System and method for providing publicly vended content via a wireless network

• US 8,041,609 B2
• Filed: 11/12/2009
• Issued: 10/18/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/08/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Aoki, Ken, Eubanks, Gina C., Yukie, Satoru
• Primary Examiner(s): Poinvil; Frantzy
• Application Number:
  US12/617,024
• Publication Number:
  US 20100057588A1
• Time in Patent Office: 705 Days
• Field of Search: 705 10- 44
• US Class Current: N/A
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

A system and method for vending digitized content over an Internet network path, at least a portion of which is wireless, such as an SDMA high data rate directional wireless path. Content in the form of IP packets is provided to a user terminal via a connect server in response to user requests, which can be real-time requests or which can be requests embodied in a user-defined or system-defined user profile. The user is billed using one or more of several billing paradigms, including by the content piece, by the number of IP packets sent to the user, by the length of time the user accesses the system, by the subscription, and so on.

Claims

1. A computer system, comprising:

at least one connect server communicating with a user terminal over a computer network path, the connect server receiving requests for content generated from the user terminal, the connect server accessing a database of publicly vended content to fulfill the requests; and

at least one billing module accessible to the connect server for generating accounting data based at least in part on a type of the user terminal.

2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the network path is a directional wireless path.

3. The computer system of claim 2, wherein the directional wireless path has no telephony switches therein.

4. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the content is provided to the user terminal over the network path in packets.

5. The computer system of claim 4, wherein the packets are in IP protocol format.

6. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the billing module further generates accounting data based on each request received.

7. The computer system of claim 1, wherein at least some requests are embodied in a content subscription, and the billing module further generates accounting data based on the subscription.

8. The computer system of claim 7, wherein the subscription is established at least in part by a user profile.

9. The computer system of claim 4, wherein the billing module further generates accounting data based on a number of packets delivered to the user terminal.

10. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the billing module generates accounting data based at least in part on at least one time period.

11. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the network path has a data transmission rate of at least one megabyte per second (Mbps).

12. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the user terminal is established by a device type, the server detecting the device type and providing content according thereto.

13. A method for vending content, comprising the acts of:

rendering the content in a digitized format;

making the content available on a computer network;

communicating over at least one network path with a user terminal;

sending the content to the user terminal via the network path; and

generating accounting data based at least in part on a number of packets delivered to the user terminal.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein at least a portion of the path is a private wireless path which is a directional path.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the wireless path has no telephony switches therein.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the content is provided to the user terminal over the network in packets.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the packets are in Internet Protocol (IP) protocol format.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein accounting data is further based on a request for a content piece.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein at least some requests are embodied in a content subscription, and the accounting data is further generated based on the subscription.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the subscription is established at least in part by a user profile.

21. The method of claim 14, wherein the private wireless path is a space division multiple access (SDMA) path.

22. The method of claim 14, wherein the accounting data is further generated based at least in part on a type of the user terminal.

23. The method of claim 13, wherein the accounting data is further generated based at least in part on at least one time period.

24. The method of claim 13, wherein the network path has a data transmission rate of at least one megabyte per second (Mbps).

25. The method of claim 13, wherein the user terminal is established by a device type, the device type dictating the content provided thereto.

26. A computer program device comprising:

a computer program storage device readable by a digital processing apparatus; and

a program on the program storage device and including instructions executable by the digital processing apparatus, the program comprising;

means for billing a user for the provision of digitized packetized audio and/or video content from the Internet via a network path to a user terminal associated with the user, wherein the means for billing generates accounting data based at least in part on a user terminal device type, and/or number of packets sent to the user.

27. The computer program device of claim 26, further comprising:

means for receiving a request for a piece of content from the user, the means for billing generating accounting data based at least in part on the request.

28. The computer program device of claim 26, wherein the means for billing further generates accounting data based at least in part on a number of packets sent to the user via the path.

29. The computer program device of claim 26, wherein the path is a private directional wireless path having no telephony switches therein.

30. The computer program device of claim 26, wherein the network path has a data transmission rate of at least one megabyte per second (Mbps).

31. The computer program device of claim 26, further comprising means for determining a user terminal device type, the device type dictating the content provided to the user terminal.