Data management module, data reproduction management device and data reproduction management system

• US 5,737,415 A
• Filed: 07/31/1995
• Issued: 04/07/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Yoshioka, Makoto, Akiyama, Ryota
• Primary Examiner(s): Cain, David C.
• Application Number:
  US08/509,226
• Time in Patent Office: 981 Days
• Field of Search: 380/3, 380/4, 380/23, 380/25
• US Class Current: 705/53
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/123 by using dedicated hardware, e.g. dongles, smart cards, cryptographic processors, global positioning systems [GPS] devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2135 Metering

Abstract

The present invention was developed in order to provide a software management module incorporated in hardware or freely attachably/detachably set therein for encrypted software data to be obtained from software storing media or communications, wherein this software management module is provided with a function for decoding encrypted software, and an authorization control portion for managing authorization for decoding.

Claims

1. A data management module mounted on a data reproducing device for selecting and reproducing encrypted data, comprising:

input means for inputting said encrypted data;

authorization control means for authorizing decoding of said encrypted data;

decoding means for decoding said encrypted data authorized by said authorization control means; and

charge data storage means for storing a balance value, wherein said authorization control means reduces the balance value based upon characteristics of said encrypted data decoded by said decoding means, compares the balance value with a predetermined cutoff value, and authorizes the decoding of additional encrypted data based upon the comparison, an initial value of said balance value being resettable through commands from a source external of said data management module,

output means for outputting said decoded encrypted data decoded by said decoding means.

2. The data management module according to claim 1, wherein said authorization control means authorizes decoding of specified data from a data storing medium.

3. The data management module according to claim 1, further comprising encrypting means, wherein said authorization control means encrypts user data by said encrypting means when outputting to the exterior user data generated or processed by a decoding process.

4. The data management module according to claim 3, wherein said user data is charge data.

5. The data management module according to claim 1, wherein said decoding means comprises mode identifying means for changing encrypting utilization modes for decoding said encoupled data in accordance with the characteristics of said encrypted data.

6. The data management module according to claim 1, wherein said decoding means comprises:

an input register disposed on an input side;

decoding execution means for executing encrypting or decoding of input data by a specified logic;

an intermediate register;

a selector placed between said input register and said intermediate register, for selectively outputting an output from either one of said input register or said decoding execution means to said intermediate register; and

an output buffer provided at a next stage of said decoding execution means, for sequentially outputting decoded data from said intermediate register.

7. The data management module according to claim 6, wherein at least one of said input register and said output buffer is a shift register.

8. A data reproducing device for reproducing data from a data storage medium, comprising:

a driving device for reading encrypted data from the data storage medium storing said encrypted data;

demodulation means for demodulating said encrypted data read by said driving device;

a data management module including

input means for inputting said encrypted data,

authorization control means for authorizing demodulation of said encrypted data,

decoding means for decoding said encrypted data authorized by said authorization control means and input by said input means,

charge data storage means for storing a balance value, wherein said authorization control means reduces the balance value based upon characteristics of said encrypted data decoded by said decoding means, compares the balance value with a predetermined cutoff value, and authorizes the decoding of additional encrypted data based upon the comparison, an initial value of said balance value being resettable through comments from a source external of said data management module, and

output means for outputting decoded encrypted data decoded by said decoding means from said management module.

9. The data reproducing device according to claim 8, further comprising a card driving device to which a card medium incorporating said data management module is attached.

10. A data reproduction management system, comprising a control center and a data reproducing device, wherein:

said control center includes

authorization command issuing means for issuing key data as an authorization command for utilization requests from said data reproducing device encrypted data, and

charge data storage means for storing a balance value, wherein said authorization command issuing means reduces the balances value based upon characteristics of said encrypted data and compares the balance value with a predetermined cut off value;

said data reproducing device includes decoding means for decoding the encrypted data from a data storage medium based on said key data, wherein said authorization command issuing means authorizes the decoding of the additional encrypted data based upon the comparison.

11. The data reproduction management system according to claim 10, wherein said charge data storing means stores charge data of a user, and said data reproducing device includes encrypting means for encrypting the charge data when the charge data is reported to said control center.

12. The data reproduction management system according to claim 10, wherein said control center includes data security detecting means for detecting security relating to encrypted or non-encrypted data.

13. The data reproduction management system according to claim 10, wherein:

said control center includes transmission side check-sum generating means for generating check-sums from said encrypted or non-encrypted data; and

said data reproducing device includes reception side check-sum generating means for receiving said data and a check-sum from said control center and generating a check-sum from said encrypted or non-encrypted data, and comparing means for comparing a check-sum generated by said reception side check-sum generating means and said check-sum received from said control center.

14. The data reproduction management system according to claim 13, wherein said control center includes encrypting means for encrypting said non encrypted data, and said transmission side check-sum generating means generates check-sums with respect to data before being encrypted by said encrypting means or to data after being encrypted.

15. The data reproduction management system according to claim 13, wherein said reproducing device comprises a data management module including said decoding means, reception side check-sum generating means, and comparing means and further comprises display means for displaying the comparison result of said comparing means.

16. The data reproduction management system according to claim 13, wherein said comparing means executes amount-based charging with respect to said charge data storage means only when both of said check-sums are equal to each other.