Online gift-presentation system including, a server system, terminal equipment, a gift-presenting method, and a computer-readable recording medium

• US 6,047,265 A
• Filed: 01/29/1998
• Issued: 04/04/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hanger Solutions, LLC (IP Investments Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: Justsystems Corporation
• Inventors: Sugimori, Shinji
• Primary Examiner(s): MacDonald, Allen R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): CRECCA, MICHELE S
• Application Number:
  US09/015,782
• Time in Patent Office: 796 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/44, 705/27, 705/39
• US Class Current: 705/64
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces

Abstract

An online gift-presentation system in which, when a server system transmits encoded gift-contents and gift-presentation data thereof to a client as a gift-presenter and a client as a gift-receiver sends a request for decoding using the gift-presentation data to the server system, the server system transmits a decoding key for decoding the encoded gift-contents to the client as a gift-receiver.

Claims

1. An online gift-presentation system comprising:

a server system connected to a network for virtually constructing an electronic market formed with a plurality of contents on said network and providing controls for selling the contents and accounting for sold contents through said electronic market; and

a plurality of terminal equipment each connected to said network for providing controls for accessing said electronic market and purchasing the contents at least one of said terminals being a gift presenter and at least another one of said terminals being a gift receiver;

wherein,

when one of said terminal equipment that is a gift-presenter sends a request for gift-presentation to said server system, said server system transmits encoded gift-contents requested by said terminal equipment as a gift-presenter as well as gift-presentation data for requesting to decode the contents to said terminal equipment as a gift-presenter, and when one of said plurality of terminal equipment that is a gift-receiver transmits a request for decoding using said gift-presentation data to said server system after the transmission, said server system transmits a decoding key for decoding of said encoded gift-contents to said terminal equipment as a gift-receiver.

2. An online gift-presentation system according to claim 1;

wherein said server system executes, when having received a report on completion of an operation for decoding of said encoded gift-contents using said decoding key from said terminal equipment as a gift-receiver, processing for accounting for said gift-contents on said terminal equipment as a gift-presenter.

3. An online gift-presentation system according to claim 1;

wherein said server system refuses, when a specified period of time passes after said encoded gift-contents and the gift-presentation data are transmitted to said terminal equipment as a gift-presenter, the request for decoding from said terminal equipment as a gift-receiver, and cancels the processing for accounting for said gift-contents.

4. An online gift-presentation system according to claim 2;

wherein said server system refuses, when a specified period of time passes after said encoded gift-contents and the gift-presentation data are transmitted to said terminal equipment as a gift-presenter, the request for decoding from said terminal equipment as a gift-receiver, and cancels the processing for accounting for said gift-contents.

5. An online gift-presentation system comprising:

a server system connected to a network for virtually constructing an electronic market formed with a plurality of contents on said network and providing controls for selling the contents and accounting for sold contents through said electronic market; and

a plurality of terminal equipment each connected to said network for providing controls for accessing said electronic market and purchasing the contents;

wherein

a terminal equipment as a gift-presenter comprising;

a gift-presentation requesting unit for requesting to present desired encoded gift-contents to said server system in said electronic market constructed on said network; and

a gift-contents transmitting unit for transmitting, when having received said encoded gift-contents and said gift-presentation data used for sending back a request to decode said contents each transmitted from said server system in response to the request for gift-presentation by said gift-presentation requesting unit, said encoded gift-contents and the gift-presentation data to said terminal equipment as a gift-receiver; and

a terminal equipment, different from said gift presenter and serving as a gift-receiver comprising;

a decoding requesting unit for requesting to decode, when having received said encoded gift-contents and the gift-presentation data transmitted from said gift-contents transmitting unit, the encoded gift-contents using the received gift-presentation data to said server system; and

a decoding unit for decoding said encoded gift-contents, when having received a decoding key for decoding of said encoded gift-contents transmitted in response to the request for decoding by said decoding requesting unit, using said decoding key; and

further

said server system comprising;

a contents distributing unit for distributing encoded gift-contents requested by said terminal equipment as a gift-presenter and said gift-presentation data used for sending back a request to decode said contents to said terminal equipment as a gift-presenter in response to the request for gift-contents by said gift-presentation requesting unit; and

a key distributing unit for distributing said decoding key for decoding of said encoded gift-contents to said terminal equipment as a gift-receiver in response to the request for decoding by said decoding requesting unit in said terminal equipment as a gift-receiver after the distribution of the contents by said distributing unit.

6. An online gift-presentation system according to claim 5;

wherein said terminal equipment as a gift-receiver transmits a report on completion of decoding to said server system after the operation for decoding is complete, and said server system executes, when having received said report on completion of decoding from said terminal equipment as a gift-receiver, the processing for accounting for said gift-contents on said terminal equipment as a gift-presenter.

7. An online gift-presentation system according to claim 5;

wherein said server system refuses, when a specified period of time passes after the contents is distributed by said contents distributing unit, the request for decoding from said terminal equipment as a gift-receiver, and cancels the processing for accounting for said encoded gift-contents.

8. An online gift-presentation system according to claim 6;

wherein said server system refuses, when a specified period of time passes after the contents is distributed by said contents distributing unit, the request for decoding from said terminal equipment as a gift-receiver, and cancels the processing for accounting for said encoded gift-contents.

9. A server system for the online gift-presentation system having:

a server system connected to a network for virtually constructing an electronic market formed with a plurality of contents on said network and providing controls for selling the contents and accounting for sold contents through said electronic market; and

a plurality of terminal equipment each connected to said network for providing controls for accessing said electronic market and purchasing the contents;

wherein

a terminal equipment as a gift-presenter requests to present desired encoded gift-contents to said server system in said electronic market constructed on said network and transmits said encoded gift-contents and a gift-presentation data used for sending back a request to decode said contents each transmitted from said server system to a different terminal equipment as a gift-receiver; and

a terminal equipment as a gift-receiver is a server system for an online gift-presentation system requesting to decode, when having received said encoded gift-contents and the gift-presentation data transmitted from said terminal equipment as a gift-presenter, the contents using said gift-presentation data to said server system, and decoding said encoded gift-contents, when having received a decoding key for decoding said encoded gift-contents transmitted in response to the request for decoding, using said decoding key;

said server system comprising;

a contents distributing unit for distributing encoded gift-contents requested by said terminal equipment as a gift-presenter and gift-presentation data used for sending back a request to decode said contents to said terminal equipment as a gift-presenter in response to the request for gift-presentation by said terminal equipment as a gift-presenter; and

a key distributing unit for distributing said decoding key for decoding said encoded gift-contents to said terminal equipment as a gift-receiver in response to the request for decoding by said terminal equipment as a gift-receiver after the distribution of the contents by said distributing unit.

10. A server system for the online gift-presentation system according to claim 9;

wherein, in said online gift-presentation system, said terminal equipment as a gift-receiver transmits a report on completion of decoding to said server system after the decoding is complete, and said server system executes, when having received said report on completion of decoding from said terminal equipment as a gift-receiver, the processing for accounting for said gift-contents on said terminal equipment as a gift-presenter.

11. A server system for the online gift-presentation system according to claim 9;

wherein said server system refuses, when a specified period of time passes after the contents is distributed by said contents distributing unit, the request for decoding from said terminal equipment as a gift-receiver, and cancels the processing for accounting for said encoded gift-contents.

12. A server system for the online gift-presentation system according to claim 10;

wherein said server system refuses, when a specified period of time passes after the contents is distributed by said contents distributing unit, the request for decoding from said terminal equipment as a gift-receiver, and cancels the processing for accounting for said encoded gift-contents.

13. Terminal equipment for an online gift-presentation system having:

a server system connected to a network for virtually constructing an electronic market formed with a plurality of contents on said network and providing controls for selling the contents and accounting for sold contents through said electronic market; and

a plurality of terminal equipment, each connected to said network for providing controls for accessing said electronic market and purchasing the contents, at least one of said terminals being a gift presenter and at least another one of said terminals being a gift receiver; and

said server system distributes encoded gift-contents requested by said terminal equipment as a gift-presenter and gift-presentation data used for sending back a request to decode said contents to said terminal equipment as a gift-presenter in response to the request for gift-presentation by said gift-presentation requesting unit, and distributes said decoding key for decoding of said encoded gift-contents to said terminal equipment as a gift-receiver in response to the request for decoding by said decoding requesting unit in the terminal equipment as a gift-receiver after the distribution of the contents;

wherein

said terminal equipment comprising;

a gift-presentation requesting unit for requesting to present desired encoded gift-contents to said server system in said electronic market constructed on said network;

a gift-contents transmitting unit for transmitting, when having received said encoded gift-contents and said gift-presentation data used for sending back a request to decode said contents each transmitted from said server system in response to the request for gift-presentation by said gift-presentation requesting unit, said encoded gift-contents and the gift-presentation data to said terminal equipment as a gift-receiver;

a decoding requesting unit for requesting to decode, when having received said encoded gift-contents and the gift-presentation data transmitted from said gift-contents transmitting unit, the contents using said received gift-presentation data to said server system; and

a decoding unit for decoding said encoded gift-contents, when having received a decoding key for decoding said encoded gift-contents transmitted in response to the request for decoding by said decoding requesting unit by means of using said decoding key.

14. Terminal equipment for the online gift-presentation system according to claim 13;

wherein said online gift-presentation system executes, when having received a report on completion of decoding from terminal equipment as a gift-receiver, the processing for accounting for said gift-contents on said terminal equipment as a gift-presenter, and said terminal equipment transmits, when the original terminal equipment is terminal equipment as a gift-receiver, a report on completion of decoding to said server system after the decoding is complete.

15. A gift-presenting method for the online gift-presentation system having:

a server system connected to a network for virtually constructing an electronic market formed with a plurality of contents on said network and providing controls for selling the contents and accounting for sold contents through said electronic market; and

a plurality of terminal equipment, each connected to said network for providing controls for accessing said electronic market and purchasing the contents at least one of said terminals being a gift presenter and at least another one of said terminals being a gift receiver;

said method comprising;

a first step of transmitting, when one of said terminal equipment as a gift-presenter requests gift-presentation to said server system, encoded gift-contents requested by said terminal equipment as a gift-presenter as well as gift-presentation data for sending back a request to decode the contents from said server system to said terminal equipment as a gift-presenter; and

a second step of transmitting, when one of said plurality of terminal equipment as a gift-receiver transmits a request for decoding using said gift-presentation data to said server system after the transmission in said first step, a decoding key for decoding said encoded gift-contents from said server system to said terminal equipment as a gift-receiver.

16. A gift-presenting method for the online gift-presentation system according to claim 15 further comprising:

a third step of executing, when a report on completion of decoding said encoded gift-contents using said decoding key is sent from said terminal equipment as a gift-receiver to said server system, the processing for accounting for said gift-contents on said terminal equipment as a gift-presenter.

17. An online gift-presenting method according to claim 15 further comprising:

a fourth step of refusing, when a specified period of time passes after said encoded gift-contents and the gift-presentation data are transmitted from said server system to said terminal equipment as a gift-presenter, the request for decoding from said terminal equipment as a gift-receiver as well as canceling the processing for accounting for said gift-contents.

18. An online gift-presenting method according to claim 16 further comprising:

a fourth step of refusing, when a specified period of time passes after said encoded gift-contents and the gift-presentation data are transmitted from said server system to said terminal equipment as a gift-presenter, the request for decoding from said terminal equipment as a gift-receiver as well as canceling the processing for accounting for said gift-contents.

19. A computer-readable recording medium with a program making a computer execute a gift-presenting method for an online gift-presentation system having:

a server system connected to a network for virtually constructing an electronic market formed with a plurality of contents on said network and providing controls for selling the contents and accounting for sold contents through said electronic market; and

a plurality of terminal equipment each connected to said network for providing controls for accessing said electronic market and purchasing the contents;

said method comprising;

a first step of transmitting when one of said terminal equipment as a gift-presenter requests gift-presentation to said server system, encoded gift-contents requested by said terminal equipment as a gift-presenter as well as gift-presentation data for sending back a request to decode the contents from said server system to said terminal equipment as a gift-presenter; and

a second step of transmitting, when one of said plurality of terminal equipment as a gift-receiver transmits a request for decoding using said gift-presentation data to said server system after the transmission in said first step, a decoding key for decoding said encoded gift-contents from said server system to said terminal equipment as a gift-receiver.

20. The computer readable recording medium according to claim 19 wherein said method further comprises:

a third step of executing, when a report on completion of decoding said encoded gift-contents using said decoding key is sent from said terminal equipment as a gift-receiver to said server system, the processing for accounting for said gift-contents on said terminal equipment as a gift-presenter.

21. The computer readable recording medium according to claim 19 wherein said method further comprises:

a step of refusing, when a specified period of time passes after said encoded gift-contents and the gift-presentation data are transmitted from said server system to said terminal equipment as a gift-presenter, the request for decoding from said terminal equipment as a gift-receiver as well as canceling the processing for accounting for said gift-contents.

22. The computer readable recording medium according to claim 20 wherein said method further comprises:

a fourth step of refusing, when a specified period of time passes after said encoded gift-contents and the gift-presentation data are transmitted from said server system to said terminal equipment as a gift-presenter, the request for decoding from said terminal equipment as a gift-receiver as well as canceling the processing for accounting for said gift-contents.