Reading device, authenticity determination device, and program

Abstract

To provide a highly pervasive identification card reading device and such.SOLUTION: A reading device 2 is connected to an authenticity determination device 3, and each time the scanner's light receiving element moves relative to an ID card 10 in a sub-scanning direction by a distance smaller than the length of the light receiving element in the sub-scanning direction, the light receiving element receives light from the ID card 10, thereby obtaining an image of the printed portion of the ID card 10 printed using a thermal transfer method, and transmitting the obtained image of the printed portion of the ID card 10 to the authenticity determination device 3.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a reading device for an identification card for determining the authenticity of the identification card. [Background technology]

[0002] Financial institutions and mobile phone carriers require identification by presenting an ID card (personal identification) such as a driver's license when signing a contract, but there has been an increase in cases where ID cards are forged or altered in order to sign a contract under a false name.

[0003] ID cards such as driver's licenses are generally printed using a thermal transfer method, but when counterfeiting or altering ID cards, they are often printed using inkjet printers, which are the most readily available and have high resolution.

[0004] Therefore, Patent Document 1 describes that an image of a driver's license or the like is used to determine authenticity based on a stepped portion of a line printed by a thermal transfer method. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-117549 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] As described above, in order to determine the authenticity of an image of a driver's license or the like, a high-resolution reading device is required, but such reading devices are expensive, posing a problem in terms of widespread use.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a highly popular identification card reader and the like. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The first invention for solving the above-mentioned problem is a reading device that is communicatively connected to an authenticity determination device that determines the authenticity of an identification card, scans an identification card with a scanner, and acquires an image of the identification card, wherein each time the scanner's light receiving element moves relative to the identification card in the sub-scanning direction by a first distance that is smaller than the length of the light receiving element in the sub-scanning direction, the light receiving element receives light from the identification card, thereby acquiring an image of the printed portion of the identification card printed using a thermal transfer method, and transmits the acquired image of the printed portion of the identification card to the authenticity determination device.

[0009] In the present invention, when acquiring an image of the printed portion using the thermal transfer method, the scanner's light-receiving element is moved in small increments to scan the identification card with high precision, making it possible to determine authenticity without using an expensive high-resolution scanner, making the system configuration cheaper and increasing its popularity.

[0010] A second invention is an authenticity determination device for determining the authenticity of an identification card, comprising an authenticity determination means for determining the authenticity of the identification card based on a step portion of a line in a thermal transfer printed portion of the identification card, based on an image of the thermal transfer printed portion of the identification card obtained by scanning the identification card with a scanner, the image being obtained by having a light receiving element of the scanner receive light from the identification card each time the light receiving element moves relative to the identification card in the sub-scanning direction by a first distance smaller than the length of the light receiving element in the sub-scanning direction. This invention utilizes the fact that a step portion unique to thermal transfer printing originating from the thermal head element of a thermal transfer printer appears in the thermal transfer printed portion, and by determining the authenticity of the identification card based on this step portion based on a scanned image of the identification card, it is possible to distinguish an identification card counterfeited with an inkjet printer or the like as a fake.

[0011] It is desirable that the authenticity determination means determines whether the identification card is a genuine identification card in which the printing portion was printed by a thermal transfer printer with a specified dpi based on the width of the step portion in the sub-scanning direction. The width of the step portion mentioned above varies depending on the dpi (resolution) of the thermal transfer printer, so by using this width to determine authenticity, if a thermal transfer printer with a different dpi than the thermal transfer printer used to print the genuine identification card is used for counterfeiting, it can be determined to be fake.

[0012] The authenticity determination device has an image processing means that performs noise removal by binarizing an image of the printed portion of the identification card and setting the pixel value of the binarized image to a value that is a majority of the values ​​of the pixel in question and the pixels on either side of the pixel in the sub-scanning direction, and it is desirable that the authenticity determination means performs the authenticity determination from the image after noise removal. This allows noise that appears in the image obtained by scanning the printed portion to be removed, making it possible to accurately determine authenticity.

[0013] The printed portion may be, for example, a predetermined specific character. On personal identification cards such as driver's licenses, characters such as the holder's date of birth, address, and the date of issue of the identification card are printed using a thermal transfer method, and the authenticity of the identification card can be determined by the stepped portions of these characters. In the present invention, by extracting specific characters that are prone to having stepped portions, authenticity can be determined accurately and efficiently.

[0014] The third invention is a computer 、 An authenticity determination means for determining the authenticity of an identification card based on a stepped portion of a line in a printed portion of the identification card, the stepped portion being based on an image of the printed portion of the identification card obtained by scanning the identification card with a scanner. A program for functioning as The image is obtained by receiving light from the identification card with a light receiving element of the scanner each time the light receiving element moves relative to the identification card in the sub-scanning direction by a first distance that is smaller than the length of the light receiving element in the sub-scanning direction. Rup It is a program. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] The present invention can provide a highly popular identification card reader and the like. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of an authenticity determination system 1. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of a reading device 2. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the authenticity determination device 3. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functions of the authenticity determination device 3. [Figure 5] 1 is a diagram showing an outline of an ID card 10. FIG. [Figure 6] An example of enlarging part of the text. [Figure 7] 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating printing by a thermal transfer printer 100. [Figure 8] 3 is a flowchart showing the processing of the authenticity determination system 1. [Figure 9] 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating scanning of an ID card 10. [Figure 10] Example of image data 4. [Figure 11] 10 is a flowchart showing the procedure for determining authenticity. [Figure 12] FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0018] (1. Authenticity Determination System 1) 1 is a diagram showing an outline of an authenticity determination system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The authenticity determination system 1 determines the authenticity of an ID card 10, and includes a reading device 2 and an authenticity determination device 3. The reading device 2 and the authenticity determination device 3 are connected to each other so that they can communicate with each other via wireless communication means such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), but they may also be connected by wire.

[0019] The reading device 2 reads an image of the ID card 10 by scanning the ID card 10 with a scanner, and transmits the image to the authenticity determination device 3.

[0020] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the reading device 2. As shown in Fig. 2, the reading device 2 includes a reader 21, a scanner 22, a computer 23, and a communication unit 24. Although not specifically shown, the reading device 2 also includes a battery and the like.

[0021] The reader 21 reads the IC chip of the ID card 10. As the reader 21, a known card reader or the like can be used.

[0022] The scanner 22 scans the ID card 10 and acquires an image of the ID card 10. The scanner 22 has a scanner head with a row of light-receiving elements, and acquires an image of the ID card 10 by shining light onto the ID card 10 and moving the scanner head relative to the ID card 10 so that the light reflected from the ID card 10 is received by each light-receiving element. The arrangement direction of the light-receiving elements and the movement direction of the scanner head are orthogonal in a plane, the former being called the main scanning direction (of the scanner 22) and the latter being called the sub-scanning direction (of the scanner 22).

[0023] The computer 23 is a control device that controls each part of the reading device 2 and executes the processes described below of the reading device 2. A program that executes the processes described below is stored in the storage area of ​​the computer 23. Note that instead of the computer 23, an FPGA (field-programmable gate array) or the like can also be used.

[0024] The communication unit 24 communicates with the authenticity determination device 3 via wireless communication means such as Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0025] Returning to the explanation of Fig. 1, the authenticity determination device 3 determines the authenticity of the ID card 10 based on an image of the ID card 10.

[0026] Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the authenticity determination device 3. As shown in Fig. 3, the authenticity determination device 3 can be realized by a computer configured by connecting a control unit 31, a storage unit 32, a display unit 33, an input unit 34, a communication control unit 35, etc. via a bus or the like. However, the configuration is not limited to this, and various other configurations can be used as appropriate.

[0027] The control unit 31 is composed of a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc. The CPU loads programs related to the processing of the authenticity determination device 3 stored in storage media such as the memory unit 32 and ROM into a work area on the RAM and executes them. The ROM is a non-volatile memory that permanently stores programs such as the boot program and BIOS, as well as data. The RAM is a volatile memory that temporarily stores programs and data loaded from the memory unit 32, ROM, etc., and also has a work area that the control unit 31 uses to perform various processes.

[0028] The storage unit 32 is a hard disk drive, solid state drive, flash memory, etc., and stores programs executed by the authenticity determination device 3 in the processes described below, data required for program execution, an OS, etc. These programs and data are read and executed by the control unit 31 as needed.

[0029] The display unit 33 includes a liquid crystal display or the like. The input unit 34 is used to input various settings to the authenticity determination device 3. The communication control unit 35 is a communication interface that mediates wireless communication, and performs communication with the reader 2.

[0030] Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing the functions of the authenticity determination device 3. As shown in Fig. 4, the authenticity determination device 3 includes an extraction means 301, an image processing means 302, an authenticity determination means 303, and the like.

[0031] The extraction means 301 extracts a specific printed portion of the ID card 10 from the entire image of the ID card 10 read by the control unit 31 of the authenticity determination device 3 using the scanner 22 of the reading device 2. This printed portion is printed using a thermal transfer method, which will be described in detail later.

[0032] The image processing means 302 binarizes the image of the printed portion read by the control unit 31 of the authenticity determination device 3 with the scanner 22 of the reading device 2, and removes noise from the binarized image.

[0033] The authenticity determination means 303 is a means by which the control unit 31 of the authenticity determination device 3 determines the authenticity of the ID card 10 based on the image after noise removal, using the stepped portion of the line in the printed portion of the ID card 10. Details of the authenticity determination will be described later.

[0034] (2. ID Card 10) In this embodiment, the ID card 10 is an identification card that is the subject of authentication. An identification card is a medium used for identity verification by financial institutions, mobile phone carriers, etc., such as a driver's license, My Number card, residence card, or special permanent resident card.

[0035] 5 is a diagram showing an outline of an ID card 10, and is a schematic illustration of an example of the face of the ID card 10. The ID card 10 has the holder's name 12, date of birth 13, address 14, facial image 15, and issue date 16 of the ID card 10 printed on a substantially rectangular card substrate 11. Although not specifically shown, an IC chip is provided on the back of the ID card 10.

[0036] The cardholder's name 12, date of birth 13, address 14, and ID card 10 issue date 16 are printed in monochrome on the card substrate 11 using a thermal transfer printer with a predetermined dpi (resolution) using a melting thermal transfer method. On the other hand, the frames and lines indicating the entry fields for the name 12, etc. are formed in advance on the card substrate 11 using a printing method other than the thermal transfer method, such as offset printing or letterpress printing, and are called pre-printed portions.

[0037] FIG. 6(a) shows an enlarged example of a portion of a character on an ID card 10 printed using a thermal transfer method. In this embodiment, numerous steps B are formed in the lines of the character. The steps B are roughly L-shaped portions that appear at the outline of the line, and are formed when the character is printed using a thermal transfer method. The steps B are particularly noticeable in the curved or diagonal lines of the character. On the other hand, when the character is printed using an inkjet printer, the lines are smooth and no clear steps are formed, as shown in FIG. 6(b).

[0038] (3. Printing ID cards 10 using the thermal transfer method) Printing using the thermal transfer method is performed by a thermal transfer printer 100 shown in Figure 7(a). In the thermal transfer printer 100, a thermal transfer ribbon 200 wound around a supply reel 101 is unwound and transported, and heat is applied to the thermal transfer ribbon 200 by a thermal head 110 along the way, transferring the transfer layer onto the ID card 10. After transfer, the thermal transfer ribbon 200 is taken up by a take-up reel 102. Character printing is performed by transferring a K (black) transfer layer onto the ID card 10 while the ID card 10 is transported by transport rollers 103.

[0039] As shown in Fig. 7(b), the thermal head 110 applies heat to the thermal transfer ribbon 200 from thermal head elements 111 provided on its underside. As shown in Fig. 7(c), multiple thermal head elements 111 are arranged in a row on the underside of the thermal head 110, and the ID card 10 is printed by controlling the on / off of heating by each thermal head element 111.

[0040] The arrangement direction of the thermal head elements 111 is perpendicular to the transport direction of the ID card 10 during printing in a plane, and is called the main scanning direction (of the thermal transfer printer 100). On the other hand, the transport direction of the ID card 10 during printing is called the sub-scanning direction (of the thermal transfer printer 100). In this embodiment, the main scanning direction corresponds to the short side direction of the ID card 10, and the sub-scanning direction corresponds to the long side direction of the ID card 10. The length Dm of the thermal head elements 111 in the main scanning direction and the length Ds of the sub-scanning direction vary depending on the dpi of the thermal transfer printer 100; the higher the dpi, the shorter Dm and Ds become.

[0041] 7(b), in a melting-type thermal transfer method, the transfer layer 202 in the range C adheres to the ID card 10, and when the thermal transfer ribbon 200 is taken up by the take-up reel 102 and separated from the ID card 10, it peels off from the base material 201 of the thermal transfer ribbon 200. This transfers the transfer layer 202 to the ID card 10, printing characters.

[0042] As a result, characters are printed using the size of the thermal head element 111 as a unit, and as shown in part of FIG. 7(d), steps resulting from the thermal head element 111 are formed at the outline of the lines.

[0043] The widths a1 to a3 of the stepped portions in the main scanning direction are n·Dm (n=1, 2, 3 . . . ) which are integer multiples of the length Dm of the thermal head element 111 in the main scanning direction.

[0044] On the other hand, the widths b1 to b3 of the steps in the sub-scanning direction are approximately n·Ds (n=1, 2, 3...), which is an integer multiple of the length Ds of the thermal head element 111 in the sub-scanning direction. The reason we say "approximately" is that when heat is applied from the thermal head element 111 to a certain range C of the transfer layer 202, the length W (see FIG. 7(b)) of the transfer layer 202 in the sub-scanning direction that peels off from the thermal transfer ribbon 200 varies, and strictly speaking, it may not be an integer multiple of the length Ds of the thermal head element 111 in the sub-scanning direction.

[0045] (4. Overview of the processing of the authenticity determination system 1) Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing an outline of the processing of the authenticity determination system 1. S1 to S2 and S6 to S8 in Fig. 8 are processes executed by the computer 23 of the reading device 2 by controlling each part of the reading device 2, and S3 to S5 and S9 to S11 are processes executed by the control unit 31 of the authenticity determination device 3 by controlling each part of the authenticity determination device 3.

[0046] 8 is started, for example, by setting the ID card 10 in a specified position on the reading device 2 and sending a processing start instruction from the authenticity determination device 3 to the reading device 2. The reading device 2 first scans the surface of the ID card 10 with the scanner 22 (S1), and sends the entire image of the ID card 10 obtained thereby to the authenticity determination device 3 (S2).

[0047] 9(a) to 9(c) are diagrams illustrating scanning in S1. In this embodiment, the scanner head, which has a plurality of light receiving elements 221 arranged in a row as shown in FIG. 9(a), receives light from the ID card 10 at each light receiving element 221 each time it moves relative to the ID card 10 in the sub-scanning direction of the scanner 22, as indicated by arrow d in FIG. 9(b). In this embodiment, the sub-scanning direction corresponds to the long side direction of the ID card 10. The distance (second distance) that the scanner head (light receiving element 221) moves once corresponds to the length D of the light receiving element 221 in the sub-scanning direction. In the following description, the terms main scanning direction and sub-scanning direction refer to the main scanning direction and sub-scanning direction of the scanner 22, unless otherwise specified.

[0048] Figure 9(c) shows the state after scanning of a certain range has been completed, and Figure 10(a) is an example of image data 4 created at this time. The value V (V11 to V57) of each pixel in image data 4 depends on the amount of light received by the light receiving element 221 at each scanner head position. For example, the value V of each pixel in columns R1 and R2 of image data 4 corresponds to the amount of light received by each light receiving element 221 when the scanner head is at positions D1 and D2 in Figure 9(c).

[0049] The authenticity determination device 3 receives image data 4 of the entire image of the ID card 10 (S3), and then performs a known OCR (optical character recognition) process on the image data 4 to search for and extract predetermined specific characters (S4). Once the specific characters are extracted, the authenticity determination device 3 transmits the position information of the character portion to the reading device 2 (S5).

[0050] In this embodiment, a search for specific characters is performed in predetermined areas a to c (see FIG. 5) on the ID card 10 where the date of birth 13, address 14, and issue date 16 are printed. The search order for each of areas a to c can be determined in advance, and character extraction ends when a predetermined number of specific characters have been extracted. Here, for simplicity of explanation, the predetermined number is set to 1.

[0051] There are no particular limitations on the specific characters, but in this embodiment, as will be described later, authenticity is determined based on the steps in the lines of the characters, so characters (numbers) such as "0", "8", "3", "2", and "4" that have curves or diagonal lines that are likely to produce steps and are often used for dates of birth 13, addresses 14, and issue dates 16 are desirable.

[0052] When the reading device 2 receives the position information of the character portion (S6), it moves the scanner head to the character portion based on the position information, scans the character portion with high precision (S7), and transmits the image of the character portion obtained thereby to the authenticity determination device 3 (S8).

[0053] 9(d) and (e) are diagrams illustrating the scanning of S7 in comparison with the scanning of S1 (FIGS. 9(b) and (c)).

[0054] In S7 as well, each time the scanner head (light receiving elements 221) moves in the sub-scanning direction relative to the ID card 10, light from the ID card 10 is received by each light receiving element 221. However, in S7, the distance the scanner head moves in one go (first distance) is set to a length shorter than the length D of the light receiving elements 221 in the sub-scanning direction, for example, 1 / 3D, as shown in Figure 9(d).

[0055] Figure 9(e) shows the state after scanning the same range as Figure 9(c), but the image data 4 created at this time has an increased number of columns compared to scanning S1 (see Figure 10(a)) as a result of moving the scanner head more precisely, as shown in Figure 10(b). Note that the value V of each pixel in columns R1 and R2 of the image data 4 in Figure 10(b) corresponds to the amount of light received by each light receiving element 221 when the scanner head is at positions D1 and D2 in Figure 9(e).

[0056] When the authenticity determination device 3 receives the image data 4 of the character portion (S9), it determines the authenticity of the ID card 10 using the image data 4 of the character portion (S10). Details of this authenticity determination will be described later. The authenticity determination device 3 displays the determination result on the display unit 33 (S11) and ends the process. The operator can view the determination result and take appropriate action.

[0057] In addition to the above processing, the reading device 2 can read the IC chip of the ID card 10 using the reader 21 and determine whether it is a genuine, uncounterfeit IC chip, thereby enabling even more reliable authentication.

[0058] (5. Authenticity determination process) Next, the procedure of the authenticity determination process in S10 will be described with reference to Fig. 11, which is a flowchart showing the authenticity determination process in S10.

[0059] In S10, the authenticity determination device 3 first converts the image data 4 of the character portion to grayscale as needed, and then binarizes the image data 4 (S101). Then, noise is removed from the binarized image data 4 (S102).

[0060] 12(a) is an example of image data 4 after binarization, where a value "1" indicates a black pixel and a value "0" indicates a white pixel. In S102, the value of a target pixel 41 in the image data 4 is set to a value selected from the values ​​of the target pixel 41 and the pixels 42 on either side of the target pixel 41 in the sub-scanning direction (the row direction of the image data 4, i.e., corresponding to the left-right direction in FIG. 12(a)).

[0061] The above process is repeated with each pixel of the image data 4 as the pixel of interest 41, thereby removing noise from the image data 4. For example, if noise (black pixels) is generated due to dust or the like on the ID card 10, as shown by reference numeral 43 in FIG. 12(a), the noise is removed (becoming white pixels) by performing the above process with this pixel as the pixel of interest 41, as shown in FIG. 12(b).

[0062] Next, the authenticity determination device 3 detects steps in the lines of the characters from the image data 4 after noise removal (S103).

[0063] The method for detecting the step is not particularly limited, but in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12(c), for example, the position where the pixel value changes from "0" to "1" or from "1" to "0" along the sub-scanning direction is first detected as a boundary 44.

[0064] Then, as shown in Fig. 12(d), the authenticity determination device 3 calculates the distance L between adjacent boundaries 44 in the column direction (corresponding to the up-down direction in Fig. 12(d)) of the image data 4. At this time, if the position of the boundaries 44 in the sub-scanning direction is the same between adjacent rows in the column direction of the image data 4 (see the boundary 44 on the right side in Fig. 12(c)), these boundaries 44 are regarded as one continuous boundary 44 as shown in Fig. 12(d).

[0065] The distance L can be calculated from the number of pixels, and if the distance L is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the authenticity determination device 3 detects this as a step portion of the character and determines the distance L as the width of the step portion in the sub-scanning direction.

[0066] In the above example, if the position of the boundary 44 in the sub-scanning direction is the same between adjacent rows in the column direction of the image data 4, these boundaries 44 are considered to be one continuous boundary 44. However, if the difference in the position of the boundary 44 in the sub-scanning direction between adjacent rows in the column direction of the image data 4 is within a certain value, these boundaries 44 may also be considered to be one continuous boundary 44.

[0067] As described above, the authenticity determination device 3 detects one or more steps from the image data 4. Then, the number of pixels in the image data 4 corresponding to the length Ds of the thermal head element 111 (the length in the sub-scanning direction of the thermal transfer printer 100; see FIG. 7(c)) (i.e., how many pixels in the image data 4 does the length Ds correspond to) is set as a reference value S, and the width L of each step is compared with the reference value S.

[0068] If a predetermined number or more of stepped portions having a width L that is an integer multiple n·S (n=1, 2, 3...) of the reference value S are present (S104; YES), the authenticity determination device 3 determines that the characters were printed by the thermal transfer printer 100 with the predetermined dpi used to print the genuine ID card 10, and determines that the ID card 10 is genuine (S105). On the other hand, if a predetermined number or more of stepped portions having a width L that is an integer multiple n·S of the reference value S are not present (S104; NO), the authenticity determination device 3 determines that the ID card 10 is not genuine (S106). Note that "stepped portions having a width L that is an integer multiple n·S of the reference value S" also includes step portions whose width L is within the error range of the integer multiple n·S of the reference value S. The error range can be set arbitrarily, taking into account factors such as inspection accuracy.

[0069] The predetermined number is not particularly limited, and may be determined in advance according to the characters extracted in S4 (see FIG. 8), or may be set as a ratio to the number of shoulders detected in S103.

[0070] As explained above, in this embodiment, the step portion that is unique to the thermal transfer method and originates from the thermal head element 111 of the thermal transfer printer 100 appears in the thermal transfer printed portion, and by determining the authenticity of the ID card 10 based on this step portion, it is possible to distinguish ID cards 10 counterfeited with an inkjet printer or the like as counterfeit. Furthermore, in this embodiment, when acquiring an image of the printed portion, the ID card 10 is scanned with high precision while the scanner head (light receiving element 221) is moved in small increments, so there is no need to use an expensive high-resolution scanner, making the system configuration cheaper and improving its widespread use.

[0071] On the ID card 10, characters such as the holder's date of birth 13, address 14, and issue date 16 of the ID card 10 are printed by a thermal transfer printer 100, and the authenticity of the ID card 10 can be determined by the stepped portions of these characters. In this embodiment, authenticity can be determined highly accurately and efficiently by extracting specific characters that have curved or diagonal lines that are prone to forming stepped portions.

[0072] Since the width L of the step portion varies depending on the dpi of the thermal transfer printer 100, in this embodiment, this width L is used to determine authenticity. Therefore, a thermal transfer printer with a different dpi than the thermal transfer printer 100 used to print the genuine ID card 10 can be prepared for counterfeiting, and the ID card 10 counterfeited using this printer can also be determined to be counterfeit.

[0073] In this embodiment, the scanning of the ID card 10 in S1 (see FIG. 8) is performed roughly by increasing the distance the scanner head moves per scan compared to the scanning in S7, and the printed portion used for authenticity determination is extracted from the entire image of the ID card 10 obtained in this way, and high-resolution scanning in S7 can be performed using only that printed portion, thereby contributing to the efficiency of the inspection by limiting the portion of the ID card 10 that is scanned with high resolution. However, by scanning the entire image of the ID card 10 in S1 with high resolution as in S7, it is also possible to omit the processes in S4 to S9 described above.

[0074] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as described above, the image data 4 is binarized and noise is removed, and the authenticity can be determined with high accuracy from the image data 4 after noise removal.

[0075] However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, to improve inspection accuracy, it is possible to determine authenticity using multiple characters. However, taking processing time into consideration, it is preferable to use approximately three characters. When multiple characters are used for determination, the above-mentioned steps S101 to S104 are performed for each character to determine whether it was printed by a thermal transfer printer 100 with a predetermined dpi, and if the number of characters determined to have been printed by a thermal transfer printer 100 with a predetermined dpi is equal to or greater than a predetermined number, the ID card 10 can be determined to be authentic.

[0076] In addition, in this embodiment, the lines of characters printed in monochrome are used to determine authenticity, but if the printed part is printed using a thermal transfer method, lines other than characters can also be used to determine authenticity, and color printed lines may also be used to determine authenticity.

[0077] In addition, in this embodiment, the sub-scanning direction of the scanner 22 corresponds to the long side direction of the ID card 10, but if the sub-scanning direction of the scanner 22 is set to the short side direction of the ID card 10, it is also possible to make a judgment using the length Dm of the thermal head element 111 (the length in the main scanning direction of the thermal transfer printer 100; see Figure 7(c)) as a reference value, which is expected to improve inspection accuracy.

[0078] While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited to these examples. It is clear that those skilled in the art can conceive of various modifications or alterations within the scope of the technical ideas disclosed herein, and it is understood that these modifications also fall within the technical scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0079] 1: Authenticity determination system 2: Reading device 3: Authenticity determination device 10: ID card 22: Scanner 100: Thermal transfer printer 110: Thermal head 111: Thermal head element 221: Light receiving element 301:Extraction means 302: Image processing means 303: Authenticity determination means

Claims

1. A reading device that is communicably connected to an authenticity determination device that determines the authenticity of an identification card, scans the identification card with a scanner, and acquires an image of the identification card, Each time a light receiving element of the scanner moves relative to the identification card in the sub-scanning direction by a first distance that is smaller than the length of the light receiving element in the sub-scanning direction, the light receiving element receives light from the identification card, thereby obtaining an image of the portion of the identification card printed by a thermal transfer method; The image of the printed portion of the acquired personal identification card is transmitted to the authenticity determination device. A reading device characterized by:

2. 2. The reading device according to claim 1, wherein the printed portion is a predetermined specific character.

3. An authenticity determination device for determining the authenticity of a personal identification card, and an authenticity determination means for determining the authenticity of the identification card based on an image of a thermal transfer printed portion of the identification card obtained by scanning the identification card with a scanner, by checking the stepped portion of the line of the printed portion; An authenticity determination device characterized in that the image is obtained by having the scanner's light receiving element receive light from the identification card each time the light receiving element moves relative to the identification card in the sub-scanning direction by a first distance shorter than the length of the light receiving element in the sub-scanning direction.

4. The authenticity determination device according to claim 3, characterized in that the authenticity determination means determines whether the identification certificate is a genuine identification certificate in which the printed portion was printed by a thermal transfer printer of a predetermined dpi based on the width of the step portion in the sub-scanning direction.

5. an image processing means for performing noise removal by binarizing an image of the printed portion of the identification card and setting the value of a pixel in the binarized image to a value that is greater than or equal to the value of the pixel and the pixels on both sides of the pixel in the sub-scanning direction; 5. The authenticity determining device according to claim 3, wherein the authenticity determining means determines the authenticity from an image after noise has been removed.

6. 6. The authenticity determination device according to claim 3, wherein the printed portion is a predetermined specific character.

7. Computer, A program for functioning as an authenticity determining means for determining the authenticity of an identification card based on a stepped portion of a line in a printed portion of the identification card, the stepped portion being determined based on an image of the printed portion of the identification card obtained by scanning the identification card with a scanner, the program comprising: A program characterized in that the image is obtained by having the scanner's light receiving element receive light from the identification card each time the light receiving element moves relative to the identification card in the sub-scanning direction by a first distance that is smaller than the length of the light receiving element in the sub-scanning direction.

Images