Management apparatus, control method for management apparatus, management system, and product

Abstract

To provide a management apparatus, a control method for the management apparatus, a management system, and a product for reducing operation costs.SOLUTION: In a management system 10, a purchaser terminal 2 reads, by a purchaser who has purchased one of products 7 that are of a specific type, a plurality of pieces of management information pre-stored in a readable manner in an information reading unit 7a provided in products to be managed and different for each product associated with the specific type of product, and a management apparatus 3 receives the management information of the product 7 transmitted from the purchaser terminal via the Internet 6, determines whether the received management information is one of the plurality of pieces of pre-stored management information, and if it is one of the plurality of pieces of pre-stored management information, records the association between the management information received from the purchaser terminal and a non-fungible token owned by the purchaser in a distributed management system (blockchain 4), in the non-fungible token.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a management device, a control method for a management device, a management system, and a product. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, in the blockchain technology, which is an example of a distributed management system that is difficult to counterfeit or tamper with, in addition to the fungible tokens (FT: Fungible Token) used for crypto assets (virtual currencies), etc., non-fungible tokens (NFT: Non-Fungible Token) that are unique and cannot be substituted have been attracting attention. For example, by storing information about digital art in an NFT, it becomes possible to confirm the legitimate owner in the distribution process of the digital art using the NFT, and it is possible to prevent the distribution of unauthorized copies (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2021-166028 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] NFTs are being considered for application not only to digital art, but also to products that are distributed in the real world. Specifically, by associating NFTs with products that are distributed in the real world, it is possible to manage the distribution of real-world products and prove their legitimate ownership. Real-world products may be sold by their manufacturers and then distributed among collectors, and it is possible to use NFTs to manage the distribution of such products.

[0005] In order to associate a product with an NFT, it is possible to attach an information reading unit capable of recording and reading management information to each product when the product is manufactured, and to issue an NFT corresponding to this management information. However, in the method of issuing NFTs in advance, since it is necessary to issue NFTs for products that were not sold, there is a risk that costs will be incurred due to the issuance of unnecessary NFTs, and that the overall operating costs will increase. Therefore, it is desirable to reduce the operating costs.

[0006] The present application has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a management device, a control method for the management device, a management system, and a product that can reduce operational costs. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A management device according to one aspect of the present invention records purchasers of products circulating in the real world using non-fungible tokens recorded in a distributed management system. The management device prestores a plurality of pieces of management information, which are readable by a purchaser terminal operated by the purchaser and correspond to a specific type of product, in an information reading unit provided in the product to be managed, the management device receives the product management information transmitted from the purchaser terminal via the Internet when a purchaser who has purchased one of the specific types of products reads the information reading unit attached to the product with the purchaser terminal, determines whether the management information received from the purchaser terminal is one of the plurality of pieces of management information stored in advance, and if the management information received from the purchaser terminal is one of the plurality of pieces of management information stored in advance, records the non-fungible token owned by the purchaser in the distributed management system, and records the association between the management information received from the purchaser terminal and the non-fungible token.

[0008] A method for controlling a management device according to one aspect of the present invention uses a non-fungible token recorded in a distributed management system to record a purchaser of a product circulating in the real world. The management device stores in advance a plurality of pieces of management information, which are readable by a purchaser terminal operated by the purchaser and correspond to a specific type of product, and which are different for each product, in an information reading unit provided in the product to be managed, receives the product management information transmitted from the purchaser terminal via the Internet when a purchaser who has purchased one of the specific types of products reads the information reading unit attached to the product with the purchaser terminal, and determines whether the management information received from the purchaser terminal is one of the plurality of pieces of management information stored in advance. If the management information received from the purchaser terminal is one of the plurality of pieces of management information stored in advance, the management device records the non-fungible token owned by the purchaser in the distributed management system, and records the association between the management information received from the purchaser terminal and the non-fungible token.

[0009] A management system according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a management device that records purchasers of products circulating in the real world using a non-fungible token recorded in a distributed management system, and a purchaser terminal operated by a purchaser of a specific type of product. The management device stores in advance a plurality of pieces of management information that are recorded in an information reading unit provided in the product to be managed so as to be readable by the purchaser terminal operated by the purchaser, are associated with the specific type of product, and are different for each product. The purchaser terminal reads the information reading unit attached to the product, and transmits the information from the purchaser terminal to the management device via the Internet. The management device determines whether the management information received from the purchaser terminal is one of the plurality of pieces of management information stored in advance, and if the management information received from the purchaser terminal is one of the plurality of pieces of management information stored in advance, records the non-fungible token owned by the purchaser in the distributed management system, and records the association between the management information received from the purchaser terminal and the non-fungible token.

[0010] In one embodiment of the present invention, a product is managed by a management device using a non-fungible token recorded in a distributed management system. The product is associated with a specific type of product, and includes an information reading unit that allows a purchaser terminal operated by the purchaser to read a plurality of pieces of management information that are different for each product. The information reading unit is read by the purchaser terminal by the purchaser, thereby causing the purchaser terminal to acquire the management information recorded in the information reading unit, and causing the purchaser terminal to transmit the management information to the management device via the Internet, and causing the management device that has received the management information to determine whether the management information received from the purchaser terminal is one of the plurality of pieces of management information previously stored in the management device, and if the management information received from the purchaser terminal is one of the plurality of pieces of management information previously stored in the management device, causes the distributed management system to record the non-fungible token that the purchaser is the owner of, and records the association between the management information received from the purchaser terminal and the non-fungible token. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the management device, the control method for the management device, the management system, and the product of one aspect of the present invention, the management device is associated with a specific type of product in advance, and records a plurality of pieces of management information that are different for each product, and the management information is recorded readably in an information reading unit provided in the product to be managed. The purchaser terminal reads the management information from the information reading unit attached to the product and transmits it to the management device. When the management device receives the management information attached to the product from the purchaser terminal, it determines whether the management information received from the purchaser terminal is one of the plurality of pieces of management information stored in advance, and if the management information received from the purchaser terminal is one of the plurality of pieces of management information stored in advance, it records a non-fungible token of which the purchaser is the owner in the distributed management system. Furthermore, the management device records the association between the received management information and the non-fungible token of which the purchaser is the owner.

[0012] According to such a management device, a control method for the management device, a management system, and a product, if the management information received from the purchaser terminal is one of a plurality of pieces of management information stored in advance, it can be determined that the operator of the purchaser terminal is the legitimate owner of the product. Therefore, if the operator is the legitimate owner, a non-fungible token whose owner is the purchaser is recorded in a distributed management system, and a correspondence between the management information received from the purchaser terminal and the non-fungible token is recorded. As a result, by referring to the owner of the non-fungible token, it becomes possible to refer to the legitimate owner of the product whose management information is recorded in the information reading unit, and distribution of the product can be managed.

[0013] In addition to managing products in this way, after receiving management information from the purchaser terminal, the management device records an NFT that the purchaser owns on the blockchain, eliminating the need to issue NFTs associated with products that were not sold, and reducing the operating costs of the management device. Furthermore, the factory only needs to ship one of its inventory of purchased products to the purchaser, and does not need to ship a product associated with specific management information to the purchaser, eliminating the need to handle management information when shipping products at the factory and reducing the operating costs of the factory. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a management system common to each embodiment. [Figure 2A] 13 is a flowchart showing a process for pre-registering a purchaser in a wallet server. [Figure 2B] A flowchart showing the process in which a purchaser terminal refers to an NFT owned by the purchaser. [Figure 2C] 10 is a flowchart of a process in which the management device instructs a factory to manufacture a product. [Diagram 3] 11 is a flowchart showing a process of associating management information associated with a product with an NFT in the first embodiment. [Figure 4]13 is a flowchart showing a process of associating management information associated with a product with an NFT in the second embodiment. [Diagram 5] 13 is a flowchart showing a process of associating management information associated with a product with an NFT in the third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, the same components are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicated description will be omitted.

[0016] (First embodiment) 1 is a schematic diagram of a management system. The configuration of this management system is common to the other embodiments.

[0017] The management system 10 includes a factory 1, a purchaser terminal 2, a management device 3, a blockchain 4, and a wallet server 5, and these components are interconnected via the Internet 6.

[0018] The factory 1 manufactures the product 7 in accordance with a manufacturing instruction from the management device 3. Thereafter, the factory 1 ships the manufactured product 7 to the purchaser in accordance with a product shipping instruction from the management device 3. Therefore, the factory 1 is an example of a shipper. Furthermore, the product 7 is distributed in the real world, and is subject to management of the purchaser and the owner at the time of distribution by the management device 3. Note that the purchaser of the product 7 is capable of operating the purchaser terminal 2, and may be the owner of the purchaser terminal 2. The product 7 manufactured in the factory 1 is any product, including clothing. Examples of the products 7 include clothing (tops, bottoms, etc.), shoes (leather shoes, sneakers, sandals, boots, etc.), accessories (brooches, necklaces, earrings, watches, scarves, gloves, belts, ties, etc.), bags (second bags, bag-in-bags, pochettes, body bags, etc.), sports goods (sports equipment, tools, clothing, shoes, and other sports-related goods), and outdoor goods (barbecue equipment, other cooking utensils, tents, sleeping bags, Sierra cups, etc.), and examples of tops include T-shirts, sweatshirts, parkas, etc. Furthermore, it is preferable that these products 7 are products with asset value that have a specific design, such as digital art or anime characters.

[0019] These products 7 are equipped with an information reading unit 7a, and different management information is recorded in the information reading unit 7a for each product 7 in advance specified by the management device 3. In this way, the products 7 are associated with the management information. The management information may be recorded in any manner in the information reading unit 7a of the product 7, and may be, for example, attached as an NFC (Near Field Communication) tag or a printed drawing code (for example, a barcode or a QR code (registered trademark)). If the information reading unit 7a is an NFC tag, it can be read by an NFC reader, and if the information reading unit 7a is a drawing code, it can be read by capturing an image with an imaging unit such as a camera.

[0020] The purchaser terminal 2 is an information communication terminal operated by a purchaser of the product 7, and is, for example, a smartphone or a personal computer. The purchaser terminal 2 is configured to be able to read management information associated with the product 7. For example, the purchaser terminal 2 includes an NFT reader that reads an NFT tag and an imaging unit that reads a printed drawing code.

[0021] The management device 3 is an information and communication device such as a personal computer or a server. The management device 3 manages management information associated with the product 7, issues NFTs associated with the product 7 on the blockchain 4, and associates the management information of the product 7 with the NFT. By associating the management information of the product 7 with the NFT, it is possible to manage the distribution of the product 7 using the NFT.

[0022] Blockchain 4 is composed of multiple information and communication devices (nodes), and blocks recording transaction information are continuously linked in a chain by distributed processing of multiple nodes using cryptographic technology, making it possible to manage the transaction history of owners of information units called tokens. Blockchain 4 has a function called smart contract, and any program processing can be executed on blockchain 4 by smart contract. This smart contract realizes functions related to non-fungible tokens (NFTs: Non-Fungible Tokens) in blockchain 4. Note that blockchain 4 is an example of a distributed management system, and can be replaced by a decentralized management system built by multiple devices.

[0023] An NFT has, for example, a contract address indicating the location of the program that performed the NFT issuance process, and a token ID that is different for each token, and these pieces of information can be used to individually identify the NFT on the blockchain 4. An owner ID indicating the owner is also recorded in the NFT, and changes to the owner ID due to transaction processing are recorded on the blockchain 4. Also, being recorded as the owner of an NFT is generally referred to as owning an NFT.

[0024] The owner ID of the NFT records user identification information that can identify the user. The user identification information can be, for example, a public key used in a transaction or a wallet address, but in the following description, the user is identified in the blockchain 4 using a wallet address.

[0025] The wallet server 5 stores in advance the wallet address of the purchaser, which is acquired by input or registration by the purchaser. The wallet server 5 refers to the blockchain 4, acquires information on the NFT in which the purchaser's wallet address is recorded as the owner, and stores the information in the wallet. The purchaser terminal 2 can then access the wallet server 5 to access a list of NFTs owned by the purchaser.

[0026] Next, the processing performed in the management system 10 will be described with reference to Figures 2A to 2C and Figure 3. Figures 2A to 2C show processing that is also executed in other embodiments, and Figure 3 shows processing of the management system 10 in the first embodiment.

[0027] 2A is a flowchart showing the process of pre-registering a purchaser to the wallet server 5. This process opens a wallet in the wallet server 5 in response to a request from the purchaser terminal 2. NFTs owned by the purchaser are recorded in the wallet opened in association with the purchaser, and can be referenced from the purchaser terminal 2.

[0028] In step S201, the purchaser terminal 2 accepts a wallet opening request from the purchaser. When making the wallet opening request, the purchaser may input, for example, the purchaser's address, name, etc. along with a user ID and password for logging in to the wallet server 5. The purchaser terminal 2 uses the input information to request the wallet server 5 to open a wallet for the purchaser.

[0029] In step S202, the wallet server 5 opens a wallet capable of managing the purchaser's NFTs in response to the wallet opening request in step S201. For example, the wallet server 5 generates a wallet address for each wallet. The generated wallet address is used for issuing and trading tokens on the blockchain 4. Then, the wallet created by the wallet server 5 records NFTs that have the wallet address as the owner ID, among the NFTs recorded on the blockchain 4.

[0030] In step S203, the wallet server 5 notifies the purchaser terminal 2 of the generated wallet address. As a result, the purchaser terminal 2 obtains the wallet address associated with the purchaser, and can refer to a list of NFTs owned by the purchaser by accessing the wallet server 5 using the wallet address. Note that the wallet address often matches or corresponds to a public key used for processing in the blockchain 4, and the purchaser can also trade NFTs owned by the purchaser via the wallet server 5 using a private key corresponding to the public key.

[0031] Note that the registration of a purchaser in the wallet server 5 is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 2A and may take various forms. For example, when making a wallet opening request in step S201, the purchaser terminal 2 may transmit a wallet address previously acquired by the purchaser to the wallet server 5, and the wallet server 5 may create a wallet using the received wallet address. The wallet server 5 may be implemented in various forms, but it is sufficient that the wallet server 5 records the owner of the purchaser terminal 2 in association with user identification information (wallet address in this embodiment) that can identify the owner in the blockchain 4, records a list of NFTs owned by the purchaser in the wallet, and provides the list to the purchaser terminal 2.

[0032] 2B is a flowchart showing the process in which the purchaser terminal 2 refers to the NFTs owned by the purchaser. The purchaser terminal 2 obtains a list of NFTs owned by the purchaser via the wallet server 5. Note that if the purchaser terminal 2 is logged in to the wallet server 5, it can access the wallet server 5 without inputting a wallet address, etc.

[0033] In step S211, the purchaser terminal 2 requests the wallet server 5 to obtain information recorded in the purchaser's wallet, i.e., a list of NFTs owned by the purchaser. The purchaser's wallet on the wallet server 5 records a list of NFTs for which the purchaser is recorded as the owner, and the purchaser terminal 2 requests to refer to this list of NFTs.

[0034] In step S212, the wallet server 5 uses the purchaser's wallet address to refer to NFTs stored in the blockchain 4 for which the purchaser is recorded as the owner.

[0035] In step S213, the wallet server 5 obtains a list of NFTs for which the purchaser is recorded as the owner, obtained by referring to the blockchain 4.

[0036] In step S214, the wallet server 5 notifies the purchaser terminal 2 of the wallet information of the purchaser acquired in step S213, i.e., a list of NFTs for which the purchaser is recorded as the owner. This allows the purchaser terminal 2 to acquire information on the NFTs owned by the administrator.

[0037] Fig. 2C is a flowchart of a process in which the management device 3 instructs the factory 1 to manufacture the product 7. The management device 3 performs the process of Fig. 2C before the process of Fig. 3, so that the product 7 having the information reading unit 7a in which management information is recorded is manufactured in advance and prepared as inventory.

[0038] In step S221, the management device 3 generates management information to be associated with the product 7. The management information includes information indicating the type of the product 7 and unique ID information (IDentification information, for example, a serial number). One piece of management information may include both the type of the product 7 and the ID information, or the type of the product 7 and the unique ID may be recorded as separate information and managed together.

[0039] When one piece of management information includes the type and ID information of a product 7, and the management device 3 instructs the factory 1 to manufacture multiple products 7 (e.g., 100 pieces) of a certain type (e.g., "H1K"), the management device 3 generates different management information (e.g., H1K001 to H1K100) depending on the number of products 7 to be manufactured.

[0040] In step S222, the management device 3 instructs the factory 1 to manufacture the product 7 by transmitting to the factory 1 data required for manufacturing the product 7 (e.g., design data), the number of products 7 to be manufactured, and the multiple pieces of management information generated in step S221.

[0041] In step S223, the factory 1 uses the data necessary for production received in step S222 to manufacture the specified number of products 7. Furthermore, each manufactured product 7 is provided with an information reading unit 7a on which management information included in the production instruction in step S222 is recorded. The management information is recorded in the information reading unit 7a in any manner, and the information reading unit 7a is, for example, an NFC tag or a printed drawing code.

[0042] Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing the process of associating a product 7 with an NFT in the first embodiment. Note that, prior to this process, the processes of Fig. 2A to Fig. 2C have been performed in advance, the purchaser terminal 2 has acquired the wallet address of the purchaser, and is in a state in which it is possible to acquire a list of NFTs owned by the purchaser from the wallet server 5 using the wallet address, and further, the product 7 equipped with an information reading unit 7a in which management information is recorded has been manufactured in the factory 1.

[0043] In step S301, the factory 1 receives, for example, a shipping instruction for a specific product 7 from the management device 3, and ships one of the specified specific type of products 7 to the purchaser in response to this shipping instruction. The shipping instruction may be issued from a source other than the management device 3. The shipping instruction includes the type of product 7, but does not include management information. The type of product 7 included in the shipping instruction may be information indicating the type included in the management information (e.g., H1K). The factory 1 ships one product 7 from its inventory of the type of product 7 included in the shipping instruction to the purchaser. After the product 7 has been shipped to the purchaser, the purchaser can read the management information of the product 7 using the purchaser terminal 2.

[0044] In step S302, the purchaser terminal 2 reads the management information from the information reading unit 7a of the product 7 shipped in step S301 in response to the purchaser's operation, and transmits the read management information to the management device 3. For example, if the information reading unit 7a is an NFT tag, the purchaser terminal 2 is equipped with an NFC reader and uses the NFC reader to read the NFC tag of the information reading unit 7a of the product 7 and obtain the management information. As another example, if the management information is attached to the product 7 as a printed drawing code, the purchaser terminal 2 uses an imaging unit such as a camera to read the information reading unit 7a of the product 7 and obtain the management information. When the purchaser terminal 2 obtains the management information, it accesses the management device 3 via the Internet 6 and transmits the obtained management information to the management device 3. In addition, the management information transmitted from the purchaser terminal 2 may be signed by the purchaser terminal 2 to prevent tampering.

[0045] In step S303, when the purchaser terminal 2 accepts input of user information from the purchaser, it transmits the accepted user information to the management device 3. The input user information includes the purchaser's wallet address in addition to personal identification information such as the purchaser's name and address. Note that if the purchaser terminal 2 has already entered user information and is logged in to the management device 3, input of user information may be omitted.

[0046] In step S304, the management device 3 verifies the management information received in step S302. The management device 3 records a list of multiple pieces of management information generated in step S221 of FIG. 2C. The management device 3 then judges whether the list of management information generated in step S221 includes the management information received in step S302. If the list of management information generated includes the received management information, it is determined that the received management information is correct and that the operator of the purchaser terminal 2 is the legitimate owner, and the subsequent processing is performed. If the list of management information generated does not include the received management information, it is determined that the received management information is incorrect and that the operator of the purchaser terminal 2 is not the legitimate owner, and the association processing in FIG. 3 is terminated.

[0047] In step S305, the management device 3 instructs the issuance of an NFT in the blockchain 4. The smart contract generated by the management device 3 is recorded in the blockchain 4, and the management device 3 can perform predetermined processing by operating the smart contract. Therefore, the management device 3 instructs the smart contract recorded in the blockchain 4 to issue an NFT such that the purchaser's contract address becomes the owner ID, while specifying the token ID of the NFT to be issued.

[0048] In step S306, in response to the issuance instruction from the management device 3 in step S305, the blockchain 4 issues an NFT whose token ID is the specified value and whose owner ID is the contract address of the purchaser. Note that instead of issuing an NFT whose owner is the purchaser, an instruction may be given to issue an NFT whose owner is a predetermined party, such as the operator of the management device 3, and then change the owner of the NFT to the purchaser. Even if such processing is performed, an NFT whose owner is the purchaser will be recorded in the blockchain 4.

[0049] Through this process, the recorded NFT can be referenced from the purchaser terminal 2 via the wallet server 5. Note that recording an NFT of which the purchaser is the owner in this manner on the blockchain 4 is sometimes referred to as sending the NFT to the purchaser's wallet in the wallet server 5.

[0050] Furthermore, the NFT recorded in the blockchain 4 may include information indicating the type of the product 7. The information indicating the type of the product 7 included in the NFT may be a specific product name (e.g., "AAA model T-shirt") instead of a character string (e.g., H1K) included in the management information. When information indicating the type of the product 7 is to be included in the NFT, in step S305, the management device 3 instructs the issuance of an NFT so that information indicating the product name of the product 7 is included.

[0051] In step S307, the management device 3 associates the management information of the product 7 received in step S302 with the token ID of the NFT included in the NFT issuance instruction in step S305. The management device 3 records this association in a recording unit that is physically included in the management device 3, physically connected to it, or logically accessible via the Internet 6 or the like. The recording unit is an internal or external storage of the management device 3, or a storage device provided on a cloud connected to the management device 3 via the Internet 6.

[0052] In step S308, the management device 3 further instructs the association recorded in step S307 to be recorded in the block chain 4.

[0053] In step S309, in response to the recording instruction in step S308, the blockchain 4 records the association between the token ID of the NFT performed in step S307 and the management information of the product 7. In this way, the association between the management information associated with the product 7 and the issued NFT is recorded in the blockchain 4 and made public.

[0054] As a result, by referring to the association recorded in step S309, the owner of a certain NFT can be recognized as the owner of the product 7 to which management information corresponding to that NFT is attached. Furthermore, when the purchaser transfers the purchased product 7 to a third party, the owner of the NFT associated with the transferred product 7 is recorded in the blockchain 4 to be changed to the third party to whom the product 7 is transferred. As a result, the NFT recorded in association with the management information associated with the product 7 is owned by the transferee, making it possible to manage the distribution of the product 7 on the blockchain 4.

[0055] In addition, the process of recording the association between the management information and the NFT in the blockchain 4 in steps S308 and S309 may be omitted, and the association recorded in the recording unit on the cloud or the like in step S307 may be made public. In this way, it is possible to reduce the cost required for recording the association in the blockchain 4. In addition, the association between the management information and the NFT may be recorded only in the blockchain 4, and the recording of the association in the recording unit of the management device 3 in step S307 may be omitted, and such an omission can simplify the configuration of the management device 3.

[0056] Furthermore, as described above, the instruction to issue an NFT from the management device 3 in step S305 may include management information for the product 7. When management information is included in the instruction to issue an NFT, the management information for the product 7 associated with the NFT is recorded in the NFT. This makes it possible to recognize the owner of the NFT as the owner of the product 7 to which the management information recorded in the NFT is attached. As a result, it is possible to omit the processing in steps S307 to S309 related to associating the management information for the product 7 with the token ID of the NFT.

[0057] The management device 3 includes a storage unit that stores a predetermined program and data, and can execute a predetermined process by operating the program stored in the storage unit. Therefore, it can be understood that a plurality of functional blocks are logically provided within the management device 3, and for example, a receiving unit that receives data from the purchaser terminal 2, a determining unit that determines whether the management information received from the purchaser terminal 2 is one of a plurality of pieces of management information stored in advance, a recording instruction unit that instructs the blockchain 4 to record an NFT whose owner is the purchaser based on the management information received from the purchaser terminal 2, and a recording processing unit that records the association between the management information and the NFT, etc. are logically provided. Furthermore, these predetermined processes executed by operating the program stored in the storage unit may correspond to each process executed by the control method of the management device 3.

[0058] Thus, according to the first embodiment, in step S302, the management device 3 receives, from the purchaser terminal 2 that purchased the product 7, the management information that was read by the purchaser terminal 2 and recorded in the information reading unit 7a of the product 7. Then, in step S304, the management device 3 determines whether the management information received in step S302 is included in the list of management information generated in step S221 and stored in advance. If the management information received in step S302 is included in the list of management information stored in advance, in step S305, the management device 3 records an NFT whose owner is the purchaser in the blockchain 4. Specifically, the management device 3 issues an NFT whose owner is the purchaser in the blockchain 4, or changes the owner of an already issued NFT to the purchaser. Then, the management device 3 records the association between the management information of the product 7 and the token ID of the NFT.

[0059] Here, a method is considered in which, when the product 7 is manufactured, a plurality of NFTs corresponding to the management information recorded in the information reading unit 7a of each product 7 are issued in advance. In this method, when the product 7 is sold, the management device 3 instructs the factory 1 to ship the product 7 with the specified management information to the purchaser, and instructs the blockchain 4 to change the owner of the NFT associated with the management information instructed to be shipped to the purchaser. However, in this method, if the product 7 is not sold and remains unsold, an NFT associated with the unsold product 7 has already been issued, which results in unnecessary NFT issuance costs. In addition, when shipping the product 7, the factory 1 needs to ship the product 7 equipped with the information reading unit 7a with the specified management information recorded therein to the purchaser, which complicates the delivery procedure of the factory 1.

[0060] In contrast, when the management information stored in advance is included in the list of management information, the management device 3 of this embodiment can determine that the operator of the purchaser terminal 2 is the legitimate owner of the product 7 (step S304). Then, the management device 3 records the NFT whose owner is the purchaser of the product 7 in the blockchain 4 (step S306), and then associates the token ID of the NFT owned by the purchaser with the management information of the product 7 (steps S307 to S309). This makes it unnecessary to issue an NFT for the product 7 that was not sold, and can reduce the operating costs of the management device 3. Furthermore, the factory 1 only needs to ship one of the purchased products 7 from its inventory to the purchaser, and does not need to ship the product 7 associated with specific management information to the purchaser, so that the factory 1 does not need to handle the management information when shipping the product 7, and can reduce the operating costs of the factory 1.

[0061] Second embodiment In the first embodiment, the management device 3 issues an instruction to issue an NFT (step S305) after receiving management information from the purchaser terminal 2 (step S302). In the second embodiment, an example will be described in which the management device 3 issues an instruction to issue an NFT and then receives management information from the purchaser terminal 2.

[0062] Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing the process of associating a product 7 with an NFT to be issued in the second embodiment. The flowchart in Fig. 4 differs from the flowchart in the first embodiment shown in Fig. 3 in that steps S401 and S402 are performed before step S301, and steps S403 and S404 are performed instead of steps S305 and S306.

[0063] In step S401, the management device 3 sends an instruction to issue an NFT to the blockchain 4, specifying the token ID of the NFT to be issued, with the operator of the management device 3 as the owner ID.

[0064] In step S402, in response to the issuance instruction from the management device 3 in step S401, the blockchain 4 issues an NFT whose token ID has a specified value and whose owner is the operator of the management device 3. Note that in the first embodiment, the issued NFT may include management information for the product 7, but in this embodiment, the issued NFT does not include management information for the product 7.

[0065] After that, the product 7 is shipped from the factory 1 (step S301), the management information is read (step S302), the user information is input (step S304), and the management information is verified (step S305). Note that if the purchaser terminal 2 has already logged in to the management device 3, the input of the user information (step S303) is omitted.

[0066] Then, in step S403, the management device 3 instructs the blockchain 4 to record a change to change the owner ID of the NFT having the token ID with the specified value issued in step S402 to the wallet address of the purchaser. Note that the management device 3 has acquired the wallet address of the purchaser during the prior login of the purchaser terminal 2 and the input of user information in step S303.

[0067] In step S404, in response to the change instruction from the management device 3 in step S403, the blockchain 4 records a transaction in which the wallet address of the purchaser becomes the owner ID for the NFT issued in step S402. As a result, the owner of the NFT issued in step S402 becomes the purchaser.

[0068] Thereafter, the association between the token ID of the NFT changed to be owned by the purchaser in step S403 and the management information of the product 7 is recorded in the recording unit of the management device 3 (step S307), the management device 3 instructs recording of that association in the blockchain 4 (step S308), and the association is recorded in the blockchain 4 (step S309). As a result, the owner of the NFT and the association between the NFT and the management information of the product 7 can be referenced in the blockchain 4, and the owner of the NFT can be recognized as the owner of the product 7 to which the management information corresponding to that NFT is attached.

[0069] The instruction to issue an NFT in step S401 and the NFT issuance process in step S402 can be performed at any timing before the instruction to change the owner of the NFT in step S403. Although the cost required to issue an NFT varies, since it takes time for the product 7 shipped from the factory 1 to arrive at the purchaser, it is possible to issue an NFT during a period when the issuance cost is relatively low, thereby reducing the operating costs of the management device 3.

[0070] In this way, according to the second embodiment, the management device 3 receives the management information associated with the product 7 after the product 7 is shipped, and if the management information received is included in the list of pre-stored management information, it can be determined that the operator of the purchaser terminal 2 is the legitimate owner of the product 7. Then, the management device 3 changes the owner of the pre-issued NFT to the purchaser of the product 7, and associates the NFT with the management information of the product 7. Even in this way, for the pre-issued NFT, the pre-issued NFT and the management information of the purchased product 7 are associated after the purchaser of the product 7 transmits the management information associated with the product 7 to the management device 3, so that the issuance cost of the NFT for the product 7 that was not sold can be reduced. Furthermore, the factory 1 only needs to ship the desired type of product 7 to the purchaser, and does not need to ship the product 7 associated with specific management information to the purchaser, so that the operating cost of the factory 1 can be reduced.

[0071] In addition, it is known that the cost of issuing an NFT varies, and for example, as in the first embodiment, when an NFT is issued after management information is transmitted from the purchaser of the product 7, the cost of issuing an NFT may be relatively high. However, in this embodiment, since an NFT is issued in advance, it is possible to reduce the operating costs of the management device 3 by issuing the NFT during a period when the issuance cost is low.

[0072] Third embodiment The first and second embodiments have been described without mentioning details of the purchasing process by the purchaser of the product 7. In the third embodiment, an example in which the purchasing process of the product 7 is performed via the management device 3 will be described.

[0073] Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing the process of associating a product 7 with an NFT to be issued in the third embodiment. The flowchart in Fig. 5 differs from the flowchart in the first embodiment shown in Fig. 3 in that steps S501 to S505 are performed before step S301, and steps S506 and S507 are performed instead of steps S305 and S306.

[0074] In step S501, the purchaser terminal 2 performs a purchase process for a specific product 7 in response to an operation by the purchaser. As an example, the management device 3 operates an EC site that sells the product 7, and the purchaser terminal 2 accesses the EC site and performs a purchase process for the product 7 in response to an operation by the purchaser. Through the purchase process, information identifying the type of product 7 and the purchaser of the product 7 is transmitted to the management device 3. Note that if the purchaser has registered user information in advance in the management device 3 and the purchaser terminal 2 is logged in to the management device 3, the purchaser information may be omitted from the product purchase request.

[0075] Next, in steps S502 and S503, processes equivalent to steps S305 and S306 in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 3 are performed.

[0076] That is, in step S502, the management device 3 issues an instruction to issue an NFT whose owner is the purchaser, while specifying a predetermined value as the token ID of the NFT to be issued. Then, in step S503, in response to the issuance instruction from the management device 3 in step S502, the blockchain 4 issues an NFT whose token ID is the specified value and whose owner is the purchaser. Note that the NFT may include information indicating the type of product 7 purchased (such as a character string that is part of the management information or the product name).

[0077] Alternatively, in step S502, the management device 3 may issue an NFT whose owner is the operator of the management device 3 while specifying a predetermined value as the token ID of the NFT to be issued, and then instruct to change the owner of the NFT to the purchaser. Even in such processing, in step S503, an NFT whose token ID is the specified value and whose owner is the purchaser is registered in the blockchain 4.

[0078] In step S504, the purchaser terminal 2 instructs the management device 3 to ship the purchased type of product 7 to the shipping location specified by the purchaser. The shipping location specified by the purchaser may be included in the product purchase request in step S501, or may be newly input in step S504.

[0079] In step S505, the management device 3 transmits to the factory 1 a shipping instruction including the type of the purchased product 7 and a shipping location designated by the purchaser in response to the shipping instruction received in step S504.

[0080] 3, that is, shipment of the product 7 from the factory 1 (step S301), reading of the management information (step S302), input of user information (step S303), and verification of the management information (step S304) are performed. Note that if the purchaser terminal 2 has already logged in to the management device 3, input of user information (step S303) is omitted.

[0081] Then, in steps S506 to S508, the management device 3 refers to the blockchain 4 and determines whether or not the purchaser who performed the purchase process in step S501 owns the NFT issued in step S503.

[0082] In detail, in step S506, the management device 3 uses the wallet address of the purchaser included in the user information entered in step S303 to refer to a list of NFTs in the blockchain 4 for which the purchaser is the owner.

[0083] In step S507, the management device 3 obtains a list of NFTs of which the purchaser is the owner from the blockchain 4.

[0084] In step S508, the management device 3 refers to the list of multiple pieces of management information previously generated in step S221 of Fig. 2C, and identifies the type of product 7 indicated in the management information received in step S302 (for example, one whose most significant digits in the management information are "H1K"). The management device 3 then determines whether or not an NFT issued in step S503 in response to a purchase request for the identified type of product 7 (for example, one whose most significant digits in the management information are "H1K") is present in the list of NFTs owned by the purchaser acquired in step S507.

[0085] If the list of NFTs owned by the purchaser includes the NFT issued in step S503 in response to a purchase request for the specified type of product 7, the management device 3 determines that the operator of the purchaser terminal 2 is the owner of the product 7 and continues with subsequent processing. If the list of NFTs does not include the NFT issued in step S503, the management device 3 determines that the operator of the purchaser terminal 2 is not the owner of the product 7 and ends the association processing.

[0086] The association between the token ID of the NFT issued in step S503 so that the purchaser becomes the owner and the management information of the product 7 is recorded in the recording unit of the management device 3 (step S307), the management device 3 instructs recording of that association in the blockchain 4 (step S308), and the association is recorded in the blockchain 4 (step S309). As a result, the owner of the NFT and the association between the NFT and the management information of the product 7 can be referenced, and the owner of the NFT can be recognized as the owner of the product 7 whose management information corresponding to that NFT is recorded in the information reading unit 7a.

[0087] In this way, according to the third embodiment, the management device 3 receives the management information attached to the product 7 after the product 7 is shipped, and if the management information received is included in the list of pre-stored management information, it can determine that the operator of the purchaser terminal 2 is the legitimate owner of the product 7. Then, the management device 3 changes the owner of the NFT issued in advance to the purchaser of the product 7, and associates the NFT with the management information of the product 7. Even in this way, for the NFT issued in advance, the management information recorded in the information reading unit 7a of the product 7, which is read by the purchaser terminal 2 operated by the purchaser of the product 7, is transmitted to the management device 3, and the NFT is associated with the management information of the purchased product 7, so that the issuance cost of the NFT of the product 7 that was not sold can be reduced. Furthermore, the factory 1 only needs to ship the desired type of product 7 to the purchaser, and does not need to ship the product 7 associated with specific management information to the purchaser, so that the operating cost of the factory 1 can be reduced.

[0088] Furthermore, the issuance of the NFT (step S503) only needs to be performed before the NFT owned by the purchaser is verified (step S508). Since it usually takes time for the product 7 to be shipped from the factory 1 to the purchaser, the instruction to issue the NFT (step S502) can be made during a period when the cost of issuing an NFT is low, which can reduce the operating costs of the management device 3.

[0089] The present invention allows various embodiments and modifications without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the present invention. The above-described embodiments are for the purpose of explaining the present invention and do not limit the scope of the present invention. That is, the scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims, not the embodiments. Various modifications made within the scope of the claims and the scope of the invention equivalent thereto are considered to be within the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0090] 1. Factory 2. Purchaser terminal 3 Management device 4. Blockchain (Distributed Management System) 5. Wallet Server 6. Internet 7 items 7a Information reading section 10 Management Systems

Claims

1. A management device that records purchasers of products circulating in the real world using non-fungible tokens recorded in a decentralized management system, a plurality of pieces of management information corresponding to a specific type of product and different for each product are stored in advance in an information reading unit provided in the product to be managed, the management information being readable by a purchaser terminal operated by the purchaser, and associated with the specific type of product; The purchaser who has purchased one of the specific types of products reads an information reading unit attached to the product using the purchaser terminal, and receives management information about the product transmitted from the purchaser terminal via the Internet; determining whether the management information received from the purchaser terminal is one of the plurality of pieces of management information stored in advance; If the management information received from the purchaser terminal is one of the plurality of pieces of management information stored in advance, record the non-fungible token owned by the purchaser in the distributed management system; A management device that records the association between the management information received from the purchaser terminal and the non-fungible token.

2. The management device according to claim 1 , wherein after receiving the management information from the purchaser terminal, the management device issues the non-fungible token to the distributed management system, the non-fungible token being owned by the purchaser.

3. The non-fungible token is issued to the decentralized management system in advance, The management device according to claim 1 , wherein after receiving the management information from the purchaser terminal, the management device changes the owner of the issued non-fungible token to the purchaser.

4. The management device according to claim 1 , wherein the type of the product is included in the non-fungible token and issued by the decentralized management system.

5. The management device according to claim 1 , wherein the association between the management information received from the purchaser terminal and the non-fungible token is recorded in at least one of a memory unit of the management device and the distributed management system.

6. the information reading unit is a Near Field Communication (NFC) tag, The management device according to claim 1 , wherein the management device receives, from the purchaser terminal, management information acquired by the purchaser terminal when the NFC tag is read by an NFC reader included in the purchaser terminal.

7. the information reading unit is a drawing code attached to the product, The management device according to claim 1 receives management information from the purchaser terminal, the management information being acquired by the purchaser terminal when the drawing code attached to the product is photographed and read by an imaging unit provided in the purchaser terminal.

8. The management device according to claim 1 , wherein the merchandise is any one of clothing, shoes, accessories, bags, sporting goods, and outdoor goods.

9. A method for controlling a management device that records purchasers of products circulating in the real world using non-fungible tokens recorded in a decentralized management system, comprising: The management device a plurality of pieces of management information corresponding to a specific type of product and different for each product are stored in advance in an information reading unit provided in the product to be managed, the management information being readable by a purchaser terminal operated by the purchaser, and associated with the specific type of product; The purchaser who has purchased one of the specific types of products reads an information reading unit attached to the product using the purchaser terminal, and receives management information about the product transmitted from the purchaser terminal via the Internet; determining whether the management information received from the purchaser terminal is one of the plurality of pieces of management information stored in advance; If the management information received from the purchaser terminal is one of the plurality of pieces of management information stored in advance, record the non-fungible token owned by the purchaser in the distributed management system; A control method for a management device that records the association between management information received from the purchaser terminal and the non-fungible token.

10. A management system having a management device that records purchasers of products circulating in the real world using non-fungible tokens recorded in a decentralized management system, and a purchaser terminal operated by the purchaser of one of the products of a specific type, the management device stores in advance, in an information reading unit provided in the product to be managed, a plurality of pieces of management information that are readable by the purchaser terminal operated by the purchaser, that are associated with the specific type of product, and that are individually different for each product; The purchaser terminal reading the information reading section attached to the product and transmitting the information from the purchaser terminal to the management device via the Internet; The management device determining whether the management information received from the purchaser terminal is one of the plurality of pieces of management information stored in advance; If the management information received from the purchaser terminal is one of the plurality of pieces of management information stored in advance, record the non-fungible token owned by the purchaser in the distributed management system; A management system that records the association between the management information received from the purchaser terminal and the non-fungible token.

11. A product in which purchasers are managed by a management device using non-fungible tokens recorded in a decentralized management system, an information reading unit that can read a plurality of pieces of management information that are associated with a specific type of product and that differ individually for each product by a purchaser terminal operated by the purchaser; The information reading unit the purchaser terminal reads the management information recorded in the information reading unit, and the purchaser terminal acquires the management information recorded in the information reading unit, and transmits the management information to a management device via the Internet; In the management device that has received the management information, determining whether the management information received from the purchaser terminal is one of a plurality of pieces of management information stored in advance in the management device; If the management information received from the purchaser terminal is one of the plurality of pieces of management information stored in advance, the distributed management system records the non-fungible token owned by the purchaser, A product that records the correspondence between management information received from the purchaser terminal and the non-fungible token.

Images