JP2008027062A - Authentication device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an iris authentication device for reducing an influence of spectacle reflection. <P>SOLUTION: An iris authentication device 10 includes a light source 16 emitting light illuminated into an eye of a person to be authenticated; a light collecting unit 18 converging the light from the source 16 to a prescribed point 26 between an eye 40 of the person and the source 16 to illuminate the light diffused from the converged point 26 to the eye 40 of the person, a photographing unit 12 photographing the eye 40 of the person; and an authentication processing unit 14 performing authentication processing by using an image photographed by the photographing unit 12. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an authentication apparatus that performs authentication based on an image obtained by capturing an eye of a person to be authenticated.

  In recent years, so-called biometrics information unique to a person to be authenticated has been used as a method of personal authentication when accessing a device requiring high security, such as an entry / exit management device or an information device storing important information such as personal information. Various authentication methods have been put into practical use. Biometric information includes, for example, human body fingerprints, irises, fundus blood vessels, facial features, hand and arm blood vessel patterns, and the like.

  Among them, there is an authentication method (hereinafter referred to as “iris authentication method”) that uses the difference in the eyelid pattern of the iris of the eye because of its high reliability such as high identity authentication rate and low acceptance rate of others. It has been proposed and put to practical use in devices that require particularly high security. Patent Document 1 describes in detail a method for identifying a human by an iris.

In such an iris authentication method, information obtained by selectively coding an iris part from an image of an eye part of the person to be authenticated (hereinafter referred to as “eye image”) and information registered in advance (hereinafter referred to as “eye image”). , “Registration authentication information”), and if it is determined that they match each other, the person to be authenticated is authenticated as a person registered in advance. An iris authentication apparatus using such an iris authentication method is equipped with illumination that illuminates the vicinity of the eye of the person to be authenticated in order to capture the iris pattern of the person to be authenticated more clearly.
Japanese Patent No. 3307936

  However, when the person to be authenticated wears spectacles, there is a possibility that light reflected by the lens surface of the spectacles (hereinafter referred to as “spectacle specular light”) enters the imaging unit. At this time, the spectacle reflected light has a light intensity stronger than the light incident on the imaging unit after the illumination light is scattered by the eye or the like, and therefore, information on the scattered light component of the portion overlapping the spectacle reflected light component is lost. In other words, since the amount of light is saturated in the imaging unit, the iris information is reduced when a saturated area (hereinafter referred to as “glasses reflected light incident area”) of the spectacle reflected light overlaps the iris portion in the photographed eye image. There is a problem of adversely affecting the authentication accuracy.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described background, and an object thereof is to provide an authentication device that reduces the influence of spectacle reflection.

  The authentication apparatus according to the present invention has a light source that emits light to irradiate the eye of the person to be authenticated, a light from the light source that converges to a predetermined point between the eye of the person to be authenticated and the light source, and the converged point The light collecting unit for irradiating the eye of the person to be authenticated with the light spread from the light, the photographing part for photographing the eye of the person to be authenticated, and the authentication process for performing the authentication process using the image photographed by the photographing part Part.

  With this configuration, light from the light source is converged to a predetermined point, and light is irradiated to the eye of the person to be authenticated from the predetermined point, so that the light irradiated to the person to be authenticated is equivalent to light from a small light source. Thus, the area on the spectacle lens where the light is reflected to the photographing unit is reduced. Thereby, the spectacle reflected light incident area produced on a picked-up image becomes small, and the influence of the reflected light by spectacles can be reduced. In addition, a condensing part can be comprised by the combination of a lens, a mirror, or a lens and a mirror, for example.

  In the authentication apparatus of the present invention, the light source has a configuration for emitting parallel light.

  With this configuration, the light can be converged at the focal length position of the lens by one lens. As a result, the spectacle reflection light incident area on the image approaches a point, and thus an authentication device that is less affected by spectacle reflection can be realized. A lens or a mirror may be used to generate parallel light.

  In the authentication device of the present invention, the light source includes a plurality of light emitters arranged in a two-dimensional shape, and the light collecting unit is configured to converge light emitted from the plurality of light emitters to a predetermined point. Have.

  With this configuration, the irradiation range can be designed to be rectangular according to the shooting range of the shooting unit.

  In the authentication device of the present invention, the light source includes a plurality of light emitting units arranged in a two-dimensional shape, and the light collecting unit converges light emitted from the light emitting units. It has the composition provided with.

  With this configuration, it is possible to make the condensing part that converges the light from each light emitter thinner. Further, since the specular reflection light incident areas are dispersed, the iris information of a predetermined area is not lost collectively, and the reduction of the authentication accuracy of the iris can be prevented.

  The authentication device of the present invention has a configuration including an adjustment unit that changes a positional relationship between the light source and the light collecting unit.

  With this configuration, it is possible to adjust the focusing position and the intensity of illumination in the vicinity of the irradiating eye. The adjusting unit includes (1) the distance between the light source and the light collecting unit, (2) the eccentricity of the optical axis of the light source and the light collecting unit, and (3) the optical axis of the light source and the light axis of the light collecting unit. The angle, etc. may be adjusted.

  In the authentication device of the present invention, the light source emits near infrared rays.

  With this configuration, the iris pattern can be photographed more clearly, and the authentication accuracy can be improved.

  The authentication apparatus of the present invention includes a housing that houses the light source and the light collecting unit, and the housing has a configuration in which an opening is provided at a position where the light is converged by the light collecting unit.

  With this configuration, since the opening is provided at a position where the light converges, the opening can be made small, and discomfort to the person to be authenticated due to scattering of minute light in the opening can be reduced.

  An authentication apparatus according to the present invention includes a light source composed of a plurality of light emitters, a light shielding plate having an opening, a photographing unit that photographs the eyes of the person to be authenticated, and an image photographed by the photographing unit. And a plurality of light emitters arranged so that an optical axis of irradiated light is directed to the opening, and the light emitted from the plurality of light emitters is It has the structure irradiated to a to-be-authenticated person's eyes through an opening part.

  With this configuration, the person to be authenticated can be irradiated with the light emitted from the light emitter through the opening, and the area on the spectacle lens where the light is reflected to the photographing unit is reduced. Further, when viewed from the person to be authenticated, the size of the light source can be made equal to the size of the opening.

  According to the present invention, the light from the light source is converged to a predetermined point, and light is irradiated from the predetermined point to the eye of the person to be authenticated. It has an excellent effect that the influence of the reflected light due to can be reduced.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, an iris authentication device will be described as an example.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an iris authentication device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The iris authentication device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention is an authentication device that captures an image of the eye 40 by the photographing unit 12, performs iris authentication processing using the photographed eye image, and performs personal authentication.

  The iris authentication device 10 includes a photographing unit 12 that photographs the eye 40 of the person to be authenticated, and an authentication processing unit 14 that performs iris authentication using the photographed image. The imaging unit 12 is configured by an imaging element such as a CCD, for example, and generates an image signal by photoelectrically converting incident light. The authentication processing unit 14 processes the image signal input from the imaging unit 12 to acquire information on the iris of the person to be authenticated, and performs authentication processing by comparing with the registered authentication information registered in advance.

  In addition, when the iris authentication apparatus 10 captures the eye 40 of the person to be authenticated, the light source 16 that emits light that irradiates the eye 40 of the person to be authenticated and the light collecting unit 18 that collects the light from the light source 16. Convex lens.

  The light source 16 is a surface light source having a predetermined area and generating light with light distribution in a certain range of angular directions from the entire surface. The light source 16 may generate parallel light or nearly parallel light. The light source 16 may comprise a lens, a mirror, or a combination thereof to generate parallel light or near-parallel light.

  Here, the light condensing unit 18 is described using the refractive function of a convex lens, but the light converging unit 18 may be a combination of a plurality of lenses or may be realized by a mirror reflecting function. Further, the condensing unit 18 may be configured by a combination of a lens and a mirror.

  In the iris authentication device 10, the photographing unit 12, the authentication processing unit 14, the light source 16, and the light collecting unit 18 are accommodated in a housing 20. The housing 20 is provided with an opening 22 for outputting light from the light source 16 and an opening 24 for introducing light from the subject into the photographing unit 12. The condensing unit 18 is arranged so that the light converges in the vicinity of the opening 22 for outputting the light from the light source 16. Thereby, the opening 22 for outputting light can be made small, and the uncomfortable feeling of the person to be authenticated due to the scattering of minute light in the opening 22 can be reduced.

  The iris authentication apparatus 10 performs iris authentication by the following operation. First, the iris authentication device 10 emits light from the light source 16 and irradiates the eye 40 of the person to be authenticated with the light once converged and spread by the light converging unit 18. The irradiated light passes through the eyeglasses 42 and reaches the eye 40 and the skin, is scattered by the surface of the eye 40 and the skin, and part of the scattered light enters the imaging unit 12. Scattered light incident on the imaging unit 12 is photoelectrically converted by an image pickup device 51 such as a CCD and output as an image signal. The authentication processing unit 14 performs iris authentication processing using this image signal.

  Next, the effect of the iris authentication apparatus 10 of this Embodiment is demonstrated. In order to understand the effect of the iris authentication device 10 of the present embodiment, first, problems of the conventional iris authentication device 10 will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional iris authentication device 110. The conventional iris authentication apparatus 10 includes a surface light source 116 that generates light with light distribution in a certain range of angular directions from the entire surface.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the principle of loss of iris information in the conventional iris authentication apparatus 10. As shown in FIG. 3, part of the illumination light L12 emitted from the light source 16 is reflected by the spectacle lens 44, passes through the pinhole 130 as spectacle reflection light L13, and reaches the imaging surface 132 of the imaging unit 112. As shown in FIG. 2, as the illumination light L <b> 12, light beams of all angles are generated from the light source surface 118, and therefore, light beams from any position on the light source surface 118 include light beams that reach the imaging surface 132. .

  The spectacle reflection area 146 where the light beam is reflected on the spectacle lens 44 has a predetermined area, and the spectacle reflection light incident area 134 where the spectacle reflection light L13 reaches on the imaging element also has a predetermined area. Since the illumination reflected light L13 is reflected light, the intensity thereof is stronger than the light scattered in the vicinity of the eye 40 (scattered light). Therefore, when this spectacle reflection light incident area 134 overlaps with the image on the photographing unit 112 that projects the iris of the eye 40, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, iris information is lost.

  In the iris authentication apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, the light from the light source 16 is once converged by the light converging unit 18, so that the point light source 28 having a light distribution angle as shown in FIG. It is equivalent to the arrangement. The iris authentication device 10 spreads again and irradiates the vicinity of the eye 40 after the light once converges. Most of the irradiation light passes through the glasses 42 and reaches the eye 40 and the skin, and is scattered on the surface of the eye 40 and the skin. Part of the irradiation light is reflected by the spectacle lens 44, passes through the pinhole 30 as spectacle reflection light L3, and reaches the imaging element 32 of the imaging unit 12. Unlike the conventional iris authentication device 110, the iris authentication device 10 of the present embodiment has a narrow angle range of the illumination light L2 that becomes the spectacles reflected light L3 because the irradiation light is emitted from one point. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the spectacle reflection area 46 reflected on the spectacle lens 44 is a minute area close to a point, and the spectacle reflection light incident area 34 where the spectacle reflected light L3 reaches on the image sensor is also a minute area. Become. According to the present embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the area where the iris information is lost becomes very small.

  In addition, the iris authentication device 10 according to the present embodiment converges the light from the light source by the condensing unit 18 and irradiates the person to be authenticated with the light spread from the converged point. The strength around the spherical surface can be increased.

  In the present embodiment, since the intensity of the irradiation light L2 around the unit spherical surface is large, the spectacle reflected light incident area 34 has higher illuminance than the specular reflected light incident area 134 of the conventional iris authentication apparatus 110. However, since the conventional authentication device 110 is also at a level that saturates in the dynamic range of the image sensor, the output signal level is almost the same, and the saturated area of the authentication device 10 of the present invention is apparently the same. Get smaller.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, an iris authentication apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The iris authentication apparatus according to the second embodiment has the same basic configuration as the iris authentication apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment, but uses a light source 16 including a plurality of LEDs 50 instead of the surface light source 16. Is different. In general, a light emitting element such as an LED is often used as the light source 16, but when the eye 40 is illuminated, there are many cases where the amount of light is insufficient with one LED. In this case, the two-dimensional shape is used as in the present embodiment. It is preferable to arrange a plurality of LEDs 50 and use the irradiation light in an overlapping manner. Hereinafter, the light source 16 and the light collecting unit 18 applied to the second embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the light source 16 and the light collecting unit 18 according to the second embodiment. The light source 16 includes a plurality of LEDs 50 arranged in a two-dimensional manner. In 2nd Embodiment, the condensing part 18 which converges the light emitted from several LED50 to a predetermined point is provided.

  In the second embodiment, since the light from the light source 16 is once converged by the light collecting unit 18, the spectacle reflected light incident area generated on the captured image is reduced similarly to the first embodiment, The area where the iris information is lost can be reduced.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the spectacle reflection light incident area 146 when the light source 16 is constituted by a plurality of LEDs, and FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the spectacle reflection light incidence area 46 in the case of the iris authentication device 10 of the present embodiment. is there. As shown in FIG. 9, the spectacle reflection light incident area 46 from each LED 50 gathers in a small area, and the loss of iris information can be reduced.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a modification of the iris authentication device according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 10, a plurality of lenses 52 corresponding to each of the plurality of LEDs 50 may be arranged. In this case, the light from each LED is converged by each lens 52, spreads again, and illuminates the eye 40.

  According to this modification, as shown in FIG. 11, the spectacles reflected light incident area 46 corresponding to each LED converges small with the position unchanged. Thereby, the loss | disappearance of the information of an iris can be reduced.

(Third embodiment)
Next, an iris authentication device according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. The iris authentication apparatus of the third embodiment has the same basic configuration as the iris authentication apparatus 10 of the first embodiment, but the iris authentication apparatus of the third embodiment is shown in FIG. As described above, the adjusting unit 60 that adjusts the positional relationship between the light source 16 and the light collecting unit 18 is provided. Thereby, the irradiation position of the light with respect to a to-be-authenticated person is changed.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating adjustment of the light irradiation position by the adjustment unit 60. In the iris authentication apparatus 10 according to the third embodiment, the adjustment unit 60 adjusts the distance between the light source 16 and the light collection unit 18 as shown in FIG. Since the position of the light converging unit 26 in the distance direction changes, the irradiation range and the illumination intensity at the target position such as the eye 40 can be adjusted relatively.

  In the third embodiment, since the light irradiation range and irradiation intensity can be adjusted, it is possible to irradiate the person to be authenticated with an appropriate amount of light according to the position of the person to be authenticated.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a modification of the third embodiment. In the iris authentication apparatus of the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14, the adjustment unit 60 may adjust the optical axis positions of the light source 16 and the light collection unit 18 so as to be shifted in parallel. Thereby, since the vertical or horizontal position of the light converging unit 26 changes, the irradiation position at the target position irradiated to the eye 40 or the like can be adjusted relatively.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a modification of the third embodiment. In the iris authentication device 10 according to the third embodiment, the angle of each optical axis of the light source 16 and the light converging unit 18 may be adjusted by an adjusting unit 60 as shown in FIG. Thereby, since the vertical or horizontal position of the light converging unit 26 changes, the irradiation position at the target position irradiated to the eye 40 or the like can be adjusted relatively.

(Fourth embodiment)
FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an iris authentication apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. The basic configuration of the iris authentication apparatus of the fourth embodiment is the same as that of the iris authentication apparatus 10 of the first embodiment, but the iris authentication apparatus of the fourth embodiment includes a light source 160 and The light shielding plate 162 is disposed between the eye 40 of the person to be authenticated.

  FIGS. 17A and 17B are diagrams showing the light source 160 in detail. FIG. 17A is a view of the light source 160 as viewed from the front, and FIG. 17B is a cross-sectional view of the light source 160. As shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B, the light source 160 has a large number of LEDs 50 arranged on a table 161 curved in a bowl shape. With this configuration, the optical axis of each LED 50 is directed to the opening 22 of the light shielding plate 162.

  In the fourth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 16, the light emitted from the light source 160 is applied to the eye 40 or the glasses 42 through the opening 22. When viewed from the eye 40 side, the light source 160 can be seen only in the size of the opening 22, so that discomfort to the person to be authenticated can be reduced. Moreover, since the area of the irradiation light reflected on the spectacles 42 can be reduced, the range in which the reflected light from the spectacles 42 is reflected (the spectacle reflected light incident area) can be reduced when the photographing unit 12 captures an image. In this embodiment, the LEDs 50 are arranged on the bowl-shaped base 161. However, the base 161 on which the LEDs 50 are mounted is not limited to the bowl shape, and may be flat or V-shaped.

  As described above, the iris authentication apparatus 10 of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the example in which the authentication device 1 authenticates the person using the iris authentication method has been described. However, the authentication device of the present invention is not limited to the iris authentication device 10. Absent. For example, it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to an imaging device or an authentication device that irradiates a subject including a reflector such as the glasses 42 with illumination, for example, face authentication or retina authentication.

  As described above, the present invention has an excellent effect that the reflected light incident area of the spectacles generated on the captured image is reduced and the influence of the reflected light from the spectacles can be reduced. Useful as.

The figure which shows the structure of the iris authentication apparatus of 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows the structure of the conventional iris authentication apparatus. The figure which shows the principle by which the iris information is lost in the conventional iris authentication device The figure which shows the example of the eye image output by the conventional iris authentication apparatus The figure for demonstrating the effect of the iris authentication apparatus in 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows the example of the eye image output by the iris authentication device of 1st Embodiment The figure for demonstrating the authentication apparatus of 2nd Embodiment The figure which shows the example of the eye image output by the conventional iris authentication apparatus The figure which shows the example of the eye image output by the iris authentication device of 2nd Embodiment The figure for demonstrating the authentication apparatus concerning the modification of 2nd Embodiment. The figure which shows the example of the eye image output by the iris authentication apparatus which concerns on the modification of 2nd Embodiment. The figure for demonstrating the iris authentication apparatus of 3rd Embodiment The figure for demonstrating the adjustment in the iris authentication device of 3rd Embodiment The figure for demonstrating the adjustment in the iris authentication device which concerns on the modification of 3rd Embodiment. The figure for demonstrating the adjustment in the iris authentication device which concerns on the modification of 3rd Embodiment. The figure which shows the structure of the light source in 4th Embodiment. (A) Front view of light source (b) Cross section of light source

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Iris authentication apparatus 12 Image pick-up part 14 Authentication process part 16 Light source 18 Condensing part 20 Cases 22 and 24 Aperture 26 Light converging part 28 Point-like light source 30 Pinhole 32 Image sensor 34 Eyeglass reflected light incident area 40 Eye 42 Eyeglass 44 Eyeglass lens 46 Eyeglass reflection area 50 LED
52 Lens 60 adjuster

Claims (8)

A light source that emits light to irradiate the eye of the person to be authenticated;
A condensing unit for converging light from the light source to a predetermined point between the eye of the person to be authenticated and the light source, and irradiating the eye of the person to be authenticated with light that has spread from the converged point;
An imaging unit for imaging the eye of the person to be authenticated;
An authentication processing unit that performs an authentication process using an image photographed by the photographing unit;
An authentication apparatus comprising:   The authentication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light source emits parallel light. The light source includes a plurality of light emitters arranged two-dimensionally,
The authentication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the condensing unit converges light emitted from the plurality of light emitters to a predetermined point. The light source includes a plurality of light emitting units arranged two-dimensionally,
The authentication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light collecting unit includes a plurality of light collecting members for converging light emitted from the light emitting units.   The authentication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an adjustment unit that changes a positional relationship between the light source and the light collecting unit.   The authentication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light source emits near infrared rays. A housing for housing the light source and the light collecting unit;
The authentication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the casing is provided with an opening at a position where light is converged by the light collecting unit. A light source composed of a plurality of light emitters;
A light shielding plate having an opening formed therein;
An imaging unit for imaging the eye of the person to be authenticated;
An authentication processing unit that performs an authentication process using an image photographed by the photographing unit;
With
The plurality of light emitters are arranged so that an optical axis of irradiation light is directed to the opening, and light irradiated from the plurality of light emitters is irradiated to the eye of the person to be authenticated through the opening. A featured authentication device.

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