JPH1051573A - System and method for charging - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To dispense with a procedure for application to utilization or the management of data characteristic to many users and to enable charging to the provision of transmission line or terminal as well by adding the data of transmission line or terminal to pay information. SOLUTION: When the utilization request for provided information PP is generated, based on information at one part of information characteristic data PID, additional data TID of transmission line or terminal and money information PPC at least, an information utilization possibility deciding part CHECK decides whether or not the information PP can be utilized. When the decided result is acceptable, the information PP can be utilized by a user terminal. In this case, information concerning whether or not the information PP can be utilized, information peculiar data PID, additional data TID of transmission line and terminal and memory information PPC is reported to the user terminal and displayed on a display part. The money information PPC can be cash, prepaid card or electronic information equivalent to money stored in a floppy disk, IC card or PCMCIA as well.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a billing system and method, and more particularly to a billing system and method in a multimedia network for transmitting and providing information including moving images, still images, sounds, computer programs, and other data. Things.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the development of optical fiber networks in trunk communication networks, the spread of cable television systems, the practical use of satellite communications, the spread of local area networks, and the like have rapidly advanced. Furthermore, the interconnection of these communication networks has been actively made. By using these communication networks, so-called multimedia information including character data, still images, sounds, and moving images has been exchanged on a worldwide scale.

[0003] Accordingly, the so-called information service industry, which provides various kinds of information using such a communication network and collects a fee according to the content and amount of the information, is increasing. In such services, it is important to appropriately charge the provided information. In addition, multimedia information, which is digital data, can be easily modified, such as edited or transformed, and a technology is needed that can appropriately charge not only distribution such as distribution and sale of information, but also modification of provided information. become.

[0004] Further, the protection of information is incomplete, and illegal use of video information including programs and sounds has become a problem. In order to prevent unauthorized use of information, a copy protection function is added or a number corresponding to the hardware device number assigned to the computer etc. is also assigned to the software, and the two numbers are collated when executing the software,
And so on. However, the copy protection function is inconvenient when backing up software, and the method of collating numbers is inconvenient for managing and selling numbers.
Not very practical.

On the other hand, Ryoichi Mori proposed a concept of "super distribution" aimed at protecting the rights of software right holders (hereinafter referred to as "information providers").
7218, JP-A-60-191322, JP-A-64-68835, JP-A-2-444
47, and JP-A-4-64129.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of super distribution disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-64129. The information provider P provides the software PPi
The availability of (or PPj) is determined by CHECK based on the software-specific data PIDi (or PIDj) and the conditions for each user USER-ID, and if available, the software usage history is recorded in SH. And the information provider P,
Charge software usage fee based on history. The SSU shown in the figure is a software service unit including each of the above units.

[0007]

However, the above technique has the following problems.

[0008] (1) In super-distribution, whether or not a user is permitted to use information by an information provider is determined based on data unique to the user. Therefore, the means of realizing super distribution is
It has storage means for storing at least data unique to the user. Therefore, a person who intends to use the information needs to apply for the use of the information to the information provider in advance, obtain the USER-ID, and register it as user-specific data. The application procedure and management of a large number of user-specific data (USER-ID) are complicated.

(2) In order to prevent unauthorized use of information or to allow an information provider to grasp the use status of information to be provided, the super-distribution implementing means includes a storage means for storing an information use history. Have. The information provider charges the user based on the history. In super-distribution, information is handled like rental rather than purchase, so a usage history is required. However, the use history of what information the user used relates to the privacy of the user, and there is a problem of how to protect the privacy of the user.

(3) The super-distribution is a means and a method for correctly grasping the use state of the provided information, that is, for correctly imposing a fee, but does not include means and a method relating to payment of a fee. Therefore, the information provider needs to charge and collect fees by means other than super-distribution.

(4) Charging using data unique to software by super-distribution is intended for information such as a computer program which has a small amount of information but is worth using. In providing information with a very large amount of information such as real-time moving images,
Not only the usage fee but also the transmission fee increases. However, super-distribution does not support charging for line usage fees or multimedia terminal usage fees. A system that can charge not only the provided information but also the provision of the transmission path and the terminal is desired.

(5) The super-distribution determines whether or not the information to be provided can be used, but there is no restriction on the usage after the determination. There is a demand for a method capable of judging whether or not use is possible according to the stage of use and restricting the use of information according to the result of the judgment.

The present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems individually or collectively, and provides a billing system and a billing method that do not require a use application procedure and management of a large number of user-specific data. The purpose is to:

Another object of the present invention is to provide a charging system and a method thereof that can protect the privacy of a user.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a billing system and a billing method that facilitate billing and collection.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a billing system and a billing method capable of billing not only the provided information but also the provision of the transmission path and the terminal.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a billing system and a billing system capable of judging whether or not the information can be used in accordance with the stage of using the provided information, restricting the use of the information in accordance with the judgment result, and performing billing. The purpose of.

[0018]

The present invention has the following configuration as one means for achieving the above object.

A billing system according to the present invention is a billing system for billing for provision of information via a multimedia network, wherein the multimedia information and the multimedia information are provided via the multimedia network. Receiving means for receiving the first billing information, operating means for manipulating the money information of the medium on which the money information is recorded, and the receiving means based on the first billing information and the money information. Determining means for determining whether the multimedia information can be used.

A billing method according to the present invention is a billing method for billing for provision of information via a multimedia network, wherein the multimedia information and the multimedia information are provided via the multimedia network. Receiving the first billing information unique to the computer, operating the money information of the medium on which the money information is recorded, operating the money information, based on the first billing information and the money information, the receiving step A determining step of determining whether or not the received multimedia information can be used.

[0021]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a charging system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0022]

[First Embodiment] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a charging system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, P is an information provider,
PPi (or PPj) is the paid information provided by P, P
IDi (or PIDj) is information specific to PPi, PPC
Is a monetary information, and CHECK is a determination unit of availability.

The information provider P provides the information PP including the PID. The information PP is configured to always pass through a charging unit when used in a user terminal such as a personal computer.
There is a socket for C.

When a request to use the information PP is issued, the availability check unit CHECK checks whether the information PP can be used based on at least a part of the information of the PID and the PPC, and notifies the user terminal of the determination result. I do. For example, CHECK checks whether the usage fee indicated in the PID is within the monetary information of the PPC. If the determination result of CHECK is OK, the user terminal can use the information PP. Information on PID and PPC at this time, that is,
The balance of the PPC is displayed on the display unit. In addition, the determination result by CHECK can also be displayed on the display unit.

As the PPC, cash, a prepaid card, and the like can be used, but electronic information equivalent to money stored in a storage medium (floppy disk, magnetic card, IC card, PCMCIA card, etc.), so-called digital cash or electronic It may be what is called money.

That is, in the present embodiment, whether or not the information PP can be used is determined by monetary information PPC which does not depend on the user, instead of using the unique data USER-ID for each user. Therefore, the user does not need to perform an application procedure for obtaining a USER-ID or the like, but only needs to have actual money or money information PPC equivalent to money. That is, the user only pays the usage fee for the information PP to be used. Further, there is no need to manage a large number of user-specific data, and the above-mentioned problem (1) can be solved.

Further, in this embodiment, since the user-specific data is not required, the information provider P cannot know which user has used the information PP. However, the information provider P only needs to pay a fee according to the use of the information PP, and does not need to know information relating to the privacy of the user as to which user has used the information PP. Therefore, the above-mentioned problem (2) can be solved.

Therefore, in this embodiment, any USER
-There is no storage unit that stores the usage history of which information PP the user with the ID has used, but the storage unit that stores the usage frequency of which information PP has been used, or information It is possible to have a usage notification section that indicates that the PP is currently being used. In FIG. 2, a use notification is sent to the information provider P along a route indicated by a dotted line. A specific use frequency storage unit or use notification unit will be described in detail in an embodiment described later.

In this embodiment, since the PPC is information equivalent to money, the use of the PPC itself corresponds to payment of a fee. As a result, the above-mentioned problem (3) is also solved, but a specific method of obtaining and collecting the PPC and a method of distributing a fee will be described in an embodiment described later in connection with the problem (2).

Regarding the problem (4), in addition to the PID,
The use of a transmission path or terminal can be solved by adding data called TID set by a provider of the transmission path or terminal to the information PP. Note that the TID can be included in the PID. Specific examples regarding the TID will also be described in detail in an embodiment described later.

Regarding the problem (5), a charge corresponding to the stage of use is described in the PID and TID. If the amount indicated by the PPC is equal to or more than the charge, CHECK permits the use of the information PP. The user determines the use stage of the information PP as necessary.
This is set using a touch panel or keyboard (not shown). The CHECK determines whether or not the service can be used every time or when stepwise use conditions are set or changed. A specific example regarding the problem (5) will also be described in an embodiment described later.

[0032]

Second Embodiment Hereinafter, a charging system according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the second embodiment,
The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a billing method according to the second embodiment.
The case where PPC is cash is shown.

The billing unit displays the usage fee indicated by the PID of the information PP on the display unit. The user pays the specified money (for example, coins and bills) at the PPC slot according to the usage fee display.
Input. CHECK permits the use of the information PP when the input amount exceeds the fee indicated in the PID.

When the fee is updated in accordance with the time, the billing unit displays this fact on the display unit and allows the user to input an additional fee. When the usage conditions are set by an input unit (not shown) or the like, the charging unit displays a fee corresponding to the usage condition on the display unit, and allows the user to input the fee. In other words, the CHECK is configured to perform the re-determination based on the time, the set use condition, the added amount, and the fee described in the PID.

The entered money is stored in the COIN BOX,
Collected by the information provider P or the agency that collects the fee. At this time, the usage frequency information for each information PP recorded in the CNT is also collected, and the COIN BOX is used according to the usage frequency information.
Is collected and distributed to each information provider P. Of course, when the use frequency information is unnecessary, such as when only one information PP is provided, the CNT can be omitted.

As described above, if the information provider or the charge distributor installs the user terminal in, for example, a public telephone box, a game center, a coffee shop, a library, or the like according to the charging method using cash described in the present embodiment. In addition, it is possible to realize a charging system in which a large number of people can use the installed user terminal using cash.

[0038]

Third Embodiment Hereinafter, a charging system according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the third embodiment,
The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a billing method according to the third embodiment.
The case where the PPC is a prepaid card is shown.

The user inserts the prepaid card into the PPC socket. If the inserted prepaid card balance is higher than the charge indicated in the PID, the CHECK
Allow the use of. In this case, the billing unit is configured so that even when the usage fee of the information PP is updated with time, if the prepaid card has a sufficient balance, it can be continuously used.

The billing unit is configured so that, even when the use conditions are set or changed by an input unit (not shown) or the like, the corresponding amount is deducted from the prepaid card. CHECK determines whether or not the card can be used in accordance with time and usage conditions, based on the balance of the prepaid card and PID.
May be configured to perform the re-determination based on the description.

Since the initial amount of the prepaid card is limited, the receiving port of the PPC is configured so that the prepaid card can be additionally inserted, and the configuration can be such that a plurality of prepaid cards can be used continuously. Is desirable.

As with telephone cards and the like, prepaid cards can be easily obtained by selling them at a variety of stores. In this case, the manufacturer or sales company of the prepaid card becomes the distributor of the fee, and the information provider P
By registering with the fee distributor,
You can receive the fee distribution according to the use of PP. Of course, the prepaid card retailer is included in the fee distributor.

The distribution of the fee according to the use is realized by the use notification in which the billing unit notifies the fee distributor of the use information using the communication interface (I / F). However,
The usage notification is configured to be output only when the charging unit deducts the usage fee from the prepaid card.

The communication I / F can also be used when the information PP is obtained by communication. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the charge distributor, the plurality of information providers and the users are connected to the network, and the charge distributor assigns the predetermined charge to the predetermined information in accordance with the use notification. Distribute to providers.

If there is no communication I / F, there is a method of changing the type of the prepaid card according to the information PP to be used. In this case, CHICK is the information PP to be used.
Is determined based on the description of the PID and the type of the prepaid card. If an appropriate prepaid card is inserted, the information PP can be used.

Further, the charging section may have means for recording the usage record of the information PP on the prepaid card, and the used prepaid card may be collected to distribute the fee according to the usage. In this case, in order to promote the collection of the prepaid card, for example, a difference is made between a card price when the prepaid card is exchanged and a card price when the prepaid card is not exchanged. That is, in the case of exchange, the card price corresponding to the card balance may be used, and in the case of no exchange, the card price may include the price of the card itself.
However, the fees corresponding to the usage records that cannot be collected are distributed at a ratio according to the usage records that can be collected.

As described above, according to the charging method using the prepaid card shown in the present embodiment, the information provider can use the CD-ROM,
Distribute information over a wide area using personal computer communications, the Internet, etc., while on the other hand, if a prescribed agency that is a fee distributor prepares and sells prepaid cards, users purchase and obtain prepaid cards through retailers etc. A billing system that uses the collected information at home or other user terminals can be realized.

[0049]

Fourth Embodiment Hereinafter, a charging system according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the fourth embodiment,
The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a billing method according to the fourth embodiment.
An electrical or / and magnetic device that is relatively easy to rewrite, such as a floppy disk, an IC card, or a magnetic card, is used for the PPC. The monetary information recorded in the PPC is data guaranteed by a financial institution such as a bank, or special data that can be added only by a fee distributor including a store.

The user of the information PP inserts the PPC into the PPC socket. The CHECK of the billing unit reads the monetary information from the PPC,
If the amount of money is larger than the usage fee indicated in the PID of the information PP, and the usage fee can be charged to the fee distributor that issued the PPC, the use of the information PP is permitted. Of course, even if the usage fee for the information PP is
As long as C has a balance, the information PP can be continuously used. Further, when setting or changing the use condition using an input unit (not shown) or the like, the charging unit deducts a predetermined fee from the PPC according to the setting or change. In other words, the CHECK is configured to perform the re-determination based on the time, the set use condition, the added amount, and the fee described in the PID.

Since the money information in this case is information that can be read and written electronically, the billing unit performs input / output of money information with the charge distributor through a predetermined procedure via the communication I / F. Can be.

Unlike the first and second embodiments described above,
The user of the information PP in the present embodiment does not pay money directly to the fee distributor. A bank or a financial institution (hereinafter referred to as a “charger”) that has made a contract with the user guarantees the payment of the user's money to the charge distributor.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, the charge distributor, the charge changer,
A plurality of information providers and users are connected to a network.

Further, similarly to the third embodiment, the use notification can be sent to the charge distributor via the communication I / F, and the charge can be distributed according to the use of the information PP.
In this case, the usage fee can be sent directly to a fee distributor or an information provider as electronic money.

Specifically, electronic money can be deposited and paid out by the following communication processing. However, the billing unit needs to include a cryptographic processing unit and an authentication processing unit, which will be described later, and a management unit that completely manages a time stamp indicated by a TA, which will be described later. This is based on the consideration of rewritable PPC,
This is a measure to prevent PC duplication. That is, the monetary information can be authenticated, and management of the time stamp can be used to counter fraud such as copying of the monetary information.

User A, information provider B, fee distributor
C, the chargeer is D, each keeps a secret key that can be signed secretly, and the communication partner knows a public key that can check the signature (for example, sA is the secret key of A, and pA is the public key). ). Here, a case is considered where A uses information Pi provided by B. However, the processing result by the key Y of X is {X} ^
Represented by Y, each process of the user, key and time stamp T
It is assumed that the management of A is performed by means of ensuring the security in the billing unit, or by a memory or record of each person.

[Money Information Acquisition Processing] (1) The user A receives a request for inputting money information
Your registration information iA (eg account number or credit number)
Message MA signed with the private key sA
To the charge distributor C. MA = {A, {A, iA, a, TA} ^ sA}

(2) The charge distributor C checks the signature of the message MA with the public key pA of the user A, and confirms that the information is correct. After confirming that the information is correct, using the registration information iA extracted from the message MA, the charge changer D
Make a request for a yen. When the request is accepted, a message MC in which the monetary information is signed with the signature key sC of the charge distributor C is sent to the user A for each basic unit e (for example, 100 yen if the information PP is 100 yen unit). . However, a time stamp TCi different from the TA is added to the message MC. MC = Σ {TA, {C, e, TCi} ^ sC} ^ pA

(3) The charging unit of the user terminal transmits the message MC
Are decrypted with the key pA, the signature is checked with the public key pC of the charge distributor C, and if it is confirmed that the information is correct, {C, e, TCi} ^ sC is recorded in the PPC.

However, TA and TCi are time stamps, and messages having the same time stamp from the same sender can be regarded as invalid information. Also, TA and TCi are
Even if it is not a time stamp, a serial number, a random number that does not coincide by chance, or a small random number may be used.

[Usage Information Notification Processing] (1) When the user A desires to use the information Pi and the balance of the PPC is larger than the usage fee indicated in PIDi, the charging unit permits the use of the information Pi.

(2) When the user A finishes using the information Pi or while using the information Pi, the billing unit allocates the amount of the usage fee to the PP.
Withdraw from the balance of C.

(3) At this time, the user A sends a usage notice MB to the charge distributor C. However, the amount deducted from the PPC is b. MB = {A, B, {B, b, TB} ^ sA}

(4) When the fee distributor C checks the message MB and confirms that the information is correct, the fee distributor B uses the usage fee b (or the amount excluding a part thereof) as a distribution to the information provider B. pay.

In the above, an example has been described in which the encryption system between the fee distributor and the user is a public key encryption. However, it is clear that a common key encryption may be used if the key is shared in advance. . Further, the validity period of each message can be determined by the time of the time stamp. In the above description, the order of arrangement in the message is random, and the user identifiers and time stamps indicated by A, B, etc. may not always be necessary. Furthermore, the above-described procedures of the money information obtaining process and the use information notifying process are merely examples, and the present invention includes all processes in which electronic information is used as money information and a billing process is performed without using user-specific data.

When the user terminal does not have a communication I / F, the user goes to a charge distributor such as a store and inputs money information stored in the PPC. Also,
The billing unit records a use record of information such as the use notification MB on the PPC, and distributes a fee according to the use of the information by collecting the use record when inputting monetary information into the PPC. be able to. As described above, such electronic money information is special data that can be processed only by the charge distributor. Therefore, users who do not have a communication I / F must use a distributor such as a retailer in order to use PPC, so usage records can always be collected and fees can be distributed according to usage. It is.

As described above, the user terminal such as a personal computer having a floppy disk drive does not require a special socket for the PPC by the accounting method using the floppy disk shown in the present embodiment. . Furthermore, a billing system that can be easily realized on an existing network can be configured by making it possible to omit the store of the prepaid card by exchanging money information through communication and performing encryption and authentication processing in software.

[0068]

[Fifth Embodiment] Hereinafter, a charging system according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the fifth embodiment,
The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a billing method according to the fifth embodiment.
An electronic card such as an IC card or PCMCIA is used for PPC. The monetary information recorded in the PPC is data guaranteed by a financial institution such as a bank, or special data that can be added only by a fee distributor including a store.

The user of the information PP inserts the PPC into the PPC socket and performs the PP according to a predetermined procedure (such as inputting a personal identification number).
Make C operational. The CHECK of the charging unit reads out the monetary information from the PPC, and the amount is greater than the usage fee indicated in the PID of the information PP, and it is possible to charge the usage fee to the fee distributor who issued the PPC. , The use of the information PP is permitted. Of course, even if the usage fee for the information PP is in hourly units,
As long as the PPC has a balance, the information PP can be used continuously. Further, when setting or changing the use condition using an input unit (not shown) or the like, the charging unit deducts a predetermined fee from the PPC according to the setting or change. In other words, CHECK is
Time, set use conditions, added amount, PID
Is re-determined based on the fee described in (1).

Since the monetary information in this case is electronically readable and writable information, the billing unit performs input / output of monetary information with the charge distributor through a predetermined procedure via the communication I / F. Can be.

Unlike the first and second embodiments described above,
The user of the information PP in the present embodiment does not pay money directly to the fee distributor. A bank or financial institution (fee changer) that has made a contract with the user guarantees the user's payment of money to the charge distributor. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, the charge distributor, the charge changer, the plurality of information providers and the users are connected to the network.

Further, similarly to the third embodiment, the above-mentioned use notification can be sent to the charge distributor via the communication I / F, and the charge can be distributed according to the use of the information PP.
In this case, the usage fee can be sent directly to a fee distributor or an information provider as electronic money.

More specifically, electronic money can be deposited and paid out by the following communication processing. However, in consideration of the security of communication and processing, the electronic card used for the PPC is used as a security function to confirm the owner with a personal identification number, control access to data memory by access conditions, and encrypt Performs encryption and authentication using a method. At this time, the secret key used for the encryption processing and the authentication processing is written in the memory area where access is controlled, and only a person (such as a card issuer or a charge distributor) who satisfies the access condition can access. Also, the following charging operation cannot be changed by anyone other than the card issuer or the charge distributor.

User A, information provider B, fee distributor
C, D is the charge changer, and charge distributor C shares a secret key for cryptographic communication with each user (for example, the secret key between A and C is sA, and the secret key between B and C is The secret key is assumed to be sB), and the charge distributor C holds the secret key sC for the signature and publishes the inspection key pC of the signature corresponding to the secret key sC. Hereinafter, a case where the user A uses the information Pi provided by the information provider B will be considered. However, the ciphertext using the key Y of the plaintext X is {X} ^
It is represented by Y, and it is assumed that all processes of the user A are performed in the PPC having the security function as described above.

[Money Information Acquisition Processing] (1) The user A receives, for example, a request for inputting money information for a yen,
It adds its own registration information iA (for example, account number or credit number) corresponding to the charge changer D, and sends the information to the charge distributor C. MA = {A, {A, iA, a, TA} ^ sA}

(2) The charge distributor C decrypts the encrypted part of the message MA with the secret key sA shared with the user A, and registers the information MA.
Is used to charge the fee changer D for a yen. When the request is accepted, a message MC in which the money information is signed with the signing key sC of the charge distributor C is sent to the user A. MC = {TA, {C, a, TC} ^ sC} ^ sA

(3) The user A decrypts the message MC with the signature key sA, checks the signature with the public key pC corresponding to the signature key sC, and confirms that the information is correct. Add money information for yen.

However, TA and TCi are time stamps, and messages with the same time stamp from the same sender can be said to be incorrect information. Also, TA and TCi are
Even if it is not a time stamp, a serial number, a random number that does not coincide by chance, or a small random number may be used.

[Usage Information Notification Processing] (1) When user A desires to use information Pi, if the balance of the PPC is larger than the usage fee indicated in PIDi, the charging unit permits the use of information Pi.

(2) When the user A finishes using the information Pi or while using the information Pi, the billing unit allocates the amount of the usage fee to the PP.
Withdraw from the balance of C.

(3) At this time, the charging unit sends the usage notice MB to the charge distributor C. However, the amount deducted from the PPC is b. MB = {A, {A, B, b, TB} ^ sA}

(4) The charge distributor C inspects the message MB and confirms that the message MB is correct, and pays the usage fee b (or the amount excluding a part thereof) to the information provider B. Pay as.

Next, when information between A and B is also exchanged by encrypted communication, the following processing may be performed between the above-described money information obtaining processing and the use information notification processing. However, it is assumed that the fee distributor C also shares the secret key with the information provider B.

[Usage Information Processing] (1) The user A sends the following message to the fee distributor C to request generation of a conversation key with the information provider B. MA '= {A, B, TA'}

(2) The charge distributor C generates a conversation key CK and sends the next message to the user A. MC '= {{TC', A, CK} ^ sB, TA ', B, CK} ^ sA

(3) The user A transmits the message MC ′ to the secret key sA.
And sends {TC ', A, CK} ^ sB to information provider B.

(4) The information provider B decrypts the received message with the signature key sB and sends the information encrypted with the conversation key CK to the user A.

(5) The user A decrypts the encrypted information with the conversation key CK.

In the above, an example has been described in which the encryption system between the charge distributor and the user is a common key encryption in order to simplify the processing. However, as in the previous embodiment, the public key encryption is used. Obviously it is good. Further, the validity period of each message can be determined by the time of the time stamp. In the above description, the order of arrangement in the message is random, and the user identifiers and time stamps indicated by A, B, etc. may not always be necessary. Furthermore, the above-described procedures of the money information obtaining process and the use information notifying process are merely examples, and the present invention includes all processes in which electronic information is used as money information and a billing process is performed without using user-specific data.

If the user terminal does not have a communication I / F, the user goes to a charge distributor such as a store and inputs monetary information stored in the PPC. Also,
The billing unit records a use record of information such as the use notification MB on the PPC, and distributes a fee according to the use of the information by collecting the use record when inputting monetary information into the PPC. be able to. As described above, such electronic money information is special data that can be processed only by the charge distributor. Therefore, users who do not have a communication I / F must use a distributor such as a retailer in order to use PPC, so usage records can always be collected and fees can be distributed according to usage. It is.

As described above, the IC card shown in the present embodiment
By billing method using an electronic card such as PCMCIA,
A charging system in which the charging system of the fourth embodiment is made more secure can be realized.

[0093]

Sixth Embodiment Hereinafter, a charging system according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the sixth embodiment,
The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a billing method according to the sixth embodiment.
As in the fifth embodiment, electronic money information is used, and the billing method is unnecessary for the charge distributor. As shown in FIG. 10, a plurality of users and information providers, and a fee changer are connected to a network. Further, the electronic card used as the PPC can perform, as security functions, owner confirmation using a personal identification number, access control to a data memory based on access conditions, and encryption and authentication using an encryption method described later. At this time, the secret key used for the encryption processing and the authentication processing has been written in the access-controlled memory area. Also, the following charging operation cannot be changed by anyone other than the card issuer or the charge distributor.

A is a user, B is an information provider, and a
D, each holding a signable private key, and the communicating party knowing a public key that can verify the signature. For example, the secret key of user A is sA and the public key is pA
And Here, the information provided by user A by information provider B
Consider the case of using Pi. However, the processing result by the key Y of X is represented by {X} ^ Y, and the processing of the user A is all performed in the PPC having the security function as described above.

[Money Information Acquisition Processing] (1) The user A receives, for example, a request for inputting money information for a yen,
Your registration information iA (eg account number or credit number)
And sends the information to the fee changer D. MA = {A, {A, iA, a, TA} ^ sA}

(2) The charge changer D checks the signature of the message MA with the public key pA of the user A, and if the registration information iA is correct and the user A can pay a yen, a User A sends a message MD in which the financial information corresponding to the yen is signed with secret key sD
To return. MD = {TA, {D, a, TD} ^ sD} ^ sA

(3) The user A checks the message MD with the public key pA, further checks the signature with the public key pD of the fee changer D, and confirms that the information is correct. The monetary information of the minute is added.

However, TA and TCi are time stamps, and messages from the same sender and having the same time stamp can be regarded as incorrect information. Also, TA and TCi are
Even if it is not a time stamp, a serial number, a random number that does not coincide by chance, or a small random number may be used.

[Usage Information Notification Processing] (1) When user A desires to use information Pi, if the balance of the PPC is larger than the usage fee indicated in PIDi, the charging unit permits the use of information Pi.

(2) When the user A finishes using the information Pi or while using the information Pi, the charging unit allocates the amount of the usage fee to the PP.
Withdraw from the balance of C.

(3) At this time, the user A sends a use notification MB to the information provider B. However, the amount deducted from the PPC is b. MB = {A, B, {B, b, TB} ^ sA}

(4) The information provider B inspects the message MB and confirms that the information is correct, and indicates the signature {B, b, TB} ^ sA of the user A to the fee changer D, and Receive the yen fee.

When information between a user and an information provider is also exchanged by encrypted communication, encrypted communication can be directly performed using the public key of the other party. However, when the amount of information is large, the following is performed. Encrypted communication using common key encryption can also be performed. In this case, it is assumed that a common key encryption unit is shared between each user and the information provider. However, (1) (2)
In the above, A and B may be reversed.

[Information Usage Information Processing] (1) User A sends a message encrypted with public key pB of common key CK with information provider B. MA '= {A, B, CK, TA'} ^ pB

(2) The information provider B decrypts the received message with the secret key sB. (3) The information provider B sends the information encrypted by the common key CK to the user A. (4) User A
The information encrypted by the common key is decrypted by the common key CK.

In the above, for the sake of simplicity, an example has been described in which the encryption system of the fee changer, the user, and the information provider is a public key encryption, but a common key encryption may be used as described above. It is clear. Further, the validity period of each message can be determined by the time of the time stamp. In the above description, the order of arrangement in the message is random, and the user identifiers and time stamps indicated by A, B, etc. may not always be necessary. Furthermore, the above-described procedures of the money information obtaining process and the use information notifying process are merely examples, and the present invention includes all processes in which electronic information is used as money information and a billing process is performed without using user-specific data.

As described above, the charging system shown in the present embodiment makes it possible to realize a charging system that does not require a charge distributor, that is, a system in which a user and an information provider directly make a transaction through a charge changer. Further, it is apparent that this billing system and billing system can be applied to electronic money or digital cash that handles certain special data in the same way as money, which is expected to be put into practical use in the future.

[0109]

Seventh Embodiment Hereinafter, a charging system according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the seventh embodiment,
The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

A CD-ROM storing a large amount of information encrypted with different keys by an information provider is sold at a low price through a store, and the information is supplied at the request of the user who purchased the CD-ROM. When the provider notifies the encryption key of the specified information,
A billing method for charging for the use of the information is known. However, this method has a problem in that a store that sells a CD-ROM can obtain a sales profit of a medium, but cannot obtain a profit for selling information stored on a CD-ROM. The problem described above can be solved by using the billing method by the PPC shown in the present invention not only for rental information use but also for information purchase.

That is, the user purchases a CD-ROM at a store and also purchases a PPC such as a prepaid card. When the user knows the encryption key through communication with the information provider (including a telephone), the information provider specifies payment by a prepaid card, and the information provider can obtain information from the store that sold the prepaid card. Can be collected. According to this method, the usage fee for the information also passes through the store, so that the store can also obtain a profit for using the information.

The billing unit checks the balance of the PPC, and if there is a balance equal to or more than the fee of the information to be used, decrypts the encryption for the information and deducts the fee from the PPC. In addition, the PPC will allow the balance to be redeemed, and will be produced for each information provider and will be sold on CD-ROM
Will be sold as well. Therefore, in this embodiment, a charge distributor is unnecessary.

Further, by making the use information notifying process in each of the above-described embodiments as follows, the use information notifying process of the prepaid card can be secured. However, it is assumed that the identification number iP of each prepaid card and the corresponding secret key sP are registered in the prepaid card.

[Usage Information Notification Processing] (1) When user A desires to use information Pi, if the balance of the PPC is larger than the usage fee indicated in PIDi, the charging unit permits the use of information Pi.

(2) When the user A finishes using the information Pi or while using the information Pi, the charging unit allocates the amount of the usage fee to the PP.
Withdraw from C's balance and write the result to PPC.

(3) At this time, CHECK sends the use notification MB to the information provider B. However, the amount deducted from PPC
b. MB = {iP, {B, b, iP, TB} ^ sP}

(4) The information provider B decrypts the message MB with the registered secret key sp and confirms that the information is correct, and pays a part of the usage fee b as a distribution to the store. .

Accordingly, the identification number of each prepaid card
This use notification cannot be generated except for the person who knows the iP and the corresponding secret key sP.

[0119]

[Eighth Embodiment] Hereinafter, an accounting system according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the eighth embodiment,
The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In a multimedia network,
In addition to the information provider, as shown in FIG. 11, it is expected that there will be a transmission path provider corresponding to the network itself, and a terminal provider because a high-quality terminal is required. Therefore, the user needs to pay not only for the use of information but also for the use of the transmission path and the terminal. They may be processed by different billing schemes,
It is more convenient to process by one billing system, and finer billing is possible by billing in units of information to be used.

The accounting method shown in each of the above embodiments is as follows.
Charges are made based on the PID set by the information provider and the PPC as monetary information, and the charge is distributed to the information provider directly according to use or through a charge distributor.
Therefore, if a provider such as a transmission line or a terminal can add information corresponding to the PID to the provided information, the charge can be correctly distributed to all the providers including the information provider by the same method.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a billing system for distributing a fee in units of information to all providers related to the multimedia network of the eighth embodiment.

In FIG. 12, P is an information provider, PPi (or PPj) is paid information provided by the information provider P, PIDi
(Or PIDj) is information unique data unique to PPi, PPC is monetary information, and CHECK is means for determining whether information can be used. Further, TIDi (or TIDj) is additional data relating to the use of a transmission line or terminal set by a provider of the transmission line or terminal.

[0124] The information provider P and / or each provider adds data such as PID and TID to the paid information PP. Note that the PID and TID may be combined into one data. When the user terminal uses the information PP, it is configured to always pass through the charging unit, and the charging unit has a PPC receiving port for inserting the PPC in which the money information is recorded.

When a use request for the provided information PP occurs, the CHECK
Determines whether the information PP can be used based on at least a part of the information of the PID, TID, and PPC. For example, a check is made as to whether the usage fee indicated by the PID and the TID is within the balance of the PPC. If the determination result of CHECK indicates “OK”, the user terminal can use the information PP. Information on the availability of the information PP and information on the PID, TID, and PPC (such as the usage fee of the information PP and the balance of the PPC) are notified to the user terminal and displayed on the display unit. Of course, even when the usage fee indicated by the PID or TID is in units of hours, the information PP can be continuously used as long as the PPC has a balance. Further, when setting or changing the use condition using an input unit (not shown) or the like, the charging unit deducts a predetermined fee from the PPC according to the setting or change.
That is, the CHECK is configured to perform the re-determination based on the time, the set use condition, and the fee described in the PID and the TID.

PPC with Money Information Recorded in the Present Invention
May be cash, a prepaid card such as a telephone card, a floppy disk,
It may be electronic information equivalent to money stored in an IC card, PCMCIA, or the like.

In the present invention, whether or not the information PP can be used is determined by a PPC that does not depend on the user in which the money information is recorded, instead of the user-specific data USER ID for each user.
Therefore, similar to the above-described embodiment, problems (1) to
(3) can be solved. However, in FIG. 12, for the sake of simplicity, the description of the communication I / F is omitted, but a communication I / F is added as in the other embodiments to communicate with a charge distributor or a charge changer. You can also.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the TID has the same meaning as the PID except for the provider, and the user pays the fee for the TID from the PPC as described above. Therefore,
By distributing charges to each provider according to the use of transmission lines and terminals from the charge distributor or directly by communication, it is possible to pay legitimate fees to all providers related to multimedia networks, 4) can be solved.

[0129] Specifically, by describing in the TID a fee corresponding to the line usage time of the information PP, the transmission path provider can properly obtain a fee corresponding to the line usage time. In addition, fees corresponding to the type of usage time, line used, etc.
If described in D, more detailed billing is possible. At this time, the provider of the transmission path may cause a connector or the like connecting the information provider and the network to perform a process of adding the TID. Note that the connectors include those in a transmission path such as a hub or a gateway. Similarly, in the case of usage fees for CPUs and terminals, fees are charged according to the usage time and processing.
If described in the TID, a terminal provider or the like can obtain a fee for using the CPU or the terminal properly.

In the following, specific examples of charging for various cases will be described.

[0131]

[First Embodiment of Accounting for Image Compression] Hierarchical encoding is available as an encoding method for supporting image processing apparatuses having different resolutions and for efficiently performing image retrieval in an image database. Hereinafter, the outline of the hierarchical coding will be described.

First, a reduced image roughly representing the entire image is encoded, and subsequently, difference information for sequentially enlarging the reduced image is encoded. As a result, scalable encoding that can support different resolutions can be realized. For example, it becomes possible to display a reduced image having a small number of pixels on a monitor at high speed, and to form a detailed image having a large number of pixels using all information in a printer.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a general concept of hierarchical code data. In FIG. 13, “head of image” is a header indicating the start of one piece of image information as a whole, “header of frame 1” is a bit pattern indicating the start of frame 1,
“Frame 1” is information on layer 1 that encodes the most reduced image of the original image, and “Frame 2 header” is frame 2
Pattern that indicates the beginning of “frame 2” is layer 1
Layer 2 information that is difference information for enlarging the image of
.., “Header of frame n” is a bit pattern indicating the start of frame n, “frame n” is information of layer n which is difference information for enlarging an image of layer n−1, and “end of image” is one. This is information indicating the end of one set of image information.

As a representative hierarchical coding method, a JPEG hierarchical coding method (ISO / IEC10918-1, 10918-2 or ITU-TT.
81, T83) and the like. Such an encoding technique is a technique often used in multimedia networks.

In the following, an example will be described in which the fee information relating to the resolution by such hierarchical coding is described in the TID.

The resolution is data that is not unique to the information PP. That is, even if the same one piece of information is used, the resolution of the information transmitted through the transmission path by hierarchical coding is different depending on the traffic on the transmission path, the resolution of the monitor of the user terminal, the accuracy of data search, and the like. .

[0137] Therefore, the TID describes the resolution of hierarchical coding when the information PP is sent, the fee related thereto, and the like. For example, even if the same information PP is transmitted at the coarse resolution of the layer 1 and at the precise resolution of the layer n, the fee is different. In addition, when the resolution is sent to the precise resolution of the hierarchy n and the decoded or displayed image is decoded or displayed, the resolution can be set to the hierarchy corresponding to the capability of the decoder or the display unit. In this case, the TID describes charges for all tiers, and charging can be performed according to the tier used.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the charging operation in this embodiment. In FIG. 14, P is an information provider, PPi (or PPj) is information provided by the information provider P, PIDi
(Or PIDj) is information specific to PPi, TIDi
(Or TIDj) is additional data that is not specific to information PPi, P
PC is money information, and CHECK is means for determining whether or not the information PP can be used.

[0139] The CHECK of the billing unit reads the monetary information from the PPC inserted into the PPC receptacle, and if the balance is greater than the charge indicated in the PID and TID and the PPC can be charged for the usage charge, the information is read. Allow the use of PP. However, when receiving all hierarchical data and decoding the data at the designated resolution, there is an input unit such as a keyboard for inputting the designated resolution to the billing unit, and the fee for the TID is determined based on the designated resolution. Furthermore, even if the charge by PID or the charge by TID of the information PP is updated depending on the time or usage conditions (use resolution, etc.), it can be used continuously as long as it is within the balance of the PPC. I do. In other words, CHECK is
It is configured to perform re-determination based on time, set use conditions, and charges described in PID and TID. Also,
As described in the other embodiments, cash, a magnetic card such as a prepaid card, an IC card, and the like can be used for the PPC.

When the use of the information PP is permitted by the CHECK, data relating to the resolution described in the TID is sent to the hierarchical encoding processing unit together with the information PP, and the hierarchical encoding processing unit transmits the hierarchical code corresponding to the resolution. Is performed.
Also, when the information PP includes all the hierarchical data and the user or the terminal specifies the resolution to be decoded, the resolution specified together with the information PP is sent to the hierarchical coding processing unit, and the hierarchical coding processing unit The decoding process up to the layer corresponding to the set resolution is performed. This hierarchical encoding processing unit is described above.
A well-known processing device as shown in the JPEG hierarchical coding method may be used.

Further, the same method as that of the other embodiments can be used for the distribution of the fee.
A communication I / F can also be added to.

[0142] The hierarchical encoding processing unit is provided with the information provider P
Often, a provider of a transmission line different from the above develops. In this case, the provider of the transmission path provides the information provider P with the hierarchical coding processing unit together with the TID. The information provider P provided with the TID and the hierarchical coding processing unit provides them to the user by attaching them to the information PP together with the PID. Further, if the information provider P and the network are connected by a connector or the like provided by the transmission path provider, when the information PP including the PID is sent out to the transmission path via the connection apparatus, It is also possible to apply hierarchical coding to the information PP with the connector and add a TID and a hierarchical coding processing unit to the hierarchically coded information PP. Note that the connector may be provided in a transmission line like a hub.

When a certain organization such as an information center collects information PPs from the information provider P and provides the information PPs collectively, the information center is used alone or in cooperation with the transmission path provider. The information PP may be subjected to hierarchical coding to set a TID. The information center may also serve as a transmission path provider or a charge distributor.

Regarding the distribution of the fee, if the user notifies the fee distributor of the information relating to the TID in addition to the information relating to the PID, as in the other embodiments, the distributor receives the information relating to the notified TID. Is distributed to providers of transmission paths. Therefore, the method described in the other embodiments can be used for the fee distribution mechanism. Of course, if the developer of the hierarchical encoding processing unit is not the provider of the transmission path, it goes without saying that the developer who is the provider of the hierarchical encoding processing unit is also distributed a legitimate fee.

[0145]

[Second Embodiment of Accounting for Image Compression] MPEG is known as an encoding system for efficiently storing and transmitting moving image information. The MPEG encoding method is an international standard for high-efficiency encoding of moving images.It uses the frequency characteristics of moving image information and human visual characteristics, and also uses the time-axis redundancy unique to moving images. Utilization is used to perform more efficient coding. The MPEG format includes MPEG1 with a maximum transfer rate of 1.5 Mbps for digital storage media, and eliminates the upper limit of the transfer rate, enabling all types of digital multimedia devices, digital VTRs, ATVs (Advanced TVs), optical fiber networks, etc. There is MPEG2 which is intended to be used in a transmission system. Since the basic algorithms of MPEG1 and MPEG2 are almost the same, the principle and data structure of the encoding method based on MPEG1 will be described.

First, the principle of the high-efficiency encoding method using MPEG will be described. In the MPEG system, the redundancy in the time axis direction is reduced by taking the difference between frames, and the resulting difference data is subjected to DCT and variable-length coding to reduce the redundancy in the spatial direction, thereby reducing the overall redundancy. To realize high-efficiency coding. Regarding the redundancy in the time axis direction, paying attention to the fact that continuous frames have a high correlation in the case of moving images, the redundancy is calculated by taking the difference between the frame to be encoded and the temporally preceding or succeeding frame. Can be dropped.

Therefore, in MPEG, as shown in FIG. 15, in addition to an intra-coded image (I-picture) obtained only in a mode of encoding within a frame, a difference value from a temporally preceding frame is calculated. The forward prediction coded image to be coded (P-
Picture) and a difference value between a temporally preceding frame or a succeeding frame, or a difference value between an interpolation frame from the frame and a difference value between the frames, and a bidirectional prediction coded image that encodes a difference value having the smallest data amount. (B-picture)
, And frames in these encoding modes are combined in a predetermined order.

In MPEG, the above-mentioned I-picture, P-picture
Picture, B-picture are 1 unit, 4 pictures, and 10 pictures, respectively, as one unit (GOP), I-picture is placed at the beginning, then 2 B-pictures and 1 P-picture are repeated The combination to be arranged is recommended. By arranging I-pictures at a fixed period, it is possible to play back moving images in the backward direction and partial playback in units of GOPs, and to prevent error propagation. When a new object appears in a frame, the difference value may be smaller when taking a difference with a subsequent frame than when taking a difference with a temporally preceding frame. Therefore, in the MPEG, bidirectional prediction encoding as described above is performed, and more efficient encoding is performed.

Furthermore, motion compensation is performed in MPEG. That is, the difference between a macroblock near the corresponding block of the preceding or succeeding frame is calculated for each predetermined block (macroblock) in which 4 blocks of 8 × 8 pixels are collected for luminance data and 2 blocks for chrominance data, and A motion vector is detected by searching for a macroblock having a small number difference, and the motion vector is encoded as data. At the time of decoding, the corresponding macroblock data of the preceding or succeeding frame is extracted using the motion vector, and thereby the encoded data decoded using the motion compensation is decoded. In such motion compensation, a temporally preceding frame is encoded once, then a decoded frame is obtained again as a preceding frame, and the macroblock in this frame and the macroblock of the frame to be encoded are determined. To perform motion compensation. Note that MP
EG1 performs motion compensation between frames, while MPEG2 performs motion compensation between fields. The difference data and the motion vector obtained by such motion compensation are further efficiently coded by DCT and Huffman coding as described above.

Next, the structure of the MPEG data will be described. MPEG data has a hierarchical structure including a video sequence layer, a GOP layer, a picture layer, a slice layer, a macroblock layer, and a block layer. Hereinafter, description will be made in order from the lower layer.

First, as in the case of JPEG, the block layer
Each of the luminance data and the color difference data is composed of 8 × 8 pixels, and DCT is performed for each unit.

The macroblock layer is obtained by combining the above-described blocks of 8 × 8 pixels into four blocks for luminance data and one block for chrominance data and attaching a macroblock header. It is a unit of motion compensation and coding described later. The macroblock header includes each data of the motion compensation and quantization step in each macroblock, and whether or not six DCT blocks (Y0, Y1, Y2, Y3, Cr, Cb) in each macroblock have data. Data.

The slice layer is composed of one or more macroblocks and a slice header connected in the scanning order of the image, and the quantization step in a series of macroblocks in the same slice layer can be fixed. The slice header has data on the quantization step in each slice layer. If there is no quantization step data unique to each macroblock, the quantization step in the slice layer is fixed. Also, the first macroblock resets the difference value of the DC component.

The picture layer is obtained by collecting a plurality of slice layers in units of one frame, and includes a header including a picture start code and the like, followed by one or more slice layers. Further, the header includes a code indicating an image encoding mode (encoding identification code) and a code indicating the accuracy of motion detection (pixel unit or half pixel unit).

The GOP layer includes a header including a group start code, a time code indicating the time from the beginning of the sequence, and the like, and a plurality of I frames, B frames, or P frames following the header.

The video sequence layer starts with a sequence start code and ends with a sequence end code. In the meantime, control data necessary for decoding such as an image size and an aspect ratio and a plurality of GOPs having the same image size are used.
It is arranged in.

In the MPEG system having the above data structure, a bit stream is also specified. Note that such an encoding technique is a technique often used in a multimedia network.

In the following, an example in which such MPEG picture information is described in the TID will be described.

[0159] The picture information is data that is not unique to the information PP. In other words, even for the same piece of information, the required MPEG coding efficiency differs depending on the traffic on the transmission path, the resolution of the user's monitor, and the like. So, TID
Describes information about the MPEG picture when the information PP is sent, a fee for the information, and the like. For example, for the same information, the charge for frame-by-frame moving image transmission with reduced transmission of P-pictures and B-pictures and the charge for moving image transmission using all pictures are the charges described in the TID. Is different. Further, when all pictures are transmitted and decoded or displayed, decoding can be performed with pictures designated according to the capabilities of the decoder and the display unit. In this case, the TID
A fee for all pictures is indicated, and a fee is charged according to the used picture.

FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining the billing operation in this embodiment. In FIG. 16, P is an information provider, PPi (or PPj) is information provided by the information provider P, PIDi (or PIDj) is information unique data unique to the information PPi, TIDi
(Or TIDj) is additional data that is not specific to information PPi, P
PC is money information, and CHECK is means for determining whether or not the information PP can be used.

The user inserts the PPC into the PPC socket. The CHECK of the charging unit reads the money information from the PPC, and permits the use of the information PP when the balance of the PPC is higher than the charge indicated in the PID and TID and the use charge can be charged to the PPC. However,
When all pictures are transmitted and decoding is performed using the designated picture, there is an input unit (not shown) such as a keyboard for inputting information indicating the designated picture to the billing unit.
The fee for D is determined. Further, when the usage fee of the information PP by the PID and the usage fee by the TID are changed in a unit of time or when the usage conditions (the usage resolution, etc.) change, the PP
As long as C has a balance, the information PP can be continuously used. That is, CHECK is configured to perform re-determination based on time, set use conditions, charges described in PID and TID, and the balance of PPC. The PPC may be a cash card, a magnetic card such as a prepaid card, an IC card, or the like, as described in other embodiments.

When the use of the information PP is permitted by the CHECK, data relating to the picture described in the TID is sent to the MPEG processing unit together with the information PP, and the MPEG processing unit performs a decoding process corresponding to the picture. Also, when the information PP includes all the pictures and the picture to be decoded is specified by the user or the terminal, the specified information is also transmitted along with the information PP.
Sent to the EG processing unit, the MPEG processing unit performs decoding processing corresponding to the designated picture. This MPEG processing unit is a known processing device.

Further, the same method as in the other embodiments can be used for distribution of charges. For that, figure
A communication I / F can be added to the configuration shown in FIG.

[0164] Further, the hierarchical encoding processing section is provided with the information provider P
Often, a provider of a transmission line different from the above develops. In this case, the provider of the transmission path provides the information provider P with the hierarchical coding processing unit together with the TID. The information provider P provided with the TID and the hierarchical coding processing unit provides them to the user by attaching them to the information PP together with the PID. Further, if the information provider P and the network are connected by a connector or the like provided by the transmission path provider, when the information PP including the PID is sent out to the transmission path via the connection apparatus, It is also possible to apply hierarchical coding to the information PP with the connector and add a TID and a hierarchical coding processing unit to the hierarchically coded information PP. Note that the connector may be provided in a transmission line like a hub.

When an organization such as an information center collects information PPs from the information provider P and provides the information PPs in a lump, the information center alone or in cooperation with the transmission path provider. Thus, TID can be set by performing hierarchical coding on the information PP. Note that the information center may also serve as a transmission path provider or a charge distributor.

Regarding the distribution of the fee, if the user notifies the fee distributor of the information on the TID in addition to the information on the PID, as in the other embodiments, the distributor receives the information on the TID notified. Is distributed to providers of transmission paths. Therefore, the method described in the other embodiments can be used for the fee distribution mechanism. Of course, if the developer of the hierarchical encoding processing unit is not the provider of the transmission path, it goes without saying that the developer who is the provider of the hierarchical encoding processing unit is also distributed a legitimate fee.

Also, in this embodiment, as an example of encoding, MP
Although the EG has been described, all the methods for charging using PPC for encoding using the difference on the time axis are included in the present embodiment.

[0168]

[Embodiment Regarding Charge of Encryption Technology] In the following, a description will be given of the charge for the encryption technology for preventing the provided information from being used by anyone other than the designated user.

Since the multimedia network handles various types of information, the required processing speed and security greatly differ depending on the type of information. For example, large-capacity data such as moving images that require high-speed real-time processing requires high-speed encryption processing, and small-capacity data such as documents and software that do not require real-time processing. In the case of (1), it is desired to reduce the load on the encryption processing by lowering the encryption processing speed. In addition, data such as a moving image may be subjected to low-security encryption processing such as scrambling in many cases. In the case of data such as a document or software, high-security encryption processing is often desired. Therefore, it is desired that charging corresponding to the required processing speed and security is realized.

In the following, an example will be described in which the charge for the processing speed and strength of the encryption is described in the TID.

FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining the charging operation in this embodiment. In FIG. 17, P is an information provider, PPi (or PPj) is information provided by the information provider P, PIDi (or PIDj) is information unique data unique to the information PPi, TIDi
(Or TIDj) is additional data that is not specific to information PPi, P
PC is money information, and CHECK is means for determining whether or not the information PP can be used.

The user inserts the PPC into the PPC socket. The CHECK of the charging unit reads the money information from the PPC, and permits the use of the information PP when the balance of the PPC is higher than the charge indicated in the PID and TID and the use charge can be charged to the PPC. However,
When all pictures are transmitted and decoding is performed using the designated picture, there is an input unit (not shown) such as a keyboard for inputting information indicating the designated picture to the billing unit.
The fee for D is determined. Furthermore, even when the usage fee of the information PP by the PID and the usage fee by the TID change depending on the time unit or the use condition (encryption processing speed, strength, etc.), the information P is continuously provided as long as the PPC has a balance.
P can be used. That is, CHECK is configured to perform re-determination based on time, set use conditions, charges described in PID and TID, and the balance of PPC. The PPC may be a cash card, a magnetic card such as a prepaid card, an IC card, or the like, as described in other embodiments.

When the use of the information PP is permitted by CHECK, data relating to the processing speed and strength of the encryption described in the TID is sent to the encryption processing unit together with the information PP, and the encryption processing unit responds to the processing speed and strength. Perform the encrypted processing. The configuration of a cryptographic processing unit that performs cryptographic processing according to different processing speeds and strengths is described in detail in Japanese Patent Application No. 7-165187 previously filed by the present applicant.

As for the distribution of charges, the same method as in the other embodiments can be used. For that, figure
A communication I / F can be added to the configuration shown in FIG.

Also, the encryption processing section is often developed by a provider of a transmission path different from the information provider P. In this case, the provider of the transmission path provides the information processing unit P with the encryption processing unit together with the TID. The information provider P provided with the TID and the encryption processing unit provides them to the user by attaching them to the information PP together with the PID. Further, if the information provider P and the network are connected by a connector or the like provided by the transmission path provider, when the information PP including the PID is sent out to the transmission path via the connection apparatus, , Encrypts the information PP with the connector, and encrypts the information PP
, A TID and a cryptographic processing unit can be added. Note that the connector may be provided in a transmission line like a hub.

When an organization such as an information center collects information PPs from information providers P and provides the information PPs in a lump, the information center alone or in cooperation with the provider of the transmission path may be used. The information PP may be encrypted to set the TID. The information center may also serve as a transmission path provider or a charge distributor.

[0177] Regarding the distribution of the fee, if the user notifies the fee distributor of the information on the TID in addition to the information on the PID, as in the other embodiments, the distributor receives the information on the notified TID. Is distributed to providers of transmission paths. Therefore, the method described in the other embodiments can be used for the fee distribution mechanism. Of course, if the developer of the cryptographic processing unit is not the provider of the transmission path, it goes without saying that the developer who is the provider of the cryptographic processing unit is also distributed a legitimate fee.

In this embodiment, Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 7-165187 filed earlier by the present applicant is taken as an encryption processing unit. However, the encryption processing unit which performs encryption processing according to different processing speeds and strengths is used. Any method that uses PPC and charges according to the processing speed and strength of encryption is included in the present embodiment.

[0179]

[Embodiment of Charging According to Type of Encryption] In the above embodiment, a method of charging according to the processing speed and strength of encryption has been described. However, as shown in FIG. In the case of networks with different types of encryption (RSA, FEAL, DES,...), It is important to realize charging according to the type of encryption. In this case, if a fee corresponding to the type of encryption to be used is described in the TID, it is apparent that charging according to various encryptions can be realized by collecting a fee corresponding to that from the PPC. However, it is assumed that the information PP is encrypted by the encryption described in the TID.

Further, as in the above-described embodiment, for each cipher, detailed settings according to the cipher processing speed and strength are set in TI.
It may be described in D. In this case, it is obvious that the configuration shown in FIG. 17 can be realized in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment. However, the encryption processing unit shown in FIG. 17 is an encryption processing unit provided in each user terminal.

It is also conceivable that each user terminal can select a cipher to be used in accordance with the type of the information PP. A cryptographic processing unit capable of selecting such a cryptographic device to be used is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 7-165392 filed by the present applicant earlier. Therefore, the encryption processing unit shown in FIG.
With the encryption processing unit described in No. 7-165392, charging corresponding to the case of selecting encryption can be realized by the same configuration as that in FIG. At this time, the TID contains all types of encryption,
The corresponding fee is described, and charging based on the TID is performed according to the used encryption. Of course, for each cipher,
Detailed settings related to billing can also be described in TID.

[0182]

[Embodiment of billing for image quality] In this embodiment, the information PP
Is charged for the image quality. The image quality includes the number of frames per unit time, the number of pixels, and the dynamic range and gradation of a scale such as chromaticity, saturation, and brightness of each pixel. The image quality becomes higher as each item has a wider dynamic range and finer gradation. Hereinafter, an example will be described in which each item of the image quality is described in the TID.

These items indicating the image quality are data not unique to the information. That is, even for the same one piece of information, the image quality of the information transmitted via the transmission line differs depending on the traffic on the transmission line, the resolution of the monitor of the user terminal, the accuracy of data search, and the like.

Therefore, the TID describes the image quality when the information PP is sent and the fee related thereto. For example, even for the same information PP, the fee for transmitting information with a coarse resolution is different from the fee for transmitting information with a fine resolution. In addition, the image can be sent with the highest image quality, and an image with an image quality as required can be displayed. In this case, TI
D describes a fee for all image qualities, and can be charged according to the used image qualities.

FIG. 19 is a diagram for explaining the charging operation in this embodiment. In FIG. 19, P is an information provider, PPi (or PPj) is information provided by the information provider P, PIDi
(Or PIDj) is information specific to PPi, TIDi
(Or TIDj) is additional data that is not specific to information PPi, P
PC is money information, and CHECK is means for determining whether or not the information PP can be used.

The CHECK of the billing unit reads the monetary information from the PPC inserted in the PPC socket, and if the balance is greater than the charge indicated in the PID and TID, and the charge can be charged to the PPC, the information is read. Allow the use of PP. However, when data of all image qualities is transmitted and displayed with the specified image qualities, there is an input unit (not shown) such as a keyboard for inputting information indicating the specified image qualities to the charging unit, which reduces the TID-related charges. Is determined. Furthermore, even if the usage fee of the information PP by the PID and the usage fee by the TID change in units of time or when the usage conditions (image quality etc.) change, as long as the PPC has a balance, the information PP can be used continuously. it can. In other words, CHECK is based on time, set usage conditions, P
The re-determination is performed based on the fee described in the ID and TID and the balance of the PPC. The PPC may be a cash card, a magnetic card such as a prepaid card, an IC card, or the like, as described in other embodiments.

When the use of the information PP is permitted by the CHECK, data relating to the image quality described in the TID is sent to the image display unit together with the information PP, and the image display unit displays an image of the image quality. Also, when the information PP includes all image quality data and the image quality to be displayed is specified from the user or the terminal, the specified information is sent to the image display unit along with the information PP, and the image display unit transmits the specified image. Display a quality image.

As for the distribution of fees, the same method as in the other embodiments can be used. For that, figure
A communication I / F can be added to the configuration shown in FIG.

The image display section is often developed by a provider of a transmission path different from the information provider P. In this case, the provider of the transmission path provides the image provider with the TID to the information provider P. The information provider P provided with the TID and the image display unit provides them to the user by attaching them to the information PP together with the PID. Further, if the information provider P and the network are connected by a connector or the like provided by the transmission path provider, when the information PP including the PID is sent out to the transmission path via the connection apparatus, In addition, a TID and an image display unit can be added to the information PP by the connector. Note that the connector may be provided in a transmission line like a hub.

When an institution such as an information center collects information PPs from information providers P and provides the information PPs in a lump, the information center alone or in cooperation with the provider of the transmission path may be used. Thus, the image display unit and the TID can be set in the information PP. Note that the information center may also serve as a transmission path provider or a charge distributor.

Regarding the distribution of the fee, if the user also notifies the fee distributor of the information on the TID in addition to the information on the PID, as in the other embodiments, the distributor receives the information on the TID notified. Is distributed to providers of transmission paths. Therefore, the method described in the other embodiments can be used for the fee distribution mechanism. Of course, if the developer of the hierarchical encoding processing unit is not the provider of the transmission path, it goes without saying that the developer who is the provider of the hierarchical encoding processing unit is also distributed a legitimate fee.

In the embodiment described above, the line, the user terminal,
The method of charging for image compression, encryption, image quality, and the like has been described. The charging method according to the present invention defines the TID format, such as describing the target to be charged to the TID, and can be used for a network in which lines, user terminals, image compression, encryption, image quality, etc. are mixed. Can be applied.

By defining a format such as describing the type of processing in the PID or TID, it is apparent that the charging method of the present invention can be applied to various processings other than the processing described above. Yes, other than the information provider mentioned above,
Obviously, it is a flexible billing method in which providers who provide various information about the network can freely participate.

It is apparent that the charging according to the processing speed of the encryption in the above-described embodiment can be applied to the processing speed in various processes such as image coding as well as encryption. It is also clear that the security can be applied not only to the strength of the encryption but also to various security such as access control.

Further, even if the TID is not exchanged with the information PP, the TID is exchanged independently as data in a specific format. If the charge indicated in the TID is equal to or less than the balance of the PPC, the information PP is exchanged.
May be charged for the use of the information PP.

Further, as shown in FIG. 20, the PID may be independently exchanged as data of a specific format, similarly to the TID. In this case, if the information PP is transmitted only when the fee for the PID and the TID is within the balance of the PPC, the transmission path can be used efficiently.

Further, as shown in FIG. 21, for example, when the TID is data unique to the user terminal, the TID is transmitted to the user terminal even if the TID is not exchanged via the network as described above. It is clear that a similar charging process can be executed by checking the data related to the stored TID when the CHECK determines whether or not the information PP can be used by the storage unit. Since the TID is not data unique to the information PP, it is effective not only for the user terminal but also for a portion unique to the TID.

[0198] Zero (free) is also included in the fee. Therefore, some of the information PP or a part thereof (such as a low-resolution image in hierarchical coding) can be used free of charge.

[0199]

Ninth Embodiment Hereinafter, a charging system according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the ninth embodiment,
The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0200] In each of the above-described embodiments, the charging system in which the user pays the usage fee for using the information network has been described.

However, in a current network such as a TV, a user can use information free of charge except for a specific station, and the cost (including profits of the TV station) of the information PP is limited to the sponsor. It is a system that is called by companies called. This indicates that the information includes information that the user wants to show even if the user bears the cost, such as a CM. In the following, a charging system in a network as shown in FIG. 22, in which there can be a sponsor who pays a usage fee for the information PP in addition to the user, will be described.

When the cost is paid directly to the information provider,
The information provider needs to produce information (program) within the paid cost. However, when there is a sponsor, the information provider can produce information in consideration of the charge to the user in addition to the cost obtained from the sponsor. In other words, the difference between the cost of producing information and the cost obtained from the sponsor is charged to the user using the PID and TID. As a result, the information provider can produce information without depending only on the cost obtained from the sponsor, and the user can use the information at relatively low cost.

The sponsor passes the CM along with the cost to the information provider, or requests the information provider to produce the CM along with the cost. The information provider inserts a CM into the information according to the cost obtained from the sponsor.

[0204] The information provided includes the CM of the sponsor, but if a fee is set for the PID and TID according to the amount of the CM, the user can obtain information that is expensive but dense without CM. Can be used, and even though there are many commercials, very inexpensive (in extreme cases, free) information can be used, and various cases can be selected. The mechanism in which the information provider collects the fee described in the PID and TID from the user is the same as in the other embodiments.

[0205] In the case where the sponsor pays for the use of information without paying the cost in advance, that is, for paying the cost according to the number of CMs reproduced, the following charging system can be configured. The CM that the sponsor can set
The information indicating the amount of burden related to viewing is CID, which is T
Like the ID, the information does not depend on the provided information but can be added. In this case, the fee described in the CID of the sponsor is different from the fee described in the PID or TID of the information provider, and is not collected from the PPC but is added to the PPC.

FIG. 23 is a view for explaining the charging operation in this embodiment. In FIG. 23, P is an information provider, PPi (or PPj) is information provided by the information provider P, PIDi
(Or PIDj) is information unique data unique to information PPi, TID
i (or TIDj) is additional data that is not specific to information PPi,
CIDi (or CIDj) is data related to CM viewing set by the sponsor, PPC is money information, and CHECK is means for determining whether or not the information PP can be used.

[0207] The user inserts the PPC into the PPC socket. The CHECK of the charging unit reads out the money information from the PPC, and permits the use of the information PP when the balance of the PPC is higher than the charge indicated in PID + TID-CID and the use charge can be charged to the PPC. Furthermore, when the usage fee of the information PP by the PID and the usage fee by the TID are changed by the hour or when the usage conditions change, the PP
As long as C has a balance, the information PP can be continuously used. Also, depending on the number of CM playback (viewing), CID
May be configured to be added to the PPC. Also, as described in other embodiments, the PPC is a cash card, a magnetic card such as a prepaid card, an IC card, or the like.
A card may be used.

In this billing system, since the sponsor bears the cost when the user uses the information PP, the sponsor bears a large burden on the information PP that has a high use frequency and a large advertising effect, and has a low use frequency. It is possible to realize a legitimate cost burden that the burden of the sponsor on the information PP with a small effect is small.

[0209] The insertion of the CM into the information PP is performed by obtaining the information PP via a sponsor connected to the network when the user desires an inexpensive information PP with the CM.
The sponsor may set the CID in the information PP and insert the CM. Of course, the sponsor sets and sets the CID to the information provider P.
You can also request insertion of a CM.

[0210]

[Tenth Embodiment] Hereinafter, a charging system according to a tenth embodiment of the present invention will be described. Note that, in the tenth embodiment, configurations that are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and detailed descriptions thereof are omitted.

[0211] The charge setting for PID, TID, and CID is set in the information P.
It can be made to depend on the use history such as the number of uses of P. That is, setting such that the use fee of the information PP is reduced as the number of times of use is increased may be performed for the PID, TID, and CID.

FIG. 24 is a view for explaining the accounting operation in this embodiment. In FIG. 24, P is an information provider, PPi (or PPj) is information provided by the information provider P, PIDi
(Or PIDj) is information unique data unique to information PPi, TID
i (or TIDj) is additional data that is not specific to information PPi,
CIDi (or CIDj) is data related to CM viewing set by the sponsor, PPC is money information, and CHECK is means for determining whether or not the information PP can be used. MM is a storage unit that stores a history regarding the use of the information PP. The use history is the number of uses for each information PP, and is not notified to anyone other than the user, and the privacy of the use of the information PP by the user is protected.

[0213] The user inserts the PPC into the socket of the PPC. The CHECK of the billing unit reads the monetary information from the PPC and
Reads the number of times the information PP was used in the past, and uses the information PP if the balance of the PPC is greater than the charge indicated in PID + TID-CID according to the read number of uses and the PPC can be charged for the usage fee. To give permission. Further, even when the usage fee of the information PP by the PID and the usage fee by the TID are changed in units of hours or when the usage conditions change, the information PP can be continuously used as long as the PPC has a balance. Further, it is also possible to configure such that the fee described in the CID according to the number of times of playing (viewing) the CM is added to the PPC. The PPC may be a cash card, a magnetic card such as a prepaid card, an IC card, or the like, as described in other embodiments.

[0214] In the above example, an example in which the number of times of use is used as the use history is described. However, the same applies when the use time is used as the use history. Furthermore, if the information indicating the final use result is stored in the MM as a use history, it is possible to divide and view a long movie, etc., to provide the information PP separately, or to interrupt the information PP due to some obstacle. It becomes a billing system that can respond to such cases. In this case, PID, TID, CID
If you include a portion of the information or hourly rates,
It is clear that billing can be realized by a configuration similar to that of FIG.

[0215]

[Common key encryption method] The common key encryption method is an encryption method in which a sender and a receiver secretly share the same encryption key (also called a secret key encryption method, a symmetric encryption method, or a conventional encryption method).

The common key cryptosystem can be divided into a block cipher in which a character string (block) having an appropriate length is encrypted with the same key and a stream cipher in which the key is changed for each character string or bit. . Block ciphers include transposed encryption in which the order of characters is rewritten and encrypted, and substitution encryption in which characters are replaced with other characters. In this case, the transposition or substitution table becomes the encryption key. As a stream cipher, a business cipher using a multitable, a Vernam cipher using a one-time disposable key, and the like are known. These are described in detail in Chapters 2 and 4 of Ikeno and Koyama, "Modern Cryptography" (IEICE, 1986).

In addition, among the block ciphers, the DES (Data Encryption Standard) and F
Encryption such as EAL (Fast data Encipherment Algorithm) is widely used as commercial encryption. These are cited by Tsujii and Kasahara, "Cryptography and Information Security" (Shokodo, 199
0) is described in detail in Chapter 2.

However, since DES and FEAL have released their algorithms, a cryptanalysis method has also been developed, and various modifications may be made to counter the cryptanalysis method. For example, the number of repetitions described later is increased (CH Mayer an
d SM Matyas: "CRYPTOGRAPHY-A New Dimension in C
omputer Data Security ", Wiley-Interscience, Append
ix D, pp.679-712, 1982), changing keys frequently (Yamamoto,
Iwamura, Matsumoto, Imai: "Practical cryptosystem using square-type pseudorandom number generator and block cipher", IEICE Technical Report, ISEC93-29, p
p.65-75, 1993).

[0219]

[Public key encryption method] The public key encryption method is an encryption method in which an encryption key and a decryption key are different, and the encryption key is made public and the decryption key is kept secret. Therefore, the encryption key may be called a public key, and the decryption key may be called a secret key.

Public key cryptography has the following features not found in common key cryptography.

(1) Since the encryption key and the decryption key are different and the encryption key can be made public, there is no need to distribute the encryption key secretly, and the key can be easily distributed.

(2) Since the encryption key of each user is public, the user only has to secretly store his / her own decryption key, and key management is easy.

(3) It is possible to realize an authentication function for the receiver to confirm that the sender of the transmitted message is not a fake and that the message is not falsified.

[0224] The encryption communication and the authentication communication of the public key encryption and the encryption communication with the authentication function are realized by the following protocols. In the following, a protocol for performing encrypted communication, authentication communication, and encrypted communication with an authentication function from the sender A to the receiver B will be described. The secret key of A is ksA, the public key is kpA, the secret key of B is ksB, the public key is kpB, the encryption operation using the public key kp for the message M is E (kp, M), A decryption operation using the secret decryption key ks is represented as D (ks, M).

[Encrypted Communication] From A to B, message (plaintext) M
When the secret communication is performed, the following procedure is performed.

Step 1: A encrypts M with B's public key kpB and sends ciphertext C to B. C = E (kpB, M)

Step 2: B decrypts the ciphertext C with its own secret key ksB to obtain the original plaintext M. M = D (ksB, C)

Since the public key of the recipient B is disclosed to an unspecified number of persons, not only A but all persons can send a secret message to B.

[Authentication Communication] A to B, message (plain text) M
The following procedure is used when authenticating communication.

Step 1: A generates a transmission message S using its own secret key ksA and sends it to B. S = D (ksA, M)

Step 2: B restores and transforms S with A's public key kpA to obtain the original plaintext M. M = E (kpA, S)

If it can be confirmed that the message M is a meaningful sentence, it is authenticated that the message M has certainly been sent from A. Since the public key of A is disclosed to an unspecified number of people, not only B but anyone can authenticate the signature of A. Such authentication is also called a digital signature.

[Signed Encrypted Communication] From A to B, a message (plaintext) M is to be signed and secretly communicated in the following procedure.

Step 1: A signs M with its own private key ksA and creates a signature S. S = D (ksA, M)

Step 2: A uses the public key kpB of B for the signature S
And sends ciphertext C to B. C = E (kpB, S)

Step 3: B decrypts C with its own secret key ksB to obtain a signature S. S = D (ksB, C)

Step 4: B restores and transforms S with A's public key kpA to obtain the original plaintext M. M = E (kpA, S)

If it is confirmed that the message M is a meaningful sentence, it is authenticated that the message M has been sent from A indeed. Steps 1 and 2 and step 3
And the order of 4 may be reversed.

The following is an example of a typical public key cryptosystem.

A method capable of performing encrypted communication and authentication communication: RSA encryption (RL Rivest, A. Shamir and L. Adleman: "A metho
d of obtaining digital signatures and public key c
ryptosytems ", Comm. of ACM, 1978), R-cipher (M. Rabin:
"Digitalized signatures and public-key cryptosyst
ems ", MIT / LCS / TR-212, Technical Report MIT, 197
9), W cipher (HC Williams: "A modification of the R
SA public-key encryptionprocedure ", IEEE Trans. In
f. Theory, IT-26, 6, 1980), MI cryptography (Matsumoto, Imai: "New algorithms of public key cryptosystem", IEICE Tech.
4, 1982; T. Matsumoto and H. Imai: "A class of asym
metric cryptosystems based on polynomials over fin
ite rings ", IEEE International Symp. on Informatio
n Theory, 1983)

A method that allows only encrypted communication: MH encryption (RC
Merkle and ME Hellman: "Hiding information and
signatures in trapdoor knapsacks ", IEEE Trans. In
f. Theory, IT-24, 5, 1978), GS cryptography (A. Shamir and
RE Zippel: "On the security of the Merkle-Hellm
an cryptographic scheme ", IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory,
IT-26, 3, 1980), CR cryptography (B. Chor and RL Rivest:
"A knapsack type public key cryptosystem based on
arithmetric infinite field ", Proc.Crypto84), M crypto (RJ McEiece:" A public-key cryptosystem based
on algebraiccoding theory ", DSN Progress Rep., Je
t Propulsion Lab., 1978), E encryption (TE ElGamal: "A p
public key cryptosystem and a signature scheme base
d on discretre logarithm ", Proc. Crypto 84, 198
4), T cryptography (Shigeo Tsujii: "A method of public key cryptography using matrix decomposition", IEICE Technical Report, IT85-12, 1985)

A method capable of performing only authentication communication: S encryption (A. Sha
mir: "A fast signature scheme", Report MIT / LCS / TM-1
07, MIT laboratory for computer science, Cambridg
e, Mass., 1978), L-cipher (K. Lieberherr: "Uniform com
plexity and digital signature ", Lecture Notes in C
omputer Science 115 Automata, Language and Program
ming, Eighth Colloquium Acre, Israel, 1981), GYM encryption (S. Goldwasser, S. Micali and A. Yao: "Strong sign
ature schemes ", ACM Symp. on Theory of Computing,
1983), GMR cryptography (S. Goldwasser, S. Micali and RL)
Rivest: "A 'paradoxical' solution to the signature
problem ", ACM Symp. on Foundationof Computer Scie
nce, 1984), OSS ciphers (H. Ong, CP Schnorr and A. S.
hamir: "An efficient signature scheme based on quad
ratic equation ", ACM Symp.on Theory of Computing,
1984), OS cryptography (Okamoto, Shiraishi: "Digital signature scheme by polynomial operation", IEICE (D), J68-D, 5, 1985; T. Okamo
to and A. Shiraisi: "A fast signature scheme based
on quadratic in equalities ", IEEE Symp. on Theory
of Computing, 1984)

[0243]

Another embodiment of the present invention is to provide a storage medium storing a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or an apparatus, and to provide a computer (or CPU or MP
It goes without saying that U) is also achieved by reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium implements the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. Examples of the storage medium for supplying the program code include a floppy disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM,
CD-R, magnetic tape, non-volatile memory card, ROM, etc. can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS (Operating System) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. ) May perform some or all of the actual processing, and the processing may realize the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion card inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instructions of the program code, It goes without saying that the CPU included in the function expansion card or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

As described above, according to each embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to realize a charging system and a charging system that solve the above-mentioned problems (1) to (5).

That is, the user uses various kinds of information at low cost on a rental basis, the privacy of the user is protected, and the information provider can respond to the use of the information without managing the information use for each user. You can receive a usage fee distribution.

Further, by introducing a charge distributor including a store and a charge changer, a user-friendly charging system including payment of a charge can be constituted.

In addition, a flexible charging system can be constructed that can distribute a proper fee to various providers related to the network other than the information provider by using the attached data that is not unique to the information.

In addition, it is possible to realize a billing system corresponding to various uses in which a sponsor can bear a fee besides the user.

Further, it is possible to judge whether or not the information can be used or change the billing conditions according to the time and the stage of the use condition, and a detailed billing system can be realized.

[0252]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to provide a billing system and a method thereof that do not require a use application procedure and management of a large number of user-specific data.

Further, it is possible to provide a billing system and a method for protecting the privacy of a user.

In addition, it is possible to provide a billing system and a billing method that can easily charge and collect charges.

Further, it is possible to provide a charging system and a charging method for charging not only the provided information but also the provision of the transmission path and the terminal.

It is also possible to provide a billing system and method for judging whether or not use is possible in accordance with the stage of using the provided information, restricting use of the information in accordance with the result of the judgment, and performing billing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of super distribution,

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a charging method according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a charging method according to a second embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a charging method according to a third embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a network according to a third embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a charging method according to a fourth embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a network according to a fourth embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a charging method according to a fifth embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a charging method according to a sixth embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a network according to a sixth embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a network according to an eighth embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a billing method for distributing a fee per information unit to all providers related to the multimedia network of the eighth embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a general concept of hierarchical code data;

FIG. 14 is a view for explaining a charging operation in Embodiment 1 of charging for image compression.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a combination of I, P, and B-pictures in MPEG;

FIG. 16 is a view for explaining a charging operation in a second embodiment of charging for image compression.

FIG. 17 is a view for explaining a charging operation in an embodiment relating to charging of encryption technology;

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a billing operation in a billing embodiment according to the type of encryption.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a charging operation in an embodiment of charging for image quality.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a second charging method in the eighth embodiment,

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a third billing method according to the eighth embodiment;

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a network according to a ninth embodiment;

FIG. 23 is a view for explaining a charging operation in the ninth embodiment;

FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating a billing operation in the tenth embodiment.

Claims (21)

[Claims] 1. A billing system for billing for provision of information via a multimedia network, said multimedia information and first billing information specific to said multimedia information via said multimedia network. Receiving means for receiving money information; operating means for operating money information on a medium on which money information is recorded; and using multimedia information received by the receiving means based on the first billing information and the money information. A billing system comprising: a determination unit for determining whether or not the charging is possible. 2. The receiving means further receives second billing information not unique to the multimedia information,
The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining unit determines whether or not the multimedia information received by the receiving unit is available based on the first and second billing information and the money information. Billing system. 3. The receiving means further receives third billing information related to additional information added to the multimedia information, and the determining means determines the first to third billing information and the monetary information. 3. The charging system according to claim 2, wherein whether or not the multimedia information received by the receiving unit is usable is determined based on the information. 4. The charging system according to claim 1, wherein said determining means determines stepwise whether or not the multimedia information can be used. 5. The multimedia information and
And / or storage means for storing a usage history of the additional information, wherein the determination means is at least one of the first to third billing information corresponding to the usage history read from the storage means, and the money information. 5. The charging system according to claim 3, wherein whether or not the multimedia information received by the receiving unit is usable is determined based on the information. 6. The charging system according to claim 1, wherein the operation unit operates money information of the medium based on the determination by the determination unit. 7. The medium on which the money information is recorded is a prepaid card.
A billing system according to any one of the above. 8. The charging system according to claim 1, wherein the money information is information recorded magnetically or electronically on the medium. 9. The charging system according to claim 1, wherein the medium on which money information corresponding to the first and / or second charging information is recorded is used. . 10. The system according to claim 1, wherein the operation unit inputs and outputs the money information and / or the usage information of the multimedia information via the network.
7. The billing system according to any one of claims 1 to 6. 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the fee distributor receiving the usage information of the multimedia information from the operation unit distributes a fee corresponding to the usage information to the provider of the multimedia information. The billing system described. 12. The charging system according to claim 1, wherein the second charging information relates to use of a communication line. 13. The charging system according to claim 1, wherein the second charging information relates to use of a terminal. 14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second billing information is related to an image resolution.
A billing system according to any one of the above. 15. The charging system according to claim 1, wherein the second charging information is related to an MPEG picture. 16. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second billing information relates to information security.
A billing system according to any one of the above. 17. The charging system according to claim 1, wherein the second charging information is related to a processing speed of encryption. 18. The charging system according to claim 1, wherein the second charging information is related to a type of encryption. 19. The charging system according to claim 1, wherein the second charging information is related to image quality. 20. The charging method according to claim 1, wherein the usage history stored in the storage unit includes information indicating a final use of the multimedia information. system. 21. A billing method for billing for provision of information via a multimedia network, comprising: via the multimedia network, multimedia information and first billing information specific to the multimedia information. Receiving the information, operating the money information of the medium on which the money information is recorded, and using the multimedia information received in the receiving step based on the first billing information and the money information. And a determining step for determining the charging method.