IT201800007031A1 - METHOD FOR REGISTRATION ON PERMISSIONED BLOCKCHAIN OF THE PASSAGE OF TIMED DELIVERY OF ELECTRONICALLY LABELED PALLETS - Google Patents

Description

DESCRIPTION

Attached to a patent application for INDUSTRIAL INVENTION entitled METHOD FOR REGISTRATION ON PERMISSIONED BLOCKCHAIN OF THE PASSAGE OF TIMED DELIVERY OF ELECTRONICALLY LABELED PALLETS.

STATE OF THE ART

Context analysis

Among the barriers to the marketing of new epallets, one of the main is the lack of trust between the parties involved in the process (e.g. manufacturers, shippers, customers, etc.), as well as quality assurance, packaging functionality, shipping considerations and delivery, supply chain integrity, environmental issues, etc.

The globalization of the economy has enormously increased the options available for long-haul door-to-door logistics for businesses, but at the same time it has posed new challenges. Therefore, there remains the need to improve the process of introducing new epallets on the market, and to simplify the reuse and supply of recycled epallets, capable of satisfying a highly variable demand.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The invention will be described below also with reference to the attached figures, in which are represented:

FIGURE 1 functional block diagram of the invention

FIGURE 2 detail of the implementation of the loading and delivery phase of the pallet;

Figures legend

1 Transferring operator

2 Network distributed among peers

3 Receiving operator

4 Distributed database

5a Authentication (optional)

5 Loading phase

6 Delivery phase

7 Subscription phase

8 Local electronic memory

9 Processor

10 Internet connection device

11 Computer program

12 Certification module

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method and software for recording the safe and non-repudiable passage (delivery) of electronically labeled pallets, by means of encrypted transactions.

More precisely, the invention describes a method for recording, without intermediary, the safe and non-repudiable delivery passage of electronically labeled pallets between an operator-transferring subject (1) and an operator-receiving subject (3); this registration is transcribed in an archive distributed on a peer network (2) and is implemented by an autonomous computational module, with the function of certifier, having the power of a complete Turing machine.

The method, and the attached procedure that implements it, includes the following phases:

i) loading of said pallets, electronically labeled (5), in an instance of the distributed database (4), by said transferring operator (1);

ii) identification of the operator-recipient, among those authorized to operate on the network among peers and indication of the date and time of expected delivery; iii) acceptance (6) of said electronically labeled pallets (otherwise called epallets) by recording on said distributed database (4) by the receiving operator (3) of the delivery of said epallets;

iv) encrypted subscription (7) of the receiving operator (3) of the successful delivery of said epallets, in which said subscription (7) is implemented with digital signature with private key, only after successful delivery, specified by the transferring operator ( 1) referred to in step i).

In this way, the receiving operator (3) signs that he is the new consignee of said pallets, electronically labeled, thus freeing the transferring operator from full responsibility deriving from the possession of said pallets.

In an embodiment of the procedure, said distributed database is managed through a block chain mechanism, otherwise known in the state of the art as blockchain, digitally signed with a timestamping, to make the delivery passage of electronically labeled pallets unique and safe. and cannot be repudiated.

If required, upon transcription of the block of the transaction on the peer network, the status of the delivery can be freely inspected by third parties (nodes), accredited on that network. In this way there will be no more lost, stolen or lost pallets, because it will always be possible to trace the last consignee of said pallets, who having signed the acceptance with his own private signature, will not be able to repudiate the status of possession.

In particular, the method according to the present description comprises the following steps:

1. originator operator authentication

2. loading epallets in a distributed database

3. epallet delivery registration

4. identification of the receiving operator

5. virtual delivery to the receiving operator

6. acceptance of delivery

7. inspection on blockchain of the state of the epallets;

Therefore, the phase of enabling the receiving operator to receive the electronically labeled pallets can only begin after the phase of specification of the delivery by the transferring operator. This instant in time is communicated to the receiving operator in the notification sent. Once enabled to receive, the receiving operator will in turn be able to act as a transferring operator for all or part of the pallets within his competence.Preferably, the enabling of the receiving operator to receive electronically labeled pallets is exclusively reserved for the receiving operator himself. and can start after the delivery recorded by the transferring operator during the completion phase of the successful delivery.

In one embodiment, the peer network implements a distributed database, in which the transferring operator can store the epallets in his possession (availability) to be shared in a pool in the logistics system and can deliver them to the receiving operator. This provides that the receiving operator is informed of the fact that someone (the information about the identity of the transferring operator can be communicated or not, depending on the embodiment) has prepared an epallet "passage" between the transferor and the recipient .

According to this description, the actual delivery of the epallets is temporally conditioned by the transferring operator in the phase of specification on the peer network and the registration is physically implemented by said certifying smart-contract.

In one embodiment, the peer-distributed database is managed via blockchain mechanism, otherwise known as blockchain, digitally signed with a timestamping, to make the delivery step of electronically labeled pallets safe and non-repudiable,

In one embodiment, it is also provided that, in real time, the receiving operator can see on the distributed database the time in which the pallets have been delivered and sign with a private key for acceptance

The characteristics of the operators enabled on the network are defined on the basis of pre-established user classes, when the network is managed by the block chain mechanism, the nodes of the operators enabled on the network constitute a permissioned blockchain.

The blockchain is configured to protect all operators, transferors and receivers, and third parties, with respect to the protection of the content of the registrations, which are made illegible for anyone who is not authorized.

The certifying smart-contract also has a clock function; the smart-contract is configured to associate a timestamping with the blocking of the epallet passage transaction.

The present invention also includes a computer program for the management of blockchains, complete with smart-contracts and asymmetric key systems, and a peer-to-peer IP network apparatus for implementing the method of sharing electronically labeled pallets described above.

This and other characteristics will be more evident from the following description of a preferred embodiment, illustrated purely by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawing tables, in which:

Figure 1 illustrates a descriptive block diagram of the method according to the present invention;

Figure 2 illustrates a schematic representation of an apparatus for implementing the timed delivery method of electronically labeled pallets between a transferring operator and a receiving operator, registered on the peer network.

The invention is a method for recording the safe and non-repudiable delivery passage of electronically labeled pallets between an operator-transferring subject (1) and an operator-receiving subject (3), via a network distributed between peers (2), implemented by an autonomous computational module, with the function of certifier, having the power of a complete Turing machine

The method (procedure) includes the following phases: i) loading said electronically labeled pallets (5), in an instance of the database distributed among peers (4), by said transferring operator (1), ii) identification of the operator-recipient subject, among those authorized to operate on the peer network and the time of delivery, iii) taking charge (6) of said electronically labeled pallets (epallet) by registering on said distributed network (2) in the wallet of the operator receiving (3) of the delivery of said electronically labeled pallets stored on said distributed database (2); iv) encrypted subscription (7) of the receiving operator (3) of the receipt of said electronically labeled pallets through said distributed database (2), in which said subscription (7) is implemented with digital signature with private key only, after the transfer of delivery has taken place, specified by the transferring operator (1) referred to in phase i).

In this way, the receiving operator (3) signs that he is the consignee of said electronically labeled pallets, freeing the transferring operator from the liability arising from the possession of said pallets.

If provided, upon registration of the transaction on the distributed network, the status of the delivery can be independently inspected by third parties, accredited on said peer-to-peer distributed network. In this way there will be no more lost, stolen or lost pallets, because it will always be possible to question who is the last consignee of said pallets, and who having signed the acceptance with his own private signature, will not be able to repudiate the status of possession, through the analysis of the delivery steps of the electronically identified pallets, the last consignee of said pallets will be known unambiguously, and that having signed the acceptance with his own private signature, he will not be able to repudiate the state.

This registration on the blockchain of the safe and non-repudiable passage of delivery of the epallets finds an advantageous application, for example, in the event that the transferring operator wants to be guaranteed of the acceptance of responsibility by the receiving operator 3; or, in cases where the transferring operator 1 deems it necessary to inform the receiving operator 3 in advance of the expected delivery, by sending a notification, the transaction will be finalized with the signature for acceptance of the receiver.

Acceptance by the receiving operator 3 can be obtained, in an explanatory and non-exhaustive way, by implementing encryption techniques known from the state of the art of the permissioned blockchain technique, enhanced with smart-contracts; in particular, between phase (5) and acceptance phase (6), encryption techniques can be implemented that produce a cryptography having the time validity of the delivery to the receiving operator (3).

The method always identifies a person responsible for the pallet and therefore in case of loss, theft or damage, the consignee will be jointly and severally liable. In this way it is believed to put a stop to the negative phenomenon of millions of pallets lost every year

According to an alternative embodiment, the identity of the transferring operator 1 can be anonymous in the notification sent to the receiving operator 3. This alternative embodiment is advantageously applied in the event that the transferring operator 1 considers it important that the 'receiving operator 3 becomes aware of some information, but also considers it prejudicial (for himself and / or for the receiving operator 3) to reveal his own identity or an Internet reference attributable to him. In any case, the use of the blockchain technique makes the mechanism secure, with the possibility of control and monitoring of the sharing processes by third parties.

The transferring operator (1) can access the peer-distributed database (2), equipped with a physical memory 5, through an electronic device (4) and a connection to an Internet network (6); the electronic devices (4) may be, by way of non-limiting example, a personal computer, a laptop, a tablet or a smartphone.

The receiving operator (3) therefore has its own digital space (created by allocating a portion of the physical memory 5 to which the distributed database 2 can access) where it is possible to check the electronically labeled pallets addressed to him.

In this way, the method object of the present invention protects both the transferring operator 1 and the receiving operator 3 with respect to the exchanged pallets, whose status is verifiable by anyone who is not a transferring operator1 or receiving operator 3.

In the particular case, to make the electronically labeled pallets legible only to the transferring operator 1 and the receiving operator 3, the encryption techniques known from the state of the art can be implemented.

Alternatively, in the virtual transit space of the distributed database there can only be electronically labeled pallets that the receiving operator 3 has not yet accepted, while the electronically labeled pallets already accepted by the receiving operator 3 are automatically deleted from the memory server transit 2.

Figure 2 illustrates a schematic representation of an apparatus for the implementation of the method of sharing on the network on a par with the deliveries of electronically labeled pallets between the transferring operator 1 and the receiving operator 3.

As mentioned, the transferring operator 1 can access the instance of the database distributed between peers 4, equipped with a physical memory 8, using any suitable electronic device (9) and a connection to the Internet (10).

In particular, the apparatus comprises a distributed database 4 and an Internet network 10. The distributed database 4 comprises a physical memory 8 suitable for storing the access credentials of each transferring operator 1, the electronically labeled pallets loaded by each transferring operator 1 during the loading phase 5, the references of each receiving operator 3 designated by each transferring operator 1; a data processing software 11, loaded into the physical memory 8 suitable to collect and process the access credentials of each transferring operator 1, to transmit a notification 6 to each receiving operator 3 of the presence of electronically labeled pallets addressed to them, and to manage the enabling phase 7 to receive the electronically labeled pallets for each receiving operator 3.

The processing software (11) can optionally implement an encryption technique and / or a time-based encryption technique by means of a certifying smart-contract; in the first case, the encryption technique makes the electronically labeled pallets usable exclusively to the transferring operator 1 and the receiving operator 3. In the second case, the encryption technique makes the electronically labeled pallets usable also to third parties, as long as they are registered on the network blockchain (permissioned blockchain). As previously mentioned, the aforementioned encryption techniques can be implemented between the loading phase 5 and the acceptance phase 6 by the receiving operator 3.

Claims (9)

CLAIMS 1. Method for the registration, without intermediary, of the safe and non-repudiable delivery passage of electronically labeled pallets univocally between a transferring operator (1) and a receiving operator-subject (3); this registration is transcribed in an archive distributed on a peer network (2) and is implemented by an autonomous computational module, with the function of certifier, having the power of a complete Turing machine. The method, and the attached procedure that implements it, includes the following phases: i) loading of said pallets, electronically labeled (5), in an instance of the distributed database (4), by said transferring operator (1); ii) identification of the operator-recipient, among those authorized to operate on the network among peers and indication of the date and time of expected delivery; iii) acceptance (6) of said electronically labeled pallets (otherwise called epallets) by recording on said distributed database (4) by the receiving operator (3) of the delivery of said epallets; iv) encrypted subscription (7) of the receiving operator (3) of the successful delivery of said epallets, in which said subscription (7) is implemented with digital signature with private key, only after successful delivery, specified by the transferring operator ( 1) referred to in step i). Method according to claim 1, in which the acceptance (6) upon receipt of said electronically labeled pallets is carried out by an automatic computational module, of the smart-contract type, said certifier (12), placed inside the program for computer (11), connected to the peer network (2), through a special transmission device (10). 3. Method according to any of the preceding claims, in which in the notification sent through said network (2) to the receiving operator (3), during the transmission phase (6), any reference to the transferring operator is omitted (1). 4 Method according to one of the preceding claims, comprising, prior to the transmission step (6), an optional encryption step of the data uploaded to the distributed database (4), in which the enabling step (7) also includes an enabling of a user node (1) to perform data de-encryption, automatically or in response to a request by the receiving operator (3) to identify the pallets delivered, after a given time interval. Method according to one of the preceding claims, in which, during the acceptance phase (6) of the receiving operator (3) upon receipt of said electronically labeled pallets, said certifying smart-contract verifies the correspondence of the data of the authorized user with the data relating to the receiving operator (3) recorded in the loading phase (5) by the transferring operator (1). Method according to one of the preceding claims, in which the distributed database (4) is configured to implement a permissioned blockchain, and in which an additional authentication step (5a) is provided, which constitutes a necessary condition to allow the operator transferor (1) to carry out the loading (5). 7. Method according to claim 6, wherein the delivery passing mechanism through the network (2) is programmed to implement, on said distributed database (4), a space dedicated to receiving operators, in which said receiving operator (3) can view the notifications addressed to him, even before the physical delivery of the pallets takes place. 8. Distributed database (4) equipped with a scheme configured to implement a method according to one or more of the preceding claims, comprising a physical memory (8) suitable for storing the data of each transferring operator (1), the electronically labeled pallets loaded by each transferring operator (1) during the loading phase (5), and the data of each receiving operator (3). 9. A flowchart of a computer program, comprising a sequence of machine code instructions, configured to implement all the steps of claim 1