CN1816986B - Display, display method and display control program - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a display device for retrieving and displaying list information on broadcast contents, in which list information corresponding to a program broadcast before or after can be displayed without making a complicated key operation. The information server 2 transmits a list of music pieces broadcast in a specified time period to the terminal device 1 in accordance with a retrieval key such as a date and time period from the terminal device 1. The terminal device 1 displays a list of received musical compositions on the display section 1 a. At this time, the instruction item for displaying the list of music broadcast before and after is displayed together with the list of received music. The user is allowed to display the list of musical compositions broadcast in the preceding or subsequent time period only by performing the operation selection instruction item linked to the selection operation for a musical composition in the list of musical compositions without returning to other screens or re-specifying the retrieval condition.

Description

Display, display method and display control program

(1) Technical field

The present invention relates to a communication device for acquiring information on broadcast contents through a communication line, and a display method and a display control program for displaying the information. In particular, the present invention relates to a communication device, a display method, and a display control program capable of acquiring and displaying list information of broadcast content by requesting to retrieve the list information.

(2) Background technology

In recent years, broadcasting stations for FM broadcasting and the like are increasingly providing users with information about programs along with normal broadcasting through websites. For example, there is known a service for publishing on a website a list of musical composition numbers or artist names broadcast or scheduled to be broadcast in programs. When there is any favorite musical composition among the broadcasted musical compositions, a user watching the broadcast can access a website to know the number of musical compositions or an artist by designating a broadcast date and time or a program name. For example, a music CD (compact disc) containing the musical composition can be purchased at a CD store.

In recent years, it is assumed that a home audio device or a portable information processing terminal capable of receiving radio broadcasting has a function that can access a server that provides the above service to acquire and display music piece information. In this case, for example, when any favorite musical composition is broadcast in a broadcast program being received by the audio device, the user makes a predetermined operation on the audio device to enable the audio device to access the server. Thus, the audio device acquires information on the musical composition, displays it on the screen and notifies the user of it. It is also proposed that when wishing to know information of a musical composition broadcast in the past, the user designates a date and time period on the audio device, and the audio device receives the information of the musical composition or its list retrieved on the server side according to this designation, and sends It is displayed on the screen.

As a technique related to the prior art, there is a retrieval apparatus in which retrieval operations are simplified to shorten the time required for retrieval. This retrieval device has retrieval means for searching a search term input from a storage medium through an input device in an explanatory sentence, and displays a list of search words. An explanatory sentence corresponding to the search word selected by the user is retrieved from the list and displayed. When the user performs an input operation on a specific input portion while the explanatory sentence is displayed, the display device switches from the display screen of the explanatory sentence to the input screen of the search word (for example: see Patent Document 1)

[Patent Document 1] Published Pending Patent Application No.: 10-105569 (paragraphs [0021]-[0026], Figure 1)

In addition, when the user accesses the server by specifying a date and time period to retrieve the music and its list, it may result in the information of the music from time to time. For example, when a user memorizes a wrong broadcast time zone, there is a case where a retrieval key such as a date or a time zone is naturally changed and transmitted to the server again. This operation is easy to perform on a PC. However, audio devices, portable information terminals, etc. have fewer input keys than PCs, etc. and do not allow character input, resulting in a problem that it is not easy to make this operation.

Contents of the invention

The present invention has been achieved in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a display device for retrieving and displaying list information on broadcast contents, in which list information corresponding to programs broadcast before or after can be displayed without making a Complicated key operations.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a display method for retrieving and displaying list information on broadcast contents, in which list information corresponding to previously or later broadcast programs can be displayed without making complicated key operations.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a display control program for retrieving and displaying list information on broadcast contents, in which list information corresponding to programs broadcast before or after can be displayed without making complicated key operations.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a display device for displaying information on broadcast content acquired through a communication line, including: sending means for sending a retrieval key for specifying part of list information from list information of broadcast content, Receiving means for receiving at least part of the list information according to the retrieval key, and display means for displaying the part of the list information received by the receiving means and an instruction item requesting display of list information corresponding to programs broadcast before/after the list information.

Here, the transmission means transmits a retrieval key specifying partial list information from the list information of the broadcast content to, for example, an external information server. The receiving means receives at least part of the list information based on the retrieval key from the retrieval key transmission destination. For example, at least list information of programs matching the search key is received, and list information corresponding to programs broadcast before/after the program of interest may be additionally received. And, the display device displays the list information received by the receiving device according to the retrieval key. An instruction item requesting display of list information corresponding to programs broadcast before/after the list information of interest is displayed together with the list information. On this screen display, the user can select an instruction item and instruct display of list information corresponding to programs broadcast before/after the displayed list information by one operation connected to an operation for selecting list information displayed on the display means.

The display device of the present invention displays at least part of the list information on the display means based on the transmitted retrieval key and an instruction item requesting display of the list information corresponding to the program broadcast before/after the part of the list information, so that the user can select The operation selection instruction item connected to the operation of the displayed list information and instructs to display the list information corresponding to the programs broadcast before/after the partial list information. Therefore, the display device can display list information corresponding to previous/later broadcast programs without making complicated key operations such as going back again to the step of designating a retrieval key.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the operating principle of a network system according to the present invention;

2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a network system according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration example of a broadcast station server;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an appearance of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

5 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

6 is a diagram showing a program configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 7 is a flow chart showing the screen display in the terminal device in the process of retrieving and tailoring information processing in the broadcasting station server;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a screen display in a terminal device from the start of retrieval to selection of a retrieval method;

Fig. 9 is a diagram of a screen display example in a terminal device when a time period search is selected;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen display in a terminal device when program retrieval is selected;

FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing the flow of information retrieval processing between the terminal device and the broadcasting station server when time zone retrieval is selected;

12 is a flow chart and a first flow chart showing information retrieval processing between a terminal device and a broadcasting station server when program retrieval is selected;

13 is a second flowchart showing the flow of information retrieval processing between the terminal device and the broadcasting station server when program retrieval is selected;

14 is a diagram showing the entire configuration of a music-related service providing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 15 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the client terminal with functional circuit blocks;

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a directory configuration;

Fig. 17 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the port server with functional circuit blocks;

Fig. 18 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the music data distribution server by functional circuit blocks;

Fig. 19 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the physical sales server with functional circuit blocks;

Fig. 20 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the radio broadcast information distribution server by functional circuit blocks;

FIG. 21 is a program chart showing a user authentication program between a client terminal and a port server;

Fig. 22 is a procedure chart showing the user authentication procedure between the client terminal and the music data distribution server;

Fig. 23 is a program chart showing a music data distribution service providing program;

FIG. 24 is a program diagram showing a physical distribution service provider;

FIG. 25 is a program diagram showing the radio broadcast information (broadcast list information) distribution service provider program (1); and

Fig. 26 is a program chart showing the radio broadcast information (real-time broadcast information) distribution service providing program (2).

Best Embodiment for Carrying Out the Invention

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings

(1) Principle of operation of the network system according to the present invention

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the operating principle of a network system according to the present invention. Referring to Fig. 1, the present invention will be described.

The network system shown in FIG. 1 has a terminal device 1 and an information server 2 according to the present invention, both of which are connected via a network 3 .

The terminal device 1 includes a display section 1a for displaying information and the like received from the information server 3, and a selection section 1b for enabling the user to select display items on the display section 1a. Also, the terminal device 1 may include a tuner 1c or the like for receiving broadcasts such as FM radio or the like. This terminal device 1 may be an audio device or a portable information processing device such as a PDA or the like. The terminal device 1 has functions of receiving broadcasts and outputting audio or images through the tuner 1c, and requesting the information server to retrieve information and receive and display on the display section 1a by specifying retrieval conditions such as broadcast date and time input by the user function of the retrieved information.

The information server 2 includes: a database (DB) 2a storing information on music pieces broadcast from predetermined broadcasting stations and information on broadcast programs, and a retrieval engine 2b for retrieving the DB 2a. The information server 2 extracts predetermined information about musical pieces or programs and their lists from the DB 2a using the retrieval conditions transmitted from the terminal device 1, and transmits them to the terminal device 1. The terminal device 1 and the information server 2 each include a communication interface (I/F) (not shown) for transmitting and receiving data via the network 3 .

In this network system, a user can view broadcasts with a terminal device 1 . Also, if there is any favorite piece of music among the broadcast pieces, the user can request the information server 2 to retrieve information according to the retrieval conditions by specifying the broadcast date and time period, and view the retrieval result from the information server 2 on the display section 1a. At this time, if an unwanted retrieval result is obtained (for example, information of a desired music piece is not obtained because the user misremembers the broadcast date or time period), the user needs to change the retrieval condition.

Here, a list of information acquired by retrieval is displayed on the screen 1 d of the terminal device 1 to display the retrieval result from the information server 2 . Examples of this list include: a list of programs broadcast on a specified date, a list of musical pieces broadcast in each program, and a list of musical pieces broadcast during a specified time period.

In addition, the terminal device 1 simultaneously displays on the screen 1d an instruction item for displaying the previous list and the subsequent list within the designated temporary range as the retrieval condition. When displaying the list of the tunes broadcast in the program in the specified time period, for example, the terminal device 1 displays an instruction item for displaying the list of the tunes broadcast in the program in the previous and next time period of the specified time period, or with An instruction item for displaying a list of tunes broadcast at previous and next times of a program in a designated time period, and a list of tunes in a predetermined time period. Also, when displaying a list of programs broadcast on a specified date, the terminal device 1 displays instruction items for displaying a list of broadcast programs on the day before and the day after the current date.

The user can display more detailed information on the terminal device 1 by selecting and confirming desired information from the display list of music or programs by manipulating, for example, two up and down direction keys on the selection part 1b. The terminal device 1 acquires this information from the information server 2, for example. Equally, when there is no desired music or program in the displayed list of music or programs, the user can use the up key to select and determine the instruction item for displaying the previous list or subsequent list by performing a series of operations, thereby further according to the selected The command item displays the preceding list or the following list.

When selecting and determining the instruction item for displaying the previous list or subsequent list, the terminal device 1 redesignates the retrieval conditions such as date and time period to the time before or after now, and requests the information server 2 to retrieve the information again, And read and display the new retrieval result from information server 2.

Or when receiving the search result, the terminal device 1 also receives the search result according to the previous and subsequent conditions temporarily before and after the current search condition each time, and only displays information that meets the current search condition on the display part 1a, and Temporarily store retrieval results based on previous and subsequent conditions. If an instruction item for displaying a previous list or a subsequent list is selected and determined, the terminal device 1 can read information from temporarily stored information according to the instruction item and display it on the display section 1a.

In this way, the terminal device 1 displays an instruction item for displaying the previous list and the subsequent list and the retrieval result list, and allows the user to select the item by performing a sequence of operations for selecting the list, so that the user obtains the desired retrieval result. And through the network system, the user easily acquires retrieval results by configuring devices such as audio devices and portable information processing devices like the terminal device 1 in which characters cannot be input and only a few input keys.

(2) The first embodiment

The first embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail below by taking a network system as an example. In the following examples, the process for saving (storing) information about a song or album in auxiliary memory is called trimming. The information saved by clipping is called clipping information.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a network system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The terminal device 10 is connected to various servers through the network 30 . The network 30 is, for example, the Internet. The servers include: a CD title information providing server 31 , a radio station server 32 , a music distribution server 33 , a CD shop server 34 , an Internet radio server 35 and a general service server 36 .

The CD title information providing server 31 provides a service for distributing titles of music pieces or album titles of music pieces recorded on commercially available music CDs.

The broadcasting station server 32 is managed by a broadcasting station 37 for FM broadcasting or television (TV) broadcasting, etc. and makes a service (real-time broadcasting) that provides information related to broadcasting tunes or programs. The relevant information supplied from the broadcasting station server 32 is information broadcast in each program, or information on musical pieces scheduled to be broadcast. More specifically, the broadcasting station server 32 provides a list by retrieving the music pieces broadcast in the desired program or scheduled to be broadcast, the name of the music pieces or the artist name of each music piece, and the name or identifier (ID) of the CD album on which the music pieces are recorded. information. In the following description, the list of tunes that are broadcast or scheduled to be broadcast is referred to as a broadcast list.

The music distribution server 33 performs a service of distributing digital audio data (music piece data) of musical pieces. For example, the music distribution server 33 provides the music piece data to the terminal device 10 of the user who has executed the program to purchase the music piece. The music distribution server 33 can also provide information about distributed musical pieces or audio data for listening.

The CD shop server 34 accepts mail order orders for music CDs. The CD shop server 34 also performs a distribution service of audio data for listening, and a service of providing information on musical pieces recorded on CDs for sale.

Internet radio server 35 provides audio programming over a wide area network such as the Internet.

The general service server 36 functions as a window (entry site) for providing services through the network 30, and mediates various general services by using each server or the like. For example, the total service server 36 distributes to the terminal device 10 information indicating a distribution source of related information of broadcast musical pieces (for example: URL: Uniform Resource Locator). The general service server 36 also assigns to the terminal device 10 the call sign of the broadcasting station corresponding to the frequency in the reception area. In addition, the general service server 36 performs the registration procedure of the user to use the above-mentioned various general services and the authentication procedure of the user at the time of use.

In this way, a plurality of servers make a service of providing information on music pieces or music collections on the network 30 . That is, each server is used as a source of music pieces or music collections on the network 30 .

The music distribution server 33 and the CD shop server 34 are musical piece sales servers. Therefore, if the user accesses the music piece on sale server by operating the terminal device 10, the user can actually purchase a music piece or a music collection through the network 30. The user of the terminal device 10 can download musical piece data from the music distribution server 33 by executing the purchase program for the music distribution server 33 . The user of the terminal device 10 can also get a music CD delivered to the door by executing the purchase program for the CD shop server 34 .

The terminal device 10 saves a local source of music pieces or music collections on a recording medium such as a CD 29a, an MD (MiniDisc) 29b, or a hard disk drive (HDD: Hard Disk Drive) 21. The CD 29a and MD 29b are portable recording media, and are easily mounted on or detached from the terminal device 10. Which local source is prepared for the terminal device 10 depends on the kind and purpose of the terminal device 10 . The terminal device 10 is also capable of receiving broadcast content at the antenna 26 .

A local source of compositions or collections is shown in FIG. 2 . That is, if the recording medium is on the local terminal device 10, the terminal device 10 allows the recording medium to be used as a local source of the music piece or the music collection by recording the music piece or the music collection on the recording medium.

The terminal device 10 includes a cropping information storage device 21a for storing relevant information (cropping information) of cropping. The cropping information storage device 21 a is an auxiliary storage device for the terminal device 10 . For example, the terminal device 10 enables a part of the storage area of the HDD to be used as the cropping information storage device 21a. The terminal device 10 is capable of tailoring music pieces and music collections. Thereby, the related information of the favorite music is recorded by cutting out the entire FM program, CD collection, etc. containing a plurality of favorite music.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the broadcast station server 32 .

The broadcast station server 32 is entirely controlled by a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The CPU 32a is connected to a RAM (Random Access Memory) 32b, a hard disk drive (HDD) 32c, a graphics processing section 32d, an input interface (I/F) 32e, and a communication interface (I/F) 32f through a bus 32g.

The RAM 32b temporarily stores OS (Operating System) programs and at least part of application programs executed by the CPU 32a. The RAM 32b also stores various data required for processing by the CPU 32a. HDD 32c stores OS and application programs. The HDD 32c also stores audio data provided for the terminal device 10.

The graphics processing section 32d is connected to a display 32h. The graphics processing section 32d displays images on the screen of the display 32h according to instructions from the CPU 32a. The input interface 32e is connected to a keyboard 32i and a mouse 32j. The input interface 32e sends a signal transmitted from the keyboard 32i or the mouse 32j to the CPU 32a via the mouse 32g.

The communication interface 32f is connected to the network 30 . The communication interface 32 f makes it possible to transmit or receive data from another computer via the network 30 .

With the above hardware configuration, the processing functions of this embodiment can be realized. Although the hardware configuration of the broadcast station server 32 is typically illustrated in FIG. 3, other servers may be constructed with the same component configuration.

In addition, the terminal device 10 according to the present embodiment also has a reproduction function of reproducing music as an audio device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the appearance of the terminal device 10 .

As shown in FIG. 4, the terminal device 10 according to the present embodiment has an appearance similar to a typical system composition. The terminal device 10 is composed of a main body 10 a , speakers 25 a , 25 b and a remote controller 40 . The device main body 10a has a CD reproducing function, an MD recording/reproducing function, and a receiving function for FM broadcast and TV broadcast. The audio signal generated by the apparatus main body 10a is sent to the speakers 25a, 25b, and the sound is output from the speakers 25a, 25b.

The device main body 10 a is provided with a display 17 . On the display 17, the music piece information of the reproduced music piece and the trimming information of the music piece saved by trimming can be displayed.

The remote controller 40 is an input device for remote-controlling the apparatus main body 10 . The remote controller 40 is provided with a plurality of operation keys. If the user presses an operation key, the remote controller 40 transmits a signal corresponding to the pressed operation key to the main body 10a using a communication method such as infrared rays.

The operation keys include direction keys 41 a - 41 d , a decision key 42 , function selection keys 43 a - 43 c , a tool key 44 and a return key 45 .

For example, the position of the cursor or focus displayed on the display 17 is moved using the arrow keys 41a-41d. The four direction keys 41a-41d correspond to up, down, left and right directions, respectively. By this, the cursor moves in the direction corresponding to the pressed direction key.

The content displayed on the display 17 is determined using the determination key 42 .

Functions are selected using the function selection keys 43a-43c. For example, three function selection keys 43a-43c are respectively associated with general service usage function, tuner function and local content management function. If the function selection key is pressed, the device main body 10a is set in the operation mode corresponding to the pressed function selection key.

The tool key 44 is a button for displaying a tool menu on the display 17 . In the tool menu, commands corresponding to those displayed on the display 17 are displayed. If the user presses the decision key by operating the direction keys 41a-41d, the terminal device 10 executes a process corresponding to the selected command.

The return key 45 is a button for returning the display content of the display 17 to the previous state.

The remote controller 40 may be provided with a plurality of operation keys other than those shown in FIG. 4 . Such keys include, for example, a volume adjustment key, a CD or MD playback key, and a stop key.

The internal configuration of the terminal device 10 will be explained below.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the terminal device 10. As shown in FIG. The terminal device 10 shown in FIG. 5 can manage, record, and reproduce various sources of music and the like.

A CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11 performs the entire control and arithmetic operations of the terminal device 10 according to the activated program. For example, the CPU 11 performs communication operations through the network 30, input/output operations for users, content reproduction and trimming operations from media, storage of content into the HDD 21 and its management, and retrieval of information through the network 30 based on trimming information. Content data that can be recorded and reproduced by the terminal device 10 of this embodiment includes audio content data and moving image content data. The CPU 11 transmits control signals and data to or receives control signals and data from each circuit part through the bus 12.

A ROM (Read Only Memory) 13 stores operating programs executed by the CPU 11, program loading programs, various arithmetic operation coefficients, and parameters for the programs. Programs executed by the CPU 11 are also expanded in the RAM (Random Access Memory) 20. The RAM 20 is also used as a data area and a task area required for the CPU 11 to perform various processes.

The operation input section 15 has various operators such as operation keys, a jog dial, and a touch panel provided on the casing of the terminal device 10 . The terminal device 10 may be provided with a keyboard or a mouse as an operation input section 15 for operating a GUI (Graphical User Interface). Information input by the operation input section 15 is subjected to predetermined processing in the input processing section 14 and sent to the CPU 11 as an operation command. The CPU 11 operates the device by performing required arithmetic operations and controls in response to input operation commands.

The display processing section 16 is connected to a display device such as a liquid crystal display as a display 17 . Various kinds of information are displayed on the display 17 . If the CPU 11 supplies display information to the display processing section 16 in response to the operating state, input state, and communication state, the display processing section 16 displays the supplied display data on the display 17. For example, the content of music information distributed from a server or the like or the content of trimming information is displayed on the display 17 . The display 17 also displays the search results of the music searched through the network 30 .

The media drives 19c and 19d are drives for recording or reproducing (or reproducing only in several recording media) the contents of music pieces recorded on portable recording media. The number of types of recording media that can be recorded or reproduced by each of the media drives 19c and 19d is not limited to one. That is, the media drives 19c and 19d are capable of recording and reproducing data for various recording media. For example, the media drive 19c can reproduce CDs and DVDs (Digital Versatile Discs), and the media drive 19d can record and reproduce MDs.

Portable recording media for recording the contents of musical pieces are not limited to optical recording media such as CDs or DVDs. For example, the recording medium may be constituted by a semiconductor memory such as a flash memory that stores content. In this case, a reader/writer for flash memory is connected to the bus 12 .

The user inserts a recording medium (CD, DVD, MD, etc.) recording any content into the media drive 19c, 19d, and performs a predetermined operation on the remote controller 40 to enjoy music. For example, the user operates the remote controller 40 to issue a reproduction instruction to the media drive 19c, and the CPU 11 instructs the media drive 19c to reproduce the content. In response, the media drive 19c accesses and reads specific content from the mounted recording medium.

When the content thus read is audio content, the content is subjected to decoding processing under the control of the CPU 11 as necessary, and transferred to the audio output processing section 24. The audio output processing section 24 performs sound field processing such as equalization or volume adjustment, D/A conversion, amplification, and other processing on the audio data output from the speaker section 25 . As shown in FIG. 4, the speaker section 25 may be composed of a plurality of speakers 25a, 25b to output stereo sound.

Contents reproduced by the media drives 19c and 19d under the control of the CPU 11 can be accumulated in the HDD 21 as audio data files. The format of the audio data file may be a CD format of digital audio data with 16-bit quantization and a sampling frequency of 44.1 KHz. The content may also be compressed audio data subjected to a predetermined compression process to save the capacity of the HDD 21. Although the compression method is not limited, for example, ATRAC (Advanced Transition Acoustic Coding, trademark) or MP3 (MPEG Audio Layer-3) method or the like can be employed.

The tuner section 27 is an AM/FM radio tuner that demodulates broadcast signals received at the antenna 26 under the control of the CPU 11. Of course, the tuner section 27 may be a TV tuner, a satellite broadcast tuner or a digital broadcast tuner. The demodulated broadcast audio signal is subjected to predetermined processing in the audio output processing section 24 and output from the speaker section 25 as broadcast audio.

The communication processing section 22 executes encoding processing of data for transmission and decoding processing of data for reception under the control of the CPU 11. The network interface 23 transmits the transmission data encoded by the communication processing section 22 to a predetermined external network processing device through the network. The network interface 23 transmits a signal transmitted from an external network processing device through a network to the communication processing section 22 . The communication processing section 22 transmits the received information to the CPU 11. The information received via the network 30 may include music piece information or the like of a program broadcast on FM radio or music piece information or the like contained in the title of a CD.

The infrared communication section 28 communicates with the remote controller 40 by wireless communication means using infrared rays or the like. The infrared communication section 28 performs predetermined processing on a signal transmitted from the remote controller 40, and transmits it to the CPU 11 as an operation command. The CPU executes arithmetic operations and controls required to operate the device in response to input operation commands.

The configuration of the terminal device 10 is not limited to the configuration of FIG. 5 but may be modified in various ways. For example, the terminal device 10 may be provided with an interface with peripheral devices according to a communication method such as USB (Universal Serial Bus), IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 1394, Bluetooth. And, in the terminal device 10, the audio content downloaded from the network 30 through the network interface 23, or the audio content transmitted through the USB or IEEE1394 interface can be stored in the HDD 21. The terminal device 10 may also be provided with a terminal for connecting a microphone or an external earphone, a video output terminal for reproducing a DVD, a line connection terminal, an optical digital connection terminal, and the like. The terminal device 10 may also be configured with a PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) slot, a memory card slot, or the like to enable data communication with an external information processing device or an audio device.

The configuration of the program modules in the system of the present embodiment will be described below. The program module is information explaining processing executed by the terminal device 10 . Thus, the terminal device 10 realizes predetermined functions according to the program modules. In the following description, a program module name is used to refer to a function realized by executing the program module.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a program module configuration of the terminal device 10 .

As shown in FIG. 6, the program modules of the terminal device 10 operate on the OS. The terminal device 10 communicates with the CD title information providing server 31, broadcasting station server 32, music distribution server 33, CD store server 34, Internet radio server 35, general service server 36 and other various servers by the functions of each program module.

The HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) message program 111 enables communication with various servers including the CD title information providing server 31 , broadcasting station server 32 , CD shop server 34 , general service server 36 . The communication device program 112 is a communication module that performs various communications with the general service server 36 and the like.

A content reproduction module 113 for translating and reproducing codec of content and a copyright protection information management module 114 for processing information on copyright protection are located at the upper layer of the communication device program 112 (functions like a user interface). On an upper layer of the content reproduction module 113, an Internet radio selection reproduction module 118 for selecting and reproducing Internet radio is provided. On the upper layer of the copyright protection information management module 114, a musical piece purchase reproduction module 119 for managing the purchase of musical pieces and the reproduction of music is provided.

On the upper layer of the Internet radio selection reproduction module 118 and the musical piece purchase reproduction module 119, an XLM (Extensible Markup Language) browser 151 is provided. The XML browser 151 translates the contents of XML files transmitted from various servers, and displays them on the screen of the display 17 . When the terminal device 10 is in the general service usage mode, the XML browser 151 translates the content input into the terminal device 10 by the user. And the processing request etc. based on this input content is sent from the XML browser 151 to another module in it. For example, the melody selected by the user through the XML browser 151 is purchased in the melody purchase reproduction module 119 and written into the HDD 21 by the hard disk controller 117.

The verification library 131 of the program library 130 is connected to the communication device program 112 . The authentication library 131 performs authentication processing for the general service server 36 and other servers.

In addition, a database access module 115 , a content data access module 116 , and a hard disk content controller 117 are provided at an upper layer of the communication device program 112 . The database access module 115 can use various databases constituted in the HDD 21. The content data access module 116 can use the content stored in the HDD 21. The hard disk contents controller 117 manages the contents stored in the HDD 21.

On the upper layer of the hard disk content controller 117, a related information display module 120, a tuner selection reproduction/recording module 121, and a tune purchase reproduction module 119 are provided. The related information display module 120 displays, on the display 17, titles of music pieces broadcast by radio stations, artist names, and the like. The tuner selection reproducing/recording module 121 selects a radio station, and records the content of the tune received from the radio station in the HDD 21.

For example, a tune received from a radio station selected through the audio user interface (AudioUI) 152 is written in the HDD 21 through the content data access module 116.

The related information display module 120 receives, as related information, titles, artist names, etc. of music pieces currently being broadcast by radio stations in the tuner selection reproduction/recording module 121 from the CD title information providing server 31, the broadcasting station server 32, etc. through the HTTP message program 111. , and display the relevant information on the display 17 through the audio user interface 152 .

The relevant information displayed on the display 17 through the audio user interface 152 may be temporarily stored in the clipping library 132 of the program library 130 . It is also possible to finally store relevant information in the HDD 21 through the database access module 115.

In addition, the program modules of the terminal device 10 include a CD reproducing module 141 for reproducing a CD and an HDD reproducing module 142 for reproducing an HDD 21. And the CD reproduction module 141 and the HDD reproduction module 142 output reproduction results from the CD and the HDD to the audio data processing section 24 and the speaker 25, respectively.

Cropping processing with the terminal device 10 will be described below.

The terminal device 10 allows clipping of information on music pieces or music collections residing on the respective storage media in the terminal device 10 or on the network 30 and saved as clipping information. The most basic trimming process is to acquire relevant information about musical pieces broadcast from the corresponding broadcast station server 32 when receiving FM broadcast or the like. In this case, for example, the terminal device 10 acquires the latest relevant information (information about tunes that have been broadcast or are scheduled to be broadcast) by accessing the broadcast station server 32 corresponding to the broadcast station during a timing interval of, for example, 30 seconds. And if the cropping operation of the user is detected, the relevant information received at that moment is saved as the cropping information.

The clipping-related information includes the music name and artist name of the music piece, the album name in which the music piece is recorded, and the identification number ID of the album. For example, the user accesses the music distribution server 33 or the CD store server 34 with the terminal device 10, and notifies the server of the identification number ID of the album in the trimming information to make an album purchase procedure.

In the trimming process, related information may be stored as trimming information in units of music pieces or music albums. For example, in the trimming process of receiving a broadcast, one trimming information may be stored at the time of trimming in a unit of a list of music pieces broadcast in a program during the broadcast (broadcast list).

The information that can also be acquired and saved through the trimming process with the information from the broadcast station server 32 is not limited to the music piece or the music collection including the information currently being broadcast. The user designates date, time period, etc. as search conditions at the terminal device 10, transmits them to the broadcast station server 32, and acquires a music piece or a music collection as a search result. Select and trim the desired information from the acquired information, and save it as trimmed information.

The process for retrieving data from the broadcast station server 32 and clipping will be described in detail below.

First, the entire process will be outlined.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the flow of a screen displayed on the terminal device 1 in a process of retrieving data from a broadcasting station server and clipping.

On the terminal device 10 , the function selection key 43 c of the remote controller 40 is pressed to establish a function for retrieving data from the broadcast station server 32 . Here, as an example, if information for FM broadcasting is retrieved, a screen 171 for selecting an FM station appears on the display 17 .

If an FM station is selected on the screen 171 by the user's operation, a screen 172 for selection and retrieval methods appears on the display 17 . The retrieval methods include a method for retrieving musical pieces broadcast in a time zone by specifying a date and a time zone and a method for retrieving musical pieces after specifying a date and selecting a program broadcast on that date. Hereinafter, the former method will be referred to as "time slot retrieval" and the latter method will be referred to as "program retrieval".

If time slot retrieval is selected on the screen 172 , a screen 173 for specifying a date and time slot appears on the display 17 . The CPU 11 retrieves data from the broadcast station server 32 using the date and time period specified on the screen 173 as a retrieval key, and displays a list of retrieval results on the screen 174. On the screen 174 is displayed a list (broadcast list) of musical pieces broadcast on a specified date and time period.

The CPU 11 can select (cut out) a piece of music from among those displayed on the screen 174, and information about the music will be saved. The CPU 11 can also crop the displayed total list of music pieces, ie, the broadcast list itself and save information about each music piece. The CPU 11 also displays the saved cropping information on the screen 175 after cropping.

On the other hand, if program retrieval is selected on the screen 172, the CPU 11 displays a screen 176 for specifying a date on the display 17. And the CPU 11 retrieves data from the broadcasting station server 32 using the date designated on the screen 176 as a retrieval key, and displays on the screen 177 a list of programs broadcast on that day.

In addition, if the user selects any program on the screen 177, the CPU 11 further retrieves data from the broadcast station server 32, and displays on the screen 178 a list of the tunes broadcast in the program. On the screen 178, like the screen 174, the user can trim any one of the displayed tunes or the broadcast list itself so that trimming information is displayed on the screen 175.

Here, a specific screen display example of each screen is shown. First, FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a screen display example from the start of the search to the selection of the search method.

Figure 8A shows an example of a screen 171 for selecting an FM station. On the screen 171, a list of FM radio station names is displayed in a selection portion 171a. The user selects a desired broadcast station name from the selection section 171a with the direction keys 41a and 41b of the remote controller 40, and decides it by pressing the decision key 42.

FIG. 8B also shows an example of a screen 172 for selecting a retrieval method. The user selects a time zone retrieval or program retrieval item in the selection portion 172a of the screen 172 with the arrow keys 41a and 41b, and presses the decision key 42 in the same manner as above to determine it.

Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a screen display when a time slot search is selected.

FIG. 9A shows an example of a screen 173 for designating a date and a time period. After positioning the cursor with the arrow keys 41a and 41b and pressing the decision key 42, the user specifies a desired date in the input portion 173a of the screen 173 by selecting the number displayed on the pull-down screen with the arrow keys 41c and 41d. In the input portion 173a, the current date may be displayed as initially indicated.

If the user selects and determines an item of a desired time period from the selection portion 173b in which the time period list is displayed after the specified date, the CPU 11 executes retrieval. The method for specifying the time period is not limited to the above-mentioned method, but the user may input, for example, a numerical value. The time period can also be specified without hours.

For example, the retrieval results are displayed as shown in FIG. 9B. If the user selects and decides the command item 174a on this screen, the CPU 11 can crop the displayed broadcast list itself. In the selection section 174b, a list of musical pieces broadcast during a specified time period is displayed as a broadcast list. The user can select and decide a desired musical piece item in the selection section 174b, request to cut out the musical piece and display and save information about the musical piece.

Also, in many cases, the user may not remember the date and time period when the broadcast search target has a music piece at the time of retrieval. Therefore, because the user mistakenly inputs a date or a time period on the screen 173, there is a high possibility that the desired musical piece is not displayed on the screen 174. The user who was not able to hear the broadcast confirms the music piece broadcast in the time period that the user did not hear by sequentially changing the time period. In this case, the operation is required to return from the screen 174 to the screen 173 and specify the date or time period again.

For example, it is easier to redesignate the retrieval conditions on a PC or the like using the numeric keys. However, since the terminal device 10 has only a limited number of input keys, the operation of redesignating retrieval conditions is not easy.

Therefore, the CPU 11 displays the instruction items 174c and 174d for requesting display in the preceding time period and the subsequent time period of the designated time period and the retrieval result on the screen 174 for displaying the retrieval result (here, broadcast list) . The CPU 11 enables selection of the instruction item 174c or 174d by a system operation including a selection operation of each music piece in the selection section 174b. That is, the user can select each item of the selection portion 174b and any one of the instruction items 174c and 174d using only the direction keys 41a and 41b. The CPU 11 can display the broadcast list corresponding to the previous or subsequent time period of the designated time period when the user selects and decides the command items 174c and 174d.

Retrieval criteria are often respecified to request information from previous or subsequent time periods. Therefore, since the instruction items 174c and 174d are displayed, the retrieval means allows the user to redesignate retrieval conditions and display new information without degrading the user's operability even when a limited number of input keys are provided.

Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen display when program retrieval is selected.

FIG. 10A shows an example of a screen 176 for designating a date. On the screen 176, the user specifies a desired date in the input portion 176a (eg, the input portion 173a on the screen 173) using the direction keys 41a-41d and the decision key 42. Then, if the user selects and decides on the instruction item 176, the CPU 11 executes retrieval.

For example, the retrieval results are as shown in Fig. 10B. FIG. 10B shows a screen 177 showing a list of programs broadcast on a specified day. The user can select and confirm a desired program item from the selection section 177a displaying a list of program names, thereby requesting a list of music pieces broadcast in the program (broadcast list).

Like screen 174, on screen 177, the date previously entered on screen 176 may also be wrong in some cases. Therefore, the CPU 11 displays the instruction items 177b and 177c and the program list for displaying the program list of the previous and next date on the screen 177, and makes it possible to select by the operation in which the selection operation of each program is connected in the selection part 177a. Instruction items 177b and 177c. Therefore, the user can change the retrieval date without performing any operation for inputting the date again by returning to the previous screen.

When any one of the program titles in the selection section 177a is selected and decided, the CPU 11 shifts the display screen to the screen 178 for displaying the broadcast list of the program, as shown in FIG. 10c. If the user selects and decides the instruction item 178a on the screen 178, the CPU 11 can crop the displayed broadcast list itself. A list of tunes broadcast in the designated program is also displayed as a broadcast list in the selection section 178b. The user can select and decide any piece of music in the selection section 178b, cut out the piece, and request to display and save information about the piece.

In addition, the CPU 11 displays instruction items 178c and 178d for displaying a list of musical pieces broadcast in the program at the previous time and a list of musical pieces scheduled to be broadcast in the program at the next time and the retrieved broadcast list for the program. The CPU 11 makes it possible to select the instruction items 178c and 178d by operations linked to the selection operations of the respective music pieces in the selection section 178b. Thus, the CPU 11 enables the user to display the broadcast list of the same program at the previous or next time and cut out the music, without the user needing to change the date or select the program by switching the screen.

A specific example of processing from selecting a retrieval method to tailoring a broadcast list will be described below.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of information retrieval processing between the terminal device 10 and the broadcast station server 32 when time zone retrieval is selected.

The flowchart of FIG. 11 is started by the user selecting time zone retrieval when the screen 172 for selecting a retrieval method is displayed on the display 17 of the terminal device 10 . In step S11 , the terminal device 10 displays the screen 173 for specifying the date and time zone, and accepts an input date and time zone from the user's input operation with the remote controller 40 . And the terminal device 10 transmits the input information to the broadcast station server 32 as a search condition.

In step S12, the broadcasting station server 32 having received the retrieval condition retrieves the broadcasting list on the specified date and time period from the database. In step S13, the broadcast station server 32 also retrieves a broadcast list corresponding to time periods before and after the designated time period. And in step S14 , the broadcast station server 32 transmits to the terminal device 10 the broadcast list conforming to the specified time period and the broadcast list in the time period before and after it.

In step S15, the terminal device 10 displays on the display 17 the broadcast list matching the specified time period and the instruction item for displaying the broadcast list matching the time periods before and after it in the information received from the broadcast station server 32 (corresponding to screen 174). The terminal device 10 also temporarily stores broadcast lists in previous and subsequent time periods received from the broadcast station server 32 in the RAM 20, for example.

In step S16, if the user selects an instruction item for displaying a broadcast list in the previous or subsequent time period on the displayed screen, the terminal device 10 proceeds to step S17. In step S17, the terminal device 10 displays on the display 17 a corresponding broadcast list selected from the broadcast lists temporarily stored in the RAM 20 in step S16. And the terminal device 10 designates the time period selected in step S16 as a new retrieval condition, and transmits it to the broadcast station server 32 .

In this way, the terminal device 10 receives and temporarily stores broadcast lists before and after the specified time period and broadcast lists conforming to the specified time period, so that when there is a display request for the broadcast lists in the previous and subsequent time periods, the stored broadcast lists can be displayed immediately. broadcast list.

The broadcast station server 32 retrieves the broadcast list in the preceding and subsequent time periods of the time period newly designated in step S17, and transmits the retrieval result to the terminal device 10 (corresponding to steps S13 and S14). The terminal device 10 temporarily stores the received broadcast list in the RAM 20 (corresponding to step S15). At this time, the displayed broadcast list does not change.

If a tune item in the broadcast list is selected, that is, trimming is made in step S16, the terminal device 10 ends the retrieval process. And the terminal device 10 requests the broadcast station server 32 to transmit information about the specified music piece, receives this information, and stores it in the HDD 21 as cropping information, and displays it on the display 17.

Through the above processing, it is possible to immediately display the broadcast list in the previous and subsequent time slots and crop it without the user needing to switch screens to change the date or time slot.

12 and 13 are flowcharts showing information retrieval processing between the terminal device 10 and the broadcast station server 32 when program retrieval is selected.

The flowchart of FIG. 12 is started by the user selecting program retrieval when a screen 172 for selecting a retrieval method is displayed on the display 17 of the terminal device 10 . In step S21, the terminal device 10 displays a screen 176 for specifying a date. When the date is input by the user's input operation, the terminal device 10 transmits the input information to the broadcast station server 32 as a retrieval condition.

In step S22, the broadcasting station server 32 receiving the retrieval condition retrieves the program broadcast on the specified date from the database. In step S23, the broadcast station server 32 also retrieves programs broadcast on the day before and the day after the specified date. And in step S24 , the broadcasting station server 32 transmits the program list of the specified date and its previous and subsequent dates to the terminal device 10 .

In step S25, the terminal device 10 displays on the display 17 the program list of the specified date and the instruction item for displaying the broadcast list of the time period before and after it in the information received from the broadcast station server 32 (with the screen 177 corresponding). The terminal device 10 also temporarily stores in the RAM 20 broadcast lists of previous and subsequent dates received from the broadcast station server 32.

In step S26, if the user selects an instruction item for displaying the broadcast list of the previous or subsequent date, the terminal device 10 proceeds to step S27. In step S27, the terminal device 10 displays on the display 17 the broadcast list corresponding to the one selected from the broadcast list temporarily stored in the RAM 20 in step S25 in step S26. The terminal device 10 then designates the time period selected at step S26 as a new retrieval condition, and transmits it to the broadcast station server 32 . In this way, the terminal device 10 receives and temporarily stores broadcast lists before and after the specified date and broadcast lists conforming to the specified date, so that when there is a display request for the broadcast lists in the previous and subsequent dates, the stored broadcast lists can be displayed immediately.

The broadcasting station server 32 retrieves the broadcasting list in the previous and subsequent dates of the date newly designated in step S27, and transmits the retrieval result to the terminal device 10 (corresponding to steps S23 and S24). The terminal device 10 temporarily stores the received broadcast list in the RAM 20.

If a program item is selected from the program list at step S26, the terminal device 10 requests the broadcast station server 32 to retrieve the program as a retrieval key, and proceeds to step S28 in FIG. 13 . In step S28, the broadcast station server 32 retrieves a list of musical pieces broadcast in the newly designated program (ie, a broadcast list corresponding to the designated date and designated program). In step S29, the broadcast station server 32 also retrieves the broadcast list broadcast at the previous time for the designated program. If the broadcast list of the same program scheduled to be broadcast at the next time is accumulated in the database. In step S30 , the broadcast station server 32 transmits the broadcast list of the specified program and the broadcast list of the previous and next time to the terminal device 10 .

In step S31, the terminal unit 10 displays on the display 17 (corresponding to the screen 178). The terminal device 10 also temporarily stores in the RAM 20 the broadcast lists of the previous and next times received from the broadcast station server 32.

In step S32, if the user selects an instruction item for displaying the broadcast list at the previous or next time on the display screen, the terminal device 10 proceeds to step S33. In step S33, the terminal device 10 displays on the display 17 the corresponding broadcast list selected in step S32 from among the plurality of broadcast lists temporarily stored in the RAM 20 in step S32. And the terminal device 10 transmits control information such as tag information to the broadcast station server 32, and requests the broadcast list of the program at the time corresponding to the selection in step S32.

In this way, the terminal device 10 receives and temporarily stores the broadcast list of the previous and next time and the broadcast list of the program of the specified date, so that when there is a display request for the broadcast list of the previous and next time of the same program, it can be displayed immediately. Displays the list of stored broadcasts.

The broadcast station server 32 retrieves broadcast lists of programs at times before and after the time specified in step S33, and transmits the retrieval result to the terminal device 10 (corresponding to steps S29 and S30). The terminal device 10 temporarily stores the received broadcast list in the RAM 20 (corresponding to step S31).

If the tune in the broadcast list is trimmed in step S32, the terminal device 10 ends the retrieval process. And the terminal device 10 requests the broadcast station server 32 to transmit information about the specified music piece, receives this information, and stores it in the HDD 21 as cropping information, and displays it on the display 17.

Through the above processing, the user can immediately display the program list of the previous and next date and the broadcast list of the same program at the previous and next time without changing the date or program name by switching screens, and performing a selection operation.

In the above flowchart, when there is a retrieval request to the broadcasting station server 32, the list matching the retrieval condition and its previous and subsequent lists are simultaneously received at the terminal device 10, but of course only the listing matching the retrieval condition can be received. In this case, when any instruction item for displaying its previous and subsequent lists displayed together with the list is selected, the terminal device 10 requests the broadcast station server 32 again for a list matching the retrieval condition which has been changed according to the selection. Therefore, when an instruction item is selected, the terminal device 10 receives a corresponding list from the broadcast station server 32 and then displays the list on the display 17 . Therefore, there may be a time delay from selection of an instruction item to display of the list in the processing of the terminal device 10 depending on the conditions of the network 30 or the broadcasting station server 32 .

The processing function of the terminal device 10 is realized by a program executed by the CPU 11 of the terminal device 10 describing the contents of processing. The processing function can also be realized in a computer by executing the same program in the CPU of the computer. A program explaining the contents of processing may be recorded on a recording medium readable in the terminal device 10 or a computer. Examples of the recording medium include magnetic recording devices, optical discs, magneto-optical recording media, and semiconductor memories. Examples of magnetic recording devices include HDDs, floppy disks (FD), and magnetic tapes. Examples of optical disks include DVD, DVD-RAM, CD-ROM, and CD-R (recordable)/RW (readable). An example of a magneto-optical recording medium is MO (Magneto Optical Disk).

In a distributed program, a portable recording medium such as a DVD or a CD-ROM recording the program is sold. The program can also be stored in a storage device of a server computer and transferred from the server computer to another computer over a network.

The terminal device 10 or computer executing the program stores the program recorded in the portable recording medium or the program transferred from the server computer in its own storage device. In the case of the terminal device 10, the program is stored in the HDD 21, for example. The terminal device 10 or computer reads the program from its own storage device and executes processing according to the program. The terminal device 10 or the computer can directly read the program from the portable recording medium and execute processing according to the program. Each time the program is transferred from the server computer, it can be processed according to the received program.

(3) The second embodiment

A service system in which the broadcast station server 32 provides a program list or a broadcast list service through one of a plurality of service servers will be described in detail below in detail according to the second embodiment of the present invention. This service system has a single start command function.

(3-1) System configuration of music-related service provision system

In FIG. 14, reference numeral 1000 refers to an entire music-related service providing system, which includes: a client terminal 1002 of a user who has signed a contract with an operator of the music-related service providing system 1000, a port server 1003 that manages the client terminal 1002, and provides information to the client terminal. 1002 provides a plurality of servers 1004-1008 for various music related services.

In this embodiment, the music data distribution server 1004 provides the client terminal 1002 for distribution with ATRAC 3 (Adaptive Transformation Acoustic Coding 3), AAC (Advanced Audio Coding), WMA (Windows Media Audio), RealAUDIO G2 music codec player, music data in MP3 (MPEG Audio Layer-3) format.

The physical sales server 1005 also provides a physical sales service for selling CDs (Compact Disks), DVDs (Digital Versatile Disks), and the like to users of the client terminal 1002 .

In addition, the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 provides a radio broadcast information distribution service for distributing a broadcast program of a radio broadcast broadcast from a radio station to the client terminal 1002 or radio broadcast information about music.

In addition, the Internet radio server 1007 provides an Internet radio broadcast service for broadcasting radio broadcast data to the client terminals 1002 in the form of streaming distribution through the network NT1000 corresponding to the Internet.

In addition, the accounting server 1008 executes charging processing for charging various fees from the user in response to requests from the port server 1003 and the like.

(3-2) Functional circuit block configuration of the client terminal 1002

The hardware configuration of the client terminal 1002 having functional circuit blocks will be described below. The client terminal 1002 has an operation input section 1020 having various operation buttons provided on the surface of the cabinet and in a remote controller (not shown), and when the user operates the operation input section 1020, the operation input section 1020 recognizes the operation performed by the user. operation, and an operation input signal according to the operation is sent to the input processing section 1021, as shown in FIG. 15 .

The input processing section 1021 converts the operation input signal given from the operation input section 1020 into a specific operation command and sends the operation command to the control section 1023 through the bus 1022 .

The control section 1023 controls the operation of each circuit in accordance with an operation command given from each circuit connected through the bus 1022 .

The display control section 1024 performs digital-to-analog conversion processing on the video data supplied through the bus 1022 , and sends the processed analog video signal to the display section 1025 .

The display section 1025 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display, and may be mounted directly or on the surface of the housing.

When the processing result of the control section 1023 or various video data is supplied as an analog video signal through the display control section 1024, the display section 1025 displays video according to the analog video signal.

The audio control part 1026 performs digital-to-analog conversion processing on the audio data through the bus 1022 , and sends the processed analog audio signal to the speaker 1027 . The speaker 1027 outputs audio based on the analog audio signal supplied from the audio control section 1026 .

The external recording medium recording-reproducing section 1028 is a recording-reproducing unit for reading and reproducing contents recorded in an external recording medium such as a CD or a memory stick (registered trademark) having a flash memory contained in a case data, or record the content data of the recording object in an external recording medium.

When reading video data from an external recording medium as content data, the external recording medium recording-reproducing section 1028 supplies the read video data to the display control section 1024 via the bus 1022 .

Thus, the display control section 1024 converts video data, which is content data read from the external recording medium by the external recording medium recording-reproducing section 1028 , into an analog video signal and supplies it to the display section 1025 .

When reading audio data from an external recording medium as content data, the external recording medium recording-reproducing section 1028 also supplies the audio data read through the bus 1022 to the audio control section 1026 .

Thus, the audio control section 1026 converts audio data which is content data read from the external recording medium by the external recording medium recording-reproducing section 1028 into an analog audio signal and supplies it to the speaker 1027 .

In addition, the control section 1023 may transmit the content data read from the external recording medium by the external recording medium recording-reproducing section 1028 to the storage medium 1029 in the client terminal 1002 through the bus 1022, and store the content data in the storage medium 1029. (hereinafter, storing content data in the storage medium 1029 is referred to as splitting (ripping))

When reading video data such as image data or video data as content data from the storage medium 1029 , the control section 1023 supplies the read video data to the display control section 1024 via the bus 1022 .

When reading audio data such as audio data as content data from the storage medium 1029 , the control section 1023 also supplies the read audio data to the audio control section 1026 via the bus 1022 .

In addition, the control section 1023 may read music data from the storage medium 1029 and transfer it to the external recording medium recording-reproducing section 1028 so that the external recording medium recording-reproducing section 1028 can record the music data in the external recording medium.

The broadcast signal receiving section 1030 receives radio broadcast waves sent from various broadcast stations, and supplies them to the tuner section 1031 .

The tuner section 1031 extracts a radio broadcast signal from the radio broadcast wave received by the broadcast signal receiving section 1030 at a broadcast frequency corresponding to the radio station designated by the operation input section 1020 under the control of the control section 1023, and performs a pair radio broadcasting signal. The broadcast signal undergoes predetermined reception processing to send the processed audio data to the audio control section 1026 via the bus 1022 .

The audio control section 1026 converts the audio data given from the tuner section 1031 into an analog audio signal and sends it to the speaker 1027 to output the program audio of the broadcast program broadcast on the radio station, so that the user can hear the program of the broadcast program audio.

The control section 1023 can also record program audio of a broadcast program by transmitting the audio data acquired from the tuner section 1031 to the storage medium 1029 and storing it in the storage medium 1029 .

In addition, the control section 1023 is connected to the network NT 1000 to access the port server 1003 and other servers 1004-1007 by sequentially passing through the communication control section 1032 and the network interface 1033. Various information and data are thereby sent to or received from the port server 1003 and other servers 1004-1007.

The encoder/decoder 1034 performs compression and encoding of content data received from the network NT 1000 through the communication control section 1032 and the network interface 1033 in sequence, or compressed and encoded content data read from the storage medium 1029 or an external recording medium. decoded, and send the decoded data to the display control section 1024 or the audio control section 1026.

The encoder/decoder section 1034 compresses and encodes uncompressed and encoded content read from an external recording medium, audio data given from the tuner section 1031, etc., and transmits the compressed and encoded content data to the storage medium 1029 .

The content data compressed and encoded by the encoder/decoder section 1034 is thereby stored in the storage medium 1029 under the control of the control section 1023 .

The copyright management section 1035 generates copyright management information corresponding to content data downloaded from the network NT 1000 via the network interface 1033 and the communication control section 1032 or read from an external recording medium by the external recording medium recording-reproducing section 1028.

Under the control of the control section 1023, the copyright management information generated by the copyright management section 1035 is registered in the storage medium 1029 in association with the content data.

When checking or registering content data associated with copyright management information between the storage medium 1029 and a specific external recording medium, the copyright management section 1035 protects the content data of the content data by appropriately updating the content data of the copyright management information corresponding to the content data. copyright.

The page information generation section 1036 generates the XML (Extensible Markup Language) file, HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) file, etc. received from the network NT 1000 through the network interface 1033 and the communication control section 1032 in order to be displayed on the display section 1025 by translating and send the generated video data to the display control section 1024.

The authentication processing section 1037 executes authentication processing for sending authentication information to the port server 1003 and other servers 1004-1007 connected through the network interface 1033 on the network NT 1000 through the communication control section 1032 and the network interface 1033 in sequence.

The authentication information storage section 1038 stores authentication information acquired when the authentication processing section 1037 accesses the port server 1003 and other servers 1004-1007.

The radio broadcast display control section 1039 transmits a request signal requesting radio broadcast information on currently received radio broadcasts for the user to radio stations corresponding to radio stations broadcasting radio programs received through the communication control section 1032 and the network interface 1033 in sequence. Broadcast information distribution server 1006 .

As a result, the radio broadcast display control section 1039 displays the radio broadcast information on the display section 1025, including: receiving the current status of the radio broadcast information transmitted from the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 on the network NT 1000 through the network interface 1033 and the communication control section 1032 in sequence. The program name of the received radio program and the title and artist name of the currently received music piece and the received radio broadcast information are sent to the display control section 1024 .

The control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002 manages content data stored in the storage medium 1029 in the directory structure shown in FIG. 16 . First, create any number of "folder" directories one level below the "root" directory, where that number is within a certain range. This "folder" directory is created corresponding to the kind or owner user of the content.

One level below the "folder" directory, create any number of "album" directories, where the number is within a certain range. The "album" directory corresponds to, for example, an album name. In the lower level of the "album" directory, one or more "track" files belonging to the "album" directory are stored, wherein the "track" file becomes a piece of music or content.

Directory management of content data is performed based on a database file stored in the storage medium 1029 .

(3-3) Functional circuit block configuration of the port server 1003 .

Referring to Fig. 17, the hardware configuration of the port server 1003 having functional circuit blocks will be explained below. The control section 1050 of the port server 1003 controls the operations of the respective circuits connected through the bus 1051 .

The communication control section 1052 transmits or receives various information to or from the client terminal 1002 and other servers 1004-1008 through the network interface 1053 under the control of the control section 1050.

The customer database section 1054 registers user ID (identification) information and password information associated therewith of users who contract with the operator of the music-related service providing system 1000 as customer information.

The page information storage section 1055 stores page information and the like managed by the operator of the music-related service providing system 1000 .

The page information is described in XML language or the like and includes URL (Uniform Resource Locator) information for accessing the music data distribution server 1004, physical sales server 1005, radio broadcast information distribution server 1006, and Internet radio server 1007.

The authentication processing section 1056 receives user ID information and password information transmitted from the client terminal 1002 through the network interface 1053 and the communication control section 1052 in sequence, and determines whether the received user ID information and password information are registered as customer information in the customer terminal 1002 as user authentication processing. In the database section 1054.

Then if the user authentication process ends, the authentication processing section 1056 transmits portable authentication information indicating the result of the user authentication process (such as authentication session ID information described below) and the transmitted portable authentication result information is temporarily stored in the authentication information storage section 1057.

At this time, when the user is authenticated as a regular user as a result of the user authentication processing by the authentication processing section 1056, the control section 1050 sequentially uses the information stored in the page information storage section 1055 through the communication control section 1052 and the network interface 1053. The person's information is sent to the client terminal 1002 together with the portable verification result.

When the user is not authenticated as a regular user as a result of the user authentication processing by the authentication processing section 1056, the control section 1050 may transfer the authentication error information and the instruction stored in the page information storage section 1055 through the communication control section 1052 and the network interface 1053 in sequence. The verification failure notification page information of the verification failure is sent to the client terminal 1002 together.

If the portable authentication acquired and transmitted from the user's client terminal 1002 is received through the network interface 1053 and the communication control section 1052 sequentially as a result of performing user authentication processing from the music data distribution server 1004, the physical sales server 1005, and the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 Result information (the verification ticket described below), the verification processing part 1056 compares the received portable verification result information with the portable verification result information corresponding to the user temporarily stored in the verification information storage part 1057.

Thus, the verification processing section 1056 performs confirmation processing for confirming whether the portable verification result information is official as verification processing of the portable verification result information received from the music data distribution server 1004, the physical sales server 1005, and the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006, And returns confirmation result information indicating its confirmation result to music data distribution server 1004, physical sales server 1005 and radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 via communication control section 1052 and network interface 1053 in this order.

The frequency information storage section 1058 correlatively stores frequency information indicating an area code such as a zip code that can specify an area, frequencies of radio broadcasts that can be received in an area indicated by the area code thereof, numbers of radio stations broadcasting radio programs, etc. A name (hereinafter referred to as a radio station name) and a call sign which are identification information unique to each radio station.

The URL storage section 1059 stores the call sign of each radio station used for radio broadcasting in association and can acquire information about the on-broadcast information provided from the radio station corresponding to the call sign, which is composed of the program name of the broadcast program and the title of the music piece being broadcast in the radio broadcast. URL information of radio broadcast information (hereinafter specifically referred to as real-time broadcast information) of a broadcast program.

(3-4) Functional circuit block configuration of the music data distribution server 1004

Referring to Fig. 18, the hardware configuration of the music data distribution server 1004 having functional circuit blocks will be explained below. The control section 1070 in the music data distribution server 1004 controls the operations of the respective circuits connected through the bus 1071 .

The communication control section 1072 transmits various information and data such as content data to or receives various information and data from the client terminal 1002 and the portable terminal 1003 through the network interface 1073 under the control of the control section 1070. Data such as content data.

The customer database section 1074 registers, as customer information, user ID information of users who have made a contract with the operator of the music data distribution server 1004 and password information associated therewith. If the authentication processing section 1075 has a function of authenticating the user based on the portable authentication result information issued by the port server 1003 and transmitted from the client terminal 1002, the customer database section 1074 may not be provided.

The page information storage section 1076 stores page information and the like for music data distribution to import downloadable music data, page information and the like managed by the music data distribution server 1004 .

In this regard, page information for music data distribution is described in XML language, and allows the user using the client terminal 1002 to select music data desired to be downloaded.

If a page information acquisition request signal transmitted from the client terminal 1002 requesting page information for music data distribution is received through the network interface 1073 and the communication control section 1072 in sequence, the control section 1070 sequentially passes through the communication control section in response to the page information acquisition request signal. 1072 and network interface 1073 transmit the page information for music data distribution stored in the page information storage section 1076 to the client terminal 1002.

The authentication processing section 1075 receives user ID information and password information of a user using the client terminal 1002 transmitted from the client terminal 1002 sequentially through the network interface 1073 and the communication control section 1072, and confirms the received user ID information and password information as user authentication processing Whether or not it is registered in the customer database 1074 as customer information.

As user authentication processing different from user authentication processing using user ID information and password information, the authentication processing section 1075 receives a portable authentication result issued by the port server 1003 and transmitted from the client terminal 1002 through the network interface 1073 and the communication control section 1072 in sequence. information (the verification ticket described below) and the received portable verification result information is sent to the port server 1003 through the communication control part 1072 and the network interface 1073 in sequence.

The verification processing part 1075 receives the confirmation result information through the network interface 1073 and the communication control part 1072 sequentially, and the confirmation result information is executed as a response to the transmission of the portable verification result information to the port server 1003 for the verification process for the portable verification result information (i.e. confirmation processing) result and return from the port server 1003, and confirm whether the user is an official user who has concluded a contract with the operator of the music-related service providing system 1000 according to the received confirmation result information.

Thus, if the user authentication processing ends, the authentication processing section 1075 issues server authentication result information (service session ID information described below) indicating the result of the user authentication processing.

At this time, when the user is authenticated as a regular user as a result of the user authentication processing by the authentication processing section 1075, the control section 1070 will store the page information stored in the page information storage section 1076 for the contractor through the communication control section 1072 and the network interface 1073 in sequence. Page information for music data distribution is sent to the client terminal 1002 together with server authentication result information.

Conversely, when the user is not authenticated as a regular user as a result of the user authentication processing by the authentication processing section 1075, the control section 1070 may transfer the authentication error information and the page information stored in the page information storage section 1076 through the communication control section 1072 and the network interface 1073 in sequence. The verification failure notification page information indicating the verification failure is sent to the client terminal 1002 together.

In addition, the authentication information storage section 1077 temporarily stores server authentication result information issued by the authentication processing section 1075 and various authentication information required when the authentication processing section 1075 performs user authentication processing for a user using the client terminal 1002 .

The music data storage section 1078 stores a plurality of music data compressed and encoded in the ATRAC3 or MP3 format and retrieval keys such as content ID information associated with each music data.

The retrieval section 1079 receives a download request signal requesting to download desired music data and stores a retrieval key for retrieving desired music data via the network interface 1073 and the communication control section 1072 in sequence, as the page information for music data distribution is sent to The client terminal 1002 results in a download request signal sent from the client terminal 1002, and extracts the retrieval key from the received download request signal.

The retrieval section 1079 retrieves music data desired to be downloaded from a plurality of music data in the music data storage section 1078 based on the retrieval key according to the retrieval condition indicated by the retrieval key.

Thus, the control section 1070 transmits the retrieved music data desired to be downloaded to the client terminal 1002 via the communication control section 1072 and the network interface 1073 in sequence.

The control section 1070 sequentially transmits accounting information of the user's accounting process caused by downloading music data to the client terminal 1002 to the accounting server 1008 through the communication control section 1072 and the network interface 1073 to perform the accounting process of downloading the music data to the user.

(3-5) Functional Circuit Block Configuration of Physical Sales Server 1005

Referring to Fig. 19, the hardware configuration of the physical sales server 1005 having functional circuit blocks will be explained below. The control section 1090 in the physical sales server 1005 controls the operation of each circuit connected through the bus 1091 .

The communication control section 1092 transmits or receives various information to or from the client terminal 1002, the portable terminal 1003, etc. through the network interface 1093 under the control of the control section 1090.

The customer database section 1094 registers, as customer information, user ID information of a user who has made a contract with the physical sales server 1005 and password information associated therewith. If the authentication processing section 1095 has a function of authenticating the user based on the portable authentication result information issued by the port server 1003 and transmitted from the client terminal 1002, the customer database section 1094 may not be provided.

The page information storage section 1096 stores page information and the like for sale of media packs to import media packs, page information of sales targets such as CDs or DVDs managed by the music data distribution server 1004 .

In this regard, the page information for sale of the media package is described in XML language, and the user using the client terminal 1002 is allowed to select a media package such as CD or DVD desired to be downloaded.

The control section 1090 sequentially receives a page information acquisition request signal transmitted from the client terminal 1002 through the network interface 1093 and the communication control section 1092 requesting page information for media pack sales, and then sequentially communicates in response to the received page information acquisition request signal. The control section 1092 and the network interface 1093 transmit the page information for media pack sales stored in the page information storage section 1096 to the client terminal 1002 .

The authentication processing section 1095 receives user ID information and password information of a user using the client terminal 1002 transmitted from the client terminal 1002 through the network interface 1093 and the communication control section 1092 in sequence, and confirms the received user ID information and password information as user authentication processing Whether or not is registered in the customer database section 1094 as customer information.

As user authentication processing different from user authentication processing using user ID information and password information, the authentication processing section 1095 receives portable authentication result information issued by the port server 1003 and transmitted from the client terminal 1002 through the network interface 1093 and the communication control section 1092 in sequence (the verification ticket described below) and transmits the received portable verification result information to the port server 1003 through the communication control part 1092 and the network interface 1093 in sequence.

The authentication processing section 1095 receives confirmation result information through the network interface 1093 and the communication control section 1092 sequentially as a response to transmitting the portable authentication result information to the port server 1003 to perform authentication processing for the portable authentication result information (i.e., confirmation). processing) is returned from the port server 1003, and confirms whether the user is an official user who has signed a contract with the operator of the music-related service providing system 1000 according to the received confirmation result information.

Thus, if the user authentication processing ends, the authentication processing section 1095 issues server authentication result information (service session ID information described below) indicating the result of the user authentication processing.

At this time, when the user is authenticated as a regular user as a result of the user authentication processing by the authentication processing section 1095, the control section 1090 will store the page information stored in the page information storage section 1096 for the contractor through the communication control section 1092 and the network interface 1093 in sequence. The page information for media pack sales is sent to the client terminal 1002 together with the server verification result information.

Conversely, when the user is not authenticated as a regular user as a result of the user authentication processing by the authentication processing section 1095, the control section 1090 may transfer the authentication error information and the page information stored in the page information storage section 1096 through the communication control section 1092 and the network interface 1093 in sequence. The verification failure notification page information indicating the verification failure is sent to the client terminal 1002 together.

In addition, the authentication information storage section 1097 temporarily stores server authentication result information issued by the authentication processing section 1095 and various authentication information required when the authentication processing section 1095 performs user authentication processing for a user using the client terminal 1002 .

The media package information storage section 1098 stores a plurality of media package information of sales objects such as CDs or DVDs (hereinafter referred to as media package information) and retrieval keys such as media package ID information associated with each media package information.

Retrieval part 1099 receives the media information request signal of requesting the media pack information of the specific media pack such as CD or DVD through network interface 1093 and communication control part 1092 successively, and this media request signal is as the page that will be used for media pack sales. The result of information transmission to the client terminal 1002 is transmitted from the client terminal 1002, and a retrieval key for retrieving a specific media package is extracted from the received media information request signal.

The retrieval section 1099 retrieves media package information of a specific media package from among a plurality of media package information in the media package information storage section 1098 based on the retrieval key according to the retrieval condition indicated by the retrieval key.

Thereby, the control part 1090 transmits the retrieved media package information to the client terminal 1002 through the communication control part 1092 and the network interface 1093 in sequence, and presents the media package information about the specific media package to the user.

The control section 1090 receives, through the network interface 1093 and the communication control section 1092, a purchase request signal transmitted from the client terminal 1002 requesting the purchase of a specific media package, and then executes purchase processing including transmitting the specific media package to the user using the client terminal 1002. .

The control section 1090 sequentially transmits the accounting information for the accounting process of the user's purchase of a specific media package to the accounting server 1008 through the communication control section 1092 and the network interface 1093 to perform the accounting process for the user's purchase of the specific media package.

In addition, if the accounting server 1008 completes the user's accounting processing, the control section 1090 transmits purchase completion page information indicating completion of the purchase processing of the media package to the client terminal 1002 through the communication control section 1092 and the network interface 1093 in sequence.

(3-6) Functional Block Configuration of Radio Broadcasting Information Distribution Server 1006

Referring to Fig. 20, the hardware configuration of the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 having functional circuit blocks will be explained below. A control section 1110 in the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 controls operations of circuits connected via a bus 1111 .

The communication control section 1112 transmits or receives various information to and from the client terminal 1002 and the portable terminal 1003 through the network interface 1113 under the control of the control section 1110 .

The customer database section 1114 registers, as customer information, user ID information of users who have made a contract with the operator of the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 and password information associated therewith. If the authentication processing section 1115 has a function of authenticating the user based on the portable authentication result information issued by the port server 1003 and transmitted from the client terminal 1002, the customer database section 1114 may not be provided.

Page information storage section 1116 stores broadcast list information for distributing (hereinafter called broadcast list information) page information, etc.

In this regard, the page information for distribution of the broadcast list information is described in XML language, and has a function for allowing the user using the client terminal 1002 to input the desired acquisition using the broadcast date and time information or the program name of the broadcast program as a search key. Input box for broadcast information, etc.

The broadcast list information storage section 1117 stores broadcast list information generated by listing the program names, program broadcast start times, and program broadcast end times of broadcast programs that have been broadcast at the radio stations corresponding to the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006, and in the broadcast programs. The name of the broadcast, the artist name, the music broadcast start time of the music, and the like.

The control section 1110 sequentially receives a page information acquisition request signal requesting page information for allocating broadcast information transmitted from the client terminal 1002 through the network interface 1113 and the communication control section 1112, and then sequentially passes through in response to the received page information acquisition request signal. The communication control section 1112 and the network interface 1113 transmit the page information for allocating broadcast list information stored in the page information storage section 1116 to the client terminal 1002 .

Next, the retrieval section 1118 sequentially receives a broadcast list information request signal requesting download of the broadcast list information transmitted from the client terminal 1002 through the network interface 1113 and the communication control section 1112, and stores information for retrieval wishing acquisition and input. Regarding the search key of the broadcast list information of the page information assigned to the broadcast list information, the search key is extracted from the received broadcast list information request signal.

The retrieval section 1118 retrieves a predetermined range part of the broadcast list information as broadcast list information from the entire broadcast list information in the broadcast list information storage section 1117 based on the retrieval key according to the retrieval condition indicated by the retrieval key.

Thus, the control section 1110 transmits the retrieved desired broadcast list information to the client terminal 1002 via the communication control section 1112 and the network interface 1113 in sequence.

The real-time broadcast information storage section 1119 stores the real-time broadcast information and the program name, program broadcast start time, and program broadcast end time of the broadcast programs currently broadcast at the radio stations corresponding to the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 and the information currently broadcast in the broadcast programs. The title of the song, artist name and song broadcast start time, etc.

The authentication processing section 1115 receives, through the network interface 1113 and the communication control section 1112, the user ID information and password information of the user using the client terminal 1002 transmitted together with the real-time broadcast information request signal requesting acquisition of real-time broadcast information from the client terminal 1002, and uses the information as The user authentication process confirms whether the received user ID information and password information are registered in the customer database section 1114 as customer information.

As user authentication processing different from user authentication processing using user ID information and password information, authentication processing section 1115 receives portable authentication result information transmitted from port server 1003 and transmitted from client terminal 1002 through network interface 1113 and communication control section 1112 in sequence (the verification ticket described below), and transmits the received portable verification result information to the port server 1003 through the communication control part 1112 and the network interface 1113 in sequence.

The authentication processing section 1115 sequentially receives confirmation result information via the network interface 1113 and the communication control section 1112 from The port server 1003 returns, and confirms whether the user is an official user who has concluded a contract with the operator of the music-related service providing system 1000 according to the received confirmation result information.

Thus, if the user authentication processing ends, the authentication processing section 1115 issues server authentication result information (service session ID information described below) indicating the result of the user authentication processing.

At this time, when the user is authenticated as a regular user as a result of the user authentication processing by the authentication processing section 1115, the control section 1110 sequentially transfers the real-time broadcast information stored in the real-time broadcast information storage section 1119 and The server verification result information is sent to the client terminal 1002 together.

Conversely, when the user is not authenticated as a regular user as a result of the user authentication processing by the authentication processing section 1115, the control section 1110 may transfer the authentication error information and the page information stored in the page information storage section 1116 through the communication control section 1112 and the network interface 1113 in sequence. The verification failure notification page information indicating the verification failure is sent to the client terminal 1002 together.

In this way, when a user requests to acquire real-time broadcast information, if the user is authenticated as an official user, the control section 1110 distributes the real-time broadcast information, and if the user is not authenticated as an official user, then stops the radio broadcast information provided by the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006. Broadcast information distribution service, for example: a distribution service for distributing real-time broadcast information to users for receipt by users.

In addition, the authentication information storage section 1120 temporarily stores server authentication result information issued by the authentication processing section 1115 and various authentication information required when the authentication processing section 1115 performs user authentication processing on a user using the client terminal 1002 .

(3-7) Outline of processing by each server

Referring to the program flowcharts shown in FIGS. 21-26, the following will briefly describe the processing performed between the client terminal 1002 and the port server 1003 and the communication between the client terminal 1002 and the music data distribution server 1004, the physical sales server 1005 and the radio information. Processes performed among the distribution servers 1006 are distributed.

Referring to FIG. 21, the user authentication procedure performed between the client terminal 1002 and the port server 1003 will be explained first.

On the client terminal 1002 of the user who made a contract with the operator of the music-related service providing system 1000, the control section 1023 converts the operation input signal recognized by the operation input section 1020 into an operation command input in the processing section 1021 and when, for example, the user does It is given at the time of an operation of turning on the power of the client terminal 1002 or pressing a specific operation button of the operation input section 1020 to start the authentication request process.

If the authentication request process is started at the client terminal 1002, the control section 1023 generates a connection request signal storing the authentication session ID information and the like temporarily stored in the authentication information storage section 1038 and transmits the authentication information through the communication control section 1032 and the network interface 1033 sequentially in step SP1000. The generated connection request signal is sent to the port server 1003 .

In this regard, the authentication session ID information is issued by the port server 1003 for identifying a single communication connection state (i.e., dialogue) identification information.

For the authentication session ID information, a predetermined validity period (for example, about 1 minute) is set in accordance with the transmission time of the port server 1003 to use it for user authentication processing and the like.

Therefore, when the client terminal 1002 that has acquired the authentication session ID information from the port server 1003 cannot present the authentication session ID information to the port server 1003 within the validity period, the port server 1003 determines that the communication connection state specified by the authentication session ID information is disconnected .

Thereby, the port server 1003 prevents the user who has contracted with the operator of the music-related service providing system 1000 from illegally using the authentication session ID information issued in the past for user authentication processing or the like.

The port server 1003 issues the authentication session ID information temporarily stored in the authentication information storage section 1038 when the client terminal 1002 previously connected and communicated with the port server 1003 to perform user authentication processing.

If the connection request signal is sent from the client terminal 1002, the control section 1050 of the port server 1003 receives the connection request signal through the network interface 1053 and the communication control section 1052 in response thereto, and stores the received connection request signal in step SP1001. The authentication session ID information and the like are sent to the authentication processing section 1056.

The authentication processing section 1056 executes user authentication processing based on the authentication session ID information received from the client terminal 1002 as a connection request signal under the control of the control section 1050 .

Therefore, when the verification processing part 1056 does not verify the user using the client terminal 1002 as a formal user due to the expiration of information such as the validity period of the verification session ID received by the client terminal 1002, the control part 1050 passes through the communication control part 1052 and the communication control part 1052 in sequence. The network interface 1053 sends authentication error information indicating an authentication error to the client terminal 1002 .

In step SP1002, if the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002 receives the authentication error information transmitted from the port server 1003 through the network interface 1003 and the communication control section 1032 sequentially, the control section 1023 reads the authentication information stored in the authentication information storage section 1038 in response to it. Stored user ID information and password information, and transmit the read user ID information and password information to the port server 1003 through the communication control part 1032 and the network interface 1033 in turn.

In step SP1003, the control section 1050 of the port server 1003 receives user ID information, password information, etc. transmitted from the client terminal 1002 through the network interface 1053 and the communication control section 1052 in sequence, and transfers the received user ID information, password information, etc. Sent to the verification processing part 1056.

Thus, as user authentication processing, the authentication processing section 1056 determines whether the user ID information and password information received from the client terminal 1002 are included in the customer information registered in the customer database section 1054 under the control of the control section 1050.

Therefore, if the user using the client terminal 1002 is authenticated as a regular user, the authentication processing section 1056 sends authentication session ID information under the current communication connection state between the client terminal 1002 and the port server 1003 under the control of the control section 1050 as The verification result information is portable, and the verification session ID information and the like sent to the client terminal 1002 are temporarily stored in the verification information storage section 1057 .

The control section 1050 transmits the authentication session ID information and the like sent to the client terminal 1002 by the authentication processing section 1056 to the client terminal 1002 through the communication control section 1052 and the network interface 1053 in sequence.

In step SP1004, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002 receives the authentication session ID information and the like sent from the port server 1003 through the network interface 1033 and the communication control section 1032 in sequence, and sends the received authentication session ID information and the like to the authentication session. Part 1037 is processed.

The authentication processing section 1037 temporarily stores the authentication session ID information and the like received from the port server 1003 in the authentication information storage section 1038 under the control of the control section 1023 .

Thereby, the control section 1023 transmits the page information acquisition request signal requesting the page information to the port server 1003 and the authentication session received from the port server 1003 and temporarily stored in the authentication information storage section 1038 via the communication control section 1032 and the network interface 1033 in sequence. The ID information is transmitted to the port server 1003 together.

In step SP1005, the control section 1050 of the port server 1003 receives the page information acquisition request signal and the authentication session ID information transmitted from the client terminal 1002 through the network interface 1053, the communication control section 1052, etc. in sequence, and transfers the received authentication session ID Information and the like are sent to the authentication processing section 1056 .

Thus, the authentication processing section 1056, under the control of the control section 1050, combines the authentication session ID information received from the client terminal 1002 with the authentication session ID information transmitted to the client terminal 1002 at step SP1003 and temporarily stored in the authentication information storage section 1057. etc. to perform user authentication processing.

Therefore, in step SP1006, if the user using the client terminal 1002 is authenticated as an official user, the authentication processing section 1056 determines that the page information acquisition request from the client terminal 1002 is valid, and extends the authentication session ID sent to the client terminal 1002. Expiry date of information etc.

Thereby, the control section 1050 reads the page information requested by the user from the page information storage section 1055, and communicates the read page information and the valid period extended by the authentication processing section 1056 via the communication control section 1052 and the network interface 1053 in sequence. The ID information is sent to the client terminal 1002 together.

In step SP1007, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002 receives the page information transmitted from the port server 1003 and the authentication session ID information with an extended validity period through the network interface 1033 and the communication control section 1032 in sequence, and transmits the received page information. to the page information generating section 1036, and sends the authentication session ID information and the like whose validity period has been extended to the authentication processing section 1037.

Page information generation section 1036 generates video data of a page in which links to music data distribution server 1004, physical sales server 1005, and radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 are set based on page information given from control section 1023, and the generated The video data is sent to the display control section 1024 .

Thus, the display control section 1023 performs digital-to-analog conversion processing on the video data given from the page information generating section 1036, and sends the acquired analog video signal to the display section 1025 to display the page of the port server 1003 as a video based on the analog video signal. displayed on the display section 1025.

The authentication processing section 1037 temporarily stores, under the control of the control section 1023, the authentication session ID information received from the port server 1003 with an extended validity period in the authentication information storage section 1038 to rewrite the authentication session ID information before the extension of the validity period, etc. , thereby updating the authentication session ID information temporarily stored in step SP1004 with the authentication session ID information whose validity period has been extended or the like.

(3-7-2) User Authentication Procedure for Client Terminal 1002 and Servers 1004-1006

Referring to FIG. 22, user authentication processing performed between the client terminal 1002 and the music data distribution server 1004, the physical sales server 1005, and the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 will be described below.

In this case, user authentication processing is performed in such a manner that as described above and as shown in FIG. 1004. Physical sales server 1005 and radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 (hereinafter this user authentication processing will be referred to as indirect access authentication processing).

Another user authentication process is performed in such a manner that the client terminal 1002 does not acquire page information from the port server 1003, and directly accesses the music data distribution server 1004, the physical sales server 1005, and the radio broadcast information distribution server based on URL information or the like registered as bookmarks in advance 1006 (hereinafter referred to as direct access authentication processing).

Indirect access authentication processing is performed according to the same procedure for any combination between the client terminal 1002 and the music data distribution server 1004, physical sales server 1005, and radio broadcast information distribution server 1006.

Direct access authentication processing is performed according to the same procedure for any combination of the client terminal 1002 and the music data distribution server 1004, physical sales server 1005, and radio broadcast information distribution server 1006.

The difference between the indirect access verification process and the direct access verification process is only the manner in which the client terminal 1002 acquires URL information for accessing the music data distribution server 1004, the physical sales server 1005, and the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006, but after acquiring the URL information Both processes are performed according to the same procedure.

Hereinafter, for simplicity of explanation, the music data distribution server 1004 is represented as an access destination of the client terminal 1002, and the indirect access authentication processing and the direct access authentication processing are collectively referred to as one user authentication processing.

First, in step SP1010, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002 passes through the communication control section 1032 and the network interface 1033 sequentially through the communication control section 1032 and the network interface 1033 according to the URL information set as a link in the page information (the URL information has been registered as a bookmark, etc.) Service session ID information etc. read by the storage section 1038 and page information for requesting acquisition of distribution of music data (page information for sales of media packs and distribution of broadcasting in the physical sales server 1005 or radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 page information of the list information) together with a page information acquisition request signal to the music data distribution server 1004.

In this regard, the service session ID information is transmitted by the music data distribution server 1004, the physical sales server 1005, or the radio information distribution server 1006 accessed by the client terminal 1002 for identifying each time the client terminal 1002 communicates with the music data distribution server 1004, physical Identification information of a single communication connection state (ie, session) when the sales server 1005 or the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 connects and communicates to perform various processing including user authentication processing.

For this service session ID information, like the authentication session ID information, a predetermined validity period (for example, about 1 minute) is set according to the transmission time of the music data distribution server 1004, the physical sales server 1005, or the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 to use it for the user Validation processing, etc.

Therefore, if the client terminal 1002 that has acquired the service session ID from each of the servers 1004-1004 cannot present the service session ID to the music data distribution server 1004, the physical sales server 1005, or the radio broadcasting information distribution server of the transmission source within the validity period 1006, it is determined that the music data distribution server 1004, the physical sales server 1005 or the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 that has transmitted the service session ID information disconnects the communication connection state specified by the service session ID information.

Thus, the music data distribution server 1004, the physical sales server 1005, and the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 prevent users who have not made a contract with the operator of the music-related service providing system 1000 from illegally using service session ID information sent in the past for user authentication deal with.

When the client terminal 1002 is previously connected and communicated with the music data distribution server 1004, the physical sales server 1005, or the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 to perform user authentication processing and the like, the music data distribution server 1004, the physical sales server 1005 accessed by the client terminal 1002 Or the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 transmits the service session ID information temporarily stored in the authentication information storage section 1038 .

In step SP1011, the control section 1070 of the music data distribution server 1004 receives, through the network interface 1073 and the communication control section 1072, the page information acquisition request signal and the service session ID information and the like transmitted from the client terminal 1002 in sequence, and transfers the received service session ID information and the like are sent to the authentication processing section 1075 .

The authentication processing section 1075 performs user authentication processing by comparing the service session ID information etc. received from the client terminal 1002 with the service session ID information etc. temporarily stored in the authentication information storage section 1077 under the control of the control section 1070 .

Therefore, if the user using the client terminal 1002 has not been authenticated as a regular user because, for example, the validity period of the service session ID information received from the client terminal 1002 has expired, the verification processing section 1075 determines that it is necessary to distribute music from the client terminal 1002. The request to get the page information of the data is invalid.

If the authentication processing section 1075 does not authenticate the user using the client terminal 1002 as a regular user, the control section 1070 transmits the authentication error information indicating an authentication error and the information used to identify the music data distribution server 1004 through the communication control section 1072 and the network interface 1073 in sequence. The store code is sent to the client terminal 1002.

In step SP1012, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002 receives the authentication error information and the store code sent from the music data distribution server 1004 through the network interface 1033 and the communication control section 1032 in sequence, and recognizes the authentication error information based on the received authentication error information. The user is not authenticated as a regular user in the music data distribution server 1004, and the store code received from the music data distribution server 1004 is temporarily stored in the authentication information storage section 1038.

Then, the control section 1023 generates a request port server 1003 to send an authentication ticket sending request signal for accessing the authentication ticket of the music data distribution server 1004, and sends the generated authentication ticket through the communication control section 1032 and the network interface 1033 successively. It is sent to the port server 1003 together with the store code of the music data distribution server 1004 and authentication session ID information etc. which have been received from the port server 1003 and temporarily stored in the authentication information storage section 1038.

In step SP1013, the control section 1050 of the port server 1003 receives the authentication ticket transmission request signal, store code, authentication session ID information, etc. sent from the client terminal 1002 through the network interface 1053 and the communication control section 1052 in sequence, and sends them to the authentication Portion 1056 is processed.

Thus, the authentication processing section 1056 performs user authentication by comparing the authentication session ID information etc. received from the client terminal 1002 with the authentication session ID information etc. which have been temporarily stored in the authentication information storage section 1057 under the control of the control section 1050 deal with.

Therefore, if the user using the client terminal 1002 has not been authenticated as a regular user because, for example, the validity period of the authentication session ID information received from the client terminal 1002 has expired, the authentication processing section 1056 determines a transmission request of an authentication ticket from the client terminal 1002 invalid.

If the authentication processing section 1056 does not authenticate the user using the client terminal 1002 as an official user, the control section 1050 sends authentication error information indicating an authentication error to the client terminal 1002 through the communication control section 1052 and the network interface 1053 in sequence.

On the contrary, if the user using the client terminal 1002 is authenticated as a regular user because, for example, the valid period of the authentication session ID information received from the client terminal 1002 is not expired, the authentication processing section 1056 determines that the transmission request of the authentication ticket from the client terminal 1002 is valid. .

If the authentication processing section 1056 authenticates the user using the client terminal 1002 as a regular user, the control section 1050 proceeds to step SP1018.

In step SP1014, if the verification error information transmitted from the port server 1003 is received through the network interface 1033 and the communication control part 1032 in sequence, the control part 1023 of the client terminal 1002 reads the user ID information and the password stored in the verification information storage part 1038 information, etc. and send the read user ID information and password information to the port server 1003 through the communication control part 1032 and the network interface 1033 in sequence.

In step SP1015, the control section 1050 of the port server 1003 receives the user ID information, password information, etc. sent from the client terminal 1002 through the network interface 1053 and the communication control section 1052 in sequence, and transfers the received user ID information, password information, etc. Sent to the verification processing part 1056.

Accordingly, the authentication processing section 1056 performs user authentication processing by determining whether user ID information, password information, etc. received from the client terminal 1002 are contained in customer information registered in the customer database section 1054 under the control of the control section 1050.

Therefore, if the user using the client terminal 1002 is authenticated as a regular user, the authentication processing section 1056 transmits authentication session ID information and the like of the current communication connection state between the client terminal 1002 and the port server 1003 under the control of the control section 1050 as a portable Verification result information, and verification session ID information and the like sent to the client terminal 1002 are temporarily stored in the verification information storage section 1057.

The control section 1050 transmits the authentication session ID information and the like sent to the client terminal 1002 by the authentication processing section 1056 to the client terminal 1002 through the communication control section 1052 and the network interface 1053 in sequence.

In step SP1016, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002 receives the authentication session ID information etc. sent from the port server 1003 through the network interface 1033 and the communication control section 1032 in sequence, and passes the authentication session ID information etc. received by the authentication processing section 1037 Temporarily stored in the authentication information storage section 1038.

The control section 1023 generates a verification ticket transmission request signal requesting the port server 1003 to send the verification ticket again, and sends the generated verification ticket transmission request signal and the temporarily stored information in the verification information storage part 1038 through the communication control part 1032 and the network interface 1033 in turn. The store code, the verification session ID information temporarily stored at this time, etc. are sent to the port server 1003 together.

Although in this embodiment, the store code is temporarily stored in the authentication information storage section 1038 of the client terminal 1002, it may be sequentially transmitted or received during the processing from step SP1012 to step SP1016 between the client terminal 1002 and the port server 1003. store code, so that the store code is transmitted to the port server 1003 in step SP1016 without temporarily storing the store code in the authentication information storage section 1038 of the client terminal 1002.

In step SP1017, the control section 1050 of the port server 1003 receives, through the network interface 1053 and the communication control section 1052, the authentication ticket transmission request signal transmitted from the client terminal 1002, the shop code, the authentication session ID information, etc., in sequence and sends them to the authentication process Section 1056.

Thus, the authentication processing section 1056 performs user authentication by comparing the authentication session ID information etc. received from the client terminal 1002 with the authentication session ID information etc. which have been temporarily stored in the authentication information storage section 1057 under the control of the control section 1050 deal with.

Therefore, if the user using the client terminal 1002 is authenticated as a regular user because, for example, the validity period of the authentication session ID information received from the client terminal 1002 is not expired, the authentication processing section 1056 determines that the transmission request of the authentication ticket from the client terminal 1002 is valid. .

Then, if the authentication processing section 1056 authenticates the user using the client terminal 1002 as a regular user, the control section 1050 proceeds to step SP1018.

In step SP1018, the authentication processing section 1056 transmits an authentication ticket transmission request signal for enabling access to music data indicated by the store code according to the store code and the authentication ticket transmission request signal received from the client terminal 1002 in step SP1017 under the control of the control section 1050. The verification ticket of the server 1004 is used as portable verification result information.

Then, the authentication processing section 1056 temporarily stores the transmitted authentication ticket or the like in the authentication information storage section 1057 under the control of the control section 1050 and extends the validity period of the authentication session ID information sent to the client terminal 1002 .

Thus, the control section 1050 transmits the authentication ticket etc. together with the authentication session ID information etc. whose validity period has been extended by the authentication processing section 1056 to the client terminal 1002 via the communication control section 1052 and the network interface 1053 in sequence.

In step SP1019, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002 receives the authentication ticket etc. transmitted from the port server 1003 through the network interface 1033 and the communication control section 1032 sequentially and the authentication session ID information etc. whose validity period has been extended, and transfers the received authentication ticket The session ID information is sent to the authentication processing section 1037 .

Then, the control section 1023 transmits the authentication ticket etc. received from the port server 1003 together with the authentication request signal to the music data distribution server 1004 through the communication control section 1032 and the network interface 1033 in order.

The authentication processing section 1037 temporarily stores the authentication session ID information whose validity period has been extended received from the port server 1003 under the control of the control section 1023 in the authentication information storage section 1038 to rewrite the authentication session ID information before the extension of the validity period, etc., thereby The authentication session ID information and the like temporarily stored in step SP1016 are updated with the authentication session ID information whose validity period has been extended.

In step SP1020, the control section 1070 of the music data distribution server 1004 receives an authentication request signal, an authentication ticket, etc. transmitted from the client terminal 1002 through the network interface 1073 and the communication control section 1072 in sequence.

Then, the control section 1070 transmits the authentication ticket etc. received from the client terminal 1002 together with an authentication ticket confirmation request signal requesting confirmation of the authentication ticket to the port server 1003 through the communication control section 1072 and the network interface 1073 in order.

In step SP1021, the control section 1050 of the port server 1003 receives the authentication ticket confirmation request signal and the authentication ticket etc. sent from the music data distribution server 1004 through the network interface 1053 and the communication control section 1052 in sequence, and confirms the received authentication ticket A request signal, an authentication ticket, and the like are sent to the authentication processing section 1056 .

Then, the authentication processing section 1056 compares the authentication ticket or the like received from the music data distribution server 1004 with the authentication ticket temporarily stored in the authentication information storage section 1057 under the control of the control section 1050 in response to the authentication ticket confirmation request signal. Confirmation processing is performed on the authentication ticket received from the music data distribution server 1004 .

Therefore, if the verification processing section 1056 confirms the verification ticket etc. received from the music data distribution server 1004 as a formal verification ticket etc., the control part 1050 will instruct the verification ticket etc. to be confirmed as formal via the communication control part 1052 and the network interface 1053 in sequence. Confirmation result information of the verification ticket and the like are sent to the music data distribution server 1004 .

In step SP1022, the control section 1070 of the music data distribution server 1004 receives the confirmation result information sent from the port server 1003 through the network interface 1073 and the communication control section 1072 in sequence, and sends the received confirmation result information to the authentication processing section 1075 .

Thereby, verification processing part 1075 is under the control of control part 1070, according to confirmation result information, the service session ID information etc. of the present communication connection state between client terminal 1002 and music data distribution server 1004 are sent as server verification result information, and the result information The transmitted service session ID information and the like are temporarily stored in the authentication information storage section 1077 .

The control section 1070 also transmits the service session ID information and the like sent to the client terminal 1002 to the client terminal 1002 through the communication control section 1072 and the network interface 1073 in sequence.

In step SP1023, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002 receives the service session ID information etc. sent from the music data distribution server 1004 through the network interface 1033 and the communication control section 1032 in sequence and passes the received service session ID information through the authentication processing section 1037 etc. are temporarily stored in the authentication information storage section 1038.

Thus, the control section 1023 sequentially stores in the authentication information storage section 1038 the page information acquisition request signal requesting page information for distributing music data and the page information received from the music data distribution server 1004 through the communication control section 1032 and the network interface 1033 in sequence. The service session ID information and the like in the music data distribution server 1004 are sent together.

In step SP1024, the control section 1070 of the music data distribution server 1004 receives the page information etc. acquisition request signal and the service session ID information sent from the client terminal 1002 through the network interface 1073 and the communication control section 1072 sequentially, and transfers the received service Session ID information and the like are sent to the authentication processing section 1075 .

Thus, the authentication processing section 1075, under the control of the control section 1070, compares the service session ID information, etc. Session ID information and the like are compared to perform user authentication processing.

Therefore, if the user who uses the client terminal 1002 is authenticated as a regular user because, for example, the validity period of the service session ID information received from the client terminal 1002 has not expired, the verification processing section 1075 determines that the user from the client terminal 1002 is used to distribute music data. The get request for page information is valid.

Then, if the user of the client terminal 1002 is to be authenticated as a regular user, the control section 1070 proceeds to the next step SP1025.

In step SP1025, the control section 1070 reads the page information for distributing music data requested by the user from the page information storage section 1076, and extends the validity period of the service session ID information etc. sent to the client terminal 1002 by the authentication processing section 1075.

Then, the control section 1070 sequentially passes through the communication control section 1072, the network interface 1073, etc., together with the page information for distributing the music data read from the page information storage section 1076, the service session ID information and the like whose validity period has been extended by the authentication processing section 1075, etc. sent to the client terminal 1002.

In step SP1026, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002 receives, through the network interface 1033 and the communication control section 1032, the page information for distributing music data sent from the music data distribution server 1004, and the service session ID with an extended valid period. information, etc., and transmits the received page information for distributing music data to the page information generating section 1036, and transmits service session ID information etc. received from the music data distributing server 1004 to the authentication processing section 1037.

Thus, the authentication processing section 1037 temporarily stores service session ID information and the like having an extended validity period received from the music data distribution server 1004 under the control of the control section 1023 in the authentication information storage section 1038 to rewrite the valid period before the extension. The service session ID information and the like are updated to update the service session ID information and the like temporarily stored in step SP1023 with the service session ID information and the like having an extended validity period.

The page information generation section 1036 also generates video data based on the page information for distributing the music data, and sends the generated video data to the display control section 1024 .

Thus, the display control section 1024 performs digital-to-analog conversion processing on the video data given from the page information generating section 1036, and uses the page information for distributing music data as an analog-based video signal by sending the acquired analog video signal to the display section 1025. A video of the video signal is displayed on the display section 1025 .

(3-7-3) Processing of provision of music-related services

Referring to FIGS. 23-26, the music-related service providing process will be described below, in which between the client terminal 1002 and the music data distribution server 1004, the physical sales server 1005 or the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 as described above and as shown in FIG. After performing the user authentication procedure during the user authentication procedure, the client terminal 1002 receives the page information for distributing music data acquired from the music data distribution server 1004, the physical sales server 1005, or the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 used in the user authentication procedure, for media Music data distribution service, physical sales service, and radio broadcast information distribution service provided by page information for sales of packages, page information for distribution of broadcast list information, and the like.

(3-7-3-1) Music data distribution service provider

Referring to FIG. 23, the music data distribution service provider procedure when the client terminal 1002 provides the music data distribution service from the music data distribution server 1004 will be described first.

In step SP1030, if a control command for selecting a part of a page for distributing music data displayed on the display section 1025 as a video is input from the input processing section 1021, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002 A download request signal requesting download of music data desired to be downloaded is generated.

Then, the control section 1023 sends the downloaded request signal together with the service session ID information etc. which have been sent from the music data distribution server 1004 and temporarily stored in the authentication information storage section 1038 via the communication control section 1032 and the network interface 1033 to Music data distribution server 1004.

In step SP1031, the control section 1070 of the music data distribution server 1004 receives the download request signal and the service session ID information etc. sent from the client terminal 1002 through the network interface 1073 and the communication control section 1072 in sequence, and transfers the received service session ID information etc. Sent to the verification processing part 1075.

Thus, the authentication processing section 1075 performs user authentication processing by comparing service session ID information or the like received from the client terminal 1002 with service session ID information that has been temporarily stored in the authentication information storage section 1077 under the control of the control section 1070 .

Therefore, if the authentication processing section 1075 authenticates the user who uses the client terminal 1002 and requests to download music data as an official user, the control section 1070 proceeds to step SP1032.

In step SP1032, the retrieval section 1079 retrieves music data desired to be downloaded from a plurality of music data in the music data storage section 1078 based on the retrieval key stored in the download request signal according to the retrieval condition indicated by the retrieval key.

Then, if the music data is retrieved by the retrieval section 1079, the control section 1070 extends the validity period of the service session ID information etc. sent to the client terminal 1002 through the verification processing section 1075, and then proceeds to the next step SP1033.

In step SP1033, the control section 1070 reads the music data desired to be downloaded retrieved by the retrieval section 1079 from the music data storage section 1078, and transfers the read music data desired to be downloaded through the communication control section 1072 and the network interface 1073 sequentially. It is sent to the client terminal 1002 together with service session ID information and the like whose validity period has been extended by the authentication processing section 1075 .

In step SP1034, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002 receives the music data which is desired to be downloaded and transmitted from the music data distribution server 1004 and the service session ID information etc. which have an extended period of validity, through the network interface 1033 and the communication control section 1032 in order. The received music data is stored in the storage medium 1029, and the service session ID information and the like received from the music data distribution server 1004 are sent to the authentication processing section 1037.

The authentication processing section 1037 temporarily stores, under the control of the control section 1023, service session ID information and the like having an extended valid period received from the music data distribution server 1004 in the authentication information storage section 1038 to rewrite the service session before the valid period is extended. ID information, etc., thereby updating the contents of the service session ID information, etc. that have been temporarily stored in the authentication information storage section 1038.

Thus, the client terminal 1002 can download the music data that the user wishes to acquire using the music data distribution service provided by the music data distribution server 1004 .

(3-7-3-2) Physical Sales Service Provider

Referring to FIG. 24, a physical sale service providing procedure when the client terminal 1002 receives a physical sale service provided from the physical sale server 1005 will be explained below.

In step SP1040, if a control command is input from the input processing section 1021 for selecting a part of a page for selling a media package displayed on the display section 1025 as a video, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002 A media information request signal is generated requesting media package information about a specific media package.

Then, the control section 1023 sends the media information request signal and the service session ID information etc. sent by the used physical sales server 1005 and temporarily stored in the authentication information storage section 1038 to the physical sales through the communication control section 1032 and the network interface 1033 in sequence. Server 1005.

In step SP1041, the control section 1090 of the physical sales server 1005 receives the media information request signal and the service session ID information, etc. sent from the client terminal 1002 through the network interface 1093 and the communication control section 1092 in sequence, and sends the received service session ID information, etc. Sent to the verification processing part 1095.

Authentication processing section 1095 performs user authentication processing by comparing service session ID information etc. received from client terminal 1002 with service session ID information that has been temporarily stored in authentication information storage section 1097 under the control of control section 1090 .

Therefore, if the authentication processing section 1095 authenticates the user who uses the client terminal 1002 and requests the media package information on the media package as an official user, the control section 1090 proceeds to step SP1042.

In step SP1042, the retrieval section 1099 retrieves media package information of a specific media package from a plurality of media packages in the music data storage section 1098 based on the retrieval key stored in the media information request signal according to the retrieval condition indicated by the retrieval key.

Then, if the retrieval section 1099 retrieves the media package information, the control section 1090 extends the validity period of the service session ID information etc. sent to the client terminal 1002 through the verification processing section 1095, and then proceeds to the next step SP1043.

In step SP1043, the control part 1090 reads the media package information retrieved by the retrieval part 1099 from the music data storage part 1098, and the media package information read by the communication control part 1092 and the network interface 1093 and the information processed by the verification process in sequence. Part 1095 is sent to the client terminal 1002 together with the service session ID information with the extended validity period.

In step SP1044, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002 receives, through the network interface 1033 and the communication control section 1032, the media package information sent from the physical sales server 1005 and the service session ID information with an extended validity period, etc., and sends the received The media package information is sent to the page information generating section 1036 , and the service session ID information and the like received from the physical sales server 1005 are sent to the authentication processing section 1037 .

The authentication processing section 1037 temporarily stores the service session ID information and the like having an extended valid period received from the physical sales server 1005 in the authentication information storage section 1038 under the control of the control section 1023 to rewrite the service session before the extended valid period ID information, etc., thereby updating the contents of the service session ID information, etc. that have been temporarily stored in the authentication information storage section 1038.

The page information generation section 1036 generates video data based on the media packet information given from the control section 1023 , and converts the generated video data into analog video data through the display control section 1024 to send the analog video signal to the display section 1025 .

Thus, the control section 1023 displays the media package information on the display section 1025 as video based on the analog video signal, and then proceeds to the next step SP1045.

In step SP1045, if input from input processing part 1021 and be used for requesting to buy the control command that is displayed on the display part 1025 as video and the control command of media pack information corresponding to the media pack information, then control part 1023 produces a request to buy media according to the control command of input. Package purchase request signal.

The control section 1023 sequentially transmits its purchase request signal and the service session ID information etc. (that is, having extended service verification ID information, etc.) of the validity period) are sent to the physical sales server 1005 together.

In step SP1046, the control section 1090 of the physical sales server 1005 receives the purchase request signal and the service session ID information and the like transmitted from the client terminal 1002 through the network interface 1093 and the communication control section 1092, and transfers the received service session ID information, etc. Sent to the verification processing part 1095.

The authentication processing section 1095 performs user authentication processing by comparing the service session ID information and the like received from the client terminal 1002 with the service session ID information and the like that have been temporarily stored in the authentication information storage section 1097 .

Therefore, if the authentication processing section 1095 authenticates the user who uses the client terminal 1002 and requests to purchase the media pack as an official user, the control section 1090 proceeds to the next step SP1047.

In step SP1047, the control section 1090 executes a purchase processing program for transmitting the media package, etc. requested for purchase to the user using the client terminal 1002, and sends the media package for the user to purchase by passing through the communication control section 1092 and the network interface 1093 sequentially. The accounting information of the accounting operation is sent to the accounting server 1008 to control the accounting server 1008 to perform accounting processing for the user to purchase the media package.

The control section 1090 extends the validity period of the service session ID information and the like transmitted to the client terminal 1002 in the authentication processing section 1095 .

In step SP1048, the control section 1090 communicates, through the communication control section 1092 and the network interface 1093, the purchase completion page information indicating that the purchase processing of the media package is completed and the service dialogue with the validity period extended by the verification processing section 1095 after the accounting processing is completed. ID information and the like are transmitted to the client terminal 1002 together.

In step SP1049, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002 receives, through the network interface 1033 and the communication control section 1032, the purchase completion page information transmitted from the physical sales server 1005 and the service session ID information having an extended validity period, etc. The received purchase completion page information is sent to the page information generation section 1036 , and the service session ID information and the like received from the physical sales server 1005 are sent to the authentication processing section 1037 .

The authentication processing section 1037 temporarily stores the service session ID information and the like having an extended valid period received from the physical sales server 1005 in the authentication information storage section 1038 under the control of the control section 1023 to rewrite the service session before the extended valid period ID information, thereby updating the contents of the service session ID information and the like temporarily stored in the authentication information storage section 1038.

Page information generation section 1036 also generates video data based on purchase completion page information given from control section 1023 , converts the generated video data into an analog video signal by display control section 1024 , and sends it to display section 1025 .

Thus, the control section 1023 displays the purchase completion page on the display section 1025 as a video based on an analog video signal.

Thus, the client terminal 1002 enables the user to purchase a desired media package with the physical sale service provided by the physical sale server 1005 .

(3-7-3-3) Broadcast list information distribution service provider

Referring to FIG. 25, the radio broadcast information distribution service when the client terminal 1002 receives the radio broadcast information distribution service provided from the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006, particularly the broadcast list information distribution service will be explained below.

In step SP1060, if a retrieval key for retrieving broadcast list information desired to be acquired is input into an input box on a page for assigning broadcast list information displayed as a video on the display section 1025 and input and instruction from the input processing section 1021 The input string of the retrieval key corresponds to a control command, and the control part 1023 of the client terminal 1002 generates a broadcast list information request signal for requesting downloading of the broadcast list information according to the input control command.

Then, the control section 1023 transmits the broadcast list information request signal together with the service session ID information etc. which have been temporarily stored in the authentication information storage section 1038 from the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 to the radio through the communication control section 1032 and the network interface 1033 in sequence. Broadcast information distribution server 1006 .

In step SP1061, the control section 1110 of the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 receives the broadcast list request signal and the service session ID information etc. transmitted from the client terminal 1002 through the network interface 1113 and the communication control section 1112 sequentially, and transmits the received service Session ID information and the like are sent to the authentication processing section 1115 .

Authentication processing section 1115 performs user authentication processing by comparing service session ID information etc. received from client terminal 1002 with service session ID information that has been temporarily stored in authentication information storage section 1120 under the control of control section 1110 .

Therefore, if the authentication processing section 1115 authenticates the user using the client terminal 1002 and requesting broadcast list information as a regular user, the control section 1110 proceeds to the next step SP1062.

In step SP1062, the retrieval section 1118 retrieves a predetermined range part as a desired acquisition according to the retrieval condition indicated by the retrieval key of the entire broadcast list information in the broadcast list information storage section 1117 based on the retrieval key stored in the broadcast list information request signal. broadcast list information.

Then, if the broadcast list information is retrieved by the retrieval section 1118, the control section 1110 extends the validity period of the service session ID information etc. sent to the client terminal 1002 by the authentication processing section 1115, and then proceeds to the next step SP1063.

In step SP1063, the control section 1110 reads the broadcast list information retrieved by the retrieval section 1118 from the broadcast list information storage section 1117, and sequentially passes the communication control section 1112 and the network interface 1113 the read broadcast list information and The processing section 1115 sends to the client terminal 1002 together with the service session ID information and the like with the extended validity period.

In step SP1064, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002 receives the broadcast list information and the service session ID information with an extended validity period transmitted from the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 through the network interface 1033 and the communication control section 1032 in sequence, and transfers the The received broadcast list information is sent to the page information generation section 1036 , and the service session ID information and the like received from the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 are sent to the authentication processing section 1037 .

The authentication processing section 1037 temporarily stores, under the control of the control section 1023, service session ID information and the like having an extended validity period received from the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 in the authentication information storage section 1038 to rewrite the information before the validity period extension. Service session ID information, etc., thereby updating the service session ID information, etc. that have been temporarily stored in the authentication information storage section 1038.

The page information generation section 1036 generates video data according to the broadcast list information given from the control section 1023, converts the generated video data into an analog video signal by the display control section 1024, and sends it to the display section 1025 to display the broadcast list information The video is displayed on the display section 1025 as a video based on an analog video signal.

Thus, the client terminal 1002 enables the user to acquire desired broadcast list information with the radio broadcast information distribution service provided by the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 .

(3-7-3-4) Real-time broadcast information distribution service provider

Referring to FIG. 26, a radio broadcast information distribution service provider procedure when the client terminal 1002 receives a radio broadcast information distribution service provided from the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006, particularly a real-time broadcast information distribution service, will be described below.

A radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 for providing real-time broadcast information is provided for each radio station (call sign).

In the client terminal 1002, URL information of the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 corresponding to each radio station in the initial state may not be stored in some cases.

Therefore, the following radio broadcast information distribution service providing procedure will be described below with an example in which the port server 1003 manages URL information of each radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 for each call sign of a radio station.

In this radio broadcasting information distribution service providing program, it is assumed that authentication session ID information and the like are not temporarily stored in the authentication information when the client terminal 1002 requests the port server 1003 for frequency information indicating the broadcasting frequency to automatically preset the broadcasting frequency of each broadcasting station In the storage part 1038. Therefore, first, the client terminal 1002 transmits user ID information, password information, and the like to the port server 1003 .

In step SP1070, if an operation command for requesting automatic preset of the broadcasting frequencies of each radio station is input from the input processing section 1021, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002 sends the request to obtain each broadcast frequency via the communication control section 1032 and the network interface 1033 in sequence. A frequency information request signal of frequency information of receivable broadcast frequencies of radio stations is sent to the port server 1003 together with the area code input by the user, user ID information and password information stored in the authentication information storage section 1038 , and the like.

In step SP1071, the control section 1050 of the port server 1003 receives, through the network interface 1053 and the communication control section 1052, the frequency information request signal, area code, user ID information, password information, etc., which have been sent from the client terminal 1002 in sequence, and sends The user ID information, password information, and the like received by the terminal 1002 are sent to the authentication processing section 1056 .

The authentication processing section 1056 performs user authentication processing by comparing user ID information, password information, etc. received from the client terminal 1002 with customer information registered in the customer database section 1054 under the control of the control section 1050 .

Therefore, if the user who uses the client terminal 1002 is authenticated as a regular user, and it is determined that the frequency information acquisition request from the client terminal 1002 is valid, the authentication processing section 1056 transmits between the client terminal 1002 and the port server 1003 under the control of the control section 1050. The verification session ID information and the like of the current communication connection state are temporarily stored in the verification information storage section 1057 .

Then, if the authentication processing section 1056 authenticates the user as a regular user, the control section 1050 proceeds to the next step SP1072.

In step SP1072, the control section 1050 retrieves frequency information, radio station name and call sign corresponding to the area code from the list of a plurality of frequency information based on the area code received from the client terminal 1002, and reads them in the list.

Thus, the control section 1050 sequentially transmits the frequency information read in the list from the frequency information storage section 1058, the radio station name and the call sign and the authentication processing section 1056 at step SP1071 to the client terminal 1002 through the communication control section 1052 and the network interface 1053. The verification session ID information is sent to the client terminal 1002 together.

In step SP1073, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002 receives, through the network interface 1033 and the communication control section 1032, the frequency information, the list of radio station names and call signs, the verification session ID information, etc. The authentication session ID information and the like received by the server 1003 are sent to the authentication processing section 1037 , and the list of frequency information, radio station names and call signs is sent to the display control section 1024 .

Thus, the authentication processing section 1037 temporarily stores the authentication session ID information and the like received from the port server 1003 in the authentication information storage section 1038 under the control of the control section 1023 .

The display control section 1024 also sends the list of frequency information, radio station names and call signs given from the control section 1023 to the display section 1025 and displays the list on the display section 1025 .

Also, the control section 1023 stores the selected frequency information, radio station name and call sign as presets in the storage medium 1029 according to the selection command input from the input processing section 1021 at this time, and proceeds to the next step SP1074.

In step SP1074, the control section 1023 controls the tuner section 1031 to extract the radio broadcast signal of the broadcast program broadcast at the broadcast frequency corresponding to the tuning control command from the radio broadcast waves in response to the tuning control command input from the input processing section 1021.

Thus, the tuner section 1031 extracts a radio broadcast signal broadcast at the broadcast frequency from the radio broadcast wave received by the broadcast signal receiving section 30 , and sends the resulting audio data to the audio control section 1026 .

Accordingly, the audio control section 1026 converts the audio data given from the tuner section 1031 into an analog audio signal, and sends it to the speaker 1027 to output the audio of the selected broadcast program.

In step SP1075, the radio broadcast display control section 1039 reads the stored call sign associated with the frequency information indicating the broadcast frequency corresponding to the tuning control command under the control of the control section 1023, and sequentially passes the communication control section 1032 and the network interface 1033 The read call sign is sent to the port server 1003 together with authentication session ID information and the like temporarily stored in the authentication information storage section 1038 .

In step SP1076, the control section 1050 of the port server 1003 receives the call sign, authentication session ID information, etc. transmitted from the client terminal 1002 through the network interface 1053 and the communication control section 1052 in sequence, and transmits the received authentication session ID information, etc. to Authentication processing section 1056 .

Authentication processing section 1056 performs user authentication processing by comparing authentication session ID information etc. received from client terminal 1002 with authentication session ID information that has been temporarily stored in authentication information storage section 1057 under the control of control section 1050 .

Therefore, if the authentication session ID information etc. received from the client terminal 1002 is within the valid period and the authentication processing section 1056 authenticates the user who uses the client terminal 1002 and sends the call sign as a regular user, the control section 1050 proceeds to the next step SP1077.

In step SP1077, the control section 1050 retrieves URL information associated with the call sign from among pieces of URL information in the URL storage section 1059 based on the call sign received from the client terminal 1002.

The control section 1050 also controls the authentication processing section 1056 to extend the validity period of the authentication session ID information and the like sent to the client terminal 1002 .

Then, the control section 1050 reads the retrieved URL information from the URL storage section 1059, and sequentially transmits the read URL information and the authentication session ID information whose validity period has been extended by the authentication processing section 1056 through the communication control section 1052 and the network interface 1053 and so on are sent to the client terminal 1002 together.

In step SP1078, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002 receives, through the network interface 1033 and the communication control section 1032, the URL information transmitted from the port server 1003, the authentication session ID information having an extended validity period, etc., and transmits the received Authentication session ID information and the like are sent to the authentication processing section 1037 , and URL information is sent to the radio broadcast display control section 1039 .

The authentication processing section 1037 temporarily stores, under the control of the control section 1023, the authentication session ID information and the like having an extended validity period received from the port server 1003 in the authentication information storage section 1038 to rewrite the authentication session ID information before the validity period extension etc., thereby updating the contents of the authentication session ID information and the like that have been temporarily stored in the authentication information storage section 1038.

The radio broadcast display control section 0139 temporarily stores URL information given from the control section 1023 in the storage medium 1029 under the control of the control section 1023 to be associated with the call sign stored in the storage medium 1029 or the like.

Then, the radio broadcast display control section 1039 transmits, under the control of the control section 1023, a real-time broadcast information request signal requesting acquisition of real-time broadcast information and The service session ID information and the like that have been received from the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 and temporarily stored in the authentication information storage section 1038 are transmitted to the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 together.

In this radio broadcast information distribution service providing program, the processing for transmitting the real-time broadcast information request signal and service session ID information and the like from the client terminal 1002 to the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 in step SP1078 is the same as described above and shown in FIG. The processing of step SP1010 shown in 22 corresponds accordingly.

Therefore, after the processing of step SP1078, this radio broadcast information distribution server provider program is in the client terminal 1002 and the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 and the port server 1003 in the same manner as the above-mentioned steps SP1011-SP1013, step SP1018 and step SP1018 shown in FIG. Perform user authentication processing in the same manner as SP1022, and then proceed to step SP1079.

In step SP1079, the radio broadcast display control section 1039 of the client terminal 1002, under the control of the control section 1023, transmits a real-time broadcast information request signal, etc., through the communication control section 1032 and the network interface 1033 sequentially based on the URL information temporarily stored in the storage medium 1029, etc. It is sent to the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 together with the service session ID information which has been received from the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 and temporarily stored in the authentication information storage section 1038 .

In step SP1080, the control section 1110 of the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 receives the real-time broadcast information request signal and the service session ID information etc. transmitted from the client terminal 1002 through the network interface 1113 and the communication control section 1112 sequentially, and transmits the received Authentication session ID information and the like are sent to the authentication processing section 1115 .

Thus, the authentication processing section 1115 performs user authentication processing by comparing service session ID information or the like received from the client terminal 1002 with service session ID information that has been temporarily stored in the authentication information storage section 1120 under the control of the control section 1110 .

Therefore, if the user using the client terminal 1002 is authenticated as a regular user, the authentication processing section 1115 determines that the real-time broadcast information acquisition request from the client terminal 1002 is valid.

Then, if the verification processing part 1115 verifies the user using the client terminal 1002 as a regular user, the control part 1110 controls the verification processing part 1115 to extend the valid period of the service session ID information etc. sent to the client terminal 1002, and then proceeds to the next step SP1081 .

In step SP1081, the control section 1110 reads the real-time broadcast information from the real-time broadcast information storage section 1119, and passes through the communication control section 1112 and the network interface 1113 sequentially through the read real-time broadcast information and the service whose validity period has been extended by the verification processing section 1115 The session ID information is sent to the client terminal 1002 together.

In step SP1082, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002 receives the real-time broadcast information transmitted from the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 and the service session ID information with an extended validity period through the network interface 1033 and the communication control section 1032 in sequence and sends the received The received service session ID information and the like are sent to the authentication processing section 1037, and the real-time broadcast information is sent to the radio broadcast display control section 1039.

Thus, the authentication processing section 1037 temporarily stores the service session ID information having an extended validity period which has been received from the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 in the authentication information storage section 1038 under the control of the control section 1023 to rewrite the validity period before the extension. The service session ID information, etc., of the service session ID information etc. which have been temporarily stored in the authentication information storage section 1038 are updated.

The radio broadcast display control section 1039 also transmits the real-time broadcast information given from the control section 1023 through the display control section 1024 to the display section 1025, and displays on the display section 1025 the real-time broadcast information of currently received broadcast programs related to radio broadcasting .

Then, in this radio broadcast information distribution service providing procedure thereafter, the client terminal 1002 periodically and repeatedly makes an acquisition request for real-time broadcast information in step SP1079, and the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 receives the acquisition request from the client terminal 1002. Request to execute the processing of step SP1080 and step SP1081 in sequence.

Therefore, at the client terminal 1002, the program name, program broadcast start time and program broadcast end time of the currently received broadcast program, and the title, artist name and music broadcast start time of the music currently broadcast in the broadcast program can be used as real-time broadcast information The display is displayed on the display section 1025 of the client terminal 1002 while being updated every minute.

In this embodiment, the program chart shown in FIG. 25 corresponds to the service performed by the broadcast station server 32 in the first embodiment that provides a program list or a broadcast list.

The program chart of steps SP1078-SP1082 described above and shown in FIG. 26 corresponds to the contents described in the claims.

With the above configuration, the music-related service providing system 1000 accurately authenticates the registered user to accept the music-related service provided by the music-related system 1000, and enables the user's client terminal 2 to acquire information related to musical pieces included in radio broadcast broadcast information and the like. Related information related to content (real-time broadcast information or broadcast list information).

Therefore, this music-related service providing system 1000 is determined to prevent a third party from acquiring related information for illegal use.

In the second embodiment, the client terminal 1002 described above and shown in FIG. 15 corresponds to the terminal device 1 of the present invention and the terminal device 10 of the first embodiment. The port server 1003 described above and shown in FIG. 17 corresponds to the total service server 36 of the first embodiment. In addition, the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 described above and shown in FIG. 20 corresponds to the broadcast station server 32 of the first embodiment.

In addition, the music data distribution server 1004 described above and shown in FIG. 18 corresponds to the music distribution server 33 of the first embodiment. The physical sales server 1005 as described above and shown in FIG. 19 also corresponds to the CD shop server 34 of the first embodiment.

In addition, among the program modules of the terminal device 10 as described above and shown in FIG. 6, the HTTP message program 111 and the communication device program 112 can realize communication with the client terminal 1002 as described above and shown in FIG. The control section 1032 has the same function.

The content reproduction module 113 can also realize the same functions as the encoder/decoder section 1034 of the client terminal 1002 described above and shown in FIG. 15 .

In addition, the copyright protection information management module 114 can realize the same function as the copyright management section 1035 of the client terminal 1002 described above and shown in FIG. 15 .

In addition, the Internet radio tuning reproduction module 114 can realize the same functions as the control section 1023 and the audio control section 1026 of the client terminal 1002 described above and shown in FIG. 15 .

In addition, the musical piece purchase reproduction module 119 can realize the same functions as the control section 1023 and the audio control section 1026 of the client terminal 1002 described above and shown in FIG. 15 .

In addition, the XML browser 151 can realize the same functions as the input processing section 1021 and the page information generating section 1036 of the client terminal 1002 described above and shown in FIG. 15 .

In addition, the hardware content controller 117, the database access module 115, and the content data access module 116 can realize the same functions as the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002 described above and shown in FIG.

In addition, the authentication library 131 of the program library 130 can realize the same functions as the authentication processing section 1037 and the authentication information storage section 1038 of the client terminal 1002 described above and shown in FIG. 15 .

In addition, the clipping library 132 of the program library 130 can realize the same function as the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002 described above and shown in FIG. 15 .

In addition, the related information display module 120 can realize the same function as the radio broadcast display control section 1039 of the client terminal 1002 described above and shown in FIG. 15 .

In addition, the tuner tuning reproduction/recording module 121 can realize the same functions as the control section 1023, audio control section 1026, and tuner section 1031 of the client terminal 1002 described above and shown in FIG.

In addition, the audio user interface 152 can realize the same functions as the input processing section 1021, the control section 1023, and the display control section 1024 of the client terminal 1002 described above and shown in FIG. 15 .

In addition, the CD reproducing module 141 can realize the same functions as the audio control section 1026 and the external recording medium recording/reproducing section 1028 of the client terminal 1002 described above and shown in FIG. 15 .

In addition, the HDD reproduction module 142 can realize the same functions as the control section 1023 and the audio control section 1026 of the client terminal 1002 described above and shown in FIG. 15 .

Therefore, the CPU 11 of the terminal device 10 having the hardware configuration of the hardware circuit blocks as described above and shown in FIG. The hardware configuration of the client terminal 1002 is processed in the same way.

The client terminal 1002 can produce the same effects as those obtained in the first embodiment because each functional block covers the functions realized by the program modules of the terminal device 10 .

Although in the above embodiments, the client terminal 1002 can receive radio broadcasts broadcast from radio stations, the client terminal 1002 can also receive Internet radio broadcasts or satellite radio broadcasts to acquire related information and radio broadcast information, or receive television broadcasts from television broadcast stations to acquire various broadcast information related to TV programs broadcast from a server on the network NT1000.

In addition, although in the above embodiments, the display device of the present invention is applied to the terminal device 10 and the client terminal 1002, it is also possible to apply the display device of the present invention to applications such as personal computers, portable phones, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) and game information processing devices such as TV receivers, radio broadcast receivers, DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) recorders, hard disk recorders, and the like.

That is, although in the above embodiments, hardware circuit blocks, functional circuit blocks, and program modules are packaged on the terminal device 10 or the client terminal 1002, it is also possible to package the hardware circuit blocks, functional circuit blocks, and program modules in addition to the terminal device 10 or the client terminal 1002 such as portable phones and personal computers. They are packaged on various terminals, so that the terminals packaged with hardware circuit blocks, functional circuit blocks and program modules realize the same processing as that of the terminal device 10 and the client terminal 1002.

In addition, although in the above embodiments, the display control program of the present invention is applied to the program modules described above and shown in FIG. 6, it can also be applied to various other display control programs.

In addition, although in the above embodiments, the broadcast list is applied as information on broadcast contents acquired through communication lines, the present invention can also be widely applied to various other information such as real-time broadcasts and electronic program guides for television broadcasts.

In addition, although in the above embodiment, the communication processing section 22 and the network interface 23 of the terminal device 10 or the communication control section 1032 of the client terminal 1002 are used as the list for transmitting content from the broadcast as described in FIGS. 1-26 The present invention can also be applied to various other transmitting means according to the communication method used with the display device.

In addition, although in the above embodiment, the communication processing section 22 of the terminal device 10 and the network interface 23 or the communication control section 1032 of the client terminal 1002 are used as at least Although it is applied to a part of receiving apparatuses, the present invention can also be applied to various other receiving apparatuses according to the communication method used with the display device.

In addition, although in the above embodiments, the display processing section 16 and the display 17 of the terminal device 10 or the display control section 1024 and the display section 1025 of the client terminal 1002 are used as a part for displaying the list information received by the receiving means and Display means for requesting display of instruction items of list information corresponding to programs broadcast before and after the part of the list information, but the present invention can also be widely applied to devices such as cathode ray tubes and control sections for the display Various other display devices for information.

Although in the above embodiments, the operation input section 15 of the terminal device 10 and the operation input section 1020 of the remote controller 40 or the client terminal 1002 described in FIGS. 1-26 are used as selection means for selecting display information on the display means , but the present invention can also be widely applied to various other devices such as touch panels.

In addition, although in the above embodiments, the hard disk drive 21 of the terminal device 10 or the control section 1023 and the storage medium 1029 of the client terminal 1002 described in FIGS. But the present invention can also be widely applied to various other temporary storage devices such as magneto-optical disks and semiconductor memories.

In addition, although in the above embodiments, the operation input section 15 of the terminal device 10 and the operation input section 1020 of the remote controller 40 or the client terminal 1002 described in FIGS. device, but the invention is also broadly applicable to various other devices such as touch panels.

In addition, although in the above embodiments, the tuner 27 of the terminal device 10 or the tuning section 1031 of the client terminal 1002 described in FIGS. It can be applied to various other broadcast receiving devices such as a receiving circuit capable of receiving TV broadcasts or Internet radio broadcasts.

In addition, although in the above embodiments, the display processing section 16 and the display 17 of the terminal device 10 or the display control section 1024 and the display section 1025 of the client terminal 1002 described in FIGS. received broadcast content, but the invention is also broadly applicable to various other broadcast output devices such as cathode ray tubes.

In addition, although in the above embodiments, the total service server 36 and the port server 1003 described in FIGS. server and various other authentication servers.

In addition, although in the above embodiments, the broadcast station server 32 and the radio broadcast information distribution server 1006 of the terminal device 10 described in FIGS. 1-26 are used as the list information providing server for providing list information, as long as the list information, the present invention can also be widely applied to various other listing information providing servers such as the CD title information providing server 31 and servers operated by television broadcasting stations.

In addition, although in the above embodiment, the store code described in FIGS. identification information, but as long as the list information providing server can be identified, the present invention can also be widely applied to various other service identification information.

Industrial applicability

The present invention can be applied to displays of personal computers, cellular phones, and the like.

Claims (8)

1. A display device for displaying information on radio broadcast contents acquired through a communication line, characterized in that it comprises: transmitting means for transmitting a retrieval key specifying a part of the first list information from the first list information of the radio broadcast content, wherein the retrieval key is a designated time or time period; receiving means for receiving said portion of said first list information according to said retrieval key; storage device; display means for simultaneously displaying said portion of said first list information received by said receiving means, and an instruction item for requesting display of second list information, wherein said second list information is the same as said received correspond to programs broadcast before or after the specified time or time period; and selection means for selecting display information on said display means, Wherein, if the selection means selects the instruction item, the sending means also sends retrieval request information, requesting retrieval of the second list information corresponding to the selected instruction item, The receiving means also receives the second list information corresponding to the retrieval request information, the storage means temporarily stores the second list information received by the receiving means; and If the selection means selects the instruction item displayed on the display means, the display means also displays second list information corresponding to the instruction item selected by the selection means. 2. The display device according to claim 1, wherein, if the date and time or the time period are designated as the retrieval key, as a retrieval result, the receiving means receives the specified date and time or the time period in the specified date and time. list information of music pieces broadcast in the program, and the display means displays the list information of the music pieces received by the receiving means. 3. The display device according to claim 1, wherein when a date is designated as the retrieval key, as a retrieval result, the receiving means receives list information of programs broadcast on the designated date, and the The display means displays list information of the programs received by the receiving means. 4. The display device according to claim 1, further comprising: broadcast receiving means for receiving said radio broadcast content and a device for outputting said radio broadcast content received by said broadcast receiving means Broadcast output device. 5. A display method for displaying information about radio broadcast content acquired through a communication line, characterized in that the method comprises the steps of: transmitting a retrieval key specifying a part of the first list information from the first list information of the radio broadcast content, wherein the retrieval key is a designated time or time period; receiving the portion of the first listing information according to the retrieval key; Simultaneously displaying said portion of said first list information received, and an instruction item for requesting display of a second list information, wherein said second list information is broadcast before or after said designated time or time period corresponding to the program; and Select Show Information, Wherein, the display method also includes the following steps: If the instruction item is selected, sending retrieval request information to request retrieval of the second list information corresponding to the selected instruction item, receiving the second list information corresponding to the retrieval request information, temporarily storing the received second list information, and If the displayed instruction item is selected, the second list information corresponding to the selected instruction item is displayed. 6. The display method according to claim 5, wherein if the date and time or the time period are designated as the retrieval key, as a result of the retrieval, the broadcasting in the program is received at the designated date and time or the time period list information of the music, and display the list information of the received music. 7. The display method according to claim 5, wherein when a date is designated as the retrieval key, list information of programs broadcast on the designated date is received as a retrieval result, and the received Listing information for the show. 8. The display method according to claim 5, further comprising the steps of: receive said radio broadcast content; and The received radio broadcast content is output.

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