JP2006338472A - Electronic warranty, and electronic warranty preparing method, urgent repair system, data back up method of urgent repair system, and data erasing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate the problems such that a manufacturer has to prepare warranty data for each product and has to store and add it in and to dedicated recording media, this results in increasing manufacturing costs, troubles of losses of the warranties are left unsettled, and the recording media with the warranty data stored thereon can be damaged due to external causes. <P>SOLUTION: The warranty comprises an inner storage means built in the product; and an external storage means capable of rewriting information electrically; a warranty information output means outputting information stored in the inner storage means and related to the warranty of the product to the external storage means; and an operation information output means outputting product operation information stored in the inner storage means to the external storage means. Thereby, an owner of the product can prepare its electronic warranty at any time through the use of a commercial recording medium. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic warranty card and an emergency repair system for realizing a warranty card for information home appliances such as a mobile phone, a personal computer, and a video recorder by an external storage device such as a semiconductor memory card or a magnetic disk.

  In the past, when requesting repairs, a warranty printed on paper that was included with the product was attached. Basically, the warranty card stipulates the free repair and warranty scope for a certain period after purchasing the product, but there are many cases where the warranty card does not contain the start date of use or the warranty card is lost. However, for buyers, managing a wide variety of warranty certificates attached to each product is accompanied by a corresponding burden, so far the storage location of the warranty certificate has been forgotten in the event of failure, When the owner of the product was changed, the warranty card was often lost. If the warranty is lost in this way, even if a failure occurs during the free repair period, the contents described in the warranty are not guaranteed, which is inconvenient for the owner of the product. Such inconvenience occurs because the use start date is specified on the date described in the paper warranty. As a solution to these problems, an electronic warranty certificate attached with warranty data obtained by electronically processing a product is known (see Patent Document 1). An electronic assurance system using a communication means and a database is also known (see Patent Document 2).

  Also, since mobile phones and mobile personal computers are often carried outdoors and used, there are many malfunctions of input / output devices such as display screens and keyboards due to drop impact as a cause of failure. Normally, if the input / output device fails, the manufacturer is requested to repair it. However, if the internal storage device such as a hard disk is in an operable state, it is necessary to maintain confidential information and prevent leakage before requesting the repair. There is also a need to backup and erase data. However, when the input / output device is out of order, it is extremely difficult to back up and erase data.

As a solution to these problems, a data erasing method is known that erases the data in the hard disk after the main body is activated when the main body is activated by inserting an FD set in advance as an erasing medium (see Patent Document 3).
JP 2002-91647 A JP 2004-213617 A JP 11-272562 A

  However, the electronic warranty document of Patent Document 1 is basically the same as the warranty card for printed matter that has been conventionally used, and the manufacturer needs to create warranty certificate data for each product, store it on a dedicated recording medium, and attach it. There is a problem that the manufacturing cost increases. Further, the loss of the warranty card is unsolved, and there is a possibility that a new problem may occur that the recording medium storing the warranty data is destroyed by an external factor.

  The electronic guarantee system of Patent Document 2 can reduce the burden of guarantee management by the owner of the product and prevent the loss of the guarantee, but the manufacturer is responsible for the cost of building and maintaining the database, Product warranty system implemented by a small manufacturer because it is expected that new costs such as security costs to prevent leakage will occur, or that the product owner will refuse to provide personal information easily There was a problem.

  Further, in the data erasing method of Patent Document 3, it is common to set a security function with a password at the time of start-up or the like in order to prevent leakage of confidential information due to theft in products premised on outdoor use. If an input / output device of a product with a special security function fails, it is impossible to automatically cancel the password at startup.

  The present invention can create an electronic warranty using a commercially available recording medium with a simple operation when the product owner needs it. An object is to provide an electronic warranty and an emergency repair system capable of executing data erasure.

In order to solve the above problems, the electronic warranty of the present invention is:
Internal storage means built into the product;
An external storage means that can electrically rewrite information;
Warranty information output means for outputting information related to the warranty of the product stored in the internal storage means to the external storage means;
Operation information output means for outputting information about the operation of the product stored in the internal storage means to the external storage means;
With this, the owner of the product can always create an electronic warranty using a commercially available recording medium. Commercially available recording media include flash memory cards, magnetic disks, or optical disks.

  Further, by outputting the warranty information output by the warranty information output unit or the operation information output by the operation information output unit in a format that is difficult to falsify, it is possible to prevent falsification of information important for the product warranty system. The format that is difficult to tamper includes a write prohibition process and an encryption process of guarantee information and operation information.

  In addition, the information output by the warranty information output means can include the serial number, warranty period, and free repair regulations, so that the requirements for the warranty can be satisfied, and the information that the operation information output means outputs includes the initial startup date. Can prove the start of use of the product.

  In addition, it has external information acquisition means for acquiring specific information stored in the external storage means, and when an electronic warranty is created, the owner stores the generated electronic warranty by saving the specific information in the internal storage means as a password. It can be used as an electronic key, and the electronic key can be prevented from being duplicated by using the manufacturing number of the external storage means or the serial number added to the external storage means as the specific information.

  In recent flash memory cards, the serial number added to the external storage means is stored in the memory, and the serial number added to the external storage means can be confirmed without special processing. There are many things that cannot be structured.

Further, backup means for outputting predetermined information to the external storage means, password acquisition means for acquiring a password stored in the internal storage means,
A password determination means for determining whether the password acquired by the password acquisition means and the specific information acquired by the external information storage means match;
Thus, it is possible to perform password determination when the external storage means can be accessed at the time of password determination, and to perform backup of predetermined information as processing after password check when the passwords match.

Furthermore, internal storage means built into the product,
An external storage means that can electrically rewrite information;
External information acquisition means for acquiring specific information stored in the external storage means;
Data erasing means for erasing part or all of the data in the internal storage means;
Password acquisition means for acquiring a password stored in the internal storage means;
A password determination means for determining whether the password acquired by the password acquisition means and the specific information acquired by the external information storage means match;
If the external storage means can be accessed at the time of password determination, the password is determined. If the passwords match, the data in the internal storage means can be erased as a process after the password check.

  According to the electronic guarantee system of the present invention, the owner of the product can create an electronic guarantee using a commercially available recording medium with a simple operation when necessary. Disappear. Furthermore, the present invention is also effective for a failure of the recording medium itself constituting the electronic guarantee, which is a problem specific to the electronic guarantee using the recording medium. Furthermore, since the manufacturer does not need to create and manage a warranty for each product, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  In addition, the electronic warranty can be used as an electronic key by using a serial number added to a commercially available recording medium or a serial number added to external storage means as a security function password. Information necessary in an emergency can be backed up to a recording medium and data in the internal storage device can be erased.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the electronic guarantee system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, 1 is an internal storage means built in a product, 2 is an external storage means capable of electrically rewriting information, and 3 is information relating to the warranty of the product stored in the internal storage means to the external storage means. Guarantee information output means 4 is an operation information output means for outputting information on the operation of the product stored in the internal storage means to the external storage means, and 5 is an external information acquisition means for acquiring the specific information stored in the external storage means , 6 is a backup means for outputting predetermined information to the external storage means, 7 is a password acquisition means for acquiring a password stored in the internal storage means, and 8 is a password acquired by the password acquisition means and a specification acquired by the external information storage means Password determining means 9 for determining whether the information matches, and 9 is a data erasing means for erasing part or all of the data in the internal storage means.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an electronic warranty issuing process according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 2, when a product owner newly issues an electronic warranty, the external storage means 130 is first inserted into an external media slot or the like to start the issuing process. When the issuing process is executed, the warranty information output unit 110 stores the product number 103, the warranty period 104, and the repair rule 105, which are the output information 111 designated in advance by the product manufacturer, in the internal storage unit 100. The information group 101 is sequentially acquired. Further, the operation information output means 120 acquires the initial activation date and time 106 and the system activation time 107 as the output information 121 specified in advance by the manufacturer of the product from the operation status 102 held in the internal storage means 100 and guarantees it. The information and the operation information are stored in the external storage unit 130 as the electronic guarantee information 132. If the electronic warranty information 132 is successfully created, the external information acquisition unit 140 acquires the serial number 131 of the external storage unit and stores it in the internal storage unit 100 as a password for the electronic warranty.

  Note that even if it is not listed in the present embodiment, information necessary for constructing product-related information or a warranty card may be designated by the manufacturer as output information 111. Similarly, information that is indispensable for repairing a product may be designated by the manufacturer as output information 121 even if it is not listed in the present embodiment.

  The designation of these information may be directly written in the product program, or a method of designating information to be output to a predetermined file is conceivable. Further, the information stored as the password may be a character string including alphanumeric characters described in a file designated by the manufacturer in advance. This file can be easily managed by the manufacturer by downloading it to the external storage means using communication means before issuing the electronic warranty card with the product it owns, and the serial number is not held in the internal memory Even an external storage means can issue an electronic warranty. The password stored in the product in this way can be used as a security function release key at the time of product activation, or as a key for identifying the last issued electronic warranty.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure for issuing an electronic guarantee according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 3, when the electronic warranty certificate issuance process is activated, the product information designated by the manufacturer in advance from the information related to the product held by the warranty information output means 110 in the internal storage means 100 in P201 Is stored in the external storage unit 130 as configuration information. Next, in P202, the operation information output unit 120 stores the operation information designated by the manufacturer in advance in the external storage unit 130 as the configuration information of the electronic warranty from the information regarding the operation status held in the internal storage unit 100. In P203, the external information acquisition unit 140 acquires the serial number 131 of the external storage unit, and stores it in the internal storage unit 100 as a password for the electronic warranty in P204.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing data backup processing according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 4, first, the external storage means 350, which is an electronic guarantee, is set in an external media slot or the like, and the power is turned on to start the product. If the security function is enabled at startup, the password acquisition unit 310 acquires the password 301 stored in the internal storage unit 300. Further, the external information acquisition unit 320 acquires the serial number 351 of the external storage unit from the external storage unit 350, and the password determination unit 330 compares the acquired password 311 with the password 321. If the results are determined to be the same, the security is released. After releasing the security, the backup unit 340 sequentially obtains the backup target 341 specified by the backup information 352 stored in the external storage unit 352 and uses the data 302 stored in the internal storage unit 300 as an external storage unit. 350 is stored as backup data 353. The data format 303 of the data 302 includes “file 305” and “memory 306”. When the data format of the backup target 341 is “file”, “file → file copy processing 342” is performed. “Memory → file conversion process 343” is performed.

  In addition to this embodiment, the security function using the serial number 351 of the external storage means activates a product such as a personal computer when browsing an electronic warranty or logging on to a dedicated WEB site to receive support from the manufacturer. Both can be used as a password auto-input (security release) function when logging on later.

  In addition, the backup data 353 can be compressed or encrypted and stored, thereby reducing the file size and ensuring the security of the backed up data. Further, the backup unit 340 may be stored in the external storage unit 350 as an execution format program file. If the product initialization process finds the execution format program file in the external storage unit 350, the backup unit 340 is activated. It is considered useful as an emergency backup function in case of product failure.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a data backup procedure according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 5, the predetermined security function is P501, and the password acquisition unit 310 acquires the electronic warranty certificate password 301 stored in the internal storage unit 300 as the first password. If the password cannot be acquired in P502, it is determined that the electronic guarantee has not been issued, and the process is terminated. If the first password can be acquired, the production number 351 of the external storage means 350 is acquired as the second password in P503. In P504, the first password and the second password are compared. If they do not match, it is determined that the electronic password is not an official electronic guarantee, and the process is terminated. If they match, it is assumed that the password has been entered normally in P505 and the security is released. Next, at P506, the backup processing counter is initialized. At P507, the backup unit 340 obtains the Nth backup information from the backup information stored in the external storage unit 350. At P508, the data format of the backup information is checked. To do. If the data format is “file”, the file in the internal storage means 300 is copied to the external storage means 350 in P509, and if it is “memory”, the memory information in the internal storage means 300 is converted to a file and stored in the external storage means 350. save. If all data has been backed up in P511, the processing is terminated. If there is any unprocessed data, the backup processing counter is updated in P512 to continue the backup.

(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a data erasing process according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 6, first, the external storage means 650, which is an electronic guarantee, is set in an external media slot or the like, and the power is turned on to start the product. If the security function is enabled at startup, the password acquisition unit 610 acquires the password 601 stored in the internal storage unit 600. Further, the external information acquisition unit 620 acquires the serial number 651 of the external storage unit from the external storage unit 650, and the password determination unit 630 compares the acquired password 611 with the password 621. If the results are determined to be the same, the security is released. After releasing the security, the data erasure unit 640 sequentially erases the data erasure target 641 specified by the data erasure information 652 of the external storage unit 650. The data erasure designation includes “delete data erasure target 642” and “delete entire hard disk 643”. When the data format of the data erasure target 641 is “file” or “memory”, “data erasure target” Delete 642 ", and if nothing is specified, delete entire hard disk 643.

  In addition to the present embodiment, the security function using the serial number 651 of the external storage means activates a product such as a personal computer when browsing an electronic warranty or logging on to a dedicated WEB site to receive support from the manufacturer. Both can be used as a password auto-input (security release) function when logging on later.

  Further, the data erasing unit 640 may be stored in the external storage unit 650 as an execution format program file. If the product initialization process finds the execution format program file in the external storage unit 650, the data deletion unit 640 is activated. It is considered useful as an emergency data erasing function in case of product failure.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a data backup procedure according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 7, the predetermined security function is P701, and the password acquisition unit 610 acquires the password 601 of the electronic guarantee stored in the internal storage unit 600 as the first password. If the password cannot be obtained in P702, it is determined that the electronic guarantee has not been issued, and the process is terminated. If the first password can be obtained, the production number 651 of the external storage means 650 is obtained as the second password in P703. In P704, the first password and the second password are compared. If they do not match, it is determined that the certificate is not an official electronic guarantee, and the process is terminated. If they match, it is assumed that the password has been entered normally in P705, and the security is released. Next, a data erasure processing counter is initialized at P706, and at P707, the data erasure means 640 obtains the Nth erasure information from the data erasure information stored in the external storage means 650. At P708, the data of this backup information is obtained. Check the format. When the data format is “file”, the file is deleted at P709. When it is “memory”, the memory registration data is deleted at P710. When “nothing is specified”, all data in the internal storage means is deleted at P713. If all data has been deleted in P711, the process is terminated. If there is any unprocessed data, the data erase processing counter is updated in P712 to continue the data erase process.

  The electronic warranty system according to the present invention can create an electronic warranty card using a commercially available recording medium with a simple operation when the owner of the product needs it. It is also possible to back up or erase data in the internal storage device, which is useful as an electronic warranty card and emergency repair system for highly functional information home appliances.

The block diagram of the electronic guarantee based on the 1st Embodiment of this invention Explanatory drawing which shows the issuing process of the electronic guarantee based on the 1st Embodiment of this invention The flowchart which shows the issuing procedure of the electronic guarantee which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention Explanatory drawing which shows the backup processing of the data which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention The flowchart which shows the backup procedure of the data which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention Explanatory drawing which shows the erasure | elimination process of the data which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention The flowchart which shows the erase procedure of the data which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Internal storage means 2 External storage means 3 Guarantee information output means 4 Operation information output means 5 External information acquisition means 6 Backup means 7 Password acquisition means 8 Password determination means 9 Data erasure means

Claims (22)

Internal storage means built into the product;
External storage means that can rewrite information electrically, magnetically or optically;
Warranty information output means for outputting information related to the warranty of the product stored in the internal storage means to the external storage means;
Operation information output means for outputting information on the operation of the product stored in the internal storage means to the external storage means;
Have
Electronic warranty that can be created at any time according to the intention of the owner. 2. The electronic warranty card according to claim 1, wherein the warranty information output by the warranty information output unit or the operation information output by the operation information output unit is output in a format that is difficult to falsify. 3. The electronic warranty card according to claim 1, wherein the information output by the warranty information output means includes a manufacturing number, a warranty period, and a free repair rule. 4. The electronic warranty as claimed in claim 1, wherein the information output by the operation information output means includes an initial activation date. It has external information acquisition means for acquiring specific information stored in the external storage means, and when creating an electronic guarantee, the specific information acquired by the external information acquisition means is stored in the internal storage means as a password. The electronic warranty as claimed in claim 1. 6. The electronic warranty card according to claim 5, wherein the specific information acquired by the external information acquisition means is a manufacturing number of the external storage means or a serial number added to the external storage means. Internal storage means built into the product;
External storage means that can rewrite information electrically, magnetically or optically;
External information acquisition means for acquiring specific information stored in the external storage means;
Backup means for outputting predetermined information to the external storage means;
Password acquisition means for acquiring a password stored in the internal storage means;
Password determination means for determining whether the password acquired by the password acquisition means matches the specific information acquired by the external information storage means;
Have
When enabling the security function, the specific information acquired by the external information acquisition unit is stored in the internal storage unit as a password, and if the external storage unit can be accessed when the password is a security function, password determination is performed, An emergency repair system characterized in that backup of predetermined information is executed as a process after password check if the passwords match. 8. The emergency repair system according to claim 7, wherein the specific information acquired by the external information acquisition unit is a manufacturing number of the external storage unit or a serial number added to the external storage unit. 9. The emergency according to claim 7, further comprising a data erasing unit for erasing a part or all of the data in the internal storage unit, wherein the data in the internal storage unit is erased after backup of predetermined information is performed. Repair system. Internal storage means built into the product;
External storage means that can rewrite information electrically, magnetically or optically;
External information acquisition means for acquiring specific information stored in the external storage means;
Data erasing means for erasing part or all of the data in the internal storage means;
Password acquisition means for acquiring a password stored in the internal storage means;
Password determination means for determining whether the password acquired by the password acquisition means matches the specific information acquired by the external information storage means;
Have
When enabling the security function, the specific information acquired by the external information acquisition unit is stored as a password in the internal storage unit, and if the external storage unit can be accessed at the time of password determination, password determination is performed and the passwords match. In this case, the emergency repair system is characterized in that the data in the internal storage means is erased as a process after the password check. 11. The emergency repair system according to claim 10, wherein the specific information acquired by the external information acquisition unit is a manufacturing number of the external storage unit or a serial number added to the external storage unit. Internal storage means built into the product;
External storage means that can rewrite information electrically, magnetically or optically;
A warranty information output procedure for outputting information related to the warranty of the product stored in the internal storage means to the external storage means;
An operation information output procedure for outputting information on the operation of the product stored in the internal storage means to the external storage means;
Have
How to create an electronic warranty that can be created at any time according to the intention of the owner. 13. The method of creating an electronic warranty certificate according to claim 12, wherein the warranty information output by the warranty information output procedure or the operation information output by the operation information output procedure is output in a format that is difficult to falsify. 14. The method of creating an electronic warranty certificate according to claim 12, wherein the information output by the warranty information output procedure includes a serial number, a warranty period, and a free repair rule. 15. The method of creating an electronic guarantee according to claim 12, wherein the information output by the operation information output procedure includes an initial activation date. It has an external information acquisition procedure for acquiring specific information stored in the external storage means, and when creating an electronic guarantee, the specific information acquired in the external information acquisition procedure is stored in the internal storage means as a password. The method for creating an electronic guarantee according to claim 12-15. 17. The method of creating an electronic guarantee according to claim 16, wherein the specific information acquired by the external information acquisition procedure is a manufacturing number of the external storage means or a serial number added to the external storage means. Internal storage means built into the product;
External storage means that can rewrite information electrically, magnetically or optically;
An external information acquisition procedure for acquiring specific information stored in the external storage means;
A backup procedure for outputting predetermined information to the external storage means;
A password acquisition procedure for acquiring a password stored in the internal storage means;
A password determination procedure for determining whether the password acquired in the password acquisition procedure matches the specific information acquired in the external information storage procedure;
Have
When enabling the security function, the specific information acquired in the external information acquisition procedure is stored in the internal storage means as a password, and if the external storage means can be accessed when the password is a security function, password determination is performed, A data backup method for an emergency repair system, wherein, when the passwords match, backup of predetermined information is executed as a process after the password check. 19. The data backup method for an emergency repair system according to claim 18, wherein the specific information acquired by the external information acquisition procedure is a manufacturing number of the external storage means or a serial number added to the external storage means. A data erasing procedure for erasing a part or all of the data in the internal storage means;
20. A data backup method for an emergency repair system according to claim 18, wherein the data in the internal storage means is erased after backup of predetermined information. Internal storage means built into the product;
External storage means that can rewrite information electrically, magnetically or optically;
An external information acquisition procedure for acquiring specific information stored in the external storage means;
A data erasing procedure for erasing a part or all of the data in the internal storage means;
A password acquisition procedure for acquiring a password stored in the internal storage means;
A password determination procedure for determining whether the password acquired in the password acquisition procedure matches the specific information acquired in the external information storage procedure;
Have
When enabling the security function, the specific information acquired in the external information acquisition procedure is stored in the internal storage unit as a password. If the external storage unit can be accessed when determining the password, the password is determined and the password matches. In this case, the data erasing method of the emergency repair system is characterized by erasing the data in the internal storage means as a process after the password check. 22. The method for erasing data in an emergency repair system according to claim 21, wherein the specific information acquired by the external information acquisition procedure is a manufacturing number of the external storage means or a serial number added to the external storage means.

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