Orientation and linear scan device for use in an apparatus for individual recognition

Claim 3

A device as defined in claim 1 wherein said preselected linear segment of said individual''s skin is a linear segment along the underside of a selected finger of an individual''s hand and said means to preclude relative rotation of said preselected linear segment comprises a flat planar surface upon which an individual may place his hand palm down, said planar surface including a plurality of upstanding finger guide and positioning members spaced so as to spread the fingers of an individual''s hand when the hand is positioned on said device whereby said planar surface and said finger guide and positioning members cooperate with the palm of said individual''s hand when said palm is pressed against said planar surface to provide a wide lateral bearing surface for the hand to preclude relative rotation of said preselected linear segment of said selected finger.

Claim 4

A device as defined in claim 2 wherein said planar surface includes a cutout portion located below said selected finger when said individual''s hand is operatively positioned on said device and wherein said means to orient said preselected linear segment of said selected finger comprises a pair of spaced spring-biased side plate members extending upwardly within said cutout and adapted to yieldingly grasp said selected finger, said side plates being mounted on a floating sub-assembly adapted to move vertically and laterally independently of said planar surface, and a portion of said means for detecting distinguishing skin characteristics being mounted within said sub-assembly thereby to move correspondingly with said side plates when said side plates are laterally displaced by said selected finger.

Claim 5

A device as defined in claim 3 wherein said side plates are pivotally mounted at each end to said sub-assembly with the pivotal mounting for one end of said plates being independent of the pivotal mounting of the other end and wherein each end of said plates is pivotally mounted to a spring biased lazy-tong assembly carried by said sub-assembly whereby each end of said plates may move independently of the other end with movement of each said plate resulting in a correspondingly opposite movement in the other of said plates.

Claim 6

A device as defined in claim 4 wherein said floating sub-assembly includes a block member independently mounted in said sub-assembly between said side plate members and spring biased upwardly, said block member including an upper surface thereon adapted to contact and support the underside of said selected finger and further including said means for detecting distinguishing skin characteristics positioned below said upper surface and adapted to scan said selected finger along said selected linear segment.

Claim 7

A device as defined in claim 3 wherein said means for detecting distinguishing skin characteristics comprises a plurality of fiber optic elements disposed in a first linear array with an optically receptive end of each element positioned to serially emit a light beam incident along said linear segment, a plurality of fiber optic elements disposed in a second linear array adjacent said first array with an optically receptive end of each element adapted to receive light reflected from said linear segment and emitted by said first array, said first and second linear fiber optic arrays being mounted within said sub-assembly, means to transmit light from a light source serially to the optically receptive other end of each said fiber optic element in said first array, and means at the optically receptive other end of each said Fiber optic element in said second array to receive light transmitted through said second fiber optic array.

Claim 8

A device as defined in claim 6 wherein said means to transmit and receive light comprises a rotatably mounted cylindrical drum, a light source disposed to emit a beam of light along the longitudinal axis of said drum, a first fiber optic element in said drum having one end axially aligned along said axis with an optically receptive end exposed to said beam of light, a first disc having a diameter greater than the diameter of said drum and fixed to rotate with said drum, the other end of said first fiber optic element being disposed through said disc with its optically receptive end being exposed on one surface of said disc, a second fiber optic element having one end axially aligned along said axis with an optically receptive end exposed to a light detecting means, the other end of said second fiber optic element being disposed through said disc with its optically receptive end being exposed on said one surface radially displaced from said optically receptive end of said first fiber optic element, a second disc fixed to a support disposed adjacent said one surface of said first disc, the optically receptive ends of said fiber optic elements of said first array being arcuately disposed through said second disc and positioned to be serially in registry with the optically receptive end of said first fiber optic element in said first disc when said drum and first disc are rotated, the optically receptive ends of said fiber optic elements in said second array being arcuately disposed through said second disc and positioned to be serially in registry with the optically receptive end of said second fiber optic element in said first disc when said drum and first disc are rotated, and means to rotate said drum and first disc whereby light is transmitted from said light source through said first fiber optic element and serially transmitted through the plurality of fiber optic elements in said first array to be incident along said linear segment and is reflected back to said second array of fiber optic elements to said second fiber optic element to said light detecting means.

Claim 9

A device as defined in claim 7 wherein said light detecting means is a photoelectric cell including means to transduce the sensed light pattern into electrical signals representative of the detected light pattern.

Claim 10

A device as defined in claim 6 including a focusing lens disposed over said optically receptive ends of said second fiber optic array to focus light reflected back from said selected finger.

Claim 13

A device as defined in claim 10 wherein said floating finger orienting assembly includes fixed spaced guide rods, each said guide rod having a support block slidably disposed thereon, a mounting block pivotally mounted on each said support block, a central support shaft extending between each said mounting block, one end of said shaft being fixed in one of said mounting blocks and slidably retained in the other of said mounting blocks, spring-biased spaced side plate members extending through said cutout adapted to snugly contact each side of said selected finger, said side plate members being mounted on said shaft whereby lateral movement of said selected finger will laterally displace said side plates and said shaft along said guide rods.

Claim 14

A device as defined in claim 11 wherein said side plates are supported at each end by a pair of spring biased lazy-tong expansion units, one of said lazy-tong units being independently slidably mounted on said shaft and the other of said lazy-tong units having one end pivotally fixed to said one of said mounting blocks and having an intermediate support slidably disposed on said shaft, each said lazy-tong units being spring biased to normally urge said side plates toward each other, whereby as said selected finger is inserted between said side plates said side plates are moved apart to accommodate said finger against the spring tension of said lazy-tong units and each end of said side plates can pivot open independently of the other end whereby said side plates adjust so that said linear segment is disposed centrally of said side plates.

Claim 15

A device as defined in claim 12 including a spring-biased finger support block carried by said support shaft, said block being pivotally mounted on a support member so as to pivot along an axis transverse to said selected finger, said support member being vertically movable with respect to said support shaft and spring biased thereon so that said finger support block is normally urged upwardly against the underside of said selected finger and said linearly disposed scan path being disposed within said finger support block in a plane displaced vertically below said selected finger.

Claim 16

A device as defined in claim 13 including a spring-biased finger depressant plate carried by said floating assembly, said plate being positioned above said finger support block and biased downwardly to press on the top of said selected finger to retain said finger against said support block whereby said selected finger is snugly retained on said support block by the opposed compressive forces imposed by said side plates and said finger depressant plate and finger support block and lateral movement of said selected finger is transmitted to said assembly which moves correspondingly thereby to maintain a fixed relationship between said linear segment and said linear scan path.

Claim 17

A device as defined in claim 13 wherein said selected linear segment of said selected finger is spaced from said linearly disposed scan path, said linearly disposed scan path being a scan path for means to detect distinguishing skin characteristics along said linear segment, whereby said linear segment is not in contact with said detecting means.