Method for managing information in a distributed ledger

Abstract

A method for managing information in a distributed ledger, wherein said distributed ledger is implemented by means of a computer network of a plurality of nodes placed in data communication; said method comprising at least the following operational steps: generation, by a first node of said plurality of nodes in said network, of a command signal to request and / or modify and / or generate at least one piece of information in said distributed ledger; sending of said command signal to at least one second node of said plurality of nodes of said network; receiving and processing, from said second node, said command signal to generate an incentive signal associated with said information; sending of said incentive signal together with at least one unique code, suited to identify said information, from said second node to said first node; processing of said incentive signal and said unique code by said first node to generate an incentive function to be sent to said second node; sending of said information corresponding to said incentive function to said first node; generation of an archive at a third node containing at least said information and said incentive function associated with said information; request for validation of said archive of said third node to said first and / or said second node by sharing said unique code and / or an additional identification code.

Description

METHOD FOR MANAGING INFORMATION IN A DISTRIBUTED LEDGERDESCRIPTIONField of application of the invention

[0001] This invention relates to a method for managing information in a distributed ledger and is particularly suited to the technical field of producing and / or programming electronic and computer databases and / or ledgers of data and distributed and / or shared information.

[0002] The invention in question concerns the generation of information and its storage in a shared ledger otherwise known as a distributed ledger, known in technical jargon as blockchain.

[0003] Therefore, this invention finds advantageous use in the technical field of computer science and computational electronics.State of the art

[0004] Today, many electronic and computer devices are known that can store information.

[0005] One of the most widely used systems is that of distributed ledgers. A distributed ledger is a database that is shared and synchronised consensually between several nodes, where the nodes may be sites, institutions or geographical areas. In this way, the ledger can be accessed by several persons to carry out one or more transactions.

[0006] In this way, a distributed ledger allows each transaction to have public “witnesses”. The participant at each node in the network may access the recordings shared in that network and may possess an identical copy of them.

[0007] Any changes and / or additions made to the ledger are reflected and / or copied for all nodes within seconds or minutes.

[0008] The same technology used by blockchain, which is the technology used by bitcoin, underlies distributed ledgers. Blockchain is a type of distributed ledger used by bitcoin.

[0009] As is well known, centralised ledgers are more frequently subject to cyber attacks, whereas distributed ledgers are inherently more difficult to attack because all distributed copies must be attacked simultaneously for an attack to be successful.

[0010] Moreover, these ledgers are resistant to malicious modification by a single individual. Distributed ledgers are increasingly used because they are difficult tomanipulate and attack.

[0011] The term “blockchain” refers to a particular type of distributed ledger, in which the transaction data are collected in blocks linked according to a time sequence and these are entered into the ledger. In this way, the information stored, once entered into the ledger and validated, is unalterable because each new transaction is inextricably linked to the history of the previous transactions: any manipulation of data would therefore be immediately highlighted.

[0012] A drawback of methods for managing data and information on shared ledgers is that it is always complex to prevent one or more nodes from accessing certain information.

[0013] It is actually often impossible in blockchain structures to prevent some nodes from obtaining certain information present in other nodes of the same network, unless the entire node is obscured.

[0014] Another technical problem that has not yet been resolved is the lack of guarantee of the right to ownership and economic recognition of the use of the information contained in the distributed ledger.

[0015] In fact, the inability to recognise ownership of the information does not incentivise information sharing and thus prevents the growth of the distributed ledger.The patent CN 109544158 describes a distributed ledger for managing digital information, which, however, has all the drawbacks described above.Description of the invention

[0016] The purpose of this invention is to provide a method for managing information in a distributed ledger.

[0017] In particular, the main purpose of this invention is to provide a method for managing information in a distributed ledger that has an alternative and / or improved character compared to the prior art methods.

[0018] Another purpose of this invention is to provide a method for managing information in a distributed ledger that is totally secure and reliable.

[0019] Another purpose of this invention is to provide a method for managing information in a distributed ledger that can be easily implemented, in particular by electronic computers.

[0020] Another purpose of this invention is to provide a method for managing information in a distributed ledger that can be used to store any type of information.

[0021] Another purpose of this invention is to provide a method for managing information in a distributed ledger that allows access to certain information to be prevented in a selective and controlled manner.

[0022] Another purpose of this invention is to provide a method for managing information in a distributed ledger to encourage information sharing.

[0023] Another purpose of this invention is to provide a method for managing information in a distributed ledger that is advantageously applicable for managing information concerning the climate control of buildings.

[0024] These purposes, together with others that will be better clarified below, are achieved with a method for managing information in a distributed ledger of the type in accordance with claim 1.

[0025] Other purposes that will be better described below are achieved with a method for the production and recycling of textile articles in accordance with the dependent claims.Detailed description of the invention

[0026] This invention relates to a method for managing information in a distributed ledger, according to the preamble to the main independent claim no. 1.

[0027] This method will mainly be used to store and manage information in a secure and reliable manner.

[0028] Advantageously, this method makes it possible to manage information by restricting access to certain information by certain nodes in the network, as will become clear from the following description.

[0029] Thus, the method that this invention concerns may find advantageous use in any technical sector that requires the secure and reliable presence and management of data and information and, at the same time, to allow access to information in a controlled and / or meritocratic manner.

[0030] The method for managing information in a distributed ledger, which this invention concerns, involves the distributed ledger's being implemented via a computer network of a plurality of nodes placed in data communication.

[0031] The term distributed ledger (or shared ledger) refers to a network of replicated, shared and synchronised digital data that are spread (distributed) across many nodes.

[0032] The nodes of the distributed ledger network can be geographically very far apart.

[0033] Each node of the distributed ledger network may preferably comprise at least oneelectronic calculator, e.g. a computer, server or the like, equipped with at least one processing module, one memory module and one communication module.

[0034] The processing module preferably comprises at least one electronic processor or microprocessor, which is itself well known to the person skilled in the art and, therefore, not described in detail below.

[0035] The memory module preferably comprises at least one electronic memory, such as a hard disc or the like, in which at least one algorithm is installed.

[0036] The communication module may preferably comprise any data link device with at least one or more of the other nodes in the distributed ledger network. Communication may take place using any communication protocol known to the person skilled in the art.

[0037] For example, in accordance with a particular and non-limiting embodiment of this invention, the distributed ledger may comprise a network of peer-to-peer (P2P) connected computers.

[0038] For example, the memory modules of the nodes' electronic calculators may include consensus algorithms so that the ledger is reliably replicated on the other distributed nodes.

[0039] Each node preferably comprises a partial encrypted archive and, preferably but without imposing limitations, possesses a fraction of each piece of information.

[0040] For instance, the distributed ledger can be a blockchain that can be on a public or private network.

[0041] The method according to the invention comprises at least the following operational steps.

[0042] The method comprises a step a) of generating, by a first node of said plurality of nodes in said network, of a command signal to request and / or modify and / or generate at least one piece of information in said distributed ledger.

[0043] The distributed ledger is preferably an organised information database.

[0044] The term “information” is preferably to be understood as any sequence of elements of any nature and form that are dependent or independent of each other.

[0045] For example, the information may be a string or a vector or an array or a data record of any form.

[0046] The method also comprises a step b) of sending said command signal to at least a second node of said plurality of nodes of said network.

[0047] The method also comprises a step c) of receiving and processing, from saidsecond node, said command signal to generate an incentive signal associated with said information.

[0048] The term “incentive” is to be understood as at least a change in an index of activities performed.

[0049] The method also comprises a step d) of sending said incentive signal together with at least one unique code, designed to identify said information, from said second node to said first node.

[0050] The method also comprises a step e) of processing said incentive signal and said unique code by said first node to generate an incentive function to be sent to said second node.

[0051] The method also comprises a step f) of sending said information corresponding to said incentive function to said first node.

[0052] The method also comprises a step g) of generating an archive at a third node containing at least said information and said incentive function associated with said information.

[0053] The method also comprises a step h) of requesting validation of said archive of said third node to said first and / or said second node by sharing said unique code and / or an additional identification code.

[0054] The method according to the invention therefore makes it possible to create a distributed ledger of information that is accessible to everyone, which can also be applied in an industrial context, and which is able to encourage sharing for it to gradually grow.

[0055] Furthermore, the need to implement an incentive function to enable the exchange of information has the direct technical effect of selectively improving the ledger, while at the same time obtaining a guarantee on the authorship of the information and, if necessary, its economic exploitation.

[0056] Advantageously, each piece of information contained in said distributed ledger is copied in multiple copies of information.

[0057] Each said copy of information is preferably contained in a corresponding node of said plurality of nodes.

[0058] Each said copy of information is preferably associated with a corresponding said unique code.

[0059] In this way, the method according to the invention makes it possible to store information even if one or more nodes are switched off or deleted from the network.

[0060] Moreover, in this way, the method allows the information to be traced even if one or more nodes in the network are switched off or cannot be traced by the other nodes.

[0061] Advantageously, said step a) provides that said command signal is configured to search for a certain unique code associated with said information.

[0062] Advantageously, said step b) involves sending said command signal to said plurality of nodes to trace at least one of said copies of information in said corresponding plurality of nodes.

[0063] Said plurality of copies of information is preferably traced by identifying said unique codes associated with said copies of information.

[0064] Thus, through the above proposed implementation of step b), it is possible to easily trace the content of a piece of information by detecting a copy of it in the plurality of nodes. Furthermore, to further speed up the process and avoid confusing the information content detected during step b) - since such information content may be very similar even if it originates from different and unrelated actions - a search (i.e. identification) based on the unique codes can be performed to obtain this information.

[0065] Thus, by searching by unique code, it will be possible to easily find the required information since: this information was copied to a plurality of nodes (or to all nodes) in the network; the search is based on the unique code, thus making it independent of the content associated with the information and avoiding the occurrence of errors in the results of this search.

[0066] Advantageously, said second node, in said step c) generates a sequence of unique codes, preferably encrypted, designed to identify said information.

[0067] Advantageously, said step c) and said step d) are performed by a plurality of said nodes containing said copy of information.

[0068] Said first node preferably receives, at said step f) a plurality of copies of said information from said plurality of nodes.

[0069] Advantageously, said step h) provides that:- said third node requests to said plurality of nodes containing said information a unique validation code associated with said information;- said third node verifies the consistency between said unique validation codes and said unique codes associated with said information requested by said first node.

[0070] Advantageously, the method comprises a step i) of generating, by said third node,of an incentive function according to the presence of said information in said first node.

[0071] Advantageously, the method comprises a step j) of sharing said archive of said third node with said plurality of nodes of said network of said distributed ledger.

[0072] Advantageously, the information can be divided into two or more portions and preferably into a plurality of information portions.

[0073] Each piece of information is preferably associated with a different node in the distributed ledger network.

[0074] This provision makes it possible to guarantee the secrecy of the information, since any compromise or unauthorised access to an individual node does not allow all the information to be read, but only a portion of it.

[0075] In this situation, to request and trace the complete information, it is necessary for the first node to query a plurality of different second nodes to trace the unique code that identifies the requested information portion.

[0076] In accordance with a non-limiting embodiment of this invention, the first node, also referred to as “node A” below, searches for specific information within the network of distributed ledger nodes.

[0077] Node A finds the information within second nodes, also referred to hereafter as “nodes B, C, D”, by intercepting a unique and / or identification code.

[0078] The first node A requests this information, also referred to as “inf(B)” below, from the second node B, where the information is (as mentioned above) identified by a unique code that defines the nature and / or ownership and / or origin of the information.

[0079] The second node B communicates to the first node A the value of the incentive requested (hereafter also “inc(B)”) for the transfer of information.

[0080] In addition, the second node B creates a sequence of unique encrypted codes (preferably asymmetric and identifying) that it transmits to the first node A.

[0081] The first node A through the transmitted unique codes generates a signal with the function of transferring the requested incentive inc(B).

[0082] Following receipt of the requested incentive, the second node B transmits the requested information inf(B) to the first node A.

[0083] Advantageously, with the same steps described above, the first node A can acquire information from any second node B, C, D, (inf(B), inf(C), inf(D)) identified by unique codes in their ownership and value.

[0084] In this case, the first node A transfers the information of the index change of thesecond nodes B, C, D..., defined by the requested incentives not yet validated, to the second nodes B, C, D....

[0085] The first node A composes its own information (hereafter “inf(A)”) obtained from the secondary information nodes according to the formula inf(A)=(inf(B)+inf(C)+inf(D)...) and this information of the first node A is identified with a corresponding unique code, which is also an expression consistent with the one used to define the information, e.g. with the formula A=(B+C+D+..).

[0086] The first node A transmits to a third node K (preferably available and / or active in the network) to create an archive (or part of an archive), wherein the archive is configured to contain the information of the first node inf(A) and the incentive request to the second nodes B, C, D, etc., i.e. inc(B), inc(C), inc(D), etc.

[0087] The third node K requests verification information and (preferably) an index of the activity performed from all of the aforementioned first and second nodes, via the unique identification code for operation A.

[0088] The third node K verifies the consistency between the unique codes identified by B, C, D... and their composition A.

[0089] The third node K then generates an incentive function inc=inc(A)+inc(K)+inc(B)+... configured to be associated with the information requested and obtained from the first node A inf(A). The aforementioned incentive function is then shared between the third node K (e.g. for management costs), the first node A (e.g. for information creation) and the second nodes B, C, D... (e.g. for information transfer).

[0090] Putting the incentive construction in terms of an equation, in accordance with the example described here, we obtain: inc(A) = inc-(inc(K)+inc(B)+...) inc(K) = inc-(inc(A)+inc(B)+...) inc(B) = inc(entive)-(inc(A)+inc(K)+...), etc.

[0091] The third node Kthen generates an archive with the information requested by the first node A and the index change information of all the nodes A, B, C, D, etc.

[0092] The information of the first node A and the creation and / or distribution of incentives are validated, in particular by updating the indices.

[0093] Finally, the third node K shares the new archive with the entire network, becoming public.

[0094] In other words, prior to step a) of this method, the network of nodes of thedistributed ledger comprises a number “n” of linked and distributed archives containing information from nodes B, C, D... identified by a unique code identifying the nature, ownership, origin and index of each piece of information.

[0095] In contrast, following step j) of the method according to the invention, the network of distributed ledger nodes comprises a number “n+1” of archives that also contain the information acquired by the first node A, where the information is identified by a unique code that identifies the ownership of the information. The new archive contains the information of nodes B, C, D, etc. and their unique codes, together with the updated activity indices of all nodes A, B, C, D, etc.

[0096] Another purpose of this invention is to provide an apparatus for managing information in a distributed ledger, operating with a method of the type described above.

[0097] All features described with reference to the method for managing information in a distributed ledger are to be understood as being described, taken alone or in any combination thereof, including with reference to the apparatus for managing information in a distributed ledger.

[0098] The method (and / or apparatus) for managing information in a distributed ledger can advantageously be used to record and / or manage the behaviour of a building's climate control system.

[0099] For example, normally, during the period of a reference season (e.g. 6-12 months), in order to identify an energy optimisation for a given building, it is necessary to store and manage information to identify an association between external variables and the behaviour of the building equipped with climate control systems.

[0100] In this way, an optimised relationship can be created between the need for climate control and the opposing need for energy savings, resulting in an ideal energy budget.

[0101] According to the invention, the method described above allows information concerning the geometry of a building (or a group of buildings) and, at the same time, energy-related information and / or other quantities related to its climate control to be stored within nodes.

[0102] In this way, the shared ledger makes it possible to create an archive of information to define a correlation between ideal thermal and / or energy behaviour and the geometric characteristics of the building itself.

[0103] In other words, the data collected in a building or group of buildings after ameasurement period (particularly during a reference season) are stored within the network of nodes defining the distributed ledger of the method or apparatus according to the invention.

[0104] Advantageously, the data can be transmitted - applying the method of the invention - to a node that requests it and is eligible to receive it, in order to understand a priori which energy characteristics are most suitable for another building with certain geometric characteristics.

[0105] Thus, the existence of an incentive-based distributed ledger allows a node (and thus a user) to understand which is the optimal climate control system for a building that has never been checked before, simply by providing the distributed ledger with the geometric information of the building itself and asking in response for information on the optimal system to be installed.

[0106] In this situation, the plant optimisation step would be reduced from 6-12 months to the time needed to interrogate the shared ledger according to the invention, with an improvement in management during the energy transition step in terms of time and economy.

[0107] This invention can be produced in other variants all falling within the scope of the inventive features claimed and described; these technical features can be replaced with different technically equivalent elements and the materials used; the invention can be of any shape or dimension as long as they are compatible with its use.

[0108] The numbers and reference marks included in the claims and description are only intended to increase the clarity of the text and must not be considered as limiting the technical interpretation of the objects or processes identified by them.

Claims

CLAIMS1. Method for managing information in a distributed ledger, wherein said distributed ledger is implemented by means of a computer network comprising a plurality of nodes placed in data communication; this method comprising at least the following operational steps: a) generation, by a first node of said plurality of nodes in said network, of a command signal to request and / or modify and / or generate at least one piece of information in said distributed ledger; b) sending of said command signal to at least a second node of said plurality of nodes of said network; c) receiving and processing, from said second node, said command signal to generate an incentive signal associated with said information; d) sending of said incentive signal together with at least one unique code, suited to identify said information, from said second node to said first node; e) processing of said incentive signal and said unique code by said first node to generate an incentive function to be sent to said second node; f) sending of said information corresponding to said incentive function to said first node; g) generation of an archive in correspondence of a third node containing at least said information and said incentive function associated with said information; h) request for validation of said archive of said third node to said first and / or said second node by sharing said unique code and / or an additional identification code.

2. Method for managing information in a distributed ledger according to claim 1 , characterized in that each piece of information contained in said distributed ledger is copied into a plurality of copies of information; each said copy of information is contained in a corresponding said node of said plurality of nodes; each said copy of information is associated with a corresponding said unique code.

3. Method for managing information in a distributed ledger according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said step a) provides that said command signal is configured to search for a determined unique code associated with said information.

4. Method for managing information in a distributed ledger according to oneor more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said step b) provides for sending said command signal to said plurality of nodes to trace at least one of said copies of information in said corresponding plurality of nodes; said plurality of copies of information being traced by identifying said unique codes associated with said copies of information.

5. Method for managing information in a distributed ledger according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said second node, in said step c) generates a sequence of unique codes, preferably encrypted, suited to identify said information.

6. Method for managing information in a distributed ledger according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said step c) and said step d) are performed by a plurality of said nodes containing a said copy of information; said first node receiving, in said step f) a plurality of copies of said information from said plurality of nodes.

7. Method for managing information in a distributed ledger according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said step h) provides that:- said third node requests to said plurality of nodes containing said information a unique validation code associated with said information;- said third node verifies the consistency between said unique validation codes and said unique codes associated with said information requested by said first node.

8. Method for managing information in a distributed ledger according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a step of: i) generating, by said third node, of an incentive function according to the presence of said information in said first node.

9. Method for managing information in a distributed ledger according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a step of: j) sharing of said archive of said third node with said plurality of nodes of said network of said distributed ledger.

10. Apparatus for managing information in a distributed ledger, operating by a method according to one or more of the preceding claims.