U.S. patent application number 10/258032 was filed with the patent office on 2004-10-28 for content providing/acquiring system.
Invention is credited to Fujii, Hajime, Fukushima, Osamu, Ozaki, Hiroshi.
Application Number | 20040215469 10/258032 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 27346060 |
Filed Date | 2004-10-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040215469 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Fukushima, Osamu ; et
al. |
October 28, 2004 |
Content providing/acquiring system
Abstract
A content providing apparatus previously receives customer
identification information and content identification information
as customer reservation information via a terminal device, and
sends customer desired content data corresponding to the content
identification information to a content obtaining apparatus, so as
to provide a customer with the customer desired content data via
the content obtaining apparatus more easily, thus making it
possible to significantly improve the usability of a content
obtaining/providing system. In addition, a content providing server
sends three-dimensional images to a portable dedicated terminal in
response to a preview request sent from the portable dedicated
terminal to display it, and then sends commercial data
corresponding to a preview request sent according to the display
state of the three-dimensional images to reproduce it, so as to
make the customer view and preview the content to allow the
customer to accurately judge whether the content meets his/her
taste, thus making it possible to select content data
lightheartedly.
Inventors: |
Fukushima, Osamu; (Kanagawa,
JP) ; Fujii, Hajime; (Saitama, JP) ; Ozaki,
Hiroshi; (Saitama, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
William S Frommer
Frommer Lawrence & Haug
745 Fifth Avenue
New York
NY
10151
US
|
Family ID: |
27346060 |
Appl. No.: |
10/258032 |
Filed: |
October 18, 2002 |
PCT Filed: |
February 21, 2002 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/JP02/01547 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
705/26.1 ;
705/307 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/0601 20130101;
G06Q 10/02 20130101; G06Q 30/02 20130101; G06Q 20/382 20130101;
G06Q 40/12 20131203; G06Q 30/0645 20130101; G06Q 30/0253 20130101;
G06Q 30/0281 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/001 |
International
Class: |
G06F 017/60 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 22, 2001 |
JP |
2001-045905 |
Jan 29, 2002 |
JP |
2002-020766 |
Jan 29, 2002 |
JP |
2002-020770 |
Claims
1. A content providing/obtaining system comprising a content
providing apparatus for providing content data and a content
obtaining apparatus for obtaining said content data provided from
the content providing apparatus, wherein: said content providing
apparatus comprises: content data storage means for storing a
plurality of said content data; customer reservation information
receiving means for receiving customer identification information
on a customer accessing the content providing apparatus with a
prescribed terminal device and content identification information
on customer desired content data desired by said customer, as
customer reservation information; search means for searching said
content data storage means for said customer desired content data
corresponding to said content identification information, and
content data sending means for sending said customer desired
content data found by said search means to said content obtaining
apparatus; and said content obtaining apparatus comprises:
interface means accessible to said content providing apparatus
only; content data recording means for recording said customer
desired content data received via said interface means from said
content providing apparatus, on a storage medium; and
reproducing/outputting means for reproducing and outputting said
customer desired content data from said storage medium.
2. The content providing/obtaining system according to claim 1,
wherein said content obtaining apparatus is located far away from
said prescribed terminal device.
3. The content providing/obtaining system according to claim 2,
wherein said content data recording means records said customer
desired content data on said storage means built in said content
obtaining apparatus.
4. The content providing/obtaining system according to claim 3,
wherein said content obtaining apparatus is small enough to
carry.
5. The content providing/obtaining system according to claim 1,
wherein said content providing apparatus comprises content
obtaining apparatus identification information sending means for
sending content obtaining apparatus identification information
which is identification information unique to said content
obtaining apparatus, to said prescribed terminal device.
6. The content providing/obtaining system according to claim 1,
wherein: said customer reservation information receiving means
receives system specifying information specifying a rental system
or purchase system by which said customer desired content data is
received, as one item included in said customer reservation
information, from said terminal device; and said content data
sending means sends said customer desired content data to said
content obtaining apparatus by the rental system or purchase system
according to said system specifying information.
7. The content providing/obtaining system according to claim 6,
wherein said content data sending means, when sending said customer
desired content data to said content obtaining apparatus by said
rental system, sends, at least, rental period information
indicating the rental period as well, to said content obtaining
apparatus.
8. The content providing/obtaining system according to claim 7,
wherein said reproducing/outputting means forbids the reproduction
of said customer desired content data from said storage medium if
said rental period of the customer desired content data based on
said rental period information expires.
9. The content providing/obtaining system according to claim 6,
wherein: said customer reservation information receiving means
receives payment information specifying the payment method of
charge for said customer desired content data by said rental system
or said purchase system, as said customer reservation information;
and said content providing apparatus comprises accounting
information generating means for generating accounting information
according to said customer identification information and said
charge and sending the generated accounting information to an
external settlement processing device.
10. A content providing/obtaining method for obtaining content data
provided from a content providing apparatus with a content
obtaining apparatus, wherein: said content providing apparatus
comprises: the customer reservation information receiving step of
receiving customer identification information on a customer having
access with a prescribed terminal device and content identification
information on customer desired content data desired by said
customer, as customer reservation information; the search step of
searching content data storage means; storing a lot of said content
data for said customer desired content data corresponding to said
content identification information; and the content data sending
step of sending said customer desired content data found by said
search step to said content obtaining apparatus; and said content
obtaining apparatus comprises: the content data recording step of
recording said customer desired content data received from said
content providing apparatus via interface means accessible to said
content providing apparatus only, on a storage medium; and the
reproducing/outputting step of reproducing and outputting said
customer desired content data from said storage medium.
11. The content providing/obtaining method according to claim 10,
wherein said content data sending step sends said customer desired
content data to said content obtaining apparatus located far from
said prescribed terminal device.
12. The content providing/obtaining method according to claim 11,
wherein said content data recording step records said customer
desired content data on said storage medium built in said content
obtaining apparatus.
13. The content providing/obtaining method according to claim 12,
wherein said content obtaining apparatus is small enough to
carry.
14. The content providing/obtaining method according to claim 10,
wherein said content providing apparatus comprises the content
obtaining apparatus identification information sending step of,
sending content obtaining apparatus identification information
which is identification information unique to said content
obtaining apparatus, to said prescribed terminal device.
15. The content providing/obtaining method according to claim 10,
wherein: said customer reservation information receiving step
receives system specifying information specifying a rental system
or purchase system by which said customer desired content data is
received, as one item included in said customer reservation
information; and said content data sending step sends said customer
desired content data to said content obtaining apparatus by the
rental system or the purchase system according to said system
specifying information.
16. The content providing obtaining method according to claim 15,
wherein said content data sending step, when sending said customer
desired content data to said content obtaining apparatus by said
rental system, sends, at least, rental period information
indicating the rental period as well, to said content obtaining
apparatus.
17. The content providing/obtaining method according to claim 16,
wherein said reproducing/outputting step forbids the reproduction
of said customer desired content data from said storage means if
said rental period of said customer desired content based on said
rental period information expires.
18. The content providing/obtaining method according to claim 15,
wherein: said customer reservation information receiving step
receives payment information indicating the payment method of
charge for said customer desired content data by said rental system
or said purchase system, as said customer reservation information;
and said content providing apparatus comprises the accounting
information generating step of generating accounting information
according to said customer identification information and said
charge based on said payment information and sending the generated
accounting information to an external settlement processing
device.
19. A content providing apparatus for providing content data to a
dedicated content obtaining apparatus only, comprising: content
data storage means for storing a plurality of said content data;
customer reservation information receiving means for receiving
customer identification information on a customer having access
with a prescribed terminal device and content identification
information on customer desired content data desired by said
customer, as customer reservation information; search means for
searching said content data storage means for said customer desired
content data corresponding to said content identification
information; and content data sending means for sending said
customer desired content data found by said search means to said
content obtaining apparatus.
20. The content providing apparatus according to claim 19,
comprising content obtaining apparatus identification information
sending means for sending content obtaining apparatus
identification information which is identification information
unique to said content obtaining apparatus, to said prescribed
terminal device.
21. The content providing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein:
said customer reservation information receiving means receives
system specifying information specifying a rental system or
purchase system by which said customer desired content data is
received, as one item included in said customer reservation
information, from said terminal device; and said content data
sending means sends said customer desired content data to said
content obtaining apparatus by the rental system or the purchase
system based on said system specifying information.
22. The content providing apparatus according to claim 21, wherein
said content data sending means sends, when sending said customer
desired content data to said content obtaining apparatus by said
rental system, sends, at least, rental period information
indicating the rental period as well, to said content obtaining
apparatus.
23. The content providing apparatus according to claim 21,
comprising accounting information generating means for generating
accounting information according to said customer identification
information and said charge based on payment information specifying
the payment method of charge for said customer desired content data
by said rental system or said purchase system and sending the
generated accounting information to an external settlement
processing device, wherein said customer reservation information
receiving means receives said payment information as said customer
reservation information.
24. A content providing method for providing content data to a
dedicated content obtaining apparatus only, comprising: the
customer reservation information receiving step of receiving
customer identification information on a customer having access
with a prescribed terminal device and content identification
information on customer desired content data desired by said
customer, as customer reservation information; the search step of
searching content data storage means storing a plurality of said
content data for said customer desired content data corresponding
to said content identification information; and the content data
sending step of sending said customer desired content data found by
said search step to said content obtaining apparatus.
25. The content providing method according to claim 24, comprising
the content obtaining apparatus identification information sending
step of sending content obtaining apparatus identification
information which is identification information unique to said
content obtaining apparatus, to said prescribed terminal
device.
26. The content providing method according to claim 24, wherein:
said customer reservation information receiving step receives
system specifying information specifying a rental system or
purchase system by which said customer desired content data is
received, as one item included in said customer reservation
information from said terminal device; and said content data
sending step sends said customer desired content data to said
content obtaining apparatus by the rental system or the purchase
system based on said system specifying information.
27. The content providing method according to claim 26, wherein
said content data sending step, when sending said customer desired
content data to said content obtaining apparatus by said rental
system, sends, at least, rental period information indicating the
rental period as well, to said content obtaining apparatus.
28. The content providing method according to claim 26, comprising
the accounting information generating step of generating accounting
information according to said customer identification information
and said charge based on payment information specifying the payment
method of charge for said customer desired content data by said
rental system or said purchase system and sending the generated
accounting information to an external settlement processing device,
wherein said customer reservation information receiving step
receives said payment information as said customer reservation
information.
29. A content providing program storage medium for making a content
providing apparatus execute a content providing program comprising:
the customer reservation information receiving step of receiving
customer identification information on a customer having access
with a prescribed terminal device and content identification
information on customer desired content data desired by said
customer, as customer reservation information; the search step of
searching content data storage means storing a plurality of content
data for said customer desired content data corresponding to said
content identification information; and the content data sending
step of sending said customer desired content data found by said
search step, to a dedicated content obtaining apparatus.
30. The content providing program storage medium according to claim
29, comprising said content obtaining apparatus identification
information sending step of sending content obtaining apparatus
identification information which is identification information
unique to said content obtaining apparatus, to said prescribed
terminal device.
31. The content providing program storage medium according to claim
29, wherein: said customer reservation information receiving step
receives system specifying information specifying a rental system
or purchase system by which said customer desired content data is
received, as one item included in said customer reservation
information, from said terminal device; and said content data
sending step sends said customer desired content data to said
content obtaining apparatus by the rental system or the purchase
system based on said system specifying information.
32. The content providing program storage medium according to claim
31, wherein said content data sending step sends, when sending said
customer desired content data to said content obtaining apparatus:
by said rental system, sends, at least, rental period information
indicating the rental period as well, to said content obtaining
apparatus.
33. The content providing program storage medium according to claim
31, comprising accounting information generating step of generating
accounting information according to said customer identification
information and said charge based on payment information specifying
the payment method of charge for said customer desired content data
by said rental system or said purchase system and sending the
generated accounting information to an external settlement
processing device, wherein said customer reservation information
receiving step receives said payment information as said customer
reservation information.
34. A content providing program for making a content providing
apparatus execute: the customer reservation information receiving
step of receiving customer identification information on a customer
having access with a prescribed terminal device and content
identification information on customer desired content data desired
by said customer, as customer reservation information; the search
step of searching content data storage means storing a plurality of
said content data for said customer desired content data
corresponding to said content identification information; and the
content data sending step of sending said customer desired content
data found by said search step to a dedicated content obtaining
apparatus.
35. The content providing program according to claim 34, comprising
the content obtaining apparatus identification information sending
step of sending content obtaining apparatus identification
information which is identification information unique to, said
content obtaining apparatus, to said prescribed terminal
device.
36. The content providing program according to claim 34, wherein:
said customer reservation information receiving step receives
system specifying information specifying the rental system or the
purchase system by which said customer desired content data is
received, as one item included in said customer reservation
information from said terminal device; and said content data
sending step sends said customer desired content data to said
content obtaining apparatus by the rental system or the purchase
system based on said system specifying information.
37. The content providing program according to claim 36, wherein
said content data sending step, when sending said customer desired
content data to said content obtaining apparatus by said rental
system, sends at least rental period information indicating the
rental period as well, to said content obtaining apparatus.
38. The content providing program according to claim 36, comprising
the accounting information generating step of generating accounting
information according to said customer identification information
and said charge based on payment information specifying the payment
method of charge for said customer desired content data by said
rental system or said purchase system and sending the generated
accounting information to an external settlement processing device,
wherein said customer reservation information receiving step
receives said payment information as said customer reservation
information.
39. A content obtaining apparatus for obtaining content data
provided from a content providing apparatus, comprising: interface
means for accessing said content providing apparatus only, to
receive customer desired content data which said content providing
apparatus sent based on content identification information as a
result of receiving customer identification information on a
customer and said content identification information on customer
desired content data desired by said customer as customer
reservation information via a prescribed terminal device; content
data recording means for recording said customer desired content
data received from said content providing apparatus via said
interface means, on a storage medium; and reproducing/outputting
means for reproducing and outputting said content data from said
storage medium.
40. The content obtaining apparatus according to claim 39, wherein
said content obtaining apparatus is located far away from said
prescribed terminal device.
41. The content obtaining apparatus according to claim 40, wherein
said content data recording means records said customer desired
content data on said storage means built in the apparatus.
42. The content obtaining apparatus according to claim 41, wherein
said apparatus is small enough to carry.
43. The content obtaining apparatus according to claim 39, wherein:
said interface means receives rental period information indicating
the rental period of said customer desired content data sent from
said content providing apparatus, together with the customer
desired content data; and said reproducing/outputting means forbids
the reproduction of said customer desired content data from said
storage means if said rental period of said customer desired
content data based on said rental period information expires.
44. A content obtaining method for obtaining content data provided
from a content providing apparatus, comprising: the customer
desired content data receiving step of receiving, via interface
means accessible to said content providing apparatus only, said
customer desired content data which said content providing
apparatus sent based on content identification information as a
result of receiving customer identification information on a
customer and said content identification information on said
customer desired content data desired by said customer as customer
reservation information via said terminal device; the content data
recording step of recording said customer desired content data
received by said customer desired content data receiving step on a
storage medium; and the reproducing/outputting step of reproducing
and outputting said content data from said storage medium.
45. The content obtaining method according to claim 44, wherein
said customer desired content data receiving step receives said
customer desired content data at a position far away from said
prescribed terminal device.
46. The content obtaining method according to claim 45, wherein
said content data recording step records said customer desired
content data on said storage means built in a content obtaining
apparatus.
47. The content obtaining method according to claim 46, wherein
customer desired content data receiving step receives said customer
desired content data with said content obtaining apparatus which is
small enough to carry.
48. The content obtaining method according to claim 44, wherein:
said customer desired content data receiving step receives rental
period information indicating the rental period of said customer
desired content data sent from said content providing apparatus,
together with the customer desired content data; and said
reproducing/outputting step forbids the reproduction of said
customer desired content data from said storage means if said
rental period of said customer desired content data based on said
rental period information expires.
49. A content obtaining program storage medium for making a content
obtaining apparatus execute a content obtaining program comprising:
the customer desired content data receiving step of receiving, via
interface means accessible to a content providing apparatus only,
customer desired content data which said content providing
apparatus sent based on content identification information as a
result of receiving customer identification information on a
customer and said content identification information on said
customer desired content data desired by said customer as customer
reservation information via a prescribed terminal device; the
content data recording step of recording said customer desired
content data received by said customer desired content data
receiving step, on a storage medium; and the reproducing/outputting
step of reproducing and outputting said content data from said
storage medium.
50. The content obtaining program storage medium according to claim
49, wherein said customer desired content data receiving step
receives said customer desired content data at a position far away
from said prescribed terminal device.
51. The content obtaining program storage medium according to claim
50, wherein said content data recording step records said customer
desired content data on said storage means built in a content
obtaining apparatus.
52. The content obtaining program storage medium according to claim
51, wherein said customer desired content data receiving step
receives said customer desired content data with said content
obtaining apparatus which is small enough to carry.
53. The content obtaining program storage medium according to claim
49, wherein: said customer desired content data receiving step
receives rental period information indicating the rental period of
said customer desired content data sent from said content providing
apparatus, together with the customer desired content data; and
said reproducing/outputting means forbids the reproduction of said
customer desired content data from said storage means if said
rental period of said customer desired content data based on said
rental period information expires.
54. A content obtaining program for making a content obtaining
apparatus execute: the customer desired content data receiving step
of receiving, via interface means accessible to a content providing
apparatus only, customer desired content data which said content
providing apparatus sent based on content identification
information as a result of receiving customer identification
information on a customer and said content identification
information on said customer desired content data desired by said
customer as customer reservation information via said terminal
device; the content data recording step of recording said customer
desired content data received by said customer desired content data
receiving step on a storage medium; and the reproducing/outputting
step of reproducing and outputting said content data from said
storage medium.
55. The content obtaining program according to claim 54, wherein
said customer desired content data receiving step receives said
customer desired content data at a position far away from said
prescribed terminal device.
56. The content obtaining program according to claim 55, wherein
said content data recording step records said customer desired
content data on said storage means built in a content obtaining
apparatus.
57. The content obtaining program according to claim 56, wherein
customer desired content data receiving step receives said customer
desired content data with said content obtaining apparatus which is
small enough to carry.
58. The content obtaining program according to claim 54, wherein:
said customer desired content data receiving step receives rental
period information indicating the rental period of said customer
desired content data sent from said content providing apparatus,
together with the customer desired content data; and said
reproducing/outputting step forbids the reproduction of said
customer desired content data from said storage means if said
rental period of said customer desired content data based on said
rental period information expires.
59. A content providing/obtaining system comprising a content
providing apparatus for providing content data and a content
obtaining apparatus for obtaining said content data provided from
the content providing apparatus, wherein: said content providing
apparatus comprises: image storage means for storing
three-dimensional images for allowing customer desired content data
desired by a customer to be selected out of a plurality of said
content data; transmission request receiving means for receiving an
image request sent from said content obtaining apparatus; image
sending means for sending said three-dimensional images to said
content obtaining apparatus in response to said image request;
preview request receiving means for receiving a preview request
which was sent from said content obtaining apparatus according to
the display state of said three-dimensional images; and data
sending means for sending preview data based on said content data
corresponding to said preview request to said content obtaining
apparatus; and said content obtaining apparatus comprises: input
means for entering various operational commands; image request
sending means for sending said image request to said content
providing apparatus in response to an image request command entered
via said input means; image receiving means for receiving said
three-dimensional images which are sent from said content providing
apparatus in response to said image request; display control means
for displaying said three-dimensional images on a prescribed
display means and changing the display state of said
three-dimensional image according to display state changing
commands entered via said input means; preview request sending
means for sending said preview request to said content providing
apparatus according to the display state of said three-dimensional
images displayed on said display means; data receiving means for
receiving said preview data which was sent from said content
providing apparatus in response to said preview request; and
reproducing means for reproducing said preview data.
60. The content providing system according to claim 59, wherein:
said image storage means stores said three-dimensional images
including a human image representing a person movable; said display
control means changes the position of said human image in said
three-dimensional images according to said display state changing
commands entered via said input means; said preview request sending
means sends said preview request to said content providing
apparatus according to said position of said human image in said
three-dimensional images.
61. The content providing/obtaining system according to claim 60,
wherein said reproducing means reproduces by streaming said preview
data sent from said content providing apparatus in response to said
preview request.
62. The content providing/obtaining system according to claim 61,
wherein said data sending means sends said preview data having a
reproduction time shorter than the reproduction time of said
content data corresponding to said preview request, to said content
obtaining apparatus.
63. The content providing/obtaining system according to claim 61,
wherein said reproducing means performs fade-in processing or
fade-out processing; and then streaming reproduction on said
preview data sent from said content providing apparatus according
to said preview request.
64. The content providing/obtaining system according to claim 59,
wherein: said image storage means stores said three-dimensional
images including selection items for content preview requests; said
display control means changes the display state of said selection
items in said three-dimensional images according to said display
state changing commands entered via said input means; and said
preview request sending means sends said preview request to said
content providing apparatus according to the display state of said
selection items in said three-dimensional images.
65. The content providing/obtaining system according to claim 64,
wherein said preview request sending means sends said preview
request indicating the genre of said content data, the artist of
said content based on the content data and/or the title of said
Content data to said content providing apparatus according to the
display state of said selection items in said three-dimensional
images.
66. The content providing/obtaining system according to claim 64,
wherein: said content obtaining apparatus comprises recording means
for recording said preview data received by said data receiving
means on a storage medium; and said reproducing means reproduces
said preview data from said storage medium.
67. The content providing/obtaining system according to claim 64,
wherein said reproducing means reproduces by streaming said preview
data sent from said content providing apparatus in response to said
preview request.
68. A content providing/obtaining method for obtaining content data
provided from a content providing apparatus with a content
obtaining apparatus, wherein: said content providing apparatus
comprises: the transmission request receiving step of receiving an
image request sent from said content obtaining apparatus; the image
sending step of sending three-dimensional images for allowing
customer desired content data desired by a customer to be selected
out of a plurality of said content data, to said content obtaining
apparatus in response to said image request; the preview request
receiving step of receiving a preview request sent from said
content obtaining apparatus according to the display state of said
three-dimensional images; and the data sending step of sending
preview data of content based on said content data corresponding to
said preview request, to said content obtaining apparatus; and said
content obtaining apparatus comprises: the image request sending
step of sending said image request to said content providing
apparatus according to an image request command entered via an
input means for entering various operational commands; the image
receiving step of receiving said three-dimensional images which are
sent from said content providing apparatus in response to said
image request; the display control step of displaying said
three-dimensional images on a prescribed display means and changing
the display state of said three-dimensional images according to
display state changing commands entered via said input means; the
preview request sending step of sending said preview request to
said content providing apparatus according to the display state of
said three-dimensional images displayed on said display means; the
data receiving step of receiving said preview data which was sent
from said content providing apparatus in response to said preview
request; and the reproducing step of reproducing said preview
data.
69. The content providing/obtaining method according to claim 68,
wherein: said image sending step sends said three-dimensional
images including a human image indicating a person movable, to said
content obtaining apparatus in response to said image request; said
display control step changes the position of said human image in
said three-dimensional images according to said display state
changing commands entered via said input means; and said preview
request sending step sends said preview request to said content
providing apparatus according to said position of said human image
in said three-dimensional images.
70. The content providing/obtaining method according to claim 69,
wherein said reproducing step reproduces by streaming said preview
data which was sent from said content providing apparatus in
response to said preview request.
71. The content providing/obtaining method according to claim 70,
wherein said data sending step sends said preview data having a
reproduction time shorter than the reproduction time of said
content data corresponding to said preview request, to said content
obtaining apparatus.
72. The content providing/obtaining method according to claim 70,
wherein said reproducing means performs fade-in processing and/or
fade-out processing, and then streaming reproduction on said
preview data which was sent from said content providing apparatus
in response to said preview request.
73. The content providing/obtaining method according to claim 68,
wherein: said image sending step sends said three-dimensional
images including selection items for content preview requests to
said content obtaining apparatus in response to said image request;
said display control step changes the display state of said
selection items in said three-dimensional images according to said
display state changing commands entered via said input means; and
said preview request sending step sends said preview request to
said content providing apparatus according to the display state of
said selection items in said three-dimensional images.
74. The content providing/obtaining method according to claim 73,
wherein said preview request sending step sends said preview
request indicating the genre of said content data, the artist of
said content based on the content data and/or the title of said
content data to said content providing apparatus according to the
display state of said selection items in said three-dimensional
images.
75. The content providing/obtaining method according to claim 73,
wherein: said content obtaining apparatus comprises the recording
step of recording said preview data received by said data receiving
step on a storage medium; and said reproducing step reproduces said
preview data from said storage medium.
76. The content providing/obtaining method according to claim 73,
wherein said reproducing step reproduces by streaming said preview
data which was sent from said content providing apparatus in
response to said preview request.
77. A content providing apparatus for providing content data to a
content obtaining apparatus, comprising: image storage means for
storing three-dimensional images for allowing customer desired
content data desired by a customer to be selected out of a
plurality of said content data; transmission request receiving
means for receiving an image request sent from said content
obtaining apparatus; image sending means for sending said
three-dimensional images to said content obtaining apparatus in
response to said image request; preview request receiving means for
receiving a preview request which was sent from said content
obtaining apparatus according to the display state of said
three-dimensional images; and data sending means for sending
preview data of content based on said content data corresponding to
said preview request to said content obtaining apparatus.
78. The content providing apparatus according to claim 77, wherein:
said image storage means stores said three-dimensional images
including a human image representing a person movable; and said
preview request receiving means receives said preview request which
was sent from content providing apparatus according to the position
of said human image in said three-dimensional images displayed on a
prescribed display means.
79. The content providing apparatus according to claim 78, wherein
said data sending means sends by streaming said preview data to
said content obtaining apparatus in response to said preview
request which was sent from said content providing apparatus
according to the position of said human image in said
three-dimensional images displayed on said display means.
80. The content providing apparatus according to claim 79, wherein
said data sending means sends said preview data having a
reproduction time shorter than the reproduction time of said
content data corresponding to said preview request, to said content
obtaining apparatus.
81. The content providing apparatus according to claim 77, wherein:
said image storage means stores said three-dimensional images
including selection items for content preview requests; and said
preview request receiving means receives said preview request which
was sent from said content obtaining apparatus according to the
display state of said selection items in,said, three-dimensional
images displayed on a prescribed display means.
82. The content providing apparatus according to claim 81, wherein
said preview request receiving means receives said preview request
indicating the genre of said content data, the artist of said
content based on the content data and/or the title of said content
data, said preview request sent from said content obtaining
apparatus according to the display state of said selection items in
said three-dimensional images displayed on said display means.
83. The content providing apparatus according to claim 81, wherein
said data sending means sends said preview data to said content
obtaining apparatus by TCP/IP (Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol) in response to said preview
request.
84. The content providing apparatus according to claim 81, wherein
said data sending means sends by streaming said preview data to
said content obtaining apparatus, in response to said preview
request which was sent from said content providing apparatus
according to the display state of said selection items in said
three-dimensional images displayed on said display means.
85. A content providing method for providing content data to a
content obtaining apparatus, comprising: the transmission request
receiving step of receiving an image request sent from said content
obtaining apparatus; the image sending step of sending
three-dimensional images for allowing customer desired content data
desired by a customer to be selected out of a plurality of said
content data, to said content obtaining apparatus in response to
said image request; the preview request receiving step of receiving
a preview request which was sent from said content obtaining
apparatus according to the display state of said three-dimensional
images; and the data sending step of sending preview data of
content based on said content data corresponding to said preview
request, to said content obtaining apparatus.
86. The content providing method according to claim 85, wherein:
said image sending step sends three-dimensional images including a
human image representing a person movable to said content obtaining
apparatus in response to said image request; and said preview
request receiving step receives said preview request which was sent
from content providing apparatus according to the position of said
human image in said three-dimensional images displayed on a
prescribed display means.
87. The content providing method according to claim 86, wherein
said data sending means sends by streaming said preview data to
said content obtaining apparatus in response to said preview
request which was sent from said content providing apparatus
according to the position of said human image in said
three-dimensional images displayed on said display means.
88. The content providing method according to claim 87, wherein
said data sending step sends said preview data having a
reproduction time shorter than the reproduction time of said
content data corresponding to said preview request, to said content
obtaining apparatus.
89. The content providing method according to claim 85, wherein:
said image sending step sends three-dimensional images including
selection items for content preview requests to said content
obtaining apparatus in response to said image request; and said
preview request receiving step receives said preview request which
was sent from said content obtaining apparatus according to the
display state of said selection items in said three-dimensional
images displayed on a prescribed display means.
90. The content providing method according to claim 89, wherein
said preview request receiving means receives said preview request
indicating the genre of said content data, the artist of said
content based on the content data and/or the title of said content
data, said preview request sent from said content obtaining
apparatus according to the display state of said selection items in
said three-dimensional images displayed on said display means.
91. The content providing method according to claim 89, wherein
said data sending means sends said preview data to said content
obtaining apparatus by TCP/IP (Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol) in response to said preview
request.
92. The content providing method according to claim 89, wherein
said data sending means sends by streaming said preview data to
said content obtaining apparatus, in response to said preview
request which was sent from said content providing apparatus
according to the display state of said selection items in said
three-dimensional images displayed on said display means.
93. A content providing program storage medium for making a content
providing apparatus execute a content providing program comprising:
the transmission request receiving step of receiving an image
request sent from a content obtaining apparatus; the image sending
step of sending three-dimensional images for allowing customer
desired content data desired by a customer to be selected out of a
plurality of said content data, to said content obtaining apparatus
in response to said image request; the preview request receiving
step of receiving a preview request which was sent from said
content obtaining apparatus according to the display state of said
three-dimensional images; and the data sending step of sending
preview data of content based on said content data corresponding to
said preview request, to said content obtaining apparatus.
94. The content providing program storage medium according to claim
93, wherein: said image sending step sends three-dimensional images
including a human image representing a person movable to said
content obtaining apparatus in response to said image request; and
said preview request receiving step receives said preview request
which was sent from content providing apparatus according to the
position of said human image in said three-dimensional images
displayed on a prescribed display means.
95. The content providing program storage medium according to claim
94, wherein said data sending step sends by streaming said preview
data to said content obtaining apparatus in response to said
preview request which was sent from said content providing
apparatus according to the position of said human image in said
three-dimensional images displayed on said display means.
96. The content providing program storage medium according to claim
95, wherein said data sending step sends said preview data having a
reproduction time shorter than the reproduction time of said
content data corresponding to said preview request, to said content
obtaining apparatus.
97. The content providing program storage medium according to claim
93, wherein: said image sending step sends three-dimensional images
including selection items for content preview requests to said
content obtaining apparatus in response to said image request; and
said preview request receiving step receives said preview request
which was sent from said content obtaining apparatus according to
the display state of said selection items in said three-dimensional
images displayed on a prescribed display means.
98. The content providing program storage medium according to claim
97, wherein said preview request receiving means receives said
preview request indicating the genre of said content data, the
artist of said content based on the content data and/or the title
of said content data, said preview request sent from said content
obtaining apparatus according to the display state of said
selection items of said three-dimensional images displayed on said
display means.
99. The content providing program storage medium according to claim
97, wherein said data sending means sends said preview data to said
content obtaining apparatus by TCP/IP (Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol) in response to said preview
request.
100. The content providing program storage medium according to
claim 97, wherein said data sending means sends by streaming said
preview data to said content obtaining apparatus in response to
said preview request which was sent from said content providing
apparatus according to the display state of said selection items in
said three-dimensional images displayed on said display means.
101. A content providing program for making a content providing
apparatus execute: the transmission request receiving step of
receiving an image request sent from said content obtaining
apparatus; the image sending step of sending three-dimensional
images for allowing customer desired content data desired by a
customer to be selected out of a plurality of said content data, to
said content obtaining apparatus in response to said image request;
the preview request receiving step of receiving a preview request
which was sent from said content obtaining apparatus according to
the display state of said three-dimensional images; and the data
sending step of sending preview data of content based on said
content data corresponding to said preview request, to said content
obtaining apparatus.
102. The content providing program according to claim 101, wherein:
said image sending step sends three-dimensional images including a
human image representing a person movable, to said content
obtaining apparatus in response to said image request; and said
preview request receiving step receives said preview request which
was sent from content providing apparatus according to the position
of said human image in said three-dimensional images displayed on a
prescribed display means.
103. The content providing program according to claim 102, wherein
said data sending step sends by streaming said preview data to said
content obtaining apparatus in response to said preview request
which was sent from said content providing apparatus according to
the position of said human image in said three-dimensional images
displayed on said display means.
104. The content providing program according to claim 103, wherein
said data sending step sends said preview data having a
reproduction time shorter than the reproduction time of said
content data corresponding to said preview request, to said content
obtaining apparatus.
105. The content providing program according to claim 101, wherein:
said image sending step sends three-dimensional images including
selection items for content preview requests to said content
obtaining apparatus in response to said image request; and said
preview request receiving step receives said preview request which
was sent from said content obtaining apparatus according to the
display state of said selection items in said three-dimensional
images displayed on a prescribed display means.
106. The content providing program according to claim 105, wherein
said preview request receiving step receives said preview request
indicating the genre of said content data, the artist of said
content based on the content data and/or the title of said content
data, said preview request sent from said content obtaining
apparatus according to the display state of said selection items in
said three-dimensional images displayed on said display means.
107. The content providing program according to claim 105, wherein
said data sending step sends said preview data to said content
obtaining apparatus by TCP/IP (Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol) in response to said preview
request.
108. The content providing program according to claim 105, wherein
said data sending step sends by streaming said preview data to said
content obtaining apparatus in response to said preview request
which was sent from said content providing apparatus according to
the display state of said selection items in said three-dimensional
images displayed on said display means.
109. A content obtaining apparatus for obtaining said content data
provided from a content providing apparatus, comprising: input
means for entering various operational commands; image request
sending means for sending an image request to said content
providing apparatus according to image request commands entered via
said input means; image receiving means for receiving
three-dimensional images for allowing customer desired content data
desired by a customer to be selected out of a plurality of said
content data, said three-dimensional images sent from said content
providing apparatus in response to said image request; display
control means for displaying said three-dimensional images on a
prescribed display means and changing the display state of said
three-dimensional images according to display state changing
commands entered via said input means; preview request sending
means for sending a preview request according to the display state
of said three-dimensional images displayed on said display means,
to said content providing apparatus; data receiving means for
receiving preview data of content based on said content data
corresponding to said preview request, said preview data sent from
said content providing apparatus in response to the preview
request; and reproducing means for reproducing said preview
data.
110. The content obtaining apparatus according to claim 109,
wherein: said image receiving means receives said three-dimensional
images including a human image representing a person movable, the
three-dimensional images sent from said content providing apparatus
in response to said image request; said display control means
changes the position of said human image in said three-dimensional
images according to said display state changing commands entered
via said input means; and said preview request sending means sends
said preview request to said content providing apparatus according
to said position of said human image in said three-dimensional
images.
111. The content obtaining apparatus according to claim 110,
wherein said reproducing means reproduces by streaming said preview
data which was sent from said content providing apparatus in
response to said preview request.
112. The content obtaining apparatus according to claim 111,
wherein said reproducing means performs fade-in processing and/or
fade-out processing, and then streaming reproduction on said
preview data sent from said content providing apparatus in response
to said preview request.
113. The content obtaining apparatus according to claim 109,
wherein: said image receiving means receives said three-dimensional
images including selection items for content preview requests, said
three-dimensional images sent from said content providing apparatus
in response to said image request; said display control means
changes the display state of said selection items in said
three-dimensional images according to said display state changing
commands entered via said input means; and said preview request
sending means sends said preview request according to the display
state of said selection items in said three-dimensional images to
said content providing apparatus.
114. The content obtaining apparatus according to claim 113,
wherein said preview request sending means sends said preview
request indicating the genre of said content data, the artist of
said content based on the content data, and/or the title of said
content data, according to the display state of said
three-dimensional images to said content providing apparatus.
115. The content obtaining apparatus according to claim 113,
comprising recording means for recording said preview data received
by said data receiving means, on a storage medium, wherein said
reproducing means reproduces said preview data from said storage
medium.
116. The content obtaining apparatus according to claim 113,
wherein said reproducing means reproduces by streaming said preview
data which was sent from said content providing apparatus in
response to said preview request.
117. A content obtaining method for obtaining said content data
provided from a content providing apparatus, comprising: the image
request sending step of sending an image request to said content
providing apparatus according to an image request command entered
via an input means for inputting various operational commands; the
image receiving step of receiving three-dimensional images for
allowing customer desired content data desired by a customer to be
selected out of a plurality of said content data, said
three-dimensional images sent from said content providing apparatus
in response to said image request; the display control step of
displaying said three-dimensional images on a prescribed display
means and changing the display state of said three-dimensional
images according to, display state changing commands entered via
said input means; the preview request sending step of sending to
said content providing apparatus a preview request according to the
display state of said three-dimensional images displayed on said
display means; the data receiving step of receiving preview data of
content based on said content data corresponding to said preview
request, said preview data sent from said content providing
apparatus in response to said preview request; and the reproducing
step of reproducing said preview data.
118. The content obtaining method according to claim 117, wherein:
said image receiving step receives said three-dimensional images
including a human image representing a person movable, said
three-dimensional images sent from said content providing apparatus
in response to said image request; said display control means
changes the position of said human image in said three-dimensional
images according to said display state changing commands entered
via said input means; and said preview request sending means sends
said preview request according to the position of said human image
in said three-dimensional images to said content providing
apparatus.
119. The content obtaining method according to claim 118, wherein
said reproducing step reproduces by streaming said preview data
which was sent from said content providing apparatus in response to
said preview request.
120. The content obtaining method according to claim 119, wherein
said reproducing step performs fade-in processing and/or fade-out
processing, and then streaming reproduction on said preview data
which was sent from said content providing apparatus in response to
said preview request.
121. The content obtaining method according to claim 117, wherein:
said image receiving step receives said three-dimensional images
including selection items for content preview requests, said
three-dimensional images sent from said content providing apparatus
in response to said image request; said display control step
changes the display state of said selection items in said
three-dimensional images according to said display state changing
commands entered via said input means; and said preview request
sending step sends said preview request according to the display
state of said selection items in said three-dimensional images to
said content providing apparatus.
122. The content obtaining method according to claim 121, wherein
said preview request sending step sends said preview request
indicating the genre of said content data, the artist of said
content based on the content data, and/or the title of said content
data, according to the display state of said three-dimensional
images to said content providing apparatus.
123. The content obtaining method according to claim 121,
comprising: the recording step of recording said preview data
received by said data receiving means, on a storage medium, wherein
said reproducing step reproduces said preview data from said
storage medium.
124. The content obtaining method according to claim 121, wherein
said reproducing step reproduces by streaming said preview data
which was sent from said content providing apparatus in response to
said preview request.
125. A content obtaining program storage medium for making a
content obtaining apparatus execute a content obtaining program
comprising: the image request sending step of sending an image
request to said content providing apparatus according to an image
request command entered via an input means for entering various
operational commands; the image receiving step of receiving
three-dimensional images for allowing customer desired content data
desired by a customer to be selected out of a plurality of said
content data, said three-dimensional images sent from said content
providing apparatus in response to said image request; the display
control step of displaying said three-dimensional images on a
prescribed display means and changing the display state of said
three-dimensional images according to display state changing
commands entered via said input means; the preview request sending
step of sending to said content providing apparatus a preview
request according to the display state of said three-dimensional
images displayed on said display means; the data receiving step of
receiving preview data of content based on said content data
corresponding to said preview request, said preview data sent from
said content providing apparatus in response to said preview
request; and the reproducing step of reproducing said preview
data.
126. The content obtaining program storage medium according to
claim 125, wherein: said image receiving step receives said
three-dimensional images including a human image representing a
person movable, said three-dimensional images sent from said
content providing apparatus in response to said image request; said
display control means changes the position of said human image in
said three-dimensional images according to said display state
changing commands entered via said input means; and said preview
request sending means sends said preview request according to the
position of said human image in said three-dimensional images, to
said content providing apparatus.
127. The content obtaining program storage medium according to
claim 126, wherein said reproducing step reproduces by streaming
said preview data which was sent from said content providing
apparatus in response to said preview request.
128. The content obtaining program storage medium according to
claim 127, wherein said reproducing step performs fade-in
processing and/or fade-out processing, and then streaming
reproduction on said preview data which was sent from said content
providing apparatus in response to said preview request.
129. The content obtaining program storage medium according to
claim 125, wherein: said image receiving step receives said
three-dimensional images including selection items for content
preview requests, said three-dimensional images sent from said
content providing apparatus in response to said image request; said
display control step changes the display state of said selection
items in said three-dimensional images according to said display
state changing commands entered via said input means; and said
preview request sending step sends said preview request according
to the display state of said selection items in said
three-dimensional images, to said content providing apparatus.
130. The content obtaining program storage medium according to
claim 129, wherein said preview request sending step sends said
preview request indicating the genre of said content data, the
artist of said content based on the content data, and/or the title
of said content data, according to the display state of said
three-dimensional images to said content providing apparatus.
131. The content obtaining program storage medium according to
claim 129, comprising the recording step of recording said preview
data received by said data receiving step, on a storage medium,
wherein said reproducing step reproduces said preview data from
said storage medium.
132. The content obtaining program storage medium according to
claim 129, wherein said reproducing means reproduces by streaming
said preview data which was sent from said content providing
apparatus in response to said preview request.
133. A content obtaining program for making a content obtaining
apparatus execute: the image request sending step of sending an
image request to said content providing apparatus according to an
image request command entered via an input means for entering
various operational commands; the image receiving step of receiving
three-dimensional images for allowing customer desired content data
desired by a customer to be selected out of a plurality of said
content data, said three-dimensional images sent from said content
providing apparatus in response to said image request; the display
control step of displaying said three-dimensional images on a
prescribed display means and changing the display state of said
three-dimensional images according to display state changing
commands entered via said input means; the preview request sending
step of sending to said content providing apparatus a preview
request according to the display state of said three-dimensional
images displayed on said display means; the data receiving step of
receiving preview data of content based on said content data
corresponding to said preview request, said preview data sent from
said content providing apparatus in response to said preview
request; and the reproducing step of reproducing said preview
data.
134. The content obtaining program according to claim 133, wherein:
said image receiving step receives said three-dimensional images
including a human image representing a person movable, said
three-dimensional images sent from said content providing apparatus
in response to said image request; said display control means
changes the position of said human image in said three-dimensional
images according to said display state changing commands entered
via said input means; and said preview request sending means sends
said preview request according to the position of said human image
in said three-dimensional images to said content providing
apparatus.
135. The content obtaining program according to claim 134, wherein
said reproducing step reproduces by streaming said preview data
which was sent from said content providing apparatus in response to
said preview request.
136. The content obtaining program according to claim 135, wherein
said reproducing step performs fade-in processing and/or fade-out
processing, and then streaming reproduction on said preview data
which was sent from said content providing apparatus in response to
said preview request.
137. The content obtaining program according to claim 133, wherein:
said image receiving step receives said three-dimensional images
including selection items for content preview requests, said
three-dimensional images sent from said content providing apparatus
in response to said image request; said display control step
changes the display state of said selection items in said
three-dimensional images according to said display state changing
commands entered via said input means; and said preview request
sending step sends said preview request according to the display
state of said selection items in said three-dimensional images to
said content providing apparatus.
138. The content obtaining program according to claim 137, wherein
said preview request sending step sends said preview request
indicating the genre of said content data, the artist of said
content based on the content data, and/or the title of said content
data, according to the display state of said three-dimensional
images to said content providing apparatus.
139. The content obtaining program according to claim 137,
comprising the recording step of recording said preview data
received by said data receiving step, on a storage medium, wherein
said reproducing step reproduces said preview data from said
storage medium.
140. The content obtaining program according to claim 137, wherein
said reproducing step reproduces by streaming said preview data
which was sent from said content providing apparatus in response to
said preview request.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to a content
providing/obtaining system, and is suitably applied, for example,
to a data providing system for providing various content data such
as music and movie, and data on various kinds of distribution
information such as advertisement (hereinafter, these are referred
to as distribution data) to customers by using the Internet.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] In recent years, the Internet being a computer communication
network that had been used by many institutes etc., for research
and study in the world scale, has been quickly popularized also
among companies and customers as a tool for computer
communications, by using it in business such as selling products,
the distribution of content data, the advertisement of companies
and products.
[0003] By using the Internet for business, a customer can buy
desired products and can obtain desired content data with a
personal computer, for instance, while staying at home. And the
customer also can obtain various kinds of distribution data such as
the advertisement of a company and products with the personal
computer.
[0004] By the way, to obtain content as data, it is necessary to
use the distribution of content data carried out via the Internet
by using a device having a function of recording and reproducing
content data and capable of connecting to the Internet and
obtaining content (hereinafter, referred to as content obtaining
apparatus).
[0005] Therefore, it is considered that if a data providing system
capable of providing content data for customers who do not have a
content obtaining apparatus, the usability of the data providing
system could be significantly improved, as compared with existing
systems which provide content data using the Internet. Such system,
however, has not been realized, which is a problem.
[0006] In addition, a data providing server which provides content
data using the Internet,shows customers a title list of content
data so that they select desired content data from the shown title
list.
[0007] However, from only such a title list of content data
provided by the data providing server, customers who uses the
Internet do not know the contents of the content data unless the
customer actually obtains and reproduces the content data, which
means that they realize that content data does not match with their
taste after obtaining content data. Therefore, content data is not
selected lightheartedly, which is a problem.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The present invention has been made in view of the above
points and intends to propose a content providing/obtaining system
which offers significantly improved usability.
[0009] To solve such,problem, in a content providing/obtaining
system of this invention composed of a content providing apparatus
which provides content data and a content obtaining apparatus which
obtains the content data provided by the content, providing
apparatus, the content providing apparatus is provided with a
content data storage means for storing a plurality of content data;
a customer reservation information receiving means for receiving
customer identification information on a customer accessing the
content providing apparatus via a prescribed terminal device and
content identification information on customer desired content data
desired by the customer, as customer reservation information; a
search means for searching the content data storage means for the
customer desired content data corresponding to the content
identification information; and a sending means for sending the
customer desired content data found by the search means, to the
content obtaining apparatus. And the content obtaining apparatus is
provided with an interface means capable of accessing the content
providing apparatus only; a content data recording means for
recording customer desired content data received via the interface
means from the content providing apparatus on a storage medium; and
a reproducing/outputting means for reproducing and outputting the
customer desired content data from the storage medium.
[0010] Therefore, according to this invention, the content
providing apparatus previously receives customer identification
information and content identification information as customer
reservation information via a terminal device, and transmits the
customer desired content data corresponding to the content
identification information to the content obtaining apparatus, so
as to provide customer desired content data in addition to the
content obtaining apparatus which can access the content providing
apparatus only, to a customer more easily, which can significantly
improve the usability of the content providing/obtaining
system.
[0011] Further, this invention has been made in view of above
points, and intends to propose a content providing/obtaining system
which can make the selection of content data easier.
[0012] In order to solve the above problem, in the content
providing/obtaining system of this invention composed of a content
providing apparatus which provides content data and a content
obtaining apparatus which obtains content data provided by the
content providing apparatus, the content providing apparatus sends
the content obtaining apparatus three-dimensional images in
response to an image request sent from the content obtaining
apparatus to make the images displayed, in order that a customer
can select customer desired content data out of a plurality of
content data, and then when receiving a preview request sent from
the content obtaining apparatus according to the display state of
the three-dimensional images, sends the preview data of the content
based on the content data corresponding to the received preview
request, to the content obtaining apparatus to make the
preview-data displayed.
[0013] Therefore, according to this invention, the customer can
confirm the contents of content by viewing and previewing the
content based on the content data to judge whether the content
matches his/her own taste, thus making it possible to select
content data lightheartedly.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] FIG. 1 is a conceptual view showing a usage pattern of the
Internet in a data providing system.
[0015] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a usage pattern of a
portable dedicated terminal rented to a customer.
[0016] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a usage pattern of a
portable dedicated terminal sold to a customer.
[0017] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of the
construction of the data providing system according to this
invention.
[0018] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the construction of a data
providing system according to a second embodiment.
[0019] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a data format of
header data to be added to content data.
[0020] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a rental reservation
processing procedure in the data providing system.
[0021] FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a
data providing system according to a third embodiment.
[0022] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a data format of
content transmission request data for obtaining content data from a
content server.
[0023] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a rental reservation
processing procedure in the data providing system.
[0024] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the construction of the
data providing system according to a fourth embodiment.
[0025] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing the construction of
advertiser/company registration information.
[0026] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing the construction of
customer registration information.
[0027] FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing the contract
conditions between a customer and an advertiser/company.
[0028] FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing the format of
customer registration information updated by the use of the
Internet by a customer.
[0029] FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing the construction of a
matching part.
[0030] FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram showing the format of
advertiser/company introduction information.
[0031] FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram showing the format of
customer introduction information.
[0032] FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram showing the format of
advertiser/company information updated by the conclusion of a
contract.
[0033] FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram showing the format of
customer registration information updated by the conclusion of a
contract.
[0034] FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing an advertiser/company
registration processing procedure in the data providing system.
[0035] FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing an advertiser/company
introduction processing procedure in the data providing system.
[0036] FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing an advertiser/company
introduction processing procedure in the data providing system.
[0037] FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing a contract processing
procedure in the data providing system.
[0038] FIG. 25 is a block diagram showing the construction of a
data providing system according to a fifth embodiment.
[0039] FIG. 26 is a block diagram showing the construction of a
matching part.
[0040] FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing an advertiser/company
introduction processing procedure in the data providing system.
[0041] FIG. 28 is a block diagram showing the construction of a
data providing system according to a sixth embodiment.
[0042] FIG. 29 is a schematic diagram showing the construction of
content selection screens using three-dimensional virtual reality
space images representing the shop of an agency.
[0043] FIG. 30 is a schematic diagram for explaining the access to
commercial data in a content selection screen.
[0044] FIG. 31 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of
content selection screens customized in response to customer's
requests.
[0045] FIG. 32 is a flowchart showing a content providing
processing procedure using content selection screen data in the
data providing system.
[0046] FIG. 33 is a flowchart showing the subroutine of the content
providing processing procedure in the data providing system.
[0047] FIG. 34 is a flowchart showing a customizing processing
procedure in the data providing system.
[0048] FIG. 35 is a flowchart showing a content providing
processing procedure using customized screen data in the data
providing system.
[0049] FIG. 36 is a conceptual view for explaining the customizing
of a content selection screen according to another embodiment to
the sixth embodiment.
[0050] FIG. 37 is a schematic diagram for explaining a method of
providing content data from a content server to a data providing
server.
[0051] FIG. 38 is a block diagram showing the construction of a
data providing system according to a seventh embodiment.
[0052] FIG. 39 is a schematic diagram for explaining the rental of
content data.
[0053] FIG. 40 is a schematic diagram for explaining the request of
an equivalent exchange.
[0054] FIG. 41 is a conceptual view for explaining an equivalent
exchange of the content data of a single tune for packaged media of
a single CD.
[0055] FIG. 42 is a conceptual view for explaining the delivery of
packaged media for an equivalent exchange.
[0056] FIG. 43 is a flowchart showing an equivalent exchange
processing procedure in the data providing system.
[0057] FIG. 44 is a flowchart showing the equivalent exchange
processing procedure in the data providing system.
[0058] FIG. 45 is a block diagram showing the construction of a
data providing system according to an eighth embodiment.
[0059] FIG. 46 is a schematic diagram for explaining the request
for an equivalent exchange.
[0060] FIG. 47 is a schematic diagram showing the formats of data
tables in a packaged media database.
[0061] FIG. 48 is a conceptual view for explaining an equivalent
exchange of a plurality of content data for packaged media of an
album CD.
[0062] FIG. 49 is a flowchart showing an equivalent exchange
processing procedure in the data providing system.
[0063] FIG. 50 is a flowchart showing the equivalent exchange
processing procedure in the data providing system.
[0064] FIG. 51 is a schematic diagram showing the construction of a
data providing system according to a ninth embodiment.
[0065] FIG. 52 is a block diagram showing the circuit construction
of a system management server.
[0066] FIG. 53 is a block diagram showing the circuit construction
of a request terminal.
[0067] FIG. 54 is a block diagram showing the circuit construction
of a data providing server.
[0068] FIG. 55 is a block diagram showing the circuit construction
of a package providing server.
[0069] FIG. 56 is a block diagram showing the circuit construction
of an advertiser/company server.
[0070] FIG. 57 is a schematic external view showing the
construction of a portable dedicated terminal.
[0071] FIG. 58 is a block diagram showing the circuit construction
of the portable dedicated terminal.
[0072] FIG. 59 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of
a data providing system according to a tenth embodiment.
[0073] FIG. 60 is a schematic external view showing the
construction of a portable dedicated terminal.
[0074] FIG. 61 is a schematic external view showing the
construction of the back of the terminal.
[0075] FIG. 62 is a block diagram showing the circuit construction
of the portable dedicated terminal.
[0076] FIG. 63 is a schematic diagram showing the construction of a
data providing system according to an eleventh embodiment.
[0077] FIG. 64 is a schematic diagram showing the construction of
content selection screens using three-dimensional virtual reality
space image.
[0078] FIG. 65 is a schematic diagram for explaining the
reproduction of commercial data for each genre on a content
selection screen.
[0079] FIG. 66 is a schematic diagram for explaining the
reproduction of commercial data for each artist on a content
selection screen.
[0080] FIG. 67 is a flowchart showing a content providing
processing procedure using content selection screen data in a data
providing system.
[0081] FIG. 68 is a flowchart showing the subroutine of the content
providing processing procedure in the data providing system.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[0082] An embodiment of the present invention will be described in
detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
(1) Usage Pattern of the Internet in Data Providing System
[0083] As shown in FIG. 1, in a data providing system 1, a system
management site 2 which generally control the data providing system
can communicate via the Internet (not shown) with a customer 3,
plural kinds of shops 4A to 4N such as retail stores, rental shops
where the customer 3 goes (hereinafter, this is referred to as
agencies), a sales company 5 that sells products, which will be
described later, to these agencies 4A to 4N, and a site for
providing distribution data 6 opened by an advertiser or a company
(hereinafter, this is referred to as advertiser/company site).
[0084] In this case, as shown in FIG. 2 together with FIG. 1, the
agencies 4A to 4N are rental shops that sell and rent content
(composed of audio data, video data, text data, etc.) such as
music, movie, game software, novel, photograph, comic, as
commercial packaged media such as CDs (Compact Discs), DVDs
(Digital Versatile Discs) and CD-ROM (Compact Disc-Read Only
Memories), books (hard-cover novels, photo books, image books,
comic books), or shops that deal in content, like preparatory
schools for selling and renting the content (composed of text data,
etc.) of reference books, question books, literatures for entrance
examination, etc., as commercial packaged media of books.
[0085] If an agency 4A-4N desires to use the Internet in a state
where it will start new business or has already started business
and are in business, it notifies the system management site 2 of
the desire with a personal computer or the like.
[0086] If the use of the Internet is requested from the agency
4A-4N, the system management site 2 obtains agency information such
as name, kind of content dealing in, bank account number from the
agency 4A-4N, and registers the agency.
[0087] Then, the system management site 2 provides the agency 4A-4N
with plenty of content data, from among various kinds of content
data of music, movie, game software, novel, photograph, comic,
reference book, question book, literature, etc. that have been
previously stored in a content database (not shown), for each of
kinds specified by the agency 4A-4N, so that the agency 4A-4N can
generate its own content database of these content data.
[0088] In addition, the sales company 5 sells portable dedicated
terminals 7A to 7N only for recording and reproducing content data,
to the agencies 4A to 4N according to the instructions from the
system management site 2, and also sells commercial packaged media
such as CDs, DVDs, CD-ROMs, books, to be dealt in at the agencies
4A to 4N.
[0089] On the other hand, the customer 3 who wants to use the
Internet accesses the above system management site 2, for instance,
by operating a request terminal (not shown) dedicated to the system
management site installed in a stand such as KIOSK, and makes a
notification of the desire of using the Internet.
[0090] If the use of the Internet is wanted by the customer 3, the
system management site 2 obtains personal information (hereinafter,
this is referred to as customer information) such as his/her name,
sex, age, bank account number from the customer 3, and the register
the customer, and then generates a customer database 8 of the above
customer information as customer registration data.
[0091] The agencies 4A to 4N offer two systems, a sales system and
rental system, for plural kinds of content data to the customer 3.
When content specifying information that specifies desired content
data and system specifying data representing one of the systems in
obtaining the above content data are given from the customer 3 by
using a request terminal via the system management site 2, the
agency 4A-4N accepts the reservation for purchase or rental of the
content data in response to this.
[0092] When accepting the reservation from the customer 3 in this
manner, the agency 4A-4N executes electronic accounting for the
purchase (sale price) and the rental (rental term) of the content
data with the customer registration information on the customer 3
(the account number of the customer 3) read from the customer
database 8 in the system management site 2. Then, the agency 4A-4N
reads the desired content data according to the request from the
content database, and records this in a predetermined storage
medium provided in the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N.
[0093] Now, the agencies 4A to 4N allow the customer 3 to use also
the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N by one of sales and
rental systems. When content data is requested, the agency 4A-4N
simultaneously executes electronic accounting for the purchase
(sale price) and the rental (rental term) of the portable dedicated
terminal 7A-7N with the customer registration information.
[0094] Therefore, for instance, when the customer 3 wants to use
the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N by rental, the agency 4A-4N
rents the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N storing the content
data in response to the request by the customer 3, by directly
giving it to the customer at its shop or by delivering it by a
delivery company 9 depending on the delivery system requested by
the customer 3.
[0095] Thereby, the customer 3 who previously reserved the purchase
or rental of content data and a portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N
by the request terminal can enjoy the content data by reproducing
it with the above portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N as soon as
he/she gets the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N.
[0096] Such portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N can access only the
agency 4A-4N that has stored the content data, via the system
management site 2 by a communication function installed therein,
and can execute processing for the purchase and rental of content
data (including accounting).
[0097] Therefore, when the customer 3 newly requests the purchase
or rental of content data with the portable dedicated terminal
7A-7N in rental, the agency 4A-4N can transmit the requested
content data to the portable dedicated terminal 7A to 7N in rental
via the system management site 2, and thereby the content data can
be recorded therein. Thus, content data can be easily distributed
via the Internet also to the customer 3 who does not have a device
connectable to the Internet (hereinafter, this is referred to as
Internet connectable device) such as a personal computer, similarly
to the customer 3 who has such an Internet connectable device.
[0098] By the way, the system management site 2 relays the request
for the purchase and rental of content data sent from the portable
dedicated terminals 7A to 7N and the request terminal to the
agencies 4A to 4N, so that it updates the customer registration
information by adding the contents of that request to the customer
registration information in the customer database 8 as additional
customer information. Thus, the system management site 2 can know
about customer 3's taste (for example, the genre of content data
that the customer 3 obtained), the state of using the Internet, and
the like, from the customer registration information.
[0099] Furthermore, the system management site 2 obtains
advertiser/company information composed of advertiser name
information and company name information, business content
information that represents the genre of the above provided
distribution data and so on, from advertisers and companies that
provide various kinds of distribution data at an advertiser/company
site 6, and generates an advertiser/company database 10 of this as
advertiser/company registration information.
[0100] If the customer 3 sends release permission information
representing that he/she permits to open his/her customer
information to the advertisers and companies, with the portable
dedicated terminal 7A-7N in rental as customer's permission data,
the system management site 2 searches the advertiser/company
database 10 based on the customer registration information on the
customer 3 who transmitted the customer's permission data, to
select advertisers and companies that provide distribution data
meeting the customer 3's taste, and then introduces the selected
advertisers and companies to the customer 3 via the portable
dedicated terminal 7A-7N.
[0101] As a result, when the customer 3 selects an
advertiser/company that he/she wants to contract with from among
the advertisers/companies introduced to him/her, the system
management site 2 provides the selected advertiser/company with a
part of his/her customer registration information as investment
information to introduce the customer 3 to the
advertiser/company.
[0102] Thereby, the system management site 2 can allow the customer
3 using the Internet and the advertiser/company selected by the
above customer 3 to mutually negotiate and close a contract. When
the contract has been concluded, various distribution data such as
the advertisement of products desired by the above customer 3 will
be sent from the advertiser/company site 6 to the portable
dedicated terminal 7A to 7N that the customer 3 rents, via the
system management site 2.
[0103] In this manner, in the data providing system 1, only the
advertisers/companies providing customer desired distribution data
can be introduced to the customer 3, and the customer 3 can easily
select desired one. At the same time, even if the customer 3 does
not own an Internet connectable device, he/she can be efficiently
provided with only desired distribution data via the portable
dedicated terminal 7A to 7N in rental.
[0104] In this connection, if the customer's permission data is
sent from the customer 3, the system management site 2 introduces
the customer 3 who is beneficial for the advertiser/company to the
advertiser/company. Therefore, it is designated that when the
system management site 2 transmits the investment information to
the advertiser/company, it receives a consideration for that from
the above advertiser/company.
[0105] In addition, when the system management site 2 introduces
advertisers/companies to the customer 3, it generates a customer
introduction database 11 of the investment information on the above
customer 3, regardless of the presence or absence of an
advertiser/company that the customer 3 wants to contract with, so
as to use the above customer introduction database 11 at the time
of selecting advertisers/companies to be introduced to the customer
3 after that.
[0106] When the customer 3 accessed an agency 4A-4N to request
content data with the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N via the
system management site 2, the agency 4A-4N sends a content
selection screen used to select the above content data, to the
portable dedicated terminal 7A to 7N so that the customer 3 can
select desired content data on that content selection screen.
[0107] The agency 4A-4N customizes the content selection screen to
be displayed on the display part of the portable dedicated terminal
7A-7N, according to requests from the customer 3. Thus, when the
content data is requested, a content selection screen which meets
the customer 3's request can be displayed on the display part of
the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N.
[0108] In this connection, if the customer 3 specifies his/her
favorite color on a case while renting the portable dedicated
terminals 7A to 7N, the agency 4A-4N exchanges the portable
dedicated terminal 7A-7N in rental to another portable dedicated
terminal 7A-7N in his/her favorite color. Therefore, in addition to
customizing software, also the hardware of a case can be
customized.
[0109] When the customer 3 requested the agency 4A-4N to customize
the case of the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N in rental (that
is, to change the color of the case), the agency 4A-4N transfers
all data in the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N that the customer
3 is renting (that is, the content data, the desired distribution
data given from the advertiser, etc.) to another portable dedicated
terminal 7A-7N in customer 3's specified color, and changes
them.
[0110] By the way, when the customer 3 rents content data with a
portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N, the agency 4A-4N lets the
customer 3 arbitrary select the rental term of the above portable
dedicated terminal 7A-7N and the rental term of the content data
when the rental starts, and these rental terms once selected can be
freely extended according to a request by the customer 3.
[0111] The agency 4A-4N monitors the end of the rental term of the
content data being rented to the customer 3. If the rental term of
the content data expires before the expiration of the rental term
of the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N, the agency 4A-4N gives
this information to the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N being
rented to the customer 3.
[0112] If terminating the rental of the content data according to
the period is replied from the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N
being rented to the customer 3 via the system management site 2,
the agency 4A-4N prompts the customer 3 to bring the portable
dedicated terminal 7A-7N to the above agency 4A-4N when the
customer 3 takes that portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N, the
content data is deleted from the internal storage medium, which
means the return of the content data.
[0113] On the other hand, if extending the rental term of the
content data is replied from the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N
being rented to the customer 3 via the system management site 2,
then the agency 4A-4N monitors the end of that extended rental term
of the above content data.
[0114] If the rental term of the content data has expired and the
customer 3 does not bring the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N,
for instance, the agency 4A-4N sends a delete command to delete the
content data of which the rental term has expired, to the portable,
dedicated terminals 7A to 7N for return. Thus, in the exportable
dedicated terminal 7A-7N, the specified content data is deleted
from the internal storage medium to prevent its illegal use.
[0115] When the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N in rental is
returned from the customer 3, the agency 4A-4N deletes the content
data from the storage medium of the above portable dedicated
terminal 7A-7N to rent the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N
again.
[0116] If the customer 3 requests the exchange of the content (that
is, content data of a single tune) which the customer 3 owns by
purchase or rental with the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N for
packaged media storing the same content data (that is, single CD),
the agency 4A-4N transmits equivalent exchange information composed
of a price of the time when the customer 3 obtained the content
data (that is, purchase price or rental price), the sale price of
the packaged media, and the difference between both these prices,
to the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N via the system management
site 2.
[0117] Then when the customer 3 notifies the agency 4A-4N of the
approval of exchanging them with the portable dedicated terminal
7A-7N via the system management site 2, the agency 4A-4N performs
electronic accounting only for the difference between the price to
obtain the content data being owned by the customer 3 and the sale
price of the packaged media, read from the customer database 8 of
the system management site 2 because the purchase price or the
rental price for the content data owned by the customer 3, which is
the same as the content data stored in the packaged media, has been
already paid. Then, the agency 4A-4N gives the packaged media to
the customer 3 by hand at the shop or by deliver by the delivery
company 9 from the sales company 5.
[0118] In this manner, the agency 4A-4N almost equalizes the
content data owned by the customer 3 with the packaged media in
exchange value, and thereby exchanges the content data for the
above packaged media (hereinafter, this exchange is referred to as
equivalent exchange). Thereby, it is prevented that the content
data bought or rented with the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N is
wasted when that portable dedicated terminal 7A to 7N is returned,
and packaged media can be provided by minimum investment without
making the customer 3 wastefully invest in both of content data and
packaged media.
[0119] In this connection, the system management site 2 collects
charges for the use of the Internet from the customer 3 every time
when the customer 3 uses the Internet (that is, every time when
he/she buys or rents content data or the portable dedicated
terminals 7A to 7N). However, the system management site 2 gives
points for a privilege such as a discount to the customer 3
according to the usage state of the Internet and stores them in the
customer database 8.
[0120] Therefore, the agency 4A-4N allows the customer 3 to use the
points that he/she has obtained, as a part of or all of the payment
in the electronic accounting when the customer 3 buys and rents
content data and the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N, when the
customer 3 exchanges content data for packaged media, etc.
[0121] Furthermore, the agency 4A-4N can accept payment by cash and
a prepaid card at the shop, instead of the electronic accounting at
the time when the customer 3 buys or rents the portable dedicated
terminal 7A-7N, when the customer 3 exchanges content data for
packaged media or the like.
[0122] The agency 4A-4N executes the electronic accounting for the
purchase of the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N in response to
the purchase request of the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N given
from the customer 3 with the request terminal or the portable
dedicated terminal 7A to 7N in rental via the system management
site 2, and then the agency 4A-4N directly hands that portable
dedicated terminal 7A to 7N to the customer 3 or delivers it to the
customer 3 from the sales company 5 by the delivery company 9.
[0123] In this connection, when the customer 3 requests the
purchase of the portable dedicated terminal 7A to 7N, the agency
4A-4N sells the portable dedicated terminal 7A to 7N having a case
in a color specified by the customer 3.
[0124] As shown in FIG. 3, the customer 3 who bought the portable
dedicated terminal 7A-7N can buy or rent desired content data only
from the agency 4A-4N that sold the portable dedicated terminal 7A
to 7N, with the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N via the Internet,
and can obtain desired distribution data by contracting with an
advertiser and a company similarly to the case described above with
reference to FIG. 2.
[0125] Furthermore, the customer 3 who bought the portable
dedicated terminal 7A to 7N can customize a content selection
screen that will be sent from the agency 4A-4N when the customer 3
requests the purchase or rental of content data with the above
portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N, and also can exchange content
data owned by the customer 3 by purchase or rental, for packaged
media storing the same content data, with almost equalizing the
content data owned by the customer 3 with the packaged media in
exchange value.
[0126] In the above data providing system 1, the customer 3 can use
the Internet also by using an Internet connectable device such as a
personal computer instead of the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N,
similarly to the case described above with reference to FIGS. 2 and
3.
[0127] As described above, in the data providing system 1, both of
a business system using the Internet and such an existing business
system that products are practically sold and rented at retail
stores or the like are compatibly used. Therefore, a new business
model can be realized, in which the customer 3 who does not have an
Internet connectable device and the agencies 4A to 4N having the
feeling of crisis in the popularization of the Internet can freely
and easily use the Internet for business.
(2) FIRST EMBODIMENT
[0128] Referring to FIG. 4, reference numeral 50 generally shows a
data providing system according to a first embodiment, in which a
request terminal 52 corresponding to the customer 3 described above
with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 (that is, the request terminal used
by the customer 3) and a portable dedicated terminal 53 only for an
agency 4A-4N corresponding to the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N
described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 are connected via
the Internet to a data providing server 51 corresponding to the
system management site 2, agencies 4A to 44N, and sales company 5
described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.
[0129] The data providing server 51 has a customer database 55 for
storing customer registration information and customer registration
screen data, a content database 56 for storing a lot of content
data, content selection screen data and so on, a packaged media
database 57 for storing a data table by listing the sale price and
rental price of content data, and the sale prices, the titles,
etc., of packaged media that the content data can be exchanged for,
and an advertiser/company database 58 for storing
advertiser/company registration information obtained from
advertisers and companies which open advertiser/company sites.
[0130] When registration request data that requests the customer
registration is sent from the request terminal 52, the data
providing server 51 receives this by a receiving part 59, reads the
customer registration screen data from the customer database 55
based on that registration request data by an updating part 60, and
sends the read customer registration screen data from a sending
part 61 to the request terminal 52.
[0131] When customer information entered on the customer
registration screen based on the customer registration screen data
is sent from the request terminal 52 as customer information data,
the data providing server 51 receives this by the receiving part
59, and stores the customer information based on that customer
information data as customer registration information by the
updating part 60 to register the customer. Thus, the above customer
can use the Internet.
[0132] When transmission request data that requests content data is
sent from the request terminal 52 according to operations by the
registered customer, the data providing server 51 receives this by
the receiving part 59, reads the content selection screen data from
the content database 56 based on that transmission request data by
a content search part 62, and transmits the read content selection
screen data from the sending part 61 to the request terminal
52.
[0133] As a result, When desired content data is selectively
specified on the content selection screen based on the content
selection screen data, one of the systems, purchase or rental, for
each of the content data and a portable dedicated terminal 53 is
selectively specified, and thereby reservation data that represents
these specified information (hereinafter, this is referred to as
customer reservation information) is transmitted from the request
terminal 52, the data providing server 51 receives this by the
receiving part 59.
[0134] At this time, the data providing server 51 reads the
specified content data from the content database 56 based on the
reservation data by the content search part 62, and transmits the
read content data from the sending part 61 to the portable
dedicated terminal 53 that is not yet delivered to the customer, to
record it therein.
[0135] In this manner, the data providing server 51 can prepare the
portable dedicated terminal 53 storing the content data according
to customer request, for purchase or rental. Thus, the portable
dedicated terminal 53 can be sold and rented to the customer by
hand or by delivery.
[0136] Then, if transmission request data that requests content
data is sent from the portable dedicated terminal 53 sold or rented
to the customer, the data providing server 51 receives this by the
receiving part 59, reads content selection screen data from the
content database 56 based on the transmission request data by the
content search part 62, and transmits the read content selection
screen data from the sending part 61 to the portable dedicated
terminal 53 of the customer.
[0137] As a result, when desired content data is specified on the
content selection screen based on the content selection screen data
and information on how the content data is to be obtained by
purchase or rental is specified, and thereby content specifying
data representing these specified information (hereinafter, this is
referred to as specifying information) is transmitted from the
portable dedicated terminal 53 sold or rented to the customer, the
data providing server 51 receives this by the receiving part
59.
[0138] At this time, the data providing server 51 reads the
specified content data from the content database 56 based on that
content specifying data by the content search part 62, and
transmits the read content data from the sending part 61 to
customer's portable dedicated terminal 53 to record it therein.
[0139] In this manner, the data providing server 51 lets the
customer use content distribution via the Internet lightheartedly
and freely obtain desired content data with the portable dedicated
terminal 53.
[0140] By the way, the data providing server 51 issues customer
identification information unique to each customer (hereinafter,
this is referred to as customer ID) at the time of the customer
registration, adds this to customer information, and then stores
the customer information and customer ID in the customer database
55 as customer registration information to manage the stored
customer registration information with the customer ID.
[0141] The data providing server 51 transmits the customer ID
issued to the customer at the time of customer registration, from
the sending part 61 to the request terminal 52 to notify the
customer of this. After that, the data providing server makes the
customer use the customer ID for the time when the customer makes
various requests to various agencies with the request terminal 52
or the portable dedicated terminal 53, so as to identify the
customer who made a request of these various agencies by the
customer ID.
[0142] When the data providing server 51 receives various data
(e.g. content specifying data) from the request terminal 52 or the
portable dedicated terminal 53 sold or rented to the customer by
the receiving part 59, the data providing server 51 sends the
contents of that data (information such as the title and the rental
term of the content data that the customer will buy or rent) to the
customer database 55 as additional customer information by the
updating part 60 to add that additional customer information to the
customer registration information on the customer who requested the
content data, and to thereby update the customer registration
information.
[0143] Thereby, the data providing server 51 can know customer's
taste and so on based on the customer registration information in
the customer database 55.
[0144] Then, if customer's permission data meaning that the
customer permits the data providing server 51 to open the customer
information to the advertisers/companies is transmitted from the
portable dedicated terminal 53 sold or rented to the customer, the
data providing server 51 receives this by the receiving part 59,
reads the customer registration information on the customer who
permitted the open of the customer information, from the customer
database 55 based on that customer's permission data by a matching
part 63, and searches advertiser/company registration information
in the advertiser/company database 58 based on the read customer
registration information.
[0145] As a result of the retrieval of advertiser/company
registration information by the matching part 63, if
advertisers/companies that provide distribution data meeting
customer's taste are selected, the data providing server 51
generates advertiser/company introduction data based on
advertiser/company registration information on the selected
advertisers/companies, and sends this from the sending part 61 to
customer's portable dedicated terminal 53, in order to introduce
the advertisers/companies providing distribution data meeting
customer's taste, to him/her.
[0146] In this manner, the data providing server 51 allows the
customer to easily select an advertiser/company that will provide
him/her with desired distribution data, from among many
advertisers/companies, and also it enables the
advertisers/companies to efficiently and exactly provide the
customer with distribution data as he/she requested.
[0147] If customizing request data to customize a portable
dedicated terminal 53 which the customer bought or rented is
transmitted, the data providing server 51 receives this by the
receiving part 59, reads customizing registration screen data
previously stored in the content database 56, based on the received
customizing request data by the content search part 62, and sends
this from the sending part 61 to the customer's portable dedicated
terminal 53.
[0148] As a result, if screen customizing information for the
content selection screen that was entered on the customizing
registration screen based on the customizing registration screen
data is sent from the portable dedicated terminal 53 sold or rented
to the customer, the data providing server 51 receives this by the
receiving part 59, and gives the screen customizing information to
the customer database 55 to add this to the customer registration
information on the above customer and to thereby update that
customer registration information by the updating part 60.
[0149] Thereafter, if transmission request data is sent from the
portable dedicated terminal 53 by the customer who requested the
customizing of the content selection screen, the data providing
server 51 receives this by the receiving part 59, reads the screen
customizing information added to his/her customer registration
information, from the customer database 55 by the updating part 60,
and supplies this to the content search part 62.
[0150] The data providing server 51 reads the content selection
screen data from the content database 56 by the content search part
62, converts this based on the screen customizing information, and
sends thus obtained customized screen data from the sending part 61
to customer's portable dedicated terminal 53.
[0151] In this manner, the data providing server 51 customizes the
content selection screen based on the customized screen every time
when transmission request data is sent from the portable dedicated
terminal 53 by the customer who requested the data providing server
51 to customize the content selection screen. Thus, the customer
can select content data on the customized screen.
[0152] In this connection, in the portable dedicated terminal 53
rented to the customer, also information to customize the color of
the case of the portable dedicated terminal 53 can be selected on
the customizing registration screen. If case customizing
information to specify the color of the case is sent from that
portable dedicated terminal 53, the data providing server 51
receives this by the receiving part 59, and supplies this to the
customer database 55, and adds this to the customer registration
information on the above customer and thereby update the customer
registration information by the updating part 60.
[0153] Thus, thereafter, when the data providing server 51 rents or
sells the portable dedicated terminal 53 to the customer, it hands
the portable dedicated terminal 53 in a color specified by the case
customizing information.
[0154] Furthermore, if equivalent exchange request data to request
to equivalently exchange the content data (e.g. single tune) bought
or being rented for packaged media (e.g. single CD) is sent from
the portable dedicated terminal 53 sold or rented to the customer,
the data providing server 51 receives this by the receiving part
59.
[0155] The data providing server 51 reads the customer registration
information on the customer requesting the equivalent exchange,
from the customer database 55 based on that equivalent exchange
request data and detects the usage pattern of the content data
requested to be equivalently exchanged (that is, purchase or
rental) by the updating part 60. Then, the data providing server 51
searches a data table in the packaged media database 57 based on
that equivalent exchange request data and the result detected by
the updating part 60, by a package search part 64. Thereby, the
price of the content data that the customer owns, and the sale
price and the title of the packaged media storing the above content
data are detected for the equivalent exchange.
[0156] Then, the data providing server 51 calculates a balance
between thus detected price of the content data that the customer
owns and sale price of the packaged media by the package search
part 64, and transmits the above calculated balance from the
sending part 61 to customer's portable dedicated terminal 53 as
search result information, with these price of the content data and
sale price and title of the packaged media.
[0157] The purchase price or the rental price of the content data
stored in the packaged media has been already paid by the customer
in the form of purchase or rental with the portable dedicated
terminal 53. Thus, if exchange acceptance data to accept the
equivalent exchange is sent from the portable dedicated terminal 53
sold or rented to the customer, the data providing server 51
electronically perform accounting only for the balance between the
price of the content data that the customer owns and the sale price
of the packaged media. And then, the customer gets the packaged
media directly or by delivery.
[0158] In this manner, in the data providing server 51, content
data that the customer owns and the packaged media to be exchanged
are almost equalized in exchange value, and then they are
equivalently exchanged. Therefore, the data providing server 51 can
provide the customer with the packaged media by exchanging the
content data that the customer bought or rented with the portable
dedicated terminal 53 for the packaged media by a minimum
investment.
[0159] In this connection, the data providing server 51 issues
points to give a privilege such as discount to the customer
according to the usage state by a point issuing part, not shown,
every time when the customer uses the Internet with the request
terminal 52 or the portable dedicated terminal 53. The above issued
points are transmitted to the customer database 55 by the updating
part 60, so as to be sequentially added to the customer
registration information on the customer and to thereby update the
above customer registration information.
[0160] When the customer requested the use of points in the
equivalent exchange or the like, instead of money, the data
providing server 51 balances the difference between the price of
the content data that the customer owns and the sale price of the
packaged media by using the points issued to the above
customer.
[0161] Furthermore, when content data has been rented to the
customer, the data providing server 51 constantly searches the
customer registration information in the customer database 55 by
the updating part 60 to detect whether or not the rental term of
the content data in rental expires. If the rental term of the above
content data expires soon, the data providing server 51, sends
confirmation screen data to confirm whether the rental finishes,
from the sending part 61 to customer's portable dedicated terminal
53.
[0162] If a rental finish notification indicating that the rental
of the content data will finish according to the term is sent from
the portable dedicated terminal 53 sold or rented to the customer,
the data providing server 51 receives this by the receiving part
59, adds the rental finish notification to the corresponding
customer registration information in the customer database 55 and
thereby updates the customer registration information by the
updating part 60. And the data providing server 51 sends coming to
shop request screen data to prompt the customer to return the
content data (that is, to delete the content data from the portable
dedicated terminal 53) at the agency, from the sending part 61 to
the above portable dedicated terminal 53.
[0163] On the contrary, as a result of sending the confirmation
screen data to the portable dedicated terminal 53, if a rental
extension notification to extend the rental term of the content
data is transmitted, the data providing server 51 receives this by
the receiving part 59, adds the rental extension notification to
the corresponding customer registration information in the customer
database 55 and thereby updates the customer registration
information by the updating part 60.
[0164] If its rental term has expired and the content data has not
been returned, the data providing server 51 adds delete information
to forcibly delete the content data to the corresponding customer
registration information in the customer database 55 and updates
the customer registration information by the updating part 60. At
the same time, the data providing server 51 transmits the delete
command of the content data of which the rental term has expired,
from the sending part 61 to the portable dedicated terminal 53, to
delete that content data in the above portable dedicated terminal
53.
[0165] On the other hand, when the customer enters a customer
registration request via an operating part 70, the request terminal
52 generates registration request data representing that
registration request, by a request data generating part 71, and
sends this from a sending part 72 to the data providing server
51.
[0166] As a result, when the request terminal 52 receives the
customer registration screen data from the data providing server 51
by a receiving part 73, it transmits the received customer
registration screen data from a display control part 74 to a
display part 75, to display the customer registration screen based
on the customer registration screen data.
[0167] Then, in the request terminal 52, when customer information
is entered on the customer registration screen by the operations of
the operating part 70 by the customer, the request terminal 52
sends that customer information from the sending part 72 to the
data providing server 51 as customer information data by the
request data generating part 71.
[0168] If a request for content data is entered by the customer
with the operating part 70, the request terminal 52 generates
transmission request data representing the transmission request by
the request data generating part 71, and sends the generated
transmission request data from the sending part 72 to the data
providing server 51.
[0169] As a result, when the request terminal 52 receives the
content selection screen data from the data providing server 51 by
the receiving part 73, the request terminal 52 transmits the
received content selection screen data from the display control
part 74 to the display part 75 to display the content selection
screen based on the content selection screen data.
[0170] Then, when the customer enters customer reservation
information on the content selection screen by operating the
operating part 70, the request terminal 52 generates reservation
data by the request data generating part 71, and sends this from
the sending part 72 to the data providing server 51.
[0171] Thereby, the portable dedicated terminal 53 before being
sold or rented to the customer receives the content data sent from
the data providing server 51, by a receiving part 80, and records
this on a storage medium 82 by a recording control part 81, so that
the portable dedicated terminal 53 will be sold and rented to the
customer in this state.
[0172] In the portable dedicated terminal 53 that has been sold and
rented to the customer, if a reproduction command is entered by the
customer with an operating part 83, the portable dedicated terminal
53 reproduces the content data from the storage medium 82 based on
that reproduction command by a reproduction control part 84, and
transmits the above reproduced content data to a reproducing part
85 composed of a display control part, a display part and a
speaker, etc, so as to make the customer enjoy the content.
[0173] If a request for transmission of content data is entered by
the customer with the operating part 83, the portable dedicated
terminal 53 generates transmission request data representing that
transmission request by a request data generating part 86, and
sends the above generated transmission request data from a sending
part 87 to the data providing server 51.
[0174] As a result, the portable dedicated terminal 53 receives
content selection screen data from the data providing server 51 *by
the receiving part 80, it transmits this to the reproducing part 85
to display a content selection screen based on the content
selection screen data.
[0175] Then, if content data is selectively specified (including
specification of purchase or rental) on the content selection
screen according to the operations of the operating part 83, the
portable dedicated terminal 53 generates content specifying data by
the request data generating part 86, and transmits this from the
sending part 87 to the data providing server 51.
[0176] When the portable dedicated terminal 53 receives the content
data from the data providing server 51 by the receiving part 80,
the portable dedicated terminal 53 records this on the storage
medium 82 by the recording control part 81. Thus, thereafter, that
content data will be reproduced from the storage medium 82 by a
reproduction control part 84 according to the operations of the
operating part 83.
[0177] Furthermore, if the customer permits the release of the
customer information with the operating part 83, the portable
dedicated terminal 53 generates customer's permission data
representing the permission, by the request data generating part
86, and sends this from the sending part 87 to the data providing
server 51.
[0178] As a result, when the portable dedicated terminal 53
receives advertiser/company introduction data from the data
providing server 51 by the receiving part 80, the portable
dedicated terminal 53 transmits the received advertiser/company
introduction data to the reproducing part 85 to display it. In this
state, the customer selects a desired advertiser/company by
operating the operating part 83.
[0179] Then, the portable dedicated terminal 53 sends information
on the advertiser and company selected by the customer to the data
providing server 51 via the request data generating part 86 and the
sending part 87 in order. As a result, if the customer concludes a
contract with the advertiser/company selected, the portable
dedicated terminal 53 receives desired distribution data such as
advertisement, sent from the advertiser/company site, by the
receiving part 80, and records this on the storage medium 82 by the
recording control part 81.
[0180] The portable dedicated terminal 53 reproduces that
distribution data from the storage medium 82 by the reproduction
control part 84 according to the operations of the operating part
83, and transmits the above reproduced distribution data to the
reproducing part 85. Thus, the customer can enjoy the distribution
data given from the advertiser/company site.
[0181] In addition to this, if the customer enters a customizing
request with the operating part 83, the portable dedicated terminal
53 generates customizing request data representing the customizing
request by the request data generating part 86, and sends this from
the sending part 87 to the data providing server 51.
[0182] As a result, when the portable dedicated terminal 53
receives customizing registration screen data from the data
providing server 51 by the receiving part 80, the portable
dedicated terminal 53 transmits this to the reproducing part 85 to
display a customizing registration screen based on that customizing
registration screen data.
[0183] If screen customizing information to customize the content
selection screen is entered on the customizing registration screen
according to the operations of the operating part 83, the portable
dedicated terminal 53 sends the entered screen customizing
information to the data providing server 51 sequentially via the
request data generating part 86 and the sending part 87.
[0184] Also case customizing information to customize the color of
the case of the portable dedicated terminal 53 can be entered on
the customizing registration screen according to the operations of
the operating part 83. If that case customizing information is
entered, the portable dedicated terminal 53 also sends this from
the sending part 87 to the data providing server 51 via the request
data generating part 86.
[0185] In this manner, the portable dedicated terminal 53 can
request the data providing server 51 to customize the content
selection screen and the case of the portable dedicated terminal
53. Therefore, after the customer requested such customizing,
he/she can selectively specify content data with the customized
select screen, which was obtained by processing the content
selection screen based on the screen customizing information,
displayed by the reproducing part 85, and also he/she can exchange
the portable dedicated terminal 53 for a portable dedicated
terminal 53 in a color that he/she specified.
[0186] Furthermore, in the portable dedicated terminal 53, if the
customer enters an equivalent exchange request with the operating
part 83, the portable dedicated terminal 53 generates equivalent
exchange request data representing that equivalent exchange request
by the request data generating part 86, and sends this from the
sending part 87 to the data providing server 51.
[0187] As a result, if search result information on the equivalent
exchange is sent from the data providing server 51, the portable
dedicated terminal 53 receives this by the receiving part 80, and
transmits this to the reproducing part 85 to display the purchase.
Or rental price of the content data that the customer owns by
purchase or rental, the sale price and title of packaged media, and
the difference between these prices, based on that search result
information.
[0188] If customer approves the equivalent exchange with the
operating part 83, the portable dedicated terminal 53 generates
exchange approval data representing the approval by the request
data generating part 86, and sends this from the sending part 87 to
the data providing server 51. Then, electronic accounting for the
difference between the price of the content data that the customer
owns and the sale price of the packaged media is performed by a
method that the customer specified (that is, payment by money or
payment by points). Therefore, the customer can obtain the packaged
media by a minimum investment.
[0189] In this connection, if confirmation screen data for content
data of which the rental term expires soon is sent from the data
providing server 51, the portable dedicated terminal 53 receives
this by the receiving part 80, and transmits this to the
reproducing part 85 to display a confirmation screen based on that
confirmation screen data, to thereby notify the customer that the
rental term of the content data will expires soon, on the above
confirmation screen.
[0190] Then, at this time, if the termination or extension of the
rental term is specified by the customer with the operating part
83, the portable dedicated terminal 53 notifies the data providing
server 51 of it from the sending part 87 via the request data
generating part 86.
[0191] Furthermore, if the rental term of the content data has
expired before the content data is returned and a command to delete
the content data is sent from the data providing server 51, the
portable dedicated terminal 53 receives this by the receiving part
80, and deletes the content data of which the rental term has
expired from the storage medium 82 based on that delete command by
the recording control part 81. Thus, illegal use (reproduction) of
the content data can be prevented.
[0192] According to the above configuration, in this data providing
system 50, content data specified by the customer is recorded in a
portable dedicated terminal 53, which is only for a agency
specified by the above customer, according to reservation data sent
from a request terminal 52 that the customer operates by the data
providing server 51, and the portable dedicated terminal 53 are
sold or rented to the customer.
[0193] Then, if content specifying data is given from the customer
with the portable dedicated terminal 53, this data providing server
51 reads content data from the content database 56 according to the
content specifying data, and sends the read content data to that
portable dedicated terminal 53 to record this therein.
[0194] Furthermore, in the data providing server 51, customer
registration information on the customer who bought or is renting
the portable dedicated terminal 53 is registered in the customer
database 55. The customer registration information is updated
according to the usage state of the portable dedicated terminal 53
every time when the above customer uses the portable dedicated
terminal 53 for the purchase or the rental of content data. If the
customer permits the release of the customer information with the
portable dedicated terminal 53, the data providing server 51
searches advertiser/company registration information in the
advertiser/company database 58 based on the customer registration
information, to select advertisers/companies that provide
distribution data meeting customer's taste to introduce them to the
customer.
[0195] If customizing of a content selection screen is requested
from the customer with the portable dedicated terminal 53, the data
providing server 51 customizes the content selection screen
according to the request, and provides the customer portable
dedicated terminal 53 with the customized screen obtained by
customizing the above content selection screen to make the customer
select content data.
[0196] In addition, if the equivalent exchange of content data
bought or rented for packaged media is requested from the customer
with the portable dedicated terminal 53, the data providing server
51 provides the customer with the packaged media, under the payment
of the difference between the price of the content data that the
customer owns and the sale price of the packaged media.
[0197] Accordingly, in this data providing system 50, even if a
customer does not have a device capable of accessing the Internet,
he/she can previously reserve the purchase or rental of a portable
dedicated terminal 53 capable of recording and reproducing content
data, with a request terminal 52 installed in a KIOSK or the like,
and after the customer gets the reserved portable dedicated
terminal 53, he/she can obtain content data which is distributed,
with the portable dedicated terminal 53.
[0198] In this data providing system 50, by using that portable
dedicated terminal 53, the customer can easily select content data
on a customized screen that has been customized according to
his/her request, and also the customer can exchange content data
obtained by distribution for packaged media storing the content
data by a minimum investment. Furthermore, the customer can easily
select an advertiser/company that provides distribution data
meeting his/her own taste from many advertiser/company sites, so as
to use the distribution of the distribution data.
[0199] As a result, in the data providing system 50, also customers
who do not have a device capable of accessing the Internet can
easily use the system while sufficiently enjoying the convenience
of the Internet.
[0200] In this data providing system 50, customers use the portable
dedicated terminal 53, which is only for an agency, by purchase and
rental. It can easily get the customers who use agencies as well as
the Internet. Thus, the agencies can easily use and can enter into
the Internet.
[0201] According to the above configuration, in the data providing
server 51, the portable dedicated terminal 53, which is only for an
agency, capable of recording and reproducing content data is sold
or rented to a customer according to reservation data sent from the
request terminal 52. Content data is distributed according to
content specifying data sent from the above sold or rented portable
dedicated terminal 53 and is recorded in that portable dedicated
terminal 53. In addition, advertisers/companies are selected based
on customer registration information according to customer's
permission sent from that portable dedicated terminal 53, to be
introduced to the customer. A content selection screen is
customized according to a customizing request sent from the above
portable dedicated terminal 53, and given to that portable
dedicated terminal 53. And content data that the customer owns by
distribution and packaged media'storing the above content data are
almost equalized in exchange value in order to equivalently
exchange them, according to an equivalent exchange request sent
from that portable dedicated terminal 53. Thereby, customers who do
not have an Internet accessible device can easily use the system
while sufficiently enjoying the convenience of the Internet. And
the system allows an agency to easily get customers, by the
portable dedicated terminals 53 which are only for the agency using
the Internet. Thus, a data providing system that can further
popularize the Internet can be realized.
[0202] Note that, in the aforementioned first embodiment, the
customer requests customer registration and the purchase or rental
of the portable dedicated terminal 53 with the request terminal 52.
This invention, however, is not only limited to this and also the
customer may request the customer registration and the purchase or
rental of the portable dedicated terminal 53 with a device capable
of accessing the Internet such as a personal computer, instead of
the request terminal 52. Thereby, not only customers who do not a
device capable of accessing the Internet but also customers who
have such devices can enjoy the convenience of the Internet more
than now by using the portable dedicated terminal 53.
(3) SECOND EMBODIMENT
[0203] FIG. 5 shows a data providing system 100 according to a
second embodiment. A portable dedicated terminal 102 similar to the
portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N described above with
reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 is directly connected to a data providing
server 101 that corresponds to the system management site 2 and the
agencies 4A to 4N described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. A
request terminal 103 that corresponds to the customer 3 described
above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 (that is, request terminal
used by the customer 3) and a settlement processing server 104 are
connected to the above data providing server 101 via the Internet
105.
[0204] The data providing server 101 has a customer database 110
and a content database 111. The customer database 110 stores
customer registration information generated by executing a customer
registration similar to the customer registration described above
with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 (composed of customer's name,
customer ID, bank account number, etc.) Furthermore, the data
providing server 101 stores a lot of content data in the content
database 111, and also a data table generated by listing content
additional information composed of content identification
information unique to each of the content data (hereinafter, this
is referred to as content ID), titles (for example the title of a
tune), prices (sale price and rental price), etc.
[0205] If customer reservation information to reserve the rental of
content data (hereinafter, specially this is referred to as rental
reservation data) is sent as rental reservation request data from
the request terminal 103 via the Internet 105 by operations by the
customer wanting the rental of the content data, the data providing
server 101 receives this by a receiving part 115, converts the
received rental reservation request data into recording control
data by an accounting part 116, and transmits this to a recording
control part 117.
[0206] Now, the data providing server 101 generates rental
reservation acceptance data including dedicated terminal
identification information (hereinafter, this is referred to as
dedicated terminal ID) unique to the portable dedicated terminal
102 for recording the content data that the customer requested to
rent, by the recording control part 117, and transmits this to the
request terminal 103 from a sending part 118 via the Internet 105
to notify the customer that it has accepted the reservation of the
rental of the customer desired content data.
[0207] In addition, the data providing server 101 reads the content
data requested to be rented by, the customer, from the content
database 111 based on the recording control data by the recording
control part 117, and sends the read content data to the portable
dedicated terminal 102 having the dedicated terminal ID which the
customer was notified of.
[0208] Thereby, the data providing server 101 records the customer
desired content data on a storage medium installed in that portable
dedicated terminal 102.
[0209] In this manner, the data providing server 101 records the
content data requested by the customer on the portable dedicated
terminal 102 having a content data recording/reproducing function.
Then, when the customer comes to, for example, an agency having the
above data providing server 101 installed therein, the content data
requested to be rented is handed to the customer with the portable
dedicated terminal 102.
[0210] Therefore, in the data providing server 101, content data
can be rented to the customer with the portable dedicated terminal
102 according to a rental term, so that the customer can enjoy the
content data by reproducing it with the portable dedicated terminal
102.
[0211] By the way, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, rental reservation
request data D2 sent from the request terminal 103 has information
such as customer's name, customer ID, password, the title of
content data D1 requested to be rented, rental term, payment method
of rental charge (payment by cash or prepaid card at shop, payment
by prepaid card with request terminal, payment by credit).
[0212] When the data providing server 101 receives the rental
reservation request data D2 from the request terminal 103 by the
receiving part 115, the data providing server 101 extracts
information on the payment method of the rental charge
(hereinafter, this is referred to as payment data) from the rental
reservation request data D2 by the accounting part 116.
[0213] In a case where the payment information specifies payment by
credit, the data providing server 101 reads the customer
registration information on the customer who is requesting to rent
the content data D1, from the content database 110 based on the
customer ID included in the rental reservation request data D2 by
the accounting part 116, and searches a data table in the content
database 111 based on the title of the content data D1 included in
the above rental reservation request data D2 to read the additional
information on the content data D1 requested to be rented by the
customer.
[0214] The data providing server 101 executes accounting based on
the rental charge for the portable dedicated terminal 102 and the
bank account number of the agency, which have been previously
stored, and the rental reservation request data D2, the customer
registration information, and the additional information on the
content data D1, by the accounting part 116. Thereby, the data
providing server 101 generates accounting information representing
the amount of charge to the customer according to the rental term
of the content data D1, the account numbers of the agency and the
customer, etc., and sends this from the sending part 118 to the
settlement processing server 104 via the Internet 105.
[0215] When the electronic settlement processing based on the
accounting information completes and a settlement completion
notification is sent from the settlement processing server 104, the
data providing server 101 receives this by the receiving part 115,
and recognizes this by the accounting part 116.
[0216] Thereby, the data providing server 101 generates recording
control data D3 by adding the agency ID to the rental reservation
request data D2 with the accounting part 116, and sends the
generated recording control data D3 to the recording control part
117.
[0217] In this connection, when the recording control data D3 is
generated by the accounting part 116, the data providing server 101
changes customer's name included in the rental reservation request
data D2 to the coded customer's name registered as the customer
registration information, changes the title of the content data D1
to the content ID, codes the number of days of the rental term, and
adds customer's account number.
[0218] When the recording control data D3 is transmitted from the
accounting part 116 to the recording control part 117, the data
providing server 101 generates rental reservation acceptance data
by the recording control part 117, and sends this from the sending
part 118 to the request terminal 103.
[0219] Then, the data providing server 101 generates header data D4
based on the recording control data D3 by adding the dedicated
terminal ID of the portable dedicated terminal 102 which stores the
content data D1 requested to be rented by the customer, and copy
history information showing the copy history at the time when the
above content data D1 is illegally copied, to the above recording
control data D3 by the recording control part 117. Then, the data
providing server 101 adds the header data D4 to the content data D1
requested to be rented by the customer and records this in the
portable dedicated terminal 102.
[0220] Thereby, the data providing server 101 can easily recognize
from the header data D4 that the portable dedicated terminal 102
and the content data D1 rented to the customer were rented at its
own shop.
[0221] Furthermore, the portable dedicated terminal 102 rented to
the customer monitors whether or not the rental term of the content
data D1 has expired, according to information on the rental term
included in the header data D4. In the case where the rental term
has passed and the content data D1 has not been returned (that is,
in the case where the content data D1 was not returned with the
portable dedicated terminal 102), the portable dedicated terminal
102 does not allow the content data D1 to be reproduced, which
prevents the rented content data D1 from being illegally used after
the expiration of the rental term.
[0222] Furthermore, when the content data D1 in rental was
illegally copied while it is rented to the customer, the portable
dedicated terminal 102 records the number of copies as copy history
information in the header data D4. Thereby, when the portable
dedicated terminal 102 is returned to the agency, the agency can
know from the copy history information in the header data D4 that
the customer illegally copied the content data D1.
[0223] On the other hand, in the case where payment by a prepaid
card with the request terminal 103 is specified by the rental
reservation request data D2 sent from the request terminal 103, the
data providing server 101 executes accounting based on the rental
charge for the portable dedicated terminal 102, the rental
reservation request data D2 and the additional information on the
content data D1, by the accounting part 116. The data providing
server 101 calculates the amount of charge to the customer
according to the rental term of the content data D1, and sends
information on the calculated amount of charge as accounting data
from the sending part 118 to the request terminal 103 via the
Internet 105.
[0224] When the data providing'server 101 receives payment by
prepaid completion data sent from the request, terminal 103 by the
receiving part 115 after the payment by prepaid card completes
based on the accounting data, the data providing server 101
generates recording control data D3 by adding the agency ID to the
rental reservation request data D2 storing information representing
that the payment by prepaid card has completed with the request
terminal 103, instead of customer's account number, by the
accounting part 116, and transmits this to the recording control
part 117.
[0225] When the recording control data D3 is transmitted from the
accounting part 116 to the recording control part 117, the data
providing server 101 sends rental reservation acceptance data from
the sending part 118 to the request terminal 103 by the recording
control part 117, similarly to the above. At the same time, the
data providing server 101 generates header data D4 based on that
recording control data D3, and records this in the portable
dedicated terminal 102 with the content data D1.
[0226] Furthermore, when payment by cash or a prepaid card at the
shop is specified by the rental reservation request data D2 sent
from the request terminal 103, the data providing server 101
generates recording control data D3 by adding the agency ID to the
rental reservation request data D2 including information
representing that the payment by cash or prepaid card at the shop
has completed instead of customer's account number, by the
accounting part 116, and sends this to the recording control part
117.
[0227] Also in this case, the data providing server 101 transmits
the recording control data D3 from the accounting part 116 to the
recording control part 117 similarly to the above, and sends rental
reservation acceptance data from the sending part 118 to the
request terminal 103 by the above recording control part 117. At
the same time, the data providing server 101 generates header data
D4 based on that recording control data D3, and records this in the
portable dedicated terminal 102 with the content data D1.
[0228] In this connection, in the data providing server 101, a slot
for a prepaid card is provided on the accounting part 116. When the
payment by prepaid card at a shop is specified, an amount of charge
to the customer according to the rental term of the content data D1
has been computed by the accounting part 116. And when the customer
inserts his/her prepaid card into the slot when the customer visits
to receive the portable dedicated terminal 102, the prepaid card
settles the rental charge to the customer.
[0229] Note that, the above data providing server 101 also can cope
with the case where the customer comes to the shop and requested to
rent content data D1. In this case, a clerk in the shop enters
rental information having the contents similar to the rental
reservation request data D2 described above with reference to FIG.
6, with an operational information input part, in order to transmit
the entered rental information to the accounting part 116. Thus,
the content data D1 is recorded in the portable dedicated terminal
102 similarly to the aforementioned rental reservation with the
request terminal 103.
[0230] On the other hand, if rental reservation information similar
to the contents of the aforementioned rental reservation request
data D2 is entered by the customer with an operational information
input part 120, the request terminal 102 (FIG. 5) generates the
aforementioned rental reservation request data D2 based on that
rental reservation data by a request data generating part 112 via
an operational information judging part 121, and sends this from a
sending part 123 to the data providing server 101 via the Internet
105.
[0231] When rental reservation acceptance data is sent from the
data providing server 101 via the Internet 105, the request
terminal 103 receives this by a receiving part 124, and transmits
this from a judging part 125 to a display part 126 to notify the
customer of the completion of the acceptance of the rental
reservation of the desired content data requested by the customer,
and also of the dedicated terminal ID of the portable dedicated
terminal 102 that will be rented with the above content data
D1.
[0232] In this connection, in the request terminal 103, an
accounting part 127 has a slot for a prepaid card. When payment by
prepaid card with the above request terminal 103 is specified by
the customer with the operational information input part 120, the
operational information judging part 121 recognizes this and
notifies the accounting part 127 of this.
[0233] The request terminal 103 receives account data which was
sent in response to sending the rental reservation request data D2
to the data providing server 101, by the receiving part 124,
recognizes the received account data by the judging part 125, and
transmits this to the accounting part 127.
[0234] When a prepaid card owned by the customer is inserted into
the slot of the accounting part 127, the request terminal 103
settles the rental charge to the customer by that prepaid card
based on the account data by the above accounting part 127. And
then, the request terminal 103 generates payment-by-prepaid
completion data, and sends this from the sending part 123 to the
data providing server 101 via the Internet 105.
[0235] Now, a rental reservation processing procedure by the data
providing server 101 and the request terminal 103 in the data
providing system 100 will be described except for payment for a
rental charge (that is, accounting). As shown in FIG. 7 (A), the
request terminal 103 enters routine RT1 from the starting step, and
proceeds to step SP1.
[0236] In step SP1, the request terminal 103 waits for the customer
to enter rental reservation information with the operational
information input part 120. When the rental reservation information
is entered, the request terminal 103 proceeds to the next step SP2
to generate rental reservation request data D2 by the request data
generating part 122, sends this from the sending part 123 to the
data providing server 101 via the Internet 105, and precedes to
step SP3.
[0237] At this time, as shown in FIG. 7(B), the data providing
server 101 enters routine RT2 from the starting step, and proceeds
to the next step SP11. In step SP11, the data providing server 101
waits for rental reservation request data D2 to be transmitted from
the request terminal 103. When the data providing server.101
receives the rental reservation request data D2 sent from the
request terminal 103, by a receiving part 115, the data providing
server 101 proceeds to step SP12.
[0238] In step SP12, the data providing server 101 generates
recording control data D3 with the rental reservation request data
D2 by the accounting part 116, and proceeds to the next step
SP13.
[0239] In step SP13, the data providing server 101 generates rental
reservation acceptance data and sends this from the sending part
118 to the request terminal 103 via the Internet 105, and proceeds
to step SP14.
[0240] At this time, in step SP3, the request terminal 103 waits
for rental reservation acceptance data to be transmitted from the
data providing server 101. When the request terminal 103 receives
the rental reservation acceptance data from the data providing
server 101 with the receiving part 124 in step SP3, the request
terminal 103 proceeds to the next step SP4.
[0241] In step SP4, the request terminal 103 transmits the rental
reservation acceptance data and displays this on the display part
126 to notify the customer of the completion of the acceptance of
the rental reservation of the content data D1 with the dedicated
terminal ID of the portable dedicated terminal 102 that will be
rented with the above content data D1, and proceeds to the next
step SP5 to finish the processing in the above request terminal
103.
[0242] On the other hand, in step SP14, the data providing server
101 generates header data D4 based on the recording control data D3
and proceeds to step SP15. In step SP15, the data providing server
101 adds the header data D4 to the content data D1 requested by the
customer by the recording control part 117 and records this on the
storage medium in the portable dedicated terminal 102. Then, the
data providing server 101 proceeds to step SP16 to finish the
processing in the above data providing server 101. In this manner,
the data providing system 100 finishes the rental reservation
processing for the content data D1.
[0243] According to the above configuration, in this data providing
system 100, a lot of content data D1 has been stored in the content
database 111 in the data providing server 101 installed at an
agency. When the customer requests the reservation of the rental of
desired content data D1 with the request terminal 103, the data
providing server 101 records that content data D1 in the portable
dedicated terminal 102. And then, when the customer comes to the
agency, the reserved content data D1 is rented to the customer with
the portable dedicated terminal 102.
[0244] Accordingly, in this data providing system 100, even if the
customer does not have a device having a function to record and
reproduce content data D1 and is capable of accessing the Internet
to the content data D1, like a personal computer (hereinafter, this
is referred to as content obtaining apparatus), an agency can
easily provide the customer with content as data with the portable
dedicated terminal 102.
[0245] Furthermore, in the data providing system 100, when content
data D1 is to be rented, the customer can previously reserve the
rental of the desired content data D1 with the distant request
terminal 103. Therefore, an agency can smoothly hand the portable
dedicated terminal 102 with the content data D1 to the customer who
comes to the agency without making the customer wait during the
recording of the content data D1 in the portable dedicated terminal
102.
[0246] Moreover, in this data providing system 100, also when the
customer reserves the rental of the content data D1 by operating
the request terminal 103, the customer is notified of the
acceptance of the rental reservation at a time point that the
recording control data D3 to record the content data D1 in the
portable dedicated terminal 102 is generated. Therefore, the
customer can make a reservation for the rental of the content data
D1 without waiting in front of the portable dedicated terminal 102
while the content data D1 is recorded in the portable dedicated
terminal 102.
[0247] In this connection, it has been already described that a
content obtaining apparatus is necessary to use the distribution of
content data D1 via the Internet 105. However, knowledge of the
Internet 105 used in that distribution of the content data D1 is
also needed. Therefore, a person who does not have knowledge of the
Internet 105 is sometimes hard to easily receive the distribution
of the content data D1.
[0248] To obviate this, if the customer uses the data providing
system 100 according to the second embodiment, although he/she uses
the Internet 105 to reserve the rental of the content data D1,
he/she reserves the rental of the content data D1 using the request
terminal 103 which is used only to directly access a data providing
server 151 with simple operations. Therefore, in addition to the
customers who do not have a content obtaining apparatus, the
customers who do not have knowledge of the Internet 105 can easily
obtain content data D1.
[0249] According to the above configuration, the customer reserves
the rental of desired content data D1 at the data providing server
101 that has the content database 111 storing a lot of content data
D1, with the request terminal 103. That requested content data D1
is recorded in the portable dedicated terminal 102 by the above
data providing server 101, and the portable dedicated terminal 102
is rented to the customer with the above content data D1, which can
provide the customer who does not have a content obtaining
apparatus with content data much easily. Thus, a data providing
system which offers significantly improved usability can be
realized.
[0250] Note that, in the aforementioned second embodiment, the
portable dedicated terminal 102 which is only for an agency is
rented with content data D1. This invention, however, is not
limited to this and the portable dedicated terminal 102 may be sold
to the customer and the content data D1 may be recorded in the
above portable dedicated terminal 102 for rental or for purchase.
Thereby, when the customer requests the purchase of content data
D1, the content data D1 likewise bought can be recorded and stored
in the portable dedicated terminal 102 that the customer had
bought. Thus, the usability of the data providing system 100 can be
further improved.
[0251] In the aforementioned second embodiment, content data D1
requested to be rented by the customer is recorded in the portable
dedicated terminal 102 which is only for an agency. This invention,
however, is not limited to this and content data D1 that the
customer wants to rent or buy may be recorded in a portable
recording/reproducing device such as a portable telephone, a
portable MD (Mini Disc trademark by Sony Corp.) player that the
customer carried. Thereby, also customers who have a content
obtaining apparatus can easily use the data providing system, and
the versatility of the above data providing system can be
improved.
[0252] Furthermore, in the aforementioned second embodiment,
content data D1 is recorded in the portable dedicated terminal 102
at an agency according to customer's reservation data from the
request terminal 103. This invention, however, is not limited to
this and, for instance, content data D1 may be recorded using the
Internet or the like, in the portable dedicated terminal 102 in a
manufacture company, sales company or the like. Thereby, even if
the portable dedicated terminal 102 is directly handed to the
customer from a factory or the like, the content data D1 can be
accurately rented.
(4) THIRD EMBODIMENT
[0253] FIG. 8 in which the same reference numerals are added to
corresponding parts in FIG. 5 shows a data providing system 150
according to a third embodiment. The data providing system 150 is
constructed similarly to the data providing system 100 according to
the second embodiment except for the construction of a data
providing server 151 corresponding to the system management site 2
and the agencies 4A to 4N described above with reference to FIGS. 1
to 3 and the construction where a content server 152 corresponding
to the system management site 2 described above with reference to
FIGS. 1 to 3 is connected to the above data providing server 151
via the Internet 105.
[0254] In this case, the content server 152 has a content database
154 storing a lot of content data D1 more than the content data D1
stored in a content database 153 in the data providing server 151,
and a data table generated by listing the additional information on
the above content data D1 (composed of content ID, title, sale
price, rental price, etc.).
[0255] In the content database 153 stored in the data providing
server 151, a part of the much content data D1 stored in the
content database 154 in the content server 152 is stored, and also
a new data table generated by associating information representing
the content data D1 stored in the data providing server 151 with
the data table stored in the content database 154 in the content
server 152 is stored.
[0256] Furthermore, the data providing server 151 is provided with
a received data judging part 155 for judging the type of data
received by the receiving part 115, and when the receiving part 115
receives rental reservation request data D2 sent from the request
terminal 103 via the Internet 105, the data providing server 151
transmits the received rental reservation request data D2 from the
received data judging part 155 to an accounting part 156.
[0257] The data providing server 151 searches a data table in the
content database 153 based on that rental reservation request data
D2 by the accounting part 156, and judges whether or not content
data D1 wanted to rent by the customer has been stored in the
content database 153.
[0258] As a result, if it is confirmed by the accounting part 156
that the content data D1 wanted to rent by the customer has been
stored in the content database 153, then the data providing server
151 generates recording control data D3 by the accounting part 156
and transmits this to a recording control part 157.
[0259] Thereby, the data providing server 151 sends rental
reservation acceptance data from the sending part 118 to the
request terminal 103 by the recording control part 157. At the same
time, the data providing server 151 generates header data D4 based
on that recording control data D3 and records this in the portable
dedicated terminal 102 with the content data D1.
[0260] On the contrary, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, if is it
confirmed by the accounting part 156 that the content data D1
requested by the customer has not been stored in the content
database 153, then the data providing server 151 generates
recording control data D3 with the rental reservation request data
D2 by the accounting part 156, similarly to the accounting part 116
of the data providing server 101 (FIG. 5) according to the second
embodiment described above with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 (it also
executes accounting), and transmits the recording control data D3
from the sending part 118 to the content server 152 via the
Internet 105 as content transmission request data.
[0261] As a result, when the requested content data D1 is sent from
the content server 152 via the Internet 105 with the content
transmission request data, the data providing server 151 receives
this by the receiving part 115, takes them in the received data
judging part 155, and transmits them from the received data judging
part 155 to the recording control part 157.
[0262] The data providing server 151 generates header data D4 by
adding the information on the dedicated terminal ID and copy
history to the content transmission request data (i.e. recording
control data D3) by the recording control part 157, and records the
generated header data D4 in the portable dedicated terminal 102
together with the content data D1 obtained from the content server
152.
[0263] In this manner, even if the rental of the content data D1
that has not been stored in the content database 153 is requested,
the data providing server 151 can rent the content data D1 to the
customer by obtaining this from the content server 152.
[0264] In this connection, when this data providing server 151
obtains the content data D1 from the content server 152, it takes
more time for processing for accepting the rental reservation,
comparing to the case where the content data D1 requested by the
customer has been stored in the content database 153 in the data
providing server 151.
[0265] Therefore, the data providing server 151 generates rental
reservation acceptance data by the received data judging part 155
and sends this to notifies the customer of the acceptance of the
rental reservation at the time point that the content data D1 is
obtained from the content server 152.
[0266] Furthermore, when the customer comes to an agency and
requested the rental of content data D1, a clerk of the agency
inputs rental information having the same contents as the rental
reservation request data D2 which is entered with an operational
information input part 119. The data providing server 151 transmits
this from the operational information judging part 158 to the
accounting part 156. Thus, the content data D1 is recorded in the
portable dedicated terminal 102 similarly to the aforementioned
rental reservation with the request terminal 103.
[0267] When content information including a content ID to newly
store the content data D1 in the content database 153 is entered
via the operational information input part 119, the data providing
server 151 transmits the content information from an operational
information judging part 158 to a request data generating part 159,
generates content request data representing that content
information by the above request data generating part 159, and
sends this from the sending part 118 to the content server 152 via
the Internet 105.
[0268] When the desired content data D1 and its additional
information are sent from the content server 152, the data
providing server 151 receives this by the receiving part 115, and
transmits the above received content data D1 and additional
information from the received data judging part 155 to the
recording control part 157 to store them in the content database
153 by the above recording control part 157.
[0269] Thereby, although it relatively takes a time to obtain the
content data D1 from the content server 152, content data, for
example, of which the rental is relatively requested among the
content data D1 not stored in the content database 153, is obtained
from the content server 152 and is stored in the content database
153, so that the data providing server 151 can rapidly deal with
the rental request by the customer.
[0270] On the other hand, when the content transmission request
data is sent from the data providing server 151 via the Internet
105, the content server 152 (FIG. 8) receives this by a receiving
part 160, extracts the content ID from that content transmission
request data by a content ID extracting part 161, and transmits
this to a content search part 162 and also transmits the above
content transmission request data to a send data generating part
164.
[0271] The content server 152 searches the content database 154
based on that content ID by the content search part 162, reads the
corresponding content data D1, and transmits this to the send data
generating part 164. At the same time, the content server 152 adds
the content transmission request data to that content data D1 by
the send data generating part 164, and sends them from a sending
part 165 to the data providing server 151 via the Internet 105.
[0272] Furthermore, when the content request data is sent from the
data providing server 151 via the Internet 105, the content server
152 receives this by the receiving part 160, extracts the content
ID from that content request data by the content ID extracting part
161, and transmits this to the content search part 162.
[0273] The content server 152 searches the content database 154
based on that content ID by the content search part 162 and reads
corresponding content data D1 and additional information, and sends
them from the sending part 165 to the data providing server 151 via
the send data generating part 164 and the Internet 105.
[0274] In this manner, the content server 152 can provide the data
providing server 151 with the content data D1.
[0275] Now, rental reservation processing procedures in the data
providing server 151, the request terminal 103 and the content
server 152 in the data providing system 150 will be described
except for the payment of rental charges (i.e. accounting). As
shown in FIG. 10(A), first, the request terminal 103 enters routine
RT1 from the starting step and executes similar processing to the
case described above with reference to FIG. 7(A).
[0276] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10(B) in that the same
reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts in FIG. 7(B),
the data providing server 151 enters routine RT3 from the starting
step and sequentially executes processing in steps SP11 and SP12.
And then, the data providing server 151 proceeds to step SP21, and
in step SP21, it searches a data table in the content database 153
by the accounting part 156 to judge whether the content data D1
wanted to rent by the customer is needed to obtain from the content
server 152.
[0277] Obtaining an affirmative result in this step SP21 means that
the content data D1 wanted to rent by the customer has not been
stored in the content database 153 in the data providing
server.151. At this time, the data providing server 151 proceeds to
step SP22 to send the recording control data D3 generated by the
accounting part 156 as content transmission request data from the
sending part 118 to the content server 152 via the Internet 105,
and proceeds to step SP23.
[0278] Now, as shown in FIG. 10(C), the content server 152 enters
routine RT4 from the starting step, and proceeds to the next step
SP31. In step SP31, the content server 152 waits for the content
transmission request data to be transmitted from the data providing
server 151. When the content server 152 receives the content
transmission request data from the data providing server 151 by the
receiving part 160, the content server 152 proceeds to step
SP32.
[0279] In step SP32, the content server 152 extracts the content ID
from the content transmission request data by the content ID
extracting part 161, searches the content database 154 based on the
content ID by the content search part 162 and thereby reads the
content ID having that content ID from the content database 154.
Then, the content server 152 proceeds to step SP33.
[0280] In step SP33, the content server 152 adds the content
transmission request data to the content data D1 read from the
content database 154 by the send data generating part 164, sends
them from the sending part 165 to the data providing server 151 via
the Internet 105, and proceeds to the next step SP34 to finish the
above processing in the content server 152.
[0281] On the other hand, in step SP23, the data providing server
151 waits the content data D1 to be transmitted from the content
server 152. When the data providing server 151 receives the content
data D1 from the above content server 152 by the receiving part 115
(receiving the content transmission request data as well as the
content data D1), the data providing server 151 proceeds to step
SP24.
[0282] In step SP24, the data providing server 151 transmits the
received content data D1 and content transmission request data from
the received data judging part 155 to the recording control part
157, and also generates rental reservation acceptance data by the
above received data judging part 155 and sends this from the
sending part 118 to the request terminal 103 via the Internet 105.
Then, the data providing server 151 sequentially executes the
processing at steps SP14 and SP15, and then, the data providing
server 151 proceeds to step SP25 to finish the processing by the
above data providing server 151. In this manner, the data providing
server 151 finishes the rental reservation processing for the
content data D1.
[0283] In this connection, obtaining a negative result in the
aforementioned step SP21 means that the content data D1 wanted to
rent by the customer has been stored in the content database 153 in
the data providing server 151. At this time, the data providing
server 151 proceeds to step SP24 to generate rental reservation
acceptance data by the recording control part 157 that received the
recording control data D3 from the accounting part 156, and sends
this from the sending part 118 to the request terminal 103 via the
Internet 105, and then, the data providing server 151 proceeds to
step SP14.
[0284] According to the above configuration, in this data providing
system 150, the content server 152 having the content database 154
storing much more content data D1 than the above data providing
server 151 is connected to the data providing server 151 having the
content database 153 storing a lot of content data D1 via the
Internet 105.
[0285] In this data providing system 150, when the data providing
server 151 receives the rental reservation request data D2 from the
request terminal 103 operated by the customer, the data providing
server 151 judges whether or not the content data D1 wanted to
rental by the customer has been stored in the content database 153
in the above data providing server 151. And if the content data D1
wanted by the customer has not been stored, the data providing
server 151 obtains that content data D1 from the content server
152, and records this in the portable dedicated terminal 102 that
will be rented to the customer.
[0286] Accordingly, in this data providing system 150, the scale of
the content database 153 to be provided in the data providing
server 151 can be relatively small. And even if the scale of the
content database 153 is miniaturized, various content data D1 that
will be requested by customers can accurately rent.
[0287] In this connection, in this data providing system 150, since
the scale of the content database 153 to be provided in the data
providing server 151 can be miniaturized, agencies that install the
above data providing server 151 can largely reduce investment in
equipment.
[0288] According to the above configuration, to the data providing
server 151 having the content database 153 storing a lot of content
data D1, the content server 152 having the content database 154
storing much more content data D1 than the above data providing
server 151 is connected. In the data providing server 151 which
receives a rental request from the customer, if content data D1
wanted to rent has not been stored in the content database 153, the
data providing server 151 obtains that content data D1 from the
content server 152 to rent this to the customer. Thereby, in
addition to the effects obtained by the aforementioned second
embodiment, the scale of the content database 153 to be provided in
the data providing server 151 can be largely miniaturized. And even
if the scale of the content database 153 is miniaturized, a data
providing system capable of accurately renting various content data
D1 requested by customers can be realized.
[0289] Note that, in the aforementioned third embodiment, a part of
a lot of content data D1 stored in the content database 154 in the
content server 152 is stored in the content database 153 in the
data providing server 151. This invention, however, is not only
limited this but also different content data D1 may be stored in
the content database 154 in the content server 152 and the content
database 153 in the data providing server 151. Furthermore,
different content data D1 may be separately stored in content
databases in many data providing servers 151 and content servers
152. Thereby, the scale of the content databases to be provided in
the data providing servers 151 and the content servers 152 can be
generally further miniaturized.
[0290] In the aforementioned third embodiment, the data providing
server 151 obtains content data D1 from the content server 152.
This invention, however, is not only limited this but also a
changer for automatically selecting and reproducing the content
data D1 from packaged media that was bought by the agency for
rental or purchase may be installed in the agency, and the data
providing server 151 may obtain the content data D1 from that
changer, or the content server 152 may be used together with that
changer.
[0291] Still further, in the aforementioned third embodiment, the
portable dedicated terminal 102 which is only for an agency is
rented to the customer together with content data D1. This
invention, however, is not only limited this but also the portable
dedicated terminal 102 may be sold to the customer, and the content
data D1 may be recorded in the above portable dedicated terminal
102 for rent or for purchase.
[0292] Furthermore, in the aforementioned third embodiment, content
data D1 wanted to rent is recorded in the portable dedicated
terminal 102 which is only for an agency. This invention, however,
is not only limited this but also the content data D1 wanted to
rent or wanted to buy may be recorded in a portable
recording/reproducing device or the like such as a portable
telephone, a portable MD player carried into the agency by the
customer.
(5) FOURTH EMBODIMENT
[0293] FIG. 11 shows a data providing system 200 according to a
fourth embodiment. The data providing system 200 is constructed by
connecting a portable dedicated terminal 202 corresponding to the
portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N described above with
reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 and an advertiser/company server 203
corresponding to the advertiser/company site 6 described above with
reference to FIGS. 1 and 3 to an intermediate server 201
corresponding to the system management site 2 described above with
reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 via the Internet 204.
[0294] The intermediate server 201 has a customer database 210 for
registering customers who use the Internet 204 via the above
intermediate server 201, and an advertiser/company database 211 for
registering advertisers and companies that want to provide
distribution data such as advertisement to customers by using the
Internet 204.
[0295] In the intermediate server 201, the advertiser/company
database 211 previously stores advertiser/company registration
screen data. When registration request data that requests
registration is sent from the advertiser/company server 203 of an
advertiser/company that wants an advertiser/company registration,
the intermediate server 201 receives this by a receiving part 212,
reads advertiser/company registration screen data from the
advertiser/company database 211 based on that registration request
data by an advertiser/company information updating part 213, and
sends this from a sending part 214 to the advertiser/company server
203 via the Internet 204.
[0296] As a result, when advertiser/company information entered by
an operator on an advertiser/company registration screen based on
the advertiser/company registration screen data, as shown in FIG.
12(A), is sent from the advertiser/company server 203 as
advertiser/company registration information data, the intermediate
server 201 receives this by a receiving part 212.
[0297] Here, as shown in FIG. 12(A), the advertiser/company
information to be given from the advertiser/company server 203 to
the intermediate server 201 is composed of various information
peculiar to each advertiser and company, such as company's name
(i.e., advertiser's name information and company's name
information), telephone number and e-mail address, distribution
genre information representing a genre that the contents of
distribution data to be provided belong to (e.g., Japanese cars or
imported cars, rock music or classic music, Hollywood movies or
Japanese movies, etc.) business content information represented by
comments such as a catchphrase by the advertiser/company, and a
condition number representing conditions for concluding a contract
with the customer, and this information is generated by direct
inputs by an operator in the advertiser/company or by selection
from various items shown by the intermediate server 201.
[0298] When obtaining such advertiser/company information, the
intermediate server 201 issues unique advertiser/company
identification information to the advertiser and company that
requested registration (hereinafter, this is referred to as
advertiser/company ID) by the advertiser/company information
updating part 213, and sends this from the sending part 214 to the
advertiser/company server 203 of that advertiser/company requesting
the registration via the Internet 204.
[0299] In addition to this, as shown in FIG. 12(B), the
intermediate server 201 adds the advertiser/company ID to the
advertiser/company information obtained from the above
advertiser/company by the advertiser/company information updating
part 213, and stores this as advertiser/company registration
information in the advertiser/company database 211 to register the
above advertiser/company. In this manner, the intermediate server
201 accepts a registration request from advertisers and companies
at any time, and executes advertiser/company registration
processing.
[0300] On the other hand, in the intermediate server 201, the
customer database 210 previously stores customer registration
screen data. When registration request data that requests
registration is sent from the portable dedicated terminal 202 by
operations by the customer who wants registration, the intermediate
server 201 receives this by the receiving part 212, reads customer
registration screen data from the customer database 210 based on
that registration request data by a customer information updating
part 215, and sends the above read customer registration screen
data from the sending part 214 to the portable dedicated terminal
202 via the Internet 204.
[0301] As a result, when customer information entered on the
customer registration screen based on the customer registration
screen data by operations by the customer who wants the
registration, as shown in FIG. 13(A), is transmitted from the
portable dedicated terminal 202, the intermediate server 201
receives this by the receiving part 212.
[0302] Now, as shown in FIG. 13(A), the customer information to be
given from the customer to the intermediate server 201 is composed
of various personal information such as his/her name, sex and age,
information about interesting genres (e.g., Japanese cars or
imported cars, rock music or classic music, Hollywood movies or
Japanese movies, etc.) (hereinafter, this is referred to as
customer's favorite genre information), and taste information to
represent his/her own taste or the like by comments, condition
number representing conditions for contracting with an
advertiser/company, and e-mail address that has been previously
allotted to the portable dedicated terminal 202 used by the
customer. This information is generated by direct inputs by the
customer or by selection from among various items shown by the
intermediate server 201.
[0303] In this connection, the conditions for concluding a contract
between the customer and an advertiser/company includes, as shown
in FIG. 14, "A part of customer's communication charge is paid by
the advertiser/company.", "The advertiser/company discounts
products which the customer buys.", "The points of Internet mileage
that the customer got will be used in payment for purchases of
products or the like.", "A present is given from the
advertiser/company to the customer according to the points of the
Internet mileage that the customer got.", "The customer accesses
the site of the contracted advertiser/company for a predetermined
time or longer every month.", "The customer purchase products or
the like from the advertiser/company for a predetermined amount or
over every month.", and these conditions are represented by the
condition number from one to six.
[0304] When obtaining the aforementioned customer information, the
intermediate server 201 issues a customer ID to the customer by the
customer information updating part 215, and sends this from the
sending part 214 to the portable dedicated terminal 202 of the
customer via the Internet 204 to make the portable dedicated
terminal 202 store this.
[0305] At this time, as shown in FIG. 13(B), the intermediate
server 201 adds the customer ID to the customer information by the
customer information updating part 215, and stores this in the
customer database 210 as customer registration information to
register the customer. In this manner, the intermediate server 201
accepts a registration request from customers at any time, and
executes customer registration processing.
[0306] Thereafter, when content specifying data including the
customer ID is sent from the portable dedicated terminal 202 to
request the distribution of content data, to various agencies by
operations by the customer who did customer registration, the
intermediate server 201 once receives this by the receiving part
212.
[0307] The intermediate server 201 searches the customer database
210 based on the customer ID included in the content specifying
data with the customer information updating par 215, to detect
customer registration information on the customer, adds this to the
content specifying data as additional customer information, and
updates this. Then, the intermediate server 201 sends that content
specifying data from the sending part 214 to the agencies via the
Internet 204.
[0308] In this manner, the intermediate server 201 relays content
data to be sent from the portable dedicated terminal 202 to an
agency every time when the customer uses the agencies via the
Internet 204, so that as shown in FIG. 15, the intermediate server
201 adds accessed genre information representing the genre of the
content data that the customer obtained from the agency, access
counter information representing the number of obtained times of
the content data of that genre, and information about the amount of
money that the customer paid to obtain the above content data, to
the customer registration information, and sequentially updates the
contents of that customer registration information, by the customer
information updating part 215.
[0309] In this connection, the intermediate server 201 issues
points to give the customer a privilege such as a discount
(Internet mileage) every time when the customer uses an agency with
the portable dedicated terminal 202, by the customer information
updating part 215 according to the usage state (purchase of content
data, rental price, duration of using the Internet, etc.). Also
that points will be added to the customer registration information
every issue.
[0310] Thereby, the intermediate server 201 can grasp customer's
taste and so on, based on the customer registration information in
the customer database 210.
[0311] By the way, when customer's permission data (including
customer ID) to permit the release of his/her own customer
information to advertisers/companies in order to contract with an
advertiser/company to obtain distribution data is sent from the
portable dedicated terminal 202 by customer's operations, the
intermediate server 201 (FIG. 11) receives this by the receiving
part 212, and takes this in a matching part 216.
[0312] In this case, as shown in FIG. 15, the matching part 216
takes the customer's permission data in a monitor part 220. In the
monitor part 220, the customer registration information on the
customer who has permitted the release is read from the customer
database 210 based on the customer ID included in the customer's
permission data, and transmitted to the judging part 221, and also
to an advertiser/company information extracting part 223 via a
delay part 222.
[0313] The matching part 216 determines with the judging part 221
whether there are genres having the number of obtained times more,
than a predetermined threshold (for example, 100 times) as the
genres of content data that the customer obtained, from the
accessed genre information and the access counter information in
the customer registration information.
[0314] If there are genres having the number of obtained times more
than the threshold value, in the customer registration information,
the matching part 216 determines the above genres as genres meeting
the current customer's taste and judges that the customer can be
introduced to advertisers/companies, by the judging part 221. Then,
the matching part 216 notifies the advertiser/company information
extracting part 223 of the genres having the number of obtained
times more than the threshold value as customer's taste
information.
[0315] The matching part 216 compares distributed genre information
included in advertiser/company registration information in the
advertiser/company database 211 with the customer's taste
information for search, and reads the advertiser/company
registration information (FIG. 12(B)) of advertisers/companies that
provides distribution data of the genres shown by the above
customer's taste information, by the advertiser/company information
extracting part 223. Then, the matching part 216 generates
advertiser/company introduction information to introduce the
advertisers/companies to the customer, excluding he
advertiser/company ID from the read advertiser/company registration
information, as shown in FIG. 17.
[0316] The matching part 216 sends the advertiser/company
introduction information from the sending part 214 to the portable
dedicated terminal 202 via the Internet 204 as advertiser/company
introduction data, according to an e-mail address shown in the
customer registration information supplied from the delay part 222,
by the advertiser/company information extracting part 223, so as to
introduce the advertisers/companies that provide distribution data
meeting customer's own taste to the customer.
[0317] On the contrary, if there is no genre showing the number of
obtained times more than the threshold value in the customer
registration information, the matching part 216 judges that the
customer can not be introduced to advertisers/companies since
his/her taste is not clear, by the judging part 221, and notifies
the advertiser/company information extracting part 223 of the
judgement result.
[0318] The matching part 216 generates advertiser/company
introduction impossibility information representing that an
advertiser/company providing distribution data meeting customer's
taste could not be found by the advertiser/company information
extracting part 223, and sends this from the sending part 214 to
the portable dedicated terminal 202 via the Internet 204 as
advertiser/company introduction impossibility data, according to
the e-mail address shown in the customer registration information
supplied from the delay part 222, so as to notify the customer that
an advertiser/company providing distribution data meeting
customer's own taste could not be found at the present time.
[0319] As a result of introducing the advertisers/companies to the
customer, if selected advertiser/company data (including the
customer ID) showing advertisers/companies that the customer
selected from among the introduced advertisers/companies is sent
from the portable dedicated terminal 202 by customer's operations,
the intermediate server 201 receives this by the receiving part
212, and takes this in the advertiser/company information
extracting part 223 from the monitor part 220 of the matching part
216 via the judging part 221.
[0320] In a case where the advertiser/company introduction
information is generated, the matching part 216 temporarily stores
the customer registration information and customer's taste
information used for the above generation, in the
advertiser/company information extracting part 223.
[0321] Therefore, when taking the selected advertiser/company data
in the advertiser/company information extracting part 223, the
matching part 216 generates customer introduction information by
selectively using the taste information, from the customer
registration information (FIG. 13(B)) based on that customer's
taste information as shown in FIG. 18, in order to introduce the
customer to the advertisers/companies, and sends this as customer
introduction data from the sending part 214 via the Internet 204 to
the advertiser/company server 203 of each advertise/company
selected by the customer, according to the selected
advertiser/company data.
[0322] Thereby, the intermediate server 201 shown in FIG. 11 can
introduce the advertisers/companies that provides useful
distribution data for the customer, to the customer requesting the
introduction of advertisers/companies. At the same time, also to
the advertisers/companies, the intermediate server 201 can
introduce the customer who needs the provision of their
distribution data.
[0323] In this connection, as a result of introducing the
advertisers/companies to the customer, if advertiser/company
selection impossible data representing that the customer could not
find an advertiser/company to contract with is sent from the
portable dedicated terminal 202, the intermediate server 201
receives this by the receiving part 212, forbids the matching part
216 to generate customer introduction information, and waits for
customer's permission data to be transmitted from the portable
dedicated terminal 202 of the above customer again.
[0324] Note that, when the intermediate server 201 introduces the
customer to an advertiser/company, it collects a charge for the
introduction of the customer from the advertiser/company.
[0325] As a result of sending the customer introduction data to the
advertiser/company server 203 by the intermediate server 201, if
contract conclusion data is sent from the advertiser/company server
203 because the advertiser/company has contracted with the
customer, the intermediate server 201 receives this by the
receiving part 212, and then sends this from the sending part 214
to the portable dedicated terminal 202 via the Internet 204, so as
to notify the customer that the contract with the
advertiser/company has been concluded.
[0326] At this time, as shown in FIG. 19, the intermediate server
201 adds contracting customer ID information representing the
customer ID of the customer who contracted with the above
advertiser/company to the advertiser/company registration
information in the advertiser/company database 211 based on the
contract conclusion data, and updates the advertiser/company
registration information, by the advertiser/company information
updating part 213. At the same time, as shown in FIG. 20, the
intermediate server 201 adds contracted advertiser/company ID
information representing the advertiser/company ID of the
advertiser/company that contracted with the above customer to the
customer registration information in the customer database 210
based on that contract conclusion data, and updates the customer
registration information, by the customer information updating part
215.
[0327] Thereby, the intermediate server 201 can grasp the
contracting state between customers and advertisers/companies from
thus updated customer registration information and
advertiser/company registration information, so as not to introduce
the advertiser/company which has already a contract with the
customer when the customer who has a contract with the
advertiser/company permits the release of the customer information
to contract with a new advertiser/company.
[0328] Furthermore, as the result of that the intermediate server
201 sends the customer introduction data to the advertiser/company
server 203, if contract in conclusion data is sent from the
advertiser/company which abandoned a contract with the customer,
the intermediate server 201 receives this by the receiving part
212, and sends this from the sending part 214 to the portable
dedicated terminal 202 via the Internet 204, so as to notify the
customer that the contract with the advertiser/company was not
concluded.
[0329] In this connection, when the advertiser/company introduction
information and customer introduction information described above
with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18 are generated, the intermediate
server 201 excludes the contracting customer ID information and the
contracting advertiser/company ID information from the original
advertiser/company registration information and customer
registration information, so as to prevent personal information
unnecessary for the contract from leaking to the advertiser/company
and the customer.
[0330] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 11, when an operator
enters a registration request with an operating part 230, the
advertiser/company server 203 sends the registration request as
registration request data, from a sending part 232 to the
intermediate server 201 via the Internet 204, by a sending control
part 231.
[0331] The advertiser/company server 203 receives
advertiser/company registration screen data from the intermediate
server 201 by a receiving part 233, and transmits this from a
display control part 234 to a display part 235, to display an
advertiser/company registration screen based on that
advertiser/company registration screen data on the above display
part 235.
[0332] Then, when the operating part 230 is operated by the
operator with the advertiser/company registration screen displayed
on the display part 235, the advertiser/company server 203 sends
the advertiser/company information that was entered on the
advertiser/company registration screen according to the operations
of the above operating part 230, described above with reference to
FIG. 12(A), as advertiser/company registration information data,
from the sending part 232 to the intermediate server 201 via the
Internet 204, by the sending control part 231.
[0333] The advertiser/company server 203 receives the
advertiser/company ID sent from the intermediate server 201 that
finished the registration of the advertiser/company, via the
Internet 204 by the receiving part 233, and stores this in a
distribution information database 236. Thereafter, when accessing
the intermediate server 201, the advertiser/company server 203 uses
that advertiser/company ID for identification.
[0334] After registration at the intermediate server 201, if the
customer introduction information described above with reference to
FIG. 17 is sent as customer introduction data, from the above
intermediate-server 201 via the Internet 204, the
advertiser/company server 203 receives this by the receiving part
233 and takes this in a customer selecting part 237.
[0335] In this case, the advertiser/company server 203 judges by
the customer selecting part 237 whether a contract should be
concluded with the customer that was introduced from the
intermediate server 201, by referring to the contract conditions
and the usage state of the Internet, etc., based on the customer
introduction data.
[0336] When the advertiser/company server 203 has decided to
contract with the customer with the customer selecting part 237,
the advertiser/company server 203 generates contract conclusion
data by a send data generating part 238, and sends this to the
intermediate server 201 sequentially via the sending control part
231, the sending part 232 and the Internet 204.
[0337] At this time, the advertiser/company server 203 notifies the
sending control part 231 of the decision of a contract with the
customer, by the customer selecting part 237. The
advertiser/company server 203 properly reads distribution data
meeting the taste of the contracting customer from among various
distribution data previously stored in the distribution information
database 236 by the sending control part 231, and sends the above
read distribution data from the sending part 232 to customer's
portable dedicated terminal 202 via the Internet 204.
[0338] In this manner, the advertiser/company server,203 can
properly provide distribution data meeting customer's taste to the
contracting customer.
[0339] In this connection, when the advertiser/company server 203
has decided not to contract with the customer, with the customer
selecting part 237, the advertiser/company server 203 generates
contract inconclusion data by the send data generating part 238,
and sends this to the intermediate server 201 sequentially via the
sending control part 231, the sending part 232 and the Internet
204.
[0340] In the portable dedicated terminal 202, if the customer
wanting registration at the intermediate server 201 inputs a
registration with an operating part 240, the portable dedicated
terminal 202 generates registration request data by a request data
generating part 241, and sends this from a sending part 242 to the
intermediate server 201 via the Internet 204.
[0341] The portable dedicated terminal 202 receives customer
registration screen data sent from the intermediate server 201 via
the Internet 204 by a receiving part 243, and transmits this to a
reproducing part 244 composed of a display control part, a display
part, a speaker, etc, in order to display a customer registration
screen based on that customer registration screen data by the above
reproducing part 244.
[0342] Then, if the operating part 240 is operated by the customer
in the state where the customer registration screen is displayed by
the reproducing part 244, the portable dedicated terminal 202 sends
the customer information inputted on the customer registration
screen by operations of the above operating part 240, described
above with reference to FIG. 13(A), as customer registration
information data, from the sending part 242 to the intermediate
server 201 via the Internet 204, by the request data generating
part 241.
[0343] The portable dedicated terminal 202 receives the customer ID
from the intermediate server 201 that finished the registration of
the customer, via the Internet 204 by the receiving part 243, and
takes the received customer ID in a recording control part 245.
[0344] The portable dedicated terminal 202 can recognize various
data taken in the recording control part 245 from the receiving
part 243, based on an identifier that has been previously added to
that data, by the above recording control part 245.
[0345] When the portable dedicated terminal 202 obtained a customer
ID, the customer ID is recorded on a storage medium for customer
246 by the recording control part 245. Thereafter, when accessing
the intermediate server 201 and accessing an agency via the
intermediate server 201, the portable dedicated terminal 202 uses
that customer ID to make the intermediate server 201 and the agency
recognize the customer.
[0346] When the customer is registered at the intermediate server
201, the portable dedicated terminal 202 sends specifying
information on desired content data entered by customer's
operations with the operating part 240 as content specifying data
accompanied with the customer ID, from the sending part 242 to the
agency via the intermediate server 201, by the request data
generating part 241.
[0347] Then, when the portable dedicated terminal 202 receives
requested content data from the agency by the receiving part 243,
the portable dedicated terminal 202 recognizes this by the
recording control part 245, and records this in an storage medium
for agency 247. Thereafter, the portable dedicated terminal 202
reproduces the content data from the storage medium for agency 247
by the reproduction control part 248, according to the operations
of the operating part 240, and transmits the above reproduced
content data to the reproducing part 244. Thus, the customer can
enjoy the content.
[0348] If the customer enters permission information for permitting
the release of the customer information with the operating part
240, the portable dedicated terminal 202 generates customer's
permission data representing that permission information by the
request data generating part 241, and sends this from the sending
part 242 to the intermediate server 201 via the Internet 204.
[0349] As a result, when advertiser/company introduction data is
sent from the intermediate server 201 via the Internet 204, the
portable dedicated terminal 202 receives this by the receiving part
243, and transmits this to the reproducing part 244 to show the
customer the advertisers/companies introduced from the intermediate
server 201 on an advertiser/company introduction screen based on
that advertiser/company introduction data.
[0350] If the customer selects desired advertiser/company with the
operating part 240, the portable dedicated terminal 202 generates
selected advertiser/company data representing that selected
advertiser/company by the request data generating part 241, and
sends this from the sending part 242 to the intermediate server 201
via the Internet 204.
[0351] As a result, when contract conclusion data is sent from the
intermediate server 201 via the Internet 204 because the
advertiser/company has contracted with the customer, the portable
dedicated terminal 202 receives this by the receiving part 243, and
transmits this to the reproducing part 244, to notify the customer
of the conclusion of the contract with the advertiser/company.
[0352] When distribution data is sent from the advertiser/company
server 203 that contracted with the customer, the portable
dedicated terminal 202 receives this by the receiving part 243, and
recognizes the above received distribution data by the recording
control part 245 and records this on the storage medium for
customer 246. Thereafter, the portable dedicated terminal 202
reproduces the distribution data from that storage medium for
customer 246 by the reproduction control part 248, according to the
operations of the operating part 240, and transmits the above
reproduced distribution data to the reproducing part 244 to show
the customer various information based on that distribution
data.
[0353] On the contrary, if the advertiser/company abandoned a
contract with the customer and contract inconclusion data is sent
from the intermediate server 201, the portable dedicated terminal
202 receives this by the receiving part 243, and transmits this to
the reproducing part 244 to notify the customer that the contract
with the advertiser/company was not concluded.
[0354] In this connection, as the result of that the portable
dedicated terminal 202 sent the customer's permission data to the
intermediate server 201, if advertiser/company introduction
impossibility data is sent, the portable dedicated terminal 202
receives this by the receiving part 243, and transmits this to the
reproducing part 244 to notify the customer that the intermediate
server 201 could not find an advertiser/company which can be
introduced to the customer at the present time.
[0355] As the result of that the advertisers/companies introduced
from the intermediate server 201 were shown to the customer, if
selection impossibility information representing that the customer
could not find an advertiser/company to contract with, out of the
introduced advertisers/companies is entered by the above customer
with the operating part 240, the portable dedicated terminal 202
generates advertiser/company selection impossibility data
representing that selection impossibility information by the
request data generating part 241, and sends this from the sending
part 242 to the intermediate server 201 via the Internet 204.
[0356] By the way, as already described above, this portable
dedicated terminal 202 has the storage medium for customer 246 and
the storage medium for agency 247. The data (customer ID and
distribution data) obtained from the intermediate server 201 and
the advertiser/company server 203 other than the agencies is
recorded on the storage medium for customer 246 by separating that
from the data (content data) obtained from the above agencies.
[0357] Thereby, in the advertiser/company server 203, when the
content data rented from the agency is deleted from the storage
medium for agency 247 on the expiration of the rental term, it can
be almost prevented that the customer erroneously erases data such
as the customer ID and the distribution data obtained for
himself/herself from the servers other than the agencies with the
above content data.
[0358] Now, an advertiser/company registration processing procedure
by the intermediate server 201 and the advertiser/company server
203 in the data providing system 200 will be collectively
described. First, as shown in FIG. 21(A), the advertiser/company
server 203 enters routine RT10 from the starting step and proceeds
to step SP101.
[0359] In step SP101, the advertiser/company server 203 waits for a
registration request to be entered via the operating part 230. When
the registration request is entered, the advertiser/company server
203 proceeds to step SP102.
[0360] In step SP102, the advertiser/company server 203 sends the
registration request as registration request data, from the sending
part 232 to the intermediate server 201 by the sending control part
231, and proceeds to step SP103.
[0361] At this time, as shown in FIG. 21(B), the intermediate
server 201 enters routine RT11 from the starting step, and proceeds
step SP111 to wait for the registration request data to be sent
from the advertiser/company server 203. When the intermediate
server 201 receives the registration request data from the above
advertiser/company server 203, by the receiving part 212, the
intermediate server 201 proceeds to step SP112.
[0362] In step SP112, the intermediate server 201 reads
advertiser/company registration screen data from the
advertiser/company database 211 based on the received registration
request data by the advertiser/company information updating part
213, and sends this from the sending part 214 to the
advertiser/company server 203, and proceeds to step SP113.
[0363] At this time, in step SP103, the advertiser/company server
203 waits for the advertiser/company registration screen data to be
sent from the intermediate server 201. When the advertiser/company
server 203 receives the advertiser/company registration screen data
by the receiving part 233, the advertiser/company server 203
proceeds to step SP104.
[0364] In step SP104, the advertiser/company server 203 sends
advertiser/company information, which was entered on an,
advertiser/company registration screen based on the
advertiser/company registration screen data by the operator with
the operating part 230, as advertiser/company registration
information data, from the sending part 232 to the intermediate
server 201 by the sending control part 231, and proceeds to step
SP105.
[0365] At this time, in step SP113, the intermediate server 201
waits for the advertiser/company registration information data to
be sent from the advertiser/company server 203. When the
intermediate server 201 receives the advertiser/company
registration information data by the receiving part 212, the
intermediate server 201 proceeds to step SP114.
[0366] In step SP114, the intermediate server 201 issues an
advertiser/company ID to the advertiser/company that has requested
a registration, by the advertiser/company information updating part
213, and sends this from the sending part 214 to the
advertiser/company server 203. At the same time, the intermediate
server 201 adds the advertiser/company ID to the advertiser/company
information based on the advertiser/company registration
information data obtained from the above advertiser/company server
203 and takes this as advertiser/company registration information,
and records this in the advertiser/company database 211 and
registers the above advertiser/company that has requested the
registration. Then, the intermediate server 201 proceeds to step
SP115 to finish the processing in the intermediate server 201.
[0367] Furthermore, in step SP105, the advertiser/company server
203 waits for the advertiser/company ID to be transmitted from the
intermediate server 201. When the advertiser/company server 203
receives the above advertiser/company ID by the receiving part 233,
the advertiser/company server 203 proceeds to step SP106 to store
that advertiser/company ID in the distribution information database
236. Then, the advertiser/company server 203 proceeds to the next
step SP107 to finish the processing in the advertiser/company
server 203. In this manner, the data providing system 200 finishes
all the advertiser/company registration processing procedures in
the intermediate server 201 and the advertiser/company server
203.
[0368] An advertiser/company introduction processing procedures by
the intermediate server 201 and the portable dedicated terminal 202
in this data providing system 200 will be collectively described.
First, as shown in FIGS. 22 (A) and 23(A), the portable dedicated
terminal 202 enters routine RT12 from the starting step, and
proceeds to step SP121.
[0369] In step SP121, the portable dedicated terminal 202 waits the
customer to enter a registration request with the operating part
240. When the registration request is entered, the portable
dedicated terminal 202 proceeds to step SP122.
[0370] In step SP122, the portable dedicated terminal 202 sends the
registration request as registration request data, from the sending
part 242 to the intermediate server 201 by the request data
generating part 241, and proceeds to step SP123.
[0371] At this time, as shown in FIGS. 22(B) and 23(B), the
intermediate server 201 enters routine RT13 from the starting step,
and proceeds to step SP141 to wait for the registration request
data to be sent from the portable dedicated terminal 202. When the
intermediate server 201 receives the registration request data from
the portable dedicated terminal 202 by the receiving part 212, the
intermediate server 201 proceeds to step SP142.
[0372] In step SP142, the intermediate server 201 reads customer
registration screen data from the customer database 210 by the
customer information updating part 215, based on the registration
request data, and sends this from the sending part 214 to the
portable dedicated terminal 202, and proceeds to step SP143.
[0373] At this time, in step SP123, the portable dedicated terminal
202 waits for the customer registration screen data to be sent from
the intermediate server 201. When the portable dedicated terminal
202 receives the above customer registration screen data by the
receiving part 243, the portable dedicated terminal 202 proceeds to
step SP124.
[0374] In step SP124, the portable dedicated terminal 202 sends
customer information, which was entered on a customer registration
screen based on the customer registration screen data by the
customer with the operating part 240, as customer registration
information data from the sending part 242 to the intermediate
server 201 by the request data generating part 241, and proceeds to
step SP125.
[0375] At this time, in step SP143, the intermediate server 201
waits for the customer registration information data to be sent
from the portable dedicated terminal 202. When the intermediate
server 212 receives the above customer registration information
data by the receiving part 212, the intermediate server 201
proceeds to step SP144.
[0376] In step SP144, the intermediate server 201 issues a customer
ID to the customer who has requested a registration by the customer
information updating part 215, and sends this from the sending part
214 to the portable dedicated terminal 202. At the same time, the
intermediate server 201 adds the customer ID to the customer
information based on the above customer registration information
data obtained from the portable dedicated terminal 202 and takes
this as customer registration information, and stores this in the
customer database 210 to register the above customer who has
requested the registration. Then, the intermediate server 201
proceeds to step SP145.
[0377] At this time, in step SP125, the portable dedicated terminal
202 waits for the customer ID to be sent from the intermediate
server 201. When the portable dedicated terminal 202 receives the
customer ID by the receiving part 243, the portable dedicated
terminal 202 proceeds to step SP126 to record that customer ID on
the storage medium for customer 246, and proceeds to step
SP127.
[0378] In step SP127, the portable dedicated terminal 202 waits for
the customer to enter any request with the operating part 240. When
the above request is entered, the portable dedicated terminal 202
proceeds to step SP128 to determine whether or not that request is
a request to permit the release of the customer information.
[0379] Obtaining a negative result in this step SP128 means that
customer's request is specifying information, for example, to
obtain content data from various agencies. At this time, the
portable dedicated terminal 202 proceeds to step SP129 to generate
content specifying data representing the specifying information and
including the customer ID by the request data generating part 241,
and sends this from the sending part 242 to the agencies via the
intermediate server 201, and returns to step SP127.
[0380] Thereafter, until the customer requests the permission of
the release of the customer information, the portable dedicated
terminal 202 repeats the processing loop of steps SP127-SP128-SP129
every time when content data specifying information is entered by
the above customer.
[0381] Obtaining an affirmative result in step SP128 means that the
customer wants to contract with the advertiser/company and requests
the release of the customer information. At this time, the portable
dedicated terminal 202 proceeds to step SP130 to generate
customer's per mission data representing a request for the release
of that customer information and including the customer ID by the
request data generating part 241, and sends this from the sending
part 242 to the intermediate server 201. Then, the portable
dedicated terminal 202 proceeds to step SP131.
[0382] On the other hand, in step SP145, the intermediate server
201 waits for any data to be sent from the portable dedicated
terminal 202. When the intermediate server 201 receives the data
from the above portable dedicated terminal 202 by the receiving
part 212, the intermediate server 201 proceeds to step SP146 to
determine whether or not the received data is customer's permission
data.
[0383] Obtaining a negative result in step SP146 means that the
intermediate server 201 received content specifying data from the
portable dedicated terminal 202 for relay to the agency. At this
time, the intermediate server 201 proceeds to step SP147 to update
customer registration information based on that content specifying
data by the customer information updating part 215. Then, the
intermediate server 201 proceeds to step SP145.
[0384] In this manner, until customer's permission data is sent
from the portable dedicated terminal 202, the intermediate server
201 repeats the processing loop of steps SP145-SP146-SP147 every
time when content specifying data is received from the above
portable dedicated terminal 202, and thereby sequentially updates
the customer registration information.
[0385] Obtaining an affirmative result in step SP146 means that the
customer permits the release of the customer information to
contract with an advertiser/company and the intermediate server 201
received customer's permission data. At this time, the intermediate
server 201 proceeds to step SP148 to determine whether there are
genres showing the number of obtained times more than the threshold
value, out of the content data obtained by the customer, based on
customer registration information on the customer who permitted the
release, by the matching part 216.
[0386] Obtaining a negative result in this step SP148 means that
because there is no genre showing the number of obtained times more
than the threshold value, regarding to the content data that the
customer obtained, it is hard to specify customer's taste at the
present time. At this time, the intermediate server 201 generates
advertiser/company introduction impossibility data by the matching
part 216, and sends this from the sending part 214 to the portable
dedicated terminal 202 to notifying the customer that an
advertiser/company which can be introduced to the customer could
not be found at the present time. Then, the intermediate server 201
returns to step SP145.
[0387] On the contrary, obtaining an affirmative result in step
SP148 means that there are genres having the number of obtained
times more than the threshold value, regarding to the content data
that the customer obtained, and that the genres are specified as
customer's taste at the present time. At this time, the
intermediate server 201 proceeds to step SP149.
[0388] In step SP149, the intermediate server 201 searches
advertiser/company registration information in the
advertiser/company database 211 based on customer's taste that was
specified in step SP148, by the matching part 216, to read
advertiser/company registration information on the
advertiser/company providing distribution data meeting the above
customer's taste.
[0389] The intermediate server 201 generates advertiser/company
introduction information based on the advertiser/company
registration information read from the advertiser/company database
211 by the matching part 216, and sends this as advertiser/company
introduction data, from the sending part 214 to the portable
dedicated terminal 202 to introduce the advertiser/company to the
customer. Then, the intermediate server 201 returns to step SP145
and repeats the processing of steps SP145-SP146-SP147-SP148-SP149
again.
[0390] After sending the customer's permission data to the
intermediate server 201, in step SP131, the portable dedicated
terminal 202 waits the advertiser/company introduction data and
advertiser/company introduction impossibility data to be sent from
the intermediate server 201. When the portable dedicated terminal
202 receives the advertiser/company introduction data or the
advertiser/company introduction impossibility data from the
intermediate server 201 by the receiving part 243, the portable
dedicated terminal 202 proceeds to the next step SP132.
[0391] When the portable dedicated terminal 202 receives the
advertiser/company introduction impossibility data by the receiving
part 243, in step SP132, the portable dedicated terminal 202
transmits this to the reproducing part 244 to notify the customer
that the intermediate server 201 could not find an
advertiser/company for the customer. Then, the portable dedicated
terminal 202 returns to step SP127 and repeats the processing of
steps SP127-SP128-SP129-SP130-SP131-SP132 again.
[0392] When the portable dedicated terminal 202 receives the
advertiser/company introduction data by the receiving part 243, in
step SP132, the portable dedicated terminal 202 transmits this to
the reproducing part 244 to show the customer the
advertisers/companies that were introduced from the intermediate
server 201. Then, the portable dedicated terminal 202 returns to
step SP127 and repeats the processing of steps
SP127-SP128-SP129-SP130-SP131-SP132 again. As described above, the
advertiser/company introduction processing procedure in the data
providing system 200 is executed.
[0393] A contract processing procedure by the intermediate server
201, the portable dedicated terminal 202 and the advertiser/company
server 203 in the data providing system 200 will be described.
First, as shown in FIG. 24(A), the portable dedicated terminal 202
which received advertiser/company introduction data from the
intermediate server 201 enters routine RT14 from the starting step,
and proceeds to step SP161.
[0394] In step SP161, the portable dedicated terminal 202 shows the
customer the advertisers/companies that were introduced from the
intermediate server 201 by the reproducing part 244. If the above
customer selects an advertiser/company to contract with, with the
operating part 240, the portable dedicated terminal 202 proceeds to
step SP162.
[0395] In step SP162, the portable dedicated terminal 202 generates
selected advertiser/company data representing the
advertiser/company selected by the customer by the request data
generating part 241, and sends this from the sending part 242 to
the intermediate server 201 via the Internet 204. Then, the
portable dedicated terminal 202 proceeds to the next step
SP163.
[0396] At this time, as shown in FIG. 24(B), the intermediate
server 201 enters routine RT15 from the starting step, and proceeds
to step SP171 to wait for selected advertiser/company data to be
sent from the portable dedicated terminal 202. When the
intermediate server 201 receives the selected advertiser/company
data from the portable dedicated terminal 202 by the receiving part
212, the intermediate server 201 proceeds to step SP172.
[0397] In step SP172, the intermediate server 201 generates
customer introduction information from the customer registration
information based on the selected advertiser/company data by the
matching part 216, and sends this as customer introduction data,
from the sending part 214 to the advertiser/company server 203 via
the Internet 204. Then, the intermediate server 201 proceeds to
step SP173.
[0398] At this time, as shown in FIG. 24(C), the advertiser/company
server 203 enters routine RT16 from the starting step, and proceeds
to step SP181 to wait for customer introduction data to be sent
from the intermediate server 201. When the advertiser/company
server 203 receives the customer introduction data from the
intermediate server 201 by the receiving part 232, the
advertiser/company server 203 proceeds to step SP182.
[0399] In step SP182, the advertiser/company server 203 judges
whether or not to contract with the customer, by referring to the
contract conditions and the usage state of the Internet 204 based
on the customer introduction data by the customer selecting part
237.
[0400] Obtaining a negative result in step SP182 means that the
contract conditions and the using state of the Internet 204, etc.,
shown by the customer did not meet the advertiser/company
requirements and therefore a contract was abandoned. At this time,
the advertiser/company server 203 proceeds to step SP183 to
generate contract inconclusion data by the send data generating
part 238, and sends this from the sending part 232 to the
intermediate server 201 via the Internet 204. Then, the
advertiser/company server 203 proceeds to step SP184 to finish the
processing in the advertiser/company server 203.
[0401] On the contrary, obtaining an affirmative result in step
SP182 means that the contract conditions and the using state of the
Internet 204, shown by the customer, meet the advertiser/company
requirements and the advertiser/company has decided to contract
with the customer. At this time, the advertiser/company server 203
proceeds to step SP185 to generate contract conclusion data by the
send data generating part 238, and sends this from the sending part
232 to the intermediate server 201 via the Internet 204. Then, the
advertiser/company server 203 proceeds to step SP186.
[0402] In step SP186, the advertiser/company server 203 properly
reads distribution data meeting the taste of the contracting
customer from the distribution information database 236 by the
sending control part 231, and sends this from the sending part 232
to the portable dedicated terminal 202 of that customer via the
Internet 204. Then, the advertiser/company server 203 proceeds to
step SP184 to finish the processing in the advertiser/company
server 203.
[0403] In step SP173, the intermediate server 201 waits for data
representing the conclusion/inconclusion of a contract with the
customer to be sent from the advertiser/company server 203. When
the intermediate server 201 receives the above data from the
advertiser/company server 203 by the receiving part 212, the
intermediate server 201 proceeds to step SP174.
[0404] In step SP174, the intermediate server 201 determines
whether the data received from the advertiser/company server 203 is
contract conclusion data.
[0405] Obtaining a negative result in step SP174 means that the
advertiser/company abandoned to contract with the customer and the
intermediate server 201 received contract inconclusion data from
the advertiser/company server 203. At this time, the intermediate
server 201 proceeds to step SP175 to send that Contract
inconclusion data from the sending part 214 to the portable
dedicated terminal 202 via the Internet 204 to notify the customer
that a contract with the advertiser/company was not concluded.
Then, the intermediate server 201 proceeds to step SP176 to finish
the processing in the intermediate server 201.
[0406] On the contrary, obtaining an affirmative result in step
SP174 means that the advertiser/company contracted with the
customer and the intermediate server 201 received contract
conclusion data from the advertiser/company server 203. At this
time, the intermediate server 201 proceeds to step SP177 to send
that contract conclusion data from the sending part 214 to the
portable dedicated terminal 202 via the Internet 204 to notify the
customer that the contract with the advertiser/the company was
concluded. Then, the intermediate server 201 proceeds to step
SP178.
[0407] In step SP178, the intermediate server 201 updates customer
registration information in the customer database 210 based on the
contract conclusion data by the customer information updating part
215, and also updates advertiser/company registration information
in the advertiser/company database 211 based on that contract
conclusion data by the advertiser/company information updating part
213. Then, the intermediate server 201 proceeds to step SP176 to
finish the processing in the intermediate server 201.
[0408] Furthermore, in step SP163, the portable dedicated terminal
202 waits that data representing the conclusion/inconclusion of a
contract with the advertiser/company to be sent from the
intermediate server 201. When the portable dedicated terminal 202
receives the data from the above intermediate server 201, the
portable dedicated terminal 202 proceeds to step SP164.
[0409] In step SP164, the portable dedicated terminal 202
determines whether the data received from the intermediate server
201 is contract conclusion data.
[0410] Obtaining a negative result in step SP164 means that the
advertiser/company abandoned the contract and the portable
dedicated terminal 202 received contract inconclusion data from the
intermediate server 201. At this time, the portable dedicated
terminal 202 transmits the above contract inconclusion data to the
reproducing part 244 to notify the customer that the contract with
the advertiser/company was not concluded. Then, the portable
dedicated terminal 202 proceeds to step SP165 to finish the
processing in the portable dedicated terminal 202.
[0411] On the contrary, obtaining an affirmative result in step
SP164 means that the advertiser/company contracted with the
customer and the portable dedicated terminal 202 received contract
conclusion data from the intermediate server 201. At this time, the
portable dedicated terminal 202 transmits that contract conclusion
data to the reproducing part 244 to notify the customer that the
contract with the advertiser/company was concluded. Then, the
portable dedicated terminal 202 proceeds to step SP166.
[0412] In step SP166, the portable dedicated terminal 202 waits for
distribution data to be sent from the advertiser/company server 203
of the advertiser/company that contracted with the customer. When
the portable dedicated terminal 202 receives the distribution data
from the advertiser/company server 203 by the receiving part 243,
the portable dedicated terminal 202 proceeds to step SP167.
[0413] In step SP167, the portable dedicated terminal 202
recognizes and records the received distribution data on the
storage medium only for customer 246 by the recording control part
245. Thereby, the distribution data can be freely reproduced and
shown by the customer. Then, the portable dedicated terminal 202
proceeds to step SP165 to finish the processing in the portable
dedicated terminal 202. As described above, all the contract
processing procedures by the data providing system 2090 are
finished.
[0414] According to the above configuration, in this data providing
system 200, by the intermediate server 201, advertiser/company
information is obtained from the advertiser/company server 203 of
an advertiser/company that provides distribution data to the
customer via the Internet 204, stores this in the
advertiser/company database 211 as advertiser/company registration
information to register the above advertiser/company.
[0415] Furthermore, in the data providing system 200, the
intermediate server 201 obtains customer information from the
intermediate server 201 of the customer who wants to use the
Internet 204 with the portable dedicated terminal 202, issues a
customer ID, adds the customer ID to the obtained customer
information, and stores this in the customer database 210 as
customer registration information, to register the customer.
[0416] In this data providing system 200, to obtain content data or
the like by the portable dedicated terminal 202, every time when
content specifying data including the customer ID is sent from the
portable dedicated terminal 202 to an agency, the content
specifying data is relayed by the intermediate server 201, and the
contents of the above content specifying data is added to the
customer registration information in the customer database 210 and
thereby the customer registration information is updated.
[0417] In this manner, in the data providing system 200, if
customer permission data indicating the permission of the release
of the customer information is sent from the portable dedicated
terminal 202, customer's taste is determined based on the customer
registration information in the customer database 210 by the
intermediate server 201. Advertiser/company registration
information in the advertiser/company database 211 is searched
based on the above discriminated customer's taste; and thereby the
advertiser/company registration information on an
advertiser/company that provides distribution data meeting
customer's taste is read. Then, advertiser/company introduction
data is generated and sent to the portable dedicated terminal
202.
[0418] Accordingly, in this data providing system 200, the customer
can easily select the advertiser/company which provides
distribution data meeting his/her own taste with time and cost
remarkably reduced.
[0419] In this data providing system 200, as the result of
introducing an advertiser/company to the customer, if desired
advertiser/company is selected by the customer, the intermediate
server 201 provides only the advertiser/company server 203 of the
advertiser/company selected by the customer, with customer
introduction data generated from the customer registration
information being personal information on that customer, in order
to make the advertiser/company decide whether to contract with the
customer. Therefore, it can be almost prevented that personal
information on the customer is illegally released via the
Internet.
[0420] In this data providing system 200, customers are introduced
to an advertiser/company as the above manner. Therefore, also the
advertiser/company can easily and properly select customers
requesting distribution data provided by the advertiser/company,
and can efficiently and properly provide that distribution data to
the customers.
[0421] In this data providing system 200, the customer uses a
portable dedicated terminal 202 which is only for agency, and the
customer obtains distribution data provided by an
advertiser/company by the above portable dedicated terminal 202.
Thereby, the versatility of the portable dedicated terminal 202 can
be expanded, and the usability can be remarkably improved.
[0422] In this data providing system 200, in the portable dedicated
terminal 202, distribution data is obtained from an agency and is
recorded on the storage medium for customer 246 different from the
storage medium for agency 247 for storing the content data.
Thereby, when the content data rented from the agency is erased,
the distribution data can be almost prevented from being
erroneously erased.
[0423] According to the above configuration, the intermediate
server 201 has the customer database 210 for storing customer
information provided by a portable dedicated terminal 202 from the
customer to register the above customer, and the advertiser/company
database 211 for storing advertiser/company information provided
from an advertiser/company by the advertiser/company server 203 as
advertiser/company registration information to register the above
advertiser/company. Every time when content specifying data
including a customer ID that was issued in the registration of the
customer is sent from the portable dedicated terminal 202 to the
agency, the contents of the above content specifying data are added
to customer registration information in the customer database 210,
and the customer registration information is updated by the
intermediate server 201. When the intermediate server 201 receives
customer's permission data from the above portable dedicated
terminal 202, the intermediate server 201 searches
advertiser/company registration information in the
advertiser/company database 211 based on customer's taste that was
determined based on the customer registration information in the
customer database 210, generates advertiser/company introduction
data based on advertiser/company registration information on an
advertiser/company selected by the search, and sends this to the
portable dedicated terminal 202. Thereby, the customer can easily
select an advertiser/company that provides distribution data
meeting his/her own taste. Thus, a data providing system in that
customers can easily and accurately obtain desired distribution
data can be realized.
[0424] Note that, in the aforementioned fourth embodiment, when the
intermediate server 201 receives the customer's permission data
from the portable dedicated terminal 202, the intermediate server
201 decides customer's taste based on the customer registration
information in the customer database 210 and searches the
advertiser/company database 211. This invention, however, is not
limited to this and the intermediate server 201 may constantly
decides customer's taste based on the customer registration
information in the customer database 210, may inquire of the
customer whether or not he/she intends to release the customer
information, with the portable dedicated terminal 202 when the
intermediate server 201 founds the above customer's taste (that is,
when the number of obtained times of the content data by the
customer is the threshold value or over), and if as a result, the
customer's permission data to permit the release of the customer
information is sent from the customer with the portable dedicated
terminal 202, the intermediate server 201 may search
advertiser/company registration information in the
advertiser/company database 211. Thereby, when the customer permits
the release of the customer information with the presumption to
contract with and advertiser/company, it can be almost prevented
that the above customer's taste cannot be found and thereby an
advertiser/company cannot be introduced.
[0425] In the aforementioned fourth embodiment, when the
intermediate server 201 received the customer's permission data,
the intermediate server 201 searches advertiser/company
registration information in the advertiser/company database 211
based on customer's taste found based on the customer registration
information in the customer database 210. This invention, however,
is not limited to this and in addition to the customer's taste that
was found based on the customer registration information in the
customer database 210, advertiser/company registration information
in the advertiser/company database 211 may be searched also based
on the contract conditions described in the above customer
registration information. Thereby, when the customer introduction
data is sent to the advertiser/company server 203, the cases where
the advertiser/company abandons a contract with the customer owing
to the contract conditions can be remarkably reduced. Thus, a
probability that a contract is concluded between the customer and
the advertiser/company is increased, and the request of the
customer that wants to contract with an advertiser/company can be
further accurately taken up.
[0426] In the aforementioned fourth embodiment, when the
intermediate server 201 receives the customer's permission data,
the intermediate server 201 searches advertiser/company
registration information in the advertiser/company database 211
based on customer's taste that was found based on the customer
registration information in the customer database 210. This
invention, however, is not limited to this and advertiser/company
registration information in the advertiser/company database 211 may
be searched based on the taste information in the customer
information being a basis for the customer registration information
stored in the customer database 210. Thereby, in the matching part
216, excepting the processing for extracting customer's taste from
the customer registration information can reduce load on the
processing.
[0427] Furthermore, in the aforementioned fourth embodiment, the
customer uses the intermediate server 201 with the portable
dedicated terminal 202. This invention, however, is not limited to
this and the customer may use the intermediate server 201 with
other various kinds of data obtaining apparatuses, provided that
the obtaining apparatus are apparatuses connectable to the Internet
204 by the customer, such as a personal computer, a portable
telephone and a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance). Thereby, further
more customers can use introduction by the intermediate server 201
to advertisers/companies, and the system can be widely
popularized.
(6) FIFTH EMBODIMENT
[0428] FIG. 25 in which the same reference numerals are added to
corresponding parts to FIG. 11 shows a data providing system 260
according to a fifth embodiment. The data providing system 260 is
constructed similarly to the aforementioned data providing system
200 according to the fourth embodiment, except for the construction
of an intermediate server 261 corresponding to the system
management site 2 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3
and the construction of a portable dedicated terminal 262
corresponding to the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N
described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.
[0429] In this case, the intermediate server 261 registers the
customer who uses the Internet 204 with the portable dedicated
terminal 262 by storing customer registration information in a
customer database 265 similarly to the intermediate server 201
described above with reference to FIG. 11, and also registers an
advertiser/company that provides distribution data to the customer
via the Internet 204 with the advertiser/company server 203 by
storing advertiser/company registration information in the
advertiser/company database 211.
[0430] Furthermore, the intermediate server 261 updates the
customer registration information in the customer database 265
every time when the customer uses the Internet 204 to obtain
content data or the like with the portable dedicated terminal 262,
similarly to the intermediate server 201 described above with
reference to FIG. 11.
[0431] In addition to the customer registration information and
customer registration screen data, the intermediate server 261
previously stores customer information input screen data to input
customer information in the customer database 265. When the
intermediate server 261 receives customer's permission data that
was sent from the portable dedicated terminal 262 by customer's
operations, by a receiving part 266, the intermediate server 261
reads the customer information input screen data from the customer
database 265 by a customer information updating part 267, and sends
this from the sending part 214 to the portable dedicated terminal
262 via the Internet 204.
[0432] When customer information like the customer information
described above with reference to FIG. 13(A), which was entered on
the customer information input screen based on the customer
information input screen data according to customer's operations,
is sent from the portable dedicated terminal 262 as customer
information data, the intermediate server 261 receives this by a
receiving part 266 and takes this in a matching part 268.
[0433] Now, as shown in FIG. 26, the matching part 268 is
constructed by an advertiser/company information extracting part.
The matching part 268 extracts customer's taste genre information
in the customer information data, which was taken in from the
receiving part 266, as information representing customer's taste,
searches advertiser/company registration information in the
advertiser/company database 211 based on the above extracted
customer's taste genre information, to read the advertiser/company
registration information having distributed genre information in
the same genre as the genre shown in the customer's taste genre
information.
[0434] Then, the matching part 268 generates advertiser/company
introduction information described above with reference to FIG. 17
from the advertiser/company registration information read from the
advertiser/company database 211, and sends this from the sending
part 214 to the portable dedicated terminal 262 via the Internet
204 as advertiser/company introduction data.
[0435] In this manner, the intermediate server 261 introduces an
advertiser/company that can provide distribution data meeting
customer's taste to the customer who has permitted the release of
the customer information to the advertiser/company.
[0436] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 25, the portable
dedicated terminal 262 executes customer registration at the
intermediate server 261, similarly to the portable dedicated
terminal 202 described above with reference to FIG. 11, and also
sends various requests to an agency or the like to obtain content
data etc.
[0437] When a permission request indicating the permission of the
release of customer information to the advertiser/company is
entered with the operating part 240 by customer's operations, the
portable dedicated terminal 262 generates customer's permission
data by a request data generating part 270, and sends this from the
sending part 242 to the intermediate server 261 via the Internet
204.
[0438] As a result, if customer information input screen data is
sent from the intermediate server 261 via the Internet 204, the
portable dedicated terminal 262 receives this by a receiving part
271, and transmits this to the reproducing part 244, to display a
customer information input screen based on the above customer
information input screen data.
[0439] If customer information is entered on the customer
information input screen according to the operations of the
operating part 240 by the customer, the portable dedicated terminal
262 generates customer information data representing the customer
information, by the request data generating part 270, and sends
this from the sending part 242 to the intermediate server 261 via
the Internet 204.
[0440] In this manner, the portable dedicated terminal 262 can
receive the introduction of an advertiser/company that provides
distribution data meeting customer's taste, based on the
advertiser/company introduction data provided from the intermediate
server 261.
[0441] In this data providing system 260, the intermediate server
261 introduced the advertiser/company, the above intermediate
server 261 executes a contract processing procedure similar to the
contract processing procedure in the data providing system 200
(FIG. 11) described above with reference to FIG. 24, and the
portable dedicated terminal 262 and the advertiser/company server
203. Thereby, the customer and the advertiser/company can make a
contract.
[0442] Now, an advertiser/company introduction processing procedure
by the intermediate server 261 and the portable dedicated terminal
202 in the data providing system 260 will be collectively
described. First, as shown in FIG. 27(A), the portable dedicated
terminal 262 enters routine RT17 from the starting step, and
proceeds to the next step SP191 to wait for a the permission
request of the release of customer information to be entered. When
the permission request is entered with the operating part 240 by
customer's operations, the portable dedicated terminal 262 proceeds
to step SP192.
[0443] In step SP192, the portable dedicated terminal 262 generates
customer's permission data by the request data generating part 270
and sends this from the sending part 242 to the intermediate server
261, and then proceeds to step SP193.
[0444] At this time, as shown in FIG. 27(B), the intermediate
server 261 enters routine RT18 from the starting step, and proceeds
to the next step SP201 to wait for customer's permission data to be
sent from the portable dedicated terminal 262. When the
intermediate server 261 receives the above customer's permission
data by the receiving part 266, the intermediate server 261
proceeds to step SP202.
[0445] In step SP202, the intermediate server 261 reads customer
information input screen data from the customer database 265 based
on the received customer's permission data by the customer
information updating part 267, and sends this from the sending part
214 to the portable dedicated terminal 262, and then proceeds to
step SP203.
[0446] At this time, in step SP193, the portable dedicated terminal
262 waits for customer information input screen data to be sent
from the intermediate server 261. When the portable dedicated
terminal 262 receives the above customer information input screen
data by the receiving part 271, the portable dedicated terminal 262
proceeds to step SP194.
[0447] In step SP194, When customer information is entered by the
customer via the operating part 240 in the state where the customer
information input screen is displayed by transmitting the customer
information input screen data to the reproducing part 244, the
portable dedicated terminal 262 generates customer information data
by the request data generating part 270 and sends this from the
sending part 242 to the intermediate server 261, and then proceeds
to step SP195.
[0448] At this time, in step SP203, the intermediate server 261
waits for the customer information data to be sent from the
portable dedicated terminal 262. When the intermediate server 261
receives the above customer information data by the receiving part
266, the intermediate server 261 proceeds to step SP204.
[0449] In step SP204, the intermediate server 261 searches
advertiser/company registration information in the
advertiser/company database 211 based on customer's taste genre
information in the customer information data, to reads
advertiser/company registration information having distributed
genre information having the same contents as the above customer's
taste genre information, and then proceeds to step SP205.
[0450] In step SP205, the intermediate server 261 generates
advertiser/company introduction data based on the
advertiser/company registration information read from the
advertiser/company database 211, and sends this from the sending
part 214 to the portable dedicated terminal 262 to introduce the
advertiser/company to the customer. Then, the intermediate server
261 proceeds to step SP206 to finish the processing in the
intermediate server 261.
[0451] At this time, in step SP195, the portable dedicated terminal
262 waits for the advertiser/company introduction data to be sent
from the intermediate server 261. When the portable dedicated
terminal 262 receives the above advertiser/company introduction
data by the receiving part 271, the portable dedicated terminal 262
transmits this to the reproducing part 244 to show the customer the
advertisers/companies introduced from the intermediate server 261.
Then, the portable dedicated terminal 262 proceeds to step SP196 to
finish the processing in the portable dedicated terminal 262.
Thereby, all the advertiser/company introduction processing
procedure by the data providing system 260 is finished.
[0452] According to the above configuration, in this data providing
system 260, when the customer permits the release of the customer
information to the advertiser/company, the intermediate server 261
sends customer information input screen data to the portable
dedicated terminal 262 in response to the customer's permission
data sent from the portable dedicated terminal 262.
[0453] As a result, in the data providing system 260, the
intermediate server 261 searches advertiser/company registration
information in the advertiser/company database 211 based on the
customer's taste genre information in the customer information data
sent from the portable dedicated terminal 262, to read
advertiser/company registration information having distributed
genre information having the same contents as the customer's taste
genre information, generates advertiser/company introduction data
based on the above read advertiser/company registration
information, and sends this to the portable dedicated terminal 262.
Thereby, the advertiser/company that provides distribution data
meeting customer's own taste can be introduced to the customer.
[0454] Accordingly, in this data providing system 260, when the
customer permits the release of customer information to
advertisers/companies, customer information is obtained, and
advertiser/company registration information is searched based on
the above obtained customer information. Therefore, when the
customer wants to receive distribution data from an
advertiser/company, the advertiser/company can be introduced
according to the customer's interest.
[0455] That is, in this data providing system 260, even at the time
when customer's interest has changed between his/her customer
registration at the intermediate server 261 and the permission of
the release of customer information to an advertiser/company, or
even at the time when the number of the using times of the Internet
204 is relatively less than the time when the customer just began
to use the portable dedicated terminal 262, customer's interest can
be accurately grasped and the advertiser/company that provides
distribution data desired by the above customer can be introduced
to the customer.
[0456] According to the above configuration, the intermediate
server 261 sends customer information input screen data to the
portable dedicated terminal 262 in response to customer's
permission data sent from the portable dedicated terminal 262,
searches advertiser/company registration information in the
advertiser/company database 211 based on customer's taste genre
information in customer information data sent from the portable
dedicated terminal 262 as the result of the sending, to read
advertiser/company registration information having distributed
genre information having the same contents as the above customer's
taste genre information, generates advertiser/company introduction
data based on that advertiser/company registration information and
sends this to the portable dedicated terminal 262. Thereby, in
addition to the effects obtained by the aforementioned fourth
embodiment, advertisers/companies can be introduced to the customer
while accurately reflecting customer's interest at the time point
that the customer wants to receive distribution data from an
advertiser/company. Thus, a data providing system in which the
customer can further accurately obtain desired distribution data
can be accomplished.
[0457] Note that, in the aforementioned fifth embodiment, the
intermediate server 261 searches advertiser/company registration
information in the advertiser/company database 211 based on
customer's taste genre information in customer information data.
This invention, however, is not limited to this and, instead of the
customer's taste genre in the customer information data,
advertiser/company registration information in the
advertiser/company database 211 may be searched by matching
comments or words in the comments representing customer's taste or
the like in the above customer information data with comments or
words in the comment such as the catchphrase of an
advertiser/company in advertiser/company registration information,
or advertiser/company registration information in the
advertiser/company database 211 may be searched by using all or
some of the above customer's taste genre information and the
comments, and their contract conditions. Thereby,
advertisers/companies can be introduced by further accurately
reflecting customer's taste.
[0458] In the aforementioned fifth embodiment, the intermediate
server 261 searches advertiser/company registration information in
the advertiser/company database 211 based on the customer's
permission data obtained when the customer permits the release of
registration information. This invention, however, is not limited
to this and the method that the intermediate server 261 searches
advertiser/company registration information in the
advertiser/company database 211 based on the customer's permission
data obtained when the customer permitted the release of
registration information, or the method that the intermediate
server 261 searches advertiser/company registration information in
the advertiser/company database 211 based on the customer
registration information according to the aforementioned fourth
embodiment may be arbitrary selected by the customer and executed.
Thereby, a data providing system can be used by both types of
customers who does not change his/her interests so much and who
relatively change his/her interests, and thus the usability of the
above data providing system can be improved.
[0459] Furthermore, in the aforementioned fifth embodiment, the
customer uses the intermediate server 261 with the portable
dedicated terminal 262. This invention, however, is not limited to
this and a user may use the intermediate server 261 with other
various kinds of data obtaining devices, provided that the data
obtaining devices are devices connectable to the Internet 204 by
the customer, such as a personal computer, a portable telephone and
a PDA. Thereby, further more customers can use the introduction of
advertisers/companies by the intermediate server 261, and thus the
introduction can be widely popularized.
(7) SIXTH EMBODIMENT
[0460] FIG. 28 shows a data providing system 300 according to a
sixth, embodiment. A request terminal 302 corresponding to the
customer 3 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 (i.e.,
the request terminal used by the customer 3), and a portable
dedicated terminal 303 corresponding to the portable dedicated
terminals 7A to 7N described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3
and being only for the agencies 4A to 4N and accessible only to the
data providing server 301 are connected to a data providing server
301 corresponding to the agencies 4A to 4N described above with
reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 via the Internet (not shown).
[0461] The data providing server 301 has a customer database 310
for storing customer registration information and customer
registration screen data, and a content database 311 for storing a
lot of content data, content selection screen data, and customizing
registration screen data to customize the above content selection
screen data according to customer's request.
[0462] When registration request data to request registration of
the customer is sent from the request terminal 302, the data
providing server 301 receives this by a receiving part 312 and
takes this in an updating part 313. The data providing server 301
reads customer registration screen data from the customer database
310 based on the registration request data by the above updating
part 313, and sends this from a sending part 314 to the request
terminal 302.
[0463] As a result, when customer information that was entered on a
customer registration screen based on the customer registration
screen data is sent from the request terminal 302, the data
providing server 301 receives this by the receiving part 312 and
takes this in the updating part 313. The data providing server 301
issues a customer ID to the customer requesting the registration
and adds this to the customer information by the above updating
part 313. The data providing server 301 stores the customer
information with the added customer ID in the customer database 310
as customer registration information to register the customer.
[0464] In this connection, When registering the customer by the
updating part 313, the data providing server 301 generates
registration completion data including the customer ID and sends
this from the sending part 314 to the request terminal 302, to
notify the customer of the completion of the registration and the
customer ID.
[0465] When transmission request data to request the transmission
of content data is sent from the request terminal 302, the data
providing server 301 receives this by the receiving part 312, and
takes this in a search part 315, reads content selection screen
data from the content database 311 based on the transmission
request data by the above search part 315, and sends this from the
sending part 314 to the request terminal 302.
[0466] As a result, when reservation information is entered on the
content selection screen based on the content selection screen data
and reservation data representing the above reservation information
is sent from the request terminal 302, the data providing server
301 receives this by the receiving part 312.
[0467] The data providing server 301 reads the specified content
data from the content database 311 based on the reservation data by
the search part 315, and sends this from a dedicated terminal, not
shown, to a portable dedicated terminal that is not still handed
over to the customer (not shown) and is directly connected with a
cable or the like to the dedicated terminal to record therein.
[0468] In this manner, the data providing server 301 previously
prepares a portable dedicated terminal 303 by accepting an advance
reservation for the purchase or rental of content data and the
portable dedicated terminal 303 from the customer with the request
terminal 302 and records the above content data that will be bought
or rented in the portable dedicated terminal 303 that will be
similarly bought or rented. Then, when the customer comes to an
agency having the above data providing server 301, the portable
dedicated terminal 303 is handed over to the customer and is sold
or rented.
[0469] The data providing server 301 can be connected to the
portable dedicated terminal 303 that was sold or rented to the
customer via the Internet. If transmission request data to request
the transmission of content data (purchase or rental) is sent from
the above portable dedicated terminal 303 sold or rented, the data
providing server 301 receives this by the receiving part 312 and
takes this in the search part 315.
[0470] At this time, the data providing server 301 reads content
selection screen data from the content database 311 based on that
transmission request data by the search part 315, and sends this
from the sending part 314 to customer's portable dedicated terminal
303.
[0471] As a result, when content data information to specify
content data is entered on a content selection screen based on the
content selection screen data and content specifying data
representing the above specifying information is sent from the
portable dedicated terminal 303, the data providing server 301
receives this by the receiving part 312 and takes this in the
search part 315.
[0472] The data providing server 301 reads the specified content
data from the content database 311 based on that content specifying
data by the search part 315, and sends this from the sending part
314 to the portable dedicated terminal 303 to record this
therein.
[0473] In this manner, the data providing server 301 sends the
content data to the portable dedicated terminal 303 that was sold
or rented to the customer, via the Internet. Thereby, the customer
can buy or rent content data with that portable dedicated terminal
303.
[0474] Furthermore, if customizing request data to customize the
portable dedicated terminal 303 that was sold or rented to the
customer is sent, the data providing server 301 receives this by
the receiving part 313, takes this in the search part 315, reads
customizing registration screen data that has been previously
stored in the content database 311 from this based on that
customizing request data by the above search part 315, and sends
this from the sending part 314 to the portable dedicated terminal
303.
[0475] As a result, when screen customizing information for the
content selection screen, which was entered on the customizing
registration screen based on the customizing registration screen
data, is sent from the portable dedicated terminal 303 as screen
customizing data, the data providing server 301 receives this by
the receiving part 312, and takes this in the updating part 313 and
the search part 315.
[0476] The data providing server 301 reads the content selection
screen data from the content database 311 by the search part 315,
processes this based on the screen customizing data obtained from
the customer, and sends thus obtained customized screen data from
the sending part 314 to the portable dedicated terminal 303.
[0477] In this manner, the data providing server 301 shows the
customer the customized screen based on the customized screen data
on the portable dedicated terminal 303 to make the customer confirm
whether or not the content selection screen has been customized as
requested. If confirmation data representing that the above content
selection screen has been customized as wanted is sent, the data
providing server 301 adds the customized screen data to customer
registration information in the customer database 310 and updates
the above customer registration information by the updating part
313.
[0478] Thereafter, when transmission request data is sent from the
customer who requests the customizing of the content selection
screen with the portable dedicated terminal 303, the data providing
server 301 receives this by the receiving part 312, takes this in
the updating part 313, reads the screen customizing information
being added to customer registration information on the above
customer from the customer database 310 by the above updating part
313, and transmits this to a matching part 316.
[0479] The data providing server 301 reads the content selection
screen data from the content database 311 by the matching part 316,
processes this based on the screen customizing information, and
sends thus obtained customized screen data from the sending part
314 to the portable dedicated terminal 303.
[0480] Thereby, every time when transmission request data is sent
from the customer who requests the customizing of the content
selection screen with the portable dedicated terminal 303, the data
providing server 301 makes the customer specify content data to buy
or rent on the customized screen based on the customized screen
data according to a customizing request by the above customer.
[0481] In this connection, in the portable dedicated terminal 303
being rented by the customer, also information to customize the
color of the case of the above portable dedicated terminal 303 can
be selected on the customizing registration screen. If case
customizing information to specify the color of the case is sent
from that portable dedicated terminal 303 as case customizing data,
the data providing server 301 receives this by the receiving part
312, takes this in the updating part 313, adds the case customizing
information to customer registration information in the customer
database 310 and updates the above customer registration
information by the above updating part 313.
[0482] Thereby, when the portable dedicated terminal 303 is rented
to the customer again, or when the portable dedicated terminal 303
is sold to the above customer after that, the portable dedicated
terminal 303 in a color specified by the case customizing
information will be handed over.
[0483] On the other hand, if the customer enters customer
registration information with an operating part 320, the request
terminal 302 generates registration request data representing a
registration request by a request data generating part 321, and
sends this from a sending part 322 to the data providing server
301.
[0484] As a result, when the request terminal 302 receives,
customer registration screen data from the data providing server
301 by a receiving part 323, the request terminal 302 transmits
this from a display control part 324 to a display part 325 to
display a customer registration screen based on that customer
registration screen data on the above display part 325.
[0485] When customer information is entered on the customer
registration screen according to the operations of the operating
part 320 by the customer, the request terminal 302 generates
customer information data by the request data generating part 321
and sends this from the sending part 322 to the data providing
server 301 to make the data providing server 301 execute customer
registration.
[0486] When the customer enters a content data transmission request
via the operating part 320, the request terminal 302 generates
transmission request data representing that transmission request by
the request data generating part 321 and sends this from the
sending part 322 to the data providing server 301.
[0487] As a result, when the request terminal 302 receives content
selection screen data from the data providing server 301 by the
receiving part 323, the request terminal 302 transmits this from
the display control part 324 to the display part 325 to display a
content selection screen based on the content selection screen data
on the above display part 325.
[0488] When reservation information is entered on the content
selection screen according to the operations of the operating part
320 by the customer, the request terminal 302 generates reservation
data by the request data generating part 321, and sends this from
the sending part 322 to the data providing server 301. And the
reservation of the purchase or the rental of the content data and
the portable dedicated terminal 303 by the customer is
finished.
[0489] With respect to the portable dedicated terminal 303 sold or
rented to the customer in the state where the content data has been
recorded in its internal storage medium 340, if a reproduction
command is entered via an operating part 341, the portable
dedicated terminal 303 reproduces the content data that the
customer previously bought or rented from the storage medium 340 by
a reproduction control part 342, and transmits this to a
reproducing part 343 composed of a display control part, a display
part, a speaker, etc to let the customer enjoy the content.
[0490] If the customer enters a content data transmission request
with the operating part 341, the portable dedicated terminal 303
generates transmission request data representing that transmission
request by a request data generating part 344, and sends this from
a sending part 345 to the data providing server 301.
[0491] As a result, when the portable dedicated terminal 303
receives content selection screen data from the data providing
server 301 by a receiving part 346, the portable dedicated terminal
303 transmits this to the reproducing part 343 to display a content
selection screen based on the content selection screen data.
[0492] If information to specify content data is entered on the
content selection screen according to the operations of the
operating part 341, the portable dedicated terminal 303 generates
content specifying data representing that specifying information by
the request data generating part 344, and sends this from the
sending part 345 to the data providing server 301.
[0493] When the portable dedicated terminal 303 receives the
content data from the data providing server 301 by the receiving
part 346, the portable dedicated terminal 303 records this on the
storage medium 340 by a recording control part 347. Thereby, after
that, the content data will be reproduced from the storage medium
340 by the reproduction control part 342 according to the
operations of the operating part 341.
[0494] Furthermore, if the customer enters a customizing request
with the operating part 341, the portable dedicated terminal 303
generates customizing request data representing that customizing
request by the request data generating part 344, and sends this
from the sending part 345 to the data providing server 301.
[0495] As a result, when the portable dedicated terminal 303
receives the customizing registration screen data from the data
providing server 301 by the receiving part 346, the portable
dedicated terminal 303 transmits this to the reproducing part 343
to display a customizing registration screen based on that
customizing registration screen data.
[0496] If screen customizing information is entered on the
customizing registration screen according to the operations of the
operating part 341, the portable dedicated terminal 303 generates
screen customizing data representing the screen customizing
information by the request data generating part 344, and sends this
from the sending part 345 to the data providing server 301.
[0497] As the result of that the screen customizing data was sent
to the data providing server 301, when the portable dedicated
terminal 303 receives customized screen data from the above data
providing server 301 by the receiving part 346, the portable
dedicated terminal 303 sends this to the reproducing part 343 to
show the customer a customized screen based on the customized
screen data.
[0498] As a result, if confirmation information to confirm that the
content selection screen is customized as requested is entered by
the customer with the operating part 341, the portable dedicated
terminal 303 generates confirmation data by the request data
generating part 344, and sends this from the sending part 345 to
the data providing server 301 to store the screen customizing
information representing the customizing contents that the customer
wants in the above data providing server.
[0499] After the screen customizing data is stored in the data
providing server 301, the portable dedicated terminal 303 sends
content transmission request data to the data providing server 301.
Then, the portable dedicated terminal 303 receives the customized
screen data from the data providing server 301 by the receiving
part 346, and transmits this to the reproducing part 343. Thereby,
content data for purchase or for rental can be selected on the
customized screen generated by customizing the content selection
screen.
[0500] In this connection, if case customizing information to
customize the color of the case of the portable dedicated terminal
303 is entered on the customizing registration screen according to
the operations of the operating part 341, the portable dedicated
terminal 303 generates case customizing data representing that case
customizing information by the request data generating part 344,
and sends this from the sending part 345 to the data providing
server 301. Thus, the case customizing information for the case of
the portable dedicated terminal 303 is stored in the data providing
server 301.
[0501] In addition to the above configuration, in this sixth
embodiment, when creating the content database 311 by obtaining a
lot of content data from a content server (not shown) being the
provider of the content data and corresponding to the system
management site described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, the
data providing server 301 obtains a predetermined developmental
tool for forming a content selection screen from the above content
server.
[0502] The data providing server 301 generates content selection
screen data in that the shop of the agency is displayed as
three-dimensional virtual reality space images with the
developmental tool and the customer can select content data as if
he/she selects packaged media from shelves by actually walking in
the shop of an agency by the above three-dimensional virtual
reality space images, and stores the generated content selection
screen data in the content database 311.
[0503] In this connection, the data providing server 301 stores the
same content data as content data in a lot of packaged media
actually being sold or rented at the agency in the content database
311, and generates the content selection screen data so that the
layout of shelves, checkout counters, steps, etc. in the shop of
the agency, and the layout of the packaged media in the above
shelves or the like are almost faithfully reproduced.
[0504] The data providing server 301 updates the content selection
screen data at constant timing or arbitrary timing by synchronizing
with the time when new packaged media were put on the shelves in
the shop of the agency (that is, it is also the time when new
content data is obtained from a content server) and the time when
the inside of the shop of the agency is remodeled. Thereby, the
customer selecting content data on the content selection screen can
have such feeling as to actually select packaged media in the shop
of the agency.
[0505] Actually, as shown in FIG. 29, the content selection screen
data is composed of plural image data by adding a selection
confirmation image 355 being a two-dimensional image to confirm
content data selected by the customer, to the three-dimensional
virtual reality space images such as an "image of exterior of shop"
350 that represents the exterior of the agency (entrance), an
"image of first floor in shop" 351 and an "image of second floor in
shop" 352, which represent each floor in the shop, an "image of
shelf in shop" 353 that represents each of plural shelves
containing packaged media by genre in the shop with an enlargement,
a content selection image 354 to select content data by enlarging
the backbones of the packaged media aligned on the shelves,
etc.
[0506] In this case, in the image of exterior of shop 350, an
entering button 360 to enter the shop and switch the display to the
image of first floor 351 is provided.
[0507] In the image of first floor 351 and the image of second
floor 352, movement buttons 361 and 362 to switch the display to
the image of second floor in shop 352 or the image of first floor
in shop 351, which is another floor, a shelf selection button 363
to select a shelf by genre and switch the display to the image of
shelf in shop 353, and a checkout counter button 364 to switch the
display to a selection confirmation image 355 after the customer
selected content data to buy or rent, are provided.
[0508] Furthermore, in the image of shelf in shop 353, the packaged
media have been classified by the Japanese alphabet, and a detail
button 365 to switch the display to the content selection image 354
by the above classified packaged media is provided.
[0509] In the image of exterior of shop 350, the image of first
floor in shop 351, the image of second floor in shop 352 and the
content selection image 354, the image of a human representing the
customer (hereinafter, this is referred to as customer's image) 366
and the image of a human representing a clerk (hereinafter, this is
referred to as clerk's image) 367 are displayed. By moving the
above customer image 366 as if it is actually walking in the shop
and by overlapping it on the entering button 360, the movement
buttons 361 and 362, the shelf selection button 363, the checkout
counter button 364, the backbone of packaged media in the content
selection image 354, etc. or approximating it to them and
selectively specifying (clicking) these buttons, image specifying
commands previously allocated to the above buttons can be
entered.
[0510] In addition to this, in the image of shelf in shop 353 and
the selection confirmation image 355, a cursor to be inversely
displayed on a detail button 365, a confirmation button 368, a
cancel button 369, etc. (not shown) by overlapping. By moving the
above cursor and selectively specifying (clicking) one of these
buttons, a command previously allocated to the above button can be
entered.
[0511] Specifically, the portable dedicated terminal 303 which
received content selection image data first displays the image of
exterior of shop 350 of a content selection screen by the
reproducing part 343, moves the customer's image 366 on the image
of exterior of shop 350 according to the operation of the operating
part 341. If the entering button 360 is selectively specified, the
portable dedicated terminal 303 displays the image of first floor
in shop 351 instead of the image of exterior of shop 350.
[0512] The portable dedicated terminal 303 moves the customer's
image 366 on the image of first floor in shop 351 according to the
operation of the operating part 341 when the movement button 361 is
selectively specified, the portable dedicated terminal 303 displays
the image of first floor in shop 351 instead of the above image of
first floor in shop 351.
[0513] In this manner, the portable dedicated terminal 303 moves
the customer's image 366 on the image of first floor in shop 351
and the image of second floor in shop 352 according to the
operation of the operating part 341. If one of the shelf selection
buttons 363 is selectively specified, the portable dedicated
terminal 303 displays the image of shelf in shop 353 corresponding
to the above shelf selection button 363 selectively specified
instead of the image of first floor in shop 351 or the image of
second floor in shop 352.
[0514] The portable dedicated terminal 303 moves the cursor on the
image of shelf in shop 353 according to the operation of the
operating part 341. If one of the detail buttons 365 is selectively
specified, the portable dedicated terminal 303 displays a
corresponding content selection image 354 instead of the above
image of shelf in shop 353.
[0515] After the customer's image 366 was moved on the content
selection image 354 and content data was selectively specified as
one of packaged media according to the operation of the operating
part 341, if the movement buttons 361 or 362 is selectively
specified, the portable dedicated terminal 303 displays the image
of first floor in shop 351 or the image of second floor in shop 352
again instead of the above content selection image 354. In this
manner, for instance, if the customer's image 366 is moved on the
image of second floor in shop 352 and the checkout counter button
364 is selectively specified, the portable dedicated terminal 303
displays the selection confirmation image 355 instead of the above
image of second floor in shop 352.
[0516] Here, in the selection confirmation image 355, the title of
the content data selected by the customer, customer's name,
customer ID, password, etc. are displayed. The portable dedicated
terminal 303 moves the cursor according to the operation of the
operating part 341, so that the rental term or purchase of content
data can be entered. If the above rental term or purchase is
entered, a charge for the rental or the buying of the content data
is displayed responding to that.
[0517] If moving the cursor and on the selection confirmation image
355 and selectively specifying the confirmation button 368
according to the operation of the operating part 341, the portable
dedicated terminal 303 generates content specifying data by the
request data generating part 344 by using information in the
selection confirmation image 355 as specification information by
the request data generating part 344, and sends the above generated
content specifying data from the sending part 345 to the data
providing server 301. Thereby, the customer can obtain the content
data that he/she specified.
[0518] On the contrary, if moving the cursor on the selection
confirmation image 355 and selectively specifying the cancel button
369 according to the operation of the operating part 341, the
portable dedicated terminal 303 displays for example the image of
first floor in shop 351 instead of the above selection confirmation
image 355. Thereby, the customer can select content data again.
[0519] In addition to this, as shown in FIGS. 30(A) and 30(B), if
moving the customer's image 366 and passing it in front of each
shelf on the image of first floor in shop 351 or the image of
second floor in shop 352 according to the operation of the
operating part 341, the portable dedicated terminal 303 reproduces
content data of which the advertisement set by the agency is
wanted, for few seconds by matching with the genre of each shelf.
Thereby, the customer views the content data intended by the
agency, and it can be advertised to the customer.
[0520] In this connection, the data quantity of such content
selection screen data is relatively large. Therefore, when the data
providing server 301 receives transmission request data from the
portable dedicated terminal 303, the data providing server 301
first sends the data of the image of exterior of shop 350 to the
above portable dedicated terminal 303 as content selection screen
data. Then, if the entering button 360 is selectively specified on
the above image of exterior of shop 350, the data, providing server
301 receives that notification and sends the data of the image of
first floor in shop 351. In this manner, the data providing server
301 receives a notification and sends corresponding image data,
every time when the switching of the display to another image is
specified from the portable dedicated terminal 303 by the entering
button 360, the movement buttons 361 and 362, etc. on each image
forming the content selection screen data.
[0521] Furthermore, if the customer's image 366 is moved to a
specified coordinate position that has been previously specified to
reproduce content data for advertisement on the image of first
floor in shop 351 and the image of second floor in shop 352 and the
data providing server 301 is notified of the specified coordinate
position from the portable dedicated terminal 303, the data
providing server 301 reads the predetermined part of the content
data corresponding to the above specified coordinate position that
has been previously stored in the content database 311 as
commercial data by the search part 315, and sends this from the
sending part 314 to the portable dedicated terminal 303.
[0522] The data providing server 301 divides the content selection
screen data into the data of each image and content data for
advertisement, and sequentially sends this to the portable
dedicated terminal 303. Thereby, it can be prevented that the
capacity of the storage medium 340 in the above portable dedicated
terminal 303 becomes large.
[0523] By the way, in the data providing server 301, on a
customizing registration screen to be provided to the portable
dedicated terminal 303 according to a customizing request by the
customer, various screen customizing information such as change of
an image specifying command previously and addition of a new input
part to an arbitrary image that have been previously allocated to
the buttons (the entering button 360 etc.) in each image forming
the content selection screen described above with reference to FIG.
29, and also the rearrangement of packaged media in the content
selection image 354 into for example the order of created date of
content data, arbitrary change of the background color of the above
content selection image 354 and selection confirmation image 355
can be entered.
[0524] Thereby, for instance, as shown in FIG. 31, the data
providing server 301 switches the display of the content selection
screen from the image of exterior of shop 370 to a content
selection image 372 based on the screen customizing data obtained
from the portable dedicated terminal 303 according to the selective
specifying of an entry-to-shop button 371. Then, the data providing
server 301 switches the display from the above content selection
image 372 to the selection confirmation image 355, or provides a
new input part 373 on the image of exterior of shop 370 to make the
customer arbitrary enter the genre of content data and switching
the display to the content selection image 372 corresponding to
that input, or newly provides an input part 374 also on the content
select image 372 to make the customer enter by specifying the
rental or the buying of content data. In this manner, the display
of the content selection screen can be customized according to
customer's request.
[0525] Accordingly, in the data providing server 301, the usability
of the content selection screen can be remarkably improved for the
customer who frequently obtains content data with the portable
dedicated terminal 303 and also the customer who obtains content
data in the comparatively same genre.
[0526] In this connection, also when the data providing server 301
received transmission request data from the request terminal 302,
the data providing server 301 sends content selection screen data
composed of the data of each of the images described above with
reference to FIG. 29, to the above request terminal 302.
[0527] Now, a content providing processing procedure using content
selection screen data by the data providing server 301 and the
portable dedicated terminal 303 in the data providing system 300
will be collectively described. First, as shown in FIG. 32(A), the
portable dedicated terminal 303 enters routine RT20 from the
starting step, and proceeds to step SP211.
[0528] In step SP211, the portable dedicated terminal 303 waits for
a transmission request to be entered by customer's operations via
the operating part 341. When the above transmission request is
entered, the portable dedicated terminal 303 proceeds to step
SP212.
[0529] In step SP212, the portable dedicated terminal 303 generates
transmission request data by the request data generating part 344
and sends this from the sending part 345 to the data providing
server 301, and proceeds to step SP213.
[0530] As shown in FIG. 32(B), the data providing server 301 enters
routine RT21 from the starting step, and proceeds to step SP221. In
step SP221, the data providing server 301 waits the time to update
content selection screen data. If it arrives at the above time to
update, the data providing server 301 proceeds to step SP222 to
update the content selection screen data, and proceeds to step
SP223.
[0531] In step SP223, the data providing server 301 waits for
transmission request data to be sent from the portable dedicated
terminal 303. When the data providing server 301 receives the
transmission request data by the receiving part 312, the data
providing server 301 proceeds to step SP224 to read the content
selection screen data from the content database 311 by the search
part 315 and sends this from the sending part 314 to the portable
dedicated terminal 303, and proceeds to step SP225.
[0532] At this time, in step SP213, the portable dedicated terminal
303 waits for content selection screen data to be sent from the
data providing server 301. When the portable dedicated terminal 303
receives the content selection screen data by the receiving part
346, the portable dedicated terminal 303 transmits that content
selection screen data to the reproducing part 343 to display the
image of exterior of shop 350 being the content selection screen,
and then proceeds to step SP214.
[0533] In step SP214, the portable dedicated terminal 303 starts a
subroutine described later. When specifying information is entered
on each image forming the content selection screen according to the
operations of the operating part 341 by the customer, the portable
dedicated terminal 303 proceeds to step SP215.
[0534] In step SP215, the portable dedicated terminal 303 generates
content specifying data by the request data generating part 344 and
sends this from the sending part 345 to the data providing server
301, and proceeds to step SP216.
[0535] At this time, in step SP225, the data providing server 301
starts a subroutine described later. The data providing server 301
properly reads each image data forming content selection screen
data and commercial data from the content database 311 by the
search part 315, and sends this from the sending part 314 to the
portable dedicated terminal 303. Then, when the data providing
server 301 receives content specifying data from the above portable
dedicated terminal 303, the data providing server 301 proceeds to
step SP226.
[0536] In step SP226, the data providing server 301 searches
content data in the content database 311 based on the content
specifying data by the search part 315 to read the specified
content data, and proceeds to step SP227.
[0537] In step SP227, the data providing server 301 sends the
content data read from the content database 311 from the sending
part 314 to the portable dedicated terminal 303, and then proceeds
to step SP228 to finish the above processing by the data providing
server 301.
[0538] On the other hand, in step SP216, the portable dedicated
terminal 303 waits that the content data to be sent from the data
providing server 301. When the portable dedicated terminal 303
receives the above content data, the portable dedicated terminal
303 proceeds to step SP217 to record that content data on the
storage medium 340 by the recording control part 347. Then, the
portable dedicated terminal 303 proceeds to step SP218 to finish
the above processing by the portable dedicated terminal 303. Thus,
the data providing server 301 finishes all the content providing
processing procedure with the content selection screen data.
[0539] In this connection, as shown in FIG. 33(A), the portable
dedicated terminal 303 starts a subroutine in step SP214 and enters
step SP231. In the above step SP231 and the next step SP232, the
portable dedicated terminal 303 waits for an image specifying
command to be entered on each image such as the image of exterior
of shop 350 forming the content selection screen displayed by the
reproducing part 343 described above with reference to FIG. 29
according to the operations of the operating part 341 (that is, the
entry-to-shop button 360 or the like is selectively specified), and
waits for the customer's image 366 to be moved to the specified
coordinate position on the above image (the image of first floor in
shop 351 etc.)
[0540] In step SP231, if the image specifying command is entered by
moving the customer's image 366 and selectively specifying the
entry-to-shop button 360 or the like on the image of exterior of
shop 350 or the like according to the operations of the operating
part 341, the portable dedicated terminal 303 proceeds to step
SP233 to generate image request data representing an image
specifying command that has been previously allocated to the above
selectively specified button by the request data generating part
344, and sends this from the sending part 345 to the data providing
server 301, and proceeds to step SP234.
[0541] At this time, as shown in FIG. 33(B), the data providing
server 301 starts a subroutine in step SP225 and enters step SP251.
In the above step SP251 and the next step SP252, the data providing
server 301 waits for image request data and specified coordinate
position data to be sent from the portable dedicated terminal 303.
In that step SP251, when the data providing server 301 receives the
image request data sent from the portable dedicated terminal 303 by
the receiving part 312, the data providing server 301 proceeds to
step SP253.
[0542] In step SP253, the data providing server 301 searches
content data in the content database 311 based on the image request
data by the search part 315 to read the specified image data, and
sends this from the sending part 314 to the portable dedicated
terminal 303, and proceeds to step SP254.
[0543] At this time, in step SP234, the portable dedicated terminal
303 waits for the image data to be sent from the data providing
server 301. When the portable dedicated terminal 303 receives the
image data by the receiving part 346, the portable
dedicated-terminal 303 proceeds to step SP235.
[0544] In step SP235, the portable dedicated terminal 303 transmits
the received image data to the reproducing part 343 to newly
display an image based on the received image data instead of the
image of the content selection screen being displayed at present.
Then, the portable dedicated terminal 303 proceeds to step SP236 to
determine whether or not the confirmation button 368 has been
selectively specified on the selection confirmation image 355.
[0545] Obtaining a negative result in this step SP236 means that
the selection confirmation image 355 has not been displayed yet by
the reproducing part 343 by the reproducing part 343 or that
although the above selection confirmation image 355 has been
displayed, the confirmation button 368 has not been selectively
specified because of in the middle of entering to specify buying or
rental for the content data. At this time, the portable dedicated
terminal 303 returns to step SP231.
[0546] In step SP232, the portable dedicated terminal 303 moves the
customer's image 366 to the specified coordinate position on the
image of first floor in shop 351 or the like according to the
operation of the operating part 341, and proceeds to step SP237 to
generate specified coordinate position data representing that
specified coordinate position by the request data generating part
344 and sends this from the sending part 345 to the data providing
server 301, and proceeds to step SP238.
[0547] At this time, in step SP252, the data providing server 301
waits for the specified coordinate position data to be sent from
the portable dedicated terminal 303. When the data providing server
301 receives the specified coordinate position data by the
receiving part 312, the data providing server 301 proceeds to step
SP255 to search commercial data in the content database 311 based
on the specified coordinate position data by the search part 315
and to read specified commercial data, and sends this from the
sending part 314 to the portable dedicated terminal 303, and
proceeds to step SP254.
[0548] In step SP254, the data providing server 301 determines
whether or not it received content specifying data from the
portable dedicated terminal 303, and sequential repeats the
processing loop of steps SP251-SP252-SP253-SP254-SP255 until
receiving the content specifying data, and sends image data and
commercial data according to the image request data and the
specified coordinate position data sent from the portable dedicated
terminal 303.
[0549] When the data providing server 301 receives the content
specifying data in step SP254, the data providing server 301 pulls
out of this subroutine and proceeds to step SP226 in the processing
procedure in the data providing server 301 described above with
reference to FIG. 32(B).
[0550] On the other hand, in step SP238, the portable dedicated
terminal 303 waits for commercial data to be sent from the data
providing server 301. When the portable dedicated terminal 303
receives the commercial data by the receiving part 346, the
portable dedicated terminal 303 proceeds to step SP239 to transmit
that commercial data to the reproducing part 343. Thus, the
customer views a part of content based on the commercial data and
the above content are advertised to the customer. Then, the
portable dedicated terminal 303 proceeds to step SP236.
[0551] Until obtaining an affirmative result in step SP236, the
portable dedicated terminal 303 returns to step SP231 and
sequentially repeats the processing loop of the above steps
SP231-SP232-SP233-SP234-SP235-SP236-SP- 237-SP238-SP239. Thus, the
portable dedicated terminal 303 makes the customer select desired
content data by displaying each image of the content selection
screen while properly switching the display with mixing the
advertisement of content by the reproducing part 343.
[0552] Then, in step SP236, if confirming that the confirmation
button 368 was selectively specified on the selection confirmation
image 355 on the content selection screen, the portable dedicated
terminal 303 pulls out of this subroutine and proceeds to step
SP215 of the processing procedure in the portable dedicated
terminal 303 described above with reference to FIG. 32(A).
[0553] A content selection screen customizing processing procedure
by the data providing server 301 and the portable dedicated
terminal 303 in this data providing system 300 will be collectively
described. First, as shown in FIG. 34(A), the portable dedicated
terminal 303 enters routine RT22 from the starting step and
proceeds to step SP261.
[0554] In step SP261, the portable dedicated terminal 303 waits for
the customer to enter a customizing request via the operating part
341. When the customizing request is entered, the portable
dedicated terminal 303 proceeds to step SP262 to generate
customizing request data by the request data generating part 344
and sends this from the sending part 345 to the data providing
server 301, and proceeds to step SP263.
[0555] At this time, as shown in FIG. 34(B), the data providing
server 301 enters routine RT23 from the starting step and proceeds
to step SP271 to wait for the customizing request data to be sent
from the portable dedicated terminal 303. When the data providing
server 301 receives the customizing request data by the receiving
part 312, the data providing server 301 proceeds to step SP272 to
read customizing registration screen data from the content database
311 by the search part 315 and sends this from the sending part 314
to the portable dedicated terminal 303, and proceeds to step
SP273.
[0556] In step SP263, the portable dedicated terminal 303 waits for
the customizing registration screen data to be sent from the data
providing server 301. When the portable dedicated terminal 303
receives the customizing registration screen data by the receiving
part 346, the portable dedicated terminal 303 transmits this to the
reproducing part 343 to display a customizing registration screen
based on the customizing registration screen data by the above
reproducing part 343, and proceeds to step SP264.
[0557] In step SP264, the portable dedicated terminal 303 waits for
screen customizing information to be entered on the customizing
registration screen according to the operations of the operating
part 341. When the above screen customizing information is entered,
the portable dedicated terminal 303 proceeds to step SP265 to
generate screen customizing data by the request data generating
part 344 and sends this from the sending part 345 to the data
providing server 301, and proceeds to step SP266.
[0558] At this time, in step SP273, the data providing server 301
waits for the screen customizing data to be sent from the portable
dedicated terminal 303. When the data providing server 301 receives
the above screen customizing data by the receiving part 312, the
data providing server 301 proceeds to step SP274.
[0559] In step SP274, the data providing server 301 reads the
content selection screen data from the content database 311 by the
search part 315, processes this based on the screen customizing
data, and sends thus obtained customized screen data from the
sending part 314 to the portable dedicated terminal 303, and
proceeds to step SP275.
[0560] On the other hand, in step SP266, the portable dedicated
terminal 303 waits for that the customized screen data to be sent
from the data providing server 301. When the portable dedicated
terminal 303 receives the customized screen data by the receiving
part 346, the portable dedicated terminal 303 sends this to the
reproducing part 343 to display a customizing screen based on the
customized screen data, and proceeds to step SP267.
[0561] In step SP267, as a result of that the customized screen was
shown to the customer by the reproducing part 343, if that the
present setting is not desired customizing is specified by the
above customer with the operating part 341, the portable dedicated
terminal 303 generates recustomizing data to regenerate the screen
customizing information again by the request data generating part
344 and sends this from the sending part 345 to the data providing
server 301, returns to step SP264, and repeats again the processing
loop of steps SP264-SP265-SP266-SP267.
[0562] On the contrary, in step SP267, if that the present
customizing is desired customizing is specified by the customer
with the operating part 341, the portable dedicated terminal 303
proceeds to step SP268 to generate confirmation data by the request
data generating part 344 and sends this from the sending part 345
to the data providing server 301, and proceeds to step SP269 to
finish the above processing in the portable dedicated terminal
303.
[0563] On the other hand, in step SP275, the data providing server
301 receives the recustomizing data or the confirmation data from
the portable dedicated terminal 303 by the receiving part 312. When
the data providing server 301 receives the recustomizing data by
the above receiving part 312, the data providing server 301 returns
to step SP273, and repeats the processing loop of steps
SP273-SP274-SP275 again.
[0564] In step SP275, when the data providing server 301 receives
the confirmation data by the receiving part 312, the data providing
server 301 proceeds to step SP276 to add the screen customizing
data to the customer registration information in the customer
database 310 and update the customer registration information by
the updating part 313, and proceeds to step SP277 to finish the
above processing of the data providing server 301. Thus, all the
customizing processing procedure by the data providing system 300
is finished.
[0565] A content providing processing procedure using the
customized screen data by the data providing server 301 and the
portable dedicated terminal 303 in the data providing system 300
will be collectively described. Referring to FIG. 35(A) shown by
adding the same reference numerals to corresponding parts in FIG.
32(A), the portable dedicated terminal 303 enters routine RT24 from
the starting step, proceeds to step SP221, sequentially executes
the processing of the above step SP221 and the following step SP222
to send transmission request data to the data providing server 301,
and proceeds to step SP281.
[0566] At this time, referring to FIG. 35(B) shown by adding the
same reference numerals to corresponding parts in FIG. 32(B), the
data providing server 301 enters routine RT25 from the starting
step, proceeds to step SP221, sequentially executes the processing
of the above steps SP221 to SP223 to receive transmission request
data from the portable dedicated terminal 303, and proceeds to step
SP291.
[0567] In step SP291, the data providing server 301 reads screen
customizing data being added to the customer registration
information on the customer who requested to obtain the content
data from the customer database 310 by the updating part 313,
processes the content selection screen data read from the content
database 311 based on the screen customizing data by the search
part 315, and sends thus obtained customized screen data from the
sending part 314 to the portable dedicated terminal 303, and
proceeds to step SP225.
[0568] The data providing server 301 sequentially executes the
processing of the above steps SP225, SP226 and SP227, and then
proceeds to step SP292 to finish the above processing in the data
providing server 301.
[0569] On the other hand, in step SP281, the portable dedicated
terminal 303 waits for the customized screen data to be sent from
the data providing server 301. When the portable dedicated terminal
303 receiving the customized screen data by the receiving part 346,
the portable dedicated terminal 303 transmits that customized
screen data to the reproducing part 343 to display for example the
image of the exterior of the shop being a customized screen, and
proceeds to step SP214.
[0570] In step SP214, the portable dedicated terminal 303
sequentially executes the processing of the above steps SP214 to
SP217, and then proceeds to step SP282 to finish the above
processing of the portable dedicated terminal 303. Thus, all the
content providing processing procedure by means of the customized
screen data by the data providing system 300 is finished.
[0571] According to the above configuration, in this data providing
system 300, if the data providing server 301 receives customizing
request data from the portable dedicated terminal 303 that is only
for agency and can access only the above data providing server 301,
the data providing server 301 sends customizing registration screen
data to the above portable dedicated terminal 303 according to
this. If screen customizing information for a content selection
screen that was entered on a customizing registration screen based
on that customizing registration screen data is sent from the above
portable dedicated terminal 303 as screen customizing data to the
data providing server 301, the data providing server 301 receives
and adds this to corresponding customer registration information in
the customer database 310 and registering the screen customizing
data.
[0572] Then, in this data providing system 300, if the data
providing server 301 receives transmission request data from the
portable dedicated terminal 303 of the customer who registered the
screen customizing data by the data providing server 301, the data
providing server 301 reads the above screen customizing data from
the customer database 310, and also reads content selection screen
data from the customer database 311, and processes the above read
content selection screen data based on the screen customizing data
and sends thus obtained customized screen data to the portable
dedicated terminal 303. Thereby, the customer can select desired
content data on the customized screen obtained by customizing the
above content selection screen according to customer's request.
[0573] In this data providing system 300, since the portable
dedicated terminal 303 can access only the data providing server
301 that provides content data, the content selection screen can be
easily customized so as to meet the taste of the customer who uses
the above portable dedicated terminal 303 for content data (that
is, genre). Thus, the usability of the content selection screen can
be remarkably improved.
[0574] Moreover, in this data providing system 300, a content
selection screen previously generated by mixing a three-dimensional
virtual reality space image that represents the inside of the shop
of an agency is provided from the data providing server 301 to the
portable dedicated terminal 303 so that the customer can easily
select content data. And that content selection screen can be
customized according to customer's request. Therefore, the
usability of the above content selection screen can be further
improved.
[0575] Furthermore, in this data providing system 300, when the
data providing server 301 obtained screen customizing data from the
portable dedicated terminal 303, the content selection screen data
is customized based on the above screen customizing data, and the
customer can confirm this on the portable dedicated terminal 303.
Therefore, the above content selection screen can be properly
customized as the customer desired.
[0576] In this data providing system 300, since the portable
dedicated terminal 303 is accessible only to the data providing
server 301 that provides content data and the content selection
screen to be provided to the above portable dedicated terminal 303
at the time when the customer obtains the content data can be
customized according to customer's request, the customer who uses
the portable dedicated terminal 303 for the purpose of obtaining
content data can remarkably easily use the above data providing
system 300.
[0577] As a result, in this data providing system 300, the
percentage of customers who use the data providing server 301 (also
being an agency) for the purpose of obtaining content data can be
remarkably improved.
[0578] Furthermore, in this data providing system 300, since the
customer can use such portable dedicated terminal 303 accessible
only to the data providing server 301 by either systems of purchase
and rental, also the customer who does not own a device to use the
Internet, the customer who although owns the above device, is
inexperienced in operation to connect to the Internet, and the
customer who almost does not have knowledge of the Internet itself,
can easily obtain content data from the data providing server
301.
[0579] According to the above configuration, the data providing
server 301 sends the customizing registration screen data according
to the customizing request data that was sent from the portable
dedicated terminal 303 being only for agency and accessible only to
the above data providing server 301 to the portable dedicated
terminal 303, and the data providing server 301 registers the
screen customizing data sent from the above portable dedicated
terminal 303 in the customer database 310. Then, the data providing
server 301 processes the content selection screen data based on the
screen customizing data read from the customer database 310
according to the transmission request data sent from the portable
dedicated terminal 303, and sends thus obtained customized screen
data to the portable dedicated terminal 303. Thereby, the content
selection screen can be easily customized so as to meet the taste
of the customer who uses the portable dedicated terminal 303 for
content data, and the usability of the above content selection
screen can be remarkably improved. Thus, a data providing system in
which customers can easily select content data can be
accomplished.
[0580] Note that, in the aforementioned sixth embodiment, the data
providing server 301 is installed in an agency. This invention,
however, is not only limited to this. The place to install the data
providing server 301 may not be particularly prescribed, provided
that the data providing server 301 is connected to the Internet.
And by providing a database to manage plural agencies in the data
providing server 301 and storing agency IDs peculiar to each
agency, content selection screen data and customizing registration
screen data in the above database by making a correspondence, the
content selection screen data and the customizing registration
screen data of an agency that has been previously corresponded or
an agency that was arbitrary selected may be provided to the above
portable dedicated terminal 303 according to an access from the
portable dedicated terminal 303.
[0581] In the aforementioned sixth embodiment, in the data
providing server 301, content selection screen data is generated by
means of the developmental tool that was provided from the content
server. This invention, however, is not limited to this and content
selection screen data may be generated by entrusting it to a
company for generating content selection screen data or the like
from the data providing server 301.
[0582] In the aforementioned sixth embodiment, content selection
screen data representing the inside of the shop of an agency by
three-dimensional virtual reality space images is provided by the
data providing server 301. This invention, however, is not limited
to this and content selection screen data generated as a home page
by listing the titles of a lot of content data or the like and
displaying them in a list may be provided.
[0583] By the way, as shown in FIG. 36, in a data providing system
390 for providing content selection screen data generated as a home
page, as screen customizing data D10 that will be sent from a
portable dedicated terminal 391 to a data providing server 392,
customizing such that for instance tunes (i.e., content data) by an
arbitrary artist (or genre) are arranged in date order and a
background color is specified in an arbitrary color is possible for
the content selection screen data. If the above data providing
server 392 receives transmission request data from the portable
dedicated terminal 391 after registered the received screen
customizing data D10 in a customer database 393, the data providing
server 392 processes the content selection screen data in a content
database 395 based on the screen customizing data D10 read from the
customer database 393 by a search part 394, and sends thus obtained
customized screen data D11 to the portable dedicated terminal
391.
[0584] In this connection, in the above data providing system 390,
if the data providing server 392 receives the screen customizing
data D10, the data providing server 392 determines whether or not
content data for an amount that can satisfy the request by the
above screen customizing data D10 have been stored in a content
database 394. If the content data for the amount that can satisfy
the request by the above screen customizing data D10 has not been
stored in the above content database 394, the data providing server
392 may generate content transmission request data D12 and send
this to a content server 395, to read the specified content data
from the content database 396 in the above content server 395 and
supply this to the data providing server 392. Thereby, content
selection screen data can be customized by further properly
corresponding to customer's request. Note that, such supply of
content data from the content server 395 to the data providing
server 392 also can be applied to the aforementioned sixth
embodiment.
[0585] Furthermore, in the aforementioned sixth embodiment, the
data providing server 301 simply obtains a lot of content data
provided from a content server and storing them in the content
database 311. This invention, however, is not limited to this and
the data providing server 301 may obtain compressed content data
from a content server, store this in the content database 311 as it
is, and provide the above compressed content data to the portable
dedicated terminal 303. Thereby, the limited capacity of the
content database 311 in the data providing server 301 and the
storage medium 340 in the portable dedicated terminal 303 can be
effectively used to record content data.
[0586] In this connection, as shown in FIG. 37, in a content
server, as well as a lot of content data, many data tables 400 in
which the above content data are represented by classifying by
genre may have been stored in a content database. And if the genre
of content data to be treated for providing is specified by
preceding the start of the distribution of content data from a data
providing server, content data in the specified genre may be
selected from the above data table at random for each data
providing server or agency respectively, and the above selected
content data group "a" and "b" may be provided to respectively
different data providing server or agency. Thereby, a part of or
all different content data can be mutually provided between data
providing servers for treating content data in the same genre. As a
result, the customer can use many data providing servers dealing in
content data in the same genre.
(8) SEVENTH EMBODIMENT
[0587] FIG. 38 shows a data providing system 500 according to a
seventh embodiment. A portable dedicated terminal 502 that
corresponds to the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N described
above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 and is accessible only to the
above data providing server 501, and a package providing server 503
that corresponds to the sales company 5 described above with
reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 are respectively connected to a data
providing server 501 corresponding to the agencies 4A to 4N
described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, via the Internet
504.
[0588] The data providing server 501 has a customer database 510, a
content database 511 and a packaged media database 512. In the
above customer database 510, customer registration information
composed of customer information such as name, address, account
number, etc., obtained from the customer who wants a registration,
and a customer ID issued to the above customer is stored and the
customer is registered. Thereby, the customer can use the data
providing server 501.
[0589] In the content database 511, as content data to be provided
to customers, content data composed of many single tunes (music)
has been stored, and a data table generated by listing content
additional information composed of content ID peculiar to each of
the above content data, title (the title of tune), sale price,
rental price, etc., has been stored.
[0590] Furthermore, the data providing server 501 makes the
correspondence between content data being a single tune and
packaged media storing the same content data as packaged media
equivalently exchangeable. In the packaged media database 512, a
data table formed by listing the title of the content data being a
single tune, the title of the packaged media being a single CD
storing the above content data, the sale price of the above
packaged media, package identification information peculiar to the
packaged media (hereinafter, this is referred to as package ID),
etc. with making the correspondence between them according to that
correspondence in equivalently exchange.
[0591] If for example, the registered customer sends specifying
information on content data to rent from a portable dedicated
terminal 502 (that he/she bought or rented) as content specifying
data, the data providing server 501 receives this by a receiving
part 515 and takes this in a received data judging part 516.
[0592] Here, as shown in FIGS. 38 and 39, in the content specifying
data D20 sent from the portable dedicated terminal 502, information
such as customer's name, customer ID, password, the title of
content data D21 that the customer wants to rent, equivalent
exchange information representing whether or not equivalent
exchange has been performed, rental term, method of payment for
rental charge have been stored.
[0593] In this connection, the customer ID stored in the content
specifying data D20 was issued when the customer was registered in
the data providing server 501 and has been stored in the portable
dedicated terminal 502 that the above customer is using The
customer ID is stored in various data sent from the above portable
dedicated terminal 502 to identify the customer.
[0594] The equivalent exchange information stored in the content
specifying data D20 shows for example, "0" when the customer's
purpose is to obtain the content data D21 and the customer does not
hope equivalent exchange. On the contrary, when the customer hoped
equivalent exchange, the equivalent exchange information shows "1",
for example.
[0595] The data providing server 501 identifies the above content
specifying data D20 as data to obtain the content data D21 based on
the equivalent exchange information stored in the content
specifying data D20 by the received data judging part 516.
[0596] Then, by the received data judging part 516, the data
providing server 501 searches the content database 511 for a data
table based on the title of the content data D21 stored in the
content specifying data D20, changes that title to a content ID,
generates read-of-content control data D22, and sends this to a
content ID extracting part 517.
[0597] In this connection, when the read-of-content control data
D22 is generated from the content specifying data D20 by the
received data judging part 516, by a customer's request search part
518, the data providing server 501 searches the customer database
510 based on the customer ID stored in the content specifying data
D20 to detect the coded name of the customer stored therein as
customer registration information by the customer's request search
part 518. And if credit has been specified as the method of payment
for rental charges, the data providing server 501 detects the
account number of the customer. Then, the data providing server 501
stores the above detected customer's name and account number in the
read-of-content control data D22 by the receiving data generating
part 516.
[0598] The data providing server 501 extracts the content ID from
the read-of-content control data D22 by the content ID extracting
part 517, and transmits this to a content search part 519 with the
read-of-content control data D22. The data providing server 501
searches the content database 511 to read the content data D21
specified by the customer by above content search part 519, and
transmits the read content data D21 to a send data generating part
520 with the read-of-content control data D22.
[0599] The data providing server 501 adds copy history information
to the read-of-content control data D22, generates header data D23,
and adds the above generated header data D23 to the content data
D21 by the send data generating part 520, and then sends this from
a sending part 521 to the portable dedicated terminal 502 via the
Internet 504. Thus, the customer can rent the content data D21 that
he/she specified.
[0600] In this connection, the data providing server 501 has an
accounting part not shown. When the customer specified payment for
rental charges by credit, the data providing server 501 executes
accounting by that accounting part before sending the specified
content data D21 to the portable dedicated terminal 502 of the
above customer. Therefore, the data providing server 501 generates
accounting data based on the rental charge according to the term to
rent the content data D21 (that is, charge amount to the customer),
the account number of the customer in the customer registration
information, and the account number of, for example, an agency
following the data providing server 501.
[0601] As the result of that the data providing server 501 sent the
account data generated by the accounting from the sending part 521
to a specified settlement processing server (not shown) via the
Internet 504, if the data providing server 501 is notified of the
completion of electronic settlement processing based on the account
data by the above settlement processing server 104, the data
providing server 501 adds information such as the title and the
content ID of the content data D21 that the customer rented, the
amount that the customer paid for that rental, to the customer
registration information on the customer in the customer database
510, to update the customer registration information. Thereby, the
data providing server 501 can grasp the information on the content
data D21 that the customer rented, the state of payment for the
above rental, or the like, by the customer registration
information.
[0602] At this time, the data providing server 501 also notifies
the send data generating part 520 of the notification received from
the settlement processing server, and stores information on the
amount that the customer paid for the rental of the content data
D21 in the header data. D23 instead of the account number by the
above send data generating part 520. In this manner, if the
customer completes payment of the rental charge, the data providing
server 501 sends the content data D21 with the header data D23
added to the portable dedicated terminal 502. The portable
dedicated terminal 502 is rented to the customer.
[0603] In this manner, in the data providing system 500, the
content data D21 is rented to the customer from the data providing
server 501 with the portable dedicated terminal 502. When the
rental term of the above content data D21 is finished and the
customer brings that portable dedicated terminal 502 into the
agency, the rented content data D21 is deleted for return.
[0604] Furthermore, in this data providing system 500, if the
portable dedicated terminal 502 is not brought into the agency
although the rental term has passed, that content data D21 is
deleted or made into the state not to be reproduced by the above
portable dedicated terminal 502 for return.
[0605] By the way, if equivalent exchange request data that the
customer hopes to equivalently exchange the content data that the
customer owns by rental (single tune) for packaged media (single.
CD) is sent from the portable dedicated terminal 502, the data
providing server 501 receives this by the receiving part 515 and
takes this in the received data judging part 516.
[0606] Now, as shown in FIGS. 38 and 40, in the equivalent exchange
request data D30 sent from the portable dedicated terminal 502,
equivalent exchange information representing the name of the
customer, customer ID, password, the title of the content data D21
that the customer showed for equivalent exchange, and whether or
not equivalent exchange was performed ("1" is shown) has been
stored.
[0607] The data providing server 501 determines that the above
equivalent exchange request data D30 is data to equivalently
exchange the content data D21 for the packaged media, based on the
equivalent exchange information stored in the equivalent exchange
request data D30 by the received data judging part 516, and sends
the above equivalent exchange request data D30 to a customer ID
extracting part 525.
[0608] The data providing server 501 extracts the customer ID from
the equivalent exchange request data D30 by the customer ID
extracting part 525, and transmits this to a customer's update
search part 518 with the above equivalent exchange request data
D30.
[0609] Furthermore, the data providing server 501 searches in the
customer database 510 based on the customer ID by the customer's
update search part 518, and based on thus obtained customer
registration information, detects the coded name of the customer,
the content ID of the content data D21 shown for equivalent
exchange, the payment method of the rental charge for the above
content data D21, and whether or not the above rental charge was
already paid, as well as whether the customer requesting the
equivalent exchange did not do any illegality on the obtaining of
the content data D21 in the past, and transmits the detected result
to a judging part 526 with the equivalent exchange request data
D30.
[0610] The data providing server 501 judges whether to permit the
customer to perform the equivalent exchange, based on the detection
result given from the customer's update search part 518 by the
judging part 526.
[0611] Now, if the customer already paid the rental charge for the
content data D21 for equivalent exchange and the customer
especially did not do illegality in the past, the data providing
server 501 permits the customer to perfom the equivalent exchange
and stores the data of the coded name of the customer, the content
ID of the content data D21 shown for the equivalent exchange, the
payment method of the rental charge, and the amount that the
customer actually paid, detected by the customer's update search
part 518, in the equivalent exchange request data D30, to generates
equivalent exchange processing data D31 by the judging part 526,
and transmits this to a value judging part 527.
[0612] The data providing server 501 searches a data table in the
packaged media database 512 according to the search conditions
previously set via a package search part 528, to detect packaged
media (single CD) storing the same content data D21, as packaged
media that the equivalent exchange of the content data D21 (single
tune) that the customer owns and showed for equivalent exchange is
possible for, and reads the title, the sale price and the package
ID of the above detected packaged media by the value judging part
527.
[0613] Then, the data providing server 501 compares the rental
charge that the customer paid for the content data D21 (that is,
the obtaining price of the content data D21 which the customer
owns) to the sale price of the found packaged media equivalently
exchangeable to computes their balance by the value judging part
527. At this time, for instance, if the sale price of the packaged
media is more expensive than the obtaining price of the content
data, the conditions of equivalent exchange that the customer pays
their balance are set to almost equalize the content data D21 that
the customer owns with the packaged media in exchange value.
[0614] The data providing server 501 stores the title and the
package ID of the packaged media equivalently exchangeable, and the
conditions of the equivalent exchange (to almost equalize the
content data that the customer owns with the packaged media in
exchange value, on executing the equivalent exchange, the customer
pays the balance between the obtaining price and the sale price) in
the equivalent exchange request data D31, and generating equivalent
exchange condition showing data D32, by the value judging part
527.
[0615] The data providing server 501 sends the equivalent exchange
condition showing data D32 from the sending part 521 to the
portable dedicated terminal 502 via the Internet 504 to notify the
customer of the packaged media that the content data D21 can be
equivalently exchanged for, and notify the customer of that when in
equivalently exchanging the above content data D21 for the packaged
media, the customer must pay the shown balance, as the
conditions.
[0616] As a result, if exchange approval data representing that the
customer approves the equivalent exchange is sent from the portable
dedicated terminal 502, the data providing server 501 receives this
by the receiving part 515, takes this in the received data judging
part 516, and transmits this from the above received data judging
part 516 to the judging part 526. The data providing server 501
confirms that the customer has approved the equivalent exchange
based on the exchange acceptance data by the judging part 526.
[0617] Then, the data providing server 501 generates package
delivery ordering information from the package ID of the packaged
media for the equivalent exchange to be handed over the customer,
the name of the customer, his/her address, etc., based on the
customer registration information by the judging part 526, and
transmits this to the send data generating part 520.
[0618] The data providing server 501 generates package delivery
ordering data representing the package delivery ordering
information by the send data generating part 520, and sends this
from the sending part 521 to the package providing server 503 via
the Internet 504 to order the above package providing server 503 to
deliver the packaged media to the customer.
[0619] As a result, if delivery arrangement completion data
representing that the arrangement of the delivery has completed is
sent from the package providing server 503 via the Internet 504,
the data providing server 501 receives this by the receiving part
515, and transmits this from the received data judging part 516 to
the judging part 526.
[0620] At this time, as the payment method of the balance included
in the exchange acceptance data, if the customer specified the
payment by credit, the data providing server 501 performs
accounting by the accounting part similarly to the aforementioned
case, and then receives the notification of completion of
electronic settlement from the settlement processing server.
[0621] The data providing server 501 transmits the equivalent
exchange approval information representing the approval for the
equivalent exchange and the delivery method of the packaged media
by the judging part 526, and transmits this to the send data
generating part 520. The data providing server 501 generates
equivalent exchange approval data by the above send data generating
part 520, and sends this from the sending part 521 to the portable
dedicated terminal 502 via the Internet 504 to notify the customer
that the equivalent exchange was approved.
[0622] If notifying the customer of the approval of the equivalent
exchange, the data providing server 501 adds information such as
the content ID of the content data D21 to be equivalently
exchanged, the package ID of the packaged media, whether or not the
customer paid the balance, and the balance (amount), to the
customer registration information in the customer database 510,
updating the customer registration information, and stors the
history of the equivalent exchange, by the judging part 526 via the
customer's update search part 518.
[0623] In this manner, the content data D21 that the customer owned
is deleted from the portable dedicated terminal 502 (or is made
into not reproducible state) for return. And if the packaged media
that the customer ordered the package providing server 503 its
delivery is delivered to the customer, as shown in FIGS. 41(A) and
41(B), the data providing server 501 treats the packaged media
storing the content data D21 that usually should be bought at the
sale price as almost equivalent to the content data D21 that the
customer owned, and exchanges the content data D21 for the packaged
media.
[0624] In this connection, when the customer specified payment by
cash for the balance between the obtaining price of the content
data and the sale price of the packaged media that arose from the
equivalent exchange, the customer uses the bank transfer. And when
the customer specified payment by prepaid card, the customer uses a
request terminal or the like.
[0625] When the data providing server 501 receives the equivalent
exchange request data D30 from the portable dedicated terminal 502,
if the customer has not paid the rental charge for the content data
D21 shown for equivalent exchange, or if the customer did any
illegality in the past, the data providing server 501 sends the
send data generating part 520 equivalent exchange forbidding
information representing the forbidding of the equivalent exchange
so as not to forbid the customer the equivalent exchange, by the
judging part 526.
[0626] The data providing server 501 generates equivalent exchange
forbidding data representing that equivalent exchange forbidding
information by the send data generating part 520, and sends this
from the sending part 521 to the portable dedicated terminal 502
via the Internet 504 to notify the customer that the data providing
server 501 cannot permit the equivalent exchange.
[0627] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 38, if the customer
enters specifying information on the content data to rent with an
operating part 540, the portable dedicated terminal 502 identifies
that the above specifying information as information to obtain
content data for example, by the format of that specifying
information, and adds equivalent exchange information showing "0"
to that specifying information by an operational information
judging part 541, and transmits this to a request data generating
part 542.
[0628] The portable dedicated terminal 502 generates content
specifying data D20 representing that specifying information and
including the customer ID by the request data generating part 542,
and sends this from a sending part 543 to the data providing server
501 via the Internet 504.
[0629] As a result, if the content data D21 with header data D23
added is sent from the data providing server 501, the portable
dedicated terminal 502 receives this by a receiving part 544, and
transmits this from a judging part 545 to a recording control part
546. The portable dedicated terminal 502 records that content data
D21 and header data D23 on a storage medium 547 by the above
recording control part 546. Thus, the customer rents the desired
content data D21.
[0630] Thereafter, if the customer enters a reproduction command
with the operating part 540, the portable dedicated terminal 502
reproduces the content data D21 from the storage medium 547 by a
reproduction control part 548, and supplies the above reproduced
content data D21 to a reproducing part 549 composed of a display
control part, a display part, a speaker, etc, to let the customer
enjoy the content such as the single tune.
[0631] In this connection, the portable dedicated terminal 502
manages the rental term of the content data D21 by detecting it
from the header data D23 by the recording control part 545 and the
reproduction control part 548. If the customer does not bring the
portable-dedicated terminal 502 into the agency although the rental
term of the above content data D21 has finished, the portable
dedicated terminal 502 deletes that content data D21 from the
storage medium 547, or makes into a, state where the content data
D21 cannot be reproduced by the reproduction control part 548, for
return.
[0632] Furthermore, if the customer enters an equivalent exchange
request that specifies the content data D21 for equivalent exchange
with the operating part 540, the portable dedicated terminal 502
identifies that the above equivalent exchange request as a request
to equivalently exchange the content data D21 that the customer
owns for packaged media by the format of that equivalent exchange
request, and adds equivalent exchange information showing "1" to
the above equivalent exchange request by the operational
information judging part 541, and supplies this to the request data
generating part 542.
[0633] In this case, the portable dedicated terminal 502 generates
equivalent exchange request data D30 representing that equivalent
exchange request and including the customer ID by the request data
generating part 542, and sends this from the sending part 543 to
the data providing server 501 via the Internet 504.
[0634] As a result, if equivalent exchange condition showing data
D32 is sent from the data providing server 501 via the Internet
504, the portable dedicated terminal 502 receives this by the
receiving part 544, and transmits this from the judging part 545 to
the reproducing part 549 to notify the customer of the title of
packaged media that the content data D21 can be equivalently
exchanged for, and that the customer must pay the balance occurred
by the equivalent exchange as the conditions of the equivalent
exchange.
[0635] If the customer approves the equivalent exchange via the
operating part 540, the portable dedicated terminal 502 adds
equivalent exchange information representing "1" to that approval
information and transmits them to the request data generating part
542 by the operational information judging part 541. The portable
dedicated terminal 502 generates exchange approval data
representing the above approval and the customer ID by the above
request data generating part 542, and sends this from the sending
part 543 to the data providing server 501 via the Internet 504.
[0636] If equivalent exchange approval data is sent from the data
providing server 501 via the Internet 504, the portable dedicated
terminal 502 receives this by the receiving part 544, and transmits
this from the judging part 545 to the reproducing part 549 to
notify the customer that the equivalent exchange was accepted, of
the delivery method of the packaged media and so on.
[0637] In this connection, if equivalent exchange forbidding data
is sent from the data providing server 501 via the Internet 504,
the portable dedicated terminal 502 receives this by the receiving
part 544, and transmits this from the judging part 545 to the
reproducing part 549 to notify the customer that the equivalent
exchange was not permitted.
[0638] If package delivery ordering data is sent from the data
providing server 501 via the Internet 504, the package providing
server 503 receives this by a receiving part 560, transmits this to
a package ID extracting part 561, extracts the package ID from the
package delivery ordering data by the above package ID extracting
part 561, and supplies this to a package search part 562 with the
above package delivery ordering data.
[0639] Then, the package providing server 503 searches a stock
management database 563 based on the package ID to detect the stock
of the packaged media specified by the data providing server 501
and the storage position on a package shelf not shown by the
package search part 562, and transmits information on the above
detected storage position to a package taking-out control part 564
with the package delivery ordering data.
[0640] After taking the specified packaged media out of the
packaged media keeping shelf based on information on the storage
position by the package taking-out control part 564, the package
providing server 503 packs that extracted packaged media and
instructs a delivery center, not shown, to deliver this to the
address of the customer shown in the package delivery ordering data
by a shipment/packing instructing part 565, and then, sends
delivery arrangement completion data from a sending part 566 to the
data providing server 501 via the Internet 504.
[0641] In this manner, as shown in FIG. 42, in the data providing
system 500, if the equivalent exchange is approved between the
customer and the data providing server 501, the package providing
server 503 delivers the packaged media, which the content data is
equivalently exchanged for, to the customer.
[0642] Here, an equivalent exchange processing procedure by the
data providing server 501, the portable dedicated terminal 502 and
the package providing server 503 in the data providing system 500
will be collectively described. As shown in FIGS. 43(A) and 44(A),
first, the portable dedicated terminal 502 enters routine RT30 from
the starting step, and proceeds to step SP351.
[0643] In step SP351, the portable dedicated terminal 502 waits for
the customer to enter specifying information to rent the content
data D21 with the operating part 540. When the above specifying
information is entered, the portable dedicated terminal 502
proceeds to step SP352 to the generate content specifying data D20
by the request data generating part 542, and transmits this from
the sending part 543 to the data providing server 501, and then
proceeds to step SP353.
[0644] At this time, as shown in FIGS. 43(B) and 44(B), the data
providing server 501 enters routine RT31 from the starting step,
and proceeds to step SP371. In the above step SF371, the data
providing server 501 waits for the content specifying data to be
sent from the portable dedicated terminal 502. When the data
providing server 501 receives the content specifying data from the
receiving part 515, the data providing server 501 proceeds to step
SP372.
[0645] In step SP372, the data providing server 501 reads the
specified content data D21 from the content database 511 by the
content search part 519, and sends this from the sending part 521
to the portable dedicated terminal 502, and then proceeds to step
SP373.
[0646] Now, in step SP353, the portable dedicated terminal 502
waits for the content data D21 to be sent from the data providing
server 501. When the portable dedicated terminal 502 receives the
content data D21 by the receiving part 544, the portable dedicated
terminal 502 proceeds to step SP354 to record that content data D21
on the storage medium 547 by the recording control part 546, and
proceeds to step SP355.
[0647] Thereby, the portable dedicated terminal 501 rents the
content data D21 specified by the customer, and reproduces the
content data D21 in response to customer's request, so as to make
the customer enjoy.
[0648] In step SP355, the portable dedicated terminal 502 waits for
the customer to enter an equivalent exchange request with the
operating part 540. Until the equivalent exchange request is
entered, the portable dedicated terminal 502 returns to step SP351,
and repeats the processing loop of the following steps
SP352-SP353-SP354-SP355.
[0649] In step SP355, when the customer enters the equivalent
exchange request with the operating part 540, the portable
dedicated terminal 502 proceeds to step SP356 to generate the
equivalent exchange request data D30 by the request data generating
part 542, and sends this from the sending part 543 to the data
providing server 501, and then proceeds to step SP357.
[0650] In step SP373, the data providing server 501 determines
whether or not the equivalent exchange request data D30 was sent
from the portable dedicated terminal 502. Until receiving the above
equivalent exchange request data D30, the data providing server 501
returns to step SP371 and repeats the processing loop of the
following steps SP372 and SP373. In step SP373, when the data
providing server 501 receives the equivalent exchange request data
D30 from the portable dedicated terminal 502 by the receiving part
515, the data providing server 501 proceeds to step SP374.
[0651] In step SP374, the data providing server 501 checks the
customer's usage history based on the customer registration
information on the customer who requested the equivalent exchange
and judging whether to permit the equivalent exchange, by the
judging part 526.
[0652] Obtaining a negative result in this step SP374 means that
the rental charge of the content data D21 that the customer showed
for equivalent exchange has not been paid yet or that the above
customer might illegally use the equivalent exchange because he/she
did any illegality in the past. At this time, the data providing
server 501 proceeds to step SP375 to send the equivalent exchange
forbidding information generated by the judging part 526 as
equivalent exchange forbidding data, from the sending part 521 to
the portable dedicated terminal 502 by the send data generating
part 520. Then, the data providing server 501 proceeds to step
SP376 to finish the above processing by the data providing server
501.
[0653] On the contrary, obtaining an affirmative result in step
SP374 means that the customer will not illegally use the equivalent
exchange because he/she already paid the rental charge for the
content data D21 that the customer showed for equivalent exchange
and he/she has not been done illegality in the past. At this time,
the data providing server 501 proceeds to step SP377.
[0654] In step SP377, the data providing server 501 generates
equivalent exchange condition showing data D32 representing the
conditions to almost equalize the content data D21 that the
customer owns with the packaged media equivalently exchangeable, in
exchange value, by the value judging part 527, and sends this from
the sending part 521 to the portable dedicated terminal 502, and
then proceeds to step SP378.
[0655] At this time, in step SP375, the portable dedicated terminal
502 waits for the equivalent exchange condition showing data D32 or
the equivalent exchange forbidding data to be sent from the data
providing server 501. When the portable dedicated terminal 502
receives either data by the receiving part 544, the portable
dedicated terminal 502 proceeds to step SP358.
[0656] In step SP358, the portable dedicated terminal 502
determines whether or not the data received by the receiving part
554 is the equivalent exchange condition showing data D32, by the
judging part 545. When the above received data is equivalent
exchange forbidding data, the portable dedicated terminal 502 makes
a notice of what the equivalent exchange was not permitted, via the
reproducing part 549 and then it proceeds to step SP359 to finish
the processing by the above data providing server 501.
[0657] In step SP358, when the received data is the equivalent
exchange condition showing data D32, the portable dedicated
terminal 502 makes a notice of the permission of the equivalent
exchange and the conditions of the equivalent exchange, via the
reproducing part 549, and then it proceeds to step SP360 to send
exchange approval data from the sending part 543 to the data
providing server 501 according to the operations of the operating
part 540 by the customer, and proceeds to step SP361.
[0658] In step SP378, the data providing server 501 waits for the
exchange approval data to be sent from the portable dedicated
terminal 502. When the data providing server 501 receives the above
exchange approval data by the receiving part 515, the data
providing server 501 proceeds to step SP379 to generate package
delivery ordering data to deliver the packaged media to the
customer by the judging part 526, and sends this from the sending
part 521 to the package providing server 503, and then proceeds to
step SP380.
[0659] At this time, as shown in FIGS. 43(C) and 44(C), the package
providing server 503 enters routine RT32 from the starting step,
and proceeds to step SP391. In the above step SP391, the package
providing server 503 waits for the package delivery ordering data
to be sent from the data providing server 501. When the package
providing server 503 receives the package delivery ordering data by
the receiving part 560, the package providing server 503 proceeds
to step SP392.
[0660] In step SP392, the package providing server 503 confirms the
storage position of the specified packaged media on the package
storage shelf based on the package delivery ordering data by the
package search part 562, and proceeds to step SP393 to take the
specified packaged media out of the package storage shelf by the
package taking-out control part 564, and then proceeds to step
SP394.
[0661] In step SP394, the package providing server 503 instructs
the delivery center to pack and deliver the packaged media to the
customer by the shipment/packing instructing part 565, and proceeds
to step SP395 to send delivery arrangement completion data from the
sending part 566 to the data providing server 501. Then, the
package providing server 503 proceeds to step SP396 to finish the
above processing by the package providing server 503.
[0662] At this time, in step SP380, the data providing server 501
waits for the delivery arrangement completion data to be sent from
the package providing server 503. When the data providing server
501 receives the delivery arrangement completion data by the
receiving part 515, the data providing server 501 proceeds to step
SP381 to generate equivalent exchange approval data by the judging
part 526 and send this from the sending part 521 to the portable
dedicated terminal 502. Then, the data providing server 501
proceeds to step SP376 to finish the above processing by the data
providing server 501.
[0663] On the other hand, instep SP361, the portable dedicated
terminal 502 waits for the equivalent exchange approval data to be
sent from the data providing server 501. When the portable
dedicated terminal 502 receives the equivalent exchange approval
data by the receiving part 544, the portable dedicated terminal 502
notifies the customer that the equivalent exchange was approved via
the reproducing part 549. Then, the portable dedicated terminal 502
proceeds to step SP359 to finish the above processing by the
portable dedicated terminal 502. Thus, all the equivalent exchange
processing procedures in the data providing system 500 is
finished.
[0664] According to the above configuration, in this data providing
system 500, when content specifying data that requests the rental
of content data D21 is sent from the portable dedicated terminal
502, the data providing server 501 sends the specified content data
D21 to the portable dedicated terminal 502 responding to this for
recording. In this manner, the content data D21 is rented to the
customer with the above portable dedicated terminal 502.
[0665] In this data providing system 500, if equivalent exchange
request data D30 for the content data D21 (single tune) that the
customer owns by rental is sent from the portable dedicated
terminal 502, the data providing server 501 detects packaged media
(single CD) storing the same content data D21 that can be
equivalently exchanged for the content data D21 by the above data
providing server 501, and almost equalizes the above detected
packaged media with the content data D21 that the customer owns in
exchange value, to compute the balance between the obtaining price
of the content data that the customer owns and the sale price of
the packaged media.
[0666] In this manner, in the data providing system 500, the data
providing server 501 sends equivalent exchange condition showing
data D32 to the portable dedicated terminal 502 to show the title
of the packaged media that the content data D21 shown by the
customer can be equivalently exchanged for, and the balance that
the customer should pay for the above equivalent exchange as the
conditions of the equivalent exchange.
[0667] As a result, in the data providing system 500, if equivalent
exchange approval data that approves the equivalent exchange is
sent from the portable dedicated terminal 502, the data providing
server 501 makes the customer pay the balance occurred by the
equivalent exchange, and deletes the content data D21 that the
customer owned from the portable dedicated terminal 502 for return,
and delivers the packaged media to the above customer. Thus, the
content data D21 that the customer owns and the packaged media
storing the content data D21 are almost equalized in exchange
value, and the content data D21 is exchanged for that packaged
media.
[0668] Accordingly, in this data providing system 500, when the
customer who rented the content data D21 with the portable
dedicated terminal 502 wants to enjoy that content data D21 by
reproducing with another device, or when the customer became
anxious about the safekeeping of the content data D21 by the
portable dedicated terminal 502 and wanted the safekeeping by
packaged media, the above content data D21 and the packaged media
are almost equalized in exchange value, and the content data D21
can be provided to the customer at a minimum investment by
exchanging the content data D21 for the packaged media.
[0669] As a result, in this data providing system 500, the customer
can remarkably easily obtain the content data D21 distributed via
the Internet.
[0670] In this data providing system 500, such equivalent exchange
between the content data D21 and the packaged media is executed.
Thus, the customer can remarkably easily use that system.
[0671] Furthermore, in this data providing system 500, only the
customer who uses the portable dedicated terminal 502 only
accessible to the data providing server 501 can use the equivalent
exchange. Thereby, it can be almost prevented that the above
customer illegally uses the equivalent exchange with content data
that was obtained from a server other than the data providing
server 501 at a different price from the offer price by the data
providing server 501, or that the customer illegally uses the
equivalent exchange with content data that was downloaded from
packaged media.
[0672] According to the above configuration, the data providing
server 501 sends the content data D21 that was specified according
to the rental request from the portable dedicated terminal 502 that
the customer uses to the portable dedicated terminal 502 for
recording and rental. Then, if exchange of the rented content data
D21 for packaged media is requested from the portable dedicated
terminal 502, the data providing server 501 detects packaged media
that the above content data D21 can be exchanged for, and shows the
conditions to almost equalize the packaged media and the content
data D21 that the customer owns in exchange value. Thereby, even if
the customer obtained the content data D21 by distribution, the
customer can exchange the content data D21 for the packaged media
by a minimum investment. Thereby, the customer can remarkably
easily obtain the content data D21 distributed via the Internet
504. Thus, a data providing system that can popularize the
distribution of content data can be accomplished.
[0673] Note that, in the aforementioned seventh embodiment, the
content data D21 that the customer rented is equivalently exchanged
for packaged media from the data providing server 501. This
invention, however, is not limited to this and content data, that
the customer bought may be equivalently exchanged for, packaged
media from the data providing server 501.
[0674] In this connection, in the aforementioned seventh
embodiment, since the rented content data D21 is equivalently
exchanged for the packaged media, the above content data D21 is
deleted for return when the rental term passed. However, when
content data that the customer bought is equivalently exchanged for
packaged media storing the same content data, the above customer
does not illegally own different content data. Therefore, the
content data equivalently exchanged for the packaged media may be
deleted, or the customer may hold that as it is.
[0675] In the aforementioned seventh embodiment, the packaged
media, which the content data D21 owned by the customer is to be
equivalently exchanged for, is delivered to the customer by the
package providing server 503. This invention, however, is not
limited to this and the packaged media, which the content data D21
owned by the customer is to be equivalently exchanged for, may be
directly handed to the customer at the agency when the customer
returns the content data D21.
[0676] Furthermore, in the aforementioned seventh embodiment, the
content data D21 being a single tune that the customer owns is
equivalently exchanged for the packaged media being a single CD.
This invention, however, is not limited to this and the content
data D21 being a single tune that the customer owns may be
equivalently exchanged for packaged media being an album CD.
[0677] In the aforementioned seventh embodiment, the content data
and the packaged media to be equivalently exchanged are both music
data (a single tune and a single CD). This invention, however, is
not limited to this and, as content data and packaged media to be
equivalently exchanged, other various content such as movie, book,
etc., can be adopted. Thereby, the convenience and the versatility
of a data providing system can be remarkably improved, and the
distribution of content data can be further popularized.
[0678] Further, in the aforementioned seventh embodiment, the
portable dedicated terminal 502 notifies the data providing server
501 of the title as identification information on the content data
D21 to be equivalently exchanged, and the data providing server 501
notifies the portable dedicated terminal 502 of the title as
identification information on the packaged media which the content
data 21 is equivalently exchangeable for. This invention is not
limited to this and the portable dedicated terminal 502 may notify
the data providing server 501 of the content ID as identification
information on the content data D21 to be equivalently exchanged
and the data providing server 501 may notify the portable dedicated
terminal 502 of the package ID as identification information on
packaged media which the content data D21 is equivalently
exchangeable for.
[0679] In the aforementioned seventh embodiment, the customer pays
the balance by money to almost equalize the content data D21 that
the customer owns with the packaged media in exchange value, by the
equivalent exchange. This invention, however, is not limited to
this and the data providing server 501 may issue points to give a
privilege such as a discount to the customer according to the
rental and the purchase of the content data D21, and the customer
may accumulate and use the points for the payment of the balance to
almost equalize the content data D21 that the customer owns with
the packaged media in exchange value, by the equivalent exchange,
instead of a part of or all of the money.
[0680] In the aforementioned seventh embodiment, the customer rents
the content data D21 from the data providing server 501 with the
portable dedicated terminal 502 accessible only to the above data
providing server 501, and equivalently exchanges the renting
content data D21 for packaged media. This invention, however, is
not limited to this and, the customer may buy or rent content data
from the data providing server 501 with other various kinds of
devices and then may equivalently exchange content data that the
customer bought or rented for packaged media, provided that the
devices are devices connectable to the Internet 504 such as a
personal computer and a portable telephone.
[0681] In this connection, in the case of using the data providing
server 501 with another device different from the portable
dedicated terminal 502, like a personal computer, a portable
telephone, etc., server identifying information to identify the
data providing server 501 being the provider of content data is
added to the content data that will be bought or rented from the
data providing server 501 with the above device. If equivalent
exchange is requested, when the data providing server 501 judges
whether to permit the equivalent exchange to the customer, the data
providing server 501 determines whether the content data shown for
equivalent exchange was provided from the data providing server 501
by the server identifying information. If the customer shows
content data that was obtained from another data providing server
for equivalent exchange, the data providing server 501 forbids the
equivalent exchange, which can prevent that the data providing
server 501 suffers losses by performing the equivalent exchange of
the content data provided by the other data providing server.
[0682] Furthermore, when the customer equivalently exchanges
content data rented with a device different from the portable
dedicated terminal 502 for packaged media, the data providing
server 501 deletes the content data to be equivalently exchanged
that has been recorded in the device, at the time of receiving
exchange approval data from the above device, and on the
confirmation of that, approves the equivalent exchange of the above
content data for the packaged media. Thereby, it can be prevented
that the customer illegally performs equivalent exchange by using
again the content data for rental that was equivalently exchanged
once by the device different from the portable dedicated terminal
502.
(9) EIGHT EMBODIMENT
[0683] FIG. 45 in which the same reference numerals are added to
corresponding parts in FIG. 38 shows a data providing system 600
according to an eighth embodiment. The data providing system 600 is
constructed similarly to the aforementioned data providing system
500 according to the seventh embodiment, except for the
Constructions of the data providing server 601 and the portable
dedicated terminal 602 accessible only to the above data providing
server 601.
[0684] In this case, when the data providing server 601 receives
content specifying data from the portable dedicated terminal 602 by
the receiving part 515, the data providing server 601 performs
processing similarly to the data providing server 501 according to
the seventh embodiment described above with reference to FIGS. 38
and 39, and sends content data D21 with header data D23 added from
the sending part 521 to the portable dedicated terminal 602 via the
Internet 504. Thus, the specified content data D21 is rented to the
customer.
[0685] In this connection, when the rental term of the content data
D21 expired, if the customer brings the portable dedicated terminal
602 into an agency, the rented content data D21 is deleted for
return. If the customer does not bring the portable dedicated
terminal 602 into the agency although the above rental term
expired, that content data D21 is deleted or made not to be
reproducible from the portable dedicated terminal 602 for
return.
[0686] By the way, in the data providing server 601, the customer
can equivalently exchange one or plural content data D21 being a
single tune, owned by the customer, for packaged media being a
single CD or an album CD.
[0687] Specifically, if the customer sends equivalent exchange
request data to request the equivalently exchange of, for example,
a plurality of content data D21 (single tune) owned by rental for
packaged media (album CD) from the portable dedicated terminal 602,
the data providing server 601 receives this by the receiving part
515, and takes this in the received data judging part 516.
[0688] Now, as shown in FIGS. 45 and 46, in the equivalent exchange
request data D40 sent from the portable dedicated terminal 602,
equivalent exchange information representing customer's name,
customer ID, password, the titles of the plural content data D21
that the customer showed for equivalent exchange, and whether or
not equivalent exchange was performed ("1" is shown as contents)
has been stored.
[0689] The data providing server 601 transmits the equivalent
exchange request data D40 to a judging part 610 sequentially via
the customer ID extracting part 525 and the customer's update
search part 518 by the received data judging part 516.
[0690] The data providing server 601 judges whether to permit the
customer the equivalent exchange similarly to the case described
above with reference to FIGS. 38 and 40 by the judging part 610.
When the data providing server 601 permitted the above customer the
equivalent exchange, the data providing server 601 stores
information about coded customer's name, the content ID of the
content data D21 that the customer showed for equivalent exchange,
the payment method of rental charge, and the amount that the
customer actually paid in the equivalent exchange request data D40,
and generates equivalent exchange processing data D41, and
transmits this to a value judging part 611.
[0691] Now, as shown in FIGS. 47(A) to 47(C), a packaged media
database 612 provided in the data providing server 601 previously
stores a content data table 620 for content data D21, a single data
table 621 for packaged media for packaged media being a single CD,
and an album data table 622 for packaged media being an album
CD.
[0692] In this case, the content data table 620 is formed by making
correspondence between the title of the content data D21 that the
data providing server 601 sells or rents and the content ID, as
well as making correspondence for example, among points which are
allocated according to the ranking of the year (hereinafter, this
is referred to as ranking points) in such a manner that if the
content data D21 is a tune that got the first rank in the ranking
of the year, since there are comparatively many transmission
requests, 10 points are allocated to that, and if the content data
D21 is a tune at the lowest rank, since there are comparatively few
transmission requests, 1 point is allocated, points which are
allocated according to released date (hereinafter, this is referred
to as date points) in such a way that if the content data D21 was
released at first recently, since there are comparatively many
transmission requests, 10 points are allocated, and if the content
data D21 is a tune quite old, since there are comparatively few
transmission requests, 1 point is allocated, total points obtained
by totaling up these ranking points and date points, and the
content data D21, with the ranking points, date points and total
points as market value.
[0693] The single data table 621 is formed by making correspondence
among the title of packaged media being a single CD, package ID,
market value composed of ranking points and date points, and sale
price. And the album data table 621 is formed by making
correspondence among the title of packaged media being an album CD,
package ID, market value composed of ranking points and date
points, and sale price.
[0694] The data providing server 601 searches the content database
620 in the packaged media database 612 according to search
conditions previously set via the package search part 528, to read
out and add all of the total points respectively allocated to the
plural content data D21 (single tunes) that the customer showed for
equivalent exchange, and to compute the total points of these
plural content data D21 (hereinafter, this is referred to as total
points) by the value judging part 611.
[0695] The data providing server 601 searches the album database
622 in the packaged media database 612 based on the total points
computed by the value judging part 611 via the package search part
528, to detect one or plural packaged media being an album CD
having the same total points as the above total points, for
equivalently exchanged, and reads the title, the package ID and the
sale price of the above detected packaged media.
[0696] In this manner, if the data providing server 601 detects one
or plural packaged media that the customer can equivalently
exchange the plural content data D21 shown by the customer for, the
data providing server 601 compares the sale price of the above
packaged media with the rental charges that the customer paid for
all of these plural content data D21 that the customer paid, and
computes the balance, in order to almost equalize the above
detected packaged media with the plural content data D21 that the
customer showed by the value judging part 611, in exchange
value.
[0697] Then, the data providing server 601 generates equivalent
exchange condition showing data D42 by storing the title and the
package ID of the one or plural packaged media exchangeable, the
conditions of equivalent exchange set indicating that a customer
pays a balance to almost equalize content data owned by the
customer with packaged media in exchange value for equivalent
exchange, the data providing server 601 pays a balance to a
customer, or equivalent exchange is carried out even a balance is
not paid because the sale price and rental price are the same.
[0698] Then, the data providing server 601 sends the equivalent
exchange condition showing data D42 from the sending part 521 to
the portable dedicated terminal 602 via the Internet 504, to notify
the customer of, as shown in FIGS. 48(A) to 48(C), one or plural
packaged media that the customer can equivalently exchange the
plural content data D21 for, as well as the conditions of
equivalent exchange of the above content data D21 for the packaged
media.
[0699] As a result, if the customer sends exchange approval data
representing the approval of the equivalent exchange and when there
are plural proposed packaged media equivalently exchangeable,
packaged media that the customer selected from among these packaged
media from the portable dedicated terminal 602, the data providing
server 601 receives this by the receiving part 515, and transmits
this from the received data judging part 516 to the judging part
610. The data providing server 601 confirms that the customer
approved the equivalent exchange based on the exchange approval
data as well as the packaged media selected for the equivalent
exchange by the above judging part 610.
[0700] Then, the data providing server 601 generates package
delivery ordering information with the package ID of the packaged
media that the customer selected for equivalent exchange by the
judging part 610, and transmits this to the send data generating
part 520, generates package delivery ordering data by the above
send data generating part 520, and transmits this from the sending
part 521 to the package providing server 503 via the Internet
504.
[0701] Thereafter, the data providing server 601 performs
processing similarly to the data providing server 501 according to
the seventh embodiment described above with reference to FIG. 38,
so as to equivalently exchange the plural content data D21 that the
customer owns for one packaged media being an album CD by
equalizing them in exchange value.
[0702] On the other hand, in the portable dedicated terminal 602
shown in FIG. 45, if the customer enters specifying information on
content data that the customer wants to rent with the operating
part 540, the portable dedicated terminal 602 executes the similar
processing to the portable dedicated terminal 502 according to the
seventh embodiment described above with reference to FIG. 38, and
the content data D21 is rented to the customer from the data
providing server 601.
[0703] Furthermore, if the customer enters an equivalent exchange
request that specifies plural content data D21 for equivalent
exchange, with the operating part 540, the portable dedicated
terminal 602 generates the equivalent exchange request data D40
described above with reference to FIG. 46 by a request data
generating part 630, and sends this from the sending part 543 to
the data providing server 601 via the Internet 504.
[0704] As a result, when equivalent exchange condition showing data
D42 is sent from the data providing server 601 via the Internet
504, the portable dedicated terminal 602 receives this by the
receiving part 544, and transmits this from the judging part 545 to
the reproducing part 549, to notify the customer of the title of
one or plural packaged media that the content data D21 can be
equivalently exchanged for, and the conditions to execute the
equivalent exchange for each of these packaged media (payment or
taking of balance, or no occurrence of balance).
[0705] If the customer sends the approval of the equivalent
exchange and information showing the packaged media that the
customer selected for the equivalent exchange from among the plural
packaged media, with the operating part 540, the portable dedicated
terminal 602 generates exchange approval data representing the
above approval and selected packaged media by the request data
generating part 630, and sends this from the sending part 543 to
the data providing server 601 via the Internet 504.
[0706] Thereafter, when equivalent exchange approval data is sent
from the data providing server 601 via the Internet 504, the
portable dedicated terminal 602 receives this by the receiving part
544, and transmits this from the judging part 545 to the
reproducing part 549 to notify the customer of the approval of the
equivalent exchange, the delivery method of the packaged media and
the like.
[0707] In this connection, if equivalent exchange forbidding data
is sent from the data providing server 601 via the Internet 504,
the portable dedicated terminal 602 receives this by the receiving
part 544 and transmits this from the judging part 545 to the
reproducing part 549, to notify the customer that the equivalent
exchange was not permitted.
[0708] Now, an equivalent exchanging processing procedure by the
data providing server 601, the portable dedicated terminal 602 and
the package providing server 503 in the data providing system 600
will be collectively described. As shown in FIGS. 49(A) and 50(A)
in that the same reference numerals are added to corresponding part
in FIGS. 43(A) and 44(A), first, the portable dedicated terminal
602 enters routine RT35 from the starting step, proceeds to step
SP351 and sequentially executes the processing of the above step
SP351 to step SP354, and proceeds to step SP401.
[0709] In step SP401, the portable dedicated terminal 602 waits for
the customer to enter an equivalent exchange request specifying
plural content data D21 for equivalent exchange with the operating
part 540. Until the above equivalent exchange request is entered,
the portable dedicated terminal 602 returns to step, SP351 and
repeats the processing loop of the following steps
SP352-SP353-SP354-SP401.
[0710] In step SP401, when the equivalent exchange request is
entered via the operating part 540, the portable dedicated terminal
602 proceeds to step SP402 to generate equivalent exchange request
data D40 by the request data generating part 630 and transmit this
from the sending part 543 to the data providing server 601, and
then proceeds to step SP357.
[0711] On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 49(B) and 50(B) in that
the same reference numerals are added to corresponding parts in
FIGS. 43(B) and 44(B), the data providing server 601 enters routine
RT36 from the starting step, proceeds to step SP371, and
sequentially executes the processing of the above steps SP371 to
SP375. In step SP374, when the data providing server 601 permits
the customer the equivalent exchange, the data providing server 601
proceeds to step SP411.
[0712] In step SP411, the data providing server 601 detects one or
plural packaged media having the same total points as the plural
content data D21 that the customer owns, generates equivalent
exchange condition showing data D42 representing the conditions to
almost equalize the above detected packaged media with plural
content data D21 in exchange value, by the value judging part 611,
and transmits this from the sending part 521 to,the portable
dedicated terminal 602, and then proceeds to step SP412.
[0713] At this time, in step SP375, the portable dedicated terminal
602 waits for equivalent exchange condition showing data D32 or
equivalent exchange forbidding data to be sent from the data
providing server 601. When the portable dedicated terminal 602
receives either data by the receiving part 544, the portable
dedicated terminal 602 proceeds to step SP358. If the above
received data is the equivalent exchange condition showing data
D42, the portable dedicated terminal 602 proceeds to step
SP403.
[0714] In step SP403, the portable dedicated terminal 602 generates
exchange approval data representing the approval of the equivalent
exchange and packaged media that the customer selected for the
equivalent exchange from among the plural packaged media according
to the operations of the operating part 540 by the customer by the
request data generating part 630, transmits the above generated
exchange approval data from the sending part 543 to the data
providing server 601, and proceeds to step SP361. Thereafter, when
the portable dedicated terminal 602 receives equivalent exchange
approval data by the receiving part 544, the portable dedicated
terminal 602 proceeds to step SP404 to finish the above processing
by the portable dedicated terminal 602.
[0715] Furthermore, in step SP412, the data providing server 601
waits for the exchange approval data to be sent from the portable
dedicated terminal 602. When the data providing server 601
receiving the above exchange approval data by the receiving part
515, the data providing server 601 sequentially executes the
processing of the following steps SP379 to SP381, and then proceeds
to step SP413 to finish the above processing by the data providing
server 601. Thus, all the equivalent exchange processing procedure
by the data providing system 600 is finished.
[0716] According to the above configuration, in this data providing
system 600, if content specifying data to request the rental of the
content data D21 is sent from the portable dedicated terminal 602
to the data providing server 601, the data providing server 601
sends the specified content data D21 to the portable dedicated
terminal 602 to record it therein accordingly. Thus, the customer
can rent the content data D21 with the portable dedicated terminal
602.
[0717] Then, in this data providing system 600, if equivalent
exchange request data D40 to request the equivalent exchange of the
plural content data D21 (single tunes) that the customer owns by
rental for one packaged media (album CD) is sent from the portable
dedicated terminal 602 to the data providing server 601, the above
data providing server 601 detects the total points of these plural
content data D21, detects the packaged media (album CD) having the
same total points as the above detected total points as a package
media equivalently exchangeable, and sends equivalent exchange
condition showing data D42 showing the conditions to almost
equalize the above detected packaged media with the plural content
data D21 that the customer owns, in exchange value, to the portable
dedicated terminal 602.
[0718] As a result, in the data providing system 600, if equivalent
exchange approval data showing the approval of the equivalent
exchange and packaged media that the customer selected for
equivalent exchange is sent from the portable dedicated terminal
602 to the data providing server 601, the balance in the equivalent
exchange is settled, the plural content data D21 that the customer
owned are deleted from the portable dedicated terminal 602 for
return, and the packaged media is delivered to the above customer.
In this manner, the content data D21 that the customer owns and the
packaged media being an album CD are almost equalized in exchange
value, and the content data D21 is exchanged for that packaged
media.
[0719] Accordingly, in this data providing system 600, when the
data server 601 searches for packaged media equivalently
exchangeable, it matches the total points of the plural content
data D21 with the total points of the packaged media. Therefore,
the plural content data D21 that the customer owns can be
equivalently exchanged for the packaged media being an album CD
storing content data the same as or different from them.
[0720] Then, in this data providing system 600, by performing such
matching by points by the data providing server 601, for instance,
plural content data D21 can be equivalently exchanged for packaged
media being one single CD, or even one content data D21 can be
equivalently exchanged for packaged media being an album CD. Thus,
the convenience of equivalent exchange can be remarkably
improved.
[0721] As a result, in this data providing system 600, customers
can further remarkably and easily use the system. If the number of
the users of the present system increased by this, the distribution
of content data D21 using the Internet can be further
popularized.
[0722] According to the above configuration, the data providing
server 601 sends the content data D21 specified according to the
rental request from the portable dedicated terminal 602 that the
customer uses to the above portable dedicated terminal 602 to
record it therein for rental. Thereafter, if the customer requests
to equivalently exchange the rented content data D21 for packaged
media from the portable dedicated terminal 602, the data providing
server 601 detects the packaged media that the above content data
D21 can be exchanged for by matching points for the above content
data D21 that was selected according to the market value with
points for the packaged media that was selected according to the
market value, and shows the conditions to almost equalize the above
detected packaged media with the content data D21 that the customer
owns in exchange value. Thereby, in addition to the effects
obtained by the aforementioned seventh embodiment, the convenience
equivalent exchange can be remarkably improved. Thus, a data
providing system that can further popularize the distribution of
content data via the Internet can be accomplished.
[0723] Note that, in the aforementioned eighth embodiment, points
are respectively allocated to the content data, the packaged media
being a single CD and the packaged media being an album CD
according to the ranking of the year and the date that the media
were released for the first time. This invention, however, is not
limited to this and, in addition to the ranking of the year and the
date that the media were released for the first time, 1 point may
be allocated to media that has been comparatively sold a lot
because its scarcity value is relatively low, and 10 points may be
allocated to media that has not been almost sold because its
scarcity value is relatively high. Furthermore, points may be
allocated according to one or a combination of the ranking of the
year, the date that the media were released for the first time, and
the sales.
[0724] In the aforementioned eighth embodiment, the content data
D21 that the customer rents is equivalently exchanged for the
packaged media from the data providing server 601. This invention,
however, is not limited to this and content data that the customer
bought may be equivalently exchanged for packaged media from the
data providing server 601.
[0725] In this connection, in the aforementioned eighth embodiment,
since the rented content data D21 is equivalently exchanged for the
packaged media, the above content data D21 is deleted for return
when the rental term expires. However, when the customer
equivalently exchanges the content data that the customer bought
for packaged media storing the same content data as that, since the
above customer does not illegally own different content data, the
content data equivalently exchanged for the packaged media may be
deleted or may be kept by the customer as it is.
[0726] In the aforementioned embodiment, the packaged media that
the content data D21 owned by the customer is equivalently
exchanged for is delivered to the customer by the package providing
server 503. This invention, however, is not limited to this and the
packaged media that the content data D21 owned by the customer is
equivalently exchanged for may be directly handed to the customer
at the agency.
[0727] Further, in the aforementioned eighth embodiment, the
portable dedicated terminal 602 notifies the data providing server
601 of the title as identification information on the content data
D21 to be equivalently exchanged and the data providing server 601
notifies the portable dedicated terminal 602 of the title as
identification information on packaged media which the content data
D21 is equivalently exchanged for. This invention, however, is not
limited to this and the portable dedicated terminal 602 may notify
the data providing server 601 of the content ID as identification
information on the content data D21 to be equivalently exchanged
and the data providing server 601 may notify the portable dedicated
terminal 602 of the package ID as identification information on the
packaged media which the content data D21 can be equivalently
exchanged for.
[0728] Furthermore, in the aforementioned eighth embodiment, the
portable dedicated terminal 602 notifies the data providing server
601 of only the tile of the content data D21 to be equivalently
exchanged. This invention, however, is not limited to this and the
portable dedicated terminal 602 may notify the data providing
server 601 of information indicating the amount of additional fee
arbitrary selected by the customer, together with the
identification information on the content data D21 to be
equivalently exchanged, and then perform the equivalent exchange
processing. By this method, the content data D21 can be exchanged
for packaged media within the budget desired by the customer.
[0729] In the aforementioned eighth embodiment, the content data
and the package data equivalently exchanged are musical data
(single tune and single CD). This invention, however, is not
limited to this and as content data and packaged media to be
equivalently exchanged, other various kinds of content such as
movie and book can be applied. Thereby, the convenience and the
versatility of a data providing system can be remarkably improved,
and the distribution of content data can be further
popularized.
[0730] In the aforementioned eighth embodiment, the balance that is
to almost equalize the content data D21 that the customer owns with
the packaged media in exchange value for equivalent exchange is
settled by money. This invention, however, is not limited to this
and points to give the customer a privilege such as a discount
according to the rental and the purchase of the content data D21
may be issued and stored by the data providing server 601, and the
difference in exchange value between the content data D21 that the
above customer owns and the packaged media for equivalent exchange
may be settled by the points that the customer obtains, instead of
a part of or all of payment.
[0731] Furthermore, in the aforementioned eighth embodiment, the
rental of the content data D21 is performed from the data providing
server 601 with the portable dedicated terminal 602 that is
accessible only to the above data providing server 601, and the
above rented content data D21 is equivalently exchanged for
packaged media. This invention, however, is not limited to, this
and, content data may be bought or rented from the data providing
server 601 with other various kinds of devices and the above bought
or rented content data may be equivalently exchanged for packaged
media, provided that the devices are device connectable to the
Internet 504 such as a personal computer and a portable
telephone.
[0732] In this connection, when the data providing server 601 is
used with another device such as a personal computer or a portable
telephone, different from the portable dedicated terminal 602,
server identification information to identify the data providing
server 601 being the provider of the above content data is
previously added to content data to be bought or rented from the
data providing server 601 with the above device. And when the
customer requests equivalent exchange and then it is judged whether
to permit the customer the equivalently exchange, it is judged
whether the content data shown by the customer for equivalent
exchange was provided from the data providing server 601 based on
the server identification information if the customer showed the
content data obtained from another data providing server for
equivalent exchange, the equivalent exchange is not permitted.
Thereby, it can be prevented that the data providing server suffers
losses by performing the equivalent exchange of content data
provided by another data providing server.
[0733] Furthermore, when the customer equivalently exchanges
content data that the customer rented by a device different from
the portable dedicated terminal 602 for packaged media, the
portable dedicated terminal 602 deletes the content data to be
equivalently exchanged that has been recorded in that device at the
time point when the portable dedicated terminal 602 received
exchange approval data from the above device, and approves the
equivalent exchange of the above content data for the packaged
media upon that confirmation has got. Thereby, that the customer
performs illegal equivalent exchange by using again the content
data for rental that was equivalently exchanged once by a device
different from the portable dedicated terminal 602 can be
prevented.
(10) NINTH EMBODIMENT
[0734] FIG. 51 shows a data providing system 700 according to a
ninth embodiment. A request terminal 702 having the construction of
a personal computer corresponding to the request terminal used by
the customer 3, described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, a
data providing server 703 having the construction of a personal
computer corresponding to the agencies 4A to 4N described above
with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, a package providing server 704
having the construction of a personal computer corresponding to the
sales company 5 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, and
an advertiser/company server 705 having the construction of a
personal computer corresponding to the advertiser/company site 6
described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, and a portable
dedicated terminal 706 corresponding to the portable dedicated
terminals 7A to 7N described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3
are connected to a system management server 701 having the
construction of a personal computer corresponding to the system
management site 2 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3
via the Internet 707.
[0735] As shown in FIG. 52, in the system management server 701, a
RAM (Random Access Memory) 712, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 713, a
display part 714, an input part 715, a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 716
and a network interface 717 are connected to a control part 710
such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) with a bus 711.
[0736] In this case, the control part 710 reads various programs
previously stored in the ROM 713 and puts them on the RAM 712.
According to these various programs, the system management server
701 can execute similar processing to the updating part 60 and the
matching part 63 described above with reference to FIG. 4, the
accounting part 116 described above with reference to FIG. 5, the
accounting part 156, the content ID extracting part 161, the
content search part 162 and the send data generating part 164
described above with reference to FIG. 8, the advertiser/company
information updating part 213, the customer information updating
part 215 and the matching part 216 described above with reference
to FIG. 11, and the matching part 268 described above with
reference to FIG. 25.
[0737] In this connection, the system management server 701
executes the similar processing to them according to the various
programs previously stored in the ROM 713. However, these various
processing may be executed by installing a program storage medium
storing these various programs in the system management server
701.
[0738] Note that, such program storage medium for installing the
various programs to execute the aforementioned various processing
in the system management server 701 and for making them executable
is not only limited to packaged media such as a flexible disk, a
CD-ROM or a DVD, but also may be a semiconductor memory, a magnetic
disc, etc., in which the various programs can be temporarily or
permanently stored. Furthermore, as means for storing the various
programs in these program storage media, a cable or wireless
communication medium such as a local area network, the Internet and
digital satellite broadcasting can be used, and they may be stored
via various communication interfaces such as a rooter and a
modem.
[0739] The control part 710 records, stores and manages various
information such as customer registration information and
advertiser/company registration information, to be used in the
whole system, on the hard disk of a hard disk drive 716.
[0740] Furthermore, the control part 710 can send/receive various
information such as customer information, advertiser/company
information, customer introduction information and
advertiser/company introduction information, to/from the request
terminal 702, the data providing server 703, the package providing
server 704, the advertiser/company server 705 and the portable
dedicated terminal 706 via the network interface 717.
[0741] In this manner, the system management server 701 having the
construction of a personal computer can function in similar to the
system management site 2 described above with reference to FIG. 1
according to the various programs.
[0742] In this connection, for instance, the system management
server 701 uses the input part 715 and the display part 714 to
confirm the various information or the like recorded on the hard
disk drive 717.
[0743] As shown in FIG. 53, in the request terminal 702, a RAM 722,
a ROM 723, a display part 724, an input part 725, a hard disk drive
726 and a network interface 727 are connected to a control part 720
such as a CPU with a bus 721.
[0744] In this case, the control part 720 reads various programs
previously stored in the ROM 723 and puts them on the RAM 722.
According to these various programs, the request terminal 702 can
execute similar processing to the request data generating part 71
and the display control part 74 described above with reference to
FIG. 4, the operating information judging part 121, the request
data generating part 122, the judging part 125 and the accounting
part 127 described above with reference to FIG. 5, and the request
data generating part 321 and the display control part 324 described
above with reference to FIG. 28.
[0745] In this connection, the request terminal 702 executes the
similar processing to them according to the various programs
previously stored in the ROM 723. However, these various processing
may be executed by installing a program storage medium in that
these various programs have been stored in the request terminal
702.
[0746] Note that, such program storage medium for installing the
various programs to execute the aforementioned various processing
in the system management server 702 and for making them executable
is not only limited to packaged media such as a flexible disk, a
CD-ROM or a DVD, but also may be a semiconductor memory, a magnetic
disc, etc., in which the various programs can be temporarily or
permanently stored. As means for storing the various programs in
these program storage media, a cable or a radio communication
medium such as a local area network, the Internet or digital
satellite broadcasting may be used, and they may be stored via
various communication interfaces such as a rooter and a modem.
[0747] The control part 720 records, stores and manages various
information such as address information on an accessible system
management server 701 and the data providing server 703 on the hard
disk of the hard disk drive 726.
[0748] Furthermore, the control part 720 can send/receive various
information such as customer information and a content data
transmission request to/from the system management server 701 and
the data providing server 703 via the network interface 727.
[0749] In this connection, in the request terminal 702, when the
customer performs the rental reservation of content data and the
portable dedicated terminal 706 to the data providing server 703 or
the like, the input part 725 and the display part 724 are used.
[0750] As shown in FIG. 54, in the data providing server 703, a RAM
732, a ROM 733, a display part 734, an input part 735, a hard disk
drive 736 and a network interface 737 are connected to a control
part 730 such as a CPU with a bus 731.
[0751] In this case, the control part 730 reads various programs
previously stored in the ROM 733 and puts them on the RAM 732.
According to these various processing, the data providing server
703 can execute similar processing to the content search part 62
and the package search part 64 described above with reference to
FIG. 4, the recording control part 117 described above with
reference to FIG. 5, the received data judging part 155, the
recording control part 157, the operating information judging part
158 and the request data generating part 159 described above with
reference to FIG. 8, the search part 315 and the matching part 316
described above with reference to FIG. 28, the received data
judging part 516, the content ID extracting part 517, the
customer's update search part 518, the content search part 519, the
send data generating part 520, the customer ID extracting part 525,
the judging part 526, the value judging part 527 and the package
search part 528 described above with reference to FIG. 38, and the
judging part 610 and the value judging part 611 described above
with reference to FIG. 45.
[0752] In this connection, the data providing server 703 performs,
in accordance with the various programs previously stored in the
ROM 733, the similar processing to the content search part 62 and
package search part 64 as described with reference to FIG. 4, the
recording control part 117 as described with reference to FIG. 5,
the received data judging part 155, recording control part 157,
operation information judging part 158 and request data generating
part 159 as described with reference to FIG. 8, the search part 315
and the matching part 316 described above with reference to FIG.
28, the received data judging part 516, the content ID extracting
part 517, the customer's update search part 518, the content search
part 519, the send data generating part 520, the customer ID
extracting part 525, the judging part 526, the value judging part
527 and the package search part 528 described above with reference
to FIG. 38, and the judging part 610 and the value judging part 611
described above with reference to FIG. 45. However, these various
processing may be performed by installing a program storage medium
storing these various programs in the data providing server
703.
[0753] Note that, such program storage medium for installing the
various programs to execute the aforementioned various processing
in the data providing server 703 and for making them executable is
not only limited to packaged media such as a flexible disk, a
CD-ROM and a DVD, but also may be a semiconductor memory, a
magnetic disk, etc., in which the various programs can be
temporarily or permanently stored. Furthermore, as means for
storing the various programs in these program storage media, a
cable or a radio communication medium such as a local area network,
the Internet and digital satellite broadcasting may be used, and
they may be stored via various communication interfaces such as a
rooter and a modem.
[0754] The control part 730 records, stores and manages various
information such as customer registration information on the
customer using the agency, content data to be provided to the
portable dedicated terminal 706 on the hard disk of the hard disk
drive 736.
[0755] Furthermore, the control part 730 can send/receive various
information such as customer information, content data and package
delivery ordering data to/from the system management server 701,
the package providing server 704, and the request terminal 702 and
the portable dedicated terminal 706 connected via the above system
management server 701, via the network interface 737.
[0756] In this connection, in the data providing server 703, when
the system management server 701 is requested for content data,
when various information recorded on the hard disk drive 736 are
confirmed, or the like, the input part 735 and the display part 734
are used.
[0757] As shown in FIG. 55, in the package providing server 704, a
RAM 742, a ROM 743, a display part 744, an input part 745, a hard
disk drive 746 and a network interface 747 are connected to a
control part 740 such as a CPU with a bus 741.
[0758] In this case, the control part 740 reads various programs
previously stored in the ROM 743 and puts them on the RAM 742.
According to these various programs, the package providing server
704 can execute similar processing to the package ID extracting
part 561, the package search part 562, the package taking-out
control part 564 and the shipment/packing instructing part 565
described above with reference to FIG. 38.
[0759] In this connection, the package providing server 704
executes the similar processing to them according to the various
programs previously stored in the ROM 743. However, these various
processing may be executed by installing a program storage medium
storing these various programs in the package providing server
704.
[0760] Note that, such program storage medium for installing the
various programs to execute the aforementioned various processing
in the package providing server 704 and for making them executable
is not only limited to packaged media such as a flexible disk, a
CD-ROM and a DVD, but also may be a semiconductor memory, a
magnetic disk, etc., in which various programs can be temporarily
or permanently stored. Furthermore, as means for storing the
various programs in these program storage media, a cable or a radio
communication medium such as a local area network, the Internet and
digital satellite broadcasting may be used, and they may be stored
via various communication interfaces such as a rooter and a
modem.
[0761] The control part 740 records, stores and manages various
information such as the stock of packaged media and storage
information, on the hard disk of the hard disk drive 746.
[0762] Furthermore, the control part 740 can send/receive various
information such as package delivery ordering data and delivery
arrangement completion data to/from the data providing server 703
via the network interface 747.
[0763] In this connection, the package providing server 704, for
instance, in confirming the various information stored in the
network interface 747, uses the input part 745 and the display part
744.
[0764] As shown in FIG. 56, in the advertiser/company server 705, a
RAM 752, a ROM 753, a display part 754, an input part 755, a hard
disk drive 756 and a network interface 757 are connected to a
control part 750 such as a CPU via a bus 751.
[0765] In this case, the control part 750 reads various programs
previously stored in the ROM 753 and puts them on the RAM 752.
According to these various programs, the advertiser/company server
705 can execute similar processing to the sending control part 231,
the display control part 234, the customer selecting part 231, and
the send data generating part 238 described above with reference to
FIG. 11.
[0766] In this connection, the advertiser/company server 705
executes the similar processing to them according to the various
programs previously stored in the ROM 753. However, these various
processing may be executed by installing a program storage medium
storing these various programs in the advertiser/company server
705.
[0767] Note that, such program storage medium for installing the
various programs to execute the aforementioned various processing
in the advertiser/company server 705 and for making them executable
is not only limited to packaged media such as a flexible disk, a
CD-ROM and a DVD, but also may be a semiconductor memory, a
magnetic disk, etc., in that various programs can be temporarily or
permanently stored. Furthermore, as means for storing the various
programs in these program storage media, a cable or a radio
communication medium such as a local area network, the Internet and
digital satellite broadcasting may be used, and they may be stored
via various communication interfaces such as a rooter and a
modem.
[0768] The control part 750 records, stores and manages various
information such as distribution data to be provided via the
Internet 707 on the hard disk of the hard disk drive 756.
[0769] Furthermore, the control part 750 can send/receive various
information such as advertiser/company information and customer
introduction information to/from the system management server 701
via the network interface 757.
[0770] In this connection, the package providing server 705, in
entering the advertiser/company information or the like, uses the
input part 755 and the display part 754.
[0771] As shown in FIG. 57, the portable dedicated terminal 706 has
a function to record/reproduce content data, and a terminal body
770 which can be carried freely can be detachably attached to a
cradle 771 that has a charging function to the above terminal body
770 and a communication function using the Internet 707.
[0772] In this case, in the terminal body 770, a display part 772
being a liquid crystal display is provided at the front of the
case. Images based on content data, various operational screens
used to obtain the above content data, or the like can be displayed
on the above display part 772.
[0773] At the lower side of the display part 772 on the front
surface of the case, a reproducing start button 773, a play/stop
button 774 and a send button 775 are provided. By means of these
buttons, a reproducing starting command and a reproducing stop
command of content data, and a send command to send various
requests to the data providing server 703 or the like can be
entered.
[0774] In this connection, on the front surface of the case, a
charge lamp 776 that, when the terminal body 770 is on charging,
notifies the customer of the charge is provided, and the logotype
777 of the agency selling and renting the portable dedicated
terminal 706 is represented.
[0775] On the top surface of the case, a headphone jack 778 is
provided. On the right surface of the case, a power button 779 and
a volume control dial 780 are provided. In addition to this, on the
left surface of the case, a cancel button 781 and a rotational
operating button that can be rotated and pushed freely
(hereinafter, this is referred to as jog dial) 782 are provided as
slightly projecting from the surface of the case.
[0776] The terminal body 770 outputs sounds obtained by reproducing
content data from the headphone jack 778 to the headphones, to
allow the customer to listen to the sounds. At this time, the
customer can control the volume by the volume control dial 780.
[0777] Furthermore, in the terminal body 770, when the operational
screen or the like is displayed on the display part 772, if the
customer rotates the jog dial 782, the operational screen is
scrolled according to the operations. When the customer erroneously
entered information or a command on the above operational screen,
the customer can cancel it with the cancel button 781.
[0778] On the other hand, in the cradle 771, an AC (Alternating
Current) adapter 790 is provided. If the AC adapter 790 is
connected to main battery or the like in the state where the
terminal body 770 is mounted, a battery in the terminal body 770
can be charged.
[0779] In the cradle 771, a modular jack 791, an audio output
terminal 792 and a USB (Universal Serial Bus) terminal 793 are
provided. Content data received by communicating with the system
management server 701 and the data providing server 703 via the
above modular jack 791 or the like is sent to the terminal body
770, audio data obtained from the terminal body 770 is outputted to
an external speaker or the like from the audio output terminal 792,
and content data obtained from the outside can be taken in from the
USB terminal 793 and can be sent to the terminal body 770.
[0780] Now, the circuit construction of the portable dedicated
terminal 706 will be described with reference to FIG. 58. First, in
the cradle 771, a storing part 802, a USB controller 803, the audio
output terminal 792 and a modem 804 are connected to a CPU 800 via
a bus 801. Power supply voltage taken in from the AC adapter 790 is
converted into the internal voltage of a predetermined voltage by a
power supplying part 805, and the voltage is supplied to the CPU
800 and each circuit block, so that the whole of the cradle 771 is
driven.
[0781] In the terminal body 770, a flash memory 822, a LCD (Liquid
Crystal Display) controller 823, an amplifier 824, and an
operational key controller 825 are connected to a CPU 820 via a bus
821. By supplying the internal voltage from a battery circuit part
826 to the CPU 820 and each circuit block, the whole of the
terminal body 770 is driven.
[0782] When the terminal body 770 is mounted on the cradle 771, a
power input terminal 831 is connected to a power supply terminal
830 in the cradle 771. Thereby, power supply voltage supplied from
the power supplying part 805 in the above cradle 771 sequentially
via the power supply terminal 830 and the power input terminal 831
is taken in the battery circuit part 826 and the battery is
charged. Thus, even if the terminal body 770 is detached from the
cradle 71, the portable dedicated terminal 706 can be freely
used.
[0783] If the terminal body 770 is mounted on the cradle 771, a
main-body-side information input/output terminal 833 is connected
to a cradle-side information input/output terminal 832 provided in
the cradle 771, so that data and various information can be sent to
or received from the cradle 771.
[0784] Practically, in the portable dedicated terminal 706, the USB
terminal 793 of the cradle 771 can be connected to the data
providing server 703 via a USB cable (not shown). Content data sent
from the data providing server 703 via the USB cable by customer's
rental reservation or the like is taken in the USB controller 803
in the cradle 771 from the USB terminal 793, and the above taken in
content data is sent from the cradle-side information input/output
terminal 832 to the terminal body 770.
[0785] In this case, the terminal body 770 takes the content data
sent from the cradle-side information input/output terminal 832 of
the cradle 771 in the CPU 820 from the main-body-side information
input/output terminal 833 via an interface part 834, and records
the content data in the flash memory 822.
[0786] In this manner, if recording the content data in the flash
memory 882, the terminal body 770 takes a reproducing start command
given from the operational key controller 825 in the CPU 820
according to the operation of the reproducing start button 773,
reproduces the content data from the flash memory 822, and sends
the above reproduced content data from the amplifier 824 to the
headphone jack 778 as well as sending the above content data from
the LCD controller 823 to the display part 772. Thereby, the
customer can enjoy the content.
[0787] Furthermore, when various information such as a request to
obtain content data is entered via the operational key controller
825, the terminal body 770 takes this in the CPU 820, and sends
this from the above CPU 820 to the cradle 711 sequentially via the
interface part 834 and the main-body-side information input/output
terminal 833.
[0788] At this time, the cradle 711 takes in various information
given from the terminal body 770 from the cradle-side information
input/output terminal 832, and sends the above taken-in various
information from the modem 804 to the data providing server 703 or
the like via the modular jack 791 and the system management server
701.
[0789] As a result, when the various information such as content
data is sent from the data providing server 703 or the like via the
system management server 701, the cradle 711 takes this in the CPU
800 from the modular jack 791 via the modem 804, and supplies the
above received various information from the cradle-side information
input/output terminal 832 to the terminal body 770.
[0790] The terminal body 770 takes various information sent from
the cradle 771 in the CPU 820 from the main-body-side information
input/output terminal 833 via the interface part 834, and notifies
the customer of the contents of that information via the display
part 772 and the headphone jack 778, or records the various
information in the flash memory 822.
[0791] In this manner, in the terminal body 770, the CPU 820 reads
various programs previously stored in the ROM 840 and puts them on
the RAM 841. According to these various programs, the terminal body
770 can execute similar processing to the recording control part
81, the reproduction control part 84 and the request data
generating part 86 described above with reference to FIG. 4, the
request data generating part 241, the recording control part 245
and the reproduction control part 248 described above with
reference to FIG. 11, the request data generating part 270
described above with reference to FIG. 25, the reproduction control
part 342, the request data generating part 344 and the recording
control part 347 described above with reference to FIG. 28, the
operational information judging part 541, the request data
generating part 542, the judging part 545, the recording control
part 546 and the reproduction control part 548 described above with
reference to FIG. 38, and the request data generating part 630
described above with reference to FIG. 45.
[0792] In this connection, the terminal body 770 of the portable
dedicated terminal 706 executes the similar processing to the
recording control part 81, the reproduction control part 84 and
request data generating part 86 described above with reference to
FIG. 4, the request data generating part 241, the recording control
part 245 and the reproduction control apart 248 described above
with reference to FIG. 11, the request data generating part 270
described above with reference to FIG. 25, the reproduction control
part 342, the request data generating part 344 and the recording
control part 347 described above with reference to FIG. 28, the
operational information judging part 541, the request data
generating part 542, the judging part 545, the recording control
part 546 and the reproduction control apart 548 described above
with reference to FIG. 38, and the request data generating part 630
described above with reference to FIG. 45, according to the various
programs previously stored in the ROM 840. However, these various
processing may be executed by installing a program storage medium
storing these various programs in the terminal body 770.
[0793] Note that, such program storage medium for installing the
various programs to execute the aforementioned various processing
in the terminal body 770 of the portable dedicated terminal 706 and
for making it executable is not only limited to packaged media such
as a flexible disk, a CD-ROM and a DVD, but also may be a
semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, etc., in which various
programs can be temporarily or permanently stored. Furthermore, as
means for storing the various programs in these program storage
media, a cable or a radio communication medium such as a local area
network, the Internet and digital satellite broadcasting, may be
used, and the various programs may be stored via various
communication interfaces such as a rooter and a modem.
[0794] The cradle 771 stores various information such as the
addresses of accessible servers on a storage medium 802, so that
the CPU 800 can communicate with the system management server 701
or the like according to the above various information in the
storing part 802.
[0795] According to the above configuration, in this data providing
system 700, each of the system management server 701, the request
terminal 702, the data providing server 703, the package providing
server 704 and the advertiser/company server 705 has the
construction of a personal computer.
[0796] Therefore, in this data providing system 700, it is
unnecessary to newly create the system management server 701,
request terminal 702, data providing server 703, package providing
server 704 and advertiser/company server 705 as hardware. Thereby,
only by installing various programs in existing personal computer,
the system can be easily constructed with these personal
computers.
[0797] In this data providing system 700, with respect to the
portable dedicated terminal 706, hardware has been newly prepared
on purpose without applying a personal computer. This is because,
by making the portable dedicated terminal 706 portable and have
simplified operational buttons, a person who does not have a
personal computer and a person who is inexperienced in the
operations of a personal computer can easily manage the portable
dedicated terminal 706.
[0798] According to the above configuration, the system is
constructed using the system management server 701, the request
terminal 702, the data providing server 703, the package providing
server 704 and the advertiser/company server 705 each having the
configuration of a personal computer. Therefore, the system can be
easily constructed by using existing personal computers as the
system management server 701, request terminal 702, data providing
server 703, package providing server 704 and advertiser/company
server 705.
(11) TENTH EMBODIMENT
[0799] FIG. 59 in which the same reference numerals are added to
corresponding parts in FIG. 51 shows a data providing system 900
according to a tenth embodiment. The data providing system 900 is
formed similarly to the data providing system 700 according to the
ninth embodiment, except for the configuration of a portable
dedicated terminal 910 that corresponds to the portable dedicated
terminals 7A to 7N described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to
3.
[0800] In this case, as shown in FIG. 60, the portable dedicated
terminal 910 has a function to record/reproduce content data. A
terminal body 911 freely portable can be freely detachably mounted
on a cradle 912 having a charging function to the above terminal
body 911 and a communication function using the Internet 707.
[0801] In the terminal body 911, a display part 913 being a liquid
crystal display is provided on the front surface of the case. Video
based on content data, various operating screens used to obtain the
above content data, or the like can be displayed on the above
display part 913.
[0802] Under the display part 913 on the front surface of the case,
a character input key group 914 having the arrangement of ten keys
"0" to "9", a character type change key 915 and a cancel key 916
are provided. By using the character input key group 914 as ten key
in a state where a content selection screen is displayed on the
display part 913, the customer can enter numerals for bar code as
identification information previously corresponded to content and
can selectively specify desired content. At the same time, by using
the character input key group 914 together with the character type
change key 915 and the cancel key 916, the customer can enter the
title of the content and the like in Japanese characters (hiragana,
katakana and Chinese characters), English letters (alphabets),
numerals and symbols, etc., and can selectively specify desired
content.
[0803] In this connection, on the front surface of the case, a
charge lamp 917 that notifies, when the terminal body 911 is on
charging, the customer of this charging is provided, and the
logotype 918 of the agency which sells and rents the portable
dedicated terminal 910 is represented.
[0804] On the top surface of the case, a headphone jack 919 and a
microphone 920 are provided. On the right side of the case, a power
button 921 and a volume control dial 922 are provided.
[0805] In addition to this, a send button 923 to send various
requests to the data providing server 703 or the like is provided
on the left side of the case, and a jog dial 924 which can be
rotated and pushed freely is provided so as to slightly projecting
from the surface of the above case.
[0806] Thereby, in the terminal body 911, by rotating and pushing
the jog dial 924 in the state where an operating screen for the
reproducing of content data is displayed on the display part 913,
the customer can enter various commands such as a reproducing start
command and a reproducing stop command of content data.
[0807] The terminal body 911 outputs voice thus obtained by
reproducing the content data from the headphone jack 919 to
headphones (not shown), and displays video thus obtained by
reproducing the above content data on the display part 913.
Thereby, the customer views the content. At this time, the customer
can control the volume by turning the volume control dial 922.
[0808] As shown in FIG. 61, in the terminal body 911, a camera 925
for pattern recognition is provided at the upper center part of the
back of the case. The terminal body 911 picks up the image of a bar
code previously corresponded to the content by that camera 925, so
that the customer can selectively specify desired content. And by
using the above camera 925 together with the microphone 920, motion
images and sound for a predetermined time (for several seconds) can
be taken in for the memo of desired information.
[0809] Furthermore, at the lower part of the back of the case, a
detachable battery pack 926 is mounted. Battery voltage is supplied
from the above battery pack 926 to the internal various circuits
according to the depression of the power button 921 so as to
activate the portable dedicated terminal 910.
[0810] In this connection, on the bottom of the case, a connector
that will be described later is provided, and the terminal body 911
can be electrically connected to the cradle 912 via the above
connector. When the connector 928 of an AC adapter 927 connected to
main power or the like is connected to that connector, the battery
pack 926 can be directly charged without via the cradle 912.
[0811] On the other hand, in the cradle 912 (FIG. 60), a connector
929 is provided on the top surface of the case. By connecting the
connector of the terminal body 911 to the above connector 929, that
terminal body 911 can be electrically connected to the terminal
body 911 (that is, the terminal body 911 can be mounted).
[0812] In the cradle 912, the connector 928 of the AC adapter 927
is mounted freely and detachably. If the AC adapter 927 is
connected to mains power or the like, power supply voltage is
supplied to each of the internal circuits from the above AC adapter
927, so as to activate the portable dedicated terminal 910. If the
terminal body 911 is electrically connected to the cradle 912,
power supply voltage is supplied from that AC adapter 927 to the
battery pack 926 of the above terminal body 911 and the battery
pack 926 is charged.
[0813] In the cradle 912, a modular jack 930 for public network
that the communication speed is relatively slow, and a jack for
Ethernet (trademark) 931 that the communication speed is much
faster than the public network (hereinafter, this is referred to as
Ethernet jack) are provided.
[0814] If the terminal body 911 is mounted on the cradle 912, the
terminal body 911 makes the customer arbitrarily select one of the
public network and the Ethernet (trademark) as communication line
to be used, and communicates with the system management server 701
and the data providing server 703 via the modular jack 930 or the
Ethernet jack 931 corresponding to the above selected public
network or Ethernet (trademark).
[0815] In addition to this, in the cradle 912, a video output
terminal 932 and an audio output terminal 933 are provided.
[0816] If the content data is reproduced in the state where the
terminal body 911 is mounted on the cradle 912, the terminal body
911 sends video data and audio data composing the above content
data to an external device such as a television receiving set via
the video output terminal 932 and the audio output terminal 933, so
that the customer can view the content.
[0817] Here, the circuit construction of the portable dedicated
terminal 910 will be described with reference to FIG. 62. First, in
the terminal body 911, a main CPU 940 for integrally controlling
the entire circuits in the above terminal body 911 and cradle 912
is provided.
[0818] Furthermore, in the terminal body 911, a sub CPU 941 that
controls starting-up/stop of each circuit in the above terminal
body 911 and also has a function as a human interface is
provided.
[0819] When the power button 921 is depressed and a starting-up
command is given from an operating part 942 composed of the above
power button 921, the character input key group 914, the character
type change key 915, the cancel key 916, the volume control dial
922, the send button 923 and the jog dial 924, the sub CPU 941
takes battery voltage supplied from the battery pack 926 in the
internal power monitoring circuit 941A, converts the battery
voltage into internal voltage at plural kinds of predetermined
levels in the above power monitoring circuit 941A, and supplies
them to corresponding circuits in the terminal body 911, to
separately activate these circuits.
[0820] Then, the sub CPU 941, separately controls the
starting-up/stop of each circuit in the terminal body 911 according
to the content of the processing that the main CPU 940 executed.
Thereby, wasteful consumption of battery voltage of the battery
pack 926 can be reduced to the utmost.
[0821] When the terminal body 911 starts, the main CPU 940 reads
various programs previously stored in a memory for system 943 being
a flash ROM via a memory bus 81, and puts them on an SDRAM 944.
[0822] Thereby, the main CPU 940 can execute processing similar to
the recording control part 81, the reproduction control part 84 and
the request data generating part 86 described above with reference
to FIG. 4, the request data generating part 241, the recording
control part 245 and the reproduction control part 248 described
above with reference to FIG. 11, the request data generating part
270 described above; with reference to FIG. 25, the reproduction
control part 342, the request data generating part 344 and the
recording control part 347 described above with reference to FIG.
28, the operational information judging part 541, the request data
generating part 542, the judging part 545, the recording control
part 546 and the reproduction control part 548 described above with
reference to FIG. 38, and the request data generating part 630
described above with reference to FIG. 45, according to the various
programs.
[0823] Specifically, in the main CPU 940, in advance of the sale
and the rental of the portable dedicated terminal 910 at the
agency, content data that the customer specified for purchase
and/or rental, header data added to the above content data, the
customer ID issued in the customer registration, or the like, are
recorded in a memory for data 945 being a flash ROM as
compression-coded.
[0824] After the user buys or rents the portable dedicated terminal
910, if the customer enters a request to reproduce content data
from the operating part 942 sequentially via the sub CPU 941 and an
I.sup.2C bus B2 being a serial bus (this is generally called SM
(System Management) bus), the main CPU 940 reads reproducing
operation screen data from the memory for system 943 via the memory
bus B1 in response to the request, and sends the read reproducing
operation screen data to a timing generator 946.
[0825] The timing generator 946 controls the display part 913 based
on screen data and video data supplied from the main CPU 940
(controls the emitting timing of liquid crystal, emitting
intensity, and so on, for each of plural pixels of one screen of
the display part 913). Thereby, if the reproducing operation screen
data is supplied from the above main CPU 940, a reproducing
operation screen based on the reproducing operation screen data is
displayed on the display part 913.
[0826] In this state, when content data to be reproduced and its
reproducing are specified on the reproducing operation screen
according to the operations of the operating part 942 and a content
data specifying command and a reproducing start command are
supplied from the operating part 942 to the main CPU 940
sequentially via the sub CPU 941 and the I.sup.2C bus B2, the main
CPU 940 reads the specified compression-coded content data
(hereinafter, this is referred to as compressed content data) from
the memory for data 945 via the memory bus B1.
[0827] Then, the main CPU 940 decodes the compressed content data
read from the memory for data 945. In video data and audio data
forming thus obtained content data, the main CPU 940 transmits the
video data to the timing generator 946, and converts the audio data
into an analog audio signal in a digital-to-analog converter 947
and then sends this to the headphone jack 919 via a headphone
amplifier 948.
[0828] Thereby, the main CPU 940 displays the images of the content
based on the video data on the display part 913 via the timing
generator 946, and outputs the sound of the content based on the
audio signal from headphones (not shown) connected to the headphone
jack 919, so that the customer can view the content.
[0829] If a memo input command is given from the operating part 942
sequentially via the sub CPU 941 and the I.sup.2C bus B2, the main
CPU 940 picks up a subject by the camera 925 for a predetermined
time and taking in thus obtained video data. At this time, the main
CPU 940 picks up surrounding sound via the microphone 920 for the
predetermined time, converts thus obtained audio signal into
digital audio data sequentially via a microphone amplifier 949 and
an analog-to-digital converter 950, and takes this in. The main CPU
940 compression-codes these video data and audio data as memo data,
and then transmits them to the memory for data 945 via the memory
bus B1 for recording.
[0830] In this connection, at this time, if a character string such
as a comment on the memo is supplied as text data from the
operating part 942 sequentially via the sub CPU 941 and the
I.sup.2C bus B2 according to the operation of the character input
key group 914, the character type change key 915 and the cancel key
916, the main CPU 940 adds the above text data to the memo data and
compression-codes them, and recording it in the memory for data
945.
[0831] If a reproducing start command for the memo data is supplied
from the operating part 942 sequentially via the sub CPU 941 and
the I.sup.2C bus B2, the main CPU 940 performs processing similarly
to the reproducing of the content data described above. Thereby,
the customer can confirm the contents of the memo by the display
part 913 and the headphones.
[0832] By the way, the main CPU 940 is electrically connected to a
connector 953 provided on the bottom of the case sequentially via a
peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus B3; a bus switch 951, a
specified bus based on the PCI standard (hereinafter, this is
referred to as PCI-based bus) B4, and a protecting circuit 952.
[0833] The protecting circuit 952 has functions to protect each
circuit in the terminal body 911 from the external static
electricity and to prevent leakage of unnecessary radiation
occurred by data (signal) processing in the terminal body 911 to
the outside.
[0834] Furthermore, the protecting circuit 952 detects whether not
the connector 929 of the regular cradle 912 has been connected to
the connector 953, and notifies the main CPU 940 of the detection
result.
[0835] The main CPU 940 controls the bus switch 951 according to
the detection result given from the protecting circuit 952, so that
until the connector 929 of the regular cradle 912 is connected to
the connector 953, the main CPU 940 interrupts electrical
connection to the protecting circuit 952, and only when the
connector 929 of the regular cradle 912 has been connected to the
above connector 953, the main CPU 940 electrically connects the
terminal body 911 to the protecting circuit 952 via the bus switch
951.
[0836] Thereby, even if an electronic device different from the
cradle 912 is erroneously connected to the connector 953 and the
above connector 953 short circuited, the main CPU 940 can protect
itself from crash or the like.
[0837] Here, the cradle 912 takes power supply voltage supplied
from the AC adapter 927 connected to mains power or the like in the
internal power monitoring circuit 955, converts the power source
voltage into the internal voltage at plural kinds of predetermined
levels in the above power monitoring circuit 955, and supplies them
to each corresponding circuit in the above cradle 912 to activate
each of these circuits.
[0838] If the terminal body 911 is mounted on the cradle 912, the
power source voltage is converted into charge voltage at a
predetermined level in the power monitoring circuit 955, and the
above charge voltage is supplied to the battery pack 926 from the
connector 929 via the connector 953 of the terminal body 911 for
charging.
[0839] If an operating request for communication is given from the
operating part 942 sequentially via the sub CPU 941 and the
I.sup.2C bus B2 in a state where the terminal body 911 is mounted
on the cradle 912, the main CPU 940 reads communication operation
screen data from the memory for system 943 via the memory bus B1
responding to that, transmits the above read communication
operation screen data to the timing generator 946, to display a
communication operation screen based on the communication operation
screen data on the display part 913.
[0840] In this state, when the customer arbitrary selects one of
the public network and the Ethernet (trademark) on the
communication operation screen by operating the operating part 942
and specifies the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the
communication party, and a command to selectively specify the
communication line, the URL and a send command are given from the
operating part 942 sequentially via the sub CPU 941 and the
I.sup.2C bus. B2 accordingly, and the main CPU 940 generates access
request data to the communication party specified by the above
URL.
[0841] When the Ethernet (trademark) is selected as the
communication line to be used in communication, the main CPU 940
compression codes the access request data and sends thus obtained
compressed access request data from the connector 953 to the cradle
912 sequentially via a PCI bus B3, the bus switch 951, a PCI-based
bus B4 and the protecting circuit 952. In the above cradle 912, the
compressed access request data is sent from the Ethernet jack 931
to the communication party on the Ethernet (trademark),
sequentially via the connector 929, an Ethernet controller 956 and
an Ethernet interface 957.
[0842] As a result, when access confirmation data in response to
the access request from the communication party is
compression-coded and sent via the Ethernet (trademark), the main
CPU 940 takes the above compression-coded access confirmation data
(hereinafter, this is referred to as compressed access confirmation
data) in the connector 953 from the Ethernet jack 931 of the cradle
912 sequentially via the Ethernet interface 957, the Ethernet
controller 956 and the connector 929, and decodes the above access
confirmation data from that connector 953 sequentially through the
protecting circuit 952, the PCI-based bus B4, the bus switch 951
and the PCI bus B3.
[0843] Now, in the compressed access confirmation data sent from
the system management server 701 that the portable dedicated
terminal 910 can communicate to (that is, communication has,been
permitted) and the data providing server 703 at the agency, an
identification code unique to the above system management server
701 and the data providing server 703 (or the agency) has been
stored.
[0844] On the other hand, in the memory for data 945 in the
terminal body 911, when the portable dedicated terminal 910 is sold
or rented, the identification code peculiar to the communicable
system management server 701 (that is, communication has been
permitted) and the data providing server 703 (or the agency) has
been recorded.
[0845] Therefore, when the access confirmation data is decoded and
the access confirmation data is created, the main CPU 940 compares
the identification code stored in the above access confirmation
data to the identification code previously recorded in the memory
for data 945.
[0846] As a result, if the compared identification codes coincide,
the main CPU 940 determines that the specified communication party
is the regular permitted communication party, and thus continues
the communications. Thereby, the customer can request the
transmission of content data, introduction of
advertisers/companies, and so on.
[0847] On the contrary, if the compared identification codes are
different or the identification code has not been stored in the
access confirmation data, the main CPU 940 determines that the
specified communication party is different from the permitted
communication party, and then forcedly stops the communication.
Thereby, it can be prevented that the communication party that is
not allowed to communicate communicates with the portable dedicated
terminal 910 and illegally uses content data and so on.
[0848] In this manner, the main CPU 940 can communicate only with
the communication party that is previously permitted
communications, via the Ethernet (trademark). As a result, if
various screen data such as compression-coded advertiser/company
introduction data and content selection screen data (hereinafter,
these are referred to as various compressed screen data),
compressed content data for advertisement and for obtaining are
sent from the system management server 701 and the data providing
server 703 being the regular communication party via the Ethernet
(trademark), the main CPU 940 takes in these various data via the
similar path to the aforementioned compressed access confirmation
data, and decodes them as occasion demands.
[0849] In this connection, when the main CPU 940 takes in the
various compressed screen data, the main CPU 940 decodes them, and
then transmits it to the timing generator 946, to display screens
based on the various screen data (screen for introducing
advertisers/companies, content selection screen or the like) on the
display part 913 via the timing generator 946.
[0850] While the main CPU 940 is communicating with the
communication party, that has a permission of communications, via
the Ethernet (trademark), if various requests such as the
transmission of content are given from the operating part 942
sequentially via the sub CPU 941 and the I.sup.2C bus B2 and
thereby the main CPU 940 generates request data according to that
request, the main CPU 940 compression-codes the above generated
request data, and sends thus obtained compressed request data to
the regular communication party via the Ethernet (trademark) by the
similar path to the aforementioned compressed access request
data.
[0851] In this connection, in the main CPU 940, when selectively
specifying desired content to obtain, the customer can enter the
title of the desired content, the bar code number previously
allotted to the above content, and so on, via the operating part
942 as described above.
[0852] At this time, the main CPU 940 can picks up the image of the
bar code allotted to the content by the camera 925. In this case,
the main CPU 940 can analyze the picked-up image of the bar code
obtained from the camera 925 according to a predetermined image
recognition program, so that the selectively specified content can
be specified.
[0853] On the contrary, when the customer selects the public
network as a communication line which is used for the
communication, the main CPU 940 compression-codes the access
request data, and transmits thus obtained compressed access request
data as serial data, to the sub CPU 941 via the I.sup.2C bus
B2.
[0854] The sub CPU 941 has a function as a UART (Universal
Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter) device. The sub CPU 941 converts
the compressed access request data supplied from the main CPU 940
into parallel data, and then transmits this from the connector 953
to the cradle 912 via the protecting circuit 952. In the above
cradle 912, the compressed access request data is sent from the
modular jack 930 to the communication party via the public network
sequentially via the connector 929 and a modem interface 958.
[0855] As a result, if the compressed access confirmation data is
sent from the communication party via the public network, the main
CPU 940 takes this in the connector 953 from the modular jack 930
of the cradle 912 sequentially via the modem interface 958 and the
connector 929, takes this in the sub CPU 941 from the connector 953
via the protecting circuit 952 to converts this into serial data,
and then takes the serial data in via the I.sup.2C bus B2 to decode
it.
[0856] In this manner, also when the public network is used, the
main CPU 940 compares the identification code stored in the access
confirmation data obtained by decoding the compressed access
confirmation data, to the identification code recorded in the
memory for data 945.
[0857] Only when thus compared identification codes are coincide,
the main CPU 940 judges that the accessing communication party is
the regular communication party having the permission of
communications, and thus continues the communications using the
public network.
[0858] Then, when the various compressed image data such as
advertiser/company introduction data and content selection screen
data and the compressed content data for advertisement and for
obtaining are sent from the system management server 701 and the
data providing server 703 being the above communication party in a
state where the main CPU 940 is communicating with the
communication party having the permission of communication, via the
public network, the main CPU 940 takes these various data in the
sub CPU 941 from the modular jack 930, and performs processing
similar to the aforementioned case of using the Ethernet
(trademark).
[0859] If various requests such as the transmission of content are
given from the operating part 942 to the main CPU 940 sequentially
via the sub CPU 941 and the I.sup.2C bus B2 in a state where the
main CPU 940 is communicating with the communication party having
the permission of communication, via the public network and thereby
the main CPU 940 generates request data according to that requests,
the main CPU 940 compression-codes the above generated request
data, and transmits thus obtained compressed request data to the
regular communication party via the public network through a path
between the sub CPU 941 and the modular jack 930.
[0860] By the way, in either of the Ethernet (trademark) and the
public network, for instance, when the content selection screen
being a three-dimensional virtual reality space image described
above with reference to FIGS. 29 to 31 is displayed on the display
part 913, the main CPU 940 performs processing similarly to the
aforementioned port able dedicated terminal 303 according to the
sixth embodiment (FIGS. 28 to 37).
[0861] When the image of customer is moved to the specified
coordinate position on the content selection screen (the image of
first floor in shop and the image of second floor in shop), the
main CPU 940 compression-codes specified coordinate position data
representing that the above image of customer moved to the
specified coordinate position, and then sends the compression-coded
data to the data providing server 703 via the Ethernet (trademark)
or the public network that is selected at this time.
[0862] At this time, when the data providing server 703 receives
the specified coordinate position data from the portable dedicated
terminal 910, the data providing server 703 compression-codes
content data for advertisement (that is, commercial data),
specified by the above specified coordinate position data, and
sends thus obtained compressed content data to the portable
dedicated-terminal 910 via the Ethernet (trademark) or the public
network that is the same path as the sending path of the
compression-coded specified coordinate position data in streaming,
according to the UDP/IP (User Datagram Protocol/Internet
Protocol).
[0863] As a result, when taking in the compressed content data for
advertisement sent from the data providing server 703, the main CPU
940 temporarily stores this in the SDRAM 944.
[0864] The main CPU 940 reads the compressed content data for
advertisement from the SDRAM 944 and decodes this, and in video
data and audio data forming the obtained content data, the main CPU
940 transmits the video data to the timing generator 946, and
converts the audio data into an analog audio signal in the
digital-to-analog converter 947, and then transmits the audio
signal to the headphone jack 919 via the headphone amplifier
948.
[0865] Thereby, the main CPU 940 displays the image of content for
advertisement based on the video data on the display part 913 by
the timing generator 946, and outputs the sound of the content for
advertisement based on the audio signal from the headphones
connected to the headphone jack 919. Thus, the customer can view a
part of the content and so on, for advertisement.
[0866] In this manner, the main CPU 940 reproduces in streaming the
compressed content data for advertisement that was sent in
streaming from the system management server 701 and the data
providing server 703 being the regular communication party, by
using the SDRAM 944 as buffer.
[0867] When desired content data is selectively specified on the
content selection screen being a three-dimensional virtual reality
space image displayed on the display part 913, the main CPU 940
compression-codes content specifying data representing the above
selectively-specified content data, and then sends the
compression-coded data to the data providing server 703 via the
Ethernet (trademark) or the public network that is selected at this
time.
[0868] At this time, when the data providing server 703 receives
the content specifying data from the portable dedicated terminal
910, the data providing server 703 compression-codes the content
data to be obtained, which is specified by the above content
specifying data, and sends thus obtained compressed content data to
the portable dedicated terminal 910 via the Ethernet (trademark) or
the public network that is the same path as the sending path of the
compression-coded content specifying data, according to the TCP/IP
(Transmission Control Protocol/Internet).
[0869] When taking in the compressed content data for obtaining
sent from the data providing server 7903, the main CPU 940
temporarily stores this in the SDRAM 944 as it is, and transmits
this in the memory for data 945 via the memory bus B1 while using
the above SDRAM 944 as a buffer for recording.
[0870] In this manner, when the main CPU 940 obtained various data
such as compressed content data from the system management server
701 and the data providing server 703, the main CPU 940 uses the
SDRAM 944 as a buffer. Thereby, these various data can be
downloaded while preventing errors from occuring in the processing
of these various data.
[0871] In addition to this, when the terminal body 911 is mounted
on the cradle 912, the main CPU 940 can make the customer arbitrary
select either the display part 913 and the headphone jack 919 of
the terminal body 911 or an external device such as a television
receiving set on the reproducing operation screen displayed on the
display part 913, as the destination of reproduced content
data.
[0872] When the customer selects the display part 913 and the
headphone jack 919 of the terminal body 911 as the destination of
the reproduced content data of the content data on the reproducing
operation screen and a command to selectively specify the display
part 913 and the headphone jack is given from the operating part
942 sequentially via the sub CPU 941 and the I.sup.2C bus B2
according to that (with a command to selectively specify content
data and a reproducing start command), the main CPU 940 reproduces
the compressed content data from the memory for data 945 and
decodes the reproduced data similarly to the aforementioned case
where the terminal body 911 is not mounted on the cradle 912. Thus,
the customer can view the content by the display part 913 and the
headphones.
[0873] On the contrary, if the customer selects the external device
as the destination of reproduced content data on the reproducing
operation screen and a command to selectively specify the external
device is given from the operating part 942 according to that
sequentially via the sub CPU 941 and the I.sup.2C bus. B2 (with the
command to selectively specify the content data and the reproducing
start command), the main CPU 940 reads the specified compressed
content data from the memory for data 945 via the memory bus
B1.
[0874] The main CPU 940 decodes the compressed content data, and in
video data and audio data forming thus obtained content data, the
main CPU 940 converts the video data into an analog video signal in
a digital-to-analog converter 959 for video, and then transmits the
video signal from the connector 953 to the cradle 912 via the
protecting circuit 952, and sends that video signal from the video
output terminal 932 to the external device via the connector 929 in
the above cradle 912.
[0875] At that time, the main CPU 940 converts the audio data
forming the content data into an analog audio signal in the
digital-to-analog converter 947, and then transmits the audio
signal from the connector 953 to the cradle 912 via the protecting
circuit 952, converts that audio signal into an analog audio signal
of the left and the right two channels via a power amplifier 960 in
the above cradle 912, and then sends the audio signal from the
audio output terminal 933 to the external device.
[0876] Thereby, the customer can enjoy the content for example by a
large screen display and a speaker with high quality sound, by
using not only the terminal body 911 but also the external
device.
[0877] Furthermore, when the terminal body 911 is mounted on the
cradle 912, the main CPU 940 processes not only the content data
but also memo data similarly to the above content data, so that the
customer can confirm the contents of the memo by one of the display
part 913 and the headphones of the terminal body 911 and the
external device.
[0878] Note that, in this tenth embodiment, the main CPU 940
controls the memory for system 943 and the memory for data 945 via
a control bus B5, and controls the digital-to-analog converter 947
and the analog-to-digital converter 950 for video and audio, via
the I.sup.2C bus B2.
[0879] Furthermore, when the transmission request data for content
data is generated, the main CPU 940 stores content specifying
information that specifies desired content by its title, bar code
and so on, whether or not the content data has been bought and/or
rented, payment information on the purchase price and the rental
charges for the content data (as paying method, for example,
payment by credit), the customer ID, etc., in the above
transmission request data.
[0880] Whenever the data providing server 703 receives the above
transmission request data from the portable dedicated terminal 910,
the data providing server 703 performs accounting based on customer
information on the customer who is requesting for the transmission
of the content (the account number of the customer), the sale price
and the rental charges for the content data, and the bank account
number of the agency.
[0881] As a result, the data providing server 703 generates
accounting information on the sale and the rental of the content
data, and sends the above generated accounting information to a
settlement processing server on the Internet 707. In the above
settlement-processing server, electronic settlement processing
based on that accounting information is executed.
[0882] Accordingly, the portable dedicated terminal 910 enables the
user to obtain content data and pay for the above content data and
the rental charge for the content data at home, without going to
the agency.
[0883] According to the above configuration, in this data providing
system 900, the character input key group 914 having the ten-key
arrangement is provided in the portable dedicated terminal 910.
Thereby, the customer can selectively specify content to be
obtained, by entering the bar code number previously allotted to
the content with the above character input key group 914.
[0884] Furthermore, in this data providing system 900, the camera
925 is provided in the portable dedicated terminal 910. Thereby,
the image of the bar code previously allotted to content can be
picked up by the above camera 925, so that the customer can
selectively specify the content to be obtained.
[0885] Accordingly, in this data providing system 900, when the
customer selectively specifies content to be obtained in the
portable dedicated terminal 910, the customer can easily and
selectively specify desired content only by simply entering the
number or picking up the image of the bar code by the camera 925,
without entering plural characters such as the title of the above
content or the like.
[0886] According to the above configuration, the portable dedicated
terminal 910 provided with the character input key group 914 having
the ten-key arrangement and the camera 925 for pattern recognition
is used. Thereby, in the portable dedicated terminal 910, in
addition to the effects obtained in the aforementioned ninth
embodiment, the customer can easily and selectively specify desired
content by simply entering the numerals with the character input
key group 914 or only by picking up the image of the bar code by
the camera 925. Thereby, a data providing system in that the
portable dedicated terminal offers improved usability and is easier
to use can be realized.
[0887] Note that, in the aforementioned tenth embodiment, in the
portable dedicated terminal 910, the main CPU 940 of the terminal
body 911 executes similar processing to the recording control part
81, the reproduction control part 84 and the request data
generating part 86 described above with reference to FIG. 4, the
request data generating part 241, the recording control part 245
and the reproduction control part 248 described above with
reference to FIG. 11, the request data generating part 270
described above with reference to FIG. 25, the reproduction control
part 342, the request data generating part 344 and the recording
control part 347 described above with reference to FIG. 28, the
operational information judging part 541, the request data
generating part 542, the judging part 545, the recording control
part 546 and the reproduction control part 548 described above with
reference to FIG. 38, and the request data generating part 630
described above with reference to FIG. 45, according to the various
programs previously stored in the memory for system 943. This
invention, however, is not limited to this and these various
processing may be executed by installing a program storage medium
storing these various programs in the terminal body 911.
[0888] In this connection, such program storage medium for
installing the various programs to execute the aforementioned
various processing in the terminal body 911 of the portable
dedicated terminal 910 to make them executable is not only limited
to packaged media such as a flexible disk, a CD-ROM or a DVD, but
also may be a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, etc., in that
the various programs can be temporarily or permanently stored.
Furthermore, as a means for storing the various programs in these
program storage media, also a cable or a radio communication medium
such as a local area network, the Internet and digital satellite
broadcasting may be used, and they may be stored via various
communication interfaces such as a rooter and a modem.
[0889] In the aforementioned tenth embodiment, the portable
dedicated terminal 910 can communicate only with the specified
communication party previously permitted communications, based on
the identification code. This invention, however, is not limited to
this and, after the user starts to use the portable dedicated
terminal 910, the customer may newly contract with an agency or the
like and obtain an identification code unique to the agency so that
the user can communicate with plural agencies or the like with one
portable dedicated terminal 910. Thereby, for instance, it is
unnecessary to prepare a portable dedicated terminal 910 for each
agency, and one portable dedicated terminal 910 can be used as a
common dedicated terminal for the plural agencies and so on. Thus,
the usability of the portable dedicated terminal 910 can be further
improved.
[0890] In the aforementioned tenth embodiment, the terminal body
911 of the portable dedicated terminal 910 works by battery voltage
supplied from the detachable battery pack 926. This invention,
however, is not limited to this and the terminal body 911 of the
portable dedicated terminal 910 may work by mounting: an
exchangeable primary battery therein, or the terminal body 911 may
work either of the battery pack and the primary battery. Thereby,
the customer can easily exchange the primary battery when the
customer is going out, and can use the portable dedicated terminal
910 for a longer time.
[0891] Furthermore, in the aforementioned tenth embodiment, the
data providing server 703 generates accounting information every
time when the data providing server 703 receives content
transmission request data, and electronic settlement processing
based on that accounting information is executed in the settlement
processing server. This invention, however, is not limited to this
and the data providing server 703 or the system management server
701 may constantly and collectively generate accounting
information, for example, once a month, once two weeks or the like,
or may integrate accounting information generated every time when
the data providing server 703 received transmission request data,
and settlement processing may be executed in the settlement
processing server at the constant timing.
(12) ELEVENTH EMBODIMENT
[0892] FIG. 63 shows a data providing system 1000 according to an
eleventh embodiment. A request terminal 1002 corresponding to the
customer 3 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 (that is,
the request terminal used by the customer), and a portable
dedicated terminal 1003 that corresponds to the portable dedicated
terminals 7A to 7N described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3,
is only for the agencies 4A to 4N and is accessible only to a data
providing server 1001 are connected to the data providing server
1001 corresponding to the agencies 4A to 4N described above with
reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, via the Internet (not shown).
[0893] The data providing server 1601 has a customer database 1010
for storing customer registration information and customer
registration screen data, and a content database 1011 for storing a
lot of content data and content selection screen data.
[0894] When registration request data to request a customer
registration is sent from the request terminal 1002, the data
providing server 1001 receives this by a receiving part 1012 and
takes this in the updating part 1013, reads customer registration
screen data from the customer database 1010 based on the
registration request data by the above updating part 1013, and
sends the above read customer registration screen data from a
sending part 1014 to the request terminal 1002.
[0895] As a result, when customer information that the customer
entered on the customer registration screen based on the customer
registration screen data is sent from the request terminal 1002,
the data providing server 1001 receives this by the receiving part
1012 and takes this in the updating part 1013, issues a customer ID
to the customer requesting the registration and adds this to the
customer information by the above updating part 1013, and stores
them in the customer database 1010 as customer registration
information, so as to register the customer.
[0896] In this connection, when registering the customer by the
updating part 1013, the data providing server 1001 generates
registration completion data including the customer ID and sends
this from the sending part 1014 to the request terminal 1002.
[0897] In this manner, the data providing server 1001 notifies the
customer of the completion of the registration and the customer ID
via the request terminal 1002.
[0898] When transmission request data to request the transmission
of content data is sent from the request terminal 1002, the data
providing server 1001 receives this by the receiving part 1012 and
takes this in a search part 1015.
[0899] The data providing server 1001 reads content selection
screen data from the content database 1011 based on the
transmission request data by the search part 1015, and sends the
above read content selection screen data from the sending part 1014
to the request terminal 1002.
[0900] As a result, when the customer enters reservation
information on the content selection screen based on content
selection screen data and reservation data representing the above
reservation information is sent from the request terminal 1002, the
data providing server 1001 receives this by the receiving part 1012
and takes this in the search part 1015.
[0901] The data providing server 1001 reads content data specified
by the reservation data from the content database 1011 based on
that reservation data by the search part 1015, and sends the above
read content data for recording from a dedicated terminal, not
shown, to a portable dedicated terminal (not shown), directly
connected to the above dedicated terminal via a cable or the like,
before it is delivered to the customer.
[0902] In this manner, the data providing server 1001 accepts an
advance reservation of the purchase or the rental of the content
data and the portable dedicated terminal 1003 from the customer,
and prepares them by recording the above content data to be bought
or rented in the portable dedicated terminal. 1003 that will be
bought or rented as well. Thus, when the customer comes to an
agency having the above data providing server 1001 installed
therein, that portable dedicated terminal 1003 is handed to the
customer for sale or rental.
[0903] Then, when transmission request data for content data (buy
or rent) is sent from the portable dedicated terminal 1003 that the
customer bought or rented, via the Internet, the data providing
server 1001 receives this by the receiving part 1012 and takes this
in the search part 1015.
[0904] At this time, the data providing server 1001 reads the
content selection screen data from the content database 1011 based
on that transmission request data by the search part 1015, and
sends the above read content selection screen data from the sending
part 1014 to the portable dedicated terminal 1003 of the
customer.
[0905] As a result, when content data specifying information is
entered on the content selection screen based on the content
selection screen data and content specifying data representing the
above specifying information is sent from the portable dedicated
terminal 1003, the data providing server 1001 receives this by the
receiving part 1012 and takes this in the search part 1015.
[0906] The data providing server 1001 reads the specified content
data from the content database 1011 based on that content
specifying data by the search part 1015, and sends the above read
content data from the sending part 1014 to the portable dedicated
terminal 1003 according to the TCP/IP (Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol) for recording therein.
[0907] In this manner, the data providing server 1001 can sell and
rent desired content data to the customer using the portable
dedicated terminal 1003.
[0908] On the other hand, if the customer enters a customer
registration request via an operating part 1020, the request
terminal 1002 generates registration request data representing the
registration request by a request data generating part 1021, and
sends this from a sending part 1022 to the data providing server
1001.
[0909] As a result, when the request terminal 1002 receives
customer registration screen data from the data providing server
1001 by a receiving part 1023, the request terminal 1002 sends this
from a display control part 1024 to a display part 1025 to display
a customer registration screen based on that customer registration
screen data on the above display part 1025.
[0910] Then, when the customer enters customer information on the
customer registration screen by operating the operating part 1020,
the request terminal 1002 generates customer information data by
the request data generating part 1021, and sends this from the
sending part 1022 to the data providing server 1001 and makes the
data providing server 1001 execute the customer registration.
[0911] In this connection, when registration completion data is
sent from the data providing server 1001 as the result of the
customer registration, the request terminal 1002 receives this by
the receiving part 1023, and then transmits this from the display
control part 1024 to the display part 1025 to notify the customer
of the completion of customer registration and the customer ID via
the above display part 1025.
[0912] Furthermore, when the customer enters content data
transmission request via the operating part 1020, the request
terminal 1002 generates transmission request data representing that
transmission request by the request data generating part 1021, and
sends the above generated transmission request data from the
sending part 1022 to the data providing server 1001.
[0913] As a result, when the request terminal 1002 receives content
selection screen data from the data providing server 1001 by
the,receiving part 1023, the request terminal 1002 transmits this
from the display control part 1024 to the display part 1025, to
display a content selection screen based on the content selection
screen data on the above display part 1025.
[0914] Then, when the customer enters reservation information on
the content selection screen by operating the operating part 1020,
the request terminal 1002 generates reservation data by the request
data generating part 1021, and sends this from the sending part
1022 to the data providing server 1001. Thereby, the customer
finishes the advance reservation for the purchase or the rental of
the content data and the portable dedicated terminal 1003.
[0915] By the way, if a reproduction command is entered via an
operating part 1041, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 sold or
rented to the customer in the state where the content data has been
recorded in the internal recording medium 1040 reproduces the
content data that the customer previously bought or rented from the
recording medium 1040 by a reproduction control part 1042, and
transmits the above reproduced content data to a reproducing part
1043 that is composed of a display control part, a display part, a
speaker, etc, so that the customer can enjoy the content.
[0916] When the customer enters a content data transmission request
via the operating part 1041, the portable dedicated terminal 1003
generates transmission request data representing that transmission
request by a request data generating part 1044, and sends this from
a sending part 1045 to the data providing server 1001.
[0917] As a result, when the portable dedicated terminal 1003
receives the content selection screen data from the data providing
server 1001 by a receiving part 1046, the portable dedicated
terminal 1003 transmits this to the reproducing part 1043 to
display a content selection screen based on the content selection
screen data.
[0918] Then, when content specifying information is entered on the
content selection screen according to the operations of the
operating part 1041, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 generates
content specifying data representing that specifying information by
the request data generating part 1044, and sends this from the
sending part 1045 to the data providing server 1001.
[0919] Thereby, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 receives the
content data from the data providing server 1001 by the receiving
part 1046, and records this on the recording medium 1040 by a
recording control part 1047.
[0920] In this manner, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 can
obtain (buy or rent) the content data from the data providing
server 1001 via the Internet, and can reproduce this from the
recording medium 1040 similarly to the aforementioned content data
obtained by the advance reservation.
[0921] By the way, when creating the content database 1011 by
obtaining a lot of content data from a content server (not shown)
that is a provider of the content data and corresponds to the
system management site described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to
3, the data providing server 1001 obtains a specified development
tool to form a content selection screen from the above content
server.
[0922] The data providing server 1001 represents the inside of an
agency by three-dimensional images (hereinafter, these are
especially referred to as three-dimensional virtual reality space
images) with that development tool to generate content selection
screen data by that the customer can select content data as if the
customer practically walks around in the shop of the agency and
selects packaged media from a shelf by the above three-dimensional
virtual reality space images, and stores the above generated
content selection screen data in the content database 1011.
[0923] In this connection, the data providing server 1001 generates
the content selection screen data by almost faithfully reproducing
shelves in the shop of the agency, checkout counters, the position
of stairs, the arrangement of packaged media in the above shelves,
and the like, by the three-dimensional virtual reality space
images.
[0924] In the data providing server 1001; the same content data as
the content data in a lot of packaged media that are practically
sold and rented at the agency have been stored in the content
database 1011, corresponding to the three-dimensional virtual
reality space images forming the content selection screen data.
[0925] Furthermore, the data providing server 1001 updates the
content selection screen data constantly or at arbitrary timing, by
synchronizing with the time when new packaged media are put on the
shelves in the agency (that is, it is also the time when new
content data are obtained from the content server), the time when
the inside of the agency is remodeled, or the like.
[0926] Thereby, the data providing server 1001 provides the
customer selecting content data on the content selection screen
with the feeling as if the customer is practically selecting
packaged media in the shop of the agency.
[0927] Practically, as shown in FIG. 64, the content selection
screen data is composed of plural image data in that a selection
confirmation image 1055 being a two-dimensional image used to
confirm content data that the customer selected is added to the
three-dimensional virtual reality space images such as an image of
exterior of shop 1050 representing the exterior (entrance) of the
agency, an image of first floor 1051 and an image of second floor
1052 representing each floor of the shop, an image of shelf 1053
represented by enlarging a plurality of shelves having packaged
media arranged thereon for each genre in the shop, and a content
selection image 1054 that shows the enlarged backbones of the
packaged media on a shelf so that the customer can select content
data.
[0928] In this case, in the image of exterior of shop 1050, an
entering button 1060 to enter the shop and switch the display to
the image of first floor 1051 is provided.
[0929] In the image of first floor 1051 and the image of second
floor 1052, movement buttons 1061 and 1062 to switch the display to
the image of second floor 1052 or the image of first floor 1051
being the other floor, a shelf selection button 1063 to select a
shelf for each genre located in the image of first floor 1051 and
the image of second floor 1052 and to switch the display to the
image of shelf 1053, and a checkout counter button 1064 to switch
the display to the selection confirmation image 1055 after the
customer selects the content data to buy or rent, are provided.
[0930] In the image of shelf 1053, a detail button 1065 in that
packaged media are classified by the Japanese alphabet to switch
the display to the content selection image 1054 by the above
classified packaged media, is provided.
[0931] In the image of exterior of shop 1050, the image of first
floor in shop 1051, the image of second floor in shop 1052 and the
content selection image 1054, the image of a human being
representing the customer (hereinafter, this is referred to as
customer's image) 1066 and the image of a human being representing
a clerk (hereinafter, this is referred to as clerk's image) 1067
are displayed. By moving the above customer's image 1066 as if it
is actually walking in the shop and by overlapping it on the
entering button 1060, the movement buttons 1061 and 1062, the shelf
selection button 1063, the checkout counter button 1064, the
backbone of packaged media in the content selection image 1054,
etc. or approximating it to them and selectively specifying
(clicking) any of these buttons, the customer can enter image
specifying commands previously allocated to the above buttons.
[0932] In addition to this, in the image of shelf in shop 1053 and
the selection confirmation image 1055, a cursor to be inversely
displayed on the detail button 1065, a confirmation button 1068, a
cancel button 1069, etc. (not shown) by respectively overlapping
are displayed. By moving the above cursor and selectively
specifying (clicking) any of these buttons, the customer can enter
commands allocated to the above buttons.
[0933] Specifically, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 that has
received content selection image data first displays the image of
exterior of shop 1050 of the content selection screen by the
reproducing part 1043. If the customer moves the customer's image
1066 in the image of exterior, of shop 1050 by operating the
operating part 1041 and selectively specifying the entering button
1060, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 displays the image of
first floor in shop 1051 instead of the image of exterior of shop
1050.
[0934] If the customer moves the customer's image 1066 in the image
of first floor in shop 1051 by operating the operating part 1041
and selectively specifying the movement button 1061, the portable
dedicated terminal 1003 displays the image of first floor in shop
1051 instead of the above image of first floor in shop 1051.
[0935] In this manner, if the customer moves the customer's image
1066 in the image of first floor in shop 1051 or the image of
second floor in shop 1052 by operating the operating part 1041 and
selectively specifies one of the shelf selection buttons 1063, the
portable dedicated terminal 1003 displays the image of shelf in
shop 1053 corresponding to the above selectively-specified shelf
selection button 1063 instead of the image of first floor in shop
1051 or the image of second floor in shop 1052.
[0936] If the customer moves the cursor on the image of shelf 1053
and selectively specifies one of the detail buttons 1065 by
operating the operating part 1041, the portable dedicated terminal
1003 displays a content selection image 1054 corresponding to the
button instead of the above image of shelf 1053.
[0937] After the customer moves the customer's image 1066 in the
content selection image 1054 and selectively specified content data
as one of packaged media by operating the operating part 1041, if
the customer selectively specifies the movement button 1061 or
1062, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 displays the image of
first floor in shop 1051 or the image of second floor in shop 1052
again instead of the above content selection image 1054.
[0938] In this manner, for instance, after the customer selectively
specifies the desired content data, if the customer moves the
customer's, image 1066 in the image of second floor in shop 1052
and selectively specifies the checkout counter button 1064, the
portable dedicated terminal 1003 displays the selection
confirmation image 1055 instead of the above image of second floor
in shop 1052.
[0939] Now, in the selection confirmation image 1055, the title of
the content data that the customer selected, customer's name,
customer ID, password, etc. are displayed. By moving the cursor by
operating the operating part 1041, the customer can enter the
rental term or the purchase of the content data. If the customer
enters the above rental term or the purchase, the portable
dedicated terminal 1003 displays a charge for the rental or the
purchase of the content data accordingly.
[0940] If the customer moves the cursor on the selection
confirmation image 1055 and selectively specifies the confirmation
button 1068 by operating the operating part 1041, the portable
dedicated terminal 1003 generates content specifying data by the
request data generating part 1044 by using information in the
selection confirmation image 1055 as specifying information, and
sends the above generated content specifying data from the sending
part 1045 to the data providing server 1001. Thereby, the customer
can obtain the content data that the customer specified.
[0941] On the contrary, if the customer moves the cursor on the
selection confirmation image 1055 and selectively specifies the
cancel button 1069 by operating the operating part 1041, the
portable dedicated terminal 1003 displays, for example, the image
of first floor in shop 1051 instead of the above selection
confirmation image 1055. Thereby, the customer can select content
data again.
[0942] In this connection, the data quantity of such content
selection screen data is relatively large. Therefore, when the data
providing server 1001 receives transmission request data from the
portable dedicated terminal 1003, the data providing server 1001
first sends the data of the image of exterior of shop 1050 to the
above portable dedicated terminal 1003 as content selection screen
data. Then, when the customer selectively specifies the entering
button 1060 on the above image of exterior of shop 1050, the data
providing server 1001 receives that notification and sending the
data of the image of first floor in shop 1051 to the portable
dedicated terminal 1003. In this manner, the data providing server
1001 receives a notification and sends corresponding image data to
the portable dedicated terminal 1003, every time when the switching
of the display to another image is specified from the portable
dedicated terminal 1003 by the entering button 1060, the movement
buttons 1061 and 1062, etc., on each image forming the content
selection screen data.
[0943] In addition to this, as shown in FIGS. 65(A) and 65(B), in
the image of first floor 1051 and the image of second floor 1052,
an advertisement view area 1080 is respectively set in front of the
shelves by genre as the customer cannot see this on the image.
[0944] Furthermore, in the advertisement view area 1080 in front of
each shelf, one item of content data selected by the agency for
each genre for its advertisement (that is, the agency recommends)
is allocated to the corresponding shelf.
[0945] When the customer moves the customer's image 1066 in the
image of first floor 1051 or the image of second floor 1052 to the
advertisement view area 1080 in front of each shelf by operating
the operating part 1041, the portable dedicated terminal 1003
generates genre advertisement request data representing the
advertisement view area 1080 including the above customer's image
1066 by the request data generating part 1044, and sends this from
the sending part 1045 to the data providing server 1001.
[0946] At this time, the data providing server 1001 receives the
genre advertisement request data from the portable dedicated
terminal 1003 by the receiving part 1012, and takes this in the
search part 1015.
[0947] The data providing server 1001 reads a predetermined part of
content data (a part reproducible only for few seconds) that has
been allocated to the advertisement, view area 1080 and that is
represented by that genre advertisement request data as commercial
data by the retrieving part 1015, and sends this from the sending
part 1014 to the portable dedicated terminal 1003 in streaming
according to the UDP/IP (User Datagram Protocol/Internet
Protocol).
[0948] The portable dedicated terminal 1003 receives the commercial
data from the data providing server 1001 by the receiving part
1046, transmits this to the reproducing part 1043 temporarily
records this on a specified recording medium for buffer provided in
the above reproducing part 1043, and reproduces the commercial data
from that recording medium and outputs the reproduced commercial
data to a display part and a speaker.
[0949] When the customer moves the customer's image 1066 to in
front of the shelf of each genre in the image of first floor 1051
or the image of second floor 1052, the portable dedicated terminal
1003 reproduces, in streaming, content that belong to the genre
allocated to the above shelf for several seconds. Thus, the
customer views the content that the agency recommends.
[0950] Here, when the portable dedicated terminal 1003 obtains
video such as a movie based on the commercial data (hereinafter,
this is referred to as commercial video), the portable dedicated
terminal 1003 displays that commercial video by overlapping this on
a part of the image of first floor 1051 or the image of second
floor 1052 by the reproducing part 1043.
[0951] At this time, the customer can move the customer's image
1066 in the image of first floor 1051 and the image of second floor
1052. Before the display of the previously set commercial video for
several seconds is finished, if the customer gets out the
customer's image 1066 from the above advertisement view area 1080,
the portable dedicated terminal 1003 finishes the above display of
the commercial video at that time.
[0952] In this connection, also when the portable dedicated
terminal 1003 obtains sound based on the commercial data
(hereinafter, this is referred to as commercial sound), the
customer can move the customer's image 1066 in the image of first
floor 1051 and the image of second floor 1052. Before the output of
the preset commercial sound for several seconds is finished, if the
customer gets out the customer's image 1066 from the advertisement
view area 1080, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 finishes the
above output of the commercial sound at that time.
[0953] In the portable dedicated terminal 1003, the customer who
hopes the viewing of content by genre makes the customer's image
1066 stay within the advertisement view area 1080 in the image of
first floor 1051 and the image of second floor 1052 by operating
the operating part 1041. Thereby, the customer can view the above
content for preset several seconds.
[0954] On the contrary, in the portable dedicated terminal 1003, if
the customer who does not hope the viewing of the content by genre
moves the customer's image 1066 in the image of first floor 1051
and the image of second floor 1052 by detouring the advertisement
view area 1080 by operating the operating part 1041, the customer
can avoid the view of the above content. Furthermore, even if the
customer makes the customer's image 1066 enter the advertisement
view area 1080, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 make the above
customer's image 1066 speedily get out of the advertisement view
area 1080. Thereby, the customer can avoid the view of the above
content.
[0955] As shown in FIG. 66, in the image of shelf 1053, an
enlarging button 1081 is provided for each frame by that packaged
media have been classified by the Japanese alphabet.
[0956] If the customer moves the cursor on the image of shelf 1053
by operating the operating part 1041 and selectively specifies
(clicks) one of the enlarging buttons 1081, the portable dedicated
terminal 1003 takes in a commercial content specifying image 1082
that forms a content selection screen and corresponds to the
selectively specified enlarging button 1081 from the data providing
server 1001, and displays this instead of the image of shelf
1053.
[0957] In this case, the commercial content specifying image 1082
displays, for example, a list of the names of artists classified by
the Japanese alphabet, and a cursor to inversely display the
letters of the name of an artist (not shown). One item of content
data such as a new song or a hit song that the agency selected for
its advertisement for each artist (that is, the agency recommends)
is allocated to the name of each artist.
[0958] Therefore, when the customer moves the cursor on the
commercial content specifying image 1082 and selectively specifies
the name of an artist of that the advertisement is hoped by
operating the operating part 1041, the portable dedicated terminal
1003 generates individual advertisement request data representing
the above selectively specified artist's name by the request data
generating part 1044, and sends this from the sending part 1045 to
the data providing server 1001.
[0959] At this time, the data providing server 1001 receives the
individual advertisement request data from the portable dedicated
terminal 1003 by the receiving part 1012, and takes this in the
search part 1015.
[0960] The data providing server 1001 reads a predetermined part of
the content data (a part reproducible only for several seconds)
allocated to the artist's name represented by that individual
advertisement request data as commercial data by the search part
1015, and sends the above read commercial data in streaming from
the sending part 1014 to the portable dedicated terminal 1003
according to the UDP/IP.
[0961] The portable dedicated terminal 1003 receives the commercial
data from the data providing server 1001 by the receiving part 1046
and transmits this to the reproducing part 1043, temporarily
records this on the recording medium for buffering the above
reproducing part 1043, and reproduces the commercial data from that
recording medium and outputs this to the display part and the
speaker.
[0962] Thereby, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 displays video
for advertisement 1083 based on the commercial data reproduced in
streaming (for example, music video) for several seconds, instead
of the commercial content specifying image 1082, and also outputs
music for advertisement based on the above commercial data for the
same time as the video for advertisement. Thus, the customer views
the new song, the hit song, etc., of the desired artist, that the
agency recommends.
[0963] In this connection, when the display of the video for
advertisement is finished, the portable dedicated terminal 1003
displays the commercial content specifying image 1082 again by the
reproducing part 1043.
[0964] In this commercial content specifying image 1082, a shelf
button 1084 is provided.
[0965] When the customer moves the cursor on the commercial content
specifying image 1082.and selectively specifies a shelf button 1084
by operating the operating part 1041, the portable dedicated
terminal 1003 displays the image of shelf 1053 corresponding to the
button, instead of the above commercial content specifying image
1082.
[0966] Thereby, the customer can selectively specify an artist of
which the advertisement the customer wants to view again, with the
portable dedicated terminal 1003, after the customer practically
views the new song, the hit song, etc., of the above selectively
specified the artist, the customer can selectively specify the
content data for purchase or for rental.
[0967] In this manner, in the portable dedicated terminal 1003,
when the customer moves the customer's image 1066 within the image
of first floor 1051 and the image of second floor 1052 represented
by the three-dimensional virtual reality space, the customer can
obtain a predetermined part of the content data of a movie, a book,
a game, etc, as commercial data, and can view these movie, book,
game, etc., for several seconds, similarly to the aforementioned
case where the customer views a part of the new song and the hit
song of the artist.
[0968] Note that, in the eleventh embodiment as described above,
the data providing server 1001 divides the content selection screen
data into each image data and sequentially sends them to the
portable dedicated terminal 1003, and also sends the commercial
data in the streaming form. Thereby, the capacity of the recording
medium 1040 in the above portable dedicated terminal 1003 can be
prevented from becoming large.
[0969] When the portable dedicated terminal 1003 takes in the
commercial data, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 starts the
reproducing of the video for advertisement and the sound for
advertisement based on the above commercial data by performing
fade-in processing, and finishes the reproducing by performing
fade-out processing.
[0970] Therefore, in the portable dedicated terminal 1003, the
content that the agency recommends can be shown to the customer
softly with the eyes and the ears of the above customer, without
suddenly emitting it at a large volume and with high brightness. At
the same time, when the customer moved the customer's image 1066 in
the image of first floor 1051 and the image of second floor 1052
over a plurality of advertisement view areas 1080, the above
content that the agency recommends can be shown to the customer
according to that, by clearly showing partitions among the
successively reproduced video for advertisement and the music for
advertisement.
[0971] In this connection, when reproducing the commercial data in
streaming, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 monitors the
position of the customer's image 1066 in the image of first floor
1051 and the image of second floor 1052, and performs fade-in
processing and fade-out processing to the video for advertisement
and the sound for advertisement by a predetermined software for
video/audio processing according to the above monitored result and
the data quantity of the commercial data.
[0972] In the portable dedicated terminal 1003, the fade-in
processing and the fade-out processing of video for advertisement
and of sound for advertisement can be easily executed by using such
software for vide/audio processing.
[0973] Furthermore, also when the data providing server 1001
receives transmission request data from the request terminal 1002,
the data providing server 1001 sends content selection screen, data
composed of the data of each image described above with reference
to FIGS. 64 and 66 to the above request terminal 1002.
[0974] Thereby, in the data providing server 1001, also when the
customer reserves in advance the purchase or the rental of content
data with the request terminal 1002, content that the agency
recommends can be shown to the customer.
[0975] Now, a content providing processing procedure using the
content selection screen data by the data providing server 1001 and
the portable dedicated terminal 1003 in the data providing system
1000 will be collectively described. As shown in FIG. 67(A), first,
the portable dedicated terminal 1003 enters routine RT40 from the
starting step, and proceeds to step SP501.
[0976] In step SP501, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 waits
for the customer to enter a transmission request by operating the
operating part 1041. When the above transmission request is
entered, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 proceeds to step
SP502.
[0977] In step SP502, the portable dedicated terminal 1003
generates transmission request data by the request data generating
part 1044 and sends this from the sending part 1045 to the data
providing server 1001, and proceeds to step SP503.
[0978] Now, as shown in FIG. 67(B), the data providing server 1001
enters routine RT41 from the starting step, and proceeds to step
SP511. In step SP511, the data providing server 1001 waits the time
to update content selection screen data. When the update time
comes, the data providing server 1001 proceeds to step SP512 to
update the content selection screen data, and proceeds to step
SP513.
[0979] In step SP513, the data providing server 1001 wait for
transmission request data to be sent from the portable dedicated
terminal 1003. When the data providing server 1001 receives the
transmission request data by the receiving part 1012, the data
providing server 1001 proceeds to step SP514 to read the content
selection screen data from the content database 1011 by the search
part 1015 and sends this from the sending part 1014 to the portable
dedicated terminal 1003, and proceeds to step SP515.
[0980] At this time, in step SP503, the portable dedicated terminal
1003 waits for content selection screen data to be sent from the
data providing server 1001. When the portable dedicated terminal
1003 receives the content selection screen data by the receiving
part 1046, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 transmits that
content selection screen data to the reproducing part 1043 to
display the image of exterior of shop 1050 being the content
selection screen, and then proceeds to step SP504.
[0981] In step SP504, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 starts a
subroutine described later. When specifying information is entered
on each image forming the content selection screen by customer's
operations of the operating part 1041, the portable dedicated
terminal 1003 proceeds to step SP505.
[0982] In step SP505, the portable dedicated terminal 1003
generates content specifying data by the request data generating
part 1044 and sends this from the sending part 1045 to the data
providing server 1001, and proceeds to step SP506.
[0983] At this time, in step SP515, the data providing server 1001
starts a subroutine described later. The data providing server 1001
properly reads each image data forming content selection screen
data and commercial data from the content database 1011 by the
search part 1015, and sends this from the sending part 1014 to the
portable dedicated terminal 1003. Then, when the data providing
server 1001 receives content specifying data from the above
portable dedicated terminal 1003, the data providing server 1001
proceeds to step SP516.
[0984] In step SP516, the data providing server 1001 searches the
content database 1011 based on the content specifying data by the
search part 1015 to read the specified content data, and proceeds
to step SP517.
[0985] In step SP517, the data providing server 1001 sends the
content data read from the content database 1011, from the sending
part 1014 to the portable dedicated terminal 1003, and then
proceeds to step SP518 to finish the above processing by the data
providing server 1001.
[0986] On the other hand, in step SP506, the portable dedicated
terminal 1003 wait for the content data to be sent from the data
providing server 1001. When the portable dedicated terminal 1003
receives the above content data, the portable dedicated terminal
1003 proceeds to step SP507 to record that content data on the
recording medium,1040 by the recording control part 1047. Then, the
portable dedicated terminal 1003 proceeds to step SP508 to finish
the above processing by the portable dedicated terminal 1003.
[0987] Thus, the data providing server 1001 finishes all the
content providing processing procedure with the content selection
screen data.
[0988] In this connection, as shown in FIG. 68(A), the portable
dedicated terminal 1003 starts a subroutine in step SP504 and
enters step SP521. In the above step SP521 and the next step SP522,
the portable dedicated terminal 1003 wait for an image specifying
command to be entered on each image such as the image of exterior
of shop 1050, forming the content selection screen displayed by the
reproducing part 1043, described above with reference to FIGS. 64
and 66 according to the operation of the operating part 1041 (that
is, that the entry to shop button 1060 or the like is selectively
specified), and that an advertisement request is entered on the
above image (the image of first floor in shop 1051 etc.).
[0989] In step SP521, when the customer moves the customer's image
1066 and selectively specifies the entry to shop button 1060 or the
like in the image of exterior of shop 1050 or the like and enters
the image specifying command by operating the operating part 1041,
the portable dedicated terminal 1003 proceeds to step SP523 to
generate image request data representing an image specifying
command that has been previously allocated to the above selectively
specified button by the request data generating part 1044, and
sends this from the sending part 1045 to the data providing server
1001, and proceeds to step SP524.
[0990] At this time, as shown in FIG. 68(B), the data providing
server 1001 starts a subroutine in step SP515 and enters step
SP541. In the above step SP541 and the next step SP542, the data
providing server 1001 awaits that image request data,
advertisement-by-genre request data or individual advertisement
request data are sent from the portable dedicated terminal 1003. In
that step SP541, when the data providing server 1001 receives the
image request data from the portable dedicated terminal 1003 by the
receiving part 1012, it proceeds to step SP543.
[0991] In step SP543, the data providing server 1001 searches the
content database 1011 based on the image request data by the search
part 1015 and reads the: specified image data, and sends this from
the sending part 1014 to the portable dedicated terminal 1003, and
proceeds to step SP544.
[0992] At this time, in step SP524, the portable dedicated terminal
1003 waits for the image data to be sent from the data providing
server 1001. When the portable dedicated terminal 1003 receives the
image data by the receiving part 1046, the portable dedicated
terminal 1003 proceeds to step SP525.
[0993] In step SP525, the portable dedicated terminal 1003
transmits the received image data to the reproducing part 1043 to
display a new image based on the received image data instead of the
image of the content selection screen being displayed at present.
Then, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 proceeds to step SP526
to determine whether or not the confirmation button 1068 was
selectively specified on the selection confirmation image 1055.
[0994] Obtaining a negative result in this step SP526 means that
the selection confirmation image 1055 has not been displayed yet by
the reproducing part 1043 or that although the above selection
confirmation image 1055 has been displayed, the confirmation button
1068 has not been selectively specified because it is in the middle
of entering to specify the purchase or the rental of the content
data. At this time, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 returns to
step SP521.
[0995] In step SP522, if the customer moves the customer's image
1066 to the advertisement view area 1080 in the image of first
floor in shop 1051 or the image of second floor by operating the
operating part 1041, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 proceeds
to step SP527 to generate advertisement-by-genre request data
representing the advertisement view area 1080 that the customer's
image 1066 entered by the request data generating part 1044, and
sends this from the sending part 1045 to the data providing server
1001, and proceeds to step SP528.
[0996] Furthermore, in step SP522, also when the customer
selectively specifies the name of an artist, the title of content
or the like, that the customer wants to see the advertisement, on
the commercial content specifying image 1082 by operating the
operating part 1041, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 generates
individual advertisement request data representing the above
selectively-specified name of the artist, the title of the content
or the like by the request data generating part 1044, and sends
this from the sending part 1045 to the data providing server 1001,
and then proceeds to step SP528.
[0997] At this time, in step SP542, the data providing server 1001
waits that the advertisement-by-genre request data or the
individual advertisement request data to be sent from the portable
dedicated terminal 1003. When the data providing server 1001
receives the advertisement-by-genre request data or the individual
advertisement request data by the receiving part 1012, the data
providing server 1001 proceeds to step SP545.
[0998] In step SP545, the data providing server 1001 searches the
content database 1011 based on the advertisement-by-genre request
data or the individual advertisement request data by the search
part 1015 to read thus specified commercial data, and sends this
from the sending part 1014 to the portable dedicated terminal 1003,
and then proceeds to step SP544.
[0999] In step SP544, the data providing server 1001 determines
whether or not the data providing server 1001 received content
specifying data from the, portable dedicated terminal 1003, and
sequentially repeats the processing loop of steps
SP541-SP542-SP543-SP544-SP545 until receiving the content
specifying data, and sends the image data and the commercial data
according to the image request data, the advertisement-by-genre
request data and the individual advertisement request data sent
from the portable dedicated terminal 1003.
[1000] Then, in step SP544, when the data providing server 1001
receives the content specifying data, the data providing server
1001 leaves this subroutine and proceeds to step SP516 in the
processing procedure in the data providing server 1001 described
above with reference to FIG. 67(B).
[1001] On the other hand, in step SP528, the portable dedicated
terminal 1003 waits for commercial data to be sent from the data
providing server 1001. When the portable dedicated terminal 1003
receives the commercial data by the receiving part 1046, the
portable dedicated terminal 1003 proceeds to step SP529 to transmit
that commercial data to the reproducing part 1043. Thus, the
customer views a part of content based on the commercial data and
the above content is advertised to the customer. Then, the portable
dedicated terminal 1003 proceeds to step SP526.
[1002] Until obtaining an affirmative result in step SP526, the
portable dedicated terminal 1003 returns to step SP521 and
sequentially repeats the processing loop of the above steps
SP521-SP522-SP523-SP524-SP525-SP52- 6-SP527-SP528-SP529. Thus, the
portable dedicated terminal 1003 makes the customer select desired
content data by displaying each image of the content selection
screen while properly switching the display with mixing the
advertisement of content by the reproducing part 1043.
[1003] Then, in step SP526, when confirming that the confirmation
button 1068 has been selectively specified on the selection
confirmation image 1055 of the content selection screen, the
portable dedicated terminal 1003 leaves this subroutine and
proceeds to step SP505 of the processing procedure in the portable
dedicated terminal 1003 described above with reference to FIG.
67(A).
[1004] According to the above configuration, in this data providing
system 1000, when the data providing server 1001 receives
transmission request data from the portable dedicated terminal
1003, the data providing server 1001 sends content selection screen
data having three-dimensional virtual reality space images that
reproduce the inside of the shop of the agency as graphic images to
the above portable dedicated terminal 1003 responding to that.
[1005] In this data providing system 1000, if the customer moves
the customer's image 1066 to the advertisement view area 1080 in
the image of first floor 1051 or the image of second floor 1052
based on the content selection screen data by operating the
operating part 1041, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 sends
advertisement-by-genre request data to the data providing server
1001.
[1006] As a result, in this data providing system 1000, a specified
part of content data allocated to the advertisement view area 1080
represented by the advertisement-by-genre request data is sent from
the data providing server 1001 to the portable dedicated terminal
1003 as commercial data. In the portable dedicated terminal 1003,
the commercial data is reproduced in streaming, so that the
customer views the part of the content as advertisement.
[1007] Thus, in this data providing system 1000, the title list of
obtainable content data is not simply shown to the customer using
the portable dedicated terminal 1003 but the customer can
practically view or listen to a part of content.
[1008] Therefore, in the data providing system 1000, before
obtaining content, the customer can confirm the contents of the
content based on the content data, and can accurately judge whether
or not the content meets his/her own taste.
[1009] Then, in this data providing system 1000, when the customer
moves the customer's image 1066 to in front of a shelf by genre in
the three-dimensional virtual reality space image for selecting
content, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 makes the customer
view a part of content that belongs to the genre of that shelf as
advertisement. Therefore, the customer can select packaged media
while confirming the contents of the content as if the customer
practically is in the shop of the agency. Thus, the customer can
select content while enjoying the content data.
[1010] In this connection, in this data providing system 1000, even
if the customer moves the customer's image 1066 in the
three-dimensional virtual reality space image, if the customer
moves the above customer's image 1066 as detouring around the
advertisement view area 1080 in front of a shelf, the portable
dedicated terminal 1003 does not reproduce in streaming commercial
data. And even if the customer moves the customer's image 1066 to
the advertisement view area 1080, if the customer immediately moved
the above customer's image 1066 to the outside of the advertisement
view area 1080, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 stops to
reproduce the commercial data in streaming.
[1011] Accordingly, in this data providing system 1000, it can be
prevented that the customer who does not want to see the
advertisement of content becomes hard to easily select content data
due to the interruption of that advertisement of content.
[1012] Furthermore, in this data providing system 1000, if the
customer selectively specifies the name of an artist, the title of
content data or the like, of which the advertisement the customer
wants to see, on the commercial content specifying image 1082
forming a content selection screen by operating the operating part
1041, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 sends individual
advertisement request data to the data providing server 1001.
[1013] As a result, in this data providing system 1000, a
predetermined part of content allocated to the name of the artist,
the title of the content data or the like, represented by the
individual advertisement request data is sent from the data
providing server 1001 to the portable dedicated terminal 1003 as
commercial data. In the portable dedicated terminal 1003, the
commercial data is reproduced in streaming, and the customer views
the part of the content as advertisement.
[1014] Accordingly, in this data providing system 1000, content by
genre are not one sidedly advertised to the customer from the data
providing server 1001. The customer can practically listen to and
view also a part of the content that the customer requested by
showing it for advertisement.
[1015] Therefore, in the data providing system 1000, before
obtaining content data, the customer can confirm also the contents
of content based on the content data that the customer
requested.
[1016] According to the above configuration, content selection
screen data including three-dimensional virtual reality space
images is sent from the data providing server 1001 to the portable
dedicated terminal 1003. When the customer moves the customer's
image 1066 to an arbitrary predetermined area in that
three-dimensional virtual reality space images in the above
portable dedicated terminal 1003, commercial data being a part of
content data corresponded to the predetermined area is sent from
the above data providing server 1001 to the portable dedicated
terminal 1003 for reproducing it in streaming. Thereby, the
customer can practically listen to and view the part of the content
and can confirm the contents of the above content. As a result, the
customer can accurately judge whether or not the content meets
his/her own taste. Thus, a data providing system that the customer
can easily select content data can be accomplished.
[1017] In the portable dedicated terminal 1003, if the customer
selectively specifies desired content data on the commercial
content specifying image 1082 forming a content selection screen,
commercial data being a part of that selectively-specified content
data is sent from the data providing server 1001 to the portable
dedicated terminal 1003 for reproducing it in streaming. Thereby,
the customer can practically listen to or view also a part of the
content that the customer requested, and can confirm the contents
of the above content. Thus, a data providing system that the
customer can remarkably easily select content data can be
accomplished.
[1018] Note that, in the aforementioned eleventh embodiment, when
commercial data is reproduced in streaming, video for advertisement
and sound for advertisement are subjected to fade-in processing and
fade-out processing. This invention, however, is not limited to
this and when the commercial data is reproduced in streaming, the
video for advertisement and the sound for advertisement may be
fixedly reproduced with the original brightness and at the original
volume without subjecting them to the fade-in processing and the
fade-out processing. Thereby, when the portable dedicated terminal
1003 reproduces commercial data in streaming, processing load on
the portable dedicated terminal 1003 can be reduced.
[1019] In the aforementioned eleventh embodiment, when the customer
moves the customer's image 1066 to the advertisement view area 1080
in the image of first floor 1051 and the image of second floor 1052
being three-dimensional virtual reality space images representing
the inside of the shop of the agency, commercial data is reproduced
in streaming. This invention, however, is not limited to this and
by preparing a plurality of three-dimensional virtual reality space
images to that one or a plurality of commercial data have been
previously allocated respectively, when the portable dedicated
terminal 1003 updates these three-dimensional virtual reality space
images according to the operation of the operating part 1041.(that
is, when the portable dedicated terminal 1003 switched the
display), the commercial data allocated to the above displayed
three-dimensional virtual reality space image may be reproduced in
streaming. Thereby, the same effects as the aforementioned eleventh
embodiment can be obtained.
[1020] In the aforementioned eleventh embodiment, one item of
content data is allocated to each advertisement view area 1080 for
advertisement, and also one item of content data is allocated to
each selection item such as the name of an artist on the commercial
content specifying image 1082 for advertisement. This invention,
however, is not limited to this and a plurality of content data may
be respectively allocated to each advertisement view area 1080 and
each selection item for advertisement. Thereby, the customer can
practically listen to or view a part of many content, and can
further easily select content data.
[1021] In the aforementioned eleventh embodiment, the data
providing server 1001 generates commercial data from content data
according to advertisement request data, every time when the
advertisement request data is given from the portable dedicated
terminal 1003. This invention, however, is not limited to this and
data to be viewed for a predetermined time (about several seconds)
that was previously generated based on the content data may have
been stored in the content database 1011 in the data providing
server 1001 as commercial data, and the above data providing server
1001 may read corresponding commercial data from the content
database 1011 according to advertisement request data given from
the portable dedicated-terminal 1003 and may send this to the
portable dedicated terminal 1003. Thereby, processing load on the
data providing server 1001 in generating commercial data can be
reduced.
[1022] In the aforementioned eleventh embodiment, when the customer
moves the customer's image 1066 into the advertisement view area
1080 in the image of first floor 1051 or the image of second floor
152 being three-dimensional virtual reality space images
representing the inside of the shop of the agency, commercial data
is reproduced in streaming. This invention, however, is not limited
to this and although the customer moves the customer's image 1066
in the image of first floor 1051 or the image of second floor 1052,
when the above customer's image 1066 turns to the front of a shelf
by genre (that is, when the eyes of the customer's image 1066 are
turned to the front of the shelf), the commercial data may be
reproduced in streaming. Thereby, the data providing system 1000
can accurately cope with whether or not the customer hopes to view
the advertisement of the content, similarly to the aforementioned
eleventh embodiment.
[1023] In the aforementioned eleventh embodiment, the content
database 1011 is provided in the data providing server 1001, and
the above data providing server 1001 sends the corresponding
content data in the content database 1011 to the portable dedicated
terminal 1003 according to content specifying data sent from the
portable dedicated terminal 1003. This invention, however, is not
limited to this and the data providing server 1001 may send the
corresponding content data for example from a system management
site, to the portable dedicated terminal 1003, according to the
content specifying data sent from the portable dedicated terminal
1003.
[1024] In the aforementioned eleventh embodiment, a content
selection screen containing three-dimensional virtual reality space
images which faithfully reproduce the inside of the shop of the
agency as three-dimensional virtual reality space is used to obtain
content. This invention, however, is not limited to this and a
content selection screen containing three-dimensional images which
reproduce the inside of the agency as simplified three-dimensional
space or being the three-dimensional images, and a content
selection screen containing three-dimensional images that were
arbitrary created without concerning with the inside of the agency
or being the three-dimensional images may be used. Even if using
such content selection screen, by providing the customer with data
for viewing content based on content data (commercial data), the
same effects as the aforementioned eleventh embodiment can be
obtained.
[1025] Further, in the aforementioned eleventh embodiment,
commercial data obtained from the data providing server 1001 is
reproduced by streaming. This invention, however, is not limited to
this and commercial data obtained from the data providing server
1001 may be recorded on the storage medium 1040 of the portable
dedicated terminal 1003, so that the customer can view and preview
content by reproducing it at arbitrary timing.
[1026] Furthermore, in the aforementioned eleventh embodiment, the
data providing server 1001 and the portable dedicated terminal 1003
execute the content providing processing procedure described above
with reference to FIGS. 67 and 68. This invention, however, is not
limited to this and programs to execute the content providing
processing procedure may have been previously stored respectively
in the data providing server 1001 and the portable dedicated
terminal 1003 and the content providing processing procedure may be
executed according to these programs, or the above content
providing processing procedure may be executed by installing a
program storage medium storing these programs in the data providing
server 1001 and the portable dedicated terminal 1003.
[1027] In this connection, such program storage medium for
installing the various programs to execute the content providing
processing procedure in the data providing server 1001 and the
portable dedicated terminal 1003 to make them executable is not
only limited to packaged media such as a flexible disk, a CD-ROM
and a DVD, but also may be a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk,
etc., in that the various programs can be temporarily or
permanently stored. Furthermore, as means for storing the various
programs in these program storage media, also a cable or a radio
communication medium such as a local area network, the Internet,
digital satellite broadcasting, etc, may be used, and they may be
stored via various communication interfaces such as a rooter and a
modem.
(13) OTHER EMBODIMENTS
[1028] Note that, in the aforementioned first to eleventh
embodiments, the data providing servers 101 and 151 described above
with reference to FIGS. 5 to 10 are applied as content providing
apparatuses which provide content data in this invention. This
invention, however, is not limited to this and content providing
apparatuses having other various constructions can be widely
applied, such as a content providing apparatus constructed by
integrating a data providing server and content server, provided
that they can provide a content obtaining apparatus with content
data in response to customer reservation information given from a
prescribed terminal device.
[1029] Further, in the aforementioned first to eleventh
embodiments, the portable dedicated terminals 53 and 102 described
above with reference to FIGS. 4 to 10 are applied as content
obtaining apparatuses which obtain content data given from a
content providing apparatus in this invention. This invention,
however, is not limited to this and content obtaining apparatuses
having other various kinds of constructions can be widely applied,
provided that they can obtain content data which is given from a
content providing apparatus for a reservation from a terminal
device.
[1030] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventh
embodiments, the data providing systems 100 and 150 described above
with reference to FIGS. 5 to 10 are applied as content
providing/obtaining systems of this invention, each composed of a
content providing apparatus which provide content data and a
content obtaining apparatus which obtains content data given from
the content providing apparatus. This invention, however, is not
limited to this and content providing/obtaining systems having
other various kinds of constructions can be widely applied,
provided that a content providing apparatus can send content data
to a content obtaining apparatus in response to a reservation given
from a terminal device in these systems.
[1031] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventh
embodiments, the request terminal 103 described above with respect
to FIGS. 5 to 10 is applied as a prescribed terminal device. This
invention, however, is not limited to this and other various kinds
of terminal devices can be widely applied, such as a personal
computer, portable telephone, and PDA (Personal Digital
Assistance), provided that they can access a content providing
apparatus.
[1032] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventh
embodiments, the content databases 111, 153, and 154 described
above with reference to FIGS. 5 to 10 are applied as content data
storage means for storing a plurality of content data. This
invention, however, is not limited to this and other various kinds
of content data storage means can be widely applied depending on a
storage medium to be used, provided that they can store a plurality
of content data.
[1033] Still further, in the first to eleventh embodiments, the
receiving part 115 described above with reference to FIGS. 5 to 10
is applied as a customer reservation information receiving means
which receives the customer identification information on a
customer accessing the content providing apparatus with a
prescribed terminal device and content identification information
on customer desired content data desired by the customer, as
customer reservation information. This invention, however, is not
limited to this and other various kinds of customer reservation
information receiving means can be widely applied depending on a
communications method to be applied, provided that they can receive
customer reservation information transmitted from a terminal
device.
[1034] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventh
embodiments, the recording control parts 117 and 157 and content
search part 162 described above with reference to FIGS. 5 to 10 are
applied as search means for searching content data storage means
for customer desired content data corresponding to the content
identification information. This invention, however, is not limited
to this and other various kinds of search means can be widely
applied depending on a storage medium to be used, provided that
they can search a content data storage medium for customer desired
content data based on content identification information.
[1035] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventh
embodiments, the recording control parts 117 and 157 described
above with reference to FIGS. 5 to 10 are applied as content data
sending means for sending customer desired content data found by
the search means to the content obtaining apparatus. This
invention, however, is not limited to this and other various kinds
of content data sending means can be widely applied, such as a
sending means having a wired- or wireless-connection to the content
obtaining apparatus, provided that they can send customer desired
content data to a content obtaining apparatus to provide it to a
customer.
[1036] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventh
embodiments, the receiving part 80 and sending part 87 connected to
the Internet, described above with reference to FIGS. 4 to 10 are
applied as interface means which is accessible to the content
providing means only. This invention, however, is not limited to
this and interface means employing other various kinds of wired-
and wireless-communications method can be widely applied, provided
that they can access a content obtaining apparatus only.
[1037] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventh
embodiments, the recording control part 81 described above with
reference to FIGS. 4 to 10 is applied as a content data recording
means for recording customer desired content data received via the
interface means from the content providing apparatus, on a storage
medium. This invention, however, is not limited to this and other
various kinds of content data recording means can be widely applied
depending on a storage medium to be used, provided that they can
record customer desired content data on a storage medium.
[1038] Still further, the storage medium 82 built in each of the
portable dedicated terminals 53 and 102, described above with
reference to FIGS. 4 to 10, is applied as a storage medium on which
customer desired content data is recorded. This invention, however,
is not limited to this and other various kinds of storage medium
can be widely applied, such as a storage medium which can be
detachably attached to a content obtaining apparatus.
[1039] Still further, the reproduction control means 84 and
reproducing part 85 described above with reference to FIGS. 4 to 10
are applied as reproducing/outputting means for reproducing and
outputting customer desired content data from a storage medium.
This invention, however, is not limited to this and other various
kinds of reproducing/outputting means can be widely applied,
provided that they can reproduce and output customer desired
content data from a storage medium.
[1040] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventh
embodiments, the sending part 118 described above with reference to
FIGS. 5 to 10 is applied as a content obtaining apparatus
identification information sending means which sends content
obtaining apparatus identification information which is
identification information unique to the content obtaining
apparatus, to a prescribed terminal device. This invention,
however, is not limited to this and other various kinds of content
obtaining apparatus identification information sending means can be
widely applied, provided that they can send content obtaining
apparatus identification information to the content obtaining
apparatus to notify a customer of a content obtaining apparatus to
be sold or rented.
[1041] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventh
embodiments, the accounting parts 116 and 156 described above with
reference to FIGS. 5 to 10 are applied to as accounting information
generating means for generating accounting information according to
customer identification information and the charge based on the
payment information which specifies the method of payment for
rental or purchase of customer desired content data, and sending
the generated accounting information to the external settlement
processing device. This invention, however, is not limited to this
and accounting information generating means having other various
kinds of constructions can be widely applied, provided that they
can generate accounting information according to customer
identification information and charge based on the payment
information which specifies the payment of charge for the rental or
purchase of customer desired content data and sends the generated
accounting information to an external settlement processing
device.
[1042] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventh
embodiments, the data providing server 1001 described above with
reference to FIGS. 63 to 68 is applied to a content providing
apparatus for providing content data according to this invention.
This invention, however, is not limited to this and content
providing apparatuses having other kinds of constructions can be
widely applied, such as a personal computer, provided that they can
provide preview data generated based on content data in response to
a preview request given from a data obtaining apparatus.
[1043] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventh
embodiments, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 described above
with reference to FIGS. 63 to 68 is applied as a content obtaining
apparatus for obtaining content data provided from a content
providing apparatus according to this invention. This invention,
however, is not limited to this and content obtaining apparatuses
having the other various kinds of constructions can be widely
applied, such as a personal computer, a PDA and a portable
telephone, provided that they can request preview content data from
the content providing apparatus and thus can obtain preview data
sent from the content providing apparatus and reproduce this.
[1044] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventh
embodiments, the data providing system 1000 described above with
reference to FIGS. 63 to 68 is applied to a content
providing/obtaining system according to this invention, composed of
a content providing apparatus for providing content data and a
content obtaining apparatus for obtaining the content data provided
from the above content providing apparatus. This invention,
however, is not limited to this and content providing/obtaining
systems having other various kinds of constructions can be widely
applied, such as a LAN (Local Area Network), a data
providing/obtaining system constructed with optical communication
technology, provided that they are systems in that the content
providing apparatus can send preview data generated based on
content data to the above content obtaining apparatus according to
a preview request given from the content obtaining apparatus.
[1045] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventh
embodiments, as an image storage means for holding
three-dimensional images to be used to make a customer select
desired content data from among a plurality of content data, the
content database 1011 described above with reference to FIGS. 63 to
68 is applied. This invention, however, is not limited to this and,
other various kinds of image,storage means can be widely applied,
such as an optical disc, a magneto-optical disk and a semiconductor
memory, provided that they can hold the three-dimensional images to
be used to make a customer select desired content data from among a
plurality of content data.
[1046] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventh
embodiments, as a transmission request receiving means for
receiving an image request from the content obtaining apparatus,
the receiving part 1012 described above with reference to FIGS. 63
to 68 is applied. This invention, however, is not limited to this
and, other various kinds of transmission request receiving means
can be widely applied depending on a communications method to be
used, provided that they can receive an image request sent from a
content obtaining apparatus.
[1047] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventh
embodiments, as an image sending means for sending
three-dimensional images to a content obtaining apparatus in
response to an image request, the sending part 1014 described above
with reference to FIGS. 63 to 68 is applied. This invention,
however, is not limited to this and, other various kinds of image
sending means can be widely applied depending on a communications
method to be used, provided that they can send three-dimensional
images to a content obtaining apparatus in response to an image
request.
[1048] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventh
embodiments, as a preview request receiving means for receiving a
preview request sent from a content obtaining apparatus according
to the display state of three-dimensional images, the receiving
part 1012 described above with reference to FIGS. 63 to 68 is
applied. This invention, however, is not limited to this and other
various kinds of preview request receiving means can be widely
applied depending on a communications method to be used, provided
that they can receive a preview request sent from a content
obtaining apparatus according to the display state of
three-dimensional images.
[1049] In the aforementioned first to eleventh embodiments, as a
data sending means for sending content preview data based on
content data corresponding to a preview request to a content
obtaining apparatus, the sending part 1014 described above with
reference to FIGS. 63 to 68 is applied. This invention, however, is
not limited to this and other various kinds of data sending means
can be widely applied depending on a communications method to be
used, provided that they can send content preview data based on
content data corresponding to the preview request to a content
obtaining apparatus.
[1050] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventh
embodiments, as an input means for entering various operational
commands, the operating part 1041 described above with reference to
FIGS. 63 to 68 is applied. This invention, however, is not limited
to this and, other various kinds of input means can be widely
applied, such as operational keys, a touch panel and a pointing
device, provided that they can enter various operational
commands.
[1051] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventh
embodiments, as an image request sending means for sending an image
request to a content providing apparatus in response to an image
request command entered via an input means, the sending part 1045
described above with reference to FIGS. 63 to 68 is applied. This
invention, however, is not limited to this and, other various kinds
of image request sending means can be widely applied depending on a
communications method to be used, provided that they can send an
image request to a content providing apparatus in response to an
image request command entered via an input means.
[1052] In the aforementioned first to eleventh embodiments, as an
image receiving means for receiving three-dimensional images which
are sent from a content providing apparatus in response to an image
request, the receiving part 1046 described above with reference to
FIGS. 63 to 68 is applied. This invention, however, is not limited
to this and, other various kinds of image receiving means can be
widely applied depending on a communications method to be used,
provided that they can receive three-dimensional images which are
sent from a content providing apparatus in response to an image
request.
[1053] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventh
embodiments, as a display control means for displaying the
three-dimensional images on a predetermined display means and for
changing the display state of the three-dimensional images
according to a displaying-state changing command entered via an
input means, the reproducing part 1043 described above with
reference to FIGS. 63 to 68 is applied. This invention, however, is
not limited to this and other various kinds of display control
means can be widely applied, such as a CPU and a microprocessor,
provided that they can display three-dimensional images on a
predetermined display means and can change the displaying state of
the three-dimensional images according to a displaying state
changing command entered via an input means.
[1054] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventh
embodiments, as a display means for displaying the
three-dimensional images, the reproducing part 1043 described above
with reference,to FIGS. 63 to 68 is applied. This invention,
however, is not limited to this and other various kinds of display
means can be widely applied, such as a display means which is an
external device for the content obtaining apparatus, provided that
they can display three-dimensional images.
[1055] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventh
embodiments, as a preview request sending means for sending a
preview request to a content providing apparatus according to the
display state of the three-dimensional images on a display means,
the sending part 1045 described above with reference to FIGS. 63 to
68 is applied. This invention, however, is not limited to this and,
other various kinds of preview request sending means can be widely
applied depending on a communications method to be used, provided
that they can send a preview request to a content providing
apparatus according to the display state of the three-dimensional
images on a display means.
[1056] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventh
embodiments, as a data receiving means for receiving preview data
which was sent from a content providing apparatus in response to a
preview request, the receiving part 1046 described above with
reference to FIGS. 63 to 68 is applied. This invention, however, is
not limited to this and, other various kinds of receiving means can
be widely applied depending on a communications method to be used,
provided that they can receive preview data which was sent from a
content providing apparatus in response to a preview request.
[1057] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventh
embodiments, as a reproducing means for reproducing preview data
and making a customer view the contents of the content, the
reproducing part 1043 described above with reference to FIGS. 63 to
68 is applied. This invention, however, is not limited to this and,
other various kinds of reproducing means can be widely applied,
such as a reproducing means which is an external device for a
content obtaining apparatus, provided that they can reproduce
preview data and can make a customer view the contents of the
content.
[1058] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventh
embodiments, as a recording means for recording preview data
received by a data receiving means on a storage means, the storage
medium for buffer of the reproducing part 1043 described above with
reference, to FIGS. 63 to 68 is applied. This invention, however,
is not limited and other various kinds of storage media can be
widely applied, such as the storage medium 1040 built in the
portable dedicated terminal 1003 and a storage medium which can be
detachably attached to the portable dedicated terminal.
[1059] Industrial Applicability
[1060] This invention can be used in a content providing/obtaining
system composed of a content server on the Internet, portable
dedicated terminals, personal computers and portable telephones,
which are connectable to the content server via the Internet.
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