Electronic receipt information management method, electronic receipt information management program, and electronic receipt information management system

Abstract

To suitably provide information as an electronic receipt, even if it is transaction information obtained by using a non-networked store terminal, and even after a transaction time point with respect to a consumer.MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEM: An electronic receipt information management method makes a computer execute: a transaction information acquisition step which acquires transaction information which is information about commercial transactions together with a print output request; a character information conversion step which converts a content of the acquired transaction information into character information by a predetermined unit; a coding processing step which generates HTTP request data using a predetermined code based on the character information; a code display step which displays and outputs the code according to the request; and an electronic receipt information generation step which generates electronic receipt information, according to a reception state of a read result of the displayed code.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for improving management convenience and promoting the spread of paperless electronic receipts. [Background technology]

[0002] Receipts and other invoices issued by product sellers / service providers when conducting commercial transactions are indispensable in society, as they are required to be kept in tax and accounting practices, and are also widely used by consumers as evidence of household expenditures. However, due to the large number of receipts issued, if they are all printed on paper, it will not only be a waste of paper resources, but it will also be a major problem from the perspective of reducing CO2 emissions and making effective use of space.

[0003] For this reason, attempts have been made to solve the above problems by electronically outputting receipts, and various technologies have been disclosed. Specifically, as described in Patent Document 1, a technology is disclosed relating to an electronic receipt issuing method in which a store terminal accesses a payment support device, which is the output destination of transaction information, by reading a two-dimensional code issued by the store terminal, and outputs the receipt as an electronic receipt to a user terminal. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2015-084162 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In these conventional technologies, a store terminal such as a POS register has a communication unit, and is required to transmit transaction information via a network such as the Internet to a payment support device that can be connected using a consumer's terminal. However, many of the store terminals widely available in the market are not connected to an external online network or do not have a connection means, making it difficult to issue electronic receipts for consumer transactions using such terminals. In addition, a configuration is required to link the transaction information to the consumer at the time the store terminal generates the information, and no process of linking the transaction information to the consumer after the fact is anticipated. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention proposes an electronic receipt information management method and the like that causes a computer to execute a transaction information acquisition step of acquiring transaction information, which is information related to a commercial transaction, together with a print output request, a character information conversion step of converting the content of the acquired transaction information into character information of a predetermined unit, a coding processing step of generating HTTP request data using a predetermined code based on the character information, a code display step of displaying and outputting the code in response to a request, and an electronic receipt information generation step of generating electronic receipt information in response to a reception status of the reading result of the displayed code. Note that the HTTP request data generated in the coding processing step may be characterized in that the request method is a GET method.

[0007] Furthermore, in relation to the above invention, we also propose an electronic receipt information management method in which a computer can be further caused to execute a paper printing step of accepting a request to print transaction information on a paper medium, and the code display step further includes a display control sub-step of controlling so that the code is not displayed when the paper printing step is executed.

[0008] In addition, in relation to the above invention, we also propose an electronic receipt information management method in which the character information conversion step further includes an image analysis sub-step of analyzing image data included in the acquired transaction information, and an analysis-dependent sub-step of converting the image data into character information of a predetermined unit based on a result of the analysis.

[0009] Furthermore, the present invention also proposes inventions relating to programs, systems, etc., associated with the above-mentioned methods. Effect of the Invention

[0010] The present invention, which has the above-described main configuration, makes it possible to provide transaction information obtained using a store terminal that is not connected to a network to consumers as an electronic receipt, even after the time of the transaction. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] Schematic diagram of the system of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a functional block of a system according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a configuration in which the functional components of the system according to the first embodiment are integrated and realized as one piece of hardware. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a processing flow in the system of the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a functional block of a system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 6A] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a part of a processing flow in the system of the second embodiment. [Figure 6B] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another example of a part of the processing flow in the system of the second embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a functional block of a system according to a third embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a processing flow in the system of the third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] First, Fig. 1 is shown. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the present invention is composed of a business operator terminal 0121 such as a POS register, a device 0101 connected without the Internet, and one or more server computers 0111, 0112, and can be realized through appropriate online / offline information transmission and reception between the business operator terminal, a consumer terminal 0131 which is a terminal managed by a consumer, a printer 0141 for printing out various data on paper, etc.

[0013] As described above, the present invention can be realized by the device 0101 and one or more server computers 0111, 0112. The device here may be configured to be connected to the POS register via wired communication such as USB or cable, or may be configured to be connected using short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth.

[0014] The device only needs to have the functionality to realize the various processes to be realized in the present invention, and it is perfectly possible to use a single-board computer such as Raspberry Pi (registered trademark). This configuration makes it possible to realize a smaller and lighter device, and it can be easily introduced even in businesses that do not have a well-established network environment.

[0015] Incidentally, there is no particular limitation on the type of various terminals connected to various computers that realize the present invention. In addition to POS registers, for example, personal computers 0111, smartphones 0112, tablets 0113, etc. are possible. The consumer terminal is required to have a configuration that allows connection to a network and to have a function for reading the codes described below. Specifically, it is necessary for the terminal to be capable of performing a reading process through a camera, or an analysis and reading process of a code acquired as image data.

[0016] Each embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, the relationship between the embodiments and the claims is as follows. First, embodiment 1 mainly corresponds to claims 1, 2, 5, 6, etc.; embodiment 2 mainly corresponds to claim 3, etc.; embodiment 3 mainly corresponds to claim 4, etc. However, the technical features described in each embodiment can also be used in combination with the technical features described in other embodiments.

[0017] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, but rather has the technical ideas described in each claim in accordance with common technical knowledge, and can be embodied in various forms without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0018] <<Embodiment 1>> <Summary> 2 is a diagram showing an example of functional blocks of the electronic receipt information management system of the present embodiment. As shown in the diagram, the "electronic receipt information management system" 0200 of the present embodiment has a "transaction information acquisition unit" 0201, a "character information conversion unit" 0202, a "coding processing unit" 0203, a "code display unit" 0204, and an "electronic receipt information generation unit" 0205.

[0019] The electronic receipt information management system described in detail below can be configured to realize one or more of its functions using multiple devices, and the functional blocks can all be realized as hardware or software. Examples of devices using a computer include hardware components such as a CPU, main memory, GPU, TPU, image memory, bus, secondary storage device (hard disk or non-volatile memory), keyboard, microphone, touch panel, electronic pen for touching the touch panel, various input devices such as various terminals, speakers, displays and other various output devices, and other external peripheral devices, as well as interfaces for the external peripheral devices, communication interfaces, driver programs for controlling the hardware, and other application programs.

[0020] Then, by performing arithmetic processing according to the program deployed on the main memory, data input from an input device or other interface and held in the memory or hardware is processed and stored, and instructions for controlling the above-mentioned hardware and software are created. Here, the above-mentioned program may be realized as a plurality of modularized programs, or two or more programs may be combined by cloud computing or other methods to be realized as one program.

[0021] <Functional configuration> The "transaction information acquisition unit" 0201 is configured to acquire transaction information, which is information related to commercial transactions, together with a print output request. Commercial transactions here may include all types of transactions involving consideration, such as buying and selling of goods, provision of food and drink, and provision of various other services. The transaction information may broadly include information related to these various transactions. Although the transaction information includes various items, as described below, since the present invention should contribute to recording information in accordance with legal requirements, at least information that is required to be acquired by law is included in the transaction information to be acquired here. For example, the transaction date, the goods or services that are the subject of the transaction, the transaction amount (excluding or excluding tax), the name of the trading partner, etc. may be included.

[0022] There are various possible methods for acquiring transaction information, such as connecting a terminal such as the above-mentioned POS register to a terminal such as a single board computer, for example, Raspberry Pi (registered trademark), with a wired cable, or connecting using short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth or NFC. It is not necessary to use communication technology such as the Internet, and it is possible to meaningfully acquire transaction information from a POS register or the like in an Internet communication environment.

[0023] Each of the various pieces of information constituting the transaction information may be obtained individually from the respective information source. For example, the transaction date may be obtained by using a timing application, and the goods or services involved in the transaction and the transaction amount may be obtained by reading various code information linked to the information.

[0024] One of the technical features of the transaction information acquisition unit is that it acquires the transaction information together with a printout request. That is, a configuration is conceivable in which a terminal such as the above-mentioned single board computer acquires the transaction information together with the information requesting a printout. A printout request is merely information requesting a printout of the transaction information, and the print information acquisition unit is not required to actually print out the transaction information in response to the printout request, either directly or indirectly (it is not intended, of course, to prevent printing out the transaction information through a device such as a printer). Acquiring information in the nature of a printout request can trigger processing in the character information conversion unit and below.

[0025] The "character information conversion unit" 0202 is configured to convert the contents of the acquired transaction information into character information of a predetermined unit. Here, not all of the acquired transaction information is converted into character information, but the conversion process is performed only within the range of a predetermined unit set in advance. The predetermined unit can be set as appropriate, and may be a setting related to the number of characters, a setting related to character information having a predetermined content property, or any other setting. Examples of transaction information to be converted include transaction dates, transaction amounts, and information on business partners that are required to be stored under the Electronic Bookkeeping Act, various tax laws, and other laws and regulations, and other information such as business hours and telephone numbers of business partners, and advertisements included in the transaction information may not be included in the target of character information conversion. By adopting this configuration, it is possible to organize information to be managed as transaction information, which contributes to suitable management.

[0026] The conversion to text information is performed in response to the print request. That is, when the print request is received, CUPS or another printing system is started and the transaction information is converted to text information and printed out. The print output referred to here includes the generation of PDF data using a virtual printer, and in this case, the conversion to text information refers to the generation of PDF data in which the transaction information is displayed.

[0027] In addition, the above explanation mainly concerns the process of directly converting the contents of the transaction information into character information, but it is also possible to convert the contents of the transaction information into character information that indirectly expresses the contents of the transaction information. For example, it is possible to convert the contents of the transaction information into character information as an encryption that can express predetermined transaction information according to a preset decryption method, or to convert the contents of the transaction information into character information as a URL that indicates the transaction information.

[0028] Incidentally, it is desirable that the character information resulting from the conversion here be output in a certain range of characters, and more specifically, that it be configured and output in a format not exceeding 2000 characters. Specifically, it is conceivable to process the content of the transaction information to be displayed as an electronic receipt through a predetermined analysis process so that the content does not exceed 2000 characters. By converting the transaction information into character information with this configuration, it becomes possible to smoothly process the information in the encoding processing unit described below.

[0029] The "encoding processing unit" 0203 is configured to generate HTTP request data using a predetermined code based on the character information. Specifically, the character information converted by the character information conversion unit is converted into a two-dimensional code, a barcode, or other code including the HTTP request data. Throughout the present invention, the transaction information is expected to be ultimately stored as an electronic receipt in a predetermined server, and the HTTP request data generated by the encoding processing unit using the code is generated using the character information with the predetermined server, which is the storage destination, as the request destination.

[0030] It is considered that the HTTP request data generated by the coder may use the GET method as the request method. When the coder generates a two-dimensional code, there is a certain limit to the amount of information that can be processed using the code, so that it may be technically difficult to apply the POST method. By using the GET method as the request method, data processing can be performed using a two-dimensional code that can be widely read by smartphones, etc., and the present invention can be easily used for general commercial transactions, including personal use.

[0031] Incidentally, it is preferable that the HTTP request data generated by the encoding processing unit is generated so as not to exceed 2000 characters, following the character information described above. Currently, the widely used web browsers each have an upper limit on the number of characters that can be displayed as a URL, and specifically, upper limits are set on the number of characters that can be displayed, such as about 2000, 4000, or 10000. From the viewpoint of enabling the present invention to be used with any web browser, it is sufficient to set the upper limit on the number of characters of the HTTP request data to about 2000 characters, and by adopting this configuration, it becomes possible to equally enjoy the effects of the present invention regardless of the user's web usage environment.

[0032] The "code display unit" 0204 is configured to display and output the code in response to a request. The request here may be made at a predetermined timing, and specifically, a display request may be made by one of the parties to a transaction, similar to an operator of a terminal such as a POS register. By displaying and outputting a barcode or two-dimensional code in response to the request here, the party to the transaction can operate his or her own terminal such as a smartphone to read the code, and transmit and receive information to and from a server that stores the data of the electronic receipt.

[0033] The "electronic receipt information generating unit" 0205 is configured to generate electronic receipt information according to the acceptance status of the reading result of the displayed code. As described above, a terminal such as a POS register does not need to be connected to a network, and is required to generate character information and codes, while a terminal that reads the code needs to be online and connected to a network. This is because, as described above, the code displayed on the code display unit is generated including HTTP request data, and it is required to access a specific server online based on the data.

[0034] When the code is read by a terminal such as a smartphone, electronic receipt information is generated based on the HTTP request data corresponding to the read process. Specifically, information on the transaction time, transaction amount, transaction partner, and other transaction details that can be recorded based on the character information that is processed as the HTTP request data in the coding processing unit is correlated with each other to generate a single piece of electronic receipt information.

[0035] In this case, it is preferable that the electronic receipt information is recorded in association with the terminal that read the code or the user who manages the terminal. Since the present invention is expected to be used by the parties involved in a transaction, the management entity of the code reading process may also be the management entity of the transaction or electronic receipt information linked to the code. By adopting this configuration, the parties involved in a transaction can record and manage information about the transaction as an electronic receipt simply by reading the code with a terminal they manage, and they are not required to perform any special input operations, making it possible to avoid mistakes such as missing electronic receipt information or incomplete acquisition of information.

[0036] Furthermore, the electronic receipt information generated by the electronic receipt information generating unit may be configured to be recordable by adding additional information related to the information as a tag. Specifically, in addition to the transaction time, transaction partner, and transaction amount already described as transaction information, information such as the transaction partner's invoice registration number, trade name, name of person in charge, transaction expense item, and transaction purpose may be added as a tag. By using these tags, it becomes possible to search for information according to purpose from multiple pieces of electronic receipt information later, which contributes to improving the convenience of electronic receipt information management.

[0037] <Specific configuration> Here, Fig. 3 is shown. This figure is a schematic diagram showing an example of a configuration when each functional component of the electronic receipt information management system of this embodiment is integrated and realized as one piece of hardware. Each device has a "CPU" 0301 for executing various arithmetic processes, a "storage device (storage medium)" 0302, a "main memory" 0303, an "input / output interface" 0304, and a "network interface" 0305, and transmits and receives information to and from external peripheral devices such as a "keyboard" 0306 via the input / output interface.

[0038] Furthermore, the electronic receipt information management system of this embodiment can transmit and receive information to and from external devices such as a "POS terminal" 0307, ​​a "consumer terminal" 0308, or a "printer" 0309 via a network interface. The specific form of this network interface can be wired or wireless, and the communication method can be direct or indirect between the two terminals. Therefore, it is also possible to adopt a so-called cloud computing format in which information is transmitted and received between a specific external device or a server managed by a third party linked to the user of the device.

[0039] The storage device stores various programs as described below, and the CPU reads, expands, and executes these programs in the work area of ​​the main memory. These components are interconnected by a data communication path such as a "system bus" 0399, and transmit and receive information and perform processing (the basic configuration described above is the same for any of the other devices described below).

[0040] (Specific configuration of transaction information acquisition unit) The transaction information acquisition unit is composed of a computer program and computer hardware, and specifically, the CPU reads the "transaction information acquisition program" 0310 from the storage device into the main memory and executes it, acquires the transaction information, which is information related to commercial transactions, along with a printout request, and stores it at a specified address in the main memory.

[0041] (Specific configuration of the character information conversion unit) The character information conversion unit is composed of a computer program and computer hardware. Specifically, the CPU reads out the “character information conversion program” 0320 from the storage device into the main memory and executes it, reads out the contents of the acquired transaction information, converts it into character information of a predetermined unit, and stores it at a predetermined address in the main memory.

[0042] (Specific configuration of the encoding processing unit) The encoding processing unit is composed of a computer program and computer hardware. Specifically, the CPU reads out the “encoding processing program” 0330 from the storage device into the main memory, executes it, generates HTTP request data using a predetermined code based on the character information, and stores it at a predetermined address in the main memory.

[0043] (Specific configuration of the code display section) The code display unit is composed of a computer program and computer hardware. Specifically, the CPU reads out the “code display program” 0340 from the storage device into the main memory and executes it. When a request is received via a touch panel, keyboard, or the like, the code display unit displays and outputs the code in response to the request.

[0044] (Specific configuration of electronic receipt information generation unit) The electronic receipt information generating unit is composed of a computer program and computer hardware. Specifically, the CPU reads out the “electronic receipt information generating program” 0350 from the storage device into the main memory, executes it, generates electronic receipt information according to the acceptance status of the reading result of the displayed code, and stores it in a specified address of the main memory.

[0045] <Processing flow> 4 is a diagram showing an example of a process flow in the electronic receipt information management system of this embodiment. The process flow in this diagram consists of the following steps. First, in step S0401, transaction information, which is information related to a commercial transaction, is acquired together with a print output request (transaction information acquisition step). In step S0402, the content of the acquired transaction information is converted into character information in a predetermined unit (character information conversion step). In step S0403, HTTP request data is generated using a predetermined code based on the character information (encoding processing step).

[0046] Next, in Step S0404, it is determined whether or not there has been a request to display the code. If it is determined that there has been a request, in Step S0405, the code is displayed in response to the request (code display step).

[0047] Thereafter, in step S0406, it is determined whether or not information regarding the reading result of the displayed code has been received from the consumer terminal. If it is determined that information has been received, in step S0407, electronic receipt information is generated according to the reception status (electronic receipt information generation step).

[0048] <Effects> By using an electronic receipt information management system having the above configuration, even transaction information obtained using a store terminal not connected to a network can be appropriately provided to consumers as an electronic receipt.

[0049] <<Embodiment 2>> <Summary> The electronic receipt information management system of this embodiment basically has the same technical features as the electronic receipt information management system described in embodiment 1, but has an additional feature in that it can accept a request to print transaction information on a paper medium, and when printing on the paper medium, it controls so that the code is not displayed.

[0050] <Functional configuration> 5 is a diagram showing an example of a functional block of the electronic receipt information management system of this embodiment. As shown in the figure, the "electronic receipt information management system" 0500 of this embodiment has a "transaction information acquisition unit" 0501, a "character information conversion unit" 0502, a "coding processing unit" 0503, a "code display unit" 0504, an "electronic receipt information generation unit" 0505, and a "paper printing unit" 0506, and the code display unit further has a "display control means" 0514. Since the basic configuration is the same as the electronic receipt information management system described using FIG. 2 of the first embodiment, the following describes the functions of the "paper printing unit" 0506 and the "display control means" 0514, which are the differences.

[0051] The "paper printing unit" 0506 is configured to receive a request to print transaction information onto paper media. The request to print onto paper media is expected to be received prior to the execution of the coding process step described in the first embodiment, and the specific printing format will be to print out various types of transaction information that are generally accepted to be displayed on a receipt.

[0052] In addition, output to paper media can be performed at a terminal such as a POS register, even if it is not connected to a network. In this case, when a print request is received, the paper printing unit outputs information approving paper printing to the terminal, and performs processing to attach a flag indicating that the transaction information that is the subject of the print request has been printed out on paper media. By adopting this configuration, it is possible to avoid confusion in the processing described below.

[0053] The "display control means" 0514 is configured to control the code display unit so that the code is not displayed when processing is performed by the paper printing unit. Processing by the paper printing unit does not only include receiving a print request, but also includes various processes for indicating that output by paper printing has been performed thereafter. Each of these processes can be performed, for example, by a process of checking the presence or absence of a flag indicating that printout on paper media as described above has been performed. Then, if it is confirmed that the flag exists, control is performed so that the code generated for the transaction information is not displayed on the code display unit.

[0054] Specifically, when a request to display the code is received, it is possible to display a message such as "This transaction information has already been printed on a receipt" or "Online display is not accepted," or to control the system so as not to accept the process for actually displaying the code. Since performing the process of generating electronic receipt information in addition to outputting on paper is extremely cumbersome and may cause confusion in accounting processing, adopting this configuration makes it possible to ensure the properness of accounting management and to adjust so as not to increase the burden on each party for managing transaction information.

[0055] <Specific configuration> The hardware configuration of each device constituting the electronic receipt information management system of this embodiment is basically the same as the hardware configuration in the electronic receipt information management system of the first embodiment described with reference to Fig. 3. Therefore, the specific processing of the "paper printing unit" and "display control means" that have not been described so far will be described below.

[0056] (Specific configuration of the paper printing section) The paper printing unit is specifically composed of a computer program and computer hardware, and the CPU reads the "paper printing program" from the storage device into the main memory and executes it, accepts a request to print transaction information on paper media, and outputs the print request to the output destination according to the request.

[0057] (Specific Configuration of Display Control Means) The display control means is specifically composed of a computer program and computer hardware, and when executing the code display program, the CPU reads a "display control subprogram" from the storage device into the main memory and executes it, and when the paper printing program is executed, it controls the display output processing of the code not to be executed.

[0058] <Processing flow> 6A and 6B are diagrams showing an example of a process flow in the electronic receipt information management system of this embodiment. The process flow in the diagram consists of the following steps. First, in step S0601, transaction information, which is information related to a commercial transaction, is acquired together with a print output request (transaction information acquisition step). In step S0602, the content of the acquired transaction information is converted into character information of a predetermined unit (character information conversion step). In step S0603, HTTP request data is generated using a predetermined code based on the character information (encoding processing step).

[0059] Next, in step S0604, it is determined whether there is a request to output the transaction information. If there is a request, in the following step S0605, it is determined whether the requested output mode is a request to print on paper or a request to display the code. If it is a print request, in step S0606, the request is accepted and the print request is output to an external device such as a printer (paper printing step). In this case, in step S0607, control is performed so that the code is not displayed (display control step).

[0060] If the determination result in step S0605 is a request to display a code, then in step S0608, the code is displayed in response to the request (a code display step).

[0061] Then, in step S0609, it is determined whether or not information regarding the reading result of the displayed code has been received from the consumer terminal. If it is determined that information has been received, in step S0610, electronic receipt information is generated according to the reception status (electronic receipt information generation step).

[0062] <Effects> By using the electronic receipt information management system of this embodiment, it is possible to provide transaction information that is more flexible in accordance with consumer demand and the network environment than when the electronic receipt information management system of the first embodiment is used.

[0063] <<Embodiment 3>> <Summary> The electronic receipt information management system of this embodiment basically has the same technical features as the electronic receipt information management system described in the first embodiment, but has an additional feature in that, when converting the contents of the transaction information into character information of a predetermined unit, image data included in the acquired transaction information is analyzed and converted into character information of a predetermined unit based on the analysis result.

[0064] <Functional configuration> 7 is a diagram showing an example of a functional block of the electronic receipt information management system of the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, the "electronic receipt information management system" 0700 of the present embodiment has a "transaction information acquisition unit" 0701, a "character information conversion unit" 0702, a "coding processing unit" 0703, a "code display unit" 0704, and an "electronic receipt information generation unit" 0705, and the character information conversion unit further has an "image analysis means" 0712 and an "analysis-dependent means" 0722. The basic configuration is the same as the electronic receipt information management system described using FIG. 2 of the first embodiment, so the following describes the functions of the "image analysis means" 0712 and the "analysis-dependent means" 0722, which are the differences.

[0065] The "image analysis means" 0712 is configured to analyze image data included in the acquired transaction information in the character information conversion unit. Specifically, the transaction information composed of image data is processed to analyze the contents of the transaction information included in the image data by using an optical reading means such as OCR. As described in the second embodiment, since it is assumed that the transaction information is printed on paper as a receipt, and the composition of the transaction information generated according to the specifications of the terminal such as a POS register that is the initial input source of the transaction information is diverse, the transaction information is first converted to PDF data or the like using a versatile virtual printing protocol, and then image-read processing is performed, thereby making it possible to acquire transaction information that is not limited by the environment at the time of generation.

[0066] The "analysis-dependent means" 0722 is configured to convert the character information into character information of a predetermined unit based on the analysis result in the character information conversion section. Specifically, it is considered that information identified as a predetermined character in the image data as a result of the analysis process by the image analysis means is converted into character information according to the analysis process result. Specific aspects of the analysis process include converting character data arranged at a predetermined position in the image into character information representing a predetermined transaction content, and converting a plurality of character data arranged in a predetermined positional relationship for each predetermined unit into character information representing mutually related predetermined transaction content. By adopting this configuration, the conversion process into character information of transaction information that does not depend on the acquisition mode becomes easy, and subsequent electronic receipt management can be performed smoothly.

[0067] <Specific configuration> The hardware configuration of each device constituting the electronic receipt information management system of this embodiment is basically the same as the hardware configuration in the electronic receipt information management system of the first embodiment described with reference to Fig. 3. Therefore, the specific processing of the "image analysis means" and "analysis-dependent means" that have not been described so far will be described below.

[0068] (Specific configuration of image analysis means) The image analysis means is specifically composed of a computer program and computer hardware, and when executing the character information conversion program, the CPU reads the "image analysis subprogram" from the storage device into the main memory and executes it, analyzes the image data contained in the transaction information acquired by executing the transaction information acquisition program, and stores the analysis results at a specified address in the main memory.

[0069] (Specific configuration of analysis-dependent measures) The analysis-dependent means is specifically composed of a computer program and computer hardware, and when executing the character information conversion program, the CPU reads the "analysis-dependent sub-program" from the storage device into the main memory and executes it, converts the analysis results obtained by executing the image analysis program into character information of a predetermined unit, and stores it at a predetermined address in the main memory.

[0070] <Processing flow> Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a process flow in the electronic receipt information management system of this embodiment. The process flow in this figure consists of the following steps. First, in step S0801, transaction information, which is information related to a commercial transaction, is acquired together with a print output request (transaction information acquisition step). In step S0802, image data included in the acquired transaction information is analyzed (image analysis step), and in step S0803, the image data is converted into character information in a predetermined unit based on the analysis results (analysis-dependent step). After that, in step S0804, HTTP request data is generated using a predetermined code based on the character information (encoding processing step).

[0071] Next, in Step S0805, it is determined whether or not there has been a request to display the code. If it is determined that there has been a request, in Step S0806, the code is displayed in response to the request (code display step).

[0072] Then, in step S0807, it is determined whether or not information regarding the reading result of the displayed code has been received from the consumer terminal. If it is determined that information has been received, in step S0808, electronic receipt information is generated according to the reception status (electronic receipt information generation step).

[0073] <Effects> By using the electronic receipt information management system of this embodiment, the process of converting transaction information independent of the acquisition method into character information becomes easier than when using the electronic receipt information management system of embodiment 1, and subsequent electronic receipt management can be performed smoothly. [Explanation of symbols]

[0074] 0200: Electronic receipt information management system; 0201: Transaction information acquisition unit; 0202: Character information conversion unit; 0203: Coding processing unit; 0204: Code display unit; 0205: Electronic receipt information generation unit

Claims

1. a transaction information acquisition step of acquiring transaction information, which is information related to a commercial transaction, together with a print output request; a character information conversion step of converting the content of the acquired transaction information into character information of a predetermined unit; a coding process step of generating HTTP request data using a predetermined code based on the character information; a code display step of displaying and outputting the code in response to a request; an electronic receipt information generating step of generating electronic receipt information according to a reception status of a result of reading the displayed code; The electronic receipt information management method includes the steps of:

2. 2. The electronic receipt information management method according to claim 1, wherein the HTTP request data generated in the encoding process step uses a GET method as a request method.

3. The computer may further execute a paper printing step of accepting a request to print the transaction information on a paper medium; The electronic receipt information management method according to claim 1 , wherein the code display step further comprises a display control sub-step of controlling so that the code is not displayed when the paper printing step is executed.

4. The character information conversion step is an image analysis sub-step of analyzing image data included in the acquired transaction information; an analysis-dependent sub-step of converting the result of the analysis into character information of a predetermined unit; The method of claim 1 further comprising:

5. a transaction information acquisition step of acquiring transaction information, which is information related to a commercial transaction, together with a print output request; a character information conversion step of converting the content of the acquired transaction information into character information of a predetermined unit; a coding process step of generating HTTP request data using a predetermined code based on the character information; a code display step of displaying and outputting the code in response to a request; An electronic receipt information management program that causes a computer to execute the above.

6. a transaction information acquisition unit that acquires transaction information, which is information related to a commercial transaction, together with a print output request; a character information conversion unit that converts the content of the acquired transaction information into character information of a predetermined unit; a coding processing unit that generates HTTP request data using a predetermined code based on the character information; a code display unit that displays and outputs the code upon request; an electronic receipt information generating unit that generates electronic receipt information according to a reception status of the reading result of the displayed code; An electronic receipt information management system comprising:

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