Gate device, gate system, and gate control method

Abstract

To immediately perform face authentication.SOLUTION: A gate device of the present disclosure includes: a gate main body 1 provided along a second plane (e.g., the vertical plane in Fig. 1) crossing a first plane (e.g., the horizontal plane in Fig. 1) in which an authentication target moves in one direction (indicated by the arrow A in Fig. 1) to separate a moving space of the authentication target (e.g., a space of a passage of a ticket gate) from another space (a space other than the passage); an inclined surface 2 provided on the gate main body 1 in a manner crossing the first plane and the second plane and inclined upward with respect to the first plane; a display 3 that displays an image on the inclined surface 2; and an image acquisition unit 4 that picks up an image in the vicinity of the display 3.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1A

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to a gate device, a gate system, and a gate control method.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, there has been a technique of extracting an image of a user's face from an image acquired by an image acquisition device such as a camera, collating the feature amount with a database to authenticate the user, and controlling a gate such as a ticket gate at a railway station according to the authentication result. As a technique related to an automatic ticket gate using such a face authentication technique, there is Patent Document 1.

[0003] In this Patent Document 1, a process of authenticating a user from an image captured by an imaging unit provided in an automatic ticket gate and collating it with ticket information from an electronic medium separately read is performed. Further, a configuration for preventing unauthorized passage through the automatic ticket gate by opening and closing the gate according to the collation result is adopted.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] This disclosure aims to improve the gate device disclosed in Patent Document 1.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To solve the above problems, a gate device according to a first aspect of the present application includes a gate body provided along a second plane intersecting a first plane in which an authentication target moves in one direction, and partitioning a movement space of the authentication target from other spaces, and on the gate body, an inclined surface intersecting the first plane and the second plane and provided to be inclined upward with respect to the first plane, a display unit for displaying an image on the inclined surface, and an image acquisition unit for photographing an image in the vicinity of the display unit.

[0007] A gate control method according to a second aspect of the present application includes a step of displaying an image on a display surface inclined upward with respect to the first plane of a gate body partitioning a movement space on a first plane in which an authentication target moves in one direction from other spaces, a step of photographing an image in the vicinity of the display surface, and a step of identifying an authentication target from the photographed image.

Brief Description of Drawings

[0008]

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Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] In face authentication, if the shooting range of the imaging unit is too wide, a large amount of data needs to be processed to extract the feature amount of the face image of the user to be authenticated from the images of many users included in the image. Therefore, many processing processes are required. Also, if the shooting range of the imaging unit is too narrow, there is a problem that the image of the user to be face-authenticated is not necessarily included in the captured image.

[0010] In addition, the orientations of the faces of the users in the images captured by the imaging unit vary, and it is not always possible to obtain an image having feature amounts appropriate for comparison with the pre-registered feature amounts.

[0011] In addition, in an automatic ticket gate, since it is required to authenticate and pass many passengers getting on and off within a unit time, it is required to quickly process the acquired data and perform face authentication. In addition, in the above-described gate device, a technique capable of easily confirming the usage status of the gate is desired.

[0012] Therefore, an object of this disclosure is to provide a gate device, a gate system, and a gate control method capable of solving the above-described problems, and having the following minimum configuration.

[0013] The minimum configuration of the gate device according to this disclosure will be described with reference to FIG. 1A. This gate device includes a gate body 1 provided along a second plane (for example, a vertical plane indicated by a chain line PL2 in FIG. 1) that intersects a first plane (for example, a horizontal plane indicated by a chain line PL1 in FIG. 1A) in which an authentication target moves in one direction (indicated by an arrow A in FIG. 1A), and partitions the movement space (for example, the space of the passage at the ticket gate) of the authentication target from other spaces (spaces other than the passage); an inclined surface 2 along a third plane (indicated by a chain line PL3 in FIG. 1A) that intersects the first plane and the second plane and is inclined upward with respect to the first plane, on the gate body 1; a display unit 3 that displays an image on the inclined surface 2; and an image acquisition unit 4 that captures an image in the vicinity of the display unit 3. This inclined surface 2 is, for example, an inclined surface having an angle of 0 degrees or more and less than 90 degrees with respect to the first plane PL1 and parallel to a third plane PL3 that intersects the second plane PL2 at a right angle or at an angle other than a right angle.

[0014] In the gate device with the above configuration, as a first plane, for example, an authentication target (e.g., a railway passenger) moving in the direction of arrow A on the floor surface can be guided to a passage partitioned by the gate body 1. Also, the line of sight of the authentication target moving along the gate body 1 can be guided to the display unit 3 on the upward inclined surface 2. Further, the image acquisition unit 4 can capture an image of a passenger or the like facing the face in a predetermined range by moving the line of sight to the display unit 3. In other words, in the gate control method of the illustrated example, as shown in FIG. 1B, a step of displaying an image on a display surface inclined upward with respect to the first plane of the gate body that partitions a moving space on the first plane where the authentication target moves in one direction from other spaces, a step of photographing an image in the vicinity of the display surface, and a step of identifying the authentication target from the photographed image are performed.

[0015] That is, since the face image acquired by the image acquisition unit 4 is likely to be limited to the face image of the user who is attracted to the display unit 3 and faces the display unit 3, the amount of image data to be processed for extracting features is reduced, the recognition of features becomes easy, and the time required for authentication can be shortened.

[0016] <First Embodiment> Next, a gate system according to a first embodiment of the gate device of this disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 7. In the drawings, the same reference numerals are given to the configurations common to FIG. 1, and the description is simplified. The gate system of the first embodiment employs a configuration in which two gate bodies 1 (1A, 1B) are arranged horizontally at intervals from each other. In FIGS. 2 and 3, the inclined surface 2 of the right gate body 1A faces the front side of FIGS. 2 and 3, and the inclined surface 2 of the left gate body 1B faces the back side of FIGS. 2 and 3, and they are arranged in opposite directions to each other. By these gate bodies 1A and 1B, the space of the ticket gate passage inside them and the space outside the ticket gate passage outside are partitioned. That is, the gate body 1 is arranged along a second plane (a vertical plane in the illustrated example) intersecting a first plane (a horizontal plane in the illustrated example) serving as the floor surface of the ticket gate passage, and partitions the space around the ticket gate into a passage and the rest.

[0017] The gate bodies 1A and 1B have a structure formed by bending a plate material of, for example, reinforced plastic into a frame shape, and as a whole, have a small-diameter curved portion 11, a large-diameter curved portion 12, and an inclined portion having inclined surfaces 2 disposed at the ends thereof. Here, the frame shape means a shape along the outer contour line of a partial region in the plane including the gate bodies 1A and 1B (for example, a region having the shape when the gate bodies 1A and 1B are viewed in a direction orthogonal to the second plane), and at least a part of the region inside the outer contour line becomes a space. Therefore, air can flow through the blank region corresponding to the space. Further, connecting members 13 and 13 are provided between the small-diameter curved portion 11 and the large-diameter curved portion 12, and consideration is given to enhancing the strength of the frame-shaped structure. Also, a plate-shaped flapper gate 14 is provided between the connecting members 13 and 13 so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis. In the case of the illustrated example, the flapper gate 14 is provided at two positions, one near the small curved portion 11 of the gate body 1A and the other near the large curved portion 12. The flapper gate 14 is a plate-shaped or frame-shaped member that performs a well-known opening and closing operation at an automatic ticket gate of a railway or the like, and protrudes into the passage from the gate body 1 as necessary to close the passage between the gate bodies 1A and 1B and prevent the passage of passengers or the like attempting to pass through this passage. Note that the flapper gate 14 can adopt, in addition to the method in which a plate-shaped member rotates about a vertical axis and protrudes into and out of the space between the gate bodies 1A and 1B as described above, a method in which a plate-shaped member stored in the gate bodies 1A and 1B protrudes to prevent the passage of users, or a method in which a rod-shaped member protrudes and retracts. That is, the flapper gate 14 is configured to move between a closed position where it actually exists in the space where users between the gate bodies 1A and 1B attempt to pass and obstructs the passage, and a retracted position where it does not exist in this closed position that obstructs the passage. Note that as this retracted position, it can be appropriately selected according to the installation situation of the gate bodies 1A and 1B, such as being housed in the gate bodies 1A and 1B, or being folded along the gate bodies 1A and 1B and retracted, being housed under the floor between the gate bodies 1A and 1B and retracted, or moving above the gate bodies 1A and 1B and retracted.

[0018] On the inclined surface 2, a display unit 3 is provided to optically display predetermined information. The display unit 3 may employ display means such as a liquid crystal display, a light-emitting display that selectively emits light from light sources such as a large number of LEDs, and simply a reflecting surface that reflects an image projected from a projector or the like provided on the ceiling or the like.

[0019] Above and below the display unit 3 on the inclined surface 2, image acquisition units 4 for capturing images are respectively provided and configured to capture images diagonally upward in the direction where the inclined surface 2 faces. For this image acquisition unit 4, for example, a so-called camera equipped with an element that converts visible light, infrared light, etc. into an electrical signal is adopted. That is, the dimensions of the gate bodies 1A and 1B are such that the image acquisition units 4 provided above and below the display unit 3 on the inclined surface 2 can capture images of the faces of an adult user U1 with a height of 170 cm, a child user U2 with a height of 110 cm, as shown in FIG. 4, and a wheelchair user U3 whose face is positioned at approximately the same height as the child, as shown in FIG. 5, from the front. In the illustrated example, the image acquisition units 4 are provided above and below the display unit 3, but they may also be provided at the left and right positions of the display unit 3. In this case, considering the height of the shooting target, it is desirable to adopt a configuration with different incident angles of light rays or a configuration with different attachment angles to the inclined surface 2. Also, a fan may be provided near the display unit 3 or inside the gate bodies 1A and 1B configured in a frame shape to promote the circulation of the surrounding air, prevent the stagnation of the air in the surrounding area, and reduce the disturbance of the image due to condensation and the risk of infectious diseases. Further, a cleaning machine equipped with a filter or the like having a dust removal and sterilization function may be provided in the middle of the air flow generated by the fan to circulate the air around the gate device.

[0020] Further, on the upper surface of the gate body 1, there are provided a data reading / writing unit 5 that reads or writes optical data such as barcodes, magnetic data such as magnetic stripes, data RF (radio frequency) - communicated from an IC chip, etc., and an audio input / output unit 6 composed of a microphone, a speaker, or an interface device having both of these functions for exchanging audio signals with the user.

[0021] With reference to FIG. 6, the determination control unit 20 for controlling the gate system of the first embodiment will be described. The determination control unit 20 extracts feature amounts such as a face from the image data supplied from the image acquisition unit 4, identifies the user according to the degree of coincidence with the feature amount data stored in a database in advance, and further collates with the ticket information of the user to determine whether the user is allowed to pass. Also, the determination of whether to allow passage may be made based on the data supplied from the data reading / writing unit 5 together with the image data supplied from the image acquisition unit 4, or instead of the image data. Note that the data reading / writing unit 5 may be omitted, and the determination of whether to allow passage may be made only by face authentication based on the image data supplied from the image acquisition unit 4. The ticket information includes, for example, at least any one of the boarding section, boarding date and time (valid period), train number, information for identifying the user, and the charged amount of the fare. Note that when passage is permitted based on the data supplied from the data reading / writing unit 5, face authentication based on the image data supplied from the image acquisition unit 4, the image acquisition process of the image acquisition unit 4, etc. may be omitted. Note that for a user whose passage is permitted based on the data (for example, season ticket information) supplied from the data reading / writing unit 5, the image acquisition unit 4 also acquires an image, associates the data with the image, and stores it in association with the image in a storage unit (not shown) such as a host computer, etc. Then, when the user uses the gate system again, the face image acquisition unit 4 acquires the face image of the user, and uses the data stored in association with the image in the storage unit to determine whether the user is allowed to pass.

[0022] The determination control unit 20 is also connected to the audio input / output unit 6 and is configured to input and output audio data. The determination control unit 20 controls the display unit 3 to display predetermined image data. The determination control unit 20 also controls a gate drive unit 21 that controls an electric motor or the like that drives the flapper gate 14, and operates the flapper gate 14 as necessary. Note that the display unit 3 may display predetermined image data, such as whether passage is permitted, the traveling direction, an advertisement, etc., and also display an image of a station staff member during a call for remote communication.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 7, the inclined surface 2 on which the display unit 3 is provided is continuously provided at the end of the small-diameter curved portion 11 of the gate body 1 via a bent portion 15, and is configured to be able to change the inclination angle, for example, by rotating around an axis. The change in this inclination angle is adjusted during installation according to the installation conditions of the gate system, such as the conditions of external light, the angle of illumination, the relationship between the height of the floor surface and the height of the gate body 1, etc., but it is not essential that the inclination angle can always be adjusted, and it may be fixed at a predetermined angle after installation. Further, the inclined surface 2 may be made movable, and a driving device for adjusting the angle may be provided, and it may be configured to automatically or by the user's operation adjust to an optimal angle according to the situation of the image data acquired from the image acquisition unit 4 (for example, when the upper part of the face is missing in the image, it is adjusted upward, and when the lower part of the face is missing in the image, it is adjusted downward), or according to the visual result of the user of the image displayed on the display unit 3.

[0024] The operation of the gate system having the above configuration will be described together with the gate control method. Based on the image data acquired from the image acquisition unit 4, or while the approach of a user to the gate is not detected from a proximity sensor (not shown) provided in the gate device itself or in its vicinity, it is in a standby state waiting for data to be input from at least any of the image acquisition unit 4, the data reading / writing unit 5, and the audio input / output unit 6.

[0025] When the user approaches the ticket gate passage between the gate bodies 1A and 1B, the determination control unit 20 starts extracting the feature amount of the face data from the image data captured by the image acquisition unit 4. At this time, an image that guides the user's line of sight is displayed on the display unit 3 of the gate body 1A, for example, an arrow indicating the direction of travel, the character "Admission Permitted", or a blue color indicating that admission is possible. Note that on the gate body 1B, in order to suppress the intrusion of the user in the direction opposite to the arrow A in FIG. 2, an "X" mark, the character "Passage Not Permitted", or a red color indicating that passage is not permitted is displayed. In this process, since the display unit 3 and the image acquisition unit 4 are provided on the inclined surface 2, the user can easily visually recognize the display by looking downward, and by guiding the user's line of sight to the display unit 3, the image acquisition unit 4 can extract feature amounts close to the image of the user's frontal face. Regarding the display content of the display unit 3, further, the following display may be performed. As a result of face authentication, if the user is a foreigner or wishes to have the display in a foreign language, the characters displayed on the guidance unit 3 are changed from Japanese to a foreign language. This change of the display language can be realized by the user registering the nationality (and the language information associated therewith) when registering the face information, and changing to the registered language when the face authentication is successful. The gate device may be provided with a function of reading information from a smartphone (for example, a beacon function that specifies a position based on Bluetooth (registered trademark) or Bluetooth (registered trademark) signals), and the user may register the language desired by the user in the smartphone, and the display language of the display unit 3 may be changed based on the information acquired from the smartphone. Furthermore, for a user who does not want to pass their own face information to another server or the like (for example, the host computer that stores face information in this disclosure), face authentication may be performed by the user's own smartphone through the following process. That is, (1) Store the user's face photo on the smartphone side (2) When taking a photo at the gate, transmit it to the smartphone using communication such as a beacon or Bluetooth (registered trademark) (3) Inside the smartphone, perform face authentication using the face image received from the gate device and the stored face image, and send the success or failure to the gate device. (4) Based on the success or failure information from the smartphone, the gate device controls the opening and closing of the flapper gate 14.

[0026] Also, since the image acquisition unit 4 is provided above and below the display unit 3, depending on the height of the user or when a user in a wheelchair attempts to pass through, an image that approximates the front of the user as much as possible can be captured. Specifically, regardless of whether the user is tall or short, or in a state of sitting in a wheelchair, an image necessary for face authentication can be acquired.

[0027] When the determination result of the feature amount is inconclusive, further determine whether the boarding ticket data necessary for entry has been received from the data reading / writing unit 5. If it is determined that entry is possible, permit the user to pass. The operation when permitted is to display the characters "Passable", the "○" mark, or the blue color indicating passability on the display unit 3, and prohibit the operation (the operation of blocking progress) of the flapper gate 14 by the gate drive unit 21.

[0028] When both the determination result of the feature amount and the determination result based on the data from the data reading / writing unit 5 are not allowed to enter, the user's passage is not allowed, and an "×" mark, the characters "Not Passable", or the red color indicating not passable are displayed on the display unit 3, and the flapper gate 14 is operated by the gate drive unit 21 to block the passage, or when an intrusion sensor or the like provided separately detects the user's intrusion, the flapper gate 14 is operated to block the passage and set it to a state where it is possible.

[0029] On the other hand, when it is impossible to determine whether a user can pass through within a specified time, when the determination of whether to pass through multiple times is made within a specified time, or when the user requests assistance from a station staff member by operating voice input / output from the voice input / output unit 6 or an emergency button (not shown), a station staff member or the like calls out to the user by means of display on the display unit 3 and voice output to the voice input / output unit 6. Furthermore, based on at least either the image of the user acquired by the image acquisition unit 4 or the voice input from the voice input / output unit 6, a state where dialogue between the station staff member and the user is possible is established, and the station staff member can determine whether the user can pass through.

[0030] Furthermore, in the above gate system, since the gate main body 1 has a frame-like structure, air can easily flow in the width direction of the gate, i.e., the left-right direction as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, etc., in the blank area other than the members constituting the frame. When a user passes through or when wind blows in, the air can escape in the left-right direction, reducing the discomfort given to the user due to wind resistance or the like. Also, since air can flow to the far left and right, the air resistance associated with the opening and closing operation of the plate-shaped flapper gate 14 can be reduced, enabling miniaturization of the drive motor of the flapper gate 14 or reduction of the drive power. Also, by utilizing the function that air can pass through because the gate main body 1 is frame-shaped, a net-like filter or an electric dust collector using static electricity may be provided on the gate main body 1 to also clean the air around the gate device.

[0031] In the above first embodiment, since the gate main body has a frame shape, the weight of the gate main body can be reduced and air can flow in a direction intersecting this. Also, by the operation of the flapper gate 14, the passage along the gate main body 1 can be blocked as needed, and passage can be blocked by the flapper gate according to the result of face authentication collation. Moreover, since the image acquisition unit 4 is provided above and below the display unit 3, face images of users of various heights looking at the display unit 3 can be acquired. In addition, by changing the inclination of the inclined surface according to the determination result of the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 4, the angles of the display unit 3 and the image acquisition unit 4 with respect to the user can be changed to perform redisplay or reshooting. Therefore, it is possible to perform a display that is easy for the user to recognize, or to acquire an image with an appropriate shooting direction and light incident direction. In the gate system of the first embodiment, a passage is formed between the pair of gate bodies 1A and 1B. Of course, by providing a plurality of such passages, they can be used as a plurality of ticket gates. Further, by providing the gate bodies with the inclined surfaces facing in opposite directions, display by the display unit and shooting by the image acquisition unit can be performed for users going in both directions along the gate bodies. In addition, since the flapper gates 14 are provided at both ends of the gate body 1 (the entrance side and the exit side of the user trying to pass through the gate), the flapper gates 14 can be operated at an appropriate timing regardless of the direction of the user's passage.

[0032] <Second Embodiment> FIG. 8 shows the second embodiment. This second embodiment has a configuration in which a gate body 1C having the same configuration as the gate bodies 1A and 1B is provided on the right side of the gate body 1A of the first embodiment with the inclined surface 2 facing backward. In this second embodiment, ticket gate passages can be provided between the gate bodies 1A and 1B and between 1A and 1C, respectively. In this second embodiment, after determining from the image data acquired by the image acquisition unit 4 of the gate body 1A whether the user is trying to pass through either between the gate bodies 1A and 1B or between 1A and 1C in the direction of arrow A (from the front side to the back side in FIG. 8), authentication and control of the flapper gate are performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment. Also, when the user tries to pass in the direction opposite to arrow A, authentication and control of the flapper gate 14 are performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment from the image data acquired by either of the gate bodies 1B and 1C.

[0033] In this second embodiment, by arranging the three gate bodies 1A, 1B, and 1C alternately in opposite directions, two passages can be controlled. In addition, when a user attempts to pass between the gate bodies 1A and 1B and between 1A and 1BC in the direction of arrow A respectively, an image acquisition unit facing both directions (the front side and the back side in FIG. 8) is provided on the gate body 1B, and the screen of the display unit 3 is divided into left and right, and configured to transmit information to each of the users attempting to pass through the left and right passages, or the information for the users passing through the right passage and the information for the users attempting to pass through the left passage may be displayed with a predetermined time difference.

[0034] <Third Embodiment> FIG. 9 shows the third embodiment. In this third embodiment, a display unit 7 is provided on the floor surface between the two gate bodies 1A and 1B. This display unit 7 is, like the display unit 3, a liquid crystal display, a display unit that selectively emits light from a light source such as a large number of LEDs, or simply a reflecting surface that reflects an image projected from a projector or the like provided on the ceiling or the like, and displays image information. This display unit 7 displays, for example, advertisements, characters and figures indicating whether entry into the ticket gate is permitted, figures indicating the direction of travel, various messages, and the like.

[0035] Furthermore, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 9, a display unit 8 may be provided at the edge of the small-diameter curved portion 11 and / or the large-diameter curved portion 12. This display unit 8 adopts a configuration in which an elongated strip-shaped light emitter along the edge or a plurality of point light sources such as light-emitting diodes are arranged at predetermined intervals along the edge. For example, the direction of travel can be indicated to the user by the movement of the light-emitting locations, or the effect of attracting the user's attention by the overall flashing can be obtained. For example, in the example of FIG. 8, in a configuration where the edges of the gate bodies 1A, 1B, and 1C are illuminated in the traveling direction, when passing between the gate bodies 1A and 1B, the edges on both sides of the gate body 1A and the edge of the gate body 1B on the 1A side of the gate body 1A are illuminated (note that the edge on the 1C side of the gate body 1B is not illuminated). By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to more clearly indicate to the user whether passage is permitted or not. Also, the technology of thermography for extracting a signal in the infrared region from the image data obtained from the image acquisition unit 4 and displaying it together with the image is adopted, or a thermal camera and an infrared sensor are provided in addition to the image acquisition unit 4, and a function for determining whether passage is permitted or not is added based on the determination results of these. Based on the determination result of whether passage is permitted or not, the display unit 3 is caused to display whether passage is permitted or not, or a process such as closing the flap gate 14 to block passage may be performed. For example, when the body temperature of a person attempting to pass through the gate device is equal to or higher than a predetermined regulated value, for example, 37.5 °C, a process such as displaying that passage is not permitted on the display unit 3 or closing the flap gate 14 to block passage may be performed, and further, the station staff may be notified that passage is not permitted.

[0036] <Fourth Embodiment> FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a gate system constituted by a gate device and a server device. The gate system 200 is configured such that each of the gate body 1 and the registration terminal 40 is connected to the server device 30 via a communication network.

[0037] FIG. 11 is a first perspective view of the gate device 100 according to the fourth embodiment. The gate device 100 described in the above other embodiments will be described in more detail. The gate device 100 is constituted by a pair of gate bodies 1A and 1B. Each of the pair of gate bodies 1A and 1B is installed in parallel with a space of the width W of the passage area through which a moving body passes in both directions on a horizontal plane along a vertical plane perpendicular to the floor. A person or the like as a moving body can pass through the passage area in both the first direction D1 and the second direction D2.

[0038] Each of the gate bodies 1A and 1B is provided with a first flap gate 14A that obstructs the movement of a moving body such as a person passing in the first direction D1. Further, each of the gate bodies 1A and 1B is provided with a second flap gate 14B that obstructs the movement of a moving body such as a person passing in the second direction D2.

[0039] The gate body 1A includes an image acquisition unit 4A-1 provided above the display unit 3 and an image acquisition unit 4A-2 provided below the display unit 3. That is, the image acquisition unit 4A-1 and the image acquisition unit 4A-2 are attached so as to be able to photograph a moving body such as a person passing in the first direction D1 of the passage area. The gate body 1B includes an image acquisition unit 4B-1 provided above the display unit 3 and an image acquisition unit 4B-2 provided below the display unit 3. That is, the image acquisition unit 4B-1 and the image acquisition unit 4B-2 are attached so as to be able to photograph a moving body such as a person passing in the second direction D2 of the passage area.

[0040] The gate device 100 acquires a first image generated by photographing by the image acquisition units 4A-1 and 4A-2 provided in the gate body 1A and a second image generated by photographing by the image acquisition units 4B-1 and 4B-2 provided in the gate body 1B. The gate device 100 controls the opening and closing in the passage areas of the first flap gate 14A and the second flap gate 14B based on at least one of the first image and the second image.

[0041] Specifically, when the gate device 100 detects a person passing in the first direction D1 based on the first image, it controls the first flap gate 14A that obstructs the passage of the person in the first direction D1 to close. When the gate device 100 detects a person passing in the second direction D2 based on the second image, it controls the second flap gate 14B that obstructs the passage of the person in the second direction D2 to close.

[0042] In the fourth embodiment, the first flapper gate 14A is provided on the front side in the moving direction of the first direction D1 in the passage region between the pair of gate bodies 1A and 1B. Also, the second flapper gate 14B is provided on the front side in the moving direction of the second direction D2 in the passage region between the pair of gate bodies 1A and 1B. However, in other embodiments, the first flapper gate 14A may be provided on the rear side in the moving direction of the first direction D1 in the passage region between the pair of gate bodies 1A and 1B. In this case, the second flapper gate 14B may be provided on the rear side in the moving direction of the second direction D2 in the passage region between the pair of gate bodies 1A and 1B.

[0043] FIG. 12 is a second perspective view of the gate device 100 according to the fourth embodiment. As described in the first embodiment, when the flapper gate is controlled to close, as shown in FIG. 12, it is configured to prevent the passage of passengers or the like trying to pass through the passage by turning around a vertical axis provided on one of the vertical sides of the rectangular flapper gate. In the example of FIG. 12, when the authentication result of the passenger trying to pass in the first direction D1 indicates non-passage, an example is shown in which the first flapper gate 14A provided on the front side in the moving direction of the first direction D1 operates and is controlled to close.

[0044] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the server device. As shown in FIG. 13, the server device 30 is a computer including hardware such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 102, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 103, a database 104, and a communication module 105. Note that the registration terminal 40 may also have a similar hardware configuration.

[0045] FIG. 14 is a functional block diagram of the server device. The server device 30 executes a gate monitoring program. Thereby, the server device 30 has functions such as a control unit 31, a communication unit 32, and an authentication unit 33. The control unit 31 controls the server device 30. The communication unit 32 is communicatively connected to the gate main body 1. The authentication unit 33 performs authentication in response to a request from the gate main body 1 and outputs the authentication result to the gate main body 1.

[0046] FIG. 15 is a functional block diagram of the registration terminal. The registration terminal 40 executes a registration program. As a result, the registration terminal 40 has functions such as a control unit 41, a communication unit 32, and a registration unit 43. The control unit 41 controls the server device 30. The communication unit 42 is communicatively connected to the server device 30. The registration unit 43 accepts registration of biometric information such as a face image of a user who uses the gate system 200, as well as language, nationality, passport number, security number, ticket information, etc. These pieces of information are stored in the database 104 of the server device 30 in association with each other.

[0047] The user can register their own face so that face authentication can be performed on the gate device 100 using the registration terminal 40. In this case, the user stands in front of the registration terminal 40. Then, the registration terminal 40 detects the user using a detection device such as infrared rays. Alternatively, the registration terminal 40 detects the user by acquiring a captured image from a camera provided in the device itself. The registration terminal 40 generates feature information of the face reflected in the captured image. The registration terminal 40 also accepts input of user information. The registration terminal 40 may acquire the user information by analyzing an image of the user's license or passport captured by the camera. Alternatively, the registration terminal 40 may acquire user information from the user's IC card using an IC card reader provided in the device itself. The user information may include information such as the boarding section and destination. The registration unit 43 of the registration terminal 40 transmits the user information and the feature information of the user's face to the server device 30. The server device 30 registers the user information and the face feature information in association with each other in the database 104.

[0048] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the processing flow of the gate device 100 according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing the processing flow of the server device 30 according to the fourth embodiment. Next, the processing flow of the gate system 200 according to the fourth embodiment will be described. Similar to the second embodiment, the user approaches the ticket gate passage between the gate bodies 1A and 1B. The determination control unit 20 sequentially acquires image data including an image captured by the image acquisition unit 4 of at least one of the gate bodies 1A or 1B (step S301). When the determination control unit 20 acquires the image data, it starts extracting the feature amount of the face reflected in the image indicated by the image data. It is assumed that the acquired image data stores an identifier of the gate body 1A or the gate body 1B including the image acquisition unit 4 that transmitted the image data.

[0049] The determination control unit 20 determines whether it has been able to extract the feature information of the human face from the image included in the image data (step S302). When the determination control unit 20 can extract the feature information of the face, it outputs an authentication request including the feature information to the server device 30 (step S303). The authentication request may include, in addition to the feature information of the user's face, an identifier indicating the gate bodies 1A and 1B and a network address. The server device 30 has previously stored in a database 104 or the like by associating the feature information of the face of the user registered using a registration terminal 40 or the like with the passage permission information. The passage permission information may be information for identifying a group of information on the identification information of the gate body 1A that can be passed through.

[0050] The authentication unit 33 of the server device 30 acquires an authentication request (step S400). The authentication unit 33 calculates the similarity between the facial feature information included in the authentication request and the facial feature information of a large number of faces recorded in the database 104, and determines whether the feature information with a similarity equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold is recorded in the database 104 (step S401). If the facial feature information with a similarity equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold to the feature information included in the authentication request is registered in the database 104, the authentication unit 33 determines that the feature information is the feature information of the same person as the user indicated by the feature information included in the authentication request (step S402). The authentication unit 33 determines whether the passage permission information associated with the feature information of the same person as the user indicates passage permission (step S403). As an example, the authentication unit 33 determines whether the identifier information of the gate bodies 1A and 1B included in the authentication request is associated with the passage permission information associated with the feature information of the same person as the user and registered in the database 104. If the passage permission information associated with the feature information of the same person as the user and the identifier information of the gate bodies 1A and 1B included in the authentication request are associated and registered in the database 104, the authentication unit 33 determines that passage is permitted (step S404). On the other hand, if the feature information with a similarity equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold is not recorded in the database 104, or if the passage permission information associated with the feature information of the same person as the user and the identifier information of the gate bodies 1A and 1B included in the authentication request are not associated and registered in the database 104, the authentication unit 33 determines that passage is not permitted (step S405).

[0051] The authentication unit 33 generates authentication result information indicating passable or non-authenticatable (step S406). The authentication unit 33 stores the identifier information of the gate main body 1A or the gate main body 1B obtained from the authentication request in the authentication result information. Also, when it determines that passage is permitted, the authentication unit 33 may store the user's language, ticket information, etc. in the authentication result information. The authentication unit 33 sends the authentication result information to the network address (gate device 100) indicated by the gate main body 1 included in the authentication request (step S407). The determination control unit 20 of the gate device 100 acquires the authentication result information (step S304). The determination control unit 20 controls each function of the gate main body 1 based on the authentication result information (step S305).

[0052] Specifically, the determination control unit 20 acquires the identifier of the gate main body 1A or the gate main body 1B from the authentication result information, and determines the user's passage direction based on the identifier. When the determination control unit 20 acquires the identifier of the gate main body 1A from the authentication result information, it determines that the user's face can be detected based on the first image captured by the image acquisition units 4A-1 and 4A-2 provided in the gate main body 1A, and determines that the user is trying to pass in the first direction D1. When the determination control unit 20 acquires the identifier of the gate main body 1B from the authentication result information, it determines that the user's face can be detected based on the second image captured by the image acquisition units 4B-1 and 4B-2 provided in the gate main body 1B, and determines that the user is trying to pass in the second direction D2. Now, assume that the determination control unit 20 acquires the identifier of the gate main body 1A from the authentication result information and determines that the user is trying to pass in the first direction D1. In this case, the determination control unit 20 determines and stores that the control target is the gate main body 1A, and also determines and stores that the flap gate 14 of the control target is the first flap gate 14A.

[0053] The determination control unit 20 determines whether the authentication result information includes information indicating either passable or non - passable. When the authentication result information includes information indicating non - passable, the determination control unit 20 outputs information for displaying a "×" mark, the characters "Non - passable", or red color indicating non - passable to the display unit 3 of the gate main body 1A. When the authentication result information includes information indicating non - passable, the determination control unit 20 controls the gate drive unit 21 to control the opening and closing state of the first flap gate 14A to be closed so as to prevent the user from passing through the gate device 100 in the first direction D1. This process is an aspect of the process of controlling the opening and closing timing in the passage areas of the first flap gate 14A and the second flap gate 14B based on the timing when the determination control unit 20 authenticates the person as a moving object based on the first image and the timing when the determination control unit 20 authenticates the person as a moving object based on the second image.

[0054] Note that the authentication unit 33 of the server device 30 may have a function of being able to perform authentication based on the feature information near the user's eyes even when the user is wearing a mask. And the authentication unit 33 may detect that the user is not wearing a mask and transmit instruction information for instructing to prompt the mask to the gate device 100. In this case, the determination control unit 20 may output a guidance display instructing to wear a mask to the display unit 3 based on the instruction information.

[0055] When the authentication result information includes information indicating passable, the determination control unit 20 outputs information for displaying a "〇" mark, the characters "Passable", or blue color indicating passable to the display unit 3 of the gate main body 1A. When the authentication result information includes information indicating passable, the determination control unit 20 controls the gate drive unit 21 to control the opening and closing state of the first flap gate 14A and the second flap gate 14B to be open so as to encourage the user to pass through the gate device 100. By such a process, the user using the gate device 100 can easily confirm their own usage status when passing through the gate.

[0056] When the authentication result information includes information indicating permission to pass, the determination control unit 20 may control a guiding device that guides the user to pass in the passage area of the gate device 100. Details of this control will be described later.

[0057] When the authentication result information includes information indicating permission to pass, the determination control unit 20 may obtain the language of the user, ticket information, etc. further included in the authentication result information. When the authentication result information includes ticket information, the determination control unit 20 may output the ticket information to the display unit 3. For example, in the case of the boarding section, destination, fare, etc. indicated by the ticket information, the determination control unit 20 may output such information to the display unit 3. Further, when the authentication result information includes information on the language of the user, the determination control unit 20 may output the character information to be output to the display unit 3 as translated character information converted into the characters of that language to the display unit 3. That is, the determination control unit 20 may identify the language corresponding to the person based on the result of authenticating the person who is a moving body, and change and output the output information to the output information corresponding to the identified language.

[0058] When a user passes through the gate device 100, if the user confirms any malfunction or failure of the gate device 100 or desires guidance, the user can use the communication function of the gate device 100 to communicate with station staff or other administrators. As an example, the display unit 3 of the gate main body 1 further has a touch panel function, and the user uses the touch panel function to switch the screen displayed on the display unit 3 to an inquiry screen. The user presses the inquiry button displayed on the inquiry screen. Then, the communication function of the gate device 100 communicates and connects with a remote device equipped with a camera and a microphone. By both sending and receiving the information acquired by the camera and microphone provided in the gate device 100 and the information acquired by the camera and microphone of the remote device, a conversation can be conducted between the user and the administrator or the like operating the remote device. The voice and video of the user are output to the output devices (speakers and monitors) of the remote device. The gate device 100 outputs the video of the administrator received from the remote device to the display unit 3 and outputs the voice of the administrator from the speaker. The remote device may be installed in a control center, a call center, a station office, or the like.

[0059] FIG. 18 is a third perspective view of the gate device 100 according to the fourth embodiment. In the third embodiment, the display unit 22 at the edge of the small-diameter curved portion 11 and / or the large-diameter curved portion 12 and the frame of the other gate device 100 described with reference to FIG. 9 is an aspect of the guiding device. As shown in FIG. 18, when the authentication result information includes information allowing passage and the control target is determined to be the gate body 1A, the determination control unit 20 controls a strip-shaped light emitter of the display unit 8 or a plurality of point light sources arranged at predetermined intervals along the edge to emit light in order in the passage direction (for example, the first direction D1). Note that the display unit 22 may be provided at each of the left and right edges of the plate materials of the gate bodies 1A and 1B. Then, the determination control unit 20 may control the light emission of the display unit 22 at each of the left and right edges of the plate materials of the gate bodies 1A and 1B, or may control only the light emission of the display unit 22 at the edge on the passage area side. As shown in FIG. 18, when the determination control unit 20 controls the light emission of the light emitter of the display unit 22 provided at the edge of the gate device 100, when it is detected that passage in the first direction of the user is permitted, the light emitters of the plurality of display units 22 are caused to emit light sequentially in the first direction. Further, when the determination control unit 20 detects that passage in the second direction of the user is permitted, the determination control unit 20 controls the plurality of light emitters of the display unit 22 to emit light sequentially in the second direction. The determination control unit 20 may cause only the light emitters of the upper display unit 22 in the gate device 100 to emit light sequentially in the moving direction of the user, or may cause only the light emitters of the lower display unit 22 to emit light sequentially in the moving direction of the user. By such processing, the user using the gate device 100 can easily confirm his / her usage status when passing through the gate.

[0060] FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the minimum configuration of the gate device 100 according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a processing flow by the gate device 100 having the minimum configuration according to the fourth embodiment. The gate device 100 is composed of at least a pair of gate bodies 1. Each of the pair of gate bodies 1 is provided with a space in the width of the passage area where a moving body passes in both directions along a vertical plane. In the gate device 100, each of the pair of gate bodies 1 includes a first flapper gate 14A that obstructs the movement of a moving body passing through the passage area in a first direction of the two directions, and a second flapper gate 14B that obstructs the movement of a moving body passing through the passage area in a second direction of the two directions. Further, in the gate device 100, one of the pair of gate bodies 1 is provided with a first imaging means 4A attached so as to be able to image a moving body passing through the passage area in a first direction of the two directions, and the other of the pair of gate bodies is provided with a second imaging means 4B attached so as to be able to image a moving body passing through the passage area in a second direction of the two directions. Then, the control means 25 controls the opening and closing in the passage area of the first flapper gate 14A and the second flapper gate 14B based on at least one of a first image generated by the imaging of the first imaging means 4A and a second image generated by the imaging of the second imaging means 4B (step S191).

[0061] Although the present application has described the gate device having a flapper gate, the gate device of the present application does not necessarily have to have a flapper gate. For example, when a user who has failed in face authentication or a user who has succeeded in face authentication but has insufficient balance to pay the train fare passes (or attempts to pass) through the gate device 100, information about the user may be notified to an attendant or a security guard in the vicinity of the gate device. The information to be notified may be any information as long as it can identify the user, such as a face photo of the user. In addition, the gate device 100 may notify information for prompting a warning to a user whose face authentication has failed or a user whose face authentication has succeeded but whose balance for paying train fares is insufficient. As a means of notifying information, any means may be used as long as it is information for prompting a warning to the user, such as making a part visible to the user glow in an arbitrary color, displaying a display for prompting a warning on a display visible to the user, or using a sounding body such as a speaker or a buzzer to give a voice warning. As another mode of prompting a warning to the user, a mobile terminal such as a smartphone owned by the user may be used to display on these displays or make these speakers sound. Further, along with this warning, processing such as charging an amount corresponding to the insufficient balance or automatically charging a predetermined amount to the ticket information of the user may be performed. In addition, the information to be notified to the user can be freely changed according to the reason why the gate device determines that passage is impossible. For example, the gate device 100 may notify a user whose face authentication has failed to face the image acquisition unit 4 again, or may notify a user whose face authentication has succeeded but whose balance for paying train fares is insufficient of information prompting a balance recharge.

[0062] Note that the data reading / writing unit 5 of the present application can read not only ticket information for boarding a train but also the user's identification document. The gate device 100 and the server device 30 of the present application may determine whether the user can pass using the information read by the data reading / writing unit 5 from the user's identification document and the information of the user acquired by the image acquisition unit 4. In addition, the data reading / writing unit 5 of the present application can acquire (such as by reading a QR code (registered trademark) (Quick Response code) in a bank application screen displayed on a cash card or a smartphone display, or by communicating and acquiring) the user's payment information (assuming account information, information of a card-type information storage commutation ticket, information related to smartphone payment, etc.). The gate device 100 of the present application can perform settings for passing through the gate device 100 of the present application by face authentication using the payment information of the user, the identification documents of the user himself / herself, and the information of the user acquired by the image acquisition unit 4. The contents of the settings include configurations such as deducting the fare from the account when the user boards the train, regularly charging the balance, and settings such that the user can freely get on and off within a specific section until a specific period, like a commuter pass. Such settings can be made not only from the gate device 100 of the present application but also from the KIOSK (registered trademark) terminals installed in the station premises or the information processing terminals owned by the users.

[0063] <Modified Embodiment> In each of the above embodiments, a configuration is adopted in which the display unit and the image acquisition unit are arranged on one inclined surface provided on the gate device. However, an arrangement such as that of the following modified embodiment may be adopted. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 21, inclined surfaces 2A may be provided near the center of the gate body 1 in opposite directions of the front side and the back side, and a display unit 3 and a camera as the image acquisition unit 4 may be provided on each inclined surface 2A, respectively. By providing the display unit 3 and the image acquisition unit 4 facing in opposite directions in this way, face authentication of users passing in both directions can be performed by one gate device.

[0064] Also, as shown in FIG. 22, inclined surfaces 2B may be arranged at the respective ends of the front side and the back side of the gate body 1 so as to face in opposite directions, and a display unit 3 and an image acquisition unit 4 may be provided on each inclined surface 2B. In this way, by providing the display unit 3 and the image acquisition unit 4 facing in opposite directions at both ends of the gate body 1, face authentication of users passing in both directions can be performed by one gate device, and accurate images can be acquired at a position as close as possible to the users trying to pass through the gate (for users approaching the gate from a distant position).

[0065] Although the above embodiments have shown examples of application to the gate device and system of an automatic ticket gate, it goes without saying that those related to these disclosures can also be used for the gate device and system for entry / exit management of a limited area. As described above, the embodiments of this disclosure have been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and design changes and the like within the scope not departing from the gist of this disclosure are also included.

Industrial Applicability

[0066] The technology related to this disclosure can be used for a gate device, a gate system, and a gate control method.

Explanation of Signs

[0067] 1, 1A, 1B, 1C Gate body 2, 2A, 2B Inclined plane 3 Display unit 4, 4A, 4B Image acquisition unit (imaging means) 5 Data read / write unit 6 Audio input / output unit 7, 8 Display unit 11 Small-diameter curved part 12 Large-diameter curved part 13 Connecting member 14 Flapper gate 20 Judgment control unit 21 Gate drive unit 30 Server device 31 Control unit 32 Communication unit 33 Authentication unit 40 Registration terminal 41 Control unit 42 Communication unit 43 Registration unit A Arrow U1, U2, U3 Users PL1 First plane PL2 Second plane PL3 Third plane

Claims

1. a gate body provided along a second plane intersecting a first plane along which an authentication target moves in one direction and partitioning a movement space of the authentication target from other spaces; an inclined surface provided on the gate body, the inclined surface intersecting the first plane and the second plane and inclined upward with respect to the first plane; a first display unit that displays an image on the inclined surface; an image acquisition unit that captures an image in the vicinity of the first display unit; a second display unit in which a plurality of light sources are arranged at predetermined intervals along the left and right edges of the gate body; The second display unit indicates the one direction by moving light emitting points of the plurality of light sources on the edge portion on the passage area side. Gate device.

2. The gate body has a frame shape that defines a predetermined blank area in the second plane, and the frame-like shape has a first curved portion curved in one direction in which the authentication object moves, a second curved portion curved in a direction opposite to the one direction, and a planar portion continuous with the first curved portion and the second curved portion, The inclined surface is disposed on the planar portion. The gate device according to claim 1 .

3. The radius of curvature of the first curved portion is smaller than the radius of curvature of the second curved portion. The gate device according to claim 2.

4. The second display portion is provided on at least one of the first curved portion and the second curved portion.

4. The gate device according to claim 2 or 3.

5. a flapper gate is provided at a lower portion of the gate body, the flapper gate being movable between a position intersecting a moving direction of the authentication object and a retreating position from the position, The inclined surface is provided at a position above the movement range of the flapper gate. The gate device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. The flapper gate is controlled to open and close based on a comparison result between data acquired by the image acquisition unit and pre-stored data. The gate device according to claim 5.

7. 7. The gate device according to claim 1, wherein the image acquisition units are provided above and below the first display unit.

8. 8. The gate apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an inclination angle of the inclined surface is changed depending on the image captured by the image capture unit.

9. A plurality of gate devices according to any one of claims 1 to 8 are provided at intervals along the first plane, The gate bodies of the plurality of gate devices include a first gate body having the inclined surface facing the one direction; a second gate body, the inclined surface of which faces a direction opposite to the one direction; A gate system having

10. a step of displaying an image on a first display unit on an inclined surface inclined upward with respect to a first plane of a gate body that divides a movement space on a first plane in which an object to be authenticated moves in one direction from another space; capturing an image in the vicinity of the first display; With a step of indicating the one direction by moving light emitting points of a plurality of light sources of a second display unit, the second display unit having a plurality of light sources arranged at a predetermined interval along the left and right edges of the gate body; The second display unit indicates the one direction by moving the light-emitting portion of the edge portion on the passage area side. Gate control method.

Images