Content sales price accounting system and accounting method thereof

• US 5,918,215 A
• Filed: 05/03/1996
• Issued: 06/29/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 09/01/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Tsunoda, Haruhiko, Hasegawa, Kazuharu, Yoshioka, Makoto, Aoe, Hidefumi
• Primary Examiner(s): MacDonald, Allen R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Patel, Jagdish
• Application Number:
  US08/642,283
• Time in Patent Office: 1,152 Days
• Field of Search: 705/30, 705/17, 705/4, 705/39, 380/4
• US Class Current: 705/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/204 comprising interface for record bearing medium or carrier for electronic funds transfer or payment credit
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

A goods master is stored with sales prices and sales effective periods of respective contents. A contract master is stored with data as to whether the sales price can be reduced. A key sales section charges a content purchaser for the sale price stored in the goods master. An updating section compares the present time with a sales effective period recorded on the goods master and reduces the sales price recorded on the goods master as far as the contract master is recorded with data indicating that the sales price can be reduced for a content with a remainder of the sales effective period being one month or less.

Claims

1. A content sales price accounting system, comprising:

a first database that stores a sales price and a sales period corresponding to a content;

timer means for indicating a present time;

price updating means for updating the sales price for the content from a first price to a different price when the present time indicated by said timer means falls within a predetermined period within the sales period; and

accounting means for charging a person the sales price for the content, if the person purchases the content.

2. A content sales price accounting system according to claim 1, wherein said updating means detects a sales volume for the content and updates the sales price based on whether the detected sales volume is less than or equal to a predetermined value.

3. A content sales price accounting system according to claim 1, wherein the different price is less than the first price, whereby when updating the sales price said updating means reduces the sales price.

4. A content sales price accounting system according to claim 1, wherein said updating means changes the sales price at an interval of a fixed period.

5. A content sales price accounting system, comprising:

a first database that stores a sales price and a sales period corresponding to a content;

timer means for indicating a present time;

price updating means for updating the sales price for the content by reducing the sales price from a first price to a different price when the present time indicated by said timer means falls within a predetermined period within the sales period;

accounting means for charging a person the sales price for the content, if the person purchases the content; and

a second database that stores an item of reducible-amount-of-money indicating whether the sales price for the content can be reduced,

and wherein said updating means updates the sales price when the reducible-amount-of-money data stored in said second database indicates that the sales price of the content can be reduced.

6. A content sales price accounting system, comprising:

a first database that stores a sales price and a sales period corresponding to a content;

timer means for indicating a present time;

price updating means for updating the sales price for the content from a first price to a different price when the present time indicated by said timer means falls within a predetermined period within the sales period;

accounting means for charging a person the sales price for the content, if the person purchases the content;

wherein said updating means deletes the sales price for the content from said first database when the present time indicated by said timer means corresponds to the last day of the sales period or a later day.

7. A method of content sales price accounting, the method comprising:

storing in a first database a sales price and a sales period corresponding to a content;

comparing a present time with the sales period, and changing the sales price when the present time falls within a predetermined period within the sales period; and

charging a purchaser of the content the changed sales price.

8. A content sales price accounting system, comprising:

a price update unit, responsive to a timer indicating a present time, that updates a sales price from a first price to a different price when the present time corresponds to a predetermined time period within a sales period, the sales price and the sales period corresponding to a content offered for sale; and

an accounting unit that charges a purchaser of the content the sales price.

9. A computer-readable medium encoded with a program for content sales price accounting, said program performing:

updating a sales price from a first price to a different price when the present time corresponds to a predetermined time period within a sales period, the sales price and the sales period corresponding to a content offered for sale; and

charging a purchaser of the content the sales price.