Recycle managing system and recycle managing method

• US 6,718,343 B2
• Filed: 01/12/2001
• Issued: 04/06/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Kamata, Tatsuya
• Primary Examiner(s): ALAM, SHAHID AL
• Application Number:
  US09/758,429
• Publication Number:
  US 20020059298A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,180 Days
• Field of Search: 707/10, 707/104.1, 705/14, 705/16, 705/37, 705/26, 705/4, 705/7-10, 705/30, 235/385, 706/46, 700/97
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B29B 2017/0089 Recycling systems, wherein the flow of products between producers, sellers and consumers includes at least a recycling step, e.g. the products being fed back to the sellers or to the producers for recycling purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3437 the counter having non-monetary units, e.g. trips
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/387 Payment using discounts or coupons relating to marketing G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0226 Incentive systems for frequent usage, e.g. frequent flyer miles programs or point systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0238 at point-of-sale [POS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/02 by keys or other credit registering devices
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/14 Systems including one or more distant stations co-operating with a central processing unit data transmission in general H04L; telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station H04Q9/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

A recycle managing system manages the payers and recycle points allocated to each payer in the case where the expenses for the recycle points restored to the consumers in response to returns of the recycle targeting goods are beard by the parties other than the retail stores. Thus, it becomes possible to manage the recycling activities by the three parties of the consumers, retail stores, and suppliers which enlarge the recycling activities between the conventional consumers and retail stores.

Claims

1. A recycle managing system for managing recycle targeting goods which are returned from the customers to retail stores for a recycle, comprising:

a goods database registering goods information for sale including at least IDs and prices of goods, the database further recording information for discriminating whether or not goods are the recycle targeting ones, recycle points of the recycle targeting goods, and information of payers paying expense of the recycle targeting goods;

a calculator for calculating the recycle points equivalent to a monetary value with respect to returns of the recycle targeting goods based on the goods database;

a customer database for managing the recycle points of each customer of the retail store;

a payer database for managing the recycle points of each payer other than the retail store, which pays expenses equivalent to the recycle points; and

a renewing unit for renewing the recycle points of the customer returning the recycle targeting goods based of the calculated recycle points in the customer database, and further renewing the recycle points of the payer paying the expenses for the recycle points of the returned recycle targeting goods based on the calculated recycle points in the payer database.

2. The recycle managing system according to claim 1, further comprising:

an accounting system for issuing a bill to each payer, the bill charging the expenses equivalent to the recycle points stored in the payer database.

3. The recycle managing system according to claim 1, wherein

the recycle managing system is a terminal-server type POS system which is introduced to the retail store selling the recycle targeting goods, wherein

the terminal has the calculator, and

the server has the customer database, the payer database, and the renewing unit.

4. The recycle managing system according to claim 3, wherein

the server further has goods database recording a unit price and a predetermined recycle ratio in each of the recycle targeting goods, and

the terminal calculates the recycle points by multiplying the unit price by the recycle ratio.

5. The recycle managing system according to claim 3, wherein

in the case where the customer presents a card storing a customer code to a salesclerk to return the recycle targeting goods, the terminal judges the customer returning the recycle targeting goods by reading the customer code stored in the card.

6. The recycle managing system according to claim 3, wherein

in the case where the customer pastes a label storing the customer code on the recycle targeting goods to return the recycle targeting goods, the terminal judges the customer returning the recycle targeting goods by reading the customer code stored in the label.

7. A method for managing recycle targeting goods which are returned for a recycle from a customer to a retail store by utilizing a computer system, comprising the operations of:

a goods database registering goods information for sale including at least IDs and prices of goods, the database further recording information for discriminating whether or not goods are the recycle targeting ones, recycle points of the recycle targeting goods, and information of payers paying expense of the recycle targeting goods;

calculating recycle points equivalent to a monetary value with respect to returns of the recycle targeting goods based on the goods database;

preparing a customer database for managing the recycle points of each customer;

renewing the recycle points of the customer returning the recycle targeting goods based on the calculated recycle points in the customer database;

preparing a payer database for managing the recycle points of each payer paying expenses equivalent to the recycle points; and

renewing the recycle points of the payer paying the expense for the recycle points of the returned recycle targeting goods based on the calculated recycle points in the payer database.

8. The method for managing recycle targeting goods according to claim 7, further comprising the operation of:

issuing a bill to each payer, the bill charging the expenses equivalent to the recycle points stored in the payer database.

9. The method for managing recycle targeting goods according to claim 7, further comprising the operation of:

preparing goods database recording a unit price and a predetermined recycle ratio in each of the recycle targeting goods, and

calculating the recycle points by multiplying the unit price by the recycle ratio.