JPH10105626A - Method and system for issue and management of electronic guarantee - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To secure contents of an electronic guarantee, which is obtained by converting a guarantee to digital information and can be consistently used from a producer to a purchaser through circulation and selling, by respective subjects at the time of production and selling, to protect contents of the electronic guarantee from being altered by persons other than a right person, and to enable the product purchaser to use the electronic guarantee to register the use of the product at the tine of receiving the electronic guarantee. SOLUTION: In an electronic guarantee issue and management system, a digital information format which is consistent from the producer to persons for circulation and selling and the product purchaser. The electronic guarantee has contents secured with digital signatures by the producer and persons for circulation. The product purchaser decodes contents of the electronic guarantee by a public key to register the use of the product.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system for issuing and managing an electronic guarantee which realizes a method for issuing and managing a guarantee for a product by using an information network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, product guarantees are based on paper products of whatever form, with product names, NO. Sales handler,
It is issued with the date of sale and each company stamp. There are various formats of guarantees, and data from manufacturing systems and distribution / sales systems are not used for simultaneous guarantees.

[0003]

The product purchaser keeps the warranty in various forms, but cannot easily find the warranty when it is needed. Manufacturers and sales operators control the purchasers of the products, and the notification of product defects and the target time of the defect is sent back in the bulletin of a general newspaper or a postcard registered in the purchaser list enclosed with the product. Requires a lot of man-hours.

[0004] It is an object of the present invention to prevent the creation of an accurate product warranty and the improper issuance of a warranty by utilizing product data generated in a manufacturing management system.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an accurate product warranty by utilizing product data generated in a distribution / sales system and to provide an additional guarantee service for distribution / sales operators.

A further object of the present invention is to systematize product user management by network management of product license information of a product purchaser.

A further object of the present invention is to expand convenience by unifying the management of warranty for a plurality of products by a product purchaser.

[0008]

According to the present invention, product data used in a manufacturing management system and related data generated therein are used as input data of an electronic warranty issuance management system. As a result, the recorded contents of the electronic guarantee card can be labor-saving irrespective of manual input, and also can prevent artificial erroneous input and illegal input. The content of the electronic certificate generated by the electronic certificate issuance management system is digitally signed with an electronic certificate key issued by a third-party certificate authority other than the manufacturer. The format of the electronic warranty card is standardized on the assumption that the manufacturer can use the distribution / sales service provider and the purchaser in common. The electronic warranty can be selected depending on the form of the attached product. When the target product is a tangible object, it is used as an electronic record carrier such as a JC card.
If the target product is an intangible object such as digital information, the warranty is also digital information.

In the distribution / sales management system, electronic warranty data of a product attached in the manufacturing management system is input as product data. The input method can be selected depending on the form of the electronic guarantee data. In addition, the data for the electronic warranty system to be added at the time of distribution and sale is automatically generated by the electronic warranty issuance management system for distribution and sales operators. The distributor / sales service operator attaches additional warranty information to the target product and additionally attaches additional warranty, so it is necessary to attach the additional electronic warranty data without changing the contents of the manufacturer's electronic warranty certificate. It becomes possible by using it.

[0010] The contents of the electronic certificate generated by the electronic certificate issuing management system for the distributor / sales service provider are digitally signed with an electronic certificate key issued by a third-party certificate authority. If the target product handled by the distributor / sales operator is composed of a plurality of manufacturers, the electronic warranty can be integrated according to a uniform format.

[0011] The product purchaser inputs the electronic guarantee card data issued by the distributor / distributor into the electronic guarantee card management system for his / her purchaser, and uses the digital signature confirmation key issued by the third party certification organization to enter the data. Check the validity of the electronic warranty. At the same time, by inputting the license information for product use, product user management data is generated. The input of the license information is the personal ID and the date of confirming the product specifications, and the product user management data is digitally signed with the user's private key. The management data is collected by the purchaser's electronic warranty management system via the network to the manufacturer and the distributor.

[0012] The electronic guarantee card management system for the purchaser integrally manages a plurality of electronic guarantee card data configured in a unified format. The management key is the product name, manufacturer name,
The name of the sales agent, the product model number and their combination. When the electronic warranty data of an individual product is transferred and recorded on the media for integrated management, the electronic warranty management system again digitally signs and copies with the purchaser's private key. The purchaser's electronic warranty management system includes a product model number and a product number of a product in the form of digital information. Integrated management. The same product model number is sent again from the manufacturer / distribution / sales operator, and when registered by the purchaser, the product is updated based on the product model number.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows the range of use of an electronic warranty issuance management system and the flow of processing between users. The manufacturer uses the product data managed and generated by the manufacturing system to automatically generate warranty data for the product, attaches a digital signature as the manufacturer, and attaches it to the product. The digital signature uses an electronic authentication key issued by a certification organization other than the manufacturer to prevent the contents of the electronic warranty data, including the manufacturer, from being tampered with. The electronic certificate data is standardized among users of the electronic certificate issuance management system as shown in FIG. 6 and is used as a unified format. The manufacturer's warranty card data (A data) and the distribution / seller warranty data (B data) can be arbitrarily combined. When the product is a tangible object such as an electric product, use of an IC card as a recording medium for electronic information is assumed. On the other hand, as for production assurance data of software and intangibles such as publications of electronic data, electronic guarantee data as electronic data similar to the form of a product is assumed. FIG.
FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the electronic guarantee issuance management system is mainly composed of five subsystems. Among the subsystems, there are three subsystems, one for the manufacturer, one for the distributor, and one for the purchaser, according to the classification of the user of the system. On the other hand, there is an approval system as a central system for electronic guarantee issuance management. The approval system is common to the three users, and guarantees the issuance and distribution of the electronic guarantee certificate in a unified manner, and does not require any tampering.

The unified format of the electronic warranty is
This is the basis of the standardized processing procedure of the electronic certificate issuing management system, and is implemented as a system for converting electronic certificate into a unified format media as a subsystem. System users can use the electronic warranty, electronic data, IC
You can select either a card or conventional unified paper.

In the manufacturing system, a product name, a product model number, a manufacturing NO. The product is manufactured using the input data as the input data, and the date of manufacture, the manufacturing location, the person in charge of inspection, etc. are added as the product data. These product data are input to the manufacturer's electronic warranty issuance management system, which certifies the guarantee conditions and guarantee contents for each product. To form electronic warranty data. Manufacturing warranty NO. Is the public key for certification and the production number issued by the certification organization. Is digitally signed with the manufacturer's private key.

The manufacturer's electronic warranty issuance management system can perform product warranty management for each user by using product license information of a product purchaser as input. Notifications can be sent by a product user list, such as when a product defect occurs or when a new version of a product is sent.

In the distribution / sales system, data of a product to be distributed and sold is input by the electronic guarantee data.
Data is digital information, and the form is classified according to the form of the target product. Digital information attached to the product and data input from an IC card can be input.

An electronic warranty issuance system for a distributor / distributor has a distributor name generated by the distributor system,
Contact telephone and e-mail address for collecting product license information,
Add sales date and additional warranty data. Distribution / sales guarantee certificate NO. Is a digital signature of the certification public key sales serial number issued by the certification organization using the secret key of the sales operator.

The distributor / sales operator can integrate electronic warranty data of a plurality of products. In addition to the contents of the product warranty attached by the manufacturer, the distributor / distributor can issue an electronic warranty card which independently adds the warranty of the sold product.

The distribution / sales service provider's electronic warranty issuance management system constructs a product user list by inputting the product license information of the product purchaser, and uses the list for product defects and new product guidance.

FIG. 5 shows a processing procedure when the product purchaser uses the electronic warranty issuance management system.
The user system is composed of four subsystems as a purchaser certificate management system.

First, there is an electronic certificate data acceptance confirmation service system via a device for inputting data of an electronic certificate selected in the form of a product. This system checks whether the electronic warranty card is legitimate and whether it has been tampered with by the manufacturer or distributor. As a confirmation method, the electronic certificate is decrypted using the public key attached to the electronic certificate issuance management system, and the validity of the distribution seller certificate data is confirmed. Further, this is performed by decrypting the product warranty data issued by the manufacturer with a public key and confirming the validity of the product warranty data.

After the validity of the electronic warranty data is confirmed, the product purchaser registration service system performs a license operation for the product. According to the guidance of the system, the purchaser determines whether or not the product can be used, and instructs the determination result. This operation generates purchaser license data. The purchaser license data is digitally signed with the private key of the user. The license data is attached to the electronic warranty certificate data of the product, and the manufacturer and the distribution / sales operator are instructed on the data collection method. A method using a data line can be selected.

An electronic guarantee data management system that centrally manages the purchasers' electronic guarantees manages the guarantees of a plurality of products using an electronic guarantee DB. The data management system can perform a search by arbitrarily combining search keys such as a manufacturer name of a product model and a distributor name.

For a product of digital information, a program version management service for managing a manufacturing version depending on the model number is provided as an option.

[0027]

According to the present invention, a product warranty is created as electronic data in a system cooperating with the manufacturing system, and one-to-one warranty data can be created for a product. Further, by falsifying and falsifying the electronic guarantee card on which data is recorded in the final step of the manufacturing system, it can be falsified.

The form of the product is various, and the distribution and
There are various sales forms, and a warranty form can be realized in accordance with those forms. When the program distributes and sells digital data as a product, the electronic warranty data can be distributed and sold together with the product. Further, a new warranty service can be provided without the distributor / sales operator altering or falsifying the product warranty data.

The user who has purchased the product can confirm the correctness of the warranty by using an electronic authentication method, thereby ensuring the reliability of the product. Should the warranty be determined to be fraudulent, it can be returned to the manufacturer. A user who purchases a plurality of products must manage a plurality of manufacturing guarantees, but the user's PC can manage the electronic warranty as a unified DB and display necessary data.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a processing procedure when an electronic warranty issuance management system is applied.

FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram of an electronic warranty issuance management system.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing an electronic guarantee card issuance mode using a network system.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing an electronic guarantee card issuance mode using an IC card.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a use procedure of a product purchaser's electronic warranty issuance management system.

FIG. 6 shows configuration items of an electronic guarantee card.

Claims (16)

[Claims] In a product manufacturing management system for attaching a product name or a product code determined in a manufacturing process as product data to a product itself, a manufacturing number of the product is determined. An electronic warranty issuance management system characterized by recording and issuing an inspector code in an electronic unified format of product warranty. 2. The electronic warranty issuance management system according to claim 1, wherein said product manufacturing management system records, as electronic data, the contents, range, period, and condition guaranteed by the product to be manufactured. 3. The electronic unified format satisfies all the items described in the warranty certificate for the product, maintains an electronically unified expression format, and is used in other general-purpose printout systems other than the product manufacturing management system. 2. The electronic guarantee issuance management system according to claim 1, wherein the electronic guarantee issuance management system is enabled. 4. The electronic guarantee card issuance management system according to claim 3, wherein said general-purpose printout system is capable of printing on general-purpose paper in a uniform format of the electronic guarantee card. 5. The electronic warranty card includes a product name and a manufacturing number. 2. The electronic warranty issuance management system according to claim 1, wherein a digital signature of the electronic warranty is made available to prevent forgery or falsification of the recorded product data. 6. A distribution / sales system for recording distribution / sales operator data on a product warranty in the process of distributing / selling a product, wherein the name of the distributor / sales operator, the date of handling, and its certification are stored in electronic data. 2. The electronic warranty issuance management system according to claim 1, further comprising: a distribution / sales system for adding to a product warranty. 7. The distribution / sales system is characterized in that the electronic warranty card data of a product attached to the manufacturing management system is input and the recorded contents of the electronic warranty card data can be added to each product without change. The electronic guarantee issuance management system according to claim 6. 8. The distribution / sales system is characterized in that new warranty conditions can be set independently of the product warranty conditions attached in the product management system, and electronic warranty data can be added. The electronic guarantee issuance management system according to claim 6. 9. A digital signature is applied to an electronic warranty card in order to prevent forgery or falsification of recorded contents of distribution / sales handling data of the warranty card added in the distribution / sales system. Electronic warranty certificate issuance management system described. 10. The electronic warranty management system according to claim 1, wherein the attachment of the electronic warranty data to the product is selected according to the distribution / sales form of the product. 11. The electronic warranty card data is printed on paper in a unified format of the electronic warranty card, copied to a portable and attachable electronic recording medium, or realized as information transmitted in a unified format of the electronic warranty card on a network. 7. The electronic guarantee issuance management system according to claim 6, wherein: 12. Copying to an electronic recording medium that can be attached to a portable device is performed by inputting an electronic warranty document recorded by a manufacturing management system and copying by a distribution / sales system, so that copying is prevented twice. The electronic warranty card management system according to claim 11, wherein: 13. The transmission of the electronic warranty card on the network is performed by inputting the electronic warranty card recorded by the manufacturing management system, adding the additional data by the distribution / sales system, and transmitting the digital information to the product and the light. 12. The electronic guarantee issuance management system according to claim 11, wherein: 14. When electronic warrant certificate data correctly issued by the product manufacturing management system and the distribution / sales system is received by a valid product purchaser, the received information is collected by the manufacturing management system and the distribution / sales system. 7. The electronic guarantee issuance management system according to claim 6, wherein: 15. The electronic warranty issuance management system according to claim 14, wherein the receipt information is generated from the product warranty data when the purchaser confirms the receipt information. 16. The electronic warranty issuance management system according to claim 14, wherein said reception information is returned to a system managed and manufactured using a public line or a network service and to a distribution / sales system.