GB2532033A

GB2532033A - Secure ID labelling

Info

Publication number: GB2532033A
Application number: GB1419736.2A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ying Sen Wee Joseph; Ian Byatte Christopher; David George Rhoades Anthony; Leslie Mcneight David
Original assignee: THINGS3D Ltd
Current assignee: THINGS3D Ltd
Priority date: 2014-11-05
Filing date: 2014-11-05
Publication date: 2016-05-11
Also published as: GB201419736D0

Abstract

Two labels 12, 14 are applied to a product, the code on one label being a function of a code on the other. The codes may be identical or one may be calculated from the other using a mathematical algorithm or other scheme. The labels may be read by different technologies e.g. one being a barcode or quick response (QR) code 14 and the other an RFID chip 12. More labels may be added for additional security and one label may be covert. An RFID tag and QR code can be combined in a single label to be applied to a product, the QR label being sized and shaped to cover the RFID tag, e.g. by self-adhesive means. A smartphone may read one label, calculate the code which should appear on the second label and read the second label for verification. The codes may be recorded in a database along with product information for further verification.

Description

Secure ID Labelling This invention relates to secure ID labelling.

Secure ID labels are usually hard-to-copy labels such as holograms, security printing and machine-readable artefacts such as near field communication (NFC) devices which may he RFD devices, which will each have a unique manufacturer's number stored in a register, and other machine-readable labels such as bar codes and QRC labels which read out as an alphanumeric string.

Clearly, two ID labels are better than one. And if those labels are machine readable using different reading technologies, then the difficulty of reproducing the labelling to pass off a counterfeit product is further increased.

When a product is checked for authenticity, the alphanumeric string read from the label is checked against a database which can contain product details such as a description, which may be coded, of the product, owner's details, product location and so forth which can be matched to the product being checked. This can take time, and if there are two labels, readable using different technologies, it can take twice as long as for reading a single label.

For authenticating a single product, the time is not so important. But when many products are to be authenticated, the time and cost of authentication may become a problem. Also, when data are being transferred over an open network, there is the possibility of interception.

The invention provides a secure ID labelling system and the means for putting the same into effect.

The invention comprises a labelling system, in which two machine-readable labels are applied to products each bearing an ID indication of which one is a function of the other.

By being a function of the other is meant that the ID indication of one can be derived from the other. The function may be the identity function, the two indications being the same. Or, if the ID indication of one is numeric, the ID indication of the other can be derived from that of the one by means of a mathematical algorithm. A simple example of an algorithm is ID? = 100x1Di append sinh.,,,,,2(ID1), meaning that ID2 is created by appending to IDr the first two digits of the sine of IDi.

Alpha streams, alphanumeric streams and extended alphanumeric streams -including typographical characters other than letters, and even emoticons -can be functionalised in one way or another, such as using a character substitution code.

The labelling system may be dual technology, meaning that one ID indication is read by one kind of machine reader, the other by a different kind. Thus one label may comprise a near field communication (NFC) device, such as an RFID chip, the other then comprising a barcode or quick response code (QRC) label.

Of course, a third, fourth and even more labels may be added for additional security. At least one label may be covert, so that it is not immediately apparent that it is there, accessed, perhaps, only by interrogation at terahertz frequencies or some equally unusual method.

Using RFID and QRC together is particularly interesting as both can be read, with appropriate apps and either installed or readily connected NFC equipment, by the ubiquitous smartphone. The smartphone's computing power can be utilised for matching the two ID indications, by reading IDI, applying to it the algorithm used to create ID2, and comparing the result against the read ID2. A match can be taken as a prima facie indication that the label combination is genuine.

The two labels can be combined as a single entity that can be applied directly to an article. A QRC label printed on paper or plastic can be adhesively, for convenience self-adhesively, applied to an RFID device, and can be made the same size and shape as the RFID device so as to shield it from view, and this is an example of a covert device tht might not be apparent to the casual counterfeiter.

RFID devices and QRC labels can be supplied on rolls of paper or plastic tape. A roll of QRC labels can be printed in the same sequence as the MD devices on a corresponding roll, by reading the RFID devices consecutively in a roll to roll operation, and the two rolls then run together in a combining machine in which QRC labels are transferred to the RFID labels.

Or blank QRC labels can be applied to RFID labels on a roll, the roll then being run through a QRC printer which reads the ID information on each RFID chip and sets up the 30 QRC printer to print the QRC on the appropriate QRC label. Any algorithm involved is run at this stage.

On the other hand, printed QRC labels could be applied to RFID devices in a roll to roll operation, the labels being read by a QRC reader, an algorithm applied as required, and the resulting ID indication written to the RFID label.

The invention comprises these methods and machinery to produce rolls of composite labels.

Using an appropriately equipped and apped smartphone, articles can be quickly scanned and authenticated, at least at a first level, without reporting scan details to a remote database. It is, of course, possible that a counterfeiter could acquire a genuine label pair and copy them multiple times. However, if the smartphone is programmed to search through already scanned labels, it will readily pick up on previously read labelling.

However, the invention also comprises a product authentication system comprising the application of the labelling system to a product set in which each product of the set has a unique ID indication on the labelling, in which the labelling information for each product of the set is recorded in a database along with information about the product to which the labelling is attached. So a product to which the labelling is attached can be further checked for authenticity by communicating the labelling information back to the database to check that the labelling as attached to a product to which it was intended to be attached. Moreover, the database can also contain information on provenance of the article in question, which can include details of the current owner.

The product authentication system of the invention is particularly applicable to the production of 3D printed articles where a print file owner or curator authorises access to a print file by a remote printer. Authorisation may be for a limited number of articles, when that number of ID labels will be sent to the printer, or unlimited, a counting system informing the owner or curator from time to time how many articles have been printed, that number of labels being sent as required. Details of sent labels are entered on the owner or curator database, the labels being read again when installed in an article and sent back together with details of sale or other disposal of the article for inclusion in the database.

Transaction details can be recorded on a sophisticated RFID chip with one or more read/write registers as well as on the database, giving further authenticity assurance.

Labelling systems, labels therefor, methods and machinery for their production and product authentication systems according to the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a view of components of a dual technology label; Figure 2 is a view of a roll of labels of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a diagrammatic representation of a first embodiment of machinery for making the roll of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a diagrammatic representation of a second embodiment of machinery for making the roll of figure 2; and Figure 5 is a flow chart of a product authorisation system utilising the labels of Figure 1.

The drawings illustrate a labelling system, in which two machine-readable labels are applied to products each bearing an ID indication of which one is a function of the other.

Figure 1 illustrates a dual technology label 11 comprising an RFID label 12 which is a self-adhesive plastic patch incorporating an antenna 13, and a self-adhesive quick response code (QRC) label 14, shown just about to be adhered to the RFID label 12.

Instead of QCR, a bar code label could be used, or another two dimensional machine readable code such as zapcode.

The labels 12 and 14 bear ID indications -ID 1 on the RFID label, ID2 on the QRC label -that are related. They might be related in a simple way, for example, they might be identical. Additional security is provided by making them different, and one way to do this, assuming they are numeric IDs is to apply an algorithm to one of them to get the other. An RFID chip has a manufacturer's numeric code embedded in it, and a check digit algorithm can be used on this number to generate another number which is the same number with two additional digits appended. When the two ID codes are read, in an authenticity check, the same algorithm is applied to the RFID number, and authenticity is confirmed (or at least, not questioned) if the other ID is the result. Check digits can be generated, for example, by calculating the sine of the number and appending the first two digits of the sine as check digits. More complicated algorithms can, of course, be used.

The RFID code might be separate from the chip manufacturer's serial number, held in a read/write register, and might comprise both numerals and letters, which themselves might be in different scripts such as Greek or Cyrillic. An algorithm can operate on the letters instead of, or as well as, the numerals, as by substituting different letters, or substituting numerals for letters. Other symbols, even emoticons, can be used.

The RFID label and the QRC label can both can be read, with appropriate apps and either installed or readily connected NFC equipment, by the ubiquitous smartphone, so that no special equipment is needed to check authenticity in the field. The smartphone's computing power can be utilised for matching the two ID indications, by reading pi, applying to it the algorithm used to create 11)2, and comparing the result against the read ID2. A match can be taken as a prima facie indication that the label combination is genuine.

However, it is possible that a counterfeiter could acquire one or more genuine labels, as by purchasing products to which they are attached, and copy both IDs to other RFTD devices and QRC labels, which could be used to 'authenticate' spurious articles. It is only necessary for the system to remember recently read codes to defeat this ruse.

Figure 2 shows a roll 21 of plastic backing tape 22 bearing dual technology labelling I I, and Figures 3 and 4 illustrate machinery for making such a roll 21.

The two labels can be combined as a single entity that can be applied directly to an article. A QRC label printed on paper or plastic can be adhesively, for convenience self-adhesively, applied to an RFID device, and can be made the same size and shape as the RF1D device. RFID devices and QRC labels can be supplied on rolls of paper or plastic tape. A roll of QRC labels can be printed in the same sequence as the RFID devices on a corresponding roll, by reading the RFTD devices consecutively in a roll to roll operation, and the two rolls then run together in a combining machine in which QRC labels are transferred to the RFID labels.

In Figure 3, a roll 3 I of tape 22 bearing RFID labels is unwound on to a take-up roll 32 via an application station 33 comprising a backing roll 34 and a pressure roll 35. Another tape bearing QRC labels is unwound from a roll 36 and passed, with the backs of the QRC labels facing the RFID labels on tape 22, through the application station, the tapes being in register so that at the application station 33 the two labels are pressed together. The backs of the QRC labels are coated with a pressure sensitive adhesive which attaches to the RFID labels more strongly than the QRC labels adhere to their backing tape, so that the QRC labels are transferred from tape to tape. The tape from roll 36, now devoid of any label, is wound up on roll 37.

The labels on each tape will be protected by a release liner, which is removed and wound up on other rolls, not shown.

This manufacturing method requires the REID labels and the QRC labels to be arranged I 5 in the correct order on their respective backing tapes. However, Figure 4 illustrates a machine in which blank QRC labels on tape from a roll 41 are applied, at an application station 42, like the station 33 of figure 3, to RFID labels on tape from a roll 43, the spent QRC tape being wound up on roll 44. The tape from roll 41, which now has RFID labels and blank QRC labels, is then run through a QRC printer 45 having a file reader 46 and a print head 47, with an RFID reader 48, which reads the ID information on each RFID chip and sets up the QRC printer 45 to print the QRC on the appropriate QRC label. Any algorithm involved is run at this stage.

The tape is wound up on roll 49.

The product authentication system of the invention is particularly applicable to the production of 3D printed articles where a print file owner or curator authorises access to a print file by a remote printer. Authorisation can be for a limited number of articles, when that number of ID labels will be sent to the printer, or unlimited, a counting system informing the owner or curator from time to time how many articles have been printed, that number of labels being sent as required. Details of sent labels are entered on the owner or curator database, the labels being read again when installed in an article and sent back together with details of sale or other disposal of the article for inclusion in the database.

The system for authenticating remotely 3D printed articles is illustrated by the flow charts of Figure 5.

The print authorising procedure begins at START 1, with the first step I being the owner or curator of the print file authorising a remote printer to access the file, preparing at step 11 an appropriate number of labels and entering details into a database. At step III, the labels are sent to the remote printer.

Printing begins at START 2, the remote printer, at step I accessing the print file and printing the authorised number of products, then, at step H, applying the labels when received from the owner curator. At step III, the remote printer informs the owner/curator that the printing has been carried out and the labels attached, together with details of sales or other transactions. Transaction details can be recorded on a sophisticated RFID chip with one or more read/write registers as well as on the database, giving further authenticity assurance, and, if such a chip is being used, they are also recorded to the chip at this stage.

Checking authenticity of the article begins at START 3, with the ID labels being read at step I by a smartphone equipped with an REID chip reader and a QRC reader app. Smartphone software at step II operates on the IDs and tests for a match. If they do not match, the article is immediately rejected as not genuine, a message to that effect being displayed, step III, on the smartphone screen and the check terminates at END 3(1). If there is a match, the smartphone screen displays a message to that effect and the smartphone sends a message to the database, step IV, noting that an authenticity check has taken place and including any input relating to a transaction. At step V, the information is checked at the database for consistency with previous data. If there is consistency, new data is added at step VI to the database record and an "all's well" message sent to the smartphone, and the procedure terminates at END 3(2). Otherwise, an "all's not well" message is sent to the smartphone to set in train further enquiries, the procedure then terminating at END 3(3).

Claims

Claims: 1 A labelling system, in which two machine-readable labels are applied to products each bearing an ID indication of which one is a function of the other.
2 A labelling system according to claim 1, in which the function is the iden ty function, the two indications being the same.
3 A labelling system according to claim 1, in which the ID indication of one label is numeric, and the ID indication of the other label is derived from that of the one by means of a mathematical algorithm.
4 A labelling system according to claim 1, in which the ID indications comprise alpha streams, alphanumeric streams or extended alphanumeric streams, functionalised using a character substitution code.
A labelling system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, being a dual technology system.
6 A labelling system according to claim 5, in which one label comprises a near field communication (NFC) device, such as an RFID chip.
7 A labelling system according to claim 5 or claim 6, in which one label comprises a barcode or a two dimensional code such as a quick response code (QRC) label.
8 A labelling system according to any one of claims 5, 6 and 7, in which the two labels are combined as a single entity that can be applied directly to an article.
9 A labelling system according to claim 7, in which a QRC or like label printed on paper or plastic is adhesively, for convenience self-adhesively, applied to an RFID device.
A labelling system according to claim 9, in which the QRC or like label is the same size and shape as the RFID device.
11 A labelling system according to any one of claims I to 10, in which machine readable labels are supplied on rolls of paper or plastic tape.
12 For use in a labelling system according to any one of claims 1 to 10, a roll of QRC labels and a roll of RFID labels with corresponding labels printed in the same sequence.
13 A method for making labels for use in a labelling system according to any one of claims 1 to 10, in which a roll of QRC labels and a roll of RFTD labels with corresponding labels printed in the same sequence are together in a combining machine in which QRC labels are transferred to the RFID labels.
14 A method for making labels for use in a labelling system according to any one of claims 1 to 10, in which blank QRC labels are applied to RFID labels on a roll, the roll then being run through a QRC printer which reads the ID information on each RFID chip and sets up the QRC printer to print the QRC on the appropriate QRC label.
A method for making labels for use on a labelling system according to any one of claims I to 10, in which printed QRC labels are applied to RFID devices in a roll to roll operation, the labels being read by a QRC reader, an algorithm applied as required, and the resulting ID indication written to the RFID label.
16 Machinery for making labels for use in a labelling system according to any one of claims I to 10, comprising supports for rolls of tapes having adhesively attached QRC labels and RFID labels, supports for rolls on to which those tapes may be wound, and a combining station at which labels are transferred from one tape to labels on the other.
17 Machinery according to claim 16, comprising a support for a roll of tape with RFID labels with overlaid blank QCR labels, an RFID reader situated to read an RFID chip approaching a print head, and means to control the print head to print a corresponding QRC on the blank label on the RF ID label just read.
18 A product authentication system, comprising the application of the labelling system of any one of claims 1 to 11 to a product set in which each product of the set has a unique ID indication on the labelling, in which the labelling information for each product of the set is recorded in a database along with information about the product to which the labelling is attached.
19 A product authentication system according to claim 18, in which a product to which the labelling is attached is further checked for authenticity by communicating the labelling information back to the database to check that the labelling as attached to a product to which it was intended to be attached.
A product authentication system according to claim 19, in which the database also contains information on provenance of the article in question, which can include details of the current owner.
21 A product authentication system according to any one of claims 18 to 20, applied to the production of 3D printed articles where a print file owner or curator authorises access to a print file by a remote printer.
22 A product authentication system according to claim 21, in which authorisation may be for a limited number of articles, when that number of ID labels will be sent to the printer, or unlimited, a counting system informing the owner or curator from time to time how many articles have been printed, that number of labels being sent as required.
23 A product information system according to claim 22, in which details of sent labels are entered on the owner or curator database, the labels being read again when installed in an article and sent back together with details of sale or other disposal of the article for inclusion in the database.
24 A product authentication system according to any one of claims 18 to 23, in which the RFID chips have one or more read/write registers on which transaction details are recorded as well as on the database, giving further authenticity assurance.