JP2001060286A - Prepaid recording medium and data recording system using the prepaid recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] When a user copies or downloads software content distributed from a distribution center, it is possible to pay and collect fees without leaking the user's bank account or credit card number. Is desired. SOLUTION: The present invention relates to billing that occurs when writing and recording various types of content information distributed from a distribution center on a card-type recording medium 11 such as a data rewritable nonvolatile semiconductor memory card or an optical or magnetic recording disk. A prepaid information recording area 12 for prepaying an amount and recording the prepaid billing data; an additional information recording area 14 for prerecording additional information for specifying various content information distributed from the transmission center; And a content information recording area 13 for writing and recording various content information distributed from a single recording medium.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for downloading or copying content information of various software distributed from various distribution centers on the condition that a predetermined fee is paid, when the cost is paid in advance, The present invention also relates to a prepaid recording medium capable of downloading or copying and recording software content information, and a data recording system using the prepaid recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in paid broadcasting, when a user receives a paid broadcast program, a reception center is connected to the user via a telephone line and a CATV cable to confirm reception permission. After that, a desired pay broadcast program can be received. It is also possible to purchase goods or download or copy software such as movies, music or various computer programs on the Internet.

The permission to receive the pay broadcast includes a telephone line or C
The use of an ATV cable or the like complicates the system. In addition, the purchase fee of products and software and pay broadcast viewing fee via the Internet are settled based on bank account and credit card numbers.

[0004] In the settlement of this fee, there is a problem that a bank account or a credit card number is leaked to a third party and is illegally used.

[0005] In addition, in the case of digital audio tape, one-time recording from an original sound source is permitted by paying a predetermined copy fee before purchasing a tape in an unrecorded state. It is not widely used due to its distribution.

[0006]

Hitherto, permission to receive a pay broadcast has been issued via a telephone line or a CATV cable network, and the system has been complicated. In addition, telephone lines and CAT
There is also a problem that bank account and credit card numbers used for payment of purchase prices of goods and software via the V-cable and the Internet are leaked to third parties and illegally used. In addition, copying is permitted by paying in advance for a copy fee like a digital audio tape, but is not widely spread due to distribution of the copy fee.

The present invention provides a prepaid recording medium in which a user can reliably pay for copying or downloading without leaking a bank account or credit number, and a distribution center can reliably collect a fee from the user. It is intended to be.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention writes and records various types of content information distributed from a distribution center on a card-type recording medium such as a writable nonvolatile semiconductor memory card or an optical or magnetic recording disk. A prepaid information recording area for prepaying the billing amount generated at that time and recording the prepaid bill data,
A content information recording area for writing and recording various content information distributed from the distribution center,
A prepaid recording medium characterized in that the prepaid information recording area and the content information recording area are arranged in a single recording medium.

According to the present invention, there is provided a prepaid recording medium comprising a non-volatile semiconductor memory card on which data can be written or a recording medium having a card-shaped outer shape including a recording medium having a built-in optical or magnetic recording disk. A prepaid information recording area on which a predetermined amount of money data is recorded, and a content information recording area for writing and recording content information distributed from the distribution center and having a price to be charged for the prepaid information charging data are simply recorded. A prepaid recording medium characterized by being provided in one recording medium.

[0010] In the prepaid information recording area of the prepaid recording medium, purchase fee data generated when writing and recording the content information distributed from the distribution center or balance data obtained by subtracting the purchase fee from the recorded amount data. Is recorded.

The prepaid information recording area of the prepaid recording medium includes prepaid billing amount data and additional information for specifying content information distributed from the distribution center and written and recorded in the content information recording area. Data is written and recorded in advance.

The additional information data to be written and recorded in the prepaid information recording area of the prepaid recording medium includes at least the type or name of the distribution center, the type or name of the content information, and the writable information capacity. It is characterized by the following.

According to the present invention, a prepaid information recording area in which a predetermined amount of money data is recorded in advance, and content information distributed from a distribution center and having a price to be paid by the prepaid information are written and recorded. A data recording system comprising: a content information recording area; a prepaid recording medium provided in a single recording medium; and a recording device that records the distributed content information on the prepaid recording medium. Each content information distributed from the distribution center is added with additional information specifying the content information, and the recording device is configured to store the additional information added to the content information distributed from the distribution center and the prepaid information recording area. And comparing means for comparing with the additional information written and recorded in the The data recording system using a prepaid recording medium, characterized in that the write recording content information in the content information recording area.

[0014] The additional information of the data recording system using the prepaid recording medium includes a type or name of the distribution center, a type or name of content information, an information capacity, and a selling price.

[0015] The distribution center of the data recording system using the prepaid recording medium may include at least one type of content information among a plurality of types of information including broadcast, music, publication, movie, or computer software, and charge information. And the information is written and stored in an information recording area of the prepaid storage medium.

The distribution center of the data recording system using the prepaid recording medium stores a recording medium on which content information of music, movie, or computer software and additional information including a copy price and a copy condition of the content information are recorded. The recording apparatus includes a reproducing unit for reproducing, and the recording device includes a comparing unit that compares the additional information added to the content information supplied from the distribution center with the additional information previously written and recorded in the prepaid information recording area. When the additional information matches, the content information can be written and recorded in the content information recording area.

The prepaid recording medium of the present invention is a prepaid information recording area for prepaying a billing amount generated when writing and recording various types of content information distributed from a transmission center on a recording medium and recording the prepaid billing data. A content information recording area in which additional information specifying various types of content information distributed from the transmission center is recorded in advance, and a content information recording area in which various content information distributed from the transmission center is written and recorded. The prebayed information recording area, the additional information recording area, and the content information recording area are arranged in a single medium.

According to the present invention, various kinds of paid software distributed from the distribution center are written in the prepaid information recording area and stored in the prepaid information recording area without leaking the number of the user's bank account or credit card. It is possible to provide a digital data information recording medium that can be downloaded and copied on the basis of which a charge can be reliably collected at a distribution center.

[0019]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In recent years, a non-volatile semiconductor memory having an increased recording capacity has been developed, and a non-volatile memory card in which this large-capacity non-volatile semiconductor memory is carded has been put into practical use. It is used as a compact flash or smart media as a data recording medium for devices, digital still cameras and computer devices. A large-capacity disk having a size that can be inserted into a PC card slot of a notebook personal computer has been developed and put to practical use. As described above, with the development and commercialization of a card-type large-capacity recording medium (hereinafter, referred to as a card-type recording medium) having a small thickness and a small outer diameter, voice and sound have been proposed as recording media replacing conventional magnetic tapes and magnetic disks. It is used as a recording medium for software such as video and computer equipment programs.

On the other hand, prepaid cards, such as telephone cards, which allow a user to purchase a card of a fixed amount and purchase a product within the range of the amount described on the card, have also become widespread. As a card developed from this prepaid card, a predetermined amount of money is transferred from a bank account to a card in which an IC is embedded and stored, and when a product is purchased, the purchase price is deducted from the amount stored in the card, so that cash is reduced. A so-called electronic money card, which allows the user to purchase a product without carrying around, has also become widespread.

The present invention focuses on the settlement of purchase costs by the prepaid card or the electronic money card and the development and commercialization of the card-type recording medium, and in particular, reduces the purchase costs of software such as music, video, movies, and computer programs. A prepaid recording medium that allows payment and downloading or copying of such software.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing one embodiment of a prepaid recording medium according to the present invention. FIG.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing an area of the card-type recording medium for recording various information data. Reference numeral 11 in FIG.
As described above, is a card made of a nonvolatile semiconductor memory having a large storage capacity called a compact flash or a smart media, or a recording card of a card type recording medium such as a disk having the same shape as a PC card slot of a notebook personal computer. . The recording card 11 has a prepaid information recording area 12 and a content information recording area 13 set therein.

The prepaid information recording area 12 is an area in which, when the recording card 11 is purchased, the purchase price of software to be downloaded or copied in the future is paid in advance, and the prepaid amount data is written and recorded. The prepaid information recording area 11 is configured to access a distribution center for various kinds of software described below and to download or copy desired software, so that a software purchase price distributed together with the software from the distribution center is deducted. ing.

The content information recording area 13 is an area for writing and recording contents as content data of software distributed from the distribution center within a range of the prepaid amount written and recorded in the prepaid information recording area 12. It is.

The recording card 11 shown in FIG. 1B has a distribution center other than the prepaid information recording area 11 and the content information recording area 12 and a content for specifying the contents of software to be distributed. An additional information recording area 14 is provided. This additional information recording area 14
In addition to the prepaid amount data written and recorded in the prepaid information recording area 12 at the time of purchase of the recording card 11, the name of the distribution center, the title of the software, the data capacity of the content to be recorded, or the performer, or Information such as a decryption key when software transmitted from the center is encrypted is recorded.

The additional information recording area 14 can be provided in the prepaid information recording area 12.

An apparatus for exchanging prepaid information with a distribution center and writing and recording content information using the recording card 11 having such a configuration will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the distribution center and a receiver of the distributed software. Reference numeral 16 in FIG. 2 denotes a distribution center, which distributes various kinds of software such as music, video, movies, computer software, and game software. For example, a broadcast distribution company using a wired or wireless network, a distribution using the Internet. business person,
Or a kiosk terminal. The distribution center 16 includes a charge data generator 18 for generating prepaid information for charging for each software to be supplied, a name of the distribution center for identifying the distribution center and the distribution software,
The additional information generator 19 that generates the name of the software to be distributed, the data amount of the software to be distributed, and other identification data necessary for identification, the content data 20 of the distributed software, these fee data generators 18,
It comprises an additional information generator 19 and a combining transmitter 21 for combining and transmitting data from the content data 20. From the distribution center 16, the composite data is distributed via a wired or wireless transmission path 22.

On the other hand, reference numeral 17 in the drawing of FIG. 2 denotes a receiver that receives the combined data transmitted from the distribution center 16 and writes and records the combined data on the recording card 11. The receiver 17 will be described using a recording card 11 having a prepaid information recording area 12, a content information recording area 13, and an additional information recording area 14 shown in FIG. The receiver 17 includes a receiving circuit 23 for receiving the combined data distributed via the transmission line 22 and a separating circuit 24 for separating the combined data received by the receiving circuit 23 into prepaid information, additional information, and content data. When,
Prepaid / additional information comparison for comparing the prepaid information and additional information separated by the separation circuit 24 with the prepaid and additional information written and recorded in the prepaid information recording area 12 and the additional information recording area 14 of the recording card 11. A circuit 25, a prepaid / additional information reading circuit 26 for reading the prepaid / additional information from the recording card 11, and a charge for the downloaded content is reduced to rewrite the data in the prepaid information recording area 12 of the recording card 11. And a charge reduction / download instruction circuit 27 for instructing content download.
And a content data download circuit 28 for writing and recording the content data separated by the separation circuit 24 in the content information recording area 13 of the recording card 11 based on the content download instruction from the charge reduction / download instruction circuit 27. ing.

When purchasing the recording card 11, the user pays in advance a distribution center 16 the user desires to download and a download fee according to the content of the software to be downloaded, and uses a prepaid information writing device (not shown) to write the prepaid information. The recording card 11 is purchased in a state where the charging data of the download fee prepaid in the recording area 12 and the additional information for identifying the distribution center and the software are written in the additional information recording area 14.

The recording card 11 on which the billing data and the additional information are written is inserted into a recording card slot (not shown) of the receiver 17 and desired software is downloaded from a desired distribution center 16. The operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

The receiver 17 in which the recording card 11 in which the billing data and the additional information are written and inserted is connected to the transmission path 22 of the distribution center 16 specified by the user, and the download instruction of the specified software is issued. Is performed, the prepaid / additional information reading circuit 2 of the receiver 17
6 reads data from the prepaid information recording area 12 and the additional information recording area 14 of the recording card 11, reads the billing data written in the prepaid information recording area 12 in step S11, and detects the balance.
Next, in step S12, the additional information written in the additional information recording area 14 is read. Next, step S1
In step S3, the charging data and additional information of the software received by the receiving circuit 23 and transmitted from the distribution center 16 are separated and read by the separating circuit 24. In step S14, the charging data read from the recording card 11 in steps S11 and S12. It is determined whether the balance of the recording card 11 is within the billing data of the desired software transmitted from the distribution center 16 and whether the additional information matches. If the balance of the recording card 11 is within the billing data transmitted from the distribution center 16 and the additional information matches, the charge reduction / download circuit 27 stores the download charge data in the prepaid information recording area 12 of the recording card 11 in step S15. , And
New balance data is calculated by subtracting from the billing data and rewritten.

Next, at step S16, step S1 is performed.
After confirming that the reduction and rewriting of the charge data in the prepaid information recording area 12 in 5 have been completed, the separation circuit 24 separates the charge data reduction / download circuit 27 from the content data download circuit 28 in step S17. An instruction to start downloading software content data is given, and content data of desired software is written and recorded in the content information recording area 13 of the recording card 11.

Next, when it is confirmed in step S18 that the writing and recording of the content data have been completed, the content data of the desired software is transmitted from the distribution center 16 based on the prepaid fee and the additional information when the recording card 11 was purchased. Ends the recording.

In step S14, the charge data and the additional information of the software distributed from the distribution center 16 are not included in the charge data or balance data written in the prepaid information recording area 12 of the recording card 11. And additional information recording area 14
If the information does not match the additional information of the software written and recorded in step S19, the display means (not shown) of the receiver 17 indicates that the balance is insufficient or the additional information does not match in step S19 to call the user's attention.

That is, the user designates the distribution center 16 of the software desired to be downloaded and the name of the software to be distributed and downloaded, and the additional information for specifying the software is stored in the additional information recording area 14 of the recording card 11. In addition, a fee charged for downloading the specific software is prepaid, and the data of the prepaid fee is written and recorded in the prepaid information recording area 12, and the recording card 11 is purchased. By connecting the recording card 11 on which the prepaid information and the additional information are recorded to a desired distribution center 16, content data of desired software can be recorded in the content information recording area 13. Since the fee generated when the content data of the desired software is downloaded is paid in advance when the recording card 11 is purchased, the charge is only subtracted from the prepaid amount data written in the prepaid information recording area 12, Your bank account or credit card number will not be leaked. In addition, the distribution center 16 can collect the fee for the software distributed and downloaded by the user from the sales company of the recording card 11, so that there is no excess or deficiency of the fee.

In the embodiment of the present invention described above, the receiver 17
1B, the recording card 11 having the prepaid information recording area 12, the additional information recording area 14, and the content information recording area 13 shown in FIG. It is also possible to use a recording card 11 in which only prepaid fee data is written and recorded in the prepaid information recording area 12 only in the prepaid information recording area 12 and the content information recording area 13 shown in FIG.

When such a recording card 11 in which only the charge data is recorded in the prepaid information recording area 12 is used, the balance data written and recorded in the prepaid information recording area 12 and the distribution center 16
Is transmitted from the user and is compared with the charge data of the content data that the user desires to download or copy, and if it is within the balance data, the content data is permitted to be downloaded or copied. 13 downloads or copies the content data, reduces the fee from the balance data in the prepaid information recording area 12, and rewrites the balance data with new balance data.

Thus, the user can download and copy content information from an unspecified distribution center, and the versatility of the recording card 11 is increased.

As an example of use of the recording card 11, when used as a recording medium for pay television broadcasting, desired channel data and program data are written and recorded in the additional information recording area 14; The fee data necessary to record the content data of the receiver 1 is written and recorded in the prepaid information recording area 12, and the receiver 1
When the recording card 11 is attached to the storage 7, it is also possible to automatically record program content data in the content information recording area 13 when a desired pay broadcast program is received.

The distribution center 16 is a music company,
When copying and recording various musics distributed by the business, the additional information recording area 14 of the recording card 11 stores the name of the music business, the title of the music or the names of the performers and singers, the number of songs, and the like. By writing and recording data and writing and recording the fee data for recording the music in the prepaid information recording area 12, music of the specified music company can be recorded.

Alternatively, when the distribution center 16 is a movie or publishing company and copies and records various movies and publications distributed by that company, the movie / publishing information is stored in the additional information recording area 14 of the recording card 11. Write and record the name of the publisher, the title of the movie / publication or the names of the performers, the production directors, the authors, etc., and charge data for recording the movie / publication in the prepaid information recording area 12. By writing and recording, it becomes possible to record a movie or publication of the specified movie / publishing company.

Further, the distribution center 16 is a provider of computer software and games, and when downloading the computer software and games distributed by the provider, the computer software and games are stored in the additional information recording area 14 of the recording card 11. By writing and recording data such as the name of the game company, the name of the software and the game, and writing and recording the fee data for recording the software and the game in the prepaid information recording area 12, the identification is performed. It becomes possible to download and record the computer software and games that have been downloaded.

Alternatively, a recording card 11 for copying music recorded on a music CD (compact disc)
In the case of, the number of songs that can be copied only to the prepayment information recording area 12 of the recording card 11 or the music field,
It is also possible to write and record data such as a prepaid fee corresponding to the number of music pieces that can be copied as prepaid information, and allow the user to copy directly from a music CD based on the prepaid information.

It is to be noted that, among the various information data recorded in the prepaid information recording area 12 and the additional information recording area 14 of the recording card 11, at least the prepaid fee data and the balance data are encrypted with an encryption key so that the user cannot rewrite them. Is stored in the data, and when it matches the encryption key distributed from the distribution center 16, it is possible to determine whether to read the charge data and write the subtraction data.

As described above, according to the present invention, the fee required for recording, copying or downloading is paid in advance,
A prepaid information recording area in which the prepaid fee data is written and recorded; an additional information recording area in which additional information for specifying software to be recorded, copied or downloaded is recorded; and a content information recording area in which software content data is recorded. In the recording card having the, the fee for downloading or copying the software content data distributed from a specific distribution center using this recording card is reduced from the fee data recorded in the prepaid information recording area, The bank account and credit card number are not easily leaked, and the distribution center and the contents to be distributed are specified when the recording card is purchased. There is no excess or shortage.

[0046]

According to the present invention, using a recording card having a prepaid information recording area in which prepaid fee data is written and recorded and a software content information recording area,
Content data can be downloaded or copied within the range of the prepaid fee, or distributed from a specific distribution center by providing an additional information recording area for writing and recording additional information specifying software on the recording card. The downloaded content data of the specified software can be downloaded. As a result, the fee for the content data purchased by the user is reduced from the fee data recorded in the prepaid information recording area, so that the leakage of the bank account or credit card number does not occur easily, and In addition, since the distribution center and the contents of the software to be distributed are specified when the recording card is purchased, there is an effect that there is no excess or deficiency in the distribution of charges or the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a prepaid recording medium according to the present invention, FIG. 1 (a) is an explanatory diagram illustrating the configuration of a recording medium of one embodiment, and FIG. 1 (b) is a recording medium of another embodiment. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of a medium.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a distribution center and a receiver using a prepaid recording medium according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of writing and recording data transmitted from a distribution center on a prepaid recording medium according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11: Recording card 12: Prepaid information recording area 13: Content information recording area 14: Additional information recording area

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Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of paying in advance a charge amount for writing and recording various contents information distributed from a distribution center on a card-type recording medium such as a nonvolatile semiconductor memory card or an optical or magnetic recording disk on which data can be written. A prepaid information recording area for recording the prepaid bill data; and a content information recording area for writing and recording various content information distributed from the distribution center, wherein the prepaid information recording area and the content information recording are provided. A prepaid recording medium, wherein the areas are arranged in a single recording medium. 2. A prepaid recording medium comprising a non-volatile semiconductor memory card on which data can be written, or a recording medium having a card-shaped outer shape including a recording medium having a built-in optical or magnetic recording disk. A prepaid information recording area in which the amount data of the amount is recorded, and a content information recording area in which content information distributed from the distribution center and having the value of the charge data of the prepaid information is recorded. A prepaid recording medium provided in a recording medium. 3. The prepaid information recording area records purchase charge data generated when writing and recording the content information distributed from the distribution center, or balance data obtained by subtracting the purchase charge from the recorded amount data. The prepaid recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the recording is performed. 4. The prepaid information recording area includes prepaid billing amount data and additional information data that is distributed from the distribution center and specifies content information to be written and recorded in the content information recording area. 2. The prepaid recording medium according to claim 1, wherein is recorded and recorded in advance. 5. The additional information data written and recorded in the prepaid information recording area in advance includes at least a type or name of a distribution center, a type or name of content information,
5. The prepaid recording medium according to claim 4, wherein said prepaid recording medium includes a recordable information capacity. 6. A prepaid information recording area in which a predetermined amount of money data is recorded in advance, and content information which is distributed from a distribution center and writes and records content information having a price which is a target of the amount data of the prepaid information. A data recording system comprising: a prepaid recording medium having a recording area provided in a single recording medium; and a recording device for recording the distributed content information on the prepaid recording medium. Each content information distributed from the center,
The additional information specifying the content information is added, and the recording device compares the additional information added to the content information distributed from the distribution center with the additional information written and recorded in the prepaid information recording area. A data recording system using a prepaid recording medium, characterized in that when the additional information matches, the content information is written and recorded in the content information recording area. 7. The data using a prepaid recording medium according to claim 6, wherein the additional information includes a type or name of the distribution center, a type or name of content information, an information capacity and a selling price. Recording system. 8. The distribution center distributes at least one type of content information among a plurality of types of information including broadcast, music, publication, movie, or computer software, together with additional information including billing information. 7. A data recording system using a prepaid recording medium according to claim 6, wherein said information is written and stored in an information recording area of said prepaid storage medium. 9. The distribution center includes a reproducing unit that reproduces a recording medium on which content information of music, movie, or computer software and additional information including a copy price and a copy condition of the content information are recorded, The recording device has a comparing unit that compares the additional information added to the content information supplied from the distribution center with the additional information previously written and recorded in the prepaid information recording area, and the additional information matches. 7. The data recording system using a prepaid recording medium according to claim 6, wherein said content information can be written and recorded in said content information recording area. 10. A prepaid information recording area for prepaying a billing amount generated when writing and recording various types of content information distributed from a transmission center on a recording medium and recording the prepaid billing data; A content information recording area in which additional information for specifying various content information to be distributed is recorded in advance; and a content information recording area in which various content information distributed from the transmission center is written and recorded; A prepaid recording medium, wherein an area, an additional information recording area, and a content information recording area are arranged in a single medium.