Content delivery system and content delivery apparatus

• US 20040098470A1
• Filed: 08/04/2003
• Published: 05/20/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kurihara, Junichi
• Granted Patent: US 7,552,194 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking

Abstract

A content delivery system is disclosed which connects users'"'"' terminal apparatuses to a content management unit of a service provider managing a plurality of contents via a computer network, the service provider delivering the contents to the users over the computer network. The content management unit includes: a content file storing element for storing files of the contents; a user-oriented content storing element in which a user area of a predetermined size is allocated to each of the users for the storage of a content owned by the corresponding user; a file managing element for managing the content files stored in the content file storing element and the contents stored in the user areas of the user-oriented content storing element; and a content delivering element for providing the users with streaming delivery of the contents stored in the user areas. Each of the users is charged a usage fee proportional to the user area size allocated to the corresponding user in the user-oriented content storing element.

Claims

1. A content delivery system for connecting terminal apparatuses of users to a content management unit of a service provider managing a plurality of contents via a computer network, said service provider delivering said contents to said users over said computer network, said content management unit comprising:

content file storing means for storing files of said contents;

user-oriented content storing means in which a user area of a predetermined size is allocated to each of said users for the storage of a content owned by the corresponding user;

file managing means for managing the content files stored in said content file storing means and the contents stored in the user areas of said user-oriented content storing means; and

content delivering means for providing said users with streaming delivery of said contents stored in said user areas;

wherein each of said users is charged a usage fee proportional to the user area size allocated to the corresponding user in said user-oriented content storing means.

2. The content delivery system according to claim 1, wherein said content files are moving picture files.

3. The content delivery system according to claim 2, wherein said content management unit further comprises picture processing means for carrying out picture processing whereby personal information about a given user is displayed in superposed fashion on a streaming screen of the content being delivered to the corresponding user.

4. The content delivery system according to claim 1, wherein a copied content file is stored into said user area of a given user as the content owned by the corresponding user.

5. The content delivery system according to claim 1, wherein a link file linked to a content file is stored into said user area of a given user in lieu of the content owned by the corresponding user.

6. A content delivery apparatus comprising:

content file storing means for storing a plurality of content files;

user-oriented content storing means in which a user area of a predetermined size is allocated to each of users for the storage of a content owned by the corresponding user, the user area size being subject to charging of a usage fee;

file managing means for managing the content files stored in said content file storing means and the contents stored in the user areas of said user-oriented content storing means; and

content delivering means for providing said users with streaming delivery of said contents stored in said user areas.

7. The content delivery apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said content files are moving picture files, said content delivery apparatus further comprising picture processing means for carrying out picture processing whereby personal information about a given user is displayed in superposed fashion on a streaming screen of the content being delivered to the corresponding user;

and

wherein said content delivering means provides said users with streaming delivery of the contents having undergone said picture processing.