Cheating prevention electronic weighing apparatus calibrating system and method

[0025] The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the drawings and specific embodiments.

[0026] First introduce the anti-cheating electronic weighing instrument calibration device targeted by the present invention, such as figure 1 As shown, it includes a control unit, a storage unit, a display unit, a key unit, and a power management unit. It also includes a card swipe unit, an authentication unit, a universal serial interface, and a standard serial interface. The storage unit, display unit, key unit, and card swipe The unit, the authentication unit, the universal serial interface and the standard serial interface are directly connected to the control unit in a star shape, and the power management unit is electrically connected with other units and interfaces to manage and provide working power for it. Optionally, the above electronic weighing instrument calibration device further includes a real-time clock unit and a network interface directly connected to the control unit.

[0027] Hereinafter, in order to facilitate those of ordinary skill in the art to understand and implement the present invention, the specific conditions of each unit and interface of the anti-cheating electronic weighing instrument calibration device (abbreviated as the calibration device) are described in further detail:

[0028] Control unit: used to control other units and interfaces of the calibration device. You can choose a single-chip microcomputer, a microprocessor (MCU) or a central processing unit (CPU). In this embodiment, the microprocessor chip of MICROCHIP is selected, which has the advantages of high security and high reliability.

[0029] Storage unit: used to store related programs and data information in the calibration process. This embodiment uses an independent EEPROM memory. If the memory inside the control unit is large enough, the storage unit can no longer use additional memory, and the memory inside the control unit can be used as the storage unit of the present invention, so that the functions of the control unit and the storage unit can be concentrated in one micro Realized on processor, single-chip or central processing unit.

[0030] Display unit: used to output and display information to the user of the calibration device. In this embodiment, the display unit adopts an LCD display, which adopts a dot-matrix gray-scale screen. 2 The C bus or UART bus (Universal Serial Data Bus) communicates with the control unit.

[0031] Key unit: used for the user of the calibration device to input information to it. In this embodiment, the key unit is provided with four direction keys, a selection key and a cancel key, a total of 6 keys. Further, you can also consider adding a number key and a decimal point. The key unit uses a GPIO (General Purpose Input/Output) bus and the control unit connection. The key unit and the display unit together provide the man-machine interaction function of the calibration device.

[0032] Card swiping unit: used to read the identity information of the person using the calibration device. This embodiment uses a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader, which can transmit the information in the electronic tag with the user’s identity information to the control unit through the UART bus (Universal Serial Data Bus) to compare and authenticate with the authentication unit. So as to realize the identification and authority control of the users, and prevent illegal calibration.

[0033] Authentication unit: used to compare, authenticate and encrypt the identity information of the user of the calibration device and the calibration device itself. In this embodiment, the authentication unit is composed of software including an authentication program and an encryption program and an independent memory as a software carrier, and the authentication unit is connected to the control unit through a UART bus. The authentication unit of the calibration device and the verification unit of the electronic weighing instrument to be calibrated respectively complete the encryption and decryption of the user of the calibration device and the identity information and other data information of the calibration device itself. The two correspond to each other to form an encryption key. And decryption key. If the data information is legal and the authentication unit is authenticated, the electronic weighing instrument will open the calibration device to limit its calibration. During the calibration process, the operating data is input by the key unit of the calibration device and transmitted to the electronic weighing instrument in one direction. All the transmitted data is passed through The calibration unit and verification unit of both parties perform encryption and decryption. In this case, a single electronic weighing instrument or calibration device cannot independently complete the calibration process, which fundamentally prevents illegal calibration.

[0034] The identity information of the user mainly includes the identity number, card swiping time and the number of calibrations. The identity information of the calibration device includes the identity number of the calibration equipment, and the identity information of the electronic weighing instrument mainly includes the identity number of the calibrated electronic weighing instrument. Specific information can be set as needed. The authentication unit in the calibration device also has the function of automatically storing data information. Each time the calibration information, such as the user, the identification information of the calibration device and the electronic weighing instrument, and other operating information such as operating time and number of operations, will be automatically saved and can be It is transmitted to the measurement supervision and management platform. In order to prevent the calibration personnel from calibrating multiple times, each electronic weighing instrument has an upper limit for the number of calibrations. If the upper limit is exceeded, the authority must be opened through the measurement supervision and management platform.

[0035] The hardware of the authentication unit adopts an independent memory, or the above-mentioned EEPROM memory can be shared, so that the storage unit and the authentication unit can be integrated in hardware.

[0036] Universal serial interface: used to connect the calibration device and the computer. This embodiment uses a USB interface, through which the data in the calibration device can be transferred to a computer, and then the computer can be uploaded to the measurement supervision and management platform via the network.

[0037] Standard serial interface: used for two-way communication between the calibration device and the electronic weighing instrument. In this embodiment, the RS-232 interface is adopted. Through this interface, the calibration device can transmit the encrypted identification information of the user of the calibration device and the identification information of the calibration device and other data information to the electronic weighing instrument to be calibrated. The electronic weighing instrument can transmit its identity information and operation information. Reverse transmission and storage to the calibration device.

[0038] Power management unit: used to electrically connect with other units and interfaces, manage and provide working power. There are three main power supply methods, one is USB power supply, the other is lithium battery power supply, and the third is external power supply. If 8.4V and 2.2A lithium batteries are used for power supply, the overall power consumption is estimated to be able to be used continuously for more than ten hours.

[0039] Real-time clock unit: used to provide real-time time for the calibration device. In this embodiment, the real-time clock unit adopts an independent module, which passes I 2 The C bus communicates with the control unit. Optionally, if the accuracy of the real-time time is not high, you can also consider using the real-time clock (RTC) inside the control unit, so that the functions of the control unit and the real-time clock unit can be concentrated on a microprocessor, single-chip microcomputer or central processing unit It is implemented on the device, so this unit is optional.

[0040] Network interface: used to directly transmit the data in the storage unit of the calibration device to the measurement supervision and management platform. The network interface can adopt Ethernet interface (RJ-45 interface) or/and GPRS network interface. Since the information in the storage unit can also be transmitted to the computer through the universal serial interface, and then uploaded to the measurement supervision and management platform through the network by the computer, this interface is an optional interface.

[0041] In order to facilitate those of ordinary skill in the art to further understand the present invention, the following introduces the anti-cheating electronic weighing instrument (referred to as electronic weighing instrument) that the present invention is aimed at, such as figure 2 As shown, the anti-cheating electronic weighing instrument includes a control unit, a weighing sensor unit, a display unit, a key unit, and a power management unit. It also includes a verification unit and a standard serial port interface. The aforementioned weighing sensor unit, display unit, key unit, The verification unit and the standard serial port interface are directly connected to the control unit in a star shape, and the power management unit is electrically connected to other units and interfaces to manage and provide working power for it.

[0042] Below, the specific conditions of the units and interfaces of the above electronic weighing instrument are described in further detail:

[0043] Control unit: used to control other units and interfaces of the electronic weighing instrument. You can choose single-chip microcomputer, microprocessor (MCU) or central processing unit (CPU).

[0044] Weighing sensor unit: used to convert the weight of the item to be weighed into an electrical signal. It contains a bracket for holding the item to be weighed. The bracket is connected with the piezoelectric sensor. The change in the weight of the item to be weighed will cause a slight deformation of the sensor, so that the voltage value output by the sensor to the control unit will also change. The main board will change according to the voltage value. The change to determine the size of the item weight. The weighing sensor unit only outputs voltage for the control unit to detect and process.

[0045] Display unit: used to output and display information to the user of the electronic weighing instrument. In this embodiment, the display unit adopts a dot matrix composed of LED nixie tubes. 2 The C bus or UART bus (Universal Serial Data Bus) communicates with the control unit. The display unit displays the weight of the measured object, the input unit price information, the total price information, the time information, and various prompt signs such as the prompt overweight sign and the version sign.

[0046] Key unit: used to provide input interface for electronic weighing instrument. The input of the unit price of the object to be weighed and the use of various additional functions such as storage, accumulation, clearing, and tare are all completed through the operation of the key unit.

[0047] Verification unit: used to decrypt and authenticate the data information transmitted by the calibration device. If the data information transmitted by the calibration device can be decrypted smoothly, and the identity information of the user and the calibration device can be identified, then the electronic weighing instrument will open the calibration device to the calibration limit after the authentication is passed, and then the calibration device can be passed The key unit of the electronic weighing instrument performs calibration operations. In this embodiment, the verification unit exists in the form of software, and its hardware carrier is the memory of the control unit, so that the control unit and the verification unit can be integrated into the same single-chip microcomputer, microprocessor or central processing unit. Of course, the verification unit may also have an independent memory as a hardware carrier, but this is not a preferred solution.

[0048] Standard serial interface: used to realize the two-way communication between the electronic weighing instrument calibration device and the electronic weighing instrument. In this embodiment, the RS-232 interface is adopted. Through this interface, the calibration device can transmit the encrypted identification information of the user of the calibration device and the identification information of the calibration device and other data information to the electronic weighing instrument to be calibrated. The electronic weighing instrument can transmit its identity information and operation information. Reverse transmission and storage to the calibration device.

[0049] Power management unit: used to electrically connect with other units and interfaces and provide working power. There are three main power supply methods, one is USB power supply, the other is lithium battery power supply, and the third is external power supply. If 8.4V and 2.2A lithium batteries are used for power supply, the overall power consumption is estimated to be able to be used continuously for more than ten hours.

[0050] In order to facilitate those skilled in the art to understand the present invention, the following introduces an anti-cheating electronic weighing instrument calibration system (referred to as an electronic weighing instrument calibration system) mainly composed of an anti-cheating electronic weighing instrument calibration device and an anti-cheating electronic weighing instrument. Such as figure 1 , figure 2 with image 3 As shown, the anti-cheating electronic weighing instrument calibration system includes an electronic weighing instrument and an electronic weighing instrument calibration device, and also includes a measurement supervision and management platform. The measurement supervision and management platform is composed of the electronic weighing instrument, the calibration device and various identification information and operation information of the calibration personnel The constituted database and the computer or server hosting these databases are constituted, which establish direct or indirect data communication links with the calibration device through the network;

[0051] The electronic weighing instrument includes a control unit, a weighing sensor unit, a display unit, a key unit, a verification unit, a standard serial port interface and a power management unit, and the weighing sensor unit, display unit, key unit, verification unit and The standard serial port is directly connected to the control unit of the electronic weighing instrument in a star shape;

[0052] The electronic weighing instrument calibration device includes a control unit, a storage unit, a display unit, a key unit, a card swiping unit, an authentication unit, a universal serial interface, a standard serial interface, and a power management unit. The storage unit and display unit of the above electronic weighing instrument calibration device , Button unit, card swiping unit, authentication unit, universal serial interface and standard serial interface are directly connected to the control unit of the electronic weighing instrument in a star shape.

[0053] The power management unit of the electronic weighing instrument and the calibration device are electrically connected with other units and interfaces to manage and provide working power for them.

[0054] The above-mentioned electronic weighing instrument and the calibration device communicate with each other through their respective standard serial interface connections. The verification unit of the electronic weighing instrument and the verification unit of the calibration device respectively complete the encryption and decryption of the identity information and other data information of the user and the calibration device, and the two form an encryption key and a decryption key respectively in a corresponding relationship.

[0055] Optionally, the above electronic weighing instrument calibration device further includes a real-time clock unit or a network interface directly connected to the control unit.

[0056] Since the foregoing has already given a detailed introduction to the components of the electronic weighing instrument and the electronic weighing instrument calibration device, the details of each part will not be described in detail in this section. Please refer to the previous description.

[0057] In order to facilitate those of ordinary skill in the art to further understand the present invention, the following describes the calibration method of the anti-cheating electronic weighing instrument calibration system (referred to as the calibration method of the electronic weighing instrument calibration system) aimed at by the present invention, including the following steps:

[0058] (1) The electronic weighing instrument and the calibration device are connected through a universal serial interface, and the calibration device and the measurement supervision and management platform are indirectly or directly connected through a USB interface or a network interface.

[0059] (2) Turn on the electronic weighing instrument and the calibration device, and the user of the calibration device uses the electronic tag he carries to swipe the card on the card swiping unit of the calibration device to authenticate the user.

[0060] The calibration device reads the electronic tag information through the card swiping unit, and transmits the information carried by the electronic tag to its control unit for comparison and authentication. Only the electronic tag and its corresponding user who have passed the identity authentication have the authority to use the calibration device. This prevents illegal personnel from performing illegal calibration.

[0061] (3) The authentication unit of the calibration device encrypts the identity information of the user who has passed the identity authentication, the identity information of the calibration device and other operating information, and transmits the encrypted data information to the electronic weighing instrument through the universal serial interface, and at the same time The data information is stored on the storage unit of the calibration device.

[0062] (4) The verification unit of the electronic weighing instrument decrypts the received data and information transmitted by the calibration device. If it can be successfully decrypted and the identity information of the user and the calibration device is identified, the electronic weighing instrument will open the calibration device to it after the authentication is passed. Restrictions on calibration.

[0063] At this time, the user of the calibration device can perform calibration operations on the electronic weighing instrument through the key unit of the calibration device.

[0064] (5) The user of the calibration device calibrates the electronic weighing instrument. The calibration person inputs various instructions to the electronic weighing instrument through the key unit of the calibration device to complete the calibration of the electronic weighing instrument, and reverses the identity information and operation information of the electronic weighing instrument after the calibration is completed. To the storage unit of the calibration device.

[0065] The specific process is: by determining the parameter W Calibration (The weight of the standard weight used during calibration) and R Difference (The difference between the internal code value of the zero point and the internal code value when the standard weight is placed) for calibration, the simple formula for weighing is:

[0066] W Weighing =(R Weighing -R 0 )*W Calibration /R Difference

[0067] Where W Weighing Is the weight placed on the pan during weighing, R Weighing Is the internal code value of the weight placed on the weighing pan during weighing, R 0 It is the internal code value when the electronic scale is in the empty weighing pan state. The following is the operation process for this calibration method: first let the electronic weighing instrument be in the empty weighing pan state, and then the calibration device reads the current AD sampled internal code value R from the electronic weighing instrument through a standard serial interface 0 (Ie the internal code value of the zero point); then place a standard weight W Calibration (Such as 10kg/15kg/20kg) to the weighing pan, and then get an AD sampled internal code value R n; Get R Difference =R n -R 0; Will W Calibration And R Difference The value of is transmitted to the electronic weighing instrument, and the record is stored as the weighing parameter in the future to complete the calibration.

[0068] (6) The calibration device uploads the data information after calibration to the measurement supervision and management platform. After the calibration is completed, all relevant data information of this calibration, such as the equipment number, range, accuracy, manufacturer, verification and maintenance records, factory number, calibration personnel and calibration equipment number of the electronic weighing instrument, will be temporarily stored in On the storage unit of the calibration device, when connected to the network or computer, all data information is uploaded to the background database of the measurement supervision and management platform through the network and the computer. If the information and data stored on the calibration device are full, the equipment cannot be used anymore. All data must be uploaded before the next calibration can be performed. In this way, the measurement supervision and management platform can supervise and control each calibration, and quickly find the source of the problem when a problem occurs, thereby effectively preventing illegal calibration.

[0069] In order to facilitate those of ordinary skill in the art to further understand the electronic weighing instrument calibration device of the present invention, the following introduces the process of preventing illegal calibration by the metrological supervision and management part of the present invention. Such as Figure 4 As shown,

[0070] 1. The measurement department establishes a measurement supervision and management platform, which consists of a database containing various identification information and calibration operation information of electronic weighing instruments and a computer or server as the database carrier.

[0071] 2. Electronic weighing instrument manufacturers establish electronic weighing agent dealers and electronic weighing repair centers authorized by the manufacturer or measurement department in various cities and prefectures. Electronic weighing instrument manufacturers wholesale products to electronic weighing agent distributors. When product failure occurs, electronic weighing instrument users send the electronic weighing instrument to a repair center for repair.

[0072] 3. The measurement department authorizes and supervises the maintenance personnel of the maintenance center. At the same time technical training.

[0073] 4. The measurement department recognizes the manufacturer's weighing instrument product qualification.

[0074] 5. The measurement department will enter the identity of authorized maintenance personnel into the weighing instrument management database.

[0075] 6. The measurement department records the electronic weighing instrument agent distributors provided by the manufacturer and enters it into the measurement supervision and management platform, and conducts regular inspections on the electronic weighing instrument agent distributors to confirm that they have no illegal calibration behavior.

[0076] 7. The manufacturer uploads the factory product data information to the measurement supervision and management platform.

[0077] 8. The manufacturer wholesales the weighing instrument to the electronic weighing instrument agent distributor; the electronic weighing instrument agent distributor sells the products to the end users of electronic weighing instrument users such as bazaars, restaurants and hypermarkets.

[0078] 9. The measurement department conducts regular inspections on the users of electronic scales at any time to check the accuracy of the electronic scales.

[0079] 10. After the product fails, the user of the electronic weighing instrument will send the weighing instrument to the repair center for processing.

[0080] 11. The maintenance personnel of the maintenance center connect the electronic weighing instrument to the network or computer through the electronic weighing instrument calibration device. The maintenance personnel obtain the legal identity of the user of the calibration device by swiping the electronic tag and verify the legal identity of the electronic weighing instrument through the calibration device. If both the user and the electronic weighing instrument have legal identities, they will enter the calibration procedure for the electronic weighing instrument. Calibration cannot be carried out without a card or an unqualified identity.

[0081] 12. After the calibration is completed, the calibration device will automatically upload the identification information and operation information of the calibration to the measurement supervision and management platform through the computer or the network.

[0082] When weighing items, the electronic weighing instrument applied in the present invention and a general electronic weighing instrument are operated and weighed like an electronic scale. The main difference from the general electronic weighing instrument is that when it is calibrated, the general electronic weighing instrument is calibrated by adding a short-circuit block or entering a password to enter the calibration program, and it can complete the calibration independently. The electronic weighing instrument used in the present invention is triggered by an external dedicated calibration device and performs calibration. The electronic weighing instrument method alone completes the calibration, and an external calibration device must be used. The measurement department can effectively monitor electronic weighing instruments by establishing a measurement supervision and management platform to prevent the occurrence of illegal calibration, thereby effectively preventing electronic weighing instruments from being cheated by illegal calibration of electronic weighing instruments.

[0083] Those of ordinary skill in the art will realize that the embodiments described herein are to help readers understand the principles of the present invention, and it should be understood that the protection scope of the present invention is not limited to such special statements and embodiments. Those of ordinary skill in the art can make various other specific modifications and combinations that do not depart from the essence of the present invention based on the technical enlightenment disclosed in the present invention, and these modifications and combinations still fall within the protection scope of the present invention.