Data distribution system

• US 20020046180A1
• Filed: 10/18/2001
• Published: 04/18/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/18/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rakuten Group, Inc.
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Niwa, Yushi
• Granted Patent: US 7,174,309 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/52
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A game database storing a game program as pay data, a distribution server, and an account server are provided within a service provider side device. The account server sends, through a radio network, a part of a game program to a storage unit in a service user side device, before the arrival of the fixed time of the start of use. When the user has decided to purchase the game program on or after the day on which the data becomes usable, the program part is sent to a game terminal so that the play of the game can be started. Upon the receipt of a request from the user for the distribution of the remaining part of the program, the user'"'"'s balance is checked for the purchase of the remaining part of the program and, thereafter, the remaining part of the program is sent from the distribution server to the radio terminal so that the user can enjoy the subsequent part of the game without delay. The above construction can shorten the time period between the request for the distribution of data and the reproduction of the distributed data in predetermined communication environment such as radio data communication environment, and can reduce the concentration of load on the distribution server. Further, the invention can also be applied to distribution data for which the limitation of the time of the start of use is not provided.

Claims

1. A data distribution system comprising:

partial data preliminary distribution means for distributing partial data, comprising a part of distribution data, together with attribute data including the price of the distribution data, to a storage region provided in each user side;

partial data reproduction release means which, when the user side has decided to purchase the partial data distributed by the partial data preliminary distribution means or the remaining undistributed part of the distribution data, renders the partial data except for the attribute data reproducible from the time of the decision at the earliest; and

remaining distribution data distribution means which, upon the receipt of a request from the user side for the distribution of the undistributed remaining part of the data corresponding to the partial data, distributes the remaining distribution data to the user who has requested the distribution of the remaining data.

5. The data distribution system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the remaining distribution data is divided into a plurality of parts and which further comprises distribution interval regulation means that regulates the interval of the distribution of the remaining distribution data for each divided unit to the user according to the progress of the reproduction of the distribution data by the user.

6. The data distribution system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the distribution data are distributed through a radio network.

2. A data distribution system comprising:

partial data preliminary distribution means for distributing partial data, comprising a part of distribution data, together with attribute data including the price of the distribution data, to a storage region provided in each user side;

partial data reproduction release means which, when the user side has decided to purchase the partial data distributed by the partial data preliminary distribution means or the remaining undistributed part of the distribution data, renders the partial data except for the attribute data reproducible from the time of the decision at the earliest;

payment ability judgment means which, upon the receipt of a request from the user side for the distribution of a part or the whole of the undistributed remaining part of the data corresponding to the partial data, judges whether or not the user, who has requested the distribution of a part or the whole of the undistributed remaining part of the distribution data, can pay the equivalent to the distribution data;

requested data distribution means which, when the judgment by the result of the payment ability judgment means is that the user can pay the equivalent, distributes the requested data to the corresponding user side;

accounting means which, when the distribution of the requested data by the requested data distribution means to the user side has been confirmed, performs accounting of the distribution data for the user; and

requested data reproduction release means which renders the remaining part of the data, which has been distributed by the requested data distribution means upon the completion of the accounting by the accounting means, usable on the user side.

7. The data distribution system according to claim 2 or 4, which further comprises means, for balance processing during sales processing, that, when the result of the judgment by the payment ability judgment means is that the user can pay the equivalent, issues a sales code indicating, that sales processing is under execution, and subtracts the amount of money to be paid from the user'"'"'s balance to determine a new balance value.

8. The data distribution system according to claim 7, which further comprises means, for establishing the balance at the time of the completion of accounting, that, when accounting has been performed by the accounting mean, discards the sales code to establish the balance.

9. The data distribution system according to claim 7, wherein the period of validity is provided in the sales code and which further comprises means, for establishing the balance at the time of no charging, that, when the period of validity has expired, returns the new balance value, obtained by subtracting the equivalent value from the balance, to the original value based on recognition that the payment corresponding to the issued sales code has not been made.

3. A data distribution system comprising:

partial data preliminary distribution means for distributing partial data, comprising a part of distribution data for which the time of the start of use has been fixed, together with attribute data, which can be disclosed before the arrival of the time of start of use, including the time of start of use and/or the price of the distribution data, before the arrival of the time of start of use, to a storage region provided in each user side;

partial data reproduction release means which, when the user side has decided to purchase the partial data distributed by the partial data preliminary distribution means or the remaining undistributed part of the distribution data, renders the partial data except for the attribute data reproducible from the fixed time of the start of use at the earliest; and

remaining distribution data distribution means which, after the fixed time of the start of use, upon the receipt of a request from the user side for the distribution of the undistributed remaining part of the data corresponding to the partial data, distributes the remaining distribution data to the user who has requested the distribution of the remaining data.

4. A data distribution system comprising:

partial data preliminary distribution means for distributing partial data, comprising a part of distribution data for which the time of the start of use has been fixed, together with attribute data, which can be disclosed before the arrival of the time of start of use, including the time of start of use and/or the price of the distribution data, before the arrival of time of the start of use, to a storage region provided in each user side;

partial data reproduction release means which, when the user side has decided to purchase the partial data distributed by the partial data preliminary distribution means or the remaining undistributed part of the distribution data, renders the partial data except for the attribute data reproducible from the time of the start of use at the earliest;

payment ability judgment means which, after the fixed time of the start of use, upon the receipt of a request from the user side for the distribution of a part or the whole of the undistributed remaining part of the data corresponding to the partial data, judges whether or not the user, who has requested the distribution of a part or the whole of the undistributed remaining part of the distribution data, can pay the equivalent to the distribution data;

requested data distribution means which, when the judgment by the payment ability judgment means is that the user can pay the equivalent, distributes the requested data to the corresponding user side;

accounting means which, when the distribution of the requested data to the user side by the requested data distribution means has been confirmed, performs accounting of the distribution data for the user; and

requested data reproduction release means which renders the remaining part of the data, which has been distributed by the requested data distribution means upon the completion of the accounting by the accounting means, usable on the user side.