Apparatus for generating digital access elements - Patent application

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus for generating digital access elements, and to a corresponding method and computer program.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus for generating digital access elements, and to a corresponding method and computer program. [Background technology]

[0002] In the supply of chemical products, multiple regulatory requirements have to be met, which vary depending on the chemical product. For example, in the automotive supply chain, chemical manufacturers provide standardized information using the International Materials Data System (IMDS). This system allows data to be collected along the entire automotive supply chain. Participants in the automotive supply chain register with the IMDS service and keep their product entries in a central database provided and hosted by a third-party provider.

[0003] However, systems like IMDS are static with respect to data, prone to errors and cumbersome to handle and maintain. Such systems are cumbersome to exchange and share chemical data due to their very specific and centralized setup. Moreover, the centralized setup raises concerns regarding data security. There is therefore a need to make the exchange and sharing of chemical data easier and at the same time more secure. This need is particularly felt by members of supply chains involving coating material production, for example in automotive manufacturing, since these supply chains bridge a wide technical and logistical span from raw materials to the end customer and therefore particularly benefit from easy and secure means of data exchange. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] It is an object of the present invention to provide a simpler and safer method of data exchange regarding coating materials. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In a first aspect, an apparatus for generating a digital access element associated with a coating material is presented, the apparatus comprising: a) a digital identifier providing unit configured to provide a digital identifier associated with the coating material and coating material data; and b) a digital access element generator configured to generate a digital access element based on the digital identifier and the access data.

[0006] Since the coating material digital access element is generated based on a digital identifier associated with the coating material and the coating material data and based on the access data, the digital access element allows indirect access to the coating material data, i.e., via the digital access element. Access to the digital access element itself can remain unrestricted while allowing controlled access to the coating material data. It has been found that such a digital access element allows for an easier and more secure way of exchanging coating material data.

[0007] The digital access element can be further defined as a digital data structure that allows a third party to access data on the coating material, where the access is usually conditional. The provided digital identifier can be understood as a unique digital reference to a digital twin that represents the digital identity or physical identity of the coating material, or as a unique digital name of the coating material, and the digital identity or digital twin that represents the physical identity of the coating material can be given by data related to the coating material, i.e., the coating material data. Thus, the digital access element can also be understood as a digital passport of the coating material, or as a passport of the coating material, since a passport can usually uniquely identify an individual. However, unlike a normal material passport that lists all the ingredients of a material or completely characterizes a material, the digital access element preferably contains only selected data related to the coating material itself, and otherwise only access data that allows access to other coating material data. This can increase the security of the data. For example, a digital access element as described herein allows data access to be under the control of the data owner. At the same time, providing a means to access the data promotes transparency of the controlled data. The digital access element can even be publicly accessible.

[0008] Coating materials include liquid, pasty or powdery materials which, when applied to at least a portion of the surface of a substrate, produce a coating having protective, decorative and / or other specific properties (see also DIN EN 971-1:1996-09). Substrates include metal substrates, plastic substrates and mixtures thereof. The substrate may be pretreated or may comprise at least one coating layer. The coating material can be applied using commonly known application techniques such as dipping, bar coating, spraying, rolling, etc. The machine may be a stationary or mobile machine. Stationary machines may include air conditioners, power plants (nuclear, coal, natural gas, oil, wind, hydro, solar, geothermal), generators, pumps, hydroelectric plants, wind turbines, substations, thermal heat pumps, compressors, etc. Mobile machines may include vehicles. Vehicles may include automobiles. Examples of motor vehicles may include motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, vans, minivans, ATVs, mobility scooters for the disabled, etc. Vehicles may include tracked vehicles. Examples of tracked vehicles may include trains and trams. Vehicles may include water vehicles. Examples of water vehicles may include ships, boats, and underwater vehicles. Vehicles may include amphibious vehicles. Examples of amphibious vehicles may include propellers and hovercraft. Vehicles may include aircraft. Examples of aircraft may include airplanes, helicopters, and aerostats. Vehicles may include spacecraft. Stationary or mobile machines may be powered by spark ignition or self-ignition engines, two-stroke or four-stroke engines, electric engines, fuel cells, or combinations thereof (hybrid engines).

[0009] In an embodiment, the coating material associated with the digital access element, which may be understood as a coating material passport or as a digital asset as described above, may be selected from the group consisting of a coating material and a coating material component. The coating material may be selected from an electrocoating material, a primer material, a primer surfacer material, a filler material, a putty material, a basecoat material, a clearcoat material, or a tinted clearcoat material. For example, the coating material may be a primer material. In another example, the coating material may be an electrocoating material. In yet another example, the coating material may be a clearcoat material. The coating material component may be selected from a hardener composition, an additive composition, a thinner, a reducing agent, a spot blender composition, a pigment paste, or a binder composition. For example, the coating material component may be a hardener composition. In another example, the coating material component may be a binder composition. In yet another example, the coating material component may be a thinner. In yet another example, the coating material component may be a reducing agent. In yet another example, the coating material component may be a spot blender composition. In yet another example, the coating material component may be a pigment paste. In yet another embodiment, the coating material component may be an additive composition.

[0010] Electrocoating materials typically include aqueous dispersions or emulsions of film-forming materials, such as epoxy resins, with ionic stabilization, such as anionic or cationic stabilization. The film-forming materials may be self-crosslinking or crosslinkable using a crosslinker. The electrocoating materials may further include a pigment and / or a crosslinker. The electrocoating materials may be formulated by mixing a binder dispersion, including the film-forming materials and the crosslinker, with a pigment paste, including at least one pigment. During electrodeposition, the electrocoating material is deposited on a conductive substrate by immersing the substrate in an electrodeposition bath including the electrocoating material and then applying an electric potential between the substrate and a pole of opposite charge, such as a stainless steel electrode. The application of the electric potential causes the electrocoating composition to be deposited on the conductive substrate. The resulting film may be cured to obtain a substrate having an electrocoating. Suitable electrocoating materials include the electrocoating compositions described in EP0241476B1, EP0675926B1, EP0961797B1, EP1192226B1, WO2021 / 123106A1 and WO2021 / 239264A1, each of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0011] Primer materials are typically used to form the first layer of a coating system that is applied to a substrate or a previous coating. Primer materials may be solvent-based or water-based. The primer layer typically provides adhesion to the entire coating structure, i.e., not only to the primer but also to subsequent layers. Furthermore, the primer layer may perform various tasks depending on the type of substrate, such as corrosion protection for metal substrates. Primer materials may include film-forming materials such as polyesters, poly(meth)acrylic resins, epoxy resins, and the like. Primer materials may further include pigments. Primer materials may further include crosslinkers such as isocyanates and amine components. Primer materials may further include at least one adhesion promoter. Suitable primer materials are described, for example, in WO 2019081461 A1, WO 2020234066 A1, WO 2020233939 A1, WO 2021009252 A1, each of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0012] Primer surfacer materials are coating materials that combine the properties of primers and fillers. Primer surfacer materials can be solvent-based or water-based. The primer surfacer layer produced from the primer surfacer material can protect against mechanical exposure, such as stone chipping, and also serve to smooth out unevenness of the substrate. Primer surfacer materials can include film-forming materials such as polyester resins, poly(meth)acrylic resins, epoxy resins, and / or poly(meth)acrylic-epoxy resins. Primer surfacer materials can further include pigments. Primer surfacer materials can further include crosslinkers such as isocyanates and amine components.

[0013] Filler materials are typically used to form intermediate coating layers of multi-layer coatings. Filler materials may be solvent-based or water-based. The purpose of the filler material is to eliminate unevenness of the substrate, improve adhesion and corrosion resistance (especially when used as a primer surfacer material), and improve stone chipping resistance of the entire coating system. Filler materials may provide good and rapid polishing. Filler materials can be used wet-on-wet to cover fine polishing marks or smooth filler surfaces. Filler materials may include film-forming materials such as polyurethane-acrylates, polyurethane resins, epoxy resins, polyester resins, polyacrylate resins, or combinations thereof. Filler materials may include crosslinkers such as isocyanates, blocked isocyanates, or amines. Filler materials may include pigments. Suitable filler materials are described, for example, in WO 2020234066 A1, WO 2020233939 A1, each of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0014] The putty material may be a highly pigmented coating material used to smooth out irregularities in the substrate that are too large to be corrected any more by primer or filler materials (see also DIN 55945:1996-09). The putty material may comprise a film-forming material such as an unsaturated polyester resin or an epoxy resin. The putty material may comprise a crosslinking agent such as a peroxide or an amine component.

[0015] The base coat material can typically be used as a color-imparting intermediate coating material. The base coat material can be solvent-based or water-based. The base coat material can include at least one color pigment and / or at least one effect pigment. The base coat layer obtained from the base coat material can be opaque, i.e. the underlying coating layer can no longer be visible through the base coat layer. The base coat material can include film-forming materials such as poly(meth)acrylates, polyurethanes, polyesters, poly(meth)acrylate-polyurethanes, poly-ethers, melamine resins or combinations thereof. Suitable base coat materials are described, for example, in WO 2018177731 A1, WO 2018197163 A1, WO 2019020324 A1, US 20190031910 A1, WO 2019015953 A1, WO 2019207085 A1, WO 2019185306 A1, WO 2019211473 A1, WO 2020151977 A1, WO 2020136016 A1, WO 2020185946 A1, WO 2020216584 A1, WO 2021074187 A1, WO 2021074359 A1, WO 2021078923 A1, WO 2021094131 A1, WO 2021148255 A1, WO 2021191015 A1, WO 2021224232 A1, WO 2022063854 A1, EP 3957693 A1, each of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0016] Clearcoat materials can be used to produce transparent coatings that are usually protective, decorative or have specific technical properties (see also DIN EN 971-1:1996-09). Clearcoat materials may be free of color / effect pigments and / or fillers. Clearcoat materials may contain transparent pigments. Clearcoat materials may be solvent-based, water-based or solid materials. Transparent coating compositions preferably comprise at least one (first) polymer as binder having functional groups and at least one crosslinker having functional groups complementary to the functional groups of the binder. It is preferred to use at least one hydroxy-functional poly(meth)acrylate polymer as binder and polyisocyanate as crosslinker. Suitable clearcoat materials are described, for example, in WO 2006 / 042585 A1, WO 2009 / 077182 A1 and WO 2008 / 074490 A1, each of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0017] Tinted clearcoat materials can be used to produce coating layers that are neither completely clear and transparent like regular clearcoats, nor completely opaque like typical pigmented basecoats. Tinted clearcoat layers are thus either transparently pigmented or translucently pigmented. Tinting can be achieved by adding small amounts of pigments commonly used in basecoat coating materials to the clearcoat material.

[0018] The hardener composition may include at least one crosslinker. Suitable crosslinkers may be selected from melamine resins, polyisocyanates, blocked polyisocyanates, polycarbodiimides, amines, or combinations thereof. The hardener composition may include a solvent, such as an organic solvent and / or water.

[0019] The binder composition may comprise at least one binder. The binder may represent the non-volatile components of the dispersion, without pigments and fillers (see also DIN EN ISO 4618:2007-03). The binder may represent a physically and / or chemically curable polymer, examples of which include polyurethanes, polyesters, polyethers, polyureas, polyacrylates, polysiloxanes and / or copolymers of said polymers. The polymers may comprise anionic, cationic and / or non-ionic groups. The binder may be dissolved or dispersed in a solvent. The binder dispersion may comprise water as solvent. The binder composition may comprise pigments, such as color pigments and / or effect pigments. The binder composition may comprise a crosslinking agent, such as a blocked isocyanate. The binder composition may comprise additives commonly used in coating materials, such as those described below. Suitable binder dispersions are described, for example, in EP 3197961 A1, EP 1720923 A1, EP 3183304 A1, WO 2021018595 A1, WO 2021018594 A1, US 2011042222 A1, EP 2283087 A1, WO 2020233939 A1, EP 3423535 A1, WO 2020234066 A1, WO 2020234066 A1, WO 2016116299 A1, WO 2022189111 A1, WO 2015090442 A1, each of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0020] The binder solution can comprise at least one binder dissolved in a solvent. The binder can represent the non-volatile components of the dispersion, excluding pigments and fillers (see also DIN EN ISO 4618:2007-03). The binder can represent a physically and / or chemically curable polymer, examples of which include polyurethanes, polyesters, polyethers, polyureas, polyacrylates, polysiloxanes and / or copolymers of said polymers. Suitable binder solutions are described, for example, in WO2006 / 042585 A1, WO2009 / 077182 A1, WO2008 / 074490 A1, WO2021018595A1, WO2021018594A1 and DE4110520A1, each of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0021] The pigment paste may comprise a mixture of pigments in carrier materials, i.e. different polymers. The concentration of pigments in the pigment paste is typically higher than the concentration of said pigments in the coating material prepared from said pigment paste. More specifically, in such pigment pastes, the mass ratio of pigment to polymer is generally higher than in the coating composition in which the paste is used. The pigment paste may comprise water and / or organic solvents. The pigment paste may comprise different additives such as wetting agents and / or dispersants. The pigment paste may be used to prepare pigmented coating materials, such as base coat materials. The pigment paste may be used in a mixer system to prepare pigmented coating materials used during the repair process. Suitable pigment pastes are disclosed, for example, in EP3083851A1, US10131808B2, EP3083836A1, WO2018172475A1, US2020140713A1, WO2021018595A1, WO2021018594A1, WO2022175076A1, WO2018019628A1, WO2021123106A1, US2007269606A1, WO2015070930A1, and WO2004018580A1, each of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0022] The additive composition may include at least one additive. The additive may be selected from salts that are thermally decomposable without or substantially without residue, reactive diluents, transparent pigments, fillers, dyes soluble in molecular dispersions, nanoparticles, light stabilizers, antioxidants, degassing agents, emulsifiers, slip additives, polymerization inhibitors, free radical polymerization initiators, adhesion promoters, flow control agents, film-forming aids, sag control agents (SCAs), flame retardants, corrosion inhibitors, waxes, drying agents, biocides, and matting agents, leveling agents, UV absorbers or light stabilizers such as HALS, free radical scavengers, slip additives, polymerization inhibitors, defoamers, wetting agents, flow control agents, film-forming aids such as cellulose derivatives, rheology control additives, flame retardants and / or water scavengers, catalysts, or combinations thereof. The additive composition may include a solvent such as water or an organic solvent. The additive composition may include a binder as described above.

[0023] Thinners and reducing agents are usually used to adjust the viscosity of the coating material to a desired value or range. The thinner can include a solvent such as an organic solvent or water. The reducing agent can include a solvent such as an organic solvent or water. The organic solvent can be selected from aliphatic or aromatic hydrocarbons such as Solvesso 100™, toluene or xylene, alcohols such as butanol or isopropanol, esters such as butyl acetate or ethyl acetate, ketones such as methyl isobutyl ketone or methyl amyl ketone, ethers, ether-alcohols or ether-esters, or any mixture thereof. Suitable reducing agents and thinners are described, for example, in WO2022200533A1 and WO2011068855A1, each of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0024] The spot blender composition is typically applied over an uncured refinish clearcoat to produce a "soft" transition zone and provide an "invisible" finish that leaves no visual indication of the repair at the damaged area. The spot blender composition may include a film-forming material, such as a polyol, a urethane (meth)acrylate, or a mixture thereof. The spot blender composition may include a crosslinker, such as a polyisocyanate, and may not include a film-forming material, e.g., may be film-forming material-free. The spot blender composition may include a solvent, such as an organic solvent. The organic solvent may be selected from n-butyl acetate, isobutyl acetate, and xylene. Suitable spot blender compositions are described, for example, in US2010216945A1, WO2006097386A1, WO2006097385A1, and WO2007027286A2, each of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0025] As an example, the digital identifier is a distributed identifier (DID), for example as described in the W3C Recommendation dated July 19, 2022. The digital access element may be considered as a DID document. However, the subject of the digital identifier, i.e. in the case of a DID, is not a general subject, but specifically the coating material. In another example, the digital identifier is a universally unique identifier (UUID), for example according to the UUIDv4 standard. The digital identifier may be associated with one or more distributed identifiers, such as one or more DIDs of a dataset included in the digital twin of the coating material. The digital identifier may be associated with one or more universally unique identifiers (UUIDs), such as one or more UUIDs of a dataset included in the digital twin of the coating material. The digital identifier may be associated with one or more distributed identifiers (DIDs) and one or more universally unique identifiers (UUIDs), for example with one or more DIDs of a dataset included in the digital access element of the coating material and one or more UUIDs of the dataset. The data exchange may include discovery of digital identifiers by participating nodes in the distributed network, authentication of participating nodes in the distributed network, and / or authorization of data transfer via peer-to-peer communication between participating nodes in the distributed network.

[0026] The digital identifier is associated with the coating material, in particular its digital and / or physical identifier. Furthermore, the digital identifier is associated with data relating to the coating material, i.e., the coating material data. Furthermore, the digital identifier may be associated with the owner of the coating material data (e.g., the data owner). The digital identifier may be associated with the coating material producer. The digital identifier may be associated with a machine, a system, an apparatus, or a collection of such machines, apparatus, and / or systems used in the production of the coating material. In fact, the digital identifier may be a unique identifier that is uniquely associated with the coating material data and the owner of the coating material data. Through its preferably unique association with the digital identifier and the data owner and the coating material data, access to the coating material data may be controlled by the data owner. This is in contrast to a central authority scheme, where the identifier is provided by a central authority and access to the data is controlled by such a central authority. The digital identifier, on the basis of which the digital access element is generated (as described herein), may be issued by a central identity issuer, but access to the coating material data is not at least controlled by this central identity issuer. The digital identifiers on the basis of which the digital access elements are generated are preferably issued by a decentralized identity issuer, the term "decentralized" in this context referring to the use of identifiers in an implementation controlled by the data owner.

[0027] A data owner may be any entity that generates data, particularly coating material data. Thus, by generating data, an entity may become the owner of the generated data. Data, particularly coating material data, may be generated by a third-party entity on behalf of an entity that owns the physical product for which or for which the data is generated. Data generation may refer to the acquisition of data, such as by measurement, but may also refer to the processing of data, where the processing results in new data, where "new data" may be characterized by new technical information compared to unprocessed data. A data generating node may be coupled to an entity that owns the coating material for which or for which the data, particularly coating material data, is generated. Instead of originating from the person that generated the data, ownership of the data may originate from ownership over the production that produces the coating material. Thus, for example, if the producer of the coating material does not acquire or generate the coating material data, but instead a third-party entity acquires or generates the coating material data, the producer of the coating material may be the owner of the coating material data. The coating material data may be accessible to the data owner. Thus, the data owner may directly or indirectly own the coating material data. The coating material data may be stored in the data owner's database or in a database associated with the data owner. The coating material data may be stored in a database accessible to the data owner. Through the digital identifier and the unique association of the data owner with the coating material data, access to the coating material data may be controlled by the data owner. For example, the data owner may control access to the coating material data, for example, through the data owner's data provisioning service. The coating material data may be associated with the data owner. The data owner may be the owner of the coating material data or may be the owner of the coating material data. In this sense, the data owner is broadly interpreted as an entity that has access to the coating material data and controls access to the coating material data by a data consumption service of the distributed network.An apparatus for generating a digital access element associated with a given coating material may be coupled to an entity that produces the coating material.An apparatus for generating a digital access element associated with a given coating material may be coupled to an entity that generates the digital access element on behalf of a data owner, such as a coating material producer.

[0028] The access data may refer to any data for accessing the coating material data. The access data may be essential, i.e. strictly necessary, for accessing the coating material data. Alternatively, the access data may be suitable for accessing the coating material data, and the coating material data may be accessed in another manner without the access data on which the digital access element is generated. The access data may include an endpoint for data exchange or sharing (resource endpoint) or an endpoint for service interaction (service endpoint), uniquely identified via a communication protocol. The access data may include an authorization scheme and / or cryptographic information. The access data may be provided to a data consuming service. The access data may be provided by a distributed network database, a database associated with the data consuming service, a data providing service associated with the data owner, or a combination thereof. Exemplary access data include a digital address or storage location of the coating material data, data related to authentication and authorization schemes, and cryptographic information. For example, the access data may include a public key, such as a public key required to decrypt the coating material data. The digital identifier and the access data may be associated with each other. Thus, for example, a digital identifier on which the digital access element is generated may be associated with authentication information used as the access data on which the digital access element is generated.

[0029] It should be understood that the apparatus for generating a digital access element associated with a coating material may include one or more computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions thereon that, when executed by one or more computing nodes, cause any unit of the apparatus, in particular the digital identifier providing unit and the digital access element generator, to perform the respective functions for which they are configured. The apparatus for generating a digital access element associated with a given coating material may be coupled to an entity that produces the coating material. The apparatus for generating a digital access element associated with a given coating material may be coupled to an entity that generates the digital access element on behalf of a data owner, such as a coating material producer.

[0030] The apparatus for generating a digital access element associated with the coating material (i.e., separate from the digital identifier providing unit and the digital access element generator) may further include a physical identifier providing unit configured to provide a physical identifier to the coating material, where the digital identifier is provided based on the physical identifier. For example, the identifier element may be physically attached to a container of the coating material, and the identifier element may include or correspond to the physical identifier. The physical identifier providing unit may be configured to provide the physical identifier based on the identifier element, such as by use of an ID reader.

[0031] The digital identifier may be associated with the coating material via a physical identifier. The physical identifier may, for example, refer to a batch number of the coating material. The identifier element may include passive or active elements, such as, for example, a barcode, a QR code, an embossed code, an optical holographic code such as a zero-order diffraction microstructure, or an RFID tag. However, the digital identifier provided based on the physical identifier is not limited to being equal to or including the physical identifier. Optionally, the digital identifier is assigned to the physical identifier. To assign the digital identifier to the physical identifier, the device for generating the digital access element associated with the respective coating material may comprise an assignment unit, i.e. an assigner. This allows associating the digital identifier with the physical identifier associated with the coating material. The assignment unit may be included in the physical identifier providing unit or may be separate from said physical identifier providing unit. The assignment unit, or assigner, may be configured to assign the physical identifier to the digital identifier. Thus, the assignment between the physical identifier and the physical identifier may be performed by the assigner in either or both of two directions. The allocating may include generating a code embedding the digital identifier received from the digital identifier providing unit. The allocating may include correlating the digital identifier received from the digital identifier providing unit with the physical identifier received from the physical identifier providing unit. For example, the identifier element may be physically attached to a package of the coating material, and the identifier element may include or correspond to the physical identifier. The identifier element may comprise a passive or active element, such as, for example, a barcode, a QR code, an embossed code, an optical holographic code such as a zero-order diffraction microstructure, or an RFID tag. The physical identifier providing unit may be configured to provide the physical identifier based on the identifier element, such as by use of an ID reader.The determination, or acquisition, of a physical identifier may be considered as triggering the provision of a digital identifier and possibly a subsequent assignment between the physical identifier and the digital identifier.

[0032] The digital identifier can be associated with a physical entity to which the coating material is provided and to which the coating material data is associated. For example, the digital identifier can be associated with a physical entity such as a component, a component assembly, a final product, a similar product produced using the coating material. The digital identifier can be associated with multiple physical entities to which the coating material is provided and to which the coating material data is associated. For example, the digital identifier can be associated with a physical entity such as a component, a component assembly, a final product, a similar product produced using the coating material. By associating the digital identifier with different physical entity stages in a chemical supply chain, the coating material provided in the supply chain can be virtually tracked. In this manner, the coating material and its associated coating material data can be tracked, for example, throughout the life of the final product.

[0033] The apparatus may also comprise a collector configured to collect coating material data, and the digital identifier may be associated with the collected coating material data. In one example, the collector may comprise a manual, semi-automatic or automatic input means for inputting the coating material data. The input means may comprise one or more sensors, in particular measuring devices for measuring, for example, the state of matter, density, color, etc. of the coating material. Optionally, the collector is configured to collect the coating material data based on the physical identifier or the coating material identifier. If the physical identifier corresponds to, for example, an identifier element physically attached to a container of the coating material, the collector may comprise an ID reader for reading the identifier element. More generally, the collector may include or be associated with a physical identifier providing unit. For example, the physical identifier providing unit may be configured to provide a physical identifier corresponding to an identifier element physically attached to a package of the coating material, and the collector may be configured to collect the coating material data based on the provided physical identifier. Optionally, the coating material data, or a portion thereof, may already be encoded in a physical identifier, in particular an identifier element physically attached to the respective coating material package, and the collector may be configured to collect the coating material data, or a portion thereof, by decoding it from the physical identifier.

[0034] The digital identifier providing unit may be configured to provide the digital identifier upon receiving at least the request to provide said digital identifier. Thus, the digital identifier providing unit may provide further data apart from the digital identifier. The further data may be used by the digital access element generator to generate the digital access element. The further data may include the access data described above and / or below. The request may be received by the digital identifier providing unit and / or the digital access element generator via any communication channel, which may include, but is not limited to, a web server, ad-hoc WIFI, BLE beacon signal, NFC, barcode, QR code, RFID code scan, etc. The request to provide the digital identifier may be associated with a coating material production that produces a coating material. The request to provide the digital identifier may be generated by a computing system, such as an operating system, of the coating material production that produces the coating material. The request may be triggered upon a predefined occurrence. For example, a packaging / filling line may include a detector that detects a physical identifier on each package unit of the coating material. Based on such recognition, a computing device, such as an operating system of the coating material production, may generate a request to provide the digital identifier. The generated request may be provided to the digital identifier providing unit.

[0035] The request to provide the digital may include access data or an owner or product identifier associated with the coating material data owner or coating material, respectively. The owner / product identifier may be a string identifier associated with a data owner name, such as a coating material producer. The owner identifier may be provided based on a physical identifier, such as a barcode, a QR code, an embossed code, an optical holographic code, such as a zero-order diffraction microstructure, or a tag, such as an RFID tag, as a digital identifier associated with the coating material. Through the owner identifier, the generated digital access element can be associated with the owner of the coating material data by including the owner identifier. The owner / product identifier can be used for data transactions, such as sharing or exchanging coating material data. The owner / product identifier may be provided to a transaction manager. Providing the data owner's digital identifier and the owner / product identifier to a transaction manager or a data consumption service may simplify tracking of data transactions. Every transaction in the data ecosystem can be associated with a clear name, for example, of a data owner or coating material.

[0036] The request to provide the digital identifier may further include data associated with the detected physical identifier, such as a coating material ID or a batch number. The request to provide the digital identifier may further include an indication of the type of digital identifier, such as a DID or UUID.

[0037] The request may include an authentication mechanism, such as a public / private key pair, and / or an identifier associated with the digital identifier providing unit and / or digital access element generator, thereby associating the request with a particular digital identifier providing unit and / or digital access element generator. The authentication mechanism may be retrieved from an authentication data storage, such as a repository, depending on the digital identifier being requested.

[0038] In response to the request, the digital identifier providing unit may generate the digital identifier. Thus, the digital identifier providing unit may include a digital identifier generating unit. The digital identifier may be generated at a central node or at one or more distributed nodes. One central node or distributed node may be part of a distributed system including multiple member nodes. The digital identifier generating node may be part of the device described herein or may be separate from said device. The digital identifier may further be provided to at least one authenticated data registry node, preferably accessible by the data providing service and / or the data consuming service. The authenticated data registry node may be a central registry node such as a central file system, a centrally managed discrete database, and / or a centrally managed peer-to-peer network. This allows for sharing or exchange of customized data regarding the coating material and the chemical supply chain in which the coating material is supplied. In particular, the data providing service and / or the data consuming service may customize a data sharing or exchange protocol based on anchoring the digital identifier to the coating material data. The authenticated data registry node may be a distributed registry such as a discrete ledger, a distributed file system, a discrete database, and / or a peer-to-peer network. A distributed configuration allows for more efficient use of computing resources and provides greater control to data owners. Additionally, a distributed configuration improves system reliability and flexibility due to independence from centrally managed nodes. The authentic data registry node may be a central registry node, such as a central file system, a centrally managed discrete database, and / or a centrally managed peer-to-peer network. A central configuration allows for more centralized control and standardization.

[0039] The digital access element may include a digital identifier and access data. Thus, the digital access element generator may be configured not only to generate the digital access element based on the digital identifier and access data provided by the digital identifier providing unit, but also to generate the digital access element to include the digital identifier and access data. In this way, the generated digital access element associated with the respective coating material includes a) a digital identifier associated with the coating material and the coating material data, and b) the access data. This allows a direct and therefore relatively simple transmission of the digital identifier and the access data to the data consumer or other party for which the digital access element may be generated. The generated digital access element may include further data, such as an owner or product identifier. This allows transactions in the data ecosystem to be associated with an unambiguous name of the data owner or coating material. The generated access element may include an authentication mechanism associated with the digital identifier.

[0040] The access data allows access to at least a part of the coating material data. Other parts of the coating material data may already be included in the digital access element. Such data, i.e. data already included in the digital access element, are however only accessible using the access data on the basis of which the digital access element was generated. Thus, both the part a) of the coating material data accessible via the digital access element without being included in the digital access element and the part b) of the coating material data already included in the digital access element may only be accessible using the access data. Different parts of the access data may be necessary for each of the aforementioned two parts of the coating material data. The other parts, i.e. further parts, may not be accessible at all, for example because they have not been acquired, collected, stored and / or digitized. In one embodiment, the access data comprises one or more digital representations pointing to the coating material data or parts thereof. In this context, pointing means any network representation or address suitable for accessing the coating material data. The access data may comprise multiple digital representations pointing to different parts of the coating material data. The access data may comprise multiple digital representations pointing to different parts of the coating material data. Such different portions may overlap at some data points. The representation may include an access point to the coating material data, a link for accessing the coating material data, an endpoint for accessing the coating material data, or a service endpoint for accessing the coating material data. In this manner, the coating material data is maintained and controlled by a data owner, such as a coating material data owner.Since multiple discrete data points do not need to be checked and access controlled, access can be provided via a representation of an access point, which can simplify data validation, integrity or quality checks and access control. The coating material data can be stored in a database of the data owner or in a database associated with the data owner. The coating material data may be stored in a database accessible by the data owner. The digital representation pointing to the coating material data or a part thereof can be associated or related to any such database associated with or accessible by the data owner. For added security, the digital representation pointing to the coating material data or a part thereof can be indirectly related to such database associated with or accessible by the data owner. The access data can include data related to authentication and authorization schemes and / or cryptographic information, e.g. a public key for decrypting the coating material data. For example, the access data can include any data used in an authentication scheme according to the W3C recommendation and / or any data for accessing a data providing service as known from the IDS architecture, in particular its address.

[0041] The digital access element may be associated with or include one or more authentication mechanisms. The authentication mechanism may be associated with a digital identifier and / or access data. The authentication mechanism may be directly or indirectly associated with the digital identifier and the access data. In an example of an indirect association, the authentication mechanism may be associated with a certificate mechanism. For example, upon an access request by the data consumption service, a dynamic access token may be generated based on the certificate mechanism. Such a dynamic access token may be used to open a peer-to-peer communication channel between the data consumption service and the data providing service. The authentication mechanism may include tokens such as private key and public key infrastructure, certificate mechanisms, and biometric mechanisms such as fingerprints, face recognition, and voice recognition. A common public key certificate is the X.509 certificate. Through the authentication mechanism, data access by the data consumption service can be controlled in a secure manner and the integrity of the data providing service can be ensured. This allows for a more reliable, controlled and secure data exchange or sharing.

[0042] One or more authentication mechanisms associated with the digital identifiers may be provided in at least one decentralized authentication data registry that is accessible by the digital access element generator and, preferably, the data providing service and / or the data consuming service. The authentication data registry may be a central registry, such as a central file system, a centrally managed discrete database, and / or a centrally managed peer-to-peer network. The central configuration allows for a higher degree of control and standardization via a central node. The authentication data registry may be a distributed registry, such as a discrete ledger, a distributed file system, a discrete database, and / or a peer-to-peer network. The distributed configuration allows for a more efficient use of computing resources and enhances control by the data owner.

[0043] The digital access element may be associated with or include one or more authorization mechanisms. The authorization mechanisms may be associated with the decentralized identifier and / or the access data. The authorization mechanisms may include authorization rules including data transaction instructions or data transaction protocols such as data usage policies, smart data contracts, or complex data processing instructions associated with the data providing service and / or the data consuming service. Through the authorization mechanisms, data access and data usage by the data consuming service may be controlled in a secure manner.

[0044] One or more authorization mechanisms associated with the digital identifiers may be provided to nodes for generating or processing the digital access elements or for accessing the coating material data. Additionally or alternatively, one or more authorization mechanisms may be provided in at least one central or distributed authorized data registry, preferably accessible by the data providing service and / or the data consuming service. One or more authorization mechanisms may be provided in at least one of the nodes generating or processing the digital access elements and a central file system, a centrally managed discrete database, a centrally managed peer-to-peer network, a discrete ledger, a distributed file system, a discrete database, and / or a peer-to-peer network, preferably accessible by the data providing service and / or the data consuming service.

[0045] The digital identifier providing unit may be configured to provide (apart from the digital identifiers associated with the coating material and the coating material data (hereinafter referred to as the first digital identifier)) at least one precursor digital identifier associated with one or more precursor materials from which the coating material is produced. The digital identifier providing unit may be configured to generate a concatenation of the first digital identifier and the precursor identifier based on a relational representation in which the first digital identifier is associated with the precursor identifier. The relational representation may be associated with a relation between the coating material and each precursor material. The relational representation may specify that the precursor material may be used to produce the coating material and / or that the coating material may be produced by using the precursor material. One or more hash values ​​may be generated based on the relational representation. The hash value may be generated based on the concatenation of the digital identifiers. The hash value may be generated for the concatenation of the digital identifiers. The hash value may be indicative of the concatenation of the digital identifiers. The hash value may be generated based on data associated with the first digital identifier and the precursor digital identifier. The hash value may be generated based on a combined data set associated with the first digital identifier and the precursor digital identifier. By linking digital identifiers associated with products in the chemical supply chain and / or recycled product chain, physical entities can be virtually tracked and traced.

[0046] The digital identifier providing unit is configured to provide the first digital identifier and the at least one precursor material identifier to a digital access element generator. The digital identifier providing unit may be configured to provide the first digital identifier and the at least one precursor material digital identifier to a search data storage (also referred to within this disclosure as an authentication registry). The request to provide a digital identifier may include one or more precursor digital identifiers. The request to provide a digital identifier may include data associated with a physical identifier of the coating material. Based on the data associated with the physical identifiers, the digital identifier providing unit may retrieve one or more precursor digital identifiers.

[0047] The digital identifiers associated with the precursor materials may be associated with precursor data indicating whether the precursor material is virgin or recycled, the environmental impact, and / or the origin of the precursor material. The digital identifiers associated with the precursor materials may be determined based on a physical identifier, which may correspond to a physical identification element, such as a tag attached to a packaging of the precursor material. Thus, the digital identifier providing unit may be configured to determine the digital identifiers associated with each precursor material.

[0048] The precursor materials may be raw materials, including virgin or recycled materials. The raw materials may include pigments, monomers used to prepare polymers, solvents, coating material additives, etc. The precursor materials may be intermediate products made from raw materials and / or other intermediate products. The intermediate products may include polymer solutions and / or polymer dispersions. The polymers may be selected from film-forming polymers, such as alkyd resins, polyester resins, polyimides, silicone resins, novolac resins, urea resins, melamine resins, amino resins, polyurethane resins, epoxy resins, polyolefin resins, polyvinyl resins, polyacrylic resins, polymethacrylic resins, or copolymers thereof. The intermediate products may include pigment pastes produced from polymer solutions and / or polymer dispersions and pigments. The intermediate products may include base varnishes produced from polymer solutions and / or polymer dispersions. The coating materials can be produced from raw materials and intermediate products. For example, the coating materials can be produced from pigment pastes and base varnishes. In another example, the coating material can be produced from raw materials such as polymer solutions and / or dispersions and solvents and coating material additives. Like the coating materials from which the digital access elements are produced, the precursor materials also preferably have digital identifiers associated with them, called precursor digital identifiers. The digital identifiers associated with the precursor materials can be associated with precursor data indicating whether the precursor material is virgin or recycled material, the environmental impact and / or the origin of the precursor material. The digital identifiers associated with the precursor materials can also be determined based on a physical identifier, which may correspond to a physical identification element, such as a tag attached to the packaging of the precursor material. The "manufacturing" of the coating material from the precursor materials can also be referred to as production, i.e. chemical production of the coating material, in which the precursor materials are used to produce the coating material.

[0049] The precursor materials can be used directly or indirectly in the manufacture of a coating material, i.e. some of the precursor materials can be used to manufacture one or more further precursor materials, on the basis of which the coating material provided with a digital identifier is manufactured as described above. Thus, at least some of the precursor materials used to manufacture the coating material may be intermediate products manufactured from raw materials and / or other intermediate products.

[0050] The digital access element generator can be configured to generate a digital access element based on the first digital identifier (e.g., a digital identifier associated with a coating material and coating material data) and at least one precursor identifier or a generated concatenation, whereby the digital identifier associated with the coating material can be linked to a precursor digital identifier associated with a precursor material used to produce the coating material, such that a relationship between the coating material and the precursor material used to produce the coating material can be reflected within the digital access element.

[0051] The coating material data may include data for one or more precursor materials, the coating material itself, the transport of one or more precursor materials to a manufacturing site for the coating material, or further transport of the manufactured coating material to a consumption site (e.g., a site for using the received coating material to manufacture additional products such as coated substrates). When a list of elements follows, the phrase "any of" is understood herein to include any one of the listed elements individually as well as any combination of the listed elements.

[0052] Data on one or more precursors may include: - a shipper for transporting the precursor material to the production site of the coating material where the digital access element is produced; - a consignee for the transport of precursor materials to the production site of the coating material where the digital access elements are produced; - the components of the precursor material, in particular the corresponding charge / batch, e.g. the charge / batch name of the precursor material and / or its components, the charge / batch number of the precursor material and / or its components, the chemical composition of the precursor material and / or its components and / or any supporting documents / information, - a quantity of one or more packaging materials and / or handling units used to transport the precursor material to the manufacturing site of the coating material where the digital access element is to be produced, where exemplary handling units include pallets, drums, and intermediate bulk containers (IBCs); the mass of the precursor material (e.g. brutto and / or netto), in particular the mass of precursor material per handling unit, - one or more values ​​of the precursor material and / or its components, - the risks associated with the precursor material, i.e. hazard information; - The condition of precursor raw materials, such as the condition of raw materials as determined by visual logistics checks; - one or more precursor raw material components, such as raw material composition determined by analytical quality control (QM) checks performed in a laboratory; - Precursor material emission data, - recycled content data of precursor materials, - precursor production data, The data may include data indicating either

[0053] Emission data may include any data related to the environmental impact trace, such as the carbon impact trace of a coating material. Emission data may include data related to greenhouse gases emitted, for example, during the production of chemical products. Emission data may include data related to greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions may include carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, methane (CH4) emissions, nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) emissions, perfluorocarbons (PFC) emissions, sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) emissions, nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) emissions, combinations of these, and additional emissions. Emission data may include data related to the greenhouse gas emissions of the entity's or company's own operations (production, power plants, waste incineration). This defines the first scope, i.e., scope 1. Scope 2 includes emissions from externally sourced energy production. Scope 3 includes all other emissions along the value chain. Specifically, this includes greenhouse gas emissions of raw materials obtained from suppliers. A product carbon impact footprint (PCF) may be the sum of greenhouse gas emissions and removals from successive and linked process steps associated with a particular product. A cradle-to-gate PCF may sum greenhouse gas emissions based on selected process steps from extraction from the resource to the gate where the product leaves the company. Such a PCF is called a partial PCF. To achieve such summation, each company offering any product should be able to provide as accurately as possible the scope 1 and scope 2 contributions to the PCF for each of its products, and have reliable and consistent data available for the PCFs of purchased energy (scope 2) and raw materials (scope 3).

[0054] The production of the precursor material may include a recycling process. The recycling process includes reuse and recycling processes. The recycling process may include physical and / or chemical treatment of the material to be recycled. The production data may include monitoring and / or control data associated with the production of the precursor material. The production data may include measurement data related to the quality of the precursor material. The production data may include time and location data associated with the production. The recycled content data may include any data related to the recycled content used to provide or produce the coating material. For example, the recycled content of a coating material may result from using recycled precursor materials or precursor materials that include recycled content.

[0055] Data concerning the coating material from which the digital access elements are produced include: - a shipper for further transportation of the coating material, - a consignee for further transportation of the coating material, - the producer of the coating material, for example the name and / or address and / or ID of the producer, - the filling date, i.e. the date on which the coating material was filled into the package in which it was transported and / or sold; - expiry dates and / or use dates of coating materials, - Name, number, charge etc. of the coating material and / or any documentation / information relating to the coating material, - the chemical composition of the coating material, e.g. the names, numbers, charges, etc. of its components and / or any documentation / information relating to the chemical composition of the coating material and / or its components, - the quantity of one or more packaging materials and / or handling units used for further transport of the coating material, where exemplary handling units include pallets, drums, and intermediate bulk containers (IBCs); - the mass of the coating material (e.g. brutto and / or netto), in particular the mass of coating material per handling unit, - one or more values ​​of the coating material and / or its components, - the risks associated with the coating material, i.e. hazard information, which in Germany may include water pollution classes in particular; - Certificate of analytical data, as determined by analytical quality control (QM) checks performed in the laboratory; - Production data of the coating material, e.g. production parameters for the production of the coating material, - Material Safety Data Sheets for coating materials, - Registration status of coating materials, including compliance with legal regulations such as REACH in Europe; - Information required for customs clearance of coating materials, e.g. certificates and recipes for coating materials; - one or more properties of the coating material, which may refer to chemical and / or physical properties such as, for example, boiling point, solids content, solvent content, glass transition temperature, isocyanate (NCO) content, storage stability, suitable storage conditions, etc.; - Information relevant for the further use of the coating material, for example suitable curing temperatures, dilution rates, solubility of the material, etc. - Coating material emissions data, The data may include data indicating either

[0056] The data on the transport of one or more precursor materials to the manufacturing site of the physical entity where the digital elements are produced and / or the data on the further transport of the coating material to the consumption site where the digital access elements are produced may include: - the shipper of each shipment; - the consignee of each shipment, - the quantity of handling units used for each shipment, where exemplary handling units include pallets, drums, and intermediate bulk containers (IBCs); - the risks associated with each shipment (which may include dangerous goods information); - at least one date and time of arrival, loading and / or shipping, - information about defects in the respective materials; - the shipment number of each shipment, - information about each load, e.g. one or more load photos, information about the safety of the load, driver information, driver quality rating, etc. - the respective modes of transport, in particular whether each transport is carried out by sea, air or land; - the company name of each of the carriers, - For example, whether the truck or equipment is suitable for the dangerous goods being transported and / or whether the truck is able to maintain the required temperature / physical entity being transported; - whether each transport is direct or hub transport and / or via which ports, airports and / or hubs each transport is carried out; - information regarding the main run or main leg of each transport, for example the number of the ship or plane used for that run or leg; - the estimated time of arrival of each shipment; - temperature monitoring, for example the temperature being monitored by a sensor device attached to the respective handling unit, where according to one option complete temperature monitoring data is provided and / or included, and according to another option only the information whether the temperature monitoring was acceptable or not is provided and / or included, - path monitoring, such as position data monitored by sensor devices attached to the handling units, where according to one option the complete position data is provided and / or included, and according to another option only the information whether the monitored position was acceptable or not is provided and / or included, shock monitoring, e.g. shock or acceleration data monitored by a sensor device attached to the handling unit, where according to one option the complete shock or acceleration data is provided and / or included, and according to another option only information is provided and / or included as to whether the monitored acceleration was acceptable, e.g. whether there was a shock or not, - monitoring each transported material, in particular its packaging, to see if it has been opened or damaged; - CO2 emissions during each transport - participating logistics partners for the respective shipments, e.g. Third Party Logistics (3PL) partners, Four Party Logistics (4PL) partners and / or carriers; - the bill of lading for each shipment, in particular its contents; - Proof of delivery for each shipment, The data may include data indicating either

[0057] The data regarding one or more precursor materials, the data regarding the coating material itself, and / or the data regarding the transportation of the precursor material and / or the coating material may include different classes of said data. For example, at least one class of data regarding the coating material itself may include data required by regulations or regulatory data regarding chemical substances, such as declaration data, safety data, certificate of analysis data, etc. At least one further class of data regarding the coating material itself may include emissions data, recycled content data, bio-based content data, production data, and / or composition data of the coating material and / or precursor materials used to produce the coating material. Access to the data of the coating material itself may be controlled based on said classes. For example, access to emissions data, recycled content data, bio-based content data, production data, composition data of the coating material and / or precursor materials used to produce the coating material or combinations thereof may be restricted, while access to data required by regulations or regulatory data may not be restricted. Such access restrictions may be provided by an authorization mechanism or scheme. For example, the authorization mechanism or scheme may include rules specifying which data consuming services gain access under which conditions.

[0058] In another example, at least one class of data relating to the transport of the precursor and / or coating material may include an indication of whether one or more specific conditions, such as temperature, impacts or transport path, have been monitored during the transport. At least one further class of data relating to the transport of the precursor and / or coating material may include monitoring data, such as position data, impact data and / or path data acquired with a sensor device attached to the handling unit. Access to data for the transport of the precursor and / or coating material may be controlled based on said classes, as described above. For example, access to the monitoring data may be restricted, whereas access to data indicating whether a specific condition has / has been monitored may not be restricted.

[0059] Access to the coating material data via the digital access elements can be controlled by a data providing service. The data providing service may include computer executable instructions for providing and / or processing data, such as coating material data associated with a data owner, for access and / or processing by a data consuming service. The data providing service can be associated with a data owner of the coating material data, such as a coating material producer. This allows for sharing of the coating material data under controlled conditions, for example by using appropriate authorization and authentication mechanisms or schemes, while retaining full control over the coating material data by the data owner, to improve production processes, such as discrete manufacturing involving coating materials in reacted or unreacted form, or recycling processes of discrete products associated with the coating material data.

[0060] The digital access element may be provided for access by a data consuming service. The data consuming service may include computer executable instructions for accessing and / or processing data, such as coating material data, associated with a data owner, such as a coating material data owner. The data consuming service may be owned or managed by a consumer of coating materials, such as a producer of discrete products or a participant in a recycling process for discrete products. A discrete product may be disassembled at the end of its life cycle and its components recycled. Examples of discrete products include automobiles, airplanes, shoes, etc. The data consuming service may include computer executable instructions for accessing and / or processing data, such as coating material data, received from a data providing service. The data consuming service may be controlled or owned by a discrete product processor. The coating material data received by the data consuming service may be stored in dedicated storage owned or controlled by the entity that owns or controls the data consuming service. Through the data consuming service, the discrete product processor may obtain the coating material data associated with the received coating material. During the production of a discrete material or a component thereof, the coating material data associated with the digital access element can be used to improve the production process, for example by controlling the production process based on said coating material data, thereby improving the properties or the overall production efficiency of the resulting coated component or discrete product. Using the coating material data associated with the digital access element during the recycling process can reliably determine the chemical composition of the component to be recycled, improving the recycling efficiency by determining the correct recycling process, recycling parameters, recycling plant, etc.

[0061] The device for generating the digital access element may be included in a device for producing the coating material, i.e., a production device. A production device may refer to one or more reactors or other devices in a production facility that produces the coating material. A physical identifier may be attached to the coating material during production of the coating material or in the course of subsequent packaging, either manually, semi-automatically or automatically. The digital identifier providing unit is configured to provide a digital identifier of the produced coating material based on this physical identifier. Furthermore, data of the coating material may be collected during and / or after production of the coating material, such as using a collector as indicated above. The provided digital identifier may then be associated with this coating material data. In this way, a digital access element is generated for the produced coating material apart from the coating material being physically produced.

[0062] The apparatus for generating digital access elements and thereby for producing a coating material, the apparatus comprising the apparatus for generating digital access elements, may also cooperate with an apparatus for managing digital access elements for coating materials, in particular with an apparatus for managing digital access elements generated by the apparatus for generating digital access elements. Instead of cooperation with further apparatuses, a single combined apparatus may be provided, which single combined apparatus may perform the functions of generating and managing digital access elements. The apparatus for managing digital access elements, or the single combined apparatus, may comprise a digital access element storage for storing the digital access elements and / or a search data storage for storing search data associated with the digital access elements. The search data may enable retrieval of the digital access elements from the digital access element storage. The search data may enable retrieval of coating material data from a data providing service using the stored search data by a data consuming service. By storing digital access elements and enabling retrieval of the stored digital access elements, the need to repeatedly generate digital access elements may be avoided and the exchange and sharing of coating material data may be simplified.

[0063] In some cases, it may be preferable not to store the digital access elements. This can increase the security of the data. The device for managing the digital access elements or a single combined device will then not have a digital access element storage for storing the digital access elements. Furthermore, the search data storage will store search data associated with the digital access elements, but the search data will not then be able to retrieve the digital access elements from the digital access element storage, i.e. not directly, but based thereon, to generate the digital access elements and in particular to recover the digital identifiers, the access data and / or the coating material data. The data stored in the search data storage can be stored according to the digital identifiers associated with the data, the digital identifiers indicating the respective coating materials to which the respective stored search data relate. Thus, search data related to coating materials having a given digital identifier can be retrieved from the search data storage based on the digital identifiers.

[0064] The stored search data may include access data associated with the digital identifier. For example, the associated access data may be searched based on the distributed identifier. The stored search data may include a representation of the digital identifier, in particular a hash value determined based on the digital identifier. The stored search data may include the digital identifier and associated data related to the coating material, such as a physical identifier. For example, the associated distributed identifier may be searched based on the physical identifier. The search data may include a link generated from the digital identifier associated with the coating material and the precursor digital identifier based on the relational representation as described above. For example, the link may be represented by a hash value.

[0065] The search data storage may correspond to a discrete ledger or other registry. The search data storage may correspond to a database. Because the search data may include authentication information associated with the digital access elements and / or digital identifiers included in the digital access elements, the search data store may be considered an authentication registry. The search data store may be configured to resolve linkages included in the search data. For example, the search data store may be configured to resolve linkages based on a relational expression to provide data regarding precursor materials used to produce a coating material. The data may include digital identifiers of the precursor materials. Thus, the search data store may determine the precursor materials used to produce the coating material. Furthermore, the search data store allows for determining materials used to produce a component, a component assembly, or a final product, facilitating tracking of materials along the entire value chain.

[0066] In a further aspect, an apparatus for generating a digital access element associated with a coating material is presented, the apparatus comprising one or more computing nodes, the apparatus being configured to, when executed by the one or more computing nodes, perform the following steps: - receiving a request providing a digital identifier associated with a data owner and the coating material data, in particular the data owner controls access to the coating material data, e.g. by a data consumption service; - in response to the request, providing the decentralized identifier and generating a digital access element including the digital identifier and the access data; - providing a digital access element for access by a data consumption service under or controlled by a data providing service associated with the data owner, in particular the data providing service including computer executable instructions for providing and / or processing coating material data associated with the data owner, e.g. for access and / or processing by the data consumption service; and one or more computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions thereon configured to cause the computer to execute the method of the present invention.

[0067] In one aspect, an apparatus for generating a digital access element associated with a coating material is presented, the apparatus including one or more computing nodes, the apparatus, when executed by the one or more computing nodes, performing the following steps on the apparatus: - providing a digital identifier associated with a data owner and with the coating material data, in particular the data owner controls access to the coating material data, e.g. by a data consumption service; - generating a digital access element comprising a digital identifier and access data; - providing a digital access element for access by a data consumption service under or controlled by a data providing service associated with the data owner, in particular the data providing service including computer executable instructions for providing and / or processing coating material data associated with the data owner, e.g. for access and / or processing by the data consumption service; and one or more computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions thereon configured to cause the computer to execute the method of the present invention.

[0068] In a further aspect, the present invention relates to a method for generating a digital access element associated with a coating material, the method comprising: a) providing a digital identifier and coating material data associated with the coating material; and b) generating the digital access element based on the digital identifier and the access data.

[0069] In another aspect, a computer implemented method for generating a digital access element associated with a coating material, said digital access element comprising a digital identifier and a digital representation referring to access data, in particular coating material data associated with the coating material, is disclosed, the method comprising the steps of: - receiving a request to provide coating material data and a digital identifier associated with a data owner, in particular the data owner controls access to the coating material data, e.g. by a data consumption service; - in response to the request, providing the decentralized identifier and generating a digital access element including the digital identifier and the access data; - providing a digital access element for access by a data consuming service controlled by or under the control of a data providing service associated with the data owner, the data providing service including, in particular, computer executable instructions for providing and / or processing coating material data associated with the data owner, for example for access and / or processing by the data consuming service; Includes.

[0070] In another aspect, a computer implemented method for generating a digital access element associated with a coating material, said digital access element comprising a digital identifier and a digital representation referring to access data, in particular coating material data associated with the coating material, is disclosed, the method comprising the steps of: - providing a digital identifier associated with a data owner and the coating material data, in particular where the data owner controls access to the coating material data, e.g. by a data consumption service; - generating a digital access element comprising a digital identifier and access data; - providing a digital access element for access by a data consumption service under or controlled by a data providing service associated with the data owner, in particular the data providing service including computer executable instructions for providing and / or processing coating material data associated with the data owner, e.g. for access and / or processing by the data consumption service; Includes.

[0071] In yet another aspect, a computer-implemented method for using a digital access element, preferably for further processing a coating material associated with the digital access element, is disclosed, the method comprising the steps of: - receiving a request to access coating material data associated with a digital identifier of a digital access element generated according to the methods disclosed herein or by the apparatus disclosed herein; - optionally authenticating and / or authorizing the request to access the coating material data; - providing access to the coating material data associated with the digital identifier of the digital access element, optionally based on authentication and / or authorization; Includes.

[0072] In a further aspect, the present invention relates to a computer program for generating a digital access element associated with a coating material, the program comprising instructions that, when the program is executed by one or more computers, cause the one or more computers to carry out the above-mentioned method. The one or more computers may implement a distributed computing environment in which the program can be executed.

[0073] In a further aspect, the invention relates to the use of a digital access element produced by the above apparatus or according to the above method during the manufacture of a product that uses a coating material associated with the digital access element.

[0074] In a further aspect, the present invention relates to a coating material associated with a digital access element produced by the above apparatus or according to the above method.

[0075] In yet another aspect, a system is disclosed that includes a coating material associated with a digital access element, where the digital access element including a digital identifier and access data is generated for the coating material according to a method or by an apparatus described herein.

[0076] In yet another aspect, a digital access element is disclosed that includes a digital identifier and access data, the digital access element being generated for a coating material according to a method or by an apparatus described herein.

[0077] It is to be understood that the above-mentioned aspects, in particular the apparatus of claim 1, the method of claim 14 and the computer program of claim 15, have similar and / or identical preferred embodiments, in particular as defined in the dependent claims.

[0078] It is to be understood that a preferred embodiment of the invention can also be any combination of the dependent claims or the above embodiments with the respective independent claim.

[0079] These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiment(s) described hereinafter. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0080] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 shows a schematic and exemplary diagram of an apparatus for generating digital access elements associated with a coating material. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 shows a schematic and exemplary diagram of an apparatus for producing a coating material. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 shows a schematic and exemplary relationship between a digital access element and further data structures; [Figure 4] FIG. 13 shows, diagrammatically and exemplarily, further relationships between digital access elements and further data structures. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 shows a schematic and exemplary diagram of possible relationships between digital access elements. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 shows a schematic and exemplary diagram of possible relationships between digital access elements. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 shows a schematic and exemplary diagram of possible relationships between digital access elements. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 shows a schematic and exemplary diagram of possible relationships between digital access elements. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 shows a schematic and exemplary diagram of possible relationships between digital access elements. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 shows a schematic and exemplary diagram of possible relationships between digital access elements. [Figure 11] 11A and 11B are diagrams showing examples of relational expressions that can be used to generate connections. [Figure 12]FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a system for producing a coating material associated with a digital access element, including an exemplary method for generating the digital access element. [Figure 13] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of providing access to a digital access element associated with a coating material using a data consumption service associated with a data user via a data provision service associated with a data owner. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0081] Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments Fig. 1 shows, in a schematic and exemplary manner, an apparatus 100 for generating a digital access element 40 associated with a coating material 10. Although not explicitly shown in Fig. 1, the apparatus 100 comprises a digital identifier providing unit configured to provide a digital identifier 20 associated with the coating material 10 and coating material data 50, and a digital access element generator configured to generate the digital access element 40 based on the digital identifier 20 and the access data 30. The coating material 10 is shown in a manufactured batch of material, the material batch being filled into a number of separate containers.

[0082] Although not shown in FIG. 1, an identification element is attached to each container, which corresponds to a physical identifier of the batch of coating material 10. The digital identifier providing unit can be configured to provide a digital identifier 20, which is associated with the batch of coating material 10 based on any of the physical identifiers, and thereby also associated with the coating material data 50. For example, the digital identifier can be provided by scanning an RFID tag that serves as an identification element attached to the container of coating material 10. The coating material data 50 can be collected during the production of the batch of coating material 10, but can also be collected before or after the actual production process. For example, the coating material data 50 can indicate data on the precursor material 9 used in the production of the coating material 10 (including transport data of the precursor material 9) or data on the further transport of the produced coating material 10, as shown in FIG. 2.

[0083] As shown diagrammatically and exemplarily by Fig. 2, to collect the coating material data 50, the apparatus 100 may comprise a collector 80 configured to collect the coating material data 50, where a digital identifier 20 provided by a digital identifier providing unit can be associated with the collected coating material data 50. As also shown by Fig. 2, the coating material data 50 may be collected by the collector 80 from manufacturing equipment 200 at a manufacturing site where the coating material 10 is manufactured from one or more precursor materials 9, and the collector 80 may, for example, wirelessly receive manufacturing and / or transportation data from data acquisition devices at multiple locations at and around the manufacturing site.

[0084] The access data 30 may refer to any data required to access the coating material data 50. Thus, the type of access data 30 may vary widely between embodiments. Examples of access data 30 include a storage location or digital address of the coating material data 50, data required or indicative of an authentication and / or authorization mechanism performed before the coating material data 50 can be accessed, and data indicative of a data providing service responsible for providing the coating material data 50. For example, the device may be configured to generate a digital access element 40 upon receiving a request to provide at least a digital identifier 20. The request may be associated with a chemical product 200 producing the coating material 10. For example, the request may be generated by a computing system of the chemical product 200 upon detection of a physical identifier on each packaging unit of the produced coating material 10, as described in the context of FIG. 12. The request may be specifically directed to a digital identifier providing unit, which may be configured to provide the requested digital identifier 20 upon receipt of the request, and a digital access element generator may be configured to generate the digital access element 40 based on the requested digital identifier 20 and the access data 30. The digital identifier providing unit may be configured to provide - apart from the digital identifier associated with the coating material and the coating material data (hereinafter referred to as the first digital identifier) ​​- at least one precursor digital identifier associated with one or more precursor materials from which the coating material is produced. The digital identifier providing unit may be configured to generate a concatenation of the first digital identifier and the precursor identifier based on a relational representation in which the first digital identifier is associated with the precursor identifier. The relational representation may be associated with a relation between the coating material and each precursor material. The relational representation may specify that the precursor material may be used to produce the coating material and / or that the coating material may be produced by using the precursor material.Thus, how the coating material and precursor digital identifiers are linked may depend, for example, on the relationship of the coating material and the precursor in the supply chain and / or how the coating material is produced from the precursor. Furthermore, in cases where a precursor is involved in several stages in the supply chain and some of the precursor is itself used in the production of other precursors, the linking may be performed for one or more stages. For example, each of the precursor digital identifiers may be linked with the coating material digital identifier. Alternatively, each of the precursor digital identifiers may be linked with a digital identifier associated with an intermediate product produced from the precursor associated with that digital identifier, and the resulting linking may be linked with the coating material digital identifier. One or more hash values ​​may be generated based on the relational representation. The hash value may be generated based on the linking of the digital identifiers. The hash value may be generated for the linking of the digital identifiers. The hash value may be indicative of the linking of the digital identifiers. The hash value may be generated based on data associated with the first digital identifier and the precursor digital identifier. The hash value may be generated based on a combined data set associated with the first digital identifier and the precursor digital identifier. By linking digital identifiers associated with products in the chemical supply chain and / or recycled product chain, physical entities can be virtually tracked and traced. The access data 30 can indicate how the coating material data 50 associated with a coating material 10 having a particular digital identifier 20 can be accessed. Thus, the type of access data can vary widely depending on the embodiment. Examples of access data include digital representations that point to the coating material data or portions thereof 50. Such digital representations may include endpoint addresses of data that provide services associated with the coating material data, e.g., having access to a data structure that stores the respective coating material data or portions thereof 50.The access data may include data required or indicative of an authentication and / or authorization mechanism that is performed before the coating material data 50 can be accessed.

[0085] The digital access element 40 generated by the device 100 may be a digital document or other digital data structure including the digital identifier 20 and the access data 30. However, it has already been emphasized that the digital access element 40 may include a part of the coating material data 50 itself. Thus, some of the coating material data 50 may be included in the generated digital access element 40 and thereby provided directly to a data consumer such as a coating material recipient, while other parts of the coating material data 50 may be more sensitive and therefore more security-relevant data, but may not be included in the generated digital access element 40 and may only be accessible on the basis of the digital access element 40, for example due to conditions met by a data consumption service associated with the data consumer.

[0086] The coating material 10 can be produced using multiple precursor materials. A precursor material may refer to a material obtained or produced earlier in the coating material supply chain than the coating material. The multiple precursor materials can also have associated therewith respective digital identifiers, which may be referred to as precursor digital identifiers. The digital access element generator of the apparatus 100 can be configured to generate the digital access element 40 based on a combined digital identifier determined based on the digital identifier 20 associated with the coating material 10 and one or more precursor digital identifiers, i.e., the digital identifiers of the precursor materials. The combined digital identifier may be determined based on the digital identifier 20 associated with the coating material 10 and the multiple precursor digital identifiers according to a relationship representation. The relationship representation may be associated with a relationship between the coating material 10 and each precursor material. For example, the relationship representation may include a hash chain, such as a hash chain produced from a hashing of precursor material data, such as precursor material digital identifiers and / or data, and a hashing of coating material data, such as the coating material's own digital identifier and / or data.

[0087] Thus, how the digital identifiers of the coating material 10 and the precursors are combined into a combined digital identifier may depend, for example, on the relationship of the coating material 10 to the precursors in the supply chain and / or on how the coating material 10 is produced from the precursors. Furthermore, in cases where precursors relate to multiple stages in the supply chain, such that some of the precursors are themselves used in the production of other precursors, the combined digital identifier from which the digital access element for the coating material is generated may be determined in terms of different types of combinations of the precursor digital identifiers. For example, the combined digital identifier may be determined as a function of each of the precursor digital identifiers. Alternatively, each of the precursor digital identifiers may itself be determined as a function of the digital identifiers associated with materials used in producing the respective precursor, and the combined digital identifier may be determined as a function only of the immediately preceding precursor digital identifier, depending only indirectly on precursor digital identifiers at earlier stages in the supply chain, i.e., via the immediately preceding precursor digital identifier.

[0088] The coating material data 50 may include data regarding multiple precursor materials, the produced coating material itself, the transport of the precursor materials to the manufacturing site of the coating material 10, and / or further transport of the produced coating material 10. As mentioned above, some of this data 50 is accessible based on the generated digital access element 40 when predefined conditions are met, while other data is directly included in the digital access element 40 and therefore immediately accessible to a data consumption service associated with a data consumer, such as a recipient of the coating material.

[0089] FIG. 3 shows a schematic and exemplary relationship between the digital access element 40 of the coating material 10 and further data structures in an embodiment.

[0090] The digital identifier 20 may itself be abbreviated as an ID, but in this case is a decentralized ID, abbreviated as a DID. Additionally, the ID-based digital access element 40 may in this case be a DID document associated with the DID.

[0091] Besides the DID document serving as the digital access element 40, FIG. 3 shows a DID owner data element 60 that includes identity-based owner data. In general, identity-based owner data includes an identity associated with a subject, such as the coating material data 50, and may include an authentication mechanism. Additionally, identity-based owner data may include owner data that is electronically owned and managed by the DID owner. In this context, "electronically owned" may refer to data stored in an owner repository or wallet. Such data may be securely stored and / or managed on an organization's server or client device. In FIG. 3, the identity-based owner data is shown to include a DID, a private key, and a public key. The identity-based owner may own and manage a DID that represents an identity associated with a DID subject, and a private and public key pair associated with the DID. A DID may be understood to include an identifier and authentication information associated with or uniquely linked to the identifier.

[0092] A DID subject may be a precursor material, such as a raw material or base material used in the production of the coating material 10, the coating material 10 itself, any of the aforementioned components, a component assembly, a final product in which the coating material is used, or a shipment of the precursor material or coating material 10. A DID subject may also be a machine, system, or equipment used to produce or ship either the precursor material, the coating material 10, or the final product, or a collection of such machines, equipment, and / or systems. A DID owner may be a supply chain participant, or may be a manufacturer, such as a coating material producer. A DID owner may be an upstream participant in the supply chain of a coating manufacturer, such as a supplier that provides feedstock chemicals or precursors to produce the coating material. A DID owner may be a downstream participant in the supply chain of a coating manufacturer, such as a customer that consumes chemicals to produce the coating material. A DID owner may be any participant in the supply chain, including a feedstock chemical supplier, an intermediate chemical manufacturer, an intermediate part manufacturer, a component manufacturer, a component assembly manufacturer, or a final product manufacturer.

[0093] A DID may be any identifier associated with a DID subject and a DID owner. Preferably, a DID may be unique to a DID subject and / or DID owner. A DID may be unique at least within the scope in which the DID is expected to be used. A DID may be a locally or globally unique identifier for any of the possible DID subjects mentioned above. A DID may also be a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI), such as a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). Furthermore, a DID may be an Internationalized Resource Identifier (IRI). Specifically, a DID may be a random string of numbers and letters to increase security. In one embodiment, a DID may be a string of 128 letters and numbers. A DID may be decentralized, independent of a centralized third-party management system and under the control of the DID owner.

[0094] The digital access element 40 as a DID document is associated with a DID, i.e. a DID included in the ID-based owner data. Thus, the digital access element 40 may contain a reference to a DID associated with the DID subject described by the DID document. As shown in FIG. 3, the DID document may contain as access data 30 data corresponding to authentication or authorization, information such as a public key, or data corresponding to authentication or authorization in addition to the public key. The public key may be used by a third-party entity granted permission by the DID owner / subject to access information and data owned by the DID owner / subject, in particular the coating material data 50 that is not yet included in the DID document 40. The public key may also be used to verify that the DID owner actually owns or controls the DID. As shown in FIG. 3, the DID document may contain (further) encryption information and authorization information as further access data 30, for example, to authorize a third-party entity to read the DID document or parts of the DID document, in particular the coating material data 50, without giving the third party the right to prove ownership of the DID.

[0095] The digital access element 40 may also include one or more representations that digitally link to the coating material data 50, for example, by a service endpoint. The service endpoint may include a network address at which a service operates on behalf of the DID owner. In particular, the service endpoint may refer to a service of the DID owner that provides access to the coating material data 50. Such services may include services that read or analyze the coating material data 50. In addition to or instead of the possible types of coating material data 50 already indicated, the coating material data 50 may include declaration data, safety data, certificate of analysis data, emissions data, carbon impact trace data, environmental impact trace data, product specification data, product information, technical use data, manufacturing data, transportation data, or combinations thereof. The digital access element 40 may further include various other information, such as metadata that identifies when the digital access element 40 was generated, when it was last modified, and / or when it expires.

[0096] As shown in FIG. 3, the DIDs and the digital access elements 40 may be associated with a search data storage 70 in the form of a data registry, which may be provided by a centralized or distributed data service system, such as a discrete ledger, a blockchain, or a distributed file system. Possible blockchain systems include Quorum and Hyperledger Fabric. The discrete ledger, blockchain, or distributed file system may be used to store a representation of the DID that points to the digital access element 40. The representation of the DID may be stored in the distributed computing nodes 70a, 70b of the discrete ledger, distributed file system, or blockchain. For example, a DID hash may be stored in multiple computing nodes 70a, 70b of the discrete ledger and point to the location of the digital access element 40. Each of the computing nodes 70a, 70b may store a copy of the discrete ledger. In this way, each DID hash may be stored redundantly, thereby increasing the security of the data. DIDs associated with multiple different digital access elements 40 and / or coating materials 50 may be included in the registry 70.

[0097] In some embodiments, the digital access element 40 may be stored on a discrete ledger, i.e., in addition to or instead of an associated DID representation stored on a discrete ledger, in other embodiments, the digital access element 40 may be stored in data storage (not shown) associated with a discrete ledger or blockchain.

[0098] The discrete ledger or blockchain may be any decentralized distributed network that includes various computing nodes in communication with each other. For example, the discrete ledger may include a first distributed computing node, a second distributed computing node, a third distributed computing node, and any number of additional distributed computing nodes. The discrete ledger or blockchain may operate according to any known standard or method for discrete ledgers. Examples of conventional discrete ledgers that correspond to the discrete ledger or blockchain used include, but are not limited to, Bitcoin [BTC], Ethereum, and Litecoin.

[0099] FIG. 4 shows a schematic and exemplary relationship between a digital access element 40 and further data structures for the coating material 10 in a further embodiment.

[0100] In contrast to the example of FIG. 3, the example of FIG. 4 is certificate-based, i.e. based on a certificate 60a instead of a data structure such as the DID owner data element 60. The certificate 60a in this case includes identity-based certificate data, in particular authentication data of the certificate owner and the certificate issuer. For example, a cryptographic signature from the issuer can bind the data owner's public key to the identity. The identity can be a unique ID (such as a UID) as described with respect to the DID of FIG. 3. The certificate can be an X.509 certificate, such as X509v3. The digital access element 40 in this case is an identity-based passport that includes identity-based passport data that can be associated with a data source of the data owner. The identity-based passport data can include identity, authentication data, and endpoints associated with the coating material data 50. Such endpoints can include any digital representation that connects to a data source. The data source can provide the coating material data 50.

[0101] In this certificate-based example, the identity-based passport data includes one or more certificates associated with the data owner. The certificates may be associated with an identity manager, including, for example, a certificate issuing service and / or a dynamic provisioning service that provides dynamic attribute tokens (e.g., OAuth access tokens, etc.). The information required to validate the certificates is provided via an authentication registry associated with the certificate issuing service and / or the dynamic provisioning service. For example, in the IDSA Reference Architecture Model, Version 3.0, April 2019, connectors associated with the data owner, a certificate authority (CA), a dynamic attribute provisioning service (DAPS), and connectors associated with the data consumer service are used to validate identities before performing data exchange (not shown). To this end, such connectors include one or more certificates, such as an X.509 certificate. In this way, the connector possesses a unique identifier embedded in an X.509 certificate that identifies the connector instance.

[0102] Figures 5-10 show various example configurations of digital access elements anchored by digital identifiers (IDs). The configurations include various parent, child, grandchild, etc. relationships for the digital access elements generated in a supply chain that includes the production of the coating material through to the final product manufactured using components coated with the coating material. The coating material is produced chemically and economic value is generated along the supply chain, so the supply chain is referred to as a chemical value chain.

[0103] FIG. 5 illustrates what may be called an "individual" configuration of various digital access elements generated in a chemical value chain. For multiple product stages in the chemical value chain, individual digital access elements may be generated, among which a digital access element 40 associated with a coating material 10 may be generated. The generation of the digital access elements may include providing, for each of the multiple product stages, a digital, in particular distributed, identifier and access data indicating an authentication mechanism or service endpoint required to access the coating material data 50. The digital access elements for the multiple product stages may be based on a cryptographic signature as part of the access data. For example, the digital access elements of the multiple product stages may be linked through hash values ​​based on different data sets, in particular different data included in the respective digital access elements. As shown in FIG. 5, hash 1 may be based on data of a digital access element associated with a precursor material ("precursor material digital access element"), hash 2 may be based on data of a digital access element associated with a coating material ("coating material digital access element"), and hash 3 may be based on data of a raw material digital access element combined, in particular linked, with data of the coating material digital access element 40. The hashes can be used to generate a hash chain that allows for determining the coating material, the coated components, the assembly of coated components, and / or the materials used to produce the coated final product. Further combinations, and in particular concatenations, can be performed for other combinations of digital access elements up to hash n, which combine and in particular concatenate digital access elements up to a digital access element associated with the final product (the "final product digital access element").The sequence of hashes from hash1 to hashn reflects the relationships between each digital access element and can therefore be seen as a "mirror" of the value chain from raw materials to the coated end product. Linking by cryptographic signature hashes is just one example of linking. Other examples would be permission aggregates with different scopes of data that may be embedded in a child passport, public key aggregates with different cryptographic signatures, or service endpoint aggregates with different links.

[0104] FIG. 6 shows various digital access elements including linkages associated with multiple digital identifiers based on relational representations for different products associated with product stages of a chemical value chain. Among the digital access elements, one digital access element is associated with a coating material. In this particular example, a hash value is used for the linkages associated with multiple digital identifiers. A data set for generating the hash value is shown diagrammatically in FIG. 5.

[0105] The precursor digital access element may be provided to a coating material producer that uses the precursor material to produce the coating material. The precursor digital access element may be connected to a hash value Hash1. The hash value Hash1 may be generated via a hash algorithm such as MD5, SHA-1, SHA-2, SHA-3, or other suitable algorithm based on a one-way function that cannot be reverse engineered. The hash value Hash1 may be generated based on data contained in or connected to the precursor digital access element. The data for generating the hash may include a digital identifier and access data. The data for generating the hash may include precursor data. The data for generating the hash may include a digital identifier associated with the precursor material, access data, precursor data associated with the precursor material, and / or cryptographic information connected to the digital identifier. The hash value Hash1 may be used by participating nodes of the chemical supply chain to check the integrity of data packages transferred, such as from a precursor supplier to a coating material producer.

[0106] Similar to the precursor material digital access element, the coating material digital access element may be provided to a component producer that uses the coating material to produce a component such as a coating substrate. The generation of the coating material digital access element may be based on the precursor material digital access element provided to the coating material producer that uses the precursor material to produce the coating material. The coating material digital access element may be connected to one or more hash values ​​Hash2, Hash3. The hash values ​​Hash2, Hash3 may be generated via hash algorithms such as MD5, SHA-1, SHA-2, SHA-3, or other suitable algorithms based on one-way functions that cannot be reverse engineered. The hash values ​​Hash2, Hash3 may be generated based on data contained in or connected to the coating material digital access element and / or the precursor material digital access element. The hash values ​​Hash2, Hash3 may be generated based on the clear data itself or based on a hash value generated from the clear data. For example, Hash3 may be generated based on the digital access element data or based on hashed digital access element data. The data for generating the hash may include a digital identifier associated with a precursor material used to produce the coating material, a digital identifier associated with the coating material, access data associated with a precursor material digital access element, and / or access data associated with a coating material digital access element.

[0107] The linkage associated with the plurality of digital identifiers may relate to the digital identifiers associated with the coating material and the precursor material. Hash data associated with or included in each digital access element may provide such linkage. The data for generating the hash may include precursor material data and / or coating material data. The data for generating the hash may include the digital identifier associated with the precursor material, the access data, the precursor material data associated with the precursor material, and / or cryptographic information connected to the digital identifier. The data for generating the hash may include the digital identifier associated with the coating material, the access data, the coating material data associated with the coating material, and / or cryptographic information connected to the digital identifier. The hash value Hash2 may be generated in relation to the coating material digital access element as shown in FIG. 11. The hash value Hash2 may be based on at least the digital identifier and the access data associated with the coating material. The hash value Hash3 may be generated in relation to the precursor material digital access element and the coating material digital access element as shown in FIG. 5. The hash value Hash3 may be based on at least the digital identifier associated with the precursor material, the access data associated with the precursor material digital access element, the digital identifier associated with the coating material, and the access data associated with the coating material digital access element. The hash value can be used by a participating node of the chemical supply chain to check the integrity of the data package transferred from the precursor material supplier or the coating material producer. The combined hash value can further be used by a participating node of the chemical supply chain to determine the relationship of the products of the various stages and check the integrity of the relationship.

[0108] As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the hash values ​​may be linked to digital access elements associated with one or more product stages in the chemical supply chain.

[0109] FIG. 7 shows what may be called a "fixed" configuration of the various digital access elements generated in the chemical value chain. For the final product, a final product digital access element is produced. For multiple further product stages in the chemical value chain, individual digital access elements may be generated, among which the coating material digital access element 40 may be generated, and the individual digital access elements are embedded in or linked to the final product digital access element. The digital access element generation may include providing, for each of the multiple product stages, a distributed identifier and access data indicating the authentication mechanism and / or service endpoint required to access the coating material data 50. The digital access elements of the multiple product stages may be based on a cryptographic signature as part of the access data. For example, the digital access elements of the multiple further product stages may be linked via hash values ​​based on different data sets, in particular different data contained in the respective digital access elements. As shown in FIG. 7, hash 1 may be based on the data of the precursor digital access element, hash 2 may be based on the data of the coating material digital access element 40, and hash 3 may be based on the data of the precursor digital access element combined, in particular linked, with the data of the coating material digital access element 40. Further combinations, especially concatenations, may be performed on other combinations of product passports up to hash n, which combine / concatenate the product passports up to the final product passport. Concatenation by hash of cryptographic signatures is only one example of concatenation. Other examples are permission aggregations with different scope of data that may be embedded in the child passport, public key aggregations with different cryptographic signatures, or service endpoint aggregations with different links.

[0110] FIG. 8 shows different digital access elements including linkages associated with multiple digital identifiers based on a relational representation of various products associated with product stages of a chemical value chain. Among the digital access elements, one digital access element is associated with a coating material. In this particular example, a hash value is used for the linkages associated with multiple digital identifiers. A data set for generating a hash value is shown diagrammatically in FIG.

[0111] The precursor digital access element may be provided to a coating material producer that uses the precursor material to produce a coating material. The precursor digital access element may be connected to a hash value Hash1, which may be generated as described in the context of FIG.

[0112] Similar to the precursor material digital access element, the coating material digital access element may be provided to a component producer that uses the coating material to produce a component such as a coated substrate. The hash value may be generated as described in the context of Figure 6. Hash values ​​may be generated in a similar manner for digital access elements up to the final product digital access element.

[0113] In a fixed configuration, the final product digital access element may include a hash value related to the digital access element associated with the product used to produce the final product. The linkage related to the multiple digital identifiers may in this case relate to the digital identifiers associated with the precursor materials, coating materials, components and component assemblies. The hash data related to or included in each digital access element may provide the linkage. The data for hash generation may include any data included in each digital access element. The hash value Hash7 may be based on at least the digital identifier associated with the final product and the access data associated with the final product digital access element. The hash value Hash8 may be generated in relation to the product digital access elements associated with products of different product stages, as shown in FIG. 8. The combined hash value Hash8 may be used by participating nodes of the chemical supply chain to determine the relationship of the products of different stages and to check the consistency of the relationship.

[0114] As shown in Figures 7 and 8, the hash values ​​may be linked to digital access elements associated with one or more product stages in the chemical supply chain.

[0115] FIG. 9 shows what can be called a “fully embedded” configuration of the various digital access elements generated in the chemical value chain. For multiple product stages in the chemical value chain, individual digital access elements may be generated, among which the coating material digital access element 40 may be generated. The generation of the digital access element may include the provision of a distributed identifier and access data indicating the authentication mechanism and / or service endpoint required to access the coating material data 50 for each of the multiple product stages. The digital access elements for the multiple product stages may be based on a cryptographic signature as part of the access data. For example, the product passports for multiple product stages may be linked through hash values ​​based on different data sets, specifically different data contained in the respective digital access elements. As shown in FIG. 9, hash 1 may be based on the data of the raw material digital access element, and hash 2 may be based on a combination, specifically a concatenation, of the data of the raw material digital access element and the data of the coating material digital access element 40. Further concatenations may be performed for other combinations of the product passports up to hash n, linking the digital access elements up to the final product digital access element. Concatenation by hash of cryptographic signatures is only one example of concatenation. Other examples include permission aggregation with different scopes of data that may be embedded in a child passport, aggregation of public keys with different cryptographic signatures, aggregation of service endpoints with different links, etc.

[0116] Figure 10 shows different digital access elements including linkages associated with multiple digital identifiers based on relational representations of different products associated with product stages of a chemical value chain. Among the digital access elements, one digital access element is associated with a coating material. In this particular example, a hash value is used for the linkages associated with multiple digital identifiers. A data set for generating the hash value is shown diagrammatically in Figure 15.

[0117] The precursor material digital access element may be provided to a coating material producer that uses the precursor material to produce a coating material. The precursor material digital access element may be connected to a hash value Hash1, which may be generated as described in the context of FIG. 15. Similar to the precursor material digital access element, the coating material digital access element may be provided to a component producer that uses the coating material to produce a component, such as a coated substrate. The hash value may be generated as described in the context of FIG. 9. The hash value may be generated in a similar manner for digital access elements up to the end product digital access element.

[0118] In a fully embedded configuration, a combined hash value can be generated from digital access elements associated with all products preceding the product. The linkage associated with multiple digital identifiers can relate to digital identifiers associated with all preceding products, such as precursor materials, coating materials, components, and component assemblies. Hash data associated with or included in each digital access element can provide the linkage. Data for hash generation can include any data included in each digital access element. For example, hash value Hash7 can be based on at least digital identifiers associated with products up to the end product and access data. Hash value Hash9 can be based on at least digital identifiers associated with products up to the end product and access data respectively. The combined hash values ​​Hash3, Hash5, Hash7, and Hash9 can be used by participating nodes of the chemical supply chain to determine the relationship of products at different stages and check the consistency of such relationships. As shown in Figures 9 and 10, hash values ​​can be connected to digital access elements associated with one or more product stages of the chemical supply chain.

[0119] The configurations shown in Figures 5 to 10 relate to digital access elements generated in the chemical value chain up to the final product. Similarly, digital access elements generated in the recycling chain from the final product to the recycled product may be linked. Furthermore, similarly, digital access elements generated in the chemical value chain up to the final product and in the recycling chain from the final product to the recycled product may be linked. In this way, the circularity of the product containing the coating material, and in particular the coating material itself, can be virtually represented and tracked.

[0120] 11A and 11B show examples of relational expressions that may be used to generate connections (eg, the connections described in connection with FIGS. 5-10 above).

[0121] The relational representation may relate to different stages of the chemical supply chain. Digital access elements at different stages of the chemical supply chain may be connected to the relational representation. The relational representation may relate to products produced at each stage of the chemical supply chain and at least one product used to produce the respective products. The relational representation may relate to products produced at each stage of the chemical supply chain and at least one product produced at a previous stage of the chemical supply chain. The relational representation may specify relationships between physical entities. The relational representation may specify that a second physical entity may be used to produce a first physical entity, as illustrated in FIG. 11A, and / or that a first physical entity may be produced by using a second physical entity, as illustrated in FIG. 11B. The relational representation may relate to at least one precursor material used to produce a coating material. The relational representation may relate to a coating material produced by using at least one precursor material.

[0122] FIG. 12 illustrates an example of a system for producing a coating material 10 associated with a digital access element 40, ie, an example of the above-mentioned apparatus 200 including an example of a method for generating the digital access element 40.

[0123] One or more raw materials and / or precursor materials 9 (hereinafter referred to as "inbound materials") may be provided to the coating material production 200. The coating material production 200 may be associated with an operating system 808. The operating system may include the devices described above, such as devices comprising a digital identifier providing unit and a digital access element generator (see, for example, FIG. 1). The operating system may monitor and / or control the coating material production 200 based on different process operating parameters. The operating system 808 may receive production demand data associated with a production plan for the coating material production 200. The production demand data may include a target volume of the product produced by the coating material production 200. The operating system 808 may further receive a bill of material associated with the intermediate product and / or coating material to be produced. The bill of materials may include data associated with inbound materials used to produce the intermediate product or coating material (e.g., inbound material name, inbound material identifier, inbound material quantity), process data associated with the production chain for producing the intermediate product and / or product, and / or data associated with the intermediate product and / or product produced (e.g., product specification data, data regarding the quantity of the intermediate product and / or product produced).

[0124] Based on the received production demand data and bill of materials, material demand data may be determined. The material demand data may include data regarding the amount of inbound material required to produce a target volume of the intermediate product and / or coating material. The material demand data may include data regarding inbound material identifiers associated with the inbound materials required to produce the intermediate product and / or product, and the quantities associated with each inbound material. The material demand data may include one or more inbound material specifications for each inbound material identifier indicating a material specification. The material demand data may include data regarding an inbound material quantity for each inbound material identifier indicating a quantity of the inbound material to be supplied. The material demand data may specify a production chain of the coating material production 200. The material demand data may include bills of materials for one or more production chains of the material production 200. The material demand data may include one or more recipes specifying one or more inbound materials for a production process of the material production 200. The determined material demand data may be provided for access by a supplier system associated with a supplier outside the physical system boundary of the chemical product production. Material supply can be triggered by supplier systems accessing material demand data.

[0125] One process step monitored and / or controlled by the operating system 808 may be the supply of inbound material 9 or the discharge of produced coating material 10. Another process step monitored and / or controlled by the operating system 808 may be the collection of coating material data 50. Another process step monitored and / or controlled by the operating system 808 may be the generation of one or more digital access elements 40 associated with the coating material 10 produced by the coating material production 200. Another process step monitored and / or controlled by the operating system 808 may be the provision of the generated digital access elements 40 to a data consumer, for example via a data provision service under the control of a data owner, such as a producer of the coating material 10 produced by the coating material production 200 controlled by the operating system 808.

[0126] The raw materials may include pigments, monomers used to prepare polymers, solvents, coating material additives, etc. The precursor materials may be intermediate products made from the raw materials. The intermediate products may include polymer solutions and / or polymer dispersions. The intermediate products may include pigment pastes produced from polymer solutions and / or polymer dispersions and pigments. The intermediate products may include base varnishes produced from polymer solutions and / or polymer dispersions. The inbound materials 9 may enter the system boundary 1202 of the coating material production 200 at entry points such as a resin plant, a pigment paste plant, coating material production or material storage. The inbound materials 9 may be used in the coating material production 200 to produce coating materials 10 from the inbound materials 9. The coating materials 10 may be produced from the inbound materials 9 and / or intermediate products produced from the inbound materials 9 or other intermediate products. The coating materials 10 may be provided to an outlet of the coating material production 200. The coating material data 50 may be collected before, during, and / or after production of the coating material 10 by the coating material production 200 .

[0127] During production of the coating material 10 or upon discharge of the coating material 10 of the coating material production 200, a digital access element 40 associated with the produced coating material 10 can be generated. The digital access element 40 can be generated by an apparatus 100 for generating digital access elements. The apparatus 100 can be configured to generate the digital access element 40. The apparatus 100 can be configured to receive a request to provide the distributed identifier 20. The apparatus 100 can be configured to generate the digital access element 40 - in response to the received request. The requester 1206 can be configured to generate a request for a digital identifier. The request can be triggered by a detector, such as a QR code reader and generator, and a labeling system. For example, the produced coating material 10 can include a physical identifier, such as a QR code, a bar code, an embossed code, an optical holographic code, such as a zero-order diffraction microstructure, or an RFID tag. The physical identifier can be detected, for example, by a detector. The detected data can include a batch number and / or a coating material ID. The request to provide a digital identifier may be provided to a digital ID generator 1208 configured to generate a digital identifier 40. The digital ID generator 1208 may provide the generated digital identifier 20 to a digital ID provider 1210. Although the digital ID generator 1208 and the digital ID provider 1210 are shown as separate units in Figure 12, their functionality may be combined in a single unit such that the apparatus 100 comprises a digital ID providing unit configured to generate a digital ID and to provide the generated digital ID.

[0128] The digital ID provider 1210 can provide the digital identifier 40 to the requestor 1206. The requestor 1206 can be configured to associate the received digital identifier with the produced coating material 10. Thus, the requestor 1206 can include an ID assigner configured to assign the digital identifier 20 to a physical identifier. Such association can include encoding the digital identifier 20 into a code and providing the code for labeling the coating material 10. In this manner, the physical entity of the coating material 10 can be provided with a physical identifier associated with the provided digital identifier 40.

[0129] The digital ID provider 1210 can provide the digital identifier 20 to a digital access element generator 1212 configured to generate a digital access element 40 based on the digital identifier 20 and access data received from the digital ID provider 310. The access element generator 1212 can generate the digital access element 40, for example, as described in the context of FIG. 1. The generated digital access element 40 can include the digital identifier 20 and the access data. The access data can include one or more digital representations that refer to the coating material data 50 or a portion thereof. The digital access element 40 can include or be associated with one or more authentication mechanisms associated with the digital identifier 20 and / or the access data. The authentication mechanisms can be used, for example, as described in the context of FIG. 13. The digital access element 40 can be associated with one or more authorization mechanisms associated with the digital identifier 20 and / or the access data. The authorization mechanisms can be used, for example, as described in the context of FIG. 13.

[0130] The generated digital access element 40 may be provided to a digital access element provider 1214. The digital access element provider 1214 may be configured to provide the digital access element 40 for access by a data consumption service 1216. The digital access element provider 1214 may control the access by the data consumption service 1216. The digital access element provider 1214 may be a data providing service associated with the coating material production 200. The digital access element provider 1214 may be associated with or under the control of a data owner of the coating material data 50 associated with the generated digital access element 40. The digital access element 40 may be used to access the coating material data 50, for example, as described in the context of FIG. 13.

[0131] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating providing access to a digital access element 40 associated with a coating material 10 using a data consumption service associated with a data user via a data provision service associated with a data owner.

[0132] A coating material 10 produced by a coating material production 200, such as the coating material production 200 described in connection with Figures 2 and 12, may be provided in association with a generated digital access element 40. The digital access element 40 associated with the coating material 10 may be generated as described in Figure 12. The digital access element 40 may include a digital identifier ID2, such as the digital identifier described in connection with Figure 12, and access data 30.

[0133] The digital access element 40 may further include or be associated with authentication and / or authorization information linked to the digital identifier, optionally in terms of the access data 30. The authentication and / or authorization information may be provided for authentication and / or authorization of the data providing service 1302 and / or the data consuming service 908. The data providing service 1302 may include computer-executable instructions for providing and / or processing data, such as the coating material data 50, associated with a data owner for access and / or processing by the data consuming service 1216.

[0134] The data owner in this example may be the coating material producer. The data owner may comprise any entity that generates the data. The data generation node may be coupled to the data owner or to an entity that generates the coating material 10 for which or for which the data 50 is generated. The data may be generated by a third party entity on behalf of the entity that generates the coating material for which or for which the data is generated.

[0135] The digital identifier ID2 may be connected to coating material data 50 associated with the coating material 10. The digital identifier ID2 may be a universally unique identifier (UUID) or a digital identifier (DID). The digital identifier may include any unique identifier that is uniquely associated with a data owner and / or a coating material. The data owner may be the producer of the coating material 10. Through the unique association of the digital identifier ID2 with the data owner and / or the coating material 10, access to the coating material data 50 may be controlled by the data owner.

[0136] The digital access element 40 may be stored in a digital access element storage 1312. The digital access element storage 1312 may be a central repository. The digital access element storage 1312 may be a discrete database. The coating material data 50 associated with the digital identifier ID2 may be stored in a database 904 associated with a data owner, such as a producer of the coating material 10. The database may be owned or controlled by the data owner.

[0137] The coating material 10 may be physically delivered to a consumer of the coating material. The coating material may be connected to a QR code encoding a digital identifier ID2 or may include an embossed code or an optical holographic code such as a zero order diffraction microstructure. The consumer of the coating material may read the code of the received coating material 10 via a code reader 1310 such as a QR code reader. The digital identifier may be provided to a database 1308 associated with the consumer of the coating material 10. The database may be owned or controlled by the consumer of the coating material. The digital identifier may be used to retrieve a digital access element 40 stored in a digital access element storage 1312.

[0138] In other embodiments, a consumer of the coating material can search for the digital access element 40 via the distributed database 1312 based on data received from the code reader 1310 .

[0139] Based on the received digital identifier ID2 and access data, a request to access the coating material data 50 associated with the digital identifier ID2 may be triggered by the data consuming service 1216, as indicated by arrow 1312. The digital identifier ID2 may be provided to the data providing service 902 associated with or of the producer of the coating material. Furthermore, authentication and / or authorization information may be provided. Such authentication may be based on the decentralized identities of the data providing service 1302 and the data consuming service 1216, as well as data related to an authentication mechanism or scheme. If the authentication fails, access to the coating material data 50 may be denied by the data providing service 1302. If the authentication is valid, an authorization step may follow. Such authorization may be based on data related to the decentralized identity and authorization rules. If the authorization fails, access to the coating material data 50 may be denied or the access may be adapted. In particular, the requested authorization may be adapted to be in line with the adapted authorization rules. If the authorization is valid, access to the coating material data 50 may be granted according to the requested authorization rules.

[0140] For access, the digital identifier ID2 may be provided to a data providing service 1302, as indicated by arrow 1312. The data providing service 1302 can use the received digital identifier ID2 to retrieve coating material data 50 associated with the received digital identifier ID2, as indicated by arrows 1314 and 1316. The retrieved coating material data 50 associated with the received digital identifier ID2 may be provided to a data consuming service 1216, as indicated by arrow 1318. The coating material data 50 associated with the received coating material 10 may be stored in a database 1308 associated with a consumer of the coating material, as indicated by arrow 1320.

[0141] As shown above, the coating material data 50 can be uniquely associated with the coating material through the digital identifier ID2, which represents the digital identifier 20 as described above with respect to Figures 1-10. Through the distributed network, the coating material data 50 can be transferred between the producer of the coating material 10 and the consumer of the coating material 10. In this way, the coating material data 50 is uniquely associated with the coating material 10 and can be shared directly between players of the value chain and without a central intermediary. This allows the coating material data 50 to be shared in a secure and simple manner within the chemical value chain.

[0142] Other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims.

[0143] In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps and the indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality.

Claims

1. An apparatus (100) for generating a digital access element (40) associated with a coating material (10), the apparatus comprising: a digital identifier providing unit configured to provide a digital identifier (20) associated with the coating material (10) and the coating material data (50); and a digital access element generator configured to generate a digital access element based on the digital identifier and access data.

2. The apparatus (100) of claim 1, further comprising a physical identifier providing unit configured to provide a physical identifier of a coating material (10), the digital identifier (20) being associated with the physical identifier.

3. 3. The apparatus (100) of claim 1 or 2, further comprising a collector (80) configured to collect coating material data (50), the digital identifier (20) being associated with the collected coating material data (50).

4. The apparatus (100) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the digital identifier providing unit is configured to provide the digital identifier (20) at least upon receiving a request to provide the digital identifier (20).

5. The apparatus (100) of claim 1 or 2, wherein the digital access element (40) comprises the digital identifier (20) and the access data (30).

6. The apparatus (100) of claim 1 or 2, wherein the access data (30) enables access to at least a portion of the coating material data (50).

7. The apparatus (100) of claim 1 or 2, wherein the digital identifier providing unit is configured to provide the digital identifier (20) based on one or more precursor digital identifiers associated with one or more precursor materials (9) from which the coating material (10) is manufactured.

8. The apparatus (100) of claim 7, wherein the digital access element generator is configured to generate the digital access element (40) based on a combined digital identifier, the combined digital identifier being determined based on a digital identifier associated with the coating material (10) and one or more precursor digital identifiers.

9. The apparatus (100) of claim 1 or 2, wherein the coating material data (50) includes data relating to any of: one or more precursor materials (9), the coating material (10) itself, the transport of one or more precursor materials (9) to a manufacturing site of the coating material (10), and further transport of the manufactured coating material (10).

10. An apparatus (200) for manufacturing a coating material (10), comprising the apparatus (100) of claim 1, wherein the coating material data (50) references the manufactured coating material (10) and the digital identifier (20) is provided based on a physical identifier of the manufactured coating material (10).

11. 13. An apparatus for managing a digital access element (40) of a coating material (10) produced using an apparatus (100, 200) according to claim 1 or 10, said apparatus for managing the digital access element (40) comprising: An apparatus comprising: a search data storage (70) for storing search data associated with a digital access element (40), the search data enabling searching of the stored digital access element (40) and / or creation of a digital access element (40).

12. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising a digital access element storage for storing said digital access elements (40), said search data enabling search of stored digital access elements (40) from said digital access element storage.

13. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the search data includes a digital identifier for a coating material and associated access data.

14. A method for producing a digital access element (40) associated with a coating material (10), comprising the steps of: providing a digital identifier (20) and coating material data (50) associated with the coating material (10); generating a digital access element (40) based on said digital identifier (20) and access data (30); The method includes:

15. 15. A computer program for generating a digital access element (40) associated with a coating material (10), the program comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more computers, cause the one or more computers to perform the method of claim 14.

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