JP2015212918A - Product assurance system management device, operation method of product assurance system management device, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that, in the prior arts, a product subjected to assurance registration is just specified by an application from a final consumer and even in the case where malicious assurance registration is requested with respect to a product that is not identical with the product purchased from the final consumer or a product that is not actually purchased as a new product, the situation where it is necessary to deal with the illegal assurance request may occur.SOLUTION: A product assurance system management device or the like is disclosed in which product retailer information that is information associating a product retailer with a product to be assured is held, the product retailer information is added, changed or deleted or the product retailer is made select a product and an issue request of a code for assurance is received. On the basis of the request, a code for product assurance is generated and held, the code is transmitted to the product retailer and on the basis of the code for assurance, an assurance registration request of a final consumer is received from an external terminal.

Description

  The present invention relates to a product warranty system management apparatus, a method for operating the product warranty system management apparatus, and a program for operating the apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a warranty service has been widely provided for repairing or replacing electric appliances such as home appliances, mobile phones, and portable music players, and repairs and replacements for free or at low cost. Specifically, in addition to the manufacturer warranty service that the manufacturer responds free of charge for a certain period of time, there is also a so-called third party warranty service in which a third party other than the manufacturer provides a warranty service even after the manufacturer warranty period has elapsed. ing.

  Various conventional techniques for facilitating the third party guarantee service as described above have been disclosed. Patent Document 1 describes an invention related to a product warranty system management apparatus that inputs and manages information indicating that a final consumer has joined a third party warranty.

JP 2011-86285 A

  A conventional manufacturer warranty provides a warranty service for each manufacturer's own products. Therefore, the manufacturer warranty can be handed over to the product purchaser as a unit, such as being bundled with the product sold when the warranty is issued. On the other hand, a provider of a third-party guarantee service usually provides a guarantee service for a plurality of products from a plurality of different manufacturers. Therefore, when issuing a guarantee or processing for warranty registration, the product dealer performs warranty registration procedures at the time of product purchase, or the final consumption after purchasing the product from the dealer as in the technique described in Patent Document 1. The customer specified the purchased product via the network, applied for the warranty service, accepted the application, and processed for warranty registration. For this reason, the product purchaser pays a cost not included in the product price for the issuance of the warranty or the warranty registration process, and when actually receiving the warranty, the third party warranty paid not only the product but also the warranty cost. The purchaser is identified and the warranty service is executed. This is different from the manufacturer guarantee that is executed without specifying the purchaser for all products.

  Therefore, when a warranty registration procedure is performed for a third-party warranty service provider through a product retailer, the final consumer who is the warranty registrant passes his personal information through the product retailer through the product store. It is necessary to provide the information to the service provider guarantee service provider, and the product dealer also has a business processing burden for managing such personal information. Further, under the prior art as described in Patent Document 1, a product that is subject to warranty registration is only specified by an application from the final consumer. For this reason, providing warranty services even if malicious registration is required for products that are not the same as the products purchased from the final consumer or that are not actually purchased as new There was a situation where the business operator had to respond to such an unfair warranty requirement.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a product holding product dealer information, which is information relating a product dealer that sells a product to be guaranteed to a final consumer and a product to be guaranteed. Store information holding unit, product store information management unit for adding, changing, and deleting product store information, and product store interface unit for permitting connection to external terminals based on product store information And a product selection section that allows the product dealer to select a product associated with the product dealer in the product dealer information through the product dealer interface section, and a product sale through the product dealer interface section. A guarantee code issuance request accepting unit for accepting a guarantee code issuance request for a product identified by being selected by the product selection unit from a store, and a production based on the guarantee code issuance request A warranty code issuing unit that generates and holds a warranty code, which is a code for product warranty, including information identifying the product and information identifying the product dealer, and the generated warranty code to the product dealer. Proposal of a product warranty system management device and the like having a guarantee code transmission section for sending to the terminal and a final consumer interface section for receiving a guarantee registration request of the final consumer from an external terminal based on the guarantee code To do.

  According to the present invention mainly configured as described above, the warranty service registration request from the user to the third-party warranty service provider is always triggered only by the purchase of the product at the product dealer, and the product dealer In contrast, it is possible to configure a guarantee registration mechanism that does not require passing the personal information of the product purchaser. Therefore, the product dealer can expect some return in exchange for a certain contribution to the third-party guarantee service provider, while eliminating the burden of managing personal information and solving the conventional problems. Furthermore, it is possible for the third-party warranty service provider to avoid a situation in which it is necessary to respond to a warranty registration request camouflaged by a malicious user because product purchase at a product store is a trigger.

The figure which shows an example of the functional block of the product guarantee system management apparatus of Embodiment 1. The figure which shows an example of the information linked | related with the product which comprises the product store information hold | maintained in the product store information holding part of the product guarantee system management apparatus of Embodiment 1 Conceptual diagram showing an example of product store information holding in the product store information holding unit The figure for demonstrating an example of the function of the manufacture store interface part of the product guarantee system management apparatus of Embodiment 1. The figure which shows an example of the display for selecting a product via the manufacturing store interface part of the product guarantee system management apparatus of Embodiment 1. The figure for demonstrating an example of the process at the time of transmitting the guarantee code issue request with respect to the product guarantee system management apparatus of Embodiment 1. The figure for demonstrating an example of the function of the final consumer interface part of the product guarantee system management apparatus of Embodiment 1. Conceptual diagram for explaining the flow of warranty registration performed using the product warranty system management apparatus according to the first embodiment. Schematic which shows an example of a structure at the time of implement | achieving the functional structure of the product guarantee system management apparatus of Embodiment 1 as hardware. The figure which shows an example of the flow of a process in the product guarantee system management apparatus of Embodiment 1. Conceptual diagram for explaining an example of authenticity determination of a guarantee code in the product warranty system management apparatus of the second embodiment The figure which shows an example of the flow of a process in the product guarantee system management apparatus of Embodiment 2. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram for explaining guarantee code issuance in a guarantee code issuing unit of the product warranty system management apparatus according to the first embodiment. A conceptual diagram for explaining an example of processing of a product store information management part of a product guarantee system management device of Embodiment 1.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The mutual relationship between the embodiment and the claims is as follows. First, the first embodiment mainly corresponds to claims 1, 6, 7, and the like. The second embodiment mainly corresponds to claims 2, 3, 4, 5, and the like. In addition, this invention is not limited to these embodiments at all, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the scope of the invention.

<< Embodiment 1 >>
<Overview>

  In the product warranty system management apparatus according to the present embodiment, product warranty information, which is information related to a product dealer that sells the product in advance, is stored and managed from a terminal managed by the product dealer. In response to a request for issuing a guarantee code for a product subject to guarantee in the product store information, a guarantee code is issued and transmitted to the terminal. In this case, it is not necessary to specify the personal information of the product purchaser when requesting the issuance of the warranty code, and the management of the product store where the request for issuing the warranty code has concluded a contract with the third-party warranty service provider. It is important that it is transmitted from the terminal which performs. Then, using the issued guarantee code from the terminal managed by the final consumer of the sold product, a guarantee registration request specifying the product purchaser is made through input of personal information, for example.

  “Warranty” in this embodiment refers to a case where a third party other than the manufacturer obtains compensation from the final consumer in the name of a guarantee fee, etc., and the product used by the final consumer breaks down or is damaged. In addition, it refers to a service for repair or replacement for a certain period free of charge or at a low cost, and the content is the same as the third-party warranty service already described. In addition, the “final consumer” in the present embodiment may be a person in any position as long as it is a creditor seeking a guarantee. For example, the “final consumer” may refer to the purchaser who purchased the product. A product transferee from the purchaser (for example, a recipient of a present) is also included in the final consumer (both are the same throughout this specification).

  Incidentally, the product warranty system management apparatus of this embodiment is usually managed by the provider of the third party warranty service. In addition, the third-party warranty service provider can guarantee all product groups that can be guaranteed in addition to the product warranty system management device or as part of the function of the product warranty system management device. It is also conceivable to manage a holding device or a guarantable product group information holding unit (hereinafter, sometimes collectively referred to as “guaranteable product group information holding device”). The third-party warranty service provider should change the information about each product that makes up these product groups or if new information needs to be added (product discontinuation, merger of manufacturers, new product Update product information or add information about new products. It can be considered that the guaranteeable product group information holding device transmits and receives information to and from the product guarantee system management device via a network and updates various types of information related to the product held by the product warranty system management device.

<Functional configuration>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks of the product warranty system management apparatus according to the present embodiment. As shown in this figure, the “product warranty system management device” 0100 of this embodiment includes a “product store information holding unit” 0101, a “product store information management unit” 0102, and a “product store interface unit ( Product dealer I / F section) ”0103,“ product selection section ”0104,“ guarantee code issuance request acceptance section ”0105,“ guarantee code issuance section ”0106, and“ guarantee code transmission section ”0107 And “final consumer interface section (final consumer I / F section)” 0108.

  Note that the functional blocks of the product warranty system management apparatus described below can be realized as hardware, software, or both hardware and software. Specifically, if a computer is used, a CPU, a main memory, a GPU, an image memory, a graphic board, a bus, or a secondary storage device (a storage medium such as a hard disk, a nonvolatile memory, a CD, a DVD, and the like) Media reading drive), input devices used for information input, touch panel, keyboard, code reader, other hardware components such as external peripheral devices, interfaces for external peripheral devices, communication interfaces, etc. Examples include a driver program for controlling hardware and other application programs. Then, by the arithmetic processing of the CPU according to the program developed on the main memory, the data input from the input device or other interface etc. is stored and processed in the memory or hardware, or the respective hardware And commands for controlling the software are generated. Here, the program may be realized as a plurality of modularized programs, or may be realized as a single program by combining two or more programs.

  The present invention can be realized as a system by combining with one or a plurality of devices. A part of such an apparatus can be configured as software. Further, a storage medium in which such software is recorded is naturally included in the technical scope of the present invention (the same applies throughout the present specification, not limited to the present embodiment).

  The “product store information holding unit” 0101 is configured to hold product store information, which is information associating a product store that sells a product to be guaranteed to an end consumer and a product to be guaranteed. ing. “Product to be warranted” here refers to a product that is provided by the above-mentioned third-party warranty service provider, and more specifically, a product that is subject to warranty registration upon receiving a warranty registration request from the end consumer. Pointing. The specific configuration of “holding product retailer information” includes various types of information (name, location, telephone number, email address, and product retailer that can identify product retailers by one or more combinations) ID, product store ID, password for permitting connection at the product store interface section described later, floor ID, corner ID, store ID, etc. for identifying the store floor, corner, or store clerk) It is conceivable that the products sold at the product store are associated with products that can be guaranteed. By adopting a configuration in which information that can identify product dealers is stored in association with products subject to warranty registration, it is possible to avoid a situation where a warranty registration request is received for a product that has not actually been purchased. It becomes possible.

  The information for specifying the “product” here is only one piece of information such as a product number (a symbol given to each product in a predetermined unit based on the manufacturer's regulations or JIS and other domestic and foreign standards). However, for example, it may be specified by combining a plurality of pieces of information that can be used for social reasons in order to specify items such as washing machines and air conditioners, manufacturers, and other products. More specifically, for example, in the model (form) unit, the product name unit, and the same model, distinction or identification may be made by various units such as a frame color unit or a pattern unit.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of information for specifying products constituting the product store information held by the product store information holding unit. In the figure, a list of products configured to be able to identify a product using an item, a manufacturer, and a product number is shown. That is, information such as “refrigerator” and “washing machine” arranged in “area A” 0201 is an item, and information such as “company P” and “company T” arranged in “area B” 0202 is a manufacturer. It is. The product number is described in “SJ-WA35Y-S”, “BW-7WV”, etc., arranged in “area C” 0203. A product ID for specifying a product may be attached corresponding to the product number. Note that “n / a” is described in a column corresponding to an item that is not handled by a product store or a column in which no product is guaranteed. That is, in the product store information holding unit of the present embodiment, for example, “refrigerator” (area A only), “P company product” (area B only), “LC-60LL10” (area C only), “P "Refrigerator made by company" (area A + area B), "Refrigerator of" LC-60LL10 "" (area A + area C), "Product of company P of" LC-60LL10 "" (area B + area C), "LC-60LL10 The product may be specified in various configurations, such as “Refrigerator made by company P” (region A + region B + region C). As an example of a specific configuration for specifying a product, it may be possible to select and specify a product to be associated with a product store from the guaranteeable product group information holding device described above.

  In addition, the unit of the “product dealer” that constitutes the product dealer information is, in principle, one independent store, but multiple stores operated by the same corporation may be combined into one product dealer. It may be for each different floor in the same store, for each corner, or for each salesperson. Further, different sales forms such as product sales by an actual store and product sales by an EC site may be used. For example, if you configure product store information for each salesperson, you can specify the store clerk who sold a specific product or the store clerk who issued the warranty code issuance request process. It is possible to more accurately determine whether the issue request has been made properly.

  FIG. 3 is shown here. This figure is an example of product store information held by the product store information holding unit of the product warranty system management apparatus of this embodiment. The figure shows information relating to “Daiwa Denki head office” specified by the product store ID: 010668437 and a state in which the guaranty product handled in the store is associated with the store. As shown in this figure, the product dealer identified by the product dealer ID assigned to each product dealer and the information (for example, the product number) attached to identify the product are linked. It is possible to construct product store information by attaching.

  Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 3, it is preferable that the product store information held in the product store information holding unit includes an upper limit value of the number of guarantee codes that can be issued for each product. . In the case of the example shown in the figure, the upper limit value for which a guarantee code issuance request can be made for a digital camera product having the product number “DSQ-HX60V” is 213. The upper limit is increased when the product dealer purchases the product or accepts a return from the product buyer, or decreases when the product dealer sells the product or returns it to the wholesaler or manufacturer. It is preferable to be configured so that the upper limit value can be 0 in some cases. That is, when the upper limit value is 0, it is conceivable to perform a process for making it impossible to select a product for the product and a process for not accepting a guarantee code issuance request process. In this way, when the number of guarantee codes that can be issued at a given point in time is recorded and maintained at a product dealer, the number of guarantee codes that exceed the value for a specific product is requested. Therefore, it is possible to perform a process of judging that this is an illegal request and rejecting the guarantee code issuance.

  Here, the upper limit value of the number of guarantee code issuance requests may be registered by the product dealer, but for example, it is registered by the wholesaler or manufacturer who wholesales the product to the product dealer. It is more preferable to adopt such a configuration. More specifically, a terminal managed by a wholesaler or manufacturer is provided with an upper limit changing unit for changing the upper limit of the number of guarantee code issuance requests, and the upper limit is set according to the number of products delivered by the wholesaler or manufacturer. A configuration is conceivable in which the value is increased or the upper limit value is decreased according to the number of returned goods received from the product store. With this configuration, the management of the upper limit is entrusted to a third party who is in an objective position to a certain extent, so that it is possible to prevent malicious and arbitrary guarantee code issuance requests from product retailers. It becomes possible to do.

  Although not shown in the figure, it is also conceivable to hold the number of guarantee code issuances that have already received a guarantee registration request and the number that has not yet been accepted as information constituting product dealer information. By adopting such a configuration, it becomes possible to accurately perform a change process of product dealer information accompanying receipt of a guarantee code issuance request or warranty registration request in the product dealer information management section described later (details will be described later). ).

  It is also conceivable that an ID (product ID, item ID) for specifying a product is assigned to each product as information constituting the product dealer information, and this product ID is associated with each product. The right side of FIG. 14 shows an example of a product that can issue a guarantee code issuance request from the store in the product store information of the Daiwa Denki head office. In the figure, the “item ID” column is an ID associated with each product, and the “registered or not” column records information indicating whether the product is a warranty code issue request. Has been. That is, “◯” indicates that it is a request target, and “×” indicates that it is not a request target. In the “number available” column, the above-described guarantee code issuance requestable upper limit number is recorded. By adopting a configuration that uses an ID for identifying a product instead of product information as information constituting product retailer information, a product group information holding device that can be guaranteed in the processing of the product retailer information management unit described later And the like can be efficiently performed (a specific example will be described later).

  The “product store information management unit” 0102 is configured to enable addition, change, and deletion of product store information. The addition of product dealer information refers to, for example, a product dealer who has signed a contract with a third-party warranty service provider to recommend a third-party warranty service provided by the provider. This is a process of newly registering a product to be associated with a product guaranteed as a target of the third-party warranty service. Deletion of product dealer information refers to product dealer information when it is no longer necessary to retain the product dealer information due to reasons such as withdrawal from the third party warranty service, bankruptcy, or business closure. Is a process of deleting. Furthermore, changes to product dealer information include, for example, products that have been newly handled by product dealers and can be guaranteed by third-party warranty service providers, or have been discontinued by product dealers and third parties It may be possible to cancel the association of products that are not guaranteed by the warranty service provider. Of course, a change in information identifying a product dealer is included in a change in product dealer information. The management of the product store information may be performed in response to a request from a terminal device managed by the product store, or may be performed in response to a request from a guaranteeable product group holding device or the like. By adopting this configuration, it becomes possible to respond to a guarantee code issuance request based on the latest status at the present time in the product selection section described later.

  An example of specific processing such as addition, change, and deletion of product store information will be given. First, as an example of changes to product dealer information, when a warranty registration request based on a warranty code is received via the final consumer interface section described later, the product dealer information specified by the warranty code is configured. Among the information to be processed, a process of counting the number of guarantee registration requests for a specific product is performed. At the same time, the number of unaccepted warranty registration requests is reduced by one. With this configuration, it is possible to grasp the status of the warranty registration request for a specific product in real time, and it is possible to appropriately respond to an illegal warranty code issue request that is different from the truth.

  Here, another example of product store information change will be described with reference to FIG. What is shown on the left side of the figure is information on the product group held in the guaranteeable product group information holding device or the like, and the ID written in the item ID column is written on the right side of the figure It is the same as the item ID and the ID described in FIG. In the “warrantable or not” column, information indicating whether or not the product can be guaranteed by a third-party warranty service is recorded. In the “registered date” (update date) column, the corresponding information is recorded. The date of any change to the information about the product is recorded. The column “warrantable or not” is provided because even a product once registered as a product that can be guaranteed may not be guaranteed later. In the example of the figure, the product with item ID “1006082” (microwave oven manufactured by D company) was a product that can be guaranteed in the past, but it can be guaranteed on June 15, 2014. It is shown that there was a change to exclude. In this example, the product dealer information management unit receives information that the product with the item ID “1006082” is not covered by the warranty, and has the item ID “1006082” column in the information constituting the product dealer information. Among them, the process of changing the “registered or not” column from “◯” to “×” is performed.

  On June 15, 2014, products from product ID “1080672” (M company TV “50Z9X”) to “1081000” (So notebook computer “PT55445LSX”) are newly guaranteed. When registered in the possible product group information holding device or the like, the product store information management unit performs a process of adding the newly registered product as a product that can be issued a guarantee code issue request.

  Here, in the case of these examples described with reference to FIG. 14, when there is a change in information in the guaranteeable product group information holding device or the like, the change contents are sent to the product store information management unit without delay. It is preferable to adopt a configuration for transmission. For this reason, the product store information management unit acquires information updated by the device from a guaranteeable product group information holding device or the like at a predetermined timing (for example, once a day, once a week). For example, when acquiring information that is updated once a day, the date of the current day is acquired by the product store information management unit, and after the maintenance time scheduled by the guaranteeable product group information holding device, etc., has passed, The information that the update date of the possible product group information holding device or the like is the current day (June 15, 2014) is acquired. The product store information management unit performs processing for changing product store information based on the acquired information. For example, if the current day is June 15, 2014, the handling date of the product “1006082” whose update date is that day, that is, June 15, 2014, or “1080671” will be described. ”Through“ 1081000 ”are additionally processed to enable the product selection unit to select the product as a guaranteeable product.

  In addition, when adding product dealer information, input of information (for example, an e-mail address, a telephone number, a registration date to the system, etc.) accompanying information specifying the product dealer is received and the product dealer is identified. It is also possible to register with information. By adopting such a configuration, for example, when the number of guarantee code issuance requests exceeding the upper limit of the guarantee code issuance request is received for a specific product, the notification of the reason for rejecting the request is registered. It is possible to adopt a configuration in which an e-mail is sent to an e-mail address or an automatic message is sent to a registered telephone number. Also, by recording the date of registration in the system, if there is a log that a guarantee code issuance request has been made before that point, it is recognized that the issuance request is not authentic It becomes possible.

  The “product store interface unit” 0103 is configured to permit connection to an external terminal based on product store information. As an example of “permitting connection to an external terminal based on product store information”, an input of a product store ID and password associated with the product store information is accepted, and the input product store ID and password are input. A configuration is conceivable in which connection is permitted only when it is determined that is correct. By adopting a configuration that accepts guarantee code issuance requests, which are described later, only through access from authorized product dealers, only the guarantee code issuance requests from reliable merchandise dealers can be understood. By doing so, it is possible to reduce the risk of accepting an inappropriate warranty registration request.

  An example of the configuration will be described with reference to FIG. This figure is a display screen of an external terminal managed by a product dealer, and shows a point in time when the product dealer interface section of the product warranty system management apparatus of this embodiment is accessed via a network. As shown in the figure, the product store side requests to permit connection of an external terminal by inputting a login ID notified in advance or a predetermined or set password. By adopting this configuration, in addition to permitting connection based on product dealer information, it is also possible to provide a GUI customized for each product dealer. An example of “providing a GUI customized for each product dealer” is included in the product dealer information as a product that can be guaranteed and registered among products sold at the product dealer. A configuration that displays information related to product sales and warranty code issuance requests, such as the number of sales and sales within a specified period such as monthly, weekly, and daily, and fees received from third-party warranty service providers, is considered. It is done. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to easily analyze the presence / absence of merits that a product dealer has contracted with a third-party warranty service provider and the details thereof and reflect them in business improvement.

  The “product selection unit” 0104 is configured to cause the product sales store to select a product associated with the product sales store in the product sales store information via the product sales store interface unit. Specifically, a configuration is conceivable in which each product recorded in the product store information shown as an example in FIG. 3 or FIG. 2 is selected.

  FIG. 5 is shown here. This figure is a diagram showing an example of a display image for selecting a product via the manufacturer / retailer interface unit. As shown in the figure, the product dealer performs an operation of selecting a product purchased by the customer for a guarantee code issuance request from the products constituting the product dealer information. In the case of the example shown in FIG. 5, when trying to select a television with the product number “LC-60LL10”, it is conceivable to select the display portion of the product name with a pointer.

  The “guarantee code issuance request receiving unit” 0105 is configured to accept a request for issuing a guarantee code for a product specified by being selected by a product selection unit from a product store. Here, it is assumed that the product dealer requests the issuance of a guarantee code, receives the guarantee code issued later, and issues it to the final consumer. Under such a configuration, the product retailer does not handle the personal information of the final consumer, thus reducing both the concerns of both the final consumer and the product retailer regarding the personal information and the administrative processing burden. It becomes possible to do.

  It is desirable that the guarantee code generation process be performed within a certain period after the product is sold. Specifically, the guarantee code issuance request accepting unit holds the guarantee code issuance request acceptance deadline information by the configuration described later, and accepts the guarantee code issuance request together with the product sales time. . If the product sales time exceeds the acceptance deadline (for example, a relatively short time of about 1 hour, 10 minutes, or 5 minutes) in relation to the current time, For example, it may be possible to provide a function of determining that the guarantee code is not generated.

  At this time, it is conceivable that the product sales time information is obtained by using the time-keeping function of the POS cash register used at the time of product settlement. More specifically, a configuration is conceivable in which information about the time at which product sales or settlement processing is performed is acquired from a POS register used by a product store via wired or wireless communication. By adopting this configuration, it is possible to accurately perform a process such as the determination for the generation of the guarantee code not based on the product sales time without error. In addition, by adopting a configuration that can send and receive information to and from the POS cash register, for example, even if product sales are canceled afterwards, the information indicating that the cancellation has been made can be quickly grasped and guaranteed. It is possible to avoid a situation where a code for use is accidentally issued. Even if a warranty code has already been issued, by promptly performing the process of invalidating the warranty code, even if there is a warranty registration request using the warranty code later It becomes possible to perform processing to refuse.

  FIG. 6 is shown here. This figure is a conceptual diagram for explaining an example in which a guarantee code issuance request for a specific product is made using a terminal managed by a product store. As shown in the figure, the product dealer requests the issuance of a guarantee code for the product specified by selection by the product selection unit as in the example shown in FIG. At this time, not only the product but also, for example, as shown in the figure, it may be requested to issue a guarantee code by associating information such as sales date / time, corresponding clerk name, clerk ID and the like. By adopting this configuration, the details of the transaction related to the product for which the warranty code issuance request is made can be clarified, and improper guarantee code issuance request processing from the product dealer can be prevented. .

  The “guarantee code issuing unit” 0106 generates and holds a warranty code, which is a product warranty code including information for identifying a product based on a warranty code issuance request and information for identifying a product store. Configured to do. Note that “information for identifying a product” and “information for identifying a product dealer” associated with the warranty code here are information that directly identifies the product and the product dealer (for example, product part number, product dealer name). Etc.) in addition to information (for example, product ID and product store ID) for indirectly specifying each of the above information. The warranty code generated by the warranty code issuing unit includes two-dimensional codes such as barcodes and QR codes (registered trademark), letters and numbers, and other product warranty details specified at the time of the above issuance request And the mode is not particularly limited.

  FIG. 13 is shown here. This figure is a conceptual diagram for explaining an example of processing for generating a guarantee code in the guarantee code issuing section. As shown in the figure, accepting a warranty code issuance request from an external terminal managed by a product dealer can issue a warranty code containing information that associates the product dealer with the product. become. The format of the guarantee code issued here is not particularly limited (two-dimensional code in the case of FIG. 13), but the format of the guarantee code to be issued at the product store may be specified. With this configuration, a flexible guarantee code that meets the demands of the final consumer, such as issuing a guarantee code in the form of a number to the final consumer who does not have a terminal that can read a two-dimensional code. Provision becomes possible.

  Note that the guarantee code may be generated based on the guarantee code issuance request, and it is not necessary that all the information included in the guarantee code issuance request is associated with the guarantee code. Assuming that the guarantee code shown in FIG. 13 is generated based on the guarantee code issuance request described with reference to FIG. 6, the product number, manufacturer, and salesclerk of the product included in the guarantee code issuance request are as follows. The information such as the name does not need to be associated with the guarantee code because there is other information (product number and store clerk ID).

  The “guarantee code transmitting unit” 0107 is configured to transmit the generated guarantee code to the product store. As a specific configuration for transmitting the guarantee code to the product store, a configuration may be considered in which the guarantee code issuance request is transmitted to the terminal device on the product store side through the product store interface unit. With this configuration, the warranty code is sent to the product store as soon as it is generated and can be delivered to the end consumer immediately at the product store. It becomes possible to perform processing for guarantee registration request promptly after product purchase.

  By the way, as a mode of acquiring the guarantee code transmitted to the product store at the end consumer side, the guarantee code transmitted from the terminal device managed by the product store is sent to the external terminal managed by the end consumer. May be received, or may be a mode of receiving a guarantee code printed out on a medium such as paper or a card by the product sales store. In the case of receiving a printed matter, the guarantee code printed out on the printed matter is read by an external terminal managed by the final consumer using a code reader, and a guarantee registration request is made based on the read guarantee code. The structure which performs is considered. By adopting such a configuration, for example, a printed matter on which a guarantee code is printed out may be sold at a product store, and the sales price may be positioned as a charge for concluding a guarantee contract.

  When the guarantee code is transmitted, it is desirable that the guarantee code having the same content as the transmitted guarantee code is held in the guarantee code issuing unit. By taking this configuration, when a warranty registration request using the warranty code is received later, it is determined whether the request is appropriate by performing matching processing with the stored warranty code. (This will be described in detail in Embodiment 2).

The “final consumer interface unit” 0108 is configured to receive a final consumer guarantee registration request from an external terminal based on the guarantee code.
FIG. 7 is shown here. The figure is an example of a display screen of an external terminal managed by the final consumer, and shows an example of a state in which the final consumer interface unit of the product warranty system management apparatus of the present embodiment is accessed via the network. FIG. As shown in the figure, for example, the end consumer inputs a login ID ("Warranty_39" in the case of the example shown in the figure) or a password set by himself / herself or set in advance. At the same time, the user is requested to permit the connection of the external terminal by inputting the guarantee code (in the example shown in the figure, a form consisting of letters or numbers).

  When the connection of the external terminal is permitted through the final consumer interface unit, the input of information for performing warranty registration with the external terminal is accepted. It should be noted that the guarantee code may be configured not to require input when permitting the connection of the final consumer but to accept input when performing guarantee registration after permitting the connection. Then, an input of information necessary for associating the guarantee code with the final consumer is accepted. The information required here may be information such as the name and address of the final consumer, date of birth, telephone number, and email address, but such information has already been notified to the final consumer. If the login ID is associated with the login ID, a process for associating the login ID with the guarantee code may be performed. In any case, guarantee registration is performed by accepting input of information associated with these guarantee codes. Here, “when it is associated with the login ID already notified to the end consumer” means, for example, that the end consumer previously uses a third-party guarantee service for a different product. This is the case where there is a history of requesting warranty registration.

  When the warranty registration is completed, for example, a warranty registration number which is an ID associated with the contents of the warranty registration (for example, repair or replacement, warranty period, disclaimer, etc.) is generated and transmitted to the external terminal. The warranty registration number may be newly generated, or existing character / numeric information such as a product serial number may be used. Then, by inputting this guarantee registration number at an external terminal managed by the final consumer later, the final consumer can confirm the guarantee contents and apply for the guarantee contents described later.

  Incidentally, it is desirable that the process for guarantee registration is completed within a predetermined time limit (for example, one week, three days, or 24 hours) after the guarantee code is issued. Therefore, in the product warranty system management device, information on the acceptance period for performing the process for guarantee registration based on one guarantee code is stored in advance so as not to respond to a guarantee registration request exceeding the deadline. It is desirable to adopt a simple configuration.

  In addition, in the final consumer interface section, in the event that a warranty is required on the final consumer side after product registration (product failure, submersion, contamination, etc.), the warranty will be issued from the external terminal managed by the final consumer. It is possible to accept the guarantee registration number and other information sent during registration as a guarantee application. In this case, a determination is made as to whether or not to execute the warranty based on the warranty registration number entered on the product warranty system management device side. By the way, when applying for the performance of the warranty, we received the input of information such as the name and phone number of the final consumer, the date of birth, the store where the product was purchased, the product purchase date, etc. instead of the warranty registration number. The configuration may be such that the guarantee content execution is determined by searching for the guarantee registration number or the guarantee code associated with the information. With this configuration, even if the warranty registration number is forgotten or the product serial number cannot be determined (for example, if the product is lost or the product is severely damaged), the end consumer and the product itself By accepting input by combining information that can identify the fact of purchase, it is possible to determine whether or not it is a guarantee performance application by impersonation of another person.

<Warranty registration flow>
The functions of the product warranty system management apparatus described above will be described with reference to the drawings according to the time series in which each function operates. FIG. 8 is a concept for explaining an example of the flow of warranty registration using the product warranty system management apparatus of this embodiment. As shown in the figure, when a certain product is sold, Daiwa Denki head office connects to the product warranty system management device based on the product store information of its own store using a terminal device that it manages within a predetermined time. Then, a specific product is selected from the product store information held therein and a guarantee code issuance is requested for the product (procedure (A)). When the product warranty system management device receives the warranty code issue request, it issues a warranty code for performing warranty registration of the product associated with the request and transmits it to the terminal device of the product store (procedure ( A)). Upon receiving this guarantee code, the Daiwa Denki head office will issue the guarantee code to the final consumer who is the product purchaser (procedure (c)), and the final consumer who received the grant will manage it as necessary. Operate the external terminal, connect to the product warranty system management device, and apply for warranty registration using the warranty code (procedure (D)). Note that the product warranty system management device appropriately transmits / receives information to / from the product guaranteeable product group information holding device, etc., and updates the product information and product store information that can be guaranteed.

  By adopting the configuration described above, the Daiwa Denki head office will provide the product warranty system management device administrator with the third-party warranty service provider without incurring the burden of managing the personal information of the final consumer. Convenience can be achieved. Moreover, it is possible to avoid the situation where personal information is unnecessarily disclosed to a product store as a final consumer. For third-party warranty service providers, product purchases at product retailers trigger warranty registration, avoiding situations in which they are forced to respond to inappropriate warranty registration requests from malicious users. It becomes possible to do.

<Specific configuration>
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a configuration when each functional configuration of the product warranty system management apparatus according to the present embodiment is realized as hardware. As shown in this figure, the aggregated code issuing device of the present embodiment includes “CPU” 0901, “storage device (storage medium)” 0902, “main memory” 0903, and “ An “input / output interface” 0904, a “product store interface” 0905, and a “final consumer interface” 0906 are provided. For example, a “keyboard” 0907, a “code reader” 0908, and a “display” are provided via the input / output interface. Send and receive information to and from external peripheral devices such as 0909. In addition, information is transmitted / received to / from an “external terminal” 0990 managed by the product store or the final consumer via the product store interface or the final consumer interface. The storage device stores various programs as described below, and the CPU reads these various programs into the work area of the main memory, and develops and executes them. These components are connected to each other via a data communication path such as “system bus” 0999, and perform transmission / reception and processing of information.

(Specific processing of product dealer information management department)
The CPU reads out and executes the “product store information management program” 0910 from the storage device to the main memory, executes the process of adding, changing, or deleting the product store information read into the main memory, and displays the processing result. Store at a predetermined address.

(Specific processing of product selector)
The CPU reads the “product selection program” 0920 from the storage device into the main memory and executes it, and is associated with the product dealer in the product dealer information via the product dealer interface unit. Process to select the product.

(Specific processing of the guarantee code issuance request reception unit)
The CPU reads the “guarantee code issuance request acceptance program” 0930 from the storage device into the main memory and executes it, and issues a guarantee code issuance request for the product specified by executing the product selection program via the product store interface unit. Process to accept.

(Specific processing of the guarantee code issuing department)
The CPU reads the “guarantee code issuance program” 0940 from the storage device into the main memory and executes it, and based on the issuance request obtained by executing the guarantee code issuance request acceptance program, information for identifying the product and the product sales A warranty code, which is a product warranty code including information specifying the store, is generated and stored in a predetermined address of the main memory.

(Specific processing of the guarantee code transmitter)
The CPU reads the “guarantee code transmission program” 0950 from the storage device into the main memory and executes it, and transmits the guarantee code generated by executing the guarantee code issuing program to the terminal managed by the product store. Process. At this time, it is conceivable that the guarantee code is transmitted via the product store interface unit.

(Specific processing of the final consumer interface)
The CPU reads the “guarantee registration request acceptance program” 0960 from the storage device and executes it, and accepts input of information for performing guarantee registration such as a guarantee code and a final consumer name transmitted from the external terminal. The information received in association with each other is stored in a predetermined address of the main memory in association with each other.

  By the way, when a request for performance of guarantee is transmitted from the end consumer side, the CPU reads the “guarantee performance determination program” from the storage device to the main memory and executes it, and guarantees based on the performance request. Processing to determine whether the contents can be fulfilled.

<Process flow>
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing flow in the product warranty system management apparatus according to the present embodiment. The flow of processing in the figure consists of the following steps. First, in step S1001, product dealer information, which is information relating the product dealer that sells the product to be guaranteed to the end consumer and the product to be guaranteed, is acquired (product dealer information acquisition step). In step S1002, it is determined whether there is addition, change, or deletion of product dealer information. If it is determined that there is any of them, processing for adding, changing, or deleting product dealer information is performed. (Product dealer information management step).
In step S1003, in response to a connection request from an external terminal, it is determined whether to permit the connection based on the product store information. If the determination result indicates that the connection is permitted, the process proceeds to step S1004. If it is determined that the permission is not permitted, the process returns to step S1003, or information indicating that permission is not permitted is transmitted to the terminal, and the process is terminated.
In step S1004, the product dealer is made to select the product associated with the product dealer in the product dealer information via the product dealer interface (product selection step), and the product selected in step S1005 is selected. A corresponding guarantee code issuance request is accepted (guarantee code issuance request acceptance step). Thereafter, in step S1006, a guarantee code is generated and held according to the contents of step S1005 (guarantee code issuing step), and the guarantee code already generated in step S1007 is transmitted to the product store (guaranteed). Code sending step). Thereafter, in step S1008, processing for accepting a guarantee registration request of the final consumer from the external terminal is performed based on the guarantee code (guarantee registration request acceptance step). In step S1009, it is determined whether or not to continue the process. If it is determined that the process is not continued, the process ends. If the determination result is to continue, the process returns to, for example, step S1001, step S1003, or step S1008.

<Effect>
By using the product warranty system management device having the above configuration, the product dealer can expect some return in exchange for a certain contribution to the third-party warranty service provider, while reducing the management load of personal information. The conventional problem can be solved. Furthermore, it is possible for the third-party warranty service provider to avoid a situation in which a warranty registration request camouflaged by a malicious user is accepted because product purchase at a product store is a trigger.

<< Embodiment 2 >>
<Overview>

  The product warranty system management apparatus according to the present embodiment is basically the same as the product warranty system management apparatus according to the first embodiment, but for the warranty transmitted when the warranty registration request is received via the final consumer interface unit. It is characterized in that it further includes a guarantee code authenticity judging section for judging whether the code is held in the guarantee code issuing section. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to avoid a situation in which an improper warranty contract is concluded, such as guaranteeing a defective product or a product that is difficult to guarantee such as cost effectiveness is not expected.

<Functional configuration>
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks of the product warranty system management apparatus according to the present embodiment. As shown in this figure, the “product warranty system management device” 1100 of the present embodiment includes a “product store information holding unit” 1101, a “product store information management unit” 1102, and a “product store interface unit ( (Product store I / F section) "1103," product selection section "1104," guarantee code issuance request reception section "1105," guarantee code issuance section "1106, and" guarantee code transmission section "1107 A “final consumer interface section (final consumer I / F section)” 1108 and a “guarantee code authenticity determination section” 1109. Since the basic configuration is the same as that of the product warranty system management apparatus described with reference to FIG. 1 of the first embodiment, the function of the “guarantee code authenticity determination unit” 1109, which is a difference, will be described below.

  The “guarantee code authenticity determination unit” 1109 is configured to determine whether or not the guarantee code transmitted when the guarantee registration request is received via the final consumer interface unit is held in the guarantee code issuing unit. The As an example of “determining whether the transmitted guarantee code is held in the guarantee code issuing unit”, first, whether the same information as the transmitted guarantee code is held in the guarantee code issuing unit The case where the process which searches for is performed may be considered. In addition, when a guarantee code is issued, a tag code information, which is code information having a unique correspondence with the guarantee code, is stored in advance, and a matching code that can have a correspondence with the transmitted guarantee code is stored. The process of searching for the tag code information is also included in the process of “determining whether or not the transmitted guarantee code is held in the guarantee code issuing unit”.

  It should be noted that the product warranty system management apparatus of the present embodiment further includes a charge for charging for a warranty contract when the determination result by the warranty code authenticity determination unit is a determination result that is true. It is also possible to provide a part. Specifically, based on the settlement information input acceptance means for accepting the input of settlement information, which is necessary information for performing billing processing such as a credit card number and a subscriber name for concluding a guarantee contract, or based on the accepted settlement information It is conceivable to provide a payment request means for requesting payment to a credit card company server, a post-billing contract conclusion means for performing a guarantee contract conclusion process when the payment completion information indicating that the payment has been completed is received. By adopting this configuration, it becomes possible to quickly provide a product warranty service in line with the intention of the end consumer who requested the warranty registration.

  In addition, a final consumer attribute information receiving unit is provided that receives an input of final consumer attribute information in association with the guarantee code when the determination result is true by the guarantee code authenticity determination unit. It is also possible. Specifically, in addition to a configuration that accepts input of information for identifying the final consumer such as name, address, telephone number, mobile phone SIM card information and IMEI number, the information is stored in advance in association with the information. The configuration for accepting input of one or a plurality of IDs is also included in the “accepting input of attribute information of the final consumer” here. By adopting this configuration, it becomes possible to identify the end consumer who should receive the warranty of the product specified by the warranty code, and to provide the end customer with the warranty service.

  The final consumer attribute information receiving unit may be provided with a warranty destination address receiving means for receiving an input of an address to which a warranty should be sent for the final consumer. The warranty card to be sent here is not only image information that needs to be presented when the final consumer intends to receive a warranty later, but also information that is simply sent to prove the provision of the warranty service. In some cases, information having any property may be sent individually as a guarantee. In any case, by having such a configuration, it is possible to notify the end consumer of the fact of the guarantee contract.

  The warranty destination address accepting means may accept the input of any address as long as it is a destination to which the guarantee can be sent, such as a predetermined SNS account, in addition to the e-mail address to which the guarantee can be sent. In any case, by adopting such a configuration, it is possible to save the trouble of printing out the warranty card on paper and mailing it, and it is possible to quickly deliver the warranty card in a manner desired by the final consumer.

<Specific configuration>
The hardware configuration of the product warranty system management apparatus according to the present embodiment is basically the same as the hardware configuration of the product warranty system management apparatus according to the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. Therefore, in the following, a specific process of the “guarantee code authenticity determination unit” that has not been described so far, an accounting unit that is an example of a possible configuration, and a final consumer attribute information reception unit will be described.

(Specific processing of the guarantee code authenticity judgment unit)
The CPU reads and executes the “guarantee code authenticity determination program” from the storage device to the main memory, executes the guarantee code, reads the guarantee code sent when the guarantee registration request is accepted, and reads the same guarantee at the predetermined address in the main memory. A process is performed to determine whether or not the business code is held.

(Specific processing of the billing department)
The specific processing when the accounting unit is provided is as follows. If the result obtained by executing the guarantee code authenticity determination program is true, the CPU reads the “charging program” from the storage device into the main memory and executes it to conclude the guarantee contract. The process for billing is performed.

(Specific processing of the final consumer attribute information reception unit)
The specific processing when the final consumer attribute information receiving unit is provided is as follows. If the result obtained by executing the guarantee code authenticity determination program is true, the CPU reads the “final consumer attribute information receiving unit program” from the storage device into the main memory and executes it. And accepting the input of the attribute information of the final consumer and storing the information at a predetermined address of the main memory associated with the guarantee code.

<Process flow>
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing flow in the product warranty system management apparatus according to the present embodiment. The process flow in FIG. 10 is the same as the process flow in the product warranty system management apparatus according to the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. That is, the process flow from step S1001 to step S1008 in the product warranty system management apparatus according to the first embodiment and the process flow from step S1221 to step S1223, which will be described later, are the same as the process flow from step S1009.

  In step S1221, a process is performed to determine whether or not the guarantee code transmitted when the guarantee registration request is received via the final consumer interface unit is held in the guarantee code issuing unit. As an example of the case where the determination result here is held, as step S1222, the input of the attribute information of the final consumer is received in association with the guarantee code (the final consumer attribute information reception step). ). At this time, as a step S1523, a process (billing step) for charging for the conclusion of the guarantee contract may be performed. Steps S1222 and S1223 may be performed in only one of them, or may be performed in any process, and in the case of performing either process, the processing after step S1222 and step S1223 is not particularly important. Absent. However, if the determination result in step S1221 indicates that the determination result is not held, the process proceeds to step S1009 without performing any process of step S1222 or step S1223.

<Effect>
By using the product warranty system management device having the above-mentioned configuration, it is possible to avoid a situation in which an inappropriate warranty contract is concluded, such as guaranteeing a product that is difficult to guarantee such as a defective product. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 0100 ... Product warranty system management apparatus, 0101 ... Product dealer information holding part, 0102 ... Product dealer information management part, 0103 ... Product dealer interface part, 0104 ... Product selection part, 0105 ... Warranty code issue request reception part, 0106 ... guarantee code issuing part, 0107 ... guarantee code sending part, 0108 ... final consumer interface part

Claims (7)

A product store information holding unit for storing product store information, which is information relating a product store that sells a product to be guaranteed to a final consumer and a product to be guaranteed,
Product dealer information management department for adding, changing, and deleting product dealer information,
A product store interface for allowing connection to an external terminal based on product store information,
A product selection unit that allows a product dealer to select a product associated with the product dealer in the product dealer information via the product dealer interface unit;
A guarantee code issuance request accepting unit for accepting a issuance request for a guarantee code for a product identified by being selected by the product selection unit from a product dealer via a product dealer interface unit;
A warranty code issuing unit that generates and holds a warranty code, which is a product warranty code, including information for identifying a product based on a warranty code issuance request and information for identifying the product dealer;
A guarantee code sending unit for sending the generated guarantee code to the product dealer;
A final consumer interface for accepting a final consumer warranty registration request from an external terminal based on the warranty code;
Product warranty system management device having.   The guarantee code authenticity judgment part which judges whether the guarantee code transmitted when the guarantee registration request is received via the final consumer interface part is held in the guarantee code issuing part is further provided. Product warranty system management device.   The claim further includes a final consumer attribute information receiving unit that receives input of attribute information of the final consumer in association with the guarantee code when the determination result is true by the guarantee code authenticity determination unit Item 3. The product warranty system management device according to Item 2.   The product warranty system management according to claim 2 or 3, further comprising a charging unit for charging for a warranty contract when the determination result by the warranty code authenticity determination unit is a true determination result. apparatus.   5. The last consumer attribute information receiving unit according to claim 3 or claim 4 subordinate to claim 3, comprising a warranty destination address receiving means for receiving an input of an address to which a warranty should be transmitted for the final consumer. Product warranty system management device. A product dealer information holding unit that holds product dealer information, which is information that associates a product dealer that sells the product to be guaranteed to the final consumer and the product to be guaranteed, and an external device based on the product dealer information. An operation method of a product warranty system management device comprising a product store interface unit for permitting connection to a terminal and a final consumer interface unit,
Product dealer information management step for adding, changing, and deleting product dealer information,
A product selection step for causing the product store to select a product associated with the product store in the product store information;
A guarantee code issuance request reception step for accepting a request for issuing a guarantee code for a product identified by being selected in the product selection step from a product dealer;
A warranty code issuing step for generating a warranty code, which is a code for product warranty, including information for identifying a product based on the warranty code issuance request and information for identifying the product dealer;
A guarantee code sending step for sending the generated guarantee code to the product dealer;
A method of operating a product warranty system management device having A product dealer information holding unit that holds product dealer information, which is information that associates a product dealer that sells the product to be guaranteed to the final consumer and the product to be guaranteed, and an external device based on the product dealer information. In a product warranty system management device comprising a product store interface unit for permitting connection to a terminal and a final consumer interface unit,
Product dealer information management step for adding, changing, and deleting product dealer information,
A product selection step for causing the product store to select a product associated with the product store in the product store information;
A guarantee code issuance request reception step for accepting a request for issuing a guarantee code for a product identified by being selected in the product selection step from a product dealer;
A warranty code issuing step for generating a warranty code, which is a code for product warranty, including information for identifying a product based on the warranty code issuance request and information for identifying the product dealer;
A guarantee code sending step for sending the generated guarantee code to the product dealer;
A program to make it executable.

Images