Patent · US Expired

Fingerprint identification system

US5926555A · kind A · utility

115Cited by
3References
26Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateApr 3, 1997
Grant dateJul 20, 1999
Priority date
Expiry dateApr 3, 2017

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG07C9/37
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A fingerprint identification system from a gray scale image of the fingerprint includes the steps of converting fingerprint image into a digitized gray scale image, enhancing gray scale to provide uniform contrast over entire fingerprint image, down-sampling the contrast enhanced image to limit the number of pixels analyzed, generating a gradient map of the fingerprint image, defining a calculation kernel over which ridge angle determination is made by reference to gradient map, causing the calculation kernel to traverse over gradient map in a predetermined increment over pixels comprising the fingerprint image, smoothing the ridge angle map using the process of Fourier filtering, and smoothing the image quality map using the process of erosion and dilation. The ridge angle map and image quality maps are recorded. The frequency of ridges of a fingerprint image is determined by establishing at each selected pixel a line perpendicular to ridge flow, establishing a plurality of lines parallel to perpendicular line placed on both sides of perpendicular line of selected pixel, sampling a predetermined number of pixels along the perpendicular lines, averaging sample of each line, determi…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.