Management device, management method, and computer program

Abstract

A management device 100 comprises: a sales item database that stores, as information on sales items, information on removed items—from among removed items including building materials, equipment, devices, or furniture that are removed from a building when demolished or remodeled, or components constituting at least one of the above—that are reused, resources recycled from the removed items, building materials, equipment, devices, or furniture manufactured using the resources recycled from the removed items, or components constituting at least one of the above; a sales item search unit that obtains a purchase condition from a purchaser desiring to purchase a sales item, and that searches the sales item database for a sales item matching the obtained condition; and a search result presentation unit that presents a result of the search by the sales item search unit.

Description

Management device, management method, and computer program

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a management device, a management method, and a computer program for managing building materials and the like.

[0002] As a measure against environmental problems such as global warming, systems for recycling resources have been established. For example, resources recycled from collected waste paper, PET bottles, cans, glass bottles, etc. are reused in products (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] Patent Publication No. 2010-184498

[0004] When building materials and equipment installed in buildings such as houses are demolished or renovated, the existing building materials and equipment are removed and discarded. A system is needed to promote the recycling of these removed materials.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in view of such problems, and its purpose is to provide a technique for promoting the recycling of building materials.

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, a management device according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a sales item database that stores information on removed items, including building materials, facilities, equipment, furniture, or parts that make up at least one of these, that are removed from a building when the building is demolished or renovated, and that are to be reused, resources recycled from the removed items, or building materials, facilities, equipment, furniture, or parts that make up at least one of these that are manufactured using resources recycled from the removed items; a sales item search unit that acquires purchase conditions from a purchaser who wishes to purchase the sales items and searches the sales item database for items that match the acquired conditions; and a search result presentation unit that presents the search results from the sales item search unit to the purchaser.

[0007] Another aspect of the present disclosure is a management method that causes a computer to execute the steps of searching for items for sale that meet purchase conditions obtained from a purchaser who wishes to purchase the items from a sales item database that stores, as information on the items for sale, information on removed items including building materials, facilities, equipment, furniture, or parts constituting at least one of them that are removed from a building when the building is demolished or renovated, to be reused, resources recycled from the removed items, or building materials, facilities, equipment, furniture, or parts constituting at least one of them that are manufactured using resources recycled from the removed items, and presenting the search results to the purchaser.

[0008] Another aspect of the management device of the present disclosure includes a value acquisition unit that acquires the calculation results of the value of removed items, including building materials, facilities, equipment, furniture, or parts that make up at least one of these, that are removed from a building when the building is demolished or renovated, and a processing execution unit that executes processing to grant a reward based on the value of the removed items acquired by the value acquisition unit to a person that sent information for calculating the value of the removed items to the management device, or to the owner of the building or the removed items.

[0009] Another aspect of the management method of the present disclosure has a computer perform the steps of obtaining calculation results of the value of removed items, including building materials, facilities, equipment, furniture, or parts that make up at least one of these, that are removed from a building when the building is demolished or renovated, and performing processing to grant a reward based on the obtained value of the removed items to a person that sent information for calculating the value of the removed items to the management device, or to the owner of the building or the removed items.

[0010] Another aspect of the management device of the present disclosure includes an inventory database that stores inventory information of building materials, facilities, equipment, furniture, or parts that constitute at least one of these, installed in a building; a defective product information acquisition unit that acquires information about defective products that have developed problems from users of the building materials, facilities, equipment, furniture, or parts that constitute at least one of these; a replacement product search unit that searches the inventory database for a replacement product for the defective product; a replacement product provision unit that updates the inventory database when a replacement product is provided to the user from inventory if a replacement product is available in inventory; and an inventory registration unit that updates the inventory database when a repaired defective product is stockpiled in inventory.

[0011] Another aspect of the management method of the present disclosure has a computer perform the steps of obtaining information about a malfunctioning item from a user of building materials, facilities, equipment, furniture, or parts that make up at least one of these installed in a building; searching for a replacement for the malfunctioning item from an inventory database that stores inventory information about building materials, facilities, equipment, furniture, or parts that make up at least one of these; if a replacement item is available in inventory, updating the inventory database when the replacement item is provided to the user from inventory; and updating the inventory database when the repaired malfunctioning item is stockpiled in inventory.

[0012] Any combination of the above components, and conversion of the present disclosure into a method, device, system, recording medium, computer program, etc., are also valid aspects of the present disclosure.

[0013] While the present disclosure has been described in detail with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments and is not to be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure.

[0014] This paper describes a technology for promoting the recycling of building materials, equipment, devices, furniture, etc. (hereinafter collectively referred to as "building materials") that are removed from buildings such as houses when the buildings are demolished or renovated. In this embodiment, the recycling of building materials installed in openings of buildings, such as sashes (window frames) and doors, and parts such as crescent locks that make up sashes, is mainly described.

[0015] 1 shows the configuration of a management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The management system 1 includes an owner terminal 10, a dismantling contractor terminal 20, a remodeling contractor terminal 30, a collection contractor terminal 40, a recycling contractor terminal 50, a manufacturer terminal 60, a maintenance contractor terminal 70, a purchaser terminal 80, a seller terminal 85, a user terminal 90, a management device 100, and a communication network 9 connecting these components.

[0016] The owner terminal 10 is a terminal device used by the owner of a building. The demolition contractor terminal 20 is a terminal device used by a demolition contractor who demolishes all or part of a building. The renovation contractor terminal 30 is a terminal device used by a renovation contractor who renovates all or part of a building. The collection contractor terminal 40 is a terminal device used by a collection contractor who collects removed materials from a building during the demolition or renovation of the building. The recycling contractor terminal 50 is a terminal device used by a recycling contractor who recycles resources such as resin and metal contained in the removed materials. The manufacturer terminal 60 is a terminal device used by a manufacturer that produces building materials. The maintenance contractor terminal 70 is a terminal device used by a maintenance contractor that maintains the building materials. The purchaser terminal 80 is a terminal device used by a purchaser who purchases items for sale, such as building materials and parts reused from removed materials. The seller terminal 85 is a terminal device used by a seller who sells the items for sale. The user terminal 90 is a terminal device used by a user who uses the building materials.

[0017] 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the flow of recycling of building materials in a management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the following description, no particular distinction will be made between entities such as owners, demolition companies, renovation companies, collection companies, recycling companies, manufacturers, maintenance companies, purchasers, sellers, and users, and the terminal devices used by those entities. In other words, an operation described with an entity as the subject may be performed by a terminal device, and an operation described with a terminal device as the subject may be performed by an entity.

[0018] When part or all of the building 2 is demolished by the demolition contractor 21, the removed object 3 that is no longer needed is removed from the building 2. The demolition contractor terminal 20 transmits information for calculating the value of the removed object 3 removed from the building 2 to the management device 100. This information may include, for example, information such as the type, product number, size, weight, color, condition, usage period, whether or not it can be reused, the type, amount, and condition of resources such as resin and metal contained in the removed object 3, and an image of the removed object 3.

[0019] When a part or all of the building 2 is renovated by the renovation contractor 31, the removed object 3 that is no longer needed is removed from the building 2. The renovation contractor terminal 30 transmits information for calculating the value of the removed object 3 removed from the building 2 to the management device 100. This information may include, for example, information such as the type, product number, size, weight, color, condition, whether or not it can be reused, the type, amount, and condition of resources such as resin and metal contained in the removed object 3, and an image of the removed object 3.

[0020] The information for calculating the value of the removed item 3 may be sent from the owner terminal 10 by the owner 11 of the building 2 or the removed item 3 to the management device 100, or may be sent from the collection company terminal 40 by the collection company 41 that collected the removed item 3 to the management device 100, or may be sent to the management device 100 by the operator of the management system 1.

[0021] The management device 100 calculates the value of the removed object 3 based on information acquired from the demolition contractor terminal 20, the remodeling contractor terminal 30, the collection contractor terminal 40, the owner terminal 10, etc. The value of the removed object 3 may be calculated based on repair costs, storage costs, selling prices, etc. when the removed object 3 is reused as building materials. The value of the removed object 3 may be calculated based on disassembly costs, storage costs, selling prices, etc. when the removed object 3 is disassembled and reused as parts. The value of the removed object 3 may be calculated based on recycling costs, storage costs, selling prices, etc. when the removed object 3 is recycled and reused as resources such as resin and metal. The management device 100 may acquire the calculation results of the value of the removed object 3 from the demolition contractor terminal 20, the remodeling contractor terminal 30, the collection contractor terminal 40, a person in charge of the operator of the management system 1, etc.

[0022] When an image of the removed object 3 is acquired as information for calculating the value of the removed object 3, the management device 100 may acquire information such as the type, product number, size, weight, color, condition, usage period, whether or not it can be reused, and the type, amount, and condition of resources such as resin and metal contained therein based on the image of the removed object 3, and calculate the value of the removed object 3 based on the acquired information. The management device 100 may input the image of the removed object 3 and use a classifier that outputs information such as the type, product number, size, weight, color, condition, usage period, whether or not it can be reused, and the type, amount, and condition of resources such as resin and metal contained therein from the image of the removed object 3. This classifier may be trained by supervised learning using as training data pairs of an image of the removed object 3 and information such as the type, product number, size, weight, color, condition, usage period, reusability, and the type, quantity, and condition of resources such as resin and metal contained in the removed object 3. The management device 100 may acquire the value of the removed object 3 from the image of the removed object 3 using a value determiner that inputs the image of the removed object 3 and outputs the value of the removed object 3. This value determiner may be trained by supervised learning using as training data pairs of the image of the removed object 3 and the value of the removed object 3.

[0023] The management device 100 awards a reward according to the calculated value of the removed object 3 to the person who transmitted the information for calculating the value of the removed object 3 to the management device 100, or to the owner 11 of the building 2 or the removed object 3 (collectively referred to as the "beneficiary"). The management device 100 may award cash or points to the beneficiary and notify the beneficiary's terminal device (such as the owner terminal 10). The management device 100 may notify the demolition contractor terminal 20 of a discount amount on the cost required to demolish the building 2. The management device 100 may notify the renovation contractor terminal 30 of a discount amount on the cost required to renovate the building 2. The management device 100 may notify the manufacturer terminal 60 or the seller terminal of a discount amount on building materials to be newly purchased in connection with the demolition or renovation of the building 2.

[0024] In the past, the disposal of materials removed from buildings during demolition or renovation was entrusted to demolition and renovation companies, so owners were not interested in recycling the removed materials and did not actively contribute to recycling.

[0025] In the management system 1 of this embodiment, if a reward according to the value of the removed object 3 is given to the beneficiary such as the owner 11, it is possible to strongly motivate the beneficiary such as the owner 11 to actively recycle the removed object 3. This makes it possible to promote the recycling of building materials.

[0026] The management device 100 separates the removed objects 3 into those to be reused as is, those to be repaired and reused, those to be disassembled and reused for parts, those to be refurbished and reused as resources, and those to be discarded. The management device 100 may separate the removed objects 3 based on images or information of the removed objects 3 using artificial intelligence (AI) such as the classifier or value determiner described above. The management device 100 may use the classifier to identify the type, condition, or contained resources of the removed objects 3, and separate the removed objects 3 based on the identification results. The management device 100 may use a value determiner to determine the value of the removed objects 3, and separate the removed objects 3 based on the value of the removed objects 3. The management device 100 may sort the removed objects 3 using a sorter that inputs information such as the type, product number, size, weight, color, condition, usage period, whether or not the removed objects 3 can be reused, the type, amount, and condition of resources such as resins and metals contained therein, and images of the removed objects 3, and outputs the sorting results. This sorter may be trained by supervised learning using as learning data pairs of information such as the type, product number, size, weight, color, condition, usage period, whether or not the removed objects can be reused, the type, amount, and condition of resources such as resins and metals contained therein, and images of the removed objects 3, and teacher labels indicating whether the removed objects should be reused as is, repaired and reused, disassembled and reused for parts, remanufactured and reused as resources, or discarded. The management device 100 may obtain the sorting results of the removed objects 3 from the demolition contractor 21, the renovation contractor 31, the recovery contractor 41, etc.

[0027] The removed items 3 to be discarded are disposed of by a collection company 41.

[0028] The removed items 3 that are reused as they are are transported to the inventory 7 by the recovery company 41 and stored in the inventory 7 as second-hand items.

[0029] The removed objects 3 to be repaired and reused are repaired by a maintenance company 71. The repaired building materials 5 are stored as second-hand goods in an inventory 7. Repairs include replacing parts, repairs, painting, and the like.

[0030] The removed items 3 to be disassembled and reused as parts are disassembled into parts 6 by a maintenance company 71. The disassembled parts 6 are stored in an inventory 7 as second-hand items.

[0031] The removed materials 3 to be recycled and reused as resources are recycled into resources 4 by a recycling company 51. A manufacturer 61 uses the recycled resources 4 and new raw materials to manufacture building materials 5 or parts 6. The building materials 5 or parts 6 manufactured using the recycled resources 4 are stored in inventory 7 as recycled products. The building materials 5 or parts 6 manufactured using new raw materials are stored in inventory 7 as new products.

[0032] The management device 100 has a sales item database that stores information about the building materials 5 and parts 6 in the inventory 7 as sales item information. The sales item database stores information such as the type of sales item, product number, selling price, quantity, size, weight, color, condition, whether the item is new, used, or refurbished, and, if it is used, the period of use. Based on the results of sorting the removed items 3, the management device 100 stores information about the removed items 3 in the sales item database as sales item information. The management device 100 manages the receipt and delivery of building materials 5 and parts 6 from the inventory 7.

[0033] The management device 100 acquires purchase conditions from a purchaser 81 who wishes to purchase building materials 5 or parts 6, searches a sales item database for items that match the acquired conditions, and presents the search results to a purchaser terminal 80. When the management device 100 receives a purchase request from the purchaser terminal 80, it manages the sales of building materials 5 or parts 6 that are in inventory 7.

[0034] The management device 100 includes a purchaser database that stores information such as purchase conditions acquired from the purchaser 81. The purchaser database stores information such as the type, product number, number, size, weight, color, condition, status, whether the product is new, used, or refurbished, and if it is a used product, the period of use, and the desired selling price of the product that the purchaser 81 wishes to purchase.

[0035] Management device 100 acquires the sales conditions from seller terminal 85, searches the buyer database for buyers 81 who meet the acquired conditions, and presents the search results to seller terminal 85. Seller 86 of the item for sale may be building material owner 11, demolition contractor 21, renovation contractor 31, collection contractor 41, recycling contractor 51, manufacturer 61, or maintenance contractor 71. When management device 100 accepts a sales request from seller terminal 85, it notifies buyer terminal 80 of the sales offer from seller 86.

[0036] According to the management system 1 of this embodiment, a purchaser can purchase an item that meets their desired conditions from among items for sale, including used and recycled items. Also, a seller can sell an item to a purchaser who meets their desired conditions from among purchasers who wish to purchase items for sale, including used and recycled items. This can support the distribution of used and recycled items, thereby promoting the recycling of building materials.

[0037] The management device 100 may calculate the value of the removed objects 3 based on the results of sorting the removed objects 3, and may grant a reward according to the calculated value to a beneficiary such as the owner 11. The management device 100 may hold calculation standards for the value of building materials to be reused as is, building materials to be repaired and reused, building materials to be disassembled and reused as parts, building materials to be refurbished and reused as resources, and building materials to be discarded, for each type of building material, and may calculate the value of the removed objects 3 according to the calculation standards.

[0038] When a product for sale that is a reused removed object 3 removed from the building 2 during demolition or renovation of the building 2 is sold to a purchaser, the management device 100 may grant a reward to a beneficiary such as the owner 11 according to the value of the removed object 3. In this case, the management device 100 may calculate the reward to be granted to a beneficiary such as the owner 11 based on the demolition cost acquired from the demolition company terminal 20, the renovation cost acquired from the renovation company terminal 30, the collection cost acquired from the collection company terminal 40, the recycling cost acquired from the recycling company terminal 50, the production cost acquired from the manufacturer terminal 60, the repair cost or disassembly cost acquired from the maintenance company terminal 70, the storage cost in the inventory 7, the sales cost in the management system 1, the selling price of the product for sale, etc.

[0039] When a building material user 91 requests repair of a defective product 8 that has developed a problem, the management device 100 acquires information about the defective product 8 from the user terminal 90 and searches the inventory database for a replacement product for the defective product 8. The inventory database may be the same as the sales product database described above. If a replacement product exists in the inventory 7, the operator of the management system 1 exchanges the defective product 8 for the replacement product. In other words, the operator provides the replacement product to the user 91 and collects the defective product 8 from the user 91.

[0040] The operating entity requests a maintenance company 71 or a manufacturer 61 to repair the defective product 8 received from the user 91. The building materials 5 or parts 6 repaired by the maintenance company 71 or the manufacturer 61 are stockpiled in inventory 7. The management device 100 updates the inventory database when a replacement product is provided to the user 91 from inventory 7 or when the repaired building materials 5 or parts 6 are stockpiled in inventory 7.

[0041] Considering the burden on the environment, it is desirable to establish a system that allows the building 2 to be used for a long period of time while properly maintaining the building materials installed in the building 2 and the building materials that make up the building 2. However, building materials are generally durable goods, and their useful life is much longer than that of general consumer goods. Keeping new building materials and parts in stock in preparation for requests for repair or replacement of building materials until the useful life of the building materials expires would result in enormous maintenance costs.

[0042] In the management system 1 of this embodiment, defective products 8 received from building material users 91 and removed materials 3 removed from the building 2 during demolition or renovation of the building 2 are repaired, restored to a usable condition, and stored in the inventory 7, thereby significantly reducing the number of building materials stocked in advance as replacements. As the number of defective building materials gradually increases over the years since the building materials were manufactured and installed in the building 2, the inventory can be replenished with replacements obtained by repairing the defective products. This makes it possible to respond to requests for replacement of building materials from users 91 without running out of stock, even if a large amount of inventory is not kept in stock from the beginning. This significantly reduces the costs required for maintaining and managing the inventory.

[0043] 3 shows the configuration of a management device according to an embodiment. The management device 100 includes a communication device 101, a display device 102, an input device 103, a processing device 120, and a storage device 150. The management device 100 may be a server device, a device such as a personal computer, or a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone terminal, a smartphone, or a tablet terminal.

[0044] The communication device 101 controls communication with other devices via a communication network such as a wireless LAN or the Internet. The communication device 101 may perform communication using any wired or wireless communication method. The display device 102 displays a screen generated by the processing device 120. The display device 102 may be a liquid crystal display device, an organic EL display device, or the like. The input device 103 transmits instructions input by a user or administrator of the management device 100 to the processing device 120. The input device 103 may be a mouse, a keyboard, a touchpad, or the like. The display device 102 and the input device 103 may be implemented as touch panels.

[0045] The storage device 150 stores programs, data, etc. used by the processing device 120. The storage device 150 may be a semiconductor memory, a hard disk, etc. The storage device 150 includes a building materials database 151, a sales item database 152, an inventory database 153, and a purchaser database 154.

[0046] The building material database 151 stores information about building materials, such as the type, product number, size, weight, color, price, and the type, amount, and condition of resources such as resin and metal contained in the building material.

[0047] The sales item database 152 stores information about the sales items in the inventory 7. The sales item database 152 stores information about the sales items in the inventory 7, such as the type, product number, selling price, number, size, weight, color, condition, whether the item is new, used, or refurbished, and the period of use if the item is used, as well as information about the seller 86 of the items, such as the seller's identification information, address, contact information, and sales history.

[0048] The inventory database 153 stores information about substitute products present in the inventory 7. The inventory database 153 stores information about substitute products present in the inventory 7, such as the type, product number, size, weight, color, condition, period of use, whether the product is second-hand or refurbished, and the period of use if the product is second-hand.

[0049] The purchaser database 154 stores information about purchasers 81 who wish to purchase items in the inventory 7. The purchaser database 154 stores purchase conditions such as the type, product number, number, size, weight, color, condition, status, whether the item is new, used, or refurbished, and if it is used, the period of use and desired selling price of the item that the purchaser 81 wishes to purchase, as well as information about the purchaser 81 such as the identification information, address, contact information, and purchase history of the purchaser 81.

[0050] The processing device 120 includes a removed item information acquisition unit 121, a sorting unit 122, a value information acquisition unit 123, a processing execution unit 124, a sales item registration unit 125, a purchase condition acquisition unit 126, a sales item search unit 127, a sales condition acquisition unit 128, a purchaser search unit 129, a search result presentation unit 130, a defective item information acquisition unit 131, a replacement item search unit 132, a replacement item provision unit 133, and an inventory registration unit 134. These components are realized in hardware by any circuit, a computer CPU, memory, or other LSI, and in software by a program loaded into memory, but the functional blocks shown here are realized by linking these components. Therefore, those skilled in the art will understand that these functional blocks can be realized in various ways, such as by hardware alone or a combination of hardware and software.

[0051] The removed item information acquisition unit 121 acquires information on removed items 3 removed from the building 2 during demolition or renovation of the building 2 from the demolition contractor terminal 20, renovation contractor terminal 30, collection contractor terminal 40, owner terminal 10, etc.

[0052] The sorting unit 122 sorts the removed objects 3 into at least one of removed objects to be reused, removed objects for which the resources contained therein are to be recycled and used, and removed objects to be discarded, based on the information acquired by the removed object information acquisition unit 121. The sorting unit 122 may sort the removed objects 3 using trained AI such as the above-mentioned classifier, value determiner, and classifier.

[0053] The value information acquisition unit 123 calculates the value of the removed object 3 based on the information acquired by the removed object information acquisition unit 121 and the sorting results by the sorting unit 122 .

[0054] The processing execution unit 124 executes processing to grant a reward according to the value of the removed object 3 acquired by the value information acquisition unit 123 to a beneficiary such as the owner 11 .

[0055] The sales item registration unit 125 registers information about the sales items that have been recycled from the removed items 3 and put into the inventory 7 in the sales item database 152.

[0056] The purchase condition acquisition unit 126 acquires the purchase conditions of the item for sale from the purchaser terminal 80, and registers the acquired purchase conditions and information of the purchaser 81 in the purchaser database 154. The purchase condition acquisition unit 126 may acquire conditions related to the item for sale, such as the type, number, condition, and selling price of the item, or may acquire conditions related to the seller 86, such as the address and sales history of the seller 86.

[0057] The sales item search unit 127 searches the sales item database 152 for sales items that match the purchase conditions acquired by the purchase condition acquisition unit 126 .

[0058] The sales condition acquisition unit 128 acquires the sales conditions of the items for sale from the seller terminal 85, and registers the acquired sales conditions and information about the seller 86 in the sales item database 152. The sales condition acquisition unit 128 may acquire conditions related to the items for sale, such as the type, number, condition, and selling price of the items for sale, or may acquire conditions related to the purchaser 81, such as the address and purchase history of the purchaser 81.

[0059] The purchaser search unit 129 searches the purchaser database 154 for purchasers 81 that match the sales conditions acquired by the sales condition acquisition unit 128 .

[0060] The search result presentation unit 130 presents the search results by the item search unit 127 to the purchaser terminal 80. The search result presentation unit 130 may accept a purchase request from the purchaser from the search results and execute a process to sell the accepted item to the purchaser.

[0061] The search result presentation unit 130 presents the search results by the purchaser search unit 129 to the seller terminal 85. The search result presentation unit 130 may accept a purchaser 81 to whom the seller 86 wishes to sell the item from the search results, and may execute a process for selling the item to the accepted purchaser 81.

[0062] The defective product information acquisition unit 131 acquires information about the defective product from the user terminal 90 .

[0063] The substitute search unit 132 searches the inventory database 153 for a substitute for the defective product acquired by the defective product information acquisition unit 131 .

[0064] If a replacement for the defective product exists in the inventory 7, the replacement product providing unit 133 executes processing to provide the replacement product to the user. When the replacement product is provided to the user, the replacement product providing unit 133 deletes the record of the provided replacement product from the inventory database 153.

[0065] When a replacement recycled from a broken product received from a user is added to the inventory 7, the inventory registration unit 134 registers information about the replacement in the inventory database 153.

[0066] Only one of the substitute providing unit 133 and the inventory registering unit 134 may be provided, and the other may also have the function of the other. In other words, a single configuration may be used to perform both the process of increasing and decreasing the inventory quantity in the inventory database 153.

[0067] While the present disclosure has been described above based on the embodiments, the embodiments merely illustrate the principles and applications of the present disclosure. Furthermore, many modifications and changes in arrangement are possible to the embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure as defined in the claims.

[0068] Although the embodiments have mainly described the recycling of building materials, the technology disclosed herein can also be used to promote the recycling of facilities, equipment, furniture, etc. installed in buildings, as well as the parts that make up these facilities.

[0069] The present disclosure can be used in a management device that manages building materials and the like.

[0070] 1 Management system, 2 Building, 3 Removed items, 4 Resources, 5 Building materials, 6 Parts, 7 Inventory, 8 Defective items, 9 Communication network, 10 Owner terminal, 11 Owner, 20 Demolition contractor terminal, 21 Demolition contractor, 30 Renovation contractor terminal, 31 Renovation contractor, 40 Collection contractor terminal, 41 Collection contractor, 50 Recycling contractor terminal, 51 Recycling contractor, 60 Manufacturer terminal, 61 Manufacturer, 70 Maintenance contractor terminal, 71 Maintenance contractor, 80 Purchaser terminal, 81 Purchaser, 85 Seller terminal, 86 Seller, 90 User terminal, 91 User, 100 Management device, 121 Removed item information acquisition unit, 122 Sorting unit, 123 Value information acquisition unit, 124 Processing execution unit, 125 Sales item registration unit, 126 Purchase condition acquisition unit, 127 Sales item search unit, 128 Sales condition acquisition unit, 129 purchaser search unit, 130 search result presentation unit, 131 defective product information acquisition unit, 132 substitute product search unit, 133 substitute product provision unit, 134 inventory registration unit, 151 building material database, 152 sales item database, 153 inventory database, 154 purchaser database.

Claims

1. A management device comprising: a sales item database that stores, as information on items for sale, information on removed items including building materials, facilities, equipment, furniture, or parts that make up at least one of these, which are removed from a building when the building is demolished or renovated, the removed items to be reused, resources recycled from the removed items, or building materials, facilities, equipment, furniture, or parts that make up at least one of these manufactured using resources recycled from the removed items; a sales item search unit that acquires purchase conditions from a purchaser who wishes to purchase the items for sale and searches the sales item database for items that match the acquired conditions; and a search result presentation unit that presents the search results by the sales item search unit to the purchaser.

2. A management device as described in claim 1, comprising: a purchaser database that stores purchase conditions acquired from the purchaser; and a purchaser search unit that acquires sales conditions from the seller of the item for sale and searches the purchaser database for purchasers who meet the acquired conditions, wherein the search result presentation unit presents the search results by the purchaser search unit to the seller.

3. A management device comprising: a buyer database that stores purchase conditions obtained from buyers who wish to purchase items for sale that include building materials, facilities, equipment, furniture, or parts that constitute at least one of these that are removed from a building when the building is demolished or renovated, the removed items being reused, resources recycled from the removed items, or building materials, facilities, equipment, furniture, or parts that constitute at least one of these that are manufactured using resources recycled from the removed items; a buyer search unit that obtains the sales conditions from sellers of the items for sale and searches the buyer database for buyers who meet the obtained conditions; and a search result presentation unit that presents the search results by the buyer search unit to the seller.

4. A management device as described in claim 1 or 2, comprising: a removed item information acquisition unit that acquires information about the removed items; a sorting unit that sorts the removed items into at least one of removed items to be reused, removed items to be recycled and used for the resources contained therein, and removed items to be discarded based on the information acquired by the removed item information acquisition unit; and a sales item registration unit that stores information about the removed items in the sales item database as information about the sales items based on the sorting results by the sorting unit.

5. The management device according to claim 4, wherein the removed item information acquisition unit acquires an image of the removed item, and the sorting unit identifies the type, condition, or contained resources of the removed item based on the image of the removed item, and sorts the removed item based on the identification result.

6. The management device described in claim 5, wherein the classification unit uses a classifier that has been trained using images of the removed objects and the type, condition, or resources contained in the removed objects as learning data, and that inputs the images of the removed objects and outputs the type, condition, or resources contained in the removed objects, to identify the type, condition, or resources contained in the removed objects based on the images of the removed objects.

7. A management method that causes a computer to perform the steps of: searching for items for sale that meet purchase conditions obtained from a purchaser who wishes to purchase the items from a sales item database that stores, as information on items for sale, information on removed items that include building materials, facilities, equipment, furniture, or parts that make up at least one of these, which are removed from a building when the building is demolished or renovated, and that are to be reused, resources recycled from the removed items, or building materials, facilities, equipment, furniture, or parts that make up at least one of these manufactured using resources recycled from the removed items; and presenting the search results to the purchaser.

8. A computer program that causes a computer to function as: a sales item database that stores information on removed items, including building materials, facilities, equipment, furniture, or parts that make up at least one of these, that are removed from a building when the building is demolished or renovated, and that are to be reused, resources recycled from the removed items, or building materials, facilities, equipment, furniture, or parts that make up at least one of these that are manufactured using resources recycled from the removed items; a sales item search unit that acquires purchase conditions from a purchaser who wishes to purchase the sales items and searches the sales item database for items that match the acquired conditions; and a search result presentation unit that presents the search results by the sales item search unit to the purchaser.

9. A management device comprising: a value acquisition unit that acquires the calculation results of the value of removed items, including building materials, equipment, devices, furniture, or parts that make up at least one of these, that are removed from a building when the building is demolished or renovated; and a processing execution unit that executes processing to grant a reward based on the value of the removed items acquired by the value acquisition unit to a person that transmitted information for calculating the value of the removed items to the management device, or to the owner of the building or the removed items.

10. The management device according to claim 9, further comprising a removed object information acquisition unit that acquires information on the removed object, and wherein the value acquisition unit calculates the value of the removed object based on the information acquired by the removed object information acquisition unit.

11. A management device as described in claim 10, further comprising a sorting unit that sorts the removed items into at least one of removed items to be reused, removed items to be recycled and used for the resources contained therein, and removed items to be discarded based on the information acquired by the removed item information acquisition unit, and the value acquisition unit calculates the value of the removed items based on the sorting results by the sorting unit.

12. The management device described in claim 11, wherein the removed item information acquisition unit acquires an image of the removed item, and the sorting unit identifies the type, condition, or contained resources of the removed item based on the image of the removed item, and sorts the removed item based on the identification result.

13. The management device described in claim 12, wherein the classification unit uses a classifier that has been trained using an image of the removed object and the type, condition, or resources contained in the removed object as learning data, and that inputs the image of the removed object and outputs the type, condition, or resources contained in the removed object, to identify the type, condition, or resources contained in the removed object based on the image of the removed object.

14. A management device as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 13, wherein the value acquisition unit acquires information relating to the building materials, facilities, equipment, furniture, or parts that make up at least one of these, contained in the removed items from a database storing information relating to building materials, facilities, equipment, furniture, or parts that make up at least one of these, and calculates the value of the removed items based on the acquired information.

15. A management device as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 13, comprising: a sales item database that stores information on the removed items to be reused, resources reclaimed from the removed items, or building materials, facilities, equipment, furniture, or parts that make up at least one of these manufactured using resources reclaimed from the removed items, as sales item information; a sales item search unit that acquires purchase conditions from a purchaser who wishes to purchase the sales items and searches the sales item database for items that match the acquired conditions; and a search result presentation unit that presents the search results of the sales item search unit to the purchaser.

16. A management device as described in claim 15, comprising: a purchaser database that stores purchase conditions acquired from the purchaser; and a purchaser search unit that acquires sales conditions from the seller of the item for sale and searches the purchaser database for purchasers who meet the acquired conditions, wherein the search result presentation unit presents the search results by the purchaser search unit to the seller.

17. A management device as described in any one of claims 9 to 13, comprising: a buyer database that stores purchase conditions obtained from buyers who wish to purchase items for sale, including the removed items to be reused, resources recycled from the removed items, or building materials, facilities, equipment, furniture, or parts that make up at least one of these manufactured using resources recycled from the removed items; a buyer search unit that obtains sales conditions from sellers of the items for sale and searches the buyer database for buyers who meet the obtained conditions; and a search result presentation unit that presents the search results by the buyer search unit to the seller.

18. A management method that causes a computer to perform the following steps: acquiring the results of calculations of the value of removed items, including building materials, facilities, equipment, furniture, or parts that make up at least one of these, that are removed from a building when the building is demolished or renovated; and executing a process to grant a reward based on the acquired value of the removed items to a person that sent information for calculating the value of the removed items to a management device, or to the owner of the building or the removed items.

19. A computer program for causing a computer to function as: a value acquisition unit that acquires the results of calculating the value of removed items, including building materials, equipment, devices, furniture, or parts that make up at least one of these, that are removed from a building when the building is demolished or renovated; and a processing execution unit that executes processing to grant a reward based on the value of the removed items acquired by the value acquisition unit to a person that sent information for calculating the value of the removed items to a management device, or to the owner of the building or the removed items.

20. A management device comprising: an inventory database that stores inventory information of building materials, facilities, equipment, furniture, or parts that constitute at least one of these installed in a building; a faulty product information acquisition unit that acquires information about faulty products that have developed problems from users of the building materials, facilities, equipment, furniture, or parts that constitute at least one of these; a replacement product search unit that searches the inventory database for a replacement product for the faulty product; a replacement product provision unit that updates the inventory database when the replacement product is provided to the user from the inventory if the replacement product is present in the inventory; and an inventory registration unit that updates the inventory database when the repaired faulty product is stockpiled in the inventory.

21. The management device described in claim 20, wherein the inventory registration unit updates the inventory database when building materials, equipment, devices, furniture, or parts constituting at least one of these recycled from removed items removed from a building when the building is demolished or renovated are stockpiled in the inventory.

22. A management device as described in claim 20 or 21, comprising: a search unit that acquires purchase conditions from a purchaser who wishes to purchase building materials, equipment, devices, furniture, or parts that make up at least one of these, and searches the inventory database for items for sale that meet the acquired conditions; and a search result presentation unit that presents the search results of the search unit to the purchaser.

23. A management method that causes a computer to perform the following steps: acquiring information about a defective product that has developed a problem from a user of building materials, facilities, equipment, furniture, or parts that make up at least one of these installed in a building; searching for a replacement for the defective product from an inventory database that stores inventory information about building materials, facilities, equipment, furniture, or parts that make up at least one of these; if the replacement product is available in the inventory, updating the inventory database when the replacement product is provided to the user from the inventory; and updating the inventory database when the repaired defective product is stockpiled in the inventory.

24. A computer program that causes a computer to function as: an inventory database that stores inventory information for building materials, facilities, equipment, furniture, or parts that make up at least one of these installed in a building; a defective product information acquisition unit that acquires information about defective products that have developed problems from users of building materials, facilities, equipment, furniture, or parts that make up at least one of these; a replacement product search unit that searches the inventory database for a replacement product for the defective product; a replacement product provision unit that updates the inventory database when the replacement product is provided to the user from the inventory if the replacement product is available in the inventory; and an inventory registration unit that updates the inventory database when the repaired defective product is stockpiled in the inventory.

Images