Information system, mobile communication terminal, and information method

• US 7,567,793 B1
• Filed: 11/22/2000
• Issued: 07/28/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Advanced Technology Corporation (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation), NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Nagaoka, Tatsuji, Wakaizumi, Mariko, Saito, Hiroji, Matsuura, Tomoko
• Primary Examiner(s): Bhattacharya; Sam
• Application Number:
  US09/889,841
• Time in Patent Office: 3,170 Days
• Field of Search: 455/3.04, 455/3.06, 455/3.03, 455/414.1
• US Class Current: 455/403
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/26 Arrangements for switching distribution systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/38 Arrangements for distribution where lower stations, e.g. receivers, interact with the broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/32 Arrangements for monitoring conditions of receiving stations, e.g. malfunction or breakdown of receiving stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/66 for using the result on distributors' side
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services

Abstract

A user sends a request signal to a delivery management server 60 by utilizing a mobile station 10 in response to a broadcast service provided by a broadcast station 70. The request signal includes a music song ID of music song data segments which the user wants to be delivered and also an address of the destination to which the music song data segments be delivered. Upon the receipt of the request signal, the delivery management server 60 returns, in the case of unpopular songs, the music song data segments and a decrypting key for decrypting the data segments, and on the other hand, it returns, in the case of popular songs, only the decrypting key to the mobile station 10 or a STB 40. The mobile station 10 or the STB 40 decodes, in the case of unpopular songs, the music song data segments received from the delivery management server 60 by utilizing the decrypting key therefor and on the other hand, it receives, in the case of popular songs, the music song data segments in the broadcast waves provided from the broadcast station 70 and then decrypts data segments by utilizing the decrypting key received from the delivery management server 60.

Claims

1. An information delivery system comprising:

a database that stores a first content item having a high frequency of requests and a second content item having a lower frequency of requests;

a broadcast station that broadcasts the first content item by utilizing broadcast waves;

a mobile communication terminal served by a mobile communication network; and

a delivery management server that, in response to a request for delivering information received from the mobile communication terminal, determines whether a requested content item comprises the first content item or the second content item stored in the database, and when the requested content item comprises the first content item, transmits only related information of the requested content item to the mobile communication terminal, and when the requested content item comprises the second content item, transmits at least the requested content item to the mobile communication terminal.

2. The information delivery system of claim 1 wherein the delivery management server transmits a decryption key for the first content item as related information when the requested content item comprises the first content item without transmitting the first content item.

3. The information delivery system of claim 1 wherein the delivery management server transmits the requested content item and related information of the requested content item when the requested content item comprises the second content item.

4. The information delivery system of claim 3 wherein the delivery management server transmits a decryption key for the second content item as the related information of the requested content item.

5. The information delivery system of claim 1 wherein the first content item comprises a song of a first song type and wherein the delivery management server transmits a decryption key for the song of first song type as the related information, the decryption key to be received by the mobile communication terminal and used by the mobile communication terminal to decrypt the song of the first song type broadcast by the broadcast station.

6. The information delivery system of claim 5 wherein the second content item comprises a song of a second song type and wherein the delivery management server transmits a decryption key for the song of the second song type and the song of the second song type, the song of the second type to be received by the mobile communication terminal and the decryption key to be used by the mobile communication terminal to decrypt the song of the second song type.

7. A mobile communication terminal operative in conjunction with a mobile communication network, the mobile communication terminal comprising:

radio circuitry configured to transmit a request for delivering information stored in remote database over the mobile communication network, the request specifying a requested content item which is a first content item having a high frequency of requests or a second content item having a lower frequency of requests, the radio circuitry further configured to receive transmissions which include only related information of the requested content item when the requested content item is the first content item and to receive transmissions including at least the requested content item when the requested content item comprises the second content item.

8. The mobile communication terminal of claim 7 wherein the radio circuitry comprises:

a wireless communication unit to transmit the request and to receive the related information; and

a tuner to receive broadcast waves of a broadcast of the first content item.

9. The mobile communication terminal of claim 8 wherein the wireless communication circuit is operative to receive a decryption key for the first content item as the related information when the requested content item comprises the first content item, the decryption key for decrypting the first content item received by the tuner.

10. The mobile communication terminal of claim 8 wherein the user interface is further operative to be actuated by the user to select a network address of a destination to which the selected information is to be delivered.

11. The mobile communication terminal of claim 8 wherein the radio circuitry is operative to transmit a request signal which includes identification information for the mobile communication terminal and information about the information is to be delivered selected by the user.

12. The mobile communication terminal of claim 11 wherein the radio circuitry is operative to transmit a request signal which further includes an address of a delivery management server.

13. The mobile communication terminal of claim 7 further comprising:

a user interface operative to prompt a user to select information to be delivered and to be actuated by the user to select the information to be delivered to the mobile communication terminal.

14. A method for receiving selected information at mobile communication terminal operative in conjunction with a mobile communication network, the method comprising:

receiving from a user of the mobile communication terminal a selection of a requested content item, the requested content item which is stored in a remote database accessible over the mobile communication network, the requested content item being a first content item having a high frequency of requests or a second item having a lower frequency of requests;

transmitting a request for delivering information, the request specifying the requested content item;

receiving transmissions which include only related information of the requested content item when the requested content item is the first content item; and

receiving transmissions including at least the requested content item when the requested content item comprises the second content item.