CN117891419A - Consumable chip, image forming device, control device, authentication method and consumable - Google Patents

Abstract

The application provides a consumable chip, image forming device, controlling means, authentication method and consumable, the consumable chip includes: the first control unit is used for: receiving first intimacy information sent by an image forming device; comparing the first affinity information with the second affinity information to obtain a comparison result; and if the comparison results are matched, sending a first verification result to the image forming device, wherein the first verification result is used for indicating the image forming device to determine whether to execute an authentication program matched with the first intimacy information. In the embodiment of the application, the corresponding authentication program is matched for the consumable chip according to the intimacy information of the consumable chip, so that the intelligent authentication is higher and the applicable scene is wider while the information security between the image forming device and the consumable chip is ensured.

Description

Consumable chip, image forming device, control device, authentication method and consumable

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of image forming technology, and in particular to a consumable chip, an image forming device, a control device, an authentication method and consumables.

Background technique

An image forming device is a device that forms an image on a recording medium by the principle of imaging, such as a printer, a copier, a fax machine, a multifunctional image making and copying device, an electrostatic printing device, and any other similar device. An image forming device is usually equipped with replaceable items for accommodating imaging materials (such as ink, toner, etc.) that are convenient for users to replace, that is, consumables (such as ink cartridges, toner cartridges, imaging cartridges, etc.), wherein the consumables are usually provided with consumable chips.

In order to ensure the availability of consumables, the image forming device usually needs to authenticate the consumable chip before performing the image forming operation. However, in the prior art, the image forming device usually only uses a fixed authentication scheme to authenticate the consumable chip, which has a low degree of intelligence and limited application scenarios. There may be problems such as multiple authentication steps and complex authentication algorithms.

It should be pointed out that the information disclosed in the background technology section of this application is only intended to deepen the understanding of the general background technology of this application, and should not be regarded as an admission or suggestion in any form that the information constitutes prior art already known to those skilled in the art.

Summary of the invention

The present application provides a consumable chip, an image forming device, a control device, an authentication method and consumables, so as to solve the problems in the prior art that the image forming device has a low intelligence level and limited application scenarios in authenticating consumable chips.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an authentication method, including:

Acquire first intimacy information sent by the image forming device, where the first intimacy information is used to represent the trust of the image forming device in the consumable chip;

Acquire second intimacy information, where the second intimacy information is used as a verification benchmark for the first intimacy information;

Outputting an intimacy verification result according to the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information;

The intimacy verification result is related to the authentication process of the consumable chip by the image forming device.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a control device, including:

A first acquisition unit, configured to acquire first intimacy information sent by the image forming device, wherein the first intimacy information is used to represent the trust of the image forming device in the consumable chip;

A second acquiring unit, configured to acquire second intimacy information, wherein the second intimacy information is used as a verification reference for the control device to verify the first intimacy information;

an intimacy verification unit, configured to obtain an intimacy verification result according to the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information;

An output unit, used to output the intimacy verification result;

The intimacy verification result is related to the authentication process of the consumable chip by the image forming device.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an authentication method, which is applied to an image forming device, wherein a consumable is installed on the image forming device, and a consumable chip is detachably installed on the consumable, comprising:

Sending first intimacy information to the consumable chip so that the consumable chip outputs an intimacy verification result, wherein the first intimacy information is used to represent the trust of the image forming device in the consumable chip;

Obtaining the intimacy verification result output by the consumable chip;

If the acquired intimacy verification result includes a first verification result, it is determined whether to execute an authentication process matching the first intimacy information based on the first verification result, and the first verification result is used to characterize that the error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information is within a preset range.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an image forming device, including:

A second controller, wherein the second controller is configured to execute the method described in the third aspect.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a consumable material, including:

case;

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

The control device described in the first aspect.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a consumable, the consumable further comprising:

Photosensitive drum;

a charging roller for charging the photosensitive drum; and

The control device described in the first aspect.

In an embodiment of the present application, a corresponding authentication program can be matched for the consumable chip according to the intimacy information of the consumable chip, thereby ensuring the information security between the image forming device and the consumable chip and improving the intelligence of the image forming device in authenticating the consumable chip, making the authentication applicable to a wider range of application scenarios and solving the problem that, for example, the image forming device takes a long time to complete the entire authentication program and enter the ready state, thereby affecting the user experience due to the long time required for the user to wait for the print job to be output.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

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.

FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an image forming system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another image forming system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of an authentication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of another authentication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of another authentication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG6 is a flow chart of another authentication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG7 is a flow chart of an intimacy updating method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG8 is a flow chart of another authentication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG9 is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of another authentication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG10 is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of another authentication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG11 is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of another authentication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG12 is a structural block diagram of a consumable chip provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG13 is a structural block diagram of an image forming device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG14 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a consumable provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG15 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another consumable provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG16 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another consumable provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another consumable material provided in an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed ways

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.

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.

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.

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.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a schematic diagram of the structure of an image forming system provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown. As shown in FIG. 1 , the image forming system includes an image forming device and consumables. The image forming device is a part of the image forming system that performs image forming operations, and the consumables are replaceable accessories in the image forming system. For example, when the image forming device is an inkjet printer, a laser printer, a 3D printer, a label printer, or a dot matrix printer, the consumables are ink cartridges, toner cartridges, toner cartridges, toner cartridges, ribbon cartridges, etc., respectively. One achievable manner is that the consumables are a split structure, including a drum cartridge and a developer cartridge that are detachable from each other, wherein the drum cartridge includes a photosensitive drum and a charging roller, and the developer cartridge includes a developer accommodating portion, a developer roller, and a developer conveying element. Another achievable manner is that the consumables are an integrated structure, for example, the consumables include a developer accommodating portion, a developer roller, a developer conveying element, a photosensitive drum, a charging roller, etc. Further, the consumables may also include only a housing and a developer accommodating portion. It is additionally noted that the consumables may also be the aforementioned developer cartridge or drum cartridge. Wherein, the developer containing portion is used to contain developer such as toner, and the developer conveying element is a component such as a powder conveying roller, a powder conveying screw, etc., for stirring and/or conveying toner. Of course, the developer box may also only include the developer containing portion, which is not limited here. Further, the developer box may also only include the developer containing portion and the developer conveying element, which is not limited here. In a possible implementation, the consumables may also include a powder cylinder and/or an imaging component, and the powder cylinder is used to convey the toner to the imaging component when the toner contained in the imaging component is insufficient so that the image forming device forms an image based on the toner conveyed by the imaging component, wherein, when the consumable is a powder cylinder, the consumable may only include a shell and a developer containing portion, or may include a shell, a developer containing portion, and a developer conveying element, which is not limited here. When the consumable is an imaging component, the consumable may include a shell, a developer containing portion, a developer conveying unit, a charging roller, a photosensitive drum, etc., and a developer transmission channel is provided between the developer containing device and the imaging component, which is not limited here.

It should be pointed out that the consumables mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may also be other components, parts, units (such as paper boxes, etc.) in the image forming device that are easily damaged and need to be replaced, which also belong to the technical solutions corresponding to the consumables protected by this application.

In order to facilitate the management of consumables, consumable chips are usually provided on consumables, which are electronic devices with storage functions. In the consumable chip, information about consumables is stored, such as the manufacturer, type, color, capacity and usage of recording materials (toner, ink), etc. Therefore, when the user installs the consumables into the host, the information stored in the consumable chip can be provided to the host, so that the host can know the basic information of the consumables. In addition, during the image forming operation, the host can also write the updated information of the consumables (for example, the usage of the recording materials) into the consumable chip.

In one embodiment, the consumable chip of the embodiment of the present application generally includes a substrate and a plurality of contact contacts, wherein the plurality of contact contacts are arranged on the substrate, and each contact contact is respectively used to electrically connect to a plurality of contact terminals arranged on the image forming device, thereby realizing communication between the image forming device and the consumable chip, wherein the plurality of contact contacts may include VCC contacts, GND contacts, SDA contacts, and SCL contacts.

In another implementation, the consumable chip in the embodiment of the present application may further include an adapter plate in addition to the substrate, wherein the adapter plate is electrically connected to the substrate, and at least part of the aforementioned multiple contact points may be disposed on the adapter plate.

Furthermore, the image forming apparatus includes an image forming control unit and an image forming unit, wherein the image forming control unit is used to control the image forming apparatus 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.

The image forming control unit may be a system on chip (SoC), 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 linear correction, noise reduction, bad pixel removal, detail enhancement, etc., to improve the quality of image output. 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.).

Referring to FIG2 , a schematic diagram of another image forming system provided by an embodiment of the present application is shown. As shown in FIG2 , the image forming unit of the image forming device may include: a developer container 11, a developing unit 12, a developer conveying element 13, a photosensitive unit 14, a transfer unit 15, and a fixing assembly 5, etc. The paper to be printed moves in the paper feeding direction, and after successively passing through the powder feeding operation of the developer conveying element 13 and the developing operation of the developing unit 12, it reaches the clamping area between the photosensitive unit 14 and the transfer unit 15 for transfer, and then passes through the fixing assembly 5 for fixing to complete the image forming operation, wherein the developer container 11 is used to contain the developer, and the developer may be a material such as toner or carbon powder; the developing unit 12 includes: a developing roller, etc.; the developer conveying element 13 includes: a powder conveying roller, etc.; the photosensitive unit 14 includes: a photosensitive drum (OPC, Organic Photo Conductor) and a charging roller, etc., wherein the charging roller is used to charge the photosensitive drum.

Typically, an image forming device is detachably installed with at least one consumable. Taking the image forming device shown in FIG. 2 as an example, the image forming device is detachably installed with four consumables (consumable 1, consumable 2, consumable 3 and consumable 4 shown in FIG. 2 , respectively, and the four consumables 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 may be increased or decreased, for example, to 5 or 6 or even more or less, etc., and the present application does not limit this.

In order to ensure the availability of consumables, the image forming device usually needs to authenticate the consumable chip before executing the image forming job. For example, the default authentication procedure is S1+S2+S3+S4+S5+S6, which includes 6 authentication steps. It can be understood that the image forming device of the prior art does not consider the usage of consumables in the process of authenticating the consumable chip, but uses a fixed set of authentication processes to authenticate the consumable chip, which makes the authentication low in intelligence and limited in application scenarios. In some scenarios, it will cause problems such as too many authentication steps and overly complex authentication algorithms, which makes the image forming device take a long time to complete the authentication procedure and enter the ready state, which in turn causes the user to wait for a long time for the image forming job to be output, affecting the user experience. Among them, the ready state refers to the state in which the image forming device can perform image forming operations. In other words, when the image forming device enters the ready state, the image forming device can immediately perform image forming operations after receiving the data to be printed.

In response to the above problems, the embodiment of the present application provides an authentication scheme that can match the corresponding authentication process for the consumable chip according to the intimacy information of the consumable chip, so that the authentication degree of the consumable chip by the image forming device is improved and meets the needs of different scenarios. Among them, the authentication process refers to the process in which the image forming device executes a complete authentication strategy for the consumable chip. In this process, the image forming device can use different authentication procedures or their combinations, execute the same authentication procedure different times, etc. to authenticate the consumable chip.

In particular, when the authentication process is complicated, such as when there are many authentication steps or the authentication algorithm is complicated, the image forming device will take a long time to complete the authentication process and enter the ready state, which will cause the user to wait for a long time for the image forming job to be output, affecting the user experience.

The embodiment of the present application provides an authentication scheme that can match the corresponding authentication process for the consumable chip according to the intimacy information of the consumable chip, which can meet the needs of different application scenarios and improve the intelligent degree of authentication. For example, the time of the authentication process can be appropriately shortened while ensuring the information security between the image forming device and the consumable chip, solving the problem that the image forming device takes a long time to enter the ready state after completing the complete authentication process, thereby affecting the user experience due to the long time required for the user to wait for the print job to be output.

Exemplarily, the correspondence between the intimacy information and the authentication procedure is shown in Table 1.

Table I:

Intimacy information Certification Procedure 0 S1+S2+S3+S4+S5+S6 1-10 S1+S2+S3+S4+S5 10-30 S1+S2+S3+S4 30-69 S1+S2+S3 70-99 S1+S2 100-150 S1

As shown in Table 1, when the intimacy information is "0", the corresponding authentication procedure is "S1+S2+S3+S4+S5+S6"; when the intimacy information is "1-10", the corresponding authentication procedure is "S1+S2+S3+S4+S5"; when the intimacy information is "10-30", the corresponding authentication procedure is "S1+S2+S3+S4"; and so on. In other words, as the numerical value of the intimacy information increases, the authentication steps of the corresponding authentication procedure gradually decrease, or the complexity of the authentication algorithm gradually decreases. Optionally, when the intimacy information is "100-150", the authentication procedure may not be executed.

In the embodiment of the present application, the larger the value of the intimacy information is, the higher the trust between the image forming device and the consumable chip is. For consumable chips with higher trust, authentication using an authentication procedure with fewer authentication steps or lower algorithm complexity can shorten the authentication procedure; for consumable chips with lower trust, authentication using an authentication procedure with more authentication steps or higher algorithm complexity can ensure the security of information between the image forming device and the consumable chip.

It should be noted that, according to actual needs, those skilled in the art may also set the relationship between intimacy information and trust as follows: the smaller the value of the intimacy information, the higher the trust between the image forming device and the consumable chip, and the embodiments of the present application do not impose specific restrictions on this.

Furthermore, in order to simplify the complexity of determining the authentication procedure between the image forming device and the consumable chip, the embodiment of the present application can refer to the contents shown in Table 1 and unify the authentication procedures corresponding to the intimacy information whose numerical values are within a certain range into the same authentication procedure, that is, the authentication processes corresponding to the intimacy information whose numerical values are within a certain range are basically the same.

To facilitate understanding, the technical solution provided in the embodiments of the present application is described in detail below in conjunction with specific embodiments.

Referring to Fig. 3, a schematic diagram of a flow chart of an authentication method provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown. The method can be applied to the image forming system shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, and as shown in Fig. 3, it mainly includes the following steps.

Step S301: the image forming device sends first intimacy information to the consumable chip.

The intimacy information involved in the embodiment of the present application is used to characterize the trust between the image forming device and the consumable chip. Specifically, the intimacy information used to characterize the trust of the image forming device in the consumable chip is referred to as "first intimacy information"; the intimacy information used to characterize the trust of the consumable chip in the image forming device is referred to as "second intimacy information".

Generally speaking, the trust between the image forming device and the consumable chip is established based on the interaction process between the two. Normally, the trust of the image forming device in the consumable chip and the trust of the consumable chip in the image forming device should match each other. Based on the trust matching requirement between the two, it can be determined that the aforementioned first intimacy information can also be used as a benchmark for matching verification of the second intimacy corresponding to the image forming device and the consumable chip, and the aforementioned second intimacy information can be used as a benchmark for matching verification of the consumable chip and the first intimacy information corresponding to the image forming device. That is, the first intimacy information is used as a benchmark for matching verification of the second intimacy information, and the second intimacy information is used as a benchmark for matching verification of the first intimacy information.

In one possible implementation, the aforementioned first intimacy information is used to compare with the second intimacy information, and the aforementioned second intimacy information is used to compare with the first intimacy information. It should be noted that the image forming device sends the first intimacy information to the consumable chip. Specifically, the image forming device may send the first intimacy information to the consumable chip directly through a communication line, or the image forming device may send the first intimacy information to the consumable chip indirectly through a relay or other device. It only requires that the consumable chip can obtain the first intimacy information. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the manner in which the image forming device sends the first intimacy information and the consumable chip obtains the first intimacy information.

In actual applications, an image forming device may be equipped with a consumable, on which a consumable chip is installed. An image forming device may also be equipped with multiple consumables, each of which is equipped with at least one consumable chip. An image forming device may also be equipped with a consumable, on which at least two consumable chips are installed. In other words, the image forming device may communicate with one or more consumable chips. It is understandable that the image forming device may have different trust in each consumable chip, so that the first intimacy information corresponding to each consumable chip may be different. Therefore, in this step, "the first intimacy information sent by the image forming device to the consumable chip" is the first intimacy information corresponding to the consumable chip.

Step S302: the consumable chip obtains an intimacy verification result according to the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information.

In a possible implementation, the consumable chip compares the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information to obtain an intimacy verification result.

In a possible implementation, the second intimacy information is stored in the first preset storage device. After receiving the first intimacy information, the consumable chip obtains the second intimacy information from the first preset storage device, and then compares the first intimacy information with the second intimacy information to obtain a comparison result.

In a possible implementation, the first preset storage device stores the associated information of the second intimacy information. Before, after, or simultaneously with receiving the first intimacy information, the consumable chip determines the second intimacy information according to the associated information of the second intimacy information, and then compares the first intimacy information with the second intimacy information to obtain a comparison result.

It should be pointed out that the first preset storage device involved in the embodiment of the present application can be a storage device inside the consumable chip, or it can be an external storage device electrically connected to the consumable chip, and the embodiment of the present application does not impose any specific restrictions on this.

That is, the embodiment of the present application does not limit the manner in which the consumable chip obtains the second intimacy information. The consumable chip may obtain the second intimacy information directly from a preset storage device, or the consumable chip may obtain the second intimacy information by calculation in a certain manner. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific timing for the consumable chip to obtain the second intimacy information. The consumable chip may obtain the second intimacy information when the consumable chip obtains the first intimacy information, or it may obtain the second intimacy information before or after obtaining the first intimacy information.

In a possible implementation, the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information may be differentially calculated to obtain a comparison result. For example, the first intimacy information is 80, the second intimacy information is 85, and the comparison result obtained by differentially calculating the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information is 5. It can be understood that in this implementation, the closer the comparison result is to 0, the better the match between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information.

In another possible implementation, the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information may be ratio-calculated to obtain a comparison result. For example, the first intimacy information is 80, the second intimacy information is 85, and the comparison result obtained by ratio-calculating the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information is 0.94. It is understandable that in this implementation, the closer the comparison result is to 1, the better the match between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information.

In another possible implementation, the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information may be XORed to obtain a comparison result. Exemplarily, the first intimacy information is 80, and the second intimacy information is 80. The comparison result obtained by XORing the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information is all 0, that is, the first intimacy information is the same as the second intimacy information. It can be understood that in this implementation, the consumable chip can determine the matching of the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information based on the result of the XOR operation.

It should be noted that the consumable chip only needs to obtain the intimacy verification result based on the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit the processing process therein. That is, the embodiment of the present application does not limit the way in which the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information are compared, as long as the matching between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information can be determined based on the comparison.

Step S303: If the comparison result indicates that the error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information is within a preset range, the consumable chip sends a first verification result to the image forming device.

In the embodiment of the present application, "the error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information is within the preset range" can be understood as the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information are exactly the same, that is, there is no error, or the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information are not exactly the same, that is, there is an error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information, but the error is within the preset range. Exemplarily, if the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information are both 80, it can be considered that there is no error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information. "There is an error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information and the error is within the preset range" can be understood as although there is an error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information, the error between the two is small. For example, the preset range of the error is set to 10, the first intimacy information is 80, and the second intimacy information is 85. According to the difference calculation method, the comparison result of the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information is 5, then it is considered that the error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information is within the preset range.

It can be understood that "the error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information and the error is within a preset range" indicates that the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information have a good match. In this case, the consumable chip can be authenticated according to the authentication procedure that matches the first intimacy information. Therefore, the consumable chip can send the first verification result to the image forming device to instruct the image forming device to determine whether to execute the authentication procedure that matches the first intimacy information.

Step S304: If the image forming apparatus receives the first intimacy verification result output by the consumable chip, it determines whether to execute an authentication procedure matching the first intimacy information.

Specifically, after receiving the first verification result sent by the consumable chip, the image forming device can determine whether to execute the authentication procedure matching the first intimacy information according to the first verification result. The execution of the authentication procedure can determine whether the consumable chip meets expectations. For example, determine whether the consumable chip is a legal chip or an illegal chip.

Furthermore, after the image forming device receives the first intimacy verification result output by the consumable chip as the aforementioned first verification result, in one feasible implementation method, it can directly determine to execute the authentication program that matches the first intimacy information based on the first verification result. In another feasible implementation method, when determining whether to execute the authentication program that matches the first intimacy information, in addition to based on the first verification result, it can also be determined in combination with the authentication results of other basic authentication programs whether to execute the authentication program that matches the first intimacy information. For example, when the authentication result of the basic authentication program is that the authentication is passed, it is determined to execute the authentication program that matches the first intimacy information based on the first verification result. When the authentication result of the basic authentication program is that the authentication is failed, it is determined not to execute the authentication program that matches the first intimacy information.

Among them, the basic authentication procedure is a technology well known to those skilled in the art, and those skilled in the art can set it according to actual needs, and it is not limited here.

Exemplarily, the correspondence between the intimacy information and the authentication procedure is shown in Table 1 above. If the first intimacy information is 125, which falls within the intimacy information range of 100-150, the authentication procedure executed is "S1". In other words, if the first intimacy information is 125, it means that the trust between the image forming device and the consumable chip is high, and the information security between the image forming device and the consumable chip has a certain trust basis. In this case, in order to shorten the time of the authentication procedure, an authentication procedure with fewer authentication steps or a simpler authentication algorithm can be used. If the first intimacy information is 8, which falls within the intimacy information range of 1-10, the authentication procedure executed is "S1+S2+S3+S4+S5". In other words, if the first intimacy information is 8, it means that the trust between the image forming device and the consumable chip is low, and there is no trust basis between the image forming device and the consumable chip, or the trust basis is weak. In this case, in order to ensure the information security between the image forming device and the consumable chip, an authentication procedure with more authentication steps or a more complex authentication algorithm can be used. In other words, the trust level corresponding to the first intimacy information is negatively correlated with the execution time of the authentication procedure, that is, the lower the trust level corresponding to the first intimacy information, the longer the execution time required to execute the authentication procedure, and the higher the trust level corresponding to the first intimacy information, the shorter the execution time required to execute the authentication procedure.

In other embodiments, the trust level corresponding to the first intimacy information is positively correlated with the execution time of the authentication procedure, that is, the lower the trust level corresponding to the first intimacy information, the shorter the execution time required to execute the authentication procedure, and the higher the trust level corresponding to the first intimacy information, the longer the execution time required to execute the authentication procedure.

It should be supplemented that, in an embodiment of the present application, if the authentication procedures corresponding to the various intimacy information whose numerical values are within a certain range can be the same authentication procedure, the trust corresponding to the intimacy information described for this scenario is negatively correlated with the execution time of the authentication procedure. Specifically, the trust corresponding to the intimacy information whose numerical values are in different ranges is negatively correlated with the execution time of the corresponding authentication procedure. By way of example, the execution time of the authentication procedure corresponding to the intimacy information whose numerical value is within the first numerical range is T1, and the execution time of the authentication procedure corresponding to the intimacy information whose numerical value is within the second numerical range is T2, wherein the numerical value of the maximum intimacy information included in the second numerical range is greater than the numerical value of the maximum intimacy information included in the first intimacy range, and the first numerical range and the second numerical range do not overlap with each other, and it can be determined that T2 is less than T1.

To sum up, in the embodiments of the present application, the corresponding authentication program can be matched for the consumable chip according to the intimacy information of the consumable chip, so as to appropriately shorten the time of the authentication process while ensuring the information security between the image forming device and the consumable chip, thereby solving the problem that the time required for the image forming device to complete the complete authentication process and enter the ready state is relatively long, and the user needs to wait for a long time to output the print job, thereby affecting the user experience.

Referring to Fig. 4, a flow chart of another authentication method provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown. As shown in Fig. 4, based on the embodiment shown in Fig. 3, the method further includes the following steps.

Step S401: If there is an error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information and the error is within a preset range, intimacy information with a lower degree of trust is sent to the image forming device. In the embodiment of the present application, "intimacy information with a lower degree of trust" refers to the one of the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information that represents a relatively lower degree of trust. Exemplarily, if the degree of trust corresponding to the first intimacy information is lower than the degree of trust corresponding to the second intimacy information, the first intimacy information is sent to the image forming device; if the degree of trust corresponding to the second intimacy information is lower than the degree of trust corresponding to the first intimacy information, the second intimacy information is sent to the image forming device.

Step S402: If the intimacy information with a lower degree of trust is the first intimacy information, the second intimacy information is updated according to the first intimacy information.

Exemplarily, if the first intimacy information is 80 and the second intimacy information is 85 (assuming that the intimacy information is positively correlated with the trust), the intimacy information with a lower degree of trust is 80 (the first intimacy information), and the second intimacy information is updated from 85 to 80. Of course, the second intimacy information can also be updated so that the error of the second intimacy information is reduced compared with the error of the first intimacy information. Exemplarily, if the first intimacy information is 80 and the second intimacy information is 87 (assuming that the intimacy information is positively correlated with the trust), the intimacy information with a lower degree of trust is 80 (the first intimacy information), and the second intimacy information can be updated from 87 to 83 so that the error of the second intimacy information is reduced compared with the error of the first intimacy information.

Step S403: if the intimacy information with a lower degree of trust sent by the consumable chip is received, the first intimacy information is updated to be consistent with the intimacy information with a lower degree of trust.

Exemplarily, if the first intimacy information is 80 and the second intimacy information is 75 (assuming that intimacy information is positively correlated with trust), the intimacy information with lower trust is 75 (second intimacy information), and the first intimacy information is updated from 80 to 75.

To summarize, in an embodiment of the present application, if there is an error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information and the error is within a preset range, the first intimacy information or the second intimacy information is aligned to the intimacy information with relatively lower trust to improve the matching of the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information.

It is understandable that those skilled in the art may also "align the first intimacy information or the second intimacy information with the intimacy information with a relatively high degree of trust" according to actual needs. However, "aligning the first intimacy information or the second intimacy information with the intimacy information with a relatively low degree of trust" is more conducive to ensuring the information security between the image forming device and the consumable chip.

It should be noted that the host device or consumable chip can update the intimacy by directly replacing the original intimacy information, or retaining the original intimacy information and storing the latest intimacy information in other storage units, or updating the intimacy by combining the original intimacy information with the part that needs to be changed (such as the difference between two pieces of intimacy information). The embodiments of the present application do not limit how to update the intimacy, as long as there is a change in the numerical size and/or storage location of the intimacy information in the host device or consumable chip whose intimacy information needs to be updated.

Referring to Fig. 5, a flow chart of another authentication method provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown. As shown in Fig. 5, based on the embodiment shown in Fig. 3, the method further includes the following steps.

Step S501: If there is an error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information and the error is not within a preset range, a second verification result is sent to the image forming device.

Exemplarily, the preset range of the error is set to 10, the first intimacy information is 80, and the second intimacy information is 50. If the comparison result of the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information is 30, it is considered that the error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information is not within the preset range.

It is understandable that "there is an error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information and the error is not within the preset range" indicates that the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information are poorly matched. In this case, the consumable chip may not meet expectations, so the second intimacy information needs to be reset so that the consumable chip can be authenticated based on the re-set second intimacy information. Therefore, the consumable chip can send a second verification result to the image forming device to instruct the image forming device to determine whether the second intimacy information needs to be reset to the initial value.

Step S502: If the second verification result sent by the consumable chip is received, determine whether the second intimacy information needs to be reset to an initial value.

In a possible implementation, after receiving the second verification result sent by the consumable chip, the image forming device can directly determine that the second intimacy information needs to be reset to an initial value.

In one possible implementation, after the image forming device receives the second verification result sent by the consumable chip, it needs to further determine whether the number of times the second intimacy information is reset to the initial value is greater than or equal to the preset number threshold; if it is determined that the number of times the second intimacy information is reset to the initial value is greater than or equal to the number threshold, an error prompt message is output; if it is determined that the number of times the second intimacy information is reset to the initial value is less than the number threshold, it is determined that the second intimacy information needs to be reset to the initial value.

Exemplarily, the preset number threshold is 5 times. After the image forming device receives the second verification result sent by the consumable chip, if it is determined that the number of times the second intimacy information is reset to the initial value has reached 5 times (greater than or equal to the preset number threshold), it means that the second intimacy information has been reset a large number of times. In this case, the consumable chip is likely to be inconsistent with expectations. At this time, an error prompt message is output to prompt the user to check the consumables. If it is determined that the number of times the second intimacy information is reset to the initial value is 2 times (less than the preset number threshold), it means that the second intimacy information has only been reset a small number of times. This situation may be due to a communication error between the image forming device and the consumable chip or other reasons that cause the second intimacy information to be reset. Therefore, in this case, it can be determined to execute a program to reset the second intimacy information to the initial value.

Step S503: If it is determined that the second intimacy information needs to be reset to the initial value, an intimacy reset command is sent to the consumable chip.

Specifically, if the image forming device determines that the second intimacy information needs to be reset to an initial value, an intimacy reset command is sent to the consumable chip, where the intimacy reset command is used to instruct to reset the second intimacy information to the initial value corresponding to the second intimacy information.

Step S504: if an intimacy reset command sent by the image forming apparatus is received, the second intimacy information is reset to an initial value corresponding to the second intimacy information according to the intimacy reset command.

In one possible implementation, the initial value corresponding to the second intimacy information is set to the intimacy information corresponding to the lower trust. That is to say, the uncertain consumable chip is identified as an unsafe chip and is given the lowest trust. It can be understood that the use of this setting method can better ensure the communication security between the image forming device and the consumable chip. Exemplarily, assuming that the intimacy information is positively correlated with the trust, the value range of the intimacy information is 0-150. The initial value corresponding to the second intimacy information can be set to any value between 0-10, that is, the initial value corresponding to the second intimacy information is set to the intimacy information corresponding to the lower trust.

In one possible implementation, the initial value corresponding to the second intimacy information is set to the intimacy information corresponding to a higher degree of trust. That is to say, the uncertain consumable chip is defaulted to a safe chip and is given the highest degree of trust. It can be understood that this setting method can better shorten the time of the authentication procedure. Exemplarily, assuming that the intimacy information is positively correlated with the degree of trust, the value range of the intimacy information is 0-150. The initial value corresponding to the second intimacy information can be set to any value between 100-150, that is, the initial value corresponding to the second intimacy information is set to the intimacy information corresponding to a higher degree of trust.

In one possible implementation, the initial value corresponding to the second intimacy information is set to the intimacy information corresponding to the medium trust. That is to say, a neutral attitude is taken towards the uncertain consumable chip, and a medium trust is given. It can be understood that this setting method compromises "communication security between the image forming device and the consumable chip" and "shortening the time of the authentication procedure." Exemplarily, assuming that the intimacy information is positively correlated with the trust, the value range of the intimacy information is 0-150. The initial value corresponding to the second intimacy information can be set to any value between 70-99, that is, the initial value corresponding to the second intimacy information is set to the intimacy information corresponding to the medium trust.

It should be noted that, since different application scenarios have different requirements for communication security and device response speed, those skilled in the art may choose to set the initial value corresponding to the second intimacy information to intimacy information corresponding to a lower trust level, intimacy information corresponding to a higher trust level, or intimacy information corresponding to a medium trust level according to the needs of the actual application scenario. This embodiment of the application does not make specific provisions for this.

Step S505: the consumable chip sends the reset second intimacy information to the image forming device.

Generally, a legitimate chip can correctly execute the intimacy reset command sent by the image forming device; an illegal chip cannot correctly execute the intimacy reset command sent by the image forming device. Therefore, after resetting the second intimacy information to the initial value corresponding to the second intimacy information according to the intimacy reset command, the consumable chip sends the reset second intimacy information to the image forming device, so that the image forming device can determine whether the consumable chip correctly performs the reset operation of the second intimacy information based on the reset second intimacy information.

Step S506: the image forming apparatus determines whether the consumable chip correctly performs the resetting operation of the second intimacy information according to the reset second intimacy information.

Specifically, after receiving the reset second intimacy information sent by the consumable chip, the image forming device determines whether the consumable chip correctly performs the reset operation of the second intimacy information based on the reset second intimacy information. Exemplarily, the intimacy reset command indicates that the second intimacy information is reset to 0. If the reset second intimacy information sent by the consumable chip received by the image forming device is 0, it is determined that the consumable chip correctly performs the reset operation of the second intimacy information; if the reset second intimacy information sent by the consumable chip is not 0, it is determined that the consumable chip does not correctly perform the reset operation of the second intimacy information.

Furthermore, if it is determined that the consumable chip correctly performs the reset operation of the second intimacy information, the first intimacy information is reset to the initial value corresponding to the first intimacy information. Typically, the initial value corresponding to the first intimacy information and the initial value corresponding to the second intimacy information are the same, so that the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information are adjusted to a matching state.

If it is determined that the consumable chip has not correctly reset the second intimacy information, then return to step S502 to re-determine whether to execute the procedure for resetting the second intimacy information to the initial value. It is understandable that if the second intimacy information fails to be reset multiple times, resulting in the second intimacy information being reset to the initial value for a number of times greater than or equal to the number threshold, an error prompt message is output.

Referring to Fig. 6, a flow chart of another authentication method provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown. As shown in Fig. 6, based on the embodiment shown in Fig. 3, the method further includes the following steps.

Step S601: When a first preset event occurs, the consumable chip updates the second intimacy information according to a trend of increasing trust.

In an embodiment of the present application, the first preset event may be a positive event occurring between the image forming device and the consumable chip (for example, the consumable chip's correct response to the image forming device). Based on the positive event, the consumable chip may improve the second intimacy information, that is, improve the consumable chip's trust in the image forming device, so as to further shorten the time taken by the image forming device to authenticate the consumable chip.

In a specific implementation, when a first preset event occurs, the consumable chip updates the second intimacy information according to a preset trust increasing gradient, and the trust increasing gradient can reflect the speed of trust increasing. For example, if the trust increasing gradient is 2, the second intimacy information is increased by 2 each time the first preset event occurs; if the trust increasing gradient is 5, the second intimacy information is increased by 5 each time the first preset event occurs. It should be pointed out that those skilled in the art can set the trust increasing gradient accordingly according to actual needs, and the embodiments of the present application do not impose specific restrictions on this.

Furthermore, in order to more reasonably adjust the second intimacy information according to the first preset event, in a possible implementation, different trust increment gradients can be set for different first preset events. For example, for a first preset event A with a higher degree of importance, the trust increment gradient can be set to 5; for a first preset event B with a lower degree of importance, the trust increment gradient can be set to 2. In other words, when a first preset event A with a higher degree of importance occurs, a faster increment speed is used to increase the trust corresponding to the second intimacy information; when a first preset event B with a lower degree of importance occurs, a slower increment speed is used to increase the trust corresponding to the second intimacy information.

Step S602: When a second preset event occurs, the consumable chip updates the second intimacy information according to a decreasing trend of trust.

In an embodiment of the present application, the second preset event may be a negative event occurring between the image forming device and the consumable chip (for example, an erroneous response of the consumable chip to the image forming device). Based on the negative event, the consumable chip may reduce the second intimacy information, that is, reduce the trust of the consumable chip in the image forming device, so as to further improve the communication security between the image forming device and the consumable chip.

In a specific implementation, when the second preset event occurs, the consumable chip updates the second intimacy information according to the preset trust decreasing gradient, and the trust decreasing gradient can reflect the speed of trust decreasing. For example, if the trust decreasing gradient is 3, the second intimacy information is reduced by 3 each time the second preset event occurs; if the trust decreasing gradient is 7, the second intimacy information is reduced by 7 each time the second preset event occurs. It should be pointed out that those skilled in the art can set the trust decreasing gradient accordingly according to actual needs, and the embodiments of the present application do not impose specific restrictions on this.

Furthermore, in order to more reasonably adjust the second intimacy information according to the second preset event, in a possible implementation, different trust decreasing gradients can be set for different second preset events. For example, for a second preset event A with a higher degree of importance, the trust decreasing gradient can be set to 7; for a second preset event B with a lower degree of importance, the trust decreasing gradient can be set to 3. In other words, when a second preset event A with a higher degree of importance occurs, a faster decreasing speed is used to reduce the trust corresponding to the second intimacy information; when a second preset event B with a lower degree of importance occurs, a slower decreasing speed is used to reduce the trust corresponding to the second intimacy information.

Step S603: When the third preset event occurs, the image forming apparatus updates the first intimacy information according to the trend of increasing trust.

In the embodiment of the present application, the third preset event may be a positive event corresponding to the first preset event. That is, when the first preset event occurs, the third preset event usually occurs with it, so that the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information keep increasing synchronously.

Furthermore, in order to ensure the matching of the updated first intimacy information and the second intimacy information, the same trust increasing gradient is set for the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information. Exemplarily, the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information are both 80, and the trust increasing gradients corresponding to the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information are both set to 2. When the first preset event occurs, the second intimacy information "80" is updated according to the preset trust increasing gradient "2", and the updated second intimacy information is 82; when the third preset event occurs, the first intimacy information "80" is updated according to the preset trust increasing gradient "2", and the updated first intimacy information is 82. In other words, the updated first intimacy information and the second intimacy information still have a high degree of matching.

Step S604: When the fourth preset event occurs, the image forming apparatus updates the first intimacy information according to a decreasing trend of trust.

In the embodiment of the present application, the fourth preset event may be a negative event corresponding to the second preset event. That is, when the second preset event occurs, the fourth preset event occurs simultaneously, so that the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information keep decreasing synchronously.

Furthermore, in order to ensure the matching of the updated first intimacy information and the second intimacy information, the same trust decreasing gradient is set for the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information. Exemplarily, the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information are both 80, and the trust decreasing gradients corresponding to the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information are both set to 3. When the second preset event occurs, the second intimacy information "80" is updated according to the preset trust decreasing gradient "3", and the updated second intimacy information is at 77; when the fourth preset event occurs, the first intimacy information "80" is updated according to the preset trust decreasing gradient "3", and the updated first intimacy information is at 77. In other words, the updated first intimacy information and the second intimacy information still have a high degree of matching.

Referring to Fig. 7, it is a flow chart of an intimacy updating method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Fig. 7, it mainly includes the following steps.

Step S701: the image forming device sends data synchronization information to the consumable chip.

Exemplarily, the data synchronization information may be information on the number of pages printed, information on the incremental number of pages printed, information on the remaining amount of consumables, or other types of information, etc., and the embodiments of the present application do not impose specific limitations on this.

Step S702: the consumable chip updates the data to be synchronized according to the data synchronization information to obtain updated data.

In a possible implementation, after obtaining the data synchronization information, the consumable chip can assign the data in the data synchronization information to the data to be synchronized to obtain the updated data. For example, the data synchronization information is 1000, the data to be synchronized is 800, and the updated data obtained after updating the data to be synchronized according to the data synchronization information is 1000.

In a possible implementation, after obtaining the data synchronization information, the consumable chip can add the data synchronization information to the data to be synchronized to obtain the updated data. For example, the data synchronization information is 100, the data to be synchronized is 800, and the updated data obtained after updating the data to be synchronized according to the data synchronization information is 900.

It should be pointed out that those skilled in the art may also use other algorithms to update the data to be synchronized through data synchronization information, and the embodiments of the present application do not impose specific limitations on this.

It should be supplemented that the host device or consumable chip can update the data to be synchronized by directly replacing the original data to be synchronized, or retaining the original data to be synchronized and storing the latest updated data in other storage units, or updating the data to be synchronized by combining the original data to be synchronized with the part that needs to be changed (for example, the difference part to be synchronized). The embodiments of the present application do not limit how to update the data to be synchronized, as long as there is a change in the numerical size and/or storage location of the data to be synchronized in the host device or consumable chip that needs to update the data to be synchronized.

Step S703: the consumable chip sends the updated data to the image forming device.

Specifically, after obtaining the updated data, the consumable chip sends the updated data to the image forming device, so that the image forming device determines whether the consumable chip correctly updates the data to be synchronized based on the updated data.

Step S704: the image forming apparatus determines whether the consumable chip correctly updates the data to be synchronized based on the updated data.

Specifically, after receiving the updated data, the image forming device determines whether the updated data meets expectations. If the updated data meets expectations, it is determined that the consumable chip correctly updates the data to be synchronized and enters step S705; if the updated data does not meet expectations, it is determined that the consumable chip does not correctly update the data to be synchronized and enters step S710.

Exemplarily, the data synchronization information sent by the image forming device to the consumable chip is 1000, and according to the set data update rule, the expectation of the updated data should be 1000. If the updated data sent by the consumable chip to the image forming device is 1000, it means that the updated data meets expectations, and it is determined that the consumable chip correctly updates the data to be synchronized; if the updated data sent by the consumable chip to the image forming device is not 1000 (for example, 700, 800 or other arbitrary data), it means that the updated data does not meet expectations, and it is determined that the consumable chip does not correctly update the data to be synchronized.

Step S705: If the image forming apparatus determines that the consumable chip has correctly updated the data to be synchronized, the image forming apparatus sends a first indication message to the consumable chip.

In the embodiment of the present application, if the image forming device determines that the consumable chip has correctly updated the data to be synchronized, it means that the consumable chip has correctly responded to the instruction sent by the image forming device, that is, a positive event has occurred between the image forming device and the consumable chip. At this time, the first indication information is sent to the consumable chip, and the first indication information is used to instruct the consumable chip to update the second intimacy information according to the trend of increasing trust.

Step S706: If the consumable chip receives the first indication information sent by the image forming device, the consumable chip updates the second intimacy information according to the first indication information and the trust increasing trend.

In the embodiment of the present application, if the consumable chip receives the first indication information sent by the image forming device, it means that the first preset condition has been met, and the second intimacy information is updated according to the first indication information in accordance with the trend of increasing trust. For the specific content of updating the second intimacy information in accordance with the trend of increasing trust, please refer to the description of the embodiment shown in Figure 6, and for the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

Step S707: the consumable chip sends the updated second intimacy information to the image forming device.

Specifically, after updating the second intimacy information, the consumable chip sends the updated second intimacy information to the image forming device, so that the image forming device determines whether the consumable chip has correctly updated the second intimacy information based on the updated second intimacy information.

Step S708: The image forming apparatus determines whether the consumable chip has correctly updated the second intimacy information.

Specifically, after receiving the updated second intimacy information, the image forming device determines whether the updated second intimacy information meets expectations. If the updated second intimacy information meets expectations, it is determined that the consumable chip has correctly updated the second intimacy information and enters step S709; if the updated second intimacy information does not meet expectations, it is determined that the consumable chip has not correctly updated the second intimacy information.

Exemplarily, the expectation of the updated second intimacy information is 80. If the updated second intimacy information sent by the consumable chip to the image forming device is 80, it means that the updated second intimacy information meets expectations, and it is determined that the consumable chip has correctly updated the second intimacy information; if the updated second intimacy information sent by the consumable chip to the image forming device is 70, it means that the updated second intimacy information does not meet expectations, and it is determined that the consumable chip has not correctly updated the second intimacy information.

In a possible implementation, if it is determined that the consumable chip has not correctly updated the second intimacy information, it means that the consumable chip has made an incorrect response to the instruction sent by the image forming device, that is, a negative event has occurred between the image forming device and the consumable chip. At this time, it is possible to jump to step S710, that is, to send the second indication information to the consumable chip. The specific content of the second indication information is described in detail below.

Step S709: If the image forming apparatus determines that the consumable chip has correctly updated the second intimacy information, the first intimacy information is updated according to the trend of increasing trust.

In the embodiment of the present application, if the image forming device determines that the consumable chip has correctly updated the second intimacy information, indicating that the third preset condition has been met, the first intimacy information is updated according to the trend of increasing trust. For the specific content of updating the first intimacy information according to the trend of increasing trust, please refer to the description of the embodiment shown in Figure 6. For the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

It should be pointed out that after the image forming device determines that the consumable chip has correctly updated the second intimacy information, updating the first intimacy information according to the trend of increasing trust can make the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information keep increasing synchronously, so as to maintain the matching of the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information.

Step S710: If the image forming apparatus determines that the consumable chip has not correctly updated the data to be synchronized, the image forming apparatus sends a second indication message to the consumable chip.

In the embodiment of the present application, if the image forming device determines that the consumable chip has not correctly updated the data to be synchronized, it means that the consumable chip has made an incorrect response to the instruction sent by the image forming device, that is, a negative event has occurred between the image forming device and the consumable chip. At this time, the second indication information is sent to the consumable chip, and the second indication information is used to instruct the consumable chip to update the second intimacy information according to the trend of decreasing trust.

Step S711: if the consumable chip receives the second indication information sent by the image forming apparatus, the consumable chip updates the second intimacy information according to the decreasing trend of the trust degree based on the second indication information.

In the embodiment of the present application, if the consumable chip receives the second indication information sent by the image forming device, it means that the second preset condition has been met, and the second intimacy information is updated according to the second indication information in accordance with the decreasing trust trend. For the specific content of updating the second intimacy information in accordance with the decreasing trust trend, please refer to the description of the embodiment shown in FIG6, which will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

Step S712: the consumable chip sends the updated second intimacy information to the image forming device.

Specifically, after updating the second intimacy information, the consumable chip sends the updated second intimacy information to the image forming device, so that the image forming device determines whether the consumable chip has correctly updated the second intimacy information based on the updated second intimacy information.

Step S713: The image forming apparatus determines whether the consumable chip has correctly updated the second intimacy information.

Specifically, after receiving the updated second intimacy information, the image forming device determines whether the updated second intimacy information meets expectations. If the updated second intimacy information meets expectations, it is determined that the consumable chip has correctly updated the second intimacy information and enters step S714; if the updated second intimacy information does not meet expectations, it is determined that the consumable chip has not correctly updated the second intimacy information.

Exemplarily, the expectation of the updated second intimacy information is 80. If the updated second intimacy information sent by the consumable chip to the image forming device is 80, it means that the updated second intimacy information meets expectations, and it is determined that the consumable chip has correctly updated the second intimacy information; if the updated second intimacy information sent by the consumable chip to the image forming device is 85, it means that the updated second intimacy information does not meet expectations, and it is determined that the consumable chip has not correctly updated the second intimacy information.

Step S714: If the image forming apparatus determines that the consumable chip has correctly updated the second intimacy information, the first intimacy information is updated according to a decreasing trend of trust.

In the embodiment of the present application, if the image forming device determines that the consumable chip has correctly updated the second intimacy information, indicating that the fourth preset condition has been met, the first intimacy information is updated according to the trend of decreasing trust. For the specific content of updating the first intimacy information according to the trend of decreasing trust, please refer to the description of the embodiment shown in Figure 6. For the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

It should be pointed out that after the image forming device determines that the consumable chip has correctly updated the second intimacy information, updating the first intimacy information according to the decreasing trend of trust can make the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information keep decreasing synchronously, so as to maintain the matching of the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information.

It should be supplemented that, in the embodiments of the present application, in addition to determining whether to update the intimacy based on the correctness of the aforementioned data synchronization operation, the intimacy information can also be updated by, for example, utilizing the cumulative power-on times of the consumable chip and the usage of the consumables corresponding to the chip in the host device, such as the numerical value of the cumulative number of printed pages information. For example, when the cumulative power-on times of the consumable chip exceeds a preset threshold or the cumulative number of printed pages corresponding to the consumable chip in the host device exceeds a preset threshold, the intimacy information corresponding to the host device or the consumable chip is directly updated to an intimacy with a higher degree of trust, thereby further optimizing the time required for the authentication process between the host device and the consumable chip.

Referring to Fig. 8, a flow chart of another authentication method provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown. As shown in Fig. 8, based on the embodiment shown in Fig. 3, the method further includes the following steps.

Step S801: the image forming device sends an intimacy setting instruction to the consumable chip.

In an embodiment of the present application, the intimacy setting instruction is used to instruct the consumable chip to set the second intimacy information to a corresponding intimacy value.

In a possible implementation, the intimacy setting instruction may carry an intimacy value, and the intimacy setting instruction is used to instruct the consumable chip to set the second intimacy information to the intimacy value carried in the intimacy setting instruction.

In a possible implementation, the intimacy setting instruction may also carry association information of the intimacy value, and the intimacy setting instruction is used to instruct the consumable chip to determine the intimacy value according to the association information of the intimacy value, and then set the second intimacy information to the determined intimacy value.

Step S802: The consumable chip sets the second intimacy information according to the intimacy setting instruction.

Specifically, after receiving the intimacy setting instruction, the consumable chip can set the second intimacy information to a corresponding intimacy value according to the intimacy setting instruction.

In a possible implementation, the intimacy setting instruction carries an intimacy value, and after receiving the intimacy setting instruction, the consumable chip sets the second intimacy information to the intimacy value carried in the intimacy setting instruction.

In one possible implementation, the intimacy setting instruction carries associated information of the intimacy value. After receiving the intimacy setting instruction, the consumable chip can determine the intimacy value based on the associated information of the intimacy value, and then set the second intimacy information to the determined intimacy value.

Referring to Fig. 9, a flow chart of another authentication method provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown. As shown in Fig. 9, based on the embodiment shown in Fig. 8, the method further includes the following steps.

Step S901: the consumable chip sends the set second intimacy information to the image forming device.

Specifically, after setting the second intimacy information, the consumable chip sends the set second intimacy information to the image forming device, so that the image forming device determines whether the consumable chip has correctly updated the second intimacy information based on the set second intimacy information.

Step S902: the image forming apparatus confirms whether the consumable chip has correctly set the second intimacy information according to the set second intimacy information.

Specifically, after receiving the set second intimacy information, the image forming device determines whether the set second intimacy information meets expectations. If the set second intimacy information meets expectations, it is determined that the consumable chip has correctly set the second intimacy information; if the set second intimacy information does not meet expectations, it is determined that the consumable chip has not correctly set the second intimacy information.

Exemplarily, the expectation of the second intimacy information after setting is 80. If the second intimacy information after setting sent by the consumable chip to the image forming device is 80, it means that the second intimacy information after setting meets expectations, and it is determined that the consumable chip has correctly set the second intimacy information; if the second intimacy information after setting sent by the consumable chip to the image forming device is 85, it means that the second intimacy information after setting does not meet expectations, and it is determined that the consumable chip has not correctly set the second intimacy information.

In a possible implementation, if the image forming apparatus determines that the consumable chip correctly sets the second intimacy information, the second intimacy information is stored; if it is determined that the consumable chip does not correctly set the second intimacy information, the process jumps to step S503, sends an intimacy reset command to the consumable chip, and then executes subsequent steps S504-S506. For the specific contents of steps S503-S506, please refer to the description of the embodiment shown in FIG5, and will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

Referring to Fig. 10, a schematic diagram of a flow chart of another authentication method provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown in Fig. 10. As shown in Fig. 10, the method further includes the following steps before step S301 shown in Fig. 3.

Step S1001: the consumable chip sends the consumable chip identity information to the image forming device.

In a specific implementation, after the image forming device is powered on, it needs to complete basic authentication with the consumable chip. During the basic authentication process, the image forming device can obtain the consumable chip identity information of the consumable chip.

Step S1002: the image forming apparatus searches a preset search table for first intimacy information corresponding to the consumable chip identity information according to the consumable chip identity information.

In a possible implementation, a lookup table is stored in the second preset storage device. After acquiring the consumable chip identity information, the image forming device can search for the first intimacy information corresponding to the consumable chip identity information in the preset lookup table according to the consumable chip identity information.

Specifically, the lookup table contains the association relationship between the consumable chip identity information and the first intimacy information, and the first intimacy information corresponding to the consumable chip identity information can be determined according to the association relationship.

Table II:

Consumable chip identity information First intimacy information ABCD1234567890-AF1 80 EFGH4567891234-AF1 30

It can be understood that if the consumable chip identity information obtained by the image forming device is "ABCD1234567890-AF1", then according to Table 2, it can be determined that the first intimacy information corresponding to the consumable chip identity information is 80; if the consumable chip identity information obtained by the image forming device is "EFGH4567891234-AF1", then according to Table 2, it can be determined that the first intimacy information corresponding to the consumable chip identity information is 30.

It should be pointed out that the second preset storage device involved in the embodiment of the present application can be a storage device in the image forming device, or it can be an external storage device electrically connected to the consumable chip, and the embodiment of the present application does not impose any specific restrictions on this.

In a possible implementation, the lookup table also includes second intimacy information corresponding to the identity information of the consumable chip, as shown in Table 3.

Table 3:

Consumable chip identity information First intimacy information Second intimacy information ABCD1234567890-AF1 80 85 EFGH4567891234-AF1 30 30

It should be pointed out that the correspondence between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information can be found in the above description, and for the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

In actual applications, if the consumable chip is used for the first time, the consumable chip identity information corresponding to the consumable chip may not exist in the lookup table, and thus the first intimacy information corresponding to the consumable chip identity information cannot be found in the preset lookup table based on the consumable chip identity information. Therefore, after the image forming device obtains the consumable chip identity information of the consumable chip, it first needs to determine whether the preset lookup table contains the consumable chip identity information based on the consumable chip identity information, and then execute subsequent steps. This is described in detail below in conjunction with specific embodiments.

Referring to Fig. 11, it is a schematic flow chart of another authentication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Fig. 11, based on the embodiment shown in Fig. 10, step S1002 specifically includes the following steps.

Step S1101: the image forming apparatus determines whether a preset lookup table contains the consumable chip identity information according to the consumable chip identity information.

In actual applications, if the consumable chip is used for the first time, the lookup table usually does not include the consumable chip identity information corresponding to the consumable chip and the first intimacy information corresponding to the consumable chip identity information; if the consumable chip is not used for the first time, the lookup table usually includes the consumable chip identity information corresponding to the consumable chip and the first intimacy information corresponding to the consumable chip identity information.

Specifically, if the image forming apparatus determines that the preset lookup table includes the consumable chip identity information, the process proceeds to step S1102 ; if the image forming apparatus determines that the preset lookup table does not include the consumable chip identity information, the process proceeds to step S1103 .

Step S1102: If included, the image forming apparatus determines that the first intimacy information corresponding to the identity information of the consumable chip in the lookup table is the first intimacy information.

It is understandable that if the lookup table contains the consumable chip identity information, the first intimacy information corresponding to the consumable chip identity information can be determined in the lookup table based on the consumable chip identity information. For example, if the consumable chip identity information obtained by the image forming device is "ABCD1234567890-AF1", then according to Table 2, it can be determined that the first intimacy information corresponding to the consumable chip identity information is 80; if the consumable chip identity information obtained by the image forming device is "EFGH4567891234-AF1", then according to Table 2, it can be determined that the first intimacy information corresponding to the consumable chip identity information is 30.

Step S1103: If not included, the image forming apparatus sends an intimacy setting instruction to the consumable chip to instruct the consumable chip to set the second intimacy information to an initial value.

In an embodiment of the present application, if the image forming device determines that the preset lookup table does not contain the identity information of the consumable chip, indicating that the consumable chip is used for the first time, it is necessary to set the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information of the consumable chip, and then send an intimacy setting instruction to the consumable chip to instruct the consumable chip to set the second intimacy information to an initial value. Exemplarily, the consumable chip identity information obtained by the image forming device is "IGKL0987654321-AF1". Since the consumable chip identity information does not exist in the lookup table shown in Table 2, it is necessary to send an intimacy setting instruction to the consumable chip to instruct the consumable chip to set the second intimacy information to an initial value.

In one possible implementation, the initial value corresponding to the second intimacy information is set to the intimacy information corresponding to a lower degree of trust. That is, the uncertain consumable chip is defaulted to an unsafe chip and is given the lowest degree of trust. It can be understood that this setting method can better ensure the communication security between the image forming device and the consumable chip. Exemplarily, assuming that the intimacy information is positively correlated with the degree of trust, the value range of the intimacy information is 0-150. The initial value corresponding to the second intimacy information can be set to any value between 0-10, that is, the initial value corresponding to the second intimacy information is set to the intimacy information corresponding to a lower degree of trust.

In one possible implementation, the initial value corresponding to the second intimacy information is set to the intimacy information corresponding to a higher degree of trust. That is to say, the uncertain consumable chip is defaulted to a safe chip and is given the highest degree of trust. It can be understood that this setting method can better shorten the time of the authentication procedure. Exemplarily, assuming that the intimacy information is positively correlated with the degree of trust, the value range of the intimacy information is 0-150. The initial value corresponding to the second intimacy information can be set to any value between 100-150, that is, the initial value corresponding to the second intimacy information is set to the intimacy information corresponding to a higher degree of trust.

In one possible implementation, the initial value corresponding to the second intimacy information is set to the intimacy information corresponding to the medium trust. That is to say, a neutral attitude is taken towards the uncertain consumable chip, and a medium trust is given. It can be understood that this setting method compromises "communication security between the image forming device and the consumable chip" and "shortening the time of the authentication procedure." Exemplarily, assuming that the intimacy information is positively correlated with the trust, the value range of the intimacy information is 0-150. The initial value corresponding to the second intimacy information can be set to any value between 70-99, that is, the initial value corresponding to the second intimacy information is set to the intimacy information corresponding to the medium trust.

It should be noted that, since different application scenarios have different requirements for communication security and device response speed, technical personnel in this field can choose to set the initial value corresponding to the second intimacy information to intimacy information corresponding to a lower trust level, intimacy information corresponding to a higher trust level, or intimacy information corresponding to a medium trust level according to the needs of the actual application scenario. The embodiments of the present application do not impose specific restrictions on this.

Step S505: the consumable chip sends the reset second intimacy information to the image forming device.

Step S1104: The image forming apparatus determines whether the consumable chip has correctly executed the intimacy setting instruction.

Specifically, after setting the second intimacy information to the initial value, the consumable chip can send the set second intimacy information to the image forming device, so that the image forming device can determine whether the consumable chip has correctly executed the intimacy setting instruction based on the set second intimacy information.

Exemplarily, the intimacy setting instruction indicates that the second intimacy information is set to 0. If the second intimacy information after setting sent by the consumable chip and received by the image forming apparatus is 0, it is determined that the consumable chip correctly performs the setting operation of the second intimacy information; if the image forming apparatus receives the second intimacy information sent by the consumable chip after setting is not 0, it is determined that the consumable chip does not correctly perform the setting operation of the second intimacy information.

Step S1105: If the image forming apparatus determines that the consumable chip has correctly executed the intimacy setting instruction, the first intimacy information is determined to be an initial value.

Furthermore, if it is determined that the consumable chip correctly performs the setting operation of the second intimacy information, the first intimacy information is set to the initial value corresponding to the first intimacy information. Typically, the initial value corresponding to the first intimacy information and the initial value corresponding to the second intimacy information are the same, so that the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information are adjusted to a matching state.

If it is determined that the consumable chip has not correctly performed the second intimacy information setting operation, then return to step S1103 to re-determine whether to execute the procedure for setting the second intimacy information to the initial value. It can be understood that if the second intimacy information fails to be set multiple times, resulting in the second intimacy information being set to the initial value for a number of times greater than or equal to the number threshold, an error prompt message is output.

Furthermore, after the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information are set, the consumable chip identity information, the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information can be stored in the lookup table. Exemplarily, the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information corresponding to the consumable chip identity information "IGKL0987654321-AF1" are stored in the lookup table shown in Table 3, and the new lookup table obtained is shown in Table 4.

Table 4:

Consumable chip identity information First intimacy information Second intimacy information ABCD1234567890-AF1 80 85 EFGH4567891234-AF1 30 30 IGKL0987654321-AF1 0 0

Corresponding to the above embodiment, the embodiment of the present application also provides a consumable chip.

See FIG. 12, which is a block diagram of a consumable chip provided in an embodiment of the present application. The consumable chip can be installed on a consumable, and the consumable can be detachably installed on an image forming device. As shown in FIG. 12, the consumable chip includes a first control unit, which is used to: obtain first intimacy information sent by the aforementioned image forming device, and the aforementioned first intimacy information is used to represent the trust of the aforementioned image forming device in the aforementioned consumable chip;

Acquire second intimacy information, the second intimacy information being used as a matching verification benchmark with the first intimacy information;

Outputting an intimacy verification result according to the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information;

Among them, the aforementioned intimacy verification result is related to the authentication process of the image forming device to the aforementioned consumable chip.

In a possible implementation, the degree of trust corresponding to the aforementioned first intimacy information is negatively correlated with the duration of the aforementioned authentication process.

In a possible implementation manner, the first control unit is used to:

Comparing the first intimacy information with the second intimacy information to obtain the intimacy verification result;

When the error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information is within a preset range, outputting a first intimacy verification result;

When the error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information is not within a preset range, a second intimacy verification result is output.

In a possible implementation manner, the first control unit is used to:

If there is an error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information and the error is within a preset range, and the trust level corresponding to the first intimacy is lower than the trust level corresponding to the second intimacy information, the second intimacy information is updated based on the first intimacy information.

In a possible implementation manner, the first control unit is used to:

If there is an error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information and the error is within a preset range, and the trust level corresponding to the second intimacy is lower than the trust level corresponding to the first intimacy information, the second intimacy information is output so that the image forming device updates the first intimacy information based on the second intimacy information.

In one possible implementation,

The aforementioned second intimacy verification result is used to determine whether to reset the aforementioned second intimacy information.

In a possible implementation manner, the first control unit is used to:

According to the intimacy reset command sent by the image forming device, intimacy information corresponding to the intimacy reset command is output.

In a possible implementation manner, the first control unit is used to:

When the first preset event occurs, the second intimacy information is updated according to the trend of increasing trust;

When the second preset event occurs, the second intimacy information is updated according to the decreasing trend of trust.

In a possible implementation manner, the first control unit is used to:

According to the data synchronization information sent by the image forming device, update data corresponding to the data synchronization information is output, and the update data is used to trigger the first preset event or the second preset event.

In a possible implementation manner, the first control unit is used to:

If the first indication information is received, the second intimacy information is updated according to the trend of increasing trust, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate that the consumable chip has correctly updated the data to be synchronized;

If the second indication information is received, the second intimacy information is updated according to the decreasing trend of trust, and the second indication information is used to indicate that the consumable chip has not correctly updated the data to be synchronized.

In a possible implementation manner, the first control unit is used to:

The updated second intimacy information is output, and the updated second intimacy information is used to determine whether the consumable chip correctly updates the second intimacy information.

In a possible implementation, the first control unit is used to set the second intimacy information according to an intimacy setting instruction sent by the image forming device.

In a possible implementation manner, the first control unit is used to:

The second intimacy information after setting is output, and the second intimacy information after setting is used to confirm whether the second intimacy information is correctly set in the consumable chip.

In a possible implementation manner, the first control unit is used to:

Obtain the aforementioned second intimate information from the first preset storage device, or obtain the associated information of the aforementioned second intimate information in the first preset storage device;

Wherein, the first preset storage device is a storage device inside the consumable chip, or the first preset storage device is an external storage device electrically connected to the consumable chip.

It should be pointed out that the specific contents involved in the embodiments of the present application can be found in the description of the above method embodiments, and for the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

The present application also provides a control device, including:

A first acquisition unit, configured to acquire first intimacy information sent by the image forming device, wherein the first intimacy information is used to represent the trust of the image forming device in the consumable chip;

A second acquisition unit, used to acquire second intimacy information, the second intimacy information being used as a matching verification benchmark with the first intimacy information;

An intimacy verification unit, configured to obtain an intimacy verification result according to the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information;

An output unit, used to output the aforementioned intimacy verification result;

Among them, the aforementioned intimacy verification result is related to the authentication process of the image forming device to the aforementioned consumable chip.

In a possible implementation, the degree of trust corresponding to the aforementioned first intimacy information is negatively correlated with the duration of the aforementioned authentication process.

In a possible implementation, the output unit is specifically used to:

When the error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information is within a preset range, a first intimacy verification result is obtained;

When the error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information is not within a preset range, a second intimacy verification result is obtained.

In a possible implementation, the control device further includes:

The first updating unit is used to update the second intimacy information based on the first intimacy information if there is an error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information and the error is within a preset range, and the trust level corresponding to the first intimacy is lower than the trust level corresponding to the second intimacy information.

In a possible implementation, the output unit is further used to:

If there is an error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information and the error is within a preset range, and the trust level corresponding to the second intimacy is lower than the trust level corresponding to the first intimacy information, the second intimacy information is output so that the image forming device updates the first intimacy information based on the second intimacy information.

In one possible implementation, the second intimacy verification result is used to determine whether to reset the second intimacy information.

In a possible implementation, the output unit is further used to:

According to the intimacy reset command sent by the image forming device, intimacy information corresponding to the intimacy reset command is output.

In a possible implementation, the control device further includes:

A second updating unit, configured to update the second intimacy information according to a trend of increasing trust when a first preset event occurs;

The third updating unit is used to update the second intimacy information according to the decreasing trend of trust when the second preset event occurs.

In a possible implementation, the aforementioned control device is used to:

According to the data synchronization information sent by the image forming device, the update data corresponding to the data synchronization information is output through the output unit, and the update data is used to trigger the first preset event or the second preset event.

In one possible implementation,

The second updating unit is specifically configured to update the second intimacy information according to the trend of increasing trust if the control device receives the first indication information, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate that the control device has correctly updated the data to be synchronized;

The third updating unit is specifically used to update the second intimacy information according to the decreasing trend of trust if the control device receives the second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate that the control device has not correctly updated the data to be synchronized.

In a possible implementation, the output unit is further used to:

The updated second intimacy information is outputted, and the updated second intimacy information is used to determine whether the control device correctly updates the second intimacy information.

In a possible implementation, the control device further includes:

A setting unit is used to set the second intimacy information according to the intimacy setting instruction sent by the image forming device.

In a possible implementation, the output unit is further used to:

The second intimacy information after setting is output, and the second intimacy information after setting is used to confirm whether the control device correctly sets the second intimacy information.

In a possible implementation, the second acquisition unit is specifically configured to acquire the second intimate information from the first preset storage device, or acquire associated information of the second intimate information from the first preset storage device;

Wherein, the first preset storage device is a storage device inside the consumable chip, or the first preset storage device is an external storage device electrically connected to the consumable chip.

Specifically, in the embodiments of the present application, the aforementioned first acquisition unit, second acquisition unit, intimacy verification unit, output unit, first update unit, second update unit, third update unit, and setting unit may be implemented in software or in hardware, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

For example, the aforementioned intimacy verification unit is implemented by hardware, for example, including an input unit, a logic comparison circuit, and an output unit, wherein the logic comparison circuit can be composed of logic units such as an AND gate circuit, an OR gate circuit, a NOT gate circuit, a trigger, and the like.

The aforementioned first acquisition unit, second acquisition unit, output unit, first update unit, second update unit, third update unit, and setting unit can be circuit units including devices such as FPGA, MCU, DSP, etc. The sending unit can also realize the function by building a specific waveform generator circuit, and the acquisition unit and the determination unit can also realize the corresponding functions by building a digital logic calculator. This application does not further limit the specific implementation form of each unit.

In one possible implementation, at least one of the first acquisition unit, the second acquisition unit, the intimacy verification unit, the output unit, the first update unit, the second update unit, the third update unit, and the setting unit can be an external module electrically connected to the consumable chip outside the consumable chip, that is, the aforementioned consumables include a consumable chip and an external module electrically connected to the consumable chip.

In one possible implementation, the first acquisition unit, the second acquisition unit, the intimacy verification unit, the output unit, the first update unit, the second update unit, the third update unit and the setting unit are not other units of an external module electrically connected to the consumable chip outside the consumable chip, but are directly included in the consumable chip.

In one possible implementation, the aforementioned first acquisition unit, second acquisition unit, intimacy verification unit, output unit, first update unit, second update unit, third update unit, and setting unit are included in a first control unit in the consumable chip.

Corresponding to the above embodiment, the embodiment of the present application also provides a consumable.

A schematic diagram of the structure of a consumable provided in an embodiment of the present application. The consumable comprises a housing; a developer containing portion located in the housing and used to contain the developer; and the control device described in the above embodiment.

Furthermore, the consumables also include a developer conveying element for conveying the developer.

Furthermore, the consumables also include a photosensitive drum; and a charging roller for charging the photosensitive drum.

In a possible implementation, the consumables also include a photosensitive drum; a charging roller for charging the photosensitive drum; and the aforementioned control device in the above embodiment.

It should be pointed out that the specific content of the control device can be found in the description of the above embodiment, and for the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

See Figure 13, which is a structural block diagram of an image forming device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 13, the image forming device includes a second controller, which is configured to execute part or all of the method executed by the image forming device in the above method embodiment.

It should be pointed out that the specific contents involved in the embodiments of the present application can be found in the description of the above method embodiments, and for the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

Corresponding to the above embodiment, the embodiment of the present application also provides a consumable.

See Figure 14, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of a consumable provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 14, the consumable includes a housing; a developer containing portion located in the housing for containing the developer; and the consumable chip mentioned in the above embodiment.

Referring to Fig. 15, it is a schematic diagram of the structure of another consumable provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Fig. 15, the consumable further includes a developer conveying element for conveying developer based on the embodiment shown in Fig. 14.

See Figure 16, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of another consumable provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 16, the consumable further includes a photosensitive drum and a charging roller for charging the photosensitive drum based on the embodiment shown in Figure 15.

Refer to Figure 17, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of another consumable provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 17, the consumable includes a photosensitive drum; a charging roller for charging the photosensitive drum; and the consumable chip mentioned in the above embodiment.

It should be pointed out that the specific contents of the consumable chips in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 14 to 17 can be found in the description of the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

Corresponding to the above-mentioned embodiment, the embodiment of the present application further provides an image forming system, which includes the consumables and image forming device mentioned above in the above-mentioned embodiment, wherein the image forming device and the consumable chip are communicatively connected.

It should be pointed out that the specific contents involved in the embodiments of the present application can be found in the description of the above embodiments, and for the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

Corresponding to the above embodiment, the embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium may store a program, wherein when the program is running, the device where the computer-readable storage medium is located may be controlled to perform some or all of the steps in the above method embodiment. In a specific implementation, the computer-readable storage medium may be a disk, an optical disk, a read-only memory (ROM) or a random access memory (RAM).

Corresponding to the above-mentioned embodiment, the embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes executable instructions. When the executable instructions are executed on a computer, the computer executes some or all of the steps in the above-mentioned method embodiment.

In the embodiments of the present application, "at least one" refers to one or more, and "more than one" refers to two or more. "And/or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and/or B can represent the existence of A alone, the existence of A and B at the same time, and the existence of B alone. Among them, A and B can be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates that the previous and subsequent associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" and similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b and c can be represented by: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various units and algorithm steps described in the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in a combination of electronic hardware, computer software, and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

In several embodiments provided in the present application, if any function is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art or the part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including a number of instructions to enable a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (read-only memory, referred to as ROM), random access memory (random access memory, referred to as RAM), disk or optical disk and other media that can store program codes.

The above is only a specific implementation of the present application. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be included in the protection scope of the present application. The protection scope of the present application should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims (38)

1. An authentication method, comprising: Acquire first intimacy information sent by the image forming device, where the first intimacy information is used to represent the trust of the image forming device in the consumable chip; Acquire second intimacy information, where the second intimacy information is used as a verification benchmark for the first intimacy information; Outputting an intimacy verification result according to the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information; The intimacy verification result is related to the authentication process of the consumable chip by the image forming device. 2. The authentication method according to claim 1 is characterized in that the trust level corresponding to the first intimacy information is negatively correlated with the duration of the authentication process. 3. The authentication method according to claim 1, wherein the step of outputting the intimacy verification result according to the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information comprises: Comparing the first intimacy information with the second intimacy information to obtain the intimacy verification result; When the error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information is within a preset range, outputting a first intimacy verification result; When the error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information is not within a preset range, a second intimacy verification result is output. 4. The authentication method according to claim 3, wherein when the error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information is within a preset range, outputting the first intimacy verification result comprises: If there is an error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information and the error is within a preset range, and the trust level corresponding to the first intimacy is lower than the trust level corresponding to the second intimacy information, the second intimacy information is updated based on the first intimacy information. 5. The authentication method according to claim 3, wherein when the error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information is within a preset range, outputting the first intimacy verification result further comprises: If there is an error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information and the error is within a preset range, and the trust level corresponding to the second intimacy is lower than the trust level corresponding to the first intimacy information, the second intimacy information is output so that the image forming device updates the first intimacy information based on the second intimacy information. 6. The authentication method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The second intimacy verification result is used to determine whether the image forming device resets the second intimacy information. 7. The authentication method according to claim 1, characterized in that the authentication method further comprises: According to the intimacy reset command sent by the image forming apparatus, intimacy information corresponding to the intimacy reset command is output. 8. The authentication method according to claim 1, characterized in that the authentication method further comprises: When a first preset event occurs, updating the second intimacy information according to a trend of increasing trust; When a second preset event occurs, the second intimacy information is updated according to a decreasing trend of trust. 9. The authentication method according to claim 8, characterized in that the authentication method further comprises: According to the data synchronization information sent by the image forming device, update data corresponding to the data synchronization information is output, and the update data is used to trigger the first preset event or the second preset event. 10. The authentication method according to claim 9, characterized in that the authentication method further comprises: If the first indication information is received, the second intimacy information is updated according to the trend of increasing trust, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate that the data to be synchronized has been correctly updated; If the second indication information is received, the second intimacy information is updated according to the decreasing trend of the trust, and the second indication information is used to indicate that the data to be synchronized is not correctly updated. 11. The authentication method according to any one of claims 4 or 8, characterized in that the authentication method further comprises: The updated second intimacy information is output, and the updated second intimacy information is used to determine whether the second intimacy information is correctly updated. 12. The authentication method according to claim 1, characterized in that the authentication method further comprises: The second intimacy information is set according to an intimacy setting instruction sent by the image forming device. 13. The authentication method according to claim 12, characterized in that the authentication method further comprises: The second intimacy information after setting is output, and the second intimacy information after setting is used to confirm whether the second intimacy information is set correctly. 14. A control device, comprising: A first acquisition unit, configured to acquire first intimacy information sent by the image forming device, wherein the first intimacy information is used to represent the trust of the image forming device in the consumable chip; A second acquiring unit, configured to acquire second intimacy information, wherein the second intimacy information is used as a verification reference for the control device to verify the first intimacy information; an intimacy verification unit, configured to obtain an intimacy verification result according to the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information; An output unit, used to output the intimacy verification result; The intimacy verification result is related to the authentication process of the consumable chip by the image forming device. 15. The control device according to claim 14 is characterized in that the trust level corresponding to the first intimacy information is negatively correlated with the duration of the authentication process. 16. The control device according to claim 14, characterized in that the output unit is specifically used for: When the error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information is within a preset range, a first intimacy verification result is obtained; When the error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information is not within a preset range, a second intimacy verification result is obtained. 17. The control device according to claim 16, characterized in that the control device further comprises: The first updating unit is used to update the second intimacy information based on the first intimacy information if there is an error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information and the error is within a preset range, and the trust level corresponding to the first intimacy is lower than the trust level corresponding to the second intimacy information. 18. The control device according to claim 16, characterized in that the output unit is further used for: If there is an error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information and the error is within a preset range, and the trust level corresponding to the second intimacy is lower than the trust level corresponding to the first intimacy information, the second intimacy information is output so that the image forming device updates the first intimacy information based on the second intimacy information. 19. The control device according to claim 16, characterized in that: The second intimacy verification result is used to determine whether the image forming device resets the second intimacy information. 20. The control device according to claim 14, characterized in that the output unit is further used for: According to the intimacy reset command sent by the image forming apparatus, intimacy information corresponding to the intimacy reset command is output. 21. The control device according to claim 14, characterized in that the control device further comprises: A second updating unit, configured to update the second intimacy information according to a trend of increasing trust when a first preset event occurs; The third updating unit is used to update the second intimacy information according to a decreasing trend of trust when a second preset event occurs. 22. The control device according to claim 21, characterized in that the control device is used for: According to the data synchronization information sent by the image forming device, update data corresponding to the data synchronization information is output through the output unit, and the update data is used to trigger the first preset event or the second preset event. 23. The control device according to claim 22, characterized in that The second updating unit is specifically configured to update the second intimacy information according to a trend of increasing trust if the control device receives the first indication information, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate that the control device has correctly updated the data to be synchronized; The second updating unit is specifically used to update the second intimacy information according to a decreasing trend of trust if the control device receives second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate that the control device has not correctly updated the data to be synchronized. 24. The control device according to any one of claims 17 or 21, characterized in that the output unit is further used for: The updated second intimacy information is output, and the updated second intimacy information is used to determine whether the control device correctly updates the second intimacy information. 25. The control device according to claim 14, characterized in that the control device further comprises: A setting unit is used to set the second intimacy information according to the intimacy setting instruction sent by the image forming device. 26. The control device according to claim 25, characterized in that the output unit is further used for: The second intimacy information after setting is output, and the second intimacy information after setting is used to confirm whether the control device correctly sets the second intimacy information. 27. An authentication method, applied to an image forming device, wherein a consumable is installed on the image forming device, and a consumable chip is detachably installed on the consumable, characterized in that it comprises: Sending first intimacy information to the consumable chip so that the consumable chip outputs an intimacy verification result, wherein the first intimacy information is used to represent the trust of the image forming device in the consumable chip; Obtaining the intimacy verification result output by the consumable chip; If the acquired intimacy verification result includes a first verification result, it is determined whether to execute an authentication process matching the first intimacy information based on the first verification result, and the first verification result is used to characterize that the error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information is within a preset range. 28. The authentication method according to claim 27, further comprising: If the second intimacy information sent by the consumable chip is received, the first intimacy information is updated according to the second intimacy information. 29. The authentication method according to claim 27, further comprising: If the received intimacy verification result includes a second verification result, it is determined whether the second intimacy information needs to be reset to an initial value based on the second verification result, and the second verification result is used to characterize that the error between the first intimacy information and the second intimacy information exceeds a preset range. 30. The authentication method according to claim 29, characterized in that the authentication method further comprises: If it is determined that the second intimacy information needs to be reset to an initial value, sending an intimacy reset command to the consumable chip; The reset second intimacy information is obtained from the consumable chip, and it is determined whether the consumable chip correctly performs the reset operation of the second intimacy information according to the reset intimacy information. 31. The authentication method according to claim 27, characterized in that the authentication method further comprises: When a third preset event occurs, updating the first intimacy information according to a trend of increasing trust; When a fourth preset event occurs, the first intimacy information is updated according to a decreasing trend of trust. 32. The authentication method according to claim 31, further comprising: Sending data synchronization information to the consumable chip; Obtaining updated data of the consumable chip; Determining, based on the updated data, whether the consumable chip correctly updates the data to be synchronized; When the third preset event occurs, updating the first intimacy information according to the trend of increasing trust includes: If it is determined that the consumable chip has correctly updated the data to be synchronized, sending first indication information to the consumable chip, wherein the first indication information is used to instruct the consumable chip to update the second intimacy information according to a trend of increasing trust; Determining whether the consumable chip has correctly updated the second intimacy information; If the consumable chip has correctly updated the second intimacy information, then updating the first intimacy information according to the trend of increasing trust; When the fourth preset event occurs, updating the first intimacy information according to the decreasing trend of trust includes: If the consumable chip fails to correctly update the data to be synchronized, sending second indication information to the consumable chip, wherein the second indication information is used to instruct the consumable chip to update the second intimacy information according to a decreasing trust trend; Determining whether the consumable chip has correctly updated the second intimacy information; If the consumable chip has correctly updated the second intimacy information, the first intimacy information is updated according to a decreasing trend of trust. 33. The authentication method according to claim 27, characterized in that before sending the first intimacy information to the consumable chip, it comprises: Obtain the identity information of the consumable chip; According to the consumable chip identity information, determining whether a preset lookup table contains the consumable chip identity information, the lookup table being used to store an association relationship between the consumable chip identity information and the first intimacy information; If included, determining that the first intimacy information corresponding to the identity information of the consumable chip in the lookup table is the first intimacy information; If not included, sending an intimacy setting instruction to the consumable chip to instruct the consumable chip to set the second intimacy information to an initial value; Determining whether the consumable chip has correctly executed the intimacy setting instruction; If the consumable chip has correctly executed the intimacy setting instruction, the first intimacy information is determined to be an initial value. 34. An image forming device, comprising: A second controller, wherein the second controller is configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 27 to 33. 35. A consumable material, comprising: case; a developer containing portion, located in the housing, for containing the developer; and A control device as claimed in any one of claims 14 to 26. 36. The consumable material according to claim 35, characterized in that the consumable material further comprises: The developer conveying element is used for conveying the developer. 37. The consumable material according to claim 36, characterized in that the consumable material further comprises: Photosensitive drum; A charging roller is used for charging the photosensitive drum. 38. A consumable, characterized in that the consumable further comprises: Photosensitive drum; a charging roller for charging the photosensitive drum; and A control device as claimed in any one of claims 14 to 26.