KR20210142325A - Apparatus for locking meter, Method for controlling operation of the same, and Computer readable storage medium having the same method - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a meter sealing device in which an outsider cannot release the seal without separate authentication. The meter sealing device comprises: a locking mechanism installed in a protective enclosure of the meter; a reader installed in the locking mechanism to read the authentication information from an authentication device having authentication information; and an access control unit for determining whether a user has legitimate authority by authenticating the authentication information, and controlling sealing or releasing of the locking mechanism according to the determination result.

Description

Apparatus for locking meter, Method for controlling operation of the same, and Computer readable storage medium having the same method

The present invention relates to a meter protection technology, and more particularly, to a meter sealing device capable of sealing and releasing a seal through digital authentication rather than a physical sealing, and an operation control method thereof.

In general, in places where demand for electricity, gas, etc. occurs, such as at home or at an industrial site, various types of meters are installed to measure the amount of use. Each of these meters is installed near the consumer so that both the supplier and the user can visually identify the usage status and current usage.

In addition, in order to secure the reliability of the usage, sealing is made through a sealing tool so that the inside cannot be easily accessed. That is, an outsider cannot physically manipulate the amount used without breaking the sealing device.

Therefore, if the sealing device is damaged, internal manipulation by an outsider may be suspected. However, most devices have a problem in that an outsider can release the seal without additional authentication.

1. Korea Patent No. 10-2017426 (Registration Date: 2019.08.27)

The present invention has been proposed in order to solve the problems according to the above background art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a meter sealing device that cannot be released by an outsider without separate authentication and a method for controlling the operation thereof.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a meter sealing device and an operation control method thereof, which can be resealed without physical work such as soldering after the sealing is released by allowing the seal to be released through digital authentication.

The present invention provides a meter sealing device in which an outsider cannot release the seal without separate authentication in order to achieve the above object.

The meter sealing device,

a locking mechanism installed in the protective enclosure of the meter;

a reader installed in the locking mechanism and reading the authentication information from an authentication device having the authentication information; and

and an access control unit for determining whether a user has legitimate authority by authenticating the authentication information, and controlling sealing or releasing of the locking mechanism according to the determination result.

In this case, the authentication information is characterized in that it includes user information and a first secret key.

Also, the first secret key is key information for security of communication between the reader and the authentication device.

The reader may further include an authentication module that separately stores a second secret key identical to the first secret key stored in the authentication device.

In addition, the lock mechanism, the reader and the access control unit is installed, the main body having a movable latch; and a sub-body that is spaced apart from the main body at a predetermined interval and has a recess in which the clasp is inserted or separated.

In addition, the reader tag is characterized in that it is installed on the front surface of the main body.

In addition, a driving circuit for generating driving power under the control of the access control unit; and a driving unit receiving the driving power to move the latch.

In addition, the authentication device is characterized in that the authentication card or a mobile communication terminal.

In addition, the mobile communication terminal is characterized in that it receives the authentication information and the app installation link information from the central management server.

In addition, the display unit for providing guide information to the user; characterized in that it further comprises.

On the other hand, another embodiment of the present invention, (a) the reader provided in the locking mechanism installed in the protection box of the meter reading the authentication information from the authentication device; (b) determining whether the access control unit authenticates the authentication information and whether the user has a legitimate authority; and (c) controlling, by the access control unit, sealing or releasing of the sealing mechanism of the locking mechanism according to the determination result.

On the other hand, another embodiment of the present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a program code for executing the operation control method of the meter sealing device described above.

According to the present invention, there is an effect of fundamentally preventing arbitrary manipulation by an unauthorized user or the like.

In addition, as another effect of the present invention, by allowing the seal to be released through digital authentication, it is possible to re-seal without a physical operation such as soldering after releasing the seal.

In addition, another effect of the present invention is that it can be applied to a sealing device for power facilities such as a watt-hour meter and a data concentration unit (DCU), and can be extended to a sealing device for a metering device such as gas and water.

1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an operation process of a meter sealing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a view showing the sealing and releasing operation concept of the lock mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is an external perspective view of a protective housing of a meter to which a meter sealing device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an open state of the protection enclosure shown in FIG. 3 .
5 is a configuration block diagram of a meter sealing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a flowchart illustrating a process of sealing a meter according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Since the present invention can have various changes and can have various embodiments, specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and will be described in detail in the detailed description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to a specific embodiment, it should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

In describing each figure, like reference numerals are used for like elements.

The terms first, second, etc. may be used to describe various elements, but the elements should not be limited by the terms. The above terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, a first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, a second component may also be referred to as a first component. The term “and/or” includes a combination of a plurality of related listed items or any of a plurality of related listed items.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs.

Terms such as those defined in a commonly used dictionary should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the related art, and should not be interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal meaning unless explicitly defined in the present application. shouldn't

Hereinafter, a meter sealing device and an operation control method thereof according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an operation process of a meter sealing device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1 , the meter sealing device 100 includes an authentication device 110 having authentication information, a reader 120 reading authentication information, and a lock mechanism by authenticating the authentication information to determine whether a user has a legitimate authority. It is characterized in that it includes an access control unit (ACU: Access Control Unit) 130 for controlling the.

The authentication device 110 may include a chip 111 , a tag 112 coupled to the chip 111 , a memory, and the like. The chip 111 performs a function of transmitting the user's authentication information to the reader 120 through the tag 112 . In FIG. 1, for easy understanding, an employee ID card with a chip is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and a mobile communication terminal such as a smart phone is also possible. In the case of such a mobile communication terminal, a terminal supporting a Near Field Communication (NFC) function is possible. In particular, in the case of a mobile communication terminal, through the design of an application (eg, an app), it is possible to request and receive a mobile key, a pop-up for safety work rules, transmission of an opening/closing event, and the like.

The memory stores authentication information or a pure applet program after a chip operating system (COS) is mounted. The memory may be included in the chip 111 or may be configured separately. Memory can be non-volatile memory such as flash memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), static RAM (SRAM), ferro-electric RAM (FRAM), phase-change RAM (PRAM), magnetic RAM (MRAM), etc. can The size of the memory is about 64 KB or more. The authentication information may include user information and a secret key of the user.

The interface used may be ISO 14443 Type A, Mifare, or the like. The security algorithm may be SEED, ARIA (Academy Research Institute, Agency), etc., which are algorithms with a key length of 128 bits or more. Security certification is CC (Common Criteria) certification, and EAL (Evaluation Assurance Level) ⁴⁺ grade or higher may be used.

As the tag 112 , a Near Field Communication (NFC) tag is mainly used, but a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag or the like may be used.

The reader 120 may include a chip 121 , a tag 112 connected to the chip 121 , a memory, and the like. The reader 120 receives authentication information from the authentication device 110 and performs a function of reading a processing result. According to the reading result, the reader 120 generates user information as RFMAP data and transmits the processing result to the access control unit 130 .

As the authentication method between the authentication device 110 and the reader 120 , a SAM (Secure Access Module) authentication method may be used. Of course, other authentication methods are possible. To this end, the authentication module 123 is a security card that is mounted inside the reader 120 and exchanges data without exposing a secret key during communication between the authentication device 110 and the reader 120, and is a mobile communication terminal. It is similar to the USIM (Universal Subscriber Identity Module) chip of

In other words, the user information REMAP and the secret key are stored in the chip 111 configured in the authentication device 110 , and the same separate private key is stored in the authentication module 123 configured in the reader 120 . . Meanwhile, unlike the manufacturer of the reader 120 , the authentication module 123 may be managed only on the side that distributes the authentication module 123 .

The access control unit 130 performs a function of sealing or releasing the seal of the locking mechanism installed in the meter (not shown) by processing the authentication information to check whether the user has a legitimate authority. To this end, the access control unit 130 may include a chip 131 , a memory, an electronic circuit, and the like.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 1 , when the authentication device 110 is tagged with the reader 120 , a current is generated in the reader 120 . ② As the current generated in the tag 122 on the reader 120 side flows, magnetism is generated in the tag 122 . ③ This magnetic generation generates a current in the tag 112 . ④ The authentication information is transmitted from the chip 111 of the authentication device 110 to the authentication module 123 of the reader 120 as the communication method using the electromagnetic induction phenomenon is paired through NFC communication. NFC communication is a non-contact short-range wireless communication of about 13.56 MHz band.

⑤ The authentication module 123 compares the self-stored secret key with the secret key transmitted from the authentication device 110 and, if the same, transmits the authentication information to the chip 121 and processes it to generate RFMAP data. ⑥ The reader 120 transmits RFMAP data, which is user information, to the access control unit 130 . The chip 131 located on the access control unit 130 side compares the user information stored in advance with the user information transmitted from the reader 120 to confirm whether the current user is a user with legitimate authority to release the seal of the locking mechanism or Execute sealing.

Communication between the reader 120 and the access control unit 130 may be serial communication through wired communication.

2 is a view showing the sealing and releasing operation concept of the locking mechanism 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2 , the locking mechanism 200 may include a main body 210 and a sub-body 220 spaced apart from the main body 210 by a predetermined interval.

The tag 122 of the reader 120 is disposed on the front surface of the main body 210 , and the access control unit 130 is disposed inside the main body 210 . In addition, the main body 210 is configured with a clasp 230 movable in the horizontal direction. Of course, although shown in the horizontal direction in FIG. 1, it may be moved in the vertical direction.

The sub body 220 is spaced apart from the main body 210 at a predetermined interval, and a recess is formed on the side so that the clasp 230 is inserted or separated.

As a material of the main body 210 and/or the sub-body 220, engineering plastics, non-ferrous metals, etc. may be used. The clasp 230 may have a rectangular shape, a rod shape, or the like.

3 is an external perspective view of the protection housing 300 of the meter to which the meter sealing device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. Referring to FIG. 3 , the protection housing 300 includes a main body 310 and a cover 320 that is opened and closed on the main body 310 . The body 310 and the cover 320 are connected to each other by a connection part 330 . Of course, the connection part 330 may be a hinge, a hinge, or the like.

The locking mechanism 200 is installed at a portion where the end of the main body 310 and the end of the cover 320 that is opened and closed on the main body 310 contact each other. In other words, the lock mechanism 200 is installed on the opposite surface where the connection part 330 is installed.

The main body 210 may be installed on the main body 310 , and the sub-body 220 may be installed on the cover 320 .

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an open state of the protective housing of the meter shown in FIG. 3 . In other words, it is a state in which the cover 320 of the protection case 300 is opened through an authentication process using an authentication device ( 110 in FIG. 1 ) by a user with political authority.

5 is a block diagram of a meter sealing device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 5 , the meter sealing device 100 includes a reader 120 that receives authentication information from an authentication device 110 , an access control unit 130 that determines whether a user has a legitimate right by using the authentication information, and access It may be configured to include a driving circuit 510 for supplying power for driving under the control of the controller 130, a driving unit 520 for driving the latch 230 in a horizontal or vertical direction by receiving power. .

The access control unit 130 provides a control signal to the driving circuit 510 to operate the driving unit 520 when a user with party authority passes the authentication process using the authentication device ( 110 in FIG. 1 ). Of course, the driving circuit 510 also performs a function of supplying power to the driving unit 520 . To this end, the driving circuit 510 may include an alternating current-direct current (AC-DC) converter, a DC-DC converter, a power supply, and the like.

The driving unit 520 is an actuator, and the distal end is connected to the clasp 230 . The actuator may be composed of a ball screw that moves in a horizontal or vertical direction, a motor that rotates the ball screw, and a guide block that guides the ball screw. A clasp 230 is connected to the end of the ball screw. Of course, in addition to the actuator using the linear motor, a pneumatic actuator is also possible.

In addition, although not shown in FIG. 5 , the display unit 550 may be additionally configured. In other words, it is possible to provide safety work rule guide information to the user during opening and closing, or indicate the current weighing state. The display unit may be a liquid crystal display (CD), a light emitting diode (LED) display, an organic LED (OLED) display, a touch screen, a flexible display, or the like.

Also, the access control unit 130 may include a communication unit 530 . The meter sealing device 100 may be connected to the central management server 540 through the communication unit 530 . The access control unit 130 transmits the location information, unique information, etc. of the meter sealing device to the central management server 540, whereby the central manager in the central management server 540 receives the opening/closing position and/or opening/closing event to systematically manage the work. can do.

The communication unit 530 is connected to the central management server 540 through a communication network composed of a combination of wired communication and wireless communication. A communication network refers to a connection structure that enables information exchange between each node, such as a plurality of terminals and servers, and includes a public switched telephone network (PSTN), a public switched data network (PSDN), and an Integrated Services Digital (ISDN) Networks), Broadband ISDN (BISDN), Local Area Network (LAN), Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), Wide LAN (WLAN), etc., but , the present invention is not limited thereto, and wireless communication networks such as CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access), Wibro (Wireless Broadband), WiFi (Wireless Fidelity), HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) It may be a network, Bluetooth, Near Field Communication (NFC) network, satellite broadcasting network, analog broadcasting network, DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) network, and the like. Alternatively, it may be a combination of these wired communication networks and wireless communication networks.

The authentication device 110 may be connected to the central management server 540 . The central manager may transmit the secret key in which the working time and opening/closing target are set to the mobile communication terminal among the authentication devices 110 through the central management server. The central management server 540 may include a microprocessor, a database, and the like.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a process of sealing a meter according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 6 , it is checked whether the user has an authentication card (ie, an employee ID card) (step S610).

As a result of checking, if the authentication card is possessed, the authentication card is tagged in the reader 120 (step S620). After tagging, it is determined whether authentication for the user is successful (step S530).

As a result of the check, if the authentication for the user is successful, the meter sealing device 100 performs sealing or unsealing to generate an opening/closing event, and transmits it to the central management server 540 (step S640).

On the other hand, if the authentication for the user is not successful in step S630, the process proceeds to step S611.

On the other hand, in step S610, if the user does not hold the authentication card, the central management server 540 determines whether the job is related (step S611). That is, the user accesses the central management server 540 to determine whether the job is related to the job.

As a result of the check, the app installation link information is transmitted to the mobile communication terminal registered by the user in step S611 (step S612).

The mobile communication terminal receives the mobile key (that is, the secret key) and authenticates whether it is a registered mobile communication terminal (step S617).

As a result of the check, if authentication is not received in step S617, the process proceeds to step S611.

On the other hand, if authentication is obtained in step S617 , the corresponding mobile communication terminal may be used as the authentication device 110 .

The authentication app is executed in this mobile communication terminal (step S619).

Thereafter, the mobile communication terminal is tagged with the reader 120 (step S620). The subsequent process follows steps S630 to S640.

In addition, the steps of the method or algorithm described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein are implemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed through various computer means such as a microprocessor, a processor, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), etc. It can be recorded on any available medium. The computer-readable medium may include program (instructions) codes, data files, data structures, etc. alone or in combination.

The program (instructions) code recorded on the medium may be specially designed and configured for the present invention, or may be known and available to those skilled in the art of computer software. Examples of the computer-readable recording medium include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tapes, optical media such as CD-ROMs, DVDs, Blu-rays, and the like, and ROM, RAM ( A semiconductor memory device specially configured to store and execute program (instruction) code such as RAM), flash memory, and the like may be included.

Here, examples of the program (instruction) code include not only machine language codes such as those generated by a compiler but also high-level language codes that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. The hardware devices described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the present invention, and vice versa.

100: meter sealing device
110: authentication device
120: reader
130: access control
200: lock mechanism

Claims (20)

a locking mechanism 200 installed in the protective housing 300 of the meter;
a reader 120 installed in the lock mechanism 200 and reading the authentication information from the authentication device 110 having authentication information; and
an access control unit 130 for determining whether a user has legitimate authority by authenticating the authentication information, and controlling sealing or releasing of the lock mechanism 200 according to the determination result;
A meter sealing device comprising a.
The method of claim 1,
The authentication information includes user information (RFMAP) and a first secret key.
3. The method of claim 2,
The first secret key is key information for security of communication between the reader (120) and the authentication device (110).
3. The method of claim 2,
and the reader (120) includes an authentication module (123) that separately stores a second secret key identical to the first secret key stored in the authentication device (110).
The method of claim 1,
The lock mechanism 200,
The reader 120 and the access control unit 130 are installed, the main body 210 having a movable latch 230; and
and a sub-body (220) spaced apart from the main body (210) at a predetermined interval and having a groove formed therein so that the clasp (230) is inserted or separated.
6. The method of claim 5,
The meter sealing device, characterized in that the tag (122) of the reader (120) is installed on the front surface of the main body (210).
6. The method of claim 5,
a driving circuit 510 for generating driving power under the control of the access control unit 130; and
and a driving unit (520) for receiving the driving power and moving the latch (230).
The method of claim 1,
The authentication device 110 is an authentication card or a mobile communication terminal, characterized in that the meter sealing device.
9. The method of claim 8,
The mobile communication terminal is a meter sealing device, characterized in that it receives the app installation link information from the central management server (540).
20. The method of claim 19,
The meter sealing device further comprising; a display unit (550) for providing guide information to the user. (a) reading the authentication information from the authentication device 110 by the reader 120 provided in the locking mechanism 200 installed in the protection box 300 of the meter;
(b) determining whether the access control unit 130 authenticates the authentication information and whether the user has a legitimate authority; and
(c) controlling, by the access control unit 130, sealing or releasing of the locking mechanism 200 according to the determination result;
A control method of a meter sealing device comprising a.
12. The method of claim 11,
The authentication information includes user information (RFMAP) and a first secret key.
13. The method of claim 12,
The first secret key is key information for security of communication between the reader (120) and the authentication device (110).
13. The method of claim 12,
The reader (120) includes an authentication module (123) that separately stores a second secret key identical to the first secret key stored in the authentication device (110); .
12. The method of claim 11,
The lock mechanism 200,
The reader 120 and the access control unit 130 are installed, the main body 210 having a movable latch 230; and
and a sub-body (220) spaced apart from the main body (210) at a predetermined interval and having a groove formed therein so that the clasp (230) is inserted or separated.
16. The method of claim 15,
The operation control method of the meter sealing device, characterized in that the tag (122) of the reader (120) is installed on the front surface of the main body (210).
16. The method of claim 15,
The meter sealing device,
a driving circuit 510 for generating driving power under the control of the access control unit 130; and
and a driving unit (520) configured to receive the driving power and move the latch (230).
12. The method of claim 11,
The authentication device 110 is an operation control method of a meter sealing apparatus, characterized in that the authentication card or a mobile communication terminal.
19. The method of claim 18,
The mobile communication terminal receives the authentication information and the app installation link information from the central management server (540), the operation control method of the meter sealing device, characterized in that.
A computer-readable storage medium storing a program code for executing the operation control method of the meter sealing device according to any one of claims 11 to 19.

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