Terminal apparatus, information service center, transmitting system, and transmitting method

• US 6,477,506 B1
• Filed: 02/11/1999
• Issued: 11/05/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: ARRIS Enterprises LLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Nakamura, Junichi, Ishii, Michito, Ootsu, Shuichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Trammell, James P.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hayes, John W.
• Application Number:
  US09/247,910
• Time in Patent Office: 1,363 Days
• Field of Search: 705/51, 705/52, 705/57, 705/16, 705/30, 463/25, 463/29, 463/40, 463/41, 463/42, 463/43, 434/307.A, 434/307.R
• US Class Current: 705/16
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/365 the accompaniment information being stored on a host computer and transmitted to a reproducing terminal by means of a network, e.g. public telephone lines
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2250/575 Adaptive MDCT-based compression, e.g. using a hybrid subband-MDCT, as in ATRAC

Abstract

A transmitting system in which a data once downloaded in a memory of a terminal apparatus from an information service center is returned to the information service center while the returned data is deleted from the memory of the terminal apparatus, and a fee for a next new data purchased by the terminal apparatus from the information service center is discounted or not charged.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

terminal apparatus for receiving data served from an information service center and for storing the received data, the terminal apparatus comprising;

receiving means for receiving the data served from the information service center;

first memory means for storing the data received by the receiving means;

operation means operable to direct the terminal apparatus to return a useless data of the data stored in the first memory means to the information service center;

second memory means for storing information of a reproducing frequency of each individual data stored in the first memory means;

wherein, when the useless data is deleted from the data stored in the first memory means, new data is served and downloaded, said new data subsequently being priced through calculation by one of subtracting for the deleted useless data and charging nothing for the now downloaded data; and

transmitting means for transmitting the information of the reproducing frequency, stored in the second memory means, of the useless data stored in the first memory means, which has been returned to the information service center from the terminal apparatus as directed by the operation means;

information service center for accumulating a plurality of data and for serving to a terminal apparatus data requested by the terminal apparatus, the information service center comprising;

a receiving means for receiving information transmitted from the terminal apparatus and which is related to the return of useless data in the terminal apparatus, and

an accounting means for determining an equivalent exchange rate to account for the new data served to the terminal apparatus from the information service center based on the information of the reproducing frequency of the useless data, transmitted by the transmitting means to the information service center.

2. A terminal apparatus for receiving data served from an information service center and for storing the received data, comprising:

receiving means for receiving the data served from the information service center;

first memory means for storing the data received by the receiving means;

operation means operable to direct the terminal apparatus to return a useless data of the data stored in the first memory means to the information service center;

second memory means for storing information of a reproducing frequency of each individual data stored in the first memory means;

wherein, when the useless data is deleted from the data stored in the first memory means, new data is served and downloaded, said new data subsequently being priced through calculation by one of subtracting for the deleted useless data and charging nothing for the new downloaded data; and

calculating means for calculating an equivalent exchange rate based on the information of the reproducing frequency, stored in the second memory means, of the useless data included among the data stored in the first memory means, and which has been returned to the information service center from the terminal apparatus as directed by the operation means; and

a transmission means for transmitting the equivalent exchange rate calculated by the calculating means.

3. A terminal apparatus for receiving data served from an information service center and for storing the received data, comprising:

receiving means for receiving the data served from the information service center;

first memory means for storing the data received by the receiving means;

operation means operable to direct the terminal apparatus to return a useless data of the data stored in the first memory means to the information service center;

second memory means for storing information of a reproducing frequency of each individual data stored in the first memory means;

wherein, when the useless data is deleted from the data stored in the first memory means, new data is served and downloaded, said new data subsequently being priced through calculation by one of subtracting for the deleted useless data and charging nothing for the new downloaded data; and

wherein counting the information of the reproducing frequency of each individual data stored in the first memory means is started on a day on which the data has been downloaded.

4. A system comprising:

terminal apparatus for receiving data served from an information service center and for storing the received data, the terminal apparatus comprising;

receiving means for receiving the data served from the information service center;

first memory means for storing the data received by the receiving means;

operation means operable to direct the terminal apparatus to return a useless data of the data stored in the first memory means to the information service center;

second memory means for storing information of a reproducing frequency of each individual data stored in the first memory means;

wherein, when the useless data is deleted from the data stored in the first memory means, new data is served and downloaded, said new data subsequently being priced through calculation by one of subtracting for the deleted useless data and charging nothing for the now downloaded data; and

wherein the second memory means keeps logging a duplication of each data stored in the first memory means to produce a logged number of duplications, and

information service center for accumulating a plurality of data and for serving to a terminal apparatus data requested by the terminal apparatus the information service center comprising;

a receiving means for receiving information transmitted from the terminal apparatus and which is related to the return of useless data in the terminal apparatus, and

an accounting means for determining an equivalent exchange rate based on the logged number of duplications.

5. An information service center for accumulating a plurality of data and for serving to a terminal apparatus data requested by the terminal apparatus, comprising:

authenticating means for authenticating the terminal apparatus connected to the information service center;

receiving means for receiving information transmitted from the terminal apparatus authenticated by the authenticating means and which is related to a return of useless data in the terminal apparatus;

calculating means for calculating an equivalent exchange rate from the information received by the receiving means; and

accounting means for accounting for new data purchased subsequently by the terminal apparatus from the information service center by one of discounting for the returned useless data and charging nothing for the new purchased data based on the equivalent exchange rate.

6. The information service center as set forth in claim 5, wherein the information related to the return of the useless data is a number of days on which the useless data has been downloaded to the terminal apparatus.

7. The information service center as set forth in claim 5, wherein the information related to the return of the useless data is information of a reproducing frequency of the data.

8. The information service center as set forth in claim 5, wherein a calculation by the calculating means of the equivalent exchange rate based on the information related to the return of the useless data is performed corresponding to a sold amount of useless data.

9. The information service center as set forth in claim 5, wherein the information related to the return of the useless data is a logged number of duplications of the useless data and the calculating means ceases calculating the equivalent exchange rate based on the logged number of duplications of the useless data.

10. An information service center for accumulating a plurality of data and for serving to a terminal apparatus a data requested by the terminal apparatus, comprising:

authenticating means for authenticating the terminal apparatus connected to the information service center;

receiving means for receiving information transmitted from the terminal apparatus authenticated by the authenticating means and which is related to the return of useless data in the terminal apparatus; and

accounting means for accounting new data purchased subsequently by the terminal apparatus from the information service center by one of discounting for the returned useless data and charging nothing for the new purchased data based on an equivalent exchange rate calculated from the information received by the receiving means and related to the return of the useless data in the terminal apparatus.

11. A transmitting system having a data server and at least one terminal apparatus,

the terminal apparatus comprising:

receiving means for receiving data served from an information service center;

first memory means for storing the data received by the receiving means;

operation means operable to direct the terminal apparatus to return a useless data stored in the first memory means to the information service center;

second memory means for storing information of a reproducing frequency of each individual data stored in the first memory means; and

transmitting means for transmitting information which is related to the return of the useless data stored in the first memory means, which has been returned to the information service center from the terminal apparatus as directed by the operation means; and

the data server comprising;

authenticating means for authenticating the terminal apparatus connected to the information service center;

receiving means for receiving the information transmitted from the terminal apparatus authenticated by the authenticating means and which is related to the return of the useless data in the terminal apparatus; and

accounting means for accounting for new data purchased subsequently by the terminal apparatus from the information service center by one of discounting for the returned useless data and charging nothing for the new purchased data based on an equivalent exchange rate calculated by a calculating means from the information received by the receiving means and related to the return of the useless data in the terminal apparatus.

12. The transmitting system as set forth in claim 11, wherein the information transmitted from the terminal apparatus and related to the return of the useless data is a number of days in which the useless data has been downloaded to the terminal apparatus, and

wherein the calculating means determines the equivalent exchange rate based on the number of downloading days.

13. The transmitting system as set forth in claim 11, wherein the information transmitted from the terminal apparatus and related to the return of the useless data is the information of the reproducing frequency of the data, and

wherein the calculating means determines the equivalent exchange rate based on a number of duplications.

14. The transmitting system as set forth in claim 11, wherein the information transmitted from the terminal apparatus and related to the return of the useless data is a sold amount of the useless data, and

wherein the calculating means determines the equivalent exchange rate based on the sold amount of the useless data.

15. The information service center as set forth in claim 11, wherein the information on the return of the useless data is a logged number of duplications of the useless data and the calculating means ceases calculating the equivalent exchange rate based on the logged number of duplications of the useless data.

16. A transmitting system having a data server and at least one terminal apparatus,

the terminal apparatus comprising:

receiving means for receiving data served from the information service center;

first memory means for storing the data received by the receiving means;

operation means operable to direct the terminal apparatus to return useless data stored in the first memory means to the information service center;

second memory means for storing information of a reproducing frequency of each individual data stored in the first memory means;

calculating means for calculating an equivalent exchange rate based on the useless data stored in the first memory means and which has been returned to the information service center from the terminal apparatus as directed by the operation means; and

transmitting means for transmitting the equivalent exchange rate calculated by the calculating means to the information service center; and

the data server comprising;

authenticating means for authenticating the terminal apparatus connected to the information service center;

receiving means for receiving the equivalent exchange rate for the useless data stored in the terminal apparatus authenticated by the authenticating means and which is transmitted from the terminal apparatus; and

accounting means for accounting for new data purchased subsequently by the terminal apparatus from the information service center through calculation by one of discounting for the returned useless data and charging nothing for the next purchased data based on the equivalent exchange rate received by the receiving means.

17. A transmitting method of storing once in a terminal apparatus data served from an information service center, and returning useless data stored in the terminal apparatus to the information service center, comprising the steps of:

designating the useless data in a memory in the terminal apparatus;

deleting the designated data;

calculating an equivalent exchange rate for the deleted useless data; and

performing one of discounting for the deleted useless data and charging nothing for a next new served data based on the calculated equivalent exchange rate.