# US 12,216,752 B2 · Personal authentication device based on echo sounds, personal authentication method, and recording medium

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- Number: US 12,216,752 B2
- Document ID: US12216752B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 18/611,775
- Filed: 2024-03-21
- Published: 2024-07-11
- Granted: 2025-02-04
- Earliest claimed: 2016-09-16
- Assignees: NEC Corporation
- Applicants: NEC Corporation
- Inventors: Takafumi Koshinaka; Masahiro Saikou; Takayuki Arakawa
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12216752B2

## CPC

- G06F 21/32: using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
- A61B 5/117: Identification of persons (methods or arrangements for recognising patterns, e.g. fingerprints, G06F18/00, G06V40/00; identification of persons by analysing their voice or speech G10L17/00)
- H04L 63/0861: {using biometrical features, e.g. fingerprint, retina-scan (cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using biological data H04L9/3231)}
- H04S 7/304: {For headphones}
- G06F 2221/2117: User registration
- G07C 9/37: using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voice recognition
- H04W 12/065: Continuous authentication
- H04W 12/65: Environment-dependent, e.g. using captured environmental data
- G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N)
- A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D)
- H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M)
- H04S: STEREOPHONIC SYSTEMS
- 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
- H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72)

## Abstract

Provided is a personal authentication device capable of simply securing security with little psychological and physical burden of a user to be authenticated. Personal authentication device includes: transmission unit that transmits a first acoustic signal to a user's head; observation unit that observes a second acoustic signal after the first acoustic signal propagation; calculation unit that calculates acoustic characteristics from the first and the second acoustic signal; extraction unit that extracts a feature amount related to a user from the acoustic characteristics; storage control unit that registers the feature amount in the storage unit; identification unit that identifies the user by collating the first feature amount with a second feature amount; and storage unit stores the first feature amount, wherein while identification unit identifies the user as being identical, transmission unit transmits the first acoustic signal every predetermined interval.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A personal authentication device comprising:
one or more memories storing instructions and registering a second feature amount; and
one or more processors configured to process the instructions to:
output a first acoustic signal to earphone, the first acoustic signal being signal for sound is transmitted from the earphone;
receive a second acoustic signal from the earphone, the second acoustic signal being signal based on echo sound being the sound echoed in an ear of the user;
calculate a first feature amount related to the user based on the second acoustic signal;
collate the first feature amount with the second feature amount; and
output a third acoustic signal being different from the first acoustic signal to the earphone based on a collation result, wherein
the one or more processors is configured to process the instructions to:
recognize the user as user authorized to use the earphone based on the collation result;
provide a service to the user when the collation result indicate coincidence;
when the collation result does not indicate the coincidence, providing of the service is stopped and the second feature amount registered within the one or more memories is deleted from the one or more memories; and
detect whether a specified time has passed,
when the collation result indicate coincidence and it is detected that the specified time has passed, the providing of the service to the user is stopped.

### Claim 2

A personal authentication method comprising:
outputting a first acoustic signal to earphone, the first acoustic signal being signal for sound is transmitted from the earphone;
receiving a second acoustic signal from the earphone, the second acoustic signal being signal based on echo sound being the sound echoed in an ear of the user;
calculating a first feature amount related to the user based on the second acoustic signal;
collating the first feature amount with a second feature amount registered with one or more memories; and
outputting a third acoustic signal being different from the first acoustic signal to the earphone based on a collation result, wherein
the personal authentication method comprises:
recognizing the user as user authorized to use the earphone based on the collation result;
providing a service to the user when the collation result indicate coincidence;
when the collation result does not indicate the coincidence, providing of the service is stopped and the second feature amount registered within the one or more memories is deleted from the one or more memories; and
detecting whether a specified time has passed,
when the collation result indicate coincidence and it is detected that the specified time has passed, the providing of the service to the user is stopped.

### Claim 3

A non-transitory computer readable recording medium stored with a personal authentication program causing a computer to perform:
outputting a first acoustic signal to earphone, the first acoustic signal being signal for sound is transmitted from the earphone;
receiving a second acoustic signal from the earphone, the second acoustic signal being signal based on echo sound being the sound echoed in an ear of the user;
calculating a first feature amount related to the user based on the second acoustic signal;
collating the first feature amount with a second feature amount registered with one or more memories; and
outputting a third acoustic signal being different from the first acoustic signal to the earphone based on a collation result, wherein
the personal authentication program causes the computer to perform:
recognizing the user as user authorized to use the earphone based on the collation result;
providing a service to the user when the collation result indicate coincidence;
when the collation result does not indicate the coincidence, providing of the service is stopped and the second feature amount registered within the one or more memories is deleted from the one or more memories; and
detecting whether a specified time has passed,
when the collation result indicate coincidence and it is detected that the specified time has passed, the providing of the service to the user is stopped.