the half mirror, the imaging means can be provided at a desired distance from the back of the half mirror according to the focal length of the imaging means, It can arrange | position without a problem also in the above narrow installation spaces.

  According to the face authentication apparatus of the fourth aspect, in the face authentication apparatus of the first aspect, unnecessary light enters the imaging means because the entire back surface of the half mirror is shielded by the panel member that holds the half mirror. There is nothing.

  According to the face authentication device of claim 5, in the face authentication device of claim 1, the height range of the person to be authenticated in which an appropriate face image can be obtained by adjusting the vertical position of the imaging means is arbitrarily set. Can be adjusted and set.

  According to the face authentication device of claim 6, if the face authentication device of claim 1 is installed at the boundary between the first area and the second area to be partitioned from each other in the security gate, only the registered person is authenticated. Thus, an authentication signal can be output, and the security gate can be opened and used effectively as a means for allowing passage.

  According to the face authentication terminal described in claim 7, since the imaging means cannot be seen by the person to be authenticated, the person to be authenticated takes an extreme posture and tries to forcibly align with the imaging device at a specific position. Is not forced upward or downward. That is, the person to be authenticated only visually recognizes his / her face reflected on the mirror surface of the half mirror from the front in a natural posture, and such face of the person to be authenticated is arranged at intervals in the height direction. Appropriate imaging can be performed by any of a plurality of imaging devices. Therefore, regardless of the height of the person to be authenticated, the quality of the face image of the person to be authenticated is always high and suitable for comparison with the registered image. Therefore, the comparison with the registered image is also quick and appropriate. There are few judgment errors.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
1 is a front view of a security gate to which the face authentication device of the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof, FIG. 3 is a left side view thereof, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the door closed, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view in a state where a part of the face authentication device can be seen by opening the face, FIG. 6A is a front view and FIG. 7B is a longitudinal sectional view of the face authentication device of the first example, and FIG. FIG. 8 is a front view of the face authentication device of the second example, FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of the face authentication device of the second example, and FIG. FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of the imaging device viewed from the back side of the face authentication device of the second example.

(1) Security gate to which the face authentication device of the present invention is applied (FIGS. 1 to 5)
A security gate 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 is a device that is installed at the boundary between a first area and a second area that are to be partitioned from each other, and manages the entrance and exit of people between the two areas. It is installed at the entrance of the building and is used to manage the entrance and exit of people at the building entrance.

  The security gate 1 is a unit-type gate housing 4 that is detachably integrated with a rectangular box-shaped intermediate housing portion 20 sandwiched between peripheral wall housing portions 2 and 2 each having a vertically divided cylinder. Is the main body. Openings 3 are formed in the two semi-cylindrical peripheral wall casing portions 2 and 2 of the gate casing 4 over the entire height. Each of the openings 3 has a pair of doors 5 that have a cylindrical peripheral surface shape that can close the openings 3 and that are movable in opposite directions along the peripheral wall casing portion 2 of the gate casing 4. , 5 are provided. This door 5 is made of a transparent resin.

  Then, as shown in the state in which the door of FIG. 5 is opened, the security gate is provided on the inner surface side of the rectangular box-shaped intermediate housing portion 20 between the two semi-cylindrical peripheral wall housing portions 2 and 2. 1 is provided with a face authentication terminal 11 (terminal panel) of the face authentication apparatus 10 for managing entry / exit.

  First, when a person approaches the outside of the door 5 of one peripheral wall housing part 2, a sensor (not shown) detects the person, or the person presses a switch provided outside the gate housing 4, The doors 5 and 5 are opened. The person can enter the inside of one of the peripheral wall housing parts 2, but since the inside of the peripheral wall housing part 2 is narrow, usually only one person can enter, and security is confirmed one by one and allowed to pass. Judgment whether to do or not.

  Even if two or more people enter the room (referred to as sharing), in this example, each of the two semi-cylindrical peripheral wall housing parts 2 and 2 and the rectangular intermediate housing part 20 between them, A load cell is provided under each floor plate to measure the weight of the person who entered the interior. If the control means determines that two or more persons have entered the room after entering the room, Regardless of whether or not the certifier's face authentication device is used, the door 5 of the peripheral wall casing 2 on the opposite side is locked so as not to allow passage to the other area Y, and if necessary, the peripheral wall casing on the entrance side The door 5 of the part 2 is also locked so that it cannot be returned to the first area X, and is locked inside and notified to a predetermined department. If entry into the room is appropriate, the person to be authenticated can move to a stage where the face authentication apparatus obtains authentication in the room.

(2) First example face authentication apparatus (FIGS. 6 and 7)
The configuration of the face authentication apparatus of the first example will be described with reference to FIGS.
In this face authentication apparatus, a rectangular opening 12 is provided in one of the indoor side wall panels 20 a of the intermediate casing 20, and the face authentication apparatus is attached to the opening 12. As shown in FIG. 6, on the back side of the opening 12 of the wall panel 20a (on the side opposite to the surface side of the wall panel 20a where the person to be authenticated is present), a fixture 13 is provided along the edge. A half mirror 14 that is slightly larger than 12 and substantially the same shape as the opening 12 is held so as to close the opening 12. The half mirror 14 has a mirror surface (front side) on which the person to be authenticated faces and sees himself / herself on the indoor side of the security gate 1, and a translucent surface (back side) on the inside of the wall panel 20 a of the housing. The half mirror 14 of this example has a width of 15 cm and a height of 86 cm, and is arranged so that the lower side is 112 cm from the floor surface.

  A support column 15 is fixed in the wall panel 20 a of the gate housing 4 with an appropriate space between the rear surface of the half mirror 14 and parallel to the longitudinal center line of the half mirror 14. A plurality (three in this example) of cameras 16 as image pickup means are attached to the support column 15 at an appropriate interval. The lens of each camera 16 faces the back surface of the half mirror 14 with a minute gap, and unnecessary light reflected on the back surface side of the half mirror 14 does not enter the lens of the camera 16. If a cylindrical light-shielding member made of an elastic material is provided at the tip of the lens of the camera 16 so as to be in contact with the back side of the half mirror 14, light shielding is more reliable.

  Here, the arrangement and interval of the camera 16 are arbitrary, but the range of the heights of the persons to be authenticated who use the face authentication device 10 is continuously covered, and the face having suitable image quality regardless of the height. The following settings are made so that images can be obtained.

  First, in this example, since a plurality of cameras 16 are arranged so that the fields overlap, the angle of view of these cameras 16 does not have to be as wide as that of a camera of a conventional face authentication device, and is about the same as a standard lens. Since the angle of view is sufficient, the face image obtained by each camera 16 is not unnecessarily distorted as in the case of using a wide-angle lens, and the feature of the face that is the point of feature data extraction in face authentication is grasped. There is no problem.

  Next, the three cameras 16 of the present example are arranged at a height that covers the range of the heights of the persons who are to be authenticated using the face authentication device 10, and no discontinuity occurs in the imaging range. Thus, the camera 16 is arranged at an appropriate interval so that the angles of view of the cameras 16 arranged adjacent to each other overlap.

  Specifically, the camera 16 has a focal length f = 2.5 mm, and the height of the shootable range at a distance of 20 cm from the focal point is 36 cm. The vertical distance between the cameras 16 is set to 25 cm, and the cameras 16 are arranged at positions of 130 cm, 155 cm, and 180 cm in order from the lowest camera 16 at the height from the floor. According to this arrangement, the fields of the three cameras 16 are continuous without overlapping, and the position of the face 17 of the person to be authenticated can be photographed well from 112 cm to 198 cm.

  According to the face authentication device 10 of the present example, the person to be authenticated cannot see the camera 16 beyond the half mirror 14, so the person to be authenticated cannot force his / her face to the camera 16 at a specific position. The person does not take an extreme posture and tries not to force the face upward or downward. That is, the person to be authenticated only visually recognizes his / her face reflected on the mirror surface of the half mirror 14 from the front in a natural posture, and such face of the person to be authenticated is arranged at intervals in the height direction. Images are properly captured by any one of the plurality of cameras 16. Therefore, regardless of the height of the person to be authenticated, the obtained face image of the person to be authenticated is a high quality image taken from the front (or close to it), and the face that is a characteristic part of the face is face-authenticated. Therefore, it is suitable for comparison with a registered image in that it is difficult to introduce an error when it is identified as basic information. Therefore, comparison with the registered image is performed quickly and appropriately, and there are few judgment errors.

  Photographing of the authentication subject and subsequent data processing are performed in the procedure of the flowchart shown in FIG. 7, for example. This procedure is executed by a control unit (not shown) of the face authentication apparatus 10. First, when the person to be authenticated performs an action such as passing an ID card as a personal identification means through the card reader 18 or inputting a recitation number, the control means performs preliminary identity verification, and if the result is correct, Face authentication is started (S1).

  When face authentication is started, the three cameras 16 (A to C) in this example automatically take pictures one after another (or simultaneously) regardless of the face height of the person to be authenticated (S2 to S4). The three image data of the person to be authenticated obtained by each camera 16 are combined and arranged in one screen for comparison by the control means (S5).

  Next, face images are searched in an appropriate order from images synthesized in one screen (S6). If no face is detected, photographing by the three cameras 16 has not been properly performed. The authentication work ends (S7). If a face is detected, eyes are searched from the first detected face image (S8). If no eye is detected, the process returns to the search for the face image again, the next face image is detected according to the order, and the eye is detected in the face image (S9, S6). If an eye is detected, it is checked whether the face image is suitable for comparison with the registered face image (S10). If it is inappropriate, the authentication operation is terminated (S11), and if it is determined appropriate, the process proceeds to the following data processing step before the face matching stage (S11 to S14).

  That is, if at least one of the face images taken by the camera 16 is suitable for comparison with the registered image, prior to the comparison, the face image is contracted / expanded (S12), sharpened (S13), Further, face feature data extraction for comparison with the registered face image data is performed (S14).

  Then, the face feature data generated from the face image data obtained by photographing the face of the person to be authenticated with the camera 16 is compared with the face feature data of the face image data registered in advance in the apparatus. Here, as a comparison method, for example, a live image acquired from the camera 16 is compared with feature data of an authenticated person registered in advance in this apparatus, and a separately set threshold value is set. There is a method of identifying the person himself / herself when the number is exceeded.

  In addition, the live image acquired from the camera 16 is compared with all face feature data registered in advance in the device, and the best match is found when the feature match exceeds a separately set threshold. There is also a technique for identifying a person to be authenticated who has shown a degree as a principal.

  Regardless of which face authentication method is used, if it is determined that the captured face image of the person to be authenticated matches the face image of a person registered in advance in the apparatus, the door of the peripheral wall casing 2 on the entrance side At the same time, the door 5 of the peripheral wall casing 2 on the exit side is opened, and the person whose security has been confirmed can go to the area Y on the opposite side of the desired one.

  Further, in this example, since the camera 16 is in contact with the back surface of the half mirror 14, there is an effect that unnecessary light is less likely to enter the imaging means on the back surface side of the half mirror 14.

  Further, in this example, since the space in the security gate 1 is narrow, if the space between the half mirror 14 and the opposite wall in the gate cannot be sufficient, the person to be authenticated and the surface of the half mirror 14 The camera 16 can be provided at a desired distance away from the back surface of the half mirror 14 in accordance with the focal length of the camera 16 in accordance with the distance of. For example, as shown by an imaginary line in FIG. 6A, the arrangement of the support pillar 15 and the camera 16 is rearranged from the back surface of the half mirror 14 to a desired distance in accordance with the margin of the internal space of the casing of the security gate 1. Since it can also be arranged by retreating only, it can be arranged without any problem even in such a narrow installation space.

(3) Second example face authentication apparatus (FIGS. 8 to 11)
The configuration of the face authentication terminal 31 of the face authentication apparatus 30 of the second example will be mainly described with reference to FIGS.
The face authentication device 30 has the same basic structure as the first example, and is used as the security control device of the security gate 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 as in the first example. The same is true. Hereinafter, the structure of the face authentication terminal 31 of the face authentication apparatus 30 of this example attached to the gate casing 4 of the security gate 1 will be described.

  A wall panel 20a on the indoor side of the intermediate casing 20 of the security gate 1 is held by a hollow rectangular column member 32, and a vertically long rectangular opening 32 is provided in the wall panel 20a. As shown in FIG. 10, a half mirror 34 having the same shape as the opening 12 is opened by the panel member 33 along the edge of the back side of the opening 32 of the wall panel 20 a (the side where the person to be authenticated does not exist). Is held to close. As shown in FIG. 10, this panel member 33 is a panel having a structure in which a horizontal cross-sectional shape having a box-shaped central portion 40 and support flange portions 41 provided on both sides are the same in the vertical direction. Is the body. The left and right edges of the half mirror 34 are supported by the stepped portion of the support flange portion 41, and the support flange portion 41 is fixed to the back side of the peripheral edge of the opening 32 of the wall panel 20a by a fixing means. 34 fits into the opening 32 of the wall panel 20a.

  There is a gap between the back side of the half mirror 34 and the box-shaped central portion 40, and the main body of the camera 16 is attached to the box-shaped central portion 40, and the lens protrudes forward from the main body of the camera 16. Is substantially in contact with the back side of the half mirror 34. That is, in the central portion 40 of the panel member, three lens insertion holes 42 are formed at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction, and each camera 16 inserts the lens from the insertion hole 42 into the inside of the central portion 40. The main body is brought into contact with the outer surface of the central portion 40 in a state where it is inserted into the rear surface of the half mirror 34 and the main body is attached to the central portion 40 while being supported by the fasteners 43 in the vertical direction. It has been. If the insertion hole is vertically long and the fastener 43 is attached to the central portion 40 in the lateral direction, the mounting position of the camera 16 can be adjusted in the vertical direction.

  As shown in FIG. 9, there are three cameras 16 (A to C), which are the same as in the first embodiment in that the fields are arranged so as to overlap in the vertical direction. Although dimensions and the like are not shown, they are appropriately set according to the range of the height of the person to be authenticated who is scheduled to be used.

  8 and 9, a card reader 38 is provided below the half mirror 34 provided on the wall panel 20a so that the person to be authenticated can read a self-owned card. A touch switch 39 for starting the card reading by 38 is provided.

According to this example, the lens 16 of the camera 16 and the entire back side of the half mirror 34 are covered with the central portion 40 of the panel member 33, and the panel member 33 functions as a light shielding member. The light does not enter from the side and enter the lens, and the light from the back side is less likely to prevent the subject from being photographed.
In addition, since the structure of the control means in this example, the authentication procedure in the control means, and the like are the same as those in the first example, the description in the first example is incorporated and detailed description thereof is omitted.

(4) Effects of Embodiments According to the embodiments of the present invention described above, the following effects can be obtained.
1) A plurality of cameras (three in each example) 16 arranged in the vertical direction behind the half mirror 34 are used to authenticate persons from a short height to a high height, or from a child to an adult. As can be covered.

  2) Among the multiple images obtained by photographing with multiple cameras 16 at the same time or almost simultaneously, the most important face image with the main part of the face necessary for authentication is shown and facing the front as much as possible. Since the control means can automatically select, the accuracy of authentication is high and the reliability is high.

  3) Since a plurality of cameras 16 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction, it is not necessary to use a wide-angle lens for the camera 16, and the camera 16 for the face of the person to be authenticated regardless of the height of the person to be authenticated. The angle of the image is close to a right angle, the distortion of the obtained face image is reduced, the image quality is improved, and the authentication accuracy is increased.

  4) Since the camera 16 is arranged behind the half mirror 34 and is not visible to the person to be authenticated, it has a simple appearance that does not expose the machine part, and has an excellent design.

  5) Since the person to be authenticated does not use an expensive liquid crystal display monitor, which is required in the prior art, as a means for confirming the appearance of his / her face image, a significant cost reduction can be realized.

  6) Even in the installation area having a compact configuration such as the security gate 1, the distance between the half mirror 34 and the camera 16 is set appropriately wide in accordance with the focal length of the camera 16, so that the half mirror 34 and the authentication target are set. It can be configured so that the entire face can be photographed even if the interval between persons is narrow.

  In each of the embodiments described above, an example is shown in which the face authentication device and the face authentication terminal according to the present invention are applied as an authentication device and a terminal of an entrance / exit management device having a compact configuration like the security gate 1. However, of course, the scope of the present invention is not limited to this, and can be widely applied to entrance / exit management at the entrance / exit of a building or a door in a building, and can be widely applied as an identity verification means in every application. Of course.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a security gate to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a plan view of a security gate to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 3 is a right side view of a security gate to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 4 is a perspective view in a state where the door of the security gate to which the present invention is applied is closed. FIG. 5 is a perspective view in a state where a door of a security gate to which the present invention is applied is opened. 6A is a cross-sectional view and FIG. 6B is a front view illustrating the configuration of the face authentication device or the face authentication terminal according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a control procedure in the face authentication apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a front view of a face authentication device or a face authentication terminal according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of a face authentication device or a face authentication terminal according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the face authentication device or the face authentication terminal of the second embodiment taken along the line II of FIG. FIG. 11 is an enlarged rear view of a camera portion in the face authentication device or the face authentication terminal according to the second embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1 ... Security Gate 1
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10, 30 ... Face authentication apparatus 11, 31 ... Face authentication terminal 12, 32 ... Opening 13 ... Mounting tool 14, 34 ... Half mirror 16 ... Camera as imaging means 17 ... Face of person to be authenticated 33 ... Panel member

Claims (7)

A face image is obtained by imaging the face of the person to be authenticated by the image pickup means, and a plurality of registered face images stored in advance in the storage means are compared with the face image. In a face authentication apparatus that recognizes that the person is one of the predetermined persons who registered the registered face image and outputs an authentication signal,
A half mirror whose surface side facing the person to be authenticated is a mirror surface;
A plurality of imaging means arranged to vertically overlap the imaging range on the back side of the half mirror, and to image the face of the person to be authenticated through the half mirror;
The plurality of imaging means are made to image the face of the person to be authenticated, and a face image suitable for comparison with the registered face image is selected from the plurality of face images obtained by the plurality of imaging means. Control means for comparing with the registered face image;
A face authentication apparatus comprising: The face authentication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imaging unit is provided in contact with a back surface of the half mirror. According to the distance between the person to be authenticated and the surface of the half mirror determined by the installation space, the imaging means is provided at a desired distance from the back surface of the half mirror in accordance with the focal length of the imaging means. The face authentication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 2. The face authentication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a panel member that shields light from the entire back surface side of the half mirror, holds the half mirror, and attaches the imaging means. The face authentication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vertical position of the imaging unit is adjustable. The authentication is provided in the first or second area in the vicinity of a security gate that is installed at the boundary between the first area and the second area to be separated from each other and manages entry / exit between the two areas. The face authentication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the face authentication apparatus is configured to be able to pass through the security gate when a signal is output. A face image is obtained by imaging the face of the person to be authenticated by the image pickup means, and a plurality of registered face images stored in advance in the storage means are compared with the face image. In a face authentication terminal used in a face authentication device that recognizes that the person is one of the predetermined persons who registered the registered face image and outputs an authentication signal,
A half mirror whose surface side facing the person to be authenticated is a mirror surface;
A plurality of imaging means arranged to vertically overlap the imaging range on the back side of the half mirror, and to image the face of the person to be authenticated through the half mirror;
A face authentication terminal comprising:

Images