JP7582427B2 - Material management system, material management method, material management device, material management program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a material management system, a material management method, a material management device, and a material management program.

Conventionally, systems have been known that consolidate small, dispersed trading lots of waste materials into large lots, standardize the characteristics of the waste, and stabilize the production volume and quality of recycled resources, thereby helping to secure sales channels for recycled resources, ensure a stable supply, stabilize prices, and maintain and expand the size of the trading market.

In the conventional technology described above, when recycling resources were traded, the raw materials used to make the recycling resources were checked manually.

The disclosed technology was developed in light of the above circumstances, and aims to make it easier to confirm the quality of waste materials.

The disclosed technology is a material management system that includes a terminal device and a material management device connected to the terminal device via a network, the material management device having a quality information generation unit that acquires measurement data indicating the quality of the materials that make up the waste, measured by a measuring device, and generates quality information indicating the quality of the materials that make up the waste based on the measurement data, a quality information storage unit that stores the quality information, and a data output unit that accepts input of information that identifies the material from the terminal device and outputs quality information associated with the identifying information from the quality information stored in the quality information storage unit to the terminal device, and the terminal device has a display control unit that displays the quality information on a display device.

It makes it easier to check the quality of waste materials.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of a material management system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a hardware configuration of a material management apparatus. FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a hardware configuration of a terminal device. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a quality information database according to the first embodiment; FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the functions of each device in the material management system of the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a first sequence diagram illustrating an operation of the material management system according to the first embodiment. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a process of a quality information generating unit according to the first embodiment. 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating an example of a display on a provider terminal according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a second sequence diagram illustrating the operation of the material management system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a first diagram illustrating a display example of a user terminal in the first embodiment. FIG. 13 is a second diagram illustrating an example of a display on the user terminal in the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a third sequence diagram illustrating the operation of the material management system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 13 is a second diagram illustrating an example of a display on the user terminal in the first embodiment. FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a system configuration of a material management system according to a second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a quality information database according to the second embodiment; FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a material management device according to a second embodiment. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a process of a quality information generating unit according to the second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating ranking according to the proportion of impurities. FIG. 11 is a second sequence diagram illustrating the operation of the material management system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a terminal device according to the second embodiment.

First Embodiment
Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the system configuration of a material management system according to a first embodiment.

The material management system 100 of this embodiment has a material management device 200, a terminal device 300, a terminal device 400, a measuring device 500, and a measuring device 600.

In the material management system 100 of this embodiment, the material management device 200, the terminal device 300, and the terminal device 400 are connected via a network such as the Internet. In the material management system 100, the measuring device 500 performs short-range wireless communication with the terminal device 300 using Bluetooth (registered trademark) or the like, and the measuring device 600 performs short-range wireless communication with the terminal device 400 using Bluetooth or the like.

The material management system 100 of this embodiment manages quality information that indicates the quality of the materials that make up waste. The material quality information may be referenced in transactions between businesses that handle waste. Details of the quality information will be described later.

Businesses that handle waste include, for example, business operators that provide waste materials and business operators that use waste materials. Specifically, business operators that provide waste materials may be businesses that generate waste, and business operators that use waste materials may be businesses that process waste.

A waste generator is a business that separates waste into multiple materials and stores them, while a waste treatment business is a business that performs intermediate processing and recycling of the materials.

In the material management system 100 of this embodiment, the terminal device 300 is, for example, a terminal device used by a provider business operator, and the terminal device 400 is, for example, a terminal device used by a user business operator. In the following description, the terminal device 300 is referred to as the provider terminal 300, and the terminal device 400 is referred to as the user terminal 400. In the following description, the provider business operator that provides the waste material is referred to as the provider business operator, and the user business operator that uses the waste material is referred to as the user business operator. The waste material in this embodiment is, for example, resin.

Note that provider businesses and user businesses are not differentiated, and a single business may be both a provider business and a user business depending on the situation.

In this embodiment, the measuring device 500 and the measuring device 600 are handy (portable) spectrometers. Each of the measuring devices 500 and 600 measures the quality of the material being traded and outputs measurement data including a near-infrared light spectrum to the provider terminal 300 and the user terminal 400.

The provider terminal 300 in this embodiment transmits the measurement data output from the measuring device 500 to the material management device 200. Specifically, the provider terminal 300 transmits measurement data of the material to be provided to the user business through a transaction with the user business to the material management device 200, and stores the measurement data in the material management device 200. The user terminal 400 acquires quality information of the material acquired through a transaction with the provider business from the material management device 200 and displays it. In addition, the user terminal 400 transmits the measurement data of the acquired material to the material management device 200, and the material management device 200 compares it with the measurement data received from the provider terminal 300.

The material management device 200 has a quality information database 240, a measurement database 250, and a quality information management section 260.

The quality information database 240 stores quality information indicating the quality of each material. The quality information is generated by the quality information management unit 260. The quality information of this embodiment may be used, for example, as certificate information for certifying the quality of the material. The measurement database 250 stores measurement data received from the provider terminal 300. The measurement database 250 is an example of a measurement data storage unit. Note that the measurement database 250 (an example of a measurement data storage unit) may be used as the quality information database 240 (an example of a quality information storage unit).

The quality information management unit 260 generates quality information of the material using the measurement data received from the providing terminal 300, and stores it in the quality information database 240. The quality information management unit 260 also outputs quality information of the material selected at the using terminal 400 to the using terminal 400. When the quality information management unit 260 receives measurement data from the using terminal 400, it compares it with the measurement data received from the providing terminal 300, and outputs the comparison result to the using terminal 400.

In this embodiment, output includes transmitting information to an external device and displaying information on a display device. The external device is a device connected to the material management device 200 via a network or the like. The display device may be a display device included in the external device, or a display device included in the material management device 200.

In this embodiment, by managing quality information indicating the quality of the materials being traded in this way, it becomes unnecessary for a person in charge at each business to go to the storage location of the materials and manually check the quality of the materials when making a transaction, making it easier to check the quality of the materials.

The material management device 200 of this embodiment may be a cloud server provided on the Internet. Furthermore, each of the material management devices 200 may be realized by multiple information processing devices.

In the example of FIG. 1, the material management device 200 is configured to have a quality information database 240 and a quality information management unit 260, but this is not limited to the above. The quality information database 240 and the measurement database 250 may be provided in part or in whole in another device capable of communicating with the material management device 200.

In addition, in the material management system 100 of this embodiment, there is one provider terminal 300 and one user terminal 400, but this is not limited to this. The number of provider terminals 300 and user terminals 400 may correspond to the number of businesses that use the services provided by the material management system 100.

In the following embodiment, recyclable industrial waste is described as an example of waste. More specifically, the waste in this embodiment may be, for example, waste plastic.

Next, the hardware configuration of the material management device 200 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the material management device.

As shown in FIG. 2, the material management device 200 is constructed by a computer, and as shown in FIG. 2, it is equipped with a CPU 201, a ROM 202, a RAM 203, a HD 204, a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) controller 205, a display 206, an external device connection I/F (Interface) 208, a network I/F 209, a bus line 210, a keyboard 211, a pointing device 212, a DVD-RW (Digital Versatile Disk Rewritable) drive 214, and a media I/F 216.

Of these, the CPU 201 controls the operation of the entire material management device 200. The ROM 202 stores programs used to drive the CPU 201, such as IPL. The RAM 203 is used as a work area for the CPU 201. The HD 204 stores various data such as programs. The HDD controller 205 controls the reading or writing of various data from the HD 204 according to the control of the CPU 201. The display (display device) 206 displays various information such as a cursor, menu, window, character, or image. The external device connection I/F 208 is an interface for connecting various external devices. In this case, the external device is, for example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory or a printer. The network I/F 209 is an interface for data communication using a communication network. The bus line 210 is an address bus, a data bus, or the like for electrically connecting each component such as the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 2.

The keyboard 211 is a type of input means equipped with multiple keys for inputting characters, numbers, various instructions, etc. The pointing device 212 is a type of input means for selecting and executing various instructions, selecting a processing target, moving the cursor, etc. The DVD-RW drive 214 controls the reading and writing of various data from the DVD-RW 213, which is an example of a removable recording medium. Note that this is not limited to a DVD-RW, and may be a DVD-R, etc. The media I/F 216 controls the reading and writing (storing) of data from the recording medium 215, such as a flash memory.

Next, the hardware configuration of the provider terminal 300 and the user terminal 400 will be described. In the following description, the provider terminal 300 is shown as an example of a terminal device. Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a terminal device.

The terminal device 300 of this embodiment includes a CPU 301, a ROM 302, a RAM 303, an EEPROM 304, a CMOS sensor 305, an image sensor I/F 306, an acceleration/orientation sensor 307, a media I/F 309, and a GPS receiver 311.

Of these, CPU 301 is an arithmetic processing device that controls the operation of the entire terminal device 400. ROM 302 stores CPU 301 and programs used to drive CPU 301, such as IPL. RAM 303 is used as a work area for CPU 301. EEPROM 304 reads or writes various data, such as smartphone programs, under the control of CPU 301. ROM 302, RAM 303, and EEPROM 304 are examples of storage devices of terminal device 300.

The CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) sensor 305 is a type of built-in imaging means that captures an image of a subject (mainly a self-portrait) under the control of the CPU 301 to obtain image data. Note that instead of a CMOS sensor, an imaging means such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) sensor may also be used.

The imaging element I/F 306 is a circuit that controls the driving of the CMOS sensor 305. The acceleration/direction sensor 307 is a variety of sensors, such as an electronic magnetic compass that detects geomagnetism, a gyrocompass, and an acceleration sensor. The media I/F 309 controls the reading and writing (storage) of data from and to a recording medium 308, such as a flash memory. The GPS receiver 311 receives GPS signals from GPS satellites.

The terminal device 300 also includes a long-distance communication circuit 312, an antenna 312a of the long-distance communication circuit 312, a CMOS sensor 313, an image sensor I/F 314, a microphone 315, a speaker 316, an audio input/output I/F 317, a display 318, an external device connection I/F (Interface) 319, a short-distance communication circuit 320, an antenna 320a of the short-distance communication circuit 320, and a touch panel 321.

Of these, the long-distance communication circuit 312 is a circuit that communicates with other devices via a communication network. The CMOS sensor 313 is a type of built-in imaging means that captures an image of a subject and obtains image data under the control of the CPU 301. The image sensor I/F 314 is a circuit that controls the operation 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 converts electrical signals into physical vibrations to produce sounds such as music and voice. The audio input/output I/F 317 is a circuit that processes the input and output of audio signals between the microphone 315 and the speaker 316 under the control of the CPU 301.

The display 318 is a type of display means such as a liquid crystal or organic EL (Electro Luminescence) that displays an image of a subject, various icons, etc. The external device connection I/F 319 is an interface for connecting various external devices. The short-range communication circuit 320 is a communication circuit such as NFC (Near Field Communication) or Bluetooth (registered trademark). The touch panel 321 is a type of input means that allows a user to operate the terminal device 300 by pressing the display 318. The display 318 is an example of a display unit that the terminal device 300 has.

The hardware configuration shown in FIG. 3 is an example of the providing terminal 300 and the using terminal 400, and the hardware configuration of the providing terminal 300 and the using terminal 400 is not limited to this. The hardware configuration of the providing terminal 300 and the using terminal 400 may be the configuration shown in FIG. 2.

Next, the quality information database 240 will be described with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a quality information database of the first embodiment. The quality information database 240 of this embodiment is an example of a quality information storage unit that stores quality information. The quality information database 240 is managed for each business (provider business) in the material management device 200.

The quality information database 240 includes information items such as business ID, business name, material name, measurement date and time, measurement location, image of the measured item, measurement conditions, impurity information, material weight, material production business or material processing business, material production date or material processing date, material production conditions or material processing conditions, measurement data, etc., and the items "business ID" and "material name" are associated with other items.

In this embodiment, information in which the values of the items "business ID" and "material name" are associated with the values of the other items is called quality information.

The quality information in this embodiment is information that quantifies the quality of the materials that make up the waste. The quality of the materials in this embodiment is indicated by the values of each item included in the quality information.

The business ID is information for identifying a business, and the business name may be used instead of the business ID.

In addition, in the quality information database 240, information including the values of the items "business ID" and "material name" and the values of other items is called quality information.

The value of the item "Business ID" is identification information for identifying the provider business in the material management device 200. The value of the item "Business name" indicates the name of the business identified by the business ID.

In this embodiment, the provider of the material is a business, but is not limited to this. The provider of the material may be an individual, in which case the values of the items "Business ID" and "Business Name" are identification information for identifying the provider (provider) who provides the material and the name of the provider.

The value of the "Material Name" item indicates the name of the material. The value of the "Material Name" item may be determined, for example, by analyzing the measurement data.

The value of the item "Measurement Date and Time" indicates the date and time when the material properties were measured by the measuring device 500. In other words, the value of the item "Measurement Date and Time" indicates the date and time when the measurement data was obtained by the measuring device 500.

The value of the item "measurement location" indicates the location where the measurement of the material properties was performed by the measuring device 500. Specifically, for example, the value of the item "measurement location" may be information indicating the current location of the providing terminal 300 when the image of the material was captured by the providing terminal 300.

The value of the item "Image of product to be measured" indicates the file name of image data showing an image of the material captured by the provider terminal 300. In other words, the value of the item "Image of product to be measured" is identification information that specifies the image data of the material. Note that the image data of the material may be stored separately from the quality information in association with the file name.

The value of the item "measurement conditions" indicates the conditions under which the material quality of the material was measured by the measuring device 500. Specifically, the value of the item "measurement conditions" may be a measuring device identification number that identifies the measuring device 500. The measuring device identification number may be included in the measurement data.

In addition, in this embodiment, the measuring device identification number of the measuring device 500 and log information indicating the usage history of the measuring device 500 may be stored in the quality information database 240 separately from the quality information in a corresponding state. In addition, in this embodiment, the log information of the measuring device 500 may be included in the quality information as a measurement condition.

The value of the "Impurity Information" item indicates information about impurities contained in the material. Specifically, the value of the "Impurity Information" item includes information indicating the type of impurity contained in the material and information indicating the percentage of impurities contained in the material. The value of the "Material Weight" item indicates the weight of the material traded by the business operator.

The value of the item "Materials producer or material processor" is identification information for identifying the waste producer or processor, and indicates the name of the producer or processor. A waste producer is a business that is the source of waste that is separated and managed by the waste generator (provider).

The value of the item "Material production date or material processing date" indicates the date on which the waste was produced by the production company or the date on which the material was processed by the processing company.

The value of the item "Material production conditions or material processing conditions" indicates the conditions under which waste was produced by a production company, or the conditions under which materials were processed by a processing company. The value of the item "Measurement data" may be, for example, information indicating the storage destination of the measurement data. Specifically, the value of the item "Measurement data" may be a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) or the like indicating the storage location of the measurement data in the measurement database 250.

Figure 4 shows an example of quality information for a material named "A" provided by a provider identified by provider ID "101" and provider name "XX Company." In the example of Figure 4, it can be seen that the material named "A" was produced by a production company named "B Company" on November 5, 2022, and that measurement data was acquired on November 10, 2022 from a measuring device 500 identified by measuring device identification number "12345" on the provider terminal 300. In addition, in the example of Figure 4, it can be seen that image data for the material named "A" was acquired on November 10, 2022 by the provider terminal 300 located in ○ Town, △ City, × Prefecture.

In the example of Figure 4, it can be seen that material named "A" contains "polyethylene" as an impurity, and the percentage of impurities contained in the material is 10%.

In this embodiment, the values of the items "Material Name", "Measurement Date and Time", and "Impurity Information" in the quality information may be obtained from the measurement data. Also, in this embodiment, the values of items in the quality information other than the items whose values are obtained from the measurement data may be obtained as additional data input at the providing terminal 300. The additional data may be transmitted from the providing terminal 300 to the material management device 200 together with the measurement data.

In addition, the information items included in the quality information are not limited to the items shown in FIG. 4. The quality information may include items other than the information items shown in FIG. 4.

The quality information of this embodiment does not need to include all of the items shown in FIG. 4. The quality information needs to include at least the information obtained from the measurement data. In other words, the quality information needs to include at least the values of the items "Material name," "Measurement date and time," and "Impurity information."

Next, the functional configuration of each device of the material management system 100 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

Figure 5 is a diagram explaining the functions of each device in the material management system of the first embodiment. First, the functions of the material management device 200 are explained.

In the material management system 100, the quality information management unit 260 of the material management device 200 has a data input unit 261, a storage control unit 262, a quality information generation unit 263, a list acquisition unit 264, a quality information acquisition unit 265, a data output unit 266, and a comparison unit 267.

The data input unit 261 accepts input of various information used in the processing described below. Specifically, the data input unit 261 acquires measurement data transmitted from the providing terminal 300 and the using terminal 400, and additional data input at the providing terminal 300. The data input unit 261 also acquires various information input by operating the using terminal 400.

The storage control unit 262 controls the storage of information in the quality information database 240 and the measurement database 250. Specifically, for example, the storage control unit 262 stores the quality information generated by the quality information generation unit 263 in the quality information database 240. In addition, the storage control unit 262 stores the measurement data in the measurement database 250 in a state where it is associated with the quality information generated by the quality information generation unit 263.

The quality information generating unit 263 generates quality information when the data input unit 261 acquires the measurement data and additional data from the provider terminal 300. The measurement data in this embodiment may be, for example, data in which the near-infrared light spectrum output from the measuring device 500 is associated with information indicating the date and time when the measuring device 500 performed the measurement and a measuring device identification number that identifies the measuring device 500. Details of the processing by the quality information generating unit 263 will be described later.

The list acquisition unit 264 refers to the quality information database 240 to acquire a list of provider companies and a list of materials in which quality information is stored.

The quality information acquisition unit 265 acquires quality information from the quality information database 240 in response to operations on the user terminal 400.

The data output unit 266 outputs information for displaying various screens on the provider terminal 300 and the user terminal 400.

The collation unit 267 has a correction data storage unit 268, and when it acquires measurement data from the user terminal 400, it compares the measurement data with the measurement data stored in the measurement database 250. The processing of the collation unit 267 will be described in detail later.

Next, the functions of the provider terminal 300 will be described. The provider terminal 300 has a communication control unit 340, an input reception unit 350, and a display control unit 360.

The communication control unit 340 controls communication between the provider terminal 300 and other devices. Specifically, the communication control unit 340 controls communication between the provider terminal 300 and the measuring device 500 and communication between the provider terminal 300 and the material management device 200.

The input reception unit 350 receives various inputs to the provider terminal 300. The display control unit 360 controls the display on the display 318 (display device) of the provider terminal 300. The display control unit 360 may be realized, for example, by a browser possessed by the provider terminal 300.

Next, the functions of the user terminal 400 will be described. The user terminal 400 has a communication control unit 440, an input reception unit 450, and a display control unit 460.

The communication control unit 440 controls communication between the user terminal 400 and other devices. Specifically, the communication control unit 440 controls communication between the user terminal 400 and the measuring device 600 and communication between the user terminal 400 and the material management device 200.

The input reception unit 450 receives various inputs to the user terminal 400. The display control unit 460 controls the display on the display (display device) of the user terminal 400. The display control unit 460 may be realized, for example, by a browser possessed by the user terminal 400.

Next, the process of storing quality information in this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 6 to 8. Figure 6 is a first sequence diagram that explains the operation of the material management system of the first embodiment.

In this embodiment, when the provider terminal 300 receives an operation to instruct the registration of quality information in the material management system 100, a guide screen for storing the quality information in the material management device 200 is displayed on the provider terminal 300 (step S601).

When the input receiving unit 350 of the provider terminal 300 receives an operation on the guidance screen to instruct the measuring device 500 to measure the material (step S602), the communication control unit 340 sends a notification to the measuring device 500 to instruct it to start measuring (step S603).

The measuring device 500 receives a notification instructing it to start measurement, measures the quality of the material (step S604), and transmits the measurement data, which is the result of the measurement, to the provider terminal 300 (step S605).

When the provider terminal 300 acquires the measurement data, the display control unit 360 causes the display 318 to display an imaging screen for acquiring image data of the material (step S606). Next, the provider terminal 300 accepts an operation to capture an image and acquires the image data of the material (step S607).

Next, when the provider terminal 300 acquires the image data, the display control unit 360 displays an input screen for inputting additional data (step S608), and the input reception unit 350 receives the input of the additional data (step S609).

The timing of displaying the captured image screen and the input screen is not limited to the order described above. In this embodiment, when the provider terminal 300 acquires measurement data, the input screen may be displayed first, and when input of the additional data is completed, the captured image screen may be displayed.

Next, the provider terminal 300 transmits the measurement data and additional data to the material management device 200 via the communication control unit 340 (step S610).

When the material management device 200 acquires the measurement data and additional data through the data input unit 261 of the quality information management unit 260 (step S611), the quality information generation unit 263 generates quality information (step S612).

Next, the material management device 200 causes the storage control unit 262 to store the measurement data in the measurement database 250 and store the quality information in the quality information database 240 (step S613). Note that in this embodiment, the measurement data is stored in the measurement database 250, but both the quality information and the measurement data may be stored in the quality information database 240.

Next, the processing of the quality information generating unit 263 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the processing of the quality information generating unit of the first embodiment.

In this embodiment, the quality information generation unit 263 acquires the measurement data and additional data, and extracts the measurement date and time, material name, and impurity information from the measurement data (step S701).

Specifically, the quality information generating unit 263 analyzes the near-infrared light spectrum contained in the measurement data and identifies the material name associated with the analysis result. Note that the information associating the measurement data analysis result with the material name may be stored in the material management device 200, or may be stored in a storage device provided on a network that can communicate with the material management device 200.

The quality information generating unit 263 also analyzes the near-infrared light spectrum contained in the measurement data to identify the type and proportion of impurities contained in the material. The quality information generating unit 263 also extracts information indicating the measurement date and time contained in the measurement data.

Next, the quality information generating unit 263 compares the acquisition date and time of the image data showing the image of the material acquired as the additional data with the measurement date and time extracted in step S701 (step S702). The acquisition date and time of the image data is the date and time when the image of the material was captured in the providing terminal 300, and is metadata added to the image data in the providing terminal 300.

If, in step S702, the time difference between the image data acquisition date and time and the measurement date and time is not within the specified range, the material management device 200 sends an error notification to the provider terminal 300 (step S704) and ends the process.

In step S702, if the time difference between the image data acquisition date and time and the measurement date and time is within a predetermined range, the quality information generation unit 263 stores the measurement data in the measurement database 250 and associates information indicating the storage destination of the measurement data, the measurement date and time, the material name, the impurity information, and the additional data (step S705).

Next, the quality information generation unit 263 stores information including information indicating the storage destination of the measurement data, the measurement date and time, the material name, the impurity information, and the additional data as quality information in the quality information database 240 (step S706).

In this way, in this embodiment, quality information is generated when the time difference between the image data acquisition date and time and the measurement date and time is within a specified range.

When the time difference between the image data acquisition date and time and the measurement date and time is within a specified range, it refers to a case where the measurement of the material's quality by the measuring device 500 and the capture of the image of the material by the providing terminal 300 are performed at the same time.

In this embodiment, by comparing the time when the measurement was performed with the time when the image was captured, it is possible to prevent measurement data and image data of different materials from being erroneously matched, thereby improving the accuracy of the quality information.

Next, a display example of the provider terminal 300 will be described with reference to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the provider terminal in the first embodiment.

The screen 81 shown in FIG. 8(A) is an example of a guide screen displayed on the display 318 of the provider terminal 300 in step S601 of FIG. 6. The screen 81 includes a display area 81a and an operation button 81b.

The display area 81a displays a message prompting the measuring device 500 to measure the material quality of the material. The operation button 81b is an operation button for sending a notification to the measuring device 500 to instruct it to start measurement.

When the operation button 81b is operated on the screen 81, the provider terminal 300 transitions the screen 81 to the screen 82 shown in FIG. 8 (B).

The screen 82 shown in FIG. 8(B) is an example of an image screen displayed on the display 318 of the provider terminal 300 in step S606 of FIG. 6.

The screen 82 includes display areas 82a, 82b, and an operation button 82c. A message prompting the user to capture an image of the material is displayed in the display area 82a. An image captured by the imaging function of the providing terminal 300 is displayed in the display area 82b. In addition, a guide image 82d indicating the positional relationship between the material and the providing terminal 300 may be displayed in the display area 82b.

Operation button 82c is an operation button for instructing the provider terminal 300 to capture an image.

When the operation button 82c is operated on the screen 82, the provider terminal 300 transitions the screen 82 to the screen 83 shown in FIG. 8 (C).

The screen 83 shown in FIG. 8(C) is an example of an input screen for additional data that is displayed on the display 318 of the provider terminal 300 in step S608 of FIG. 6.

The screen 83 includes display areas 83a and 83b, and an operation button 83c. A message prompting the user to input additional data is displayed in the display area 83a. The display area 83b displays input fields for the values of various items included in the additional data.

Operation button 83c is an operation button that indicates that input of additional data is complete. When operation button 82c is operated on screen 83, the provider terminal 300 transmits additional data including image data of the material and measurement data to the material management device 200.

Next, referring to Figures 9 and 10, we will explain the operation when displaying quality information on the user terminal 400.

Figure 9 is a second sequence diagram explaining the operation of the material management system of the first embodiment.

In the material management system 100, when the input receiving unit 450 of the user terminal 400 receives an operation requesting the display of the home screen of the material management system 100, the communication control unit 440 transmits a request to display the home screen to the material management device 200 (step S901).

When the data input unit 261 receives a display request, the material management device 200 uses the list acquisition unit 264 to acquire a list of provider companies that store quality information in the quality information database 240 (step S902). Specifically, the list of provider companies may be a list of provider IDs of provider companies whose quality information is stored in the quality information database 240.

Next, the material management device 200 transmits a list of provider companies to the user terminal 400 via the data output unit 266 (step S903).

When the user terminal 400 acquires the list of provider operators via the input reception unit 450, the display control unit 460 causes the user terminal 400 to display the list of provider operators on the display (step S904).

Next, when the user terminal 400 receives an operation to select a provider via the input receiving unit 450 (step S905), the communication control unit 440 transmits a notification indicating the selected provider to the material management device 200 (step S906). The notification indicating the selected provider may include the provider ID of the selected provider.

When the material management device 200 receives a notification indicating the selected provider business via the data input unit 261, the list acquisition unit 264 acquires a list of material names corresponding to the business IDs included in the notification (step S907).

Specifically, the list acquisition unit 264 refers to the quality information database 240 and acquires a list of material names extracted from the quality information including the business ID included in the notification.

Next, the material management device 200 transmits a list of material names to the user terminal 400 via the data output unit 266 (step S908).

When the user terminal 400 acquires the list of material names via the input reception unit 450, the display control unit 460 causes the list of material names to be displayed on the display (step S909).

Next, when the user terminal 400 accepts an operation to select a material name (step S910), the communication control unit 440 transmits a notification indicating the selected material name to the material management device 200 (step S911).

When the material management device 200 receives a notification indicating the name of the selected material via the data input unit 261, the quality information acquisition unit 265 extracts quality information including the business ID included in the notification received in step S906 and the selected material name from the quality information database 240 (step S912). Next, the material management device 200 transmits the extracted quality information to the user terminal 400 via the data output unit 266 (step S913).

When the user terminal 400 acquires the quality information via the input reception unit 450, the display control unit 460 causes a screen including the quality information to be displayed on the display (step S914).

Next, a display example of the user terminal 400 will be described with reference to Figs. 10 and 11. Fig. 10 is the first diagram illustrating a display example of the user terminal in the first embodiment.

The screen 101 shown in FIG. 10(A) is an example of a list screen of provider companies displayed on the display of the user terminal 400 in step S904 of FIG. 9.

The screen 101 includes a display area 101a and operation buttons 101b. The display area 101a displays a list of provider names whose quality information is stored in the quality information database 240. In the example of FIG. 10, the display area 101a displays provider names associated with check boxes.

Operation button 101b is an operation button for notifying the material management device 200 of the selected provider.

When a check box is selected in the display area 101a and the operation button 101b is operated, the user terminal 400 notifies the material management device 200 that the provider corresponding to the selected check box is the selected provider.

The screen 102 shown in FIG. 10(B) is an example of a list screen of material names displayed on the display of the user terminal 400 in step S909 of FIG. 9.

The screen 102 includes a display area 102a and operation buttons 102b. A list of material names for materials for which the selected provider stores quality information is displayed in the display area 102a. In the example of FIG. 10, the material names are displayed in association with check boxes in the display area 102a.

Operation button 102b is an operation button for notifying the material management device 200 of the selected material name.

When a check box is selected in the display area 102a and the operation button 102b is operated, the user terminal 400 notifies the material management device 200 of the material name corresponding to the selected check box as the selected material name.

Figure 11 is a second diagram illustrating an example of a display on the user terminal in the first embodiment. The screen 111 shown in Figure 11 is an example of a screen displayed on the user terminal 400 in step S914 of Figure 9.

The screen 111 includes display areas 111a and 111b. The display area 111a displays the name of a provider selected from a list of provider businesses and the name of a material selected from a list of material names.

The display area 111b displays the quality information extracted from the quality information database 240 in step S912 of FIG. 9.

In this manner, in this embodiment, quality information stored by the business providing the material is stored in the material management device 200, and quality information of the material selected by the business using the material is presented to the business using the material.

Therefore, in this embodiment, businesses that use materials can easily check the quality of waste materials.

Next, referring to Figures 12 and 13, we will explain the operation of the user terminal 400 when checking the quality of materials acquired by the user business operator.

Figure 12 is a third sequence diagram that explains the operation of the material management system of the first embodiment.

In the material management system 100, when the input receiving unit 450 of the user terminal 400 receives an operation to instruct the user to compare the quality of the material, the display control unit 460 causes a guide screen to be displayed on the display of the user terminal 400 (step S1201).

Next, when the input receiving unit 450 of the user terminal 400 receives an operation on the guidance screen instructing the acquisition of measurement data for the acquired material (step S1202), the user terminal 400 transmits a notification to the measuring device 600 instructing it to start measurement (step S1203).

The measuring device 600 receives a notification instructing it to start measurement, measures the material quality of the material (step S1204), and transmits the measurement data, which is the result of the measurement, to the user terminal 400 (step S1205).

When the user terminal 400 acquires the measurement data, the display control unit 460 causes the user terminal 400 to display a comparison screen on the display of the user terminal 400 (step S1206). Next, the user terminal 400 causes the input reception unit 450 to receive information input for the comparison screen (step S1207).

The information entered on the matching screen may be the name of the material obtained by the user business and the name of the business providing the material.

When the information is input, the user terminal 400 transmits a matching request to the material management device 200 via the communication control unit 440, requesting a matching of the measurement data (step S1208). This matching request includes the measurement data acquired by the user terminal 400 from the measuring device 600 and the information input in step S1207.

When the material management device 200 receives a matching request from the data input unit 261, the matching unit 267 identifies the measuring device 600 from the measurement data included in the matching request (step S1209). Specifically, the matching unit 267 may extract a measuring device identification number that identifies the measuring device 600 from the measurement data included in the matching request.

Then, the material management device 200 causes the matching unit 267 to identify, from the measurement data stored in the measurement database 250, the measurement data to be matched with the measurement data included in the matching request (step S1210). Specifically, the matching unit 267 may identify, in the measurement database 250, the measurement data associated with quality information including the material name and the business name of the provider business input in step S1207.

Next, the material management device 200 causes the comparison unit 267 to refer to the correction data stored in the correction data storage unit 268 and correct the two pieces of measurement data to be compared (step S1211).

The two pieces of measurement data to be compared are the measurement data acquired from the user terminal 400 in step S1208 and the measurement data identified in step S1210.

Here, we will explain the processing of step S1211.

Normally, when measuring the quality of the same material using both measuring device 500 and measuring device 600, there is a possibility that the measurement data output from each device will not be completely consistent, even if measuring device 500 and measuring device 600 are the same model.

One of the reasons for this is that each measuring instrument has its own unique characteristics. Therefore, in this embodiment, correction data for correcting the unique characteristics of each measuring instrument is stored in advance in the correction data storage unit 268 in association with the measuring instrument identification number that identifies the individual measuring instrument, and the measurement data is corrected using this correction data.

Specifically, when the matching unit 267 acquires measurement data from the user terminal 400, it refers to the correction data storage unit 268 and corrects the measurement data using the correction data associated with the measurement device identification number included in the measurement data.

The collation unit 267 also refers to the correction data storage unit 268 and corrects the measurement data identified in step S1208 using correction data associated with the measurement instrument identification number included in the quality information corresponding to the measurement data. Note that in this embodiment, the measurement data may be corrected before being stored in the measurement database 250, and the corrected measurement data may be stored in the measurement database 250.

Then, the comparison unit 267 compares the two corrected measurement data (step S1212) and transmits information indicating the comparison result to the user terminal 400 via the data output unit 266 (step S1213).

When the user terminal 400 receives the information indicating the matching result, the display control unit 460 causes the display to display a matching result screen including information indicating the matching result (step S1214).

Figure 13 is a second diagram illustrating an example of a display on the user terminal in the first embodiment. Screen 131 shown in Figure 13 (A) is an example of a matching screen displayed on the user terminal 400 in step S1206 of Figure 12.

The screen 131 includes a display area 131a and operation buttons 131b. The display area 131a includes an input field for the name of the material acquired by the user business, and an input field for the business name of the business that has received the material.

In this embodiment, when input into the two input fields is completed and the operation button 131b is operated, a matching request is sent from the user terminal 400 to the material management device 200.

In addition, when the operation button 131b is operated on the screen 131, the user terminal 400 transitions the screen 131 to the screen 132 shown in FIG. 13 (B).

The screen 132 shown in FIG. 13(B) is an example of a matching result screen displayed on the user terminal 400 in step S1213 of FIG. 12.

The screen 132 includes display areas 132a and 132b. The display area 132a displays the material name and business name entered in the display area 131a of the screen 131. The display area 132b displays information indicating the result of the matching performed in the material management device 200.

In the example of FIG. 13(B), information indicating that the comparison results are a match is displayed in the display area 132b, but this is not limiting. If the comparison results are not a match, information indicating the difference between the two measurement data obtained by the comparison is displayed in the display area 132b.

In this embodiment, the measurement data of the material acquired by the using business can be compared with the measurement data corresponding to the quality information, and the results can be presented to the using business. Therefore, according to this embodiment, if the quality of the material checked before inputting the material differs from the quality of the material actually acquired, the using business can request appropriate compensation from the providing business.

In this way, in this embodiment, quality information indicating the quality of the materials that make up the waste is shared between the provider business and the user business. Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to eliminate the process of confirming the quality of materials at the transaction site, and to promote transactions.

In this embodiment, the providing terminal 300 and the using terminal 400 communicate with the measuring device 500 and the measuring device 600, respectively, to acquire measurement data, and transmit the acquired measurement data to the material management device 200, but this is not limited to the above. The material management device 200 may acquire measurement data directly from the measuring device 500 and the measuring device 600. In this case, the providing terminal 300 and the using terminal 400 do not need to acquire measurement data from the measuring device 500 and the measuring device 600.

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 that shows a series of processes from collection to recycling of industrial waste. In the following description of the second embodiment, differences from the first embodiment will be described, and components having the same functional configuration as the first embodiment will be given the same reference numerals as those used in the description of the first embodiment, and descriptions thereof will be omitted.

Figure 14 shows an example of the system configuration of the material management system of the second embodiment.

The material management system 100A of this embodiment performs traceability management in the supply chain, which represents a series of processes from the discharge of industrial waste to its recycling.

The material management system 100A of this embodiment also manages quality information indicating the quality of resources traded between businesses in a supply chain that represents a series of processes from industrial waste collection to recycling.

The material management system 100A of this embodiment includes one or more material management devices 200A-1, 200A-2, ..., 200A-n, and one or more terminal devices 700-1, 700-2, ..., 700-n. In the following description, when there is no need to distinguish between the material management devices 200A-1, 200A-2, ..., 200A-n, they will be referred to as material management devices 200A, and when there is no need to distinguish between the terminal devices 700-1, 700-2, ..., 700-n, they will be referred to as terminal devices 700.

The material management device 200A and the terminal device 700 are connected via a network and can communicate with each other. The material management device 200A is a distributed ledger node included in a blockchain system, and each is connected in a P2P (Peer to Peer) manner. The terminal device 700 of this embodiment may be used by each of the businesses included in the supply chain.

In this embodiment, the businesses included in the supply chain are described as waste generators, waste treatment businesses, material manufacturers, manufacturers, and brand owners.

The processes included in the supply chain of this embodiment include, for example, processes performed by waste generators, processes performed by waste treatment operators, processes performed by material manufacturers, processes performed by manufacturers, and processes performed by brand owners.

A waste generator is a business that separates industrial waste into multiple materials and stores them, and the process carried out by the waste generator is the separation of collected industrial waste into materials and storage. A treatment business is a business that carries out intermediate processing and recycling of materials, and the process carried out by the treatment business is intermediate processing and recycling of materials.

A material manufacturer is a business that manufactures and sells material for products from materials that have undergone intermediate processing, and the process performed by a material manufacturer is the process of manufacturing and selling material for products from materials that have undergone intermediate processing. A manufacturing manufacturer is a business that manufactures and sells products molded from materials purchased from a material manufacturer, and the process performed by a manufacturing manufacturer is the process of manufacturing and selling products molded from materials purchased from a material manufacturer.

In addition, the brand owner is a business that purchases and sells the products produced by the manufacturer, and the process performed by the brand owner is the process of selling the products.

In the following explanation, in the series of processes from industrial waste collection to recycling, the most upstream process is the process in which the waste generator separates the industrial waste into multiple materials and stores it, and the most downstream process is the process in which the brand owner sells the product.

In the example of FIG. 14, among the terminal devices 700, terminal device 700-1 is a terminal device used by the waste generator, terminal device 700-2 is a terminal device used by the waste treatment operator, and terminal device 700-3 is a terminal device used by the material manufacturer. Also, in the example of FIG. 14, terminal device 700-4 is a terminal device used by the manufacturer, and terminal device 700-5 is a terminal device used by the brand owner.

Although not shown in FIG. 14, each terminal device 700 may be connected to the measuring device 500 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

The material management device 200A of this embodiment also has a quality information database 240A, a measurement database 250, a quality information management section 260A, a ranking database 280, and an evaluation database 290.

In this embodiment, the quality information database 240A stores quality information indicating the quality of resources traded between businesses. In this embodiment, the quality information includes information indicating the trading history of the materials contained in the resources.

The ranking database 280 stores information for ranking the quality of resources traded between businesses. The evaluation database 290 stores evaluation information indicating the evaluation of each business. The evaluation database 290 is an example of an evaluation information storage unit that stores evaluation information of businesses.

In this embodiment, when generating quality information for resources, the quality information management unit 260A refers to the ranking database 280, ranks the quality of the resources, and includes information indicating the rank in the quality information.

In addition, when the quality information management unit 260A of this embodiment displays the quality information on the terminal device 700, it also displays evaluation information that indicates the evaluation of the business that provides the resources.

In the material management system 100A of this embodiment, for example, when a waste generator separates materials from waste, the terminal device 700-1 stores quality information of the separated materials in the material management device 200A. This quality information may include identification information that identifies the source of the industrial waste collection. In other words, this quality information may include identification information that identifies the process that was performed immediately before the process performed by the waste generator.

In addition, in the material management system 100A, for example, when a processing business operator purchases materials from a waste generating business operator, quality information of the materials to be purchased is obtained by the terminal device 700-2.

Furthermore, in the material management system 100A, after the processing business performs processing on the material purchased from the waste business, the terminal device 700-2 stores quality information indicating the quality of the resource after processing in the material management device 200A. At this time, the quality information may include identification information that specifies the quality information of the material obtained when purchasing the material from the waste business. In other words, this quality information may include identification information that specifies the process performed immediately before the process performed by the processing business.

In addition, in the material management system 100A, for example, when a material manufacturer purchases resources from a processing company, quality information on the resources to be purchased is obtained by the terminal device 700-3.

Furthermore, in the material management system 100A, after the material manufacturer manufactures materials from resources purchased from the processing business operator, the terminal device 700-3 stores quality information indicating the quality of the materials in the material management device 200A. At this time, the quality information stored by the terminal device 700-3 may include identification information that specifies the quality information of the resources obtained when purchasing the resources from the processing business operator. In other words, this quality information may include identification information that specifies the process performed immediately before the process performed by the material manufacturer.

In addition, in the material management system 100A, for example, when a manufacturing company purchases materials from a material manufacturer, the terminal device 700-4 acquires quality information about the materials to be purchased.

Furthermore, in the material management system 100A, after the manufacturer manufactures a product from materials purchased from the material manufacturer, the terminal device 700-4 stores quality information indicating the quality of the product in the material management device 200A. At this time, the quality information stored by the terminal device 700-4 may include identification information that specifies the quality information of the materials obtained when purchasing resources from the material manufacturer. In other words, this quality information may include identification information that specifies the process performed immediately before the process performed by the manufacturer.

In addition, in the material management system 100A, for example, when a brand owner purchases a product from a manufacturer, quality information of the product to be purchased is obtained by the terminal device 700-5.

In this way, in this embodiment, when each business generates quality information for the resources it sells, this quality information includes identification information that identifies the quality information for the resources purchased from the upstream business, and is stored in the material management device 200A.

In other words, in this embodiment, the quality information generated for each step included in the series of processes represented by the supply chain is recorded on the blockchain. Also, in this embodiment, the quality information recorded on the blockchain includes identification information that identifies the immediately preceding step.

In this embodiment, by doing so, it is possible to prevent tampering with quality information. Furthermore, in this embodiment, businesses can clearly indicate to their trading partners the origins of the resources they handle. In other words, when a business sells resources to a downstream business, it can present the downstream business with quality information about the materials that are the raw materials for the resources.

In addition, in this embodiment, when a business entity purchases resources, the entity can trace back to the quality information of the raw materials that are the raw materials for the resources handled by upstream businesses. In other words, according to this embodiment, businesses in the supply chain can trace back and view quality information that indicates the quality of the materials contained in the resources.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, upstream businesses can ensure that downstream businesses understand the source of recyclable resources, which can improve their impression in transactions with downstream businesses.

In addition, according to this embodiment, downstream businesses can view the quality of the raw materials of the resources being traded, all the way back to the quality information of the most upstream material.

Therefore, for example, if the downstream business is a processing business and the upstream business is a waste generator, this quality information can be used at the time of transaction to negotiate the purchase terms of the material being traded (price, delivery date, purchase quantity) and to determine various conditions for the material being traded (determining cleaning conditions, determining impurity removal conditions), etc.

In addition, if the downstream business is a material manufacturer and the upstream business is a processing business, this quality information can be used at the time of transaction to negotiate the purchase terms of the material being traded (price, delivery date, purchase quantity) and to confirm the purity of the material being traded, etc.

In addition, if the downstream business is a manufacturing company and the upstream business is a materials manufacturer, this quality information can be used during transactions to negotiate the purchasing terms of the materials (price, delivery date, purchase quantity), to confirm whether the purity of the materials is suitable for the product, and to determine the processing conditions of the product.

In addition, if the downstream business is a brand owner and the upstream business is a manufacturer, this quality information can be used during transactions to negotiate the purchase terms of the products being traded (price, delivery date, purchase quantity, etc.).

The material management device 200A of this embodiment will be described below. Figure 15 is a diagram showing an example of the quality information database of the second embodiment.

The quality information stored in the quality information database 240A of this embodiment includes, as information items, a quality information ID, a quality information ID of the resource used, and a rank, in addition to the items included in the quality information shown in FIG. 4.

The value of the item "Quality Information ID" is identification information for identifying the quality information. In other words, the value of the item "Quality Information ID" is identification information that identifies the resources (materials) traded between businesses. In other words, the value of the item "Quality Information ID" is identification information that identifies the process carried out by a business. The value of the item "Rank" is information that indicates the quality of the resource (material) corresponding to the quality information.

The value of the item "Quality information ID of used resource" is identification information that identifies the quality information of the raw material of the resource whose quality information indicates. In other words, the value of the item "Quality information ID of used resource" is identification information that identifies the process immediately before the process performed by the business entity that stores the quality information.

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 device 200A, and the value of the item "quality information ID of used resource" may be a value entered on the additional data input screen.

Next, the functions of the material management device 200A of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 16. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating the functional configuration of the material management device of the second embodiment.

The ranking database 280 of the material management device 200A of this embodiment is referenced when generating quality information. Specifically, the ranking database 280 stores information that serves as a criterion for determining whether the quality of the resource for which quality information is generated is good or bad. The criterion information may be, for example, information indicating the type of impurity or a threshold value for the proportion of impurities. The evaluation database 290 stores evaluation information for businesses.

The quality information management unit 260A of this embodiment has a data input unit 261, a storage control unit 262, a quality information generation unit 263A, a list acquisition unit 264, a quality information acquisition unit 265, a data output unit 266, a comparison unit 267, and an evaluation unit 269.

When generating quality information, the quality information generating unit 263A of this embodiment issues a quality information ID for identifying the quality information and includes it in the quality information. In addition, when generating quality information, the quality information generating unit 263A refers to the ranking database 280 to perform ranking indicating whether the quality of the resource is good or bad.

When information indicating an evaluation of an operator is input from the terminal device 700, the evaluation unit 269 of this embodiment updates the evaluation information of the corresponding operator in the evaluation database 290. Specifically, the evaluation unit 269 extracts evaluation information associated with the operator ID of the operator to which new information indicating an evaluation has been input from the evaluation information stored in the evaluation database 290. The evaluation unit 269 may then perform statistical processing on the extracted evaluation information, including the newly input information indicating an evaluation, to update the evaluation information of the operator.

Although not illustrated in FIG. 16, the terminal device 700 has a communication control unit, an input reception unit, and a display control unit, similar to the provider terminal 300 and the user terminal 400 shown in FIG. 5.

Next, the processing of the quality information generating unit 263A of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 17. Note that in the material management system 100A of this embodiment, the operation of storing quality information in the quality information database 240A is the same as the sequence diagram shown in FIG. 6, except that the provider terminal 300 becomes the terminal device 700 and the processing of the quality information generating unit 263A described below.

Figure 17 is a flowchart explaining the processing of the quality information generating unit of the second embodiment. When the quality information generating unit 263A of this embodiment acquires the measurement data and the additional data, it extracts the measurement date and time, the material name, and the impurity information from the measurement data (step S1701).

Next, the quality information generation unit 263A ranks the quality of the resource (material) based on the impurity information extracted from the measurement data in step S1701 and the ranking database 280 (step S1702).

Specifically, the quality information generating unit 263A may, for example, rank the quality as "excellent" if the proportion of impurities indicated by the impurity information extracted in step S1701 is less than a threshold stored in the ranking database 280, and may rank the quality as "good" if the proportion is equal to or greater than the threshold. In addition, the threshold indicating the proportion of impurities may be set in stages, and the quality information generating unit 263A may perform ranking according to the threshold stages. Details of ranking according to the proportion of impurities by the quality information generating unit 263A will be described later.

The quality information generating unit 263A of this embodiment may also rank the quality according to the type of impurity contained in the impurity information. For example, when a certain type of impurity is contained in the material, the quality information generating unit 263A may rank the quality as "fair."

Following step S1702, the quality information generation unit 263A proceeds to step S1703. The processing from step S1703 to step S1705 in FIG. 17 is similar to the processing from step S702 to step S704 in FIG. 7, so a description thereof will be omitted.

In step S1704, if the time difference between the image data acquisition date and time and the measurement date and time is within a predetermined range, the quality information generation unit 263A stores the measurement data in the measurement database 250 and associates the information indicating the storage destination of the measurement data, the measurement date and time, the material name, the impurity information, the additional data, and the rank (step S1706).

Next, the quality information generation unit 263A issues a quality information ID, which is identification information for identifying the quality information (step S1707).

Next, the quality information generation unit 263A stores information including information indicating the storage destination of the measurement data, the measurement date and time, the material name, the impurity information, the additional data, the rank, and the quality information ID as quality information in the quality information database 240 (step S1708).

In addition, the additional data in this embodiment includes the quality information ID of the resource used. The quality information ID of the resource used may be input, for example, on the additional data input screen displayed on the terminal device 700 in step S608 of FIG. 6.

Here, the ranking according to the percentage of impurities by the quality information generating unit 263A will be described with reference to FIG. 18. FIG. 18 is a diagram explaining the ranking according to the percentage of impurities.

The ranking database 280 may store, for example, absorbance waveform data of a resource made of 100% PP (polypropylene) resin and absorbance waveform data of a resource made of 100% PE (polyethylene) resin as criteria for determining the quality of a resource.

In FIG. 18(A), the horizontal axis is wavelength and the vertical axis is absorbance. Also, in FIG. 18(A), curve L1 shows the absorbance waveform of a material made of 100% PP (polypropylene) resin, and in FIG. 18(A), curve L2 shows the absorbance waveform of a material made of 100% PE (polyethylene) resin. Also, in FIG. 18(A), curve L3 shows the waveform shown by the measurement data of the material being measured.

The first waveform is an example of an absorbance waveform of a specific material that does not contain impurities or additives and is not painted. In this embodiment, PE (polyethylene) is an example of an impurity that is preferably not contained in the material, and the second waveform is an example of an absorbance waveform of an impurity.

In the following explanation, the absorbance waveform of the material made of 100% PP (polypropylene) resin shown by curve L1 is referred to as the first waveform, and the absorbance waveform of the material made of 100% PE (polyethylene) resin shown by curve L2 is referred to as the second waveform. In the following explanation, the waveform shown by curve L3, which indicates the measurement data of the material to be measured, is referred to as the measured waveform.

The quality information generating unit 263A of this embodiment uses multiple regression analysis to combine the first and second waveforms so that the correlation coefficient with the third waveform is maximized. Curve L4 shown in FIG. 18(B) shows the combined waveform of the first and second waveforms. In the example of FIG. 18(B), the proportion of the first combined waveform in the combined waveform was 76.7%, and the proportion of the second waveform was 23.3%.

In this case, the material to be judged for its quality contains 76.7% PP (polypropylene) and 23.3% PE (polyethylene). In this embodiment, the quality of the material may be judged according to the ratio of PP (polypropylene) and PE (polyethylene) contained in the material thus determined.

Specifically, in this embodiment, a threshold value may be set in stages for the proportion of PP (polypropylene) in the composite waveform generated using the modified regression analysis, and the quality of the material may be determined based on this threshold value and the proportion of PP (polypropylene) in the composite waveform. In other words, the quality information generating unit 263A may perform ranking according to the proportion of impurities in the composite waveform. Furthermore, the threshold value for the proportion of PP (polypropylene) in the composite waveform may be stored in the ranking database 280.

In this embodiment, for example, the first threshold value of the stepped threshold values may be 95% and the second threshold value may be 80%. In this case, the rank of a material in which the proportion of PP (polypropylene) in the composite waveform is 95% or more may be judged as "excellent", the rank of a material in which the proportion of PP (polypropylene) in the composite waveform is 80% or more but less than 95% may be judged as "good", and the rank of a material in which the proportion of PP (polypropylene) in the composite waveform is less than 80% may be judged as "fair".

Therefore, the material from which the measurement waveforms shown in Figures 18(A) and (B) were obtained is rated as "passable."

In the above description, it is assumed that the ranking database 280 stores absorbance waveform data indicating each of the first waveform and the second waveform, but the ranking database 280 does not need to store absorbance waveform data corresponding to the second waveform. In other words, the ranking database 280 does not need to hold absorbance waveform data of impurities.

In this case, the quality information generating unit 263A calculates the correlation coefficient between the measured waveform and the first waveform, and judges the quality of the material based on the calculated correlation coefficient. More specifically, a threshold value for the correlation coefficient is set and stored in the ranking database 280 so that a material with a high correlation coefficient is judged to be of good quality.

For example, the threshold for the correlation coefficient may be set so that a material with a correlation coefficient of 0.99 or more is judged to be "excellent," a material with a correlation coefficient of 0.98 or more but less than 0.99 is judged to be "good," and a material with a correlation coefficient of less than 0.98 is judged to be "fair."

In addition, in this embodiment, when the material to be measured is a material to which a certain amount of additive has been added to impart a specific function, the state in which that certain amount has been added is considered to be the best state. In this case, the ranking database 280 may hold the absorbance waveform data of the material to which a certain amount of additive has been added as information that serves as a standard for judging the quality of the material to be measured. The quality information generating unit 263A then calculates the correlation coefficient between the waveform shown by the absorbance waveform data of the material to which a certain amount of additive has been added and the measured waveform, and ranks the material to be measured according to the correlation coefficient.

In this way, quality can be determined with high accuracy even if the material being measured contains additives or has been painted.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, if both the absorbance waveform data showing the first waveform and the absorbance waveform data showing the second waveform are not stored in the ranking database 280, ranking may be performed according to the brightness, transparency, etc. of the image of the material to be measured.

In this embodiment, the accuracy of the information indicating the quality of the material being measured can be improved, contributing to the realization of rapid commercial transactions.

Next, the operation of displaying quality information on the terminal device 700 will be described with reference to Figures 19 and 20.

Figure 19 is a second sequence diagram that explains the operation of the material management system of the second embodiment.

The processing from step S1901 to step S1914 in FIG. 19 is similar to the processing from step S901 to step S913 in FIG. 9, so the description is omitted.

In step S1913, when the terminal device 700 acquires the quality information from the material management device 200A, it displays a screen including the quality information on the display (step S1914). At this time, in this embodiment, an input field for inputting the business operator's evaluation is displayed on the screen together with the quality information.

Next, when the terminal device 700 receives an operation to input an evaluation of the business operator (step S1915), it transmits the input information indicating the evaluation of the business operator to the material management device 200A (step S1916).

When the material management device 200A acquires information indicating the evaluation of the business from the terminal device 700, the evaluation unit 269 uses the information indicating the evaluation to update the evaluation information stored in the evaluation database 290 (step S1917).

Figure 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display on a terminal device in the second embodiment. Screen 111A shown in Figure 20 is an example of a screen displayed on the terminal device 700 in step S1914 of Figure 19.

Screen 111A includes display areas 111a, 111c, 111d, and 111e. Display area 111c displays quality information including values of items other than the quality information ID and rank, extracted from quality information database 240A in step S1912 of FIG. 19.

Display area 111d displays the quality information ID included in the quality information, the business operator's evaluation information, and the resource rank (material rank). Display area 111e displays an input field for information indicating the evaluation of the business operator who stored the quality information.

In this embodiment, each business in the supply chain can view quality information indicating the quality of resources provided by businesses upstream of itself. Furthermore, according to this embodiment, for resources that are being considered for purchase, the business can view quality information stored in the material management device 200A by the most upstream business from which the resource originated.

In addition, according to this embodiment, quality information regarding the quality of the resources being traded is shared between businesses in the supply chain, which discourages fraudulent transactions and promotes transactions between businesses in the supply chain.

In this embodiment, all businesses in the supply chain are able to view the quality information stored in the material management device 200A, but this is not limited to the above. In this embodiment, for example, authority to view the quality information may be set.

Specifically, for example, each business operator may be set up so that they can only view quality information stored by the business operator one level upstream.

The functions of the embodiments described above can be realized by one or more processing circuits. In this specification, the term "processing circuit" includes a processor programmed to execute each function by software, such as a processor implemented by an electronic circuit, and devices such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), DSP (digital signal processor), FPGA (field programmable gate array), and conventional circuit modules designed to execute each function described above.

Furthermore, the devices described in each embodiment represent only one of multiple computing environments for implementing the embodiments disclosed herein.

In some embodiments, material management apparatus 200, 200A includes multiple computing devices, such as a server cluster. The multiple computing devices are configured to communicate with each other over any type of communication link, including a network, shared memory, etc., to perform the processing disclosed herein. Similarly, material management apparatus 200, 200A may include multiple computing devices configured to communicate with each other.

Furthermore, the material management devices 200, 200A can be configured to share the disclosed processing steps in various combinations. For example, a process executed by a specific unit can be executed by the material management devices 200, 200A. Similarly, the functions of a specific unit can be executed by the material management devices 200, 200A. Furthermore, the elements possessed by each of the material management devices 200, 200A may be integrated into a single server device or may be separated into multiple devices.

The device providing the measurement data may be any device equipped with a communication function. The device providing the measurement data may be, for example, an industrial machine, an imaging device, a sound collection device, a medical device, a network home appliance, a connected car, a notebook PC (Personal Computer), a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a game console, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a digital camera, a wearable PC, or a desktop PC.

For example, aspects of the present invention are as follows.
<1> A material management system including a terminal device and a material management device connected to the terminal device via a network,
The material management device includes:
a quality information generating unit that acquires measurement data that indicates the quality of materials that constitute the waste, the measurement data being measured by a measuring device, and generates quality information that indicates the quality of the materials that constitute the waste based on the measurement data;
a quality information storage unit in which the quality information is stored;
a data output unit that receives an input of information identifying the material from the terminal device, and outputs quality information associated with the identifying information from the quality information stored in the quality information storage unit to the terminal device;
The terminal device
A material management system having a display control unit that displays the quality information on a display device.
<2> The material management device,
2. A material management system according to claim 1, further comprising a storage control unit that stores the quality information in the quality information storage unit and that associates the measurement data with the quality information and stores them in the measurement data storage unit.
<3> The quality information generating unit,
A material management system as described in Appendix 1 or 2, which uses the measurement data to obtain the name of the material, information indicating the date and time the measurement data was acquired, and information regarding impurities contained in the material, and uses these as quality information.
<4> The quality information generating unit,
4. A material management system as claimed in any one of appendices 1 to 3, wherein additional data relating to the material, acquired together with the measurement data, is included in the quality information.
<5> The additional data is
The material management system of claim 4, including at least one of image data showing an image of the material, identification information identifying the provider of the material, measurement conditions when the quality of the material was measured, information identifying the business that produced the material, information indicating the date the material was produced, and the amount of the material produced.
<6> The material management system includes:
a terminal device other than the terminal device;
a measuring device that measures the quality of the material and outputs measurement data to the other terminal device;
the other terminal device has a communication control unit that transmits the measurement data output from the measuring device to the material management device when the other terminal device acquires the measurement data,
The storage control unit of the material management device
6. The material management system according to claim 1, wherein the measurement data acquired from the other terminal device is stored in the measurement data storage unit.
<7> The measuring device is a portable spectrometer that measures near-infrared light transmitted through or reflected by the material,
7. The material management system of claim 6, wherein the measurement data includes a near-infrared light spectrum, information indicating the date and time when the measurement was performed by the measurement instrument, and a measurement instrument identification number that identifies the measurement instrument.
<8> The material management device,
a comparison unit that, when acquiring measurement data of the material from the terminal device, identifies measurement data stored in the measurement data storage unit that corresponds to the measurement data acquired from the terminal device, and compares the identified measurement data with the measurement data acquired from the terminal device;
the data output unit outputs information indicating a result of the matching by the matching unit to the terminal device;
The terminal device
8. The material management system according to claim 1, further comprising: a display device that displays information indicating a result of the comparison.
<9> The material management system according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the terminal device and the other terminal device are used by any of the businesses included in a supply chain that represents a series of processes from collection of industrial waste to recycling.
<10> The quality information generating unit,
A material management system as described in any one of appendices 1 to 9, which ranks the quality of the material based on the information regarding the impurities, and includes the ranking result in the quality information.
<11> The quality information generating unit,
A material management system as described in any one of appendices 1 to 9, which ranks the quality of a specific material based on the proportion of impurities in a composite waveform obtained by combining an absorbance waveform of a specific material that is free of impurities and additives and is not painted with an absorbance waveform of an impurity so as to maximize a correlation coefficient with a measurement waveform indicated by the measurement data, and includes the ranking result in the quality information.
<12> The quality information generating unit,
A material management system as described in any one of appendix 1 to 9, which ranks the quality of a specific material based on a correlation coefficient between an absorbance waveform of a specific material that is free of impurities and additives and is not painted and a measurement waveform indicated by the measurement data, and includes the ranking result in the quality information.
<13> The data output unit,
referring to an evaluation information storage unit in which evaluation information indicating an evaluation of the provider of the material is stored, and outputting the evaluation information corresponding to the provider of the material together with the quality information to the terminal device;
The terminal device
The material management system according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the display control unit causes the quality information and the evaluation information to be displayed on the display device.
<14> The material management system according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 11, wherein the material is resin.
<15> The material management system includes:
a plurality of the material management devices, the plurality of the material management devices being distributed ledger nodes included in a blockchain system;
The quality information generating unit
generating quality information including identification information for identifying a process immediately preceding each process included in the series of processes represented by the supply chain;
The material management system of claim 9, wherein the storage control unit records the quality information generated for each process on a blockchain.
<16> A material management method by a material management system including a terminal device and a material management device connected to the terminal device via a network,
The material management device,
Obtaining measurement data that indicates the quality of the materials that make up the waste, measured by a measuring device, and generating quality information that indicates the quality of the materials that make up the waste based on the measurement data;
accepting an input of information identifying a material from the terminal device, and outputting quality information associated with the identifying information from the quality information stored in a quality information storage unit to the terminal device;
The terminal device,
The material management method further comprises displaying the quality information on a display device.
<17> A terminal device and a material management device connected to the terminal device via a network,
a quality information generating unit that acquires measurement data that indicates the quality of materials that constitute the waste, the measurement data being measured by a measuring device, and generates quality information that indicates the quality of the materials that constitute the waste based on the measurement data;
a quality information storage unit in which the quality information is stored;
a data output unit that accepts input of information identifying the material from the terminal device, and outputs quality information associated with the identifying information from the quality information stored in the quality information storage unit to the terminal device.
<18> Acquire measurement data from the terminal device that indicates the quality of the materials constituting the waste, measured by the measuring device, and generate quality information that indicates the quality of the materials constituting the waste based on the measurement data;
A material management program that causes a computer to execute a process of accepting input of information identifying a material, and outputting quality information associated with the identifying information from the quality information stored in a quality information storage unit to the terminal device.

The present invention has been described above based on each embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to the requirements shown in the above embodiments. These points can be changed without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and can be appropriately determined according to the application form.

100, 100A Material management system 200, 200A Material management device 240 Quality information database 250 Measurement database 260, 260A Quality information management section 261 Data input section 262 Storage control section 263 Quality information generation section 264 List acquisition section 265 Quality information acquisition section 266 Data output section 267 Collation section 268 Correction data storage section 269 Evaluation section 300, 400, 700 Terminal device 500, 600 Measurement equipment

JP 2021-105806 A

Claims (18)

A material management system including a terminal device and a material management device connected to the terminal device via a network,
The material management device includes:
a quality information generating unit that acquires measurement data that indicates the quality of materials that constitute the waste, the measurement data being measured by a measuring device, and generates quality information that indicates the quality of the materials that constitute the waste based on the measurement data;
a quality information storage unit in which the quality information is stored;
a data output unit that receives an input of information identifying the material from the terminal device, and outputs quality information associated with the identifying information from the quality information stored in the quality information storage unit to the terminal device;
The terminal device
A material management system having a display control unit that displays the quality information on a display device. The material management device includes:
2. The material management system according to claim 1, further comprising a storage control unit which stores the quality information in the quality information storage unit, and which stores the measurement data and the quality information in a corresponding manner in the measurement data storage unit. The quality information generating unit
2. The material management system according to claim 1, further comprising: a measuring device for measuring the quality of the material; a measuring data storage device for storing the measuring data; and a measuring device for storing the measuring data. The quality information generating unit
The material management system according to claim 1 , wherein additional data about the material, acquired together with the measurement data, is included in the quality information. The additional data is
5. A material management system as described in claim 4, including at least one of image data showing an image of the material, identification information identifying the provider of the material, measurement conditions when the quality of the material was measured, information identifying the business that produced the material, information indicating the date on which the material was produced, and the amount of the material produced. The material management system includes:
a terminal device other than the terminal device;
a measuring device that measures the quality of the material and outputs measurement data to the other terminal device;
the other terminal device has a communication control unit that transmits the measurement data output from the measuring device to the material management device when the other terminal device acquires the measurement data,
The storage control unit of the material management device
3. The material management system according to claim 2, wherein the measurement data acquired from the other terminal device is stored in the measurement data storage section. the measuring device is a portable spectrometer that measures near-infrared light transmitted through or reflected by the material;
7. A material management system according to claim 6, wherein the measurement data includes a near-infrared light spectrum, information indicating a date and time when the measurement was performed by the measurement device, and a measurement device identification number for identifying the measurement device. The material management device includes:
a comparison unit that, when acquiring measurement data of the material from the terminal device, identifies measurement data stored in the measurement data storage unit that corresponds to the measurement data acquired from the terminal device, and compares the identified measurement data with the measurement data acquired from the terminal device;
the data output unit outputs information indicating a result of the matching by the matching unit to the terminal device;
The terminal device
7. The material management system according to claim 6, wherein information showing the result of said comparison is displayed on said display device. The material management system according to claim 8, wherein the terminal device and the other terminal device are used by any of the businesses included in a supply chain that represents a series of processes from collection to recycling of industrial waste. The quality information generating unit
4. The material management system according to claim 3, further comprising: a ranking for the quality of the material based on the information regarding the impurities; and a result of the ranking is included in the quality information. The quality information generating unit
4. A material management system as described in claim 3, which ranks the quality of a specific material based on a proportion of impurities in a composite waveform obtained by combining an absorbance waveform of a specific material that is free of impurities and additives and is not painted with an absorbance waveform of an impurity so as to maximize a correlation coefficient with a measurement waveform indicated by the measurement data, and includes a result of the ranking in the quality information. The quality information generating unit
4. A material management system as described in claim 3, which ranks the quality of a specific material based on a correlation coefficient between an absorbance waveform of a specific material that is free of impurities and additives and is not painted and a measurement waveform indicated by the measurement data, and includes the ranking result in the quality information. The data output unit includes:
referring to an evaluation information storage unit in which evaluation information indicating an evaluation of the provider of the material is stored, and outputting the evaluation information corresponding to the provider of the material together with the quality information to the terminal device;
The terminal device
The material management system according to claim 5 , wherein the display control unit causes the display device to display the quality information and the evaluation information. The material management system of claim 1, wherein the material is resin. The material management system includes:
a plurality of the material management devices, the plurality of the material management devices being distributed ledger nodes included in a blockchain system;
The quality information generating unit
generating quality information including identification information for identifying a process immediately preceding each process included in the series of processes represented by the supply chain;
The material management system according to claim 9 , wherein the storage control unit records the quality information generated for each process on a blockchain. A material management method using a material management system including a terminal device and a material management device connected to the terminal device via a network, comprising:
The material management device,
Obtaining measurement data that indicates the quality of the materials that make up the waste, measured by a measuring device, and generating quality information that indicates the quality of the materials that make up the waste based on the measurement data;
accepting an input of information identifying a material from the terminal device, and outputting quality information associated with the identifying information from the quality information stored in a quality information storage unit to the terminal device;
The terminal device,
The material management method further comprises displaying the quality information on a display device. A terminal device and a material management device connected to the terminal device via a network,
a quality information generating unit that acquires measurement data that indicates the quality of materials that constitute the waste, the measurement data being measured by a measuring device, and generates quality information that indicates the quality of the materials that constitute the waste based on the measurement data;
a quality information storage unit in which the quality information is stored;
a data output unit that accepts input of information identifying the material from the terminal device, and outputs quality information associated with the identifying information from the quality information stored in the quality information storage unit to the terminal device. Obtaining measurement data that indicates the quality of the materials that make up the waste, measured by a measuring device, and generating quality information that indicates the quality of the materials that make up the waste based on the measurement data;
A material management program that causes a computer to execute a process of accepting input of information identifying a material from a terminal device, and outputting quality information associated with the identifying information from the quality information stored in a quality information storage unit to the terminal device.

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