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Abstract

An automated fingerprint classification and identification system used to determine or verify the identity of an unknown person by comparing one or more of the person's fingerprints (i.e., the unknown fingerprints) to known fingerprints stored in a database. The components of the present invention include: (1) an apparatus and method for automatically classifying and storing the fingerprints in the database according to a lesser known manual 10-fingerprint classification method (the Vucetich classification and subclassification method), and (2) an apparatus and method for limiting the search of the database to only those fingerprints that are of the same classification as the unknown fingerprint(s). By endowing the standard automatic fingerprint identification systems with automated fingerprint classification and storage features of the present invention, the present invention reduces the amount of time required for an automated fingerprint identification system's 'matcher' (the processing unit that searches the database) to complete a database search, thus increasing the speed of the system and/or reducing the number of matchers required to obtain a desired processing speed. By using the Vucetich classification method instead of other commonly used 10-fingerprint classification methods, the efficiency gain is maximized. In practical terms, the effect of the present invention is to lower the cost of the equipment required to perform automated fingerprint searches while preserving the accuracy of state-of-the-art systems.

First Claim