Sound data delivering system, sound data delivery method, delivering server utilized in the sound data delivering system, client-side terminal utilized in the sound data delivering system, and computer-readable recording medium containing a program applied to a computer utilized in the sound data delivering system

• US 7,254,414 B2
• Filed: 06/05/2001
• Issued: 08/07/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/05/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Original Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Inventors: Hasegawa, Yutaka, Terada, Kosei, Kunii, Takashi, Nakamura, Shunsuke
• Primary Examiner(s): AL-Aubaidi; Rasha S.
• Application Number:
  US09/875,762
• Publication Number:
  US 20010049641A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,254 Days
• Field of Search: 455/414, 455/556.1, 382/100
• US Class Current: 455/556.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

In accordance with a request from a portable telephone 60, a sound data delivering server 20 delivers a trial-listening music data to the portable telephone without charging a fee to a user of the portable telephone, or delivers a regular music data to the portable telephone upon charging a fee to the user. The delivered trial-listening music data is actually reproduced by the portable telephone; however, the number of reproduction times is limited, and the trial-listening music data is erased from a memory (RAM 63) of the portable telephone after the trial-listening music data is reproduced for the predetermined number of reproduction times. Thus, a system is provided in which the user of the portable telephone can obtain the trial-listening music data of an incoming call melody without being charged for the fee, and can actually reproduce the trial-listening music data with the use of the user s portable telephone.

Claims

1. A sound data delivering system having a portable communication terminal and a delivering server that are communicable with each other, said delivering server comprising:

request determining means for determining whether a request from said portable communication terminal is a request of a regular sound data or a request of a trial-listening sound data; and

data delivering means for delivering the regular sound data to the portable communication terminal with charging a fee to a user of the portable communication terminal if the request from said portable communication terminal is determined to be a request of said regular sound data, and for delivering a trial-listening sound data, which is the regular sound data to which an appending data indicating that the sound data is the trial-listening sound data is added in order to generate the trial-listening sound data, to the portable communication terminal without charging a fee to the user of the portable communication terminal if the request from the portable communication terminal is determined to be a request of said trial-listening sound data, and

said portable communication terminal comprising;

storage means for storing said delivered regular sound data and said delivered trial-listening sound data; and

registration means for, if the sound data stored in said storage means is a regular sound data, registering the sound data as a sound data of an incoming call sound or a background music of said portable communication terminal, or, if the sound data is a trial-listening sound data, refraining from registering the trial-listening sound data as a sound data of an incoming call or a background music of said portable communication terminal,

wherein the registration mean is configured to alter the sound data stored in said storage means as the trial-listening sound data from the trial-listening sound data to the regular sound data by erasing said appending data from the sound data and to permit registration of the altered trial-listening sound data if an instruction for purchasing the trial-listening sound data is transmitted from said portable communication terminal to said server.

2. The sound data delivering system according to claim 1, wherein said delivering server further comprises means for charging a fee to a user of the portable communication terminal if the instruction for purchasing the trial-listening sound data is transmitted from said portable communication terminal to said server.

3. The sound data delivering system according to claim 1, wherein said portable communication terminal further comprises means for notifying the user of the portable communication terminal that the trial-listening sound data cannot be registered as a sound data of an incoming call or a background music of said portable communication terminal, when an input operation for registering the trial-listening sound data as an incoming call sound or a background music is performed.

4. The sound data delivering system according to claim 3, wherein said portable communication terminal further comprises means for notifying the user of the portable communication terminal that the trial-listening sound data cannot be registered as a sound data of an incoming call or a background music of said portable communication terminal, when an input operation for registering the trial-listening sound data as an incoming call sound or a background music is performed.

5. A sound data delivering method using a portable communication terminal and a delivering server that are communicable with each other so as to deliver a sound data from the delivering server to the portable communication terminal, comprising steps of:

delivering a regular sound data by said delivering server to said portable communication terminal and charging a fee to a user of the portable communication terminal when a request of the regular sound data is transmitted from said portable communication terminal to said delivering server; and

delivering a trial-listening sound data, which is the regular sound data to which an appending data indicating that the sound data is the trial-listening sound data is added in order to generate the trial-listening sound data, by said delivering server to said portable communication terminal without charging a fee to the user of said portable communication terminal when a request of the trial-listening sound data is transmitted from said portable communication terminal to the delivering server,

wherein if the sound data delivered is a regular sound data, permitting the registration of the sound data as a sound data of an incoming call sound or a background music of said portable communication terminal,

wherein if the sound data delivered is a trial-listening sound data, prohibiting the registration of the trial-listening sound data as a sound data of an incoming call or a background music of said portable communication terminal, and

wherein if an instruction for purchasing the trial-listening sound data is received from said portable communication terminal to said server, altering the delivered trial-listening sound data from the trial-listening sound data to the regular sound data by erasing said appending data from the sound data and permitting the registration of the altered trial-listening sound data as a sound data of an incoming call sound or a background music of said portable communication terminal.

6. The method according to claim 5, said method further comprising a step of charging a fee to a user of the portable communication terminal if the instruction for purchasing the trial-listening sound data is transmitted from said portable communication terminal to said server.

7. The method according to claim 5, said method further comprising a step of notifying the user of the portable communication terminal that the trial-listening sound data cannot be registered as a sound data of an incoming call or a background music of said portable communication terminal, when an input operation for registering the trial-listening sound data as an incoming call sound or a background music is performed.

8. The method according to claim 6, further comprising a step of notifying the user of the portable communication terminal that the trial-listening sound data cannot be registered as a sound data of an incoming call or a background music of said portable communication terminal, when an input operation for registering the trial-listening sound data as an incoming call sound or a background music is performed. server comprises means for charging a fee to a user of the portable communication terminal if the instruction for purchasing the trial-listening sound data is transmitted from said portable communication terminal to said server.

9. A portable communication terminal communicable with a sound data delivering server, said portable communication terminal comprising:

requesting means for transmitting a request of either a regular sound data or a trial-listening sound data to said delivering server, said trial-listening sound data being the regular sound data to which an appending data indicating that the sound data is the trial-listening sound data is added in order to generate the trial-listening sound data;

storage means for storing said regular sound data or said trial-listening sound data delivered from said delivering server in accordance with said request;

reproduction means for reproducing said regular sound data or said trial-listening sound data stored in said storage means; and

reproduction times limiting means for limiting the number of times said trial-listening sound data is reproduced, to a predetermined finite number.

10. A portable communication terminal communicable with a sound data delivering server, said portable communication terminal comprising:

requesting means for transmitting a request of either a regular sound data or a trial-listening sound data to said delivering server, said trial-listening sound data being the regular sound data to which an appending data indicating that the sound data is the trial-listening sound data is added in order to generate the trial-listening sound data;

storage means for storing said regular sound data or said trial-listening sound data delivered from said delivering server in accordance with said request;

reproduction means for reproducing said regular sound data or said trial-listening sound data stored in said storage means; and

reproduction times limiting means for limiting the number of times said trial-listening sound data is reproduced, to a predetermined finite number.

11. A computer-readable recording medium containing a program applied to a portable communication computer communicable with a sound data delivering server, said program including:

a sound data requesting process for transmitting a request of either a regular sound data or a trial-listening sound data to said delivering server, said trial-listening sound data being the regular sound data to which an appending data indicating that the sound data is the trial-listening sound data is added in order to generate the trial-listening sound data;

a storage process for storing said regular sound data or said trial-listening sound data delivered from said delivering server in accordance with said request, in storage means; and

a reproduction process for reproducing said regular sound data or said trial-listening sound data stored in said storage means, and for limiting the number or times said trial-listening sound data is reproduced, to a predetermined finite number.

12. The computer-readable recording medium of claim 11, wherein said delivering server comprises means for charging a fee to a user of the portable communication terminal if the instruction for purchasing the trial-listening sound data is transmitted from said portable communication terminal to said server.