# US 12,002,046 B2 · Face authentication system and face authentication method

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- Number: US 12,002,046 B2
- Document ID: US12002046B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/433,820
- Filed: 2020-02-05
- Published: 2022-05-12
- Granted: 2024-06-04
- Earliest claimed: 2019-03-04
- Assignees: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Masashi Ozono; Yoshifumi Yonemoto; Kunio Furuta; Takao Shime
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12002046B2

## CPC

- G06Q 20/401: {Transaction verification}
- G06F 21/32: using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
- G06Q 20/40145: {Biometric identity checks}
- G06T 7/00: Image analysis
- G06V 40/00: Recognition of biometric, human-related or animal-related patterns in image or video data
- G07C 9/00563: {using personal physical data of the operator, e.g. finger prints, retinal images, voicepatterns}
- G07C 9/00904: {for hotels, motels, office buildings or the like}
- G07C 9/10: Movable barriers with registering means
- G07C 9/37: using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voice recognition
- G07C 9/38: with central registration
- G07F 7/10: together with a coded signal {, e.g. in the form of personal identification information, like personal identification number [PIN] or biometric data}
- G07C 2209/02: Access control comprising means for the enrolment of users
- G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N)
- G06T: IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL
- G06V: IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING
- G07C: TIME OR ATTENDANCE REGISTERS; REGISTERING OR INDICATING THE WORKING OF MACHINES; GENERATING RANDOM NUMBERS; VOTING OR LOTTERY APPARATUS; ARRANGEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE
- G07F: COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS (coin sorting G07D3/00; coin testing G07D5/00; {handling coins or paper currencies apart from payment activated apparatus G07D; payment architectures, schemes or protocols G06Q20/00})

## Abstract

A face authentication system includes a registration device that acquires a face image for registration of a user in a facility and specific information used for specifying the user, one or more face authentication machines that acquire a face image for authentication of the user captured when the event is generated, a face management server that is connected to the registration device via a network, and accumulates the face image for registration and the specific information in association with each other, and a face collation server that generates face feature data from the face image for registration and the face image for authentication, and performs collation processing between pieces of the face feature data.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A face authentication system that registers a face image of a user in a facility and performs face authentication for each event generated due to an action of the user in the facility, the face authentication system comprising:
a processor that is in the facility and acquires a first face image for registration of the user and specific information different than the first face image, the specific information being used for specifying the user;
a plurality of cameras, including at least one camera that acquires a second face image for authentication of the user, the second face image being captured when the event is generated;
a face management server that is connected to the processor via a network and stores the first face image of the user for registration in association with the specific information in accordance with a collation group set for the user from among a plurality of collation groups; and
a plurality of face collation servers configured to generate face feature data from the first face image for registration and the second face image for authentication, and perform collation processing between pieces of the face feature data,
wherein each of the plurality of collation groups is associated with one of the plurality of face collation servers,
the first face image of the user is stored in association with the specific information in the one of the plurality of face collation servers which is associated with the collation group set for the user, and
each of the plurality of cameras is associated with at least one of the plurality of collation groups and performs the authentication of the user in accordance with the plurality of face collation servers which are associated with the at least one of the plurality of collation groups.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The face authentication system of claim 1, wherein
the event is generated by an action of passing, by the user, through a gate device that manages passage in the facility, and
the plurality of cameras cooperates with the gate device.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The face authentication system of claim 1, wherein
the event is generated by an action of passing, by the user, through a door that manages an entry into a predetermined room in the facility, and
the plurality of cameras cooperates with a lock device for the door.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The face authentication system of claim 1, wherein
the event is generated due to an action of payment, by the user, via a payment terminal device used in the facility, and
the plurality of cameras cooperates with the payment terminal device.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The face authentication system of claim 1, wherein
the processor acquires information displayed on a business card possessed by the user as the specific information.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The face authentication system of claim 1, wherein
the processor acquires information displayed on a payment card possessed by the user as the specific information.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The face authentication system of claim 1, wherein
the processor acquires information indicating a place of stay of the user in the facility as the specific information.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The face authentication system of claim 1, wherein
the second face image of the user is detected from an image captured by the at least one camera, cut out from the captured image, and image data of only the second face image, from among the captured image, is transmit to the plurality of face collation servers.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The face authentication system of claim 8, wherein
the plurality of face collation servers is physically separate from the at least one camera, and the image data of only the second face image is transmit to the plurality of face collation servers to reduce a load on the network.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The face authentication system of claim 1, wherein
the second face image of the user is detected from an image captured by the at least one camera, cut out from the captured image, and image data of the second face image and of a predetermined capturing area is transmit to the plurality of face collation servers.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The face authentication system of claim 1, wherein
the processor transmits the first face image for registration of the user and the specific information to the face management server, and deletes the first face image for registration of the user and the specific information after transmission to the face management server whereby the first face image for registration of the user and the specific information are not stored in the processor.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The face authentication system of claim 1, wherein
the face management server replaces a part of the first face image for registration with dummy information.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

The face authentication system of claim 1, wherein
the face management server replaces a part of the specific information with dummy information.

### Claim 14

A face authentication method that registers a face image of a user in a facility and performs face authentication for each event generated due to an action of the user in the facility, the face authentication method comprising:
acquiring a first face image for registration of the user and specific information different than the first face image, the specific information being used for specifying the user in the facility;
acquiring, by at least one camera from among a plurality of cameras, a second face image for authentication of the user, the second face image being captured when the event is generated;
storing, by a face management server, the first face image of the user for registration in association with the specific information in accordance with a collation group set for the user from among a plurality of collation groups; and
generating, by at least one face collation server from among a plurality of face collation servers, face feature data from the first face image for registration and the second face image for authentication, and performing collation processing between pieces of the face feature data,
wherein each of the plurality of collation groups is associated with one of the plurality of face collation servers,
the first face image of the user is stored in association with the specific information in the one of the plurality of face collation servers which is associated with the collation group set for the user, and
each of the plurality of cameras is associated with at least one of the plurality of collation groups and performs the authentication of the user in accordance with the plurality of face collation servers which are associated with the at least one of the plurality of collation groups.