Device for verifying documents

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for verifying documents (100) having a light-transparent document support (101) for the receiving a document and a light non-transparent covering (103) for covering the light-transparent document support (101), the light non-transparent covering (103) comprises a lighting device (105) for screening the document.

Claims

1. A document verification device having a translucent document bed for receiving a document and a non-translucent cover for covering the translucent document bed, wherein the non-translucent cover comprises a lighting device for transmitting light through the document, and wherein the translucent document bed exhibits sectionally variable light transparency.

2. The document verification device according to claim 1, wherein the lighting device is arranged at least one of (i) on a side and (ii) in a side of the cover of the non-translucent cover faceable towards the translucent document bed.

3. The document verification device according to claim 1, wherein the lighting device is configured to produce illumination regions of different size in order to be able to transmit light through variously sized documents.

4. The document verification device according to claim 1, wherein the lighting device comprises a plurality of switchable light elements.

5. The document verification device according to claim 4, wherein at least one of the plurality of switchable light elements switches as a function of at least one of a size and a position of the document to produce illumination regions of different size for transmitting light through differently sized documents.

6. The document verification device according to claim 1, wherein the lighting device comprises first light elements which define a first illumination region and second light elements which define a second illumination region.

7. The document verification device according to claim 6, wherein the first light elements is configured to be activated for transmitting light through a document of a first size, and wherein the first light elements and the second light elements are configured to be activated for transmitting light through a document of a second size.

8. The document verification device according to claim 1, wherein a first document bed area of the translucent document bed is configured to be covered by the document, wherein a second document bed area of the translucent document bed is arranged outside of the first document bed area.

9. The document verification device according to claim 8, wherein the translucency of the first document bed area is higher than a translucency of the second document bed area.

10. The document verification device according to claim 1, wherein the translucent document bed comprises at least one of (i) liquid crystal cells, areas of which are configured to be controlled to sectionally vary the translucency of the translucent document bed and (ii) a liquid crystal layer comprising liquid crystal cells, areas of which are configured to be controlled to sectionally vary the translucency of the translucent document bed.

11. The document verification device according to claim 1, comprising a camera compartment covered by the translucent document bed and an imaging camera arranged in the camera compartment for capturing a light-through-image of the document.

12. The document verification device according to claim 1 comprises a housing and wherein the non-translucent cover is pivotably mounted to the housing.

13. The document verification device according to claim 12, wherein the non-translucent cover comprises a first non-translucent cover element and a second non-translucent cover element, wherein the first.

14. The document verification device according to claim 13, wherein the non-translucent cover element is pivotably mounted to the housing and wherein the second non-translucent cover element is spring-mounted to the first non-translucent cover element.

15. The document verification device according to claim 1 comprising a processor for controlling at least one of the lighting device and for controlling the translucency of the translucent document bed.

16. The document verification device according to claim 15, wherein light from the lighting device is configured to be transmitted through the document to obtain a light-through-image, and wherein the processor is configured to process the light-through-image to obtain a light-through-image area which corresponds to the size of a document.

17. The document verification device according to claim 15, wherein light from the lighting device is configured to be transmitted through the document to obtain a light-through-image, and wherein the processor is configured to compare the light-through-image to a reference image to verify the document.

18. A method for verifying a document, comprising: illuminating a reverse side of a document placed faced down on a translucent document bed of a document verification device to transmit light through said document; and taking a light-through-image of the document, wherein the translucent document bed exhibits sectionally variable light transparency.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Reference will be made to the accompany drawings in describing further embodiments of the invention. Shown are:

(2) FIG. 1A, 1B a document verification device;

(3) FIG. 2 a document bed; and

(4) FIG. 3 a flowchart of a method for optically capturing a document.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(5) FIG. 1A shows a plan view of a document verification device 100 having a translucent document bed 101 for receiving a document (not shown in FIG. 1) and a non-translucent cover 103 for covering the translucent document bed 101, whereby the non-translucent cover 103 comprises a lighting device 105 for transmitting light through the document.

(6) The lighting device 105 comprises a plurality of e.g. sectionally activatable light elements 107. The plurality of light elements 107 encompasses for example first light elements 109, which define a first illumination region 111, and second light elements 113, which define a second illumination region 115. The first light elements 109 can be activated or switched on to transmit light through a document of a first size, and the first light elements 109 and second light elements 113 can be activated or switched on together to transmit light through a larger document of a second size. Alternatively, the second light elements 113 can be deactivated when transmitting light through a document of the first size.

(7) The document verification device 100 further comprises a housing 116 having a camera compartment 117 which is covered by the translucent document bed 101. The housing 116 further comprises an imaging camera 119 disposed within the camera compartment 117 for capturing a light-through-image of the document.

(8) The non-translucent cover 103 is pivotably mounted to the housing 116, for example by means of one or more hinges 131.

(9) The non-translucent cover 103 comprises a first non-translucent cover element 121 and a second non-translucent cover element 123. The first non-translucent cover element 121 is pivotably mounted to the housing 116. The second non-translucent cover element 123 is spring mounted to the first non-translucent cover element 121. The second non-translucent cover element 123 can be designed as a spring-mounted pressure clip. This allows the document to be pressed in spring-loaded fashion against the translucent document bed 101.

(10) The translucent document bed 101 is laterally disposed on the housing 116 on a housing side 125. The housing further comprises a housing faceplate 127.

(11) According to one embodiment, the non-translucent cover 103, which also forms a movable table, is sunken relative to the housing faceplate 127. This for example thereby enables document pages of a passport to be lain or placed on the document bed 101 when the covers are folded.

(12) The document verification device 100 further comprises a processor 129, arranged for example in the housing 116 or in the non-translucent cover 103.

(13) The processor 129 is designed to control the lighting device 105 so as to for example switch the light elements 107 on or off sectionally. To this end, the processor can be designed to actuate the light elements 109 of the first illumination region 111 when the document is of a first size in order to transmit light through the document. The second light elements 113 of the second illumination region 115 thereby remain switched off in order to prevent interfering extraneous light outside of the area of the document bed 101 covered by the document. Should, however, there be a larger document to be transmitted by light, the second light elements 113 of the second illumination region 115 are activated in order to produce a larger illumination region.

(14) The processor 129 is connected to the lighting device 105, e.g. by a cable. This way, the lighting device 105 can be designed as a retrofittable component.

(15) The document size can for example be selectable or detected automatically. A calibration image of the document outline can thereby be detected and used as a basis in determining the document size.

(16) The processor 129 can be further designed to activate the imaging camera 119 to take the light-through-image.

(17) A further lighting device (not shown in FIG. 1A) can moreover be provided in the camera compartment 117 in order to illuminate the document through the translucent document bed 101. The light emitted toward the imaging camera 119 from the document in response to this illumination can be detected by the imaging camera 119 and used for further document verification.

(18) According to one embodiment, the lighting device 105 is designed to emit white light and/or infrared light and/or ultraviolet light. To this end, the light elements 107 can be designed to produce white light and/or infrared light and/or ultraviolet light. According to one embodiment, the light elements 107 comprise infrared light elements and/or white light elements and/or ultraviolet light elements which can be arranged, for example evenly distributed, in illumination regions 111 and 115.

(19) According to one embodiment, the lighting device 105 is configured so as to illuminate by means of brief flashes or flash pulses respectively.

(20) The processor 129 is configured to simultaneously or successively, particularly separately, switch on or activate or switch off or deactivate respectively the infrared light elements and/or white light elements and/or ultraviolet light elements for images in different spectral ranges.

(21) According to one embodiment, the light elements 107 can be exclusively infrared light elements. In this case, the processor 129 can be designed to make use of the unused color channels for e.g. metameric red.

(22) According to one embodiment, document mounts for different document sizes, e.g. for documents of sizes ID-1 and/or ID-2, can be used.

(23) FIG. 1B shows a side view of the document reader 100 depicted in FIG. 1A. As depicted in FIG. 1B, the cover 103 is pivotably mounted to the housing 116 by laterally disposed hinges 131, particularly via the first cover element 121.

(24) According to one embodiment, the translucent document bed 101 can have a translucency which varies in areas. In so doing, that area of the translucent document bed 101 which is not covered by a document can be blackened. This enables additional prevention against the infiltration of scattered light into the camera compartment 117.

(25) FIG. 2 shows the document bed 101 exhibiting a sectionally variable translucency. The document bed 101 comprises a first document bed area 203 and a second document bed area 205 arranged outside of the first document bed area 203, whereby the translucency of the first document bed area 203 can be set higher than the translucency of the second document bed area 205.

(26) To this end, the document bed 101 can comprise liquid crystal cells (LCD, liquid crystal display) (not shown in FIG. 2) which can be controlled to sectionally vary the translucency of the translucent document bed 101.

(27) According to one embodiment, the liquid crystal cells are arranged in a layer of liquid crystals which can, for example, be a film able to cover an intrinsically transparent base glass of the document bed. According to another embodiment, the document bed is formed by a liquid crystal panel in which in liquid crystal cells are embedded. The following description relates to both of the aforementioned cases.

(28) The liquid crystal cells are arranged for example in the form of a matrix and are for example individually or sectionally controllable by the processor 129. To this end, the processor 129 can for example supply electric voltage to an area of liquid crystal cells in order to orient the liquid crystal cells and to for example switch the first document bed area 203 to transparent or to increase the translucency of the first document bed area 203 respectively. The remaining second document bed area 205 of the document bed 101 is in contrast switched to non-translucent by the liquid crystal cells associated with the second document bed area 205 not being supplied with voltage or further voltage.

(29) Activation of the liquid crystal cells can ensue by means of the processor 129. To this end, the processor 129 is for example designed to differently control different document bed areas of the document bed 101, for example as a function of the size of a document placed onto the document bed, so as to blacken, or switch to non-translucent respectively, those areas of the document bed not covered by a document.

(30) During the operation of the document reader 100, the processor 129 is designed to for example switch to transparent or leave transparent a first document bed area 103, which is covered by a document, and switch to non-translucent or leave non-translucent a second document bed area 103, which is arranged outside of the first document bed area 103, in order to prevent extraneous light from infiltrating through the document bed 101.

(31) The processor 129 can further control the imaging camera 119 in order to for example produce a calibration image of a document starting from an initially translucent document bed 101. The processor 129 can be designed to determine a position and size of the document on the basis of the calibration image in order to determine the first document bed area 203. The control unit can hereby perform for example edge detection or pattern recognition.

(32) According to one embodiment, optically detecting the first document bed area 203 covered by the document can be omitted when the document size is for example selectable by means of user prompting or a graphical user interface and/or when the document bed is provided with positioning markings for different documents.

(33) The second document bed area 205 lying outside of the first document bed area 203 can thereafter be blackened and/or switched to non-translucent in order to prevent the infiltration of extraneous light into the camera compartment 117. The actual optical capturing of the document which covers the first document bed area 203, and thus likewise prevents against extraneous light, can then be carried out by the imaging camera 119. Optical capture can likewise be triggered by the processor 129.

(34) According to one embodiment, the processor 129 forms a controller for the document reader and assumes all control tasks.

(35) FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of a method for optically capturing a document which comprises: Illuminating 301 a reverse side of a document placed face down on a translucent document bed of a document verification device in order to transmit light through the document, and taking 303 a light-through-image of the document.

(36) The method can be realized by means of the document verification device 100.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

(37) 100 document verification device 101 document bed 103 non-translucent cover 105 lighting device 107 plurality of light elements 109 first light elements 111 first illumination region 113 second light elements 115 second illumination region 116 housing 117 camera compartment 119 imaging camera 121 first non-translucent cover element 123 second non-translucent cover element 125 housing side 127 housing faceplate 129 processor 131 hinge 203 first document bed area 205 second document bed area