INFORMATION PROVIDING SYSTEM AND INFORMATION PROVIDING METHOD

• US 20010011252A1
• Filed: 02/03/1999
• Published: 08/02/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/1998
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: KASAHARA, AKIHIRO
• Application Number:
  US09/243,122
• Publication Number:
  US 20010011252A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/52
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00086 Circuits for prevention of unauthorised reproduction or copying, e.g. piracy indicating unauthorised use of record carriers in general G11B23/28; scrambling for television signal recording H04N5/913; network architectures or network protocols for network security H04L63/00; cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for secret or secure communication H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/0021 involving encryption or decryption of contents recorded on or reproduced from a record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00746 wherein the usage restriction can be expressed as a specific number

Abstract

An information providing system according to the present invention comprises a center block 1 which totally controls all of the system, a data providing block 2 provided by each district with a prescribed range, a local control block which totally controls a plurality of shops in each district. The center block 1, the data providing block 2, and the local control block 4 send and receive various types of information via a network. When the information the customer desires does not exist in the shop 3, the shop 3 is provided the desirable information from the center block 1 and the local control block 4 via the network 5. On the occasion recording the information to the recording medium, label information relating to the information is also attached to the recording medium. Furthermore, in order to simplify search of the information, index information which is constituted by title information, introduction information, and so on is provided for the customer, and the information that the sale is limited by a law and so on of each district is excluded from the index information.

Claims

1. An information providing system, comprising:

an information storing block for storing various types of information which is able to be recorded on a recording medium;

an information selecting block for selecting at least a part of the information from the information stored in said information storing block;

an information recording block for recording said selected information on the recording medium; and

an information erase determining block for determining whether or not to erase the information stored in said information storing block.

2. The information providing system according to

claim 1

, further comprising:

an aggregate block for summing up an information providing fee which should be paid to a right holder or a provider of each information recorded on the recording medium.

10. The information providing system according to

claim 1

, further comprising:

a re-recording block for recording on a separate recording medium the same information as the information recorded on the recording medium, or information relating to the information recorded on the recording medium, wherein

when recording on the recording medium the information selected by said information selecting block, said information recording block records on the recording medium a discriminating information indicating that the recording medium has been bought formally, and

said re-recording block records the designated information only when said discriminating information is recorded on the recording medium.

11. The information providing system according to

claim 10

, further comprising:

a recording control block for permitting a re-record for at least either one of said information recording block or said re-recording block, when the record to the recording medium has not been recorded onto correctly.

12. The information providing system according to

claim 10

, comprising:

a label attachment block for generating a label including information relating to the information recorded on the recording medium and attaching the label at a prescribed position to the recording medium.

13. The information providing system according to

claim 12

, further comprising:

a label existence or nothing selecting block for selecting whether or not to attach the label to said recording medium; and

a label type selecting block for selecting a type of the label attached on the recording medium, wherein

said label attachment block attaches on said recording medium the type of the label selected by said label type selecting block, when said label existence or nothing selecting block selects the attachment of the label.

14. The information providing system according to

claim 1

, further comprising:

a history information storing apparatus for storing a history information provided for the customer and which can be carried;

a history information display control block for allowing the history information being stored in said history information storing apparatus to be displayed on said display apparatus.

15. The information providing system according to

claim 14

, further comprising:

an information providing control block for reading out from said information storing block an information relating to the history information stored in said history information storing apparatus, and providing the information for the customer.

3. An information providing system, comprising:

an information storing block for encrypting and storing various types of information which is able to be recorded on a recording medium;

an information selecting block for selecting at least a part of the information from the information stored in said information storing block;

an information recording block for recording said selected information on the recording medium;

a decryption information providing block for providing a information for decryption to decrypt said selected information; and

a frequency measuring block for measuring a frequency that said decryption information providing block has provided said information for decryption;

an information-use-frequency determining block for detecting a frequency of use of the information stored in said information storing block, based on the frequency measured by said frequency measuring block, wherein

the information stored in said information storing block is decrypted only once by using said information for decryption.

4. The information providing system according to

claim 3

, further comprising:

a wired or wireless network for transferring data among a plurality of shops and a center block which totally controls all of said shops,

said center block including a first random number generator for generating a random number, and an encryption block for encrypting said information for decryption by using the random number, and

each of said shops including a second random number generator for generating a random number in sync with said first random number generator, and a decryption block for decrypting said information for decryption encrypted by said encryption block by using the random number generated by said second random number generator.

5. The information providing system according to

claim 3

, further comprising:

a wired or wireless network for transferring data between a plurality of shops and a center block for controlling all of said shops, wherein

when the information required by the customer does not exist in said plurality of shops, each of the shops receives the corresponding information via said network from the other shops or said center block.

6. An information providing system, comprising:

an information storing block for storing various types of information which is able to recorded on a recording medium;

an information selecting block for selecting at least a part of the information from the information stored in said information storing block;

an information recording block for recording said selected information on said recording medium; and

an index information providing block for providing an index information to discriminate the information stored in said information storing block, wherein

if there is any information of which the sale is restricted due to sales restrictions such as restrictions by a contract between providers, the customer'"'"'s age, and statutes for a certain area, said index information providing block provides said index information clearly designating said sales restrictions, or simply omitting said sales restrictions.

7. The information providing system according to

claim 6

, comprising:

a wired or wireless network for transferring data between a plurality of the shops and a center block for totally controlling all of the shops, wherein

said index information providing block sums up the selling amount of the information by each of selling districts or by each of the shops, and provides said index information relating to a hot-selling information based on the summing-up result.

8. The information providing system according to

claim 7

, wherein

said index providing block sets a displaying order of said index information based on said hot-selling information.

9. The information providing system according to

claim 6

, wherein

said index providing block provides at least either of summary information indicating an outline of each item of information included in said index information or introduction information which is a part of each information included in said index information.

16. An information providing method, comprising:

a step for storing various types of information which is able to be recorded on a recording medium;

a step for selecting at least a part of the information from the information stored in said information storing block;

a step for recording said selected information on the recording medium; and

a step for determining whether or not to erase the information stored in said information storing block.

17. The information providing method according to

claim 16

, further comprising:

a step for providing a information for decryption to decrypt a prescribed information;

a step for measuring a frequency that said decryption information providing block has provided said information for decryption;

a step for detecting a frequency of use of the information stored in said information storing block based on the frequency measured by said frequency measuring block, wherein

the information stored in said information storing block is decrypted only once by using said information for decryption.

18. The information providing method according to

claim 16

, further comprising:

among the information stored in said information storing block, in terms of the information that the sale is restricted by a selling restriction including at least one among a contract between providers, the customer'"'"'s age, and a selling district, said index information providing block provides said index information which clearly designates said selling restriction or said index information relating to the information except the information the sale is restricted.

19. The information providing method according to

claim 16

, further comprising:

a step for recording to the recording medium said discriminating information and a discriminating information designating that the recording medium has been bought formally; and

a step for recording to a separate recording medium the same information as the information recorded to the recording medium, or information relating to the information recorded to the recording medium, as far as said discriminating information is being recorded in the recording medium.

20. The information providing method according to

claim 16

, wherein

a history information corresponding to the information provided for the customer is stored in a history information storing apparatus which can be carried, and

the history information which is being stored in said history information storing apparatus and corresponds to the information provided for the customer is displayed to a display apparatus.