RU2408929C2 - Method of bar code making - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: information technologies.

SUBSTANCE: according to the method, a parallel individual bar and digit code is applied onto paper medium, and space between the main and individual bar and digit codes is filled with unreproducible pattern by means of jet printer, and its control electrodes are connected to power supply unit through random number generator. When forming unreproducible pattern, at least two jet printers are used, which function independently on each other with different colours and are installed at the sharp angle to formed unreproducible pattern, meanwhile lengthy traces are formed, mainly perpendicular to each other.

EFFECT: provision of counterfeit protection of a document.

4 dwg

Description

The invention relates to bar codes and can be used for individual product labeling, in the development of automated control systems that can distinguish counterfeit goods from legal ones.

There is a well-known global international system of commodity numbering, formed in 1997 on the basis of the European (EUROPEAN Article Numbering Association GS 1) and the North American (Uniform Code Council - UCC) association of commodity numbering and called the EAN barcode. The functioning of this code is implemented through National Organizations GS1. In Russia, this is done, for example, through UNISCAN / GS1. National organizations give each company unique identification numbers. The EAN-hatching system is optional and is implemented on a voluntary basis. The main digital and bar codes contain information about the organization - the registrar of the code, the registration number of the enterprise, the serial number of the products within the enterprise and the last 13 digit is a control number, which is calculated according to a certain algorithm based on knowledge of the previous 12 digits. An EAN barcode is also able to distinguish a single package from a group package, but no more.

The disadvantages of such a barcode include the fact that it is not able to show the individuality of the product, and therefore is not able to distinguish a legal product from a counterfeit one. In other words, the EAN barcode is able to distinguish a single package from a group, but it is not able to distinguish one single package from another single. The lack of individual information-protected information on the barcode leads to the possibility of duplication of EAN-barcodes by shadow structures. Using a classic EAN barcode, it is impossible to build an automated control system that can distinguish legal products from counterfeit ones.

Figure 1 shows the proposed individual information-protected bar code. It contains the main digital 1 and barcode 2 codes. Besides

irreproducible picture 5 contains inclined traces 6 from inkjet printers of different colors. Inclined traces 6 from inkjet printers are predominantly perpendicular to each other. The irreproducible picture 5 is provided with perforations 7 scattered according to the law of random numbers, so that an individual digital code 3 is generated by randomly dialing numbers using a random number generator.

Figure 2 conditionally shows a part of the barcode, namely, the irreproducible picture 5, containing inclined traces 6 and perforations 7.

Let's start with a description of an individual digital code 3. It would seem that the simplest approach would be through numbering, that is, digital codes are formed by increasing an individual number, that is:

000000000011

000000000022

etc.

However, knowing the methodology for the formation of an individual number, it is easy to repeat and mass reproduce. It is proposed to do otherwise. Form a database of individual numbers through a random number generator. For computer technology this is not a problem. For example, a company producing alcoholic beverages intends to produce 200,000 bottles of Aligote. The formation of the main digital 1 and bar 2 code occurs according to international standards without any innovations. In order to give an individuality to a barcode, an enterprise needs to receive 200,000 individual barcodes upon request from the National Identification Center (if there is none, then from another authorized company). With this approach, a set of numbers unpredictable for a shadow structure can correspond to an individual first number. The last digit of the individual digital code 3 is formed by calculating by a special algorithm all the previous twelve digits (a kind of repetition of the idea of an electronic signature)

0000000000011 - 5739756349903

When tax authorities control goods flows, identifying an individual digital code that is not in the database immediately confirms that we have counterfeit goods. However, the shadow structure still has a way out - copy individual digital codes from legal products. Given the dispersion of the product in the distribution network, the shadow structure will be forced to repeatedly repeat the same individual digital codes, which can easily be tracked by repeating queries to the database. For quick removal of an individual digital code 3, there is an individual bar code 4.

The task of obtaining the identity of the bar code is solved due to the fact that the space between the main and individual bar and digital codes is provided with an irreproducible picture 5. If the product is excisable and an individual excise stamp is placed on it, then there is a database of individual digital bar codes and individual numbers on excise stamps combined, significantly complicates the possibility of promoting counterfeit products on the legal market.

But in addition to these information opportunities, each individual number on the barcode is equipped with its own individual picture. Inclined traces from inkjet printers have signs of irreproducibility. The printer that forms the dot on the sheet, as a rule, accurately reproduces the dot, and this dot can be repeatedly reproduced and it is almost impossible to distinguish one dot from another (it is possible to distinguish the operation of one printer from another, but at a very high expert level). The inclined trace from the inkjet printer is additionally formed not only by the signal arriving at the printer, but also by the quality of the paper onto which the dye falls. If it comes to a hairy patch of paper, the trace is shorter, if it comes to a smooth one, it is longer, etc. The printer, which generates basic and individual digital and barcodes, is configured for accurate program execution, while printers that produce an irreproducible picture are not able to accurately print the number, since this printer has much more dye in a single ejection and it forms a fairly long dye on paper and an irreproducible trace, which, with the help of subsequent scanning of the picture and point-by-point reproduction of an inclined track, is almost impossible to repeat. The presence of a random number generator allows you to randomly change the slope of extended irreproducible tracks.

In addition, irreproducibility is also achieved due to perforations in the picture 5. Simple mechanical perforations, perforations made with the help of needle-impact systems, do not guarantee the achievement of the full effect of irreproducibility. The shadow structure can scan both individual pictures and individual digital codes. In this case, the availability of counterfeit goods is determined only by the presence of a repeat in the database. Finally, the effect of irreproducibility is fixed due to perforations made by the electric discharge method. Electric discharge perforation cannot be reproduced in the same place. In principle, this approach can protect not only a barcode, but also an excise stamp and any other paper document of strict accountability.

As a prototype, when considering a method for manufacturing a barcode, a method can be considered by applying a barcode and digital code primarily on paper to an inkjet printer. This is a classic technology by which an EAN barcode is produced in most countries of the world.

A feature of the proposed method for manufacturing a barcode is that an additional individual barcode and digital code are parallelly placed on paper, and the space between the main and individual barcode and digital codes forms an irreproducible picture with an inkjet printer, the control electrodes of which are connected to the power supply via a random generator numbers. An additional sign can be recognized that when forming an irreproducible picture, at least two inkjet printers are used that function independently from each other in different colors with their installation at an acute angle to the irreproducible picture and with the formation of extended traces, mainly perpendicular to each other.

Figure 3 conditionally shows the diagram underlying the method of creating the above bar code. Printer 8, located perpendicular to the barcode, generates digital and barcodes 1, 2, 3, 4. Installed at an angle to the irreproducible picture 5, printers 9 and 10 create an irreproducible effect. Printers 9 and 10 are connected to an independent power supply 11 and 12 through random number generators 13 and 14 (more precisely, the printer's control electrodes are connected through random number generators). Particular attention during identification is drawn to the places of overlapping traces of 6 different colors. These are the most informational sites, the reproduction of which is difficult for the shadow economy.

Figure 4 shows a diagram of the application of perforations 7 on a non-reproducible picture 5 by the electric discharge method. Between the main 15 and additional electrodes 16, an electric discharge is carried out, as a result of which a microscopic hole is burnt in an irreproducible picture 5 in an unpredictable place in advance. 17 - conventionally shown a high-voltage source, 18 - plasma cord of an electric discharge. The application of electric discharge holes can be combined with uneven movement of either the electrodes or the barcode itself relative to each other. The location of such microscopic holes is entered into the database when forming an individual irreproducible picture 5.

Figure 5 shows the individual digital code 3 with a non-reproducible picture obtained by the electric discharge method.

An example implementation of the method.

At the first stage, with the help of an ordinary printer 8 (Fig. 3), a barcode is made containing the main digital 1 and barcodes. Using the same printer 8, an individual digital code 3 (generated using a random number generator) and an additional bar code 4 are applied. At this stage, the bar code shown in FIG. 1 is obtained.

At the second stage, an irreproducible picture is formed 5. First, irreproducibility is achieved by the operation of two other printers 9 and 10. What is the difference between printer 8 from printers 9 and 10? These printers have opposite tasks. Printer 8 is obliged to strictly fulfill the intended task and perform the first stage of work - strictly (in accordance with the software) put numbers and barcodes. Printers 9 and 10, applying inclined tracks 6, have some irreproducible effect (even with strict software), since the final result will already depend not only on the software, but also on the state of the surface on which the inclined track 6 falls. Any area paper shows its individuality, in one area the hairiness or any other heterogeneity of the paper may be a little more or a little less. As a result, the execution of even the same program leads to the fact that printers 9 and 10 cannot repeat the same picture. She turns out different each time. By varying the software, the picture becomes even more irreproducible. When the printer 8 does not have such an effect, the individual quality of the paper does not matter.

The final third stage of the method is achieved due to electric-discharge perforations 7 in the irreproducible picture 5. This is realized on the electric-discharge high-voltage installation (Fig. 4). The discharge energy varies from 0.1 to 0.5 J (Joule), the voltage at the electrodes is from 35 to 50 kV, the distance between the electrodes is 5-7 mm. Under these conditions, the place of occurrence of electric discharge perforation 7 on paper is unpredictable. This laser can be used to carry out perforation with the highest accuracy in a pre-selected location, each time the electric discharge chooses a new path. When the electrodes are mechanically moved relative to the irreproducible picture 5, 50-100 electric-discharge perforations are carried out. It is almost impossible to repeat the exact location of these perforations in picture 5 (the probability of repetition is over 10 to the power of 500).

We describe the mechanism by which the tax service checks the flow of goods. The first sign by which a tax audit is carried out is a comparison of individual digital codes. There is a check on the basis of goods sold, if there is no repetition with the same digital code, the tax police will check selectively unsold goods. If two packages with the same individual digital code 3 are found, the stage of expert verification begins by referring to the database of irreproducible pictures 5, tightly connected with the individual digital code 3. Any deviation from picture 5 in the database allows you to determine the product as counterfeit.

The source of information

Uniscan - Automatic Identification Association htpp: //www.gslru.org/artl/art94.html

Claims (1)

A method of manufacturing a barcode by applying primarily to paper media with an inkjet printer, the control electrodes of which are connected to the power supply through a random number generator, a barcode and a digital code, additionally depositing an individual barcode and digital code in parallel, forming in the space between the main and individual barcodes and digital codes of an irreproducible picture, characterized in that when forming an irreproducible picture it uses at least There are two types of inkjet printers that function independently from each other in different colors by setting them at an acute angle to the irreproducible image and forming long traces, mainly perpendicular to each other, and perforating is applied to the irreproducible image using the electric discharge method.

Images