Information distributing apparatus and information distributing method, information receiving apparatus and information receiving met

• US 6,738,752 B2
• Filed: 09/21/1999
• Issued: 05/18/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Sako, Yoichiro, Obata, Masayuki, Ito, Shuichi, Inokuchi, Tatsuya, Sakurai, Kazuko
• Primary Examiner(s): Kramer, Dean J.
• Application Number:
  US09/400,506
• Publication Number:
  US 20020128936A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,701 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1, 705/26, 705/27, 705/34, 705/52, 705/54, 705/77-79, 705/400, 725/5-8, 369/84, 369/85
• US Class Current: 705/400
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2543 Billing , e.g. for subscription services payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; e-commerce G06Q30/00; arrangements for billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/21
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25435 involving characteristics of content or additional data, e.g. video resolution or the amount of advertising
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6581 Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17354 in an intermediate station common to a plurality of user terminals

Abstract

An information distributing apparatus and method wherein value standards of content information to be distributed to a user exhibit different usage values distinguished by a trait of the content information and selectable by the user. Billing for receipt of the information is based on the value standards, and the content, standards and billing information are distributed to the user.

Claims

1. Information distributing apparatus comprising:

providing means for providing selectable rankings of content information to be distributed to a user,

said rankings being distinguished by a trait of said content information and selectable by said user,

said trait selected from the group consisting of quality and class of said content information to be distributed;

billing means for providing billing information based on said rankings of said content information and type of recording medium selectable by the user for recording said content information, said billing information including first cost information associated with a first type of recording medium and second cost information, different than the first cost information, associated with a second type of recording medium;

adding means for adding said rankings and said billing information to said content information so to generate a contents distributing data packet; and

distributing means for distributing to said user said contents distributing data packet.

2. Information distributing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said trait is quality of said content information distributed to said user.

3. Information distributing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said trait is class of said content information distributed to said user.

4. Information distributing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said quality is transmission speed at which said content information is distributed by said distributing means.

5. Information distributing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said quality is a degree of compression of said content information distributed by said distributing means.

6. Information distributing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein high rankings are billed at a high billing rate, and low rankings are billed at a low billing rate.

7. Information distributing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said distributing means selectively distributes said content information by a communications satellite, radio communication, cable communication or the internet, or combination thereof.

8. Information distributing method comprising the steps of:

providing selectable rankings of content information to be distributed to a user,

said rankings being distinguished by a trait of said content information and selectable by said user,

said trait selected from a group consisting of quality and class of said content information to be distributed;

providing billing information based on said rankings of said content information and type of recording medium selectable by the user for recording said content information, said billing information including first cost information associated with a first type of recording medium and second cost information, different than the first cost information, associated with a second type of recording medium,

adding said rankings and said billing information to said content information so to generate a contents distributing data packet; and

distributing to said user said contents distributing data packet.

9. Information distributing method as claimed in claim 8, wherein said trait is quality of said content information distributed to said user.

10. Information distributing method as claimed in claim 8, wherein said trait is class of said content information distributed to said user.

11. Information distributing method as claimed in claim 8, wherein said quality is transmission speed at which said content information is distributed to said user.

12. Information distributing method as claimed in claim 8, wherein said quality is a degree of compression of said content information distributed to said user.

13. Information distributing method as claimed in claim 8, wherein high rankings are billed at a high billing rate, and low rankings are billed at a low billing rate.

14. Information distributing method as claimed in claim 8, wherein said content information is selectively distributed by a communications satellite, radio communication, cable communication or the internet, or combination thereof.