Contents distributing method and distributing system

• US 7,386,597 B2
• Filed: 04/09/2002
• Issued: 06/10/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Takeuchi, Tadashi, Nomura, Ken
• Primary Examiner(s): Najjar; Saleh
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hamza; Faruk
• Application Number:
  US10/118,083
• Publication Number:
  US 20030233281A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,254 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709216-219, 709/223, 709/238, 709/245, 370/351, 370/360, 705/26
• US Class Current: 709/216
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions

Abstract

According to the present invention, there are disclosed a contents distributing method and a system which permits distribution of contents held by the client to the other clients, irrespective of the operating status of the client, and allows certain billing. In this system, a plurality of storage servers storing contents held by the individual clients are arranged on a network. The client issues a contents distributing request to the corresponding storage server, and acquires the contents. The storage server inquires, when the requested contents are not held, the retrieving server, and collects the contents from the other servers holding the contents. The storage server sends a billing requests, together with the billing information, to the service use fee billing server and the contents use fee billing server.

Claims

1. A method for distributing contents, comprising the steps of:

previously arranging, via a network, a plurality of storage servers, each deployed to connect to said network and each having a storage unit for storing contents and a retrieving server for retrieving a location of the contents stored by each of said storage servers;

correlating one or more clients to each of said storage servers,

wherein said one or more clients correlated to one of said storage servers is not the same one or more clients correlated to another of said storage servers;

causing the storage unit of each of said storage servers to store contents held for a correlated client;

receiving, in any storage server, a contents distribution request from a client correlated to the storage server;

distributing said contents to the requesting client when the requested contents exist in said storage server;

transmitting a request for retrieving a location of the requested contents including a requested content name information to said retrieving server by means of said storage server when the requested contents do not exist in said storage server;

receiving a content location information including address information of the storage servers holding said requested contents from said retrieving server;

requesting transmission of said requested contents from any of the storage servers holding said requested contents as shown in a result of retrieval through receipt by the storage server having transmitted said retrieving request of the result of retrieval in the retrieving server;

storing, upon receipt of the contents, the received contents in the storage unit of said storage server to which the requesting client is correlated, and notifying said retrieving server of holding of said contents in said storage unit of said storage server to which the requesting client is correlated; and

distributing said received contents to the requesting client.

2. A contents distributing method according to claim 1, wherein:

collecting, when distributing contents to a client, information for billing a fee for distribution of the contents in the storage server to which said client is correlated.

3. A contents distributing method according to claim 2, comprising the steps of:

arranging, via a network, a service use fee billing server for calculating a use fee of the contents distributing service, and a contents use fee billing server for calculating a use fee of the contents, said service use fee billing server and said contents use fee billing server each deployed to connect to said network; and

transmitting information for fee calculation collected in said storage server to said service use fee for billing server and said contents use fee server, together with a billing request for requesting billing of a fee.

4. A contents distributing method according to claim 3, comprising the steps of:

arranging, via a network, an origin server for supplying original contents, wherein said origin server is deployed to connect to said network; and

noticing the information specifying the contents held by said origin server and, upon receipt of contents transmitting request from any of storage servers, transmitting said contents from said origin server to a storage server having received said transmitting request, in said origin server.

5. A contents distributing method according to claim 1, comprising the steps of:

arranging an origin server for supplying original contents via a network, and notifying said retrieving server of the contents held by said origin server, wherein said origin server is deployed to connect to said network; and

transmitting, when there exist contents distribution-requested by any client in the origin server, the same to a storage server having received the distribution request from a client from said origin server.

6. A contents distributing system for distributing contents, comprising:

a plurality of storage servers arranged via a network, each deployed to connect to said network and each having a storage unit for storing contents;

one or more clients correlated to each of said storage servers; and

a retrieving server deployed to connect to said storage servers via the network,

wherein said one or more clients previously correlated to one of said storage servers is not the same one or more clients previously correlated to another of said storage servers,

wherein said retrieving server has a first computer which stores content location information, and when said retrieving server receives a content retrieving request from one of said storage servers, transmits said stored content location information to said storage server which generates the content retrieving request,

wherein each of said storage servers has a storage unit for storing contents held by each client for each of one or more clients previously correlated, and

wherein each of said storage servers has a computer for achieving a contents collection/distribution module which, when a contents distributing request from any of said correlated clients is received and said storage server holds the requested contents, distributes the contents to the requesting client, and when said storage server does not hold the requested contents, transmits said content retrieving request to said retrieving server, receives said content location information form said content retrieving server, acquires requested contents from any of storage servers holding the requested contents which are specified by said received content location information, stores the contents in said storage unit of said storage server to which the requesting client is correlated, notifies said retrieving server of holding of the contents in said storage unit of said storage server to which the requesting client is correlated, and distributes said contents to the requesting client.

7. A contents distributing system according to claim 6, wherein:

said contents collection/distribution module collects information for billing a fee resulting from contents distribution, when contents are distributed to a client, in a storage server to which said client is correlated.

8. A contents distributing system according to claim 7, further comprising:

a service fee billing server for calculating a use fee of a contents distribution service; and

a contents use fee billing server for calculating a content use fee,

wherein said service use fee billing server and said contents use fee billing server receive information for fee billing collected in said storage server, and a fee billing request requesting fee payment, and each has a computer for materializing calculation of said service use fee billing and a fee calculating module presenting the contents use fee billing, respectively.

9. A contents distributing system according to claim 8, wherein said contents collection/distribution module receives a contents distributing request from any of clients not correlated, requests transmission of the requested contents to a storage server to which said client is correlated, and upon receipt of the contents, distributes the received contents to the requesting client.

10. A contents distributing system according to claim 6, wherein said contents collection/distribution module receives a contents distributing request from any of clients not correlated, requests transmission of the requested contents to a storage server to which said client is correlated, and upon receipt of the contents, distributes the received contents to the requesting client.