Information processing system, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To reflect an acquisition intension of a person who acquires an article on a system when relating the article to a specific person on data.SOLUTION: An information processing system uses an information support medium that can be separated into a first part and a second part and has a radio tag configured so as not to lose a communication function when being separated into the first part and the second part. The system comprises: a communication terminal for performing processing related to user identification information; and an information processing device that can communicate with the communication terminal and has a measurement section for storing article identification information in association with each other for each tag identification information of each radio tag. The communication terminal acquires separation information showing whether the information support medium is separated from a radio tag. The information processing device executes user registration processing for relating article identification information related to tag identification information for identifying a radio tag to user identification information when separation information shows separation of the first part and the second part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to information processing using an information carrying medium. [Background technology]

[0002] It has been proposed to associate goods with specific people through data. For example, by associating products sold in a store with the people who acquired the products through data, it becomes possible to centrally manage the people who acquired the products throughout the product distribution process. For example, Patent Document 1 describes an information processing device including a storage unit that stores information about a product and identification information of a wireless tag attached to the product, and a control unit that, when the identification information of the wireless tag attached to the product is received from a product acquirer terminal carried by a product acquirer who acquires the product, associates information about the product acquirer with the identification information of the wireless tag. In this information processing device, the control unit is configured to be able to provide the product-related information stored in the storage unit to the product acquirer terminal when the information about the product acquirer and the identification information of the wireless tag are associated. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-149838 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In Patent Document 1, the association between the product and the product acquirer is essentially established when the product acquirer terminal receives the identification information of the wireless tag attached to the product. However, there is a possibility that the product acquirer may acquire the product unintentionally, and this may be recorded in the system.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to enable the system to reflect the intention of the person who acquired the item when the item is associated with a specific person in data. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One aspect of the present invention is an information processing system using an information carrying medium having a wireless tag that is separable into a first part and a second part and is configured not to lose a communication function when the first part and the second part are separated, a communication terminal capable of communicating with the wireless tag and performing processing associated with user identification information for identifying a user; an information processing device capable of communicating with the communication terminal and having a storage unit that stores item identification information for identifying an item in association with tag identification information for identifying each of a plurality of wireless tags; Equipped with the communication terminal acquires separation information indicating whether the first portion and the second portion of the information carrying medium have been separated from the wireless tag; When the separation information indicates that the first portion and the second portion have been separated, the information processing device executes a user registration process to associate the user identification information with article identification information associated with tag identification information that identifies the wireless tag. It is an information processing system. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, when an item is associated with a specific person in data, the intention of the person who acquired the item can be reflected in the system. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 10 is a diagram illustrating how records are added to a product database as products are manufactured in an information processing system according to an embodiment. FIG. [Figure 2] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating, in chronological order, how to use an owner card in an information processing system according to an embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of a user database. [Figure 4] 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating the front and back of an owner card used in an information processing system according to an embodiment. [Figure 5] 5A and 5B are diagrams showing the front and back sides of a sheet of paper that is used to create the owner card of FIG. 4. [Figure 6] 6 is a diagram illustrating the procedure for producing an owner card from the paper shown in FIG. 5. FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of each device in the information processing system of the embodiment. [Figure 8] 1 is a sequence chart illustrating a system operation of an information processing system according to an embodiment. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a user registration process performed by a server according to an embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of a product database that is different from that shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a schematic system configuration when multiple cards are read at once in a store. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The embodiments described below are not limited to the drawings illustrated by the brief description of the drawings.

[0010] A first aspect of the present invention is an information processing system using an information carrying medium having a wireless tag that is separable into a first part and a second part and that is configured not to lose a communication function when the first part and the second part are separated, a communication terminal capable of communicating with the wireless tag and performing processing associated with user identification information for identifying a user; an information processing device capable of communicating with the communication terminal and having a storage unit that stores item identification information for identifying an item in association with tag identification information for identifying each of a plurality of wireless tags; Equipped with the communication terminal acquires separation information indicating whether the first portion and the second portion of the information carrying medium have been separated from the wireless tag; When the separation information indicates that the first portion and the second portion have been separated, the information processing device executes a user registration process to associate the user identification information with article identification information associated with tag identification information that identifies the wireless tag. It is an information processing system.

[0011] According to a first aspect of the present invention, the user registration process is executed when the acquirer of the item separates the information-carrying medium, so that when the item is associated with a specific person in data, the intention of the person who acquired the item can be reflected in the system.

[0012] A second aspect of the present invention is an information processing system described in the first aspect, wherein the information processing device performs the user registration process when the item identification information is not associated with any user.

[0013] According to a second aspect of the present invention, the user who first separated the information carrying medium can be reliably registered as the acquirer of the item, and it is possible to prevent two or more users from being associated with the same item.

[0014] In a third aspect of the present invention, the wireless tag stores code information including tag identification information for identifying the wireless tag and the separation information, In the information processing system according to the first or second aspect, the communication terminal receives the code information from the wireless tag.

[0015] According to a third aspect of the present invention, the communication terminal can recognize whether or not the information carrying medium has been separated into the first portion and the second portion based on the code information.

[0016] In a fourth aspect of the present invention, the wireless tag stores a URL (Universal Resource Locator) including tag identification information for identifying the wireless tag and the separation information; In the information processing system according to the first or second aspect, the communication terminal receives the URL from the wireless tag.

[0017] According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the communication terminal can recognize whether the information carrying medium has been separated into a first part and a second part based on the URL, and can obtain a specified web page.

[0018] A fifth aspect of the present invention is an information processing system described in any of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the communication terminal performs a process different from the user registration process when the separation information acquired from the wireless tag indicates that the first part and the second part are not separated.

[0019] According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the communication terminal performs different processing when the information carrying medium is separated into a first part and a second part and when it is not separated, thereby making it possible to provide the user of the communication terminal with various information depending on the state of the information carrying medium.

[0020] A sixth aspect of the present invention is an information processing system described in any of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the user registration process further includes associating at least one of the user's attribute information and registration date information when the information processing device executed the user registration process.

[0021] According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to obtain information useful for marketing, such as what attributes of users acquired an item and when.

[0022] A seventh aspect of the present invention is an information processing system described in any of the first to sixth aspects, wherein the communication terminal acquires multiple pieces of separated information from wireless tags contained in each of the multiple information carrying media in a single reading operation.

[0023] According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, when a user purchases multiple items at a store, the user can register multiple items by reading multiple wireless tags in a single reading operation using a communication terminal serving as a store terminal.

[0024] An eighth aspect of the present invention is an information processing method using an information carrying medium having a wireless tag that is separable into a first part and a second part and configured not to lose a communication function when the first part and the second part are separated, comprising: a communication terminal for performing a process associated with user identification information for identifying a user, which acquires, from the wireless tag, separation information indicating whether the first portion and the second portion of the information carrying medium have been separated; an information processing device stores article identification information for identifying an article in association with each of tag identification information for identifying each of the plurality of wireless tags; the information processing device receives the separation information from the communication terminal, and when the received separation information indicates that the first part and the second part have been separated, executes a user registration process that associates item identification information associated with tag identification information that identifies the wireless tag with the user identification information. It is an information processing method.

[0025] According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, the user registration process is executed when the acquirer of the item separates the information-carrying medium, so that when the item is associated with a specific person in data, the intention of the person who acquired the item can be reflected in the system.

[0026] A ninth aspect of the present invention is a program installed in a communication terminal capable of communicating with an information processing device and for performing processing associated with user identification information for identifying a user, the program comprising: a procedure for communicating with an information carrying medium having a wireless tag that is separable into a first part and a second part and that is configured not to lose its communication function when the first part and the second part are separated; obtaining, from the wireless tag, separation information indicating whether the first portion and the second portion of the information carrying medium have been separated; a step of requesting the information processing device to execute a user registration process for associating the user identification information with item identification information associated with tag identification information that identifies the wireless tag when the separation information indicates that the first part and the second part have been separated; It is a program for causing a computer to execute the above.

[0027] According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the user registration process is executed when the acquirer of the item separates the information carrying medium, so that when the item is associated with a specific person in data, the intention of the person who acquired the item can be reflected in the system.

[0028] In this disclosure, an "information carrying medium" refers to a medium to which information is attached. The manner in which the information is attached to the information carrying medium is not limited as long as the information is attached in a manner that is visible to the user. When the information is attached by printing, examples of the information carrying medium include print media on which information is printed, such as labels, tags, wristbands, owner cards, and forms. The material of the print medium is not limited to paper, and may be a material other than paper, such as film. In the present disclosure, the term "article" refers to a tangible object such as a finished product, a semi-finished product (a product in an intermediate stage during manufacturing), a commodity, etc. In the following embodiments, a commodity is taken as an example of an article. In this disclosure, "item identification information" may be any information that enables an item to be distinguished from other items, such as a code, serial number, model, type, etc. unique to the item, or image information of the item. In the following explanation, an NFC tag that communicates via NFC (Near Field Communication) will be used as an example of a wireless tag. NFC is a short-range wireless communication method standardized by ISO / IEC. However, the communication method is not limited to this, and a BLE tag that uses Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy or a UHF band RFID tag may also be used. The communication protocol used when the wireless tag communicates can be set arbitrarily.

[0029] An information processing system 1 according to an embodiment will be described below. The information processing system 1 is intended to reflect the user's intention to acquire a product when associating the product with a user (product acquirer) who has acquired the product by, for example, purchasing the product at a store. In this system, as described below, an owner card (described below; an example of an information carrying medium) that can be separated into two parts is associated with the product. In one embodiment, the owner card is attached to or enclosed with the product sold at the store. The owner card has a built-in wireless tag, which is configured so that it does not lose its communication function even when separated into two parts. The information processing system 1 recognizes that the product acquirer has separated the owner card attached to the acquired product, and executes a user registration process that associates the product acquirer with the product, thereby reflecting the product acquirer's intention to acquire the product in the system.

[0030] First, the structure of the information processing system 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in Fig. 1, the information processing system 1 is provided with a product database in which tag identification information (TID) for identifying a wireless tag embedded in an owner card is pre-associated with a product ID (an example of product identification information) for identifying a product. Each record in the product database is associated with the TID, the product ID, and the owner's user ID (an example of user identification information). In the product database, if the owner's user ID (i.e., the product acquirer) is undetermined, the field is left blank (unfilled).

[0031] As shown in FIG. 1, in one embodiment, at a product manufacturing site, an owner card 10 (an example of an information carrying medium) is attached to the product P each time a product P is manufactured, and the product P is shipped as a set including the product ID and the owner card 10. An NFC tag T (an example of a wireless tag) is embedded in the owner card 10. Each time a product is shipped, a product manufacturing terminal 2 installed at the product manufacturing site reads the TID of the NFC tag T embedded in the owner card 10 attached to the product P, and records a record in the product database that associates the product ID and TID of the product P. In one embodiment, the product database is stored in a server 5 (described later; an example of an information processing device). The product manufacturing terminal 2 can access the product database of the server 5 via a network. Each time a product is shipped, a record corresponding to the product is added to the product database. When a record is added to the product database, the "owner's user ID" field of that record is blank.

[0032] It should be noted that records can be added to the product database before the product is delivered to the store. Therefore, records can be added to the product database not only by the product manufacturing terminal 2 but also by a computer terminal located anywhere in the product distribution process.

[0033] 2 is a diagram illustrating, in chronological order, how to use an owner card in an information processing system 1 according to an embodiment. The information processing system 1 uses a user terminal 3 (an example of a communication terminal) that is capable of wireless communication with an NFC tag T of an owner card 10 attached to a product. The user terminal 3 is a communication terminal owned by a user who has acquired a product, and may be a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a smartwatch, or other wearable terminal. In one embodiment, an NFC application for executing processing related to an NFC tag is installed in the user terminal 3, but this is not limited to this. The user terminal 3 has a communication interface for performing NFC communication with the NFC tag T, and also acquires code information from the NFC tag T. The code information acquired by the user terminal 3 from the NFC tag T includes the TID of the NFC tag T and a separation parameter (an example of separation information) indicating whether the owner card 10 has been separated.

[0034] The owner card 10 used in the information processing system 1 can be separated into a first part 11 and a second part 12 (see FIG. 2). As will be described later, it is preferable that the owner card 10 has a perforation formed at the boundary between the first part 11 and the second part 12, so that the first part 11 and the second part 12 can be easily separated by the user. The NFC tag T included in the owner card 10 has a detection function for detecting whether or not the owner card 10 has been separated. Wireless tags with a tampering detection function are generally known, and by applying this tampering detection function to the NFC tag T, it is possible to detect whether or not the owner card 10 has been separated.

[0035] An example of how the owner card 10 is used will now be described with reference to FIG. In Figure 2, as shown in step ST1, when a user purchases a product P in a store or online, an owner card 10 is provided (the user acquires the owner card 10) in addition to the product P. At the time when the user purchases the product and acquires the owner card 10, the owner card 10 is not separated (not detached). In step ST2, when the user holds the user terminal 3 over the undetached owner card 10, the user terminal 3 receives code information from the owner card 10. As described above, the code information includes the TID of the NFC tag T and a separation parameter that indicates whether the owner card 10 has been separated.

[0036] In one embodiment, if the NFC application of the user terminal 3 determines based on the separation parameters that the owner card 10 has not been separated, it executes a process different from the user registration (process of registering the user as the owner of the product) performed in step ST4 described below. Here, the term "different process" does not limit the content of the process, but may be, for example, a process of displaying content related to the product P to which the owner card 10 is attached, content for searching attribute information (material information, etc.) of the product P, content indicating discounts on products other than the product P, or still image content or video content related to the store selling the product. The content is not limited to information related to the product, and may also be information about the store or information about the area surrounding the store. The content may change depending on the date and time when the NFC application receives the code information from the owner card 10. In one embodiment, the NFC application of the user terminal 3 displays pre-prepared content or obtains content from a server on the network and displays the obtained content as the "different processing." Because the user terminal 3 performs different processing depending on whether the owner card 10 is detached or not, various information can be provided to the user of the user terminal 3 depending on the state of the owner card 10.

[0037] Thereafter, as shown in step ST3, the user who has acquired the product P separates (cuts off) the owner card 10 into the first part 11 and the second part 12. The communication function of the NFC tag T is maintained in the separated first part 11. In step ST4, when the user holds the user terminal 3 over the first part 11 of the owner card 10, the NFC application of the user terminal 3 recognizes that the owner card 10 has been separated based on the code information obtained from the NFC tag T, and communicates with the server 5 to perform the user registration process.

[0038] The server 5 assigns a user ID to the user of the user terminal 3 when the user terminal 3 installs an NFC application, acquires the user attribute information of the user, and holds a user database. Fig. 3 shows an example of the data structure of the user database. In the example shown in FIG. 3, each record in the user database includes a user ID and user attribute information (information such as name, address, email address, etc.). In the user registration process, the user ID of the requester of the user registration request (the user ID associated with the NFC application of the user terminal 3 in FIG. 2) is associated with the TID of the NFC tag T in the product database (FIG. 1). This associates the user ID with the product ID of the product P as the user ID of the owner of the product P. For example, in the example of FIG. 1, the user registration process records "US035830" as the user ID of the owner corresponding to the product ID: C01235.

[0039] Next, the owner card 10 given to a user when purchasing a product will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the front side (card front side) and the back side (card back side) of the owner card 10. As shown in FIG. As shown in Fig. 4, a mark M1 is preferably printed on the surface of the card to indicate the position over which the user terminal 3 should be held. The owner card 10 preferably has a perforation PL formed at the boundary between the first portion 11 and the second portion 12. Notches 101 are provided on both ends of the perforation PL to make it easier to separate the owner card 10 along the perforation PL. In one example, the first section 11 is provided with a character string indicating that it is an owner card, and a store entry area 105 for entering the name of the store where the product was purchased and the date.

[0040] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the front (paper front surface) and back (paper back surface) of a sheet of paper 100 that is used to create the owner card of FIG. 4. The sheet of paper 100 has a perforation PL formed at the boundary between the first sheet portion 110 and the second sheet portion 120. The front surface of the paper is the printed surface on which a predetermined string of characters or mark M1 is printed. An adhesive 102 is applied to the back surface of the paper. When mass-producing the sheet of paper 100, a single sheet of paper 100 shown in FIG. 5 is obtained by printing strings of characters or the like on a continuous sheet of paper extending in the horizontal direction of FIG. 5 and sequentially cutting it in the vertical direction of FIG. 5.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 5, the NFC tag T includes an IC chip 201, a communication antenna 202, and a wiring 203. The NFC tag T is affixed to the back surface of the paper so that the position of the mark M1 on the front surface and the position of the communication antenna 202 are aligned when the paper 100 is folded at the fold line L2, as described below. The communication antenna 202 has a meandering conductor of a predetermined length for communication at a frequency compatible with NFC, and both ends of the conductor are connected to the IC chip 201. The wiring 203 is a conductor for detecting disconnection that forms a closed loop, and is formed across the first paper portion 110 and the second paper portion 120 when the NFC tag T is affixed to the back surface of the paper. Both ends of the wiring 203 are connected to the IC chip 201. By utilizing the wiring 203, the NFC tag T can detect whether the owner card 10 has been separated into the first portion 11 and the second portion 12 with a simple structure. Even if the wiring 203 is broken, NFC communication still functions thanks to the IC chip 201 and the communication antenna 202. In other words, the NFC tag T is configured so that the communication function with the user terminal 3 is not lost even if the wiring 203 is broken.

[0042] After attaching the NFC tag T to the back surface of the paper 100, the paper 100 is folded sequentially along the folding lines L2 and L1 as shown in FIG. 6 and then attached together, thereby obtaining the owner card 10 shown in FIG.

[0043] Next, the configuration of each device in the information processing system 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a functional block diagram of the NFC tag T, the user terminal 3, and the server 5 in the information processing system 1 of this embodiment.

[0044] 7, the NFC tag T includes a control unit 21, a memory 22, and an NFC communication unit 23. The control unit 21, the memory 22, and the NFC communication unit 23 are mounted on an IC chip 201 (FIG. 5). The control unit 21 has a program installed therein that executes signal processing in the NFC tag T. By executing the program, the control unit 21 functions as a detection unit 211 and a parameter change unit 212. The detection unit 211 detects whether the owner card 10 has been separated into the first part 11 and the second part 12 by detecting whether the wiring 203 (FIG. 5) has been broken. The detection unit 211 monitors the resistance values ​​at both ends of the wiring 203, and if the resistance values ​​at both ends are greater than a predetermined threshold, it determines that the wiring 203 has been broken (i.e., the first part 11 and the second part 12 have been separated).

[0045] The parameter change unit 212 changes the separation parameters contained in the code information sent to the user terminal 3 when the user terminal 3 is held over the NFC tag T, based on the detection result of whether the owner card 10 has been separated into the first part 11 and the second part 12. As an example, the following shows an example of code information sent from the NFC tag T before and after separation of the owner card 10. Here, "1DBD0123456789" is the TID of the NFC tag T, and the value following it (A or B) is the separation parameter. In this example, when the parameter change unit 212 detects that the owner card 10 has been separated into the first part 11 and the second part 12, it changes the separation parameter from x to y. Note that setting the separation parameter indicating before separation to "A" and the separation parameter indicating after separation to "B" is merely an example. Any separation parameter may be used as long as the separation parameter has different values ​​before and after separation. (Before separation) 1DBD0123456789A00010 (After separation) 1DBD0123456789B00010

[0046] The memory 22 is a non-volatile memory, and stores a tag ID, which is identification information unique to the NFC tag T, and code information including separation parameters. The NFC communication unit 23 is a communication interface for performing NFC communication with an external communication device (such as the user terminal 3) in cooperation with the communication antenna 202 (FIG. 5).

[0047] As shown in FIG. 7, the user terminal 3 includes a control unit 31, a storage 32, an operation input unit 33, a display unit , a position data acquisition unit 35, a communication unit 37, and an NFC communication unit . The control unit 31 is mainly configured with a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and controls the processing of the user terminal 3. For example, the CPU included in the control unit 31 loads and executes programs (NFC applications and web browsers) recorded in the storage 32, and displays the execution results on the display unit 34. The storage 32 is a non-volatile memory, such as a solid state drive (SSD) such as a flash memory, etc. The storage 32 stores the results of program execution, data acquired from the NFC tag T, and the like.

[0048] The operation input unit 33 is, for example, a touch panel type input device provided on the display panel of the user terminal 3. The operation input unit 33 notifies the control unit 31 of an operation input to the display panel. The display unit 34 includes, for example, a liquid crystal display panel or an organic EL panel, and displays the results of the execution of the program.

[0049] The communication unit 37 is a communication interface for communicating with the server 5. The communication protocol between the user terminal 3 and the server 5 is not limited, but may be HTTPS, for example. Furthermore, the communication unit 37 communicates with an authentication server (not shown) for authentication processing of the NFC tag T. The authentication server is a server that performs authentication processing for the NFC tag T based on the TID of the NFC tag T received from the communication unit 37. The NFC communication unit 38 is a communication interface for performing short-distance wireless communication using NFC. When the user holds the user terminal 3 over the NFC tag T of the owner card 10, the NFC communication unit 38 communicates with the NFC tag T and receives data (for example, the above-mentioned code information) from the NFC tag T.

[0050] When the NFC application receives data including code information from the NFC tag T, it executes different processes depending on the value of the separation parameter included in the received code information. If the separation parameter indicates that the owner card 10 is not separated, the NFC application executes a process to display the content. The content is not limited to a web page, but may be content obtained from the server 5 or content stored in the user terminal 3. The content may be content that can be played by the NFC application, or may be a web page. In the latter case, the NFC application is configured to retrieve the web page in cooperation with a web browser.

[0051] If the separation parameter indicates that the owner card 10 is separated, the NFC application transmits a user registration request to the server 5, requesting that user registration processing be performed. The user registration request includes the user ID and the TID included in the code information acquired from the NFC tag T. As described above, the user registration processing is a process for associating the user ID indicating the product acquirer with the product ID in the product database, and is executed by the server 5. Through the user registration processing, the user is registered as a product acquirer of a specific product.

[0052] The server 5 is capable of communicating with the user terminal 3 via the network NW, and includes a control unit 51, a storage 52, and a communication unit 53, as shown in FIG. The control unit 51 is mainly configured with a CPU, and controls the processing of the server 5. For example, the CPU included in the control unit 51 loads and executes a server program recorded in the storage 52. The storage 52 (an example of a storage unit) is a large-scale storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD), and stores a product database (product DB; see FIG. 1) and a user database (user DB; see FIG. 3). The communication unit 53 is a communication interface for communicating with the user terminal 3. The communication protocol between the server 5 and the user terminal 3 is not limited, but is, for example, HTTPS. The process performed by the control unit 51 when it receives a user registration request from the NFC application of the user terminal 3 will be described later.

[0053] Next, with reference to the sequence chart of FIG. 8, a system operation when the user terminal 3 receives code information from the NFC tag T will be described. When a user purchases a product at a store and brings the user terminal 3 close to the owner card 10 attached to the product, the NFC application of the user terminal 3 reads code information from the NFC tag T embedded in the owner card 10 (step S1). The code information includes the TID of the NFC tag T and a separation parameter indicating whether the owner card 10 has been separated. When the NFC application receives the code information, it sends an authentication request for the NFC tag T to the authentication server (step S2). The authentication request includes at least the TID of the NFC tag T. The authentication server performs authentication processing based on the TID included in the authentication request (step S3) and returns the authentication result to the NFC application (step S4). If the authentication result is authentication OK (step S5: YES), the NFC application executes the processing from step S6 onwards, and if the authentication result is authentication NG (step S5: NO), it ends without performing the processing thereafter. If the authentication is successful, the NFC application determines whether the owner card 10 has been separated into the first part 11 and the second part 12 based on the separation parameters included in the code information (step S6). If the owner card 10 has not been separated (step S6: NO), the NFC application displays predetermined content (step S7). The content displayed in step S7 may be a web page obtained based on a predetermined URL, an image obtained from the server 5, or content stored in the storage 32 of the user terminal 3.

[0054] If the owner card 10 is separated (step S6: YES), the NFC application transmits a user registration request to the server 5 requesting that the user register the product purchased by the user (step S8). Upon receiving the user registration request, the server 5 executes the user registration process shown in detail in FIG. 9 (step S10).

[0055] FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the user registration process executed by the server 5. Referring to Figure 9, when the control unit 51 receives a user registration request from an NFC application (NFC app) (step S20: YES), it extracts the user ID and TID included in the user registration request and determines whether the product corresponding to the extracted TID has already been registered by the user (step S22).

[0056] Specifically, a record containing the extracted TID is identified in the product database (FIG. 1). If the "owner's user ID" field of the identified record is blank (no user ID is recorded), this means that the product corresponding to the extracted TID has not been registered with a user. In this case (step S22: NO), the control unit 51 writes the user ID included in the user registration request as the "owner's user ID" of the identified record (step S24). That is, the control unit 51 writes the user ID included in the user registration request as the "owner's user ID" of the identified record in the product database. Next, the control unit 51 generates a message indicating that user registration has been completed (step S26).

[0057] If the user has already been registered (step S22: YES), that is, if the user ID is already recorded in the "owner's user ID" field of the identified record in the product database, the control unit 51 performs the following process. If the user ID recorded in "Owner's User ID" is the same as the user ID included in the user registration request (step S28: YES), the control unit 51 generates a message indicating that user registration has already been completed (step S30). For example, if a user who has purchased a product brings the user terminal 3 close to the owner card 10 multiple times and makes a second or subsequent user registration request, the message of step S30 is generated. If the user ID recorded in "Owner's User ID" is different from the user ID included in the user registration request (step S28: NO), the control unit 51 generates a message indicating that user registration is not possible because the user has already been registered by another user (step S32).

[0058] That is, the control unit 51 executes the user registration process when the product ID (the product ID corresponding to the TID included in the user registration request) is not associated with any user ID in the product database. This ensures that the user who first separated the owner card 10 is registered as the product acquirer. It also prevents two or more users from being associated with the same product.

[0059] Returning to the explanation of Figure 8. The server 5 transmits the message generated in the user registration process to the NFC application of the user terminal 3 (step S12). When the NFC application receives the message from the server 5 (step S14: YES), it displays the received message (step S16). As described above, the message is either a message indicating that user registration has been completed, a message indicating that user registration has already been completed, or a message indicating that user registration cannot be performed.

[0060] The sequence chart in FIG. 8 assumes that an NFC application is pre-installed in the user terminal 3, but this is not the only possible case. If the NFC application is not installed in the user terminal 3, the user terminal 3 can download the NFC application from an online store and execute the process shown in FIG. 8 after downloading. For example, when a user brings the user terminal 3 close to the owner card 10, the user terminal 3 transmits data written in the NFC tag T (e.g., authentication key data) to an authentication server (not shown). The authentication server authenticates the NFC tag and determines its authenticity, and then redirects the user to a download store. When the user terminal 3 acquires the NFC application from the download store, the NFC application executes the process shown in FIG. 8.

[0061] As described above, according to one embodiment of the information processing system 1, when a user brings the user terminal 3 close to the owner card 10, the user terminal 3 acquires a separation parameter indicating whether the owner card 10 has been separated from the NFC tag T embedded in the owner card 10. When the server 5 receives a user registration request from the user terminal 3, including the user ID and the TID of the NFC tag T, the server 5 executes user registration processing to associate the user ID with the product ID corresponding to the TID in the product database. In other words, because the user registration processing is executed when the user who is the product acquirer separates the owner card 10, the intention of the product acquirer to acquire the product can be reflected in the system when the product is associated with a specific person in the data.

[0062] In the above description, the case where code information is transmitted from the NFC tag T to the user terminal 3 has been described, but this is not limitative. The memory 22 of the NFC tag T may store a URL (Universal Resource Locator) including a TID and a separation parameter instead of the code information, and transmit the URL to the user terminal 3 when the user terminal 3 is brought close. When the memory 22 stores a URL, the parameter change performed by the parameter change unit 212 includes changing the URL. For example, assume that the URL sent to the user terminal 3 when the owner card 10 is not yet separated is the following URL_X. In this case, when the parameter change unit 212 determines that the owner card 10 has been separated, it changes the URL sent to the user terminal 3 to the following URL_Y. In other words, the user terminal 3 receives different URLs depending on whether or not the owner card 10 has been separated. (URL_X)https: / / www.xxxxx.info / ?id=1DBD0123456789A00010 (URL_Y)https: / / www.xxxxx.info / ?id=1DBD0123456789B00010

[0063] In each URL, "1DBD0123456789" is the TID of the NFC tag T, and the value that follows (A or B) is the separation parameter. After the user terminal 3 receives the URL from the NFC tag T, the process is carried out as follows without the involvement of the NFC application. When the user terminal 3 receives the URL from the NFC tag T, it sends an authentication request to the authentication server. The authentication request includes the URL (URL_X or URL_Y) received from the NFC tag T and terminal identification information that identifies the user terminal 3. The authentication server performs authentication processing based on the TID included in the URL, and if authentication is successful, it determines whether the owner card 10 has been separated based on the separation parameters included in the URL. If the owner card 10 has not been separated, the authentication server determines that the owner card 10 has not been separated based on the URL_X included in the authentication request, and controls an external content server to send web content to the user terminal 3 (URL redirection). The web browser of the user terminal 3 displays the received content. As mentioned above, the content is not limited, and may be, for example, content related to the product P to which the owner card 10 is attached, content for searching attributes of the product P, content indicating discounts on products other than the product P, or still image content or video content related to the store selling the product. The content is not limited to information related to the product, and may also be information about the store or information about the area around the store. If the owner card 10 has been separated, the authentication server determines that the owner card 10 has been separated based on URL_Y included in the authentication request, and sends a user registration request to the server 5 in the same manner as in step S4 of FIG. 8. The user registration request includes terminal identification information. The processing performed by the server 5 after receiving the user registration request is basically the same as the processing shown in FIG. 8, except that the user registration processing is performed in association with the terminal identification information of the user terminal 3 rather than the user ID, which is different from FIG. 10. In this case, the terminal identification information of the user terminal 3 is written into the product database (FIG. 1) as the owner's user ID.

[0064] In one embodiment, when executing the user registration process, the server 5 further associates at least one of the user attribute information and the registration date information when the server 5 executed the user registration process. In this case, in step S24 of FIG. 9, the server 5 acquires not only the user ID but also the user attribute information and registration date information corresponding to the user ID from the user database, and writes the acquired information to the product database. FIG. 10 shows an example of the product database after writing. FIG. 10 shows an example in which the user attribute information and registration date information have been written to the record corresponding to user ID: US05830. The registration date information is, for example, information on the date and time of writing. In this way, by associating not only the user ID but also the product ID with the user attribute information and registration date information, it is possible to obtain useful marketing information, such as what kind of user's attributes acquired (purchased) the product and when.

[0065] In the above explanation, a case has been described in which the user terminal 3 transmits a user registration request to the server 5, but the sender of the user registration request is not limited to the user terminal 3. When a user acquires a product by purchasing it at a store, a store terminal installed in the store may transmit the user registration request to the server 5. For example, consider a case in which a user purchases multiple products at a store. In this case, a store staff member separates the owner cards attached to each product on behalf of the user, and the store terminal receives multiple pieces of code information or URLs in a single reading operation from the wireless tags embedded in each owner card.

[0066] 11 shows an overview of a system configuration for receiving multiple pieces of code information or URLs in a single reading operation from owner cards 10 attached to multiple products in a store. In this system configuration, the owner cards 10 each have a built-in UHF band wireless tag. In FIG. 11, the store terminal 6 is equipped with a UHF RFID reader, and the store clerk brings the first portion 11 of each owner card 10 close to the store terminal 6 to read the code information or URL of each owner card 10. At the store, a cash register terminal 7 (an example of a communication terminal) is connected to the store terminal 6, and an RFID application is installed on it. The cash register terminal 7 associates the TID contained in the code information or URL of each owner card 10 from the store terminal 6 with the user ID and processes it. The user ID may be input into the cash register terminal 7 by the store clerk, or may be input into the cash register terminal 7 by having the cash register terminal 7 read a user card (not shown) issued by the store.

[0067] The application of the cash register terminal 7 is connected to the server 5 via the network NW and transmits a user registration request to the server 5. The user registration request includes a user ID and multiple TIDs (i.e., the TIDs of the NFC tags T embedded in the multiple owner cards 10 in FIG. 11) acquired from the store terminal 6 and is transmitted to the server 5. In this case, the user registration process executed by the server 5 is the same as the process shown in FIG. 9 and is executed corresponding to each of the multiple TIDs. As described above, when a user purchases multiple products at a store, the store clerk can register the user for multiple products by reading multiple wireless tags in a single reading operation using the store terminal 6.

[0068] In one embodiment, the wireless tag built into the owner card is a dual tag equipped with an NFC antenna (HF band) and a UHF antenna, which can be used to read information from individual owner cards and to read information from multiple owner cards at once.

[0069] One embodiment is an information processing method using an owner card 10 having an NFC tag T, and including the following steps (i) to (iii). (i) A step in which the user terminal 3 or the store terminal 6 for performing a process associated with the user ID acquires a separation parameter from the NFC tag T, the separation parameter indicating whether the first part 11 and the second part 12 of the owner card 10 have been separated. (ii) The server 5 stores a product database in which a product ID is associated with each TID of the plurality of NFC tags T. (iii) The server 5 receives a separation parameter from the user terminal 3 or the store terminal 6, and if the received separation parameter indicates that the first part 11 and the second part 12 have been separated, executes a user registration process to associate the product ID associated with the TID of the NFC tag T to be processed with the user ID.

[0070] One embodiment is a program that is capable of communicating with a server 5 and is installed on a user terminal 3 or a store terminal 6 for performing processing associated with a user ID, and that causes a computer to execute the following steps (I) to (III). (I) Procedure for communicating with an owner card 10 having an NFC tag T (II) A procedure for obtaining a separation parameter from the NFC tag T, which indicates whether the first part 11 and the second part 12 of the owner card 10 have been separated. (III) a procedure for requesting the server 5 to execute a user registration process for associating a product ID associated with the TID of the NFC tag T with a user ID when the separation parameter indicates that the first portion 11 and the second portion 12 have been separated.

[0071] Although the embodiments of the information processing system, information processing method, and program of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Furthermore, various improvements and modifications to the above embodiments are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the individual technical features described in each of the above embodiments can be combined as appropriate with part or all of other embodiments as long as no technical contradiction occurs.

[0072] The above-described processing of the user terminal 3 and the server 5 is merely an example. At least a part of the processing of the user terminal 3 described above may be executed by the server 5, or at least a part of the processing of the server 5 described above may be executed by the user terminal 3. At least a part of the functions implemented by the user terminal 3 may be implemented by the server 5, or at least a part of the functions implemented by the server 5 may be implemented by the user terminal 3. In other words, functions may be distributed as appropriate between the user terminal 3 and the server 5. In the above-described embodiment, the server 5 is described as having a product database and a user database, but this is not limited thereto, and the product database and the user database may be stored in a database server provided separately from the server 5. In this case, processing for each database is performed in cooperation between the server 5 and the database server.

[0073] In the above-described embodiment, a case where one user is associated with one product during user registration has been described, but this is not limiting, and two or more users may be associated with one product (i.e., one product may be shared by two or more users). In this case, two or more user IDs are associated with one product ID in the product database. [Explanation of symbols]

[0074] 1. Information processing system 2...Product manufacturing terminal 3...User terminal 31...Control unit 32…Storage 33...Operation input section 34…Display section 37…Communications Department 38...NFC communication unit 5...Server 51...Control unit 52…Storage 53…Communications Department 6...Store terminal 7...Register terminal 10...Owner's card 11...First part, 12...Second part, 101...Notch, PL...Perforation, M1...Mark 100...paper 110...first sheet portion, 120...second sheet portion, 102...adhesive, 105...store entry area, L1, L1...fold line T...NFC tag 201...IC chip, 202...communication antenna, 203...wiring 21...Control unit 211: detection unit, 212: parameter change unit 22...Memory 23...NFC communication unit P…Product NW...Network

Claims

1. An information processing system using an information carrying medium having a wireless tag that is separable into a first part and a second part and that is configured not to lose a communication function when the first part and the second part are separated, a communication terminal capable of communicating with the wireless tag and performing processing associated with user identification information for identifying a user; an information processing device capable of communicating with the communication terminal and having a storage unit that stores item identification information for identifying an item in association with tag identification information for identifying each of a plurality of wireless tags; Equipped with the communication terminal acquires separation information indicating whether the first portion and the second portion of the information carrying medium have been separated from the wireless tag; When the separation information indicates that the first portion and the second portion have been separated, the information processing device executes a user registration process for associating the user identification information with article identification information associated with tag identification information that identifies the wireless tag. Information processing system.

2. the information processing device executes the user registration process when the item identification information is not associated with any user; 2. An information processing system according to claim 1.

3. the wireless tag stores code information including tag identification information for identifying the wireless tag and the separation information; the communication terminal receives the code information from the wireless tag; 3. An information processing system according to claim 1 or 2.

4. the wireless tag stores tag identification information for identifying the wireless tag and a URL (Universal Resource Locator) including the separation information; the communication terminal receives the URL from the wireless tag; 3. An information processing system according to claim 1 or 2.

5. When the separation information acquired from the wireless tag indicates that the first part and the second part are not separated, the communication terminal executes a process different from the user registration process.

3. An information processing system according to claim 1 or 2.

6. the user registration process further associating at least one of attribute information of the user and registration date information when the information processing device executed the user registration process; 3. An information processing system according to claim 1 or 2.

7. the communication terminal acquires a plurality of pieces of separated information from the wireless tags included in each of the plurality of information carrying media in a single reading operation; 3. An information processing system according to claim 1 or 2.

8. 1. An information processing method using an information carrying medium having a wireless tag that is separable into a first part and a second part and that is configured not to lose a communication function when the first part and the second part are separated, a communication terminal for performing a process associated with user identification information for identifying a user, which acquires, from the wireless tag, separation information indicating whether the first portion and the second portion of the information carrying medium have been separated; an information processing device stores article identification information for identifying an article in association with each of tag identification information for identifying each of the plurality of wireless tags; the information processing device receives the separation information from the communication terminal, and when the received separation information indicates that the first part and the second part have been separated, executes a user registration process for associating item identification information associated with tag identification information that identifies the wireless tag with the user identification information. Information processing methods.

9. A program installed in a communication terminal capable of communicating with an information processing device and for performing processing associated with user identification information for identifying a user, a procedure for communicating with an information carrying medium having a wireless tag that is separable into a first part and a second part and that is configured not to lose communication function when the first part and the second part are separated; acquiring, from the wireless tag, separation information indicating whether the first portion and the second portion of the information carrying medium have been separated; a step of requesting the information processing device to execute a user registration process for associating the user identification information with item identification information associated with tag identification information that identifies the wireless tag when the separation information indicates that the first portion and the second portion have been separated; A program that causes a computer to execute the following.

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