Biometric authentication device and method of driving and controlling the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9779277-B2
Application number	US-201615061995-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 4, 2016
Priority date	Mar 10, 2015
Publication date	Oct 3, 2017
Grant date	Oct 3, 2017

Abstract

A biometric authentication device has a structure member which is wearable to a user, and a biological information acquisition unit that acquires biological information of the user, and a biometric authentication unit that performs authentication of the user. The biological information acquisition unit is provided in a position where a finger of the user in contact when the structure member is worn/removed to/from the user, acquires first biological information with the finger of the user in contact with the biological information acquisition unit and second biological information which is at least one of a finger direction and action data, the finger direction is a direction of the finger in contact with the biological information acquisition unit and the action data is a data corresponding to spatial movement of the biometric authentication device when the structure member is worn/removed to/from the user. The biometric authentication unit performs the authentication based on the first and second biological information.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A biometric authentication device comprising:
a structure member which is wearable by a user,
a biological information acquisition unit, mounted on the structure member, configured to acquire biological information of the user, wherein the biological information includes first biological information and second biological information; and
a biometric authentication unit configured to perform authentication of the user, wherein:
the biological information acquisition unit is provided in a position where a finger of the user is in contact when the structure member is donned by the user or the structure member is removed from the user,
the biological information acquisition unit acquires, as the first biological information, information of a fingerprint or a vein of the finger of the user in contact with the biological information acquisition unit when the structure member is donned by the user or when the structure member is removed from the user, and acquires, from the first biological information, a direction of the finger with respect to the biological information acquisition unit when the finger comes in contact with the biological information acquisition unit, as the second biological information, and
the biometric authentication unit performs the authentication based on a comparison between the second biological information acquired by the biological information acquisition unit and second biological information previously acquired by the biological information acquisition unit.

2. The biometric authentication device according to claim 1 , wherein:
the biological information acquisition unit:
acquires a first finger direction of the finger in contact with the biological information acquisition unit at a first operation time when the structure member is donned by the user, as the second biological information, and
acquires a second finger direction of the finger in contact with the biological information acquisition unit at a second operation time when the structure member is removed from the user, as the second biological information, and

the biometric authentication unit:
performs the authentication based on matching of the first biological information and reference biological information stored in advance at the first operation time, and
performs the authentication based on the matching of the first biological information and the reference biological information, and a comparison between the first finger direction and the second finger direction at the second operation time.

3. The biometric authentication device according to claim 2 , wherein the biometric authentication unit controls at least the biological information acquisition unit to be inoperable, when the authentication has ended in failure at the first operation time, or when the authentication has ended in failure at the second operation time.

4. The biometric authentication device according to claim 2 , wherein the biological information acquisition unit:
acquires first operation-time biological information with the finger of the user in contact with the biological information acquisition unit at the first operation time, as the first biological information,
acquires the first finger direction based on the first operation-time biological information,
acquires second operation-time biological information with the finger of the user in contact with the biological information acquisition unit at the second operation time, as the first biological information, and
acquires the second finger direction based on the second operation-time biological information.

5. The biometric authentication device according to claim 2 , wherein the biometric authentication unit recognizes that the authentication ends in failure and controls at least the biological information acquisition unit to be inoperable, when at least a difference between the first finger direction and the second finger direction exceeds a predetermined allowable range at the second operation time.

6. The biometric authentication device according to claim 1 , wherein:
the biological information acquisition unit further acquires, as the second biological information, (i) first action data corresponding to spatial movement of the biometric authentication device at a first operation time when the structure member is donned by the user, and (ii) second action data corresponding to spatial movement of the biometric authentication device at a second operation time when the structure member is removed from the user, and
the biometric authentication unit performs the authentication based on matching of the first biological information and comparison between the first action data and the second action data at the second operation time.

7. The biometric authentication device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a communication unit configured to be able to mutually perform communication with an external device set in advance,
wherein:
the communication unit transmits information for setting the external device to be inaccessible to set the external device to be inaccessible when the authentication in the biometric authentication unit ends in failure, and
the communication unit transmits information for setting the external device to be accessible to set the external device to be accessible when the authentication in the biometric authentication unit has succeeded.

8. The biometric authentication device according to claim 1 , wherein:
the structure member includes a band member on which the biological information acquisition unit is provided, the band member having a first end portion and a second end portion at respective ends thereof in a length direction, the band member being configured to be wound around a wearing portion of the user when the structure member is worn by the user, and the band member having the first end portion and the second end portion electrically connected when the band member is wound around the wearing portion, and
the biometric authentication device further comprises a wearing detection unit configured to electrically detect whether the first end portion and the second end portion of the band member have been connected, wherein an acquisition action of the biological information of the biological information acquisition unit is controlled according to a detection result by the wearing detection unit.

9. The biometric authentication device according to claim 8 , wherein:
the band member has a structure in which the first end portion is connectable with the second end portion at a plurality of mutually different positions,
the wearing detection unit detects a connection position as to where in the second end portion the first end portion of the band member is connected, and
the biometric authentication unit performs the authentication based on a detection result of the connection position by the wearing detection unit.

10. The biometric authentication device according to claim 1 , wherein:
the structure member has a structure which is wearable on a wrist or an arm of the user,
the biological information acquisition unit includes a first electrode provided in a position where the finger of the user is in contact, and a second electrode provided in a position where the wrist or the arm of the user is in contact, and
the biological information acquisition unit further acquires a biological impedance of the user with the first electrode and the second electrode, and
the biometric authentication unit performs the authentication based on a value of the biological impedance.

11. The biometric authentication device according to claim 10 , wherein the first electrode in the biological information acquisiti

Assignees

• Casio Computer Co Ltd

Inventors

• Ohtsuka Toshihiko
• Tomida Takahiro
• KASHIO Akira

Classifications

• G06V40/13

  Sensors therefor · CPC title

• G06F21/32 Primary

  using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints · CPC title

• G06F21/35

  communicating wirelessly · CPC title

• G06K9/00013 Primary

  Physics · mapped topic

• G06V40/70 Primary

  Multimodal biometrics, e.g. combining information from different biometric modalities · CPC title