Calculation system, method, and program

Abstract

To enable cost per unit weight of a recycled metal to be calculated with high accuracy in the case of regenerating a renewable metal included in a deteriorated battery.SOLUTION: In a calculation system, a battery manufacturer sells or leases a battery to a battery user, and discharges the battery used by the battery user after the battery is used, and a collection and transporting trader collects and transports the used battery, and calculates cost by unit weight of a recycled metal in the case that a recycling trader regenerates a renewable metal included in the used battery.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a calculation system, a method, and a program, and more particularly to a calculation system, a method, and a program for calculating the cost per unit weight of recycled metal. [Background technology]

[0002] A sales forecast simulation device that predicts the price of a product at the time of delivery has been known, in which a memory unit stores a material price master including a material code, an application start date, and a price at each time point, and a product master including the product's item code, material code, and material composition ratio, and a control unit includes a material code acquisition means that acquires the material code of the material that constitutes the product and its composition ratio from the product master based on order data including the item code, order date, delivery date, and order amount of the product at the time of order, a price acquisition means that acquires an expected price at the time of delivery from the material price master based on the acquired material code, its composition ratio, and the delivery date included in the order data, and a slide calculation processing means that performs a slide calculation taking into account the expected price at the time of delivery based on the order amount included in the order data, and calculates the expected sales amount of the product at the time of delivery (Patent Document 1).

[0003] Also, a method is known that includes the steps of confirming the cheapest unit price of electricity among a group of power plants, a group of storage batteries, and the wholesale electricity market, calculating the profit of operating a storage battery recycling plant using electricity supplied from the electricity supplier with the cheapest unit price, determining whether or not there is a profit, and, if it is determined that there is a profit, receiving electricity from the electricity supplier with the cheapest unit price and operating the recycling plant (Patent Document 2).

[0004] Also known is a recycling support system that supports the operation of a storage battery recycling system in which the owner of the storage battery discards the battery, a collection and transportation company collects and transports the battery, a recycling processor separates the battery into recycled materials and waste and reuses the recycled materials, and a waste processing company treats the waste, the recycling support system comprising a server device and a first communication terminal device capable of communicating with each other via a network, the server device comprising a lease information storage means for storing information regarding the lease contract for the storage battery between the battery owner and the battery user, and a first network communication means for transmitting and receiving the information, the first communication terminal device comprising a second network communication means for transmitting and receiving the information, the battery owner leases the storage battery in accordance with the lease contract, and the battery user receives the lease in accordance with the lease contract (Patent Document 3). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-159719 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2019-168792 A [Patent Document 3] JP 2004-126669 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] When a battery manufacturer sells or leases a battery to a battery user, the battery user discards the degraded battery after using it, a collection and transportation company collects and transports the used batteries, and a recycling company regenerates the renewable metals contained in the used batteries, there is room for improvement in accurately calculating the cost per unit weight of the recycled metals.

[0007] The present invention aims to provide a calculation system, method, and program that can accurately calculate the cost per unit weight of recycled metals when recycling renewable metals contained in a deteriorated storage battery. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the calculation system of the first invention is a calculation system that calculates the cost per unit weight of recycled metals in the following cases: a manufacturer of a storage battery sells or leases the storage battery to a user of the storage battery, the user of the storage battery disposes of the used storage battery after using the storage battery, a collection and transportation company collects and transports the used storage battery, and a recycling company regenerates the renewable metals contained in the used storage battery.

[0009] The calculation method according to the second invention is a method for calculating the cost per unit weight of recycled metals in a case where a manufacturer of a storage battery sells or leases the storage battery to a user of the storage battery, the user of the storage battery disposes of the used storage battery after using the storage battery, a collection and transportation company collects and transports the used storage battery, and a recycling company regenerates the renewable metals contained in the used storage battery.

[0010] The calculation program of the third invention is a calculation program for causing a computer to calculate the cost per unit weight of recycled metals in the following case: a manufacturer of a storage battery sells or leases the storage battery to a user of the storage battery, the user of the storage battery disposes of the used storage battery after using the storage battery, a collection and transportation company collects and transports the used storage battery, and a recycling company regenerates the renewable metals contained in the used storage battery. Effect of the Invention

[0011] As described above, the calculation system, method, and program of the present invention have the effect of being able to accurately calculate the cost per unit weight of recycled metals when recycling renewable metals contained in a deteriorated storage battery. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a computing system according to first and second embodiments. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an example of a computer that functions as a server, a collection and transportation company terminal, and a manufacturer terminal according to the first and second embodiments. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a server according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] 1 is a graph illustrating a method for calculating the cost per unit weight of recycled metal. [Diagram 5] 5 is a flowchart showing a cost calculation process by the server according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a server according to the second embodiment. [Figure 7] 13 is a flowchart showing a price determination process by a server according to the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] First, definitions of terms will be explained.

[0014] A battery manufacturer is, for example, a person who manufactures and sells batteries. The user of a storage battery may be a person who directly purchases or leases a storage battery from the manufacturer of the storage battery, and when the storage battery is sold, leased or transferred to another person (called the second user) through a person who directly purchased the storage battery (called the first user), the second user is also included in the user of the storage battery. In addition, when the second user sells, leases or transfers the storage battery to a third user, the third user is also included in the user of the storage battery. Any user who is included in the users and is the nth user is considered to be a user of the storage battery.

[0015] The person disposing of a used storage battery may be the first user, the second user, the third user, or the nth user. For example, if the first user sells, leases, or transfers the battery to the second user, the second user may entrust the first user with disposing of the battery.

[0016] A storage battery purchased by a first user is defined as a used storage battery at the time of purchase. It does not matter whether the battery is actually used or not, but a purchased storage battery that has reached the end of its life due to deterioration, etc., can be disposed of. In addition, a storage battery is also defined as a used storage battery when the first user incorporates the storage battery as a component into a product that requires a storage battery and sells it.

[0017] The collection and transportation business includes, for example, the business of collecting and transporting used storage batteries from users. This may be done collectively by one collection and transportation business, or may be shared among two or more collection and transportation businesses, or may be done by a recycling business. The collection and transportation business may transport used storage batteries directly to a recycling business, or may transport them to a recycling business via a business that specializes in sorting or dismantling.

[0018] The work of separating or dismantling used storage batteries into renewable metals and other components may be carried out by a collection and transportation company, a recycling company, or a company that specializes in separation or dismantling. The business of recycling companies includes refining and recycling the metals contained in used batteries.

[0019] Variable costs include metal refining costs (sometimes simply called refining costs), collection and transportation costs, implementation costs, etc. Metal refining costs may vary depending on the refining company. Collection and transportation costs vary depending on the collection location, amount collected, etc. Implementation costs vary depending on the amount collected, and include labor costs, sorting of used batteries, and dismantling costs. With regard to the collection and transportation costs, collection may be carried out separately by the collection company and transportation by the transportation company, or either company may carry out the collection and transportation together. If collection and transportation are carried out by different companies, they can be separated into collection costs and transportation costs (sometimes called transportation costs). Labor costs, for example, are the portion of labor costs incurred in producing a product.

[0020] The system, method, and program for calculating the cost per unit weight of recycled metal of the present invention calculates the minimum cost per unit weight of recycled metal, and may include other costs incurred depending on the situation, such as fixed costs.

[0021] Examples of the fixed costs include the storage costs of the storage batteries used and the manifest management costs.

[0022] Examples of the storage battery include a lead storage battery, a lithium ion storage battery, a nickel-metal hydride storage battery, a nickel-zinc storage battery, and an alkaline storage battery. Examples of the metal include lead, lithium, copper, nickel, and zinc.

[0023] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0024] [First embodiment] As shown in FIG. 1, a computing system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a server 10, a collection and transportation company terminal 20 installed on the collection and transportation company side, and a manufacturer terminal 22 installed on the storage battery manufacturer side.

[0025] The server 10, the collection and transportation company terminal 20, and the manufacturer terminal 22 are connected to the Internet, etc. are connected via a network 26.

[0026] The collection and transportation company terminal 20 and the manufacturer terminal 22 are composed of mobile terminals, computer terminals, etc. Here, the mobile terminals include smartphone terminals, mobile phones, and PDA (Personal Digital Assistants) terminals. The computer terminals include notebook / book type computer terminals and desktop type computer terminals.

[0027] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the collection and transportation company terminal 20 and the manufacturer terminal 22 of this embodiment.

[0028] 2, the server 10, the collection and transportation company terminal 20, and the manufacturer terminal 22 each have a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, a storage 14, an input unit 15, a display unit 16, and a communication interface (I / F) 17. Each component is connected to each other via a bus 19 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

[0029] The CPU 11 is a central processing unit, and executes various programs and controls each part. That is, the CPU 11 reads a program from the ROM 12 or the storage 14, and executes the program using the RAM 13 as a working area. The CPU 11 controls each of the above components and performs various arithmetic processing according to the program stored in the ROM 12 or the storage 14. In this embodiment, the ROM 12 or the storage 14 stores a program for performing various processing.

[0030] The ROM 12 stores various programs and various data. The RAM 13 temporarily stores programs or data as a working area. The storage 14 is configured with an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive) and stores various programs including an operating system and various data.

[0031] The input unit 15 includes a pointing device such as a mouse, and a keyboard, and is used to perform various input operations.

[0032] The display unit 16 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, and displays various information. The display unit 16 may function as the input unit 15 by adopting a touch panel system.

[0033] The communication interface 17 is an interface for communicating with other devices, and uses standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark), FDDI, and Wi-Fi (registered trademark).

[0034] Next, a description will be given of the functional configuration of the server 10. Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the server 10.

[0035] The server 10 calculates the cost per unit weight of recycled metals in the following cases: a battery manufacturer sells or leases a battery to a battery user, the battery user discards the deteriorated battery after it has been used, a collection and transportation company collects and transports the deteriorated battery, and a recycling company regenerates the renewable metals contained in the deteriorated battery.

[0036] Functionally, the server 10 includes a storage unit 30, an acquisition unit 32, a cost calculation unit 34, and an output unit 36, as shown in FIG.

[0037] The memory unit 30 stores data on metal refining costs, which vary depending on the refiner. Here, the metal refining costs vary depending on the smelting company.

[0038] The acquisition unit 32 receives an input of the amount of deteriorated storage batteries collected by the collection and transportation company from the collection and transportation company terminal 20, and acquires the amount of collected storage batteries.

[0039] The cost calculation unit 34 calculates the battery collection costs, transportation costs, and labor costs based on the amount of collected batteries, and calculates the cost per unit weight of the recycled metals based on the battery collection costs, transportation costs, labor costs, and metal refining costs.

[0040] Specifically, as shown in Figure 4, the cost per unit weight of recycled metal is calculated by dividing the sum of the metal refining cost, the recovery transportation cost including the recovery cost and transportation cost of the storage battery, and the implementation cost including labor costs by the weight of the recycled metal, which is determined according to the amount of collected storage batteries. Here, the recovery transportation cost is calculated according to the collection location and amount of collected storage batteries. Also, the implementation cost including labor costs is calculated according to the amount of collected storage batteries.

[0041] The output unit 36 ​​transmits the calculation result of the cost per unit weight of the recycled metal to the manufacturer terminal 22, and causes the manufacturer terminal 22 to display a screen showing the calculation result of the cost per unit weight of the recycled metal. At this time, the output unit 36 ​​acquires the metal price at the time of delivery of the recycled metal, and displays a screen showing the result of comparing the calculation result of the cost per unit weight of the recycled metal with the metal price at the time of delivery of the recycled metal, as shown in Fig. 4 above.

[0042] The difference between the calculated cost per unit weight of the recycled metal and the base price of the recycled metal at the time of delivery is the amount of benefit obtained by recycling the metal. It is possible to give a refund to users of storage batteries containing recycled metals according to this amount of benefit. In Figure 4, assuming a lead-acid battery, the metal base price is the procurement price of conventional lead material, and the cost per unit weight of the recycled metal is the procurement price of recycled lead material.

[0043] Next, the operation of the computing system 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0044] First, a storage battery manufacturer sells or leases a storage battery to a user of the storage battery, and after the storage battery is used and deteriorates, the user of the storage battery discards the deteriorated storage battery. After a collection and transportation company collects and transports the deteriorated storage battery, the collection and transportation company terminal 20 is operated to input the amount of collected storage battery. In addition, a recycling company regenerates the renewable metals contained in the deteriorated storage battery. At this time, when the manufacturer operates the manufacturer terminal 22 to send a calculation request for the cost per unit weight of the recycled metal to the server 10, the server 10 starts a cost calculation process, for example, as shown in FIG. 5.

[0045] In step S100, the acquisition unit 32 accepts an input of the amount of degraded storage batteries collected by the collection and transportation company from the collection and transportation company terminal 20, and acquires the amount of collected storage batteries.

[0046] In step S102, the cost calculation unit 34 calculates the cost of collecting the storage batteries, the transportation cost, and the labor cost based on the amount of collected storage batteries.

[0047] In step S104, the cost calculation unit 34 calculates the cost per unit weight of the recycled metal based on the recovery cost of the storage battery, the transportation cost, the labor cost, and the metal refining cost.

[0048] In step S106, the output unit 36 ​​acquires the metal price at the time of delivery of the recycled metal.

[0049] In step S108, the output unit 36 ​​displays a screen showing the result of comparing the calculation result of the cost per unit weight of the recycled metal with the base price of the recycled metal at the time of delivery, and ends the cost calculation process. At this time, the output unit 36 ​​may include an effect calculation unit that calculates the effect of using the recycled metal by comparing the cost per unit weight of the recycled metal with the base price of the recycled metal at the time of delivery.

[0050] As described above, according to the calculation system of the embodiment of the present invention, the amount of degraded storage batteries collected by the collection and transportation company is acquired, the collection cost, transportation cost, and labor cost of the storage batteries are calculated based on the collection amount, and the cost per unit weight of the recycled metal is calculated based on the collection cost, transportation cost, labor cost, and metal refining cost of the storage batteries. This makes it possible to accurately calculate the cost per unit weight of the recycled metal when recycling renewable metals contained in degraded storage batteries.

[0051] [Second embodiment] Next, a computing system according to a second embodiment will be described. Note that parts having the same configuration as those in the first embodiment will be given the same reference numerals and descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0052] The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the price of a storage battery containing recycled metals is determined.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 1, the computing system 200 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a server 210, a collection and transportation company terminal 20, and a manufacturer terminal 22.

[0054] Functionally, the server 210 includes a storage unit 30, an acquisition unit 32, a cost calculation unit 34, a price determination unit 235, and an output unit 236, as shown in FIG.

[0055] The price determination unit 235 determines the price of the storage battery containing the recycled metal based on the cost per unit weight of the recycled metal, the material cost of the storage battery, and the labor cost.

[0056] Here, an example of a method for determining the price of a storage battery containing recycled metals will be described.

[0057] First, the price of a normal storage battery is determined based on, for example, the "base price of metal," the "cost of materials that make up the storage battery," "shipping cost," "labor cost," etc. The price of a storage battery that contains recycled metal is determined based on, for example, the "cost of materials that make up the storage battery," "shipping cost," "labor cost," "refining cost," "collection transportation cost," "implementation cost," etc. Here, "refining cost" + "collection transportation cost" + "implementation cost" is calculated by multiplying the "cost per unit weight of recycled metal" by the weight of metal required to manufacture a unit quantity of storage batteries.

[0058] The output unit 236 transmits the results of the price determination of the storage battery containing the recycled metal to the manufacturer terminal 22, and causes the manufacturer terminal 22 to display a screen showing the results of the price determination of the storage battery containing the recycled metal.

[0059] Next, the operation of the computing system 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0060] First, a battery manufacturer sells or leases a battery to a battery user. After the battery is used and deteriorates, the user disposes of the deteriorated battery. After a collection and transportation company collects and transports the deteriorated battery, the user operates the collection and transportation company's terminal 20 to input the amount of collected batteries. In addition, a recycling company recycles the renewable metals contained in the deteriorated battery. At this time, when the manufacturer operates the manufacturer terminal 22 to transmit a price determination request to the server 210, the price determination process shown in FIG.

[0061] In step S100, the acquisition unit 32 accepts an input of the amount of degraded storage batteries collected by the collection and transportation company from the collection and transportation company terminal 20, and acquires the amount of collected storage batteries.

[0062] In step S102, the cost calculation unit 34 calculates the total of variable costs (eg, storage battery collection costs, transportation costs, labor costs, metal refining costs, etc.) that vary based on the amount of collected storage batteries.

[0063] In step S104, the cost calculation unit 34 calculates the cost per unit weight of the recycled metal based on the variable cost. The cost per unit weight of the recycled metal is preferably calculated as the minimum cost required from recovery of the used storage battery to refining of the metal. The calculation of the cost per unit weight of the recycled metal may include fixed costs or other costs.

[0064] In step S200, the price determination unit 235 determines the price of the storage battery containing the recycled metal based on the cost per unit weight of the recycled metal, the material cost of the storage battery, and the labor cost. The material cost of the battery is the cost of the components that make up the battery other than the refined metal, such as the battery case, electrolyte, and iron box.

[0065] In step S202, the output unit 236 transmits the price determination result of the storage battery containing the recycled metal to the manufacturer's terminal 22, causes the manufacturer's terminal 22 to display a screen showing the price determination result of the storage battery containing the recycled metal, and terminates the price determination process.

[0066] The result of the price determination is the selling or leasing price of the storage battery containing the recycled metal. Here, the effect amount or the price determination result of the storage battery containing the recycled metal is notified to the user periodically or when the metal price fluctuates to a threshold value or more, and the user can select whether to purchase or lease the storage battery containing the recycled metal in response to the notification. In the computing system 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the selling or leasing price may be notified to the user terminal periodically or when the metal price fluctuates to a threshold value or more. The periodicity may be on a monthly basis or on a yearly basis. The fluctuation of the metal price to a threshold value or more may be, for example, any of ±1 yen / kg, ±10 yen / kg, ±20 yen / kg, ±30 yen / kg, ±40 yen / kg, ±50 yen / kg, ±60 yen / kg, ±70 yen / kg, ±80 yen / kg, ±90 yen / kg, and ±100 yen / kg. The sales or lease price may be changed when the metal price fluctuates by a threshold or more, or may be fixed at a fixed price for a certain period of time, and if there is any benefit generated within the certain period, it may be returned to the user in full or at a rate of 1% or more but less than 100%. The return may be, for example, a cashback or a discount from the sales price or lease price of the storage battery containing the recycled metal.

[0067] Furthermore, the computing system 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention may include a recycling rate calculation unit that calculates the recycling rate (recycling rate) of recycled metals, and in this case, the recycling rate calculation unit (not shown) can calculate information on the recycling rate (recycling rate) of a storage battery newly manufactured using recycled metals recycled by a recycler based on the amount of waste lead-acid batteries acquired by the acquisition unit 32. The computing system 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention may include a step of notifying a user terminal of information on the recycling rate (recycling rate).

[0068] As described above, according to the calculation system of the embodiment of the present invention, the price of the storage battery containing the recycled metal is determined based on the cost per unit weight of the recycled metal, the material cost of the storage battery, and the labor cost. This makes it possible to appropriately determine the price of the storage battery containing the recycled metal.

[0069] The processing of the server in each of the above-described embodiments may be distributed and executed by a plurality of computers connected via a network. [Explanation of symbols]

[0070] 10, 210 Server 11 CPU 14. Storage 20 Collection and transportation company terminal 22 Manufacturer's terminal 30 Storage section 32 Acquisition Department 34 Cost calculation department 36, 236 Output section 100, 200 Calculation System 235 Pricing Department

Claims

1. A calculation system that calculates the cost per unit weight of recycled metals in the following cases: a battery manufacturer sells or leases a battery to a user of the battery, the user of the battery disposes of the used battery after using it, a collection and transportation company collects and transports the used battery, and a recycling company regenerates the renewable metals contained in the used battery.

2. an acquisition unit that acquires a collection amount of the used storage batteries collected by the collection and transportation company; A calculation unit that calculates a cost per unit weight of the recycled metal based on a variable cost that varies depending on the amount of the recovered metal; The computing system of claim 1 , comprising:

3. 3. The calculation system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising an effect calculation unit that calculates the effect of using the recycled metal by comparing the cost per unit weight of the recycled metal with the metal price at the time of delivery of the recycled metal.

4. 3. The computing system according to claim 1, further comprising a price determination unit that determines a price of the storage battery including the recycled metal based on the cost per unit weight of the recycled metal, the material cost of the storage battery, and labor cost.

5. A method for calculating the cost per unit weight of recycled metals in the following cases: a battery manufacturer sells or leases the battery to a user of the battery, the user of the battery disposes of the used battery after using it, a collection and transportation company collects and transports the used battery, and a recycling company regenerates the renewable metals contained in the used battery.

6. The amount of the used storage batteries collected by the collection and transportation company is obtained, 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the cost per unit weight of the recycled metal is calculated based on a variable cost that varies depending on the amount of the recycled metal.

7. A battery manufacturer sells or leases the battery to a user of the battery, the user of the battery disposes of the used battery after using the battery, a collection and transportation company collects and transports the used battery, and a recycling company regenerates the renewable metals contained in the used battery. The cost per unit weight of the recycled metals is calculated. A calculation program that causes a computer to carry out a task.

8. The method further includes acquiring a collection amount of the deteriorated storage batteries collected by the collection and transportation company; Calculate the cost per unit weight of the recovered metal based on the variable cost that varies depending on the amount of recovery.

8. The calculation program according to claim 7, for causing a computer to execute the steps.

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