KR20080020343A - Fingerprint recognition input device and portable terminal having same - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are an input device capable of fingerprint recognition and a portable terminal having the same. A light transmitting unit through which light can pass, a light source unit irradiating light toward a subject proximate to the light transmitting unit, an image sensor receiving a light reflected by the subject and having a window function, and image sensing in the fingerprint recognition mode The control unit enlarges an area and compares the captured fingerprint image with a pre-entered fingerprint image to authenticate the registered user.In the input mode, the control unit reduces the image capturing area of the image sensor and recognizes the movement of the subject to input information. An input device including a and a portable terminal having the same may easily input information desired by a user as well as a fingerprint authentication function.

Description

Fingerprint recognition input device and mobile terminal having same {FINGERPRINT RECOGNITON INPUTTING APPARATUS AND MOBILE TERMINAL HAVING THE SAME}

1A is a schematic diagram showing the movement of a finger in an imaging area of a conventional fingerprint recognition device.

1B is an image of a fingerprint photographed by a conventional fingerprint reader.

2A is a schematic diagram showing the movement of a finger in the imaging area of a conventional input device.

2B is an image of a fingerprint photographed by a conventional input device.

3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of an input device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4A is a schematic diagram showing an imaging area of an image sensor in the fingerprint recognition mode.

4B is a schematic diagram showing an imaging area of an image sensor in the input mode.

5 is a state transition diagram showing an operating state of a portable terminal having an input device capable of fingerprint recognition according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a perspective view of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of Drawing>

30 Input device 31 Floodlight

33 Light Source 35 Lens

37 Image Sensor 43 Control

45 Subject 47 Reflected light

50 Mobile Terminal 51 Display

53 Main Unit 55 Pointer

57 Authentication button 59 Hinge

61 key buttons

The present invention relates to an input device capable of fingerprint recognition and a portable terminal having the same.

Recently, as the importance of personal information has emerged, the necessity of biometric technology is rapidly increasing as a method for protecting information or verifying an individual's identity. Biometric devices using human physical information largely use face, fingerprint, hand shape, vein, iris, retina and voice. Such a biometric device operates as follows.

First, a user registration process is performed. The registration process is performed by the body feature acquiring device reading a biometric feature of the registrant, extracting feature extraction, and storing the feature extraction in a database. The verification process is a process of determining whether or not the user is the same person by comparing the biometric features of the newly introduced user with the feature amounts previously stored in the database.

The features used in the currently used biometric systems include face, voice, hand shape, iris, blood vessel, fingerprint, and the like, and research on each feature is being actively conducted. However, among these, a biometric system that recognizes a fingerprint by business or technical aspects is most popular. Such a fingerprint recognition device is also mounted on a portable terminal such as a PDA or a mobile phone to protect user's personal information. In particular, as mobile terminals equipped with a mobile banking function are spreading, a fingerprint recognition function is increasingly required for the portable terminal not only for protecting personal information but also for secure financial transactions.

As such, in addition to a device capable of protecting personal information of a mobile terminal using a fingerprint or the like, there is an increasing need for an information input device capable of easily inputting various types of information.

In general, personal digital assistants such as mobile phones and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) employ a user interface using a keypad. That is, a conventional portable telephone or the like has a keypad composed of a plurality of switches for inputting numbers and letters, etc., and adopts a method in which a user inputs information such as a telephone number or a letter by pressing the switch.

Recently, as wireless Internet services such as WIBRO (Wireless Broadband) services have been commercialized, a Windows operating system supporting a Graphical User Interface (GUI) has been adopted for personal portable terminals. In addition, with the development of technology, personal portable terminals have various additional services such as satellite broadcast transmission, and the Windows operating system supporting GUI is also adopted for convenient operation of the additional services. As the function of the portable terminal is complicated and the amount of information to be input increases, the development of an input device capable of easily inputting information is urgently required.

As described above, it can be seen that a recent portable terminal such as a PDA, a portable computer, a cellular phone, and the like is required to simultaneously input various types of information as well as a function for protecting personal information.

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a finger 11 is moved with respect to an imaging area 13 for fingerprint recognition in a portable terminal having a conventional fingerprint recognition device, and FIG. 1B is a fingerprint image captured at this time. .

Referring to FIG. 1A, the fingerprint imaging region 13 of the image sensor for recognizing a fingerprint has a size substantially similar to that of the fingerprint 11 of the user's finger 11. Since the human finger fingerprint is very small, about 2mm x 2mm, the image sensor has a high resolution, such as 276X248 resolution, in order to capture the fingerprint. An image of a fingerprint photographed by such a high resolution image sensor is shown in FIG. 1B.

However, since the size of the fingerprint imaging area 13 for recognizing a fingerprint is equivalent to the size of a finger, when a user wants to input information according to the movement of the finger 11, as shown in FIG. Entering information becomes difficult because of departure from 13). In addition, due to the high resolution of the image sensor, when the image is acquired using the same clock frequency, the frame rate is notably lower than that of the low resolution, and the hardware or software power consumption for the image processing is very low. There is a problem that large.

FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram showing the movement of a finger in the imaging area of an input device using conventional optical signal processing, and FIG. 2B is an image of a fingerprint captured by such an input device.

Referring to FIG. 2A, since the input imaging region 15 is relatively small compared to the size of the finger 11, the input imaging region 15 does not move away from the input imaging region 15 even when the finger 11 is moved. Therefore, since the range in which the finger 11 can move is wide, information can be easily input. However, since the size of the input imaging area 15 is smaller than that of the finger 11, the feature points and the like of the fingerprint of the finger 11 are hardly expressed. In addition, an image sensor used for inputting an information generally has a resolution of 20 × 18. Since fingerprint images photographed by such an image sensor are hardly found, as shown in FIG. 2B, fingerprint authentication is difficult.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an input device capable of inputting information as well as fingerprint recognition and a portable terminal having the same.

According to an aspect of the present invention, an input device includes a light transmitting unit through which light may pass, a light source unit irradiating light toward a subject close to the light transmitting unit, an image sensor receiving a light reflected by the subject, and having a window function; In the fingerprint recognition mode, the image capturing area of the image sensor is enlarged and the captured fingerprint image is compared with a pre-entered fingerprint image to authenticate the registered user.In the input mode, the image capturing area of the image sensor is reduced and the movement of the subject is reduced. And a controller for recognizing and inputting information.

Such an input device may maintain the security of the terminal by authenticating the fingerprint through the fingerprint recognition mode, and may input information according to the movement of the subject through the input mode. In the fingerprint recognition mode, the controller acquires a high resolution fingerprint image by enlarging the image capturing area of the image sensor. In the input mode, the controller reduces the image capturing area of the image sensor to increase the moving range of a subject required for information input and increase the operation speed. Speed up and reduce power consumption.

Embodiments of the fingerprint recognition input device according to the present invention may have one or more of the following features. For example, the image sensor may be a CMOS image sensor, and the controller may capture a fingerprint image of a finger using all pixels of the image sensor in the fingerprint recognition mode.

The control unit converts the input device to the stop mode when the fingerprint authentication fails in the fingerprint recognition mode, and converts the input device to the input mode when the fingerprint recognition is successful, and the personal information contained in the mobile terminal such as a mobile phone or a portable computer equipped with the input device. Information can be sent.

The control unit may identify a security mode that needs to go through the fingerprint recognition mode and a non-secure mode that does not go through the fingerprint recognition mode when switching to the input mode. As a result, the fingerprint authentication is not necessary in the non-secure mode, so that the user can easily use the mobile terminal and can switch to the secure mode as needed, which is convenient.

The control unit may lower the resolution of the image sensor by subsampling in the input mode. This further reduces the resolution of the image sensor, allowing the image sensor to recognize the movement of the subject more quickly.

The light source unit emits light from the side of the light transmitting unit at a constant angle so that the fingerprint of the user's finger is captured more clearly. In addition, an infrared filter is provided in the light-transmitting part, and the light source is irradiated to the light-transmitting part to filter light other than the light emitted from the light-emitting part, so that the image sensor can more sensitively recognize the movement of the subject.

Between the light projecting unit and the image sensor, a lens is provided so that light incident through the light projecting unit forms an image on the surface of the image sensor, so that the image sensor can capture a clearer fingerprint image and recognize the movement of the subject more sensitively. have.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a portable terminal includes an input device having the above configuration, and the portable terminal includes a main body on which the input device is mounted, and information input by the input device in combination with the main body. The display unit is provided, and the light transmitting unit is exposed to one surface of the main body unit.

Embodiments of the mobile terminal according to the present invention may have one or more of the following features. For example, the pointer moves to a predetermined position on the display unit in response to the movement of the subject on the light transmitting unit. Therefore, since a graphical user interface (GUI) is possible, such as the wireless Internet, the wireless Internet may be used for the portable terminal.

The portable terminal may include an authentication button for converting from the stop mode to the fingerprint recognition mode, and the controller may convert from the stop mode to the fingerprint recognition mode when the authentication button is executed. As a result, the user can execute the authentication button to switch from the stop mode to the fingerprint mode. In addition, when the light emitting unit is sealed by the display unit, the input device may switch to the stop mode, thereby reducing unnecessary power consumption.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a fingerprint recognition input device and a portable terminal having the same according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, the same or corresponding components are the same. The reference numerals will be given and overlapping description thereof will be omitted.

3 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an input device 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, an input device 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a light transmitting part 31 through which light can pass, a light source part 33 provided on a lower side of the light transmitting part 31, and a light transmitting part. An input signal is generated or a fingerprint recognition function is controlled by controlling a lens 35 positioned below the light unit 31, an image sensor 37 positioned below the lens 35, and an imaging area of the image sensor 37. It includes a control unit 43 to perform.

The input device 30 according to the present embodiment may enlarge the image capturing area a of the image sensor 37 for fingerprint recognition to clearly capture a fingerprint image of a finger, and to input information corresponding to the movement of a finger. The image pickup area of the image sensor 37 is made relatively small (b) to capture the movement of the subject 45. Therefore, the input device 30 according to the present embodiment may have a fingerprint recognition function to maintain security of a portable terminal on which the input device 30 is mounted, and the input device 30 may include a pointer (not shown) according to the movement of a finger. Or the like) may be displayed on the display unit of the portable terminal.

Although FIG. 3 illustrates the user's finger as the subject 45, the subject 45 is not limited thereto. Any object may be used as long as the image sensor 37 can recognize the movement of the reflected light reflected from the surface. For example, a writing tool such as a ballpoint pen or the like as well as a pointer of a touch pad or the like can be used as the subject 45.

The light transmitting part 31 is made of glass or transparent plastic that can transmit light. The reflected light 47 reflected from the subject 45 is transmitted to the image sensor 37 through the light transmitting part 31 and the lens 35. Incident. The light source unit 33 irradiates light to the light transmitting unit 31 obliquely at a constant angle. When the input device 30 according to the present embodiment is in the fingerprint recognition mode, the user's finger is in contact with the light-transmitting unit 31, and in the input mode, not only the finger but also writing tools such as a ballpoint pen, a pointer, etc. are provided in the light-emitting unit 31. Move two-dimensionally while touching or slightly apart.

The light source part 33 is provided in the side surface of the light transmission part 31 at a fixed angle. The light source unit 33 emits light toward the light transmitting unit 31 to generate the reflected light 47 reflected by the subject 45 in contact with the light transmitting unit 31. For example, a laser diode, a light emitting diode (LED) and a tungsten light source, and an optical fiber light source may be used as the light source unit 33. If an optical fiber light source is used, a pair of optical fibers or split fibers may be used to direct the reflective laser beam to the photodetector.

In addition, if an infrared filter (not shown) is provided in the light transmitting part 31, an infrared light emitting diode (LED) may be used as the light source part 33. In the case of using an infrared filter and an infrared light source, natural light incident from the outside of the light source unit 33 and light incident from a lighting device such as a fluorescent lamp in the room are filtered and irradiated by the light source unit 33 to be reflected by the subject 45. Since only the reflected light 47 is incident, the image sensor 37 becomes more sensitive to the movement of the subject 45.

The lens 35 serves to allow the light incident through the light transmitting part 31 to be focused on the image sensor 37. As the lens 35, a conventional convex lens, a spherical or cylindrical mirror, a GRIN lens, or a mold aspherical lens may be used, and a wide-angle lens such as a fisheye lens capable of capturing a wide range of images may be used. In addition, although one lens 35 is provided in FIG. 3, a lens group including various lenses may be used.

Since the focal point of the lens 35 is aligned with the surface of the light projecting portion 31, an image of the subject 45 in contact with the light projecting portion 31 is clearly formed in the image sensor 37. Therefore, when the subject 45 is the user's finger, the fingerprint shape of the finger in contact with the light transmitting part 31 may be clearly recognized by the image sensor 37.

The image sensor 37 is positioned below the lens 35 and receives the reflected light 47 by the subject 45, and then generates a predetermined electrical signal and transmits the generated electrical signal to the controller 43. The image sensor 37 may be a general Charge Coupled Device (CCD) or a Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) device having a plurality of pixels on its surface. The image sensor 37 is mounted on a printed circuit board (not shown) and connected to an external control unit 43. The printed circuit board may be a hard printed circuit board or a flexible printed circuit board.

Since the image sensor 37 has a window function, as shown in FIGS. 4A to 4B, the imaging area may be different according to each mode. For example, in the fingerprint recognition mode recognizing that the user is a registered user, the image sensor 37 is changed to a high resolution such as 300X300 by the control signal of the controller 43 (see FIG. 4A), and in the input mode, the image sensor 37 ) Changes to a lower resolution such as 20 × 20 (see FIG. 4B). As described above, since the image capturing area of the image sensor 37 is adjusted according to whether the input mode or the fingerprint recognition mode is used, information as well as fingerprint recognition can be easily input.

The controller 43 performs image processing on the image of the subject 45 received by the image sensor 37 to allow fingerprint recognition and input of information.

That is, the controller 43 generates a finger fingerprint image by using the information received by the image sensor 37 in the fingerprint recognition mode, and compares it with a pre-stored registered fingerprint image to determine that the user is an authorized user. . When the fingerprint inputted by the comparison of the fingerprint coincides with the registered fingerprint, the controller 43 reduces the image capturing area of the image sensor 37 (see FIG. 4B), converts it into the input mode, and inputs information according to the movement of the subject. Make it happen. If the input fingerprint does not match the registered fingerprint, the controller 43 converts the input device 30 to a stop mode in which the input device 30 and the portable terminal (not shown) having the same are not operated.

In the input mode, the controller 43 reduces the light receiving area of the image sensor 37 as compared to the fingerprint recognition mode as shown in FIG. 4B. In addition, the controller 43 continuously captures the subject 45 positioned on the light-transmitting unit 31 to determine where a part of the frame is located in a subsequent frame, and then uses the motion vector. ) Is inputted by tracking the moving direction of the subject 45. As the subject 45 moves, a pointer or a cursor moves to a display unit of a portable terminal such as a portable computer or a portable telephone on which the input device 30 is mounted, and a user moves the pointer or cursor to a point where a desired menu is located. You can position the cursor and so on.

In the input mode, the control unit 43 performs subsampling to reduce the image capturing area of the image sensor 37 and to reduce the resolution of the image captured by the reduced image sensor 37. For example, when the resolution of the entire image sensor 37, that is, the resolution in the fingerprint recognition mode is 300X300, the control unit 43 may reduce the resolution to 100X100 using the window function in the input mode. In general, the resolution of 100 × 100 is so large that the resolution of the subject 45 such as a finger is so large that the resolution is reduced to about 20 × 20 using subsampling.

 Hereinafter, the operation of the input device 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 5. 5 is a state transition diagram showing the operation of the input device 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, in the secure mode, the input device 30 is initially in an idle mode and the user needs to receive fingerprint authentication in the fingerprint recognition mode in order to input information using the input device 30. do. When the fingerprint is authenticated in the fingerprint recognition mode, it is converted into the input mode so that the user can input various types of information desired by the input device 30. If the fingerprint authentication fails in the fingerprint recognition mode, it returns to the stop mode again.

When the input device 30 is in the non-secure mode, the movement of the subject 45 is periodically observed to immediately change from the stop mode to the input mode without going through the fingerprint recognition mode immediately after the movement is detected. Accordingly, the user may input information using the input device 30 without undergoing fingerprint authentication in the stop mode.

6 is a perspective view of a portable terminal 50 equipped with an input device 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, the mobile terminal 50 includes a display 51 and a main body 53, and the display 51 is connected to the main body 53 by a swivel hinge 59. It is rotatably coupled to. The main body 53 is provided with a variety of devices, such as necessary for the operation of the input device 30 and the terminal 50 according to an embodiment of the present invention, one side of the key button for inputting various letters or numbers ( 61). And the upper portion of the key button 61 is exposed to the light emitting portion 31 of the input device 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention to the outside and the authentication button 57 is provided on the side.

The display unit 51 displays various information input by the key button 61 or the input device 30 according to the present embodiment. When the display unit 51 rotates to cover the upper surface of the main body 53, the key button 61 provided in the main body 53 and the light transmitting part 31 of the input device 30 are sealed.

When the user is in the secure mode, the user presses the authentication button 57, the input device 30 is switched from the stop mode to the fingerprint recognition mode. In addition, the user places a finger on the light transmitting unit 31 for fingerprint recognition, where the control unit 43 windows the image sensor 37 to enlarge the imaging area. In the fingerprint recognition mode, if the fingerprint authentication is successful, the mode is converted to the input mode. If the authentication fails, the mode is converted to the stop mode again. And in input mode, the user can release it if it is in the secure state, and change to the secure mode if it is in the non-secure mode.

In the input mode, the user inputs information while two-dimensionally moving the thumb or index finger in contact with the light-transmitting unit 31 while holding the main body 53 with one hand. The movement of the subject 45, such as a finger, is indicated by the pointer 55 on the display 51 so that the pointer 55 can be positioned in a desired menu list according to the movement of the subject 45. Then, pressing the confirmation switch or the like to execute the menu where the pointer 55 is located. When the display unit 51 is stacked on the main body 53 so that the optical pointing device 30 is not exposed to the outside, the controller 43 converts the portable terminal 50 to the stop mode.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the folding type portable terminal is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the present invention can be applied to a bar type or a slide type portable terminal and can be applied to a general electronic device such as a portable computer.

As described above, the input device 30 and the portable terminal 50 having the same according to an embodiment of the present invention may use personal fingerprint information or personal information stored in a portable computer or a mobile phone by a fingerprint recognition function. I can protect it. In addition, the input device 30 and the portable terminal 50 having the same according to an embodiment of the present invention may move a pointer or the like to a desired place while moving a finger or the like on the light-emitting unit 31 or a menu bar. Because you can activate the desired menu in, you can implement a graphical user interface (GUI), which is convenient to use.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, various changes and modifications of the present invention should also be construed as falling within the scope of the present invention as long as the technical idea of the present invention is implemented.

The present invention can provide an input device capable of inputting information as well as fingerprint recognition and a portable terminal having the same.

Claims (12)

A light transmitting part through which light can pass; A light source unit irradiating light toward a subject proximate to the light transmitting unit; An image sensor receiving a light reflected by the subject and having a window function; In the fingerprint recognition mode, the image capturing area of the image sensor is enlarged and the captured fingerprint image is compared with a previously input fingerprint image to authenticate the registered user. In the input mode, the image capturing area of the image sensor is reduced and the image of the subject is reduced. An input device comprising a control unit for recognizing a movement and inputting information. The method of claim 1, The image sensor is a CMOS image sensor, The control unit uses all the pixels of the image sensor in the fingerprint recognition mode. The method of claim 1, The control unit converts the input device to the stop mode when the fingerprint authentication fails in the fingerprint recognition mode, and converts the input device to the input mode when the fingerprint recognition is successful. The method of claim 1, The control unit may identify a security mode that must pass through the fingerprint recognition mode and a non-secure mode that does not go through the fingerprint recognition mode when switching to the input mode. The method of claim 1, The controller may reduce the resolution of the image sensor by subsampling in the input mode. The method of claim 1, The light source unit is an input device, characterized in that for irradiating light from the side of the light transmitting portion at a constant angle. The method of claim 1, The light emitting unit is provided with an infrared filter, wherein the light source unit is characterized in that irradiating the light emitting unit with the infrared. The method of claim 1, And a lens disposed between the light projecting unit and the image sensor so that light incident through the light projecting unit forms an image on the surface of the image sensor. A portable terminal comprising the input device of any one of claims 1 to 8, The portable terminal includes a main body to which the input device is mounted; A display unit coupled to the main body unit and displaying information input by the input device; The light transmitting unit is a portable terminal exposed on one surface of the main body. The method of claim 9, The portable terminal moves a pointer to a predetermined position on the display unit in response to the movement of the subject on the light projector. The method of claim 9, The portable terminal is provided with an authentication button for switching from the stop mode to the fingerprint recognition mode, The control unit when the authentication button is executed, characterized in that the mobile terminal to switch to the fingerprint recognition mode. The method of claim 9, And the input device switches to the stop mode when the light transmitting part is sealed by the display part.

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