Program, method for processing information, and information processor

Abstract

To make it easier to grasp the state of subscription to a plurality of services.SOLUTION: In an information processor 1 forming a block chain, the block chain records a first token issued to a user subscribed to a first service and showing that the user is subscribed to the first service and a second token issued to a user and showing that the user is subscribed to a second service. The information processor 1 includes: a specification unit 120 for specifying a token issued to a user with reference to the block chain; and a determination unit 121 for determining whether the situation of issuance of the token issued to the user satisfies a condition regarding the first service and the second service.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a program, an information processing device, and an information processing method. [Background technology]

[0002] Various techniques have been proposed for providing users with benefits such as points. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique for adding up and using points issued in multiple services used by a user. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 7117436 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] It is also known that benefits are provided to a user on the condition that the user subscribes to multiple services. In this case, if the service providers are different, it is troublesome for the person providing the benefits to the user to grasp the user's service subscription status. For the user, it can be troublesome to inform the person providing the benefits of the service of the subscription status.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of these points, and has an object to provide a technique for easily grasping the subscription status of a plurality of services. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A first aspect of the present invention is a program executed in each information processing device constituting a blockchain. The blockchain records a first token, which is issued to a user who subscribes to a first service and indicates that the user subscribes to the first service, and a second token, which is issued to the user and indicates that the user subscribes to a second service. The program causes the information processing device to realize a function of identifying the token issued to the user by referring to the blockchain, and a function of determining whether the issuance status of the first token and the second token satisfies a condition related to the first service and the second service.

[0007] The first token may be a token issued to a user who subscribes to a first service, which is a service provided by a first operator, and the second token may be a token indicating that the user subscribes to a second service, which is a service provided by a second operator.

[0008] The program may further cause the information processing device to realize a function of receiving a viewing permission instruction from a user to whom the first token was issued, permitting an operator providing the first service and persons other than the user to view the first token.

[0009] The function of determining may determine whether or not a condition is satisfied that the first token and the second token have been issued to the user and the viewing permission instruction has been accepted.

[0010] The first token may be a token that is prohibited from being operated on the blockchain by users other than the user to which the token was issued.

[0011] The program may further cause the information processing device to realize a function of displaying information related to at least one of the first service and the second service on a user terminal of the user when it is determined that the condition is satisfied.

[0012] The program may further cause the information processing device to realize a function of displaying, on a user terminal of a user to whom the first token was issued, the content of the benefits that the user can receive if the condition is satisfied, when the viewing permission instruction is not accepted.

[0013] A second aspect of the present invention is an information processing device that configures a blockchain. The blockchain records a first token that is issued to a user who subscribes to a first service and indicates that the user subscribes to the first service, and a second token that is issued to the user and indicates that the user subscribes to a second service. The information processing device includes an identification unit that identifies the token issued to the user by referring to the blockchain, and a determination unit that determines whether or not the issuance status of the first token and the second token satisfies a condition related to the first service and the second service.

[0014] A third aspect of the present invention is an information processing method executed by each information processing device constituting a blockchain. The blockchain records a first token, which is issued to a user who subscribes to a first service and indicates that the user subscribes to the first service, and a second token, which is issued to the user and indicates that the user subscribes to a second service. The information processing device executes a step of identifying a token issued to the user by referring to the blockchain, and a step of determining whether or not the issuance status of the first token and the second token satisfies a condition related to the first service and the second service.

[0015]

[0016]

[0017]

[0018]

[0019] Any combination of the above components, and any transformation of the present invention into a method, device, system, computer program, data structure, recording medium, etc., are also effective as aspects of the present invention. Effect of the Invention

[0020] According to the present invention, the subscription status to a plurality of services can be easily grasped. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0021] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an overview of a process executed in an information processing device according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an information processing device according to an embodiment. [Diagram 3] 6A to 6C are diagrams for explaining a determination process performed by a determination unit according to the embodiment; [Figure 4] 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a viewing permission acceptance screen that an instruction acceptance unit according to the embodiment causes a user terminal to display. FIG. [Diagram 5] 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen that a notification unit according to the embodiment causes a display unit of a user terminal to display. FIG. [Figure 6] 4 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of information processing executed by an information processing device according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022] <Outline of the embodiment> The information processing device according to the embodiment is one of a plurality of nodes constituting a blockchain. The blockchain according to the embodiment manages a token having a smart contract function. The token managed by the blockchain according to the embodiment stores information on the service to which the user subscribes. The information processing device according to the embodiment grasps the status of the user's subscription to the service by executing the smart contract implemented in the token. In addition, the information processing device according to the embodiment provides a benefit to the user or the service provider according to the status of the user's subscription to the service.

[0023] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of the process executed in an information processing device 1 according to an embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 1, a blockchain B is composed of five information processing devices 1, namely, a first information processing device 1a, a second information processing device 1b, a third information processing device 1c, a fourth information processing device 1d, and a fifth information processing device 1e. The number of information processing devices 1 constituting the blockchain B is not limited to five. The number of information processing devices 1 constituting the blockchain B may be three or more, and is preferably an odd number. Moreover, the blockchain B does not have to be a public blockchain, and may be a private blockchain or a consortium blockchain.

[0024] In the blockchain B according to the embodiment, tokens are managed and shared in an autonomous and decentralized manner by the above-mentioned multiple information processing devices 1. In the blockchain B, the generation, modification, deletion, etc. of these tokens are recorded in transactions, and blocks in which several transactions are grouped are stored in series, so to speak, in a form linked in a chain shape. In the blockchain B, the linking of these blocks is managed by a known consensus algorithm such as PoW (Proof of Work), and it is generally considered difficult to tamper with data stored in the blockchain B. The same is true for smart contracts, which are programs executed in the blockchain B, and it is considered difficult to tamper with them once they are recorded in the blockchain B.

[0025] The blockchain B according to the embodiment also permits access to a business operator C that provides a service to the user U, and the business operator C can access the token managed by the blockchain B. When the business operator C concludes a contract for providing a service with the user U, the business operator C instructs the blockchain B to issue a token. In the token, information for identifying the user U, information for identifying the business operator C, information related to the service such as the content of the service, the start date of the service, the end date of the service, and the cost related to the service are recorded as a transaction. Since these tokens are tokens related to the user U's subscription to the service, they may be referred to as "service management tokens" in the following specification. The user U can access the blockchain B using a user terminal T such as a smartphone and check the contents of the service management token.

[0026] In addition, when a user U registers with the blockchain B according to the embodiment, the blockchain B issues a token to each user U for managing the service to which the user U has signed a contract. The token issued by the blockchain B to the user U also implements a smart contract. This smart contract collects the service management tokens for the user U issued by the blockchain B and identifies the service subscription status of the user U. Next, the smart contract determines whether the service subscription status of the user U satisfies a predetermined condition. For this reason, the token issued by the blockchain B to the user U may be referred to as a "subscription status management token" hereinafter in this specification. If the smart contract determines that the predetermined condition is satisfied, it executes a process of providing a benefit associated with the condition.

[0027] Here, the predetermined condition regarding the service subscription status is, for example, that the same user U simultaneously subscribes to two or more predetermined services. For example, in FIG. 1, the first service provider C1 is a video distribution service provider that provides a video distribution service to the user U, and the second service provider C2 is a communication service provider that provides a communication service to the user U. In this case, an example of the predetermined condition regarding the service subscription status is that the user U subscribes to the video distribution service of the first service provider C1 and also subscribes to the communication service of the second service provider C2. In addition, the benefit associated with the condition is, for example, a discount on the cost for the user U to use the video distribution service of the first service provider C1, or notification of the action that the user U should take to receive the benefit.

[0028] In this way, in the blockchain B according to the embodiment, the information processing device 1 executes a smart contract implemented in the subscription status management token issued to the user U, thereby reading the transaction of the service management token issued to the blockchain B and automatically determining whether the conditions related to the service subscription of the user U are met. This allows the information processing device 1 according to the embodiment to easily grasp the subscription status of the user U to multiple services. Furthermore, when the conditions related to the service subscription of the user U satisfy a predetermined condition, the information processing device 1 can provide a benefit associated with that condition.

[0029] <Functional configuration of information processing device 1 according to the embodiment> 2 is a diagram showing a schematic functional configuration of an information processing device 1 according to an embodiment. The information processing device 1 is one node constituting a blockchain B accessible to at least a first business operator C1 and a second business operator C2, and each information processing device 1 has the same functional configuration. The information processing device 1 includes a storage unit 10, a communication unit 11, and a control unit 12.

[0030] In Fig. 2, arrows indicate main data flows, and there may be data flows not shown in Fig. 2. In Fig. 2, each functional block indicates a configuration in function units, not a configuration in hardware (device) units. Therefore, the functional blocks shown in Fig. 2 may be implemented in a single device, or may be implemented separately in multiple devices. Data may be exchanged between functional blocks via any means, such as a data bus, a network, or a portable storage medium.

[0031] The memory unit 10 is a large-capacity storage device such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores the BIOS (Basic Input Output System) of the computer that realizes the information processing device 1, a RAM (Random Access Memory) that serves as the working area of ​​the information processing device 1, an OS (Operating System), a program that realizes a smart contract, and various information such as various tokens and data referenced when the program is executed, etc., such as HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive).

[0032] The communication unit 11 is a communication interface for the information processing device 1 to communicate with an external device, and is realized by a known communication module such as a LAN (Local Area Network) module, a Wi-Fi (registered trademark) module, etc. Hereinafter, in this specification, the description of the communication unit 11 may be omitted on the assumption that the communication between the information processing device 1 and an external device is performed via the communication unit 11.

[0033] The control unit 12 is a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) of the information processing device 1, and functions as an identification unit 120, a determination unit 121, an execution unit 122, an issuing unit 123, an instruction receiving unit 124, and a notification unit 125 by executing a program related to the smart contract of the membership status management token stored in the memory unit 10.

[0034] 2 shows an example in which the information processing device 1 is configured as a single device. However, the information processing device 1 may be realized by a plurality of processors, memories, and other computing resources, such as a cloud computing system. In this case, each unit constituting the control unit 12 is realized by at least one of a plurality of different processors executing a program.

[0035] First, as a premise, the blockchain B constituted by the information processing device 1 records a first service management token, a second service management token, and a subscription status management token issued to each of a plurality of users U. Here, the first service management token is issued to the user U who has subscribed to a first service, which is a service provided by a first business C1, and is a token indicating that the user U has subscribed to the first service. Also, the second service management token is issued to the user U who has subscribed to a second service, which is a service provided by a second business C2, and is a token indicating that the user U has subscribed to the second service.

[0036] The identification unit 120 identifies a service management token issued to the user U by referring to the blockchain B. The determination unit 121 determines whether or not the issuance status of the service management token issued to the user U satisfies a condition related to the first service and the second service. The condition related to the first service and the second service may be, for example, a condition associated with at least one of the service management tokens issued to the user U.

[0037] 3(a)-(b) are diagrams for explaining the determination process by the determination unit 121 according to the embodiment. Specifically, Fig. 3(a) is a schematic diagram for explaining data stored in a service management token, and Fig. 3(b) is a schematic diagram showing an example of a condition referred to by the determination unit 121.

[0038] As shown in Fig. 3(a), the service management token includes a token identifier for uniquely identifying the token in the blockchain B, a user identifier for identifying a user U who has subscribed to the service, a service identifier for identifying the service to which the user U has subscribed, the content of the service to which the user U has subscribed, the start date of the service, the cost for the user U to use the service, and information indicating whether the service management token can be viewed by anyone other than the user U and the service provider C. Fig. 3(a) shows an example in which the token identifier is TID0001, the user identifier is UID0001, the service identifier is SID0001, the service content is full high-definition video distribution that can be connected to up to five devices at the same time, and the monthly fee is XXXX yen.

[0039] The service management token shown in Fig. 3(a) is an example, and the blockchain B generates and records a service management token for each of one or more services to which each of multiple users U subscribes. In addition, if a user U changes the content of a service without terminating the contract, records before and after the change are recorded in the token transaction.

[0040] FIG. 3(b) illustrates a combination of two services as a condition for providing a benefit. Specifically, when the same user U simultaneously subscribes to a first service whose service identifier is SID0001 and a second service whose service identifier is SID0018, a discount on the monthly fee for the second service for the user U is provided as a benefit. In this case, the determination unit 121 determines that the condition is satisfied when a first service management token whose service identifier is SID0001 and a second service management token whose service identifier is SID0018 are issued to the user U. Note that the condition for providing a benefit illustrated in FIG. 3(b) is an example, and there are other conditions for providing a benefit (i.e., a combination of services for which a benefit is provided when the user U simultaneously subscribes).

[0041] Returning to the explanation of Fig. 2, when the determination unit 121 determines that the condition is satisfied, the execution unit 122 executes a process for providing a benefit related to the service associated with the condition. For example, when the benefit determined by the determination unit 121 to satisfy the condition is a discount on a service to which the user U subscribes, the execution unit 122 notifies the business operator C that provides the service to be discounted, and executes a procedure for applying the discount.

[0042] In this way, the information processing device 1 according to the embodiment can easily grasp the subscription status of the user U to multiple services by automatically determining the conditions for providing a benefit using a smart contract. Also, it can easily provide a benefit when the conditions for subscribing to multiple services of the user U are satisfied.

[0043] In this way, the service management token can be a condition for providing a benefit, and from the viewpoint of the service provider C, it should not be issued indiscriminately by the user U. Therefore, the issuing unit 123 issues a first service management token on the blockchain B to the user U who newly joins the first service based on an instruction from the first service provider C1. Similarly, the issuing unit 123 issues a second service management token to the user U who newly joins the second service based on an instruction from the second service provider C2. This allows the information processing device 1 to limit the entity that can issue the service management token to the service provider C who provides the service.

[0044] As described above, the identification unit 120 identifies the service management token issued to the user U by referring to the blockchain B. The service management token stores the contents of the service subscribed to by the user U, and is a type of personal information. Therefore, from the viewpoint of the user U, it may be preferable for the business entity C other than the service provider to know the contents of the service management token.

[0045] Therefore, a service management token including the first service management token and the second service management token is a token that is prohibited from being operated on the blockchain B by users other than the user U to whom the service management token was issued (e.g., business operator C). A service management token having such a property can be realized by using, for example, a known Soul Bound Token (SBT).

[0046] The instruction receiving unit 124 receives a viewing permission instruction from the user U to which the first service management token has been issued, which allows the first business operator C1 and a person other than the user U to view the first service management token. The instruction receiving unit 124 identifies the service management token by referring to the token identifier included in the viewing permission instruction received from the user U, and registers the viewing permission in the service management token. These changes are registered in the transaction of the service management token.

[0047] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a viewing permission reception screen displayed on the user terminal T by the instruction reception unit 124 according to the embodiment. The instruction reception unit 124 displays information on the service management token issued to the user U on the blockchain B on the display unit of the user terminal T in a list. FIG. 4 shows an example of a screen in the case where the user U is subscribed to at least a video distribution service, a mobile phone service, a car sharing service, and a housekeeping service. The user U taps and selects information on the service management token displayed in the list on the display unit of the user terminal T, and presses an icon for permitting viewing, so that the instruction reception unit 124 can accept the user U's viewing permission for the selected service management token.

[0048] The determination unit 121 determines that the condition is satisfied when the first service management token and the second service management token have been issued to the user U and, in addition, a viewing permission instruction has been received. This allows the determination unit 121 to determine the condition for providing a benefit by referring to only the service management token that has been explicitly permitted to be viewed by the user U.

[0049] When the determination unit 121 determines the conditions for providing a benefit by referring only to the service management tokens that the user U has explicitly permitted to view, the determination unit 121 cannot naturally refer to the service management tokens that the user U has not permitted to view. For this reason, the user U may miss an opportunity to receive the benefit.

[0050] Therefore, when the service management token has not accepted a viewing permission instruction, the notification unit 125 displays on the user terminal T of the user U to which the first service management token was issued the contents of the benefit that the user U can receive if the conditions for receiving the benefit are satisfied.

[0051] Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed by the notification unit 125 according to the embodiment on the display unit of the user terminal T. Specifically, Fig. 5 shows an example of a display screen of a message indicating that the usage fee for the XXXX video distribution service will be discounted by informing the user that he / she has signed up for both the XXXX video distribution service and the YYYY mobile phone service at the same time. In this way, the notification unit 125 causes the user terminal T to display information related to benefits, thereby encouraging the user U to permit viewing of the service management token.

[0052] The above mainly describes a case where a benefit is provided to the user U when the conditions that the service management token must satisfy in order to receive the benefit are satisfied. However, the beneficiary of the benefit is not limited to the user U, and may be the generator of the service management token related to the conditions (i.e., the business entity C that provides the service).

[0053] For example, assume that there are far fewer subscribers to the first service than to the second service. In this case, if simultaneous subscription to both the first and second services is a condition for providing benefits, the case in which a user U who subscribes to the first service but not the second service subscribes to the second service is compared with the case in which a user U who subscribes to the second service but not the first service subscribes to the first service is considered to be more likely to occur. In other words, it is considered that there is a higher possibility that a user U of the second service will become a new subscriber to the first service.

[0054] Therefore, when the number of subscribers of the first service is much smaller than that of the second service, the first business operator C1 may provide a compensation to the second business operator C2 as compensation for inducing the user U to subscribe to the service. To achieve this, when it is determined that the conditions for providing the benefit are satisfied, the execution unit 122 automatically executes a process for making the first business operator C1 pay the compensation to the second business operator C2. Specifically, the execution unit 122 transfers funds equivalent to the compensation from the account of the first business operator C1 to the account of the second business operator C2. In this way, the execution unit 122 according to the embodiment can facilitate the provision of the benefit between the businesses C.

[0055] <Processing flow of the information processing method executed by the information processing device 1> 6 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of information processing executed by the information processing device 1 according to the embodiment. The processing in this flowchart starts, for example, when the information processing device 1 is started.

[0056] The identification unit 120 identifies the service management token issued to the user U by referring to the blockchain B (S2). The determination unit 121 determines whether the issuance status of the service management token issued to the user U satisfies the conditions related to the service to which the user subscribes (S4).

[0057] If the condition is met (Yes in S6), the execution unit 122 executes a process to provide a benefit related to the service associated with the condition (S8). If the execution unit 122 executes the process to provide the benefit, or if the condition is not met (No in S6), the process in this flowchart ends.

[0058] <Advantages of the Information Processing Device 1 According to the Embodiment> As described above, according to the information processing device 1 according to the embodiment, it is possible to easily grasp the subscription status for a plurality of services.

[0059] Furthermore, this invention will make it possible to contribute to Goal 9 of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which is to "build resilient infrastructure, promote industry, innovation and infrastructure."

[0060] Although the present invention has been described above using the embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention. For example, all or part of the device can be configured by distributing or integrating functionally or physically in any unit. In addition, new embodiments resulting from any combination of multiple embodiments are also included in the embodiments of the present invention. The effect of the new embodiment resulting from the combination also has the effect of the original embodiment.

[0061] <Modification> The above mainly describes a case where the information processing device 1 executes a process for providing a benefit to the user U or the service provider C when the status regarding the user U's subscription to a service satisfies a predetermined condition. However, the process executed by the information processing device 1 when the status regarding the user U's subscription to a service satisfies a predetermined condition is not limited to the process for providing a benefit. Alternatively or in addition to this, the information processing device 1 may execute another process when the status regarding the user U's subscription to a service satisfies a predetermined condition.

[0062] For example, when a period during which a user U can subscribe to both the first service and the second service is set, specifically, when a period during which the service can be continued is set as a condition in a service management token, the determination unit 121 determines whether the period has ended or not based on the period condition in the service management token. When the determination unit 121 determines that the period has elapsed, the execution unit 122 may execute a process for canceling the service related to the user U.

[0063] As another example, when the determination unit 121 determines that a certain user U is subscribed to a first service and a second service, the execution unit 122 may execute a process of recommending to the user U, for example, a third service or a related product related to those services. In other words, when the status regarding the subscription of the user U to a service satisfies a predetermined condition, the execution unit 122 may execute a process for providing information related to at least one of the first service and the second service to the user U. Specifically, the execution unit 122 may cause the user terminal T of the user U to which the service management token was issued to display information related to at least one of the first service and the second service via the notification unit 125. [Explanation of symbols]

[0064] 1. Information processing device 10 Storage section 11 Communications Department 12 Control section 120 Specific section 121 Judgment section 122 Executive Department 123 Publishing Department 124 Instructions Reception Department 125 Notification Department B Blockchain

Claims

1. A program executed in each information processing device constituting a blockchain, The blockchain records a first token, which is issued to a user who has subscribed to a first service and indicates that the user has subscribed to the first service, and a second token, which is issued to the user and indicates that the user has subscribed to a second service; The program is for the information processing device to: A function of identifying tokens issued to the user by referring to a blockchain; a function of determining whether or not the issuance status of the first token and the second token satisfies a condition related to the first service and the second service; program.

2. The first token is a token issued to a user who subscribes to a first service that is a service provided by a first carrier, and the second token is a token indicating that the user subscribes to a second service that is a service provided by a second carrier. The program according to claim 1.

3. The information processing device further realizes a function of receiving, from a user to whom the first token has been issued, a viewing permission instruction for permitting a business providing the first service and a person other than the user to view the first token. The program according to claim 1.

4. The function of determining whether or not the first token and the second token have been issued to the user and the viewing permission instruction has been accepted is satisfied. The program according to claim 3.

5. The first token is a token that is prohibited from being operated on the blockchain by users other than the user to which the token was issued. The program according to claim 1.

6. The program is for the information processing device to: and further realizing a function of displaying information related to at least one of the first service and the second service on a user terminal of the user when it is determined that the condition is satisfied. The program according to claim 1.

7. The program is for the information processing device to: and further realizing a function of displaying, when the viewing permission instruction is not accepted, the contents of the benefit that the user can receive when the condition is satisfied, on the user terminal of the user to whom the first token is issued. The program according to claim 3 or 4.

8. An information processing device constituting a blockchain, The blockchain records a first token, which is issued to a user who has subscribed to a first service and indicates that the user has subscribed to the first service, and a second token, which is issued to the user and indicates that the user has subscribed to a second service; The information processing device includes: An identification unit that identifies tokens issued to the user by referring to the blockchain; a determination unit that determines whether or not an issuance status of the first token and the second token satisfies a condition related to the first service and the second service. Information processing device.

9. An information processing method executed by each information processing device constituting a blockchain, The blockchain records a first token, which is issued to a user who has subscribed to a first service and indicates that the user has subscribed to the first service, and a second token, which is issued to the user and indicates that the user has subscribed to a second service; The information processing device, referencing the blockchain to identify tokens issued to the user; determining whether or not an issuance status of the first token and the second token satisfies a condition related to the first service and the second service; Information processing methods.

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