Signal Compression Apparatus and Method

The need for security in systems utilized in various types of financial, governmental, retail, manufacturing and other establishments, in order to prevent use of the system, or entry into the system, by unauthorized parties is a current and pressing problem. One solution to the problem is to provide reliable means to verify that the party requesting use of, or entry into, the system is, in fact, the person he or she claims to be. For the purpose of verifying the identity of an individual, some unique personal characteristics such as, for example, facial features, fingerprints, voice patterns or signature of the individual may be employed.

One suitable characteristic is the force pattern of an individual's signature. Systems have been developed which are capable of distinguishing between a forged signature and a valid signature on this basis. This may be accomplished by detecting individually distinctive force characteristics of a signature to be tested and converting them into electrical signals which can be automatically processed and compared with the stored representation of an authentic signature, for determination of whether or not the tested signature is a valid one.

A number of United States Patents have issued which are directed to signature verification, including Nos. 3,480,911; 3,579,186; 3,618,019; 3,818,443; 3,859,515; 3,906,444; 3,959,769; 3,962,679; 3,983,535; 4,028,674; 4,035,769; 4,040,011; 4,040,012; and 4,086,567.

A continuing need exists for signature verification systems which provide increased accuracy, reliability and speed of operation. The system which is the subject of the present invention offers a novel arrangement which is readily and conveniently implemented to provide compression of analog signals, which may be used in development of signature vectors which enable comparisons to be carried out for the purpose of verification with a high degree of accuracy.

This invention relates to a system for compression of an analog waveform.

In accordance with one of the embodiments of the invention, apparatus for providing a compressed digitized representation of an analog signal comprises means for sampling the analog signal at a predetermined rate to provide a plurality of corresponding digital values; storage means for storing each digital value in a first location until the next digital value has been sampled; means for comparing each latest digital value with the preceding digital value to determine a slope direction; means for comparing each most recently determined slope direction with the immediately preceding slope direction; and means for causing each preceding digital value to be discarded if the two slope directions are the same, and to be stored in a second location if the slope directions are different; whereby a digital representation, including stored digital values which represent signal maximums and minimums, of the analog signal is provided in the second storage location.

In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, a method of providing a compressed digitized representation of an analog signal comprises the steps of (A) sampling the analog signal at a predetermined rate to provide a plurality of corresponding digital values and associated time-related values; (B) storing each digital value in a first location until the next digital value has been sample; (C) comparing the latest digital value with a preceding digital value to determine a slope direction; (D) storing the preceding digital value and the associated time-related value in a second location if the slope directions are different; and (E) repeating steps B to D inclusive for each consecutive sampled digital value derived from sampling the analog signal, whereby a digital representation, including maximum and minimum values, of the analog signal is provided in the second storage location.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for providing a compressed digitized representation of an analog signal.

A further object is to provide a method and apparatus for providing a compressed digitized representation of a signature.

With these and other objects, which will become apparent from the following description, in view, the invention includes certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts, one form or embodiment of which is hereinafter described with reference to the drawings which accompany and form a part of this specification.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the hardware components of the signature verification system of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show waveform representations of a signature at various stages of processing by the system.

FIGS. 3A and 3B together form a detailed flow diagram of the sequence of operations performed by the system in generating a compressed table of values for each signature.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic showing of various memory locations contained in the memory of the microcomputer system and the associated "secondary" storage units.

FIG. 5A is a diagrammatic showing of a digitized representation of a typical signature or segment thereof.

FIG. 5B is a table showing compressed values of data representing the waveform of FIG. 5A.

Referring now to the drawing, a signature verification system is shown in block form in FIG. 1. This system comprises a central processor unit 100, which includes a suitable microcomputer system, such as, for example, an Intel SBC 80/10 microcomputer system. The unit 100 controls, by means of a software operating system, the input-output peripheral units which are connected to a common data bus 102 and also contains all algorithms and performs all computations required for the personal verification system.

The unit 100 includes a memory 80, a partial map of which is shown in FIG. 4. Included in said memory are a location 82 for storage of programs during operation, a location 84 for storage of data representing signatures or other handwritten data made for reference or verification purposes by customers, a location 86 for storing data representing five different signature samples, a common storage location 88 in which the data for the individual signature tables is collected, a location 90 used in performing normalizing operations, a location 92 for receiving reference signature data to be used in verification operations from a storage location 94 in "secondary" storage unit 116, and initially calculating such data for storing in location 94 of storage unit 116, a location 96 in which signature vectors for five signatures are stored, and a common storage location 98 which is used in generation of the individual signature vectors. As used herein, the term "signature vector" refers to a digital representation of certain defined characteristics of a handwriting sample, which may be a signature, but is not limited to such. The term "information vector" could be used in place of "signature vector", if desired.

A plurality of customer interface units are provided to enable the customer to perform the required actions for verification of identity, and to guide the customer in performing the necessary actions in the proper sequence.

A first such unit connected to the data bus 102 is the lead-through unit 104, which provides instructions to the customers as to the sequence of operations to be followed. The various indicators and their significance are tabulated below:

A second unit connected to the data bus 102 which may be employed as a speaker 106 which provides an audible tone each time that a signature is required by the system.

An additional unit connected to the data bus 102 is the signature pad unit 108 on which the customer executes the signature to be verified. A window 110, located above a force-sensitive surface, over which a record medium for receiving the signature travels, defines the signing area, and an associated paper feed mechanism 112, also connected to the data bus 102, advances the record medium after the signature has been completed. Any suitable signature pad structure may be employed, with one such suitable unit being disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,143,357, issued Mar. 6, 1979, inventors Donald W. Baver et al., and assigned to the assignee of the present application. Any suitable means may be employed for compensation for drift of the signature table or pad from a null position, one such method and apparatus being disclosed in the co-pending application Ser. No. 016,677, filed Mar. 1, 1979, inventor Robert M. Whitely, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,469, issued Mar. 3, 1981, and assigned to the assignee of the present application.

Another unit connected to the data bus 102 is a key pad 114, by means of which information, such as a customer identification number, can be entered into the system. In the illustrated embodiment, the key pad unit contains twelve keys, including ten digits, one "clear" and one "enter" key.

In addition to the customer interface units described above, two other units are connected to the data bus 102 in the illustrated embodiment.

One of these is a storage unit 116, which in the illustrated embodiment takes the form of a dual drive diskette which is used to store information required by the system, such as standards generated from the signatures of those customers who have been made a part of the system, programs for the system, and associated information utilized in performing the operations for which the system is designed.

Another unit is a printer/keyboard unit 118, which may be used to input commands, to load programs from the storage unit 116, and to provide means for outputting the results of transactions performed on the system, as for example during testing operations.

The operating system software provides two operating modes: reference and verification.

The reference mode is utilized for enrollment of a person into the system so that his identity can be verified by the system at subsequent times whenever desired. If the reference mode, an ID claim number is assigned for each customer, a number (five in the illustrated embodiment) of signatures are requested by the system and are made by the customer, a "standard" or "reference" is generated by the system from the five signatures, and the standard is stored in the storage unit 116 for later accessing by the ID number in subsequent verification of customer identity.

In the verification mode of operation, a customer enters his or her ID number into the system via the key pad unit 114, the standard for such ID number is fetched from location 94, a signature is requested by the system through the lead-through unit 104, the signature is made by the customer on the signature pad unit 108, the signature is compared to the standard, and the result is displayed on the unit 104. It will be recognized that the customer ID number could be entered into the system by other means than manual keying, such as, for example, a transaction card on which the ID number is stored magnetically, optically or by other means. Multiple tries, up to a predetermined number, may be permitted by the system if desired.

A significant aspect of the system described herein is the generation of signature vectors from the signing of signatures by the customer on the signature pad 108, such signature vectors being used in both the reference and verification modes. The action of the writing instrument on the writing surface produces a force versus time relationship which is translated by the unit 108 into a voltage versus time relationship. A graphical representation of a typical signature is shown in FIG. 2A, with time represented by the horizontal coordinate and voltage by the vertical coordinate. The waveform 150 of FIG. 2A is then digitized by sampling it at a predetermined rate, which may typically be one hundred samples per second, as represented by the vertical lines 152 in FIG. 2B. Thus if making a signature takes seven seconds, there will be a total of seven hundred samples. The amplitudes of the samples thus derived are stored in memory.

The stored signature data is processed to achieve a data compression of the digitized samples. If desired, this processing could be done in real time, rather than from storage, as is done in the illustrated embodiment.

The flow diagram of FIGS. 3A and 3B sets forth the sequence of operations performed by the system of the present invention in generating a compressed table of values for each signature from which a signature vector can be computed in accordance with another sequence of operations, to be subsequently described. The flow diagram of FIGS. 3A and 3B will be described in association with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B, which is an illustrative waveform representing a portion of a signature, not corresponding to the waveform of FIGS. 2A and 3B. A total of twenty-one sampling points are represented in FIG. 5A, with the sample number corresponding to one of the twenty-one equal time divisions, and the corresponding point on the waveform representing a voltage amplitude. Certain of the sample numbers are indentified by the designation S1, S2, etc.

Processing and compression of the signature data involves the determination of maximum and minimum points in the signature waveform and measurements of certain time characteristics of the signature. In order to be selected as a maximum or a minimum point, a sample value must not only reflect a change of sign in the slope of the waveform, as defined later, but must also differ in value from the preceding sample by more than a given threshold amount.

Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, it may be noted that S.sub.i represents the digitized value of the "ith" sample of the waveform. The value "i" represents the time, in number of samples, since the start of a signature. "MXMIN" represents the last maximum or minimum sample value maintained in storage. The values assigned to CODE are employed to describe certain waveform conditions during the operation. A value of one assigned to CODE means that the slope of the waveform is positive (S.sub.i+1 >S.sub.i); a value of two assigned to CODE means that the sample value S.sub.i is 0; and a value of three assigned to CODE means that the slope of the waveform is negative (S.sub.i+1 <S.sub.i).

In commencing the data compression operation from the START block 160 of FIG. 3A, a number representing the magnitude of the first sample S.sub.i is stored in TABLE 1 of the memory location 88 (FIG. 5), represented by block 168 of FIG. 3A, while the corresponding time (namely one) is stored in TABLE 2 of said memory location. It may be noted that the operation is commenced under the conditions set forth in block 162, namely CODE value set equal to 1; MXMIN value set equal to zero; a value of four assigned for the threshold THR; i, representing the sample number, is set equal to zero; and a SUM value, in which a cumulative total of sample magnitudes is maintained for the purpose of generating one of the values to be used in determining a signature vector, is set equal to zero. The value I, representing the entry number in TABLE 1 and TABLE 2, is set to one.

As shown in block 164, the system increments the value of i by one for each sample, fetches the corresponding sample value from memory location 84, and accumulates a running sum of sample magnitudes, which can be used in calculating a signature vector. Since i=1 at the beginning of the operation, the sample amplitude value S.sub.1 is stored as the first entry (I equals 1) in TABLE 1, and the i value of 1, representing sample time, is stored as the first entry in TABLE 2 of memory location 88. The value I is then incremented by one, as shown in block 168. Th value I is now equal to two, as shown in block 168.

The first sample, for which i=1, which is fetched out of memory location 84, corresponds to point S1 on the waveform of FIG. 5A. System operation proceeds through decision blocks 170, 172 and over path 174 and said first sample is stored, as shown in block 176 (FIG. 3B) in an appropriate memory location (not shown) in memory 80 by virtue of the fact that the system is in CODE 1 condition and that the sample value exceeds MXMIN, which was initially set to zero.

The system then operates through a loop which includes path 178. The next sample, corresponding to point S2 on the waveform of FIG. 5A, is then routed through decision blocks 166, 170 and 172 of FIG. 3A, it being noted that S2 is greater in amplitude than the previous MXMIN of sample S1, and over path 174, and is stored in memory 80 in place of the previous stored S1 sample as the new MXMIN, as shown in block 176. Processing of samples continues with sample S3, which is greater in amplitude than previous sample S2, and which is stored in its place as the new MXMIN.

The fourth sample S4, which is less in magnitude than sample S3, as shown in FIG. 5A, is next processed. As a consequence of its comparison with MXMIN in block 172, it is then tested, as shown in block 180, to determine whether it is lesser in amplitude than MXMIN by a factor exceeding the previously established threshold of four. Since it is not, system operation loops back over path 182 to path 174, and sample S4 is then stored as the new MXMIN, in place of the previously stored S3. The system then loops back over path 178 to receive the next sample, as previously described.

The same sequence of operations as described above continues as samples S5 to S9 inclusive are processed by the system. In each case, the new sample replaces the previous sample as MXMIN, as represented in block 176.

When sample S10 is processed, it is substantially lower in amplitude than MXMIN as determined in block 172, and is therefore tested in block 180. Since MXMIN exceeds S10 by more than the threshold of four, processing continues as shown in block 184, in which the CODE is changed from 1 to 3, and the previous MXMIN (corresponding to S9) is stored in TABLE 1 of the selected memory location 88, as the second entry (I is two) in that table, while i minus 1 (which equals 9) is stored in TABLE 2, also as the second entry. The value of I is then incremented by one, assuming a value of three. System operation then loops back over path 186 to path 174, and sample S10 is stored as the new MXMIN, in place of the previously stored S9. The system then loops back over path 178 to receive the next sample.

When sample S11 is processed, the CODE is now 3, and processing therefore proceeds over path 188 to decision block 190 (FIG. 3B) for a determination of whether or not the magnitude of sample S11 equals zero. Since it does not, processing continues to decision block 192, where the sample S11 is compared to the MXMIN, and found to be lesser in magnitude, so that processing continues along path 194 and sample S11 is stored in place of the current MXMIN, as shown in block 176.

Sample S12 is then processed through blocks 170 and 190, and since its magnitude is equal to zero, processing continues as shown in block 196. The CODE is changed from 3 to 2, zero is stored as the third entry (I equals three) in TABLE 1 of memory location 88, representing the magnitude of sample S12, and 12 is stored as the third entry in TABLE 2 representing the sample time. The value I is incremented by 1, to four. Operation continues to block 202, where the current value of i is compared to the total number of samples T. As it is not equal to the total number of samples T, operation of the system then loops back over path 178 to receive the next sample.

Since CODE is equal to two, and sample S13 is also zero in magnitude, processing proceeds from block 170 over path 198, to block 200, and the processing loop returns to block 164 to receive the next sample.

Since sample S14 has a positive amplitude, system processing continues from block 200 to block 204, where the code is changed from 2 to 1, zero is stored as the fourth entry in TABLE 1, and thirteen (14-1) is stored as the fourth entry in TABLE 2, representing the sample time; I is incremented by one, so that I equals five. Processing proceeds over path 174 and the amplitude of sample S14 is stored as MXMIN, as shown in block 176, after which the system loops over path 178 to receive the next sample.

It may be noted that the interval between the two zeroes stored in TABLE 1, as measured by the sample times stored in TABLE 2, represents a "pen lift" during the signature process, such as may take place between the signing of first and last names, or between a name and an initial.

Processing of samples S15 and S16 is accomplished in the manner previously described, resulting in the storage of the amplitude S.sub.i and time i of sample S15, in TABLE 1 and TABLE 2 respectively for I=5. Similarly, the processing of samples S17 and S18 is carried on. When sample S19 is processed, the system follows the CODE 3 path 188 from block 170 through decision blocks 190, 192 and 206 to perform the functions set forth in block 208. The CODE is changed from 3 to 1; the MXMIN value, corresponding to the amplitude of sample S18, is stored in TABLE 1, and the sample time value of 18 is stored in TABLE 2. Thereafter the amplitude of sample S19 is stored as MXMIN.

Samples S20 and S21 are then processed in the manner described above. Let it be assumed that sample S21 represents the end of the signature, so that sample amplitude thereafter equals zero for the required one hundred ninety-two samples. It will be seen that sample S21 will cause the CODE to be changed from 3 to 2; zero is stored as the Ith entry in TABLE 1 of memory location 88, representing the magnitude of sample S21, and 21 is stored as the Ith entry in TABLE 2, representing the sample time. The value I is incremented by one. Operation proceeds to decision block 202. This time the value i is equal to the total number of samples T, at which time the system functions as shown in block 210, to save the current amounts stored in TABLE 1 and TABLE 2, the number of entries NKX, and the sum of the sample magnitudes SUM, by shifting them from memory location 88 to the appropriate location in the memory area 86, and to stop, as shown in block 212.

TABLE 1 and TABLE 2 are thus loaded in location 88 to store the compressed significant information concerning the signature just made, and these tables, when shifted to location 86, can then be employed to derive a signature vector which can be used in either the reference or the verification mode of operation of the system.

FIG. 5B shows TABLE 1 and TABLE 2 entries corresponding to the waveform of FIG. 5A for the various entries I.sub.1 to I.sub.8. For this waveform NKX equals eight, and SUM equals 253, which represents the sum of all of the values of S.sub.i and i equals 1 to i equals 21.

Included as an attached appendix is a listing in Intel 8080 assembly language for the following functions:

While the form of the invention shown and described herein is admirably adapted to fulfill the objects aforesaid, it is to be understood that other and further modifications of the disclosed method and apparatus within the scope of the following claims may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, an implementation to be utilized in a system having relatively lower security requirements might omit certain portions of the processing procedures disclosed herein. ##SPC1## ##SPC2##