Decentralized Voucher Validation via Smart Contracts

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Solution Overview

Problem

Centralized electronic voucher systems rely on third-party intermediaries, increasing maintenance costs, compromising user privacy, and being vulnerable to attacks like denial-of-service attacks, while also risking user data being sold to other companies.

Innovation Solution

A decentralized electronic voucher system using a computer-implemented method with a smart contract system on a distributed ledger, involving a voucher holder application, attestation application, issuer server application, and collector application, which eliminates the need for intermediaries by using smart contracts to validate and redeem vouchers securely and privately.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a third-party intermediary is used to guarantee voucher redemption, then voucher security and trust are improved, but system maintenance costs increase and user privacy is compromised

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvevoucher securityVSAvoidsystem maintenance costs

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces the traditional third-party intermediary with a smart contract system that acts as an automated mediator. The smart contract contains the voucher validation logic and automatically executes redemption operations without requiring human intervention or a centralized authority, thereby maintaining voucher security while eliminating the need for costly intermediary services

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system enables self-service through automated smart contracts that independently validate vouchers and execute redemptions. The distributed ledger automatically maintains system state and validates transactions without requiring external maintenance, reducing operational costs while preserving security through cryptographic verification

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

2Reliability

If a third-party intermediary is used to guarantee voucher redemption, then voucher security and trust are improved, but user privacy is compromised due to sharing personal information

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvevoucher securityVSAvoiduser privacy

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The smart contract system serves as an intermediary that processes voucher transactions without requiring users to share personal information. The system validates vouchers through cryptographic signatures and distributed consensus, maintaining security while preserving user anonymity by never centralizing or storing sensitive personal data

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system uses cryptographic copies (hashes and signatures) of voucher data instead of storing or transmitting actual personal information. The distributed ledger maintains copies of transaction states and voucher validation results without containing sensitive user data, enabling security verification while protecting privacy

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

3Ease of operation

If a centralized system with third-party intermediary is used, then voucher management is simplified, but the system becomes vulnerable to attacks like denial-of-service attacks

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvevoucher managementVSAvoidsystem vulnerability

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the centralized voucher management system into distributed nodes across a blockchain network. Each node independently validates transactions and maintains a copy of the ledger, eliminating single points of failure. This segmentation maintains operational simplicity through standardized protocols while dramatically improving resilience against denial-of-service attacks

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The distributed system performs self-validation through cryptographic proof mechanisms and consensus algorithms. Each node independently verifies transaction validity without requiring trust in a central authority, maintaining ease of operation through automated validation while improving reliability by distributing trust across multiple independent participants

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

4Ease of manufacture

If a third-party intermediary is used, then voucher system implementation is achieved, but costs increase and user data may be sold to other companies

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesystem implementationVSAvoidsystem costs

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The smart contract system is self-contained and self-executing, requiring no external intermediary services for implementation. The automated validation and redemption logic reduces operational overhead and eliminates recurring costs associated with third-party maintenance, while the open-source nature of blockchain technology reduces implementation costs compared to proprietary centralized systems

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentUS11367094B2Method for validating a voucher

Publication Date: 2022.06.21 BANCO BILBAO VIZCAYA ARGENTARIA

AI summary

The present invention is related to a computer implemented method for validating a voucher in an electronic voucher system, the electronic voucher system comprising a voucher holder application, an attestation application, a voucher issuer application an issuer server application, a voucher collector application, a smart contract system or SCS. An electronic voucher system, a computer program product and a computer-readable storage medium for carrying out the steps of the method is also described.