Data transmitting/receiving method and its receiver

• US 7,228,413 B1
• Filed: 09/10/1999
• Issued: 06/05/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Suzuki, Hidekazu
• Primary Examiner(s): Sheikh; Ayaz
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHEN, SHIN HON
• Application Number:
  US09/554,009
• Time in Patent Office: 2,825 Days
• Field of Search: 380/10, 380/20, 380/21, 380/23, 380/9, 380/21.49, 380240-242, 380/210, 380/2, 705/1, 705 50- 52, 713/162, 348/10, 348/706, 348/239, 725/31, 725/139
• US Class Current: 713/162
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/018 Certifying business or products
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/76 Wired systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/15 on receiving information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/16 on playing information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/21 Billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information
• 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 21/25866 Management of end-user data customer care in data networks H04L41/5077
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4667 Processing of monitored end-user data, e.g. trend analysis based on the log file of viewer selections
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/1675 Providing digital key or authorisation information for generation or regeneration of the scrambling sequence pseudo-random number generators in general G06F7/58

Abstract

A data transmitting/receiving method for charging the reception of pay data in units of a reception or in units of a group to which receivers belong with a high degree of freedom and its receiver. The transmission side allocates the same group identification number (IRD_Gr_ID) to receivers which receive data from the transmission side under a reception contract, have different individual identification numbers (IRD_ID), and belong to the same group, and manages the reception contract by means of the individual identification number (IRD_ID) and the group identification number (IRD_Gr_ID).

Claims

1. A data stream transmission and reception method for receiving data from a transmitting end, in accordance with a reception contract, by plural receivers that have individual ID numbers and belong to the same group, said transmitting end assigning the same group ID number to the plural receivers, and managing the reception contract on the basis of the individual ID numbers or the group ID number, said method comprising:

notifying the transmitting end of the individual ID number possessed by a first receiver among the plural receivers that belong to the same group;

notifying the transmitting end of ID information that can identify a service with which the first receiver tries to make a reception contract;

notifying the transmitting end of the individual ID numbers possessed by one or plural receivers that belong to the same group as the first receiver, and that the one or plural receivers belong to the same group as the first receiver;

assigning the same group ID number to the first receiver and the first or plural receivers by the transmitting end that has received the notification;

inputting the ID information of the service with which the first receiver makes a reception contract, to the first or plural receivers; and

wherein said first individual ID number notification further comprises notifying the transmitting end of a telephone line number that is connected to the first receiver; and

in said additional individual ID number notification, the one or plural receivers belong to the same group as the first receiver, and are connected by the same telephone line as the first receiver;

said notifying the transmitting end of a telephone line number comprising;

notifying the transmitting end of the individual ID number and the group ID number possessed by at least the self receiver, from each receiver, through the telephone number line connected to the corresponding receiver at predetermined time intervals; and

collating individual ID numbers, group ID numbers, and telephone line numbers which have already been held by the transmitting end, with the individual ID numbers and the group ID number that are notified from the telephone line number at the predetermined time intervals, with respect to the plural receivers that belong to the same group.

2. A data stream transmission and reception method as defined in claim 1, wherein inputting the ID information of the service with which the first receiver makes a reception contract, which ID information is transmitted from the transmitting end.

3. A data stream transmission and reception method as defined in claim 1, further comprising sending a warning to the receiver side from the transmitting end, when the collating is not matched by the ID number collation.

4. A data stream transmission and reception method as defined in claim 1, wherein said group ID number assigning multiplexes the group ID number onto a data stream together with video and audio to transmit the same to the receiver.

5. A data stream transmission and reception method as defined in claim 4, wherein said group ID number is stored in Conditional Access ID information of the data stream to transmit the same.

6. A data stream transmission and reception method as defined in claim 1, wherein the group ID number is transmitted to the receiver also by a transmission path different from the transmission path for the data stream.

7. A data stream transmission and reception method for receiving data from a transmitting end, in accordance with a reception contract, by plural receivers that have individual ID numbers and belong to the same group, said transmitting end assigning the same group ID number to the plural receivers, and managing the reception contract on the basis of the individual ID numbers or the group ID number, said method comprising:

notifying the transmitting end of the individual ID number possessed by the first receiver, among the plural receivers that belong to the same group;

notifying the transmitting end of the individual ID numbers possessed by one or plural receivers that belong to the same group as the first receiver, and that the one or plural receivers belong to the same group as the first receiver;

assigning the same group ID number to the first receiver and the first or plural receivers by the transmitting end that has received the notification;

notifying the transmitting end of information that identifies the viewed event as well as the individual ID numbers possessed by the aforementioned receivers and group ID number when an event is viewed by the plural receivers that belong to the same group and have the same group ID number; and

wherein said first individual ID number notification further comprises notifying the transmitting end of a telephone line number that is connected to the first receiver; and

in said additional individual ID number notification, the one or plural receivers belong to the same group as the first receiver, and are connected by the same telephone line as the first receiver;

said notifying the transmitting end of a telephone line number comprising;

notifying the transmitting end of the individual ID number and the group ID number possessed by at least the self receiver, from each receiver, through the telephone number line connected to the corresponding receiver at predetermined time intervals; and

collating individual ID numbers, group ID numbers, and telephone line numbers which have already been held by the transmitting end, with the individual ID numbers and the group ID number that are notified from the telephone line number at the predetermined time intervals, with respect to the plural receivers that belong to the same group.

8. A data stream transmission and reception method as defined in claim 7, wherein the information that identifies the event includes a program ID number that can identify each event.

9. A data stream transmission and reception method as defined in claim 7, wherein said group ID number assigning includes outputting information indicating which one of accounting modes, a receiver-unit accounting mode or a group-unit according mode, is adopted by each event.