JP2002297818A - Contents information managing device, contents information managing method, contents information managing program realizing this method and recording medium with contents information managing program recorded thereon - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a contents information managing device, its method, a program realizing the method and a recording medium with the program recorded thereon, controlling the output of contents data in accordance with an output destination device in a remote output and managing attribute data for controlling charging to the output of the contents data. SOLUTION: The contents information managing device is provided with a storing means 181 storing information associated with a contents ID uniquely identifying the contents, an input/output means 1082 connected with a network 106, and a control means 1083 controlling the whole device. The storing means 1081 stores attribute information () relevant to the output of the contents data designated by the contents ID. The control means 1082 retrieves the attribute information relevant to the output of the contents data from the storing means 1081 in accordance with contents information request data inputted from the network 106 via the input/output means 1082 and responds to a request source.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a content information management apparatus and a content information management method for managing attribute information (output right information of an output destination device and its charging information) for remote output of content data. The present invention relates to a content information management program, and a computer-readable recording medium storing the content information management program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional information input / output system will be described below. In recent years, notebook computers and PDAs (Per
With the spread of mobile information terminals such as sonal Digital Assistant) and mobile communication terminals such as mobile phones, documents can be easily created and communication processes such as e-mail can be easily performed regardless of the place of use. became. Also,
In these terminals, the content on the network can be browsed via the network (communication line) by using the provided communication function.

However, in such a conventional portable information terminal, it is difficult to provide a device for printing and outputting contents on a network, and it has not been possible to easily perform printing. Therefore, recently, an information input / output system has been proposed for a user of a portable information terminal to output desired information to an arbitrary output destination device.

As such an information input / output system,
For example, Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-21 filed earlier by the present applicant.
No. 6600. Japanese Patent Application 2000-2
The information input / output system disclosed in No. 16600 transmits print request data including a content ID to be output, an output destination ID, and the like from a terminal to a print request management server, thereby enabling content on a network to be transmitted.
It is possible to easily perform remote output to an arbitrary output destination device such as a printer or a facsimile.

As an output destination device, in addition to a printing device such as a printer or a facsimile, a display device such as a display, or digital data transfer such as e-mail or ftp can be performed. Japanese Patent Application 2000
In the information input / output system disclosed in JP-A-216600, the data format is processed in accordance with the type of the output destination device included in the print request, but the output is not controlled.

In such a conventional information input / output system, charging for content data is performed by simply allocating price information relating to the copyright of the content data to the content. This method has been generally used as a charging method when downloading content data to a terminal.

[0007]

However, when remotely outputting content data, it is necessary to control the output device. For example, when outputting to a facsimile or a printer, the final content data is printed on a paper medium. Therefore, when secondary data is created by copying, the original content data deteriorates.
That is, it is not possible to produce exactly the same duplicate.

On the other hand, the output destination of the content data is set to Email
When the digital data is sent as above, the user who has obtained the output data can create a copy without deterioration. Naturally, there is content data for which a copy of digital data may be created, and it is not advisable to simply prohibit the output of digital data.

In some cases, it is desired to change the price of the same content data for each output destination device. For example, the user wants to set the price for outputting to a high-resolution color printer higher than the price of content data for outputting to a monochrome facsimile.

[0010] Further, when the usage fee of the content data itself is free, for example, when a product catalog for sales promotion or a travel brochure is remotely output, a fee for remote output, for example, a communication fee for facsimile transmission or It is desirable to be able to control, for each content data, whether the usage fee of the remote output system is collected from the user or the information provider.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has attribute data for controlling output of content data in accordance with an output destination device at the time of remote output, and controlling charging for the output of content data. Information management device for managing content, content information management method,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a content information management program for implementing the method and a computer-readable recording medium storing the content information management program.

More specifically, an object of the content information management apparatus and method according to claims 1 and 8 is to enable control of output of content data (output authority and accounting corresponding to an output destination device). is there.

An object of the contents information management apparatus and method according to the second and ninth aspects is to enable control of permission / non-permission (output authority) of output of content data to an output destination device.

An object of the content information management apparatus and method according to claims 3 and 10 is to enable control of charging for output of content data to a designated output destination device.

An object of the content information management apparatus and method according to the fourth and eleventh aspects is to enable control of a billing destination for content data output to a designated output destination device.

An object of the content information management apparatus and method according to the fifth and twelfth aspects is to enable the amount of data stored in the storage means to be compressed.

An object of the content information management apparatus and method according to the sixth and thirteenth aspects is to enable an information provider to easily change content information (output right information and billing information for each type of output destination device). It is. Further, an object of the content information management apparatus and method according to claims 7 and 14 is to enable restricting a change of the content information (output authority information and charging information for each type of output destination device). is there

A content management program and a recording medium according to claims 15 and 16 make it possible to implement the content information management method according to claims 8 to 14 on a computer, and widely distribute the present technology to the market. Is to make it possible.

[0019]

The present invention employs the following configuration to achieve the above object. That is, in the content information management apparatus and method according to claims 1 and 8, information necessary for performing control according to an output destination device when content data is remotely output is attribute data associated with a content ID. When the content information is responded to the content information request, the information is used to transmit the content information according to the output destination device. This makes it possible to control the output of the content data (output authority and accounting corresponding to the output destination device).

In the content information management apparatus and method according to the second and ninth aspects, when the content data is remotely output, information necessary for performing control according to the output destination device includes: The authority information corresponding to the type of the output destination device is held as an attribute, and when responding to the content information request, the information is used to transmit the output authority information of the content data according to the output destination device. ing. This makes it possible to control the permission / non-permission (output authority) of the output of the content data.

In the content information management apparatus and method according to the third and tenth aspects, when the content data is remotely output, information necessary for performing control according to the output destination device includes: The accounting information corresponding to the type of the output destination device is held as an attribute, and when responding to the content information request, the information is used to transmit the accounting information of the content data according to the output destination device. I have. As a result, it is possible to control charging for outputting the content data to the designated output destination device.

In the content information management apparatus and method according to the fourth and eleventh aspects, when the content data is remotely output, information necessary for performing control according to the output destination device includes: Charging destination information corresponding to the type of the output destination device is stored as an attribute, and when responding to the content information request, the information is used to transmit the charging destination information of the content data according to the output destination device. I have to. This makes it possible to control the billing destination for the output of the content data to the designated output destination device.

In the content information management apparatus and method according to the fifth and twelfth aspects, the content IDs are grouped, and the content IDs included in the same group are grouped.
The same content information for all is stored. This makes it possible to significantly reduce the amount of data stored in the storage means.

In the content information management apparatus and method according to the sixth and thirteenth aspects, the held content management information can be changed according to a content information change request input via a network. As a result, the information provider can easily change the content information (output authority information and billing information for each type of output destination device). Further, in the content information management apparatus and method according to claims 7 and 14, the content information change requester is authenticated, and the change of the content management information can be restricted by the authentication result. This makes it possible to prevent unauthorized changes.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a content information management program which is a program coded so that a computer can execute the content information management method according to the eighth aspect.

According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording medium on which the content information management program is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM or a DVD. Thereby, the content information management device and method of the present invention can be widely distributed to the market.

[0027]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the remote output system according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition,
This embodiment is merely an example, and does not limit the present invention.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a remote output system according to the present invention. Figure 1
Reference numeral 101 denotes a mobile communication terminal (hereinafter, simply referred to as a terminal 101) such as a mobile phone or a PDA that functions as a commander for outputting a specified facsimile or a specified document to a printer by operating a display screen. 102 is a wireless packet network, 103 is a gateway,
104 is an ISP (Internet Service Provider), 10
5, a print request management server; 106, a network such as the Internet; 107, a facsimile server;
08 is a content information management device, 109 is a public telephone line or ISDN (Integrated Service Digital Network),
110 is a facsimile.

Although the facsimile 110 is shown as an output device in FIG. 1, the output device may be an Internet facsimile or a printer connected to the Internet. Similarly, facsimile server 1
Reference numeral 07 denotes a case where the output device is assumed to be a facsimile. If the output device is an Internet facsimile or a printer, the server is used for these output devices. Further, in the following description of the embodiment, an example in which the above-described mobile communication terminal is used as the terminal 101 is shown. However, the terminal is not limited to the mobile communication terminal connected to the wireless packet network. PC and workstation connected to PC, P connected by modem
A terminal such as a DA may be used.

In the present invention, the print request management server executes a service for performing remote output on a network. The user operates the display screen of the terminal 101 (data input / selection of display items, etc.), and outputs the content ID and the output destination I.
Sending print request data including D to the print request management server via the network, and receiving the print request data, the print request management server performs various processes related to remote output, such as data acquisition, data conversion, and authentication. Thus, a specific content (document) is output to an appropriate output destination (printer, facsimile, display, or the like) obtained from the output destination ID. It should be noted that the print request management server may not only perform all remote output processing, but also assign another server on the network to perform processing. For example to perform data conversion in outputting the content to the facsimile as described below to the facsimile server, a case of a.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the print request management server 105 according to the present invention. 10, reference numeral 1051 denotes an input / output unit for inputting / outputting data (document) and control signals via the Internet 106; 1052, a control unit; 1053, a data conversion unit;
54 is a working storage device such as a hard disk or a RAM,
Reference numeral 1055 denotes a data holding unit such as a disk or a cache for holding data such as various documents. In addition,
As described later, when the facsimile server 107 is provided with the data conversion unit 1073 and the data conversion of the content is performed on the facsimile server side, it is not necessary to provide the print request management server 105 with the data conversion unit 1053.

The control unit 1052 manages a user ID for identifying a user based on print request data received from the terminal 101 via the Internet 106.
Management of print request data sent from the terminal 101,
Time management, billing management, user interface display, print request input, print request destination determination,
Controls transmission of a print request, reception of a status (status) and log data, and the like. Further, the print request data is transmitted to the facsimile server obtained from the print output destination ID.

[0033] The data conversion unit 1053, for example, if the output device is a facsimile, resulting HTML files, image files in the data conversion unit 1073 G
Convert to facsimile data format such as 3 / G4. Or you can use MH, MR, MMR, JB
Data compression is performed using IG or JPEG. If the output device is a printer, it is converted to a printer language such as PCL or Postscript.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a configuration example of print request data for each user ID. As shown in the drawing, print request data 1 of user ID 1 (131)
As (1311), “print request data” including “document ID”, “print output destination ID”, “print time”, etc., and whether the print request data is in a standby state or canceled The status includes a “status” indicating whether the data has been transmitted, a data being transmitted, a successful data, or a failed data, and a “log” of the print request data.

Although the description is omitted, the same applies to other user request data 2 and user request data 3... Of the same user, and the same applies to other user IDs as in the case of user ID 1. The data structure can take various forms. For example, the user ID is assigned to each print request 13
11 and 1312.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the facsimile server 107 according to the present invention. As shown in the figure,
The facsimile server 107 includes an input / output unit 1071 for performing input and output from the Internet, a control unit 1072, a data conversion unit 1073 for converting content data, and a working storage device 1074 such as a hard disk or a RAM.
And a data holding unit 1075 including a disk and a cache for holding data such as documents, and a FAX modem 1076 for inputting and outputting data from a public line network or the like. When the data conversion of the content is performed by the data conversion unit 1053 of the print request management server 105, the data conversion unit 1 is transmitted to the facsimile server 107.
073 need not be provided. Further, it is not necessary to provide the FAX modem 1076 in an Internet facsimile or the like.

The facsimile server 107, which has received the print instruction from the print request management server 105, converts the content data (such as a document) indicated by the content ID in the print request data to the facsimile specified by the output destination ID in the print request data. Send and output (print out). As described above, it is possible to output (remote output) from the terminal 101 to a designated output device at a remote location.

Next, an embodiment of a content information management device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited by the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the content information management device 108 according to the present invention (claims 1 and 8). In FIG. 5, a storage unit 1081 holds data, a control program, and the like. The input / output unit 1082 is connected to a network (Internet) 106 such as the Internet, and transmits and receives data. The control unit 1083 is responsible for reading and executing the control program stored in the storage unit 1081, transmitting and receiving data via the input / output unit 1082, and the like.

In this embodiment, data transmission / reception is performed by the input / output means 1082. However, data transmission / reception is actually performed by the storage means 10 such as a RAM (Random Access Memory).
It may be performed in the same device via 81. The input / output unit 1082 basically transmits and receives data via the network 106. In this embodiment, the meaning of the network is not limited to the connection with another machine, but also the data transmission and reception in the same device. Including those that perform For example, communication is performed between different programs operating in the same device, and is a data transmission / reception method generally called socket communication or loopback.

The operation of the content information management device 108 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the operation of the content information management device 108. As shown in the figure, first, content information request data is received via the input / output means 1082 (step S101).

Next, the received content information request data is analyzed (step S102), and a content ID included in the request data is obtained (step S10).
3). If the content ID can be acquired and analyzed (step S104: Y), the attribute information corresponding to the content ID is searched from the content attribute information relating to the remote output held in the storage unit 1801 in advance (step S104: Y). Step S105).

If the corresponding attribute information is found as a result of the search (step S106: Y), the data is processed if necessary, and then the attribute information is transmitted to the request source (step S107).

If the content ID cannot be obtained or analyzed (step S104: N), or if the attribute information cannot be found (step S10)
6: N), the error information is transmitted to the request source, and the process ends (step S108). These series of operations are performed by the control unit 108.
3 is performed.

Second Embodiment Next, as attribute information,
The operation of the content information management device 108 in the second embodiment using the type of the output destination device and the authority information corresponding to the type of the output destination device will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Item 9).

FIG. 7 shows the storage means 1 in the second embodiment.
It is a figure showing the example of structure (attribute information table) of contents information held at 081. In FIG. 7, cnt_id is a character string representing the content ID ('00 in the data 1 example).
1 ',' 002 'in the example of data 2,...' N 'in the example of data n). Data 1 indicates a table of attribute information related to output of the content ID 001, and data 2 indicates
A table of attribute information relating to the output of the content ID 002 is shown, and data n is a table of attribute information relating to the output of the content ID n.

In each information in the table, the first column indicates the type of the output device, and the 0 or 1 in the second column indicates the attribute information relating to permission / prohibition of output (for example, 1).
Is permitted and 0 is not permitted).

For example, in the example of the data 1 in the attribute information table in FIG. 7, “attribute fax_mono is 1” is set to “attribute fax_colo
"r is 1",... "attribute email is 0".
This indicates that the content whose content ID is 001 has an attribute that permits output of data monochrome facsimile and output of data color facsimile, but does not permit output (transmission) to e-mail. . "0 or 1" in the data n means that either one is selected and set.

The operation in the second embodiment in which the content information management device 108 holds the attribute information table as shown in FIG. 7 is also performed according to the flowchart shown in FIG.
First, content information request data is received via the input / output unit 1802. For example, assume that the content information request data is in the following line. select * from cnt_attr_table where cnt_id = '001' the content information request data is analyzed by the control unit 1083, 001 is acquired as the content ID (step S103, step S104: Y).

Next, attribute information having a content ID of 001 is searched (step S105), and "fax_mono is 1", "fax_color is 1",.
The attribute information of "mail is 0" is obtained. In the present case, since the attribute information is obtained (step S106: Y), and transmits the search results to the requestor (step S107). At this time, if necessary, set the result to "fax_mono = 1 & email = 0"
It may be transmitted after processing such as.

When the content ID cannot be obtained or analyzed (step S104: N), or when the attribute information cannot be found (step S106: N), error information is returned to the request source.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the content information management device holds the attribute information relating to the output of the content data for each content ID, and searches and returns the attribute information upon request. This makes it possible to perform output control for each content.

(Third Embodiment) Next, as attribute information,
The operation of the content information management device 108 in the third embodiment using the type of the output destination device and the billing information corresponding to the type of the output destination device will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Item 10).

FIG. 8 shows the storage means 1 in the third embodiment.
It is a figure showing the example of structure (attribute information table) of contents information held at 081. In this example, cnt_id is a character string representing the content ID ('001' in this example), and data 1 is a table of attribute information relating to the output of the content ID 001. In each attribute information in the table, the column name indicates the type of the output device, and the numeral such as 100 indicates the billing information. In this example, the currency unit is Japanese yen. For example, an example of data 1 in FIG. 8 is “Billing information: fax_mono 10
0, "charging information: fax_color 200", ... "charging information: email 500".

This means that for a content having a content ID of 001, the data usage fee is 100 yen for outputting data to a monochrome facsimile, 200 yen for outputting to a color facsimile, and em
Output (transmission) to ail indicates that a charge of 500 yen will be made.

The operation of the content information management device in the third embodiment is performed in the same manner as in the flowchart shown in FIG. First, content information request data is received via the input / output unit 1082. For example, assume that the content information request data is in the following line. select * from cnt_attr_table where cnt_id = '001' This content information request data is analyzed by the control means 1083, and 001 is acquired and analyzed as the content ID (step S103, step S104:
Y).

Next, attribute data having a content ID of 001 is searched (step S105), and “fax_mono 100” and “fax_col” are obtained from data 1 in the attribute information table shown in FIG.
or200 ", ..." email 500 "is obtained. In this case, the search result has been obtained (step S106:
Y), and transmits this result to the request source (step S10)
7). If necessary, return the result as "fax_mono = 100 & fax_color
= 200 & email = 500 ”.

If the content ID cannot be obtained or analyzed (step S104: N), or if the search result cannot be obtained (step S106: N), error information is returned to the request source (step S108).

As described above, according to the third embodiment, as the attribute relating to the output of the content data for each content ID, the charge amount corresponding to the output destination device is held, and the attribute data is transmitted. This makes it possible to perform charging according to the output destination device for each content.

For example, as in the above-described example, the monochrome output (black and white facsimile) on a paper medium is set at a low price, the color output (color facsimile) on a paper medium is set higher than the monochrome output, and digital data output is performed. For (e-mail transmission), it is possible to perform a fine control of the billing amount, such as setting a higher price to suppress duplication.

(Fourth Embodiment) Next, as attribute information,
An operation example of the content information management device 108 in the fourth embodiment using the type of the output destination device and the charging destination information corresponding to the type of the output destination device will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 4, Claim 11).

FIG. 9 shows a storage means 1 in the fourth embodiment.
It is a figure showing the example of structure (attribute information table) of contents information held at 081. In this example, cnt_id is a character string representing the content ID ('001', '00
2 ′,...), Data 1 is a table of attribute information relating to the output of content ID 001, and data 2 is a content ID
002 is a table of attribute information relating to the output of 002.

For example, in the example shown in FIG. 9, data 1 is “charging information fax_mono user” and data 2 is “charging information fax_mo
no provider ". This is the content ID
The communication fee for the output of the data to black-and-white facsimile is charged to the user for the content whose content is 001, and the content (data 2) for the content having the content ID of 002 is output to the black-and-white facsimile. The communication fee indicates that the information provider is charged.

The operation of the content information management device in the fourth embodiment is performed in the same manner as in the flowchart shown in FIG. First, content information request data is received via the input / output unit 1082 (step S101). For example, assume that the data is the following line. select * from cn
t_attr_table where cnt_id = '001'

The content information request data is analyzed by the control means 1083 (step S102), and 001 is acquired and analyzed as the content ID (step S102).
103, step S104: Y).

Next, attribute data having a content ID of 001 is searched (step S105), and “fax_mono user” and “fax_colo” are obtained from data 1 in the attribute information table of FIG.
r user ”, etc. In this case, since the search result is obtained (step S106: Y), this result is transmitted to the request source (step S107). If necessary, return the result as "fax_mono = 'user'& fax_color = 'user'&
・ ”May be sent to the request source after processing.

When the content ID cannot be obtained or analyzed (step S104: N), or when the search result cannot be obtained (step S106: N), error information is returned to the request source (step S108). .

Alternatively, “select * from cnt_attr_table
When the content information request data "where cnt_id = '002'" is received, similarly, for the content ID 002, "fax_mono provider" and "fax_color provide"
The result “r”,... is transmitted as it is or after being processed to the request source.

As described above, according to the fourth embodiment, as the attribute information relating to the output of the content data for each content ID, the accounting destination corresponding to the output destination device is held.
The attribute information is transmitted to the request source. This makes it possible to arbitrarily set a billing destination for each content according to the output destination device.

In the conventional method, when outputting contents such as a product catalog for sales promotion or a travel brochure,
The only method was to set the content usage fee to free (no charge amount) and not to charge the user.
According to the embodiment of the present invention, the information provider bears all the content usage fee, communication fee, system usage fee, etc. and provides information to the user free of charge, or the content usage fee is free but the communication fee and system usage It is possible to flexibly control the detailed billing destination such that the user bears only the fee for each content.

(Fifth Embodiment) Next, an embodiment of the operation of the content information management apparatus in the fifth embodiment for managing content management information in groups will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 5, Claim 12). FIG. 10 shows the ID stored in the storage unit 1081 in the fifth embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a structure example (attribute information table) of a group table and content information.

In this example, in the ID group table, the content ID cnt_id is grouped into a plurality of character strings representing the content ID (in this example, “001” to “001”).
The group of '005' and the group of '006' to '010') and the value of the table_name column for each group point to the attribute information table. The attribute information table is the same as in FIG. 7 described in the second embodiment. The description of the operation of this embodiment is omitted because it is performed in the same manner as the flowchart shown in FIG.

As described above, in the fifth embodiment, the same attribute information table is stored in the storage unit 1081 for each content ID group. As a result, the data amount can be significantly reduced as compared with the case where an individual table is held for each content ID as in the second to fourth embodiments.

(Sixth Embodiment) Next, the operation of the content information management apparatus according to the sixth embodiment, which makes it possible to change the content management information, will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. , Claim 13). FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the content information management device 108 that allows the content management information to be changed.

In the flowchart of FIG. 11, first,
The content information change request data is received via the input / output unit 1082 (step S201). Next, the received content information change request data is analyzed (step S2).
02), the content ID and the change content included in the request data are acquired (step S203).

Content I included in request data
D and the change contents are acquired (step S204:
Y) Next, information corresponding to the content ID is searched from the content attribute information relating to the remote output held in advance in the storage unit 1081 (step S20).
5). If the corresponding attribute information is found as a result of the search (step S206: Y), the attribute information is rewritten to reflect the changed content (step S207). If the attribute information has been successfully rewritten (step S20)
8: Y), a success status is transmitted to the change request source (step S209).

Content I included in request data
When the change content of D cannot be acquired (step S204:
N), if no attribute information is found (step S2)
06: N), if the change has failed due to reasons such as an incorrect change (step S208: N), the error information is transmitted to the request source and the process ends (step S209).
These series of operations are performed by the control unit 1083.

Here, a specific example in the case of changing the contents of the attribute information table shown in FIG. 7 will be described. First, content information change request data is received via the input / output unit 1082. For example, assume that the content information change request data is in the following line (step S201). update cnt_attr_table set email = 1 where cnt_id = '00
1 '

The content information change request data is analyzed by the control means 1083 (step S202).
"Email =
1 ”is obtained (step S203, step S20).
4: Y).

Next, the attribute information of the content whose content ID cnt_id is 001 is searched (step S205), and if found (step S206: Y), the changed content is reflected. That is, data 1 of the attribute information table of FIG.
Change “email 0” to “email 1” (step S
207).

If the attribute information table has been changed (step S208: Y), a success status is transmitted to the change request source as a result (step S209). The changed data may be transmitted, or the number of changed data may be used as the status value.

Note that the contents of change of the content ID included in the request data cannot be obtained (step S
204: N), when the attribute information is not found (step S206: N), or when the value is not changed for any reason such as an invalid value (step S208:
N), return the error information to the change request source (step S20)
9).

As described above, according to the sixth embodiment, it is possible to freely change the content data for each content ID via the network, and the information provider can easily change the attribute information. Can be. Note that a restriction may be provided to prevent the attribute information from being tampered with.
The restriction is performed by authentication of the operator who performs the modification (claims 7 and 14).

A program created by converting each process in the content information management device 108 into a program code as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6 or FIG. 11 described in each of the above embodiments is computer-readable such as a CD-ROM or DVD. It can be recorded on a simple recording medium and distributed, or distributed via a network.
A person who intends to realize the present invention obtains the program according to the present invention from a recording medium or a network and loads the program into the storage means 1081 of the content information management device 108, thereby obtaining the content data according to the output destination device at the time of remote output. It is possible to easily control the output of the content data and to control the charging for the output of the content data (claims 15 and 16).

[0085]

According to the present invention, it is possible to control the output of content data (output authority and charging of the output destination device, etc.) according to the output destination device at the time of remote output.

More specifically, according to the content information management apparatus and method according to the first and eighth aspects, it is possible to control the output of the content data (output authority and accounting corresponding to the output destination device).

According to the content information management apparatus and method according to the second and ninth aspects, it is possible to control the permission / non-permission (output authority) of output of the content data to the output destination device.

According to the contents information management apparatus and method according to the third and tenth aspects, it is possible to control the charging for the contents data output to the designated output destination device.

According to the contents information management apparatus and method according to the fourth and eleventh aspects, it is possible to control the charging destination for the output of the content data to the specified output destination device.

According to the content information management apparatus and method according to the fifth and twelfth aspects, the amount of data stored in the storage means can be significantly reduced.

According to the content information management apparatus and method according to the sixth and thirteenth aspects, the information provider can easily change the content information (output authority information and billing information for each type of output destination device). Claim 7
According to the content information management device and method according to the first and second aspects, it is possible to prevent the content management information from being illegally changed.

According to the content management program and the recording medium according to claims 15 and 16, the content information management according to the present invention can be realized by a computer, and the present invention can be widely distributed to the market.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a remote output system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a print request management server according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of print request data for each user ID according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a facsimile server according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a content information management device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of the content information management device according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example (attribute information table) of content information held in a storage unit in the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example (attribute information table) of content information stored in a storage unit according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example (attribute information table) of content information stored in a storage unit according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the structure of an ID group table and content information (attribute information table) stored in a storage unit according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of a content information management device that enables change of content management information according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

101: terminal, 102: wireless packet network, 103: gateway, 104: ISP (Internet Service Provider), 105: print request management server, 1051: input / output unit, 1052: control unit, 1053: data conversion unit, 1054: work Storage device, 1055: data holding unit, 106: network such as the Internet, 107: facsimile server, 1071: input / output unit, 1072: control unit, 1073: data conversion unit, 1074: working storage device, 1075: data holding 1075, 1076: FAX modem, 108: Content information management device, 1081: Storage means, 1082: Input / output means, 1083: Control means, 109: Public telephone line or ISDN (Integrated Service)
Digital Network), 110: Facsimile.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G06F 12/14 320 G06F 12/14 320F

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. A content information management apparatus comprising: storage means for storing information associated with a content ID for uniquely specifying content; input / output means connected to a network; and control means for controlling the entire apparatus. The storage means stores at least attribute information relating to output of content data indicated by the content ID, and the control means according to content information request data input from the network via the input / output means A content information management device that retrieves attribute information relating to the output of the content data from the storage unit and responds to a request source of the content information. 2. The attribute information includes output control information including a type of an output destination device of the content data indicated by the content ID and output authority information corresponding to the type of the output destination device. According to the information of the output destination device included in the content information request data input from the network via the input / output means, the output control information of the content data is searched from the storage means and the content information request source is retrieved. The content information management device according to claim 1, wherein the content information management device responds. 3. The attribute information includes output control information including a type of an output destination device of the content data indicated by the content ID and billing information corresponding to the type of the output destination device. According to the information of the output destination device included in the content information request data input from the network via the input / output means, the output control information of the content data is retrieved from the storage means and responded to the request source of the content information. The content information management device according to claim 1, wherein 4. The attribute information includes output control information including a type of an output destination device of the content data indicated by the content ID and billing destination information corresponding to the type of the output destination device. According to the information of the output destination device included in the content information request data input from the network via the input / output means, the output control information of the content data is searched from the storage means and the content information request source is The content information management device according to claim 1, wherein the content information management device responds. 5. The storage means holds the IDs of the grouped content ID groups and the same content management information related to all of the ID groups, and the control means is input via the input / output means. The method according to claim 1, wherein the output control information of the content data is retrieved from the storage unit in response to the output destination device information included in the content information request data, and responds to a request source of the content information. The content information management device according to claim 1. 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control means changes the content management information stored in said storage means in accordance with a content information change request input via said input / output means. Content information management device according to the description. 7. The control unit further has a function of authenticating a requester of a content information change request input via the input / output unit, and restricting a change of the content management information based on the authentication result. 7. The content information management device according to claim 6, wherein: 8. A content management system comprising: storage means for storing information associated with a content ID for uniquely identifying content; input / output means connected to a network; and control means for controlling the entire apparatus. A first step of storing attribute information related to output of content data indicated by the content ID in the storage unit, and the control unit via the input / output unit via the network. A content information management method comprising: searching attribute information relating to output of the content data from the storage unit in response to content information request data input in response to the content information request data; and responding to the request source of the content information. . 9. The attribute information includes output control information including a type of an output destination device of the content data indicated by the content ID and authority information corresponding to the type of the output destination device. The control unit searches the output control information of the content data from the storage unit in accordance with the information of the output destination device included in the content information request data input from the network via the input / output unit. 9. The content information management method according to claim 8, further comprising the step of responding to a request source of the content information. 10. The attribute information includes the content ID.
And output control information including charging information corresponding to the type of the output destination device of the content data, and the second step is executed by the control unit, from the network to the input / output unit. According to the information of the output destination device included in the content information request data input via the storage device, and searching the output control information of the content data from the storage unit and responding to the request source of the content information. 9. The content information management method according to claim 8, wherein: 11. The attribute information includes the content ID.
And output control information including charging destination information corresponding to the type of the output destination device of the content data indicated by the following. The second step is that the input / output from the network is performed by the control unit from the network. A step of retrieving the output control information of the content data from the storage unit and responding to the requester of the content information in accordance with the information of the output destination device included in the content information request data input via the means. 9. The content information management method according to claim 8, wherein: 12. The storage unit holds an ID included in a group of content IDs and the same content management information related to all of the content ID groups. Means for retrieving the output control information of the content data from the storage means according to the information of the output destination device included in the content information request data input via the input / output means, and responding to the content information request source. The content information management method according to claim 8, wherein the content information management method comprises: 13. The control means according to a content information change request input via the input / output means.
13. The content information management method according to claim 8, further comprising a step of changing content management information stored in the storage unit. 14. The control unit further authenticates a requester of a content information change request input via the input / output unit, and restricts a change of the content management information based on the authentication result. 14. The content information management method according to claim 13, wherein: 15. A content information management program for managing a content use right or a billing method using a computer, wherein the computer executes each process in the content information management method according to any one of claims 8 to 13. Content management program to make it happen. 16. A computer-readable recording medium on which the content information management program according to claim 15 is recorded.