KR20070119922A - Mobile communication device storing interchangeable fingerprint data and operating method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A mobile terminal for storing compatible fingerprint information and a method for operating the same are provided to remarkably increase the stability of fingerprint identification by creating and transmitting fingerprint identification data with a feature point and a middle image, acquired from a user's fingerprint, in user authentication through a network. A mobile terminal for storing compatible fingerprint information comprises a fingerprint identification sensor(10) and a control part(20). The fingerprint identification sensor(10) recognizes a fingerprint and extracts the feature point of the recognized fingerprint. The control part(20) creates fingerprint identification data containing the information of the extracted feature point and the unique information of the fingerprint identification sensor(10) and transmits the created data to the external. The control part(20) registers a valid user's fingerprint image through the fingerprint identification sensor(10). If fingerprint identification data are received from the external, the control part(20) converts the received data into a fingerprint image corresponding to the fingerprint identification sensor(10) and compares it with the registered fingerprint image.

Description

A mobile communication terminal for storing compatible fingerprint information and a method of operating the same.

1 is a view showing a fingerprint image generated by a typical fingerprint recognition sensor,

2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a mobile communication terminal according to the present invention;

3 is a diagram showing a pattern type of a typical fingerprint;

4 is an exemplary view illustrating a feature point extraction process of a fingerprint in a mobile communication terminal according to the present invention;

5 is a diagram illustrating a data format of fingerprint identification data in a mobile communication terminal according to the present invention;

6 is an exemplary view showing an application example of a mobile communication terminal according to the present invention;

7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of transmitting fingerprint identification data in a mobile communication terminal according to the present invention;

8 is a flowchart illustrating a user authentication method of received fingerprint identification data in a mobile communication terminal according to the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols on main parts of the drawings>

10: fingerprint recognition sensor 20: control unit

30: fingerprint information storage unit 31: fingerprint sensor DB

60: communication module

The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal for storing compatible fingerprint information and a method of operating the same. Particularly, in the case of transmitting and receiving fingerprint information, the present invention is compatible to generate the same fingerprint information even when the types of fingerprint recognition sensors provided in the terminal are different. A mobile communication terminal for storing possible fingerprint information and a method of operating the same.

With the development of networks, the interest in security and privacy has increased, and the necessity of biometric technology as a method for protecting information or verifying personal identity is becoming important.

Biometric technologies that use biometric information of each individual include biometric technologies such as fingerprint, face, iris, retina, vein, and voice. Among them, fingerprints are different from person to person and have characteristics that do not change for life. Compared to other biometric technologies such as iris, it is known to be the most efficient in terms of performance, cost, user convenience, and market formation.

Accordingly, the fingerprint recognition technology is also applied to the mobile communication terminal. When a party user's fingerprint is registered through the fingerprint recognition sensor provided in the terminal, the user can perform authentication by comparing the registered fingerprint with the fingerprint recognized by the fingerprint recognition sensor. It becomes possible.

However, even fingerprints of the same person may vary greatly depending on the characteristics of the fingerprint recognition sensor provided in each terminal.

1 is a diagram illustrating a fingerprint image generated by a typical fingerprint recognition sensor.

When the fingerprint sensor scans a fingerprint to be registered, the fingerprint sensor extracts a feature point from the scanned fingerprint and generates a fingerprint image through the extracted feature point information. In this case, since the feature points are represented by predetermined coordinates, the coordinates of the extracted feature points may be different according to sensor characteristics such as the scan resolution of each sensor even for fingerprints of the same person.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, the fingerprint image finally used to extract the feature point may also have different thicknesses, valley gaps, and sharpness of the ridges according to the characteristics of each fingerprint sensor, so that the fingerprint information stored in the terminal may be different. When performing user authentication, there is often a problem that the user cannot pass the authentication process because it is determined to be an inappropriate user despite being a just user.

The object of the present invention is to save the user of the party user's fingerprint extracted through the fingerprint recognition sensor as well as the intermediate image of the fingerprint generated in the extraction process and transmit it to the outside, so that the normal user can operate the party even if the characteristics of the acquired sensor are different. A mobile communication terminal for storing compatible fingerprint information that can be determined as a fingerprint and a method of operating the same are provided.

A mobile communication terminal for storing compatible fingerprint information according to the present invention for solving the above problems is a fingerprint recognition sensor for recognizing a fingerprint and extracting feature points, and fingerprint identification data including unique information and feature points of the fingerprint recognition sensor. It generates a control unit for transmitting to the outside.

In addition, the operating method of the mobile communication terminal for storing compatible fingerprint information according to the present invention extracting the feature point of the recognized fingerprint and storing the intermediate image generated during the extraction, the fingerprint recognition including the extracted feature point and the intermediate image Generating data, and transmitting fingerprint identification data generated for user authentication to the outside.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a mobile communication terminal according to the present invention. In describing the terminal of the present invention, an unnecessary configuration that may obscure the subject matter of the present invention will be omitted.

The mobile communication terminal according to the present invention recognizes a user's fingerprint and extracts the fingerprint feature information of the recognized fingerprint sensor 10, the memory 30 storing the fingerprint information of the authenticated user, and the memory 30 It includes a control unit 20 for authenticating the stored fingerprint information of the authenticated user and the fingerprint recognized by the fingerprint recognition sensor 10 to match if matched.

In addition, according to the command according to the command of the communication module 60 for transmitting the fingerprint identification data including the feature of the authentication user to the outside, the fingerprint registration command or the authentication execution command is input, and the command of the input unit 40 Or an output unit 50 for outputting an operation state of the terminal.

The fingerprint recognition sensor 10 includes a fingerprint input unit 11 that scans a user's fingerprint to generate an image, and a fingerprint image processing unit 12 which extracts feature points by image processing the generated image in various steps.

The fingerprint input unit 11 is disposed on the surface of the mobile communication terminal in order to sense the fingerprint of the user, and there are largely optical and semiconductor methods according to the fingerprint sensing method.

Optical is the most widely used method. By shooting strong light on the plate and reflecting the fingerprint shape of the fingertip placed on the plate, the image of the reflected fingerprint is passed through the high refractive lens and input to the CCD. When the fingertips are touched directly on the surface of the silicon chip using electrical conductivity, the special shape of the fingerprint on the chip surface is read as an electrical signal.

The optical type is strong against external impact and scratches on the input part, and has excellent stability, and the semiconductor type has a small volume and low manufacturing cost. The mobile communication terminal according to the present invention will be described with an example in which the semiconductor method is applied according to the recent trend of miniaturization of the terminal, but an optical sensor may also be applied.

In describing the fingerprint image processing unit 12, a pattern of a general fingerprint will be described. 3 is a diagram illustrating a pattern type of a general fingerprint.

Fingerprint (a) is a stripe formed by lines formed by ridges of the palmar epidermis from the tip of a finger to the first node. The fingerprint consists of a ridge that rises like a mountain range and a valley that is a valley like a valley between the ridge and the ridge.

In addition to the ridges and valleys, there are those showing the morphological characteristics of the fingerprint. As shown in FIG. 3, the end point (P2) and the ridge (L1), which are the points where the ridge L1 flows and breaks, flow in two directions. There is a bifurcation point (P1) that is a branch to the point, the end point (P2) and the branch point (P1) is called the feature point of the fingerprint.

Accordingly, when registering a fingerprint for user authentication, the fingerprint recognition sensor 10 scans the user's fingerprint to extract the end point P2 and the branch point P1, and the extracted feature points are stored in a memory and then the fingerprint recognition sensor 10 ) Is compared with the feature points of the recognized fingerprint.

The feature point extraction process will be described in more detail as follows. 4 is an exemplary view illustrating a feature point extraction process of a fingerprint in a mobile communication terminal according to the present invention.

When the user's fingerprint touches the fingerprint input unit 11, the fingerprint input unit 11 scans the fingerprint to generate a predetermined fingerprint image (a).

The generated fingerprint image is transmitted to the fingerprint image processing unit 12, and the fingerprint image processing unit 12 divides the transferred fingerprint image into a predetermined number of fingerprint image blocks, and has an image binarization with different threshold values for each fingerprint image block. binary) (b).

Next, smoothing removes the noise of the binarized image and smoothes the roughened ridge (c), and thinning the line image to make the width of the ridge pixel by pixel from the smoothed fingerprint image. (D).

The branching point and the end point of the fingerprint may be determined from the thinned image to extract the coordinates of each branching point and the end point, and a fingerprint image similar to the first scanned image may be generated through the coordinates of the extracted feature point (e).

Therefore, the feature point information is not an image in which an image of a fingerprint is embodied, but the coordinate information where each feature point is located on the image scanned by the fingerprint input unit 11 is generated in a text form, and the generated feature point information is the memory 30. Is stored in the fingerprint information storage unit 31.

On the other hand, when the mobile communication terminal according to the present invention is connected through a network to perform user authentication with a separate device, fingerprint recognition data including an intermediate image is transmitted and received in addition to the feature point information.

5 is an exemplary view showing an application example of a mobile communication terminal according to the present invention.

That is, FIG. 5 illustrates an example in which a user authentication with another device is required in the mobile communication terminal according to the present invention. In the case of remote control (a), when connected to a computer server of a financial institution through a mobile communication network to perform electronic commerce (b), and connected to a home server that controls the operation of a plurality of home appliances in the home or building (C) may be used to remotely control the operation of the home appliance.

As a result, the external device referred to in the present specification is applied to all devices connected on the terminal and the network of the present invention, including a separate terminal, a computer server, and a home server.

Each terminal, computer server, and home server may be provided with a fingerprint sensor of a different type from the fingerprint sensor provided in the mobile communication terminal according to the present invention.

In this case, when the fingerprint of the same person is acquired from the same sensor, the image processing process such as binarization, thinning, etc., and the criterion for determining the branch point and the end point are the same, so that the coordinates of the feature points are always the same, but the fingerprint is obtained from other types of sensors. Since the image processing process and the discrimination criteria of the feature points may be different, the coordinates of the feature points are different from each other in the fingerprint of the same person.

Therefore, the mobile communication terminal according to the present invention generates fingerprint recognition data for performing authentication for the same person in other types of sensors and transmits them to the connected terminal, the computer server and the home server.

The fingerprint recognition data according to the present invention includes an intermediate image in addition to the feature point information so that a similar fingerprint image can be generated in a sensor having different characteristics in the case of the same fingerprint.

The intermediate image is a temporally generated image during the binarization, smoothing, and thinning process of extracting the feature point. Unlike the feature point information represented only by text coordinates, the intermediate image is a modified form of the fingerprint image acquired by the fingerprint input unit 11.

Since the feature points are extracted based on the intermediate image, the shape of the fingerprint image generated at the time of acquisition can be determined even by other types of sensors, and the shape of the original fingerprint image can be more clearly known through the coordinates of the branch point and the end point. Fingerprint images similar to those obtained can be generated.

In case of storing the thinned image as an intermediate image and transmitting it together, the thinned image is represented by the width of the ridge line, and its capacity is significantly reduced compared to the image of the previous stage where the width, length, and width are implemented. Even when sent together, it does not exceed 1kb.

In addition, in case of storing the binarized image as an intermediate image, the capacity of the binarized image is greatly increased compared to the thinned image, but the image itself is similar to the scanned image acquired from the fingerprint input unit, so that a more accurate fingerprint image can be generated. It becomes possible.

The transmission format of the data for the fingerprint recognition data to be transmitted to the outside through the communication module is as follows. 6 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of fingerprint identification data in a mobile communication terminal according to the present invention.

Fingerprint identification data according to the present invention is a sensor ID field (f2) for storing the unique information of the fingerprint recognition sensor extracted the feature point, an image information field (f3) for storing the intermediate image, and a template field for storing the extracted feature point information ( f4).

In addition, the STX (f1) to inform the start of the data frame, the public key field (f5) for ensuring the accuracy of the transmission data, and CRC (f6) for verifying the information of the transmission data, and transmits the fingerprint recognition data Device information of a device and device information of a device to be received may be stored.

The sensor ID field f2 stores one or more pieces of information for identifying a corresponding sensor, such as a model name and a manufacturer of a sensor included in a transmission terminal (or a separate device), and displays unique information of a sensor stored in the sensor ID field f2. Through this, more accurate fingerprint information can be generated.

That is, when the fingerprint recognition data is transmitted from the terminal having the A sensor to the external device having the B sensor, the transmitted fingerprint recognition data stores the unique information of the A sensor. Analyze unique information.

If the sensor recognizes the fingerprint recognition characteristic corresponding to the unique information of the sensor A, the sensor A sharpens the curvature of the ridge on the right side of the fingerprint and the ridge on the left side is relatively blurred. Using the intermediate image, the original shape of the fingerprint acquired from the A sensor can be almost completely restored.

If the restored fingerprint is image-processed according to the characteristics of the B sensor, feature point information and an intermediate image corresponding to the characteristics of the B sensor may be generated.

To this end, the memory of the mobile communication terminal of the present invention includes a fingerprint sensor DB (31) for storing the unique information of the plurality of fingerprint recognition sensor 10 and the fingerprint recognition characteristics of each sensor accordingly.

STX (f1) starts with 0x001 as in the normal transmission data format, and sensor ID field f2 defines the start as 0xEETR.

The video information field f3 defines the start of the field name as 0xEERC, and the template field f4 starts with 0xEETP.

The public key f5 is used as 0xEEPU, and the CRC code f6 uses CRC16.

Looking at the operation of the present invention configured as described above is as follows, specifically described with reference to the case of Figure 5 (b). 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of transmitting fingerprint identification data in a mobile communication terminal according to the present invention.

First, a fingerprint registration command for registering a fingerprint of a party user is input. When the fingerprint recognition sensor operates by the input fingerprint registration command, the fingerprint of the finger in contact with the fingerprint input unit is scanned to generate an original image of the fingerprint (S100).

The fingerprint image processor receives the generated original image and processes the original image through binarization, smoothing, and thinning (S110).

The branching point and the end point, which are the feature points of the fingerprint, are distinguished from the thinning image of the fingerprint generated through the thinning process, and the coordinates of the distinguished branching point and the end point on the thinning image are extracted and stored in a text format, and the stored feature point information is stored in Register as fingerprint information (S120).

In this case, at least one of the original image generated by the fingerprint input unit and the fingerprint image generated during the feature point extraction process may be stored together with the registered fingerprint information.

The mobile communication terminal of the present invention is connected to a predetermined network including a mobile communication network, and is connected to another device requiring user authentication (S130).

That is, when a user wants to perform electronic commerce such as payment of contents fee, payment of goods, and account transfer through a mobile communication terminal, the terminal is connected to a financial computer server such as a service company or a bank.

At this time, when the financial computing server requests the user's fingerprint information to the terminal of the present invention for user authentication, the terminal responds to the request with the feature point information registered in the terminal, the intermediate image of the fingerprint, and the unique information of the sensor provided in the terminal. Generate fingerprint identification data including (S140), and transmits the generated fingerprint identification data to the connected computer server (S150).

Next, a method of performing user authentication through the fingerprint identification data transmitted from the terminal is as follows. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a user authentication method of received fingerprint identification data in a mobile communication terminal according to the present invention.

Subsequently, the method described with reference to FIG. 5 (b) will be described as an example. However, a separate mobile communication terminal may be applied to an external device that receives fingerprint recognition data, and user authentication may be performed even when fingerprint recognition data is received by the mobile communication terminal. Since the process is the same, a description of this case will be omitted.

When the fingerprint recognition data corresponding to the user authentication request is received from the mobile communication terminal connected through the network (S200), the computational server analyzes the received fingerprint recognition data to detect sensor information, characteristic point information, and intermediate information of the calling terminal stored in each field. The image is read (S210).

The sensor information of the read calling terminal and the sensor information of the fingerprint recognition sensor provided in the computing server are compared (S220).

As a result of the comparison, if the sensor information of each fingerprint recognition sensor is matched with each other, the received feature point information is compared with the feature point information of the same user already registered in the computer server.

As a result of the comparison, if each feature point information is matched with each other, it is determined that the user of the terminal that has sent the fingerprint identification data is a just user so that the transaction operation can be continued through the computer server. A message informing of this is transmitted (S230).

On the other hand, when the sensor information of each fingerprint recognition sensor does not match, in order to convert the read feature point information to the fingerprint recognition sensor of the computer server corresponding to the sensor information of the calling terminal read from the fingerprint sensor DB provided in the computer server The fingerprint recognition characteristic information of the sensor is retrieved, and the original image of the user fingerprint is restored through the retrieved fingerprint recognition characteristic information and the read intermediate image (S240).

The restored original image is transferred to the fingerprint recognition sensor of the computer server to extract the feature point information of the fingerprint, and the user authentication is performed by comparing the extracted feature point information with the feature point information already registered in the computer server (S250).

As described above, a mobile communication terminal including compatible fingerprint information and an operation method thereof according to the present invention have been described with reference to the illustrated drawings, but are not limited to the embodiments and drawings disclosed herein and have different recognition characteristics. The technical idea of the present invention for improving the stability of fingerprint recognition by determining the same fingerprint between sensors can be easily applied by those skilled in the art within a protected range.

The mobile communication terminal including the compatible fingerprint information and the operation method according to the present invention configured as described above by generating and transmitting the fingerprint recognition data including the feature point and the intermediate image obtained from the user's fingerprint when the user authenticated through the network, Even when a sensor having different recognition characteristics is provided, it is possible to greatly improve the stability of fingerprint recognition by authenticating as a just user. In addition, by presenting the transmission format of the fingerprint recognition data including the feature point and the intermediate image can reduce the transmission error of the data and can greatly improve the reading speed of the received data.

Claims (10)

A fingerprint recognition sensor for recognizing a fingerprint and extracting feature points of the recognized fingerprint; And And a controller for generating fingerprint identification data including extracted feature point information and unique information of the fingerprint recognition sensor and transmitting the fingerprint identification data to the outside. The method of claim 1, The controller registers a fingerprint image of a party user through the fingerprint recognition sensor, and converts the fingerprint image into a fingerprint image corresponding to the fingerprint recognition sensor and compares the fingerprint image with a registered fingerprint image when the fingerprint recognition data is received from the outside. Mobile terminal for storing possible fingerprint information. The method of claim 1, The fingerprint recognition data stores compatible fingerprint information, characterized in that it comprises an intermediate image generated when the feature point information is extracted. The method of claim 2, The intermediate image is a mobile communication terminal for storing compatible fingerprint information, characterized in that the recognized fingerprint is a binary image (binary). The method of claim 2, And the intermediate image is a thinning image obtained by converting a recognized fingerprint into a line image. The method of claim 1, The fingerprint recognition data may include a template field for storing feature point information of a fingerprint recognized by the fingerprint recognition sensor; And And a video information field for storing the intermediate image generated when the feature point information is extracted. The method of claim 6, And the fingerprint recognition data further comprises a sensor ID field for storing unique information of the fingerprint recognition sensor. The method of claim 1, A mobile communication terminal for storing compatible fingerprint recognition information, characterized in that it further comprises a fingerprint sensor DB is stored unique information of a plurality of fingerprint recognition sensor. Extracting feature points of the recognized fingerprint and storing the intermediate image generated at the time of extraction; Generating fingerprint identification data including the extracted feature points and the intermediate image; And And transmitting fingerprint identification data generated for user authentication to the outside. Receiving fingerprint identification data from the outside; Analyzing the received fingerprint identification data to identify sensor-specific information of the sender, a feature point of the fingerprint, and an intermediate image; Converting the identified data into fingerprint information corresponding to a built-in fingerprint sensor; And Determining whether the registered fingerprint user's fingerprint information and the converted fingerprint information coincide with each other to perform user authentication.

Images