WO2024116046A1 - Material management system, material management apparatus, material management method, and recording medium - Google Patents

Material management system, material management apparatus, material management method, and recording medium Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2024116046A1
WO2024116046A1 PCT/IB2023/061902 IB2023061902W WO2024116046A1 WO 2024116046 A1 WO2024116046 A1 WO 2024116046A1 IB 2023061902 W IB2023061902 W IB 2023061902W WO 2024116046 A1 WO2024116046 A1 WO 2024116046A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
quality information
measurement data
terminal apparatus
quality
measurement
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/IB2023/061902
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Koji Yanagida
Hidetaka Noguchi
Tomohiko Kamatani
Original Assignee
Ricoh Company, Ltd.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from JP2023187234A external-priority patent/JP2024079596A/en
Application filed by Ricoh Company, Ltd. filed Critical Ricoh Company, Ltd.
Publication of WO2024116046A1 publication Critical patent/WO2024116046A1/en

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Classifications

    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06QINFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q10/00Administration; Management
    • G06Q10/30Administration of product recycling or disposal
    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06QINFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q10/00Administration; Management
    • G06Q10/06Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
    • G06Q10/063Operations research, analysis or management
    • G06Q10/0639Performance analysis of employees; Performance analysis of enterprise or organisation operations
    • G06Q10/06395Quality analysis or management
    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06QINFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q10/00Administration; Management
    • G06Q10/08Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06QINFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q30/00Commerce
    • G06Q30/018Certifying business or products
    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06QINFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q30/00Commerce
    • G06Q30/02Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
    • G06Q30/0201Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06QINFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q50/00Information and communication technology [ICT] specially adapted for implementation of business processes of specific business sectors, e.g. utilities or tourism
    • G06Q50/04Manufacturing
    • GPHYSICS
    • G01MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01NINVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N21/00Investigating or analysing materials by the use of optical means, i.e. using sub-millimetre waves, infrared, visible or ultraviolet light
    • G01N21/17Systems in which incident light is modified in accordance with the properties of the material investigated
    • G01N21/25Colour; Spectral properties, i.e. comparison of effect of material on the light at two or more different wavelengths or wavelength bands
    • G01N21/31Investigating relative effect of material at wavelengths characteristic of specific elements or molecules, e.g. atomic absorption spectrometry
    • G01N21/35Investigating relative effect of material at wavelengths characteristic of specific elements or molecules, e.g. atomic absorption spectrometry using infrared light
    • G01N21/359Investigating relative effect of material at wavelengths characteristic of specific elements or molecules, e.g. atomic absorption spectrometry using infrared light using near infrared light
    • GPHYSICS
    • G01MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01NINVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N2201/00Features of devices classified in G01N21/00
    • G01N2201/02Mechanical
    • G01N2201/022Casings
    • G01N2201/0221Portable; cableless; compact; hand-held
    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06QINFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q2220/00Business processing using cryptography

Definitions

  • the present disclosure relates to a material management system, a material management apparatus, a material management method, and a recording medium.
  • the known system aggregates a number of transaction lots of waste distributed in small quantities into a number of transaction lots in larger quantities, equalizes the properties of the waste, and stabilizes the production amount and quality of the waste as a recycled resource.
  • Such a system contributes to securing of a sales channel, stable supply, price stabilization, and maintenance and expansion of a scale of the transaction market, of the recycled resource.
  • Example embodiments include a material management system including a terminal apparatus and a material management apparatus communicably connected with the terminal apparatus via a network.
  • the material management apparatus includes: a memory to store quality information for one or more materials of waste; a quality information generator to acquire, for each of the one or more materials, measurement data measured by a measurement device, the measurement data indicating a property of the material, and generate the quality information indicating a quality of the material based on the measurement data; and a data output to, in response to reception of input of information identifying a particular material from the terminal apparatus, output to the terminal apparatus quality information associated with the information identifying the particular material, obtained from the quality information stored in the memory.
  • the terminal apparatus includes a display controller to cause a display device to display the quality information that is output.
  • Example embodiments include a material management apparatus communicably connected with a terminal apparatus through a network.
  • the apparatus includes: a memory to store quality information for one or more materials of waste; a quality information generator to acquire, for each of the one or more materials, measurement data measured by a measurement device, the measurement data indicating a property of the material, and generate the quality information indicating a quality of the material based on the measurement data; and a data output to, in response to reception of input of information identifying a particular material from the terminal apparatus, output to the terminal apparatus quality information associated with the information identifying the particular material, obtained from the quality information stored in the memory.
  • the quality information is to be displayed on a display device of the terminal apparatus.
  • Example embodiments include a material management method including: acquiring, for each of one or more materials, measurement data measured by a measurement device, the measurement data indicating a property of the material; generating quality information indicating a quality of the material based on the measurement data; storing in a memory the quality information for the one or more materials of waste; receiving input of information identifying a particular material from a terminal apparatus; and outputting to the terminal apparatus quality information associated with the information identifying the particular material, obtained from the quality information stored in the memory.
  • the quality information is to be displayed on a display device of the terminal apparatus.
  • Example embodiments include a recording medium storing a program code for causing a computer system to carry out the material management method described above.
  • materials which are raw materials of the recycled resource, are manually checked by a person at the time of trading the recycled resource.
  • the quality of a material such as the quality of a waste material, can be easily checked.
  • FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of a material management system according to a first embodiment.
  • FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the material management apparatus of FIG. 1, according to the first embodiment.
  • FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the terminal apparatus of FIG. 1, according to the first embodiment.
  • FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a quality information database according to the first embodiment.
  • FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating functions performed by each apparatus included in the material management system according to the first embodiment.
  • FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation performed by the material management system according to the first embodiment.
  • FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating processing performed by a quality information generator of the material management apparatus according to the first embodiment.
  • FIGs. 8 A to 8C are each a diagram illustrating an example screen displayed by the provider terminal according to the first embodiment.
  • FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation performed by the material management system according to the first embodiment.
  • FIGs. 10A and 10B are diagrams each illustrating an example screen displayed by the user terminal according to the first embodiment.
  • FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example screen displayed by the user terminal according to the first embodiment.
  • FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation performed by the material management system according to the first embodiment.
  • FIGs. 13 A and 13B are diagrams each illustrating an example screen displayed by the user terminal according to the first embodiment.
  • FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of a material management system according to the second embodiment.
  • FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a quality information database according to the second embodiment.
  • FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the material management apparatus according to the second embodiment.
  • FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating the processing performed by the quality information generator according to the second embodiment.
  • FIGs. 18A and 18B are graphs for explaining reference information to be used for determining a rank based on the impurity proportion, according to the second embodiment.
  • FIG. 19 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation performed by the material management system according to the second embodiment.
  • FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example screen, displayed by the terminal apparatus, according to the second embodiment.
  • FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of a material management system 100 according to the first embodiment.
  • the material management system 100 includes a material management apparatus 200, a terminal apparatus 300, a terminal apparatus 400, a measurement device 500, and a measurement device 600.
  • the material management apparatus 200, the terminal apparatus 300, and the terminal apparatus 400 are connected with one another via a network such as the Internet.
  • the measurement device 500 performs short-range wireless communication with the terminal apparatus 300 using any desired technology such as BLUETOOTH.
  • the measurement device 600 performs short-range wireless communication with the terminal apparatus 400 using any desired technology such as BLUETOOTH.
  • the material management system 100 manages quality information indicating the quality of a material of waste.
  • the quality information of the material is referred to by a business operator handling waste, for example, in transactions of waste with another business operator.
  • the quality information will be described in detail below.
  • examples of business operators handling waste include a business operator acting as a provider who provides a waste material, and a business operator acting as a user who uses the waste material.
  • the business operator as the provider is a waste discharge operator
  • the business operator as the user is a waste treatment operator.
  • the waste discharge operator is a business operator who sorts waste into different materials, and stores the materials.
  • the waste treatment operator is a business operator who applies intermediate treatment or regeneration treatment to the materials.
  • the terminal apparatus 300 is, for example, a terminal apparatus used by the business operator as the provider
  • the terminal apparatus 400 is, for example, a terminal apparatus used by the business operator as the user.
  • the terminal apparatus 300 is referred to as the provider terminal 300
  • the terminal apparatus 400 is referred to as the user terminal 400.
  • the business operator as the provider who provides the materials of waste is referred to as a provider
  • the business operator as the user who uses the materials of waste is referred to as a user.
  • it is assumed that one type of waste material is traded; however, more than one type of waste material may be traded. Further, such waste material may be a resin.
  • the business operator acting as the provider and the business operator acting as the user do not have to be distinguished from each other, such that one business operator may act as the provider or the user depending on the situation.
  • the measurement device 500 and the measurement device 600 according to the present embodiment are each implemented by a hand-held (portable) spectroscope.
  • the measurement device 500 measures a property of the material as a transaction subject, and outputs the resultant measurement data including a near-infrared light spectrum to the provider terminal 300.
  • the measurement device 600 measures a property of the material as the transaction subject, and outputs the resultant measurement data including a near-infrared light spectrum to the user terminal 400.
  • the provider terminal 300 transmits the measurement data output from the measurement device 500 to the material management apparatus 200. Specifically, the provider terminal 300 transmits, to the material management apparatus 200, the measurement data of the material to be provided to the user in transaction with the user, and stores the measurement data in the material management apparatus 200.
  • the user terminal 400 acquires quality information of the material obtained through the transaction with the provider from the material management apparatus 200, and displays the acquired quality information.
  • the user terminal 400 further transmits the measurement data of the material, which is acquired using the measurement device 600, to the material management apparatus 200.
  • the material management apparatus 200 verifies the measurement data received from the user terminal 400, with the measurement data received from the provider terminal 300.
  • the material management apparatus 200 includes a quality information database (DB) 240, a measurement database (DB) 250, and a quality information manager 260. [0019]
  • the quality information database 240 stores, for each material to be traded, quality information indicating the quality of the material.
  • the quality information is generated by the quality information manager 260.
  • the quality information according to the present embodiment may be used as, for example, information for determining whether to issue a certification to prove that the material has a certain level of quality.
  • the measurement database 250 stores the measurement data received from the provider terminal 300.
  • the measurement database 250 serves as a measurement data storage unit.
  • the quality information manager 260 generates the quality information of the material using the measurement data received from the provider terminal 300, and stores the quality information in the quality information database 240.
  • the quality information manager 260 outputs the quality information of the material, selected at the user terminal 400, to the user terminal 400. Further, in response to receiving the measurement data from the user terminal 400, the quality information manager 260 verifies the measurement data that is received with the measurement data that is received from the provider terminal 300 and stored in the quality information database 240, and outputs a result of the verification to the user terminal 400.
  • examples of output include transmitting information to an external apparatus, and displaying information on a display.
  • the external apparatus is any apparatus connected to the material management apparatus 200, for example, via a network.
  • the display may be a display included in the external apparatus or a display included in the material management apparatus 200.
  • the quality information indicating the quality of the material as a transaction subject is managed, for example, using a database.
  • a database in the transaction of the material, a person in charge, who works at the business operator, does not have to go to a storage location of the material and manually check the quality of the material. Accordingly, the quality of the material can be easily checked.
  • the material management apparatus 200 may be implemented by a cloud server on the Internet.
  • the material management apparatus 200 may be implemented by a plurality of information processing apparatuses each being a server.
  • the material management apparatus 200 includes the quality information database 240 and the quality information manager 260, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. Any one of the quality information database 240 and the measurement database 250 may be partly or entirely disposed at another apparatus that communicates with the material management apparatus 200. Further, the measurement database 250 may store part or entire information stored in the quality information database 240, such that the measurement database 250 may be used as the quality information database 240.
  • the number of each of the provider terminal 300 and the user terminal 400 is one, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment.
  • the number of provider terminals 300 and the number of user terminals 400 may be changed according to the number of business operators that use a service provided by the material management system 100.
  • a recyclable industrial waste is described as an example of waste.
  • such recyclable industrial waste may be waste plastic.
  • the material contained in the waste plastic may be a resin.
  • FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the material management apparatus 200, according to the present embodiment.
  • the material management apparatus 200 is implemented by a computer.
  • the material management apparatus 200 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 201, a read-only memory (ROM) 202, a random access memory (RAM) 203, a hard disk (HD) 204, a hard disk drive (HDD) controller 205, a display 206, an external device connection interface (I/F) 208, a network I/F 209, a bus line 210, a keyboard 211, a pointing device 212, a Digital Versatile Disk Rewritable (DVD-RW) drive 214, and a media I/F 216.
  • CPU central processing unit
  • ROM read-only memory
  • RAM random access memory
  • HD hard disk
  • HDD hard disk drive
  • display 206 a display 206
  • I/F external device connection interface
  • network I/F 209 a bus line 210
  • keyboard 211 a keyboard 211
  • a pointing device 212 a Digital Versatile Disk Re
  • the CPU 201 controls the entire operation of the material management apparatus 200.
  • the ROM 202 stores a program such as an initial program loader (IPL) to boot the CPU 201.
  • the RAM 203 is used as a work area for the CPU 201.
  • the HD 204 stores various data such as a control program.
  • the HDD controller 205 controls the reading and writing of various data from and to the HD 204 under the control of the CPU 201.
  • the display 206 displays various information such as cursors, menus, windows, characters, or images.
  • the external device connection I/F 208 is an interface circuit that connects the computer to various external devices. Examples of the external devices include, but are not limited to, a universal serial bus (USB) memory and a printer.
  • the network I/F 209 is an interface circuit that controls the communication of data with various external devices through a communication network.
  • the bus line 210 is an address bus or a data bus, which electrically connects the elements illustrated in FIG. 2 such as the CPU 201.
  • the keyboard 211 serves as an input device, and is provided with a plurality of keys that allow a user to input characters, numerals, or various instructions.
  • the pointing device 212 also serves as an input device, and allows a user to select or execute a specific instruction, select a target for processing, or move a cursor being displayed.
  • the DVD-RW drive 214 reads and writes various data from and to a DVD-RW 213, which serves as a removable storage medium.
  • the removable storage medium is not limited to the DVD-RW and may be a digital versatile disc-recordable (DVD-R), for example.
  • the media PF 216 controls the reading or writing (storing) of data from or to a storage medium 215 such as a flash memory. [0031]
  • FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the terminal apparatus 300.
  • the terminal apparatus 300 includes a CPU 301, a ROM 302, a RAM 303, an electrically erasable and programmable ROM (EEPROM) 304, a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensor 305, an imaging element sensor PF 306, an acceleration and orientation sensor 307, a media PF 309, and a global positioning system (GPS) receiver 311.
  • the CPU 301 is an arithmetic processing unit, which controls the entire operation of the provider terminal 300.
  • the ROM 302 stores a control program for controlling the CPU 301, such as an initial program loader (IPL).
  • the RAM 303 is used as a work area for the CPU 301.
  • the EEPROM 304 reads or writes various data such as a control program for a smartphone under the control of the CPU 301.
  • the ROM 302, RAM 303, and EEPROM 304 are examples of storage devices for the terminal apparatus 300.
  • the CMOS sensor 305 which serves as a built-in imaging means, captures an object (for example, a self-image of a user) under the control of the CPU 301 to obtain image data.
  • imaging means such as a charge-coupled device (CCD) sensor may be used.
  • the imaging element PF 306 is a circuit that controls the driving of the CMOS sensor 305.
  • Examples of the acceleration and orientation sensor 307 include, but not limited to, an electromagnetic compass or gyrocompass for detecting geomagnetism and an acceleration sensor.
  • the media PF 309 controls the reading or writing (storing) of data from or to a storage media 308 such as a flash memory.
  • the GPS receiver 311 receives a GPS signal from a GPS satellite.
  • the terminal apparatus 300 further includes a long-range communication circuit 312, an antenna 312a for the long-range communication circuit 312, a CMOS sensor 313, an imaging element PF 314, a microphone 315, a speaker 316, an audio input/output (PO) PF 317, a display 318, an external device connection PF 319, a short-range communication circuit 320, an antenna 320a for the short-range communication circuit 320, and a touch panel 321.
  • a long-range communication circuit 312 an antenna 312a for the long-range communication circuit 312, a CMOS sensor 313, an imaging element PF 314, a microphone 315, a speaker 316, an audio input/output (PO) PF 317, a display 318, an external device connection PF 319, a short-range communication circuit 320, an antenna 320a for the short-range communication circuit 320, and a touch panel 321.
  • PO audio input/output
  • the long-range communication circuit 312 is a circuit that enables the terminal apparatus 300 to communicate with other devices through the communication network.
  • the CMOS sensor 313 serves as a built-in imaging device that captures an object under the control of the CPU 301 to obtain image data.
  • the imaging element I/F 314 is a circuit that controls the driving of the CMOS sensor 313.
  • the microphone 315 is a built-in circuit that converts sound into an electrical signal.
  • the speaker 316 is a built-in circuit that generates sound such as music or voice by converting an electrical signal into physical vibration.
  • the audio I/O I/F 317 is a circuit that inputs an audio signal from the microphone 315 or outputs an audio signal to the speaker 316 under the control of the CPU 301.
  • the display 318 which serves as a display means, displays, for example, an image of the object, and various icons. Examples of the display 318 include a liquid crystal display (LCD) and an organic electroluminescence (EL) display.
  • the external device connection I/F 319 is an interface circuit that connects the terminal apparatus 300 to various external devices.
  • the short-range communication circuit 320 is a communication circuit that communicates in compliance with the near field communication (NFC), the BLUETOOTH, for example.
  • the display 318 serves as a display unit included in the terminal apparatus 300.
  • any one of the provider terminal 300 and the user terminal 400 may have a hardware configuration other than the hardware configuration illustrated in FIG. 3.
  • any one of the providing terminal 300 and the user terminal 400 may have the hardware configuration illustrated in FIG. 2.
  • FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a quality information database according to the first embodiment.
  • the quality information database 240 according to the present embodiment serves as a quality information storage unit that stores quality information.
  • the material management apparatus 200 manages the quality information database 240 for each of the business operators each operating as a provider. [0041]
  • the quality information database 240 includes, as information items, a business operator ID, a business operator name, a material name, a measurement date and time, a measurement location, a measurement target image, a measurement condition, impurity information, a material weight, a material producer or processor, a material production date or material processing date, a material production condition or material processing condition, and measurement data, for example.
  • the items “business operator ID” and “material name” are associated with the other items.
  • quality information information associating the values of the item “business operator ID” and “material name”, and the values of the other items is referred to as quality information.
  • the quality information according to the present embodiment is information obtained by quantifying the quality of a material of waste.
  • the quality of the material in the present embodiment is indicated by the value of each item included in the quality information.
  • the business operator ID is information for identifying a business operator such as a company.
  • a business operator name such as a company name, may be used.
  • quality information database 240 of the present embodiment information including the values of the items “business operator ID” and "material name”, and values of the other items, is also referred to as quality information.
  • the value of the item “business operator ID” is identification information for identifying a business operator as a provider in the material management apparatus 200.
  • the value of the item "business operator name” indicates a name of the business operator identified with the business operator ID.
  • the provider that provides the material is a business entity such as a company, but the present embodiment is not limited to this example.
  • the business operator that provides the material may be an individual.
  • the values of the items "business operator ID" and "business operator name” are identification information for identifying the individual as the provider (providing source) providing the material and the name of such provider, respectively.
  • the value of the item "material name” is the name of the material.
  • the value of the item "material name” may be specified by analyzing the measurement data, for example.
  • the value of the item “measurement date and time” is the date and time when the measurement device 500 measured a property of the material. In other words, the value of the item “measurement date and time” indicates a date and time when the measurement device 500 acquired the measurement data.
  • the value of the item "measurement location” is a location where the measurement device 500 measured the property of the material.
  • the value of the item “measurement location” may be information indicating the current location of the provider terminal 300 when the provider terminal 300 captured an image of the material.
  • the value of the item "measurement target image” is a file name of image data representing an image of the material having been captured by the provider terminal 300.
  • the value of the item "measurement target image” is identification information for identifying the image data of the material.
  • the image data of the material may be stored separately from the quality information, while being associated with its file name.
  • the value of the item “measurement condition” indicates a condition when the measurement device 500 measured the property of the material.
  • the value of the item “measurement condition” may be a measurement device identification number for identifying the measurement device 500.
  • the measurement device identification number may be included in the measurement data.
  • a measurement device identification number of the measurement device 500 and history information indicating the usage history of the measurement device 500 may be stored in the quality information database 240, in association with each other, but separately from the quality information.
  • the history information of the measurement device 500 may be included in the quality information as the measurement condition.
  • the value of the item “impurity information” is information on impurity contained in the material. Specifically, the value of the item “impurity information” includes information indicating the type of the impurity contained in the material and information indicating a proportion of the impurity to the entire material. The value of the item “material weight” indicates the weight of the material traded by the business operator.
  • the value of the item "material producer or material processor” is identification information for identifying a producer or a processor of waste, and indicates the business operator name of the producer or the processor.
  • the producer of waste is a business operator, which is a source of producing (that is, disposing) waste to be classified and managed by the waste discharge operator (provider).
  • the value of the item "material production date or material processing date” indicates the date on which the waste (material) was produced by the producer or the date on which the material of the waste was processed by the processor.
  • the value of the item "material production condition or material processing condition” indicates a condition under which the waste (material) was produced by the producer or a condition under which the material of the waste was processed by the processor.
  • the value of the item “measurement data” is, for example, information indicating a storage destination of the measurement data.
  • the value of the item “measurement data” is, for example, a uniform resource locator (URL) indicating a storage location of the measurement data in the measurement database 250.
  • FIG. 4 illustrates one example of quality information of a material having a material name "A" provided by a provider identified with a business operator ID " 101" and a business operator name "xx company".
  • the example illustrated in FIG. 4 indicates that the material with the material name "A” was produced by the producer with the business operator name "Company B" on November 5, 2022, and the measurement data was acquired by the provider terminal 300 from the measurement device 500 identified with the measurement device identification number "12345" on November 10, 2022.
  • the example illustrated in FIG. 4 further indicates that image data of the material having the material name "A” was acquired by the provider terminal 300 located in O town, X city, X state on November 10, 2022. [0059]
  • the example illustrated in FIG. 4 further indicates that the material having the material name "A” includes “polyethylene” as an impurity, and the proportion of the impurity to the entire material is 10%.
  • the values of the items "material name”, “measurement date and time”, and “impurity information" in the quality information are acquired from the measurement data. Further, in the present embodiment, the values of the items other than the items whose values are acquired from the measurement data in the quality information may be acquired as additional data input to the provider terminal 300. The additional data may be transmitted from the provider terminal 300 to the material management apparatus 200 together with the measurement data.
  • the items of information included in the quality information are not limited to the items illustrated in FIG. 4.
  • the quality information may include items other than the items of the information illustrated in FIG. 4.
  • the quality information may not include all the items illustrated in FIG. 4.
  • the quality information may include at least information acquired from the measurement data.
  • the quality information may include at least the values of the items "material name”, "measurement date and time”, and "impurity information”.
  • the quality information may include at least one of the business operator ID, the business operator name, the material name, the measurement date/time, the measurement location, the image of the measurement target, the measurement condition, the impurity information, the material weight, the material producer or processor, the material production date or the material processing date, the material production condition or the material processing condition, and the measurement data.
  • FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating functions performed by each device included in the material management system 100 according to the first embodiment. First, the functions provided by the material management apparatus 200 are described according to the present embodiment. [0065]
  • the quality information manager 260 of the material management apparatus 200 includes a data input 261, a storage controller 262, a quality information generator 263, a list obtainer 264, a quality information obtainer 265, a data output 266, and a verification unit 267.
  • the data input 261 receives input of various types of information used for processing described later. Specifically, the data input 261 acquires measurement data transmitted from the provider terminal 300 or the user terminal 400, and additional data input to the provider terminal 300. The data input 261 also acquires various types of information input through operation on the user terminal 400.
  • the storage controller 262 controls the storage of information in the quality information database 240 and the measurement database 250. Specifically, for example, the storage controller 262 stores the quality information generated by the quality information generator 263 in the quality information database 240. The storage control unit 262 stores the measurement data in the measurement database 250 in association with the quality information generated by the quality information generator 263.
  • the quality information generator 263 generates quality information when the data input 261 acquires the measurement data and the additional data from the provider terminal 300.
  • the measurement data may be data in which, for example, information indicating the date and time when the measurement device 500 performed measurement and a measurement device identification number for identifying the measurement device 500 are associated with the near-infrared light spectrum output from the measurement device 500. The processing performed by the quality information generator 263 is described below in more detail.
  • the list obtainer 264 refers to the quality information database 240 to acquire a list of providers, and a list of materials having quality information stored in the quality information database 240.
  • the quality information obtainer 265 acquires the quality information from the quality information database 240 in response to an operation on the user terminal 400.
  • the data output 266 outputs information for displaying various screens on the provider terminal 300 or the user terminal 400.
  • the verification unit 267 includes an adjustment data storage unit 268. In response to acquiring measurement data from the user terminal 400, the verification unit 267 verifies the measurement data with measurement data stored in the measurement database 250. The processing performed by the verification unit 267 is described below in more detail. [0073]
  • the functions provided by the provider terminal 300 are described below according to the present embodiment.
  • the provider terminal 300 includes a communication controller 340, an input reception unit 350, and a display controller 360.
  • the communication controller 340 controls communications between the provider terminal 300 and other devices. Specifically, the communication controller 340 controls communications, for example, between the provider terminal 300 and the measurement device 500, or between the provider terminal 300 and the material management apparatus 200.
  • the input reception unit 350 receives various inputs to the provider terminal 300.
  • the display controller 360 controls display on the display 318 of the provider terminal 300.
  • the display controller 360 may be implemented by, for example, a browser installed on the provider terminal 300.
  • the user terminal 400 includes a communication controller 440, an input reception unit 450, and a display controller 460.
  • the communication controller 440 controls communications between the user terminal 400 and other devices. Specifically, the communication controller 440 controls communications, for example, between the user terminal 400 and the measurement device 600, or between the user terminal 400 and the material management apparatus 200.
  • the input reception unit 450 receives various inputs to the user terminal 400.
  • the display controller 460 controls display on the display (for example, the display similar to the display 318) of the user terminal 400.
  • the display controller 460 may be implemented by, for example, a browser installed on the user terminal 400.
  • FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation performed by the material management system 100 according to the first embodiment.
  • the provider terminal 300 As the provider terminal 300 receives an operation for instructing registration of quality information of a material in the material management system 100, the provider terminal 300 displays a guidance screen for storing the quality information in the material management apparatus 200 (step S601).
  • the communication controller 340 of the provider terminal 300 transmits an instruction that instructs the measurement device 500 to start measuring the material (step S603).
  • the measurement device 500 In response to the reception of the instruction instructing the start of measurement, the measurement device 500 measures a property of the material (step S604), and transmits the measurement data, which is a result of the measurement, to the provider terminal 300 (step S605).
  • the display controller 360 In response to obtaining the measurement data, at the provider terminal 300, the display controller 360 causes the display 318 to display an image capturing screen for requesting the user to capture an image of the material (step S606).
  • the provider terminal 300 receives an operation to capture an image of the material, and acquires image data of the material that is captured (step S607).
  • the provider terminal 300 obtains the image data of the material, and causes the display controller 360 to display on the display 318 an input screen for inputting additional data (step S608).
  • the provider terminal 300 then receives an input of the additional data at the input reception unit 350 (step S609).
  • the image capturing screen and the input screen may be displayed in an order different from the order described above.
  • the provider terminal 300 which acquires the measurement data, may display the input screen first.
  • the provider terminal 300 displays the image capturing screen.
  • the communication controller 340 of the provider terminal 300 transmits the measurement data and the additional data to the material management apparatus 200 (step S610).
  • the quality information generator 263 generates the quality information (step S612).
  • the storage controller 262 of the material management apparatus 200 stores the measurement data in the measurement database 250 and the quality information in the quality information database 240, respectively (step S613).
  • the measurement data is stored in the measurement database 250; however, both the quality information and the measurement data may be stored in the quality information database 240. That is, the measurement data and the quality information may be stored in any desired memory.
  • FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating processing performed by the quality information generator 263 according to the first embodiment.
  • the quality information generator 263 obtains the measurement data and the additional data, and extracts the date and time of measurement, the material name, and the impurity information each from the measurement data (step S701).
  • the quality information generator 263 analyzes the near-infrared light spectrum included in the measurement data, and identifies the material name that matches the analysis result.
  • the information associating the analysis result of the measurement data and the material name may be stored in the material management apparatus 200 or may be stored in a storage device residing on a network in a manner that is communicable with the material management apparatus 200.
  • the quality information generator 263 analyzes the near-infrared light spectrum included in the measurement data, and determines a type and a proportion of the impurity contained in the material. The quality information generator 263 extracts information indicating the measurement date and time, from the measurement data.
  • the quality information generator 263 compares the date and time of acquisition of the image data that is obtained as the additional data and represents an image of the material, with the date and time of measurement that is extracted at step S701 (step S702).
  • the date and time of acquisition of the image data is the date and time when the image of the material is captured at the provider terminal 300. Such date and time are obtained from metadata added to the image data at the provider terminal 300.
  • the material management apparatus 200 transmits an error notification to the provider terminal 300 (step S704), and the operation ends.
  • the quality information generator 263 stores the measurement data in the measurement database 250, in association with the information indicating a storage location of the measurement data, the date and time of the measurement, the material name, the impurity information, and the additional data (step S705).
  • the quality information generator 263 stores the information indicating the storage location of the measurement data, the date and time of the measurement, the material name, the impurity information, and the additional data, in the quality information database 240 as the quality information (step S706). The operation then ends.
  • the quality information is generated, based on a determination that a difference between the date and time of acquisition of the image data and the date and time of the measurement is within the predetermined range.
  • the case where the difference between the date and time of acquisition of the image data and the date and time of the measurement is within the predetermined range indicates that the measurement of a property of the material by the measurement device 500 and capturing of the image of the material by the provider terminal 300 are performed at the same time or substantially at the same time.
  • the time when the measurement is performed on a certain material and the time when the image is captured for the certain material are compared, and a result of the comparison is used for verification. This prevents the measurement data and the image data of different materials from being erroneously associated with each other, thus increasing the accuracy of the quality information.
  • FIGs. 8A to 8C are each a diagram illustrating an example screen displayed by the provider terminal according to the first embodiment.
  • FIG. 8 A illustrates a screen 81, which is one example of the guidance screen displayed on the display 318 of the provider terminal 300 at step S601 of FIG. 6.
  • the screen 81 includes a display area 81a and an operation button 81b.
  • the provider terminal 300 changes the display from the screen 81 to a screen 82 illustrated in FIG. 8B.
  • FIG. 8B illustrates the screen 82, which is one example of the image capturing screen displayed on the display 318 of the provider terminal 300 at step S606 of FIG. 6.
  • the screen 82 includes display areas 82a and 82b and an operation button 82c.
  • the display area 82a displays a message prompting the user to capture an image of the material.
  • the display area 82b displays an image captured using the image capturing function of the provider terminal 300.
  • the display area 82b may further display a guide image 82d indicating a positional relationship between the material and the provider terminal 300.
  • the operation button 82c when selected, instructs the provider terminal 300 to capture an image.
  • the provider terminal 300 changes the display from the screen 82 to a screen 83 illustrated in FIG. 8C.
  • FIG. 8C illustrates the screen 83, which is one example of an additional data input screen displayed on the display 318 of the provider terminal 300 at step S608 of FIG. 6.
  • the screen 83 includes display areas 83a and 83b and an operation button 83c.
  • the display area 83a displays a message prompting the user to input additional data.
  • the display area 83b displays one or more fields for inputting values of various items, to be included in the additional data.
  • the operation button 83c when selected, instructs to register the additional data with the input values, as input of the additional data is completed.
  • the provider terminal 300 transmits the additional data including the image data of the material, and the measurement data, to the material management apparatus 200.
  • FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation performed by the material management system 100 according to the first embodiment.
  • the communication controller 440 of the user terminal 400 transmits a request for displaying the home screen to the material management apparatus 200 (step S901).
  • the list obtainer 264 of the material management apparatus 200 acquires a list of providers each storing quality information in the quality information database 240 (step S902).
  • the list of providers is, for example, a list of business operator IDs of the business operators, who are providers, each having its quality information stored in the quality information database 240.
  • the data output 266 of the material management apparatus 200 transmits the list of providers to the user terminals 400 (step S903).
  • the display controller 460 of the user terminal 400 displays the list of providers on the display (step S904).
  • the communication controller 440 of the user terminal 400 transmits a notification indicating the selected provider to the material management apparatus 200 (step S906).
  • the notification indicating the selected provider may include a business operator ID of the selected provider.
  • the list obtainer 264 obtains a list of material names each corresponding to the business operator ID included in the notification (step S907). Specifically, the list obtainer 264 refers to the quality information database 240 to acquire a list of material names, each extracted from the quality information having the business operator ID, which is included in the notification.
  • the data output 266 of the material management apparatus 200 transmits the list of material names to the user terminal 400 (step S908).
  • the display controller 460 of the user terminal 400 displays the list of material names on the display (step S909).
  • the communication controller 440 of the user terminal 400 transmits a notification indicating the selected material name to the material management apparatus 200 (step S911).
  • the quality information obtainer 265 extracts the quality information including the business operator ID included in the notification received at step S906 and the selected material name included in the notification received at S911, from the quality information database 240 (step S912).
  • the data output 266 of the material management apparatus 200 transmits the extracted quality information to the user terminal 400 (step S913).
  • the display controller 460 of the user terminal 400 displays a screen including the quality information that is received on the display (step S914). The operation then ends.
  • FIGs. 10A, 10B and 11 example screens displayed by the user terminal 400 according to the present embodiment are described below.
  • FIGs. 10A and 10B are diagrams each illustrating an example screen displayed by the user terminal according to the first embodiment.
  • FIG. 10A illustrates a screen 101, which is one example of a screen including a list of providers, displayed on the user terminal 400 at step S904 of FIG. 9.
  • the screen 101 includes a display area 101a and an operation button 101b.
  • the display area 101a displays a list of business operator names of providers, each having its quality information stored in the quality information database 240.
  • the display area 101a displays a check box and a business operator name of each provider, side by side, in association.
  • the operation button 101b when selected, transmits a notification indicating the selected provider, to the material management apparatus 200.
  • the user terminal 400 When a check box is selected in the display area 101a and the operation button 101b is pressed, the user terminal 400 sends a notification indicating the provider, corresponding to the selected check box, as the selected provider, to the material management apparatus 200. [0130]
  • FIG. 10B illustrates a screen 102, which is one example of a screen including a list of material names, displayed on the user terminal 400 at step S909 of FIG. 9.
  • the screen 102 includes a display area 102a and an operation button 102b.
  • the display area 102a displays a list of names of materials, included in the quality information stored for the selected provider.
  • the display area 102a displays a check box and the name of each material, side by side, in association.
  • the operation button 102b when selected, transmits a notification indicating the selected material name, to the material management apparatus 200.
  • the user terminal 400 When a check box is selected in the display area 102a and the operation button 102b is pressed, the user terminal 400 sends a notification indicating the material name, corresponding to the selected check box, as the selected material name, to the material management apparatus 200.
  • FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example screen displayed by the user terminal 400 according to the first embodiment.
  • FIG. 11 illustrates a screen 111, which is one example of a screen, displayed on the user terminal 400 at step S914 of FIG. 9.
  • the screen 111 includes display areas I lla and 11 lb.
  • the display area I l la displays the business operator name of the provider selected from the list of providers, and the material name selected from the list of material names.
  • the display area 111b displays the quality information extracted from the quality information database 240 at step S912 of FIG. 9.
  • the quality information stored by one or more business operators each providing materials is stored in the material management apparatus 200.
  • the quality information of the selected material is obtained from the material management apparatus 200 and presented to the business operator using such material.
  • the material management system 100 allows the business operator who uses a certain material of waste to easily check the quality of such material.
  • FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation performed by the material management system 100 according to the first embodiment.
  • the display controller 460 of the user terminal 400 displays a guidance screen on the display of the user terminal 400 (step S 1201).
  • the user terminal 400 transmits an instruction that instructs to start measurement to the measurement device 600 (step S1203).
  • the measurement device 600 In response to the reception of the instruction that instructs the start of measurement, the measurement device 600 measures a property of the material (step S1204), and transmits the measurement data, which is a result of the measurement, to the user terminal 400 (step S1205).
  • the display controller 460 displays a verification screen on the display of the user terminal 400 (step S 1206). Subsequently, the user terminal 400 receives input of information to the verification screen by the input reception unit 450 (step S1207).
  • the information input to the verification screen includes, for example, a material name of the material obtained by the business operator as the user and the name of the business operator providing such material.
  • the communication controller 440 of the user terminal 400 transmits a verification request to verify the measurement data to the material management apparatus 200 (step S 1208).
  • the verification request includes the measurement data acquired by the user terminal 400 from the measurement device 600 and the information input at step S1207.
  • the verification unit 267 identifies a specific measurement device 600 from the measurement data included in the verification request (step S1209). Specifically, the verification unit 267 extracts a measurement device identification number for identifying the specific measurement device 600 used for measurement, from the measurement data included in the verification request.
  • the verification unit 267 of the material management apparatus 200 specifies measurement data to be verified with the measurement data included in the verification request, from among the measurement data stored in the measurement database 250 (step S1210). Specifically, the verification unit 267 specifies the measurement data, which is associated with quality information including the material name and the business operator name each having been input, in the measurement database 250 at step S 1207. [0149]
  • the verification unit 267 refers to adjustment data stored in the adjustment data storage unit 268, to adjust two sets of measurement data for verification (step S1211).
  • the two sets of measurement data for verification are, specifically, the measurement data acquired from the user terminal 400 at step S1208 and the measurement data specified at step S1210.
  • step S 1211 The processing of step S 1211 is described below.
  • the measurement data output from the measurement device 500 and the measurement data output from the measurement device 500 may not completely match.
  • the adjustment data storage unit 268 stores adjustment data for adjusting data to compensate a characteristic unique to an individual measurement device, in association with a measurement device identification number for identifying each measurement device. The measurement data is adjusted using the adjustment data.
  • the verification unit 267 acquires the measurement data from the user terminal 400
  • the verification unit 267 refers to the adjustment data storage unit 268, and adjusts the measurement data using the adjustment data associated with the measurement device identification number included in the measurement data.
  • the verification unit 267 refers to the adjustment data storage unit 268, and adjusts the measurement data specified at step S 1208 by using the adjustment data associated with the measurement device identification number included in the quality information for the specified measurement data.
  • the measurement data may be adjusted before the measurement data is stored in the measurement database 250, and the adjusted measurement data may be stored in the measurement database 250.
  • the verification unit 267 verifies the two sets of adjusted measurement data (step S 1212), and transmits information indicating the verification result to the user terminal 400 via the data output 266 (step S 1213).
  • the user terminal 400 When the information indicating the verification result is received, the user terminal 400 causes the display controller 460 to display, on the display, a verification result screen including the information indicating the verification result (step S 1214). The operation then ends.
  • FIGs. 13 A and 13B are diagrams each illustrating an example screen displayed by the user terminal 400 according to the first embodiment.
  • FIG. 13A illustrates a screen 131, which is an example of the verification screen displayed on the user terminal 400 at step S1206 of FIG. 12.
  • the screen 131 includes a display area 131a and an operation button 131b.
  • the display area 131a includes an input field for inputting the name of the material acquired by the business operator as the user, and an input field for inputting the name of the business operator that has provided such material.
  • the user terminal 400 transmits a verification request to the material management apparatus 200.
  • the user terminal 400 changes the display from the screen 131 to a screen 132 illustrated in FIG. 13B.
  • FIG. 13B illustrates a screen 132, which is an example of a verification result screen displayed on the user terminal 400 at step S 1213 of FIG. 12.
  • the screen 132 includes display areas 132a and 132b.
  • the display area 132a displays a material name and a business operator name, input in the display area 13 la of the screen 131.
  • the display area 132b displays information indicating the verification result generated at the material management apparatus 200.
  • the display area 132b displays the verification result indicating that the measurement data match.
  • the display area 132b may display another screen in the present embodiment.
  • the display area 132b displays information indicating a difference between the two sets of measurement data obtained through verification.
  • the measurement data of the material obtained by the business operator as the user is verified with the measurement data corresponding to the quality information, which is stored by the business operator as the provider.
  • the result of such verification is presented to the business operator as the user of the material.
  • the business operator using the material may request the business operator who provides the material to ensure the adequate compensation.
  • the quality information indicating the quality of the material of waste is shared between the provider and the user. This can eliminate the process of confirming the quality of the material in the transaction, thus, facilitating the transaction process.
  • the provider terminal 300 and the user terminal 400 acquire measurement data by communicating with the measurement device 500 and the measurement device 600, respectively, and transmit the acquired measurement data to the material management apparatus 200.
  • the measurement data may be acquired in various other ways.
  • the material management apparatus 200 may directly acquire the measurement data from the measurement device 500 and the measurement device 600, respectively. In such case, the provider terminal 300 and the user terminal 400 do not have to acquire the measurement data from the measurement device 500 and the measurement device 600, respectively.
  • the second embodiment is an embodiment in which the first embodiment is applied to traceability management in a supply chain, through a series of processes from collection to recycling of industrial waste.
  • the description of the second embodiment is given of the differences from the first embodiment.
  • Like reference signs denote like elements as those of the first embodiment, and redundant descriptions thereof are omitted or simplified appropriately.
  • FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of a material management system 100A according to the second embodiment.
  • the material management system 100A is used to manage supply chain traceability, and tracks a material of the industrial waste through a series of processes in the supply chain from discharge of industrial waste to recycling of the industrial waste.
  • the material management system 100A manages the quality of the material of industrial waste, traded between business operators in a supply chain, through a series of processes from collection to recycling (reuse) of industrial waste.
  • the material management system 100A includes one or more material management apparatuses 200A - 1, 200A - 2,..., 200A - n and one or more terminal apparatuses 700 - 1, 700 - 2,..., 700 - n.
  • the material management apparatuses 200A - 1, 200A - 2,..., 200A - n are collectively referred to as the material management apparatus 200A when they are not distinguished from each other
  • the terminal apparatuses 700 - 1, 700 - 2,..., 700 - n are collectively referred to as the terminal apparatus 700 when they are not distinguished from each other.
  • the material management apparatus 200A and the terminal apparatus 700 are communicably connected with each other via a network.
  • the material management apparatuses 200A are each a distributed ledger node included in the blockchain system, and are connected to each other by a peer-to-peer (P2P) network.
  • P2P peer-to-peer
  • the terminal apparatus 700 according to the present embodiment may be used by each of the business operators in the supply chain.
  • the business operators in the supply chain include a disposal operator, a treatment operator, a material producer, a manufacturer, and a brand owner.
  • the processes in the supply chain according to the present embodiment include, for example, a process performed by the disposal operator, a process performed by the treatment operator, a process performed by the material producer, a process performed by the manufacturer, and a process performed by the brand owner.
  • the discharge operator is a business operator, who sorts the industrial waste into a plurality of materials and stores the materials.
  • the process performed by the discharge operator is sorting of the collected industrial waste into different materials and storing of the materials.
  • the treatment operator is a business operator, who applies intermediate treatment or regeneration treatment on the material.
  • the process performed by the processing business operator is intermediate treatment or regeneration treatment on the material.
  • the material producer is a business operator, who manufactures a material of a product from a material (raw material) to which intermediate treatment is applied, and sells the produced material.
  • the process performed by the material producer is the manufacturing of a material of a product from a raw material to which intermediate treatment is applied, and the selling of such material.
  • the manufacturer is a business operator, who manufactures a product by molding the material purchased from the material producer, and selling the manufactured product.
  • the process performed by the manufacturer is manufacturing of a product by molding the material purchased from the material producer, and selling of such product.
  • the brand owner is a business operator who purchases the product manufactured by the manufacturer and sells the purchased product.
  • the process performed by the brand owner is selling of the product.
  • the process of sorting the industrial waste into a plurality of materials and storing the materials by the disposal operator is the most upstream
  • the process of selling a product by the brand owner is the most downstream.
  • the terminal apparatus 700 - 1 is used by the discharge operator
  • the terminal apparatus 700 - 2 is used by the treatment operator
  • the terminal apparatus 700 - 3 is used by the material producer.
  • the terminal device 700 - 4 is used by the manufacturer
  • the terminal device 700 - 5 is used by the brand owner.
  • the terminal apparatuses 700 may each be connected to the measurement device 500 of its own so as to communicate with the measurement device 500.
  • the material management apparatus 200A includes a quality information database 240A, a measurement database 250, a quality information manager 260A, a ranking database 280, and an evaluation database 290.
  • the quality information database 240A stores quality information indicating the quality of the material traded between the business operators.
  • the quality information according to the present embodiment includes information indicating a transaction history of a material included in a resource, such as the industrial waste.
  • the ranking database 280 stores information used for determining a rank of the quality of the material in the resource, which has been traded between the business operators.
  • the evaluation database 290 stores evaluation information indicating an evaluation of each business operator.
  • the evaluation database 290 serves as an evaluation information storage unit that stores the evaluation information of a business operator.
  • the quality information manager 260A In generating the quality information of the material in the resource, the quality information manager 260A according to the present embodiment refers to the ranking database 280 to determine a rank of the quality of the material in the resource, and includes information indicating the rank in the quality information.
  • the quality information manager 260A displays the evaluation information indicating an evaluation of the business operator, who is a source of the resource.
  • the terminal apparatus 700 - 1 stores quality information of each material that is sorted, in the material management apparatus 200A.
  • the quality information that is generated includes, for example, identification information for identifying a collection source of the industrial waste.
  • the quality information may include identification information for identifying a process performed immediately before the process of sorting that is performed by the disposal operator.
  • the terminal apparatus 700 - 2 acquires the quality information of the material to be purchased, from the material management apparatus 200A.
  • the terminal apparatus 700 - 2 stores the quality information indicating the quality of the material in the resource, which has been treated, in the material management apparatus 200A.
  • the quality information includes identification information for identifying the quality information of the material, which is acquired when the treatment operator purchases the material from the disposal operator.
  • the quality information may include identification information for identifying a process performed immediately before the process of applying treatment that is performed by the treatment operator.
  • the terminal apparatus 700 - 3 acquires the quantity information of the material to be purchased from the material management apparatus 200A.
  • the terminal apparatus 700 - 3 stores the quality information indicating the quality of the material in the material management apparatus 200A.
  • the quality information stored by the terminal apparatus 700-3 includes identification information for identifying the quality information of the material, which is acquired when the material is purchased from the treatment operator.
  • the quality information may include identification information for identifying a process performed immediately before the process of production that is performed by the material producer.
  • the terminal apparatus 700 - 4 acquires the quality information of the material to be purchased from the material management apparatus 200A.
  • the terminal apparatus 700 - 4 stores the quality information indicating the quality of the product in the material management apparatus 200A.
  • the quality information stored by the terminal apparatus 700-4 includes identification information for identifying the quality information of the material, which is acquired when the material is purchased from the material producer.
  • the quality information includes identification information for identifying a process performed immediately before the process of manufacturing that is performed by the manufacturer.
  • the terminal apparatus 700 - 5 acquires the quality information of the product to be purchased from the material management apparatus 200A.
  • each business operator when generating the quality information of the material to be sold by each business operator, each business operator causes the material management apparatus 200A to store the quality information, which includes the identification information for identifying the quality information of the material that is obtained when purchasing the material from the upstream business operator.
  • the quality information is generated or updated to reflect the quality information at each process in the series of processes in the supply chain, and recorded on the blockchain.
  • the quality information recorded on the blockchain includes identification information for identifying the process immediately before the current process.
  • the business operator can prove a source of the material, handled by the business operator, to a transaction counterpart.
  • the business operator can present the quality information of a material, which is a raw material of such resource, to the downstream business operator.
  • the business operator when the business operator purchases a resource, the business operator can trace back the quality information of a material, which is a raw material of the resource, handled by an upstream business operator.
  • the business operator in the supply chain can view the quality information indicating the quality of the material in the resource, at any processing before the current process to be performed by the business operator.
  • the upstream business operator allows the downstream business operator to check the source of the recycled resource, thus, increasing the reliability of transactions between the business operators.
  • the downstream business operator can view the quality of the raw material of the resource to be traded, by tracing back the quality information of the material that is most upstream in the supply chain.
  • the downstream business operator is the treatment operator and the upstream business operator is the discharge operator.
  • the quality information may be used in the negotiation of purchase conditions of the material to be traded, such as a price, delivery date, and purchase amount of the material.
  • the quality information may be used in deciding various other conditions of the material to be traded, such as a condition for cleaning or a condition for removing impurities.
  • the quality information may be used in the negotiation of purchase conditions of the material to be traded, such as a price, delivery date, and purchase amount of the material, or checking of purities of the material to be traded.
  • the quality information may be used in the negotiation of purchase conditions of the material to be traded, such as a price, delivery date, and purchase amount of the material. Similarly, the quality information may be used in checking whether the purity of the material to be traded is suitable for the product, or determining processing conditions of the product.
  • the quality information may be used in the negotiation of purchase conditions of the product subject to transaction, such as a price, delivery date, and purchase amount of the product.
  • FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a quality information database according to the second embodiment.
  • the quality information database 240A stores quality information, which includes, in addition to the information items of the quality information of FIG. 4 for the first embodiment, quality information ID, quality information ID of used resource, and a rank.
  • the value of the item “quality information ID” is identification information for identifying quality information. Specifically, the value of the item “quality information ID” is identification information for identifying a resource (material) to be traded between business operators. In other words, the value of the item “quality information ID” is identification information for identifying a process currently performed by the business operator.
  • the value of the item “rank” is information indicating a rank of the quality of the resource (material) corresponding to the quality information described above. For example, the rank indicates whether the quality of the material is good or bad.
  • the value of the item "quality information ID of used resource” is identification information for identifying quality information of raw material of the resource, of which quality is indicated by the quality information.
  • the value of the item “quality information ID of used resource” is identification information for identifying a process immediately before the current process performed by (or to be performed by) the business operator that stores the quality information.
  • the value of the item “quality information ID” and the value of the item “rank” may be values generated by the material management apparatus 200A.
  • the value of the item “quality information ID of used resource” may be a value input on the additional data input screen.
  • FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the material management apparatus 200A according to the second embodiment.
  • the ranking database 280 of the material management apparatus 200A is referred to when generating the quality information.
  • the ranking database 280 stores reference information, which can be a basis to determine whether the quality of the resource (material), indicated by the quality information, is good or bad.
  • the reference information includes, for example, information indicating a type of impurity, or a threshold value for the proportion of the impurity, contained in the material.
  • the evaluation database 290 stores evaluation information for the business operator.
  • the quality information manager 260A includes a data input 261, a storage controller 262, a quality information generator 263 A, a list obtainer 264, a quality information obtainer 265, a data output 266, a verification unit 267, and an evaluation unit 269.
  • the quality information generator 263A issues a quality information ID for identifying the quality information when generating the quality information.
  • the quality information ID that is issued is included in the quality information.
  • the quality information generator 263A refers to the ranking database 280 to determine a rank of the quality of the resource to indicate whether the quality of the resource is good or bad.
  • the evaluation unit 269 When information indicating an evaluation of a particular business operator is input from the terminal apparatus 700, the evaluation unit 269 according to the present embodiment updates the evaluation information of the particular business operator in the evaluation database 290. Specifically, the evaluation unit 269 extracts evaluation information, which is associated with a business operator ID of the particular business operator subject to the input of a new evaluation, from the evaluation information stored in the evaluation database 290. The evaluation unit 269 then performs statistical processing on the extracted evaluation information including the newly input evaluation, and updates the evaluation information of the particular business operator.
  • the terminal apparatus 700 includes a communication controller, an input reception unit, and a display controller, similarly to the provider terminal 300 and the user terminal 400 illustrated in FIG. 5.
  • processing performed by the quality information generator 263A is described below according to the present embodiment.
  • the operation of storing the quality information in the quality information database 240A is the same as that of the sequence diagram of FIG. 6, except that the provider terminal 300 is replaced by the terminal apparatus 700 of FIG. 14 and the processing of the quality information generator 263A is performed as described below. [0217]
  • FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating processing performed by the quality information generator 263A according to the second embodiment.
  • the quality information generator 263A obtains the measurement data and the additional data, and extracts the date and time of measurement, the material name, and the impurity information from the measurement data (step S 1701). [0218]
  • the quality information generator 263A determines a rank of the quality of the resource (material), based on the impurity information extracted from the measurement data at step S1701 and information in the rank database 280 (step S1702).
  • the quality information generator 263A may determine that the quality has a rank “excellent” when a proportion of the impurity indicated by the impurity information extracted at step S1701 is less than a threshold stored in the ranking database 280.
  • the quality information generator 263A may further determine that the quality has a rank “good” when such proportion of the impurity is equal to or greater than the threshold.
  • the threshold indicating the proportion of the impurity may have multiple values according to multiple stages of the threshold.
  • the quality information generator 263A may determine a rank of the quality of the material, according to a corresponding stage of the threshold. The processing of determining a rank based on the impurity proportion, performed by the quality information generator 263 A, is described below in more detail.
  • the quality information generator 263A may determine a rank of the quality of the material, according to a type of impurity included in the impurity information. For example, the quality information generator 263A may set the rank of the quality to “acceptable”, when a certain type of impurity is included in the material. [0221]
  • step S1702 proceeds to step S1702 following step S1703. Since the processing from step S1703 to step S1705 of FIG. 17 is the same as the processing from step S702 to step S704 of FIG. 7, the description thereof is omitted.
  • the quality information generator 263A stores the measurement data in the measurement database 250, in association with the information indicating a storage location of the measurement data, the date and time of the measurement, the material name, the impurity information, the additional data, and the rank (step S 1706).
  • the quality information generator 263A issues a quality information ID, which is identification information for identifying the quality information (step S1707).
  • the quality information generator 263A stores the information indicating the storage location of the measurement data, the date and time of the measurement, the material name, the impurity information, the additional data, the rank, and the quality information ID, in the quality information database 240 as the quality information (step S1708).
  • the additional data according to the present embodiment includes the quality information ID of the used resource.
  • the quality information ID of the used resource may be input on the additional data input screen displayed on the terminal apparatus 700 in a substantially similar manner as described above referring to step S608 of FIG. 6, for example.
  • FIGs. 18A and 18B are graphs for explaining reference information to be used for determining a rank based on the impurity proportion, according to the present embodiment.
  • the ranking database 280 stores, for example, absorbance waveform data of a resource (for example, plastic) formed of a resin containing 100% polypropylene (PP), and absorbance waveform data of a resource formed of a resin containing 100% polyethylene (PE), as the reference information to be used for determining a rank of the quality of the resource.
  • a resource for example, plastic
  • PP polypropylene
  • PE polyethylene
  • a curve LI represents the absorbance waveform of a material formed of 100% polypropylene (PP).
  • a curve L2 represents the absorbance waveform of a material formed of 100% polyethylene (PE).
  • a curve L3 represents a waveform, indicated by the measurement data of a material that is measured.
  • an absorbance waveform of a specific material that does not contain impurities or additives and is not coated is referred to as a first waveform.
  • an absorbance waveform of an impurity is referred to as a second waveform.
  • the impurity which is preferably not to be contained in the material, include PE (polyethylene).
  • the absorbance waveform of the material formed of 100% polypropylene (PP), which is indicated by the curve LI serves as the first waveform.
  • the absorbance waveform of the material formed of 100% polyethylene (PE), which is indicated by the curve L2 serves as the second waveform.
  • the waveform represented by the measurement data of the material that is measured, indicated by the curve L3 serves as a measured waveform.
  • the quality information generator 263A synthesizes the first waveform and the second waveform using the multiple regression analysis, such that a correlation coefficient with the third waveform becomes maximum.
  • FIG. 18B illustrates a curve L4, which indicates a combined waveform obtained by synthesizing the first waveform and the second waveform.
  • the proportion of the first waveform in the combined waveform is 76.7%
  • the proportion of the second waveform in the combined waveform is 23.3%.
  • a proportion of PP (polypropylene) is 76.7%, and a proportion of PE (polyethylene) is 23.3%.
  • the quality of the material is determined according to the proportion of PP (polypropylene) and the proportion of PE (polyethylene) contained in the material.
  • thresholds are set in a stepwise manner, with respect to the proportion of PP (polypropylene) to the combined waveform generated using the multiple regression analysis.
  • the quality of the material is determined based on the thresholds and the proportion of PP (polypropylene) in the combined waveform.
  • the quality information generator 263A determines a rank of the quality of the material, according to the proportion of the impurity in the combined waveform.
  • the threshold value for the proportion of PP (polypropylene) in the combined waveform may be stored in the ranking database 280.
  • the first threshold is set to 95% and the second threshold is set to 80%.
  • the quality information generator 263A determines that the material in which the proportion of PP (polypropylene) in the combined waveform is 95% or more has the rank “excellent”. The quality information generator 263A determines that the material in which the proportion of PP (polypropylene) in the combined waveform is 80% or more and less than 95% has the rank “good”. The quality information generator 263A determines that the material in which the proportion of PP (polypropylene) in the combined waveform is less than 80% has the rank "acceptable”.
  • the material from which the measured waveform L3 illustrated in FIGs. 18A and 18B is obtained is determined to have a rank “acceptable”.
  • the absorbance waveform data indicating the first waveform and the second waveform, respectively are stored in the ranking database 280.
  • the absorbance waveform data corresponding to the second waveform may not be stored in the ranking database 280.
  • the absorbance waveform data of the impurity may not be stored in the ranking database 280.
  • the quality information generator 263 A calculates a correlation coefficient between the measured waveform and the first waveform, and determines whether the quality of the material is good or bad according to the calculated correlation coefficient. More specifically, a threshold value for the correlation coefficient is set and stored in the ranking database 280 so that the quality of a material having a high correlation coefficient is determined to be a material having good quality.
  • the threshold value for the correlation coefficient may be set such that the rank of a material having a coefficient of 0.99 or more is determined as "excellent", the rank of a material having a coefficient of 0.98 or more and less than 0.99 is determined as "good”, and the rank of a material having the coefficient of less than 0.98 is determined as "acceptable”.
  • the state in which the certain amount of additive is added is regarded as the best state for such material.
  • the ranking database 280 may store absorbance waveform data of a material to which a certain amount of additive is added as reference information for determining whether the quality of the material to be measured is good or bad.
  • the quality information generator 263A calculates a correlation coefficient between a waveform indicated by the absorbance waveform data of the material to which the certain amount of the additive is added, and a waveform of the material to be measured, and determines a rank of the material to be measured according to the correlation coefficient.
  • a rank of the quality of the material may be determined based on, for example, the level of brightness or the level of transparency of the image obtained by capturing the material to be measured.
  • the accuracy of the information indicating the quality of the material to be measured increases, thus contributing to facilitation of transactions of the material.
  • FIG. 19 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation performed by the material management system 100A according to the second embodiment.
  • step S1901 to step S1914 of FIG. 19 Since the processing from step S1901 to step S1914 of FIG. 19 is the same as the processing from step S901 to step S913 of FIG. 9, the description thereof is omitted.
  • the terminal apparatus 700 displays a screen including the quality information on the display (step S 1914).
  • a screen including the quality information on the display (step S 1914).
  • an input field for inputting an evaluation of the business operator is displayed on the screen together with the quality information.
  • the terminal apparatus 700 transmits information indicating the input evaluation of the business operator to the material management apparatus 200A (step S 1916).
  • the evaluation unit 269 updates the evaluation information stored in the evaluation database 290 with the information indicating the evaluation (step S 1917).
  • FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example screen, displayed by the terminal apparatus 700, according to the second embodiment.
  • FIG. 20 illustrates a screen 111A, which is one example of a screen, displayed on the terminal apparatus 700 at step S 1914 of FIG. 19.
  • the screen 111A includes display areas I l la, 111c, 11 Id, and 11 le.
  • the display area 111c displays the quality information including the values of the items other than the quality information ID and the rank, extracted from the quality information database 240A at step S1912 of FIG. 19.
  • the display area 11 Id displays the quality information ID, the evaluation information of the business operator, and the rank of resource (rank of material).
  • the display area 11 le displays an input field for inputting information indicating the evaluation of the business operator that stored the quality information of the material.
  • each of the business operators in the supply chain can view the quality information indicating the quality of the material in the resource, which is provided by the upstream business operator. Further, according to the present embodiment, the business operator, who is considering purchasing the material (resource), can trace back the quality information of the material, which has been stored in the material management apparatus 200A by the most upstream business operator, which is a source of the material (resource).
  • the quality information related to the quality of the resource as a transaction subject is shared between the business operators in the supply chain. This prevents fraudulent transactions, thus facilitating transactions between the business operators in the supply chain.
  • the material management apparatus 200A may be set such that each business operator can view only the quality information stored by a business operator immediately upstream in the supply chain.
  • processing circuit or circuitry includes a programmed processor to execute each function by software, such as a processor implemented by an electronic circuit, and devices, such as an application- specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), and conventional circuit modules designed to perform the recited functions.
  • ASIC application-specific integrated circuit
  • DSP digital signal processor
  • FPGA field programmable gate array
  • the material management apparatuses 200 and 200A may each be implemented by a plurality of computing devices, together operating as a server cluster.
  • the plural computing devices are configured to communicate with one another through any type of communications link including a network, shared memory, and perform the processes described in this disclosure.
  • the material management apparatuses 200 and 200A may each include multiple computing devices that communicate with one another.
  • any one of the material management apparatuses 200 and 200A may share the processes described in this disclosure in various ways.
  • the processes executed by one or more functional units may be performed by any one of the computing devices operating as the material management apparatus 200 or 200A.
  • the functions executed by one or more functional units may be performed by any one of the computing devices operating as the material management apparatus 200 or 200A.
  • the functional elements of any one of the material management apparatuses 200 and 200A may be integrated into one server device or may be divided into a plurality of devices.
  • the device serving as a source for providing measurement data can be any device having a communication function.
  • Examples of such a device serving as a source for providing measurement data include, for example, an industrial machine, an imaging device, a sound collecting device, a medical device, a network home appliance, an automobile such as a connected car, a notebook personal computer (PC), a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a game machine, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a digital camera, a wearable PC, and a desktop PC.
  • a material management system includes a terminal apparatus and a material management apparatus communicably connected with each other through a network.
  • the material management apparatus includes a quality information generator, a quality information storage unit, and a data output.
  • the quality information generator acquires, for one or more materials of waste, measurement data indicating a property of the material of waste, measured by a measurement device.
  • the quality information generator generates quality information indicating a quality of the material of waste based on the measurement data.
  • the quality information storage unit stores the quality information for the one or more materials of waste.
  • the data output outputs to the terminal apparatus quality information associated with the information identifying the particular material, obtained from the quality information stored in the quality information storage unit.
  • the terminal apparatus includes a display controller that causes a display device to display the quality information that is output.
  • the material management apparatus further includes: a storage controller that stores the quality information in the quality information storage unit, and stores the measurement data a measurement data storage unit in association with the quality information.
  • the quality information generator acquires, using the measurement data, a name of the material, information indicating a date and time when the measurement data was acquired, and information regarding an impurity contained in the material, as items to be included in the quality information.
  • the quality information generator in the material management system of any one of Aspect 1 to Aspect 3, the quality information generator generates the quality information so as to further include additional data regarding the material, which is acquired together with the measurement data.
  • the additional data includes at least one of image data indicating an image of the material, identification information identifying a provider of the material, a measurement condition under which the property of the material was measured, information identifying a producer of the material, information indicating a date at which the material was produced, and an amount of the material produced.
  • the material management system of any one of Aspects 1 to 5 further includes: another terminal apparatus different from the terminal apparatus; and the measurement device that measures a property of the material and outputs the measurement data to the other terminal apparatus.
  • the other terminal apparatus includes a communication controller that, in response to acquisition of the measurement data output from the measurement device, transmits the measurement data that is acquired to the material management apparatus.
  • the storage controller of the material management apparatus stores the measurement data acquired from the other terminal apparatus in the measurement data storage unit.
  • the measurement device is a hand-held spectroscope that measures near-infrared light transmitted through the material or reflected by the material to generate a near-infrared light spectum.
  • the measurement data includes the near-infrared light spectrum, information indicating a date and time when the measurement device measured the material, and a measurement device identification number for identifying the measurement device.
  • the material management apparatus further includes: a verification unit that, in response to acquiring measurement data of the material from the terminal apparatus, specifies measurement data corresponding to the measurement data acquired from the terminal apparatus, from among the measurement data stored in the measurement data storage unit, and verifies the specified measurement data with the measurement data acquired from the terminal apparatus.
  • the data output outputs information indicating a result of the verification by the verification unit to the terminal apparatus.
  • the display controller of the terminal apparatus causes the display device to display the information indicating the result of the verification that is output.
  • the terminal apparatus and the other terminal apparatus are operated by business operators (that are different from each other) in a supply chain including a series of processes from collection of the waste to recycling of the waste.
  • the waste is industrial waste.
  • the quality information generator determines a rank of the quality of the material based on the information on the impurity, the quality information further including the rank that is determined.
  • the quality information generator determines a rank of the quality of the material based on a proportion of the impurity in a combined waveform.
  • the combined waveform is obtained by synthesizing an absorbance waveform of a specific material that does not contain impurities and additives and is not coated, and an absorbance waveform of the impurity, so that a correlation coefficient of the combined waveform with a measurement waveform indicated by the measurement data is maximized.
  • the quality information generator generates the quality information including the rank that is determined.
  • the quality information generator determines a rank of the quality of the material based on a correlation coefficient between an absorbance waveform of a specific material that does not contain impurities and additives and is not coated, and a measurement waveform indicated by the measurement data.
  • the quality information generator generates the quality information including the rank that is determined.
  • the data output unit refers to an evaluation information storage unit that stores evaluation information indicating an evaluation of a provider of the material, and outputs the evaluation information corresponding to the provider of the material to the terminal apparatus, with the quality information.
  • the display controller causes the display device to display the evaluation information with the quality information.
  • the material in the material management system of any one of Aspects 1 to 11, the material is a resin.
  • the material management system of Aspect 9 includes a plurality of the material management apparatuses, which are distributed ledger nodes on a blockchain.
  • the quality information generator generates the quality information further including identification information for identifying a process immediately before each process included in a series of processes in the supply chain.
  • the storage controller records the quality information generated for each process on the blockchain.
  • a material management method is performed by a material management system including a terminal apparatus and a material management apparatus communicably connected with each other through a network.
  • the material management apparatus performs: acquiring, for each of one or more materials, measurement data measured by a measurement device, indicating a property of a material of waste; generating quality information indicating a quality of the material of waste based on the measurement data; storing, in a quality information storage unit, the quality information for the one or more materials of waste; and in response to reception of input of information identifying a particular material from the terminal apparatus, outputting to the terminal apparatus quality information associated with the information identifying the particular material, obtained from the quality information stored in the quality information storage unit.
  • the terminal apparatus performs displaying, on a display device, the quality information that is output.
  • a material management apparatus communicably connected with a terminal apparatus through a network, includes: a quality information generator that acquires measurement data indicating a property of a material of waste, measured by a measurement device, and generates quality information indicating a quality of the material of waste based on the measurement data; a quality information storage unit that stores the quality information for one or more materials of waste; and a data output that, in response to reception of input of information identifying a particular material from the terminal apparatus, outputs to the terminal apparatus quality information associated with the information identifying the particular material, obtained from the quality information stored in the quality information storage unit.
  • a material management program causes a computer to execute a method including: acquiring, for each of one or more materials, measurement data measured by a measurement device, indicating a property of a material of waste; generating quality information indicating a quality of the material of waste based on the measurement data; storing, in a quality information storage unit, the quality information for the one or more materials of waste; and in response to reception of input of information identifying a particular material from the terminal apparatus, outputting to the terminal apparatus quality information associated with the information identifying the particular material, obtained from the quality information stored in the quality information storage unit.
  • the quality information is to be displayed on the display device of the terminal apparatus.
  • the present invention can be implemented in any convenient form, for example using dedicated hardware, or a mixture of dedicated hardware and software.
  • the present invention may be implemented as computer software implemented by one or more networked processing apparatuses.
  • the processing apparatuses include any suitably programmed apparatuses such as a general-purpose computer, a personal digital assistant, a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) or third-generation (3G)-compliant mobile telephone, and so on. Since the present invention can be implemented as software, each and every aspect of the present invention thus encompasses computer software implementable on a programmable device.
  • the computer software can be provided to the programmable device using any conventional carrier medium (carrier means).
  • the carrier medium includes a transient carrier medium such as an electrical, optical, microwave, acoustic or radio frequency signal carrying the computer code.
  • a transient medium such as an electrical, optical, microwave, acoustic or radio frequency signal carrying the computer code.
  • An example of such a transient medium is a Transmission Control Protocol/Intemet Protocol (TCP/IP) signal carrying computer code over an IP network, such as the Internet.
  • TCP/IP Transmission Control Protocol/Intemet Protocol
  • the carrier medium may also include a storage medium for storing processor readable code such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a compact disc read-only memory (CD- ROM), a magnetic tape device, or a solid-state memory device.
  • circuitry or processing circuitry which includes general-purpose processors, special purpose processors, integrated circuits, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), conventional circuitry and/or combinations thereof which are configured or programmed to perform the disclosed functionality.
  • Processors are considered processing circuitry or circuitry as they include transistors and other circuitry therein.
  • the circuitry, units, or means are hardware that carry out or are programmed to perform the recited functionality.
  • the hardware may be any hardware disclosed herein or otherwise known which is programmed or configured to carry out the recited functionality.
  • the hardware is a processor which may be considered a type of circuitry
  • the circuitry, means, or units are a combination of hardware and software, the software being used to configure the hardware and/or processor.

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Abstract

A material management system includes a terminal apparatus and a material management apparatus communicably connected with the terminal apparatus via a network. The material management apparatus includes: a memory to store quality information for one or more materials of waste; a quality information generator to acquire, for each of the one or more materials, measurement data measured by a measurement device, the measurement data indicating a property of the material, and generate the quality information indicating a quality of the material based on the measurement data; and a data output to, in response to reception of input of information identifying a particular material from the terminal apparatus, output to the terminal apparatus quality information associated with the information identifying the particular material, obtained from the quality information. The terminal apparatus includes a display controller to cause a display device to display the quality information that is output.

Description

[DESCRIPTION]
[Title of Invention]
MATERIAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, MATERIAL MANAGEMENT APPARATUS, MATERIAL MANAGEMENT METHOD, AND RECORDING MEDIUM [Technical Field] [0001]
The present disclosure relates to a material management system, a material management apparatus, a material management method, and a recording medium.
[B ckground Art] [0002]
The known system aggregates a number of transaction lots of waste distributed in small quantities into a number of transaction lots in larger quantities, equalizes the properties of the waste, and stabilizes the production amount and quality of the waste as a recycled resource. Such a system contributes to securing of a sales channel, stable supply, price stabilization, and maintenance and expansion of a scale of the transaction market, of the recycled resource. [Citation List] [Patent Literature] [0003] [PTL 1]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2021-105806 [Summary of Invention]
Example embodiments include a material management system including a terminal apparatus and a material management apparatus communicably connected with the terminal apparatus via a network. The material management apparatus includes: a memory to store quality information for one or more materials of waste; a quality information generator to acquire, for each of the one or more materials, measurement data measured by a measurement device, the measurement data indicating a property of the material, and generate the quality information indicating a quality of the material based on the measurement data; and a data output to, in response to reception of input of information identifying a particular material from the terminal apparatus, output to the terminal apparatus quality information associated with the information identifying the particular material, obtained from the quality information stored in the memory. The terminal apparatus includes a display controller to cause a display device to display the quality information that is output.
Example embodiments include a material management apparatus communicably connected with a terminal apparatus through a network. The apparatus includes: a memory to store quality information for one or more materials of waste; a quality information generator to acquire, for each of the one or more materials, measurement data measured by a measurement device, the measurement data indicating a property of the material, and generate the quality information indicating a quality of the material based on the measurement data; and a data output to, in response to reception of input of information identifying a particular material from the terminal apparatus, output to the terminal apparatus quality information associated with the information identifying the particular material, obtained from the quality information stored in the memory. The quality information is to be displayed on a display device of the terminal apparatus.
Example embodiments include a material management method including: acquiring, for each of one or more materials, measurement data measured by a measurement device, the measurement data indicating a property of the material; generating quality information indicating a quality of the material based on the measurement data; storing in a memory the quality information for the one or more materials of waste; receiving input of information identifying a particular material from a terminal apparatus; and outputting to the terminal apparatus quality information associated with the information identifying the particular material, obtained from the quality information stored in the memory. The quality information is to be displayed on a display device of the terminal apparatus.
Example embodiments include a recording medium storing a program code for causing a computer system to carry out the material management method described above.
[Technical Problem]
[0004]
In the above-described technique, materials, which are raw materials of the recycled resource, are manually checked by a person at the time of trading the recycled resource.
[Solution to Problem]
[0005]
[Advantageous Effects of Invention]
[0006]
With the above-described configuration, the quality of a material, such as the quality of a waste material, can be easily checked.
[Brief Description of Drawings]
[0007]
A more complete appreciation of embodiments of the present disclosure and many of the attendant advantages and features thereof can be readily obtained and understood from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of a material management system according to a first embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the material management apparatus of FIG. 1, according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the terminal apparatus of FIG. 1, according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a quality information database according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating functions performed by each apparatus included in the material management system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation performed by the material management system according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating processing performed by a quality information generator of the material management apparatus according to the first embodiment.
FIGs. 8 A to 8C are each a diagram illustrating an example screen displayed by the provider terminal according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation performed by the material management system according to the first embodiment.
FIGs. 10A and 10B are diagrams each illustrating an example screen displayed by the user terminal according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example screen displayed by the user terminal according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation performed by the material management system according to the first embodiment.
FIGs. 13 A and 13B are diagrams each illustrating an example screen displayed by the user terminal according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of a material management system according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a quality information database according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the material management apparatus according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating the processing performed by the quality information generator according to the second embodiment.
FIGs. 18A and 18B are graphs for explaining reference information to be used for determining a rank based on the impurity proportion, according to the second embodiment. FIG. 19 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation performed by the material management system according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example screen, displayed by the terminal apparatus, according to the second embodiment.
The accompanying drawings are intended to depict embodiments of the present disclosure and should not be interpreted to limit the scope thereof. The accompanying drawings are not to be considered as drawn to scale unless explicitly noted. Also, identical or similar reference numerals designate identical or similar components throughout the several views. [Description of Embodiments] [0008]
In describing embodiments illustrated in the drawings, specific terminology is employed for the sake of clarity. However, the disclosure of this specification is not intended to be limited to the specific terminology so selected and it is to be understood that each specific element includes all technical equivalents that have a similar function, operate in a similar manner, and achieve a similar result.
Referring now to the drawings, embodiments of the present disclosure are described below.
As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
First Embodiment
The first embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of a material management system 100 according to the first embodiment.
[0009]
The material management system 100 according to the present embodiment includes a material management apparatus 200, a terminal apparatus 300, a terminal apparatus 400, a measurement device 500, and a measurement device 600.
[0010]
In the material management system 100 according to the present embodiment, the material management apparatus 200, the terminal apparatus 300, and the terminal apparatus 400 are connected with one another via a network such as the Internet. In the material management system 100, the measurement device 500 performs short-range wireless communication with the terminal apparatus 300 using any desired technology such as BLUETOOTH. The measurement device 600 performs short-range wireless communication with the terminal apparatus 400 using any desired technology such as BLUETOOTH.
[0011]
The material management system 100 according to the present embodiment manages quality information indicating the quality of a material of waste. In one example, the quality information of the material is referred to by a business operator handling waste, for example, in transactions of waste with another business operator. The quality information will be described in detail below.
[0012]
In the present disclosure, examples of business operators handling waste include a business operator acting as a provider who provides a waste material, and a business operator acting as a user who uses the waste material. For example, the business operator as the provider is a waste discharge operator, and the business operator as the user is a waste treatment operator. [0013]
The waste discharge operator is a business operator who sorts waste into different materials, and stores the materials. The waste treatment operator is a business operator who applies intermediate treatment or regeneration treatment to the materials.
[0014]
In the material management system 100 according to the present embodiment, the terminal apparatus 300 is, for example, a terminal apparatus used by the business operator as the provider, and the terminal apparatus 400 is, for example, a terminal apparatus used by the business operator as the user. In the following description, the terminal apparatus 300 is referred to as the provider terminal 300, and the terminal apparatus 400 is referred to as the user terminal 400. Further, in the following description, the business operator as the provider who provides the materials of waste is referred to as a provider, and the business operator as the user who uses the materials of waste is referred to as a user. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that one type of waste material is traded; however, more than one type of waste material may be traded. Further, such waste material may be a resin.
[0015]
The business operator acting as the provider and the business operator acting as the user do not have to be distinguished from each other, such that one business operator may act as the provider or the user depending on the situation.
[0016]
The measurement device 500 and the measurement device 600 according to the present embodiment are each implemented by a hand-held (portable) spectroscope. The measurement device 500 measures a property of the material as a transaction subject, and outputs the resultant measurement data including a near-infrared light spectrum to the provider terminal 300. Similarly, the measurement device 600 measures a property of the material as the transaction subject, and outputs the resultant measurement data including a near-infrared light spectrum to the user terminal 400. [0017]
The provider terminal 300 according to the present embodiment transmits the measurement data output from the measurement device 500 to the material management apparatus 200. Specifically, the provider terminal 300 transmits, to the material management apparatus 200, the measurement data of the material to be provided to the user in transaction with the user, and stores the measurement data in the material management apparatus 200. The user terminal 400 acquires quality information of the material obtained through the transaction with the provider from the material management apparatus 200, and displays the acquired quality information. The user terminal 400 further transmits the measurement data of the material, which is acquired using the measurement device 600, to the material management apparatus 200. The material management apparatus 200 verifies the measurement data received from the user terminal 400, with the measurement data received from the provider terminal 300. [0018]
The material management apparatus 200 includes a quality information database (DB) 240, a measurement database (DB) 250, and a quality information manager 260. [0019]
The quality information database 240 stores, for each material to be traded, quality information indicating the quality of the material. The quality information is generated by the quality information manager 260. The quality information according to the present embodiment may be used as, for example, information for determining whether to issue a certification to prove that the material has a certain level of quality. The measurement database 250 stores the measurement data received from the provider terminal 300. The measurement database 250 serves as a measurement data storage unit.
[0020]
The quality information manager 260 generates the quality information of the material using the measurement data received from the provider terminal 300, and stores the quality information in the quality information database 240. The quality information manager 260 outputs the quality information of the material, selected at the user terminal 400, to the user terminal 400. Further, in response to receiving the measurement data from the user terminal 400, the quality information manager 260 verifies the measurement data that is received with the measurement data that is received from the provider terminal 300 and stored in the quality information database 240, and outputs a result of the verification to the user terminal 400. [0021]
In the present embodiment, examples of output include transmitting information to an external apparatus, and displaying information on a display. The external apparatus is any apparatus connected to the material management apparatus 200, for example, via a network. The display may be a display included in the external apparatus or a display included in the material management apparatus 200.
[0022]
In the present embodiment, the quality information indicating the quality of the material as a transaction subject, is managed, for example, using a database. With the database, in the transaction of the material, a person in charge, who works at the business operator, does not have to go to a storage location of the material and manually check the quality of the material. Accordingly, the quality of the material can be easily checked.
[0023]
The material management apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment may be implemented by a cloud server on the Internet. Alternatively, the material management apparatus 200 may be implemented by a plurality of information processing apparatuses each being a server.
[0024]
In the embodiment described with reference to FIG. 1, the material management apparatus 200 includes the quality information database 240 and the quality information manager 260, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. Any one of the quality information database 240 and the measurement database 250 may be partly or entirely disposed at another apparatus that communicates with the material management apparatus 200. Further, the measurement database 250 may store part or entire information stored in the quality information database 240, such that the measurement database 250 may be used as the quality information database 240.
[0025]
In the material management system 100 according to the present embodiment, the number of each of the provider terminal 300 and the user terminal 400 is one, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. The number of provider terminals 300 and the number of user terminals 400 may be changed according to the number of business operators that use a service provided by the material management system 100.
[0026]
In the embodiments of the present disclosure described below, a recyclable industrial waste is described as an example of waste. Specifically, in one example, such recyclable industrial waste may be waste plastic. The material contained in the waste plastic may be a resin.
[0027]
Referring to FIG. 2, a hardware configuration of the material management apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment is described below. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the material management apparatus 200, according to the present embodiment.
[0028]
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the material management apparatus 200 is implemented by a computer. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the material management apparatus 200 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 201, a read-only memory (ROM) 202, a random access memory (RAM) 203, a hard disk (HD) 204, a hard disk drive (HDD) controller 205, a display 206, an external device connection interface (I/F) 208, a network I/F 209, a bus line 210, a keyboard 211, a pointing device 212, a Digital Versatile Disk Rewritable (DVD-RW) drive 214, and a media I/F 216.
[0029]
The CPU 201 controls the entire operation of the material management apparatus 200. The ROM 202 stores a program such as an initial program loader (IPL) to boot the CPU 201. The RAM 203 is used as a work area for the CPU 201. The HD 204 stores various data such as a control program. The HDD controller 205 controls the reading and writing of various data from and to the HD 204 under the control of the CPU 201. The display 206 displays various information such as cursors, menus, windows, characters, or images. The external device connection I/F 208 is an interface circuit that connects the computer to various external devices. Examples of the external devices include, but are not limited to, a universal serial bus (USB) memory and a printer. The network I/F 209 is an interface circuit that controls the communication of data with various external devices through a communication network. The bus line 210 is an address bus or a data bus, which electrically connects the elements illustrated in FIG. 2 such as the CPU 201.
[0030]
The keyboard 211 serves as an input device, and is provided with a plurality of keys that allow a user to input characters, numerals, or various instructions. The pointing device 212 also serves as an input device, and allows a user to select or execute a specific instruction, select a target for processing, or move a cursor being displayed. The DVD-RW drive 214 reads and writes various data from and to a DVD-RW 213, which serves as a removable storage medium. The removable storage medium is not limited to the DVD-RW and may be a digital versatile disc-recordable (DVD-R), for example. The media PF 216 controls the reading or writing (storing) of data from or to a storage medium 215 such as a flash memory. [0031]
A hardware configuration of each of the provider terminal 300 and the user terminal 400 is described below according to the present embodiment. In the following description, the provider terminal 300, which is the terminal apparatus 300, is described as an example, but the user terminal 400 is substantially similar in structure to the provider terminal 300. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the terminal apparatus 300.
[0032]
The terminal apparatus 300 according to the present embodiment includes a CPU 301, a ROM 302, a RAM 303, an electrically erasable and programmable ROM (EEPROM) 304, a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensor 305, an imaging element sensor PF 306, an acceleration and orientation sensor 307, a media PF 309, and a global positioning system (GPS) receiver 311.
[0033]
The CPU 301 is an arithmetic processing unit, which controls the entire operation of the provider terminal 300. The ROM 302 stores a control program for controlling the CPU 301, such as an initial program loader (IPL). The RAM 303 is used as a work area for the CPU 301. The EEPROM 304 reads or writes various data such as a control program for a smartphone under the control of the CPU 301. The ROM 302, RAM 303, and EEPROM 304 are examples of storage devices for the terminal apparatus 300.
[0034]
The CMOS sensor 305, which serves as a built-in imaging means, captures an object (for example, a self-image of a user) under the control of the CPU 301 to obtain image data. In alternative to the CMOS sensor 305, imaging means such as a charge-coupled device (CCD) sensor may be used.
[0035]
The imaging element PF 306 is a circuit that controls the driving of the CMOS sensor 305. Examples of the acceleration and orientation sensor 307 include, but not limited to, an electromagnetic compass or gyrocompass for detecting geomagnetism and an acceleration sensor. The media PF 309 controls the reading or writing (storing) of data from or to a storage media 308 such as a flash memory. The GPS receiver 311 receives a GPS signal from a GPS satellite.
[0036]
The terminal apparatus 300 further includes a long-range communication circuit 312, an antenna 312a for the long-range communication circuit 312, a CMOS sensor 313, an imaging element PF 314, a microphone 315, a speaker 316, an audio input/output (PO) PF 317, a display 318, an external device connection PF 319, a short-range communication circuit 320, an antenna 320a for the short-range communication circuit 320, and a touch panel 321.
[0037] The long-range communication circuit 312 is a circuit that enables the terminal apparatus 300 to communicate with other devices through the communication network. The CMOS sensor 313 serves as a built-in imaging device that captures an object under the control of the CPU 301 to obtain image data. The imaging element I/F 314 is a circuit that controls the driving of the CMOS sensor 313. The microphone 315 is a built-in circuit that converts sound into an electrical signal. The speaker 316 is a built-in circuit that generates sound such as music or voice by converting an electrical signal into physical vibration. The audio I/O I/F 317 is a circuit that inputs an audio signal from the microphone 315 or outputs an audio signal to the speaker 316 under the control of the CPU 301. [0038]
The display 318, which serves as a display means, displays, for example, an image of the object, and various icons. Examples of the display 318 include a liquid crystal display (LCD) and an organic electroluminescence (EL) display. The external device connection I/F 319 is an interface circuit that connects the terminal apparatus 300 to various external devices. The short-range communication circuit 320 is a communication circuit that communicates in compliance with the near field communication (NFC), the BLUETOOTH, for example. The touch panel 321, which serves as an input device, allows a user to operate the terminal apparatus 300 by touching a screen of the display 318. The display 318 serves as a display unit included in the terminal apparatus 300.
[0039]
Any one of the provider terminal 300 and the user terminal 400 may have a hardware configuration other than the hardware configuration illustrated in FIG. 3. For example, any one of the providing terminal 300 and the user terminal 400 may have the hardware configuration illustrated in FIG. 2. [0040]
Referring now to FIG. 4, the quality information database 240 according to the present embodiment is described below. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a quality information database according to the first embodiment. The quality information database 240 according to the present embodiment serves as a quality information storage unit that stores quality information. The material management apparatus 200 manages the quality information database 240 for each of the business operators each operating as a provider. [0041]
The quality information database 240 includes, as information items, a business operator ID, a business operator name, a material name, a measurement date and time, a measurement location, a measurement target image, a measurement condition, impurity information, a material weight, a material producer or processor, a material production date or material processing date, a material production condition or material processing condition, and measurement data, for example. The items “business operator ID” and “material name” are associated with the other items.
[0042] In the present embodiment, information associating the values of the item “business operator ID” and “material name”, and the values of the other items is referred to as quality information.
[0043]
The quality information according to the present embodiment is information obtained by quantifying the quality of a material of waste. The quality of the material in the present embodiment is indicated by the value of each item included in the quality information. [0044]
The business operator ID is information for identifying a business operator such as a company. In alternative to the business operator ID, a business operator name, such as a company name, may be used.
[0045]
In the quality information database 240 of the present embodiment, information including the values of the items “business operator ID" and "material name”, and values of the other items, is also referred to as quality information.
[0046]
The value of the item “business operator ID" is identification information for identifying a business operator as a provider in the material management apparatus 200. The value of the item "business operator name" indicates a name of the business operator identified with the business operator ID.
[0047]
In the example illustrated in FIG. 4 according to the present embodiment, it is assumed that the provider that provides the material is a business entity such as a company, but the present embodiment is not limited to this example. The business operator that provides the material may be an individual. In such cases, the values of the items "business operator ID" and "business operator name" are identification information for identifying the individual as the provider (providing source) providing the material and the name of such provider, respectively.
[0048]
The value of the item "material name" is the name of the material. The value of the item "material name" may be specified by analyzing the measurement data, for example. [0049]
The value of the item "measurement date and time" is the date and time when the measurement device 500 measured a property of the material. In other words, the value of the item "measurement date and time" indicates a date and time when the measurement device 500 acquired the measurement data.
[0050]
The value of the item "measurement location" is a location where the measurement device 500 measured the property of the material. Specifically, for example, the value of the item "measurement location" may be information indicating the current location of the provider terminal 300 when the provider terminal 300 captured an image of the material.
[0051]
The value of the item "measurement target image" is a file name of image data representing an image of the material having been captured by the provider terminal 300. In other words, the value of the item "measurement target image" is identification information for identifying the image data of the material. The image data of the material may be stored separately from the quality information, while being associated with its file name.
[0052]
The value of the item "measurement condition” indicates a condition when the measurement device 500 measured the property of the material. Specifically, the value of the item "measurement condition" may be a measurement device identification number for identifying the measurement device 500. The measurement device identification number may be included in the measurement data.
[0053]
In the present embodiment, a measurement device identification number of the measurement device 500 and history information indicating the usage history of the measurement device 500 may be stored in the quality information database 240, in association with each other, but separately from the quality information. In the present embodiment, the history information of the measurement device 500 may be included in the quality information as the measurement condition.
[0054]
The value of the item "impurity information" is information on impurity contained in the material. Specifically, the value of the item "impurity information" includes information indicating the type of the impurity contained in the material and information indicating a proportion of the impurity to the entire material. The value of the item "material weight" indicates the weight of the material traded by the business operator.
[0055]
The value of the item "material producer or material processor" is identification information for identifying a producer or a processor of waste, and indicates the business operator name of the producer or the processor. For example, the producer of waste is a business operator, which is a source of producing (that is, disposing) waste to be classified and managed by the waste discharge operator (provider).
[0056]
The value of the item "material production date or material processing date" indicates the date on which the waste (material) was produced by the producer or the date on which the material of the waste was processed by the processor.
[0057]
The value of the item "material production condition or material processing condition" indicates a condition under which the waste (material) was produced by the producer or a condition under which the material of the waste was processed by the processor. The value of the item "measurement data" is, for example, information indicating a storage destination of the measurement data. Specifically, the value of the item "measurement data" is, for example, a uniform resource locator (URL) indicating a storage location of the measurement data in the measurement database 250.
[0058]
FIG. 4 illustrates one example of quality information of a material having a material name "A" provided by a provider identified with a business operator ID " 101" and a business operator name "xx company". The example illustrated in FIG. 4 indicates that the material with the material name "A" was produced by the producer with the business operator name "Company B" on November 5, 2022, and the measurement data was acquired by the provider terminal 300 from the measurement device 500 identified with the measurement device identification number "12345" on November 10, 2022. The example illustrated in FIG. 4 further indicates that image data of the material having the material name "A" was acquired by the provider terminal 300 located in O town, X city, X state on November 10, 2022. [0059]
The example illustrated in FIG. 4 further indicates that the material having the material name "A" includes "polyethylene" as an impurity, and the proportion of the impurity to the entire material is 10%.
[0060]
In the present embodiment, the values of the items "material name", "measurement date and time", and "impurity information" in the quality information are acquired from the measurement data. Further, in the present embodiment, the values of the items other than the items whose values are acquired from the measurement data in the quality information may be acquired as additional data input to the provider terminal 300. The additional data may be transmitted from the provider terminal 300 to the material management apparatus 200 together with the measurement data. [0061]
The items of information included in the quality information are not limited to the items illustrated in FIG. 4. The quality information may include items other than the items of the information illustrated in FIG. 4.
[0062]
In alternative embodiments, the quality information may not include all the items illustrated in FIG. 4. For example, the quality information may include at least information acquired from the measurement data. In other words, the quality information may include at least the values of the items "material name", "measurement date and time", and "impurity information". Moreover, in alternative embodiments, the quality information may include at least one of the business operator ID, the business operator name, the material name, the measurement date/time, the measurement location, the image of the measurement target, the measurement condition, the impurity information, the material weight, the material producer or processor, the material production date or the material processing date, the material production condition or the material processing condition, and the measurement data.
[0063]
Referring to FIG. 5, a functional configuration of each device included in the material management system 100 is described below according to the present embodiment. [0064]
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating functions performed by each device included in the material management system 100 according to the first embodiment. First, the functions provided by the material management apparatus 200 are described according to the present embodiment. [0065]
In the material management system 100, the quality information manager 260 of the material management apparatus 200 includes a data input 261, a storage controller 262, a quality information generator 263, a list obtainer 264, a quality information obtainer 265, a data output 266, and a verification unit 267.
[0066]
The data input 261 receives input of various types of information used for processing described later. Specifically, the data input 261 acquires measurement data transmitted from the provider terminal 300 or the user terminal 400, and additional data input to the provider terminal 300. The data input 261 also acquires various types of information input through operation on the user terminal 400.
[0067]
The storage controller 262 controls the storage of information in the quality information database 240 and the measurement database 250. Specifically, for example, the storage controller 262 stores the quality information generated by the quality information generator 263 in the quality information database 240. The storage control unit 262 stores the measurement data in the measurement database 250 in association with the quality information generated by the quality information generator 263.
[0068]
The quality information generator 263 generates quality information when the data input 261 acquires the measurement data and the additional data from the provider terminal 300. The measurement data according to the present embodiment may be data in which, for example, information indicating the date and time when the measurement device 500 performed measurement and a measurement device identification number for identifying the measurement device 500 are associated with the near-infrared light spectrum output from the measurement device 500. The processing performed by the quality information generator 263 is described below in more detail.
[0069]
The list obtainer 264 refers to the quality information database 240 to acquire a list of providers, and a list of materials having quality information stored in the quality information database 240. [0070]
The quality information obtainer 265 acquires the quality information from the quality information database 240 in response to an operation on the user terminal 400.
[0071]
The data output 266 outputs information for displaying various screens on the provider terminal 300 or the user terminal 400.
[0072]
The verification unit 267 includes an adjustment data storage unit 268. In response to acquiring measurement data from the user terminal 400, the verification unit 267 verifies the measurement data with measurement data stored in the measurement database 250. The processing performed by the verification unit 267 is described below in more detail. [0073]
The functions provided by the provider terminal 300 are described below according to the present embodiment. The provider terminal 300 includes a communication controller 340, an input reception unit 350, and a display controller 360.
[0074]
The communication controller 340 controls communications between the provider terminal 300 and other devices. Specifically, the communication controller 340 controls communications, for example, between the provider terminal 300 and the measurement device 500, or between the provider terminal 300 and the material management apparatus 200.
[0075]
The input reception unit 350 receives various inputs to the provider terminal 300. The display controller 360 controls display on the display 318 of the provider terminal 300. The display controller 360 may be implemented by, for example, a browser installed on the provider terminal 300.
[0076]
The functions performed by the user terminal 400 according to the present embodiment are described below. The user terminal 400 includes a communication controller 440, an input reception unit 450, and a display controller 460.
[0077]
The communication controller 440 controls communications between the user terminal 400 and other devices. Specifically, the communication controller 440 controls communications, for example, between the user terminal 400 and the measurement device 600, or between the user terminal 400 and the material management apparatus 200.
[0078]
The input reception unit 450 receives various inputs to the user terminal 400. The display controller 460 controls display on the display (for example, the display similar to the display 318) of the user terminal 400. The display controller 460 may be implemented by, for example, a browser installed on the user terminal 400. [0079]
Referring now to FIGs. 6 to 8, processing for storing quality information according to the present embodiment is described below. FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation performed by the material management system 100 according to the first embodiment.
[0080]
In the present embodiment, as the provider terminal 300 receives an operation for instructing registration of quality information of a material in the material management system 100, the provider terminal 300 displays a guidance screen for storing the quality information in the material management apparatus 200 (step S601).
[0081]
In response to the input reception unit 350 receiving an operation for instructing the measurement device 500 to measure the material via the guidance screen (step S602), the communication controller 340 of the provider terminal 300 transmits an instruction that instructs the measurement device 500 to start measuring the material (step S603).
[0082]
In response to the reception of the instruction instructing the start of measurement, the measurement device 500 measures a property of the material (step S604), and transmits the measurement data, which is a result of the measurement, to the provider terminal 300 (step S605).
[0083]
In response to obtaining the measurement data, at the provider terminal 300, the display controller 360 causes the display 318 to display an image capturing screen for requesting the user to capture an image of the material (step S606). The provider terminal 300 receives an operation to capture an image of the material, and acquires image data of the material that is captured (step S607).
[0084]
Subsequently, the provider terminal 300 obtains the image data of the material, and causes the display controller 360 to display on the display 318 an input screen for inputting additional data (step S608). The provider terminal 300 then receives an input of the additional data at the input reception unit 350 (step S609).
[0085]
The image capturing screen and the input screen may be displayed in an order different from the order described above. For example, in the present embodiment, the provider terminal 300, which acquires the measurement data, may display the input screen first. In response to the completion of the input of the additional data, the provider terminal 300 displays the image capturing screen.
[0086] Referring back to FIG. 6, the communication controller 340 of the provider terminal 300 transmits the measurement data and the additional data to the material management apparatus 200 (step S610).
[0087]
At the material management apparatus 200, as the data input 261 of the quality information manager 260 acquires the measurement data and the additional data (step S611), the quality information generator 263 generates the quality information (step S612).
[0088]
Subsequently, the storage controller 262 of the material management apparatus 200 stores the measurement data in the measurement database 250 and the quality information in the quality information database 240, respectively (step S613). In the present embodiment, the measurement data is stored in the measurement database 250; however, both the quality information and the measurement data may be stored in the quality information database 240. That is, the measurement data and the quality information may be stored in any desired memory.
[0089]
Referring now to FIG. 7, processing performed by the quality information generator 263 is described below according to the present embodiment. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating processing performed by the quality information generator 263 according to the first embodiment.
[0090]
The quality information generator 263 obtains the measurement data and the additional data, and extracts the date and time of measurement, the material name, and the impurity information each from the measurement data (step S701).
[0091]
Specifically, the quality information generator 263 analyzes the near-infrared light spectrum included in the measurement data, and identifies the material name that matches the analysis result. The information associating the analysis result of the measurement data and the material name may be stored in the material management apparatus 200 or may be stored in a storage device residing on a network in a manner that is communicable with the material management apparatus 200.
[0092]
The quality information generator 263 analyzes the near-infrared light spectrum included in the measurement data, and determines a type and a proportion of the impurity contained in the material. The quality information generator 263 extracts information indicating the measurement date and time, from the measurement data.
[0093]
The quality information generator 263 then compares the date and time of acquisition of the image data that is obtained as the additional data and represents an image of the material, with the date and time of measurement that is extracted at step S701 (step S702). The date and time of acquisition of the image data is the date and time when the image of the material is captured at the provider terminal 300. Such date and time are obtained from metadata added to the image data at the provider terminal 300.
[0094]
When a difference between the date and time of acquisition of the image data and the date and time of the measurement is not within a predetermined range at step S702, the material management apparatus 200 transmits an error notification to the provider terminal 300 (step S704), and the operation ends.
[0095]
When the difference between the date and time of acquisition of the image data and the date and time of the measurement is within the predetermined range at step S702, the quality information generator 263 stores the measurement data in the measurement database 250, in association with the information indicating a storage location of the measurement data, the date and time of the measurement, the material name, the impurity information, and the additional data (step S705).
[0096]
The quality information generator 263 stores the information indicating the storage location of the measurement data, the date and time of the measurement, the material name, the impurity information, and the additional data, in the quality information database 240 as the quality information (step S706). The operation then ends.
[0097]
As described above, in the present embodiment, the quality information is generated, based on a determination that a difference between the date and time of acquisition of the image data and the date and time of the measurement is within the predetermined range.
[0098]
The case where the difference between the date and time of acquisition of the image data and the date and time of the measurement is within the predetermined range indicates that the measurement of a property of the material by the measurement device 500 and capturing of the image of the material by the provider terminal 300 are performed at the same time or substantially at the same time.
[0099]
In the present embodiment, the time when the measurement is performed on a certain material and the time when the image is captured for the certain material are compared, and a result of the comparison is used for verification. This prevents the measurement data and the image data of different materials from being erroneously associated with each other, thus increasing the accuracy of the quality information.
[0100]
Referring now to FIGs. 8A to 8C, example screens displayed by the provider terminal 300 according to the present embodiment are described below. FIGs. 8 A to 8C are each a diagram illustrating an example screen displayed by the provider terminal according to the first embodiment.
[0101]
FIG. 8 A illustrates a screen 81, which is one example of the guidance screen displayed on the display 318 of the provider terminal 300 at step S601 of FIG. 6. The screen 81 includes a display area 81a and an operation button 81b.
[0102]
The display area 81a displays a message prompting the user to measure a property of a material using the measurement device 500. The operation button 81b, when selected, transmits an instruction causing the measurement device 500 to start measuring the property of the material.
[0103]
In response to receiving operation on the operation button 81b of the screen 81, the provider terminal 300 changes the display from the screen 81 to a screen 82 illustrated in FIG. 8B. [0104]
FIG. 8B illustrates the screen 82, which is one example of the image capturing screen displayed on the display 318 of the provider terminal 300 at step S606 of FIG. 6.
[0105]
The screen 82 includes display areas 82a and 82b and an operation button 82c. The display area 82a displays a message prompting the user to capture an image of the material. The display area 82b displays an image captured using the image capturing function of the provider terminal 300. The display area 82b may further display a guide image 82d indicating a positional relationship between the material and the provider terminal 300.
[0106]
The operation button 82c, when selected, instructs the provider terminal 300 to capture an image.
[0107]
In response to receiving operation on the operation button 82c of the screen 82, the provider terminal 300 changes the display from the screen 82 to a screen 83 illustrated in FIG. 8C. [0108]
FIG. 8C illustrates the screen 83, which is one example of an additional data input screen displayed on the display 318 of the provider terminal 300 at step S608 of FIG. 6.
[0109]
The screen 83 includes display areas 83a and 83b and an operation button 83c. The display area 83a displays a message prompting the user to input additional data. The display area 83b displays one or more fields for inputting values of various items, to be included in the additional data.
[0110]
The operation button 83c, when selected, instructs to register the additional data with the input values, as input of the additional data is completed. In response to receiving operation on the operation button 82c of the screen 83, the provider terminal 300 transmits the additional data including the image data of the material, and the measurement data, to the material management apparatus 200.
[0111]
Referring now to FIGs. 9 and 10, the operation of displaying quality information on the user terminal 400 according to the present embodiment is described below.
[0112]
FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation performed by the material management system 100 according to the first embodiment.
[0113]
In the material management system 100, in response to the input reception unit 450 receiving an operation for requesting display of a home screen of the material management system 100, the communication controller 440 of the user terminal 400 transmits a request for displaying the home screen to the material management apparatus 200 (step S901).
[0114]
In response to the data input 261 receiving the display request, the list obtainer 264 of the material management apparatus 200 acquires a list of providers each storing quality information in the quality information database 240 (step S902). Specifically, the list of providers is, for example, a list of business operator IDs of the business operators, who are providers, each having its quality information stored in the quality information database 240. [0115]
Subsequently, the data output 266 of the material management apparatus 200 transmits the list of providers to the user terminals 400 (step S903).
[0116]
In response to the input reception unit 450 acquiring the list of providers, the display controller 460 of the user terminal 400 displays the list of providers on the display (step S904).
[0117]
Subsequently, in response to the input reception unit 450 receiving an operation of selecting a provider from the list of providers being displayed (step S905), the communication controller 440 of the user terminal 400 transmits a notification indicating the selected provider to the material management apparatus 200 (step S906). The notification indicating the selected provider may include a business operator ID of the selected provider.
[0118]
At the material management apparatus 200, in response to the data input 261 receiving the notification indicating the selected provider, the list obtainer 264 obtains a list of material names each corresponding to the business operator ID included in the notification (step S907). Specifically, the list obtainer 264 refers to the quality information database 240 to acquire a list of material names, each extracted from the quality information having the business operator ID, which is included in the notification.
[0120]
Subsequently, the data output 266 of the material management apparatus 200 transmits the list of material names to the user terminal 400 (step S908).
[0121]
In response to the input reception unit 450 acquiring the list of material names, the display controller 460 of the user terminal 400 displays the list of material names on the display (step S909).
[0122]
Subsequently, in response to receiving an operation of selecting a material name from the list of material names that is displayed (step S910), the communication controller 440 of the user terminal 400 transmits a notification indicating the selected material name to the material management apparatus 200 (step S911).
[0123]
At the material management apparatus 200, in response to the data input 261 receiving the notification indicating the selected material name, the quality information obtainer 265 extracts the quality information including the business operator ID included in the notification received at step S906 and the selected material name included in the notification received at S911, from the quality information database 240 (step S912). The data output 266 of the material management apparatus 200 transmits the extracted quality information to the user terminal 400 (step S913).
[0124]
In response to the input reception unit 450 acquiring the quality information, the display controller 460 of the user terminal 400 displays a screen including the quality information that is received on the display (step S914). The operation then ends.
[0125]
Referring now to FIGs. 10A, 10B and 11, example screens displayed by the user terminal 400 according to the present embodiment are described below. FIGs. 10A and 10B are diagrams each illustrating an example screen displayed by the user terminal according to the first embodiment.
[0126]
FIG. 10A illustrates a screen 101, which is one example of a screen including a list of providers, displayed on the user terminal 400 at step S904 of FIG. 9.
[0127]
The screen 101 includes a display area 101a and an operation button 101b. The display area 101a displays a list of business operator names of providers, each having its quality information stored in the quality information database 240. In the example of FIG. 10A, the display area 101a displays a check box and a business operator name of each provider, side by side, in association.
[0128]
The operation button 101b, when selected, transmits a notification indicating the selected provider, to the material management apparatus 200.
[0129]
When a check box is selected in the display area 101a and the operation button 101b is pressed, the user terminal 400 sends a notification indicating the provider, corresponding to the selected check box, as the selected provider, to the material management apparatus 200. [0130]
FIG. 10B illustrates a screen 102, which is one example of a screen including a list of material names, displayed on the user terminal 400 at step S909 of FIG. 9.
[0131]
The screen 102 includes a display area 102a and an operation button 102b. The display area 102a displays a list of names of materials, included in the quality information stored for the selected provider. In the example of FIG. 10B, the display area 102a displays a check box and the name of each material, side by side, in association.
[0132]
The operation button 102b, when selected, transmits a notification indicating the selected material name, to the material management apparatus 200.
[0133]
When a check box is selected in the display area 102a and the operation button 102b is pressed, the user terminal 400 sends a notification indicating the material name, corresponding to the selected check box, as the selected material name, to the material management apparatus 200.
[0134]
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example screen displayed by the user terminal 400 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 illustrates a screen 111, which is one example of a screen, displayed on the user terminal 400 at step S914 of FIG. 9.
[0135]
The screen 111 includes display areas I lla and 11 lb. The display area I l la displays the business operator name of the provider selected from the list of providers, and the material name selected from the list of material names.
[0136]
The display area 111b displays the quality information extracted from the quality information database 240 at step S912 of FIG. 9.
[0137]
As described above, in the present embodiment, the quality information stored by one or more business operators each providing materials is stored in the material management apparatus 200. When a material is selected by the business operator using such material, the quality information of the selected material, stored by the business operator providing the selected material, is obtained from the material management apparatus 200 and presented to the business operator using such material.
[0138]
Accordingly, in the present embodiment, the material management system 100 allows the business operator who uses a certain material of waste to easily check the quality of such material.
[0139]
Referring to FIGs. 12, 13A and 13B, the operation of verifying the quality of the material obtained by the business operator as the user, performed by the user terminal 400, according to the present embodiment is described below.
[0140]
FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation performed by the material management system 100 according to the first embodiment.
[0141]
In the material management system 100, in response to the input reception unit 450 receiving an operation for instructing verification of the quality of the material, the display controller 460 of the user terminal 400 displays a guidance screen on the display of the user terminal 400 (step S 1201).
[0142]
Subsequently, in response to the input reception unit 450 receiving an operation for instructing to acquire the measurement data of the obtained material via the guidance screen (step S1202), the user terminal 400 transmits an instruction that instructs to start measurement to the measurement device 600 (step S1203).
[0143]
In response to the reception of the instruction that instructs the start of measurement, the measurement device 600 measures a property of the material (step S1204), and transmits the measurement data, which is a result of the measurement, to the user terminal 400 (step S1205).
[0144]
When the user terminal 400 acquires the measurement data, the display controller 460 displays a verification screen on the display of the user terminal 400 (step S 1206). Subsequently, the user terminal 400 receives input of information to the verification screen by the input reception unit 450 (step S1207).
[0145]
The information input to the verification screen includes, for example, a material name of the material obtained by the business operator as the user and the name of the business operator providing such material.
[0146] When the information is input, the communication controller 440 of the user terminal 400 transmits a verification request to verify the measurement data to the material management apparatus 200 (step S 1208). The verification request includes the measurement data acquired by the user terminal 400 from the measurement device 600 and the information input at step S1207.
[0147]
At the material management apparatus 200, in response to the data input 261 receiving the verification request, the verification unit 267 identifies a specific measurement device 600 from the measurement data included in the verification request (step S1209). Specifically, the verification unit 267 extracts a measurement device identification number for identifying the specific measurement device 600 used for measurement, from the measurement data included in the verification request.
[0148]
Subsequently, the verification unit 267 of the material management apparatus 200 specifies measurement data to be verified with the measurement data included in the verification request, from among the measurement data stored in the measurement database 250 (step S1210). Specifically, the verification unit 267 specifies the measurement data, which is associated with quality information including the material name and the business operator name each having been input, in the measurement database 250 at step S 1207. [0149]
Subsequently, at the material management apparatus 200, the verification unit 267 refers to adjustment data stored in the adjustment data storage unit 268, to adjust two sets of measurement data for verification (step S1211).
[0150]
The two sets of measurement data for verification are, specifically, the measurement data acquired from the user terminal 400 at step S1208 and the measurement data specified at step S1210.
[0151]
The processing of step S 1211 is described below.
[0152]
In general, when the same material is measured separately by the measurement device 500 and the measurement device 600, even if the measurement device 500 and the measurement device 600 are of the same model, the measurement data output from the measurement device 500 and the measurement data output from the measurement device 500 may not completely match.
[0153]
One of the factors causing such a mismatch is that each measurement device has a unique characteristic. In view of the above, in the present embodiment, the adjustment data storage unit 268 stores adjustment data for adjusting data to compensate a characteristic unique to an individual measurement device, in association with a measurement device identification number for identifying each measurement device. The measurement data is adjusted using the adjustment data.
[0154]
Specifically, when the verification unit 267 acquires the measurement data from the user terminal 400, the verification unit 267 refers to the adjustment data storage unit 268, and adjusts the measurement data using the adjustment data associated with the measurement device identification number included in the measurement data.
[0155]
The verification unit 267 refers to the adjustment data storage unit 268, and adjusts the measurement data specified at step S 1208 by using the adjustment data associated with the measurement device identification number included in the quality information for the specified measurement data. In the present embodiment, the measurement data may be adjusted before the measurement data is stored in the measurement database 250, and the adjusted measurement data may be stored in the measurement database 250.
[0156]
Subsequently, the verification unit 267 verifies the two sets of adjusted measurement data (step S 1212), and transmits information indicating the verification result to the user terminal 400 via the data output 266 (step S 1213).
[0157]
When the information indicating the verification result is received, the user terminal 400 causes the display controller 460 to display, on the display, a verification result screen including the information indicating the verification result (step S 1214). The operation then ends.
[0158]
FIGs. 13 A and 13B are diagrams each illustrating an example screen displayed by the user terminal 400 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 13A illustrates a screen 131, which is an example of the verification screen displayed on the user terminal 400 at step S1206 of FIG. 12.
[0159]
The screen 131 includes a display area 131a and an operation button 131b. The display area 131a includes an input field for inputting the name of the material acquired by the business operator as the user, and an input field for inputting the name of the business operator that has provided such material.
[0160]
In the present embodiment, when the input to the two input fields is completed and the operation button 131b is pressed, the user terminal 400 transmits a verification request to the material management apparatus 200.
[0161]
Further, in response to pressing of the operation button 131b on the screen 131, the user terminal 400 changes the display from the screen 131 to a screen 132 illustrated in FIG. 13B. [0162]
FIG. 13B illustrates a screen 132, which is an example of a verification result screen displayed on the user terminal 400 at step S 1213 of FIG. 12.
[0163]
The screen 132 includes display areas 132a and 132b. The display area 132a displays a material name and a business operator name, input in the display area 13 la of the screen 131. The display area 132b displays information indicating the verification result generated at the material management apparatus 200.
[0164]
In the example of FIG. 13B, the display area 132b displays the verification result indicating that the measurement data match. Alternatively, the display area 132b may display another screen in the present embodiment. For example, when the verification result indicates that the measurement data do not match, the display area 132b displays information indicating a difference between the two sets of measurement data obtained through verification.
[0165]
As described above, in the present embodiment, the measurement data of the material obtained by the business operator as the user is verified with the measurement data corresponding to the quality information, which is stored by the business operator as the provider. The result of such verification is presented to the business operator as the user of the material. Thus, according to the present embodiment, in a case where the quality of the material checked before obtaining the material, is different from the quality of the material that is obtained, the business operator using the material may request the business operator who provides the material to ensure the adequate compensation.
[0166]
As described above, in the present embodiment, the quality information indicating the quality of the material of waste is shared between the provider and the user. This can eliminate the process of confirming the quality of the material in the transaction, thus, facilitating the transaction process.
[0167]
In the present embodiment, the provider terminal 300 and the user terminal 400 acquire measurement data by communicating with the measurement device 500 and the measurement device 600, respectively, and transmit the acquired measurement data to the material management apparatus 200. However, the measurement data may be acquired in various other ways. For example, the material management apparatus 200 may directly acquire the measurement data from the measurement device 500 and the measurement device 600, respectively. In such case, the provider terminal 300 and the user terminal 400 do not have to acquire the measurement data from the measurement device 500 and the measurement device 600, respectively.
[0168]
Second Embodiment The second embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. The second embodiment is an embodiment in which the first embodiment is applied to traceability management in a supply chain, through a series of processes from collection to recycling of industrial waste. The description of the second embodiment is given of the differences from the first embodiment. Like reference signs denote like elements as those of the first embodiment, and redundant descriptions thereof are omitted or simplified appropriately. [0169]
FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of a material management system 100A according to the second embodiment.
[0170]
The material management system 100A according to the present embodiment is used to manage supply chain traceability, and tracks a material of the industrial waste through a series of processes in the supply chain from discharge of industrial waste to recycling of the industrial waste.
[0171]
The material management system 100A according to the present embodiment manages the quality of the material of industrial waste, traded between business operators in a supply chain, through a series of processes from collection to recycling (reuse) of industrial waste. [0172]
The material management system 100A according to the present embodiment includes one or more material management apparatuses 200A - 1, 200A - 2,..., 200A - n and one or more terminal apparatuses 700 - 1, 700 - 2,..., 700 - n. In the following description, the material management apparatuses 200A - 1, 200A - 2,..., 200A - n are collectively referred to as the material management apparatus 200A when they are not distinguished from each other, and the terminal apparatuses 700 - 1, 700 - 2,..., 700 - n are collectively referred to as the terminal apparatus 700 when they are not distinguished from each other.
[0173]
The material management apparatus 200A and the terminal apparatus 700 are communicably connected with each other via a network. The material management apparatuses 200A are each a distributed ledger node included in the blockchain system, and are connected to each other by a peer-to-peer (P2P) network. The terminal apparatus 700 according to the present embodiment may be used by each of the business operators in the supply chain. [0174]
In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the business operators in the supply chain include a disposal operator, a treatment operator, a material producer, a manufacturer, and a brand owner.
[0175]
The processes in the supply chain according to the present embodiment include, for example, a process performed by the disposal operator, a process performed by the treatment operator, a process performed by the material producer, a process performed by the manufacturer, and a process performed by the brand owner.
[0176]
The discharge operator is a business operator, who sorts the industrial waste into a plurality of materials and stores the materials. The process performed by the discharge operator is sorting of the collected industrial waste into different materials and storing of the materials. The treatment operator is a business operator, who applies intermediate treatment or regeneration treatment on the material. The process performed by the processing business operator is intermediate treatment or regeneration treatment on the material.
[0177]
The material producer is a business operator, who manufactures a material of a product from a material (raw material) to which intermediate treatment is applied, and sells the produced material. The process performed by the material producer is the manufacturing of a material of a product from a raw material to which intermediate treatment is applied, and the selling of such material. The manufacturer is a business operator, who manufactures a product by molding the material purchased from the material producer, and selling the manufactured product. The process performed by the manufacturer is manufacturing of a product by molding the material purchased from the material producer, and selling of such product. [0178]
The brand owner is a business operator who purchases the product manufactured by the manufacturer and sells the purchased product. The process performed by the brand owner is selling of the product.
[0179]
In the following description, in a series of processes from collection to recycling of industrial waste, the process of sorting the industrial waste into a plurality of materials and storing the materials by the disposal operator is the most upstream, and the process of selling a product by the brand owner is the most downstream.
[0180]
In the example of FIG. 14, among the terminal apparatuses 700, the terminal apparatus 700 - 1 is used by the discharge operator, the terminal apparatus 700 - 2 is used by the treatment operator, and the terminal apparatus 700 - 3 is used by the material producer. Still referring to the example of FIG. 14, the terminal device 700 - 4 is used by the manufacturer, and the terminal device 700 - 5 is used by the brand owner.
[0181]
Although not illustrated in FIG. 14, the terminal apparatuses 700 may each be connected to the measurement device 500 of its own so as to communicate with the measurement device 500.
[0182] The material management apparatus 200A according to the present embodiment includes a quality information database 240A, a measurement database 250, a quality information manager 260A, a ranking database 280, and an evaluation database 290.
[0183]
The quality information database 240A according to the present embodiment stores quality information indicating the quality of the material traded between the business operators. The quality information according to the present embodiment includes information indicating a transaction history of a material included in a resource, such as the industrial waste.
[0184]
The ranking database 280 stores information used for determining a rank of the quality of the material in the resource, which has been traded between the business operators. The evaluation database 290 stores evaluation information indicating an evaluation of each business operator. The evaluation database 290 serves as an evaluation information storage unit that stores the evaluation information of a business operator.
[0185]
In generating the quality information of the material in the resource, the quality information manager 260A according to the present embodiment refers to the ranking database 280 to determine a rank of the quality of the material in the resource, and includes information indicating the rank in the quality information.
[0186]
Further, in displaying the quality information on the terminal apparatus 700, the quality information manager 260A according to the present embodiment displays the evaluation information indicating an evaluation of the business operator, who is a source of the resource. [0187]
In the material management system 100A according to the present embodiment, for example, when the disposal operator sorts the industrial waste into different materials, the terminal apparatus 700 - 1 stores quality information of each material that is sorted, in the material management apparatus 200A. The quality information that is generated includes, for example, identification information for identifying a collection source of the industrial waste. In other words, the quality information may include identification information for identifying a process performed immediately before the process of sorting that is performed by the disposal operator.
[0188]
In the material management system 100A, for example, when the treatment operator purchases the material from the disposal operator, the terminal apparatus 700 - 2 acquires the quality information of the material to be purchased, from the material management apparatus 200A.
[0189]
In the material management system 100A, after the treatment operator applies the treatment to the material purchased from the disposal operator, the terminal apparatus 700 - 2 stores the quality information indicating the quality of the material in the resource, which has been treated, in the material management apparatus 200A. At this time, the quality information includes identification information for identifying the quality information of the material, which is acquired when the treatment operator purchases the material from the disposal operator. In other words, the quality information may include identification information for identifying a process performed immediately before the process of applying treatment that is performed by the treatment operator.
[0190]
In the material management system 100A, for example, when the material producer purchases the material in the resource from the treatment operator, the terminal apparatus 700 - 3 acquires the quantity information of the material to be purchased from the material management apparatus 200A.
[0191]
In the material management system 100A, after the material producer produces a material from the material, which is raw material, purchased from the treatment operator, the terminal apparatus 700 - 3 stores the quality information indicating the quality of the material in the material management apparatus 200A. At this time, the quality information stored by the terminal apparatus 700-3 includes identification information for identifying the quality information of the material, which is acquired when the material is purchased from the treatment operator. In other words, the quality information may include identification information for identifying a process performed immediately before the process of production that is performed by the material producer.
[0192]
In the material management system 100A, for example, when the manufacturer purchases the material from the material producer, the terminal apparatus 700 - 4 acquires the quality information of the material to be purchased from the material management apparatus 200A. [0193]
In the material management system 100A, after the manufacturer manufactures a product from the material purchased from the material producer, the terminal apparatus 700 - 4 stores the quality information indicating the quality of the product in the material management apparatus 200A. At this time, the quality information stored by the terminal apparatus 700-4 includes identification information for identifying the quality information of the material, which is acquired when the material is purchased from the material producer. In other words, the quality information includes identification information for identifying a process performed immediately before the process of manufacturing that is performed by the manufacturer. [0194]
In the material management system 100A, for example, when the brand owner purchases the product from the manufacturer, the terminal apparatus 700 - 5 acquires the quality information of the product to be purchased from the material management apparatus 200A. [0195] In this way, in the present embodiment, when generating the quality information of the material to be sold by each business operator, each business operator causes the material management apparatus 200A to store the quality information, which includes the identification information for identifying the quality information of the material that is obtained when purchasing the material from the upstream business operator.
[0196]
In other words, in the present embodiment, the quality information is generated or updated to reflect the quality information at each process in the series of processes in the supply chain, and recorded on the blockchain. In the present embodiment, the quality information recorded on the blockchain includes identification information for identifying the process immediately before the current process.
[0197]
In the present embodiment, with the quality information managed throughout the series of processes on the blockchain, falsification of the quality information is prevented. In addition, in the present embodiment, the business operator can prove a source of the material, handled by the business operator, to a transaction counterpart. In other words, when the business operator sells a resource to a downstream business operator, the business operator can present the quality information of a material, which is a raw material of such resource, to the downstream business operator.
[0198]
In the present embodiment, when the business operator purchases a resource, the business operator can trace back the quality information of a material, which is a raw material of the resource, handled by an upstream business operator. In other words, according to the present embodiment, the business operator in the supply chain can view the quality information indicating the quality of the material in the resource, at any processing before the current process to be performed by the business operator.
[0199]
Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the upstream business operator allows the downstream business operator to check the source of the recycled resource, thus, increasing the reliability of transactions between the business operators.
[0200]
Further, according to the present embodiment, the downstream business operator can view the quality of the raw material of the resource to be traded, by tracing back the quality information of the material that is most upstream in the supply chain.
[0201]
For example, it is assumed that the downstream business operator is the treatment operator and the upstream business operator is the discharge operator. In the transaction of a material, the quality information may be used in the negotiation of purchase conditions of the material to be traded, such as a price, delivery date, and purchase amount of the material. Similarly, the quality information may be used in deciding various other conditions of the material to be traded, such as a condition for cleaning or a condition for removing impurities.
[0202]
In another example, in a case where the downstream business operator is the material producer and the upstream business operator is the treatment operator, the quality information may be used in the negotiation of purchase conditions of the material to be traded, such as a price, delivery date, and purchase amount of the material, or checking of purities of the material to be traded.
[0203]
In another example, in a case where the downstream business operator is the manufacturer and the upstream business operator is the material producer, the quality information may be used in the negotiation of purchase conditions of the material to be traded, such as a price, delivery date, and purchase amount of the material. Similarly, the quality information may be used in checking whether the purity of the material to be traded is suitable for the product, or determining processing conditions of the product.
[0204]
In another example, in a case where the downstream business operator is the brand owner and the upstream business operator is the manufacturer, the quality information may be used in the negotiation of purchase conditions of the product subject to transaction, such as a price, delivery date, and purchase amount of the product.
[0205]
Referring now to FIG. 15, functions of the material management apparatus 200 A are described below according to the second embodiment. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a quality information database according to the second embodiment.
[0206]
The quality information database 240A according to the present embodiment stores quality information, which includes, in addition to the information items of the quality information of FIG. 4 for the first embodiment, quality information ID, quality information ID of used resource, and a rank.
[0207]
The value of the item "quality information ID" is identification information for identifying quality information. Specifically, the value of the item "quality information ID" is identification information for identifying a resource (material) to be traded between business operators. In other words, the value of the item "quality information ID" is identification information for identifying a process currently performed by the business operator. The value of the item "rank" is information indicating a rank of the quality of the resource (material) corresponding to the quality information described above. For example, the rank indicates whether the quality of the material is good or bad.
[0208] The value of the item "quality information ID of used resource" is identification information for identifying quality information of raw material of the resource, of which quality is indicated by the quality information. In other words, the value of the item "quality information ID of used resource" is identification information for identifying a process immediately before the current process performed by (or to be performed by) the business operator that stores the quality information.
[0209]
In the quality information database 240A, the value of the item “quality information ID" and the value of the item "rank" may be values generated by the material management apparatus 200A. The value of the item “quality information ID of used resource" may be a value input on the additional data input screen.
[0210]
Referring now to FIG. 16, the functions performed by the material management apparatus 200A according to the present embodiment are described below. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the material management apparatus 200A according to the second embodiment.
[0211]
The ranking database 280 of the material management apparatus 200A according to the present embodiment is referred to when generating the quality information. Specifically, the ranking database 280 stores reference information, which can be a basis to determine whether the quality of the resource (material), indicated by the quality information, is good or bad. The reference information includes, for example, information indicating a type of impurity, or a threshold value for the proportion of the impurity, contained in the material. The evaluation database 290 stores evaluation information for the business operator.
[0212]
The quality information manager 260A according to the present embodiment includes a data input 261, a storage controller 262, a quality information generator 263 A, a list obtainer 264, a quality information obtainer 265, a data output 266, a verification unit 267, and an evaluation unit 269.
[0213]
The quality information generator 263A according to the present embodiment issues a quality information ID for identifying the quality information when generating the quality information. The quality information ID that is issued is included in the quality information. The quality information generator 263A refers to the ranking database 280 to determine a rank of the quality of the resource to indicate whether the quality of the resource is good or bad.
[0214]
When information indicating an evaluation of a particular business operator is input from the terminal apparatus 700, the evaluation unit 269 according to the present embodiment updates the evaluation information of the particular business operator in the evaluation database 290. Specifically, the evaluation unit 269 extracts evaluation information, which is associated with a business operator ID of the particular business operator subject to the input of a new evaluation, from the evaluation information stored in the evaluation database 290. The evaluation unit 269 then performs statistical processing on the extracted evaluation information including the newly input evaluation, and updates the evaluation information of the particular business operator.
[0215]
Although the description is omitted in FIG. 16, the terminal apparatus 700 includes a communication controller, an input reception unit, and a display controller, similarly to the provider terminal 300 and the user terminal 400 illustrated in FIG. 5.
[0216]
Referring to FIG. 17, processing performed by the quality information generator 263A is described below according to the present embodiment. In the material management system 100A according to the present embodiment, the operation of storing the quality information in the quality information database 240A is the same as that of the sequence diagram of FIG. 6, except that the provider terminal 300 is replaced by the terminal apparatus 700 of FIG. 14 and the processing of the quality information generator 263A is performed as described below. [0217]
FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating processing performed by the quality information generator 263A according to the second embodiment. The quality information generator 263A obtains the measurement data and the additional data, and extracts the date and time of measurement, the material name, and the impurity information from the measurement data (step S 1701). [0218]
Subsequently, the quality information generator 263A determines a rank of the quality of the resource (material), based on the impurity information extracted from the measurement data at step S1701 and information in the rank database 280 (step S1702).
[0219]
For example, the quality information generator 263A may determine that the quality has a rank “excellent” when a proportion of the impurity indicated by the impurity information extracted at step S1701 is less than a threshold stored in the ranking database 280. The quality information generator 263A may further determine that the quality has a rank “good” when such proportion of the impurity is equal to or greater than the threshold. The threshold indicating the proportion of the impurity may have multiple values according to multiple stages of the threshold. The quality information generator 263A may determine a rank of the quality of the material, according to a corresponding stage of the threshold. The processing of determining a rank based on the impurity proportion, performed by the quality information generator 263 A, is described below in more detail.
[0220]
Alternatively, the quality information generator 263A according to the present embodiment may determine a rank of the quality of the material, according to a type of impurity included in the impurity information. For example, the quality information generator 263A may set the rank of the quality to “acceptable”, when a certain type of impurity is included in the material. [0221]
The quality information generator 263A proceeds to step S1702 following step S1703. Since the processing from step S1703 to step S1705 of FIG. 17 is the same as the processing from step S702 to step S704 of FIG. 7, the description thereof is omitted.
[0222]
When the difference between the date and time of acquisition of the image data and the date and time of the measurement is within the predetermined range at step S1704, the quality information generator 263A stores the measurement data in the measurement database 250, in association with the information indicating a storage location of the measurement data, the date and time of the measurement, the material name, the impurity information, the additional data, and the rank (step S 1706).
[0223]
Subsequently, the quality information generator 263A issues a quality information ID, which is identification information for identifying the quality information (step S1707).
[0224]
The quality information generator 263A stores the information indicating the storage location of the measurement data, the date and time of the measurement, the material name, the impurity information, the additional data, the rank, and the quality information ID, in the quality information database 240 as the quality information (step S1708).
[0225]
The additional data according to the present embodiment includes the quality information ID of the used resource. The quality information ID of the used resource may be input on the additional data input screen displayed on the terminal apparatus 700 in a substantially similar manner as described above referring to step S608 of FIG. 6, for example.
[0226]
Referring now to FIGs. 18A and 18B, the processing of determining a rank based on the impurity proportion, performed by the quality information generator 263 A, is described according to the embodiment. FIGs. 18A and 18B are graphs for explaining reference information to be used for determining a rank based on the impurity proportion, according to the present embodiment.
[0227]
The ranking database 280 stores, for example, absorbance waveform data of a resource (for example, plastic) formed of a resin containing 100% polypropylene (PP), and absorbance waveform data of a resource formed of a resin containing 100% polyethylene (PE), as the reference information to be used for determining a rank of the quality of the resource.
[0228]
In FIG. 18 A, the horizontal axis represents wavelengths, and the vertical axis represents absorbance expressed in secondary differentiation. In FIG. 18A, a curve LI represents the absorbance waveform of a material formed of 100% polypropylene (PP). Further, in FIG. 18A, a curve L2 represents the absorbance waveform of a material formed of 100% polyethylene (PE). In FIG. 18 A, a curve L3 represents a waveform, indicated by the measurement data of a material that is measured.
[0229]
In the present embodiment, an absorbance waveform of a specific material that does not contain impurities or additives and is not coated, is referred to as a first waveform. Further, in the present embodiment, an absorbance waveform of an impurity is referred to as a second waveform. Examples of the impurity, which is preferably not to be contained in the material, include PE (polyethylene).
[0230]
In the following description, the absorbance waveform of the material formed of 100% polypropylene (PP), which is indicated by the curve LI, serves as the first waveform. The absorbance waveform of the material formed of 100% polyethylene (PE), which is indicated by the curve L2, serves as the second waveform. In the following description, the waveform represented by the measurement data of the material that is measured, indicated by the curve L3, serves as a measured waveform.
[0231]
The quality information generator 263A according to the present embodiment synthesizes the first waveform and the second waveform using the multiple regression analysis, such that a correlation coefficient with the third waveform becomes maximum. FIG. 18B illustrates a curve L4, which indicates a combined waveform obtained by synthesizing the first waveform and the second waveform. In the example of FIG. 18B, the proportion of the first waveform in the combined waveform is 76.7%, and the proportion of the second waveform in the combined waveform is 23.3%.
[0232]
Accordingly, of the material subjected to the quality determination, a proportion of PP (polypropylene) is 76.7%, and a proportion of PE (polyethylene) is 23.3%. In the present embodiment, the quality of the material is determined according to the proportion of PP (polypropylene) and the proportion of PE (polyethylene) contained in the material. [0233]
Specifically, in the present embodiment, thresholds are set in a stepwise manner, with respect to the proportion of PP (polypropylene) to the combined waveform generated using the multiple regression analysis. The quality of the material is determined based on the thresholds and the proportion of PP (polypropylene) in the combined waveform. In other words, the quality information generator 263A determines a rank of the quality of the material, according to the proportion of the impurity in the combined waveform. The threshold value for the proportion of PP (polypropylene) in the combined waveform may be stored in the ranking database 280. In the present embodiment, for example, among the thresholds set in a stepwise manner, the first threshold is set to 95% and the second threshold is set to 80%. In such case, the quality information generator 263A determines that the material in which the proportion of PP (polypropylene) in the combined waveform is 95% or more has the rank “excellent”. The quality information generator 263A determines that the material in which the proportion of PP (polypropylene) in the combined waveform is 80% or more and less than 95% has the rank “good”. The quality information generator 263A determines that the material in which the proportion of PP (polypropylene) in the combined waveform is less than 80% has the rank "acceptable".
[0235]
Therefore, the material from which the measured waveform L3 illustrated in FIGs. 18A and 18B is obtained is determined to have a rank “acceptable".
[0236]
In the above description, the absorbance waveform data indicating the first waveform and the second waveform, respectively, are stored in the ranking database 280. However, the absorbance waveform data corresponding to the second waveform may not be stored in the ranking database 280. In other words, the absorbance waveform data of the impurity may not be stored in the ranking database 280.
[0237]
In such case, the quality information generator 263 A calculates a correlation coefficient between the measured waveform and the first waveform, and determines whether the quality of the material is good or bad according to the calculated correlation coefficient. More specifically, a threshold value for the correlation coefficient is set and stored in the ranking database 280 so that the quality of a material having a high correlation coefficient is determined to be a material having good quality.
[0238]
For example, the threshold value for the correlation coefficient may be set such that the rank of a material having a coefficient of 0.99 or more is determined as "excellent", the rank of a material having a coefficient of 0.98 or more and less than 0.99 is determined as "good", and the rank of a material having the coefficient of less than 0.98 is determined as "acceptable". [0239]
In the present embodiment, in a case that the material to be measured is a material to which a certain amount of additive is added to impart a specific function, the state in which the certain amount of additive is added is regarded as the best state for such material. In this case, the ranking database 280 may store absorbance waveform data of a material to which a certain amount of additive is added as reference information for determining whether the quality of the material to be measured is good or bad. The quality information generator 263A calculates a correlation coefficient between a waveform indicated by the absorbance waveform data of the material to which the certain amount of the additive is added, and a waveform of the material to be measured, and determines a rank of the material to be measured according to the correlation coefficient.
[0240]
In this way, even when the material to be measured contains an additive or is coated, the quality of the material is determined with high accuracy.
[0241]
Further, in the present embodiment, when none of the absorbance waveform data indicating the first waveform and the absorbance waveform data indicating the second waveform are stored in the ranking database 280, a rank of the quality of the material may be determined based on, for example, the level of brightness or the level of transparency of the image obtained by capturing the material to be measured.
[0242]
In the present embodiment, the accuracy of the information indicating the quality of the material to be measured increases, thus contributing to facilitation of transactions of the material.
[0243]
Referring now to FIGs. 19 and 20, the operation of displaying quality information on the terminal apparatus 700 according to the present embodiment is described below.
[0244]
FIG. 19 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation performed by the material management system 100A according to the second embodiment.
[0245]
Since the processing from step S1901 to step S1914 of FIG. 19 is the same as the processing from step S901 to step S913 of FIG. 9, the description thereof is omitted.
[0246]
In response to receiving the quality information from the material management apparatus 200A at step S 1913, the terminal apparatus 700 displays a screen including the quality information on the display (step S 1914). At this time, in the present embodiment, an input field for inputting an evaluation of the business operator is displayed on the screen together with the quality information.
[0247]
Subsequently, in response to receiving an operation to input the evaluation of the business operator (step S 1915), the terminal apparatus 700 transmits information indicating the input evaluation of the business operator to the material management apparatus 200A (step S 1916). [0248]
When the material management apparatus 200A acquires the information indicating the evaluation of the business operator from the terminal apparatus 700, the evaluation unit 269 updates the evaluation information stored in the evaluation database 290 with the information indicating the evaluation (step S 1917).
[0249] FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example screen, displayed by the terminal apparatus 700, according to the second embodiment. FIG. 20 illustrates a screen 111A, which is one example of a screen, displayed on the terminal apparatus 700 at step S 1914 of FIG. 19.
[0250]
The screen 111A includes display areas I l la, 111c, 11 Id, and 11 le. The display area 111c displays the quality information including the values of the items other than the quality information ID and the rank, extracted from the quality information database 240A at step S1912 of FIG. 19.
[0251]
The display area 11 Id displays the quality information ID, the evaluation information of the business operator, and the rank of resource (rank of material). The display area 11 le displays an input field for inputting information indicating the evaluation of the business operator that stored the quality information of the material.
[0252]
In the present embodiment, as described above, each of the business operators in the supply chain can view the quality information indicating the quality of the material in the resource, which is provided by the upstream business operator. Further, according to the present embodiment, the business operator, who is considering purchasing the material (resource), can trace back the quality information of the material, which has been stored in the material management apparatus 200A by the most upstream business operator, which is a source of the material (resource).
[0253]
Further, according to the present embodiment, the quality information related to the quality of the resource as a transaction subject is shared between the business operators in the supply chain. This prevents fraudulent transactions, thus facilitating transactions between the business operators in the supply chain.
[0254]
In the present embodiment, it is assumed that all the business operators in the supply chain can view the quality information stored in the material management apparatus 200A; however, the present invention is not limited to such embodiment. In the present embodiment, for example, authority for viewing the quality information may be set.
[0255]
For example, the material management apparatus 200A may be set such that each business operator can view only the quality information stored by a business operator immediately upstream in the supply chain.
[0256]
Each of the functions of the described embodiments may be implemented by one or more processing circuits or circuitry. In this specification, the “processing circuit or circuitry” in the present specification includes a programmed processor to execute each function by software, such as a processor implemented by an electronic circuit, and devices, such as an application- specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), and conventional circuit modules designed to perform the recited functions. [0257]
The apparatuses or devices described in each embodiment are merely one example of plural computing environments that implement one or more embodiments disclosed herein.
[0258]
In some embodiments, the material management apparatuses 200 and 200A may each be implemented by a plurality of computing devices, together operating as a server cluster. The plural computing devices are configured to communicate with one another through any type of communications link including a network, shared memory, and perform the processes described in this disclosure. In substantially the same manner, the material management apparatuses 200 and 200A may each include multiple computing devices that communicate with one another.
[0259]
Further, such computing devices operating as any one of the material management apparatuses 200 and 200A may share the processes described in this disclosure in various ways. For example, the processes executed by one or more functional units may be performed by any one of the computing devices operating as the material management apparatus 200 or 200A. Similarly, the functions executed by one or more functional units may be performed by any one of the computing devices operating as the material management apparatus 200 or 200A. The functional elements of any one of the material management apparatuses 200 and 200A may be integrated into one server device or may be divided into a plurality of devices. [0260]
The device serving as a source for providing measurement data, such as the measurement device 500 or 600 or the terminal apparatus 300 or 400, can be any device having a communication function. Examples of such a device serving as a source for providing measurement data include, for example, an industrial machine, an imaging device, a sound collecting device, a medical device, a network home appliance, an automobile such as a connected car, a notebook personal computer (PC), a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a game machine, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a digital camera, a wearable PC, and a desktop PC.
[0261]
The aspects of the present invention are as follows, for example.
According to Aspect 1, a material management system includes a terminal apparatus and a material management apparatus communicably connected with each other through a network. The material management apparatus includes a quality information generator, a quality information storage unit, and a data output. The quality information generator acquires, for one or more materials of waste, measurement data indicating a property of the material of waste, measured by a measurement device. The quality information generator generates quality information indicating a quality of the material of waste based on the measurement data. The quality information storage unit stores the quality information for the one or more materials of waste. In response to reception of input of information identifying a particular material from the terminal apparatus, the data output outputs to the terminal apparatus quality information associated with the information identifying the particular material, obtained from the quality information stored in the quality information storage unit. The terminal apparatus includes a display controller that causes a display device to display the quality information that is output.
According to Aspect 2, in the material management system of Aspect 1, the material management apparatus further includes: a storage controller that stores the quality information in the quality information storage unit, and stores the measurement data a measurement data storage unit in association with the quality information.
According to Aspect 3, in the material management system of Aspect 1 or Aspect 2, the quality information generator acquires, using the measurement data, a name of the material, information indicating a date and time when the measurement data was acquired, and information regarding an impurity contained in the material, as items to be included in the quality information.
According to Aspect 4, in the material management system of any one of Aspect 1 to Aspect 3, the quality information generator generates the quality information so as to further include additional data regarding the material, which is acquired together with the measurement data. According to Aspect 5, in the material management system of Aspect 4, the additional data includes at least one of image data indicating an image of the material, identification information identifying a provider of the material, a measurement condition under which the property of the material was measured, information identifying a producer of the material, information indicating a date at which the material was produced, and an amount of the material produced.
According to Aspect 6, the material management system of any one of Aspects 1 to 5 further includes: another terminal apparatus different from the terminal apparatus; and the measurement device that measures a property of the material and outputs the measurement data to the other terminal apparatus. The other terminal apparatus includes a communication controller that, in response to acquisition of the measurement data output from the measurement device, transmits the measurement data that is acquired to the material management apparatus. The storage controller of the material management apparatus stores the measurement data acquired from the other terminal apparatus in the measurement data storage unit.
According to Aspect 7, in the material management system of Aspect 6, the measurement device is a hand-held spectroscope that measures near-infrared light transmitted through the material or reflected by the material to generate a near-infrared light spectum. The measurement data includes the near-infrared light spectrum, information indicating a date and time when the measurement device measured the material, and a measurement device identification number for identifying the measurement device. According to Aspect 8, in the material management system of any one of Aspects 1 to 7, the material management apparatus further includes: a verification unit that, in response to acquiring measurement data of the material from the terminal apparatus, specifies measurement data corresponding to the measurement data acquired from the terminal apparatus, from among the measurement data stored in the measurement data storage unit, and verifies the specified measurement data with the measurement data acquired from the terminal apparatus. The data output outputs information indicating a result of the verification by the verification unit to the terminal apparatus. The display controller of the terminal apparatus causes the display device to display the information indicating the result of the verification that is output.
According to Aspect 9, in the material management system of Aspect 6 or 7, the terminal apparatus and the other terminal apparatus are operated by business operators (that are different from each other) in a supply chain including a series of processes from collection of the waste to recycling of the waste. For example, the waste is industrial waste.
According to Aspect 10, in the material management system of any one of Aspects 1 to 9, the quality information generator determines a rank of the quality of the material based on the information on the impurity, the quality information further including the rank that is determined.
According to Aspect 11, in the material management system of any one of Aspects 1 to 9, the quality information generator determines a rank of the quality of the material based on a proportion of the impurity in a combined waveform. The combined waveform is obtained by synthesizing an absorbance waveform of a specific material that does not contain impurities and additives and is not coated, and an absorbance waveform of the impurity, so that a correlation coefficient of the combined waveform with a measurement waveform indicated by the measurement data is maximized. The quality information generator generates the quality information including the rank that is determined.
According to Aspect 12, in the material management system of any one of Aspects 1 to 9, the quality information generator determines a rank of the quality of the material based on a correlation coefficient between an absorbance waveform of a specific material that does not contain impurities and additives and is not coated, and a measurement waveform indicated by the measurement data. The quality information generator generates the quality information including the rank that is determined.
According to Aspect 13, in the material management system of any one of Aspects 1 to 10, the data output unit refers to an evaluation information storage unit that stores evaluation information indicating an evaluation of a provider of the material, and outputs the evaluation information corresponding to the provider of the material to the terminal apparatus, with the quality information. At the terminal apparatus, the display controller causes the display device to display the evaluation information with the quality information.
According to Aspect 14, in the material management system of any one of Aspects 1 to 11, the material is a resin. According to Aspect 15, the material management system of Aspect 9 includes a plurality of the material management apparatuses, which are distributed ledger nodes on a blockchain. The quality information generator generates the quality information further including identification information for identifying a process immediately before each process included in a series of processes in the supply chain. The storage controller records the quality information generated for each process on the blockchain.
According to Aspect 16, a material management method is performed by a material management system including a terminal apparatus and a material management apparatus communicably connected with each other through a network. The material management apparatus performs: acquiring, for each of one or more materials, measurement data measured by a measurement device, indicating a property of a material of waste; generating quality information indicating a quality of the material of waste based on the measurement data; storing, in a quality information storage unit, the quality information for the one or more materials of waste; and in response to reception of input of information identifying a particular material from the terminal apparatus, outputting to the terminal apparatus quality information associated with the information identifying the particular material, obtained from the quality information stored in the quality information storage unit.
The terminal apparatus performs displaying, on a display device, the quality information that is output.
According to Aspect 17, a material management apparatus communicably connected with a terminal apparatus through a network, includes: a quality information generator that acquires measurement data indicating a property of a material of waste, measured by a measurement device, and generates quality information indicating a quality of the material of waste based on the measurement data; a quality information storage unit that stores the quality information for one or more materials of waste; and a data output that, in response to reception of input of information identifying a particular material from the terminal apparatus, outputs to the terminal apparatus quality information associated with the information identifying the particular material, obtained from the quality information stored in the quality information storage unit.
According to Aspect 18, a material management program causes a computer to execute a method including: acquiring, for each of one or more materials, measurement data measured by a measurement device, indicating a property of a material of waste; generating quality information indicating a quality of the material of waste based on the measurement data; storing, in a quality information storage unit, the quality information for the one or more materials of waste; and in response to reception of input of information identifying a particular material from the terminal apparatus, outputting to the terminal apparatus quality information associated with the information identifying the particular material, obtained from the quality information stored in the quality information storage unit. The quality information is to be displayed on the display device of the terminal apparatus.
[0262] The above-described embodiments are illustrative and do not limit the present disclosure. Thus, numerous additional modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. For example, elements and/or features of different illustrative embodiments may be combined with each other and/or substituted for each other within the scope of the present disclosure. Any one of the above-described operations may be performed in various other ways, for example, in an order different from the one described above.
[0263]
Any one of the above-described operations may be performed in various other ways, for example, in an order different from the one described above.
[0264]
The present invention can be implemented in any convenient form, for example using dedicated hardware, or a mixture of dedicated hardware and software. The present invention may be implemented as computer software implemented by one or more networked processing apparatuses. The processing apparatuses include any suitably programmed apparatuses such as a general-purpose computer, a personal digital assistant, a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) or third-generation (3G)-compliant mobile telephone, and so on. Since the present invention can be implemented as software, each and every aspect of the present invention thus encompasses computer software implementable on a programmable device. The computer software can be provided to the programmable device using any conventional carrier medium (carrier means). The carrier medium includes a transient carrier medium such as an electrical, optical, microwave, acoustic or radio frequency signal carrying the computer code. An example of such a transient medium is a Transmission Control Protocol/Intemet Protocol (TCP/IP) signal carrying computer code over an IP network, such as the Internet. The carrier medium may also include a storage medium for storing processor readable code such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a compact disc read-only memory (CD- ROM), a magnetic tape device, or a solid-state memory device.
[0265]
The functionality of the elements disclosed herein may be implemented using circuitry or processing circuitry which includes general-purpose processors, special purpose processors, integrated circuits, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), conventional circuitry and/or combinations thereof which are configured or programmed to perform the disclosed functionality. Processors are considered processing circuitry or circuitry as they include transistors and other circuitry therein. In the disclosure, the circuitry, units, or means are hardware that carry out or are programmed to perform the recited functionality. The hardware may be any hardware disclosed herein or otherwise known which is programmed or configured to carry out the recited functionality. When the hardware is a processor which may be considered a type of circuitry, the circuitry, means, or units are a combination of hardware and software, the software being used to configure the hardware and/or processor.
[0266] This patent application is based on and claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-191872, filed on November 30, 2022, and 2023-187234, filed on October 31, 2023, in the Japan Patent Office, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
[Reference Signs List]
[0267]
100, 100A Material management system
200, 200A Material management apparatus
240 Quality information database
250 Measurement database
260, 260A Quality information manager
261 Data input
262 Storage controller
263 Quality information generator
264 List obtainer
265 Quality information obtainer
266 Data output
267 Verification unit
268 Adjustment data storage unit
269 Evaluation unit
300, 400, 700 Terminal apparatus
500, 600 Measurement device

Claims

1. A material management system, comprising: a terminal apparatus; and a material management apparatus communicably connected with the terminal apparatus via a network, wherein the material management apparatus includes: a memory configured to store quality information for one or more materials of waste; a quality information generator configured to acquire, for each of the one or more materials, measurement data measured by a measurement device, the measurement data indicating a property of the material, and generate the quality information indicating a quality of the material based on the measurement data; and a data output configured to, in response to reception of input of information identifying a particular material from the terminal apparatus, output to the terminal apparatus quality information associated with the information identifying the particular material, obtained from the quality information stored in the memory, and wherein the terminal apparatus includes a display controller configured to cause a display device to display the quality information that is output.
2. The material management system of claim 1, wherein the material management apparatus further includes a storage controller configured to store the quality information and the measurement data in the memory in association.
3. The material management system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the quality information generator is configured to acquire, using the measurement data, a name of the material, information indicating a date and time when the measurement data was acquired, and information on an impurity contained in the material, as items to be included in the quality information.
4. The material management system of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the quality information generator is configured to acquire additional data regarding the material together with the measurement data, and generate the quality information further based on the additional data.
5. The material management system of claim 4, wherein the additional data includes at least one of: image data indicating an image of the material, identification information identifying a provider of the material, a measurement condition under which the property of the material was measured, information identifying a producer of the material, information indicating a date at which the material was produced, and an amount of the material produced.
6. The material management system of any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising: another terminal apparatus different from the terminal apparatus; and the measurement device configured to measure a property of the material and output measurement data to the other terminal apparatus, wherein the other terminal apparatus includes a communication controller configured to, in response to acquisition of the measurement data output from the measurement device, transmit the measurement data that is acquired to the material management apparatus, and wherein the storage controller of the material management apparatus is configured to store the measurement data acquired from the other terminal apparatus in the memory.
7. The material management system of claim 6, wherein the measurement device is a hand-held spectroscope configured to measure nearinfrared light transmitted through the material or reflected by the material to generate a nearinfrared light spectrum, and the measurement data includes the near-infrared light spectrum, information indicating a date and time when the measurement device measured the material, and a measurement device identification number for identifying the measurement device.
8. The material management system of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the material management apparatus further includes: a verification unit configured to, in response to acquiring measurement data of the material from the terminal apparatus, specify measurement data corresponding to the measurement data acquired from the terminal apparatus, from among the measurement data stored in the memory, and verify the specified measurement data with the measurement data acquired from the terminal apparatus, the data output is configured output information indicating a result of the verification to the terminal apparatus, and the display controller of the terminal apparatus is configured to cause the display device to display the information indicating the result of the verification that is output.
9. The material management system of claim 6 or 7, wherein the terminal apparatus and the other terminal apparatus are operated by business operators in a supply chain, the supply chain including a series of processes from collection of the waste to recycling of the waste, the waste being an industrial waste.
10. The material management system of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the quality information generator is configured to determine a rank of the quality of the material based on the information on the impurity, the quality information further including the rank that is determined.
11. The material management system of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the quality information generator is configured to determine a rank of the quality of the material based on a proportion of the impurity in a combined waveform, the combined waveform having been obtained by synthesizing an absorbance waveform of a specific material that does not contain impurities and additives and is not coated, and an absorbance waveform of the impurity, so that a correlation coefficient of the combined waveform with a measurement waveform indicated by the measurement data is maximized, the quality information further including the rank that is determined.
12. The material management system of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the quality information generator is configured to determine a rank of the quality of the material based on a correlation coefficient between an absorbance waveform of a specific material that does not contain impurities and additives and is not coated, and a measurement waveform indicated by the measurement data, the quality information further including the rank that is determined.
13. The material management system of any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the memory is further configured to store evaluation information indicating an evaluation of a provider of the material, the data output is configured to output evaluation information corresponding to the provider of the particular material, obtained from the memory, to the terminal apparatus with the quality information of the particular material, and the display controller of the terminal apparatus being configured to cause the display device to display the evaluation information with the quality information.
14. The material management system of any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the material is a resin.
15. The material management system of claim 9, comprising: a plurality of the material management apparatuses, which are distributed ledger nodes on a blockchain, wherein the quality information generator is configured to generate the quality information further including identification information for identifying a process immediately before each process included in a series of processes in the supply chain, and the storage controller is configured to record the quality information generated for each process on the blockchain.
16. A material management apparatus communicably connected with a terminal apparatus through a network, the apparatus comprising: a memory configured to store quality information for one or more materials of waste; a quality information generator configured to acquire, for each of the one or more materials, measurement data measured by a measurement device, the measurement data indicating a property of the material, and generate the quality information indicating a quality of the material based on the measurement data; and a data output configured to, in response to reception of input of information identifying a particular material from the terminal apparatus, output to the terminal apparatus quality information associated with the information identifying the particular material, obtained from the quality information stored in the memory, the quality information to be displayed on a display device of the terminal apparatus.
17. A material management method comprising: acquiring, for each of one or more materials, measurement data measured by a measurement device, the measurement data indicating a property of the material; generating quality information indicating a quality of the material based on the measurement data; storing in a memory the quality information for the one or more materials of waste; receiving input of information identifying a particular material from a terminal apparatus; and outputting to the terminal apparatus quality information associated with the information identifying the particular material, obtained from the quality information stored in the memory, the quality information to be displayed on a display device of the terminal apparatus.
18. A recording medium storing a program code for causing a computer system to carry out a material management method comprising: acquiring, for each of one or more materials, measurement data measured by a measurement device, the measurement data indicating a property of the material; generating quality information indicating a quality of the material based on the measurement data; storing in a memory the quality information for the one or more materials of waste; receiving input of information identifying a particular material from a terminal apparatus; and outputting to the terminal apparatus quality information associated with the information identifying the particular material, obtained from the quality information stored in the memory, the quality information to be displayed on a display device of the terminal apparatus.
PCT/IB2023/061902 2022-11-30 2023-11-27 Material management system, material management apparatus, material management method, and recording medium WO2024116046A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

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JP2022-191872 2022-11-30
JP2022191872 2022-11-30
JP2023187234A JP2024079596A (en) 2022-11-30 2023-10-31 Material management system, material management method, material management apparatus, and material management program
JP2023-187234 2023-10-31

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