Information provision system, information processing device, information provision method, and program

Abstract

To allow an item to be returned reliably without requiring complicated operation.SOLUTION: An information processing system includes: an item provider terminal owned by an item provider who provides an item with a wireless tag attached thereto; an item acquisitor terminal owned by an item acquisitor who acquires the item; and an information processing device which can communicate with the item provider terminal and the item acquisitor terminal. The information processing device includes: a storage unit which stores information about an item and identification information of a wireless tag attached to the item, in association with each other; and a control unit which determines whether an item has been returned from the item acquisitor on the basis of a return request for the item made to the item provider acquired from the item acquisitor terminal and the identification information of a wireless tag corresponding to an item to be returned acquired from the item provider terminal.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] In recent years, sales of goods through EC (Electronic Commerce) have become widespread, and various proposals regarding EC have been made. For example, Patent Document 1 describes an electronic commerce device that includes a receiving unit that receives information regarding a selection of a product that a user intends to purchase in an electronic commerce transaction, an identification unit that identifies products that are likely to be purchased simultaneously with the product that the user intends to purchase based on the purchase history of products in the electronic commerce transaction, a calculation unit that calculates a profit when the product that the user intends to purchase and the identified product are purchased, a determination unit that determines whether the calculated profit satisfies a predetermined criterion, and an information providing unit that provides the user with information regarding the identified product when it is determined that the calculated profit satisfies the predetermined criterion. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP2016-045901A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Generally, products such as clothing sold through EC cannot be tried on in advance, and therefore if the purchaser does not like the product after it arrives, for example because the size or color does not fit, the purchaser can return the product. However, in order to return the product, the purchaser must complete a return slip, pack the product, and ship it to the EC seller by courier, which is a cumbersome process. The possibility of this cumbersome process is thought to be an obstacle to the further spread of EC sales.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENT An object of the present invention is to enable the return of products reliably without requiring complicated procedures. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One aspect of the present invention is a system including: a product provider terminal held by a product provider who provides a product having a wireless tag attached thereto; a product acquirer terminal held by a product acquirer who acquires the product; and an information processing device capable of communicating with the product provider terminal and the product acquirer terminal. an intermediary terminal held by an intermediary who mediates the return of the product from the product acquirer to the product provider; the information processing device has a storage unit that stores information about the product and identification information of a wireless tag attached to the product in association with each other, and a control unit that determines whether the product has been returned by the product acquirer based on a product return request to the product provider acquired from the product acquirer terminal and identification information of a wireless tag corresponding to the product subject to the return request acquired from the product provider terminal. The control unit controls the intermediary terminal to be able to communicate with the wireless tag when the return request for the product includes information about the intermediary. It is an information processing system. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reliably return products without incurring complicated procedures. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an EC sales system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of a tag database. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of a member database. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of a product database. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of a product order database. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the flow of product sales and returns in an EC sales system according to an embodiment. [Figure 7] 1 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of an EC sales system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an advertising packet transmitted from an IoT tag. [Figure 9] 1 is a sequence chart showing a process associated with shipping of a product to a customer in an EC sales system according to an embodiment. [Figure 10] 11 is a sequence chart showing a process associated with returning a product to an EC business in an EC sales system according to an embodiment. [Figure 11] 11 is a sequence chart showing management of tag information in an EC sales system according to an embodiment. [Figure 12] 11 is a sequence chart showing a process for providing product content in an EC sales system according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] In this disclosure, a "wireless tag" refers to an electronic tag attached to a product. The wireless tag may or may not have a battery inside it as long as the information stored inside can be read by an external communication device through wireless communication. The communication protocol and communication range between the wireless tag and the external communication device are not limited and can be changed or adjusted as appropriate depending on the application. In this disclosure, "capable of communication" is not limited to cases where direct communication is possible, but also includes cases where indirect communication is possible. For example, "device A and device C can communicate" is not limited to cases where device A and device C establish direct communication and transmit or receive data, but also includes cases where device A and device C transmit or receive data via device B.

[0010] An EC sales system 1, which is one embodiment of an information processing system, will be described below with reference to the drawings. EC sales refers to a sales format based on electronic commerce (EC; E-Commerce). The EC sales system 1 is configured so that, for example, a customer uses an EC application program (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as an "EC application") installed on a customer terminal to access the website of an EC business operator and place an order for a product. Although the type of product is not limited, the following description mainly assumes that the product is an apparel product such as clothing. When using an EC application, a customer registers as a member (user registration, etc.). If the customer does not like an item after it arrives from the EC business, the customer can return the item to the EC business. For example, the return of an item such as apparel can be made through a dry cleaning shop (an example of an intermediary). Here, the customer does not need to fill out a return slip or the like, and can simply specify, for example, on the EC application, the dry cleaning shop through which the item to be returned should be sent. Therefore, no complicated work is required on the customer's side when returning an item purchased through an EC business.

[0011] In addition, in the EC sales system 1, IoT (Internet of Things) tags are attached to products for sale. An IoT tag (hereinafter simply referred to as a "tag") is an example of a wireless tag, but is an environmentally-powered device that operates by obtaining energy from radio waves in the surrounding environment, and does not have a battery. The tag can operate semi-permanently even without a battery.

[0012] In one embodiment, the tag is configured to perform wireless communication with low power consumption. Examples of communication protocols include Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy (hereinafter, BLE), Bluetooth (registered trademark), ZigBee (registered trademark), etc. In the following, a case where communication is performed using BLE will be described as an example. When a tag complies with the BLE standard, it performs broadcast communication. Specifically, the tag broadcasts advertising packets (described later). This broadcast communication allows only one-way data transmission from the tag to surrounding BLE receiving terminals (for example, customer terminals and dry cleaner terminals described later). The packet transmitted from each tag contains a tag ID, which is identification information unique to the tag.

[0013] In the EC sales system 1, in the sale of a product, it is preferable to clearly identify the person responsible for managing the product from the EC business to the customer (i.e., the EC business) and the person responsible for managing the product after the product reaches the customer (i.e., the customer). Similarly, in the return of a product, it is preferable to clearly identify the person responsible for managing the product from the customer to the dry cleaner (i.e., the customer), the person responsible for managing the product when the product is temporarily stored at the dry cleaner (i.e., the dry cleaner), and the person responsible for managing the product from the dry cleaner to the EC business (e.g., the transport company). From this perspective, in the EC sales system 1, the tag management server centrally manages the person responsible for managing the product as the product acquirer by the tag attached to the product. In the tag management server, information on the product acquirer (e.g., the EC business, the customer, the dry cleaner, etc.) and the tag ID, which is unique identification information of the tag, are centrally managed by a tag database described later. In the tag database, the person responsible for managing the product is managed as the "product acquirer."

[0014] In one embodiment, for example, product content or the like is provided to a product acquirer of a product as information about the product. That is, the product acquirer of the product can access the product content corresponding to the product, and a person who is not a product acquirer cannot access the product acquirer. Therefore, for example, attractive information related to the product can be provided to a customer who has purchased the product at any timing after the purchase.

[0015] In one embodiment, information about a product acquirer of a product and a tag ID of a tag attached to the product are recorded on a server. For example, when a customer terminal of a customer acquires a tag ID of a tag by communication between the customer terminal and the tag attached to the product in response to a product information request described later, the information about the customer and the tag ID acquired by the customer terminal are compared with data recorded on the server to determine whether the customer is a product acquirer. This makes it possible to control the provision of product content corresponding to a specific product to a customer who is a product acquirer of the product.

[0016] The system configuration of an EC sales system 1 according to one embodiment, and the flow of EC sales and return of a specific product will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. FIG.

[0017] 1, in the EC sales system 1, a customer terminal 2 (an example of a product acquirer terminal), an EC business operator terminal 3 (an example of a product provider terminal), a dry cleaning shop terminal 4 (an example of an intermediary terminal), a tag management server 5, and an application server 6 are configured to be able to communicate with each other via a network NW. The network NW is a LAN (Local Area Network), a mobile communication network, the Internet, or a combination of these. The tag management server 5 and the application server 6 constitute an exemplary information processing device.

[0018] The customer terminal 2 is a terminal owned by a customer, and examples thereof include, but are not limited to, a laptop personal computer, a tablet terminal, and a smartphone. The customer is registered as a member of the EC business operator in a member database described later.

[0019] The EC business operator terminal 3 is a terminal carried by a person in charge of the EC business who dispatches or returns products (for example, a warehouse staff member), and non-limiting examples include a laptop personal computer, a tablet terminal, and a smartphone.

[0020] The dry cleaning shop terminal 4 is a terminal carried by a dry cleaning shop staff member who mediates the return of products from customers to the e-commerce business, and non-limiting examples include a laptop personal computer, a tablet terminal, and a smartphone.

[0021] As described above, an EC application is installed on the customer terminal 2, the EC business operator terminal 3, and the dry cleaning shop terminal 4. The EC application is an application for executing various processes related to EC sales operated by the EC business operator, such as ordering products and returning products. The EC application is configured to receive packets from tags around each terminal, and transmit the tag IDs included in the packets to the application server 6.

[0022] The tag management server 5 is a server that manages tags attached to products sold by EC businesses. As described above, in order to clarify the person responsible for managing the product, the tag management server 5 is provided with a tag database that associates information on the product acquirer (e.g., the EC business, the customer, the dry cleaner, etc.) with the tag ID, which is unique identification information of the tag.

[0023] FIG. 2 shows an example of the data structure of the tag database. As shown in Fig. 2, the tag database associates at least a "tag ID" with a "product acquirer" who is a person responsible for managing the product. The tag database shown in Fig. 2 includes values ​​for the fields "Owner," "Registered Domicile," "Date of Birth," "Group Name," and "Lifespan" in addition to the tag ID and product acquirer, and each value is input in advance by, for example, an EC business operator or a product manufacturer. In one embodiment, the value of the "Product Acquirer" field is appropriately rewritten in response to the transfer of the product. In the tag database, information including the values ​​of each field for each tag ID is called "tag information."

[0024] In the tag database, a status flag is set for each tag ID. This status flag indicates whether the acquirer of the product to which the corresponding tag is attached has been determined. For example, there are cases where the person who is going to acquire the product has been decided, even though the product has not actually been acquired yet. In the example where a product is handed over from an EC business to a customer, it is decided that the product tagged with a specific tag ID will be handed over to the customer when an order for the product is accepted from the customer, but the customer is not the product acquirer until the product actually arrives at the customer's place. Therefore, when an order for the product is accepted, the product acquirer in the tag information is rewritten to the membership code of the customer, but until the product actually arrives at the customer's place, the status flag in the tag information is set to "1" (in preparation). Then, when it is confirmed that the product has actually arrived at the customer's place, the status flag in the tag information is set to "0" (confirmed).

[0025] Similarly, in the case of a product being returned from a customer to an EC business via a dry cleaner, it is decided that the product tagged with a specific tag ID will be handed over to the dry cleaner when a return request specifying the dry cleaner is received, but the dry cleaner is not the product acquirer until the product actually arrives at the dry cleaner. Therefore, when the dry cleaner receives a specified return request, the product acquirer in the tag information is rewritten to the membership code of the dry cleaner, but until the product actually arrives at the dry cleaner, the status flag in the tag information is set to "1" (preparing). Then, when it is confirmed that the product has actually arrived at the dry cleaner, the status flag in the tag information is set to "0" (confirmed).

[0026] The application server 6 provides various services to the EC applications of the customer terminal 2, the EC business operator terminal 3, and the dry cleaning shop terminal 4. For example, the application server 6 receives orders from the customer terminal 2 for products that can be provided by the EC business operator and processes the orders, and also receives return requests from the customer terminal 2 and processes the return requests.

[0027] The application server 6 includes a member database that stores information about members who use the EC application. An example of the data structure of the member database is shown in FIG. The member database shown in Fig. 3 is a database that contains values ​​for each field, for example, "member code," "name," "gender," and "address," for each record. The "name," "gender," and "address" fields are merely examples and can be changed as appropriate. The membership database records not only the information of customers who order products, but also the information of EC businesses and dry cleaning shops that handle product returns. In other words, EC businesses are managed by membership codes, and dry cleaning shops are also managed by membership codes (an example of information about intermediaries).

[0028] The application server 6 includes a product database. An example of the data structure of the product database is shown in FIG. The product database shown in Fig. 4 is a database that contains values ​​for each field, for example, "product code," "tag ID," and "product content," for each record. Each record corresponds to one specific product. Even for products with the same product code, one record is assigned to each different individual product, and the tag ID of the tag attached to each product is associated with it. The product content corresponding to the product code is provided for example to be provided to a customer who has purchased the product, etc. In one embodiment, the same product content is associated with products having the same product code.

[0029] The application server 6 includes a product order database for managing product orders from customers. An example of the data structure of the product order database is shown in FIG. 5, each record in the product order database contains values ​​for the fields "order ID," "membership code," "product code," and "tag ID." When a product order is accepted from a customer, an order ID is issued and the membership code corresponding to the customer, the product code of the ordered product, and the tag ID of the tag attached to the product are associated in one record. The product code is an example of information about a product. Note that in the product order database, the order ID may be associated with payment information from a customer, refund information to a customer, and the like.

[0030] In Figure 1, only one customer terminal 2 and one dry cleaning shop terminal 4 are shown, but this is not limited to this, and any number of customer terminals 2 and dry cleaning shop terminals 4 (two or more) can access the application server 6 via the network NW.

[0031] Next, a flow of EC product sales and product returns in the EC sales system 1 of one embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Referring to Fig. 6, the flow of EC sales of products in the EC sales system 1 of one embodiment is performed in the following steps (I) to (IV). Note that each step in Fig. 6 is actually performed via the application server 6, rather than the customer, the EC business operator, the dry cleaner, etc. directly exchanging requests or notifications with each other.

[0032] (I) A customer selects a product and places an order on the EC application on the customer terminal 2. For example, when the application server 6 receives a product order request from the customer terminal 2, it issues an order ID and adds one record to the product order database (FIG. 5). The added record includes a membership code corresponding to the customer, the product code of the product to be ordered, and the tag ID of the tag attached to the product. Furthermore, in response to a request from the application server 6, the tag management server 5 rewrites the value of the "product acquirer" field of the tag information corresponding to the tag ID in the tag database to the membership code corresponding to the customer, and sets the status flag of the tag information to "1" (in preparation).

[0033] (II) When the EC business operator is ready to ship the product to the customer, the EC business operator sends a shipping notification to the customer. That is, the EC business operator terminal 3 requests the application server 6 to send a shipping notification to the customer terminal 2. In response to the request, the application server 6 sends the shipping notification to the customer terminal 2. The EC business operator then ships the product to the customer.

[0034] (III) The EC business operator sends a receipt confirmation notice to the customer at approximately the time when the product arrives at the customer's place. That is, the EC business operator terminal 3 requests the application server 6 to send a receipt confirmation notice to the customer terminal 2. In response to the request, the application server 6 sends the receipt confirmation notice to the customer terminal 2. Although not shown, the receipt confirmation notice includes a "Confirm receipt" button for notifying the application server 6 that the product has been received (confirm receipt). Furthermore, when the product arrives at the customer's hands, the EC application on the customer terminal 2 can receive a packet sent by the tag attached to the arrived product and obtain the tag ID contained in the packet.

[0035] (IV) A receipt confirmation, which is a message confirming that the customer has received the product, is sent to the e-commerce business. When the customer operates the "acknowledge receipt" button on the EC application on the customer terminal 2, an acknowledgement of receipt is sent to the application server 6. This acknowledgement of receipt includes the tag ID acquired in (III). When the receipt confirmation is received, it is recognized that the product has been delivered to the customer, and the application server 6 requests the tag management server 5 to update the tag database. In response to this request, the tag management server 5 sets the status flag of the corresponding tag information to "0" (confirmed).

[0036] As described above, when a product arrives at the customer's hand, the EC application of the customer terminal 2 can receive a packet transmitted by the tag attached to the arrived product and can obtain the tag ID contained in the packet. Therefore, when the application server 6 obtains the tag ID and the membership code corresponding to the customer from the EC application of the customer terminal 2 after the EC business has shipped the product to the customer, it can determine that the product has arrived at the customer's hand by referring to the product order database. In this case, the application server 6 may set the status flag of the tag information to "0" (confirmed). That is, the application server 6 can associate the customer with the product corresponding to the tag ID and officially register the customer as the product acquirer corresponding to the tag ID. That is, since the tag information is updated without being triggered by the customer's operation of the "confirm receipt" button on the EC application, the burden of operations such as receipt confirmation on the customer who is the product acquirer can be reduced. In addition, since the EC application of the customer terminal 2 can obtain the tag ID immediately after the product arrives at the customer's hand, the customer who is the product acquirer can be associated with the product in real time. From another perspective, by obtaining the tag ID from the EC application of the customer terminal 2 of the customer who is the product acquirer, it can be confirmed that the shipped product is actually in the customer's hand.

[0037] In addition, the following measures can be taken to increase the safety of the transfer of goods. (Measure 1) (II) The shipping notification includes an access code and is sent to the customer terminal 2. (III) The receipt confirmation notification requires the customer to enter this access code and then press the "receipt confirmation" button. The application server 6 requests the tag management server 5 to update the tag database only if the access code included in the receipt confirmation is successfully authenticated. This measure makes it possible to prevent receipt confirmations from being sent from the customer terminal 2 of customers who have not ordered a product.

[0038] (Measure 2) When sending the shipping notification (II) or the receipt confirmation notification (III), the application server 6 passes key information to the customer terminal 2 for decrypting packets sent by the target tag. The customer terminal 2 obtains the tag ID by decrypting packets sent by the tag attached to the arrived product using the key information passed in advance. This measure makes it possible to prevent the tag ID from being obtained by terminals of other customers who have not ordered the product.

[0039] Referring to FIG. 6, the flow of returning a product through EC in the EC sales system 1 according to one embodiment is performed in the following steps (V) to (VIII).

[0040] (V) When a customer makes a return request on the EC application on the customer terminal 2, for example specifying a dry cleaning shop for returning the product, a return request notice is sent to the EC business. For example, a customer can access a member database on an EC application to select and specify the nearest dry cleaning shop, etc. When the application server 6 accepts the return request, it requests the tag management server 5 to update the tag database. In the tag database, the tag management server 5 rewrites the value of the "product acquirer" field of the tag information corresponding to the tag ID to the membership code corresponding to the dry cleaners, and sets the status flag of the tag information to "1" (preparation). The application server 6 transmits a return request notice to the EC business terminal 3 .

[0041] (VI) The e-commerce business sends a message to the dry cleaner regarding the return of the product. That is, the application server 6 sends a return notification to the EC application on the dry cleaning shop terminal 4 owned by the dry cleaning shop specified by the customer. The return notification includes information regarding the return, such as the customer's membership code, and the product code and tag ID of the product to be returned. The return notification includes a "confirm receipt" button to notify the application server 6 that the product to be returned has been received (confirm receipt).

[0042] (VII) A receipt confirmation message is sent to the e-commerce business to confirm that the dry cleaning store has received the returned goods. When an item is handed over from a customer to the dry cleaner, the EC application in the dry cleaner terminal 4 can receive a packet transmitted by the tag attached to the item handed over by the customer, and obtain the tag ID contained in the packet. When the dry cleaning shop staff operates the "acknowledge receipt" button on the EC application on the dry cleaning shop terminal 4, an acknowledgement of receipt is sent to the application server 6. This acknowledgement of receipt includes the tag ID obtained from the tag. When the receipt confirmation is received, it is recognized that the product has arrived at the dry cleaner's, and the application server 6 requests the tag management server 5 to update the tag database. In response to this request, the tag management server 5 sets the status flag of the corresponding tag information to "0" (confirmed). As described above, when the product arrives at the dry cleaner, the EC application of the dry cleaner terminal 4 can receive a packet transmitted by the tag attached to the product handed over by the customer and can obtain the tag ID contained in the packet. Therefore, when the application server 6 receives a return request from the customer and obtains the tag ID and the membership code corresponding to the dry cleaner from the EC application of the specified dry cleaner terminal 4, it can determine that the product has arrived at the dry cleaner by referring to the tag database via the tag management server 5. In this case, the application server 6 may set the status flag of the tag information to "0" (confirmed). Since the EC application of the dry cleaner terminal 4 can obtain the tag ID immediately after the product to be returned is handed over to the dry cleaner, the dry cleaner that is the product acquirer and the product can be associated in real time. From another perspective, by obtaining the tag ID from the EC application of the dry cleaner terminal 4 of the dry cleaner that is the product acquirer, it can be confirmed that the product to be returned is actually in the possession of the dry cleaner. In addition, it is possible to clarify the person responsible for managing the product (the dry cleaner if the product is in the possession of the dry cleaner) during the distribution process until the returned product is returned to the EC business operator.

[0043] (VIII) When the dry cleaner is ready to ship the returned item to the EC business, it sends a shipping notification to the EC business. That is, the dry cleaner terminal 4 requests the application server 6 to send a shipping notification to the EC business terminal 3. In response to the request, the application server 6 sends the shipping notification to the EC business terminal 3. The dry cleaner then ships the item to the EC business.

[0044] Next, the configuration of each device of the EC sales system 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 7 and FIG. Fig. 7 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of each device in the EC sales system 1 of this embodiment. Fig. 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of an advertising packet transmitted from a tag.

[0045] Referring to FIG. 7, the tag T includes a control unit 11, an antenna 12, a harvesting unit 13, a voltage control unit 14, and an RF transceiver 15. Although the overall form of the tag is not shown, it is, for example, a thin-film member including a conductive metal foil having a predetermined pattern on which an antenna 12 is formed, and an IC chip connected to the metal foil. A control unit 11, a harvesting unit 13, a voltage control unit 14, and an RF transceiver 15 are mounted in the IC chip.

[0046] The control unit 11 has a microprocessor and a memory 111, and controls the entire IoT tag. The memory 111 is a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a ROM (Read Only Memory), and stores a tag ID in addition to programs executed by the microprocessor.

[0047] The harvesting unit 13 performs energy harvesting based on radio waves in the surrounding environment (for example, radio waves from surrounding wireless communication) and stores the generated power in an internal energy storage 131. In one embodiment, the harvesting unit 13 converts, for example, a radio signal received by the antenna 12 into a DC voltage and stores it in the energy storage 131. The energy storage 131 is, for example, a capacitor. In the case of a capacitor, it may be one configured on a semiconductor chip (i.e., an on-die type capacitor).

[0048] The harvesting unit 13 can use radio waves in a wide range of different frequency bands for energy harvesting. In one embodiment, the tag T operates by obtaining energy from radio waves of one or more specific frequencies contained in the surrounding area. The specific frequencies include radio waves of any frequency that can be converted into energy in the tag T. The specific frequencies may include one or more frequency bands, or may be specific frequencies assigned from among the frequency bands. In one embodiment, the specific frequency may be, for example, a specific frequency or frequency band defined by a wireless communication standard, or is a specific frequency or frequency band designated by a business operator providing the EC application related to this embodiment. Non-limiting examples of radio waves used by the harvesting unit 13 for energy harvesting include radio waves generated by wireless communication in the frequency bands used in so-called mobile communication systems such as 3G to 5G, radio waves generated by wireless communication in the frequency bands used in communication standards such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) and Wi-Fi (registered trademark), radio waves generated by wireless communication in the 2.4 GHz band represented by communication protocols such as ZigBee (registered trademark) and Thread, and radio waves generated by wireless communication in the frequency bands used in RFID (e.g., 900 MHz band, 13.56 MHz band). The radio waves exemplified here are generally applicable to almost all homes. The tag operates on power obtained by environmental power generation by the harvesting unit 13 based on radio waves in the surrounding environment. Therefore, there is no need to install a battery in the tag, and system costs can be reduced. In addition, since there is no need to install a battery, there is no need to replace the battery, and therefore no problem occurs in which the tag ID cannot be obtained even though the tag is present.

[0049] The voltage control unit 14 supplies an operating voltage to the control unit 11 and the RF transceiver 15, monitors the voltage of the energy storage 131, and switches the power mode according to the monitoring result. When the voltage of the energy storage 131 is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold, the power mode is set to a first mode in which only a minimum of circuits are operated, and at this time, the control unit 11 and the RF transceiver 15 do not generate packets or transmit wireless signals, which will be described later. When the voltage of the energy storage 131 is charged to a predetermined threshold or higher, the power mode is set to a second mode in which a normal processing routine is executed, and at this time, the control unit 11 and the RF transceiver 15 perform various processes including generating packets and transmitting wireless signals.

[0050] When the power mode is the second mode, the control unit 11 generates an advertising packet in accordance with the BLE protocol. The advertising packet is a packet that is transmitted using an advertising channel to realize broadcast communication in BLE, and has the packet configuration shown in Fig. 8. The advertising packet will be simply referred to as a "packet" below as appropriate.

[0051] 8, the preamble and the address access are each a predetermined fixed value. The CRC is a cyclic check code, which is check data calculated using a predetermined generating polynomial for the packet payload (i.e., the advertising channel PDU (protocol data unit)). An advertising channel PDU (hereinafter, simply referred to as "PDU") consists of a header and a payload, and the payload consists of an ADV address and ADV data. The ADV address is the address of the advertiser (i.e., the IoT tag that is the subject of notification), but may be a random value set each time a transmission is made so as not to identify the sender. The ADV data is the advertiser's data (broadcast data), and in this embodiment includes a tag ID.

[0052] It is preferable that the control unit 11 encrypts the PDU. Although there is no limitation on the encryption method, for example, AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) with a key length of 128 bits can be used.

[0053] The RF transceiver 15 performs a predetermined digital modulation (e.g., Gaussian Frequency Shift Keying (GFSK)) on the packet (baseband signal) to be transmitted, then performs quadrature modulation, and transmits the radio frequency signal (in the case of BLE, a signal in the 2.4 GHz frequency band) to the antenna 12.

[0054] The antenna 12 includes a transmitting antenna and a power generating antenna. The transmitting antenna transmits high-frequency wireless signals (packets) sent out by the RF transceiver 15. On the other hand, the power generation antenna receives, for example, radio waves from the surrounding environment, and works together with the harvesting unit 13 to function as a rectenna.

[0055] As shown in FIG. 7, the customer terminal 2 includes a control unit 21, a storage 22, an operation input unit 23, a display unit 24, a first communication unit 25, and a second communication unit 26. The control unit 21 is mainly configured with a microprocessor, and controls the entire customer terminal 2. For example, the control unit 21 controls the first communication unit 25 to communicate with a tag by executing an EC application, and when receiving a packet from the tag, transmits the tag ID included in the packet to the application server 6. The control unit 21 executes an EC application to make various requests to the application server 6 (for example, an order request, a return request, a request to send various notifications, etc.). The control unit 21 executes the EC application to obtain notifications (such as the above-mentioned shipping notification and receipt confirmation notification) sent from the application server 6 and displays them on the display unit 24.

[0056] The storage 22 is a storage device such as a solid state drive (SSD), and stores the execution results of EC applications, data required for executing EC applications (for example, authentication data), and the like.

[0057] The operation input unit 23 is an input interface that accepts operation input from a customer in order to execute various programs including EC applications, and may be a touch panel input unit provided on the display panel of the display unit 24. The display unit 24 includes a display panel, such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Panel), and a drive circuit for the display panel, and displays the results of execution of the EC application. The first communication unit 25, for example, performs wireless communication with an object in a narrower communication range than the second communication unit 26, and is configured to receive packets transmitted from each tag according to the BLE protocol, for example. The second communication unit 26 is a communication interface for communicating with the application server 6. The communication protocol is not limited, but may be, for example, HTTP or HTTPS.

[0058] The configurations of the EC business operator terminal 3 and the dry cleaning shop terminal 4 may be similar to that of the customer terminal 2, and therefore a duplicated explanation will be omitted.

[0059] As shown in FIG. 7, the tag management server 5 includes a control unit 51, a storage 52, and a communication unit 53. The control unit 51 is mainly configured with a microprocessor, and controls the entire tag management server 5 . The storage 52 is a storage device such as a HDD, and stores a tag database (see FIG. 2). The communication unit 53 is a communication interface for communicating with the application server 6 .

[0060] In the control unit 51, the microprocessor executes a program, and when a rewrite request is received from the EC business terminal 3, for example, the control unit 51 accesses the storage 52 and rewrites specific tag information in the tag database. For example, when an event such as ordering or returning a product occurs, the product acquirer changes, and therefore the control unit 51 updates the value of the "product acquirer" field in the tag information. In other words, when a product is transferred from a first product acquirer to a second product acquirer, if the control unit 51 receives information from a terminal held by the first product acquirer (such as the customer terminal 2, the EC business terminal 3, the dry cleaner terminal 4, etc.) designating the second product acquirer as the next product acquirer, the control unit 51 performs a process of associating information about the second product acquirer (i.e., the membership code) with the tag ID in the tag information. Furthermore, the control unit 51 rewrites the status flag in the tag information, which indicates whether or not the product acquirer has been determined.

[0061] When the control unit 51 receives an inquiry from the application server 6 regarding whether a customer with a specific membership code is a product acquirer of a product, it checks the combination of the membership code and tag ID included in the inquiry against the tag database and returns the matching result to the application server 6.

[0062] As shown in FIG. 7, the application server 6 includes a control unit 61, a storage 62, and a communication unit 63. The control unit 61 is mainly configured with a microprocessor, and controls the entire application server 6. For example, in the control unit 61, the microprocessor executes a server program, and when it receives access from each of the clients, that is, the customer terminal 2, the EC business terminal 3, and the dry cleaning shop terminal 4, it identifies the membership code to establish a session, and executes the various processes described above in response to requests from the clients. When an event occurs that requires rewriting of tag information contained in the tag database, the control unit 61 transmits a rewrite request to the tag management server 5.

[0063] In one embodiment, the control unit 61 determines whether or not a product has been returned by a customer based on a product return request to the EC business obtained from the customer terminal 2 and a tag ID corresponding to the product that is the subject of the return request obtained from the EC business terminal 3. In one embodiment, the control unit 61 receives a return request from the customer terminal 2 including the product code of the product to be returned, and determines that the product has been returned by the customer if the tag ID received by the EC business terminal 3 from the tag attached to the product (the returned product) matches the tag ID corresponding to the product code included in the return request. Since different tag IDs are assigned even to products with the same product code, by checking whether the tag IDs match, it is possible to determine whether the individual product at the customer's door and the individual product returned to the e-commerce business are the same. Therefore, even if a customer mistakenly or intentionally returns a different individual product, it is possible to determine whether the return was made correctly.

[0064] When the control unit 61 receives a product information request including a tag ID from the EC application of the customer terminal 2, it inquires of the tag management server 5 as to whether the customer with the target membership code is a legitimate product acquirer of the product. If the customer is a legitimate product acquirer, the control unit 61 provides the corresponding product content to the EC application that made the request. In other words, when the membership code and tag ID corresponding to the customer are associated in the tag database and the control unit 61 determines that the customer is a product acquirer of the product, the control unit 61 controls the EC application of the customer so that the product content corresponding to the product can be provided to the EC application of the customer.

[0065] Storage 62 (an example of a storage unit) is a storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) and stores a membership database (see FIG. 3), a product database (see FIG. 4), and a product order database (see FIG. 5). Although not shown, storage 62 stores data corresponding to return requests (customer membership code, product code of the product to be returned, membership codes of dry cleaners to be passed through, etc.).

[0066] The communication unit 63 is a communication interface for communicating with the customer terminal 2, the EC business operator terminal 3, and the dry cleaning shop terminal 4. There are no limitations on the communication protocol, but examples include HTTP and HTTPS. The communication unit 63 is also a communication interface for communicating with the tag management server 5.

[0067] Next, the operation of the EC sales system 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 9 and Fig. 10. Fig. 9 and Fig. 10 are sequence charts showing the operation of the EC sales system 1. In each figure, it is assumed that a session is established between the EC application of each terminal, i.e., the customer terminal 2, the EC operator terminal 3, and the dry cleaning shop terminal 4, and the EC operator terminal 3, and that the application server 6 recognizes the membership code corresponding to the EC application of the communication partner.

[0068] FIG. 9 is a sequence chart showing the process involved in shipping a product to a customer. 9, when a customer selects a product and places an order on the EC application of the customer terminal 2, the EC application of the customer terminal 2 sends an order request to the application server 6 (step S2). The order request includes the product code of the product to be ordered.

[0069] When the application server 6 receives a product order request, it issues an order ID (step S4) and updates the product order database (FIG. 5) by adding one record to the database (step S6). The added record includes a membership code corresponding to the customer, the product code included in the order request, and the tag ID of the tag attached to the product. The application server 6 can assign, for example, any tag ID selected from the product database (FIG. 4) for the product code included in the order request to the added record. This results in a specific individual product being assigned to the customer's order.

[0070] Next, the application server 6 transmits a request to rewrite the tag information to the tag management server 5 (step S8). The request includes the membership code of the customer who will acquire the product, and the tag ID included in the record added to the product order database. In response to this rewrite request, the tag management server 5 rewrites the value of the “product acquirer” field of the tag information corresponding to the tag ID in the tag database to the membership code included in the rewrite request, and sets the status flag of the tag information to “1” (in preparation) (step S10).

[0071] When the EC business operator is ready to ship the product to the customer, the EC business operator ships the product and performs an operation on the EC application to send a shipping notification to the customer. As a result, the EC application of the EC business operator terminal 3 requests the application server 6 to send a shipping notification to the customer terminal 2. In response to the request, the application server 6 sends the shipping notification to the customer terminal 2 (step S12).

[0072] Next, the EC business operator performs an operation on the EC application to request a receipt confirmation from the customer at approximately the same time that the product arrives at the customer's place. As a result, the EC application of the EC business operator terminal 3 requests the application server 6 to transmit a receipt confirmation notice to the customer terminal 2. In response to the request, the application server 6 transmits the receipt confirmation notice to the customer terminal 2 (step S14).

[0073] When the product shipped from the EC business arrives at the customer's location, the EC application in the customer terminal 2 receives a packet transmitted by the tag attached to the product and obtains the tag ID contained in the packet. Then, when the customer operates the "Confirm receipt" button included in the receipt confirmation notice received in step S14 (step S16), the EC application of the customer terminal 2 transmits a receipt confirmation to the application server 6 (step S18). The receipt confirmation includes the tag ID obtained from the tag attached to the product. It is not essential for the customer to operate the "confirm receipt" button. As described above, when the product arrives at the customer's hands, the EC application on the customer terminal 2 can receive a packet transmitted by the tag attached to the arrived product, and can obtain the tag ID contained in the packet. The EC application on the customer terminal 2 sends the obtained tag ID to the application server 6, and when the application server 6 receives the tag ID, the application server 6 can determine by referring to the product order database that the product has arrived at the customer's hands (i.e., the customer has received the product).

[0074] Upon receiving the receipt confirmation, the application server 6 transmits a rewrite request to the tag management server 5 (step S20). In response to this rewrite request, the tag management server 5 sets the status flag of the tag information to be rewritten in step S10 in the tag database to "0" (confirmed) (step S22). That is, when the customer terminal 2 acquires a tag ID from the tag of a product, the tag management server 5 associates the customer's membership code (an example of information about the product acquirer) with the tag ID. This allows the customer who placed the order to be officially registered as the product acquirer of the delivered product.

[0075] FIG. 10 is a sequence chart showing the process involved in returning a product to an EC business operator. 10, for example, if a customer is not satisfied with an ordered product that has arrived and wishes to return it, the customer performs a return request operation on the EC application (step S30). In this operation, for example, a dry cleaning shop to which the product will be returned can be specified. In response to the customer's operation, the EC application on the customer terminal 2 transmits a return request including the product code of the product to be returned, the tag ID, the membership code corresponding to the specified dry cleaning shop, etc. to the application server 6 (step S32).

[0076] When the application server 6 accepts the return request, it sends a rewrite request to the tag management server 5 (step S33). The tag management server 5 rewrites the value of the "product acquirer" field of the tag information corresponding to the tag ID in the tag database to the membership code corresponding to the dry cleaners included in the return request, and sets the status flag of the tag information to "1" (preparing) (step S34).

[0077] Next, the application server 6 transmits a return request notification to the EC business terminal 3 to make the EC business aware of the return request (step S34). The return request notification includes the membership code of the customer who made the return request, the product code of the item to be returned included in the return request in step S32, the tag ID, and the membership code corresponding to the dry cleaning store. Furthermore, the application server 6 sends a return notification to the EC application of the dry cleaning shop included in the return request (step S35). The return notification includes, as information related to the return, the customer's membership code, the product code of the product to be returned, the tag ID, etc. By receiving this return notification, the dry cleaning shop can recognize that a product is being returned by a specific customer.

[0078] Thereafter, when the customer brings the product to the dry cleaner, the EC application of the dry cleaner terminal 4 receives the packet transmitted by the tag attached to the product brought in by the customer and obtains the tag ID contained in the packet. When the dry cleaner staff operates the "acknowledge receipt" button contained in the return information notification received in step S35 on the EC application of the dry cleaner terminal 4, an acknowledgement of receipt is sent to the application server 6 (step S36). This acknowledgement of receipt includes the tag ID obtained from the tag. It is not essential that the dry cleaner's staff operates the "confirm receipt" button. As described above, when the product arrives at the dry cleaner's, the EC application on the dry cleaner's terminal 4 can receive a packet transmitted by the tag attached to the returned product and obtain the tag ID contained in the packet. The EC application on the dry cleaner's terminal 4 sends the obtained tag ID to the application server 6, and when the application server 6 receives the tag ID, the application server 6 can determine by referring to the product order database and the return request that the product to be returned has arrived at the dry cleaner's (i.e., the dry cleaner has received the product to be returned).

[0079] The application server 6 may control so that the dry cleaning shop terminal 4 of the dry cleaning shop with the membership code included in the return request can communicate with the tag. For example, the return information notification in step S35 sends a decryption key for decrypting packets sent from the tag to the EC application of the dry cleaning shop terminal 4, so that only the EC application of the dry cleaning shop specified by the return request can obtain the tag ID. This prevents a third party not expected in the distribution process where the product is returned to the EC business from obtaining the tag ID.

[0080] When the application server 6 receives the receipt confirmation in step S36, it sends a rewrite request to the tag management server 5 (step S37). In response to this rewrite request, the tag management server 5 sets the status flag of the tag information to be rewritten in step S34 in the tag database to "0" (confirmed) (step S38). In other words, when the dry cleaning store terminal 4 acquires a tag ID from a tag attached to an item, the tag management server 5 can associate the dry cleaning store's membership code with the tag ID.

[0081] When the dry cleaning shop is ready to ship the returned item to the EC business, the dry cleaning shop performs an operation on the EC application to notify the EC business of the shipping. In response to this operation, the EC application of the dry cleaning shop terminal 4 sends a shipping notification request to the application server 6, requesting that a shipping notification be sent to the EC business terminal 3 (step S40). The shipping notification request includes a membership code corresponding to the EC business. When the application server 6 receives the shipping information request, it transmits a rewrite request to the tag management server 5 (Step S41). The tag management server 5 rewrites the value of the "product acquirer" field of the tag information corresponding to the tag ID in the tag database to the membership code corresponding to the EC business included in the shipping information request, and sets the status flag of the tag information to "1" (preparing) (Step S42). Next, the application server 6 transmits a shipping notification to the EC business operator terminal 3 (step S43).

[0082] The dry cleaner then ships the items to the e-commerce business, which receives them. For example, when a person in charge at the EC business's warehouse receives a returned product, the EC application of the EC business terminal 3 receives a packet transmitted by the tag attached to the returned product and acquires the tag ID contained in the packet. When the person in charge at the EC business operates the "acknowledge receipt" button contained in the shipping notification received in step S43 on the EC application of the EC business terminal 3, an acknowledgement of receipt is sent to the application server 6 (step S44). This acknowledgement of receipt includes the tag ID acquired from the tag. It is not essential that the EC business operator's staff operates the "Confirm Receipt" button. As described above, when the product arrives at the EC business operator's warehouse or the like, the EC application of the EC business operator terminal 3 can receive a packet transmitted by the tag attached to the returned product and obtain the tag ID contained in the packet. The EC application of the EC business operator terminal 3 transmits the obtained tag ID to the application server 6, and when the application server 6 receives the tag ID, the application server 6 can determine by referring to the product order database and the return request that the product to be returned has arrived at the EC business operator (i.e., the EC business operator has received the product to be returned).

[0083] Upon receiving the receipt confirmation, the application server 6 performs a return confirmation process (step S45). The return confirmation process is a process for confirming whether or not the correct individual product has been returned by the customer. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the tag ID included in the confirmation process of step S44 (i.e., the tag ID received by the EC business terminal 3 from the tag attached to the returned product) matches the tag ID corresponding to the product code included in the return request. If they match, it can be determined that the correct individual product has been returned.

[0084] Next, the application server 6 transmits a rewrite request to the tag management server 5 (step S46). In response to this rewrite request, the tag management server 5 sets the status flag of the tag information to be rewritten in step S42 in the tag database to "0" (fixed) (step S48). As described above, the application server 6 receives the tag ID from the EC application on the customer terminal 2 when the customer receives the product, receives the tag ID from the EC application on the dry cleaner terminal 4 when the dry cleaner receives the product, and receives the tag ID from the EC application on the EC business terminal 3 when the EC business receives the product. In other words, by the application server 6 receiving the tag ID from each terminal, the customer, the dry cleaner, and the EC business can recognize the actual location of the product for each terminal when they each receive the product. Furthermore, by receiving a "receipt confirmation" notification from each terminal, the application server 6 can reliably determine that each product acquirer (customer, dry cleaner, EC business, etc.) has received the product.

[0085] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the timing of rewriting tag information from when a product is ordered by a customer until the product is returned. 11, events E1 to E6 indicate events that trigger rewriting of tag information, and for example, event E1 corresponds to the timing of receiving an order for a product at the EC business terminal 3, event E2 corresponds to the timing of receiving the product at the customer terminal 2, event E3 corresponds to the timing of returning the product at the customer terminal 2, event E4 corresponds to the timing of receiving the product at the dry cleaner's terminal 4, event E5 corresponds to the timing of shipping the product at the dry cleaner's terminal 4, and event 6E corresponds to the timing of receiving the product at the EC business terminal 3. FIG. 11 shows states ST1 to ST6 of tag information managed by the tag management server 5. States ST1 to ST6 represent the state of tag information that changes according to the corresponding events E1 to E6, and the lower column indicates the product acquirer of the product, and the upper column indicates whether the product acquirer has been confirmed or not. In Figure 11, the membership code of the EC business that accepted the product order from the customer and shipped the product to the customer is "EC1," the membership code of the customer who placed the product order is "CS100," and the membership code of the dry cleaning shop that receives the returned product from the customer is "CL05."

[0086] As shown in Fig. 11, when a product is transferred between three parties, an EC business operator, a customer, and a dry cleaner, a party among the three parties, an EC business operator, a customer, and a dry cleaner, who has the product in hand, is recorded in the tag database as a confirmed product acquirer, based on the acquisition of the tag ID of the tag attached to the product by each terminal. Also, a party among the three parties, an EC business operator, a customer, and a dry cleaner, who is planning to acquire the product, is recorded in the tag database as a product acquirer in preparation. Therefore, in one embodiment, the application server 6 can refer to the tag database of the tag management server 6 to identify the product acquirer who is responsible for managing the product when the product is transferred between multiple parties.

[0087] As shown in Fig. 11, the product acquirer switches between the EC business, the dry cleaner, and the customer in sequence. For example, in a situation where a product is transferred from the EC business to a customer, the EC business is an example of the first product acquirer, and the customer is an example of the second product acquirer. In a situation where a product is returned from the dry cleaner to the EC business, the dry cleaner is an example of the first product acquirer, and the EC business is an example of the second product acquirer.

[0088] Since the tag management server 5 can grasp the product acquirer, in one embodiment, it becomes possible to provide the product acquirer with product content as information related to the product. FIG. 12 is a sequence chart showing a process for providing product contents to a customer who is a product acquirer.

[0089] For example, when a product acquired by a customer through purchase is located near the customer terminal 2, the EC application of the customer terminal 2 acquires the tag ID from a packet transmitted by the tag attached to the product, and transmits an information request including the tag ID to the application server 6 (step S50). The information request requests information about the target product from the application server 6, and may be transmitted when the customer performs a predetermined operation on the EC application, or may be transmitted automatically each time a tag ID is acquired.

[0090] When the application server 6 receives the information provision request, it sends an inquiry as to whether the sending customer is a product acquirer to the tag management server 5 (step S52). In response to this inquiry, the tag management server 5 checks the combination of the membership code and tag ID included in the inquiry against the tag database (step S54) and returns the check result to the application server 6 (step S56). If the collation result is OK (step S58: YES), the application server 6 refers to the product database (FIG. 4), reads out product content corresponding to the tag ID included in the information provision request (step S60), and transmits it to the EC application of the requesting customer terminal 2 (step S62). The EC application of the customer terminal 2 receives and displays the product content (step S64).

[0091] As described above, in the EC sales system 1 of one embodiment, product acquirers are managed by the tag management server 5, and by associating provided information such as product content with the tag ID and product code, the product acquirer, such as a purchaser of the product, can be continuously provided with, for example, product-related information even after purchasing the product. Furthermore, in the above-mentioned EC sales system 1, a customer can be associated with one or more products (for example, in the case of apparel, a group of products such as skirts and jackets), and it is also possible to deliver effective content etc. to each customer according to the product acquisition status.

[0092] In addition, the above-mentioned EC sales system 1 has been described assuming that the products are apparel products such as clothing, but the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to other types of products (for example, cosmetics, daily necessities, food, furniture, home appliances, office equipment, outdoor equipment, etc.) In addition, the present invention can be applied to online product rental services (for example, clothing subscriptions, etc.). Although a dry cleaning shop is given as an example of an intermediary when a customer returns a product, this is not limited to this and other intermediaries such as a transport company can also be used. In the EC sales system 1, since the types of products handled are not limited, a customer may be associated with products in a plurality of different fields. In this case, it is also possible to provide effective content according to the customer's product acquisition status.

[0093] For example, if a person other than the product acquirer is near the product acquirer, the EC application of the customer terminal 2 of the person other than the product acquirer may acquire a tag ID from a tag attached to the product of the product acquirer and transmit an information provision request to the application server 6. In this case, since the tag ID and the member code of the person other than the product acquirer are not recorded in the tag database in a corresponding state, a matching error occurs in step S58 of FIG. 12, and the product content is not provided to the EC application of the person other than the product acquirer. Therefore, a mechanism can be established in which only the product acquirer receives the product content. Also, for example, if a matching error continues after the product information notification, it may be determined that the product has not arrived at the legitimate product acquirer, and a notification of this may be sent to the EC business operator terminal.

[0094] As described above, in the EC sales system 1, for example, when a product acquirer is transferred (for example, when a product is returned and the product acquirer is transferred in this order from the customer to the dry cleaner and then to the EC business), information about the product acquirer (membership code) is recorded in the tag database in association with the tag ID each time the product acquirer is transferred. When each person acquires a product and their terminal thereby acquires the tag ID of the tag attached to the product, the information about the product acquirer in the tag database is switched, eliminating the need for each person to carry out any complicated procedures. In addition, since product acquirers are managed in a centralized manner in the tag database, the application server can always keep track of current product acquirers and can provide appropriate information on product contents and the like to the product acquirers.

[0095] In one embodiment, the tag database may associate information about past acquirers of a product (i.e., membership code) with the tag ID of the tag attached to the product. That is, the tag information may include not only the current acquirer of the product but also past acquirers of the product. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 11, the membership codes are recorded in the "Product acquirer" field of the tag database in the order of EC1, CS100, CL01, EC1, etc. In this way, the history of product acquirers can be grasped when product acquirers change from one stage to another due to the distribution stage of the product or the transfer of the product. The application server 6 grasps the current acquirer of the product and the acquisition status of the product, and the past acquirers of the product and the acquisition status of the product, and therefore can effectively provide content. For example, content about another product acquired by a past acquirer of the product can be provided to the current acquirer of the product.

[0096] In the EC sales system 1 of one embodiment, when a customer returns a product, there is no need to go through the conventional cumbersome tasks of filling out a return slip, packaging the product, and shipping it to the EC business by courier or the like. This also saves the EC business the labor required to receive the returned product. This improves convenience for both the customer and the EC business when the customer returns the product. As the convenience of returning products purchased online will be improved, customers will be able to order without fear of returning items, which will contribute to the spread of online sales.

[0097] Although the embodiments of the information processing terminal, the information processing system, the information processing method, and the program have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments. Furthermore, the above-mentioned embodiments can be variously improved or modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0098] For example, we have described a case where an environmentally-harvesting IoT tag that obtains energy from radio waves in the surrounding environment is applied as a wireless tag. Unlike conventional passive tags, IoT tags have the advantage that they are powered by radio waves present in the surrounding environment and do not require a reader / writer to be fixed nearby at all times for power supply, but they do not have to be applied. A device combining an active RFID tag with a built-in battery (active tag) or a passive RFID tag without a built-in battery (passive tag) with a sensor may be applied as a wireless tag. In that case, a reader / writer is installed in, for example, a user's home, a dry cleaning shop, an EC business's warehouse, etc., and the reader / writer reads the tag ID and sensor data stored in the RFID tag and notifies the application server 6.

[0099] A BLE tag may also be used as a wireless tag. A BLE tag performs BLE communication in the same way as the above IoT tag, but differs from an IoT tag in that it has a built-in battery. A sensor can also be built into a BLE tag. As with an IoT tag, a BLE tag can broadcast radio waves including a tag ID, and each terminal can receive the radio waves and perform the above-mentioned processing.

[0100] Managing the tag ID of the tag attached to the product and the product acquirer in the tag management server is independent of the type of the product and the sales method, whether the product is transferred through EC sales or not, and is not limited to a specific product or transfer method. Even if a tag is attached to a product sold in a store, it is possible to associate the purchaser of the product with the tag ID as the product acquirer by communication between the purchaser's terminal and the tag.

[0101] In the above-described embodiment, an EC application may be configured so that some of the functions of the tag management server 5 and the application server 6 are realized by the customer terminal 2, the dry cleaning shop terminal 4, or the EC business terminal 3. In other words, some of the functions of the tag management server 5 and the application server 6 can also be realized as native applications. Furthermore, some of the functions of the tag management server 5 may be realized by the application server 6, or some of the functions of the application server 6 may be realized by the tag management server. [Explanation of symbols]

[0102] 1. E-commerce sales system T…IoT tag 11...Control section 111…Memory 12…Antenna 13…Harvesting section 131…Energy Storage 14...Voltage control section 15...RF transceiver 2. Customer terminal 21...Control unit 22…Storage 23...Operation input section 24…Display section 25…1st Communications Department 26…Second Communications Department 3. E-commerce business terminal 4…Dry cleaning shop terminal 5…Tag management server 51...Control unit 52…Storage 53…Communications Department 6. Application server 61...Control unit 62…Storage 63…Communications Department 6. Web server NW…Network

Claims

1. a product provider terminal possessed by a product provider who provides a product having a wireless tag attached thereto; a product acquirer terminal held by a product acquirer who acquires the product; an information processing device capable of communicating with the product provider terminal and the product acquirer terminal; an intermediary terminal held by an intermediary who mediates the return of the product from the product acquirer to the product provider; An information processing system comprising: The information processing device includes: a storage unit that stores information about the product and identification information of a wireless tag attached to the product in association with each other; a control unit that determines whether or not the product has been returned by the product acquirer based on a product return request to the product provider obtained from the product acquirer terminal and identification information of a wireless tag corresponding to the product that is the subject of the return request obtained from the product provider terminal, The control unit is If the return request for the product includes information about the intermediary, the intermediary terminal is controlled so as to be able to communicate with the wireless tag. Information processing system.

2. The control unit is when the product acquirer terminal acquires identification information of a wireless tag attached to the product, the product acquirer terminal associates information about the product acquirer with the identification information of the wireless tag; 2. An information processing system according to claim 1.

3. The control unit is when acquiring, from the intermediary terminal, identification information of a wireless tag corresponding to the product that is the subject of the product return request, information about the intermediary and the identification information of the wireless tag are associated with each other; 2. An information processing system according to claim 1.

4. The product acquirer includes a person who purchases the product from the product provider through electronic commerce. The information processing system according to claim 1 .

5. The wireless tag is a tag that operates by obtaining energy from radio waves of one or more specific frequencies present in the surrounding area. The information processing system according to claim 1 .

6. An information processing device capable of communicating with a product provider terminal possessed by a product provider who provides a product having a wireless tag attached thereto, a product acquirer terminal possessed by a product acquirer who acquires the product, and an intermediary terminal possessed by an intermediary who mediates returns from the product acquirer to the product provider, a storage unit that stores information about the product and identification information of a wireless tag attached to the product in association with each other; a control unit that determines whether or not the product has been returned by the product acquirer based on a product return request to the product provider obtained from the product acquirer terminal and identification information of a wireless tag corresponding to the product that is the subject of the return request obtained from the product provider terminal, The control unit is If the return request for the product includes information about the intermediary, the intermediary terminal is controlled so as to be able to communicate with the wireless tag. Information processing device.

7. a product provider terminal possessed by a product provider who provides a product having a wireless tag attached thereto; a product acquirer terminal held by a product acquirer who acquires the product; an information processing device capable of communicating with the product provider terminal and the product acquirer terminal; and an intermediary terminal owned by an intermediary who mediates the return of the product from the product acquirer to the product provider, The information processing device includes: a storage unit that stores information about the product and identification information of a wireless tag attached to the product in association with each other; The information processing method includes: The product acquirer terminal provides a return request including information about the product to be returned to the information processing device; the product provider terminal provides the information processing device with identification information of a wireless tag corresponding to the product that is the subject of the return request; the information processing device determines whether the product has been returned by the product acquirer based on the return request acquired from the product acquirer terminal and the identification information of the wireless tag acquired from the product provider terminal; the information processing device controls the intermediary terminal to be able to communicate with the wireless tag when the product return request includes information about the intermediary; Information processing methods.

8. A program for causing a computer to execute a predetermined method in an information processing device capable of communicating with a product provider terminal possessed by a product provider who provides a product having a wireless tag attached thereto, a product acquirer terminal possessed by a product acquirer who acquires the product, and an intermediary terminal possessed by an intermediary who mediates returns from the product acquirer to the product provider, the program comprising: the information processing device has a storage unit that stores information about the product and identification information of a wireless tag attached to the product in association with each other; The method comprises: A return request including information about the product to be returned is obtained from the product acquirer terminal; acquiring, from the product provider terminal, identification information of a wireless tag corresponding to the product that is the subject of the return request; determining whether the product has been returned by the product acquirer based on the return request acquired from the product acquirer terminal and the identification information of the wireless tag acquired from the product provider terminal; and controlling the intermediary terminal so as to be able to communicate with the wireless tag when the product return request includes information about the intermediary. program.

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