U.S. patent application number 14/414348 was filed with the patent office on 2015-10-29 for a method for authenticating a timepiece.
This patent application is currently assigned to SICPA HOLDING SA. The applicant listed for this patent is SICPA HOLDING SA. Invention is credited to Yves BERTHIER, Andrea CALLEGARI, Eric DECOUX, Lorenzo SIRIGU.
Application Number | 20150309478 14/414348 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 49912778 |
Filed Date | 2015-10-29 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150309478 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
DECOUX; Eric ; et
al. |
October 29, 2015 |
A METHOD FOR AUTHENTICATING A TIMEPIECE
Abstract
A method of authenticating a timepiece, such as a watch,
comprising at least two procedures. A procedure may comprise
analysing vibrations of the timepiece. A procedure may comprise
analysing characteristics of a gemstone or gemstones of the
timepiece. A procedure may comprise comparing measured or detected
characteristics with reference information for the timepiece, and
authenticating the timepiece based on the results of the
comparison.
Inventors: |
DECOUX; Eric; (Vevey,
CH) ; SIRIGU; Lorenzo; (Lausanne, CH) ;
CALLEGARI; Andrea; (Chavannes-pres-Renens, CH) ;
BERTHIER; Yves; (Metabief, FR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
SICPA HOLDING SA |
Prilly |
|
CH |
|
|
Assignee: |
SICPA HOLDING SA
Prilly
CH
|
Family ID: |
49912778 |
Appl. No.: |
14/414348 |
Filed: |
July 12, 2013 |
PCT Filed: |
July 12, 2013 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP2013/064865 |
371 Date: |
January 12, 2015 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61739392 |
Dec 19, 2012 |
|
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|
61739381 |
Dec 19, 2012 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
73/648 ;
356/30 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G04D 7/1214 20130101;
G04D 7/005 20130101; G01M 7/00 20130101; G04D 7/004 20130101; G04D
7/002 20130101; G01N 21/87 20130101; G04D 7/001 20130101; G04D
7/1228 20130101; G04B 47/042 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G04D 7/12 20060101
G04D007/12; G01N 21/87 20060101 G01N021/87; G04D 7/00 20060101
G04D007/00; G04B 47/04 20060101 G04B047/04; G01M 7/00 20060101
G01M007/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 13, 2012 |
EP |
12005180.0 |
Jul 13, 2012 |
EP |
12005181.8 |
Claims
1.-73. (canceled)
74. A method of authenticating a timepiece comprising at least two
of the following procedures: (i) measuring acoustic vibrations
emitted by said timepiece to obtain an electrical signal, said
electrical signal indicating a variation of a magnitude of said
measured acoustic vibrations as a function of time, wherein said
electrical signal comprises a plurality of acoustic events (1,2)
associated with mechanical shocks taking place in said timepiece,
extracting in said electrical signal or in a representation of said
electrical signal in a time, frequency or time-frequency domain at
least one of a magnitude information on a magnitude of one of said
plurality of acoustic events, a time information on said one of
said plurality of acoustic events and a frequency information on a
frequency of said one of said plurality of acoustic events,
comparing said extracted at least one of a magnitude information,
time information and frequency information with at least one of a
reference magnitude information, reference time information and
reference frequency information, and deriving an information on an
authenticity of said timepiece based on the comparison result; (ii)
measuring acoustic vibrations emitted by said timepiece to obtain
an electrical signal, said electrical signal indicating a variation
of a magnitude of said measured acoustic vibrations as a function
of time, wherein said electrical signal comprises a plurality of
acoustic events associated with mechanical shocks taking place in
said timepiece, said acoustic events being separated from each
other by a respective quiet zone, processing said electrical signal
so as to attenuate said plurality of acoustic events in said
electrical signal, performing a transform of said processed
electrical signal into a frequency domain to obtain a
frequency-domain power spectrum indicating a variation of a power
of said processed electrical signal as a function of frequency,
processing said frequency-domain power spectrum so as to reveal at
least one narrow peak in said frequency-domain power spectrum
corresponding to at least one resonance frequency of a mechanical
part of said timepiece resonating in a quiet zone, extracting said
at least one resonance frequency corresponding to said at least one
narrow peak, comparing said extracted at least one resonance
frequency with at least one reference resonance frequency, and
deriving an information on an authenticity of said timepiece based
on the comparison result; (iii) wherein the timepiece comprises at
least one gemstone (1420, 1505, 1510, 1515, 1520, 1530, 1535, 3105)
and wherein the procedure comprises: determining one or more
characteristics of the at least one gemstone (1420, 1505, 1510,
1515, 1520, 1530, 1535, 3105); creating an identifier for the
timepiece in dependence upon at least one of the one or more
characteristics of the at least one gemstone (1420, 1505, 1510,
1515, 1520, 1530, 1535, 3105); and comparing the created identifier
with one or more stored identifiers to determine whether the
timepiece is authentic or a counterfeit; and (iv) applying at least
one excitation to the timepiece using an apparatus to generate a
vibration of the timepiece; and detecting the vibration of the
timepiece resulting from the excitation for determining the
authenticity of the timepiece.
75. The method according to claim 74, wherein said extracting step
of procedure (i) comprises extracting, in a time sequence of said
electrical signal corresponding to one of said plurality of
acoustic events, a time delay information on a time delay between a
first acoustic sub-event of said one of said plurality of acoustic
events and a second acoustic sub-event of said one of said
plurality of acoustic events.
76. The method according to claim 74, wherein procedure (i) further
comprises performing a transform of said electrical signal into a
frequency domain to obtain a frequency-domain power spectrum
indicating a variation of a power of said electrical signal as a
function of frequency, wherein said extracting step comprises
extracting at least one frequency information on a frequency
associated with a peak of said frequency-domain power spectrum.
77. The method according to claim 74, wherein, in procedure (ii),
said processing said electrical signal so as to attenuate said
plurality of events in said electrical signal comprises the
following steps: sampling said electrical signal (S), calculating
an envelope (E) of said sampled electrical signal (S) by averaging
an absolute value of a plurality of samples, and calculating a
ratio of said sampled electrical signal (S) divided by said
calculated envelope (E) of said sampled electrical signal (S).
78. The method according to claim 74, wherein procedure (ii)
further comprises introducing a resonator into said timepiece, said
resonator having predetermined resonance frequency characteristics,
wherein said comparing step comprises comparing said extracted at
least one resonance frequency with said predetermined resonance
frequency characteristics to derive an information on an
authenticity of said timepiece and preferably further comprising
encoding said predetermined resonance frequency characteristics to
create a unique identifier for said timepiece having said resonator
introduced therein.
79. The method according to claim 74, wherein procedure (iii)
further comprises detecting (2015, 2115) a relative position of the
at least one gemstone in the timepiece, wherein the identifier for
the timepiece is created in dependence upon at least one of the one
or more characteristics of the at least one gemstone and the
respective relative position of the at least one gemstone.
80. The method of claim 74, wherein, in procedure (iii), the one or
more characteristics comprise luminescent properties and/or an
orientation of the at least one gemstone.
81. The method according to claim 74, wherein procedure (iv),
further comprises analyzing the detected vibration to determine the
authenticity of the timepiece.
82. The method of claim 81, wherein analyzing the detected
vibration in procedure (iv) comprises comparing the detected
vibration with reference information for determining the
authenticity of the timepiece and preferably wherein the reference
information comprises at least one of previously recorded data for
the timepiece and a model of the timepiece.
83. The method of claim 82, wherein procedure (iv) further
comprises determining the authenticity of the timepiece based on
the comparison.
84. The method according to claim 74, wherein, in procedure (iv)
the apparatus is an external apparatus (4115, 4283).
85. The method according to claim 74, wherein in procedure (iv) the
apparatus is an external apparatus (4115, 4283), and wherein the
step of applying at least one excitation to said timepiece
comprises applying an external vibration to the timepiece.
86. The method according to claim 85, wherein in procedure (iv),
applying an external vibration to the timepiece comprises applying
at least one of regular vibrations, sequential vibrations,
time-varied vibrations, intensity-varied vibrations, pulsed
vibrations, and a continuous vibration with discontinuous
frequencies to said timepiece.
87. The method according to claim 74, wherein the timepiece is a
watch.
88. A computer readable medium for storing instructions, which,
upon being executed by a processor of a computer device, cause the
processor to execute at least two of the following procedures: (a)
measuring acoustic vibrations emitted by a timepiece to obtain an
electrical signal, said electrical signal indicating a variation of
a magnitude of said measured acoustic vibrations as a function of
time, wherein said electrical signal comprises a plurality of
acoustic events (1, 2) associated with mechanical shocks taking
place in said timepiece, extracting in said electrical signal or in
a representation of said electrical signal in a time, frequency or
time-frequency domain at least one of a magnitude information on a
magnitude of one of said plurality of acoustic events, a time
information on said one of said plurality of acoustic events and a
frequency information on a frequency of said one of said plurality
of acoustic events, comparing said extracted at least one of a
magnitude information, time information and frequency information
with at least one of a reference magnitude information, reference
time information and reference frequency information, and deriving
an information on an authenticity of said timepiece based on the
comparison result; (b) measuring acoustic vibrations emitted by a
timepiece to obtain an electrical signal, said electrical signal
indicating a variation of a magnitude of said measured acoustic
vibrations as a function of time, wherein said electrical signal
comprises a plurality of acoustic events associated with mechanical
shocks taking place in said timepiece, said acoustic events being
separated from each other by a respective quiet zone, processing
said electrical signal so as to attenuate said plurality of
acoustic events in said electrical signal, performing a transform
of said processed electrical signal into a frequency domain to
obtain a frequency-domain power spectrum indicating a variation of
a power of said processed electrical signal as a function of
frequency, processing said frequency-domain power spectrum so as to
reveal at least one narrow peak in said frequency-domain power
spectrum corresponding to at least one resonance frequency of a
mechanical part of said timepiece resonating in a quiet zone,
extracting said at least one resonance frequency corresponding to
said at least one narrow peak, comparing said extracted at least
one resonance frequency with at least one reference resonance
frequency; and deriving an information on an authenticity of said
timepiece based on the comparison result; (c) determining one or
more characteristics of at least one gemstone (1420, 1505, 1510,
1515, 1520, 1530, 1535, 3105) of a timepiece; creating an
identifier for the timepiece in dependence upon at least one of the
one or more characteristics of the at least one gemstone (1420,
1505, 1510, 1515, 1520, 1530, 1535, 3105); and comparing the
created identifier with one or more stored identifiers to determine
whether the timepiece is authentic or a counterfeit; and (d)
applying at least one excitation to the timepiece using an
apparatus to generate a vibration of the timepiece; and detecting
the vibration of the timepiece resulting from the excitation for
determining the authenticity of the timepiece.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a method for authenticating
a timepiece, in particular a watch.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Counterfeit consumer goods, commonly called knock-offs, are
counterfeit or imitation products offered for sale. The spread of
counterfeit goods has become global in recent years and the range
of goods subject to infringement has increased significantly.
[0003] Expensive watches (and spare parts for watches) are
vulnerable to counterfeiting, and have been counterfeited for
decades. A counterfeit watch is an illegal copy of a part or all of
an authentic watch. According to estimates by the Swiss Customs
Service, there are some 30 to 40 million counterfeit watches put
into circulation each year. It is a common cliche that any visitor
to New York City will be approached on a street corner by a vendor
with a dozen such counterfeit watches inside his coat, offered at
bargain prices. Extremely authentic looking, but very poor quality
watches fakes with self-winding mechanisms and fully working
movements can sell for as little as twenty dollars. The problem is
becoming more and more serious, with the quality of the
counterfeits constantly increasing. For example, some fakes'
movements and materials are of remarkably passable quality and may
look good to the untrained eye and work well for some years, a
possible consequence of increasing competition within the
counterfeiting community. Counterfeit watches cause an estimated $1
Billion loss per year to the watch industry.
[0004] Authentication solutions that have been used for protection
of consumer goods from counterfeiting are often based on marking
the item with a specific material, code, or marking, engraving,
etc. However, these methods modify the nature and the appearance of
the object, and this is often not acceptable in the watch (and
other luxury items) industry, where the design of the object and
its visual appearance is of paramount importance. Also, these
methods require an active intervention at the time of manufacturing
and, correspondingly an important change of the production
process.
[0005] Counterfeiters often focus on the outer appearance of the
watch and fit a cheap movement inside, because the potential buyer
will focus more on the appearance of the piece, and because good
movements are expensive. Even when a good quality movement is used,
it is very difficult and expensive to make an exact copy and the
counterfeit will prefer to use one that is easier to get or to
manufacture. It is therefore desirable, to assess the authenticity
of a timepiece, to have as much information as possible not only on
its outer appearance but also on its inner content. It is
furthermore desirable not to have to open the piece, as the
operation requires specialized equipment and procedures, it may
have an impact on the performances of the piece (e.g. water
tightness), and may invalidate the manufacturer's warranty.
[0006] Another method for identification and/or authentication
involves tagging (e.g., a micro tag or RFID tag). The tagging
approach, however, requires intervention and may be impracticable.
Moreover, such an approach may not fulfill all of watchmakers needs
and constraints to protect against counterfeits. Stability and
durability of the marking or tag is also a problem, since the
lifetime of a timepiece is often measured in tens of years.
[0007] Therefore, there is a need for an improved watch
identification and authentication method that provides the
identification/authentication functionalities, while requiring
minimal or no intervention in the manufacturing process and/or
without any overt marking.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The present invention provides a method of authenticating a
timepiece, as defined in claim 1.
[0009] The method comprises at least two procedures and
advantageously provides a very strong way of testing the
authenticity of the timepiece. The method comprises at least two of
a first procedure (i), a second procedure (ii), a third procedure
(iii), and a fourth procedure (iv). Optional features of the
procedures are defined in the appended dependent claims. Any two of
the procedures may be part of the method, for example the third
procedure and the fourth procedure.
[0010] The method of authenticating the timepiece may comprise at
least three of the first procedure (i), the second procedure (ii),
the third procedure (iii) and the fourth procedure (iv). Any three
of the procedures may be part of the method, for example the second
procedure, the third procedure and the fourth procedure.
Advantageously, an even stronger method is provided for testing the
authenticity of the timepiece.
[0011] The method of authenticating the timepiece may comprise the
first procedure, the second procedure, the third procedure and the
fourth procedure. Advantageously, an even stronger method is
provided for testing the authenticity of the timepiece.
[0012] The procedures may be carried out in any order and are not
limited to the order in which they are presented in the description
or claims. For example, the method may comprise the second
procedure and the fourth procedure, wherein the fourth procedure is
carried out before the second procedure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0013] For a more complete understanding of the invention, as well
as other objects and further features thereof, reference may be had
to the following detailed description of the invention in
conjunction with the following exemplary and non-limiting drawings
wherein:
[0014] FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of an escapement in a
timepiece;
[0015] FIG. 2 is a representation of acoustic vibrations in a
timepiece as a function of time;
[0016] FIG. 3 is a close-up view on two events in the time sequence
represented in FIG. 2;
[0017] FIG. 4 is a close-up view on the first event represented in
FIG. 3;
[0018] FIG. 5 illustrates a first embodiment of a first procedure
for authenticating a timepiece according to the invention;
[0019] FIG. 6 illustrates a second embodiment of the first
procedure for authenticating a timepiece according to the
invention;
[0020] FIG. 7 illustrates a third embodiment of a first procedure
for authenticating a timepiece according to the invention;
[0021] FIG. 8 is a time-frequency representation of the acoustic
vibrations of a timepiece according to a first model;
[0022] FIG. 9 is a time-frequency representation of the acoustic
vibrations of a timepiece according to a second model;
[0023] FIG. 10 is a time-frequency representation of the acoustic
vibrations of a timepiece according to a third model;
[0024] FIG. 11 illustrates an embodiment of a second procedure for
authenticating a timepiece according to the invention;
[0025] FIG. 12 shows the respective frequency-domain power spectra
obtained for two timepieces from the same manufacturer and from the
same series;
[0026] FIG. 13 shows a close-up view on a part of the respective
frequency-domain power spectra obtained for two timepieces
represented in FIG. 12;
[0027] FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary cross section view of
components of a watch;
[0028] FIG. 15 illustrates an exemplary schematic view of a watch
showing jewels subject to illumination in accordance with aspects
of a third procedure for authenticating a timepiece;
[0029] FIG. 16 illustrates an overview of the jewel luminescence
measurement in accordance with the third procedure;
[0030] FIGS. 17-28 illustrate detection and measurements of the
luminescence of the jewels;
[0031] FIG. 29 illustrates exemplary camera measurement results in
accordance with aspects of the third procedure;
[0032] FIG. 30 illustrates views of an exemplary orientation
measurement in accordance with the third procedure;
[0033] FIGS. 31 and 32 illustrate exemplary results of an
orientation measurement in accordance with the third procedure;
[0034] FIG. 33 shows an illustrative environment 3300 for managing
the processes in accordance with the third procedure;
[0035] FIGS. 34 and 35 show exemplary flows for performing the
third procedure;
[0036] FIG. 36 shows an exemplary excitation signal in accordance
with a fourth procedure;
[0037] FIG. 37 shows an exemplary detected signal in accordance
with the fourth procedure;
[0038] FIG. 38 shows an exemplary detected signal and identifies a
background signal for subtraction in accordance with the fourth
procedure;
[0039] FIG. 39 shows a Fourier transform of select portions of the
signal represented in FIG. 38;
[0040] FIG. 40 shows a Fourier transform ratio of the Zone A
portion of the signal to the Zone B portion of the signal;
[0041] FIG. 41 shows an exemplary signal detection system in
accordance with the fourth procedure;
[0042] FIG. 42 shows an illustrative environment for managing the
processes in accordance with the fourth procedure; and
[0043] FIGS. 43 and 44 show exemplary flow diagrams for performing
the fourth procedure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0044] The method for identifying and/or authenticating a
timepiece, such as a watch, comprises at least two procedures in
combination. Described herein are four procedures which may be used
for this purpose. Each of the procedures is described below with
respect to the enclosed drawings. It is intended that a combination
of any two or more of these procedures be used to identify and/or
authenticate a timepiece. The procedures described below may be
carried out in any combination and in any order. The numbering of
the procedures described herein is intended for clarity of the
description only, and is not intended to imply a prescribed order
for carrying out the procedures.
[0045] A watch is a small timepiece, typically worn either on the
wrist or attached on a chain and carried in a pocket, with
wristwatches being the most common type of watch used today. A
mechanical watch is a watch that uses a mechanical mechanism to
measure the passage of time, as opposed to modern quartz watches
which function electronically.
[0046] The internal mechanism of a watch, excluding the face and
hands, is called the movement. The watch is driven by a spring
(called a mainspring), which is wound periodically to store
mechanical energy to power the watch. The mainspring's force is
transmitted through a series of gears (or gear train) to power the
balance wheel. The gear train has the dual function of transmitting
the force of the mainspring to the balance wheel and adding up the
swings of the balance wheel to get units of seconds, minutes, and
hours, etc. A separate part of the gear train, called the keyless
work, allows the user to wind the mainspring and enables the hands
to be moved to set the time.
[0047] The balance wheel is a weighted wheel that oscillates back
and forth at a constant rate. Each swing of the balance wheel takes
precisely the same amount of time. This is the timekeeping element
in the watch. An escapement mechanism has the dual function of
keeping the balance wheel vibrating by giving it a push with each
swing, and allowing the clock's gears to advance or `escape` by a
set amount with each swing, moving the watch's hands forward at a
constant rate. The periodic stopping of the gear train by the
escapement makes the `ticking` sound of the mechanical watch. An
indicating dial, usually a traditional clock face with rotating
hands, is used to display the time in human-readable form.
[0048] A timepiece, such as a watch, may comprise a mechanical
movement which produces a characteristic noise, which is commonly
referred to as tick-tock. This tick-tock sound, which is
characteristic of a timepiece, is due to the impacts happening
between the various mechanical pieces of the escapement of the
timepiece, which is a device transferring energy to the
time-keeping element, the so-called impulse action, and allowing
the number of its oscillations to be counted, the locking action.
The ticking sound is the sound of the gear train stopping at the
escapement locks.
[0049] FIG. 1 shows a representation of the main parts of an
escapement. An escapement comprises a balance wheel 11, a pallet
fork 12 and an escape wheel 13. The balance wheel 11 comprises an
impulse pin 14, which strikes against the pallet fork 12. Further,
the escape wheel 13 comprises teeth which strike an entry pallet
jewel 15 and an exit pallet jewel 16 of the pallet fork 12.
First Procedure
[0050] A first procedure for authenticating and/identifying a time
piece will be described in the following pages. The procedure
comprises measuring acoustic vibrations emitted by said timepiece
to obtain an electrical signal, said electrical signal indicating a
variation of a magnitude of said measured acoustic vibrations as a
function of time, wherein said electrical signal comprises a
plurality of acoustic events associated with mechanical shocks
taking place in said timepiece, extracting in said electrical
signal or in a representation of said electrical signal in a time,
frequency or time-frequency domain at least one of a magnitude
information on a magnitude of one of said plurality of acoustic
events, a time information on said one of said plurality of
acoustic events and a frequency information on a frequency of said
one of said plurality of acoustic events, comparing said extracted
at least one of a magnitude information, time information and
frequency information with at least one of a reference magnitude
information, reference time information and reference frequency
information, and deriving an information on an authenticity of said
timepiece based on the comparison result.
[0051] The extracting step may comprise separating a series of
consecutive events Ei with i=1 . . . n into different classes and
analyzing each class separately. As an example, one class may
correspond to odd events (i=1,3,5, . . . ) and another to even
events (i=2,4,6, . . . ), which amounts to separating ticks and
tocks. More generally, classes may contain events with the same
value of (i modulo p), where (i modulo p) is the remainder of
integer division of i by p and p is an integer number. For example,
when p is equal to twice the number of teeth of the escapement
wheel, each class contains the events (ticks or tocks) associated
with one specific escapement wheel tooth.
[0052] The procedure is not necessarily limited to the analysis of
ticks alone or tocks alone, it could also be a combination of tick
and tock thereof can be used.
[0053] According to an embodiment of a first procedure for
authenticating a timepiece, the acoustic vibrations of a timepiece
to be authenticated are measured, for instance using a microphone,
preferably a contact piezoelectric microphone. The acoustic
vibrations emitted by the timepiece are measured and an electrical
signal is obtained, which indicates a variation of the magnitude of
the measured acoustic vibrations as a function of time. Such an
electrical signal is represented in FIGS. 2 to 4.
[0054] FIG. 2 represents the acoustic vibrations emitted by a
timepiece as a function of time. The represented signal has a
frequency of 3 Hz, i.e. six beats take place every single second.
The signal alternates between tick events and tock events.
[0055] FIG. 3 represents a closer view on the start of the sequence
of tick events and tock events shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 shows a
first event 1 and a second event 2 of the sequence of ticks and
tocks of FIG. 2. The first event 1 spreads in a time range
comprised between about 0 and 15 ms, while the second event 2
spreads in a time range comprised between about 165 ms and 185 ms.
As can be seen from FIG. 3, each one of the first event 1 and
second event 2 is itself a sequence of several sub-events, which
are illustrated in more detail in FIG. 4.
[0056] FIG. 4 shows a close-up view on the first event 1 in the
representation of FIG. 3. The first event 1 comprises a first
sub-event 11, a second sub-event 12 and a third sub-event 13. The
first sub-event 11 takes place in a time range comprised between
about 0 and 3 ms, the second sub-event 12 takes place in a time
range comprised between about 3.5 ms and about 10.5 ms. The third
sub-event 13 takes place in a time range comprised between about
10.5 ms and about 18 ms. The first sub-event 11, second sub-event
12 and third sub-event 13 therefore make up the first event 1 shown
in FIG. 3, which corresponds to one acoustic event of the
timepiece.
[0057] FIG. 5 illustrates a first embodiment of a method for
authenticating a timepiece according to a first procedure. FIG. 5
is a representation of the instantaneous power of the acoustic
vibrations emitted by a timepiece to be authenticated as a function
of time. According to a first procedure for authenticating a
timepiece, the acoustic vibrations emitted by the timepiece may be
measured and an electrical signal may be obtained. The electrical
signal indicates a variation of the magnitude of the measured
acoustic vibrations as a function of time. In the an embodiment of
the first procedure illustrated with respect to FIG. 5, this
electrical signal may be the representation of the instantaneous
power of the acoustic vibrations as a function of time.
[0058] According to the first embodiment of the first procedure, an
amplitude information of one or more events of a series of events
may be extracted from the representation of the instantaneous power
of the measured acoustic vibrations. In particular, an amplitude of
a sub-event within one event is extracted. The extracted amplitude
information could be peak amplitude or average amplitude. The
extracted amplitude information is preferably a relative amplitude,
since it depends on how the signal has been normalized.
[0059] FIG. 5 shows a first sub-event 101 and a second sub-event
102. The first sub-event 101 takes place in a time range comprised
between about 3.5 ms and 4.5 ms, while the second sub-event 102
takes place in a time range comprised between about 11 ms and about
13 ms. The extracted amplitude is a beat-to-beat variation of a
sub-event, e.g. the first sub-event 101. Further, an amplitude of
the second sub-event 102 may be extracted.
[0060] The extracted amplitude information is then compared with a
reference amplitude information. This reference amplitude
information has been previously measured and stored for the
timepiece model, which is to be authenticated. By comparing the
extracted amplitude information obtained for the timepiece to be
authenticated with the reference amplitude information, information
on an authenticity of the timepiece to be authenticated can be
derived.
[0061] In particular, from the average amplitudes A.sub.1 . . .
A.sub.n of a series of events 1 to n, information on the number of
teeth of the escapement wheel can be obtained, as well as the
number of teeth on the escapement wheel pinion and on further
wheels down the gear train. This information can be used for
authentication purposes.
[0062] According to a second possibility of the first embodiment of
the first procedure, instead of an amplitude information, a
time-delay information may be extracted from the time sequence of
the measured acoustic vibrations of the timepiece. For instance,
one or more time delay(s) A between the highest peak of the first
sub-event 101 and the highest peak of the second sub-event 102 may
be extracted. This time delay A obtained for the timepiece to be
authenticated can then be compared with a reference time delay
which has been previously stored for the timepiece model to be
authenticated. The time delay may be an absolute time delay or a
relative time delay. For example, referring to FIG. 4,
(t2-t1)/(t1-t0) is a relative time delay. The ratio of (t1-t0) in
event i to (t1-t0) in event j is also a relative time delay. This
information can also be used for authentication purposes.
[0063] According to a preferred embodiment of the first procedure,
which may apply to the first embodiment of the first procedure but
also to the further embodiments, which will be outlined in the
following description, the measurements of the acoustic vibrations
of the timepiece are carried out on every other acoustic event in
the obtained electrical signal. This means that every other
acoustic event in the electrical signal is separated, i.e. only the
"ticks" or the "tocks" of the electrical signal are separated, and
the steps for authenticating a timepiece according to an embodiment
of the first procedure are performed on an electrical signal
comprising only every other acoustic event, i.e. only the "ticks"
or the "tocks". More generally, the acoustic events may be
separated according to any subset, not only every other acoustic
event, but every n event, where n is equal to 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.
Separating every other acoustic event corresponds to the case of n
equal to 2 and represents a preferred embodiment of the first
procedure.
[0064] FIG. 6 illustrates a second embodiment of the first
procedure for authenticating a timepiece. FIG. 6 is a
representation of the power spectrum of the measured acoustic
vibrations emitted by a timepiece to be authenticated as a function
of frequency. According to the second embodiment of the first
procedure, the acoustic vibrations emitted by a timepiece to be
authenticated are measured and an electrical signal is obtained,
which indicates a variation of a magnitude of the measured acoustic
vibrations as a function of time. This electrical signal is
transformed into a frequency domain, so as to obtain a
frequency-domain power spectrum indicating a variation of a power
of the electrical signal as a function of frequency. The
frequency-domain transform to be used according to this embodiment
of the first procedure may be one of the usual frequency-domain
transforms, such as a Fourier transform, in particular a Fast
Fourier transform.
[0065] The frequency-power spectrum of the measured acoustic
vibrations of the timepiece to be authenticated reveals several
peaks in the power spectrum representation at several frequencies.
In the particular example represented in FIG. 6, eleven peaks can
be identified in the power spectrum, the power spectrum value of
which is larger than 100 on the logarithmic scale of FIG. 6. These
peaks in the power spectrum can be identified at frequencies
f.sub.0' to f.sub.10' which are comprised in the range between 0
and 40 kHz. It must be noted that these values are given for
illustrative purposes only and are not limiting. In particular,
even though the particular example of a threshold set at 100 for
identifying peaks in the power spectrum has been given, the person
skilled in the art will immediately understand that another
threshold may be set, depending on the amount of frequency peaks
desired as frequency information. For instance, the threshold could
be set at 1000, so that only a few peaks can be identified.
[0066] This frequency information, i.e. the respective frequencies
f.sub.0' to f.sub.10 in the example of FIG. 6 corresponding to
peaks in the frequency-domain power spectrum of the measured
acoustic vibrations of the timepiece to be authenticated, is
extracted from the frequency-domain power spectrum and compared
with a reference frequency information, which has been previously
stored for the timepiece model. This comparison enables to derive
information on an authenticity of the timepiece to be authenticated
by simply comparing the frequency information obtained for the
timepiece to be authenticated with the reference frequency
information for the timepiece model to be authenticated.
[0067] According to an embodiment of the first procedure,
information on the width of the spectral peak can also be used for
authentication or identification purposes.
[0068] According to another embodiment of the first procedure, the
spectrum is preferably the average of several spectra. It can be
either the average of a number of consecutive events or the average
of a number of events from the same class.
[0069] In the frequency-domain power spectrum representation of the
measured acoustic vibrations emitted by the timepiece to be
authenticated, the dominant contribution within the power spectrum
comes from the loudest portions within the measured acoustic
vibrations emitted by the timepiece to be authenticated. These
loudest portions of the acoustic vibrations correspond to the
events and sub-events, as the ones represented in FIGS. 3 and
4.
[0070] FIG. 7 illustrates a third embodiment of the first procedure
for authenticating a timepiece. FIG. 7 is a time-frequency
representation of the acoustic vibrations emitted by the timepiece
to be authenticated. FIG. 7 characterizes the electrical signal
obtained by measuring acoustic vibrations emitted by the timepiece
to be authenticated both in the time domain and frequency domain.
Unlike a transform into a frequency domain, which only gives
information on the frequencies that are present in the transformed
signal, a time-frequency representation gives information on which
frequencies are present at which time. It can therefore be used to
associate specific frequencies with specific events taking place in
the time domain.
[0071] According to the third embodiment of the first procedure for
authenticating a timepiece, the time-frequency transform to be used
may be one among the several time-frequency transforms available
and known to the person skilled in the art. In particular, only to
cite a few possible transforms, the transform into a time-frequency
representation may be one of the short-time Fourier transform, a
Gabor transform, a Wigner transform and a wavelet transform.
[0072] FIG. 7 shows a time-frequency representation of the measured
acoustic vibrations of a timepiece to be authenticated, which has
been obtained by using a continuous wavelet transform. The wavelet
transform is described, for example, in C. Torrence and G. P.
Compo, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 79, 1998.
The use of a wavelet transform represents a preferred embodiment of
the first procedure, since the wavelet transform is a convenient
tool for time-frequency analysis, with a number of interesting
features, such as the possibility to adapt the time-frequency
resolution to the problem under investigation, as well as the good
mathematical properties. The continuous wavelet transform takes a
time-domain signal s(t), the electrical signal of the measured
acoustic vibrations emitted by the timepiece to be authenticated,
the electrical signal indicating a variation of the magnitude of
the measured acoustic vibrations as a function of time, and
transforms this time-domain signal into a time-frequency
representation W(f, t), which is defined by the following
formula:
W ( f , t ) = 2 .pi. f c .intg. - .infin. .infin. s ( t ' ) .psi. *
( 2 .pi. f ( t ' - t ) c ) t ' ##EQU00001##
where [0073] .psi. is called the wavelet function (there are
several types to choose from) and [0074] c is a constant which
depends on the chosen wavelet function The exemplary time-frequency
representation shown in FIG. 7, which is also referred to as
spectrogram, represents the values of |W(f,t)|.sup.2, which has
been obtained using a Morlet wavelet:
[0074]
.psi..sub..omega.(x)=.pi..sup.-1/4exp(i.omega.x-x.sup.2/2)
with: .omega.=40 and
c = .omega. + 2 + .omega. 2 2 .apprxeq. 40.01 ##EQU00002##
[0075] As already mentioned above, according to a preferred
embodiment of the first procedure, the measurements of the acoustic
vibrations of the timepiece are carried out on every other acoustic
event in the obtained electrical signal. This means that every
other acoustic event in the electrical signal is separated, i.e.
only the "ticks" or the "tocks" of the electrical signal are
separated, and the steps for authenticating a timepiece according
to an embodiment of the first procedure are performed on an
electrical signal comprising only every other acoustic event, i.e.
only the "ticks" or the "tocks". In the context of the third
embodiment, the continuous wavelet transform is applied to this
signal of the separated events, and an average is then performed on
a predetermined number of acoustic events. According to a preferred
embodiment of the first procedure, the average is performed over at
least 10 acoustic events, preferably at least 20 acoustic
events.
[0076] As already mentioned above, FIG. 7 is a time-frequency
representation of the measured acoustic vibrations of the timepiece
to be authenticated, which has been obtained by performing a
continuous wavelet transform of the time-domain signal obtained by
measuring the acoustic vibrations emitted by the timepiece. In FIG.
7, it can be seen that the spectrogram reveals a first sub-event
201 in a time span comprised between about 0 ms and about 2 ms. A
second sub-event is also visible in a time span comprised between
about 3 ms and 5 ms. Finally, a third sub-event 203 can be
identified in a time span comprised between about 10 ms and 14
ms.
[0077] Further to the time information that can be obtained from
the spectrogram represented in FIG. 7, frequency information can
also be obtained for each of the sub-events identified. Indeed, the
frequency values of harmonics leading to peaks in a
frequency-domain representation of the electrical signal obtained
by measuring the acoustic vibrations of the timepiece to be
authenticated can be easily obtained from the time-frequency
representation of FIG. 7 with the additional time information being
directly accessible. For instance, as far as the third sub-event
203 is concerned, spots or areas can be identified for the
approximate coordinates (11 ms, 32 kHz), (11 ms, 16 kHz). Further,
stripes can also be identified, for instance between about 11 and
13 ms, for a frequency of about 8 kHz. As far as the second
sub-event 202 is concerned, a spot could also be identified for the
approximate coordinate (3.5 ms, 32 kHz).
[0078] By using this time-frequency information, which is obtained
from a time-frequency representation of the electrical signal
obtained by measuring acoustic vibrations emitted by the timepiece
to be authenticated, information on an authenticity of the
timepiece can be derived. In order to do so, the time-frequency
information is extracted from the time-frequency representation and
compared with reference time-frequency information, which has been
previously stored for the timepiece model. By comparing the
time-frequency information extracted for the timepiece to be
authenticated with the reference time-information for the timepiece
model, it can be derived whether the timepiece is authentic or
not.
[0079] It has been observed by the inventors of the present
invention that the reliability and degree of precision of the first
procedure is such that it is possible to even identify differences
between the timepieces of an identical model. Indeed, because of
manufacturing tolerances, even two timepieces of an identical model
differ from each other. When applying the principles underlined in
the first procedure to different timepieces from the same series
and the same manufacturer, it can be seen that the corresponding
acoustic measurements are different and the extracted relevant
respective pieces of frequency information, which characterize the
fingerprint of the respective timepiece, are different. Hence, an
identifier can be defined for a timepiece without having to open
the timepiece.
[0080] FIG. 8 shows an exemplary spectrogram obtained for a
timepiece according to a first model. FIG. 9 represents a
spectrogram for a timepiece according to a second model. FIG. 10
represents a spectrogram for a timepiece according to a third
model. These spectrograms show that each timepiece model can be
associated with a characteristic time-frequency representation.
Consequently, by comparing the time-frequency representation of a
timepiece to be authenticated with a reference time-frequency
representation, which is expected for this particular timepiece
model, authenticity information on the timepiece to be
authenticated can be derived. Hence, it can be derived whether a
timepiece to be authenticated is an authentic product or a
counterfeited product.
[0081] Even though the first procedure has been described with
respect to the particular case of mechanical shocks within the
timepiece being the primary source of vibrations, the person
skilled in the art will immediately recognize that the principles
outlined in the present application can be applied to another
source of vibrations. For instance, it could be envisaged to apply
the principles according to the embodiments of the second procedure
to an external source of vibrations.
Second Procedure
[0082] A second procedure for authenticating and/identifying a
timepiece will be described in the following pages. The procedure
comprises measuring acoustic vibrations emitted by said timepiece
to obtain an electrical signal, said electrical signal indicating a
variation of a magnitude of said measured acoustic vibrations as a
function of time, wherein said electrical signal comprises a
plurality of acoustic events associated with mechanical shocks
taking place in said timepiece, said acoustic events being
separated from each other by a respective quiet zone, processing
said electrical signal so as to attenuate said plurality of
acoustic events in said electrical signal, performing a transform
of said processed electrical signal into a frequency domain to
obtain a frequency-domain power spectrum indicating a variation of
a power of said processed electrical signal as a function of
frequency, processing said frequency-domain power spectrum so as to
reveal at least one narrow peak in said frequency-domain power
spectrum corresponding to at least one resonance frequency of a
mechanical part of said timepiece resonating in a quiet zone,
extracting said at least one resonance frequency corresponding to
said at least one narrow peak, comparing said extracted at least
one resonance frequency with at least one reference resonance
frequency, and deriving an information on an authenticity of said
timepiece based on the comparison result.
[0083] The method may further comprise extracting a width of said
revealed at least one narrow peak.
[0084] The method may further comprise extracting a relative
amplitude of said revealed at least one narrow peak.
[0085] Processing said frequency-domain power spectrum so as to
reveal at least one narrow peak in said frequency-domain power
spectrum may comprise filtering said frequency-domain power
spectrum so as to reduce a background part and keep sharp peaks
within said frequency-domain power spectrum. This can be done e.g.
by performing a derivative of the spectrum with respect to
frequency or by wavelet de-noising of the spectrum.
[0086] A frequency analysis of the decay of acoustic events in the
quiet zone between acoustic events may be achieved.
[0087] According to an embodiment of the second procedure, the
acoustic vibrations of a timepiece to be authenticated are
measured, for instance using a microphone, preferably a contact
piezoelectric microphone. The acoustic vibrations emitted by the
timepiece are measured and an electrical signal is obtained, which
indicates a variation of the magnitude of the measured acoustic
vibrations as a function of time. Such an electrical signal is
represented in FIGS. 2 to 4.
[0088] FIG. 2 represents the acoustic vibrations emitted by a
timepiece as a function of time. The represented signal has a
frequency of 3 Hz, i.e. six beats take place every single second.
The signal alternates between tick events and tock events.
[0089] FIG. 3 represents a closer view on the start of the sequence
of tick events and tock events shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 shows a
first event 1 and a second event 2 of the sequence of ticks and
tocks of FIG. 2. The first event 1 spreads in a time range
comprised between about 0 and 15 ms, while the second event 2
spreads in a time range comprised between about 165 ms and 185 ms.
The events 1 and 2 are separated from each other by a so-called
quiet zone, which extends between about 15 ms and 165 ms, in which
the contribution of the mechanical shocks to the signal is
extremely weak. As can be seen from FIG. 3, each one of the first
event 1 and second event 2 is itself a sequence of sev-eral
sub-events, which are illustrated in more detail in FIG. 4.
[0090] FIG. 4 shows a close-up view on the first event 1 in the
representation of FIG. 3. The first event 1 comprises a first
sub-event 11, a second sub-event 12 and a third sub-event 13. The
first sub-event 11 takes place in a time range comprised between
about 0 and 3 ms, the second sub-event 12 takes place in a time
range comprised between about 3.5 ms and about 10.5 ms. The third
sub-event 13 takes place in a time range comprised between about
10.5 ms and about 18 ms. The first sub-event 11, second sub-event
12 and third sub-event 13 therefore make up the first event 1 shown
in FIG. 3, which corresponds to one acoustic event of the
timepiece.
[0091] FIG. 11 illustrates an embodiment of the second procedure
for authenticating a timepiece. FIG. 11 is a representation of the
power spectrum of the measured acoustic vibrations emitted by a
timepiece to be authenticated as a function of frequency. In the
following, the various steps of the method for authenticating a
timepiece according to this procedure will be described.
[0092] First, the acoustic vibrations emitted by a timepiece to be
authenticated are measured and an electrical signal is obtained,
which indicates a variation of the magnitude of the measured
acoustic vibrations as a function of time. The electrical signal
comprises a plurality of acoustic events, as those represented in
FIGS. 3 and 4.
[0093] After the acoustic vibrations emitted by the timepiece to be
authenticated have been measured, the obtained electrical signal is
processed so as to attenuate the plurality of acoustic events in
the electrical signal. According to a preferred embodiment of the
second procedure, this attenuation of the plurality of events in
the electrical signal can be achieved by carrying out the following
steps. First, the electrical signal S is sampled at a predetermined
sampling frequency, e.g. 96 kHz, to obtain a digital signal, e.g. a
16-bit signal. An envelope E of the obtained sampled signal is
calculated by averaging an absolute value of the plurality of
samples, e.g. the last 200 samples. Then, a ratio A of the sampled
electrical signal S divided by the calculated envelope E of the
sampled electrical signal S is calculated. The calculation of this
ratio A=S/E allows for attenuating the loud vibrations, thereby
revealing the weak vibrations during the quiet zone.
[0094] After processing the electrical signal so as to attenuate
the plurality of acoustic events in the electrical signal, a
transform of the processed electrical signal into a frequency
domain is performed, in order to obtain a frequency-domain power
spectrum indicating a variation of the power of the processed
electrical signal as a function of frequency. According to the
second procedure, the frequency-domain transform may be a Fourier
transform, preferably a Fast Fourier transform. However, other
frequency-domain transforms could also be considered.
[0095] Reverting to the exemplary values mentioned above with
respect to the attenuation of the acoustic events in the electrical
signal, a Fast Fourier transform of the ratio A signal is carried
out on a large number of consecutive values. In the example
represented in FIG. 11, the Fast Fourier transform of the ratio A
signal, which has been sampled at 130 kHz, was performed on 655,360
consecutive values thereof. This analysis allows for obtaining a
frequency-domain spectrum until 65 kHz with a resolution of 0.2 Hz.
It must be understood that the values indicated herewith are only
meant for exemplary purposes and are not limiting the principles of
the present invention. The person skilled in the art will
immediately understand that what matters here is that an extremely
fine frequency analysis of the ratio A signal can be performed,
which will permit a spectrum having easily recognizable peaks.
[0096] After the transform of the processed electrical signal into
the frequency domain has been carried out to obtain a
frequency-domain power spectrum, the frequency-domain power
spectrum is processed so as to reveal a narrow peak or a plurality
of narrow peaks in the frequency-domain power spectrum. These
narrow peaks correspond to resonance frequencies of a mechanical
part or a plurality of mechanical parts within the timepiece to be
authenticated. These mechanical parts resonate in the quiet zone,
but their signal is often impossible to detect, since it is an
extremely weak signal. The second procedure described herein
presents a way of extracting the information on the resonance
frequencies of these mechanical parts, wherein the obtained
resonance frequency information can be used for authentication
purposes.
[0097] According to the second procedure, said processing said
frequency-domain power spectrum so as to reveal at least one narrow
peak in said frequency-domain power spectrum may comprise filtering
the frequency-domain power spectrum so as to reduce the background
and keep the sharp peaks, e.g. by performing a derivative of the
spectrum with respect to frequency, or by wavelet de-noising of the
spectrum.
[0098] According to the second procedure, a fast and convenient
method to carry out the processing step of processing the
frequency-domain power spectrum so as to reveal at least one narrow
peak in the frequency-domain power spectrum may comprise the
following steps. First, for each frequency F of the
frequency-domain power spectrum, a module M(F) of a complex number
obtained in performing the transform of the processed electrical
signal into the frequency domain is calculated. Then, a value V(F)
of M(F) multiplied by the double derivative in frequency is
calculated. This multiplication allows for revealing the narrow
peaks in the frequency-domain power spectrum. This therefore allows
for revealing the resonance frequencies of mechanical parts
resonating in the quiet zone. The module M(F) of the complex number
is multiplied by an absolute value of a difference between the
module M(F) of the complex number and a module M(F-1) of a complex
number for an immediately preceding frequency (F-1). The obtained
number is further multiplied by an absolute value of a difference
between the module M(F) of the complex number for frequency F and
the module M(F-1) of the complex number for an immediately
following frequency (F-1). This calculation is summarized by the
following formula:
V(F)=M(F).times.abs(M(F)-M(F-1)).times.abs(M(F)-M(F+1))
where abs(X) represents the absolute value of X.
[0099] According to the second procedure, the resonance frequency
corresponding to the identified narrow peak in the frequency-domain
power spectrum or a plurality of such resonance frequencies may be
extracted. The frequency-power spectrum of the measured acoustic
vibrations of the timepiece to be authenticated reveals several
peaks in the power spectrum representation at several frequencies.
In the particular example represented in FIG. 11, eight peaks can
be identified in the power spectrum, the power spectrum value of
which is larger than 600 on the logarithmic scale of FIG. 11. These
peaks in the power spectrum can be identified at frequencies
f.sub.0 to f.sub.7, which are comprised in the range between 0 and
about 32 kHz. It must be noted that these values are given for
illustrative purposes only and are not limiting. In particular,
even though the particular example of a threshold set at 600 for
identifying peaks in the power spectrum has been given, the person
skilled in the art will immediately understand that another
threshold may be set, depending on the amount of frequency peaks
desired as frequency information. For instance, the threshold could
be set at 1000, so that only a few peaks can be identified.
[0100] The respective frequencies f.sub.0' to f.sub.7 in the
example of FIG. 11 corresponding to peaks in the frequency-domain
power spectrum of the measured acoustic vibrations of the timepiece
to be authenticated can be extracted from the frequency-domain
power spectrum.
[0101] Then, the extracted resonance frequency or frequencies of
the identified peaks in the frequency-domain power spectrum is/are
compared with a reference resonance frequency or frequencies. The
reference resonance frequencies have been stored previously and
correspond to the values obtained when performing the above method
steps on a particular timepiece model. By storing the resonance
frequency values for a timepiece model, reference resonance
frequency information is stored, which can be used for comparison
with a timepiece to be authenticated. The comparison results give
information on an authenticity of the timepiece to be
authenticated.
[0102] It has been observed by the inventors of the present
invention that the reliability and degree of precision of the
second procedure are such that it is possible to even identify
differences between the timepieces of an identical model. Indeed,
timepieces that are manufactured by hand are unique, so that two
timepieces of an identical model differ from each other with
differences that at first look are merely imperceptible. When
applying the principles underlined in the second procedure to
different timepieces from the same series and the same company, it
can be seen that the corresponding acoustic measurements are
different and the extracted relevant respective piece s of
frequency information, which characterize the fingerprint of the
respective timepiece, are different. Hence, an identifier can be
defined for a timepiece without having to open the timepiece.
[0103] According to the second procedure, the processing steps for
revealing the narrow peaks in the frequency-domain power spectrum
may be repeated and, for each frequency F of the frequency-domain
power spectrum, an average of the results V(F) of the repeated
calculating and multiplying steps may be calculated. This average
value is then represented on a graph. Such a graph is shown in FIG.
11, wherein a plurality of narrow peaks can be identified. By
performing the steps described with respect to the second
procedure, the contribution of the acoustic vibrations emitted by
the timepiece to be authenticated in the quiet zone between
acoustic events is, so to say, highlighted or "amplified". On the
other hand, the contribution of the loud acoustic events is
attenuated by processing the electrical signal according to the
second procedure. Hence, by performing the steps according to the
second procedure, a frequency-domain power spectrum is obtained in
which clearly recognizable narrow peaks can be extracted which
correspond to the acoustic vibrations of the mechanical parts
within the timepiece to be authenticated. These acoustic vibrations
are comparatively weak, when compared with the loud acoustic events
taking place during the events or sub-events, but are comparatively
long-lived, in comparison with these events or sub-events.
[0104] FIGS. 12 and 13 illustrate the fact that clearly
recognizable narrow peaks can be extracted, which allow for
uniquely identifying different timepieces. FIG. 12 shows the
respective frequency-domain power spectra obtained for two
timepieces (111) and (112). FIG. 13 shows a close-up view on a part
of the respective frequency-domain power spectra obtained for the
two timepieces (111) and (112) represented in FIG. 12. It is
apparent that the peaks identified for the timepiece (111) differ
from those identified for the timepiece (112), thereby allowing for
differentiating them from each other.
[0105] According to a variant of the second procedure for
authenticating a timepiece, the processing of the electrical signal
for attenuating the plurality of events in the electrical signal
obtained by measuring acoustic vibrations of the timepiece to be
authenticated may be replaced by another processing step. Indeed,
another possibility to attenuate the loud acoustic events is to
divide the electrical signal by its average signal amplitude, where
the average amplitude is found by taking the absolute value of the
signal and filtering it with a low-pass filter. Another possibility
would be to multiply the electrical signal by zero, wherever its
average signal amplitude is larger than a given threshold. Finally,
still another possibility would be to multiply the electrical
signal by zero in a given time interval after the beginning of the
acoustic event.
[0106] According to another variant of the second procedure for
authenticating a timepiece, a time-frequency transform of the
acoustic vibrations emitted by the timepiece to be authenticated
into a time-frequency domain can be used instead of a
frequency-domain transform as described above with respect to FIG.
11. Unlike a transform into a frequency domain, which only gives
information on the frequencies that are present in the transformed
signal, a time-frequency representation gives information on which
frequencies are present at which time.
[0107] According to this variant, the time-frequency transform to
be used may be one among the several time-frequency transforms
available and known to the person skilled in the art. In
particular, only to cite a few possible transforms, the transform
into a time-frequency representation may be one of the windowed
Fourier transform and a wavelet transform.
[0108] The wavelet transform is described, for example, in C.
Torrence and G. P. Compo, Bulletin of the American Meteorological
Society, 79, 1998. The continuous wavelet transform takes a
time-domain signal s(t), the electrical signal of the measured
acoustic vibrations emitted by the timepiece to be authenticated,
the electrical signal indicating a variation of the magnitude of
the measured acoustic vibrations as a function of time, and
transforms this time-domain signal into a time-frequency
representation W(f, t), which is defined by the following
formula:
W ( f , t ) = 2 .pi. f c .intg. - .infin. .infin. s ( t ' ) .psi. *
( 2 .pi. f ( t ' - t ) c ) t ' ##EQU00003##
where [0109] .psi. is called the wavelet function (there are
several types to choose from) and [0110] c is a constant which
depends on the chosen wavelet function
[0111] By using the time-frequency information, which is obtained
from a time-frequency representation of the electrical signal
obtained by measuring acoustic vibrations emitted by the timepiece
to be authenticated, information on an authenticity of the
timepiece can be derived. In order to do so, the time-frequency
information is extracted from the time-frequency representation and
compared with reference time-frequency information, which has been
previously stored for the timepiece model. By comparing the
time-frequency information extracted for the timepiece to be
authenticated with the reference time-information for the timepiece
model, it can be derived whether the timepiece is authentic or
not.
[0112] According to the second procedure, a timepiece may be
amended by introducing a resonator having predetermined resonance
frequency characteristics into the timepiece. By choosing the
material, the thickness and the width of the resonator and
selecting a particular arrangement within the timepiece, the
resonance frequency characteristics of the resonator, such as the
frequency, resonance width and quality factor, may be precisely
determined. By introducing this resonator with predetermined
resonance frequency characteristics into a timepiece, the
authentication of the timepiece can be tremendously improved, since
the steps described herein with respect to the second procedure can
be applied to a timepiece to be authenticated and the
authentication consists in searching for the predetermined known
resonance frequencies within the frequency-domain power spectrum.
Since the principles mentioned above allow for a frequency-domain
power spectrum having easily recognizable narrow peaks, an
authentication of a timepiece comprising a resonator having
predetermined resonance frequency characteristics consists in
extracting the resonance frequency or frequencies of the narrow
peaks within the frequency-domain power spectrum and comparing
these extracted resonance frequencies with the predetermined known
resonance frequencies of the resonator. Hence, the resonator allows
for introducing a kind of signature into a timepiece, which can
then be used for authenticating a timepiece. However, even if one
resonator is determined and created, it still remains that the
production of the timepiece is subject to manufacturing tolerances,
so that, even if a frequency is known, it remains that for two
resonators, which seem to be the same, there will most likely be a
small difference which could be determined in an efficient manner
using the second procedure. However, as already outlined above, it
has been observed by the inventors of the present invention that
the reliability and degree of precision of the second procedure are
such that it is possible to identify such small differences. This
therefore enhances the strength of the protection for the
timepieces such as luxury watches, where reproducing exactly a
specific watch will be merely impossible.
Third Procedure
[0113] A third procedure for authenticating and/identifying a
timepiece will be described in the following pages. The procedure
comprises determining one or more characteristics of at least one
gemstone of the timepiece; creating an identifier for the timepiece
in dependence upon at least one of the one or more characteristics
of the at least one gemstone; and comparing the created identifier
with one or more stored identifiers to determine whether the
timepiece is authentic or a counterfeit.
[0114] Jewel bearings were introduced in watches to reduce
friction. The advantage of using jewels is that their ultra-hard
slick surface has a lower coefficient of friction with metal.
Jewels in modern watches are usually synthetic sapphire or
(usually) ruby, made of corundum (Al.sub.2O.sub.3), one of the
hardest substances known (only diamond is harder). Corundum is
clear in color. The only difference between sapphire and ruby is
that different impurities have been added to change the clear color
of the corundum; there is no difference in their properties as a
bearing.
[0115] Jewels serve multiple purposes in a watch. First, reduced
friction can increase accuracy. Friction in the wheel train
bearings and the escapement causes slight variations in the
impulses applied to the balance wheel, causing variations in the
rate of timekeeping. The low, predictable friction of jewel
surfaces reduces these variations. Second, the jewels can increase
the life of the bearings.
[0116] Watches utilize two different types of jewels in bearings.
Hole jewels are donut shaped sleeve bearings used to support the
arbor (or shaft) of most wheels. Capstones (or cap jewels) are
positioned at each end of the arbor. When the arbor is in a
vertical position, its rounded end bears against the surface of the
capstone, lowering friction.
[0117] FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary cross section view of
components of a watch. As shown in FIG. 14, a hole jewel 1410 is
used to support the arbor (or shaft) 1415, and a capstone (or cap
jewel) 1420 is positioned at each end of the arbor (with only one
end shown in FIG. 14).
[0118] Jewels are also utilized in the escapement for the parts
that function by sliding friction. For example, pallets are the
angled rectangular surfaces on the lever that are pushed against by
the teeth of the escape wheel. The pallets are a primary source of
friction in a watch movement, and were one of the first sites to
which jewels were applied.
[0119] The number of jewels used in watch movements increased over
the last 150 years as jeweling grew less expensive and watches grew
more accurate. The only bearings that really need to be jeweled in
a watch are the ones in the going train--the gear train that
transmits force from the mainspring barrel to the balance
wheel--since only they are constantly under force from the
mainspring. The wheels that turn the hands (the motion work) and
the calendar wheels are not under load, while the ones that wind
the mainspring (the keyless work) are used very seldom, so they do
not wear significantly. Friction has the greatest effect in the
wheels that move the fastest, so they benefit most from jewelling.
So the first mechanism to be jeweled in watches was the balance
wheel pivots, followed by the escapement. As more jeweled bearings
were added, they were applied to slower moving wheels, and
jewelling progressed up the going train toward the barrel. A
seventeen jewel watch has every bearing from the balance wheel to
the center wheel pivot bearings jeweled, so it was considered a
`fully jeweled` watch. In quality watches, to minimize positional
error, capstones were added to the lever and escape wheel bearings,
making twenty-one jewels. Even the mainspring barrel arbor was
sometimes jeweled, making the total twenty-three. When self-winding
watches were introduced in the 1950s, several wheels in the
automatic winding mechanism were jeweled, increasing the count to
twenty-five to twenty-seven.
[0120] In accordance with the third procedure for authenticating a
timepiece, one or more properties of a plurality of the jewels (or
gemstones) are used for identification and/or authentication of the
timepiece. It has been surprisingly found that the jewels can be
used for authentication and/or identification, by analysis of
specific characteristics, linked to the nature of the jewel, its
chemical composition and/or its physical properties. These
characteristics for a respective jewel may include the luminescence
of the stone, its position in space, and its orientation.
[0121] By implementing the third procedure, a watch can be uniquely
identified through an analysis and measurement of the specific
characteristics of one or more jewels of the watch. The analysis
and measurement may be performed, for example, during or after
manufacture of the watch. These specific characteristics of the
jewels (or, for example, a numerical representation thereof) may be
stored in a storage system (e.g., a database) along with an
identification number (e.g., a serial number). Subsequently, by
performing the analysis and measurement of the specific
characteristics of one or more jewels, and comparing the measured
results with results previously stored in the storage system, the
watch can be authenticated. If the measured results match a
previously stored identification (or the previously stored
identification associated with the identification number of the
watch), then the watch is deemed authentic.
[0122] While a watch may have, for example, as many as twenty-seven
jewels, typically five to seven jewels (and sometime more) are
visible in the movement, for example, through a clear back-plate,
or after the back-plate has been removed. The third procedure
contemplates that the five to seven viewable jewels may be used for
identification and/or authentication. The third procedure
contemplates, however, that jewels other than the "visible" jewels
(which are viewable, for example, after further disassembly of the
timepiece, or prior to complete assembly of the timepiece) may be
used, for example, as an alternative to, or in addition to, the
"visible" jewels, for identification and/or authentication.
[0123] The third procedure may provide an improved watch
identification and authentication system that provides the
identification and authentication functionalities, while requiring
minimal or no intervention in the manufacturing process.
Jewel Luminescence
[0124] Natural and synthetic ruby is mainly composed of
Cr:Al.sub.2O.sub.3, and it is used in watches for its mechanical
properties, and sometimes, for its color. Natural and synthetic
ruby also has other interesting properties. For example, rubies,
due to the Cr doping, exhibit intense and long lived luminescence
(.lamda..about.700 nm, .tau..about.3.5 ms), wherein .lamda. is the
wavelength of luminescence, and .tau. is the lifetime of the
luminescence. Due to the strength of the luminescence, this
characteristic is easily measurable. In accordance with the third
procedure, ruby luminescence may be utilized as a security feature.
.tau. depends, for example, on the concentration of Cr and other
impurities. While the above example utilizes chromium doping, the
third procedure contemplates that, other (or additional) types of
dopants may be used, which may result in the jewels exhibiting
differing lifetimes and/or luminescence ranges. For example, Ti or
Fe doping (amongst other contemplated dopants) may be used to
modulate the luminescence lifetime. Other types of contemplated
dopants, in particular, with garnets (which are slightly less hard
than corundum, but are also used in timepieces), include rare
earths, such as, Nd, Er, Yb, Tm, and Ho. In accordance an exemplary
aspect of the third procedure, the natural variations of the stones
(e.g., commercial stones) can be exploited to create an
identification and authentication security feature. Additionally a
manufacturer may use jewels that were synthesized to have a target
synthesis (e.g., particular properties). For example, the
concentration of dopants can be specified at the synthesis. While
rubies are noted above the stones may be corundum (Al.sub.2O.sub.3)
and/or garnet containing one or more "dopant" metal ions in the
4.sup.th period (Fe, Ti, V, Cr, . . . ) present, for example, up to
a few percent concentration. For example the few percent
concentration may include a range of 0.1% to 5%. The dopant ions
may be Cr3+. The jewels may be natural and/or synthetic.
[0125] According to the third procedure, a watch is subject to an
illumination source, and the luminescence of a number of jewels of
the watch are measured over a period of intervals. By luminescence,
it is intended phosphorescence and/or fluorescence emitted by a
stone upon excitation with light. In embodiments, the intervals may
be time intervals (e.g., 1 to 10 ms) for measuring luminescence, or
may be spectral intervals (e.g., .lamda.=690-710 nm).
[0126] FIG. 15 illustrates an exemplary schematic view of a watch
showing jewels that are subjected to illumination. As should be
understood, FIG. 15 represents a schematic illustration of a watch,
and does not illustrate all the components of the watch. As shown
in FIG. 15, with this exemplary and non-limiting embodiment, seven
jewels (1505, 1510, 1515, 1520, 1525, 1530, and 1535) have been
subjected to illumination.
[0127] As should be understood, different watches may have
differing numbers of jewels and/or differing number of viewable
jewels (e.g., through a transparent back and/or upon removal of a
back cover), and the third procedure contemplates using any number
of jewels for identification and/or authentication. As shown in
FIG. 15, jewels 1505, 1510, 1515, 1520, and 1525 are capstone
jewels, whereas jewels 1530 and 1535 are escapement jewels.
[0128] FIG. 16 illustrates an overview of the jewel luminescence
measurement in accordance with the third procedure. As shown in
FIG. 16, during the time period T.sub.exec, an illumination source
1605 is activated to provide excitation light to the jewels of a
watch. After an elapse of time, .DELTA.T, the luminescence of the
jewels is detected and measured by a reader 1610 during T.sub.det.
Image 1615 schematically illustrates the jewels during illumination
with the excitation light. Image 1620 illustrates the jewels during
the time period T.sub.det. In embodiments, the reader 1610 may
comprise, for example, a fixed device, a handheld device, a mobile
phone, and/or a camera, amongst other contemplated readers.
[0129] In accordance with the third procedure, the luminescence of
the jewels may be detected and measured at several intervals. By
several intervals, it is intended two or more time intervals, which
can be the same or different (e.g., a plurality of jewels'
luminescence are measured during the same time interval, i.e.,
simultaneously, or, during different time intervals, i.e.,
sequentially), overlapping or non-overlapping, have the same
duration or different duration, be regularly spaced or not, during
which the luminescence is measured.
[0130] FIGS. 17-28 illustrate an exemplary and non-limiting
detection and measurement of the luminescence of the jewels at
different intervals of 0.3 ms in duration from .DELTA.T=0 (FIG. 17)
to .DELTA.T=3.3 ms (FIG. 28). Additionally, FIGS. 17-28 also show
respective images (1720, 1820, 1920, 2020, 2120, 2220, 2320, 2420,
2520, 2620, 2720, and 2820) of the detected luminescence during
T.sub.det. In embodiments, measuring the luminescence includes
determining spectral characteristics (intensity and/or wavelength)
of the luminescence, and/or determining a lifetime (also called
decay time) of the luminescence.
[0131] FIG. 29 illustrates exemplary camera measurement results on
ten rubies from the same supplier in accordance with the third
procedure. FIG. 29(a) illustrates decay curves for the ten rubies
(with each ruby represented by a plotted line). FIG. 29(b)
illustrates respective lifetimes for the ten rubies. As shown in
FIG. 29(a), the ten different rubies exhibit different decay
curves. As shown in FIG. 29(b), the ten different rubies exhibit
different lifetimes. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 29(b), with this
exemplary batch of ten rubies (labeled ruby number 1 through ruby
number 10), ruby numbers 1, 4, 8, and 10 are relative outliers.
This illustrates the variability in decay rates amongst the
different jewels (even, for example, within a same batch from the
same supplier), and thus, the suitability of detected luminescence
for identification and authentication purposes.
Jewel Position
[0132] In accordance with additional aspects of the third
procedure, the relative positions of the respective jewels may be
detected, e.g., by the reader. The position may comprise the
coordinates (x1, y1) of a stone with respect to a coordinate system
associated with the timepiece. In further embodiments, the jewels
may be identified by a position number (e.g., "Position 1,"
"Position 2," etc.). Additionally, the relative position of each
jewel may be associated (for example, in a database) with the
respective luminescent properties (e.g., lifetime, decay curve,
decay rate, etc.) for identification and/or authentication. Thus,
with reference to FIG. 15, in embodiments, the respective
luminescent properties of each of the seven jewels (1505, 1510,
1515, 1520, 1525, 1530, and 1535) are detected and associated
(e.g., in a database) with the relative positions of the respective
jewels. For example, .tau..sub.0=1.1 ms, .tau..sub.1=1.5 ms,
.tau..sub.2=1.5ms, .tau..sub.3= . . . , .tau..sub.4= . . . ,
.tau..sub.5= . . . , .tau..sub.6= . . . , wherein .tau. is the
lifetime, and 0-6 is the jewel number (or relative jewel position).
In accordance with the third procedure, this association between
the luminescent properties and relative locations of the respective
jewels may create a map, for example, of which jewel has which
lifetime, and provides a unique (or substantially unique)
identifier or biometric signature for the watch for identification
and/or authentication. As should be understood, the third procedure
contemplates that any number of jewels may serve as an identifier
or biometric signature, with a larger number of jewels providing a
greater level of uniqueness.
Jewel Orientation
[0133] Within a timepiece, the jewels (e.g., the capstones) are
round, and when assembled, are positioned arbitrarily with respect
to a rotation axis. That is, while two watches of a same
manufacturer may have the same layout of jewels (i.e.,
corresponding jewels are placed in the same relative location,
these jewels are arbitrarily placed with respect to an orientation
about the jewels' axes, such that the two watches will have the
jewels positioned at differing orientations. Thus, in accordance
with the third procedure, the orientation of one or more jewels may
be used as an identifier for identification and/or authentication
of a timepiece. The orientation of the stones can be measured in a
simple way when the stones are made of a birefringent material,
such as, for example, corundum, as explained further below.
[0134] In accordance with the third procedure, the relative
orientation of the respective jewels may be detected, e.g., by the
reader. Additionally, the relative orientation of each jewel may be
associated (for example, in a database) with the respective
position of each jewel and/or the respective luminescent properties
(e.g., lifetime, decay rate, etc.) for identification and/or
authentication.
[0135] In addition to the luminescent properties noted above,
natural or synthetic rubies and corundum, for example, also have
other interesting properties. For example, rubies and corundum
exhibit strong birefringence. Birefringence, or double refraction,
is the decomposition of a ray of light into two rays when it passes
through certain anisotropic materials, such as crystals of calcite
or boron nitride, and the property of such materials. The simplest
instance of the effect arises in materials with uniaxial
anisotropy. That is, the structure of the material is such that it
has an axis of symmetry with no equivalent axis in the plane
perpendicular to it. This axis is known as the optical axis of the
material, and light with linear polarizations parallel and
perpendicular to it experiences unequal indices of refraction,
denoted n.sub.e and n.sub.o, respectively, where the suffixes stand
for extraordinary and ordinary. The names reflect the fact that, if
unpolarized light enters the material at a nonzero acute angle to
the optical axis, the component with polarization perpendicular to
this axis will be refracted as per the standard law of refraction,
while the complementary polarization component will refract at a
nonstandard angle determined by the angle of entry and the
difference between the indices of refraction,
.DELTA.n=n.sub.e-n.sub.o, known as the birefringence magnitude. The
light will therefore split into two linearly polarized beams, known
as ordinary and extraordinary.
[0136] For a given propagation direction, in general there are two
perpendicular polarizations for which the medium behaves as if it
had a single effective refractive index. In a uniaxial material,
rays with these polarizations are called the extraordinary and the
ordinary ray (e and o rays), corresponding to the extraordinary and
ordinary refractive indices. In a biaxial material, there are three
refractive indices .alpha., .beta., and .gamma., yet only two rays,
which are called the fast and the slow ray. The slow ray is the ray
that corresponds to the highest effective refractive index.
[0137] Thus, in accordance with the third procedure, ruby
birefringence may be utilized as a security feature. The ruby
birefringence is approximately: n.sub..omega.=1.768-1.770,
n.sub..epsilon.=1.760-1.763, .DELTA.n.about.0.008, wherein the
direction of optical axes depends on the stone orientation. In
accordance with the third procedure, stone orientation may easily
be measured with an optical method (for example, polarized light
with a polarized filter, or crossed polarizers) to determine the
relative orientation of one or more of the optical axes of a
birefringent stone. A particularly simple method involves using two
crossed linear polarizers, one for polarizing the light used to
illuminate the stone and the other one to analyze the light
reflected by the stone. The relative orientation of the two
polarizers with respect to the stone is then changed, either by
turning the polarizers or by turning the stone, until a minimum of
the reflected intensity is observed. At this position the axis of
the polarizers are aligned with the fast and slow directions
described above.
[0138] FIG. 30 illustrates views of an exemplary orientation
measurement in accordance with the third procedure. FIG. 30 (a)
illustrates a schematic view of an exemplary timepiece 3000 (and
the viewable jewels 3005 therein). FIGS. 30(b)-30(h) illustrate the
exemplary orientation measurement in accordance with the third
procedure. As should be understood, FIGS. 30(b)-30(h) schematically
illustrate watch 3000 with the schematic movement (which is shown
in FIG. 30(a)) removed to more clearly illustrate aspects of the
third procedure. As shown in FIGS. 30(b)-30(h), with this exemplary
and non-limiting embodiment, seven measurements of the timepiece
3000 (and the viewable jewels 3005 therein) are taken in 15 degree
increments staring at 0 degrees (FIG. 30(b)) and ending at 90
degrees (FIG. 30(h)), for example, using crossed polarizers. The
orientation of the crossed polarizers is represented in each of
FIGS. 30(b) to 30(h) by reference number 3010. In performing this
measurement, the relative orientation of each jewel 3005 can be
determined based on the birefringence. While the exemplary
embodiment of FIG. 30 illustrates measurements, taken in 15 degree
increments, the third procedure contemplates that, other increments
(for example, 5 degree increments) may be used to provide a finer
or coarser measurement.
[0139] FIGS. 31 and 32 illustrate exemplary results of an
orientation measurement in accordance with the third procedure. As
should be understood, FIGS. 31 and 32 represent schematic
illustrations of a watch, and do not illustrate all the components
of the watch. Moreover, as can be observed, FIG. 31 illustrates the
jewels with additional components of the watch movement, whereas
FIG. 32 only illustrates the jewels themselves. As shown in FIGS.
31 and 32, with this exemplary and non-limiting embodiment, a watch
3100 includes six jewels 3105. In accordance with the third
procedure, the respective relative orientation of each of the six
jewels 3105 are detected and associated (e.g., in a database) with
the relative positions of the respective jewels. For example,
.theta..sub.1=35.degree., .theta..sub.2=10.degree.,
.theta..sub.3=45.degree., .theta..sub.4=35.degree.,
.theta..sub.5=40.degree., .theta..sub.6=25.degree., wherein .theta.
is the relative orientation, and 1-6 is the jewel number (or
relative jewel position). In accordance with the third procedure,
this association between the orientation and relative locations of
the respective jewels may create a map, for example, of which jewel
has which orientation, and provides a unique (or substantially
unique) identifier or biometric signature for the watch for
identification and/or authentication. As should be understood, the
third procedure contemplates that any number of jewels may serve as
an identifier or biometric signature, with a larger number of
jewels providing a greater level of uniqueness. Additionally, an
association between the relative location and both the respective
luminescent properties and the respective orientations provide a
greater level of identification uniqueness. Moreover, measuring
both the luminescent properties and the orientations of the stones
does not require much greater time or cost than measuring only one
of these properties. In embodiments, there may be 2-10 bits of
information per stone.
[0140] The orientation of watch face cover itself, which is usually
made of corundum, may serve as an additional identifier of the
watch. For example, due to the birefringent properties of the
corundum cover, the relative orientation of the cover may be
determined, and used as an identifier of the watch. Furthermore,
the third procedure may utilize a detection of the orientation of
the watch face cover to determine if a watch has been tampered
with. That is, if a detection of the current watch face cover
orientation does not match that of a stored watch face cover
orientation for the corresponding watch (e.g., as identified with a
serial number), then the third procedure indicates that the watch
has been tampered with.
Creating Identifier
[0141] In accordance with the third procedure, the measured
luminescence properties, relative positions and/or orientations of
the respective jewels may be used to create an identifier (e.g., an
identification code or map). In embodiments, creating an identifier
includes converting the measured information into a digital
representation, which can be stored. In embodiments, the identifier
is based on one or more of: (i) the position(s) of the stones; (ii)
the orientation of the stones; (iii) the luminescence of the
stones; and (iv) the value inscribed on one part of the timepiece
serving as a first identifier (e.g., the serial number of the case
or the movement). In embodiments, the identifier can be a code
(e.g., an alphanumeric code) or map, or another type of information
related to the measurement (including the raw data, e.g., an
image). In embodiments, comparison may be based on the measurement
of the stone characteristics (e.g. luminescence or decay time
curve, or light reflected from the stone as a function of
orientation of the polarizers (for determining the birefringence)),
e.g. without determining any relative positions of the stones.
[0142] Additionally, in embodiments, the timepiece may be
self-authenticating (e.g., authenticatable without comparison to a
database of previously identified timepieces). For example, at the
manufacturing stage, a manufacturer may determine a code based on
the position(s) and one or more of: (i) the orientation; (ii) the
luminescence of the stones. This code, for example, in an encrypted
format, may then be added on the timepiece as an identification
number (e.g., a serial number). Then, upon a subsequent
authentication process, the position(s) and one or more of: (i) the
orientation; (ii) the luminescence of the stones may be again
measured to generate a determined code, which can then be compared
to the identification number of the timepiece.
[0143] The third procedure also contemplates that the stone
properties are chosen at the time of manufacture with respect to
some pre-determined criteria, associated with other characteristics
of the timepiece. For example, a stone with a prescribed lifetime
may be chosen for a certain position in a given timepiece model. In
embodiments, for example, each gemstone present may have a specific
relationship to one or more of the other stones. In further
embodiments, the properties of the stones may be chosen to match
some other characteristic of the watch (e.g., the serial number).
With a non-limiting exemplary embodiment, we can consider an
initial code, which is composed with 12 digits, which can be
numeric or alphanumeric; for a series of 100 watches. Each of those
watches will always have one letter or one number in common (which
may be associated with the stone with the prescribed lifetime), and
the remaining digits will be based and determined, as mentioned
elsewhere in the embodiments and claims. For example, a
manufacturer may dictate that for a watch having certain serial
numbers (e.g., ending in "2"), the watch must contain a stone
having particular properties in position "2." As such, in
accordance with the third procedure, the watch may be
self-authenticating (i.e., without needing to access a database to
authenticate). With further embodiments, instead of prescribing
particular properties of one or more stones, a watchmaker may
prescribe particular relative relationships between the stones. For
example, a manufacturer may dictate that the stone in "Position 1"
must have a lifetime that is 0.5 ms longer than the stone in
"Position 4."
[0144] It should be noted that with watch maintenance or repair,
the jewels of a movement are not usually adjusted, moved, or
replaced. That is, for example, a jewel in "position 1" is not
moved to another position. Moreover, during repair the relative
orientation of the jewels are not usually adjusted. As such, using
the third procedure, it is possible to provide identification
and/or authentication of a watch even if the watch has been
maintained or repaired. In the event that jewels are replaced, or
the entire movement is replaced, the watch would need to be
re-recorded (e.g., recertified as authentic). Upon re-recording,
for example, in accordance with the third procedure, the watch may
be analyzed again to determine a new identifier (e.g., map or
identifying code) for the watch. This new identifier will replace
the old identifier, and may be stored in a database in association
with the watch alphanumeric identifier (e.g., serial number).
[0145] The third procedure provides a robust solution, as the
jewels' properties (e.g., luminescence, orientation, and position)
will not change substantially with time. Additionally, the third
procedure utilizes timepiece components that are naturally present,
thus requiring no change of assembly process. The third procedure
utilizes properties that are easily measured. In embodiments, the
third procedure utilizes several bits of information per stone (or
jewel). Additionally, in accordance with aspects of the invention,
the stones can be configured with more bits per stone. As the
jewels' properties (e.g., luminescence, orientation, and position)
can be measured, for example, at manufacture, the third procedure
provides a degree of tamper evidence. In accordance with aspects of
the invention, the position, orientation, luminescence of the
stones can be deliberately specified at the manufacturing to create
a specific code, or taken as such from the manufacturer. For
example, the orientations of one or more stones may be imposed by a
manufacturer to create, for example, a predetermined identifying
code.
Example
[0146] With a non-limiting exemplary embodiment, a watch
manufacturer or a merchant, for example, may perform an analysis of
a watch to determine an identification code based on the
position(s) of the stones and one or more of: (i) the orientation;
(ii) the luminescence of the stones. Subsequently, by performing an
analysis of the watch to determine a created identification code
based on the position(s) of the stones and one or more of: (i) the
orientation; (ii) the luminescence of the stones, and comparing the
created identification code to one or more stored identification
codes, a watch owner, a manufacturer, customs, and/or a repair
shop, amongst others, for example, can have the watch
authenticated.
[0147] As should be understood, in embodiments, the initial
analysis of the watch (to create the identification code) may be
performed downstream from the original manufacturing. For example,
a watch owner may have their used watch analyzed to determine an
identification code, which may then be sent to the watchmaker for
future authentication and/or identification.
System Environment
[0148] As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the
present invention may be embodied as a timepiece, a system, a
method or a computer program product. Accordingly, the third
procedure may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an
entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident
software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and
hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a
"circuit," "module" or "system." Furthermore, the third procedure
may take the form of a computer program product embodied in any
tangible medium of expression having computer-usable program code
embodied in the medium.
[0149] Any combination of one or more computer usable or computer
readable medium(s) may be utilized. The computer-usable or
computer-readable medium may be, for example but not limited to, an
electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or
semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagation medium.
More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the
computer-readable medium would include the following: [0150] an
electrical connection having one or more wires, [0151] a portable
computer diskette, [0152] a hard disk, [0153] a random access
memory (RAM), [0154] a read-only memory (ROM), [0155] an erasable
programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), [0156] an
optical fiber, [0157] a portable compact disc read-only memory
(CDROM), [0158] an optical storage device, [0159] a transmission
media such as those supporting the Internet or an intranet, [0160]
a magnetic storage device [0161] a usb key, [0162] a certificate,
[0163] a perforated card, and/or [0164] a mobile phone.
[0165] In the context of this document, a computer-usable or
computer-readable medium may be any medium that can contain, store,
communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or in
connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or
device. The computer-usable medium may include a propagated data
signal with the computer-usable program code embodied therewith,
either in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. The computer
usable program code may be transmitted using any appropriate
medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical
fiber cable, RF, etc.
[0166] Computer program code for carrying out operations of the
third procedure may be written in any combination of one or more
programming languages, including an object oriented programming
language such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional
procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming
language or similar programming languages. The program code may
execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's
computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's
computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote
computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may
be connected to the user's computer through any type of network.
This may include, for example, a local area network (LAN) or a wide
area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external
computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet
Service Provider). Additionally, in embodiments, the third
procedure may be embodied in a field programmable gate array
(FPGA).
[0167] FIG. 33 shows an illustrative environment 3300 for managing
the processes in accordance with the invention. To this extent, the
environment 3300 includes a server or other computing system 3305
that can perform the processes described herein. In particular, the
server 3305 includes a computing device 3310. The computing device
3310 can be resident on a network infrastructure or computing
device of a third party service provider (any of which is generally
represented in FIG. 33).
[0168] In embodiments, the computing device 3310 includes a
luminescence measuring tool 3345, a position measuring tool 3350,
an orientation measuring tool 3355, a code generation tool 3360,
and a code comparison tool 3365, which are operable to measure one
or more detected luminescent properties, measure one or more
detected relative positions, measure one or more detected relative
orientations, generate an identification code based on relative
position, the luminescent properties, the relative orientations,
and/or the serial number, and compare measured properties or
measured codes with stored properties or stored codes e.g., the
processes described herein. The luminescence measuring tool 3345,
the position measuring tool 3350, the orientation measuring tool
3355, the code generation tool 3360, and the code comparison tool
3365 can be implemented as one or more program code in the program
control 3340 stored in memory 3325A as separate or combined
modules.
[0169] The computing device 3310 also includes a processor 3320,
memory 3325A, an I/O interface 3330, and a bus 3326. The memory
3325A can include local memory employed during actual execution of
program code, bulk storage, and cache memories which provide
temporary storage of at least some program code in order to reduce
the number of times code must be retrieved from bulk storage during
execution. In addition, the computing device includes random access
memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), and an operating system
(O/S).
[0170] The computing device 3310 is in communication with the
external I/O device/resource 3335 and the storage system 3325B. For
example, the I/O device 3335 can comprise any device that enables
an individual to interact with the computing device 3310 or any
device that enables the computing device 3310 to communicate with
one or more other computing devices using any type of
communications link. The external I/O device/resource 3335 may be
for example, a handheld device, PDA, handset, keyboard, smartphone,
etc. Additionally, in accordance with aspects of the invention, the
environment 3300 includes an illumination device 3370 for providing
illumination, and one or more readers 3375 for measuring
luminescent properties, relative position, and/or relative
orientation of the jewels.
[0171] In general, the processor 3320 executes computer program
code (e.g., program control 3340), which can be stored in the
memory 3325A and/or storage system 3325B. Moreover, in accordance
with aspects of the invention, the program control 3340 having
program code controls the luminescence measuring tool 3345, the
position measuring tool 3350, the orientation measuring tool 3355,
the code generation tool 3360, and the code comparison tool 3360.
While executing the computer program code, the processor 3320 can
read and/or write data to/from memory 3325A, storage system 3325B,
and/or I/O interface 3330. The program code executes the processes
of the invention. The bus 3326 provides a communications link
between each of the components in the computing device 3310.
[0172] The computing device 3310 can comprise any general purpose
computing article of manufacture capable of executing computer
program code installed thereon (e.g., a personal computer, server,
etc.). However, it is understood that the computing device 3310 is
only representative of various possible equivalent-computing
devices that may perform the processes described herein. To this
extent, in embodiments, the functionality provided by the computing
device 3310 can be implemented by a computing article of
manufacture that includes any combination of general and/or
specific purpose hardware and/or computer program code. In each
embodiment, the program code and hardware can be created using
standard programming and engineering techniques, respectively.
[0173] Similarly, the computing infrastructure 3305 is only
illustrative of various types of computer infrastructures for
implementing the invention. For example, in embodiments, the server
3305 comprises two or more computing devices (e.g., a server
cluster) that communicate over any type of communications link,
such as a network, a shared memory, or the like, to perform the
process described herein.
[0174] Further, while performing the processes described herein,
one or more computing devices on the server 3305 can communicate
with one or more other computing devices external to the server
3305 using any type of communications link. The communications link
can comprise any combination of wired and/or wireless links; any
combination of one or more types of networks (e.g., the Internet, a
wide area network, a local area network, a virtual private network,
etc.); and/or utilize any combination of transmission techniques
and protocols.
Flow Diagrams
[0175] FIGS. 34 and 35 show exemplary flows for performing aspects
of the third procedure. The steps of FIGS. 34 and 35 may be
implemented in the environment of FIG. 33, for example. The flow
diagrams may equally represent a high-level block diagrams of the
invention. The flowcharts and/or block diagrams in FIGS. 34 and 35
illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of
possible implementations of systems, methods and computer program
products according to various embodiments of the third procedure.
In this regard, each block in the flowcharts or block diagrams may
represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises
one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified
logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some
alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may
occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two
blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially
concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the
reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. Each
block of each flowchart, and combinations of the flowchart
illustrations can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based
systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or
combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions
and/or software, as described above. Moreover, the steps of the
flow diagrams may be implemented and executed from either a server,
in a client server relationship, or they may run on a user
workstation with operative information conveyed to the user
workstation. In an embodiment, the software elements include
firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.
[0176] Furthermore, a computer program product accessible from a
computer-usable or computer-readable medium may provide program
code for use by or in connection with a computer or any instruction
execution system. The software and/or computer program product can
be implemented in the environment of FIG. 33. For the purposes of
this description, a computer-usable or computer readable medium can
be any apparatus that can contain, store, communicate, propagate,
or transport the program for use by or in connection with the
instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The medium can
be an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or
semiconductor system (or apparatus or device) or a propagation
medium. Examples of a computer-readable storage medium include a
semiconductor or solid state memory, magnetic tape, a removable
computer diskette, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory
(ROM), a rigid magnetic disk and an optical disk. Current examples
of optical disks include compact disk-read only memory (CD-ROM),
compact disc-read/write (CD-R/W) and DVD.
[0177] FIG. 34 illustrates an exemplary flow 3400 for creating and
storing an identification code for a timepiece. At step 3405, the
position measuring tool detects the relative position of the one or
more jewels. As shown in FIG. 34, at step 3410, the luminescence
measuring tool measures luminescence properties of one or more
jewels, for example, at one or more intervals. At step 3415, the
orientation measuring tool detects the relative orientation of the
one or more jewels. At step 3420, the code generation tool creates
an identification code based on the relative position, the
luminescent properties, and/or the relative orientation of the one
or more jewels. In embodiments, the code generation tool may
additionally utilize a serial number of the timepiece in creating
the identification code. At step 3425, the code generation tool
stores the identification code in a storage system, e.g., a
database.
[0178] FIG. 35 illustrates an exemplary flow 3500 for
authentication and/or identification of a time piece. As shown in
FIG. 35, at step 3505, the position measuring tool detects the
relative position of the one or more jewels. At step 3510, the
luminescence measuring tool measures luminescence properties of one
or more jewels, for example, at one or more intervals. At step
3515, the orientation measuring tool detects the relative
orientation of the one or more jewels. At step 3520, the code
creation tool creates an obtained identification code based on the
luminescent properties, the relative position, and the relative
orientation of the one or more jewels. At step 3525, the code
comparison tool compares the obtained code with stored
identification codes. At step 3530, the code comparison tool
determines whether the obtained code matches a stored
identification code. If, at step 3530, the code comparison tool
determines that the obtained code matches a stored identification
code, at step 3535, the timepiece is determined to be authentic.
If, at step 3530, the code comparison tool determines that the
obtained code match does not match a stored identification code, at
step 3540, the timepiece is determined to be un-authentic.
Fourth Procedure
[0179] A fourth procedure for authenticating and/identifying a
timepiece will be described in the following passages. The
procedure comprises applying at least one excitation to the
timepiece using an apparatus to generate a vibration of the
timepiece; and detecting the vibration of the timepiece resulting
from the excitation for determining the authenticity of the
timepiece.
[0180] The timepiece, herein referred to as the device, may
comprise a mechanical resonator for determining the authenticity of
the device, wherein the mechanical resonator is excited on
application of an excitation to the device. The main or sole
function of the mechanical resonator may be to vibrate following
the application of an excitation to the device for authenticating
the device. The mechanical resonator may be a small mechanical
resonator which may be inserted into a device without altering the
device's functionality. The method of the present invention may be
used on any device to which a mechanical resonator can be attached
and/or inserted without altering the device's functionality.
[0181] The step of applying at least one excitation to said device
using an apparatus to generate a vibration of the device may
comprise applying the at least one excitation to said device using
an external apparatus to generate a vibration of the device. An
external apparatus is an apparatus which is not an integral
component of the device. The term external vibrations is used to
refer to vibrations which originate from an external apparatus. In
another embodiment, the device may comprise an exciter such as a
tuning fork which can be used to apply the excitations to the
device.
[0182] The apparatus may be an external apparatus wherein the step
of applying at least one excitation to said device comprises
applying an external vibration to the device. The external
vibration may be applied to an internal part of the device or to an
external part of the device.
[0183] The external apparatus may comprise at least one of a
transducer for example a piezoelectric device, an impactor, a
tuning fork, and a striking element (such as a clapper or a
striker).
[0184] The external vibrations applied to the device may be pulsed.
The pulses may be identical copies of one another or they may be
different.
[0185] The acoustic vibrations may be in the sonic, and/or the
sub-sonic and and/or in the ultrasonic range, unless otherwise
specified. The term "acoustic" does not limit the vibrations to
being within a human's audible range.
[0186] While mechanical shocks within the timepiece may be a source
of vibrations, the fourth procedure utilizes another source of
excitation, preferably an external source of excitation, for
generating vibrations of the device. The vibrations can be detected
and/or recorded for authenticating the timepiece. For example, a
timepiece may not be operating, for example it may be broken, such
that there are no generated internal vibrations from the operation
of the movement (e.g., no "tick-tock" sound). With embodiments the
fourth procedure, an external source of excitation is utilized to
generate internal vibrations in the timepiece, which may be used to
identify and/or authenticate the timepiece. That is, in accordance
with aspects of the invention, the external vibration generates at
least one acoustic vibration inside the timepiece, which may be
used to identify and/or authenticate a timepiece.
[0187] The vibration of the timepiece may be analysed to give
information on the nature of the material or materials from which
the timepiece is composed and/or of the structure of the timepiece.
The material may be steel.
[0188] Using an external source of excitation may be advantageous
even with a working timepiece, as some of the parts whose
vibrations can give rise to a characteristic signal may be only
weakly excited by the internal shocks.
[0189] In particular, even if a timepiece is working, the sound
generated by internal excitation is mostly localized in a specific
region of the timepiece, for example at the balance
wheel/escapement assembly. By using an external excitation (e.g. a
vibration), additional information about the timepiece such as
(e.g. other vibrational frequencies) may be determined, and used
for identification and/or authentication. Additionally, by
utilizing an external excitation the excitation can be tailored
with substantial freedom (in contrast to an internal excitation due
to the movement, where the excitation is given by the
characteristics of the movement). For example, the frequency
spectrum of the excitation, the amplitude and/or the time-profile
may be controlled.
[0190] There need not be only one microphone or excitation source
to detect said acoustic vibration. A plurality of devices may be
used, to detect different paths of propagation of the vibration
inside the timepiece (and the associated delays), reflecting the
structure and material composition of the piece.
[0191] In particular, three microphones may be used to localize the
source of vibration inside a piece.
[0192] According to an embodiment of a method for authenticating a
timepiece according to the invention, an external source of
excitation is applied to a timepiece to be authenticated, and the
acoustic vibrations of the timepiece are measured, for example,
using a microphone, such as a contact piezoelectric microphone. The
acoustic vibrations emitted by the timepiece are measured and an
electrical signal is obtained, which indicates a variation of the
magnitude of the measured acoustic vibrations as a function of
time.
[0193] FIG. 36 shows an exemplary excitation signal 3600 which is
applied to a device or product in accordance with embodiments of
the invention. As shown in FIG. 36, the exemplary excitation signal
3600 is depicted as a normalized excitation signal versus time. In
embodiments, the external excitation signal 3600 may be generated
using an external device. In embodiments of the invention, the
external device may comprise at least one transducer such as a
piezoelectric device, and a tuning fork, and a striking element
such as a clapper or a striker amongst other contemplated external
devices.
[0194] The two functions of excitation and detection could be
coupled in a single transducer.
[0195] As shown with the exemplary excitation signal of FIG. 36,
the excitation signal 3600 may comprise a regular sequence of
excitation regions spaced apart by regions of non-excitation (e.g.,
100 ms on, 100 ms off, 100 ms on, 100 ms off, etc.). With such an
exemplary excitation signal 3600, the internal vibrations may be
detected during the periods of non-excitation. That is, in
embodiments, the measuring of the acoustic vibrations emitted
inside the timepiece does not overlap in time with the external
excitation. Additionally, the internal vibrations may be detected
during the periods overlapping (e.g., partially or totally with)
the periods of excitation. That is, in embodiments, the measuring
of the acoustic vibrations emitted inside the timepiece may at
least partially overlap in time with the at least one external
vibration.
[0196] With other contemplated embodiments, the external excitation
signal may comprise one or more of sequential vibrations,
time-varied vibrations, intensity-varied vibrations, pulsed
vibrations, acoustic vibrations, a non-stop (or continuous)
vibration with discontinuous frequencies, and a continuous
vibration with a continuous frequency. In embodiments of the
invention, the acoustic vibrations may comprise at least one of a
single tone, two or more tones, a sweep, a white noise, a colored
noise, a random or pseudo-random sequence, one impulse, and a
sequence of two or more impulses.
[0197] The excitation applied to the device may comprise an
electro-magnetic excitation.
[0198] FIG. 37 shows an exemplary detected signal 3700 in
accordance with embodiments of the invention. As shown in FIG. 37,
a section (depicted within box 3705) of the exemplary detected
signal 3700 is enlarged to illustrate a portion 3710 of the
exemplary detected signal 3700. As is shown in FIG. 37, the portion
3710 of the exemplary detected signal 3700 generally includes three
zones (3715, 3720, and 3725). In accordance with embodiments of the
invention, zone 3715 of the exemplary detected signal 3700 may
include a detection of the external excitation signal and a
detection of the internal vibrations emitted by the timepiece due
to application of the external excitation signal. Zone 3720 of the
exemplary detected signal 3700 includes a detection of the internal
vibrations emitted by the timepiece that are attributable to the
applied external excitation. Zone 3725 of the exemplary detected
signal 3700 includes a detection of the background noise such as
acoustic and electrical noise picked-up by the microphone.
[0199] FIG. 38 shows an exemplary detected signal 3800 with an
identification of a background subtraction signal in accordance
with embodiments of the invention. As shown in FIG. 38, the
exemplary detected signal may be divided into three zones (3715,
3720, and 3725). As noted above, zone 3715 of the exemplary
detected signal 3800 may include a detection of the external
excitation signal and a detection of the internal vibrations
emitted by the timepiece due to application of the external
excitation signal. This portion of the detected signal 3800 may be
less suitable for identification and/or authentication purposes, as
its dominant contribution comes from direct transmission of the
external excitation. Zone 3720 (also designated as Zone A) of the
exemplary detected signal 3800 includes a detection of the internal
vibrations 3805 emitted by the timepiece that are attributable to
the applied external excitation. Because these vibrations persist
for a time after the excitation has been turned off, they
contribute substantially to the signal in zone 3720. In zone 3725
(also designated as Zone B) of the exemplary detected signal 3800,
the vibrations have substantially or completely decayed. Hence, a
comparison between the signal measured in zone 3720 and the signal
measured in zone 3725 conveniently allows to discriminate between a
useful signal resulting from vibrations emitted by the timepiece as
a result of the external excitation and background noise which is
not attributable to the applied external excitation such as
acoustical ambient noise, building vibrations etc.
[0200] In accordance with embodiments of the invention, the
acoustic vibrations emitted by a timepiece to be authenticated are
measured and an electrical signal is obtained, which indicates a
variation of a magnitude of the measured acoustic vibrations as a
function of time. This electrical signal may be transformed into a
frequency domain, so as to obtain a frequency-domain power spectrum
indicating a variation of a power of the electrical signal as a
function of frequency. The frequency-domain transform to be used
according to an exemplary embodiment may be one of the usual
frequency-domain transforms, such as a Fourier transform, in
particular a Fast Fourier transform. The frequency-power spectrum
of the measured acoustic vibrations of the timepiece to be
authenticated reveals several peaks in the power spectrum
representation at several frequencies.
[0201] This frequency information may be extracted from the
frequency-domain power spectrum and compared with reference
frequency information, which has been previously stored for the
timepiece model. This comparison enables derivation of information
making it possible to authenticate a timepiece by simply comparing
the frequency information obtained for the timepiece to be
authenticated with the reference frequency information for the
timepiece model to be authenticated.
[0202] In embodiments, a time-frequency representation may be used
to provide information on which frequencies are present at which
time. A time-frequency representation can therefore be used to
associate specific frequencies with specific events taking place in
the time domain. For example, to determine the lifetime of the
vibration associated with a given resonant frequency.
[0203] According to embodiments of the fourth procedure, a
time-frequency transform to be used may be one among the several
time-frequency transforms available and known to the person skilled
in the art. In particular, to cite a few possible exemplary
transforms, the transform into a time-frequency representation may
be one of the short-time Fourier transform, a Gabor transform, a
Wigner transform, and a wavelet transform.
[0204] A wavelet transform is described, for example, in C.
Torrence and G. P. Compo, Bulletin of the American Meteorological
Society, 79, 1998. The use of a wavelet transform represents an
exemplary embodiment of the fourth procedure, since the wavelet
transform is a convenient tool for time-frequency analysis, with a
number of interesting features, such as the possibility to adapt
the time-frequency resolution to the problem under investigation,
as well as the good mathematical properties. The continuous wavelet
transform takes a time-domain signal s(t), the electrical signal of
the measured acoustic vibrations emitted by the timepiece to be
authenticated, the electrical signal indicating a variation of the
magnitude of the measured acoustic vibrations as a function of
time, and transforms this time-domain signal into a time-frequency
representation W(f, t), which is defined by the following equation
(1):
W ( f , t ) = 2 .pi. f c .intg. - .infin. .infin. s ( t ' ) .psi. *
( 2 .pi. f ( t ' - t ) c ) t ' ( 1 ) ##EQU00004##
where: [0205] .psi. is the wavelet function (there are several
types to choose from); and [0206] c is a constant, which depends on
the chosen wavelet function.
[0207] With additional embodiments, a time-frequency representation
may be obtained using a Morlet wavelet (2):
.psi..sub..omega.(x)=.pi..sup.-1/4exp(i.omega.x-x.sup.2/2) (2)
with: .omega.=40 and
c = .omega. + 2 + .omega. 2 2 .apprxeq. 40.01 ##EQU00005##
[0208] By using this time-frequency information, which is obtained
from a time-frequency representation of the electrical signal
obtained by measuring acoustic vibrations emitted by the timepiece
to be authenticated, information on an authenticity of the
timepiece can be derived. In order to do so, the time-frequency
information is extracted from the time-frequency representation and
compared with reference time-frequency information, which has been
previously stored for the timepiece model. By comparing the
time-frequency information extracted for the timepiece to be
authenticated with the reference time-information for the timepiece
model, the authenticity (or lack thereof) of the timepiece can be
derived.
[0209] In further embodiments of the invention, the fourth
procedure further comprises measuring at least one background
vibration when no external vibration is applied, and subtracting
the at least one background vibration from the measured acoustic
vibrations.
[0210] FIG. 39 shows an exemplary background subtraction Fourier
transform in accordance with embodiments of the invention. More
specifically, FIG. 39 shows an exemplary Fourier transform of the
Zone A portion of the signal and the Zone B portion of the signal
in accordance with embodiments of the invention. In embodiments of
the invention, a background subtraction may be performed (e.g. by
taking the ratio of the two Fourier Transforms) to subtract the
background noise (e.g., as detected in Zone B) from the detected
signal (e.g., as detected in Zone A) to arrive at an
identification/authentication signal (i.e., representative of the
internal vibrations of the timepiece that are attributable to the
applied external excitation).
[0211] FIG. 40 shows an exemplary background subtraction ratio
Fourier transform in accordance with embodiments of the invention.
More specifically, FIG. 40 shows an exemplary Fourier transform
ratio of the Zone A portion of the signal to the Zone B portion of
the signal in accordance with embodiments of the invention. In
embodiments of the invention, the ratio of the detected signal
(e.g., as detected in Zone A) to the background noise (e.g., as
detected in Zone B) may be used as an identification/authentication
signal (i.e., representative of the internal vibrations of the
timepiece that are attributable to the applied external
excitation).
[0212] In accordance with the fourth procedure, the extracted
information (e.g., the signal resulting from background subtraction
and/or the ratio signal) may then be compared with reference
information. This reference information has been previously
measured and stored for the timepiece model that is to be
authenticated. By comparing the extracted information obtained for
the timepiece to be authenticated with the reference information,
information regarding an authenticity of the timepiece to be
authenticated can be derived.
[0213] According to the fourth procedure, information on the width
of the spectral peak may be used for authentication and/or
identification purposes.
[0214] It has been observed by the inventors of the embodiments of
the present invention that the reliability and degree of precision
of the fourth procedure are such that it is possible to even
identify differences between the timepieces of an identical model.
Indeed, because of manufacturing tolerances, even two timepieces of
an identical model differ from each other. When applying the
principles underlined in the fourth procedure to different
timepieces from the same series and the same manufacturer, it can
be seen that the corresponding acoustic measurements are different
and the extracted relevant respective pieces of frequency
information, which characterize the fingerprint of the respective
timepiece, are different. Hence, an identifier (e.g., a unique
identifier) can be defined for a timepiece without having to open
the timepiece.
[0215] The above-described measurements of a particular timepiece
should not change over time (i.e., remain stable). For example, as
long as components of the watch are not touched or manipulated, the
above-described measurements of a particular timepiece will not
change. Of course, with maintenance of the timepiece (e.g., when
the timepiece is opened), the above-described measurements may be
affected. As such, when timepiece maintenance is performed (e.g.,
when the timepiece is opened), the timepiece should be recertified
(e.g., the acoustic signature of the timepiece should be
recaptured, and the results of the one or more the above-described
measurements should be identified and stored). In embodiments, once
the timepiece is recertified, the results of the one or more the
above-described measurements may also be linked with a timepiece
identifier (e.g., the timepiece serial number), for example, in a
database.
[0216] While the above-described measurements a timepiece should
not change over time, the embodiments of the invention contemplate
that some of the above-described measurements of respective
timepiece may change albeit slightly over time. Thus, in accordance
with embodiments of the invention, a threshold for determining a
positive authentication of a timepiece may be configured (e.g.,
lowered) in dependence upon an age of the timepiece. That is, in
embodiments, an older timepiece may be subjected to a lower
threshold for a positive authentication via comparison with stored
time measurements, frequency measurements, and/or magnitude
measurements (or stored identifiers based upon the measurements).
In embodiments, the timepiece may be recertified on a regular basis
(e.g., yearly) to account for the evolution (e.g., any property
changes) of the timepiece over time.
[0217] With further contemplated embodiments of the fourth
procedure, the analysis of a timepiece may be in two levels (e.g.,
a less intense first level and a more intense second level). For
example, with a first level of analysis (e.g., an initial
assessment), the timepiece may be identified by a make and model
(e.g., using a peak within a range of frequencies), to determine if
the timepiece is authentic (i.e., verified as a particular make and
model). With this first level of analysis, an assessment may
determine, for example, that the timepiece is in fact a particular
make and/or model. A second level of analysis may include a deeper
analysis of the emitted sounds, to identify a unique "finger print"
for the timepiece (e.g., using a specific peak or a peak within a
range of frequencies). This unique "finger print" may be stored in
a database and/or compared with previously stored finger prints to
positively identify the timepiece. In embodiments, either or both
of the first and second levels of analysis may be done with a new
timepiece, or with used timepieces that have not been previously
analyzed.
[0218] While above embodiments have been described with regard to a
timepiece that is not working or "running" (e.g., is broken or
unwound), with further contemplated embodiments, the measuring of
the acoustic vibrations emitted within the timepiece may be
performed while the timepiece is running. With such an embodiment,
the applying at least one external vibration may be synchronous
with a tick/tock noise emanated by the timepiece. In additional
embodiments of the invention, the measuring the acoustic vibrations
emitted inside the timepiece may be performed when at least one of
a tick movement and a tock movement of the timepiece occurs. In yet
further embodiments of the invention, the measuring the acoustic
vibrations emitted inside the timepiece may be performed between
occurrences of a tick movement and a tock movement of the
timepiece.
[0219] With further contemplated embodiments, more than one bit of
information may be extracted from the timepiece, with additional
(or specific) stimulation (or excitation). For example, a timepiece
may be configured, such that a unique identifier or ID may be
extracted using a specific frequency of excitation. For example,
the timepiece may be provided with a resonator, which is excited by
a specific frequency, to create a unique ID.
[0220] FIG. 41 shows an exemplary and non-limiting signal detection
system 4100 in accordance with embodiments of the invention. As
shown in FIG. 41, the exemplary signal detection system 4100
includes an input signal generation tool 4110 operable to generate
an input signal. The generated input signal is sent to an external
excitation device 4115 (e.g., a transducer). The exemplary and
non-limiting signal detection system 4100 illustrates a transducer
as the external excitation device 4115, which in embodiments of the
invention, may be a piezoelectric device, and/or a tuning fork,
amongst other contemplated external excitation devices. In other
embodiments, the external excitation device may be a small striking
element, such as a clapper or a striker. The generated input signal
may be configured to produce (via the external excitation device)
one or more of regular vibrations (e.g., of approximately constant
amplitude and spectrum), sequential vibrations, time-varied
vibrations, intensity-varied vibrations, pulsed vibrations, and
continuous (e.g., non-stop) vibrations having discontinuous
frequencies.
[0221] As further shown in FIG. 41, the external vibration device
4115 (e.g., a transducer) is placed in proximity to (e.g., in
physical contact with) a timepiece 4105. A detection device 4120
(e.g., a transducer) is placed in contact with the timepiece 4105
to detect the vibrations emitted by the timepiece 4105. In
embodiments, the detection device may comprise a transducer such as
a microphone, amongst other contemplated detection devices.
[0222] In accordance with the fourth procedure, the detection
device 4120 detects an output signal 4125. The output signal 4125
is sent to an analog/digital converter 4130, which is operable to
convert the analog output signal into a digital signal. The digital
output signal is sent to a controller 4135. In embodiments, the
controller 4135 is operable to process the digital signal (e.g.,
using a Fast Fourier transform).
[0223] Further, the controller 4135 is operable to further process
the signal (e.g., using a subtraction of the background signal from
the detected signal and/or a ratio of the detected signal to the
background signal, as discussed above) to determine an
identification/authentication signature for the timepiece.
Additionally, the controller 4135 is operable to store the
identification/authentication signature for the timepiece in a
storage device 4140 (e.g., a database). Also, as shown in FIG. 41,
the controller 4135 is in communication with the input signal
device 4110, and is operable to control a generation of the input
signal.
System Environment
[0224] As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the fourth
procedure may be embodied as a system, a method or a computer
program product. Accordingly, the fourth procedure may take the
form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software
(except for the transducers and ND converters) embodiment
(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an
embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all
generally be referred to herein as a "circuit," "module" or
"system." Furthermore, the fourth procedure may take the form of a
computer program product embodied in any tangible medium of
expression having computer-usable program code tangibly embodied in
the medium.
[0225] Any combination of one or more computer usable or computer
readable medium(s) may be utilized. The computer-usable or
computer-readable medium may be, for example but not limited to, an
electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or
semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagation medium.
More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the
computer-readable medium include the following: [0226] an
electrical connection having one or more wires, [0227] a portable
computer diskette, [0228] a hard disk, [0229] a random access
memory (RAM), [0230] a read-only memory (ROM), [0231] an erasable
programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), [0232] an
optical fiber, [0233] a portable compact disc read-only memory
(CDROM), [0234] an optical storage device, [0235] a transmission
media such as those supporting the Internet or an intranet, [0236]
a magnetic storage device, [0237] a usb key, [0238] a certificate,
[0239] a perforated card, and/or [0240] a mobile phone.
[0241] In the context of this document, a computer-usable or
computer-readable medium may be any medium that can contain, store,
communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or in
connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or
device. The computer-usable medium may include a propagated data
signal with the computer-usable program code embodied therewith,
either in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. The computer
usable program code may be transmitted using any appropriate
medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical
fiber cable, RF, etc.
[0242] Computer program code for carrying out operations of the
fourth procedure may be written in any combination of one or more
programming languages, including an object oriented programming
language such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional
procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming
language or similar programming languages. The program code may
execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's
computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's
computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote
computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may
be connected to the user's computer through any type of network.
This may include, for example, a local area network (LAN) or a wide
area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external
computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet
Service Provider). Additionally, in embodiments, the fourth
procedure may be embodied in a field programmable gate array
(FPGA).
[0243] FIG. 42 shows an illustrative environment 4200 for managing
the processes in accordance with the invention. To this extent, the
environment 4200 includes a server or other computing system 4205
that can perform the processes described herein. In particular, the
server 4205 includes a computing device 4210. The computing device
4210 can be resident on a network infrastructure or computing
device of a third party service provider (any of which is generally
represented in FIG. 42). In embodiments of the fourth procedure,
the computing device 4210 may be used as the controller 4135
depicted in FIG. 41.
[0244] In embodiments, the computing device 4210 includes an input
signal control tool 4245, a measuring tool 4250, an analog/digital
converter control tool 4255, an extraction tool 4265, an
identification tool 4270, a comparison tool 4275, and an
authenticity determination tool 4280, which are operable to create
an external excitation, measure one or more detected sounds or
vibrations, control an analog/digital converter, extract from an
electrical signal or from a representation of said electrical
signal in a time or time-frequency domain at least one of:
magnitude information on a magnitude of the detected acoustic
signal, time information of the detected acoustic signal, and
frequency information the detected acoustic signal, create an
identifier based on the extracted information, compare the
extracted information with stored information, and determine an
authenticity, e.g., the processes described herein. The input
signal control tool 4245, the measuring tool 4250, the
analog/digital converter control tool 4255, the extraction tool
4265, the identification tool 4270, the comparison tool 4275, and
the authenticity determination tool 4280 can be implemented as one
or more program code in the program control 4240 stored in memory
4225A as separate or combined modules. The computing device 4210
also includes a processor 4220, memory 4225A, an I/O interface
4230, and a bus 4226. The memory 4225A can include local memory
employed during actual execution of program code, bulk storage, and
cache memories which provide temporary storage of at least some
program code in order to reduce the number of times code must be
retrieved from bulk storage during execution. In addition, the
computing device includes random access memory (RAM), a read-only
memory (ROM), and an operating system (O/S).
[0245] The computing device 4210 is in communication with the
external I/O device/resource 4235 and the storage system 4225B. For
example, the I/O device 4235 can comprise any device that enables
an individual to interact with the computing device 4210 or any
device that enables the computing device 4210 to communicate with
one or more other computing devices using any type of
communications link. The external I/O device/resource 4235 may be
for example, a handheld device, PDA, handset, keyboard, smartphone,
etc. Additionally, in accordance with aspects of embodiments of the
invention, the environment 4200 includes an excitation device (or
exciter) 4283 for generating an external excitation, a measuring
device (or measurer) 4285 for measuring sound vibrations (e.g.,
sonic emissions) from one or more timepieces, and an analog/digital
converter 4290 for converting the detected analog signal into a
digital signal.
[0246] In general, the processor 4220 executes computer program
code (e.g., program control 4240), which can be stored in the
memory 4225A and/or storage system 4225B. Moreover, in accordance
with embodiments of the invention, the program control 4240 having
program code controls the input signal control tool 4245, the
measuring tool 4250, the analog/digital converter control tool
4255, the extraction tool 4265, the identification tool 4270, the
comparison tool 4275, and the authenticity determination tool 4280.
While executing the computer program code, the processor 4220 can
read and/or write data to/from memory 4225A, storage system 4225B,
and/or I/O interface 4230. The program code executes the processes
of the invention. The bus 4226 provides a communications link
between each of the components in the computing device 4210.
[0247] The computing device 4210 can comprise any general purpose
computing article of manufacture capable of executing computer
program code installed thereon (e.g., a personal computer, server,
etc.). However, it is understood that the computing device 4210 is
only representative of various possible equivalent computing
devices that may perform the processes described herein. To this
extent, in embodiments, the functionality provided by the computing
device 4210 can be implemented by a computing article of
manufacture that includes any combination of general and/or
specific purpose hardware and/or computer program code. In each
embodiment, the program code and hardware can be created using
standard programming and engineering techniques, respectively.
[0248] Similarly, the computing infrastructure 4205 is only
illustrative of various types of computer infrastructures for
implementing the invention. For example, in embodiments, the server
4205 comprises two or more computing devices (e.g., a server
cluster) that communicate over any type of communications link,
such as a network, a shared memory, or the like, to perform the
process described herein. Further, while performing the processes
described herein, one or more computing devices on the server 4205
can communicate with one or more other computing devices external
to the server 4205 using any type of communications link. The
communications link can comprise any combination of wired and/or
wireless links; any combination of one or more types of networks
(e.g., the Internet, a wide area network, a local area network, a
virtual private network, etc.); and/or utilize any combination of
transmission techniques and protocols.
Flow Diagrams
[0249] FIGS. 43 and 44 show exemplary flows for performing aspects
of embodiments of the fourth procedure. The steps of FIGS. 43 and
44 may be implemented in the environment of FIG. 42, for example.
The flow diagrams may equally represent high-level block diagrams
of embodiments of the invention. The flowcharts and/or block
diagrams in FIGS. 43 and 44 illustrate the architecture,
functionality, and operation of possible implementations of
systems, methods and computer program products according to various
embodiments of the fourth procedure. In this regard, each block in
the flowcharts or block diagrams may represent a module, segment,
or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable
instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It
should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the
functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in
the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in
fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may
sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the
functionality involved. Each block of each flowchart, and
combinations of the flowchart illustrations can be implemented by
special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified
functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and
computer instructions and/or software, as described above.
Moreover, the steps of the flow diagrams may be implemented and
executed from either a server, in a client server relationship, or
they may run on a user workstation with operative information
conveyed to the user workstation. In an embodiment, the software
elements include firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.
[0250] Furthermore, the invention can take the form of a computer
program product accessible from a computer-usable or
computer-readable medium providing program code for use by or in
connection with a computer or any instruction execution system. The
software and/or computer program product can be implemented in the
environment of FIG. 42. For the purposes of this description, a
computer-usable or computer readable medium can be any apparatus
that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the
program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution
system, apparatus, or device. The medium can be an electronic,
magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor
system (or apparatus or device) or a propagation medium. Examples
of a computer-readable storage medium include a semiconductor or
solid state memory, magnetic tape, a removable computer diskette, a
random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a rigid
magnetic disk and an optical disk. Current examples of optical
disks include compact disk-read only memory (CD-ROM), compact
disc-read/write (CD-R/W) and DVD.
[0251] FIG. 43 illustrates an exemplary flow 4300 for creating and
storing an identification code for a timepiece. At step 4302, the
input signal control tool controls the excitation device to apply
an external excitation to a timepiece. At step 4305, the measuring
tool measures acoustic vibrations to obtain an electrical signal.
At step 4310, the extraction tool extracts from said electrical
signal or from a representation of said electrical signal in a time
or time-frequency domain at least one of: magnitude information on
a magnitude of the measured electrical signal, time information of
the measured electrical signal, and frequency information on a
frequency of said the measured electrical signal. At step 4313, the
extraction tool determines an identification signal from the
measured electrical signal by accounting for a signal portion based
on the external excitation and accounting for a signal portion
based on background noise. At step 4315, the identification tool
creates an identification code based on the identification signal.
At step 4320, the identification tool stores the identification
code in a storage system, e.g., a database.
[0252] FIG. 44 illustrates an exemplary flow 4400 for
authentication and/or identification of a timepiece. As shown in
FIG. 44, at step 4405, the input signal control tool controls the
excitation device (or exciter) to apply an external excitation to a
timepiece. As step 4410, the measuring tool controls a microphone
to measure acoustic vibrations to obtain an electrical signal. At
step 4412, the extraction tool extracts from said electrical signal
or from a representation of said electrical signal in a time or
time-frequency domain at least one of: magnitude information on a
magnitude of the measured electrical signal, time information of
the measured electrical signal, and frequency information of the
measured electrical signal. At step 4415, the extraction tool
determines an identification signal from the measured electrical
signal by accounting for a signal portion based on the external
excitation and accounting for a signal portion based on background
noise At step 4417, the identification tool creates an obtained
identification code based the identification signal. At step 4420,
the comparison tool (or comparator) compares the obtained code with
stored identification codes. At step 4425, the authentication
determination tool determines whether the obtained code matches a
stored identification code. If, at step 4425, the authentication
determination tool determines that the obtained code matches a
stored identification code, at step 4430, the timepiece is
determined to be authentic. If, at step 4425, the authentication
determination tool determines that the obtained code match does not
match a stored identification code, at step 4435, the timepiece is
determined to be un-authentic.
[0253] The fourth procedure may comprise applying at least one
external excitation to said timepiece using an external device,
measuring acoustic vibrations emitted inside the timepiece to
obtain an electrical signal representative of the measured acoustic
vibrations, wherein the electrical signal indicates magnitude
information comprising a variation of a magnitude of the measured
acoustic vibrations as a function of time, comparing the magnitude
information with at least one reference magnitude information, and
determining an authenticity of the timepiece based on the
comparing.
[0254] While the invention has been described with reference to
specific embodiments, those skilled in the art will understand that
various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for
elements thereof without departing from the true spirit and scope
of the invention. In addition, modifications may be made without
departing from the essential teachings of the invention.
[0255] The particulars shown herein are by way of example and for
purposes of illustrative discussion of the embodiments of the
present invention only and are presented in the cause of providing
what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood
description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the present
invention. In this regard, no attempt is made to show structural
details of the present invention in more detail than is necessary
for the fundamental understanding of the present invention, the
description is taken with the drawings making apparent to those
skilled in the art how the forms of the present invention may be
embodied in practice.
[0256] As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the"
include the plural reference unless the context clearly dictates
otherwise. For example, reference to "a magnetic material" would
also mean that mixtures of one or more magnetic materials can be
present unless specifically excluded.
[0257] Except where otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing
quantities of ingredients, reaction conditions, and so forth used
in the specification and claims are to be understood as being
modified in all instances by the term "about." Accordingly, unless
indicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters set forth in
the specification and claims are approximations that may vary
depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by the
present invention. At the very least, and not to be considered as
an attempt to limit the application of the doctrine of equivalents
to the scope of the claims, each numerical parameter should be
construed in light of the number of significant digits and ordinary
rounding conventions.
[0258] Additionally, the recitation of numerical ranges within this
specification is considered to be a disclosure of all numerical
values and ranges within that range. For example, if a range is
from about 1 to about 50, it is deemed to include, for example, 1,
7, 34, 46.1, 23.7, or any other value or range within the
range.
[0259] The various embodiments disclosed herein can be used
separately and in various combinations unless specifically stated
to the contrary.
* * * * *