JP-7856600-B2 - Coupon management device and information processing program

JP7856600B2JP 7856600 B2JP7856600 B2JP 7856600B2JP-7856600-B2

Inventors

鈴木純
田仲拓磨
大和佑太
仲上新平
寺内亨

Assignees

東芝テック株式会社

Dates

Publication Date: 20260511
Application Date: 20230413

Claims (5)

When an inquiry regarding coupon issuance is received, a first determination means is used to determine the person making the inquiry, A search method for searching for coupon promotions whose issuance conditions are met in relation to the aforementioned inquiry, A generation means for generating a coupon code that includes a project identifier that identifies a coupon project for which the issuance conditions have been met by the search means, an issuer identifier that identifies the inquirer determined by the first determination means, and a coupon identifier that identifies each individual coupon to be issued for the said coupon project. A recording means for recording the coupon code generated by the generation means in a way that allows for verification whether it has been used or not, When an inquiry regarding coupon usage is received accompanied by a notification of a coupon code, a second determination means is used to determine the person making the inquiry, A determination means that determines whether to allow or refuse the provision of benefits related to the coupon plan identified by the plan identifier contained in the coupon code notified in the aforementioned inquiry, if the inquirer determined by the second determination means does not have a predetermined relationship with the issuer identified by the issuer identifier contained in the coupon code notified in the aforementioned inquiry, or if the coupon code notified in the aforementioned inquiry is not used and is not recorded by the recording means, at least as a refusal. A response means that responds to the aforementioned inquiry with the determination result by the determination means, It is equipped with, The recording means updates the record in such a way that it cannot be confirmed that the coupon code notified during the inquiry is unused, in response to the response that the provision of the benefit is permitted by the response means. Coupon management device.
The first determination means receives an inquiry from a terminal and determines the inquirer as the company using the terminal that made the inquiry. The second determination means receives an inquiry from a terminal and determines the inquirer to be a company using the terminal that made the inquiry. The coupon management device according to claim 1.
If the inquirer determined by the second determination means cannot be confirmed to have a predetermined relationship with the issuer identified by the issuer identifier included in the coupon code notified during the inquiry, or if the recording means cannot be confirmed to have recorded the coupon code notified during the inquiry as unused, a notification means to notify the inquirer that the provision of benefits based on the coupon code notified during the inquiry is refused. The coupon management device according to claim 1, further comprising:
The notification means notifies the requesting party of an error code indicating that it is not possible to confirm that there is a predetermined relationship with the issuer identified by the issuer identifier included in the coupon code notified during the inquiry, or that it is not possible to confirm that the coupon code notified during the inquiry is recorded by the recording means as unused. The coupon management device according to claim 3.
Computers, When an inquiry regarding coupon issuance is received, a first determination means is used to determine the person making the inquiry, A search method for searching for coupon promotions whose issuance conditions are met in relation to the aforementioned inquiry, A generation means for generating a coupon code that includes a project identifier that identifies a coupon project for which the issuance conditions have been met by the search means, an issuer identifier that identifies the inquirer determined by the first determination means, and a coupon identifier that identifies each individual coupon to be issued for the said coupon project. A recording means for recording the coupon code generated by the generation means in a way that allows for verification whether it has been used or not, When an inquiry regarding coupon usage is received accompanied by a notification of a coupon code, a second determination means is used to determine the person making the inquiry, A determination means that determines whether to allow or refuse the provision of benefits related to the coupon plan identified by the plan identifier contained in the coupon code notified in the aforementioned inquiry, if the inquirer determined by the second determination means does not have a predetermined relationship with the issuer identified by the issuer identifier contained in the coupon code notified in the aforementioned inquiry, or if the coupon code notified in the aforementioned inquiry is not used and is not recorded by the recording means, at least as a refusal. A response means that responds to the aforementioned inquiry with the determination result by the determination means, To make it function, and, The recording means updates the record in such a way that it cannot be confirmed that the coupon code notified during the inquiry is unused, in response to the response that the provision of the benefit is permitted by the response means. Information processing program.

Description

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a coupon management device and an information processing program. Various technologies have been proposed to restrict the reuse of coupons by making each coupon issued by a particular issuer identifiable by a coupon code, and by managing whether each coupon has been used in association with the coupon code. However, when multiple issuers each issue their own coupons, it is possible that coupon codes may match across multiple coupons. In such cases, for example, if a coupon issued by company A is mistakenly used by company B, then another coupon issued by company B with the same coupon code will also be restricted from being used at company B. In other words, in this case, the legitimate use of the coupons will be restricted. Given these circumstances, there was a need for a coupon management system that would restrict the reuse of coupons without restricting their legitimate use. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-30779 A block diagram showing the schematic configuration of a coupon management system according to one embodiment.A block diagram showing the main circuit configuration of the coupon server and POS terminal in Figure 1.This diagram schematically represents the structure of a single data record included in the planning database shown in Figure 2.This diagram schematically represents the structure of data records included in the management table in Figure 2.A sequence diagram illustrating the steps involved in coupon issuance when a transaction is processed using a single POS terminal.A flowchart illustrating a specific example of the search process.A diagram illustrating the coupon code system.A sequence diagram illustrating the steps involved in the process of using a coupon.A flowchart for the verification process. An example of an embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the schematic configuration of the coupon management system 1 according to this embodiment. The coupon management system 1 is a system in which a coupon server 100 and multiple POS terminals 200 communicate via a communication network 2, and the coupon server 100 manages the issuance and use of coupons at multiple POS terminals 200. Each of the multiple POS terminals 200 belongs to one of the multiple terminal groups TGA. Each of the multiple terminal groups TGA is used in stores operated by different companies. Furthermore, the multiple POS terminals 200 belonging to a single terminal group TGA may be concentrated in one store operated by one company, or they may be distributed among multiple stores operated by one company. The coupon server 100 is an information processing device that performs information processing for providing a coupon management service, which manages the issuance and use of coupons at the POS terminal 200, as a cloud service via the communication network 2. In other words, the coupon server 100 corresponds to a coupon management device. The POS terminal 200 is an information processing device that performs processing related to store transactions, such as registering the details of transactions or accounting for payments. Communication network 2 can utilize the Internet, VPN (virtual private network), LAN (local area network), public communication network, mobile communication network, etc., individually or in appropriate combinations. As an example, communication network 2 may be a combination of LAN and the Internet. Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the main circuit configuration of the coupon server 100 and the POS terminal 200. The coupon server 100 includes a processor 101, a main storage unit 102, an auxiliary storage unit 103, a communication unit 104, and a transmission line 105, etc. The processor 101, the main storage unit 102, the auxiliary storage unit 103, and the communication unit 104 are able to communicate with each other via the transmission line 105. By connecting the processor 101, the main storage unit 102, and the auxiliary storage unit 103 with a transmission line 105, a computer is configured to perform information processing for controlling the coupon server 100. The processor 101 corresponds to the central part of the computer described above. The processor 101 performs information processing to control each part in order to realize various functions as a coupon server 100, in accordance with information processing programs such as the operating system and application programs. The main memory unit 102 corresponds to the main memory portion of the computer described above. The main memory unit 102 includes a read-only memory area and a rewritable memory area. The main memory unit 102 stores a portion of the information processing program in the read-only memory area. The main memory unit 102 may also store data necessary for the processor 101 to perform control operations in either the read-only or rewritable memory area. The main memory unit 102 uses the rewritable