Anti-counterfeiting method and device for bottled liquid

Abstract

The invention relates to an anti-counterfeiting method and device for bottled liquid. The device is placed in bottled liquid and cannot be taken out on the premise that the bottle is not damaged, the air bag is arranged at one end of the device, the balancing weight is arranged at the other end of the device, the gravity center of the device is lower, and the vertical posture that the air bag is located above the balancing weight is kept below the balancing weight all the time when the device is immersed in the liquid; due to the fact that the buoyancy borne by the device is greatly reduced, the posture of the device becomes toppling, and it is indicated that original liquid is taken out. The gyroscope is used for monitoring the included angle between the central axis of the device and the vertical line of the horizontal plane so as to judge whether the posture is a vertical posture or a toppling posture, and a signal is sent to the processing chip and stored in an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory). When an inquirer scans or quickly shakes the bottle by using functions such as mobile phone NFC (Near Field Communication), the processing chip reads data in the storage unit and notifies the signal generator to send out a corresponding signal according to the data to indicate whether the liquid in the bottle is original or not.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of anti-counterfeiting, and in particular to an anti-counterfeiting method and apparatus for bottled liquids. Background Technology

[0002] There are many anti-counterfeiting technologies for bottled liquids, but existing technologies rely on methods such as text and graphic markings on the packaging, self-damaging of the bottle opening, preventing the refilling of used packaging, and online traceability of product information. These methods require high skill levels and are easily counterfeited. Some criminals even substitute genuine products with counterfeit ones. This is especially true in the high-end liquor market, where a 500ml bottle of premium baijiu can cost anywhere from several thousand to hundreds of thousands of yuan, with the most expensive imported spirits reaching millions of dollars per bottle. This huge profit margin drives criminals to devise various methods to forge or bypass the original manufacturer's anti-counterfeiting marks. They replace the contents by subtly damaging the original packaging and anti-counterfeiting marks, then repair the damage to reap huge profits. For example, they might drill a pinhole-sized hole in an inconspicuous part of the bottle, remove the genuine product, inject counterfeit liquor, then inject the genuine product into a higher-grade bottle to impersonate a higher-grade liquor, and then carefully seal and polish the pinhole. These counterfeiting methods are difficult for the average person to distinguish. Even professionals need to carefully identify them and may need to use expensive professional equipment to distinguish between genuine and fake products.

[0003] Anyone who has ever fished will have noticed a fascinating accessory – the fishing float, also called a bobber. When placed on land, it lies flat; when thrown into water, it stands upright. These two postures – lying flat and standing upright – can be easily detected using existing sensor and electronic technologies, such as attitude sensors (including but not limited to gyroscopes, accelerometers, and magnetometers), which convert these postures into electrical signals and record them in a storage unit. Utilizing existing contactless short-range communication technologies, such as Bluetooth, NFC, and RFID, the system can receive electromagnetic signals from a mobile phone requesting a query through the bottle, or use a shake sensor to detect the shaking motion and, based on the stored records, emit intuitive signals such as lights and sounds to indicate the authenticity of the bottled wine.

[0004] This invention provides a device placed inside a bottle. This device, like a float, functions as a self-sustaining roly-poly toy when submerged in liquid, and becomes unstable when the surrounding liquid is insufficient or absent. The device monitors and records changes in the amount of liquid in the bottle, resulting in changes in its posture. To verify its authenticity, when a mobile phone is brought close to the bottle or the bottle is shaken rapidly, the device illuminates a corresponding colored indicator light or emits a characteristic sound based on the recorded posture. The authenticity can be determined by the color of the light or the characteristic sound, making identification intuitive, convenient, and difficult to forge. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Based on the aforementioned technical background, this invention provides a method and apparatus. This apparatus maintains an upright posture in a liquid, and tilts when the liquid level drops to a certain point. The apparatus mainly includes a shell, an air bladder, electronic components, and a counterweight. The shell primarily secures the air bladder, electronic components, and counterweight, while preventing removal from the bottle without damaging it. The combined function of the air bladder and counterweight lowers the device's center of gravity, ensuring that when immersed in the liquid, the device is primarily balanced by buoyancy and gravity, maintaining an upright position with the air bladder at the top. Regardless of how the bottle is tilted, the device quickly returns to an upright posture. When the liquid level drops to a certain point, the device is primarily subjected to gravity and the support force from the bottle wall or bottom contact point with the device's bottom; to achieve a stable balance, it will inevitably tilt. The electronic module monitors and records the device's posture and generates corresponding records. Upon receiving an external request signal, it reads the records and emits a simple and clear signal indicating authenticity, such as a long green light or buzzer indicating authenticity, and a short, sharp red light or buzzer indicating false. Attached Figure Description

[0006] Figure 1 : 3D diagram;

[0007] Figure 2 : Schematic diagram of the scan-to-illumination mode circuit;

[0008] Figure 3 : Schematic diagram of the "Scan to Produce Sound" circuit;

[0009] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the shake-to-light-up mode circuit;

[0010] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the shake-to-produce sound mode circuit;

[0011] Reference numerals: 1. Outer shell; 2. Airbag; 3. Electronic module; 4. Counterweight. Detailed Implementation

[0012] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, this device consists of four main components assembled together: an airbag 2 is embedded in the top of the outer shell 1, an electronic module 3 is installed in the middle, and a counterweight 4 is embedded in the bottom.

[0013] The outer shell 1 is made of a material that does not react with the bottled liquid. For example, for bottled wine, food-grade PP or PET is used. The main body of the outer shell 1 is slightly smaller than the diameter of the bottle mouth, while the protruding parts at both ends are slightly larger than the diameter of the bottle mouth. When inserting the bottle, a certain pressure is applied to cause the protruding parts to contract inward to facilitate insertion. After entering the bottle, the protruding parts spring back, making the device impossible to remove. To remove it, the bottle must be broken.

[0014] The airbag 2 uses the same material as the outer shell 1, is internally inflated and sealed, and is embedded in the top of the outer shell 1. Its function is to increase the buoyancy of the device when immersed in the liquid and reduce the weight distribution at the top. The counterweight 4 is installed at the bottom of the outer shell 1. The material used is relatively dense and does not react with the liquid in the bottle. If the liquid is alcohol, food-grade stainless steel can be used. The airbag 2 and the counterweight 4 work together to make the center of gravity of the device as close to the bottom as possible and to ensure that it is mostly or completely submerged in the liquid. Due to the downward gravity, after immersion in the liquid, the combined effect of buoyancy and gravity keeps the device in an upright position, like a float thrown into water. The bottom of the counterweight 4 must not be flat; it can be spherical or conical to prevent the device from tipping over as the liquid in the bottle decreases. When the liquid decreases to a certain level, the device is mainly subjected to the combined force of gravity and the support force of the bottle wall or bottom. At this point, because the bottom of the counterweight is not flat, it comes into contact with the bottle wall or bottom and may flip over, thus changing to a tipping position, just like a float thrown on the shore. If the electronic module 3 is heavy enough, the counterweight 4 can be omitted.

[0015] Electronic module 3 needs to be completely sealed with the same material as housing 1, and must be translucent. The sealed electronic module 3 is mounted in the middle of housing 1. Electronic module 3 mainly includes a circuit board, processing chip, attitude sensor, signal receiving module, signal generator, battery, and several other basic electronic components such as resistors or capacitors for voltage regulation and filtering. The electronic module has a pressure switch; pressing its sealing shell during bottling triggers the switch, activating the device.

[0016] The processing chip can be a microcontroller. Modern microcontrollers are small in size but powerful in function. For example, a general-purpose microcontroller is only 5mm×5mm in size, but it has enough functions to communicate with the attitude sensor, signal receiving module and signal generator to realize the storage and processing capabilities required by this device. It comes with its own FlashROM and EEPROM storage units, clock module, instruction system, and pull-up and pull-down resistors on the pins.

[0017] Attitude sensors include, but are not limited to, one or more of gyroscopes, accelerometers, magnetometers, etc. A general-purpose six-axis gyroscope can integrate a three-axis gyroscope, a three-axis accelerometer, and a geomagnetic sensor. It is only 2.5mm × 3mm in size and also has its own computing module, storage module, and clock module, and has anti-shake false alarm function.

[0018] The signal receiving module is selected according to the query signal mode. If the query is performed by scanning the electromagnetic signal of a mobile phone or other handheld device, a contactless near-field communication module, such as NFC, RFID, Bluetooth or other electromagnetic signal receiving modules, is used. The smallest NFC module can be 1.6mm×1.6mm.

[0019] If querying via shake mode, the shake sensor is used to receive the acceleration generated by shaking. The accelerometer in the attitude sensor can be directly used as the shake sensor without adding any additional components.

[0020] The signal generator can emit either light or sound, depending on the characteristics of the bottle and the liquid it contains. For liquids and bottles with good light transmittance, such as white wine, transparent colorless glass bottles, or translucent milky white glass bottles, green and red LED beads can be used. A green light that is lit or flashing indicates a genuine product, while a red light that is lit or flashing indicates a fake product. For liquids and bottles with at least one type of poor light transmittance, such as red wine and brown or ceramic bottles, a buzzer or other sound-emitting element is used. A long sound indicates a genuine product, while a short sound indicates a fake product.

[0021] The combination of query modes and signal formats can form a device with four modes: scan to light up, scan to sound, shake to light up, and shake to sound. The circuit principle is as follows: Figure 2 , Figure 3 , Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown.

[0022] The total length of this device is less than the inner diameter of the bottle, so that no matter how the bottle is turned over, the device will not get stuck. The device can quickly adjust and restore a stable upright posture by relying on its own weight and the buoyancy of the liquid. When the liquid in the bottle is reduced to a certain amount, it can be quickly tilted over.

[0023] Press the pressure switch on electronic module 3 to start the device and insert the pre-filled bottle, then seal the bottle opening. After startup, the device receives and sends instructions to each module according to the program set in its processing chip's storage unit. Considering that handling and other factors may cause the device to regain a stable upright posture, it takes time. According to online information, it takes about 30 minutes to drill a hole to remove a 500ml bottle of wine and another 30 minutes to fill it. Therefore, the timing limit set by the clock module only needs to be much lower than this value to prevent false alarms. The gyroscope in the attitude sensor only needs to monitor the angle α between the device's axis and the vertical line of the horizontal plane. When α ≤ 10° and the duration exceeds 5 minutes, the device is considered to be in an upright posture, and the processing chip is notified to write the number 1 to address 0x00 in its EEPROM. Once α > 10° and the duration exceeds 5 minutes, the device is considered to have tipped over, and the processing chip is notified to write the number 0 to address 0x00 in its EEPROM, and simultaneously write the number 1 to address 0x01 in the EEPROM, indicating that address 0x00 is locked and subsequent writing is prohibited.

[0024] When using electromagnetic signals for querying, the signal receiver senses the electromagnetic scanning signal from the mobile phone or other handheld device, and instructs the processing chip to read the number at address 0x00 of the EEPROM. If the number is 1, an electrical signal is sent to the signal generator, causing the green LED to light up or flash, or the buzzer to sound continuously, indicating that the liquid in the bottle is original and the product is genuine. If the number read is 0, an electrical signal is sent to the signal generator, causing the red LED to light up or flash, or the buzzer to sound briefly, indicating that the original liquid in the bottle has been removed and the product is counterfeit.

[0025] When using the shake-to-check function, the user simply picks up the bottle and shakes it quickly a few times. The shake sensor then instructs the processing chip to read the number at address 0x00 of the EEPROM. If the number is 1, an electrical signal is sent to the signal generator, causing the green LED to light up or flash, or the buzzer to sound continuously, indicating that the liquid in the bottle is genuine. If the number read is 0, an electrical signal is sent to the signal generator, causing the red LED to light up or flash, or the buzzer to sound briefly, indicating that the original liquid in the bottle has been removed, making it counterfeit.

[0026] After the LED light or buzzer emits a signal continuously for 3 seconds and then stops, the device enters sleep mode to reduce energy consumption and extend battery life.

[0027] In conclusion, using this invention for anti-counterfeiting of bottled liquids will enable ordinary people to easily identify the authenticity of bottled liquids, greatly reducing the illegal harm caused by counterfeit products to original manufacturers and ordinary consumers.

Claims

1. A method for preventing counterfeiting of bottled liquids, characterized in that... A device is placed inside a bottle of liquid. When an external query signal is sent to it, the device emits sound signals or light signals of different colors to clearly indicate whether the liquid inside the bottle is original.

2. Based on claim 1, design a device that can be placed in a bottled liquid, but cannot be removed without damage; the bottle must be broken to remove it.

3. Based on claim 1, when the device is immersed in liquid, it can maintain an upright posture regardless of how the bottle is turned over, indicating that the liquid in the bottle is genuine. When the liquid in the bottle decreases to a certain level, the device can no longer maintain an upright posture and becomes tilted, indicating that the liquid in the bottle is counterfeit.

4. Based on claim 3, the device has a low center of gravity and can maintain an upright posture under the interaction of gravity and buoyancy after being immersed in the liquid inside the bottle. When a certain amount of liquid is removed from the bottle, the buoyancy it experiences decreases significantly. At this point, the device is mainly subjected to the interaction of gravity and the supporting force of the bottle wall or bottom, and it cannot maintain an upright posture, but instead tilts over.

5. Based on claim 1, the attitude sensor module within the device can sense whether the device is upright or tilted, and convert it into an electrical signal which is sent to the processing chip, which records it as true or false. The attitude sensor can be a gyroscope, accelerometer, magnetometer, or other sensor.

6. Based on claim 1, the record generated after the initial bottle stabilization is true; if the liquid in the bottle decreases, the attitude sensor notifies the processing chip to change the record to false. Once the stored record is rewritten as false, it cannot be rewritten again.

7. Based on claim 1, the externally emitted query signal can be an electromagnetic signal or other types of signals.

8. Based on claim 1, the device includes a signal generator module, which may be a buzzer or an LED light, or other type of generator that emits a signal that can be clearly perceived by human hearing or vision.

9. Based on claim 7, when in scan-to-query mode, the device shall include a contactless near-field communication module to receive the electromagnetic signal, including but not limited to NFC, RFID, Bluetooth, or other communication modules. When the contactless near-field communication module receives a query request from an external mobile phone or handheld device, it notifies the processing chip to read the stored record and instructs the signal generator to emit a sound with corresponding characteristics or illuminate a light of the corresponding color.

10. Based on claim 7, when the shake-to-query mode is used, the device shall include a shake sensor (i.e., an accelerometer). When the shake sensor detects rapid shaking, it notifies the processing chip to read the stored record and causes the signal generator to emit a sound with corresponding characteristics or light up a light of the corresponding color.

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