PL65497Y1 - Device for automatic digitalization and authentication of documents - Google Patents

Description

2 PL 65 497 Υ1

Pattern description

The subject of the utility model

The utility model relates to a device for the automatic digitization and authentication of semi-structured documents having heterogeneous contents, connected to a system capable of retrieving the information contained in these documents. Documents can be ID cards, tickets, checks, business cards, forms, etc., and can include text areas as well as non-text areas. The utility model also relates to a device for detecting and analyzing security features contained in these documents, in order to authenticate them by determining whether they are valid, true or unprocessed.

State of the art

Personal identification through the production of the accreditation part is becoming necessary in more and more places and companies: in hotels, casinos, airports, etc. Apart from this mandatory identification, it often happens that user information such as name, address, etc. is stored in the database data or are verified with this database. Sometimes there is also an obligation or a need to check the authenticity of the document that the user is currently presenting. In connection with this problem, there are documents that are increasingly secured and have new security measures. Some are in the form of security inks that appear when illuminated by light sources having different wavelengths (e.g. IR or UV), holograms, inks that change color depending on the viewing angle, microtexts etc. In addition, agents such as magnetic strips, radio labels, smart chips etc.

The increase in the number of security measures, the number of documents and the need for identification result in the need to use devices that allow for automatic and quick reading of data from a document, as well as for analyzing this data in order to verify its authenticity.

Documents of different types have common features both in terms of the content of textual information and their authentication marks. Thus, for example, both the tickets and the identification elements have ultraviolet-visible indicia and text having various forms: lot number, identification number, surname. For this reason, a system of reading and validating documents can be used to retrieve various information from documents and analyze their authenticity.

The most popular device for retrieving an image from a document so far has been a scanner. In the scanner, the image is obtained by mechanically running along the document at high frequency with the ID sensor. The main disadvantage of this type of method is the speed of information transfer and the use of mechanical parts of the device, which makes its service life limited.

Considering only ID card reader systems, they can be divided into two large groups: i) those that only read ICAO encoding characters; ii) those that download a complete image of the document. The utility model proposes to cover both groups. By having a complete picture of a document, you can get a more complex and complete reading of all the information that the document contains. In addition, it is possible to verify and download various elements contained in the image, which does not require their proper reading: photographs, signatures or specific security elements of a given type of document. Accordingly, some identification element readers complete the reading of text areas under different types of lighting in order to analyze the various security elements contained in the documents. The utility model described herein is in the field of such more complete readers.

Description of the utility model

The proposed device comprises a reading surface, that is, a support surface transparent to light, allowing the reading of a document placed thereon; an image receiver adapted to acquire an image of the document; an optical element projecting this image onto the receiver; a UV filter that separates unwanted wavelengths; A light path extending between the reading surface and the receiver, and a lighting system having light sources in three spectral ranges. All these elements of the device are arranged and designed to optimize its dimensions, comfort of use, avoid glare, shadows or reflections when creating a digital image. Thus, according to the utility model, it is proposed to place the lighting system and the receiver in different, defined zones of the device, which are selected so that the light emitted by different sources does not fall directly on the receiving zone of the receiver, thus avoiding undesirable glare. and bounce. More specifically, the light sources are placed in the shadow zones specified for the device. Any light source located outside the shadow zones introduces light rays into optical regions which are prone to the formation of image-damaging glosses.

The receiver is a two-dimensional matrix receiver, which enables image acquisition and processing to a numerical form. The fact that a camera is used instead of a scanner substantially speeds up the download process, allowing you to download more documents in the same period of time. In addition, it enables the acquisition parameters such as the exposure time or the gain factor to be controlled to suit the type of light and the type of document analyzed.

The optical element allows external light, and thus the environment, to be projected onto the receiver. This component is especially selected to obtain an image appropriate for its subsequent analysis and to optimize the final volume required by the design of the device. In the case of a camera capturing an image, a gap is required between the document and the receiver, which gap is determined by the optical element used. The range of focal distances possible with such an optical element is limited by the image quality that is desired. It is important here that the image is of sufficient quality to obtain correct data with the subsequent automatic reading techniques. To get a good image, the distance between the document and the camera is required to be large in relation to the document size. Making a device that meets this condition requires large dimensions of the device, which is then not very practical. In order to maximize this distance while keeping the device small, an array of mirrors with a specific geometry was made. Thus, the array of mirrors includes a first mirror of the array inclined with respect to the level or base of the device, and a second mirror facing the first, below the reading surface. It is important that these mirrors are front-surface mirrors. Unlike conventional mirrors, front-surface mirrors undergo a special coating process that ensures that the percentage of reflected light is close to 100 and that there are no problems with double reflection.

The lighting system consists of three types of different LEDs housed in one device: visible light LEDs, LEDs whose dominant wavelength is grouped under ultraviolet (UV), and infrared (IR) LEDs. LEDs have a number of advantages compared to other light sources: they are small, have greater mechanical strength, low energy consumption and very high durability, and almost instant response time. These features make them desirable for this device. Besides, due to low energy consumption, they do not need an external power source, so the device can be powered directly from the network with a computer. Short reaction times enable them to be quickly ignited and extinguished. Moreover, they can be used in a multiplied system by replacing the active LEDs at a given moment. The driver is responsible for switching on each type of LEDs.

The position and number of LEDs are designed to obtain uniform illumination free from glare and reflections in the document support area. More specifically, according to the utility model, the LEDs corresponding to the ultraviolet spectrum are alternately arranged in two rows, while the LEDs corresponding to the visible light are arranged alternately with the LEDs corresponding to the infrared spectrum, in a line. In any case, their distribution and number are not constant but are adapted to each final specific geometry. It is very important to avoid placing the LEDs in forbidden zones where the light from the LEDs shines directly onto the receiving area of the receiver causing high reflections in the image. To improve the uniformity of the lighting, a light diffuser is placed in front of the LEDs. LED wavelengths are not constant and can change as needed; they will depend on the type of material contained in the ink or on the analyzed substrate.

In addition, a UV filter has been added to the optical element of the device to eliminate wavelengths corresponding to ultraviolet. This filter eliminates undesirable wavelengths by limiting wavelengths to visible and infrared light. The use of this filter has two advantages: first, it eliminates UV light reflected from the document, and second, it avoids defocusing the image by being unable to properly focus over such a wide wavelength range.

The utility model device is linked to a system that can automatically identify the document type, retrieve textual and non-text information from it based on an image captured in visible light to the human eye, and that can validate document security features based on images taken in visible light, in light emitted in the ultraviolet range, and in light emitted in the infrared range of near visible light.

Some documents have RFID (radio frequency identification) tags attached to them or a micro-chip that allows the signals to be received and responded to by a transceiver or, respectively, a reader. For personal identification elements, these labels or microchips contain information about the document owner. The utility model device is connected to a system that can communicate with a radio frequency reader or with a microchip that can retrieve the information contained in the radio frequency identification tag or microchip adhered to the document and compare it with the data printed on the document, adding a complementary verification of the validity of the document .

Brief description of the drawings

These and other features of the utility model will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description of the embodiments, referring to the accompanying drawings, which are to be considered illustrative but not limiting where:

Fig. 1a shows a schematic, partially sectioned side view of an embodiment of a device according to a utility model.

Fig. 1b shows a section of a utility model device along the plane indicated by the line A-A in Fig. 1a.

Fig. 1c shows a section of a utility model device along the plane indicated by the line B-B in Fig. 1a.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic side view of the utility model which shows the shadow zones (in relation to the reflected light) where the lighting system can advantageously be placed.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a circuit board constituting the lighting system.

Fig. 4 is a schematic side view of the utility model showing the path and trajectory of the light emitted by the lighting system.

Detailed description of an embodiment.

The operation of the device is described in detail below with reference to the illustrated figures. In this case reference is made to the personal identification element but it should be understood that as mentioned it could be any other type of document.

Figures 1a, 1b, 1c show a diagram of a preferred embodiment of the utility model for reading and validating the identification element. Fig. 1a shows a reading surface 8 on which a document is placed, a support plane transparent to light, an image receiver 2 adapted to acquire an image of a document, an optical element 1 projecting an image onto the receiver, a UV filter 3, eliminating undesirable wavelengths. , a lighting system 5, comprising three light sources (to be described later), a light path 9 extending between said reading surface 8 and a receiver 2, this light path comprising an array of front-surface mirrors 7a, 7b to avoid double reflections in the picture.

The mirror array consists of a first mirror 7a on the optical element 1, inclined to the level or base of the device, and a second mirror 7b, under the reading surface opposite, at the same angle. As can be seen in Fig. 1a, the optical element 1 is positioned below the first mirror 7a in an outer side zone vertical to the reading surface 8.

Moreover, the illumination system 5 is located in this outer lateral zone, vertical to the reading surface 8, on the side and slightly above the optical element 1, this illumination system 5 and the receiver 2 being positioned in different, defined zones of the device, selected so as to the light emitted by the different sources did not strike the receiving area of the receiver 2 directly, thus avoiding unwanted glare and reflections. More specifically, the light sources are placed in the shadow zones (no incident reflected light) of the lighting system specified for the device. In the described embodiment, the image of the document is projected onto the receiver 2 along a light path 9. The part of the document to be read, which in a specific embodiment is 130 mm x 90 mm, is projected onto a mirror 7b, which projects the image onto a mirror 7a, which in turn it projects the image on the optical element 1 via the optical filter 3 which projects it onto the receiver 2. The light path 9 is the projection path. The UV filter 3 can be placed both between the optical element 1 and the receiver 2 and in front of the optical element, which has the same effect. Moreover, the proposed device also comprises a light diffuser 4 placed in front of the light sources, which increases the uniformity of the illumination. This diffuser can be placed in front of all or some of the light sources, which reduces the homogeneity achieved but provides more intense illumination. In a particular embodiment, the receiver 2 in CMOS technology is used, which allows the entire reading area 8 to be covered by this receiver 2, 3.2 Mpixels with dimensions of 6.59 x 4.90 mm. Fig. 1 also shows a circuit board provided with electronics connected to the receiver 2, which is responsible for the transmission of images and digital signals transferred to the computer via a gate 10, in this case USB 2.0. In the embodiment shown in figures 1 a and 1 b, the utility model device further comprises an RFID reader 14 connected to the respective antenna 13 as well as a card reader H, such as a "Smartcard" reader.

As seen in Fig. 1a, the apparatus shown here comprises a printed circuit board 16 which contains an electronic circuit and to which both the card reader H and the antenna 13 of the RFID reader 14 are connected by means of suitable cables and connectors, the RFID being 14 is implemented as the electronic circuit of the board 16.

Fig. 1c shows the arrangement of the antenna 13 on the plate, which as seen extends around the reading surface 8. In an embodiment where the device is used to read and authenticate passports, the area bounded by antenna 13 is generally larger than the width of the closed passport ( because if it was smaller than this width, without moving the passport after successive readings, only the tag or RFID chip of one of the pages of the passport could be read), and smaller than the width of the open passport to avoid problems with reading while finding the read RFID chip, as well as to avoid oversizing the device.

This means that said area bounded by the antenna 13 is optimized for: (a) retrieving information from the RFID chip, irrespective of its location no matter which side of the passport, (b) keeping the device limited (small) in size, (c) minimizing problems with reading the RFID chip. In turn, Fig. 2 shows another embodiment of a utility model device showing zones 19a and 19b. in which it is not recommended to place the lighting system 5, since in these zones 19a and 19b reflections of light may arise which reach the receiver 2 due to reflections on the document base entering the light path 9 of the document. The shadow zones 18a are also shown. 18b and 18c. where the lighting system can be placed and there will be no reflections. The zone 18a was chosen as the optimal zone for the illumination system, i.e. the outer peripheral zone vertical to the reading surface 8 on one side and slightly above the optical element 1, since this is the only zone that allows sufficient uniform illumination of the entire reading surface. 8.

The said Fig. 2 also shows the board 16 which comprises the electronic circuit of the RFID reader 14 and the card reader _1_1_, as well as various attachments for its connection to the RFID reader 14 and the card reader H and the electronic circuit 6 of the board 6a connected to the sensor 1.

Fig. 3 illustrates a diagram of a light plate that is an example of a lighting system 5 according to a utility model. Three light sources can be distinguished therein formed by sets of LEDs emitting visible light 15, UV light 14 and infrared light 16, respectively. The LEDs corresponding to the UV light 14 are arranged alternately in two rows, while the LEDs corresponding to the visible light 15 are arranged alternately with LEDs corresponding to IR 16 light on one line.

The lighting system 5 is powered and controlled by electronics 6 connected to the receiver 2 via the connector 17. It also has two LEDs 13 for indicating the status of the device. Visible images identify the type of document as well as retrieve textual and non-textual information from it: name, address, photo, signature, etc., while visible, UV, and IR information allows you to validate certain document security features. Visible LEDs are white, and the dominant wavelengths of invisible LEDs in this embodiment are 375nm (UV) and 880nm (IR), with wavelengths tailored to respond to the characteristics you want downloaded from the document. The added UV filter 3 eliminates the 390 nm length and filters out undesirable ultraviolet wavelengths that alter the image with respect to defocus and saturation, while not affecting the visible or infrared components.

Claims (20)

6 EN 65 497 Υ1 The device has an easily accessible button externally that enables automatic reading and validation. It also has a cover 12 to isolate it from the outside, thus avoiding interference from outside light. Even though the algorithms are immune to this type of interference, they must be avoided when analyzing in visible light. As for Fig. 4, it shows how the light emitted by the lighting system 5 falls both directly on the reading surface 8, circulating between the mirrors, and on the mirror 7b, which in turn reflects light onto this reading surface 8. In the case of visible light 15 and IR lights, their angle of emission is large enough to illuminate the entire reading area 8. However, the emission angle of UV light 14 is smaller and does not cover the entire area 8; for this reason the UV LEDs 14, as mentioned above with reference to Fig. 3, are arranged in two alternating rows, one row of which focuses directly on the reading surface 8 and the other on the mirror 7b, which in turn reflects light onto the reading surface 8. In this way, two illumination zones are generated which cover the entire surface 8. A person skilled in the art can make changes and modifications to the described embodiments without departing from the scope of the utility model as defined in the appended claims. Protective Claims 1. A device for the automatic digitization and authentication of documents, which comprises: - a reading surface (8) for receiving a document thereon, including a support surface transparent to light; - an image receiver (2) adapted to acquire an image of the document; - an optical element Q) projecting this image onto the receiver; - a light path (9) extending between the reading surface (8) and the receiver (2); the light path comprises a front surface mirror array having at least two mirrors; - a lighting system (5) having at least a first light source (14) capable of emitting light in a spectrum invisible to the human eye; characterized in that the optical element (1) is disposed under one of the mirrors in the outer side zone vertical to said reading surface (8) and in that the lighting system (5) and the receiver (2) are positioned in different zones of the device defined by and selected such that the light emitted by this light source (14) does not strike directly onto the reading area of the receiver (2), thus avoiding undesirable glare and reflections. 2. The device according to claim A device according to claim 1, characterized in that the illumination system (5) is located in said outer side zone vertical to said reading surface (8) on one side and slightly above the optical element (1). 3. The device according to claim The method of claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the lighting system (5) comprises at least a second light source (15) capable of emitting light visible to the human eye. 4. The device according to claim 3. The apparatus of claim 3, characterized in that the lighting system (5) comprises at least a third light source (16) capable of emitting light in a wavelength range invisible to the human eye. 5. The device according to claim 1 The method of claim 1, wherein the first light source (14) emits a predominant wavelength in the ultraviolet region. 6. The device according to claim 1 The method of claim 4, characterized in that the third light source (16) emits in the infrared range. The device according to claim 1 The mirror arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the mirror arrangement comprises a first mirror (7a) on the optical element (1) inclined with respect to the level or base of the device and a second mirror (7b) below the reading surface. 8. The device according to claim 1 4. The light source of claim 4, wherein the first (14), second (15) and third (16) light sources include light emitting diodes or LEDs. 9. The device according to claim 1 8. The apparatus of claim 8, characterized in that the LEDs corresponding to the first light source (14) are arranged in two alternating rows. 10. The device according to claim 1 8. The apparatus of claim 8, characterized in that the LEDs corresponding to the second light source (15) are arranged in a row alternating with the LEDs corresponding to the third light source (16). 7 PL 65 497 Υ1 11. The device according to claim 1 The apparatus of claim 9, characterized in that one of the two rows of LEDs corresponding to the first light source (14) is focused directly on the reading surface (8), while the second row of LEDs of the same light source (14) is focused on the second mirror (Tb) and this mirror (7b) in turn reflects the first light source Q4) onto the reading surface (8). 12. The device according to claim 1 4. The apparatus of claim 4, characterized in that the second (15) and third (16) sources emit light which circulates between the mirrors to both the reading surface (8) and the second mirror (7b). which in turn reflects these light sources (15,16) onto the reading surfaces (8). 13. The device according to claim 1, 4. The apparatus of claim 4, characterized in that the first (14), second (15) and third (16) light sources of the lighting system (5) are arranged in the shadow zones of the device. Device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a light diffusion element (4) positioned upstream of the first (14), second (15) and third (16) light sources of the lighting system (5), which element increases uniformity of lighting. 15. The device of claim 1, The method of claim 1, further comprising a UV filter (3) which eliminates undesirable wavelengths of light. 16. The device according to claim 1, 5. A device as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that it is connected to a system capable of identifying the type of document, retrieving textual and non-text information therefrom from images acquired in the second light source (15), and capable of validating document security features on the basis of images acquired in the first (14) , the second (15) and the third (16) light sources of the lighting system (5). Device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is connected to a system that can communicate with a radio frequency reader or a microchip that can retrieve information contained in a radio-frequency identification tag or in a microchip adhered to the document and compare them. with the data printed on the document, adding supplementary verification of the validity of the document. The device according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising an RFID reader (14) connected to the respective antenna (13). 19. The device of claim 1 18. The device as claimed in claim 18, characterized in that said antenna (13) surrounds the reading area (8). 20. The device of claim 1 The device of claim 18, further comprising a card reader Q1) integrated in the housing of the device and provided with a board (16) containing a booster electronic circuit.