Data protection method, consumable chip, consumable and image forming device

Abstract

The embodiment of the present application provides a method for data protection, a consumable chip, a consumable, and an image forming device. It relates to the field of imaging technology. The method is applied to a consumable chip, the consumable chip is installed on a consumable, the consumable is detachably installed on an image forming device, the image forming device includes an image forming control unit, the consumable chip includes a static random access memory SRAM, and the method includes: receiving request information of characteristic information stored in the SRAM; based on the received request information, sending the characteristic information stored in the SRAM to the image forming control unit, the characteristic information is used to generate key information. The present application is used to improve the security of data.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of imaging technology, and in particular to a data protection method, a consumable chip, consumables and an image forming device. Background Art

[0002] With the popularization of office automation, printing equipment has become an indispensable device in office activities. In the printing process, consumables such as the printer's main control chip and ink cartridges are needed. At present, consumables generally use consumable chips as a medium to record the information and usage of consumables. During the use of consumables, it is necessary to communicate and authenticate with the printer's main control chip. In the prior art, in order to improve the security of data, authentication information and other important data can be encrypted and stored. The key used for encryption is usually generated using fixed data such as the serial number of the consumable chip, so it is easier for illegal elements to obtain the data stored in the chip through illegal means, which brings hidden dangers to the security of the data.

[0003] There is an urgent need for a more secure key generation method to effectively ensure the security of data stored in consumable chips. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of this, the present application provides a data protection method, consumable chip, consumable and image forming device, so as to solve the problem of poor security of important data stored in the prior art.

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a data protection method, which is applied to a consumable chip, wherein the consumable chip is mounted on a consumable, and the consumable is detachably mounted on an image forming device, wherein the image forming device includes an image forming control unit, and the consumable chip includes a static random access memory SRAM, including:

[0006] Receiving request information for characteristic information stored in the SRAM;

[0007] The characteristic information stored in the SRAM is transmitted to the image formation control unit based on the received request information, the characteristic information being used to generate key information.

[0008] Preferably, before sending the characteristic information stored in the SRAM to the image formation control unit based on the received request information, wherein the characteristic information is used to generate key information, the method further includes:

[0009] receiving a first control instruction;

[0010] Entering an SRAM feature extraction mode according to the first control instruction, when the consumable chip is in the SRAM feature extraction mode, refusing to respond to a data write instruction to write data to a storage unit in the SRAM for storing the feature information.

[0011] Preferably, the method further comprises:

[0012] The ciphertext data generated based on the key information is received, and the ciphertext data is stored.

[0013] Preferably, the method further comprises:

[0014] receiving a second control instruction;

[0015] The SRAM feature extraction mode is exited according to the second control instruction.

[0016] Preferably, the characteristic information is specifically used to generate the key information in combination with the attribute information of the consumable chip.

[0017] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a consumable chip, wherein the consumable chip can be installed on a consumable, and the consumable can be detachably installed on an image forming device, and the consumable chip includes:

[0018] Static random access memory SRAM;

[0019] The chip control unit is used to receive request information of the characteristic information stored in the SRAM, and send the characteristic information stored in the SRAM to the image formation control unit based on the received request information, wherein the characteristic information is used to generate key information.

[0020] Preferably, the chip control unit is also used to receive a first control instruction and enter an SRAM feature extraction mode according to the first control instruction. When the consumable chip is in the SRAM feature extraction mode, the chip control unit is specifically used to refuse to respond to a data write instruction for writing data to a storage unit in the SRAM used to store the feature information.

[0021] Preferably, the chip control unit is further used to receive ciphertext data generated based on the key information and store the ciphertext data.

[0022] Preferably, the chip control unit is further used to receive a second control instruction and exit the SRAM feature extraction mode according to the second control instruction.

[0023] Preferably, the characteristic information is used to generate the key information in combination with the attribute information of the consumable chip.

[0024] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a consumable material, including: a housing;

[0025] a developer containing portion, located in the housing, for containing the developer; and

[0026] The consumable chip described in the above embodiment.

[0027] Preferably, the consumables further include:

[0028] The developer conveying element is used for conveying the developer.

[0029] Preferably, the consumables further include:

[0030] Photosensitive drum;

[0031] A charging roller is used for charging the photosensitive drum.

[0032] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a consumable, the consumable comprising:

[0033] Photosensitive drum;

[0034] a charging roller for charging the photosensitive drum; and

[0035] The consumable chip described in the above embodiment.

[0036] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an image forming device, comprising: a consumable, on which a consumable chip is mounted, wherein the consumable chip comprises a chip control unit and a static random access memory SRAM;

[0037] An image formation control unit, configured to send request information of the characteristic information stored in the SRAM to the consumable chip;

[0038] a chip control unit, configured to receive request information of the characteristic information stored in the SRAM, and send the characteristic information stored in the SRAM to the image formation control unit based on the received request information;

[0039] The image formation control unit is further used to receive the characteristic information sent by the consumable chip and generate key information based on the characteristic information.

[0040] By adopting the solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, when receiving the request information of the characteristic information stored in the SRAM, the characteristic information stored in the SRAM is sent to the image formation control unit, so that the image formation control unit generates the key information according to the characteristic information. In this way, in the embodiment of the present application, the key information is generated by utilizing the characteristic information stored in the SRAM. Since the characteristic information stored in the SRAM is related to environmental factors such as voltage and noise, its specific value presents a certain randomness after each power-on and is not a fixed value, which greatly reduces the probability of illegal elements directly generating the correct key after obtaining the characteristic information stored in the SRAM, thereby improving the security and reliability of the data. In addition, the consumable chip does not need to have the function of generating key information by itself, which saves costs and has high stability. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative labor.

[0042] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a storage circuit of an SRAM storage unit provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0043] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of an image forming device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a data protection method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of another data protection method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the structure of an image forming control unit controlling a consumable chip power supply circuit provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of another data protection method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the structure of a consumable chip provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the structure of a consumable provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] Fig. 9A schematic diagram of the structure of another consumable provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] Fig.10 A schematic diagram of the structure of another consumable provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] Fig.11 A schematic diagram of the structure of another image forming device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0053] In order to better understand the technical solution of the present application, the embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0054] It should be clear that the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in the field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0055] The terms used in the embodiments of the present application are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present application. The singular forms "a", "said" and "the" used in the embodiments of the present application and the appended claims are also intended to include plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates other meanings.

[0056] It should be understood that the term "and / or" used in this article is only a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " in this article generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship.

[0057] Before a detailed introduction to the embodiments of the present application, the terms that are applied or may be applied to the embodiments of the present application are first explained.

[0058] Static Random Access Memory (SRAM): A type of random access memory that retains data permanently as long as it is powered on. SRAM contains multiple memory cells, each of which is implemented by a combination of six transistors. Figure 1As shown, the specific implementation circuit includes: a first transistor T1, a second transistor T2, a third transistor T3, a fourth transistor T4, a fifth transistor T5 and a sixth transistor T6. Among them, the first transistor T1, the second transistor T2, the third transistor T3 and the fourth transistor T4 constitute a latch. The gate of the first transistor T1 is connected to the drain of the second transistor T2, the source of the fourth transistor T4 and the gate of the third transistor T3. The source of the first transistor T1 is connected to the power supply, and the drain of the first transistor T1 is connected to the source of the third transistor T3, the gate of the second transistor T2 and the gate of the fourth transistor T4. The source of the second transistor T2 is connected to the power supply. The drain of the third transistor T3 is grounded. The drain of the fourth transistor T4 is grounded. The first transistor T1 and the third transistor T3 constitute an inverter, the second transistor T2 and the fourth transistor T4 constitute an inverter, and the two inverters constitute a latch. The first output terminal Q1 of the latch is connected to the drain of the first transistor T1 and the source of the third transistor T3, and the second output terminal Q2 of the latch is connected to the drain of the second transistor T2 and the source of the fourth transistor T4. The gate of the fifth transistor T5 is connected to the word line, the source of the fifth transistor T5 is connected to the bit line, and the drain of the fifth transistor T5 is connected to the first output terminal Q1 of the latch. The gate of the sixth transistor T6 is connected to the word line, the source of the sixth transistor T6 is connected to the second output terminal Q2 of the latch, and the drain of the sixth transistor T6 is connected to the bit line. The fifth transistor T5 and the sixth transistor T6 are control switches for reading and writing data in the storage unit of the SRAM.

[0059] Non-volatile memory refers to a memory in which the stored data does not disappear when the current is turned off.

[0060] In the prior art, in order to improve data security, authentication information and other important data can be encrypted and stored. However, the encryption key used is usually generated using fixed data such as the serial number of the consumable chip, so it is easy for criminals to obtain the data stored in the chip through illegal means, which poses a hidden danger to data security.

[0061] In view of the above problems, the embodiment of the present application provides a method for data protection, which is applied to consumable chips. When receiving request information of characteristic information stored in SRAM, the characteristic information stored in SRAM is sent to the image forming control unit, so that the image forming control unit generates key information according to the characteristic information. In this way, in the embodiment of the present application, the key information is generated by using the characteristic information stored in SRAM. Since the characteristic information stored in SRAM is related to the chip production process and process, the specific values ​​of the characteristic information stored in SRAM of different consumable chips are different. At the same time, due to the influence of environmental factors such as the power supply voltage and noise of the consumable chip, its specific value presents a certain randomness after each power-on and is not a fixed value, which greatly reduces the probability of illegal elements directly generating the correct key by obtaining the characteristic information stored in SRAM, and the key information is not stored in any fixed non-volatile memory, and the illegal elements cannot directly read the data stored in the non-volatile memory to directly obtain the key information, thereby improving the security and reliability of the data. In addition, the consumable chip does not need to have the function of generating key information by itself, which saves costs and has high stability. The following is a detailed description.

[0062] In an embodiment of the present application, the image forming device is used to perform image forming tasks, such as generating, printing, receiving and sending image data, and examples of the image forming device include: an inkjet printer, a laser printer, an LED (Light Emitting Diode) printer, a copier, a scanner or a multifunction all-in-one fax machine, and a multifunction peripheral (MFP, Multi-Functional Peripheral) that performs the above functions in a single device.

[0063] The image forming device includes an image forming control unit and an image forming unit, wherein the image forming control unit is used to control the image forming device as a whole, and the image forming unit is used to form an image on a conveyed paper based on image data under the control of the image forming control unit, wherein the image forming control unit may be a SoC (System on Chip), which is a miniature system composed of components of multiple systems and is configured to control the imaging processing operations of the image forming device, such as performing linear correction, noise reduction, bad pixel removal, detail enhancement, etc. on image data, thereby improving the quality of image output, and the image forming control unit is also used to perform processing operations related to data transmission and reception, command transmission and reception, and engine control of printing images, such as transmitting and receiving data, printing engine control commands, status, etc. through an interface unit (including but not limited to a USB port, a wired network port, a wireless network port, or other interfaces, etc.). See Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the structure of an image forming device provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 2As shown, as an example of an image forming device, the image forming part of the image forming device may include: a developer containing part 11, a developing part 12, a developer conveying element 13, a photosensitive part 14, a transfer part 15 and a fixing assembly 5, etc. The paper to be printed moves in the paper feeding direction, and after the powder feeding operation of the developer conveying element 13 and the developing operation of the developing part 12 in sequence, it reaches the clamping area between the photosensitive part 14 and the transfer part 15 for transfer, and then passes through the fixing assembly 5 for fixing to complete the image forming operation, wherein the developer containing part 11 is used to contain the developer, and the developer can be materials such as toner and carbon powder; the photosensitive part 14 includes: a photosensitive drum (OPC, Organic Photoconductor) and a charging roller, etc., wherein the charging roller is used to charge the photosensitive drum; the developing part 12 may include components such as a developing roller for conveying the developer to the photosensitive drum; the developer conveying element 13 may include components such as a powder feeding roller for conveying the developer to the developing part 12, and may also be replaced by components such as a powder feeding screw.

[0064] Usually, the image forming device is detachably mounted with at least one consumable material. Figure 2 As an example, the image forming device shown in FIG. 1 is detachably mounted with four consumables (respectively Figure 1 The consumables 1, 2, 3 and 4 shown are used to provide the image forming device with four colors of developers, namely black K, cyan C, magenta M and yellow Y. Of course, in other embodiments, the number of consumables installed in the image forming device can be increased or decreased, for example, 5 or 6 or even more or less, etc., and the present invention is not limited to this. The present application is mainly applied to the scene where the number of consumables installed in the image forming device is greater than or equal to 2.

[0065] The chip is specifically a circuit substrate mounted on the consumable material, and the circuit substrate includes a storage device and an electrical contact connected to the storage device, and the contact is used to be electrically connected to an electrical contact on the image forming device side.

[0066] See also Figure 3 A data protection method flow chart provided in an embodiment of the present application. This method embodiment is applied to the above-mentioned Figure 2 The interaction between the consumable chip on the consumable and the image forming control unit in the image forming device shown. The method includes:

[0067] Step S301: The image formation control unit sends request information of characteristic information stored in the SRAM to the consumable chip, and the consumable chip receives the request information of the characteristic information stored in the SRAM.

[0068] It should be noted that the transistors that make up the storage unit have some physical differences during the manufacturing process due to factors such as process and materials, resulting in different threshold voltages of different transistors. Therefore, when multiple transistors form an SRAM storage unit, a unique electrical fingerprint is formed. The fingerprint refers to the tendency of the storage content of a single SRAM storage unit when it is powered on. Specifically, a single SRAM unit tends to three states when powered on: stable tendency "0", stable tendency "1", and unstable state. When a single SRAM storage unit is in an unstable state when powered on, it may be reflected as "0" or "1" due to environmental factors.

[0069] Based on this, in the embodiment of the present application, the electrical fingerprint characteristics of the storage unit of the SRAM can be used to generate key information. In this way, there is no need to store key information in the consumable chip, and the image forming control unit of the image forming device can directly obtain the electrical fingerprint characteristics of the storage unit of the SRAM from the consumable chip to generate key information, thereby improving data security. In addition, since the electrical fingerprint characteristics of the storage unit of the SRAM will be different after each power-on due to environmental factors such as the power supply voltage and noise of the consumable chip, the probability of illegal elements obtaining key information by obtaining characteristic information is greatly reduced.

[0070] In the embodiment of the present application, when the image forming control unit in the image forming device needs to generate key information, since the key information is generated based on the electrical fingerprint characteristics of the storage unit of the SRAM, the image forming control unit needs to first obtain the electrical fingerprint characteristics of some storage units from the SRAM. The SRAM is set in the consumable chip, and the image forming control unit needs to send a request message to the consumable chip to obtain the characteristic information stored in the SRAM. The consumable chip receives the request message to obtain the characteristic information stored in the SRAM.

[0071] Step S302: The consumable chip sends the characteristic information stored in the SRAM to the image formation control unit based on the received request information. The image formation control unit receives the characteristic information sent by the consumable chip and generates key information according to the characteristic information.

[0072] In an embodiment of the present application, after the consumable chip receives a request message sent by the image formation control unit to obtain the characteristic information stored in the SRAM, the electrical fingerprint characteristics of at least part of the storage cells of the SRAM can be determined as the characteristic information, thereby obtaining the stored characteristic information from the SRAM and sending the characteristic information to the image formation control unit.

[0073] After receiving the characteristic information sent by the consumable chip, the image formation control unit can generate key information according to the characteristic information, for example, the characteristic information can be subjected to a hash algorithm to obtain the key information. Alternatively, the characteristic information can be combined to form the key information. Of course, other processing can also be performed to obtain the key information, and this application does not limit this.

[0074] As a possible implementation, in order to improve the accuracy of the acquired characteristic information, the image formation control unit generates the key information according to the characteristic information, including: the image formation control unit generates the key information according to at least two characteristic information.

[0075] That is to say, the characteristic information stored in the SRAM is related to environmental factors, the process and materials of the transistors constituting the storage unit of the SRAM during the manufacturing process, and its value is not exactly the same each time it is powered on. In order to improve the accuracy and stability of the key information, the image formation control unit can obtain the characteristic information at least twice to generate the key information.

[0076] As a possible implementation manner, after acquiring the feature information at least twice, the image formation control unit may use a FERNS (Random Ferns) algorithm to acquire target feature information; and generate key information according to the target feature information.

[0077] That is, after obtaining at least two characteristic information, the image formation control unit can use the FERNS algorithm to obtain the target characteristic information according to the at least two characteristic information. After obtaining the target characteristic information, the image formation control unit can generate key information according to the target characteristic information.

[0078] As a possible implementation, the characteristic information is specifically used to generate key information in combination with the attribute information of the consumable chip. That is, when the image formation control unit generates key information based on the characteristic information, it can generate key information in combination with the attribute information of the consumable chip. For example, the characteristic information can be combined with the serial number of the consumable chip to generate key information. Of course, it can also be combined with other attribute information of the consumable chip, and this application does not limit this.

[0079] In this way, in the embodiment of the present application, key information is generated by utilizing the characteristic information stored in the SRAM. Since the characteristic information stored in the SRAM is related to environmental factors, the process and materials of the transistors constituting the storage unit of the SRAM during the manufacturing process, its specific value is somewhat random after each power-on and is not a fixed value, which greatly reduces the probability of illegal elements obtaining the characteristic information stored in the SRAM and directly generating the correct key, thereby improving the security and reliability of the data. In addition, the consumable chip does not need to have the function of generating key information by itself, which saves costs and has high stability.

[0080] See also Figure 4 A flowchart of another data protection method provided in an embodiment of the present application. This method embodiment is applied to the above-mentioned Figure 2 The interaction between the consumable chip on the consumable and the image forming control unit in the image forming device shown in the figure. Figure 3 The embodiment shown adds the relevant steps of making the consumable chip enter the SRAM feature extraction mode, and the method includes:

[0081] Step S401: The image forming control unit sends a first control instruction to the consumable chip. The consumable chip receives the first control instruction.

[0082] The first control instruction is used to instruct the consumable chip to enter the SRAM feature extraction mode. The SRAM feature extraction mode is a mode in which the consumable chip at least prohibits writing data to a storage unit in the SRAM for storing feature information.

[0083] In the embodiment of the present application, in order to prevent illegal elements from tampering with the characteristic information stored in the SRAM during the process of the image formation control unit acquiring the characteristic information, the image formation control unit can send a first control instruction to the consumable chip so that the consumable chip enters the SRAM characteristic extraction mode. The consumable chip receives the first control instruction.

[0084] Step S402: The consumable chip enters the SRAM feature extraction mode according to the first control instruction. When the consumable chip is in the SRAM feature extraction mode, it refuses to respond to the data write instruction to write data to the storage unit in the SRAM for storing feature information.

[0085] In the embodiment of the present application, the consumable chip enters the SRAM feature extraction mode after receiving the first control instruction. At this time, when the consumable chip is in the SRAM feature extraction mode, it is prohibited to write data to the storage unit for storing feature information in the SRAM, so that the feature information stored in the SRAM can be prevented from being tampered with. Therefore, the consumable chip refuses to respond to the data write instruction to write data to the storage unit for storing feature information in the SRAM.

[0086] In a possible implementation, the consumable chip stores the identification information of the SRAM feature extraction mode as the mode information of the SRAM in the non-volatile memory. In this way, when the consumable chip is restarted, the identification information of the SRAM feature extraction mode can be obtained by reading the mode information of the SRAM stored in the non-volatile memory, thereby causing the consumable chip to enter the SRAM feature extraction mode.

[0087] Furthermore, the above-mentioned non-volatile memory includes flash memory (FLASH).

[0088] Step S403, the image formation control unit turns off the power of the consumable chip, and turns on the power of the consumable chip after a preset time interval, and the consumable chip restarts. In an embodiment of the present application, in order to obtain characteristic information that has not been tampered with, the image formation control unit can restart the consumable chip after sending a first control instruction to the consumable chip to make the consumable chip enter the SRAM feature extraction mode. At this time, the image formation control unit can turn off the power of the consumable chip, stop supplying power to the consumable chip, and after a preset time interval, turn on the power of the consumable chip again, supply power to the consumable chip again, and start the consumable chip. After the consumable chip is restarted, the characteristic information stored in its internal SRAM will also be updated accordingly.

[0089] In a possible implementation, after the consumable chip is restarted, the SRAM mode information can be read from the non-volatile memory. If the SRAM mode information is identification information of the SRAM feature extraction mode, the consumable chip enters the SRAM feature extraction mode.

[0090] In a possible embodiment, the image formation control unit controls the power supply to the consumable chip by setting a switch circuit between the consumable chip and the power supply, and the image formation control unit controls the conduction and disconnection of the switch circuit to control whether to supply power to the consumable chip. Figure 5 As shown, the circuit for controlling the image formation control unit to supply power to the consumable chip includes: a first resistor R1, a second resistor R2, and a seventh transistor T7. Wherein, the first end of the image formation control unit is connected to the first end of the consumable chip through a UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver / Transmitter) bus for data communication. The second end of the image formation control unit is connected to one end of the first resistor R1, and the other end of the first resistor R1 is connected to the gate of the seventh transistor T7. The source of the seventh transistor T7 is connected to the power supply, and the drain of the seventh transistor is connected to the second end of the consumable chip. The drain of the seventh transistor T7 is also connected to one end of the second resistor R2, and the other end of the second resistor R2 is grounded. The third end of the consumable chip is grounded.

[0091] In an embodiment of the present application, through the above circuit, the image formation control unit can send a control signal through its first end to control the disconnection and conduction of the seventh transistor T7. When the image formation control unit needs to turn on the power of the consumable chip, the control pin of the main control chip outputs a high-level signal. At this time, after the gate of the seventh transistor T7 receives the high-level signal, the seventh transistor T7 is turned on, so that the path between the power supply and the power pin of the consumable chip is turned on, and the power supply connected to the source of the seventh transistor T7 supplies power to the consumable chip. When the image formation control unit needs to turn off the power of the consumable chip, the first end of the image formation control unit outputs a low-level signal. At this time, after the gate of the seventh transistor T7 receives the low-level signal, the seventh transistor T7 is disconnected, and the path between the power supply and the second end of the consumable chip is disconnected, so that the consumable chip is powered off.

[0092] In this way, through the above circuit, the image formation control unit can control the power on and off of the consumable chip, so as to update the characteristic information stored in the SRAM in the consumable chip.

[0093] Generally speaking, a switch circuit is provided between the power supply and the consumable chip, and the switching circuit is controlled to be turned on and off according to a control signal output by the image formation control unit, thereby supplying power to or cutting off power to the consumable chip.

[0094] Figure 5 The illustrated embodiment is an implementation mode. It is known to those skilled in the art that other forms of switch circuits can also be used to implement the above functions, which is not limited here.

[0095] It should be noted that the above-mentioned preset time is pre-set according to actual needs, and is the interval between stopping power supply to the consumable chip and re-powering the consumable chip. This application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0096] Step S404: The image formation control unit sends request information of the characteristic information stored in the SRAM to the consumable chip. The consumable chip receives the request information of the characteristic information stored in the SRAM.

[0097] For details, please refer to step S301 and no further details will be given here.

[0098] Step S405: The consumable chip sends the characteristic information stored in the SRAM to the image formation control unit based on the received request information. The image formation control unit receives the characteristic information sent by the consumable chip and generates key information according to the characteristic information.

[0099] In the embodiment of the present application, after receiving the characteristic information sent by the consumable chip, the image formation control unit can generate key information according to the characteristic information. In order to obtain the accuracy of the key information, the image formation control unit can obtain the characteristic information multiple times and generate the key information according to the obtained multiple characteristic information. Since the characteristic information of the SRAM can only be updated when the consumable chip is restarted, the image formation control unit can restart the consumable chip before obtaining the characteristic information each time, that is, re-execute step S403.

[0100] For example, the image formation control unit needs to generate key information based on 8 characteristic information. At this time, the image formation control unit needs to obtain 8 characteristic information. The image formation control unit can turn off the power of the consumable chip, and turn on the power of the consumable chip after an interval of 5s, and the consumable chip restarts. The consumable chip obtains the mode information of the SRAM in the flash memory. Assuming that the mode information of the SRAM is the identification information of the SRAM feature extraction mode, the consumable chip enters the SRAM feature extraction mode. The image formation control unit sends request information for the characteristic information stored in the SRAM to the consumable chip, and the consumable chip receives the request information for the characteristic information stored in the SRAM. The consumable chip sends the characteristic information stored in the SRAM to the image formation control unit based on the received request message. The image formation control unit obtains the characteristic information once. The image formation control unit re-executes the above-mentioned process of turning off the power of the consumable chip, and turning on the power of the consumable chip after an interval of 5s, and the consumable chip restarts, to obtain the characteristic information until 8 characteristic information is obtained. After acquiring the eight pieces of feature information, the image formation control unit may acquire the target feature information using the FERNS algorithm based on the acquired eight pieces of feature information, and generate key information based on the target feature information.

[0101] See also Figure 6 A flowchart of another data protection method provided in an embodiment of the present application. This method embodiment is applied to the above-mentioned Figure 2 The interaction between the consumable chip on the consumable and the image forming control unit in the image forming device shown in the figure. Figure 4 The embodiment shown adds steps related to storing ciphertext data and causing the consumable chip to exit the SRAM feature extraction mode, and the method includes:

[0102] Step S601: The image forming control unit sends a first control instruction to the consumable chip. The consumable chip receives the first control instruction.

[0103] For details, please refer to step S401 and no further details will be given here.

[0104] Step S602: The consumable chip enters the SRAM feature extraction mode according to the first control instruction. When the consumable chip is in the SRAM feature extraction mode, it is prohibited to write data to the storage unit in the SRAM for storing feature information.

[0105] For details, please refer to step S402 and no further details will be given here.

[0106] Step S603: the image forming control unit turns off the power of the consumable chip, and turns on the power of the consumable chip after a preset time interval, and the consumable chip restarts.

[0107] For details, please refer to step S403 and no further details will be given here.

[0108] Step S604: The image formation control unit sends request information of the characteristic information stored in the SRAM to the consumable chip. The consumable chip receives the request information of the characteristic information stored in the SRAM.

[0109] For details, please refer to step S404 and no further details will be given here.

[0110] Step S605: The consumable chip sends the characteristic information stored in the SRAM to the image formation control unit based on the received request information. The image formation control unit receives the characteristic information sent by the consumable chip and generates key information according to the characteristic information.

[0111] For details, please refer to step S405 and no further details will be given here.

[0112] Step S606: The image forming control unit encrypts the data to be stored based on the key information to generate ciphertext data, and sends the ciphertext data to the consumable chip. The consumable chip receives the ciphertext data generated based on the key information and stores the ciphertext data.

[0113] In an embodiment of the present application, after generating the key information, the image formation control unit may encrypt the data to be stored to generate ciphertext data, and send the ciphertext data to the consumable chip. After receiving the ciphertext data, the consumable chip stores the ciphertext data. For example, the ciphertext data may be stored in an SRAM, or the ciphertext data may be stored in a non-volatile memory.

[0114] Step S607: The image forming control unit sends a second control instruction to the consumable chip. The consumable chip receives the second control instruction.

[0115] The second control instruction is used to instruct the consumable chip to exit the SRAM feature extraction mode.

[0116] In the embodiment of the present application, after acquiring the feature information, the image formation control unit may send a second control instruction to the consumable chip to cause the consumable chip to exit the SRAM feature extraction mode.

[0117] Step S608: The consumable chip exits the SRAM feature extraction mode according to the second control instruction.

[0118] In an embodiment of the present application, after receiving the second control instruction, the consumable chip can exit the SRAM feature extraction mode according to the second control instruction.

[0119] In this way, in the embodiment of the present application, key information is generated by utilizing the characteristic information stored in the SRAM. Since the characteristic information stored in the SRAM is related to environmental factors, the process and materials of the transistors constituting the storage unit of the SRAM during the manufacturing process, its specific value is somewhat random after each power-on and is not a fixed value, which greatly reduces the probability of illegal elements obtaining the characteristic information stored in the SRAM and directly generating the correct key, thereby improving the security and reliability of the data. In addition, the consumable chip does not need to have the function of generating key information by itself, which saves costs and has high stability.

[0120] See also Figure 7 The consumable chip described in the embodiment of the present application can be installed on the consumable, and the consumable can be detachably installed on the image forming device, such as Figure 7 As shown, the consumable chips include:

[0121] Static random access memory SRAM701 is used for data storage.

[0122] The chip control unit 702 is used to receive request information of the characteristic information stored in the SRAM 701, and send the characteristic information stored in the SRAM 701 to the image formation control unit based on the received request information, wherein the characteristic information is used to generate key information.

[0123] In one possible implementation, the chip control unit 702 is also used to receive a first control instruction and enter the SRAM701 feature extraction mode according to the first control instruction. When the consumable chip is in the SRAM701 feature extraction mode, the chip control unit 702 is specifically used to refuse to respond to a data write instruction to write data to a storage unit in the SRAM701 used to store feature information.

[0124] In a possible implementation, the chip control unit 702 is further configured to receive ciphertext data generated based on the key information and store the ciphertext data.

[0125] In a possible implementation, the chip control unit 702 is further configured to receive a second control instruction and exit the SRAM 701 feature extraction mode according to the second control instruction.

[0126] In a possible implementation, the characteristic information is used to generate key information in combination with the attribute information of the consumable chip.

[0127] See also Figure 8 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a consumable provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 8 As shown, the consumables described in the embodiment of the present application include:

[0128] A housing 801; a developer containing portion 802, located inside the housing 801 and used for containing the developer; and the consumable chip 803 described in the above embodiment.

[0129] It should be noted that the specific structure of the consumables described in the embodiments of the present application can refer to the above-mentioned attached Figure 2 I will not go into details here.

[0130] In one possible implementation, Fig. 9 As shown, the above-mentioned consumables also include: a developer conveying element 804, which is used to convey the developer.

[0131] In one possible implementation, reference Fig. 9 The above-mentioned consumables also include:

[0132] Photosensitive drum 805;

[0133] The charging roller 806 is used to charge the photosensitive drum 805 .

[0134] See also Fig.10 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a consumable provided in an embodiment of the present application. Fig.10 As shown, the consumables described in the embodiment of the present application include:

[0135] Photosensitive drum 1001;

[0136] A charging roller 1002 for charging the photosensitive drum 1001; and

[0137] The consumable chip 1003 described in the above embodiment.

[0138] It should be noted that the specific structure of the consumables described in the embodiments of the present application can refer to the above-mentioned attached Figure 2 I will not go into details here.

[0139] See also Fig.11 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an image forming device provided in an embodiment of the present application. Fig.11 As shown, the image forming device described in the embodiment of the present application includes: a consumable 1101, on which a consumable chip 1102 is installed, and the consumable chip 1102 includes a chip control unit 1103 and a static random access memory SRAM 1104.

[0140] The image formation control unit 1105 is used to send request information of the characteristic information stored in the SRAM 1104 to the consumable chip 1103 .

[0141] The chip control unit 1103 is used to receive request information of the feature information stored in the SRAM 1103 , and send the feature information stored in the SRAM 1104 to the image formation control unit 1105 based on the received request information.

[0142] The image formation control unit 1105 is further configured to receive characteristic information sent by the consumable chip 1103 and generate key information based on the characteristic information.

[0143] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the technology in the embodiments of the present invention can be implemented by means of software plus a necessary general hardware platform. Based on this understanding, the technical solution in the embodiments of the present invention is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art can be embodied in the form of a software product, which can be stored in a storage medium such as ROM / RAM, a disk, an optical disk, etc., and includes a number of instructions for a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in each embodiment of the present invention or some parts of the embodiments.

[0144] In this specification, the same or similar parts between the various embodiments can be referred to each other. In particular, for the device embodiment and the terminal embodiment, since they are basically similar to the method embodiment, the description is relatively simple, and the relevant parts can be referred to the description in the method embodiment.

Claims

1. A data protection method, applied to a consumable chip, wherein the consumable chip is mounted on a consumable, wherein the consumable is detachably mounted on an image forming device, wherein the image forming device comprises an image forming control unit, and wherein the consumable chip comprises a static random access memory SRAM. It is characterized in that include: Receiving request information for characteristic information stored in the SRAM; sending the characteristic information stored in the SRAM to the image formation control unit based on the received request information, wherein the characteristic information is used to generate key information; The characteristic information is information generated in the SRAM after power-on, and the characteristic information stored in the SRAM changes dynamically each time power-on.

2. The method according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The step of sending the characteristic information stored in the SRAM to the image formation control unit based on the received request information, wherein the characteristic information is used to generate key information, further comprises: receiving a first control instruction; Entering an SRAM feature extraction mode according to the first control instruction, when the consumable chip is in the SRAM feature extraction mode, refusing to respond to a data write instruction to write data to a storage unit in the SRAM for storing the feature information.

3. The method according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The method further comprises: The ciphertext data generated based on the key information is received, and the ciphertext data is stored.

4. The method according to claim 2, It is characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving a second control instruction; The SRAM feature extraction mode is exited according to the second control instruction.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, It is characterized in that The characteristic information is specifically used to generate the key information in combination with the attribute information of the consumable chip.

6. A consumable chip, wherein the consumable chip can be mounted on a consumable, wherein the consumable can be detachably mounted on an image forming device, and wherein the consumable chip include: Static random access memory SRAM; a chip control unit, configured to receive request information of the characteristic information stored in the SRAM, and send the characteristic information stored in the SRAM to the image formation control unit based on the received request information, wherein the characteristic information is used to generate key information; The characteristic information is information generated in the SRAM after power-on, and the characteristic information stored in the SRAM changes dynamically each time power-on.

7. The consumable chip according to claim 6, It is characterized in that The chip control unit is also used to receive a first control instruction and enter an SRAM feature extraction mode according to the first control instruction. When the consumable chip is in the SRAM feature extraction mode, the chip control unit is specifically used to refuse to respond to a data write instruction to write data to a storage unit in the SRAM used to store the feature information.

8. The consumable chip according to claim 6, It is characterized in that The chip control unit is further used to receive ciphertext data generated based on the key information and store the ciphertext data.

9. The consumable chip according to claim 7, It is characterized in that The chip control unit is further used to receive a second control instruction and exit the SRAM feature extraction mode according to the second control instruction.

10. The consumable chip according to any one of claims 6 to 9, It is characterized in that The characteristic information is used to generate the key information in combination with the attribute information of the consumable chip.

11. A consumable material, It is characterized in that include: case; A developer containing portion, located in the housing, for containing the developer; as well as The consumable chip according to any one of claims 6 to 10.

12. The consumable material according to claim 11, It is characterized in that The consumables also include: The developer conveying element is used for conveying the developer.

13. The consumable material according to claim 12, It is characterized in that The consumables also include: Photosensitive drum; A charging roller is used for charging the photosensitive drum.

14. A consumable material, It is characterized in that The consumables include: Photosensitive drum; a charging roller for charging the photosensitive drum; and The consumable chip according to any one of claims 6 to 10.

15. An image forming device, It is characterized in that include: A consumable, wherein a consumable chip is mounted on the consumable, and the consumable chip includes a chip control unit and a static random access memory SRAM; An image formation control unit, configured to send request information of the characteristic information stored in the SRAM to the consumable chip; a chip control unit, configured to receive request information of the characteristic information stored in the SRAM, and send the characteristic information stored in the SRAM to the image formation control unit based on the received request information; The image formation control unit is further used to receive the characteristic information sent by the consumable chip and generate key information based on the characteristic information; The characteristic information is information generated in the SRAM after power-on, and the characteristic information stored in the SRAM changes dynamically each time power-on.

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