Communication system, communication method, distribution apparatus, distribution method and terminal apparatus

• US 9,973,733 B2
• Filed: 08/20/2012
• Issued: 05/15/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kumagai, Takashi, Tanaka, Izuru
• Primary Examiner(s): KUCAB, JAMIE R
• Application Number:
  US13/589,845
• Publication Number:
  US 20120316958A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,094 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/085 involving remote charge determination or related payment systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/123 Shopping for digital content
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/32 using wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3221 Access to banking information through M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 2220/12 Usage or charge determination
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/20 Disc-shaped record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2525 Magneto-optical [MO] discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/41 Flat as opposed to hierarchical combination, e.g. library of tapes or discs, CD changer, or groups of record carriers that together store one title
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/65 wherein solid state memory is used for storing indexing information or metadata
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/11 by using information not detectable on the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/21 Billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/27 Arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2225 Local VOD servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/254 Management at additional data server, e.g. shopping server, rights management server arrangements for maintenance or administration in data networks H04L41/00; network services using third party service providers H04L67/53
• 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 21/6125 : involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6175 : involving transmission via Internet broadcast-related systems characterised by the transmission system being the Internet H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/85403 : by describing the content as an MPEG-21 Digital Item
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 : with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/04 : for time-division multiplexing H04Q11/0001 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13093 : Personal computer, PC
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13097 : Numbering, addressing
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13103 : Memory
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13106 : Microprocessor, CPU
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13176 : Common channel signaling, CCS7
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13204 : Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13216 : Code signals, frame structure
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13299 : Bus
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13333 : Earth satellites
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13376 : Information service, downloading of information, 0800/0900 services
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13389 : LAN, internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13399 : Virtual channel/circuits
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/944 : Business related
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 : Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 : Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99936 : Pattern matching access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 : Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

A communication system includes a terminal having a first storage section for storing a number of pieces of content information, a second storage section for storing a number of pieces of the content information, a storage control section for placing a content ID stored in the second storage section into purchase information for each terminal and stored in the second storage section, an access control section for controlling access to the content information corresponding to the content ID stored in the second storage section, and an accounting setting section for setting an amount of a fee to be imposed on the terminal in response to the purchase information.

Claims

1. A mobile terminal comprising:

circuitry configured to

send a request for storing content data stored in the mobile terminal to a remote storage so that the content data are stored into the remote storage within a predetermined storage capacity of the remote storage that is assigned to a user of the mobile terminal;

send a request to use an additional storage capacity of the remote storage that exceeds the predetermined storage capacity for storing additional content data;

receive the content data or the additional content data from the remote storage;

send content ID and a first request for transferring at least one piece of the content data having the content ID from the remote storage;

receive the at least one piece of the content data from the remote storage;

store the received at least one piece of the content data;

receive a first charge for the first request;

send the content ID and a second request for transferring again the at least one piece of the content data having a same content ID as the content ID from the remote storage;

receive again the at least one piece of the content data from the remote storage;

store again the received at least one piece of the content data; and

receive a second charge of a smaller amount of money than the first charge for the second request.

2. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to receive a charge of an additional fee to a credit card registered by the user of the mobile terminal in association with a user ID of the user.

3. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, further comprising:

a display configured to display a list of content data stored in the mobile terminal and a list of content data stored in the remote storage.

4. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry uses either or both of a telephone and an internet network.

5. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein the content data is music data.

6. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to receive promotion data based on usage of the content data stored in the remote storage by the user.

7. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein the content data is on-demand purchased content data.

8. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to erase the stored at least one piece of the content data, the erased at least one piece of the content data being transferred from the remote storage in response to the first request.

9. A method comprising:

sending, via a wireless communication unit of a mobile terminal, a request for storing content data stored in the mobile terminal to a remote storage so that the content data are stored into the remote storage within a predetermined storage capacity of the remote storage that is assigned to a user of the mobile terminal;

controlling the wireless communication unit to send a request to use an additional storage capacity of the remote storage that exceeds the predetermined storage capacity for storing additional content data;

receiving the content data or the additional content data from the remote storage;

sending content ID and a first request for transferring at least one piece of the content data having the content ID from the remote storage;

receiving the at least one piece of the content data from the remote storage;

storing the received at least one piece of the content data;

receiving a first charge for the first request;

sending the content ID and a second request for transferring again the at least one piece of the content data having a same content ID as the content ID from the remote storage;

receiving again the at least one piece of the content data from the remote storage;

storing again the received at least one piece of the content data; and

receiving a second charge of a smaller amount of money than the first charge for the second request.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

charging, by the remote storage, an additional fee to a credit card registered by the user of the mobile terminal in association with a user ID of the user.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

displaying, on a display of the mobile terminal, a list of content data stored in the mobile terminal and a list of content data stored in the remote storage.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the wireless communication unit uses either or both of a telephone and an internet network.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the content data is music data.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

monitoring usage of the content data stored in the remote storage by the user; and

generating promotion data based on the usage.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein the content data is on-demand purchased content data.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

storing purchase history data of the on-demand purchased content data.

17. A non-transitory computer readable medium having computer readable instructions thereon that when executed by a computer of a mobile terminal cause the computer of the mobile terminal to perform a method comprising:

sending, via a wireless communication unit of the mobile terminal, a request for storing content data stored in the mobile terminal to a remote storage so that the content data are stored into the remote storage within a predetermined storage capacity of the remote storage that is assigned to a user of the mobile terminal;

controlling the wireless communication unit to send a request to use an additional storage capacity of the remote storage that exceeds the predetermined storage capacity for storing additional content data;

receiving the content data or the additional content data from the remote storage;

sending content ID and a first request for transferring at least one piece of the content data having the content ID from the remote storage;

receiving the at least one piece of the content data from the remote storage;

storing the received at least one piece of the content data;

receiving a first charge for the first request;

sending the content ID and a second request for transferring again the at least one piece of the content data having a same content ID as the content ID from the remote storage;

receiving again the at least one piece of the content data from the remote storage;

storing again the received at least one piece of the content data; and

receiving a second charge of a smaller amount of money than the first charge for the second request.