Terminal device, accounting system and data processing method

• US 7,266,530 B2
• Filed: 09/06/2002
• Issued: 09/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Yodo, Fumitake
• Primary Examiner(s): Zeender, F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): BUCHANAN, CHRISTOPHER R
• Application Number:
  US10/236,561
• Publication Number:
  US 20030004841A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,824 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/27, 705/55, 705/30
• US Class Current: 705/55
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/00 Payment architectures, schemes or protocols apparatus for performing or posting payment transactions G07F7/08, G07F19/00; electronic cash registers G07G1/12
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/085 involving remote charge determination or related payment systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/28 Pre-payment schemes, e.g. "pay before"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3676 Balancing accounts
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4037 Remote solvency checks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/123 Tax preparation or submission
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/08 by coded identity card or credit card or other personal identification means without personal verification means G07F7/02

Abstract

This invention relates to a terminal device capable of communicating with an accounting center, an accounting system, and a data processing method. A point memory 45 of a recording/reproducing device 10 stores accounting point information. An HDD 15 stores information distributed from an external source. A CPU 11 updates the accounting point information stored in the point memory 45 and updates attributes of the distributed information when the distributed information is stored onto the HDD 15. Thus, such inconvenience that communication with a distribution/accounting center 1 is carried out every time information is distributed to the recording/reproducing device 10 is avoided.

Claims

1. A terminal device for communicating with an accounting center, the terminal device comprising:

a first memory for storing accounting point information;

a second memory for storing information received from an external source and including a management file having an information use permission flag corresponding to the received information; and

a controller for decrementing/incrementing the accounting point information stored in the first memory using a temporary accounting process and for updating the information use permission flag corresponding to the received information when the received information is stored in the second memory, said decremented/incremented accounting point information being transmitted to the accounting center and the accounting center performing an accounting process based on the decremented/incremented accounting points transmitted by the terminal device using an actual accounting process, the accounting center transmitting a result of the actual accounting process to the terminal device,

wherein when the received information is stored into the second memory the controller decrements/increments the accounting point information stored in the first memory and updates the information use permission flag corresponding to the received information from an unavailable state to an available state, and

when the accounting points information is insufficient for updating the information use permission flag to the available state, said controller requests an actual accounting process to the accounting center and said controller restores the accounting point information to a predetermined point value without requesting payment when said controller determines that the actual accounting process has ended properly based on the result of the actual accounting process.

2. The terminal device as claimed in claim 1, wherein when the accounting point information stored in the first memory is insufficient for the received information stored in the second memory, the controller performs control so that the information use permission flag corresponding to the received information is held in the unavailable state to a user.

3. The terminal device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a communicator for communicating with the external source having a third memory,

wherein when the controller receives information from the external source connected via the communicator and updates the accounting point information stored in the first memory in accordance with the received information the controller updates the information use permission flag corresponding to the received information.