Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02384675 2002-03-11
s
1~
The present invention relates a method for identifying a person and a
portable device for implementing said method.
It applies in particular, but not exclusively, to the embodiment of identity
documents, such as passports and identity cards supplying various elements of
is information for identifying a person. This information generally includes
information of the civil status of the person and a black and white or
coloured
identity photograph and possibly anthropometric information and the
fingerprint
of the forefinger of a hand.
Identity documents are currently produced via printing on a paper or
2o boarded or plasticized paper. Despite all the precautions taken, such as
the use of
special papers, it is possible to falsify them by using relatively inexpensive
means
with relatively easy access.
The object of the present invention is to eliminate these drawbacks. To this
effect, the invention offers a method for the security identification of a
person and
2s includes the affixing onto a thin flexible identification support, either
made of
paper or a plastic film, allocated to the person concerning identification
information of said person and the reading of this information.
According to the invention, this method is characterised in that it includes
- fixing onto the identification support a thin electronic chip including no-
3o contact storage means and transmission and receiving means respectively so
as to transmit the stored information and receive the information to be stored
by the storage means,
- the digitalization followed by the encryption of the information affixed to
the
identification support,
3s - the transmission of the encrypted information to the receiving means and
having said information stored by the storage means, and
CA 02384675 2002-03-11
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- on each identification of the person, the receiving by means for reading the
information stored by the storage means of the electronic chip fixed on the
identification support allocated to the person, the decryption of this
information and comparing this information with the information affixed on
s the identification support.
The method of the invention thus makes it possible, via simply comparing
the information stored in the chip and the information appearing on the
identification support, to detect any falsification of the latter. Moreover,
it makes
use of an advanced technological electronic chip. Thus, it is impossible to
produce or falsify it using current means, such as printing means. The
invention is
therefore able to accurately and safely identify a person.
Advantageously, the identification information stored in the electronic chip
includes the digitalized image of an identity photograph or a fingerprint,
this
image being processed before being encrypted by an image compression
~s algorithm.
Thus, access to the electronic chip concerning writing and reading implies
a knowledge of both the encryption algorithm and the used image compression
algorithm.
According to one particular characteristic of the invention, the information
2o is stored by the storage means of the electronic chip according to a
predefined
organisation which is required to know so as to read the stored information.
As previously mentioned, the present invention also concerns an
identification device able to implement the method, said device including a
thin
paper, or carton-backed paper or plasticized paper, an electronic chip of the
'no
2s contact' type integrating transponder type transmission means and storage
means
coupled to said transmission means, the latter including connection means so
as
to be connected to a transmission antenna, the thickness of the chip being
extremely small so as to be able to be incorporated in the support without
revealing any significant excess thickness.
3o Advantageously, the antenna has the shape of a coil whose spires are silk-
processed onto the sheet of carton paper, the chip being fixed on the paper
sheet
via the welding of connection means on the connection terminals of the
antenna.
In this way, the connection of the chip to the transmission antenna ensures
at the same time fixing of the chip onto the sheet.
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One non-restrictive example of an embodiment of the device of the
invention is described hereafter with reference to the accompanying drawings
on
which
Figure 1 represents a system for implementing the method of the
s invention ;
Figures 2 and 3 represent in the form of block diagrams the chaining of the
various stages of the method of the invention ;
Figure 4 represents an electronic chip used to implement the method of the
invention.
io The method of the invention makes it possible to embody a device for
identifying a person and appearing in the form of a paper, carton-backed paper
or
plastic badge support on which a photograph and/or fingerprint are affixed and
on
which identification information of said person is printed. Incorporated in
this
support is a transponder chip to be described subsequently with reference to
is figure 4 and including calculation means, such as a microprocessor heart, a
memory and no-contact information receiving and transmission means.
Figure 1 represents a system for implementing the method of the invention
and includes a computer 1 connected to data entry means 4, such as a keyboard
with a display screen 3, a printer 6, an image digitalization device 2, such
as a
2o scanner, and a transponder chip reading device 7 of, for example, the 'no
contact'
type.
When the system is not merely used to carry out identity controls but
needs to embody an identification support in accordance with the method of the
invention, the reading device 7 comprises writing means able to transmit
2s information to a transponder chip incorporated in the identification
support.
Figure 2 shows the various stages for embodying an identification device
according to the invention.
The method of the invention uses, for example, an image 8 making it
possible to identity a person, such as an identity photograph and/or
fingerprint. In
3o the first stage 11, this image is first of all digitalized with the aid of
the
digitalization device 2. The digitalized image obtained then is subjected in
the
stage 12 to a compression processing which, without significantly altering the
quality of the image, enables it to be stored in a relatively low capacity
digital
memory. By using current image compression techniques, it is possible to store
3s an identity photograph on a several hundred of octets with only a slight
loss of
image quality.
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At the same time, the identification information 9 concerning the person,
such as civil status information (name, forename, date and place of birth) and
anthropometric information (sex, size, colour of eyes) is introduced into the
computer 1 (stage 16) which combines and organises this information with the
s image information according to a pre-established order (stage 13) and
applies to
them an encryption algorithm (stage 14). The organised and encrypted data is
then transmitted to the chip 30 incorporated in an identification support 10
so as
to be stored. Furthermore, the information 9 introduced in stage 11 is printed
on
the support 10 (stage 17).
io It is to be noted that stage 14 can be carried out prior to stage 13 which
can, according to the encryption algorithm used, render even more difficult
access
to the information stored by the chip 30.
Figure 3 shows the operations carried out at the time of an identity control
of a person having an identification support 10.
is In stage 22, the reading device 7 orders the transfer of the information
stored in the transponder chip 30. This information is then transmitted to the
computer 1 so as to be decrypted (stage 23) and analysed so as to separate the
identification information from the information relating to the digitalized
image.
The image information is decompressed (stage 24) and then displayed on the
2o display screen 3 with the identification information (stage 26). The
operator
carrying out the identity control can then verify that the printed information
and
the photograph appearing on the identification support 10 clearly correspond
to
the information shown on the screen 3.
According ~to one particular characteristic of the invention, the encryption
Zs algorithm used is of the encryption key type, the key selected being the
series
number of the chip 30 which is unique and stored permanently by its storage
means. The encryption 14 and decryption stages 23 then comprise a prior
operation for reading the series number of the chip using the reading means 7.
Furthermore, it is possible to automate the verification operations by
3o digitalizing using a scanner 2 the photograph 8 affixed to the support 10
and the
information printed and by having the photo and information processed by a
character recognition software (stage 21 ). It then merely suffices to carry
out in
stage 27 a comparison between the information read on the chip 30 and the
information derived from digitalization and indicate on the display screen 3
if
3s differences have been detected.
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At the same time, the information, including the image data read in the
transponder chip 30, can be compared with the identification information of
the
persons concerned stored in a data base 41 accessible on the computer 1.
On figure 4, the transponder chip 30 includes a storage module 34 and a
s transmission module 32, the latter being connected by connection means 35 to
an
antenna 33. The storage and transmission module can be fixed on an extremely
thin flexible film 31, such as a plastic film made, for example, of polyester.
Thus,
in the case of a transponder chip with a 126kbit storage capacity, the
thickness of
these two modules does not exceed several tenths of a millimetre. This
capacity is
Io fully compatible with the size of the digital image to be stored, having
regard to
the current performances of image compression techniques.
As previously mentioned, the chip 30 includes a microprocessor used to
manage and control the transfer of data between the memory 34 and the reading
and writing device 7. Thus, the microprocessor is able to allocate one or
several
is access keys to the unit or to certain portions of the memory 34 and totally
block
access of the chip after a certain predefined number of access attempts using
an
erroneous key. In this way, it is impossible for an unauthorised person to
copy the
contents of a chip and transfer it to another chip.
The microprocessor of the chip 30 is also programmed to manage
2o collisions, that is the simultaneous transmissions between a reader and
several
chips.
Moreover, in the case of induction chips, the transmission antenna 33
appears in the form of a coil enabling the reading and/or writing device 7 to
feed
the chip 30 with energy via induction, the magnetic field applied to the coil
being
2s modulated so as to transmit the information.
The transponder chip used by the invention advantageously uses a
transmission frequency of several MHz so that the coil 33 only comprises
several
spires which can be formed on the film 31 by means of a simple printing or
silk
printing method, the connection means 35 appearing in the form of pellets
placed
3o directly on the silicon substrate of the chip, said pellets being welded to
the
connection blocks of the antenna, also embodied by printing or silk process
printing on the film 31, the connection to the antenna ensuring at the same
time
that the chip is kept on the film 31.
The pellets are preferably embodied in a conductive glue.
3s In addition, it is possible to glue a paper sheet onto the film 31 so as to
cover and mask the other face of the chip 30 and the antenna 33.
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The film 31 may be a polyester film having a thickness of about 100 ~.m so
that the thickness of the unit constituted by the support and the chip does
not
exceed 300 N,m.
In this way, the chip 30 and the film 31 on which the antenna 33 is printed
s or silk process printed can be mounted in the form of a sandwich between two
ordinary or protected paper sheets without forming any significant excess
thickness, the paper sheets supporting the printed identification information
and
possibly the identity photograph and/or a fingerprint.
It is to be noted that the used transmission frequency makes it possible to
io obtain a relatively high transmission flowrate. As a result, the reading of
the
information stored by the chip can be carried out almost instantaneously.
is
