Recently, along with developments in electronics technology, electronic identification apparatuses for personal use have been rapidly developed. A personal identification apparatus is conventionally applied to a wide range of fields, including doors, vehicular starters, personal computers and safes, as well as for use with prepaid card systems such as public telephones, parking lots and highway toll gates. The fields of application are continuously expanding at an increased rate.
Various types of the conventional individual identification apparatus can be classified according to the inputting method of their identification (ID) codes, i.e., pushbutton, card-insertion, fingerprint ID, speech-recognition, etc. Among these, the pushbutton type has been most widely used, in which a user memorizes a secret access number and inputs the number into a system by pressing keys. This method has recently developed further, in connection with a wireless method. On the other hand, the card-insertion type utilizes a magnetic strip card, a punched card or an electronic card containing an integrated circuit (called an "IC card"), which is inserted into a card reader as the method for ID code input. In current systems however, the magnetic strip card system has been supplanted by that using IC cards, and accordingly, a multi-functional IC card system is being pursued. (Though fingerprint ID and speech-recognition type systems have been recently introduced, they have certain problems in view of the real-time processing of fingerprints and speech, as well as low reliability and an impractical cost to the consumer, so wide distribution of these has not yet been made possible.)
With the conventional push-button system, the user need only to memorize an access number and does not run the risk of losing a key, card, etc. However, with increasing incorporation of more identification systems, more ID numbers become necessary, and thus users are burdened with learning numerous access numbers. Also, operating the identification apparatus requires the cumbersome pressing of buttons to input the access code. Moreover, since the keypad is apt to be in sight of a third party when operating the buttons, an inherent fallacy exists in view of security and safety.
In the conventional card-insertion system, memorization of the access number is unnecessary. However, as with the push-button system, every time the identification apparatus is to be operated, the card must be inserted into the card reader, and if the user misplaces the card, unauthorized third-party usage is impossible to prevent. Accordingly, here too is an inherent fallacy, resulting in lowered security and safety. As for the IC card system, the issuance of the IC card itself is difficult because issued cards should be monitored, so its usage has been limited.
In each case other than the speech recognition system, the above-described conventional identification apparatus systems require manual manipulation by the user or operation, and thus when both hands are busy, a user is incapable of inputting the necessary information. Also, the conventional systems are specified according to the field of use and the entry method, so that their widespread usage is limited, i.e., in the home, at the office, outdoors, on the road, etc. Additionally, an integration-control method of all these identification systems is impossible in certain geographical areas. Now, as current trends in self-service automation (vending machines, automatic toll booths, self-service sales counters and parking lots, etc.) are proceeding at an accelerated rate in the every field of industry and home life, the necessity for an integrated identification system is becoming increasingly obvious.