Content data processing system, electronic device apparatus, and server device

• US 7,215,799 B2
• Filed: 03/19/2003
• Issued: 05/08/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/19/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ntt Electronics Corporation (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Ntt Electronics Corporation (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Tokunaga, Keiichiro
• Primary Examiner(s): CHAWAN, SHEELA C
• Application Number:
  US10/393,182
• Publication Number:
  US 20030179914A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,511 Days
• Field of Search: 382/100, 382/115, 382/124, 382/125, 382/116, 380/28, 380/30, 380/54, 713/182, 713/185, 713/186, 713/188, 235/380, 235/375, 340/825, 340/5.1, 340/5.2, 340/5.51, 340/5.53, 707/103.R, 707/2, 707/3, 714/38, 705/58
• US Class Current: 382/125
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/94 Hardware or software architectures specially adapted for image or video understanding
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/12 Fingerprints or palmprints
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure

Abstract

An electronic device apparatus includes: a generating unit for acquiring an authentication image containing an image of a fingerprint of an owner of the electronic device apparatus and/or an image of a possession of the owner, and for generating first authentication image data based on the given acquired authentication image; a write unit for writing the first authentication image data, to a recording medium which the owner has purchased; a read unit for reading given authentication image data from a recording medium to which the given authentication image data and given content data are written; a determination unit for comparing the given authentication image data with the first authentication image data, and for determining whether or not they match with each other; and a processing unit for processing the given content data based on a determination result by the determination unit.

Claims

1. An electronic device apparatus for reading content data from a recording medium to which content data containing at least any one of a program, character data, sound data, video data and image data is written, and for processing the content data, the electronic device apparatus comprising:

an authentication image data generator for acquiring an authentication image containing an image of a fingerprint of an owner of the electronic device apparatus and/or an image of a possession of the owner, and for generating first authentication image data based on the acquired authentication image;

a writer for writing the first authentication image data which is generated by the authentication image generator, to the recording medium which the owner has purchased;

a reader for reading given authentication image data from the recording medium to which the given authentication image data and given content data are written;

an outputter for outputting an input request for an authentication image;

a determiner for comparing the given authentication image data with second authentication image data, and for determining whether or not the given authentication image data matches the second authentication image data in the case where the authentication image data generator has acquired the authentication image inputted based on an output result by the outputter and has generated the second authentication image data based on the acquired authentication image; and

a processor for processing the given content data based on a determination result by the determiner.

2. An electronic device apparatus for reading content data containing at least any one of a program, character data, sound data, video data and image data and performs a process relating to the content data, the content data being transmitted from a service device through a public network, the electronic device apparatus comprising:

a first authentication image data generator for acquiring an authentication image containing an image of a fingerprint of an owner of the electronic device apparatus and/or an image of a possession of the owner, and for generating first authentication image data based on the acquired authentication image;

a first unit configured to stores the first authentication image data;

a second authentication image data generator for acquiring an authentication image containing an image of a fingerprint of a purchaser who purchases the content data and/or an image of a possession of the purchaser and for generating second authentication image data based on the acquired authentication image;

a determiner for comparing the second authentication image data contained in an authentication image-added content, which is generated based on the second authentication image data and the content data with the first authentication image data stored in the first unit, and for determining whether or not the second authentication image data matches the first authentication image data; and

a processor for processing the content data contained in the authentication image-added content based on a determination result by the determiner.

3. The electronic device apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

an authentication image-added content generator for generating an authentication image-added content based on the content data transmitted from the server device and the second authentication image data generated by the second authentication image data generator,

wherein the determiner compares the second authentication image data contained in the authentication image-added content with the first authentication image data stored in the first unit, and determines whether or not the second authentication image data matches the first authentication image data, and

the processor processes the content data contained in the authentication image-added content based on a determination result by the determiner.

4. The electronic device apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

an outputter for outputting an input request for an authentication image in the case where the determiner has determined that the second authentication image data contained in the authentication image-added content does not match the first authentication image data stored in the first storage,

wherein the second authentication image data generator generates in the case that an authentication image is inputted based on an output resulted by the outputter, third authentication image data based on the inputted authentication image,

the determiner compares the third authentication image data with the second authentication image data contained in the authentication image-added content, and determines whether or not the third authentication image data matches the second authentication image data, and

the processor processes the content data contained in the authentication image-added content based on a determination result by the determiner.

5. The electronic device apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising:

a second unit configured to store the authentication image-added content,

wherein the determiner compares the second authentication image data, which is contained in the authentication image-added content stored in the second unit, with the first authentication image data stored in the first storage and/or the third authentication image data, and determines whether or not the second authentication image data matches the first authentication image data or the third authentication image data, and

the processor processes the content data, which is contained in the authentication image-added content stored in the second unit, based on a determination result by the determiner.

6. An electronic device apparatus, processing content data containing at least any one of a program, character data, sound data, video data and image data, the apparatus comprising:

a first acquisition unit configured to acquire an authentication image data of an owner, generated on the basis of a fingerprint image of the owner of the electronic device apparatus;

a second acquisition unit configured to acquire an authentication image data of a purchaser, generated on the basis of a fingerprint image of the purchaser who purchases the content data;

an authorizer configured to authorize use of the content data in the case where the authentication image data of the owner matches the authentication image data of the purchaser; and

a third acquisition configured to acquire an authentication image data of a user, generated on the basis of the fingerprint image of the user of the electric device apparatus in the case where the authentication image data of the owner does not match the authentication image data of the purchaser;

wherein the authorizer authorizes use of the content data in the case where the authentication image data of the user matches the authentication image data of the purchaser, even if the authentication image data of the owner does not match the authentication image data of the purchaser.

7. The electronic device apparatus of claim 6, further comprising:

a first storage configured to store the authentication image data of the owner;

a second storage configured to store the authentication image data of the purchaser; and

a scanner configured to scan the fingerprint image of the user, wherein

the first acquisition unit reads the authentication image data of the owner from the first storage;

the second acquisition unit reads the authentication image data of the purchaser from the second storage; and

the third acquisition unit generates the authentication image data of the user on the basis of the fingerprint image of the user scanned by the scanner.

8. The electronic device apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising:

a receiver configured to receive the content data from a server apparatus connected to the electronic device apparatus via a network, wherein

the content data includes the authentication image data of the purchaser, and

the second acquisition unit extracts the authentication image data of the purchaser from the received content data.

9. An electronic device apparatus, processing content data containing at least any one of a program, character data, sound data, video data and image data, the apparatus comprising:

a first acquisition unit configured to acquire an authentication image data of an owner, generated on the basis of an image of a possession belonging to the owner of the electronic device apparatus;

a second acquisition unit configured to acquire an authentication image data of a purchaser, generated on the basis of an image of a possession belonging to the purchaser who purchases the content data;

an authorizer configured to authorize use of the content data in the case where the authentication image data of the owner matches the authentication image data of the purchaser; and

a third acquisition unit configured to acquire an authentication image data of a user, generated on the basis of an image of a possession belonging to the user of the electric device apparatus, in the case where the authentication image data of the owner does not match the authentication image data of the purchaser;

wherein the authorizer authorizes use of the content data in the case where the authentication image data of the user matches the authentication image data of the purchaser, even if the authentication image data of the owner does not match the authentication image data of the purchaser.