JP2003223267A - Character input device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate the inputting of characters drastically. <P>SOLUTION: At least one column of a character line-column is displayed in a display chart 913, and in a main CPU 940 an input target character selected in the character line-column is recognized according to the first or the fourth direction which is indicated by a cross key 914A, and the column which is specified by a center part 914Ae of the cross key 914A and the first or the fourth character input key 914B or 914E. Therefore, lines and columns are sequentially altered in the character line-column according to the indication of the first or the fourth direction, and the desired input target character can be selected. At the same time, the character of the indicated column can be directly selected as an input target character from other column in the character line-column without changing the line according to the indication of the column. Thus, characters can be made drastically easily to be input. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a character input device, for example, various content data such as music and movies to customers, and various distribution information data such as advertisements (hereinafter referred to as distribution data) using the Internet. It is suitable to be applied to a data providing system for providing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the past, the Internet, which is a computer communication network used by a large number of research facilities on a global scale for research and academic purposes, has been used in recent years for the sale of products, the distribution of content data, companies and products. It is rapidly becoming popular as a computer communication tool among companies and customers due to its commercial use such as advertising.

When the Internet is used commercially, a customer can purchase a desired product or acquire desired content data by using a personal computer while staying at home, and the personal computer can be used by the customer. Various kinds of distribution data can be acquired, such as in advertisements of.

[0004]

By the way, recently,
Mobile phones that can obtain desired content data using the Internet are also widespread.

In such a mobile phone, a plurality of letters such as alphabets and hiragana are assigned to the numeric keys "0" to "9" (that is, ten keys) provided on the surface of the casing, and when the content data is acquired. By pressing these numeric keys and inputting a character, the title or the like of the desired content data can be designated.

However, in the mobile phone, one numeral key has a total of six uppercase and lowercase Roman letters,
For example, five hiragana characters are assigned.

For this reason, in the mobile phone, when inputting one character, it is necessary to continuously press one numeric key at most five times or more, which makes it difficult to input the character easily. It was

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and an object thereof is to propose a character input device which makes it much easier to input characters.

[0009]

In order to solve such a problem, in the present invention, at least one column of the character matrix is displayed on the display means, and the character recognizing means is arranged so as to be parallel to the rows of the character matrix and opposite to each other. The first and second directions, and the third and fourth directions parallel to the columns of the character matrix and opposite to each other.
Depending on the first to fourth directions designated by the direction designating means for designating the direction of the character string and the columns designated by the column designating means for designating the columns of the character matrix. Enabled to recognize the input character selected in the character matrix.

Therefore, the desired input character can be selected by sequentially changing the rows and columns in the character matrix according to the instructions in the first to fourth directions, and at this time, the character matrix can be selected according to the instructions in the columns. It is possible to directly select the character in the designated column as the input target character without changing the row from the other columns.

Further, in the present invention, eight input portions provided at equal angular intervals around a predetermined reference point and one input portion provided at the reference point are integrated, Directional instruction commands for instructing the first to eighth directions toward the surroundings at equal angular intervals from the reference point are assigned to each of the input points, and can be input to the eight input points and one input point. The direction indicating mode capable of indicating the first to eighth directions is selected through the integrated direction keys to which different one-digit numbers are assigned as characters, and the character matrix and the characters in the character matrix are displayed on the display means. The indicator to be instructed is displayed, and the indicator is moved on the character matrix in accordance with the first to eighth directions instructed via the integrated direction key in the display control means.

Therefore, according to the instructions in the first to eighth directions, it is possible to freely move the instructions in eight directions in the character matrix and select a desired input target character.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

(1) Usage of Internet by Data Providing System As shown in FIG. 1, in the data providing system 1,
The system management site 2 that comprehensively manages the data providing system is a customer 3 and a plurality of types of stores (hereinafter referred to as dealers) 4A through which the customer 3 directly visits, such as a retail store and a rental shop. 4N and each of these dealers 4A
To 4N, a sales company 5 that sells products to be described later, and a site for providing distribution data established by an advertiser or a company (hereinafter,
This can be communicated with each of the advertiser company sites 6 by using the Internet (not shown).

In this case, as shown in FIG. 2 together with FIG.
The dealers 4A to 4N store contents such as music, movies, game software, novels, photographs and comics (comprising audio data, video data, text data, etc.) on a CD (Compact).
Disc), DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), CD-
ROMs (Compact Disc-Read Only Memory) and books (hardcover novels, photo books, picture books, comic books), etc. Rental shops to sell and rent as commercial package media, reference books for examinations, problem collections, documents, etc. This is a store that sells and rents the contents (consisting of text data etc.) as a commercially available packaged medium for books, such as a preparatory school, etc.

When the dealers 4A to 4N request the use of the Internet when starting a new business or when they have already started a business and are doing business.
The system management site 2 is notified of this using a personal computer or the like.

When the system management site 2 requests the use of the Internet from the dealers 4A to 4N, the dealers 4A to 4N provide the dealer information such as the name, the type of contents to be handled, and the account number of the transaction bank. Obtain and execute dealer registration.

Then, the system management site 2 stores music, movies, game software, novels, photographs, comics, reference books, which are stored in advance in a content database (not shown).
By providing a large number of content data for each type specified by the dealers 4A to 4N among various kinds of content data such as problem collections and documents to the dealers 4A to 4N, these contents are provided to the dealers 4A to 4N. Data is converted into a database and a content database unique to the dealer is generated.

At this time, the sales company 5 sells the dedicated portable terminals 7A to 7N having the recording / reproducing function of the content data to the shops 4A to 4N according to the instruction from the system management site 2 as a product. CDs, DVDs, etc. that are handled as products by each of the dealers 4A to 4N,
Commercially available package media such as CD-ROM and books are sold.

On the other hand, a customer 3 who wants to use the Internet is a request terminal (not shown) dedicated to the system management site installed in a simple retail store such as KIOSK.
Is operated to notify that the user desires to use the Internet by accessing the system management site 2.

When the customer 3 desires to use the Internet, the system management site 2 receives personal information (hereinafter referred to as customer information, such as name, sex, age and account number of the bank to be traded) from the customer 3. Call) to perform customer registration, convert the customer information into a database as customer registration information, and generate a customer database 8.

The dealers 4A to 4N provide the registered customer 3 with a plurality of types of content data in two formats, a purchase format and a lending format. When the content designation information for designating desired content data and the format designation information representing the acquisition form of the purchase form and the lending form for the content data are notified via the management site 2, the content data corresponding to the content data is notified. It accepts reservations for purchases and rentals.

When the dealers 4A to 4N thus accept the reservation from the customer 3, the system management site 2
The customer registration information (customer 3 account number) of the customer 3 read out from the customer database 8 of FIG. 2 is used to execute electronic charging processing for the purchase (sale price) and rental (rental period) of the content data, and then the content database. The desired content data corresponding to the request is read out and recorded in a predetermined recording medium provided inside the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N.

Here, the dealers 4A to 4N are designed to allow the customer 3 to use the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N both in the purchase mode and the rental mode, and when the content data is requested, the customer registration is performed. Using information, electronic billing processing for the purchase (sale price) and rental (rental period) of the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N is also executed at the same time.

Therefore, the dealers 4A to 4N, for example, when the customer 3 desires to use the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N for rental, the portable type in which the content data is recorded according to the request of the customer 3 Dedicated terminal 7A
7N to 7N are directly delivered and rented at the store according to the delivery form desired by the customer 3, or the delivery company 9
Deliver and rent by.

As a result, the customer 3 who preliminarily reserved and purchased the content data and the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N using the request terminal,
When the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N are held in hand, the content data can be reproduced and enjoyed on the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N.

The portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N as described above access only the dealers 4A to 4N, which have recorded the content data by the communication function provided therein, through the system management site 2 to transfer the content data. Purchase and rental processing (including charging processing) can be executed.

Therefore, when the customer 3 requests the purchase and rental of new content data using the rented portable type terminals 7A to 7N, the dealers 4A to 4N system-manage the requested content data. Owns a device (hereinafter, referred to as a net connection device) that can be transmitted to and recorded on the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N being rented via the site 2 and thus can be connected to the Internet, such as a personal computer. Similar to the customer 3 who owns the net connection device, the content data can be easily distributed to the non-customer 3 via the Internet.

By the way, the system management site 2 relays the request for purchase and rental of the content data transmitted from the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N and the request terminal to the dealers 4A to 4N, and thereby the content of the request is confirmed. The customer registration information in the customer database 8 is added as additional customer information to update the customer registration information. As a result, the customer's taste (for example, the genre of the content data acquired by the customer) or the Internet is updated from the customer registration information. It is designed so that the usage status can be grasped.

Further, the system management site 2 receives information about the advertiser name or company name from the advertiser or company who provides various distribution data at the advertiser company site 6 and the genre of the distribution data provided. The advertiser company database 10 is generated by acquiring the advertiser company information including the business content information and the like, and converting this into a database as the advertiser company registration information.

The system management site 2 is for the customer 3
When the release permission information for permitting the customer information to be disclosed to the advertiser or the company is transmitted as the customer permission data from the rented portable type dedicated terminals 7A to 7N, the customer permission data is transmitted. By searching the advertiser company database 10 based on the customer registration information of the customer, the advertiser and the company providing the distribution data that suits the taste of the customer 3 are selected, and the selected advertiser and company are carried. The customer 3 is introduced through the mold-only terminals 7A to 7N.

As a result, when the customer 3 selects an advertiser or company who has the intention of contracting from the advertisers or companies introduced to the customer 3, the system management site 2 selects the advertiser or company selected. Part of the customer registration information of the customer 3 is provided to the company as investment information, and the customer 3 is introduced to the advertiser and the company.

As a result, the system management site 2 can negotiate a contract between the customer 3 who uses the Internet and the advertiser or company selected by the customer 3, and when the contract is established, the advertisement is established. Main company site 6
From the system management site 2, the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N rented by the customer 3 are provided with various distribution data such as advertisements of products desired by the customer 3.

In this way, in the data providing system 1, the advertiser and the company that provide only the desired distribution data to the customer 3 can be introduced and easily selected, and the customer 3 can be connected to the network connection device. Even if it is not owned, only the desired distribution data can be efficiently provided through the rented portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N.

By the way, the system management site 2 is the customer 3
When the customer permission data is given from the customer, the customer 3 who is beneficial to the advertiser and the company will be introduced. Therefore, when the investment information is transmitted to the advertiser and the company, the consideration should be received from the advertiser and the company. .

Further, when the system management site 2 introduces the advertiser and the company to the customer 3, regardless of the existence of the advertiser and the company desiring the contract, the system management site 2 makes a database of the investment information of the customer 3 and introduces the customer. The database 11 is generated, and the customer introduction database 11 is subsequently used when selecting an advertiser and a company to be newly introduced to the customer 3.

Here, when the customer 4 is accessed by the customer 3 from the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N via the system management site 2 for requesting content data, the store 4A to 4N selects the content data. The content selection screen is returned to the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N, and desired content data is selected on the content selection screen.

The dealers 4A to 4N are adapted to customize the content selection screen to be displayed on the display section of the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N in accordance with the request of the customer 3, whereby the content data At the time of request, a content selection screen meeting the request of the customer 3 can be displayed on the display units of the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N.

By the way, when the customer 3 designates a favorite color for the housing while the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N are rented, the dealers 4A to 4N housing the rental portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N. The body is exchanged for another portable dedicated terminal 7A to 7N painted in the color desired by the customer 3. In addition to software customization of the content selection screen, hardware customization of the housing is also possible. It is made to be able to be done.

When the dealers 4A to 4N are required to customize the casing (that is, change the casing color) of the rented portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N, the customer 3 comes first. All the data in the dedicated mobile terminals 7A to 7N rented to the customer (ie, content data and desired distribution data provided by the advertiser, etc.)
The portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7 of the color specified by the customer 3
The portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N are exchanged with each other.

By the way, when the dealers 4A to 4N rent the content data together with the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N, the rental period of the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N and the rental period of the content data are started respectively. Sometimes I let the customer 3 choose arbitrarily,
The once selected rental period can be freely overdue according to the wishes of the customer 3.

The dealers 4A to 4N monitor whether or not the rental period of the content data rented to the customer 3 is over, and the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N.
When the rental period of the content data ends before the rental period ends, the portable data terminal 7A to 7N rented by the customer is notified of this.

As a result, the dealers 4A to 4N are the customers 3
When a reply is made from the dedicated portable terminals 7A to 7N rented to the user via the system management site 2 to end the rental of the content data on time, the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N are sent to the dealers 4A to 4N. Prompt customers to bring their 7N with them, and carry their mobile dedicated terminals 7A through 7
It is assumed that the content data is erased from the internal recording medium and returned when N is brought in.

On the other hand, the dealers 4A to 4N reply from the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N rented to the customer 3 via the system management site 2 so as to extend the rental period of the content data. Then, it is monitored whether or not the extended rental period of the content data ends.

Incidentally, if the customer 3 does not bring his / her portable dedicated terminal 7A to 7N to the store even after the rental period of the content data ends, the dealer 4A to 4N handles the portable dedicated terminal 7A to 7N, for example. To the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N, and deletes the specified content data from the internal recording medium to prevent unauthorized use. .

If the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N rented by the customer 3 are returned, the dealers 4A to 4N erase the content data from the recording medium inside the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N. Then, the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N are made ready to be rented again.

In addition to this, the dealers 4A to 4N use the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N to purchase and rent the contents data occupied by the customer (for example, contents data of a single song). , When the customer requests to exchange a package media (for example, a single CD) in which the same content data is stored, the acquisition price (ie, purchase price or rental price) of the content data occupied by the customer. )
And the equivalent exchange information including the selling price of the package media and the difference between the prices of the package media and the selling price of the package media are transmitted to the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N via the system management site 2.

As a result, the dealers 4A to 4N are the customers 3
From the system management site 2, notification from the system management site 2 is received from the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N that the content data stored in the package medium and occupied by the customer 3 are the same. Since the purchase price and the rental price have already been paid, the difference between the acquisition price of the content data occupied by the customer 3 read from the customer database 8 of the system management site 2 and the selling price of the package media is read. Only after electronically billing processing, the package media is delivered to the customer 3 at the store or delivered from the sales company 5 by the delivery company 9 and delivered.

In this way, the dealers 4A to 4N exchange the package media with the content data such that the exchange value of the package media and the content data occupied by the customer is almost equal (hereinafter, this exchange is called equivalent exchange). By doing so, it is possible to prevent the content data purchased and rented from the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N from being wasted when the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N are returned, and to provide the customer 3 with the content data and the package media. It is possible to provide package media with a minimum investment without making both parties useless investment.

By the way, the system management site 2 is used by the customer 3
Is collecting the usage fee of the Internet from the customer 3 each time the Internet uses the Internet (that is, purchases or rents the content data or the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N), but the usage status of the Internet In accordance with the above, points for giving a benefit such as a discount to the customer 3 are issued and accumulated in the customer database 8.

Therefore, the dealers 4A to 4N perform electronic billing processing when the customer 3 purchases and rents the content data and the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N, and when exchanging the content data with the package media. The points acquired by the customer 3 can be used instead of part or all of the money.

The dealers 4A to 4N perform electronic charging processing when the customer 3 purchases and rents the content data and the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N, and when the content data is exchanged for package media. Instead, cash payments and prepaid card payments can be accepted at the store.

Here, the dealers 4A to 4N are the request terminals and the portable dedicated terminals 7A being rented by the customer 3.
Through 7N through the system management site 2, electronic charge processing for the purchase of the portable dedicated terminals 7A through 7N in response to a purchase request for the portable dedicated terminals 7A through 7N is executed. The terminals 7A to 7N are delivered to the customer 3 directly at the store, or delivered from the sales company 5 to the customer 3 by the delivery company 9.

When the customer 3 requests the purchase of the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N, the dealers 4A to 4N operate the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N having the casing of the color designated by the customer 3 respectively. Sell.

Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the customer 3 who has purchased the dedicated portable terminals 7A to 7N sells the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N via the Internet as in the case described above with reference to FIG. Original dealers 4A-4
The desired content data can be purchased and rented only from N, and the desired distribution data can be acquired by contracting with the advertiser and the company.

The customer 3 who has purchased the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N selects the contents transmitted from the dealers 4A to 4N when requesting the purchase and rental of the content data by the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N. The screen can be customized, and the exchange value between the content data occupied by the customer 3 by purchasing and renting and the package medium storing the same content data is almost equalized, and the package data and the content data occupied by the customer are made substantially equal. Are designed to be exchangeable.

In the data providing system 1, even if the customer 3 uses a net-connecting device such as a personal computer in place of the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N, the same internet as in the case described above with reference to FIGS. Can be used.

As described above, in the data providing system 1, by coexisting the business form using the Internet and the existing business form in which a retail store or the like actually sells and rents a product, To build a new business model in which customers 3 who do not own connected devices and dealers 4A to 4N who are concerned about the spread of the Internet can freely and easily join and use the Internet commercially You can

(2) First Embodiment In FIG. 4, reference numeral 50 generally indicates a data providing system according to the first embodiment, and the system management site 2 and dealers 4A to 4A described above with reference to FIGS. 4N and the data providing server 51 corresponding to the sales company 5, the request terminal 52 corresponding to the customer 3 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 (that is, the request terminal used by the customer 3).
And the portable dedicated terminal 7A described above with reference to FIGS.
7 to 7N and portable dedicated terminals 53 dedicated to dealers 4A to 4N.

The data providing server 51 has a customer database 55 which stores customer registration information and customer registration screen data.
And a content database 56 that stores a large number of content data, content selection screen data, etc., data listing the selling price and rental price of the content data, and the selling price and title of the package media that can be exchanged for the content data. A package media database 57 that stores a table and an advertiser company database 5 that stores advertiser company registration information acquired from advertisers and companies that have established advertiser company sites.
8 and.

When the requesting terminal 52 sends registration request data requesting the registration of the customer, the data providing server 51 receives the registration request data by the receiving unit 59 and the updating unit 60 based on the registration request data. The customer registration screen data is read from the customer database 55, and the read customer registration screen data is transmitted from the transmission unit 61 to the request terminal 52.

As a result, when the customer information input from the request terminal 52 on the customer registration screen based on the customer registration screen data is transmitted as the customer information data, the data providing server 51 receives it by the receiving unit 59. The updating unit 60 stores the customer information based on the customer information data as customer registration information and registers the customer so that the customer can use the Internet.

Further, when the request terminal 52 transmits acquisition request data requesting acquisition of content data in response to an operation of a customer who has registered as a customer, the data providing server 51 receives the acquisition request data by the receiving unit 59, and the content is received. The search unit 62 reads the content selection screen data from the content database 56 based on the acquisition request data, and transmits the read content selection screen data from the transmission unit 61 to the request terminal 52.

As a result, in the data providing server 51, the desired content data is selected and designated from the request terminal 52 on the content selection screen based on the content selection screen data, and the content data and the portable dedicated terminal 53 are selected.
When reservation data representing these specified information (hereinafter referred to as customer reservation information) is transmitted by selecting and specifying the purchase and rental formats, etc. It is received by the receiving unit 59.

At this time, the data providing server 51 reads the specified content data from the content database 56 based on the reservation data by the content search unit 62, and sends the read content data from the transmission unit 61 to the customer. It is transmitted to the portable dedicated terminal 53 and recorded.

In this way, the data providing server 51
It is possible to prepare a portable dedicated terminal 53 having content data recorded therein for purchase and rental according to the customer's request, and thus sell or sell the portable dedicated terminal 53 directly or by delivering it to the customer. It can be rented.

Then, the data providing server 51 receives the acquisition request data for requesting the acquisition of the content data from the portable dedicated terminal 53 which has been sold and rented to the customer, and receives the acquisition request data by the receiving unit 59 to retrieve the content. The unit 62 reads the content selection screen data from the content database 56 based on the acquisition request data, and transmits the read content selection screen data to the customer's portable dedicated terminal 53 from the transmission unit 61.

As a result, the data providing server 51 specifies the desired content data on the content selection screen based on the content selection screen data from the portable dedicated terminal 53 sold and rented to the customer, and purchases and purchases the content data. When the content designation data representing the designated information (hereinafter, referred to as designated information) is transmitted by designating which of the rentals is to be acquired, the receiving unit 59 receives the content designated data.

At this time, the data providing server 51 reads the content data designated by the content search unit 62 from the content database 56 based on the content designation data, and the read content data is transmitted from the transmitting unit 61 to the customer's portable type. It is transmitted to the dedicated terminal 53 and recorded.

In this way, the data providing server 51
Using the portable dedicated terminal 53, the customer can easily use the content distribution on the Internet and freely obtain the desired content data.

By the way, the data providing server 51 issues customer identification information (hereinafter referred to as a customer ID) unique to the customer at the time of customer registration and adds the customer identification information to the customer information, thereby adding the customer information and the customer ID. Is stored in the customer database 55 as customer registration information, and the stored customer registration information is managed by the customer ID.

Further, the data providing server 51 sends the customer ID issued to the customer at the time of customer registration from the transmitting section 61 to the request terminal 52 to notify the customer, and thereafter the customer sends the request terminal 52 or When making various requests to various dealers using the portable dedicated terminal 53, the customer ID is used to identify the customer who has made a request to these dealers by the customer ID.

Therefore, the data providing server 51 updates when the receiving unit 59 receives various data (for example, content designation data) transmitted from the request terminal 52 or the portable dedicated terminal 53 sold and rented to the customer. The customer registration information of the customer who requests acquisition of the content data by sending the content of the data (information such as the title of the content data purchased and rented by the customer and the rental period) to the customer database 55 as additional customer information by the unit 60. The additional customer information is added to and the customer registration information is updated.

As a result, the data providing server 51 can grasp the taste of the customer based on the customer registration information in the customer database 55.

Then, the data providing server 51 sends the customer permission data permitting the customer information to be disclosed to the advertiser or the company from the portable dedicated terminal 53 sold and rented to the customer. The customer registration information of the customer who has received the reception of the customer information is read from the customer database 55 by the matching unit 63 based on the customer permission data by the matching unit 63, and the advertiser is read based on the read customer registration information. The advertiser company registration information in the company database 58 is searched.

As a result, when the data providing server 51 searches the advertiser company registration information by the matching unit 63 and selects an advertiser and a company providing distribution data that matches the customer's taste, the selected advertisement is selected. Advertiser company introduction data is generated based on the advertiser company registration information of the main and company and transmitted from the transmission unit 61 to the portable terminal 53 of the customer, thus providing the customer with distribution data that suits his or her taste. Introducing advertisers and companies that are

In this way, the data providing server 51
It is possible to easily select the advertiser or company that provides the desired distribution data to the customer from a large number of advertisers and companies, and the advertiser and company can efficiently and accurately distribute the distribution data as requested by the customer. Can be provided.

When the customization request data for customizing the sold and rented portable dedicated terminal 53 is transmitted to the customer, the data providing server 51 receives the customization request data by the receiving unit 59 and converts the customization request data into the received customization request data. Based on this, the content search unit 62 reads out the customized registration screen data stored in advance from the content database 56, and the read customized registration screen data is transmitted from the transmission unit 61 to the portable terminal 53 of the customer.

As a result, when the data providing server 51 transmits the screen customization information for the content selection screen input on the customization registration screen based on the customization registration screen data from the portable dedicated terminal 53 sold and rented to the customer. The receiving unit 59 receives this, and the updating unit 60 sends the screen customization information to the customer database 55 to add the screen customization information to the customer registration information of the customer and update the customer registration information.

Accordingly, the data providing server 51 thereafter receives the acquisition request data from the customer who requests the customization of the content selection screen using the portable dedicated terminal 53, and the reception unit 59 receives the acquisition request data. Update section 6
When 0, the screen customization information added to the customer registration information of the customer is read from the customer database 55, and the read screen customization information is sent to the content search unit 62.

Then, the data providing server 51 reads the content selection screen data from the content database 56 by the content search unit 62, processes the read content selection screen data based on the screen customization information, and obtains the obtained customization. The screen data is transmitted from the transmission unit 61 to the portable dedicated terminal 53 of the customer.

In this way, the data providing server 51
Each time the customer requesting the customization of the content selection screen sends the acquisition request data using the portable dedicated terminal 53, the content selection screen is customized based on the customization screen data, and the content data is selected on the customized screen. You can

By the way, the data providing server 51 can allow the customer to select the information for customizing the color of the casing of the portable dedicated terminal 53 on the customized registration screen in the portable dedicated terminal 53 rented to the customer. When the portable customization terminal 53 transmits the casing customization information designating the casing color, the receiving unit 59 receives the casing customization information and the updating unit 60 sends the casing customization information to the customer database 55. As a result, the case customization information is added to the customer registration information of the customer and updated.

As a result, the data providing server 51 thereafter rents the portable dedicated terminal 53 to the customer,
When the portable dedicated terminal 53 is sold to the customer, the portable dedicated terminal 53 of the color specified by the housing customization information is delivered.

Further, the data providing server 51 equivalently exchanges the content data (eg, single song) purchased and rented from the portable dedicated terminal 53 sold and rented to the customer with the package medium (eg, single CD). When the equivalent exchange request data desired to be transmitted is transmitted, it is received by the receiving unit 59.

Then, the data providing server 51 reads the customer registration information of the customer who requested the equivalent exchange from the customer database 55 based on the equivalent exchange request data by the updating unit 60, and the content data requesting the equivalent exchange. After detecting the usage pattern (that is, whether it is purchase or rental), the customer package search unit 64
Based on the equivalent exchange request data and the detection result by the updating unit 60, the package media database 57
By searching the data table in the table, the acquisition price of the content data occupied by the customer as the target of the equivalent exchange, the selling price of the package medium in which the content data is stored, and the title are detected.

Thus, the data providing server 51 calculates the difference between the acquisition price of the content data occupied by the customer detected by the package search unit 64 and the selling price of the package medium, and calculates the calculated difference between these content data. The transmission unit 61 transmits to the customer's portable dedicated terminal 53 as search result information together with the acquisition price, the selling price of the package media, and the title.

As a result, when the data providing server 51 transmits the exchange approval data for consenting to the equivalent exchange from the portable dedicated terminal 53 sold and rented to the customer, the data provision server 51 responds to the content data stored in the package medium. Since the customer has already paid the purchase price and the rental price in the form of purchase and rental using the portable dedicated terminal 53, only the difference between the acquisition price of the content data that the customer occupies and the selling price of the package media. After electronically billing, the package media is delivered to the customer directly or by delivery.

In this way, the data providing server 51
Content data purchased and rented by the customer through the portable dedicated terminal 53 by equivalently exchanging the content data occupied by the customer and the exchange value of the package medium to be exchanged and equivalently exchanging the content data and the package medium. Can be exchanged for packaged media with a minimum investment.

By the way, every time the customer uses the Internet using the request terminal 52 and the portable dedicated terminal 53, the data providing server 51 gives the customer a privilege such as a discount by the point issuing unit (not shown) according to the usage status. Is issued to the customer database 55 by the updating unit 60, the points are sequentially added to the customer registration information of the customer, and the customer registration information is updated.

Then, the data providing server 51 divides the acquisition price of the content data occupied by the customer and the selling price of the package media when the customer requests to use points instead of money for the equivalent exchange process. Settle the difference using the points issued to the customer.

When the data providing server 51 rents the content data to the customer, the updating unit 60 periodically searches the customer registration information in the customer database 55 to end the rental period of the rented content data. When the rental period of the content data is about to end, the transmitting unit 61 transmits the confirmation screen data for confirming whether the rental has ended to the portable terminal 53 of the customer.

As a result, the data providing server 51 receives the rental end notification for ending the rental of the content data from the portable dedicated terminal 53 which has been sold and rented to the customer on time and is received by the receiving unit 59. Then, the updating unit 60 adds the rental end notification to the corresponding customer registration information in the customer database 55 to update it, and returns the content data at the dealer (ie, deletes the content data from the portable dedicated terminal 53). The store visit request screen data prompting the user to do so is transmitted from the transmission unit 61 to the portable dedicated terminal 53.

On the other hand, the data providing server 51
As a result of transmitting the confirmation screen data to the portable dedicated terminal 53,
When the rental extension notice for extending the rental period of the content data is transmitted, the receiving unit 59 receives it, and the updating unit 60 adds the rental extension notice to the corresponding customer registration information in the customer database 55 and updates it. To do.

In addition to this, the data providing server 51
When the content data is not returned even after the rental period ends, the updating unit 60 causes the customer database 55 to be returned.
The corresponding customer registration information in the table is added with the deletion information indicating that the content data is forcibly deleted and updated, and an instruction to delete the content data for which the rental period has ended is sent from the transmission unit 61 to the portable dedicated terminal 53. The content data is transmitted and erased in the portable dedicated terminal 53.

On the other hand, when the customer inputs a registration request of the customer through the operation unit 70, the request terminal 52 causes the request data generation unit 71 to generate registration request data representing the registration request, and the generated registration. The request data is transmitted from the transmitter 72 to the data providing server 51.

As a result, when the request terminal 52 receives the customer registration screen data transmitted from the data providing server 51 by the receiving unit 73, the request terminal 52 sends the received customer registration screen data from the display control unit 74 to the display unit 75. By doing so, the customer registration screen based on the customer registration screen data is displayed.

Then, in the request terminal 52, when the customer information is input on the customer registration screen according to the operation of the operation unit 70 by the customer, the request data generation unit 71 sends the customer information as customer information data to the transmission unit 72. To the data providing server 51.

When the customer inputs a content data acquisition request through the operation unit 70, the request terminal 52 causes the request data generation unit 71 to generate acquisition request data representing the acquisition request, and the generated acquisition The request data is transmitted from the transmitter 72 to the data providing server 51.

As a result, when the request terminal 52 receives the content selection screen data transmitted from the data providing server 51 by the reception unit 73, the received content selection screen data is displayed from the display control unit 74 to the display unit 75.
To display the content selection screen based on the content selection screen data.

Then, when the customer reservation information is input on the content selection screen in response to the operation of the operation unit 70 by the customer, the request terminal 52 generates the reservation data by the request data generation unit 71 and generates the reservation data. The reservation data is transmitted from the transmission unit 72 to the data providing server 51.

As a result, the portable dedicated terminal 53 before being sold or rented to the customer receives the content data transmitted from the data providing server 51 by the receiving section 80, and the received content data by the recording control section 81. By recording on the recording medium 82, the product is sold and rented in this state.

Then, the portable dedicated terminal 53 actually sold and rented to the customer operates the operation unit 83 by the customer.
When a reproduction command is input via the reproduction control unit 84, the reproduction control unit 84 reproduces the content data from the recording medium 82 based on the reproduction command, and the reproduced content data is composed of a display control unit, a display unit, a speaker, and the like. By sending the contents to the reproducing unit 85, the contents can be enjoyed by the customer.

When the customer inputs a content data acquisition request through the operation unit 83, the portable dedicated terminal 53 causes the request data generation unit 86 to generate acquisition request data representing the acquisition request, and The transmission unit 87 transmits the generated acquisition request data to the data providing server 51.

As a result, when the portable dedicated terminal 53 receives the content selection screen data transmitted from the data providing server 51 by the receiving unit 80, the portable dedicated terminal 53 sends the received content selection screen data to the reproducing unit 85 to reproduce the content. A content selection screen based on the selection screen data is displayed.

The portable dedicated terminal 53 is provided with the operation unit 8
When the content data is selected and designated (including purchase and rental designation) on the content selection screen according to the operation of 3, the request data generation unit 86 generates the content designation data and the transmission unit 87 causes the data providing server 51. Send to.

Accordingly, when the portable dedicated terminal 53 receives the content data transmitted from the data providing server 51 by the receiving section 80, the recording control section 81 records the received content data in the recording medium 82, After that, the reproduction control unit 84 reproduces the content data from the recording medium 82 according to the operation of the operation unit 83.

Further, in the portable dedicated terminal 53, when the customer permits the disclosure of the customer information through the operation unit 83,
The request data generation unit 86 generates customer permission data representing the permission, and the generated customer permission data is transmitted by the transmission unit 8.
7 to the data providing server 51.

As a result, when the receiver 80 receives the advertiser company introduction data transmitted from the data providing server 51, the portable dedicated terminal 53 sends the received advertiser company introduction data to the reproducing unit 85. In this state, the operation section 83 is operated to allow the customer to select a desired advertiser and company.

Then, the portable dedicated terminal 53 transmits the information of the advertiser and the company selected by the customer to the data providing server 51 through the request data generation unit 86 and the transmission unit 87 in sequence, and as a result, the selected advertisement is sent. When a contract is signed with the owner and the company, the receiver 80 receives desired distribution data such as an advertisement transmitted from the advertiser company site, and the recording controller 81.
Is recorded on the recording medium 82.

As a result, in the portable dedicated terminal 53, the reproduction control unit 84 operates the recording medium 82 in response to the operation of the operation unit 83.
It is possible to entertain the customer with the distribution data provided from the advertiser company site by reproducing the distribution data from and reproducing the distribution data to the reproducing unit 85.

In addition to this, when the customer inputs a customization request via the operation unit 83, the portable dedicated terminal 53 causes the request data generation unit 86 to generate customization request data representing the customization request, and The generated customizing request data is transmitted from the transmitting unit 87 to the data providing server 51.

As a result, when the portable dedicated terminal 53 receives the customized registration screen data transmitted from the data providing server 51 by the receiving unit 80, the portable dedicated terminal 53 sends the received customized registration screen data to the reproducing unit 85, thereby Customization registration screen Display the customization registration screen based on the data.

Accordingly, when the screen customization information for customizing the content selection screen on the customization registration screen is input according to the operation of the operation unit 83, the portable dedicated terminal 53 stores the input screen customization information. The request data generation unit 86 and the transmission unit 87 are sequentially transmitted to the data providing server 51.

Further, the portable dedicated terminal 53 has an operating section 83.
It is also possible to input the housing customization information for customizing the color of the housing of the portable dedicated terminal 53 on the content selection screen in accordance with the operation of, and when the housing customization information is input, this also Request data generator 8
The data is transmitted from the transmission unit 87 to the data providing server 51 via 6.

In this way, the portable dedicated terminal 53 can request the data providing server 51 to customize the content selection screen and the casing of the portable dedicated terminal 53, and thus request such customization. After that, it is possible to select and specify the content data while displaying the customer-specific customization selection screen obtained by processing the content selection screen based on the screen customization information and displaying the customer-specified color. It is also possible to exchange the portable dedicated terminal 53.

When the customer inputs an equivalent exchange request via the operation unit 83, the portable dedicated terminal 53 causes the request data generation unit 86 to generate equivalent exchange request data representing the equivalent exchange request, and The generated equivalent exchange request data is transmitted from the transmission unit 87 to the data providing server 51.

As a result, when the search result information related to the equivalent exchange is transmitted from the data providing server 51, the portable dedicated terminal 53 receives the search result information by the receiving unit 80 and sends it to the reproducing unit 85, whereby the search result is obtained. Based on the information, the acquisition price of the content data that the customer occupies by purchasing and renting, the selling price and title of the package media, and the difference between these prices are displayed.

In this way, when the customer accepts the equivalent exchange or the exchange of the dedicated portable terminal 53 through the operation unit 83,
The request data generation unit 86 generates exchange consent data indicating the consent, and the generated exchange approval data is transmitted by the transmission unit 8
After that, by transmitting from 7 to the data providing server 51, the customer specifies the difference between the acquisition price of the content data occupied by the customer and the sales price of the package media (that is, payment by money or payment by points). It is possible to electronically process billing, and thus obtain package media with a minimum investment.

Incidentally, when the confirmation screen data for the content data near the end of the rental period is transmitted from the data providing server 51, the portable dedicated terminal 53 receives the confirmation screen data by the receiving unit 80 and sends it to the reproducing unit 85. By displaying a confirmation screen based on the confirmation screen data, the confirmation screen notifies the customer that the rental period of the content data is over.

When the customer specifies the end or extension of the rental period through the operation unit 83, the portable dedicated terminal 53 causes the transmission unit 87 to transmit the data to the data providing server 51 via the request data generation unit 86. To notify.

[0122] Also, the portable dedicated terminal 53 receives the erasing instruction of the content data whose rental period has ended because the rental period has expired before the content data is returned, and the erasing instruction of the content data whose rental period has ended is received. Upon reception by the unit 80, the recording control unit erases the content data for which the rental period has expired from the recording medium based on the erasing instruction, thus preventing the improper use (reproduction) of the content data.

In the above configuration, in the data providing system 50, the data providing server 51 uses the dedicated portable terminal 53 dedicated to the dealer specified by the customer according to the reservation data transmitted from the request terminal 52 operated by the customer. The content data specified by the customer is recorded and sold and rented.

When the customer provides the content specifying data using the portable dedicated terminal 53, the data providing server 51 reads the content data from the content database 56 according to the content specifying data, and reads the read content. The data is transmitted to the portable dedicated terminal 53 and recorded.

Further, the data providing server 51 registers the customer registration information of the customer who purchases and rents the portable dedicated terminal 53 in the customer database 55, and the customer purchases the portable dedicated terminal 53 for the content data. The customer registration information is updated in accordance with the usage status each time the rental information is used, and when the customer permits the disclosure of the customer information using the portable dedicated terminal 53, the customer registration information allows the advertiser company database 58 to be stored. The advertiser company registration information is searched to select and introduce the advertiser and company that provide the distribution data that matches the customer's taste.

Further, when the customer requests the customization of the content selection screen using the portable dedicated terminal 53, the data providing server 51 customizes the content selection screen in accordance with the request and customizes the content selection screen. The customized screen obtained in this way is provided to the customer's portable dedicated terminal 53 to select the content data.

In addition to this, the data providing server 51
When the customer requests the equivalent exchange of the content data purchased and rented using the portable dedicated terminal 53 and the package medium, the acquisition price of the content data occupied by the customer and the selling price of the package medium are displayed. We now offer packaged media to customers by paying the difference.

Therefore, in this data providing system 50, even if the customer does not own the internet connection device, the KIO
The request terminal 52 installed in the SK or the like pre-books the purchase and rental of the portable dedicated terminal 53 capable of recording and reproducing the content data, and after receiving the reserved portable dedicated terminal 53, the portable dedicated terminal 53 The content data to be distributed can be acquired using 53.

In addition, in this data providing system 50,
If the customer uses the portable dedicated terminal 53, the customer can easily select the content data using the customized screen customized to his / her request, and the content data acquired by the distribution can be acquired with a minimum investment. The content data can be exchanged for a packaged media that stores the content data. Furthermore, the advertiser and company providing the distribution data that suits their tastes can be easily selected from many advertiser company sites and the distribution data can be selected. Can also be used for distribution.

As a result, in the data providing system 50,
Even a customer who does not own an internet connection device can fully enjoy the convenience of the internet and easily use it.

In the data providing system 50, the portable dedicated terminal 53 dedicated to the dealer is used to sell and rent it to the customer, so that the customer who uses the dealer together with the Internet can be easily secured. Thus, it is possible to facilitate the entry and use of the Internet by dealers.

According to the above configuration, the data providing server 5
1 sells and rents a portable dedicated terminal 53 dedicated to a store capable of recording and reproducing content data according to the reservation data transmitted from the request terminal 52, and transmits from the sold and rented portable dedicated terminal 53. The content data is distributed according to the content designation data and recorded in the portable dedicated terminal 53, and the advertiser and the company are selected based on the customer registration information according to the customer's permission transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 53. And then introduce
The content selection screen is customized according to the customization request transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 53 and provided to the portable dedicated terminal 53, and the content selection screen is distributed according to the equivalent exchange request transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 53. The content data that the customer occupies and the package media that stores the content data are equivalently exchanged by making the exchange value almost equal, so that the customer who does not own the internet connection device can access the internet. Data that fully enjoys the convenience and makes it easy to use, and also makes it possible to easily secure customers with a dedicated mobile terminal 53 dedicated to shops that use the Internet, thus further spreading the Internet. The providing system can be realized.

In the first embodiment, the request terminal 52 is used to request customer registration, and the portable dedicated terminal 53 is requested to be purchased and rented. The present invention is not limited to this, and instead of the request terminal 52, a net connection device such as a personal computer may be used to request customer registration, and purchase and rental of the portable dedicated terminal 53 may be requested. As a result, not only the customer who does not own the internet connection device but also the customer who owns the internet connection device can enjoy the convenience of the Internet more than ever by using the portable dedicated terminal 53. it can.

(3) Second Embodiment FIG. 5 shows a data providing system 10 according to a second embodiment.
1 and the data providing server 101 corresponding to the system management site 2 and the dealers 4A to 4N described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 is the same portable type as the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N described above with reference to FIGS. The dedicated terminal 102 is directly connected to the data providing server 101, the request terminal 103 corresponding to the customer 3 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 (that is, the request terminal used by the customer 3), and the payment processing server 104. Are respectively connected via the Internet 105.

The data providing server 101 has a customer database 110 and a content database 111, and a customer registration generated by executing the same customer registration as that described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4 in the customer database 110. Information (consisting of the customer's name, customer ID, customer's bank account number, etc.) is stored.

Further, the data providing server 101 stores a large number of content data in the content database 111, and unique content identification information for each content data (hereinafter referred to as content ID).
And a data table generated by listing content-related information such as a title (for example, song title) and price (sales price and rental price).

Then, the data providing server 101 reserves customer data to reserve content data in a rental format from the request terminal 103 by the operation of a customer who wants to rent the content data (hereinafter, this is particularly referred to as rental reservation information). Is transmitted through the Internet 105 as rental reservation request data, the reception unit 115 receives the rental reservation request data, the charging processing unit 116 converts the received rental reservation request data into recording control data, and the recording control unit 117 receives the rental reservation request data. Send out.

Here, the data providing server 101 has dedicated terminal identification information (hereinafter referred to as a dedicated terminal ID) unique to the portable dedicated terminal 102 for recording the content data that the customer has requested to rent by the recording control unit 117. ) Is generated, and the rental reservation acceptance data thus generated is transmitted from the transmission unit 118 to the request terminal 103 via the Internet 105, thereby accepting the rental reservation of the content data desired by the customer. To notify.

Further, the data providing server 101 reads the content data that the customer desires to rent from the content database 111 based on the recording control data by the recording control unit 117, and notifies the customer of the read content data. The content data is recorded on the recording medium in the portable dedicated terminal 102 by sending it to the portable dedicated terminal 102 having the terminal ID.

In this way, the data providing server 101
Records the content data requested by the customer in the portable dedicated terminal 102 having a recording / playback function of the content data, and thereafter, the customer is at a store, for example, where the data providing server 101 is installed. When the customer comes to the store, the content data desired for rental is handed over to the customer together with the portable dedicated terminal 102.

As a result, the data providing server 101 can rent content data to the customer together with the portable dedicated terminal 102 according to the rental period, and allow the customer to play the content data on the portable dedicated terminal 102 to entertain. It is done like this.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 6 together with FIG.
The rental reservation request data D2 transmitted from the request terminal 103 includes a customer name, a customer ID, a password, a title of the content data D1 desired to be rented, a rental period, and a rental fee payment method (by cash or a prepaid card at a store). Information such as payment, payment by prepaid card at the request terminal, payment by credit).

Therefore, when the data reservation server 101 receives the rental reservation request data D2 transmitted from the request terminal 103 by the receiver 115, the billing processor 116 determines the rental fee payment method from the rental reservation request data D2. Information (hereinafter referred to as payment information) is extracted.

Then, when the payment information specifies payment by credit, the data providing server 101 causes the charging processing unit 116 to make the rental reservation request data D.
Customer database 11 based on customer ID included in 2
By reading the customer registration information of the customer who desires to rent the content data D1 from 0, and searching the data table in the content database 111 based on the title of the content data D1 included in the rental reservation request data D2. The incidental information of the content data D1 requested to be rented by the customer is read.

As a result, the data providing server 101 stores the rental fee of the portable dedicated terminal 102 and the account number of the dealing bank of the dealer, the rental reservation request data D2, and the customer registration information which are stored in advance by the billing processing unit 116. When,
By executing the charging process based on the accompanying information of the content data D1, billing information representing the amount charged to the customer according to the rental period of the content data D1 and the account numbers of the customer and the dealer, The generated billing information is transmitted from the transmission unit 118 to the payment processing server 104 via the Internet 105.

As a result, when the payment processing server 104 completes the electronic payment processing based on the charging information and transmits the payment completion notification, the data providing server 101 receives the payment completion notification by the receiving unit 115 and performs the accounting processing. By the recognition by the section 116, the charging processing section 116 adds the dealer ID to the rental reservation request data D2 and adds the recording control data D2.
3 is generated, and the generated recording control data D3 is sent to the recording control unit 117.

By the way, the data providing server 101 has encoded the customer name included in the rental reservation request data D2 as the customer registration information when the billing processing unit 116 generates the recording control data D3. The name of the customer is changed, the title of the content data D1 is changed to the content ID, the number of days of the rental period is coded, and the account number of the customer is added.

Then, the data providing server 101 transfers the recording control data D3 from the billing processing unit 116 to the recording control unit 11.
7, the recording control unit 117 generates rental reservation acceptance data and transmits it from the transmission unit 118 to the request terminal 103.

Thereafter, the data providing server 101 causes the recording control section 117 to record the content data D1 that the customer wishes to rent in the content of the recording control data D3 based on the recording control data D3. 102 dedicated terminal ID and the content data D1
Is copied improperly, copy history information indicating the copy history is added to generate header data D4, which is added to the content data D1 that the customer wishes to rent and is recorded in the portable dedicated terminal 102. To do.

As a result, the data providing server 101 can easily identify that the portable dedicated terminal 102 and the content data D1 rented to the customer are those rented at the store by the header data D4. .

Further, the portable dedicated terminal 102 rented to the customer monitors whether or not the rental period of the content data D1 has expired according to the rental period information stored in the header data D4, and the content data D1 concerned. Is not returned even after the rental period has passed (that is, the content data D1 is the portable dedicated terminal 1
Content data D)
1 is made unreproducible so that the rented content data D1 can be prevented from being unfairly used even after the rental period has expired.

Further, the portable dedicated terminal 102 writes the number of copies in the copy history information in the header data D4 when the rented content data D1 is illegally copied while being rented to the customer. Therefore, when the content data D1 is returned to the dealer, it is possible to inform that the customer has illegally copied the content data D1 by the copy history information in the header data D4.

Further, in the data providing server 101, when the payment by the prepaid card at the request terminal 103 is designated by the rental reservation request data D2 transmitted from the request terminal 103, the billing processing unit 116 causes the portable dedicated terminal 102. Of the rental data, the rental reservation request data D2, and the accompanying information of the content data D1 to calculate the billing amount to the customer according to the rental period of the content data D1. The billing amount information is transmitted from the transmitting unit 118 to the request terminal 103 via the Internet 105 as billing data.

As a result, when the data providing server 101 receives the prepaid payment end data transmitted from the request terminal 103 after the payment by the prepaid card is completed on the basis of the charging data by the receiving unit 115, the charging processing unit 116 notifies the customer of the customer. Rental reservation request data D storing information indicating that payment by a prepaid card is completed at the request terminal 103 instead of the account number
2, the shop ID is added to generate the recording control data D3, and the generated recording control data D3 is recorded by the recording control unit 11
Send to 7.

Then, the data providing server 101 sends the recording control data D3 from the billing processing unit 116 to the recording control unit 11.
7, the recording control unit 117 transmits the rental reservation acceptance data from the transmission unit 118 to the request terminal 103 in the same manner as described above, and the header data D4 is generated based on the recording control data D3 to generate the content data D1. It is recorded together with the portable dedicated terminal 102.

Furthermore, when the rental reservation request data D2 transmitted from the request terminal 103 designates cash payment at the store and payment by a prepaid card, the data providing server 101 uses the account processing unit 116 to set the account number of the customer. Instead, the shop ID is added to the rental reservation request data D2 that stores information indicating that payment by cash and a prepaid card has been completed at the store to generate the recording control data D3, and the generated recording control data D3 is generated. It is sent to the recording control unit 117.

In this case also, the data providing server 101 sends the recording control data D3 from the billing processing unit 116 to the recording control unit 117, and the recording control unit 117 sends the rental reservation acceptance data to the transmission unit. 118
To the request terminal 103, the header data D4 is generated based on the recording control data D3, and is recorded in the portable dedicated terminal 102 together with the content data D1.

By the way, in the data providing server 101, the billing processing unit 116 is provided with a prepaid card slot, and when the payment by the prepaid card is designated at the store, the billing processing unit 116 rents the content data D1. The amount charged to the customer according to the period is calculated, and when the customer comes to the store to receive the portable dedicated terminal 102 and the prepaid card owned by the customer is inserted into the slot, the prepaid card is used. Settle customer rental fees.

Note that the data providing server 101 is
When the customer comes to the store and requests the rental of the content data D1, it can be dealt with, and in this case, the clerk of the handling store can operate the operation information input unit through FIG.
The rental information having the same contents as the rental reservation request data D2 described above is input, and the input rental information is sent to the billing processing unit 116, and thus the same as when making a rental reservation using the request terminal 103 described above. Then, the content data D1 is recorded in the portable dedicated terminal 102.

On the other hand, the request terminal 102 (FIG. 5)
When the customer inputs the rental reservation information similar to the content of the rental reservation request data D2 described above through the operation information input unit 120, the request data generation unit 122 changes the rental reservation information into the rental reservation information through the operation information determination unit 121. The rental reservation request data D2 described above is generated based on the generated rental reservation request data D2.
Data provision server 1 via Internet 105
Send to 01.

As a result, in the request terminal 103, when the rental reservation acceptance data is transmitted from the data providing server 101 via the Internet 105, the reception section 124 receives the rental reservation acceptance data and the received rental reservation acceptance data is discriminated by the determination section. By sending from 125 to the display unit 126, the customer is notified that the acceptance of the rental reservation of the desired content data D1 is completed, and the dedicated terminal ID of the portable dedicated terminal 102 to be rented together with the content data D1 is notified. .

By the way, the request terminal 103 is provided with a billing processing section 127 having a slot of a prepaid card, and when the prepaid payment is designated by the request terminal 103 through the operation information input section 120, the operation information is displayed. The determination unit 121 determines this and notifies the charging processing unit 127.

Then, the request terminal 103 sends the rental reservation request data D2 at this time to the data providing server 10.
The receiving unit 124 receives the billing data returned by transmitting the billing data to 1, and the discriminating unit 125 discriminates the received billing data and sends it to the billing processing unit 127.

As a result, when the prepaid card owned by the customer is inserted into the slot of the billing processing section 127, the request terminal 103 causes the billing processing section 127 to charge the rental fee of the customer with the prepaid card based on the billing data. After payment, the prepaid payment end data is generated and transmitted from the transmission unit 123 to the data providing server 101 via the Internet 105.

Here, the rental reservation processing procedure by the data providing server 101 and the request terminal 103 of the data providing system 100 will be described except for the payment of the rental fee (that is, the charging processing), as shown in FIG. 7 (A). First, the request terminal 103 determines that the routine R
Enter from the start step of T1 and move to step SP1.

At step SP1, the request terminal 103 waits for the customer to input the rental reservation information through the operation information input section 120. When the rental reservation information is input, the request terminal 103 moves to the subsequent step SP2 and makes a request. The data generation unit 122 generates rental reservation request data D2, transmits the generated rental reservation request data D2 from the transmission unit 123 to the data providing server 101 via the Internet 105, and proceeds to step SP3.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 7B, the data providing server 101 enters from the start step of the routine RT2 to the next step SP11, and in the step SP11, the rental reservation request data D2 from the request terminal 103. Of the rental reservation request data D2 transmitted from the request terminal 103.
Is received by the receiving unit 119, the process proceeds to step SP12.

In step SP12, the data processing server 101 uses the rental reservation request data D2 to generate the recording control data D3 by the billing processing unit 116, and then proceeds to step SP13.

In step SP13, the data providing server 101 generates rental reservation acceptance data and transmits it from the transmission unit 118 to the request terminal 103 via the Internet 105, and proceeds to step SP14.

At this time, the request terminal 103 waits for the rental reservation acceptance data to be transmitted from the data providing server 101 in step SP3, and in step SP3, the data providing server 1
When the rental reservation acceptance data transmitted from 01 is received, it moves to the following step SP4.

At step SP4, the request terminal 103 displays the rental reservation acceptance data on the display unit 126.
Is sent to and displayed on the terminal to notify the customer that the acceptance of the rental reservation of the content data D1 has been completed, and the dedicated terminal ID of the portable dedicated terminal 102 to be rented together with the content data D1 is notified, and the subsequent step SP5. Then, the process of the request terminal 103 ends.

Further, in step SP14, the data providing server 101 generates the header data D4 based on the recording control data D3 and moves to step SP15. In step SP15, the recording control section 117 requests the customer's request. After the header data D4 is added to the content data D1 stored therein and recorded on the recording medium in the portable dedicated terminal 102, the process proceeds to step SP16 and the processing of the data providing server 101 is ended. In this way, the data providing system 100 ends the rental reservation process for the content data D1.

With the above configuration, in the data providing system 100, the data providing server 1 installed in the dealer.
When a large amount of content data D1 is stored in the content database 111 of 01 and the customer requests the rental of the desired content data D1 using the request terminal 103, the data providing server 10
1 to transfer the content data D1 to the portable dedicated terminal 1
02, and thereafter, when the customer visits the dealer, the reserved content data D1 is rented together with the portable dedicated terminal 102.

Therefore, in this data providing server 100, the customer has a recording / playback function of the content data D1 like a personal computer and can connect to the Internet to acquire the content data D1 (hereinafter, referred to as a device).
Even if the user does not own the content acquisition device), the content can be easily provided as data by the portable dedicated terminal 102 rented at the dealer.

Further, in the data providing system 100, when renting the content data D1, the desired content data D1 can be reserved in advance using the request terminal 103 with respect to the data providing server 101. While the content data D1 is being recorded on the portable dedicated terminal 102, the customer is not kept waiting, and the customer who visits the dealer can be handed over the portable dedicated terminal 102 together with the content data D1.

Further, in the data providing system 100, the recording control data D3 for recording the content data D1 in the portable dedicated terminal 102 even when the customer operates the request terminal 103 to reserve the rental of the content data D1. In order to notify the customer that the rental reservation has been accepted when the
While recording the content data D1 in 02, the rental of the content data D1 can be smoothly reserved without causing the customer to wait in front of the request terminal 102.

[0177] Incidentally, although it has already been described that the content acquisition device is required to use the distribution of the content data D1 by the Internet 105, knowledge of the Internet 105 used for the distribution of the content data D1 is also required, and the Internet is required. Without knowledge of 105, distribution of the content data D1 may not be easily received.

On the other hand, when the data providing system 100 according to the second embodiment is used, although the customer uses the Internet 105 when making a reservation for rental of the content data D1, the data providing server 151 can be easily configured. Dedicated request terminal 10 for direct access by operation
3, the content data D1 is reserved for rental, so that not only the customer who does not own the content acquisition device but also the customer who does not have knowledge of the Internet 105 can easily acquire the content data.

According to the above configuration, the request terminal 103 is used to reserve the rental of the desired content data D1 in the data providing server 101 having the content database 111 storing a large number of content data D1, and the data providing server 101 concerned is reserved. Then, the desired content data D1 is recorded in the portable dedicated terminal 102, and the portable dedicated terminal 102 is recorded together with the content data D1.
By renting the content acquisition device, the content data can be more easily provided to the customer who does not own the content acquisition device, and thus the data providing system that can significantly improve the usability can be realized. it can.

In the above-described second embodiment, the case where the portable dedicated terminal 102 dedicated to the dealer is rented together with the content data D1 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. Dedicated terminal 102
May be sold to the customer, and the content data D1 may be recorded on the portable dedicated terminal 102 for rental and purchase. In this way, even when the customer desires to purchase the content data D1, the purchased content data D1 can be recorded and stored in the purchased portable terminal 102 as well, and the usability of the data providing system 100 is further improved. Can be improved.

Further, in the above-described second embodiment, the case where the rental-desired content data D1 is recorded in the portable dedicated terminal 102 dedicated to the dealer has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. Instead, the content data D1 desired to be rented or purchased may be recorded in a portable recording / reproducing device such as a portable phone brought by a customer to a dealer or a portable MD (Mini Disc Sony trademark) player. good. With this configuration, the customer who owns the content acquisition device can easily use the data providing system, and the versatility of the data providing system can be improved.

Furthermore, in the above-described second embodiment, the case where the content data is recorded in the portable dedicated terminal 102 at the dealer in response to the customer reservation information from the request terminal 103 has been described. The present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the content data may be recorded on the portable dedicated terminal 102 while being in a manufacturing company, a sales company, or the like, using the Internet or the like. By doing so, even when the portable dedicated terminal 102 is directly delivered from the factory to the customer, the content data can be rented properly.

(4) Third Embodiment FIG. 8 in which parts corresponding to those in FIG.
2 shows a data providing system 150 according to an embodiment of
The data providing server 15 corresponding to the system management site 2 and the dealers 4A to 4N described above with reference to FIGS.
According to the second embodiment except the configuration of No. 1 and the configuration in which the content server 152 corresponding to the system management site 2 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 is connected to the data providing server 151 via the Internet 105. It is configured similarly to the data providing system 100.

In this case, the content server 152 is the content database 153 of the data providing server 151.
A larger number of content data D1 than the content data D1 stored in the
A content database 154 storing a data table generated by listing the accompanying information (including content ID, title, selling price, rental price, etc.)
Is provided.

[0185] Further, in the content database 153 of the data providing server 151, the content server 1
A part of the large number of content data D1 stored in the content database 154 of 52 and the content stored in the data providing server 151 in the data table stored in the content database 154 of the content server 152. A new data table generated by associating information representing the data D1 is stored.

Further, the data providing server 151 is provided with a received data discriminating unit 155 for discriminating what kind of data the data received by the receiving unit 115 is, and the request terminal 103 to the Internet 105.
When the reception unit 115 receives the rental reservation request data D2 transmitted via the reception unit 115, the reception data determination unit 155 sends the received rental reservation request data D2 to the charging processing unit 156.

Then, the data providing server 151 searches the data table in the content database 111 on the basis of the rental reservation request data D2 by the billing processing unit 156, and finds the content data D1 that the customer desires to rent. Database 11
It is determined whether or not it is stored in 1.

As a result, when the data providing server 151 confirms by the billing processing unit 156 that the content data D1 that the customer desires to rent is stored in the content database 111, the billing processing unit 156 continuously records the data. The control data D3 is sent to the recording control unit 157.

Thus, the data providing server 151 causes the recording control unit 156 to transmit the rental reservation acceptance data from the transmission unit 118 to the request terminal 103, and also generates the header data D4 based on the recording control data D3 to generate the content data. Portable dedicated terminal 10 together with D1
Record in 2.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9 together with FIG. 8, the data providing server 151 does not store the content data D1 desired by the customer in the content database 111 by the charging processing unit 156. When confirmed, the charging processing unit 156 continues to use the rental reservation request data D2 in the same manner as the charging processing unit 116 of the data providing server 101 (FIG. 5) according to the second embodiment described above with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. Although the recording control data D3 is generated (also performing the charging process), the recording control data D3 is transmitted from the transmission unit 118 to the content server 152 via the Internet 105 as content acquisition request data.

As a result, when the requested content data D1 is returned from the content server 152 together with the content acquisition request data via the Internet 105, the data providing server 151 receives the received content data D1 by the receiving unit 115 and determines the received data. The content data D1 and the content acquisition request data are fetched by the unit 155 and sent from the received data discriminating unit 155 to the recording control unit 157.

As a result, the data providing server 151 adds the dedicated terminal ID and the copy history information to the content acquisition request data (that is, the recording control data D3) by the recording control unit 156 to generate the header data D4. The generated header data D4 is recorded in the portable dedicated terminal 102 together with the content data D1 acquired from the content server 152.

In this way, the data providing server 151
Even when a request is made to rent content data D1 that is not stored in the content database 111, the content data D1 is stored in the content server 15.
It is designed so that it can be acquired from 2 and rented to customers.

Incidentally, the data providing server 151
When the content data D1 is acquired from the content server 152, it takes more time to accept the reservation of the rental than when the content data D1 desired by the customer is stored in the content database 153 of the data providing server 151.

Therefore, the data provider 151 generates the rental reservation acceptance data by the reception data discrimination unit 155, and transmits the generated rental reservation acceptance data to the customer at the time when the content data D1 is acquired from the content server 152. Has been notified that the rental reservation has been accepted.

The data providing server 151 has the same contents as the rental reservation request data D2 input by the clerk of the dealer through the operation information input unit 119 when the customer comes to the store and requests the rental of the content data D1. The rental information of the request terminal 10 is sent from the operation information determination unit 158 to the billing processing unit 156.
The content data D1 is recorded in the portable dedicated terminal 102 in the same manner as at the time of rental reservation using 3.

Further, the data providing server 151 newly adds the content data D to the content database 153.
When the content information including the content ID for storing 1 is input through the operation information input unit 119, the content information is sent from the operation information determination unit 158 to the request data generation unit 159, and the request data generation unit 159 is sent. Content request data representing the content information is generated by 159 and transmitted from the transmission unit 118 to the content server 152 via the Internet 105.

As a result, the data providing server 151 receives the desired content data D1 from the content server 152.
When the accompanying information is transmitted together with this, the receiving unit 11 sends it.
5, the received content data D1 is received.
Also, by sending the accompanying information from the received data discriminating unit 155 to the recording control unit 157, the recording control unit 157 stores the content data D1 and the accompanying information in the content database 153.

As a result, although it takes a relatively long time for the data providing server 151 to acquire the content data D1 from the content server 152, among the content data D1 not stored in the content database 153, for example, a request for rental is compared. A large number of items are acquired from the content server 152 and stored in the content database 153, so that it is possible to promptly respond to a rental request from a customer.

On the other hand, the content server 152 (FIG. 8)
From the data providing server 151 to the Internet 105
When the content acquisition request data is transmitted via, the receiving unit 160 receives the content acquisition request data, the content ID extracting unit 161 extracts the content ID from the content acquisition request data, and sends the content ID to the content searching unit 162. The content acquisition request data is sent to the transmission data generation unit 164.

As a result, the content server 152 searches the content database 154 based on the content ID by the content search unit 162, reads out the corresponding content data D1 and sends it to the transmission data generation unit 164, and at the same time, the transmission data concerned. Generation unit 164
Accordingly, the content acquisition request data is added to the content data D1 and the transmission unit 165 transmits the content to the Internet
5 to the data providing server 151.

When the content request data is transmitted from the data providing server via the Internet 195, the content server 152 receives the content request data by the receiving unit 160, and the content ID extracting unit 161 extracts the content ID from the content request data. Is extracted and sent to the content search unit 162.

As a result, the content server 152 searches the content database 154 based on the content ID by the content search section 162, reads the corresponding content data D1 and the associated information, and reads the content data D1 and the associated information. The information is transmitted from the transmission unit 165 via the transmission data generation unit 164 to the data providing server 151 via the Internet 105.

In this way, the content server 152
Can provide the content data D1 to the data providing server 151.

Here, the rental reservation processing procedure by the data providing server 151, the request terminal 103 and the content server 152 of the data providing system 150 will be described except for the rental fee payment (that is, billing processing). ), First, the request terminal 103 enters from the start step of the routine RT1 and executes the same processing as the case described above with reference to FIG. 7 (A).

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10B by attaching the same reference numerals to the portions corresponding to those in FIG. 7B, the data providing server 151 enters the routine RT3 from the start step and continues to step SP11 and step. After sequentially executing the processing of SP12, the process proceeds to step SP21
In step 21, the billing processing unit 156 searches the data table in the content database 153 to determine whether or not the customer needs to acquire the content data D1 requested to be rented from the content server 152.

Obtaining a positive result in this step SP21 means that the content data D1 requested by the customer to be rented is not stored in the content database 153 of the data providing server 151. At this time, the data providing server 151: Moving to step SP22, the recording control data D generated by the billing processing unit 156.
3 as content acquisition request data from the transmission unit 118 via the Internet 105 to the content server 152.
To step SP23.

Here, as shown in FIG. 10C, the contents server 152 moves from the start step of the routine RT4 to the next step SP31, and at step SP31, the contents acquisition request data from the data providing server 151 When the content acquisition request data transmitted from the data providing server 151 is received by the receiving unit 119 while waiting for transmission, step SP32
Move on to.

[0209] In step SP32, the content server 152 searches the content database 154 by the content search section 162 based on the content ID extracted from the content acquisition request data by the content ID extraction section 161, and retrieves the content database 154 from the content database 154. After reading the content data D1 having the content ID, the process proceeds to step SP33.

In step SP33, the contents server 152 adds the contents data D1 read from the contents database 154 to the transmission data generator 164.
The content acquisition request data is added by the transmission unit 16
5 to the data providing server 151 via the Internet 105, the process proceeds to step SP34, and the process of the content server 152 is ended.

[0211] Further, in step SP23, the data providing server 151 that has transmitted the content acquisition request data to the content server 152
When the content data D1 transmitted from the content server 152 is received by the receiving unit 115 (the content acquisition request data is also received together with the content data D1), the process proceeds to step SP24. Move.

[0212] In step SP24, the data providing server 151 sends the received content data D1 and the content acquisition request data from the received data discriminating unit 155 to the recording control unit 157, and the received data discriminating unit 155 causes the rental reservation acceptance data to be received. Is generated and transmitted from the transmission unit 118 to the request terminal 103 via the Internet 105, and after successively executing the processes of step SP14 and step 15, the process proceeds to step 25 to end the process of the data providing server 151. In this way, the data providing system 150 ends the rental reservation process for the content data D1.

Incidentally, obtaining a negative result in step SP21 described above means that the content data D1 requested by the customer to be rented is stored in the content database 153 of the data providing server 151. The providing server 151 performs step S
Move to P24, from the charging processing unit 156 to the recording control data D
The recording control unit 157 having received 3 generates rental reservation acceptance data, and the transmission unit 18 transmits the data to the Internet 10.
After transmitting to the request terminal 103 via 5, the process proceeds to step SP14.

In the above-described structure, in the data providing system 150, the data providing server 151 having the content database 153 storing a large number of content data D1 has more contents than the data providing server 151 via the Internet 105. The content server 152 having the content database 154 storing the data D1 is connected.

In the data providing system 150, when the data providing server 151 receives the rental reservation request data D2 transmitted from the request terminal 103 operated by the customer, the content data D1 requested to be rented by the customer. Is stored in the content database 153 of the data providing server 151, and when the content data D1 desired by the customer is not stored, the content server 1
The content data D1 is obtained from 52 and recorded on the portable dedicated terminal 102 to be rented to the customer.

Therefore, in the data providing system 150, the size of the content database 153 provided in the data providing server 151 can be made relatively small, and even if the size of the content database 153 is made small in this way, it is requested by the customer. It is possible to appropriately rent various types of content data D1 to be rented.

By the way, in this data providing system 150, since the scale of the content data server 153 provided in the data providing server 151 can be reduced, the capital investment of the dealer who installs the data providing server 151 is greatly reduced. Can be made.

According to the above configuration, the data providing server 151 having the content database 153 storing a large number of content data D1 has the content database 154 storing a larger number of content data D1 than the data providing server 151. When the content server 152 is connected and the data providing server 151 that receives a rental request from a customer does not store the desired content data D1 of the rental in the content database 153, the content server 1
By obtaining the content data D1 from 52 and renting it to the customer, in addition to the effect obtained by the second embodiment described above, the scale of the content database 153 provided in the data providing server 151 is significantly increased. It is possible to realize a data providing system which can be miniaturized and can appropriately rent various content data D1 requested by a customer even if the scale of the content database 153 is miniaturized.

In the third embodiment described above, a part of the large number of content data D1 stored in the content database 154 of the content server 152 is stored in the content database 153 of the data providing server 151. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and different content data D1 may be stored in the content databases 154 and 153 of the content server 152 and the data providing server 161, respectively. Also, different content data D1 may be distributed and stored in the content databases of a large number of data providing servers 151 and content servers 152. In this way, the content provided in the data providing server 151 and the content server 152 may be stored. The size of the database can be further reduced as a whole.

Further, in the above-mentioned third embodiment, the data providing server 151 is the content server 152.
Although the case where the content data D1 is acquired from the above is described, the present invention is not limited to this, and the content data D1 is automatically selected and reproduced from the package media purchased for rent and sale from the dealer. A changer may be installed and the data providing server 151 may acquire the content data D1 from the changer, or the content server 152 and the changer may be used together.

Further, in the above-described third embodiment, the case where the portable dedicated terminal 102 dedicated to the dealer is rented together with the content data D1 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the portable terminal is not limited to this. Dedicated terminal 10
2 may be sold to the customer, and the content data D1 may be recorded on the portable dedicated terminal 102 for rental and purchase.

Further, in the above-described third embodiment, the case where the rental-desired content data D1 is recorded in the portable dedicated terminal 102 dedicated to the dealer has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. Instead, the content data D1 desired to be rented or purchased may be recorded in a portable recording / reproducing apparatus such as a portable telephone or a portable MD player brought in by a customer to a dealer.

(5) Fourth Embodiment FIG. 11 shows a data providing system 200 according to a fourth embodiment, in which the intermediary server 201 corresponding to the system management site 2 described above with reference to FIGS. The portable dedicated terminal 202 corresponding to the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 and the advertiser company server 203 corresponding to the advertiser company site 6 described above with reference to FIGS. It is configured to be connected via.

The intermediary server 201 is the intermediary server 20.
A customer database 210 for registering customers who use the Internet 204 via the Internet, and an advertisement for registering advertisers and companies who wish to provide distribution data such as advertisements to customers using the Internet 204. It has a main company database 211.

Then, the mediation server 201 stores the advertiser company registration screen data in advance in the advertiser company database 211, and requests registration from the advertiser company server 203 of the advertiser and the company that wants to register the advertiser company. When the registration request data is transmitted, the receiving unit 212 receives the registration request data, and the advertiser company information updating unit 213 reads out the advertiser company registration screen data from the advertiser company database 211 based on the registration request data. The read advertiser company registration screen data is sent from the transmitting unit 214 via the Internet 204 to the advertiser company server 203.
Send to.

As a result, the mediation server 201 causes the advertiser and company server 203 to enter the advertiser company registration screen based on the advertiser company registration screen data by the operator, as shown in FIG. 12 (A). When the information is transmitted as the advertiser company registration information data, the receiving unit 212 receives the information.

Here, as shown in FIG. 12A, the advertiser company information provided from the advertiser company server 203 to the mediation server 201 is a company name (that is, advertiser name information and company name information), Telephone number and e-mail address, and distribution genre information that represents the genre to which the content of the distribution data to be provided belongs (for example, domestic cars, foreign cars, rock music and classic music, Hollywood movies and Japanese movies, etc.) and catchphrases of advertisers and companies. It is composed of various information unique to the advertiser and company such as business content information represented by comments and condition numbers representing conditions for concluding a contract with a customer, and is directly input by the operator of the advertiser and the company. Alternatively, it is generated by selecting from the various options presented by the mediation server 201.

When the intermediary server 201 acquires such advertiser company information, the advertiser company information updating unit 213 causes the advertiser company information unique to the advertiser or company that has requested the registration (hereinafter referred to as this advertiser company identification information). Is called as an advertiser company ID), and the issued advertiser company ID is transmitted from the transmitting unit 214 to the advertiser company server 203 of the advertiser and the company requesting the registration via the Internet 204.

In addition to this, the intermediary server 201 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2 (B), the advertiser company information updating unit 213 adds the advertiser company ID to the advertiser company information acquired from the advertiser and the company, and the advertiser company database 211 as the advertiser company registration information 211. By registering the advertiser and the company, the advertiser and the company can receive registration requests from the advertiser and the company at any time, and execute the advertiser company registration process.

Further, the intermediary server 201 stores customer registration screen data in the customer database 210 in advance,
The portable dedicated terminal 202 is operated by the customer who wants to register.
When registration request data for requesting registration is transmitted from the customer, the reception unit 212 receives the registration request data, and the customer information update unit 21 receives the registration request data.
5, the customer registration screen data is read from the customer database 210 based on the registration request data, and the read customer registration screen data is transmitted from the transmission unit 214 to the portable dedicated terminal 202 via the Internet 204.

As a result, the intermediary server 201 receives the customer information as shown in FIG. 13A, which is input on the customer registration screen based on the customer registration screen data from the portable dedicated terminal 202 by the operation of the customer desiring to register. Is transmitted as the customer registration information data, the reception unit 212 receives it.

Here, as shown in FIG. 13A, the customer information provided from the customer to the intermediary server 201 is the name,
Gender and age, and genre you are interested in (for example,
Information on domestic cars, foreign cars, rock music, classical music, Hollywood movies, Japanese movies, etc. (hereinafter referred to as customer preference genre information) and preference information that expresses one's own preferences in comments, and contracts with advertisers and companies It is composed of various personal information such as a condition number representing a condition for connecting the two and a mail address previously assigned to the portable dedicated terminal 202 used by the customer,
It is generated such that the customer directly inputs it or selects from various options presented by the mediation server 201.

Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 14, the conditions for concluding a contract between the customer and the advertiser and the company are as follows: "Customer communication "Advertisers and companies that have contracted a portion of the fee will be borne", "Advertisers and companies will discount the price for the purchase of products, etc. by customers", "Purchase products such as points earned by the customer "Use for payment at time", "Give presents to customers from advertisers and companies according to the points of net mileage earned by customers,"
"Access to the sites of contracted advertisers and companies for more than a certain amount of time every month", "Customers purchase products of a certain amount or more from the contracted advertisers and companies every month", etc.

When the intermediary server 201 acquires such customer information, the customer information updating unit 215 issues a customer ID to the customer, and the issued customer ID is transmitted from the transmitting unit 214 via the Internet 204. The data is transmitted to the portable dedicated terminal 202 of the customer and stored therein.

The mediation server 201 is shown in FIG.
At this time, the customer information is updated by adding the customer ID to the customer information by the customer information updating unit 215 and storing the customer ID in the customer database 210 as customer registration information. Accept and execute customer registration processing.

Thereafter, in the intermediary server 201, the contents designation data including the customer ID is transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 202 to the various dealers in order to request the distribution of the contents data, for example, by the operation of the registered customer. When,
This is once received by the receiving unit 212.

At this time, the mediation server 201 searches the customer database 210 based on the customer ID included in the content designation data by the customer information updating unit 215, detects the customer registration information of the customer, and detects the customer registration information. After updating the customer registration information by adding the content of the content designation data as additional customer information, the content designation data is transmitted from the transmission unit 214 to the dealer via the Internet 204.

In this way, the mediation server 201 relays the content designation data transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 202 to the dealer every time the customer uses the dealer via the Internet 204. As shown, access genre information indicating the genre of the content data acquired by the customer from the dealer in the customer registration information by the customer information updating unit 215, access counter information indicating the number of times of acquisition of the content data of the genre, and the content data The information of the amount paid for the acquisition is added and the contents of the customer registration information are sequentially updated.

By the way, the mediation server 201 uses the portable dedicated terminal 202 every time the customer uses the dealer, and according to the usage situation (content data purchase or rental price, internet usage time, etc.) Information update section 2
Points (net mileage) for giving a benefit such as a discount to the customer are issued by 15, and the points are also added to the customer registration information every time they are issued.

As a result, the mediation server 201 can grasp the customer's taste and the like based on the customer registration information in the customer database 210.

By the way, the mediation server 201 (FIG. 11)
Is a customer permission data (customer permission data that allows the advertiser or company to disclose its customer information in order to contract with the advertiser or the company for acquisition of distribution data from the portable dedicated terminal 202 by the operation of the customer. (Including ID) is sent,
This is received by the receiving unit 212, and the received customer permission data is taken into the matching unit 216.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 15, the matching unit 216 takes in the customer permission data received by the receiving unit 212 into the monitor unit 220, and the monitor unit 220 uses the customer ID included in the customer permission data as the customer ID. Based on the customer database 210, the customer registration information of the customer permitted to be published is read out and sent to the discriminating section 221. At the same time, the advertiser company information extracting section 223 via the delay section 222.
Also send.

Then, the matching unit 216 is the discrimination unit 2
21. There is a genre indicating the number of acquisition times of the content data acquired by the customer from the access genre information and the access counter information in the customer registration information that is equal to or greater than a preset threshold value (for example, 100 times). Determine whether or not.

Here, the matching unit 216 is the discrimination unit 2
When there is a genre indicating the number of acquisitions equal to or greater than the threshold value in the customer registration information according to 21, it is determined that the genre is a genre that suits the current taste of the customer, and the customer can be introduced to the advertiser and the company. As a result, the advertiser company information extraction unit 223 is notified of the genre indicating the number of acquisitions equal to or more than the threshold as customer preference information.

Accordingly, the matching unit 216 searches the advertiser company information extraction unit 223 for the advertiser company registration information in the advertiser company database 211 by comparing the distribution genre information and the customer preference information included therein, Advertiser company registration information of advertisers and companies that provide distribution data in the genre indicated by the customer preference information (FIG. 12 (B))
17 and removes the advertiser company ID from the read advertiser company registration information, and generates advertiser company introduction information for introducing the advertiser and company to the customer.

Then, the matching unit 216 causes the advertiser company information extraction unit 223 to send the advertiser company introduction information as advertiser company introduction data according to the mail address shown in the customer registration information given from the delay unit 222.
Introducing advertisers and companies that provide customers with distribution data that suits their tastes by transmitting from 14 to the dedicated mobile terminal 202 via the Internet 204.

On the other hand, the matching unit 216 introduces the customer to the advertiser and the company because the taste of the customer is unclear when the discrimination unit 221 does not have a genre indicating the number of acquisitions equal to or more than the threshold value in the customer registration information. It judges that it cannot be done and notifies the advertiser company information extraction unit 223 of the judgment result.

Then, the matching unit 216 generates the advertiser company introduction unrepresentable information indicating that the advertiser company information extraction unit 223 could not find the advertiser and the company providing the distribution data that matches the customer's taste. The delay unit 22
According to the mail address shown in the customer registration information given from 2, the advertiser company introduction impossible information is set as the advertiser company introduction impossible data from the transmission unit 214 to the Internet 204.
To notify the customer that the advertiser and the company providing the distribution data that suits his / her taste cannot be found at present at present by transmitting to the portable dedicated terminal 202 via.

In this way, the intermediary server 201 introduces the advertiser and the company to the customer, and as a result, the portable dedicated terminal 202 is operated by the customer to select the advertiser selected from the introduced advertiser and the company. When the advertiser company selection data (including the customer ID) indicating the company is transmitted, the reception unit 212 receives the data and the received advertiser company selection data is monitored by the monitor unit 220 of the matching unit 216.
From the advertiser company information extraction unit 223 via the determination unit 221
Take in.

When the matching unit 216 generates the advertiser company introduction information, the matching unit 216 extracts the customer registration information and the customer preference information used in the generation of the advertiser company information extraction unit 2.
It is temporarily stored in 23.

Therefore, when the matching unit 216 fetches the advertiser company selection data into the advertiser company information extraction unit 223, the matching unit 216 stores the customer registration information (FIG. 13) based on the customer preference information.
As shown in FIG. 18 from (B)), customer introduction information that selectively uses matched preference information to introduce customers to advertisers and companies is generated, and the customer introduction information is selected according to the advertiser company selection data. Is transmitted as customer introduction data from the transmission unit 214 to the advertiser company server 203 of the advertiser and company selected by the customer via the Internet 204.

As a result, the mediation server 201 shown in FIG.
May introduce the advertiser and company that provide useful distribution data to the customer who requests the introduction of the advertiser and the company, and also provide their own distribution data to the advertiser and company. You are able to refer customers who need it.

Incidentally, as a result of introducing the advertiser and the company to the customer, the intermediary server 201 transmits, from the portable dedicated terminal 202, the advertiser company non-selectable data indicating that there is no advertiser or company with which the customer wants to make a contract. Then, the reception unit 212 receives the information so that the matching unit 216 is prevented from generating the customer introduction information and the customer permission data is transmitted again from the portable dedicated terminal 202 of the customer. Wait.

[0254] The intermediary server 201, when introducing a customer to an advertiser or a company, collects the referral fee of the customer from the advertiser or the company.

Then, as a result of the customer introduction data being transmitted to the advertiser company server 203, the intermediary server 201 transmits the contract establishment data from the advertiser company server 203 when the advertiser and the company make a contract with the customer. After the reception unit 212 receives this, the contract establishment data is transmitted from the transmission unit 214 to the portable dedicated terminal 202 via the Internet 204 so that the customer has the contract with the advertiser and the company. To notify.

At this time, the mediation server 201 uses the advertiser company information updating unit 213 to set the advertiser company registration information in the advertiser company database 211 based on the contract establishment data, as shown in FIG. The contracted customer ID information indicating the customer ID of the customer who has made a contract with the company is added and updated, and the customer information updating unit 215 also updates the customer registration information in the customer database 210 based on the contracted data in FIG. As shown, the contracted advertiser company ID information indicating the advertiser company IDs of the advertiser and the company that have contracted with the customer is added and updated.

Thus, the mediation server 201 can grasp the contract status between the customer, the advertiser and the company based on the updated customer registration information and the advertiser company registration information. Prevents clients who have contracts with companies from introducing again advertisers and companies that already have contracts when the disclosure of customer information is permitted to make contracts with new advertisers and companies It is done like this.

Further, as a result of the customer introduction data being transmitted to the advertiser company server 203, the mediation server 201 transmits the contract failure data from the advertiser company server 203 because the advertiser and the company forgot the contract with the customer. Then,
This is received by the reception unit 212, and the received contract failure data is transmitted from the transmission unit 214 to the Internet 204.
To notify the customer that the contract with the advertiser and the company has not been established, by transmitting to the portable dedicated terminal 202 via the.

Incidentally, when the intermediary server 201 generates the advertiser company introduction information and the customer introduction information described above with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18, the contracted customer ID is obtained from the original advertiser company registration information and the customer registration information. By excluding the information and the contractor advertiser company ID information, it is possible to prevent leakage of personal information that is not necessary for the contract to the advertiser, the company and the customer.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 11, when the operator inputs a registration request via the operation unit 230, the advertiser company server 203 causes the transmission control unit 231 to transmit the registration request as registration request data to the transmission unit. 232 to the mediation server 201 via the Internet 204.

As a result, the advertiser company server 203 receives the advertiser company registration screen data transmitted from the mediation server 201 by the receiving unit 233, and displays the received advertiser company registration screen data from the display control unit 234. Part 23
5 to display the advertiser company registration screen based on the advertiser company registration screen data on the display unit 235.

When the operator operates the operation unit 230 while the advertiser company registration screen is displayed on the display unit 235, the advertiser company server 203 operates the operation unit 2 concerned.
The advertiser company information described above with reference to FIG. 12 (A) entered on the advertiser company registration screen in response to the operation of 30 is transmitted as advertiser company registration information data by the transmission control unit 231 from the transmission unit 232 via the Internet 204. It is transmitted to the mediation server 201.

As a result, the advertiser company server 203 receives the registration of the mediation server 201 for the advertiser and the company.
The advertiser company ID transmitted from the Internet via the Internet 204 is received by the receiving unit 233 and stored in the distribution information database 236. After that, when the mediation server 201 is accessed, the advertiser company ID is used for identification. To do so.

In this way, the advertiser company server 203
After registering with the mediation server 201, when the customer introduction information described above with reference to FIG. 17 is transmitted from the mediation server 201 via the Internet 204 as customer introduction data, the reception unit 233 receives the customer introduction information and receives it. It is taken into the selection unit 237.

[0265] In this case, the advertiser company server 203 makes a contract with the customer introduced by the intermediary server 201 by referring to the contract conditions and the Internet usage status based on the customer introduction data by the customer selection unit 237. Determine whether to tie.

When the advertiser company server 203 determines by the customer selection unit 237 to enter into a contract with the customer introduced from the intermediary server 201, the transmission data generation unit 238 generates contract establishment data, and the generation is performed. The transmitted contract establishment data is transmitted to the transmission control unit 231 and the transmission unit 232.
Also, the intermediary server 2 through the Internet 204 in sequence.
Send to 01.

At this time, the advertiser company server 203 notifies the transmission control unit 231 that the customer selection unit 237 has decided to conclude a contract with the customer, whereby the transmission control unit 231 causes the distribution information database 236. Of the various distribution data stored in advance, the distribution data suitable for the taste of the customer who has made the contract is appropriately read, and the read distribution data is transmitted from the transmission unit 232 via the Internet 204 to the customer's portable dedicated terminal 202. Send to.

Thus, the advertiser company server 203
Is capable of providing the contracted customer with distribution data that suits the taste of the customer.

Incidentally, when the advertiser company server 203 determines by the customer selecting unit 237 not to make a contract with the customer introduced from the intermediary server 201, the transmission data generating unit 238 generates contract failure data, and The generated contract failure data is transmitted to the mediation server 201 via the transmission control unit 231, the transmission unit 232, and the Internet 204 in order.

The portable dedicated terminal 202 is operated by the customer who desires to register with the intermediary server 201.
When a registration request is input via 0, the request data generation unit 241 generates registration request data and transmits it from the transmission unit 242 to the intermediary server 201 via the Internet 204.

As a result, the portable dedicated terminal 202 receives the customer registration screen data returned from the intermediary server 201 via the Internet 204 by the reception unit 243, and displays the received customer registration screen data on the display control unit and the display unit. And a speaker registration screen, the reproduction unit 244 displays the customer registration screen based on the customer registration screen data.

Then, when the operation unit 240 is operated by the customer in the state where the customer registration screen is displayed on the reproduction unit 244, the portable dedicated terminal 202 makes an input on the customer registration screen according to the operation of the operation unit 240. The customer information described above with reference to FIG. 13A is transmitted from the transmission unit 242 to the intermediation server 201 via the Internet 204 as the customer registration information data by the request data generation unit 241.

As a result, the portable dedicated terminal 202 receives the customer ID transmitted from the intermediary server 201 whose registration of the customer is completed via the Internet 204 by the receiving unit 243, and records the received customer ID in the recording control unit 245.
Take in.

[0274] Here, the portable dedicated terminal 202 can identify the various data taken from the receiving unit 243 to the recording control unit 245 based on the identifier previously added to the data by the recording control unit 245. Has been done.

Therefore, the portable dedicated terminal 202 is
When D is acquired, the record control unit 245 causes the customer I
By recording D in the customer recording medium 246, when the subsequent access to the intermediary server 201 or access to the dealer via the intermediary server 201, the intermediary server 201 and the dealer use the customer ID. To be able to identify.

[0276] In this way, the portable dedicated terminal 202
When a customer is registered in the mediation server 201, after this,
The request data generation unit 24 receives the designation information of the desired content data input via the operation unit 240 by the operation of the customer.
The content is designated as the content designation data to which the customer ID is added by 1 and is transmitted from the transmission unit 242 to the dealer via the intermediary server 201.

As a result, the portable dedicated terminal 202 receives the desired content data transmitted from the dealer in the receiving section 2.
When it is received by 43, the received content data is identified by the recording control unit 245 and recorded in the recording medium for a store 247, and thereafter, in accordance with the operation of the operation unit 240, the reproduction control unit 248 records the content data. The content data can be reproduced from the recording medium 247 for use and the reproduced content data can be sent to the reproducing unit 244 to entertain the customer.

Then, when the customer inputs the permission information for permitting the disclosure of the customer information through the operation unit 240, the portable dedicated terminal 202 sends the customer permission data representing the permission information by the request data generation unit 241. The generated customer permission data is transmitted from the transmission unit 242 to the mediation server 201 via the Internet 204.

[0279] As a result, in the portable terminal 202, when the advertiser company introduction data is transmitted from the intermediary server 201 via the Internet 204, the receiving unit 243 receives the data and the received advertiser company introduction data. Is transmitted to the reproducing unit 244, the broker server 20 is displayed on the advertiser company introduction screen based on the advertiser company introduction data.
Present the advertiser and company introduced from 1 to the customer.

Then, when the customer selects a desired advertiser and company through the operation unit 240, the portable dedicated terminal 202 causes the request data generation unit 241 to display the selected advertiser and company. The company selection data is generated, and the generated advertiser company selection data is transmitted to the transmitting unit 242.
From the Internet to the intermediary server 201 via the Internet 204.

[0281] As a result, when the advertiser and the company make a contract with the customer, the portable dedicated terminal 202 sends contract completion data from the intermediary server 201 via the Internet 204. The customer is notified that the contract with the advertiser and the company is established by receiving and sending the received contract establishment data to the reproducing unit 244.

In this way, the portable dedicated terminal 202 is
Advertiser company server 20 for advertisers and companies that have contracted with customers
3 when the distribution data is transmitted, the reception unit 243 receives the distribution data.
Then, the received distribution data is identified by the recording control unit 245 and recorded in the customer recording medium 246. Thereafter, the reproduction control unit 248 operates the operation unit 240 to operate the customer recording medium. The distribution data is reproduced from 246, and the reproduced distribution data is reproduced by the reproducing unit 2.
Various information based on the distribution data transmitted to the customer 44 can be presented to the customer.

[0283] Further, when the contracted data is transmitted from the intermediary server 201 due to the advertiser and the company canceling the contract with the customer, the portable dedicated terminal 202 receives this by the receiving unit 243 and receives the received data. By sending the contract unsuccessful data to the reproducing unit 244, the customer is notified that the contract with the advertiser and the company has not been established.

[0284] Incidentally, when the portable dedicated terminal 202 sends back the customer permission data to the intermediary server 201 and returns the advertiser company introduction impossibility data, the receiving unit 243 receives the data.
By sending the received advertiser company introduction impossible data to the reproducing unit 244, the mediation server 201 notifies that the advertiser and company that can be introduced to the customer cannot be found at this time.

[0285] Further, as a result of presenting the advertiser and the company introduced from the intermediary server 201 to the customer, the portable dedicated terminal 202 receives the advertiser and the company who are introduced through the operation unit 240 by the customer and desires a contract. When the non-selectable information indicating that there is no company is input, the request data generation unit 24
1, the advertiser company unselectable data representing the unselectable information is generated, and the generated advertiser company unselectable data is transmitted from the transmitting unit 242 to the intermediary server 201 via the Internet 204.

By the way, as described above, the portable dedicated terminal 202 is provided with the customer recording medium 246 and the dealer recording medium 247, and the intermediary server 201 other than the dealer and the advertiser company server. The data (customer ID and distribution data) acquired from 203 is recorded in the customer recording medium 246 separately from the data (content data) acquired from the dealer.

As a result, when the portable dedicated terminal 203 erases the content data rented from the dealer from the recording medium 247 for the dealer at the end of the rental period, the customer such as the customer ID or the distribution data is not the dealer himself. It almost certainly prevents accidentally deleting the data acquired for use together with the content data.

[0288] Here, when the advertiser company registration processing procedure by the intermediary server 201 and the advertiser company server 203 of the data providing system 200 is summarized, as shown in Fig. 21A, first, the advertiser company server 203 performs a routine. R
Enter from the start step of T10 and move to step SP101.

[0289] In step SP101, the advertiser company server 203 waits for an operator to input a registration request via the operation unit 230, and when the registration request is input, the process proceeds to step SP102.

In step SP102, the advertiser company server 203 causes the transmission control unit 231 to send the registration request as registration request data from the transmission unit 232 to the intermediary server 2.
Then, the process proceeds to step SP103.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 21B, the intermediary server 201 enters from the start step of the routine RT11 and moves to step SP111, waiting for the registration request data to be transmitted from the advertiser company server 203. Therefore, when the receiving unit 212 receives the registration request data transmitted from the advertiser company server 203, the process proceeds to step SP112.

At step SP112, the mediation server 201 causes the advertiser company information updating unit 213 to perform the advertiser company database 21 based on the received registration request data.
The advertiser company registration screen data is read from No. 1 and the read advertiser company registration screen data is transmitted by the transmitting unit 214.
Sent to the advertiser company server 203 from step SP1
Move to 13.

At this time, the advertiser company server 203 waits for transmission of the advertiser company registration screen data from the intermediary server 201 in step SP103, and the advertiser company registration screen data is received by the receiving unit 233. Then, it moves to step SP104.

In step SP104, the advertiser company server 203 uses the transmission control unit 231 to send the advertiser company information input by the operator via the operation unit 230 on the advertiser company registration screen based on the advertiser company registration screen data. The data is transmitted from the transmission unit 232 to the intermediation server 201 as the advertiser company registration information data, and the process proceeds to step SP105.

At this time, the intermediary server 201 waits for the advertiser company registration information data to be transmitted from the advertiser company server 203 in step SP113, and receives the advertiser company registration information data by the receiving section 212. Then, it moves to step SP114.

[0296] In step SP114, the mediation server 201 issues the advertiser company ID to the advertiser and the company whose registration has been requested by the advertiser company information updating unit 213, and transmits it from the transmitting unit 214 to the advertiser company server 203. At the same time, the advertiser company information is added to the advertiser company information based on the advertiser company registration information data acquired from the advertiser company server 203 to obtain advertiser company registration information, which is recorded in the advertiser company database 211. After registering the advertiser and the company that requested the registration, step SP115
Then, the processing in the mediation server 201 is ended.

Also, the advertiser company server 203 waits for the advertiser company ID to be transmitted from the intermediary server 201 in step SP105, and when the advertiser company ID is received by the receiving unit 233, the process proceeds to step SP106. After moving and storing the advertiser company ID in the distribution information database 236, the following step SP107
Then, the process of the advertiser company server 203 ends. In this way, the data providing system 200 ends all the advertiser company registration processing procedures in the intermediary server 201 and the advertiser company server 203.

In addition, when the procedure of introducing the advertiser company by the intermediary server 201 and the portable dedicated terminal 202 of the data providing system 200 is summarized, as shown in FIGS. Dedicated terminal 20
Step 2 starts from the start step of routine RT12 and moves to step SP121.

[0299] In step SP121, the portable dedicated terminal 202 waits for the customer to input a registration request via the operation unit 240, and when the registration request is input, the process proceeds to step SP122.

[0300] In step SP122, the portable dedicated terminal 202 causes the request data generation unit 241 to use the registration request as registration request data from the transmission unit 242 to the mediation server 2.
Then, the process proceeds to step SP123.

At this time, FIG. 22 (B) and FIG. 23 (B)
As shown in FIG.
Enter from the start step of, move to step SP141,
It waits for the registration request data to be transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 202, and when the receiving unit 212 receives the registration request data transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 202, the process proceeds to step SP142.

In step SP142, the mediation server 201 reads the customer registration screen data from the customer database 210 based on the registration request data by the customer information update unit 215, and the portable unit 20 from the transmission unit 214.
Then, the process proceeds to step SP143.

At this time, the portable dedicated terminal 202 waits for the customer registration screen data to be transmitted from the mediation server 201 in step SP123, and when the reception unit 243 receives the customer registration screen data, the portable dedicated terminal 202 receives the customer registration screen data in step SP124. Move on to.

[0304] In step SP124, the portable dedicated terminal 202 uses the customer information input by the customer on the customer registration screen based on the customer registration screen data via the operation unit 240 as the customer registration information data by the request data generation unit 241. The transmission unit 242 transmits the information to the mediation server 201, and then proceeds to step SP125.

At this time, the intermediary server 201 waits for the customer registration information data to be transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 202 in step SP143, and when the reception section 212 receives the customer registration information data, step SP144. Move on to.

In step SP144, the intermediary server 201 issues a customer ID to the customer whose registration has been requested by the customer information updating unit 215, transmits the customer ID from the transmitting unit 214 to the portable dedicated terminal 202, and also transmits the portable dedicated terminal. After adding the customer ID to the customer information based on the customer registration information data acquired from the terminal 202 and storing it as customer registration information in the customer database 210 and registering the customer who requested the registration, the process proceeds to step SP145.

[0307] At this time, the portable dedicated terminal 202 sends the customer I from the intermediary server 201 in step SP125.
It waits for D to be transmitted, and when the customer ID is received by the receiving unit 243, step SP126
Then, the customer ID is recorded in the customer recording medium 246, and the process proceeds to step SP127.

In step SP127, the portable dedicated terminal 202 waits for the customer to input any request via the operation unit 240. When the request is input, the process proceeds to step SP128 and the request is sent to the customer. Determine whether the request is for permitting disclosure of information.

Obtaining a negative result in this step SP128 means that the customer's request is designation information for obtaining, for example, content data from various dealers. S
Moving to P129, the request data generation unit 241 generates the content designation data including the customer ID and including the customer ID, and transmits the generated content designation data from the transmission unit 242 to the dealer through the intermediary server 201. Then, the process returns to step SP127.

In this way, the portable dedicated terminal 202 is
After that, until the customer requests permission for disclosure of the customer information, each time the customer inputs the designation information of the content data, steps SP127-SP128-S.
The processing loop of P129 is repeated.

On the other hand, obtaining a positive result in step SP128 means that the customer has requested the contract with the advertiser and the company and has requested permission to disclose the customer information. The dedicated terminal 202 moves to step SP130, represents the request for permitting the disclosure of the customer information by the request data generation unit 241, and sets the customer ID.
The customer permission data including the above is generated, the generated customer permission data is transmitted from the transmission unit 242 to the intermediary server 201, and the process proceeds to step SP131.

On the other hand, the mediation server 201 makes a decision at step SP.
At 145, it waits for some data to be transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 202, and when the data transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 202 is received by the receiving unit 212, the process proceeds to step SP146 and the received data is It is determined whether the data is permission data.

Obtaining a negative result in step SP146 means that the content designation data transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 202 has been received for relay to the dealer. At this time, the intermediary server 201 performs the step S
After moving to P147, the customer information updating section 215 updates the customer registration information based on the content designation data, and then returns to step SP145.

In this way, the mediation server 201 receives the content designation data transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 202 until the customer permission data is transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 202, at step SP145. −
The processing loop of SP146-SP147 is repeated, and the customer registration information is sequentially updated.

Obtaining a positive result in step SP146 means that the customer has received the customer permission data by permitting the disclosure of the customer information in order to enter into a contract with the advertiser and the company. At this time, Mediation server 2
01 moves to step SP148 and determines whether or not there is a genre indicating the number of acquisition times equal to or more than a threshold value with respect to the content data acquired by the customer by the matching unit 216, based on the customer registration information permitted to be disclosed.

Obtaining a negative result in this step SP148 means that it is difficult to specify the current taste of the customer because there is no genre representing the number of acquisitions of the threshold value or more for the content data acquired by the customer. At this time, the intermediary server 201 uses the matching unit 21.
The transmission unit 2 generates data that cannot be introduced to the advertiser company by 6
By sending from 14 to the portable dedicated terminal 202, it is notified that the advertiser and the company which can be introduced to the customer at present are not found, and the process returns to step SP145.

On the other hand, to obtain a positive result in step SP148, there is a genre representing the number of acquisitions of the threshold value or more for the content data acquired by the customer, and the genre is specified as the customer's current taste. Means that at this time, the mediation server 201
Moves to step SP149.

In step SP149, the intermediary server 201 causes the matching unit 216 to perform step SP1.
The advertiser company registration information of the advertiser and the company that retrieves the advertiser company registration information in the advertiser customer database 211 based on the customer preference specified in 48 and provides distribution data that matches the customer preference. Read out.

Then, the intermediary server 201 generates advertiser company introduction information based on the advertiser company registration information read from the advertiser company database 211 by the matching unit 216, and the generated advertiser company introduction information is used by the advertiser. After the advertiser and the company are introduced to the customer by transmitting the company introduction data from the transmission unit 214 to the portable dedicated terminal 202, the process returns to step SP145 and the step S is performed again.
P145-SP146-SP147-SP148-SP
The processing of 149 is repeated.

Further, the portable dedicated terminal 202 transmits the customer permission data to the mediation server 201, and then executes step SP.
At 131, the mediation server 201 waits for the advertiser company introduction data and the advertiser company introduction impossible data to be transmitted, and the advertiser company introduction data or the advertiser company introduction impossible data transmitted from the mediation server 201 is transmitted. When received by the receiving unit 243, the following step SP
Moving on to 132.

In step SP132, when the receiving unit 243 receives the advertiser company introduction impossible data, the portable dedicated terminal 202 sends the received advertiser company introduction impossible data to the reproducing unit 244, so that the mediation server 201 operates. After notifying the customer that the advertiser and the company could not be found, the process returns to step SP127 and again steps SP127-SP128-SP129-S.
The processing of P130-SP131-SP132 is repeated.

In step SP132, when the receiving unit 243 receives the advertiser company introduction data by the receiving unit 243, the portable dedicated terminal 202 sends the received advertiser company introducing data to the reproducing unit 244, thereby transmitting the advertiser company introducing data to the customer. After presenting the advertiser and the company introduced from, return to step SP127 and step SP1 again.
27-SP128-SP129-SP130-SP13
The processing of 1-SP132 is repeated. In this way, the advertiser company introduction processing procedure in the data providing system 200 is executed.

By the way, the contract processing procedure of the intermediary server 201, the portable dedicated terminal 202, and the advertiser company server 203 in the data providing system 200 can be summarized as shown in FIG.
The portable dedicated terminal 202 which has received the advertiser company introduction data transmitted from step 1 enters from the start step of routine RT14 and moves to step SP161.

In step SP161, the portable dedicated terminal 202 presents the advertiser and the company introduced from the intermediary server 201 to the customer by the reproducing unit 244, and thereby the advertisement for which the customer desires a contract via the operation unit 240. When the main and company are selected, step SP162
Move on to.

In step SP162, the portable dedicated terminal 202 generates the advertiser company selection data representing the advertiser and the company selected by the customer by the request data generation unit 241, and transmits the generated advertiser company selection data to the transmission unit. 24
2 through the Internet 204 via the intermediary server 201
To the subsequent step SP163.

At this time, the intermediary server 201 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (B), the routine RT15 is entered from the start step to step SP171, and the portable dedicated terminal 2
When the receiver 212 receives the advertiser company selection data transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 202, it waits for the advertiser company selection data to be transmitted from 02. Then, the process proceeds to step SP172.

[0327] In step SP172, the mediation server 201 generates the customer introduction information from the customer registration information based on the advertiser company selection data by the matching unit 216, and uses the generated customer introduction information as the customer introduction data from the transmission unit 214. It transmits to the advertiser company server 203 via the internet 204, and moves to step SP173.

Here, as shown in FIG. 24 (C), the advertiser company server 203 at this time moves from the start step of routine RT16 to step SP181 to transmit the customer introduction data from the intermediary server 201. When the customer introduction data transmitted from the mediation server 201 is received by the reception unit 232, the process proceeds to step SP182.

In step SP182, the advertiser company server 203 refers to the customer introduction data by the customer selecting unit 237 and refers to the contract conditions, the usage status of the Internet 204, etc. to judge whether or not to make a contract with the customer. To do.

Obtaining a negative result in step SP182 means that the contract condition presented by the customer and the Internet 2
04 means that the contract has been canceled without the intention of the advertiser and the company. At this time, the advertiser company server 203 moves to step SP183 and generates the contract failure data by the transmission data generation unit 238. Then, after transmitting the generated contract failure data from the transmission unit 232 to the intermediary server 201 via the Internet 204, the process proceeds to step SP184 and the processing of the advertiser company server 203 ends.

On the other hand, if the positive result is obtained in step SP182, the advertiser and the company are the customers because the contract conditions presented by the customer and the usage status of the Internet 204 are in line with the intentions of the advertiser and the company. , Which means that the advertiser company server 203 proceeds to step SP185 to generate the contract establishment data by the transmission data generation unit 238, and transmits the generated contract establishment data to the transmission unit 232. From the Internet to the intermediary server 201 via the Internet 204, and then proceeds to step SP186.

[0332] Then, in step SP186, the advertiser company server 203 appropriately reads the distribution data that matches the taste of the contracted customer from the distribution information database 236 by the transmission control unit 231, and sends the read distribution data to the transmission unit 232. To the portable dedicated terminal 202 of the customer via the Internet 204, and then moves to step SP184 to end the processing of the advertiser company server 203.

Further, in step SP173, the intermediary server 201 waits for the data indicating whether or not the contract with the customer is established from the advertiser company server 203, and the data is transmitted from the advertiser company server 203. When the data is received by the receiving unit 212, step S
Move to P174.

[0334] In step SP174, the mediation server 201 determines whether the data received from the advertiser company server 203 is contract establishment data.

Obtaining a negative result in step SP174 means that the advertiser and the company have received the contract failure data transmitted from the advertiser company server 203 due to the contract with the customer being forgotten. The server 201 moves to step SP175 and sends the contract unsuccessful data from the transmission unit 214 to the portable dedicated terminal 202 via the Internet 204 to notify the customer that the contract with the advertiser and the company has not been established. After that, the process moves to step SP176 to end the processing of the intermediary server 201.

On the other hand, obtaining a positive result in step SP174 means that the contract establishment data transmitted from the advertiser company server 203 is received because the advertiser and the company have contracted with the customer. At this time, the intermediary server 201 moves to step SP177 and sends the contract establishment data from the transmission unit 214 to the Internet 204.
To the mobile dedicated terminal 202 to notify the customer that the contract with the advertiser and the company has been established, and step S
Move to P178.

In step SP178, the intermediary server 201 updates the customer registration information in the customer database 210 based on the contract establishment data by the customer information update unit 215, and updates the contract establishment data by the advertiser company information update unit 213. After updating the advertiser company registration information in the advertiser company database 211 based on this, the process moves to step SP176 to end the processing of the intermediary server 201.

Further, in step SP163, the portable dedicated terminal 202 waits for the data indicating whether or not the contract with the advertiser and the company is established from the mediation server 201, and the data is transmitted from the mediation server 201. When the received data is received, the process proceeds to step SP164.

[0339] In step SP164, the portable dedicated terminal 202 determines whether or not the data received from the mediation server 201 is contract establishment data.

Obtaining a negative result in step SP164 means that the advertiser and the company have received the contract unsuccessful data from the intermediary server 201 due to the suspension of the contract. At this time, the portable dedicated terminal 202 receives the contract unsuccessful. After sending the data to the reproducing unit 244 to notify the customer that the contract with the advertiser and the company has not been established, the process proceeds to step SP165 and the process of the portable dedicated terminal 202 is ended.

On the other hand, obtaining a positive result in step SP164 means that the advertiser and the company have received the contract conclusion data from the intermediary server 201 due to the fact that the advertiser and the company have contracted with the customer. Terminal 20
2 sends the contract establishment data to the reproducing unit 244 to notify the customer that the contract with the advertiser and the company has been established, and then proceeds to step SP166.

[0342] In step SP166, the portable dedicated terminal 202 waits for the distribution data to be transmitted from the advertiser company server 203 of the advertiser and the company having a contract with the customer, and the portable dedicated terminal 202 is transmitted from the advertiser company server 203. When the received distribution data is received by the receiving unit 243, the process proceeds to step SP167.

At step SP167, the portable dedicated terminal 202 records the received distribution data in the recording control section 245.
After that, by recognizing it and recording it in the customer-dedicated recording medium 246 so that it can be freely reproduced and presented to the customer at any time thereafter, the process moves to step SP165 and the processing of the portable terminal 202 is ended. In this way, the contract processing procedure by the data providing server 200 is completed.

In the above configuration, in the data providing system 200, the mediation server 201 acquires the advertiser company information from the advertiser company server 203 of the advertiser and the company that provides the distribution data to the customer using the Internet 204. Then, this is stored in the advertiser company database 211 as the advertiser company registration information and the advertiser and company are registered.

In the data providing system 200, the intermediary server 201 uses the portable dedicated terminal 202 to obtain customer information from the portable dedicated terminal 202 of a customer who desires to use the Internet 204 and issue a customer ID. At the same time, the customer ID is added to the acquired customer information and stored in the customer database 210 as customer registration information to register the customer.

In this data providing system 200, in order to obtain content data etc. from the portable dedicated terminal 202, the customer ID is sent from the portable dedicated terminal 202.
Every time you send content specification data including
The content designation data is relayed by the mediation server 201, and the content of the content designation data is added to the customer registration information in the customer database 210 and updated.

Thus, the data providing system 200
Then, when the customer permission data permitting the disclosure of the customer information is transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 202, the mediation server 201
The customer preference is determined based on the customer registration information in the customer database 210, and the advertiser company registration information in the advertiser company database 211 is searched based on the determined customer preference to match the customer preference. The advertiser company registration information of the advertiser and the company providing the distribution data is read to generate advertiser company introduction data, and this is transmitted to the portable dedicated terminal 202.

Therefore, in the data providing system 200, it is possible to easily select the advertiser and the company providing the distribution data which suits the customer's taste, with a great reduction in time and cost.

In addition, in the data providing system 200, when the advertiser and the company are selected by the customer as a result of introducing the advertiser and the company to the customer, the mediation server 201 makes the customer personal information of the customer. In order to provide the customer introduction data generated from the registration information only to the advertiser / company server 203 of the advertiser / company selected by the customer so that the advertiser / company may determine whether to make a contract with the customer, With, it is possible to almost certainly prevent the private information of the customer from being unjustly disclosed.

Since the data providing system 200 introduces the customer to the advertiser and the company as described above, the distribution data provided by the company is also requested to the advertiser and the company. It is possible to select a customer easily and appropriately and to provide the distribution data efficiently and accurately.

Further, in this data providing system 200, although the customer uses the portable dedicated terminal 202 dedicated to the dealer, in order to make the portable dedicated terminal 202 acquire the distribution data provided by the advertiser and the company. The versatility of the portable dedicated terminal 202 can be expanded and the usability can be greatly improved.

In the data providing system 200, the portable dedicated terminal 202 acquires the distribution data from the dealer and records it in the recording medium 247 for the dealer separately from the customer recording medium 24 different from the content data.
Since the data is recorded in No. 6, it is possible to almost certainly prevent accidental deletion of the distribution data when deleting the content data rented from the dealer.

According to the above configuration, the mediation server 201
A customer database 210 for storing customer information provided by the portable dedicated terminal 202 from the customer and registering the customer, and advertiser company information provided by the advertiser company server 203 from the advertiser and the company. A customer ID issued at the time of customer registration from the dedicated mobile terminal 202 is provided with an advertiser company database 211 for storing the advertiser company registration information and registering the advertiser and company.
Each time the content designation data including the
When the customer registration information in the table is updated by adding the content of the content designation data and the customer permission data transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 202 is received, the customer database 2
The advertiser company database 211 is searched based on the customer's preference determined from the customer registration information in 10 and the advertiser company introduction data is generated based on the advertiser company registration information of the selected advertiser and company. Portable terminal 20
By transmitting the delivery data to the customer, it is possible to allow the customer to easily select the advertiser and the company providing the delivery data that suits his / her taste, and thus the customer can easily and appropriately obtain the desired delivery data. It is possible to realize a data providing system that can be surely acquired.

In the above-described fourth embodiment, when the customer permission data transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 202 by the intermediary server 201 is received, the customer preference is determined from the customer registration information in the customer database 210. The case where the advertiser company database 211 is searched has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the mediation server 201 periodically determines the customer preference from the customer registration information in the customer database 210. Whether or not there is an intention to disclose customer information to the customer by the portable dedicated terminal 202 at the time when the taste of the customer is determined (that is, when the number of times the customer acquires content data is equal to or more than a threshold is detected) , And as a result, the customer permission data for permitting the disclosure of the customer information by the portable dedicated terminal 202 from the customer is obtained. Once signal, it may be searched advertiser company database 211. By doing so, when the customer permits the disclosure of the customer information on the premise of the contract with the advertiser and the company, it is almost impossible to distinguish the taste of the customer and introduce the advertiser and the company. It can be surely prevented.

In the fourth embodiment described above, the advertiser company database 2 is based on the customer preference determined from the customer registration information in the customer database 210 when the intermediary server 201 receives the customer permission data.
11 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and in addition to the customer preference determined from the customer registration information in the customer database 210, the contract described in the customer registration information. You may make it search in the advertiser company database 211 also using a condition. By doing so, it is possible to significantly reduce the withdrawal of the contract with the customer based on the contract conditions when the customer introduction data is transmitted to the advertiser company server 203, and thus, the customer, the advertiser, and the company. It is possible to more appropriately meet the demand for contracting with the advertiser and the company of the customer by increasing the probability that the contract is concluded between them.

Further, in the above-described fourth embodiment, the advertiser company database 211 is based on the customer preference determined from the customer registration information in the customer database 210 when the intermediary server 201 receives the customer permission data. I mentioned the case of searching in
The present invention is not limited to this, and the advertiser company database 211 may be searched based on the preference information in the customer information that is the source of the customer registration information stored in the customer database 210. By doing this, the matching unit 2
In 16, the processing load can be reduced by excluding the processing of extracting the customer's preference from the customer registration information.

Furthermore, in the above-described fourth embodiment, the case where the customer uses the portable dedicated terminal 202 to use the mediation server 201 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the customer is not limited to this. Is a personal computer, mobile phone, PDA (Personal Digital Assistance)
As long as it is connectable to the Internet 204, the intermediary server 201 may be used by using various other data acquisition devices. In this way, the introduction of the advertiser and the company by the intermediary server 201 can be used by a larger number of customers and widely disseminated.

(6) Fifth Embodiment FIG. 25 in which parts corresponding to those in FIG.
3 shows a data providing system 260 according to a fifth embodiment, and the configuration of the mediation server 261 corresponding to the system management site 2 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, and FIGS.
The fourth embodiment described above except for the configuration of the portable dedicated terminal 262 corresponding to the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N described above.
The configuration is similar to that of the data providing system 200 according to the embodiment.

In this case, the intermediary server 261 stores customer registration information in the customer database 265 for the customers who use the Internet 204 by using the portable dedicated terminal 262, similarly to the intermediary server 201 described above with reference to FIG. In addition to registering, the advertiser company registration information is stored in the advertiser company database 211 by registering the advertiser company and the company that provide distribution data to the customer via the Internet 204 using the advertiser company server 203.

Further, the mediation server 261 is similar to the mediation server 201 described above with reference to FIG. 11, and the customer database 265 is used every time the customer uses the Internet 204 for acquisition of content data using the portable dedicated terminal 262. The customer registration information in is updated.

The intermediary server 261 stores, in addition to the customer registration information and the customer registration screen data in the customer database 265, the customer information input screen data for inputting the customer information in advance, so that the mediation server 261 can carry it by the operation of the customer. The customer permission data transmitted from the mold dedicated terminal 262 is received by the receiving unit 26.
6, the customer information update unit 267 reads the customer information input screen data from the customer database 265, and the read customer information input screen data is transmitted from the transmission unit 214 to the portable dedicated terminal 262 via the Internet 204.

As a result, the mediation server 261 is inputted from the portable dedicated terminal 262 on the customer information input screen based on the customer information input screen data in accordance with the customer's operation.
When the customer information as described above with respect to (A) is transmitted as customer information data, this is received by the receiving unit 266 and taken into the matching unit 268.

Here, as shown in FIG. 26, the matching unit 268 is composed of an advertiser company information extraction unit, and the customer preference genre information in the customer information data fetched from the reception unit 266 represents the customer preference. Information as well as searching the inside of the advertiser company database 211 based on the extracted customer preference genre information, the advertiser company registration information having the distribution genre information of the same genre as the genre shown in the customer preference genre information. Read out.

Then, the matching unit 268, the advertiser company introduction information described above with reference to FIG. 17 is generated from the advertiser company registration information read from the advertiser company database 211, and the generated advertiser company introduction information is introduced. The data is transmitted from the transmission unit 214 to the portable dedicated terminal 262 via the Internet 204.

As a result, the intermediary server 261 introduces the advertiser and the company that are providing the distribution data matching their tastes to the customer who has permitted the disclosure of the customer information to the advertiser and the company.

Further, as shown in FIG. 25, the portable dedicated terminal 262 is the portable dedicated terminal 2 described above with reference to FIG.
In the same manner as 02, the customer registration with respect to the intermediary server 261 is executed, and at the same time, various requests are sent to the dealer or the like to acquire the content data and the like.

Then, in the portable dedicated terminal 262, when the permission request for permitting the disclosure of the customer information to the advertiser and the company is input through the operation unit 240 by the operation of the customer,
The request data generation unit 270 generates customer permission data and transmits it from the transmission unit 242 to the mediation server 261 via the Internet 204.

[0368] As a result, when the portable information terminal 262 receives the customer information input screen data from the intermediary server 261 via the Internet 204, it receives the customer information input screen data.
The customer information input screen data is received, and the received customer information input screen data is sent to the reproducing unit 244 to display the customer information input screen based on the customer information input screen data.

As a result, when the customer information is input on the customer information input screen in response to the customer's operation of the operation unit 240, the portable dedicated terminal 262 causes the request data generation unit 270 to display the customer information data representing the customer information. Is generated and the generated customer information data is transmitted from the transmission unit 242 to the intermediary server 261 via the Internet 204.

In this way, the portable dedicated terminal 262 is
Based on the advertiser company introduction data provided from the mediation server 261, it is possible to receive the introduction of the advertiser and the company providing the distribution data that matches the taste of the customer.

Then, this data providing system 260
When the intermediary server 261 introduces the advertiser and the company to the customer, the intermediary server 261 and the portable dedicated terminal 262 are introduced.
By executing the contract processing procedure similar to the contract processing procedure of the data providing system 200 (FIG. 11) described above with reference to FIG. 24, the advertiser company server 203 can contract the customer with the advertiser and the company. ing.

Here, a summary of the advertiser company introduction processing procedure by the mediation server 261 of the data providing system 260 and the portable dedicated terminal 202 is shown in FIG.
First, the portable dedicated terminal 262 starts from the start step of the routine RT17 and continues to step SP19.
The process shifts to step 1 and waits for a permission request for disclosure of customer information to be input. When the permission request is input via the operation unit 240 by the operation of the customer, the process proceeds to step SP192.

In step SP192, the portable dedicated terminal 262 generates the customer permission data by the request data generation unit 270, transmits the generated customer permission data from the transmission unit 242 to the intermediary server 261, and then, in step SP1.
Move to 93.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 27B, the intermediary server 261 moves from the start step of the routine RT18 to the subsequent step SP201 and moves to the portable dedicated terminal 2
It waits for the customer permission data to be transmitted from 62, and when the customer permission data is received by the receiving unit 266, the process proceeds to step SP202.

In step SP202, the intermediary server 261 reads the customer information input screen data from the customer database 265 by the customer information update unit 267 based on the received customer permission data, and also sends the read customer information input screen data to the transmission unit. The data is transmitted from 214 to the portable dedicated terminal 262 and the process proceeds to step SP203.

At this time, in step SP193, the portable dedicated terminal 262 waits for the customer information input screen data to be transmitted from the intermediary server 261, and when the customer information input screen data is received by the receiving unit 271, Move to SP194.

At step SP 194, the portable dedicated terminal 262 reproduces the customer information input screen data from the reproduction section 244.
When the customer inputs the customer information via the operation unit 240 in a state in which the customer information input screen is displayed, the request data generation unit 270 generates the customer information data, and the generated customer information data is transmitted. It transmits from the part 242 to the intermediary server 261, and moves to step SP195.

At this time, in step SP203, the intermediary server 261 waits for the customer information data to be transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 262, and when the customer information data is received by the receiving unit 266, the process proceeds to step SP204.

[0379] In step SP204, the mediation server 261 searches the advertiser company database 211 based on the customer preference genre information in the customer information data to obtain an advertisement having the same distribution genre information as the customer preference genre information. The main company registration information is read and the process proceeds to step SP205.

[0380] In step SP205, the mediation server 261 generates advertiser company introduction data based on the advertiser company registration information read from the advertiser company database 211, and transmits the generated advertiser company introduction data from the transmission unit 214. By transmitting to the mobile dedicated terminal 262, the advertiser and the company are introduced to the customer, and the process proceeds to step SP206 to end the processing of the mediation server 261.

At this time, in step SP195, the portable dedicated terminal 262 waits for the advertiser company introduction data to be transmitted from the intermediary server 261, and when the receiving unit 271 receives the advertiser company introduction data, By sending the advertiser company introduction data to the reproducing unit 244, the advertiser and company introduced from the intermediary server 261 are presented to the customer, and the process proceeds to step SP196, and the process of the portable dedicated terminal 262 is ended. Thus, the procedure for introducing the advertiser company by the data providing system 260 is completed.

In the above configuration, in the data providing system 260, the mediation server 261 responds to the customer permission data transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 262 when the customer permits the disclosure of the customer information to the advertiser and the company. The customer information input screen data is transmitted to the portable dedicated terminal 262.

As a result, in the data providing system 260, the mediation server 261 searches the advertiser company database 211 on the basis of the customer preference genre information of the customer information data returned from the portable dedicated terminal 262, so that the customer preference genre is searched. By reading out the advertiser company registration information having the same distribution genre information as the information, and generating the advertiser company introduction data based on the read advertiser company registration information and transmitting it to the portable dedicated terminal 262, the customer Introducing advertisers and companies that provide distribution data that suits their tastes.

Therefore, in the data providing system 260, the customer information is acquired when the customer permits the disclosure of the customer information to the advertiser and the company, and the advertiser company registration information is obtained based on the acquired customer information. Since the search is performed, it is possible to introduce the advertiser and the company by appropriately reflecting the matters that the customer is interested in when the customer desires to provide the distribution data from the advertiser and the company.

That is, this data providing system 260
Then, the target of interest changes from when the customer registers the customer to the mediation server 261 to when the customer information is permitted to be disclosed to the advertiser and the company, or until the portable dedicated terminal 262 is used. Introduce advertisers and companies that provide the distribution data desired by the customer by accurately grasping the interests of the customer even when the number of times of using the Internet 204 is relatively low, such as when there is no time. You can

According to the above configuration, the customer information input screen data is transmitted to the portable dedicated terminal 262 in response to the customer permission data transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 262 by the mediation server 261, and as a result, the portable dedicated terminal is obtained. While searching the advertiser company database 211 based on the customer preference genre information of the customer information data returned from the terminal 262, and reading out the advertiser company registration information having the distribution genre information having the same content as the customer preference genre information, By generating the advertiser company introduction data based on the advertiser company registration information and transmitting it to the portable dedicated terminal 262, in addition to the effect obtained by the fourth embodiment described above, the advertiser Introduce advertisers and companies by accurately reflecting the interests of customers at the time when they want to provide distribution data from companies Bets can be, thus it is possible to realize a data providing system capable of obtaining more proper probability desired distribution data to customers.

In the fifth embodiment described above, the mediation server 261 uses the customer preference genre information in the customer information data to advertiser company database 2
11 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. Instead of the customer preference genre in the customer information data, a comment indicating the customer's preference in the customer information data or the comment in the comment is displayed. Is searched for in the advertiser company database 211 by matching the characters in the comment of the advertiser or company in the advertiser company registration information or the characters in the comment, or the customer preference genre information and comments, Further, it is possible to search the advertiser company database 211 using all or a combination of the mutual contract conditions. By doing so, it is possible to introduce the advertiser and the company by more accurately reflecting the taste of the customer.

In the fifth embodiment described above, the mediation server 261 searches the advertiser company database 211 based on the customer permission data obtained when the customer permits the disclosure of the registered information. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the method of searching the advertiser company database 211 based on the customer permission data obtained when the mediation server 261 permits the disclosure of the registration information from the customer. Alternatively, the customer may arbitrarily select and execute the method of searching the advertiser company database 211 based on the customer registration information according to the above-described fourth embodiment. If you do this,
Improve the usability of the data provision system by making it possible to use the data provision system for both customers whose interests do not change much or customers whose interests change relatively often. You can

Furthermore, in the fifth embodiment described above, a case has been described in which the customer uses the portable dedicated terminal 262 to use the intermediary server 201, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the customer is not limited to this. Like the personal computer, mobile phone, PDA, etc.
The mediation server 261 may be used by using various other data acquisition devices as long as they can be connected to. In this way, the introduction of the advertiser and the company by the intermediary server 261 can be used by a larger number of customers and widely spread.

(7) Sixth Embodiment FIG. 28 shows a data providing system 300 according to a sixth embodiment, which is the dealer 4 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.
1 to the data providing server 301 corresponding to A to 4N.
To 3 corresponding to the customer 3 described above with reference to FIG. 3 (that is, the request terminal used by the customer 3) and the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N described above with reference to FIGS. A dedicated dedicated terminal 303, which is dedicated to 4N and can access only the data providing server 301, is connected via the Internet (not shown).

The data providing server 301 is a customer database 3 which stores customer registration information and customer registration screen data.
10 and a large number of content data, content selection screen data, and a content database 311 that stores customization registration screen data for customizing the content selection screen data according to a customer's request.

When the request data from the request terminal 302 is sent to the data providing server 301, the registration request data is received by the receiving unit 312 and taken in by the updating unit 313. The customer registration screen data is read from the customer database 310 based on the registration request data, and the read customer registration screen data is transmitted from the transmission unit 314 to the request terminal 302.

As a result, when the customer information input on the customer registration screen based on the customer registration screen data is transmitted from the request terminal 302, the data providing server 301 receives it by the receiving unit 312 and updates it by the updating unit 313. Is stored in the customer database 310 as customer registration information by issuing the customer ID to the customer requesting the registration by the updating unit 313 and adding the customer ID to the customer information. And register the customer.

By the way, when the data providing server 301 registers the customer by the updating unit 313, the data providing server 301 generates the registration end data including the customer ID and transmits it from the transmitting unit 314 to the request terminal 302 to notify the end of the registration to the customer. I
Notify D and.

When the request terminal 302 transmits the acquisition request data requesting the acquisition of the content data, the data providing server 301 receives the acquisition request data by the receiving unit 312 and takes it into the search unit 315, and the search unit 3 concerned.
The content selection screen data is read from the content database 311 based on the acquisition request data by 15, and the read content selection screen data is transmitted from the transmission unit 314 to the request terminal 302.

As a result, when the reservation information representing the reservation information is transmitted to the data providing server 301 by inputting the reservation information from the request terminal 302 on the content selection screen based on the content selection screen data,
This is received by the receiving unit 312.

As a result, the data providing server 301 reads out the content data designated from the content database 311 based on the reservation data by the search unit 315, and also sends the read content data from a dedicated terminal (not shown) to it via a cable or the like. Handheld terminal (not shown) directly connected to the customer before delivery to the customer
To send to and record.

In this way, the data providing server 301
Is a portable dedicated terminal 303 that accepts advance reservations for content data and portable dedicated terminal 303 issued by a customer using the request terminal 302 and purchases and rents the content data to be purchased and rented similarly. Then, when the customer comes to the shop where the data providing server 301 is installed, the portable dedicated terminal 303 is handed over for sale and rental.

[0399] The data providing server 301 can be connected to the portable dedicated terminal 303 sold and rented to the customer via the Internet, and the content data is sent from the sold and rental portable dedicated terminal 303. When the acquisition request data for requesting the acquisition (purchase and rental) is transmitted, the reception unit 312 receives it and fetches it in the search unit 315.

At this time, the data providing server 301 reads the content selection screen data from the content database 311 based on the acquisition request data by the search unit 315, and the read content selection screen data from the transmission unit 314 to the portable type of the customer. It is transmitted to the dedicated terminal 303.

As a result, the data providing server 301 transmits the content designation data representing the designation information by inputting the designation information of the content data on the content selection screen based on the content selection screen data from the portable dedicated terminal 303. Then, this is received by the receiving unit 312 and taken into the search unit 315.

Then, the data providing server 301 reads the content data designated by the search unit 315 from the content database 311 based on the content designation data, and the read content data is transmitted from the transmission unit 314 to the portable dedicated terminal 303. To send and record.

In this way, the data providing server 301
Is a dedicated mobile terminal 303 sold and rented to customers
By transmitting the content data to the customer via the Internet, the customer can use the portable dedicated terminal 303 to purchase and rent the content data.

Further, when the customization request data for customizing the portable dedicated terminal 303 sold and rented to the customer is transmitted, the data providing server 301 receives the customization request data by the reception unit 313 and fetches it in the search unit 315, and Based on the customization request data, the search unit 315 reads the customized registration screen data stored in advance from the content database 311 and transmits the read customized registration screen data to the portable dedicated terminal 303 from the transmission unit 314. .

As a result, when the data provision server 301 transmits the screen customization information for the content selection screen input on the customization registration screen based on the customization registration screen data from the portable dedicated terminal 303 as the screen customization data, Is received by the receiving unit 312 and fetched by the updating unit 313 and the searching unit 315.

Then, the data providing server 301 reads the content selection screen data from the content database 311 by the search unit 315, processes the read content selection screen data based on the screen customization data acquired from the customer, and obtains the data. Customized customization screen data from the transmission unit 314 to the portable dedicated terminal 303
Send to.

[0407] In this way, the data providing server 301
Confirms whether or not the customized screen based on the customized screen data is presented to the customer by the portable dedicated terminal 303 and the content selection screen is customized as desired, and the content selection screen is customized as desired. When the confirmation data is transmitted, the updating unit 313 adds the screen customization data to the customer registration information in the customer database 310 to update the customer registration information.

As a result, the data providing server 301 subsequently receives the acquisition request data from the customer who has requested customization of the content selection screen using the portable dedicated terminal 303, and the reception unit 312 receives the acquisition request data. The update unit 313 reads the screen customization information added to the customer registration information of the customer from the customer database 310 by the update unit 313 and sends it to the matching unit 316.

[0409] Then, the data providing server 301 reads the content selection screen data from the content database 311 by the matching unit 316, and processes the read content selection screen data based on the screen customization information to obtain a customized screen. The data is transmitted from the transmission unit 314 to the portable dedicated terminal 303.

Thus, every time the customer who requests the customization of the content selection screen transmits the acquisition request data using the portable dedicated terminal 303, the data providing server 301 creates the customized screen data according to the customization request of the customer. Specify the content data to be purchased or rented on the base customization screen.

[0411] Incidentally, the data providing server 301 can allow the customer to rent the portable dedicated terminal 303 and also select information for customizing the color of the casing of the portable dedicated terminal 303 on the customization registration screen. When the housing customization information designating the color of the housing is transmitted as the housing customization data from the portable dedicated terminal 303, the reception unit 312 receives the housing customization information and fetches it in the updating unit 313. The case customization information is added to the customer registration information in the customer database 310 to update the customer registration information.

As a result, the data providing server 301 is designated by the case customization information when the portable dedicated terminal 303 is subsequently rented to the customer again or when the portable dedicated terminal 303 is sold to the customer. The portable dedicated terminal 303 of the existing color is handed over.

On the other hand, when the customer inputs a registration request of the customer through the operation unit 320, the request terminal 302 causes the request data generation unit 321 to generate registration request data representing the registration request, and the generated registration request. The data is transmitted from the transmission unit 322 to the data providing server 301.

As a result, when the requesting terminal 302 receives the customer registration screen data transmitted from the data providing server 301 by the receiving unit 323, it sends the received customer registration screen data from the display control unit 324 to the display unit 325. As a result, a customer registration screen based on the customer registration screen data is displayed on the display unit 325.

When the customer information is input on the customer registration screen in response to the operation of the operation unit 320 by the customer, the request terminal 302 generates the customer information data by the request data generation unit 321 and outputs it from the transmission unit 322. Send to the data providing server 301, and thus the data providing server 301
To perform customer registration.

Further, when the customer inputs a content data acquisition request through the operation unit 320, the request terminal 302 causes the request data generation unit 321 to generate acquisition request data representing the acquisition request, and the generated request data is generated. The acquisition request data is transmitted from the transmission unit 322 to the data providing server 301.
Send to.

As a result, when the request terminal 302 receives the content selection screen data transmitted from the data providing server 301 by the reception unit 323, it sends the received content selection screen data from the display control unit 324 to the display unit 325. As a result, the content selection screen based on the content selection screen data is displayed on the display unit 325.

[0418] Then, when the reservation information is input on the content selection screen according to the operation of the operation unit 320 by the customer, the request terminal 302 generates the reservation data by the request data generation unit 321 and the data from the transmission unit 322. By transmitting to the providing server 301, the reservation of the purchase and rental of the content data and the portable dedicated terminal 303 by the customer is completed.

[0419] By the way, the portable dedicated terminal 303 sold and rented to the customer with the content data recorded on the internal recording medium 340 receives the reproduction command from the operation unit 341, and then the reproduction control unit. The content data purchased and rented by the customer is reproduced from the recording medium 340 by the 342, and the reproduced content data is sent to the reproduction unit 343 including a display control unit, a display unit, a speaker, and the like, so that the customer can enjoy the content. It is designed so that you can do it.

When the customer inputs a content data acquisition request via the operation unit 341, the portable dedicated terminal 303 generates an acquisition request data representing the acquisition request by the request data generation unit 344, and The transmission unit 345 transmits the generated acquisition request data to the data providing server 301.
Send to.

As a result, when the portable dedicated terminal 303 receives the content selection screen data transmitted from the data providing server 301 by the reception unit 346, the portable dedicated terminal 303 transmits the received content selection screen data to the reproduction unit 343 to reproduce the contents. A content selection screen based on the selection screen data is displayed.

[0421] Then, when the designation information of the content data is input on the content selection screen according to the operation of the operation unit 341, the portable dedicated terminal 303 causes the request data generation unit 344 to display the content designation data representing the designation information. Is generated and transmitted from the transmission unit 345 to the data providing server 301.

Accordingly, when the portable dedicated terminal 303 receives the content data transmitted from the data providing server 301 by the receiving section 346, the recording control section 347 records the received content data in the recording medium 340, After that, the reproduction control unit 342 reproduces the content data from the recording medium 340 according to the operation of the operation unit 341.

Further, in the portable dedicated terminal 303, when the customer inputs a customization request through the operation unit 341, the request data generation unit 344 generates customization request data representing the customization request, and the generated customization The request data is transmitted from the transmitting unit 345 to the data providing server 301.

As a result, when the portable dedicated terminal 303 receives the customized registration screen data transmitted from the data providing server 301 by the reception unit 346, it sends the received customized registration screen data to the reproduction unit 343, thereby Customization registration screen Display the customization registration screen based on the data.

As a result, the portable data terminal 303 receives the screen customization information on the customization registration screen in response to the operation of the operation unit 341, and then the request data generation unit 3
The screen customization data representing the screen customization information is generated by 44 and transmitted from the transmission unit 345 to the data providing server 301.

Then, when the portable dedicated terminal 303 receives the customized screen data transmitted from the data providing server 301 by the receiving unit 346 as a result of transmitting the screen customized data to the data providing server 301, the customized screen data is received. The customized screen based on the customized screen data is presented to the customer by sending the customized screen to the reproducing unit 343.

As a result, when the customer inputs the confirmation information for confirming that the content selection screen has been customized as desired through the operation unit 341, the portable data terminal 303 is operated by the request data generation unit 344. The confirmation data is generated, and the data providing server 301 is generated from the transmission unit 345.
By transmitting the customized information to the data providing server, the screen customization information representing the customization content desired by the customer is stored.

[0429] Thus, when the portable dedicated terminal 303 stores the screen customization data in the data providing server 301 and then transmits the content acquisition request data to the data providing server 301, the customized screen data transmitted from the data providing server 301. Is received by the receiving unit 346 and transmitted to the reproducing unit 343, the content data can be selected for purchase and rental on the customized screen in which the content selection screen is customized.

[0430] Incidentally, when the portable dedicated terminal 303 receives the casing customization information for customizing the color of the casing of the portable dedicated terminal 303 on the content selection screen according to the operation of the operation unit 341. The request data generation unit 344 generates the case customization data representing the case customization information, and the transmission unit 345 transmits the case customization data to the data providing server 301. Thus, the data providing server 3
The case customization information for the case of the portable dedicated terminal 303 is stored in 01.

In the case of the sixth embodiment in addition to the above configuration, the data providing server 301 is a content data provider and corresponds to the system management site described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 (not shown). When a large amount of content data is acquired from (No.) and the content database 311 is constructed, a predetermined development tool for creating a content selection screen is acquired from the content server.

Then, the data providing server 301 uses the development tool to represent the inside of the store as a three-dimensional virtual reality space image, and the three-dimensional virtual reality space image allows the customer to actually move around the store. Meanwhile, the content selection screen data for selecting the content data is generated by selecting the package medium from the shelf, and the generated content selection screen data is stored in the content database 311.

[0433] Incidentally, the data providing server 301 stores the same content data in the content database 311 as the content data in a large number of package media which are actually sold and rented at the dealer, and at the same time, in the store of the dealer. The content selection screen data is generated so that the arrangement of the shelves, the cashier counter, the stairs, etc. and the arrangement of the package media in the shelves are reproduced almost faithfully by the three-dimensional virtual reality space image.

[0434] Further, the data providing server 301 operates when the new package media is placed on the shelves in the store (that is, when new content data is acquired from the content server) or when the store interior of the store is changed. The content selection screen data is updated periodically or at any time according to the time of renovation, etc., so that customers who select content data on the content selection screen can actually select the package media in the store It provides a sense of when you are.

In practice, as shown in FIG. 29, the content selection screen data includes a store appearance image 350 showing the appearance (entrance) of a store, and an in-store first floor image 35 showing each floor in the store.
1 and in-store second-floor image 352, in-store shelf image 353 showing a plurality of shelves storing packaged media for each genre in the store, enlarging the back cover of packaged media arranged on the shelves and selecting content data It is composed of a plurality of image data in which a selection confirmation image 355, which is a two-dimensional image for confirming the content data selected by the customer, is added to the three-dimensional virtual reality space image such as the content selection image 354 for performing.

[0436] In this case, the store appearance image 350 is provided with a store entry button 360 for entering the store and switching the display to the store first floor image 351.

The in-store first floor image 351 and the in-store second floor image 352 have in-store movement buttons 361 and 362 for switching the display to the in-store second floor image 352 and the in-store first floor image 351 of each floor, and the genres. A shelf selection button 363 for selecting the shelf of the store and switching the display to the in-store shelf image 353, and a cashier counter button 364 for switching the display to the selection confirmation image 355 after the customer selects content data to purchase and rent are provided. ing.

Further, the in-store shelf image 353 is provided with a detail button 365 for distinguishing the package media by the Japanese syllabary or the like and switching the display to the content selection image 354 for each of the distinguished package media.

Then, the store exterior image 350, the in-store first floor image 351, the in-store second floor image 352, and the content selection image 35.
4 is an image of a person who looks like a customer (hereinafter, referred to as a customer image) 366 and an image of a person who looks like a clerk (hereinafter,
367 is displayed, and the customer image 366 is moved as if the customer is actually walking in the store to enter the store button 360 and the store movement buttons 361 and 36.
2, shelf selection button 363, cashier counter button 364,
By selecting and clicking (clicking) these buttons on the spine or the like of the package media in the content selection image 354 or close to them, it is possible to input an image designation command assigned in advance to the button. .

In addition to this, in the in-store shelf image 353 and the selection confirmation image 355, a detailed button 365, a confirmation button 368, a cancel button 369, and the like, which are respectively overlaid with a cursor (not shown) for reverse display, are displayed. By moving the cursor and selecting (clicking) these buttons, it is possible to input a command previously assigned to the buttons.

Therefore, the portable dedicated terminal 303 having received the content selection image data first displays the store appearance image 350 of the content selection screen on the reproduction section 343, and then the operation section 3
In accordance with the operation of 41, the customer image 36 is displayed on the store exterior image 350.
When 6 is moved and the entrance button 360 is selected and designated,
An in-store first floor image 351 is displayed instead of the store exterior image 350.

Further, the portable dedicated terminal 303 includes the operation unit 3
In response to the operation of 41, the customer image 3 is displayed on the image 351 on the first floor of the store.
When 66 is moved and the in-store move button 361 is selected and designated, the in-store first floor image 35 is replaced with the in-store first floor image 351.
1 is displayed.

Thus, the portable dedicated terminal 303 is
When the customer image 366 is moved on the in-store first-floor image 351 or the in-store second-floor image 352 according to the operation of the operation unit 341 and any shelf selection button 363 is selected and designated, the in-store first-floor image 351 and the in-store 2 Instead of the floor image 352, the in-store shelf image 35 corresponding to the shelf selection button 363 selected and designated.
3 is displayed.

Then, the portable dedicated terminal 303 moves the cursor on the in-store shelf image 353 according to the operation of the operation unit 341, and when any of the detail buttons 365 is selected and designated, the in-store shelf image 353 is displayed. Instead, the corresponding content selection image 354 is displayed.

As a result, the portable dedicated terminal 303 moves the customer image 366 on the content selection image 354 in accordance with the operation of the operation unit 341, and after the content data is selected and designated as one of the package media, it is moved in the store. When the buttons 361 and 362 are selected and designated, the contents selection image 354 is replaced and the in-store first floor image 3 is displayed again.
51 and the in-store second floor image 352 are displayed. In this way, for example, when the customer image 366 is moved on the in-store second floor image 352 and the cashier counter button 364 is selected and designated, the in-store second floor image 352 is replaced. A selection confirmation image 355 is displayed.

Here, the portable dedicated terminal 303 displays the title of the content data selected by the customer, the customer's name, the customer ID, the password, etc. in the selection confirmation image 355, so that the operation unit 341 can be operated. By moving the cursor accordingly, the rental period or purchase of the content data can be input, and when the rental period or purchase is input, the price for the rental or purchase of the content data is displayed accordingly.

When the portable dedicated terminal 303 moves the cursor on the selection confirmation image 355 in response to the operation of the operation unit 341 and the confirmation button 368 is selected and designated, the request data generation unit 344 selects the confirmation image. It is possible to obtain the content data designated by the customer by generating the content designation data using the information in 355 as the designation information and transmitting the generated content designation data from the transmission unit 345 to the data providing server 301.

On the other hand, the portable dedicated terminal 303 is
When the cancel button 369 is selected and designated by moving the cursor on the selection confirmation image 355 according to the operation of the operation unit 341, the contents are displayed again by displaying, for example, the in-store first floor image 351 instead of the selection confirmation image 355. Data can be selected.

In addition to this, as shown in FIGS. 30 (A) and 30 (B), the portable dedicated terminal 303, in response to the operation of the operation unit 341, the in-store first floor image 351 and the in-store second floor image 35.
When the customer image 366 is moved on 2 and passed in front of each shelf, the content data desired to be advertised set by the dealer according to the genre of each shelf is reproduced for several seconds.
This allows the customer to view and advertise the content data intended by the dealer.

Incidentally, since such content selection screen data has a relatively large amount of data, when the data providing server 301 receives the acquisition request data transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 303, the data dedicated server 301 concerned. 303
First, the store exterior image 35 is used as content selection screen data.
When the entry button 360 is selected and designated on the store exterior image 350, the content selection is performed from the portable dedicated terminal 303 so that the data of the store exterior image 350 is selected and the data of the in-store first floor image 351 is transmitted. On each image forming the screen data, a store entry button 360 and a store movement button 361
And 362 and the like each time the display switching to another image is designated, the notification is transmitted and the corresponding image data is transmitted.

[0451] Further, the data providing server 301 extends from the portable dedicated terminal 303 to the designated coordinate position designated in advance for reproducing the content data for advertisement on the in-store first floor image 351 and the in-store second floor image 352. Customer image 366
When the designated coordinate position is notified by moving the, the search unit 315 causes the content database 311 to move.
A predetermined part of the content data corresponding to the notified designated coordinate position stored in advance is read out as advertisement data, and the read advertisement data is transmitted from the transmission unit 3
14 to the portable dedicated terminal 303.

Accordingly, the data providing server 301 divides the content selection screen data into the data of each image and the content data for advertisement to the portable dedicated terminal 303, and sequentially transmits the divided data to the portable dedicated terminal 30.
It is prevented that the capacity of the recording medium 340 in the recording medium 3 is increased.

By the way, the data providing server 301 operates the portable dedicated terminal 30 in response to the customer's customization request.
On the customization registration screen provided to No. 3, the image designation command pre-assigned to the button (entry button 360 etc.) in each image described above with reference to FIG. A new input unit is added, and further, the arrangement of the package media in the content selection image 354 is rearranged, for example, in the chronological order in which the content data was produced, or the content selection image 35
4 and various selection confirmation images 355, such as changing the background color arbitrarily, various screen customization information can be input.

As a result, the data providing server 301 displays the content selection screen from the display of the store exterior image 370 to the store entry button 37 based on the screen customization data acquired from the portable dedicated terminal 303, as shown in FIG. 31, for example.
After switching to the display of the content selection image 372 according to the selection designation of No. 1, the display of the content selection screen 372 is switched to the display of the selection confirmation image 355, or the store appearance image 370 is provided with a new input unit 373 to display the content. By arbitrarily inputting the genre of data or the like, the display is switched to the content selection image 372 corresponding to the input, and a new input unit 3 is added to the content selection image 372.
74 is provided so that rental or purchase of content data can be designated and input, and the like, so that the content data can be customized according to the customer's request.

Therefore, the data providing server 301 is much easier to use the content selection screen for a customer who frequently acquires content data using the portable dedicated terminal 303, a customer who acquires content data of a relatively same genre, and the like. Can be improved.

Incidentally, when the data providing server 301 receives the acquisition request data transmitted from the request terminal 302, the content selection screen data composed of the data of each image described above with reference to FIG. Are being sent.

Here, as a summary of the content providing processing procedure using the content selection screen data by the data providing server 301 and the portable dedicated terminal 303 in the data providing system 300, as shown in FIG. The mold dedicated terminal 303 enters from the start step of routine RT20 and moves to step SP211.

In step SP211, the portable dedicated terminal 303 waits for an input of an acquisition request via the operation unit 341 by the operation of the customer. When the acquisition request is input, the process proceeds to step SP212.

In step SP212, the portable dedicated terminal 303 generates the acquisition request data by the request data generation unit 344 and the transmission unit 345 causes the data providing server 3 to operate.
01, and the process moves to step SP213.

[0460] Here, as shown in Fig. 32 (B), the data providing server 301 enters the routine RT21 from the start step and moves to step SP221 to wait for the update timing of the content selection screen data in step SP221, When the update time is reached, the process moves to step SP222 to update the content selection screen data and then moves to step SP223.

[0461] In step SP223, the data providing server 301 waits for the acquisition request data to be transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 303, and when the reception unit 312 receives the acquisition request data, step S
Moving to P224, the search unit 315 reads the content selection screen data from the content database 311, and the read content selection screen data is transmitted from the transmission unit 314 to the portable dedicated terminal 303, and the step S
Move to P225.

At this time, in step SP213,
The portable dedicated terminal 303 waits for the content selection screen data to be transmitted from the data providing server 301, and receives the content selection screen data from the reception unit 346.
When received by, the content selection screen data is sent to the reproducing unit 343 to display the store appearance image 350 of the content selection screen, and the process proceeds to step SP214.

[0463] In step SP214, the portable dedicated terminal 303 starts a subroutine to be described later, and when the designation information is input on each image forming the content selection screen according to the operation of the operation unit 341 by the customer, Move to SP215.

[0464] In step SP215, the portable dedicated terminal 303 causes the request data generation section 344 to generate the content designation data, transmits the generated content designation data from the transmission section 345 to the data providing server 301, and proceeds to step SP216. .

At this time, in step SP225,
The data providing server 301 starts a subroutine described later, and the search unit 315 causes the content database 311 to operate.
After properly reading out each image data and advertisement data that form the content selection screen data from the transmission unit 314 and transmitting them from the transmission unit 314 to the portable dedicated terminal 303, the portable dedicated terminal 3
When the content designation data transmitted from 03 is received, the process proceeds to step SP226.

[0466] In step SP226, the data providing server 301 reads the content data designated by the search section 315 by searching the content database 311 based on the content designation data, and proceeds to step SP227.

[0467] In step SP227, the data providing server 301 transmits the content data read from the content database 311 from the transmission unit 314 to the portable dedicated terminal 303, and then proceeds to step SP228 to end the processing of the data providing server 301. To do.

[0468] Further, in step SP216, the portable dedicated terminal 303 waits for the content data to be transmitted from the data providing server 301, and when the content data is received, the process proceeds to step SP217, and the recording control unit 347 operates. After recording the content data in the recording medium 340, the process proceeds to step SP218 and the process of the portable dedicated terminal 303 is ended. Thus, the data providing server 301 finishes all the content providing processing procedures using the content selection screen data.

Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 33 (A), when the portable dedicated terminal 303 starts the subroutine in step SP214, the portable dedicated terminal 303 enters step SP231, and displays on the reproducing section 343 in step SP231 and the subsequent step SP232. An image designation command is input on each image such as the store exterior image 350 described above with reference to FIG. 29 constituting the content selection screen according to the operation of the operation unit 341 (that is, the entrance button 360 or the like is selected and designated). ) And that the customer image 366 moves to the designated coordinate position on the image (the first floor image 351 in the store, etc.).

In step SP231, the portable dedicated terminal 303 moves the customer image 366 on the store appearance image 350 or the like in accordance with the operation of the operation unit 341 to select and specify the entrance button 360 or the like. When the designation command is input, the process proceeds to step SP233, where the request data generation unit 344 generates the image request data representing the image designation command previously assigned to the selected and designated button, and stores the generated image request data. Transmission unit 345
From the data providing server 301 to step SP2
Move to 34.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 33 (B), the data providing server 301 starts the subroutine in step SP225 and enters step SP251, and from the portable dedicated terminal 303 in step SP251 and subsequent step SP252. Waiting for the image request data and the designated coordinate position data to be transmitted, in step SP251, when the receiving unit 312 receives the image request data transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 303, the process proceeds to step SP253.

[0472] In step SP253, the data providing server 301 retrieves the designated image data by retrieving the content database 311 based on the image request data by the retrieval unit 315, and reads out the retrieved image data from the transmission unit 314 in the portable type. The data is transmitted to the dedicated terminal 303 and the process proceeds to step SP254.

At this time, in step SP234,
The portable dedicated terminal 303 waits for the image data to be transmitted from the data providing server 301, and when the image data is received by the receiving unit 346, the process proceeds to step SP235.

[0474] In step SP235, the portable dedicated terminal 303 sends the received image data to the reproducing unit 343 to replace the image of the previously displayed content selection screen with a new image based on the received image data. Is displayed, the process moves to step SP236, and the selection confirmation image 3 is displayed.
It is determined whether the confirmation button 368 is selected and designated on the screen 55.

[0475] In step SP236, a negative result is obtained because the selection confirmation image 355 is not yet displayed on the reproduction unit 343, or the selection confirmation image 355 is displayed.
Even if is displayed, the confirmation button 36
8 means that the selection is not designated. At this time, the portable dedicated terminal 303 returns to step SP231.

[0476] Then, in step SP232, the portable dedicated terminal 303 moves the customer image 366 to the designated coordinate position on the in-store first floor image 351 according to the operation of the operation unit 341, and then moves to step SP237 to request data. The generation unit 344 generates designated coordinate position data representing the designated coordinate position, transmits the generated designated coordinate position data from the transmission unit 345 to the data providing server 301, and proceeds to step SP238.

At this time, in step SP252,
The data providing server 301 waits for the designated coordinate position data to be transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 303, and when the designated coordinate position data is received by the reception unit 312, the process proceeds to step SP255 and the search unit 3
15, the content database 311 is searched based on the designated coordinate position data, the designated advertisement data is read, the read advertisement data is transmitted from the transmission unit 314 to the portable dedicated terminal 303, and step SP254
Move on to.

[0478] Then, in step SP254, the data providing server 301 determines whether or not the content designation data transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 303 has been received, and until the content designation data is received, the data provision server 301 determines in step SP251-. SP252-SP253-SP25
By sequentially repeating the processing loop of 4-SP255, the image data and the advertisement data are transmitted according to the image request data and the designated coordinate position data transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 303.

Then, when the data providing server 301 subsequently receives the content designation data in step SP254, it exits this subroutine and moves to step SP226 of the processing procedure in the data providing server 301 described above with reference to FIG.

[0480] Further, in step SP238, the portable dedicated terminal 303 waits for the advertisement data to be transmitted from the data providing server 301, and when the advertisement data is received by the receiving unit 346, the step SP
Moving to 239, the advertisement data is sent to the reproducing unit 343 to allow the customer to view a part of the content based on the advertisement data to advertise the content, and step SP
Move to 236.

Then, the portable dedicated terminal 303 returns to step SP231 until it obtains a positive result in step SP236, and the steps SP231-SP.
232-SP233-SP234-SP235-SP2
By sequentially repeating the processing loop of 36-SP237-SP238-SP239, the reproducing unit 343 allows the customer to select desired content data while appropriately switching and displaying each image of the content selection screen with advertisement of the content.

Thereafter, in step SP236, when the portable dedicated terminal 303 confirms that the confirmation button 368 has been selected and designated on the selection confirmation image 355 of the content selection screen, the process exits this subroutine and FIG. 32 (A).
The process proceeds to step SP215 of the processing procedure in the portable dedicated terminal 303 described above.

[0483] Further, when the procedure for customizing the content selection screen by the data providing server 301 and the portable dedicated terminal 303 of the data providing system 300 is summarized, as shown in Fig. 34 (A), first, the portable dedicated terminal 303 is shown. Enters routine RT22 from the start step and proceeds to step SP261.

At step SP261, the portable dedicated terminal 303 waits for the customer to input a customization request via the operation unit 341. When the customization request is input, the process proceeds to step SP262 and the request data generation unit. The customization request data is generated by 344, the generated customization request data is transmitted from the transmission unit 345 to the data providing server 301, and the process proceeds to step SP263.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 34 (B), the data providing server 301 enters the routine RT23 from the start step and moves to step SP271 to wait for the customization request data to be transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 303. Accordingly, when the customizing request data is received by the receiving unit 312, step SP272
Moving to the content database 3 by the search unit 315
11, the customized registration screen data is read, and the read customized registration screen data is transmitted by the transmission unit 314.
From the portable dedicated terminal 303 to step SP27
Move to 3.

In step SP263, the portable dedicated terminal 303 waits for the customization registration screen data to be transmitted from the data providing server 301,
When the customizing registration screen data is received by the receiving unit 346, the received customizing registration screen data is sent to the reproducing unit 343 so that the reproducing unit 34
In step 3, the customization registration screen based on the customization registration screen data is displayed, and the process proceeds to step SP264.

[0487] In step SP264, the portable dedicated terminal 303 waits for the screen customization information to be input on the customization registration screen in accordance with the operation of the operation unit 341, and when the screen customization information is input, step SP265. Moving to the request data generation unit 34
4, screen customization data is generated, the generated screen customization data is transmitted from the transmission unit 345 to the data providing server 301, and the process proceeds to step SP266.

At this time, in step SP273, the data providing server 301 waits for the screen customization data to be transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 303, and when the screen customization data is received by the reception unit 312, the process proceeds to step SP274. .

In step SP274, the data providing server 301 reads the content selection screen data from the content database 311 by the search unit 315, processes the read content selection screen data based on the screen customization data, and obtains the data. The customized screen data is transmitted from the transmission unit 314 to the portable dedicated terminal 303, and the process proceeds to step SP275.

[0490] In step SP266, the portable dedicated terminal 303 waits for the customized screen data to be transmitted from the data providing server 301, and when the customized screen data is received by the reception unit 346, the received customized screen data is received. The customized screen based on the customized screen data is displayed by sending the screen data to the reproducing unit 343, and step SP
Move to 267.

In step SP267, when the reproduction-specific unit 343 presents the customization screen to the customer in the portable dedicated terminal 303, the customer specifies via the operation unit 341 that the customization is not as desired.
The request data generation unit 344 generates recustomization data indicating that the screen customization information is to be generated again, and the generated recustomization data is transmitted to the transmission unit 345.
From the data providing server 301 to step SP2
Return to step 64, and again step SP264-SP265-S.
The processing loop of P266-SP267 is repeated.

On the other hand, in step SP267, the portable dedicated terminal 303 operates the operation unit 341 by the customer.
If it is specified that the desired customization is performed via, the process proceeds to step SP268 and the request data generation unit 3
The confirmation data is generated by 44, the generated confirmation data is transmitted from the transmission unit 345 to the data providing server 301, and the process proceeds to step SP269, and the portable dedicated terminal 30
The process of 3 is ended.

On the other hand, in step SP275, the data providing server 301 receives the recustomization data or confirmation data transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 303, and the receiving unit 3
12 and the re-customization data is received by the receiving unit 312, step SP
273, and again steps SP273-SP274-
The processing loop of SP275 is repeated.

On the other hand, in step SP275, when the data providing server 301 receives the confirmation data by the receiving unit 312, the process moves to step SP276 and the updating unit 313 adds the screen customization data to the customer registration information in the customer database 310. Then, the processing is updated and the process proceeds to step SP277 to end the processing of the data providing server 301. Thus, the entire customization processing procedure by the data providing system 300 is completed.

[0494] Then, the content providing processing procedure using the customized screen data by the data providing server 301 and the portable dedicated terminal 303 of the data providing system 300 is summarized, the same parts as those in FIG. 35A, the portable dedicated terminal 303 enters the routine RT24 from the start step and moves to step SP221, where the step SP221 is executed.
By sequentially executing the processing of step SP222 subsequent to step S221, the acquisition request data is transmitted to the data providing server 301, and the process proceeds to step SP281.

At this time, in FIG. 35 (B) in which the parts corresponding to those in FIG. 32 (B) are assigned the same reference numerals, the data providing server 301 enters the routine RT25 from the start step and moves to step SP221, SP22
The acquisition request data transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 303 is received by sequentially executing the processes from 1 to step SP223, and the process proceeds to step SP291.

[0497] In step SP291, the data providing server 301 reads the screen customization data added to the customer registration information of the customer who requested the acquisition of the content data from the customer database 310 by the updating section 313, and the search section 315 reads the content database. The content selection screen data read from 311 is processed based on the screen customization data, the obtained customization screen data is transmitted from the transmission unit 314 to the portable dedicated terminal 303, and the process proceeds to step SP225.

As a result, in step SP225,
The data providing server 301 sequentially executes the processing from step SP225 to step SP226 and step SP227, and then moves to step SP292 to end the processing of the data providing server 301.

In step SP281, the portable dedicated terminal 303 waits for the customized screen data to be transmitted from the data providing server 301, and when the customized screen data is received by the reception unit 346, the customized screen data is received. Play part 3
By sending it to 43, for example, a store appearance image of the customization screen is displayed, and the process proceeds to step SP214.

Accordingly, in step SP214,
The portable dedicated terminal 303 sequentially executes the processing from step SP214 to step SP215 to step SP217, and then moves to step SP282 to end the processing of the portable dedicated terminal 303. In this way, the content providing processing procedure using the customized screen data by the data providing system 300 is completed.

In the above configuration, in the data providing system 300, when the data providing server 301 receives the customization request data transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 303 dedicated to the dealer and accessible only to the data providing server 301, In response, the customized registration screen data is transmitted to the portable dedicated terminal 303, and screen customization information for the content selection screen input on the customized registration screen based on the customized registration screen data is displayed on the portable dedicated terminal 303. When the customized data is transmitted, it is received and added to the corresponding customer registration information in the customer database 310 to be registered.

[0502] Then, in the data providing system 300, when the acquisition request data transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 303 of the customer who registered the screen customization data by the data providing server 301 is received, the customer database 3
10, the screen customization data is read, the content selection screen data is read from the customer database 311, and the customized screen data obtained by processing the read content selection screen data based on the screen customization data is used for the portable terminal. Thirty
3 and the desired content data is selected on the customized screen which is customized according to the customer's request.

Therefore, in this data providing system 300, since the portable dedicated terminal 303 can access only the data providing server 301 which provides the content data, the customer who uses the portable dedicated terminal 303 likes the content data. The content selection screen can be easily customized according to (that is, the genre), and thus the usability of the content selection screen can be significantly improved.

Further, in this data providing system 300, the content providing screen generated from the data providing server 301 in advance by including the three-dimensional virtual reality space image representing the inside of the handling store is provided to the portable dedicated terminal 303 to the customer. Since it is easy to select the content data and the content selection screen is customized according to the customer's request, the usability of the content selection screen can be further improved.

Further, in this data providing system 300, when the data providing server 301 obtains the screen customization data from the portable dedicated terminal 303, the content selection screen data is customized based on the screen customization data, and this is customized. Since the customer is asked to confirm using the dedicated terminal 303, the content selection screen can be customized exactly as desired by the customer.

In the data providing system 300, the portable dedicated terminal 303 can access only the data providing server 301 that provides the content data, and the content selection provided to the portable dedicated terminal 303 when the content data is acquired. Since the screen is customized according to the customer's request, it is possible to make the data providing system 300 much easier to be used by the customer who uses the portable dedicated terminal 303 for the purpose of acquiring the content data.

As a result, this data providing system 300
Then, it is possible to significantly improve the utilization rate of the customer for the purpose of acquiring the content data with respect to the data providing server 301 (which is also a dealer).

Further, in this data providing system 300, since the portable dedicated terminal 303 accessible only to the data providing server 301 can be used by the customer in both sales and rental modes, it is possible to use the Internet. For customers who do not have the equipment to use, who are inexperienced at operating to connect to the Internet even if they own the equipment, and customers who have little knowledge of the Internet itself. Can easily obtain the content data from the data providing server 301.

According to the above configuration, the data providing server 3
The portable dedicated terminal 30 by transmitting the customization registration screen data in response to the customization request data transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 303 dedicated to the dealer by 01 and accessible only to the data providing server 301.
Screen customization data transmitted from the server 3 is registered in the customer database 310, and then the data providing server 301
Process the content selection screen data based on the screen customization data read from the customer database 310 in accordance with the acquisition request data transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 303, and transfer the obtained customized screen data to the portable dedicated terminal 303. By transmitting the content, the content selection screen can be easily customized according to the customer's preference for the content data using the portable dedicated terminal 303, and the usability of the content selection screen can be significantly improved. Thus, it is possible to realize a data providing system that allows content data to be easily selected.

In the sixth embodiment described above, the case where the data providing server 301 is installed in the dealer has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it is possible to connect to the Internet. , Data providing server 30
It is not necessary to specify the installation location of 1. Then, the data providing server 301 is provided with a database for managing a plurality of dealers, and the dealer IDs, the content selection screen data, and the customized registration screen data for each dealer are stored in association with each other in the database. Every time, the content selection screen data and the customized registration screen data of the dealer previously associated with the portable dedicated terminal 303 or the arbitrarily selected dealer are provided according to the access of the portable dedicated terminal 303. good.

Also, in the above-described sixth embodiment, the case where the data providing server 301 is configured to generate the content selection screen data using the development tool provided from the content server has been described.
The present invention is not limited to this, and the data providing server 301 may be entrusted to a content selection screen data production company or the like to generate the content selection screen data.

Furthermore, in the above-described sixth embodiment, the case where the data providing server 301 provides the content selection screen data in which the inside of the store is represented by the three-dimensional virtual reality space image is provided. As described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and content selection screen data generated as a homepage or the like for listing and displaying a list of a large number of content data titles may be provided.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 36, in the data providing system 390 which provides the content selection screen data generated as the home page, the screen customizing data D10 transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 391 to the data providing server 392 is displayed. In addition, for example, it is possible to customize the content selection screen data by arranging songs (that is, content data) of an arbitrary artist (or genre) in chronological order and designating a background color as an arbitrary color. The providing server 392 is
After registering the received screen customization data D10 in the customer database 393 and receiving the acquisition request data transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 391, the screen customization data D10 read from the customer database 393 is received.
Based on the above, the search unit 394 processes the content selection screen data in the content database 395, and transmits the obtained customized screen data D11 to the portable dedicated terminal 391.

Incidentally, such a data providing system 390
Then, when the screen customization data D10 is received by the data providing server 392, it is determined whether or not the content database 394 stores therein the content data of a quantity capable of responding to the request by the screen customization data D10, and the content database 394. When the content data corresponding to the request by the screen customization data D10 is not stored in the content customization request data D12, the content server 3 generates the content acquisition request data D12.
95, the designated content data may be read from the content database 396 of the content server 395 and replenished to the data providing server 392. By doing so, the content selection screen data can be customized more accurately in response to the customer's request. In addition, such a data providing server 3
The supplement of the content data from the content server 395 to 92 can be applied to the sixth embodiment described above.

Further, in the above-described sixth embodiment, the case where the data providing server 301 simply acquires a large amount of content data provided from the content server and stores it in the content database 311 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the data providing server 301 obtains the compressed content data from the content server and directly receives the content database 31.
1 and the compressed content data may be provided to the portable dedicated terminal 303. By doing so, the content database 311 of the data providing server 301 and the recording medium 340 of the portable dedicated terminal 303 are provided.
The limited capacity of can be effectively used for recording content data.

Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 37, the content server stores a large number of content data in the content database and a large number of data tables 400 that classify the content data for each genre and provide the data. When the genre of content data handled for provision is specified from the server before the start of distribution of the content data, the content data of the genre specified from the data table is randomly selected for each data providing server or each store. However, the selected content data groups a and b may be provided to different data providing servers or dealers. By doing so, some or all of the content data that can be provided to each other can be different even between data providing servers that handle content data of the same genre, and as a result, content data of the same genre can be provided to customers. It is possible to use a large number of data providing servers that handle the.

(8) Seventh Embodiment FIG. 38 shows a data providing system 500 according to the seventh embodiment, which is the dealer 4 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.
1 to the data providing server 501 corresponding to A to 4N.
To portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N described above with reference to FIG.
Corresponding to the above, the portable dedicated terminal 502 accessible only to the data providing server 501, and the package providing server 5 corresponding to the sales company 5 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.
02 are connected to each other via the Internet 504.

The data providing server 501 has a customer database 510, a content database 511, and a package media database 512. The customer database 510 has a name, an address, and an account number acquired from a customer who wishes to register. The data providing server 501 can be used by storing customer registration information including customer information such as the above and a customer ID issued to the customer and registering the customer.

[0519] Further, the content database 512 stores content data consisting of a large number of single songs as the content data to be provided to the customer, and a unique content ID, title (song name), selling price and It stores a data table created by listing content incidental information such as rental prices.

[0520] Furthermore, the data providing server 501 associates the package data in which the same content data is stored with the content data consisting of a single song as an equivalently exchangeable package medium, and the package media database 513 stores According to the equivalent exchangeable correspondence, the title of the content data consisting of a single song, the title of the package media consisting of a single CD storing the content data, the selling price of the package media, and the package identification information unique to the package media (Hereinafter, this is referred to as a package ID) and the like are stored in association with each other to store a data table.

[0521] Then, when the data providing server 501 transmits, for example, the designation information of the content data desired to be rented as the content designation data from the portable dedicated terminal 502 used (purchased and rented) by the registered customer, This is received by the receiving unit 515 and taken into the received data discriminating unit 516.

As shown in FIG. 39 together with FIG. 38, the content designation data D20 transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 502 includes the customer's name, customer ID, password, and title of the content data D21 desired to be rented. Equivalent exchange information indicating the presence or absence of equivalent exchange, information on a rental period and a rental fee payment method are stored.

[0523] Incidentally, the customer ID stored in the content designation data D20 is the one issued by the data providing server 501 at the time of registration of the customer and stored in the portable dedicated terminal 502 used by the customer. Various data transmitted from the mold dedicated terminal 502 are stored to identify the customer.

[0524] Further, the equivalent exchange information stored in the content designation data D20 is
For example, "0" is displayed when the equivalent exchange is not desired for the purpose of obtaining the information, whereas "1" is displayed when the customer desires the equivalent exchange.

Therefore, the data providing server 501 causes the received data discriminating unit 516 to determine the content designation data D2.
Based on the equivalent exchange information stored in 0, it is determined that the content designation data D20 is data for obtaining the content data D21.

Then, the data providing server 501 causes the received data discriminating unit 516 to determine the content designation data D2.
By searching the data table in the content database 511 based on the title of the content data D21 stored in 0, the title is changed to the content ID to generate the content read control data D22, and the generated content read control is performed. The data D22 is sent to the content ID extraction unit 517.

Incidentally, the data providing server 501 causes the received data discriminating unit 516 to determine the content designation data D2.
When the content read control data D22 is generated from 0, it is stored as customer registration information by searching the customer database 510 based on the customer ID stored in the content designation data D20 by the customer request search unit 518. In addition to detecting the coded customer name, if the credit is designated as the rental fee payment method, the customer's account number is detected, and the detected customer name and account number are received by the reception data generation unit 516. It is stored in the read control data D22.

The data providing server 501 uses the contents I
The content extraction control data D22 by the D extraction unit 517.
The content ID is extracted from the content, and the extracted content ID is sent to the content search unit 519 together with the content read control data D22, so that the content search unit 519 searches the content database 511 based on the content ID to specify the customer. The read content data D21 is read, and the read content data D21 is sent to the transmission data generation unit 520 together with the content read control data D22.

As a result, the data providing server 501 adds the copy history information to the content read control data D22 by the transmission data generation unit 520 to add the header data D23.
To rent the content data D21 designated by the customer by generating the header data D23 and adding the generated header data D23 to the content data D21 and transmitting it from the transmission unit 521 to the portable dedicated terminal 502 via the Internet 504. You can

[0530] Incidentally, the data providing server 501 has a charging processing unit (not shown), and when the customer designates credit for payment of the rental fee, the content data designated by the portable dedicated terminal 502 of the customer. D2
Before sending 1, the charging process is executed by the charging processing unit so that the rental fee (that is, the amount charged to the customer) according to the rental period of the content data D21.
Billing data is generated based on the account number of the customer in the customer registration information and the account number of, for example, a dealer who operates the data providing server 501.

[0531] Then, the data providing server 501 transmits the billing data generated by the billing processing unit from the transmitting unit 521 to a predetermined settlement processing server (not shown) via the Internet 504, and as a result, the settlement processing server 10 concerned.
When the end of the electronic payment processing based on the billing data is notified from 4, information about the title and content ID of the content data D21 rented by the customer and the amount paid by the customer for the rental by the customer update search unit 518. Is added to and updated by the customer registration information of the customer in the customer database 510 so that the customer's rented content data D21 and the payment status for the rental can be grasped from the customer registration information.

At this time, the data providing server 501 sends the notification received from the payment processing server to the transmission data generation unit 520.
By also notifying the customer of the content data D2 by the transmission data generation unit 520 in the header data D23.
The amount paid for rental 1 is stored in place of the account number, and when the payment of the rental fee by the customer is completed in this way, the content data D21 with the header data D23 added is transmitted to the portable dedicated terminal 502 to the customer. To rent.

In this way, the data providing system 500
In the case of using the portable dedicated terminal 502 from the data providing server 501, the customer rents the content data D21, and at the end of the rental period for the content data D21, if the portable dedicated terminal 502 is brought to the dealer, Content data D2
Delete 1 for return.

Further, in the data providing system 500, when the portable dedicated terminal 502 is not brought into the dealer even after the rental period of the content data D21 ends, the content data is stored inside the portable dedicated terminal 502. D21 is in a state of being unerasable or unplayable for return.

By the way, the data providing server 501 desires to equivalently exchange the content data (single song) occupied by the customer by rental from the portable dedicated terminal 502 with the package medium (single CD). Is transmitted, this is received by the receiving unit 515.
And received by the received data discriminating unit 516.

Here, as shown in FIG. 40 together with FIG. 38, the equivalent exchange request data D30 transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 502 is presented by the customer as the customer's name, customer ID, password, and equivalent exchange requirement. The title of the content data D21 and the equivalent exchange information (the content indicates "1") indicating the presence or absence of the equivalent exchange are stored.

Therefore, in the data providing server 501, the received data discriminating unit 516 causes the equivalent exchange request data D30.
It is determined that the equivalent exchange request data D30 is data for equivalent exchange of the content data D21 with the package medium on the basis of the equivalent exchange information stored in, and the equivalent exchange request data D30 is stored in the customer ID extracting unit 5.
25.

The data providing server 501 uses the customer ID extracting unit 525 to convert the equivalent exchange request data D30 to the customer ID.
Is sent out to the customer update retrieval unit 518 together with the equivalent exchange request data D30.

[0539] Further, the data providing server 501 searches the customer database 510 based on the customer ID by the customer update searching unit 518, and the coded name of the customer based on the customer registration information obtained as a result, The content ID of the content data D21 presented for equivalent exchange, the rental fee payment method for the content data D21, and whether the rental fee has already been paid are detected, and the customer who requested the equivalent exchange also It is detected whether any injustice has been performed in the past regarding acquisition of the content data D21 or the like, and the detection result is determined together with the equivalent exchange request data D30 in the determination unit 526.
Send to.

Then, in the data providing server 501, the discriminating unit 526 discriminates whether or not the customer is allowed to perform the equivalent exchange, based on the detection result provided from the customer update searching unit 518.

Here, in the data providing server 501, if the customer has already paid the rental fee for the content data D21 for equivalent exchange, and the customer has not particularly committed fraud in the past, the determination unit 526 determines. While allowing the customer to perform equivalent exchange, the customer's coded name detected by the customer update search unit 518 in the equivalent exchange request data D30, the content ID of the content data D21 presented for equivalent exchange, and the payment of rental fee The method and the amount actually paid are stored to generate equivalent exchange processing data D31, and the generated equivalent exchange request data D31 is sent to the value judgment unit 527.

The data providing server 501 includes the value judgment unit 5
By searching the data table of the package media database 512 via the package search unit 528 according to the search condition preset by 27, the content data D21 (single song) that the customer occupies is presented for equivalent exchange. A package medium (single CD) in which the same content data D21 is stored is detected as an equivalently exchangeable package medium, and the title, selling price, and package ID of the detected package medium are read.

In the data providing server 501, the value judging unit 527 causes the rental fee paid by the customer for the content data D21 occupied by the customer (ie, the acquisition price of the content data D21 occupied by the customer). And the sales price of the retrieved equivalent exchangeable package media are compared to calculate the difference between them. For example, if the sales price of the package media is higher than the acquisition price of the content data, the content data occupied by the customer In order to make the exchange value of D21 and the equivalent exchangeable package media almost equal, a condition for equivalent exchange is set in which the customer pays the difference.

As a result, the data providing server 501 causes the value judgment unit 527 to enter the equivalent exchange request data D31 into the title and package ID of the package medium that can be equivalently exchanged, and the conditions of the equivalent exchange (customer occupancy when performing the equivalent exchange). The equivalent exchange condition presentation data D32 is generated by storing the content data to be exchanged and the customer paying the difference between the acquisition price and the selling price in order to make the exchange value of the package media almost equal.

Then, the data providing server 501 transmits the equivalent exchange condition presentation data D32 from the transmission unit 521 to the portable dedicated terminal 502 via the Internet 504, so that the customer can equivalently exchange the content data D21 with the package medium. And the customer is required to pay the presented difference as a condition for equivalently exchanging the content data D21 and the package medium.

As a result, when the data providing server 501 receives the exchange consent data for consenting to the equivalent exchange from the portable dedicated terminal 502, it is received by the receiving unit 515 and taken into the received data discriminating unit 516, The exchange data is sent from the received data discriminating unit 516 to the discriminating unit 526, and it is confirmed by the discriminating unit 526 that the customer has approved the equivalent exchange based on the exchange consent data.

Then, the data providing server 501 generates and sends the package delivery request information from the package ID of the package medium for equivalent exchange given to the customer based on the customer registration information and the customer's name and address based on the customer registration information. It is sent to the data generator 520.

As a result, in the data providing server 501, the transmission data generation unit 520 generates the package delivery request data representing the package delivery request information, and the transmission unit 521.
To the package providing server 503 via the Internet 504, and requests the package providing server 503 to deliver the package media to the customer.

As a result, when the package providing server 503 sends delivery arrangement completion data indicating that the delivery arrangement is completed via the Internet 504, the data providing server 501 receives the delivery arrangement completion data by the receiving unit 515. The received data discrimination unit 516 sends it to the discrimination unit 526.

[0550] At this time, the data providing server 501 specifies that payment by credit is designated as the payment method for the difference specified by the customer included in the exchange consent data.
After the billing processing is performed by the billing processing unit in the same manner as described above, the electronic settlement processing end notification is received from the settlement processing server.

As a result, the data providing server 501 sends the equivalent exchange approval by the discriminating unit 526 and the equivalent exchange approval information indicating the delivery method of the package medium to the transmission data generating unit 520, and the transmission data generating unit 520.
Thus, the equivalent exchange approval data is generated and transmitted from the transmission unit 521 to the portable dedicated terminal 502 via the Internet 504 to notify the customer that the equivalent exchange has been approved.

Then, when the data providing server 501 notifies the customer that the equivalent exchange has been approved, the determination unit 526
By the customer update search unit 518, the content ID of the content data D21 to be equivalently exchanged with the customer registration information in the customer database 510, the package ID of the package medium, the presence / absence of payment of the difference, and the difference (amount) are added. Then, the history of equivalent exchange is stored.

In this way, the data providing server 501
The content data occupied by the customer is erased (or in a non-reproducible state) for return from the portable dedicated terminal 502, and the package media requested to be delivered to the package providing server 503 is sent to the customer by the customer. 41A and FIG. 41B, the package media to be purchased by paying the amount corresponding to the selling price, if the contents data D21 occupied by the customer, are delivered as shown in FIGS. The value of exchange with the package medium in which the content data D21 is stored is almost equalized, and the exchange of the package medium with the content data D21 is realized.

[0554] Incidentally, the data providing server 501 uses an account transfer or the like at a bank when cash is designated by the customer for the difference between the acquisition price of the content data generated by the equivalent exchange and the selling price of the package media. However, when payment by a prepaid card is designated, the request terminal or the like is used.

Further, when the data providing server 501 receives the equivalent exchange request data D30 from the portable dedicated terminal 502, the content data D2 presented for equivalent exchange is presented.
If the rental fee of 1 has not been paid, or if the customer has committed any fraud in the past, the determination unit 52
In step 6, the equivalent exchange is not permitted to the customer, and the equivalent exchange disapproval information indicating that the equivalent exchange is not permitted is sent to the transmission data generation unit 520.

Then, the data providing server 501 uses the transmission data generation unit 520 to generate equivalent exchange disapproval data representing the equivalent exchange disapproval information, and the generated equivalent exchange disapproval data is transmitted from the transmission unit 521 to the Internet 50.
4 to the portable dedicated terminal 502, thus notifying the customer that the equivalent exchange cannot be accepted.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 38, in the portable dedicated terminal 502, when the customer inputs the designation information of the content data desired to be rented through the operation unit 540, the operation information determination unit 541 outputs the specified information. Based on the format of the designated information, it is determined that the designated information is information for the purpose of acquiring content data, and equivalent exchange information indicating “0” is added to the designated information and sent to the request data generation unit 542.

[0558] Then, in the portable dedicated terminal 502, the request data generation unit 542 generates the content designation data D20 which indicates the designation information and includes the customer ID, and the generated content designation data D20 is transmitted from the transmission unit 543 to the Internet. Data providing server 50 via 504
Send to 1.

As a result, when the content data D21 to which the header data D23 is added is transmitted from the data providing server 501, the portable dedicated terminal 502 receives the content data D21 by the receiving unit 544 and the recording control unit from the determining unit 545. The recording control unit 546 sends the content data D21 and the header data D23 to the content data D21.
Is recorded on the recording medium 547, and thus the content data D21 desired by the customer is rented.

As a result, when the customer inputs a reproduction command via the operation unit 540, the portable dedicated terminal 502 reproduces the content data D21 from the recording medium 547 by the reproduction control unit 548 in response to this. By sending the reproduced content data D21 to the reproducing unit 549 including a display control unit, a display unit, a speaker, and the like, the customer can enjoy the content such as a single song.

Incidentally, the portable dedicated terminal 502 detects and manages the rental period of the content data D21 from the header data D23 by the recording control unit 545 and the reproduction control unit 548, and the rental period of the content data D21 ends. Even if the portable terminal 502 is not brought into the dealer, the content data D2
1 is erased from the recording medium 547 for returning, or is rendered unreproducible by the reproduction control unit 548.

When the customer inputs an equivalent exchange request designating the content data D21 for equivalent exchange via the operation unit 540, the portable information terminal 502 receives the equivalent exchange request from the operation information determination unit 541. Depending on the format, it is determined that the equivalent exchange request is a request for equivalent exchange of the content data D21 occupied by the customer with the package medium, and equivalent exchange information indicating "1" is added to the equivalent exchange request to generate request data. It is sent to the unit 542.

In this case, in the portable dedicated terminal 502, the request data generating section 542 generates the equivalent exchange request data D30 that represents the equivalent exchange request and includes the customer ID,
The transmission unit 543 transmits the generated equivalent exchange request data D30.
From the data providing server 5 via the Internet 504
Send to 01.

As a result, when the equivalent exchange condition presentation data D32 is transmitted from the data providing server 501 via the Internet 504, the portable dedicated terminal 502 receives the equivalent exchange condition presentation data D32 by the receiving unit 544 and the reproducing unit from the discriminating unit 545. Content data D to the customer by sending to D.549
Notify that the customer pays the title of the package medium that can be equivalently exchanged with item 21 and the difference caused by the equivalent exchange as a condition of the equivalent exchange.

As a result, when the customer obtains the equivalent exchange consent via the operation unit 540, the portable dedicated terminal 502 adds the equivalent exchange information representing "1" to the approval by the operation information determination unit 541. It is sent to the request data generation unit 542, the request data generation unit 542 generates exchange agreement data representing the agreement, and the exchange agreement data is transmitted from the transmission unit 543 to the data providing server 501 via the Internet 504.

Thus, the portable dedicated terminal 502 is
After this, from the data providing server 501 to the Internet 5
When the equivalent exchange approval data is transmitted via 04, the receiving unit 544 receives the same and sends it from the discriminating unit 545 to the reproducing unit 549 to confirm that the equivalent exchange has been approved by the customer and the delivery of the package medium. Notify the method etc.

Incidentally, when the portable dedicated terminal 502 receives the equivalent exchange disapproval data from the data providing server 501 via the Internet 504, the receiving unit 54 receives the data.
4 and sends it from the discriminating unit 545 to the reproducing unit 549 to notify the customer that the equivalent exchange is not permitted.

When the package providing server 503 receives the package delivery request data from the data providing server 501 via the Internet 504, the receiving unit 560 receives the package delivery request data and the package ID extracting unit 56.
The package ID extracting unit 561 extracts the package ID from the package delivery request data and sends it to the package searching unit 562 together with the package delivery request data.

Then, the package providing server 503
The package search unit 562 searches the inventory management database 563 based on the package ID to detect the inventory of the package media designated by the data providing server 501 and the storage position on the package storage shelf (not shown), and to detect the detected storage position. Information is taken out together with the package delivery request data and the package take-out control unit 564
Send to.

As a result, the package providing server 503
The package take-out control unit 564 takes out the designated package media from the package media storage shelves based on the information on the storage position, and then the shipping and packaging instruction unit 56.
Pack the package media taken out by 5,
In addition, the delivery center (not shown) is instructed to deliver to the address of the customer indicated in the package delivery request data, and thus the delivery arrangement completion data is transmitted from the transmission unit 566 to the data providing server 501.

Thus, as shown in FIG. 42, in the data providing system 500, the customer and the data providing server 5
If the equivalent exchange with 01 is approved, the package providing server 503 delivers the package medium equivalent to the content data to the customer.

Here, the equivalent exchange processing procedure by the data providing server 501, the portable dedicated terminal 502, and the package providing server 503 of the data providing system 500 can be summarized as shown in FIGS. 43 (A) and 44 (A). First, the portable dedicated terminal 502 enters from the start step of the routine RT30 and moves to step SP351.

[0573] In step SP351, the portable dedicated terminal 502 waits for input of instruction information for renting the content data D21 via the operation unit 540, and when the instruction information is input, Moving to SP352, the request data generation unit 542 generates the content instruction information data D20 and the transmission unit 54
3 to the data providing server 501, step SP
Move to 353.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 43 (B) and FIG. 44 (B), the data providing server 501 executes the routine RT.
From the start step of 31, the process moves to step SP371, and in the step SP371, the portable dedicated terminal 5
02 is waiting for the content instruction data to be transmitted, and the content instruction data is received by the receiving unit 515.
When it is received by, the process proceeds to step SP372.

At step SP372, the data providing server 501 reads out the content data D21 designated from the content database 511 by the content searching unit 519, and transmits the read content data D21 from the transmitting unit 521 to the portable dedicated terminal 502. Then, the process proceeds to step SP373.

[0576] Here, in step SP353, the portable dedicated terminal 502 waits for the content data D21 to be transmitted from the data providing server 501, and when the content data D21 is received by the receiving unit 544, the process proceeds to step SP354. Then, the content data D21 is transferred to the recording medium 5 by the recording control unit 546.
It records in 47 and moves to step SP355. Accordingly, the portable dedicated terminal 501 can entertain the customer by renting the content data D21 specified by the customer and reproducing the content data D21 in response to the customer's request.

[0577] In step SP355, the portable dedicated terminal 502 waits for an equivalent exchange request to be input via the operation unit 540, and returns to step SP351 until the equivalent exchange request is input. The processing loop of steps SP352-SP353-SP354-SP355 is repeated.

[0578] Then, in step SP355, when the equivalent exchange request is input through the operation unit 540, the portable dedicated terminal 502 moves to step SP356 and the equivalent data exchange request data D30 is generated by the request data generation unit 542. Then, the data is transmitted from the transmission unit 543 to the data providing server 501, and the process proceeds to step SP357.

[0579] In step SP373, the data providing server 501 determines whether or not the equivalent exchange request data D30 has been transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 502, and until the equivalence request data D30 is received, step SP is executed.
Returning to step 371 and continuing from step SP372 to step S
The processing loop of P373 is repeated until step SP373.
When the receiving unit 515 receives the equivalent exchange request data D30 transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 502 in
Move to step SP374.

[0580] In step SP374, the data providing server 501 determines whether or not to allow the equivalent exchange by checking the usage history of the customer who requested the equivalent exchange by the discrimination unit 526 based on the customer registration information of the customer.

If a negative result is obtained in step SP374, the customer has not paid the rental fee of the content data D21 presented for the equivalent exchange, or the customer has performed some fraud in the past and the equivalent exchange has been performed. Means that there is a possibility of improper use of the data. At this time, the data providing server 501 determines that
And the equivalent exchange disapproval information generated by the determination unit 526 is transmitted from the transmission unit 521 to the portable dedicated terminal 502 as the equivalent exchange disapproval data by the transmission data generation unit 520, and then the process proceeds to step SP376. The processing by 501 is completed.

On the other hand, if the positive result is obtained in step SP374, it means that the customer has already paid the rental fee of the content data D21 presented for the equivalent exchange and has not acted illegally in the past. This means that there is almost no possibility of improper use, and at this time the data providing server 501 moves to step SP377.

[0583] In step SP377, the data providing server 501 causes the value judgment unit 527 to equivalently replace the contents data D21 occupied by the customer with the equivalently replaceable package media. The presenting data D32 is generated and the transmitting unit 5
21 to the portable dedicated terminal 502, and step SP
Move to 378.

At this time, in step SP375,
The portable dedicated terminal 502 waits for the equivalent exchange condition presentation data D32 or the equivalent exchange disapproval data to be transmitted from the data providing server 501, and when any of the data is received by the receiving unit 544, the step SP35.
Go to 8.

In step SP358, the portable dedicated terminal 502 determines whether the data received by the receiving unit 554 is the equivalent exchange condition presentation data D32 by the determining unit 545, and the received data is not equivalent exchange permission. If it is data, the process proceeds to step SP359 and the processing by the portable dedicated terminal 501 is ended.

On the other hand, in step SP358, when the received data is the equivalent exchange condition presentation data D32, the portable dedicated terminal 502 carries out step SP3.
60, the exchange approval data is transmitted from the transmission unit 543 to the data providing server 50 according to the operation of the operation unit 540 by the customer.
Then, the process proceeds to step SP361.

[0587] In step SP378, the data providing server 501 waits for the exchange approval data to be transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 502, and when the exchange approval data is received by the receiving unit 515, the step S378 is performed.
After moving to P379, the determination unit 526 generates the package delivery request data for delivering the package media to the customer, and the transmission unit 521 sends the package delivery server 503.
To step SP380.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 43 (C) and FIG. 44 (C), the package providing server 503 enters from the start step of the routine RT32 to step SP391.
If the package delivery request data is received by the receiving unit 560 while waiting for the package delivery request data to be transmitted from the data providing server 501 in step SP391, the process proceeds to step SP392.

At step SP392, the package providing server 503 confirms the storage position on the package storage shelf of the package medium designated by the package search unit 562 based on the package delivery request data, moves to step SP393, and the package take-out control unit. When the designated package medium is taken out from the package storage shelf by 564, the process proceeds to step SP394.

[0590] In step SP394, the package providing server 503 instructs the distribution center to instruct the distribution center to pack the package media and deliver it to the customer by using the shipping and packaging instructing unit 565, and then proceeds to step SP395 to send delivery arrangement completion data from the transmitting unit 566. After the transmission to the providing server 501, the process proceeds to step SP396 and the processing by the package providing server 503 ends.

At this time, in step SP380,
The data providing server 501 is the package providing server 50.
3 waits for the delivery arrangement completion data to be transmitted, and when the delivery arrangement completion data is received by the reception unit 515, the process proceeds to step SP381 and the determination unit 52.
6, the equivalent exchange approval data is generated and transmitted from the transmission unit 521 to the portable dedicated terminal 502, and then step SP
Moving to 376, the processing by the data providing server 501 is ended.

Further, in step SP361, the portable dedicated terminal 502 waits for the equivalent exchange approval data to be transmitted from the data providing server 501, and when the equivalent exchange approval data is received by the receiving unit 544, the reproducing unit After notifying the customer that the equivalent exchange has been approved via 549, the process proceeds to step SP359 to end the processing by the portable dedicated terminal 502. Thus, all the equivalent exchange processing procedures in the data providing system 500 are completed.

In the above-described structure, in the data providing system 500, when the content specifying data requesting the rental of the content data D21 is transmitted from the portable type dedicated terminal 502 to the data providing server 501, the portable type is sent accordingly. The specified content data D21 is transmitted to the dedicated terminal 502 to be recorded, and thus the content data D21 is sent to the customer by using the portable dedicated terminal 502.
I rented 21.

In the data providing system 500, the data providing server 501 includes the portable dedicated terminal 502.
Equivalent exchange request data D for content data D21 (single song) occupied by the customer from rental
When 30 is transmitted, the data providing server 501 detects the package medium (single CD) storing the same content data D21 that can be equivalently exchanged with the content data D21, and the package medium detected and the customer's occupation The difference between the selling price of the package media and the acquisition price of the content data occupied by the customer is calculated in order to make the exchange value of the content data almost equal.

[0595] In this way, the data providing system 500
Then, the data providing server 501 presents the title of the package medium that can be equivalently exchanged for the content data D21 presented by the customer and the difference payable by the customer by the equivalent exchange, as equivalent exchange condition presentation data. D32 is transmitted to the portable dedicated terminal 502.

As a result, in the data providing system 500, when the equivalent exchange agreement data for agreeing the equivalent exchange is transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 502 to the data providing server 501, the customer is made to pay the difference generated by the equivalent exchange. The content data D21 occupied by the customer and the content data D21 occupied by the customer are stored by erasing the content data occupied by the customer from the portable dedicated terminal 502 for return and delivering the package media to the customer. The exchange value of the packaged media is almost equal, and the packaged media and the content data D21 are exchanged.

Therefore, in this data providing system 500, the customer who rented the content data D21 using the portable dedicated terminal 502 uses the content data D2.
If the user wants to play back 1 on another device or enjoy it, or if he / she is anxious about the storage of the content data D21 by the portable dedicated terminal 502 and wants to store it by the package medium, the content data D21 and the package medium are The exchange value can be made almost equivalent, and the content data D21 can be exchanged with the package medium and provided to the customer with a minimum investment.

As a result, this data providing system 500
Then, it is possible to remarkably facilitate the acquisition of the content data D21 distributed using the Internet.

Further, in the data providing system 500, since the content data D21 and the package medium are equivalently exchanged as described above, it is possible for the customer to be remarkably easy to use.

Further, in this data providing system 500, since the customer who uses the portable dedicated terminal 502 that can access only the data providing server 501 uses the equivalent exchange, the customer is a server other than the data providing server 501. It is almost impossible to illegally use the equivalent exchange by using the content data acquired at a price different from the provision price of the data providing server 501, or the equivalent exchange by using the content data downloaded from the package medium. It can be surely prevented.

According to the above configuration, the data providing server 5
The content data D designated by 01 according to the rental request from the portable dedicated terminal 502 used by the customer.
21 is transmitted to the portable dedicated terminal 502 and rented so as to be recorded, and then, when the portable dedicated terminal 502 requests that the rented content data D21 be exchanged with the package medium, the content data By detecting the package medium that can be exchanged with D21 and presenting the conditions for making the exchange value of the package medium and the content data D21 occupied by the customer almost equal, the customer distributes the content. Even if the data is acquired, the content data D21 occupied by the customer can be exchanged with the package media with a minimum investment.
It is possible to remarkably facilitate the acquisition of the content data D21 being distributed by using No. 4, and thus it is possible to realize a data providing system that can spread the distribution of the content data.

In the above-described seventh embodiment, the case where the content data D21 rented by the customer from the data providing server 501 is equivalently exchanged with the package medium has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. Instead, the content data purchased by the customer from the data providing server 501 may be equivalently exchanged with the package medium.

Incidentally, according to the seventh embodiment described above, since the rented content data D21 is equivalently exchanged with the package medium, the content data D21 concerned is exchanged.
21 was erased for return at the end of the rental period, but when the content data purchased by the customer is equivalently exchanged with the package medium in which the same content data is stored, the content data different from the customer is different. Since the content data is not unduly occupied, the handling of the content data equivalently exchanged with the package medium may be either erased or stored by the customer as it is.

Further, in the above-described seventh embodiment, the package medium equivalent to the content data D21 occupied by the customer is replaced by the package providing server 5
However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the package medium equivalently exchanged with the content data D21 occupied by the customer is sent to the customer at the dealer when the content data D21 is returned. You may hand it over directly.

Furthermore, in the above-described seventh embodiment, the case where the content data D21 consisting of a single song occupied by the customer is equivalently exchanged with the package medium consisting of a single CD has been described. The invention is not limited to this, and the content data D21 composed of a single song occupied by the customer may be equivalently replaced with the package medium composed of the album CD.

Furthermore, in the above-described seventh embodiment, the music (single song and single C
Although the case where D) is applied has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and various other contents such as movies and books may be applied as content data and package media to be equivalent exchanged. You can With this, the convenience and versatility of the data providing system can be significantly improved, and the distribution of the content data can be further spread.

Further, in the above-described seventh embodiment, the customer pays the difference for making the exchange value almost equal by equivalent exchange of the content data D21 occupied by the customer and the package medium. Although the case has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and the data providing server 501 notifies the customer of the content data D2.
In order to make the exchange value almost equivalent by issuing and accumulating points for giving benefits such as discounts according to the rental or purchase of 1 and equivalent exchange of the content data D21 occupied by the customer and the package media. Instead of part or all of the money, the points acquired by the customer may be used to pay the difference.

Further, in the above-described seventh embodiment, the content data D21 is rented from the data providing server 501 using the portable dedicated terminal 502 accessible only to the data providing server 501, and the rented content is The case where the data D21 is equivalently exchanged with the package medium has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various other devices such as a personal computer and a mobile phone can be connected to the Internet 504. Content data may be purchased and rented from the data providing server 501 by using a device, and the purchased and rented content data may be equivalently exchanged with the package medium.

By the way, when the data providing server 501 is used by using a device other than the portable dedicated terminal 502 such as a personal computer or a mobile phone, the data providing server 501 is purchased and rented by using the device. Server identification information for identifying the data providing server 501 that is the provider of the content data is added to the content data to be provided, and when the equivalent exchange is requested, it is determined whether or not the customer is allowed to perform the equivalent exchange. At this time, it is determined whether the content data presented for equivalent exchange is provided from the data providing server 501 based on the server identification information, and the content data acquired from another data providing server is presented for equivalent exchange. If not, do not allow equivalent exchange. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the data providing server from being damaged by equivalently exchanging the content data provided by another data providing server.

Also, when content data rented by a device different from the portable dedicated terminal 502 is equivalently exchanged with the package medium, the equivalent data recorded in the device at the time of receiving the exchange consent data transmitted from the device. Erase the content data to be exchanged, and after confirming the confirmation, approve equivalent exchange of package media for the content data. This allows
It is possible to prevent a device different from the portable dedicated terminal 502 from unreasonably performing the equivalent exchange by using the rental content data once equivalently exchanged again.

(9) Eighth Embodiment FIG. 45 in which parts corresponding to those in FIG.
The data provision system 600 by 8th Embodiment is shown, the structure of the data provision server 601, and the portable exclusive terminal 60 which can access only the said data provision server 601.
The configuration is similar to that of the data providing system 500 according to the seventh embodiment described above except the configuration of 2.

In this case, when the data providing server 601 receives the content designation data transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 602 by the receiving unit 515, the data providing server 601 shown in FIGS.
9 is processed in the same manner as the data providing server 501 according to the seventh embodiment described above, thereby transmitting the content data D21 with the header data D23 added thereto.
1 to the dedicated mobile terminal 6 via the Internet 504
By sending the specified content data D21 to the customer, the specified content data D21 is rented to the customer.

By the way, at the end of the rental period for the content data D21, if the portable terminal 602 is brought into the dealer, the rented content data D21 will be erased for return, and even if the rental period ends. When the portable dedicated terminal 602 is not brought into the dealer, the content data D21 is erased or cannot be reproduced in the portable dedicated terminal 602 for return.

By the way, the data providing server 601 is designed to be able to equivalently exchange one or a plurality of content data D21 consisting of a single song occupied by a customer with a package medium consisting of a single CD or an album CD.

[0615] That is, the data providing server 601 desires to equivalently exchange, for example, a plurality of content data D21 (single song) occupied by a customer from the portable dedicated terminal 602 with a package medium (album CD). When the equivalence exchange request data is transmitted, the equivalence exchange request data is received by the receiving unit 515 and taken into the received data discriminating unit 516.

Here, as shown in FIG. 45 together with FIG. 45, the equivalent exchange request data D40 transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 602 is presented by the customer as the customer's name, customer ID, password, and equivalent exchange requirement. The titles of the plurality of content data D21 and the equivalent exchange information (the content indicates "1") indicating the presence or absence of the equivalent exchange are stored.

Therefore, the data providing server 601 sends the equivalent exchange request data D40 to the discriminating unit 610 through the customer ID extracting unit 525 and the customer update retrieving unit 518 in order by the received data discriminating unit 516.

The data providing server 601 has a discrimination unit 610.
38 and 40 in the same manner as described above, it is determined whether or not the customer is allowed to perform the equivalent exchange. When the customer is allowed to perform the equivalent exchange, the equivalent exchange request data D
40 stores the coded name of the customer, the content ID of the content data D21 presented for equivalent exchange, the rental fee payment method, and the actually paid amount to generate the equivalent exchange processing data D41, and generate the same. The equivalent exchange request data D41 is sent to the value judgment unit 611.

Here, as shown in FIGS. 47A to 47C, the package media database 612 provided in the data providing server 601 includes a content data table 620 for the content data D21 and a single CD. Single data table 6 for
21 and an album data table 622 for packaged media, which is an album CD, are stored in advance.

In this case, the content data table 62
0 indicates that the title and content ID of the content D21 sold and rented by the data providing server 501 are associated with each other, and if the content data D21 is, for example, a song that has won the first place in the annual ranking, an acquisition request is relatively issued. Points allocated according to the relevant annual ranking so that 10 points are allocated for the large number, and 1 request is allocated for the lowest tune because the number of acquisition requests is relatively small (hereinafter referred to as ranking points).
Then, if the content data D21 was recently announced for the first time, there are relatively many acquisition requests, so 10 points are allocated, and if it is a fairly old song like a few years ago, there are relatively few acquisition requests. Points assigned according to the announced age (hereinafter referred to as “age points”) and total points obtained by summing these ranking points and age points are associated with the content data D21 as a market value. It has been configured.

Furthermore, the single data table 621
Is configured by associating a package media title consisting of a single CD, a package ID, a market value consisting of ranking points and age points, and a selling price. The album data table 621 is a title of the package media consisting of an album CD. , A package ID, a market value including a ranking point and an age point, and a selling price are associated with each other.

Therefore, the data providing server 601 is presented for equivalent exchange by searching the content database 620 of the package media database 612 via the package search unit 528 according to the search condition preset by the value judgment unit 611. The total points assigned to the plurality of content data D21 (single song) are all read and added to calculate the points of the plurality of content data D21 (hereinafter, referred to as total points).

Then, the data providing server 601 searches the album database 622 of the package media database 612 via the package search unit 528 based on the total points calculated by the value judgment unit 611, thereby obtaining the same total points as the total points. Detects one or more package media consisting of album CDs marked with as equivalent exchangeable,
The title, package ID, and selling price of the detected package media are read.

In this way, the data providing server 601
When the value judgment unit 611 detects one or a plurality of package media that can be equivalently exchanged with the plurality of content data D21 presented by the customer, the individual package media detected and the plurality of content data D21 presented by the customer. In order to make the exchange value of the package media almost equal, the selling price of the package media is compared with the rental fee paid by the customer for all of the plurality of contents data D21 to calculate the difference.

As a result, the data providing server 601 causes the value judgment unit 611 to perform equivalent exchange request data D31 on the titles and package IDs of one or a plurality of package media that can be equivalently exchanged, and to occupy the customer to execute the equivalent exchange. The customer pays the difference in order to make the exchange value of the content data and the package media almost equal, or the data providing server 601 side pays the difference to the customer, and further, because the selling price and the rental fee are the same, the difference is The equivalent exchange condition presentation data D42 is generated by storing the equivalent exchange condition set so that the exchange value can be executed without payment.

Then, the data providing server 601 transmits the equivalent exchange condition presentation data D42 from the transmission unit 521 to the portable dedicated terminal 602 via the Internet 504, as shown in FIGS. 48 (A) to (C). In addition, the customer can equivalently exchange a plurality of content data D21.
Alternatively, a plurality of package media are notified, and a condition for equivalently exchanging the content data D21 and the package media is notified.

As a result, the data providing server 601 accepts equivalent exchange from the portable dedicated terminal 602, and when there are a plurality of equivalent exchangeable package media candidates, the package medium selected by the customer is selected from these package media. When the exchange consent data is transmitted, the reception unit 515 receives the data, and the reception data determination unit 516 sends it to the determination unit 610. By the determination unit 610, the customer approves the equivalent exchange based on the exchange permission data. And the package media selected for equivalent replacement.

Then, the data providing server 601 generates package delivery request information by using the package ID of the package medium selected by the customer for equivalent exchange by the determination unit 610, and sends it to the transmission data generation unit 520.
The transmission data generation unit 520 generates the package delivery request data, and the transmission unit 521 transmits the data to the Internet 50.
4 to the package providing server 503.

In this way, the data providing server 601
After that, the same processing as that of the data providing server 501 according to the seventh embodiment described above with reference to FIG. 38 is performed, and thus the plurality of content data D21 occupied by the customer is exchanged with one package medium composed of an album CD. Equivalent exchange is performed by making the values almost equal.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 45, in the portable dedicated terminal 602, when the customer inputs the designation information of the content data desired to be rented through the operation unit 540, the seventh type described above with reference to FIG. The same process as the portable dedicated terminal 502 according to the embodiment is executed to rent the content data D21 from the data providing server 601.

[0631] Also, when the customer inputs an equivalent exchange request designating a plurality of content data D21 for equivalent exchange via the operation unit 540, the portable dedicated terminal 602 receives
The request data generation unit 630 generates the equivalent exchange request data D40 described above with reference to FIG. 46, and the generated equivalent exchange request data D40 is transmitted from the transmission unit 543 to the data providing server 601 via the Internet 504.

As a result, when the equivalent exchange condition presentation data D42 is transmitted from the data providing server 601 via the Internet 504, the portable dedicated terminal 602 receives the equivalent exchange condition presentation data D42 by the receiving unit 544 and the reproducing unit from the discriminating unit 545. Content data D to the customer by sending to D.549
The titles of one or a plurality of package media that can be equivalently exchanged with 21 and the conditions for performing the equivalent exchange (payment or payment of difference, and no difference has occurred) are notified.

As a result, the portable dedicated terminal 602 obtains the approval of the equivalent exchange through the operation unit 540 by the customer and the information indicating the package medium selected by the customer for the equivalent exchange from the plurality of package media. The request data generation unit 630 generates exchange approval data representing the approval and the selected package medium, and the transmission unit 5
43 to the data providing server 601 via the Internet 504.

Thus, the portable dedicated terminal 602 is
After this, from the data providing server 601 to the Internet 5
When the equivalent exchange approval data is transmitted via 04, the receiving unit 544 receives the same and sends it from the discriminating unit 545 to the reproducing unit 549 to confirm that the equivalent exchange has been approved by the customer and the delivery of the package medium. Notify the method etc.

Incidentally, when the portable dedicated terminal 602 transmits the equivalent exchange disapproval data from the data providing server 601 via the Internet 504, the receiving unit 54 receives the equivalent exchange disapproval data.
4 and sends it from the discriminating unit 545 to the reproducing unit 549 to notify the customer that the equivalent exchange is not permitted.

[0636] Here, the equivalent exchange processing procedure of the data providing server 601, the portable dedicated terminal 602, and the package providing server 503 of the data providing system 600 can be summarized as follows: Correspondence between FIG. 43 (A) and FIG. 44 (A). As shown in FIG. 49 (A) and FIG. 50 (A) in which parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, the portable dedicated terminal 602 first executes the routine RT.
From the start step of step 35, the process moves to step SP351, the processes of step SP351 to step SP354 are sequentially executed, and the process moves to step SP401.

[0637] In step SP401, the portable dedicated terminal 602 waits for an equivalent exchange request designated for equivalent exchange for a plurality of content data D21 to be input via the operation unit 540, and the equivalent exchange request is input. Until then, the process returns to step SP351 and continues to step SP352-SP353-SP354-SP4.
The processing loop of 01 is repeated.

[0638] Then, in step SP401, when the portable dedicated terminal 602 receives an equivalent exchange request via the operation unit 540, the process moves to step SP402 and the request data generating unit 630 generates the equivalent exchange request data D40. Then, the data is transmitted from the transmission unit 543 to the data providing server 601, and the process proceeds to step SP357.

On the other hand, the parts corresponding to those in FIGS. 43B and 44B are designated by the same reference numerals as in FIGS. 49B and 50.
As shown in (B), the data providing server 601 enters from the start step of the routine RT36 to step SP3.
71, the relevant step SP371 to step SP
By sequentially executing the processing of 375, step SP3
If the customer permits the equivalent exchange at 74, step S
Move to P411

In step SP411, the data providing server 601 can equivalently exchange the total points of the plurality of contents data D21 occupied by the customer by the value judgment unit 611 and one or a plurality of package media having the same total points. Equivalent exchange condition presentation data D42, which indicates conditions for making the exchange value of each of the detected package media and the plurality of content data D21 approximately equal, is generated from the transmission unit 521, and is detected as a package medium. Sent to 602,
Move to step SP412.

At this time, in step SP375,
The portable dedicated terminal 602 waits for the equivalent exchange condition presentation data D32 or the equivalent exchange disapproval data to be transmitted from the data providing server 601, and when any of the data is received by the receiving unit 544, the step SP35.
8, the process proceeds to step SP403 when the received data is the equivalent exchange condition presentation data D42.

[0642] In step SP403, the portable dedicated terminal 602 accepts the equivalence exchange by the request data generation unit 630 in response to the operation of the operation unit 540 by the customer, and selects the equivalence exchange from the plurality of package media by the customer. The exchange approval data representing the package medium is generated, and the generated exchange approval data is transmitted from the transmission unit 543 to the data providing server 601 and step SP361.
After that, when the equivalent exchange approval data is received by the receiving unit 544, the process proceeds to step SP404 and the process by the portable dedicated terminal 602 ends.

Also, in step SP412, the data providing server 601 waits for the exchange consent data to be transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 602, and when the exchange approval data is received by the receiving unit 515, the subsequent steps SP379 to SP379. After sequentially executing the process of step SP381, the process proceeds to step SP413 and the process of the data providing server 601 is ended. Thus, the entire equivalent exchange processing procedure in the data providing system 600 is completed.

With the above configuration, in the data providing system 600, when the content providing data requesting the rental of the content data D21 is transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 602 to the data providing server 601, the portable type is provided accordingly. The specified content data D21 is transmitted to and recorded in the dedicated terminal 602, and the content data D21 is sent to the customer using the portable dedicated terminal 602 in this way.
I rented 21.

In this data providing system 600, a plurality of content data D21 (single song) which the customer occupies by rental from the portable dedicated terminal 602 are collectively sent to the data providing server 601 in one package medium ( When the equivalent exchange request data D30 for requesting the equivalent exchange with the album CD) is transmitted, the data providing server 601 detects the total points of the plurality of content data D21, and the same total points as the detected total points. Of the package media (album CD) of the above is detected as being equivalently exchangeable, and an equivalent exchange condition is presented that presents a condition that makes the exchange value of each of the detected package media and the plurality of content data occupied by the customer almost equal. The data D42 is transferred to the portable dedicated terminal 60. To send to.

As a result, in the data providing system 600, when the data providing server 601 accepts the equivalent exchange from the portable dedicated terminal 602 and the equivalent exchange approval data indicating the package medium selected for the equivalent exchange is transmitted, Settle the difference due to equivalent exchange and use the portable terminal 60
The plurality of content data that the customer occupies from 2 is deleted for return and the package medium is handed over to the customer, so that the package media including the plurality of content data D21 that the customer occupies and the album CD. The exchange value is almost equivalent to that of the package media and each content data D21 is exchanged.

Therefore, in the data providing system 600, when the data providing server 601 searches for equivalently exchangeable package media, the total points of the plurality of content data D21 and the total points of the package media are matched, so that the customer It is possible to equivalently exchange a plurality of content data D21 occupied by the same with a package medium composed of an album CD in which the same or different content data is stored.

[0648] In this data providing system 600, if the data providing server 601 performs matching based on such points, for example, a plurality of content data D21 are equivalently exchanged with a package medium consisting of one single CD, or one Content data D21
However, it becomes possible to equivalently exchange the package medium composed of the album CD, and the convenience of equivalent exchange can be significantly improved.

As a result, this data providing system 600
Then, it is possible to make it much easier for customers to use, and if the number of users of this system increases, the distribution of the content data D21 using the Internet can be further spread.

According to the above configuration, the data providing server 6
The content data D designated by 01 according to the rental request from the portable dedicated terminal 602 used by the customer.
21 is transmitted to the portable dedicated terminal 602 so as to be recorded and rented, and thereafter, when the rental dedicated content data D21 is requested from the portable dedicated terminal 602, the content data D21 is rented. The point selected according to the market value for D21 and the point selected according to the market value for the package medium are matched to detect the package medium that can be exchanged with the content data, and the detected package medium. By presenting a condition for making the exchange value of the content data D21 occupied by the customer and the exchange value almost equal, the effect obtained by the seventh embodiment described above and the equivalent exchange It can greatly improve the convenience and thus the Internet It is possible to realize a data providing system capable of dissemination distribution of content data D21.

In the eighth embodiment described above, points are assigned to the content data, the package medium made up of a single CD and the package medium made up of an album CD, according to the yearly ranking and the age of the first announcement. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and in addition to the annual ranking and the year when it was first announced, the one that sold a relatively large amount due to sales has a relatively low rarity value, and is assigned 1 point. It may be possible to allocate 10 points to the items that are not sold because the scarcity value is relatively high. Further, points may be assigned by using any one or a combination of the annual ranking, the first announced age, and the sales.

[0652] Also, in the above-described eighth embodiment, the case where the content data D21 rented by the customer from the data providing server 601 is equivalently exchanged with the package medium has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. Instead, the content data purchased by the customer from the data providing server 601 may be equivalently exchanged with the package medium.

Incidentally, according to the eighth embodiment described above, since the rented content data D21 is equivalently exchanged with the package medium, the content data D21 concerned is exchanged.
21 was erased for return at the end of the rental period, but when the content data purchased by the customer is equivalently exchanged with the package medium in which the same content data is stored, the content data different from the customer is different. Since the content data is not unduly occupied, the handling of the content data equivalently exchanged with the package medium may be either erased or stored by the customer as it is.

Further, in the above-described eighth embodiment, the case where the package providing server 503 delivers the package medium equivalently exchanged with the content data D21 occupied by the customer to the customer has been described. The present invention is not limited to this, and the package medium equivalently exchanged with the content data D21 occupied by the customer may be directly delivered to the customer at the dealer.

[0655] Further, in the above-described eighth embodiment, music (single song and single C
Although the case where D) is applied has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and various other contents such as movies and books may be applied as content data and package media to be equivalent exchanged. You can With this, the convenience and versatility of the data providing system can be significantly improved, and the distribution of the content data can be further spread.

[0656] Further, in the above-described eighth embodiment, when the difference data for making the exchange value almost equal by the equivalent exchange of the content data D21 occupied by the customer and the package medium is settled by money. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the data providing server 601 issues and accumulates points for giving a benefit such as a discount to the customer in accordance with the rental or purchase of the content data D21. May be settled at the point acquired by the customer instead of part or all of the money for making the exchange value almost equal by equivalent exchange of the content data D21 occupied by the customer and the package medium. .

[0657] Furthermore, in the above-described eighth embodiment, the content data D21 is rented from the data providing server 601 using the portable dedicated terminal 602 which can access only the data providing server 601, and the rented content is provided. The case where the data D21 is equivalently exchanged with the package medium has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various other devices such as a personal computer and a mobile phone can be connected to the Internet 504. Content data may be purchased and rented from the data providing server 601 using a device, and the purchased and rented content data may be equivalently exchanged with the package medium.

By the way, when the data providing server 601 is used by using a device different from the portable dedicated terminal 602 such as a personal computer or a mobile phone, the data providing server 601 is used to purchase or rent the device. The server identification information for identifying the data providing server 601 that is the provider of the content data is added to the content data to be stored, and when the equivalent exchange is requested, it is determined whether or not the customer is allowed to perform the equivalent exchange. At this time, it is determined whether or not the content data presented for equivalent exchange is provided from the data providing server 601 based on the server identification information, and the content data acquired from another data providing server is presented for equivalent exchange. If not, do not allow equivalent exchange. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the data providing server from being damaged by equivalently exchanging the content data provided by another data providing server.

Also, when content data rented by a device different from the portable dedicated terminal 602 is equivalently exchanged with the package medium, the equivalence recorded in the device at the time when the exchange consent data transmitted from the device is received. Erase the content data to be exchanged, and after confirming the confirmation, approve equivalent exchange of package media for the content data. This allows
It is possible to prevent a device different from the portable dedicated terminal 602 from unreasonably performing the equivalent exchange by using the rental content data once equivalently exchanged again.

(10) Ninth Embodiment FIG. 51 shows a data providing system 700 according to the ninth embodiment, which is a system of personal computer configuration corresponding to the system management site 2 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. The management server 701 includes a request terminal 702 having a personal computer configuration corresponding to the request terminal used by the customer 3 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, and a personal computer corresponding to the dealers 4A to 4N described above with reference to FIGS. Configuration data providing server 7
03, a package providing server 704 having a personal computer configuration corresponding to the sales company 5 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, and an advertiser company having a personal computer configuration corresponding to the advertiser company site 6 described above with reference to FIGS. A server 705 and a portable dedicated terminal 706 corresponding to the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 are connected to each other via the Internet 707.

As shown in FIG. 52, the system management server 701 has a RAM (Random Acces) via a bus 711 to a control unit 710 such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit).
s Memory) 712, ROM (Read Only Memory) 71
3, a display unit 714, an input unit 715, a hard disk drive (HDD: Hard Disk Drive) 716, and a network interface 717 are connected and configured.

In this case, the control unit 710 controls the ROM 713.
Various programs stored in advance are read out to the RAM 7
12, the updating unit 60 and the matching unit 63 described above with reference to FIG. 4, the charging processing unit 116 described above with reference to FIG. 5, the charging processing unit 156 and the content ID extraction unit 161, described above with reference to FIG. The content search unit 162, the transmission data generation unit 164, the advertiser company information update unit 213, the customer information update unit 215, and the matching unit 21 described above with reference to FIG.
6, the same processing as the matching unit 268 described above with reference to FIG. 25 can be executed.

Incidentally, the system management server 701 uses the R
According to various programs stored in the OM 713 in advance, the updating unit 60 and the matching unit 63 described above with reference to FIG.
Charge processing unit 116 described above with reference to FIG. 5, charge processing unit 156 and content ID extraction unit 16 described above with reference to FIG.
1. Content search unit 162 and transmission data generation unit 16
4, the advertiser company information updating unit 21 described above with reference to FIG.
3, the customer information updating unit 215 and the matching unit 216, and the same process as the matching unit 268 described above with reference to FIG. 25 is performed, but these are installed by installing a program storage medium storing these various programs in the system management server 701. Various processes may be executed.

Note that the system management server 701 stores various programs for executing the above-described various processes.
As a program storage medium for installing the program in an executable state, for example, a flexible disk,
Not only a package medium such as a CD-ROM or a DVD, but also a semiconductor memory or a magnetic disk in which various programs are temporarily or permanently stored may be realized. As means for storing various programs in these program storage media, wired and wireless communication media such as local area networks, the Internet, and digital satellite broadcasting may be used, and various communication interfaces such as routers and modems may be used. It may be stored.

Also, the control unit 710 records various types of information such as customer registration information and advertiser company registration information used in the entire system in the hard disk of the hard disk drive 716 for storage and management.

Further, the control unit 710 controls the request terminal 702 via the network interface 717,
Data providing server 703, package providing server 70
4. Advertiser company server 705 and portable dedicated terminal 706
Various information such as customer information, advertiser company information, customer introduction information, and advertiser company introduction information can be exchanged with and.

In this way, the system management server 701 having a personal computer configuration can realize the same functions as the system management site 2 described above with reference to FIG. 1 according to various programs.

Incidentally, the system management server 701 uses the input unit 715 and the display unit 714 to confirm various information recorded in the hard disk drive 717, for example.

As shown in FIG. 53, the request terminal 702 is connected to the RAM 722, the ROM 723, the display unit 724, the input unit 725, the hard disk drive 726, and the network interface 727 to the control unit 720 such as a CPU via the bus 721. Is configured.

In this case, the control unit 720 controls the ROM 723.
Various programs stored in advance are read out to the RAM 7
22 on the basis of these various programs according to these programs, the request data generation unit 71 and the display control unit 74 described above with reference to FIG. 4, and the operation information determination unit 1 described above with reference to FIG.
21, the request data generation unit 122, the determination unit 125 and the billing processing unit 127, and the same processing as the request data generation unit 321 and the display control unit 324 described above with reference to FIG. 28 can be executed.

Incidentally, the request terminal 702 is a ROM
The request data generator 71 and the display controller 7 described above with reference to FIG.
4, the operation information determination unit 121, the request data generation unit 122, the determination unit 125, and the billing processing unit 12 described above with reference to FIG.
7. The same processes as those of the request data generation unit 321 and the display control unit 324 described with reference to FIG. 7 and FIG. 28 are executed, but these various processes are executed by installing a program storage medium storing these various programs in the request terminal 702. It may be done.

A program storage medium for installing the various programs for executing the above-mentioned various processes in the request terminal 702 and making them executable is, for example, a flexible disk or a CD.
-Not only package media such as ROM and DVD,
It may be realized by a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk or the like in which various programs are temporarily or permanently stored. Also,
As means for storing various programs in these program storage media, wired and wireless communication media such as a local area network, the Internet and digital satellite broadcasting may be used, and they are stored via various communication interfaces such as routers and modems. You may do it.

Also, the control unit 720 sends various information such as address information of the system management server 701 and the data providing server 703 which can be accessed to the hard disk drive 72.
It is recorded and stored in the hard disk of No. 6 and managed.

Furthermore, the control unit 720 controls the system management server 70 via the network interface 727.
1. Various kinds of information such as customer information and content data acquisition request can be exchanged with the data providing server 703.

[0675] Incidentally, the request terminal 702 uses the input unit 7 when the customer makes a rental reservation of the content data and the portable dedicated terminal 706 to the data providing server 703.
25 and the display unit 724 are used.

As shown in FIG. 54, the data providing server 7
Reference numeral 03 denotes a control unit 730 such as a CPU via a bus 731, a RAM 732, a ROM 733, a display unit 734, and an input unit 7.
35, a hard disk drive 736 and a network interface 737 are connected to each other.

In this case, the control unit 730 controls the ROM 733.
Various programs stored in advance are read out to the RAM 7
32, the content search unit 62 and the package search unit 64 described above with reference to FIG. 4, the recording control unit 117 described above with reference to FIG. 5, and the received data determination unit 15 described above with reference to FIG.
5, the recording control unit 157, the operation information determination unit 158, the request data generation unit 159, and the search unit 3 described above with reference to FIG.
15, the matching unit 316, the reception data determination unit, the content ID extraction unit 517, the customer update search unit 518, the content search unit 519, the transmission data generation unit 520, the customer ID extraction unit 525, and the determination unit 52 described above with reference to FIG.
6, value judgment unit 527 and package search unit 528, judgment unit 610 and value judgment unit 611 described above with reference to FIG.
It is designed to be able to execute the same processing as.

Incidentally, the data providing server 703 uses the RO
According to various programs prestored in M733, FIG.
5, the content search unit 62 and the package search unit 64 described above, the recording control unit 117 described above with reference to FIG.
The received data determination unit 155, the recording control unit 157, the operation information determination unit 158 and the request data generation unit 159 described above with reference to FIG. 8, the search unit 315 and the matching unit 316 described above with reference to FIG. 28, and the received data determination unit described above with reference to FIG. , Content ID extraction unit 517, customer update search unit 518, content search unit 519, transmission data generation unit 5
20, the customer ID extraction unit 525, the determination unit 526, the value determination unit 527, the package search unit 528, and the determination unit 610 and the value determination unit 611 described above with reference to FIG. 45 are executed, but these various programs are stored. These various processes may be executed by installing the program storage medium in the data providing server 703.

A program storage medium for installing the various programs for executing the above-described various processes in the data providing server 703 to make it executable is, for example, a flexible disk or a C disk.
Not only a package medium such as a D-ROM or a DVD, but also a semiconductor memory or a magnetic disk in which various programs are temporarily or permanently stored may be realized. As means for storing various programs in these program storage media, wired and wireless communication media such as local area networks, the Internet, and digital satellite broadcasting may be used, and various communication interfaces such as routers and modems may be used. It may be stored.

[0680] Further, the control unit 730 records various kinds of information such as customer registration information of customers who use the dealers and content data provided to the portable dedicated terminal 706 in the hard disk of the hard disk drive 736 to retain and manage them. There is.

Furthermore, the control unit 730 controls the system management server 70 via the network interface 737.
1, package providing server 704, customer information, content data, and request terminal 702 and portable dedicated terminal 706 via the system management server 701.
Various types of information such as package delivery request data can be exchanged.

[0682] Incidentally, the data providing server 703, when requesting content data from the system management server 701, or when confirming various information recorded in the hard disk drive 736, the input unit 735 and the display unit 7 are provided.
I am using 34.

As shown in FIG. 55, in the package providing server 704, a RAM 742, a ROM 743, a display unit 744, an input unit 745, a hard disk drive 746 and a network interface 747 are connected to a control unit 740 such as a CPU via a bus 741. Is configured.

In this case, the control section 740 controls the ROM 743.
Various programs stored in advance are read out to the RAM 7
38. The package ID extraction unit 56 described above with reference to FIG.
1, package retrieval unit 562, package extraction control unit 5
64 and the shipping and packing instruction unit 565 can be executed.

Incidentally, the package providing server 704 is
According to various programs stored in advance in the ROM 743, the package ID extraction unit 561 described above with reference to FIG. 38,
Package retrieval unit 562, package extraction control unit 564
And the same processing as the shipping and packing instruction unit 565 is executed,
These various processes may be executed by installing a program storage medium in which these various programs are stored in the package providing server 704.

The package providing server 70 executes various programs for executing the above-mentioned various processes.
As the program storage medium for installing the program in the No. 4 and making it executable, not only a package medium such as a flexible disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD, but also a semiconductor memory in which various programs are temporarily or permanently stored It may be realized by a magnetic disk or the like. As means for storing various programs in these program storage media, wired and wireless communication media such as local area networks, the Internet, and digital satellite broadcasting may be used, and various communication interfaces such as routers and modems may be used. It may be stored.

Further, the control section 740 records and holds various information such as inventory information and storage information of package media in the hard disk of the hard disk drive 746.

Furthermore, the control unit 740 controls the data providing server 703 via the network interface 747.
Various information such as package delivery request data and delivery arrangement completion data can be exchanged with the.

Incidentally, the package providing server 704 is
For example, in order to confirm various information recorded in the hard disk drive 747, an input unit 745 and a display unit 744 can be used.
Are using.

As shown in FIG. 56, the advertiser company server 7
Reference numeral 05 denotes a RAM 752, a ROM 753, a display unit 754, an input unit 7 via a bus 751 to a control unit 750 such as a CPU.
55, a hard disk drive 756, and a network interface 757 are connected.

In this case, the control unit 750 controls the ROM 753.
Various programs stored in advance are read out to the RAM 7
52, the transmission control unit 231, the display control unit 234, the customer selection unit 237, and the transmission data generation unit 2 described above with reference to FIG.
The processing similar to that of 38 can be executed.

[0692] Incidentally, the advertiser company server 705 uses the RO
According to various programs prestored in M753, FIG.
1, the transmission control unit 231 and the display control unit 23 described above.
4. The same processes as those performed by the customer selection unit 237 and the transmission data generation unit 238 are executed, but these various processes are executed by installing the program storage medium storing these various programs in the advertiser company server 705. May be.

A program storage medium for installing the various programs for executing the above-described various processes in the advertiser company server 705 to make them executable is, for example, a flexible disk or C.
Not only a package medium such as a D-ROM or a DVD, but also a semiconductor memory or a magnetic disk in which various programs are temporarily or permanently stored may be realized. As means for storing various programs in these program storage media, wired and wireless communication media such as local area networks, the Internet, and digital satellite broadcasting may be used, and various communication interfaces such as routers and modems may be used. It may be stored.

Also, the control unit 750 controls the Internet 7
Various information such as distribution data provided via 07 is recorded in the hard disk of the hard disk drive 756 and stored and managed.

Further, the system management server 70 is controlled via the control unit 7405 and the network interface 757.
Various kinds of information such as advertiser company information and customer introduction information can be exchanged with the customer.

Incidentally, the advertiser company server 705 uses the input unit 755 and the display unit 754 when inputting the advertiser company information.

As shown in FIG. 57, portable dedicated terminal 70
Reference numeral 6 denotes a terminal main body 770 that has a content data recording / playback function and is freely portable.
The cradle 771 has a charging function for charging and a communication function using the Internet 707, and is detachably mountable.

In this case, the terminal main body 770 is provided with a display section 772 made up of a liquid crystal display on the front surface of the housing, and is used when the video based on the content data or the content data is acquired on the display section 772. Various operation screens and the like can be displayed.

Also, below the display unit 772 on the front of the casing,
A reproduction start button 773, a reproduction stop button 774, and a transmission button 775 are provided, and a transmission for transmitting a content data reproduction start instruction, a reproduction stop instruction, and various requests to the data providing server 703 and the like using these buttons. It is designed so that you can enter commands.

By the way, a charging lamp 776 is provided on the front surface of the housing to notify the terminal main body 770 when the terminal main body 770 is being charged, and a logo mark 777 of a dealer who sells and rents the portable terminal 706 is drawn. Has been.

Further, a headphone jack 778 is provided on the upper surface of the case, and a power button 779 is provided on the right side surface of the case.
Also, a volume control dial 780 is provided.
In addition to this, a cancel button 781 is provided on the left side surface of the housing, and a rotary operator (hereinafter referred to as a jog dial) 782 that can be freely rotated and pressed is provided so as to slightly project from the surface of the housing. Has been.

As a result, the terminal main body 770 reproduces the sound obtained by reproducing the content data by the headphone jack 7
It is possible to send the sound from 78 to the headphones for listening, and at this time, the volume can be adjusted by the volume adjusting dial 780.

Also, the terminal body 770 displays the jog dial 78 while the operation screen or the like is displayed on the display unit 772.
When 2 is rotated, a scrolling operation of the operation screen or the like is executed in response to this, and when erroneous information or a command is input on the operation screen, the cancel button 781 can be used to cancel it.

On the other hand, the cradle 771 has an AC (Altern
ating Current) adapter 790 is provided so that the battery in the terminal body 770 can be charged when the AC adapter 790 is connected to a commercial power source or the like with the terminal body 770 attached.

The cradle 771 includes a modular jack 791, an audio output terminal 792 and a USB (Univer
sal Serial Bus) terminal 793 is provided, and the system management server 7 is connected via the modular jack 791.
01 or the data providing server 703 to send the received content data to the terminal body 770,
Audio data obtained from the terminal body 770 can be output from the audio output terminal 792 to an external speaker or the like, and content data obtained from the outside can be fetched from the USB terminal 793 and sent to the terminal body 770.

Now, the circuit configuration of the portable dedicated terminal 706 will be described with reference to FIG. First cradle 77
1 is a storage unit 80 connected to the CPU 800 via a bus 801.
2, USB controller 803, audio output terminal 792,
A modem 804 is connected, and the power supply unit 805 converts the power supply voltage taken in from the AC adapter 790 into an internal voltage of a predetermined voltage and supplies the internal voltage to the CPU 800 and each circuit block to drive the entire cradle 771.

Further, the terminal main body 770 has the flash memory 822, the LCD and the CPU 820 via the bus 821.
A (Liquid Crystal Display) controller 823, an amplifier 824, and an operation key controller 825 are connected, and an internal voltage is supplied from the battery circuit portion 826 to the CPU 820.
Or terminal block 770 by supplying to each circuit block
Driving the whole.

The terminal body 770 is the cradle 7
When it is mounted on the power supply terminal 71, the power input terminal 831 is connected to the power supply terminal 830 of the cradle 771 so that the power is supplied from the power supply unit 805 of the cradle 771 through the power supply terminal 830 and the power input terminal 831 in order. The power supply voltage is taken into the battery circuit section 826 for charging, and thus even when it is removed from the cradle 71, it can be used freely.

The terminal body 770 is a cradle 77.
When it is attached to the terminal 1, the main body side information input / output terminal 833 is connected to the cradle side information input / output terminal 832 provided in the cradle 771 so that data and various information can be exchanged with the cradle 771. Has been done.

In practice, the portable dedicated terminal 706 can connect the USB terminal 793 of the cradle 771 to the data providing server 703 via a USB cable (not shown). The content data transmitted from the data providing server 703 via the USB cable is fetched from the USB terminal 793 to the USB controller 803 inside the cradle 771, and the fetched content data is sent from the cradle side information input / output terminal 832 to the terminal body 770. To do.

In this case, the terminal main body 770 takes in the content data sent from the cradle side information input / output terminal 832 of the cradle 771 from the main body side input / output terminal 833 to the CPU 820 through the interface section 834, thus flashing the content data. Memory 82
Record in 2.

Then, after the content data is recorded in the flash memory 882 in this way, the terminal main body 770 then fetches the reproduction start command given from the operation key controller 825 in response to the operation of the reproduction start button 773 into the CPU 820, As a result, the content data is reproduced from the flash memory 822, the reproduced content data is transmitted from the LCD controller 823 to the display unit 772, and the content data is transmitted from the amplifier 824 to the headphone jack 778, so that the customer can enjoy the content. It is designed so that you can do it.

When various information such as a content data acquisition request is input through the operation key controller 825, the terminal main body 770 takes this in the CPU 820, and the interface 834 and main body side information input / output from the CPU 820. It is delivered to the cradle 711 via the terminal 833 in sequence.

At this time, the cradle 711 is connected to the terminal body 7
Various information given from 70 is fetched from the cradle side information input / output terminal 832, and the fetched various information is transmitted from the modem 804 to the data providing server 703 via the system management server 701 via the modular jack 791.

As a result, when various information such as content data is transmitted from the data providing server 703 or the like via the system management server 701, the cradle 711 transmits the information to the C via the modular jack 791 or the modem 804.
The various information received by the PU 800 is sent from the cradle side information input / output terminal 832 to the terminal body 770.

As a result, the terminal main body 770 receives various information sent from the cradle 771 from the main body side information input / output terminal 833 through the interface section 834 and sends the information to the CPU 8
20 and thus notifies the customer of the content of the information via the display unit 772 and the headphone jack 778 or records it in the flash memory 822.

In this way, the terminal body 770 is the CPU
820 reads out various programs stored in the ROM 840 in advance and expands them on the RAM 841 so that the recording control unit 81, the reproduction control unit 84, and the request data generation unit 8 described above with reference to FIG.
6, the request data generation unit 241 described above with reference to FIG.
The recording control unit 245 and the reproduction control unit 248, the request data generation unit 270 described above with reference to FIG. 25, the reproduction control unit 342 described above with reference to FIG. 28, the request data generation unit 344 and the recording control unit 347 described above with reference to FIG. Unit 541, request data generation unit 542, determination unit 545,
The recording control unit 546, the reproduction control unit 548, and the same processing as the request data generation unit 630 described above with reference to FIG. 45 can be executed.

Incidentally, the terminal main body 770 of the portable dedicated terminal 706 has the recording control unit 81, the reproduction control unit 84 and the request data generation unit 86 described above with reference to FIG. 4 according to various programs stored in the ROM 840, and the above described with reference to FIG. The requested data generation unit 241, the recording control unit 245 and the reproduction control unit 248, the requested data generation unit 270 described above with reference to FIG. 25, and the reproduction control unit 3 described above with reference to FIG.
42, a request data generation unit 344 and a recording control unit 347,
Although the same operation as the operation information determination unit 541, the request data generation unit 542, the determination unit 545, the recording control unit 546, the reproduction control unit 548, and the request data generation unit 630 described above with reference to FIG. You may make it perform these various processes by installing the program storage medium in which these various programs were stored in the terminal main body 770.

A flexible disk is, for example, a program storage medium for installing the various programs for executing the above-described various processes in the terminal main body 770 of the portable dedicated terminal 706 to make them executable. , A CD-ROM, a DVD, etc., as well as a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, or the like in which various programs are temporarily or permanently stored. As means for storing various programs in these program storage media, wired and wireless communication media such as local area networks, the Internet, and digital satellite broadcasting may be used, and various communication interfaces such as routers and modems may be used. It may be stored.

Further, the cradle 771 is a storage medium 80.
2 stores various kinds of information such as an address of a server accessible to the CPU 2, and the CPU 800 can communicate with the system management server 701 and the like according to various kinds of information in the storage unit 802.

In the above configuration, in the data providing system 700, the system management server 701, the request terminal 702, the data providing server 703, the package providing server 704 and the advertiser company server 705 are each configured as a personal computer.

Therefore, in this data providing system 700, the system management server 701 and the request terminal 70
2, data providing server 703, package providing server 7
04 and the advertiser company server 705 do not have to be newly created with a hardware configuration, and a system can be easily constructed using these personal computers simply by installing various programs on the existing personal computers.

Also, in this data providing system 700, the portable dedicated terminal 706 was prepared not to have the personal computer configuration but to have a new hardware configuration, but this is portable and the operation buttons are simplified. By doing so, even a person who does not own a personal computer or who is unfamiliar with the operation of the personal computer can easily and easily handle it.

According to the above configuration, the system is constructed by using the system management server 701, the request terminal 702, the data providing server 703, the package providing server 704, and the advertiser company server 705 each having a personal computer configuration. As a system management server 701, a request terminal 702, a data providing server 703, a package providing server 704, and an advertiser company server 705, the existing personal computer can be easily and easily constructed.

(11) Tenth Embodiment FIG. 59, in which parts corresponding to those in FIG. 51 are assigned the same reference numerals,
10 shows a data providing system 900 according to a tenth embodiment, and the portable dedicated terminal 7 described above with reference to FIGS.
A data providing system 700 according to the ninth embodiment except the configuration of the portable dedicated terminal 910 corresponding to A to 7N.
Is configured similarly to.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 60, the portable dedicated terminal 910 has a terminal main body 911 that has a recording / reproducing function of content data and is freely portable, and a charging function for charging the terminal main body 911. Internet 707
It is configured so that it can be detachably mounted on the cradle 912 having a communication function utilizing.

The terminal main body 911 is provided with a display section 913 composed of a liquid crystal display on the front surface of the housing.
In FIG. 3, a video based on the content data and various operation screens used when acquiring the content data can be displayed.

[0728] Also, below the display unit 913 on the front of the casing,
Character input key group 91 of ten-key configuration of "0" to "9"
4, a character type change key 915, and a cancel key 916 are provided, and when the character input key group 914 is used as a ten-key pad in a state where the content selection screen is displayed on the display unit 913, the identification previously associated with the content is identified. If a desired content can be selected and designated by inputting a barcode number as information, and the character input key group 914, the character type change key 915 and the cancel key 916 are used together,
By inputting a title of contents in Japanese characters (Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji), English characters (Roman characters), numbers and symbols, desired contents can be selected and designated.

By the way, a charging lamp 917 is provided on the front surface of the housing to inform the terminal main body 911 when the terminal main body 911 is being charged, and a logo mark 918 of a dealer selling and renting the portable dedicated terminal 910 is provided. It is drawn.

Further, a headphone jack 919 and a microphone 920 are provided on the upper surface of the case, and a power button 921 and a volume control dial 92 are provided on the right side surface of the case.
Two are provided.

In addition to this, a transmission button 923 for transmitting various requests to the data providing server 703 and the like is provided on the left side surface of the housing, and a jog dial 924 that can be rotated and pressed is provided on the housing. It is provided so as to slightly project from the surface.

As a result, the terminal body 911 is displayed on the display unit 91.
When the jog dial 924 is rotated and pressed while the operation screen for reproducing the content data is displayed on 3, the various commands such as a reproduction start command and a reproduction stop command of the content data can be input.

[0733] In this way, the terminal main body 911 sends the sound obtained by reproducing the content data to the headphones (not shown) from the headphone jack 919 and reproduces the image obtained by reproducing the content data. The contents can be displayed on the display unit 913 for viewing and listening, and at this time, the volume can be adjusted according to the turning operation of the volume adjustment dial 922.

Further, as shown in FIG. 61, the terminal body 91
1 is a camera 9 for pattern recognition in the upper center of the back of the housing.
No. 25 is provided, a picture of a barcode previously associated with the content can be picked up by the camera 925 to select and specify desired content, and by using the camera 925 and the microphone 920 together, a predetermined time (number) It is also possible to capture a moving image and a sound for (for a second) as a memo for desired information.

Further, a detachable battery pack 926 is mounted on the lower side of the back surface of the casing, and the battery pack 926 can be operated by supplying a battery voltage to various internal circuits in response to the pressing of the power button 921. Boot into state.

By the way, a connector, which will be described later, is provided on the lower surface of the housing, and the connector can be electrically connected to the cradle 912 through the connector and the connector of the AC adapter 927 connected to a commercial power source or the like. By connecting 928, the battery pack 926 can be directly charged without using the cradle 912.

On the other hand, the cradle 912 (FIG. 60) is provided with a connector 929 on the upper surface of the casing, and the connector 92
By connecting the connector of the terminal body 911 to 9, the terminal body 911 can be electrically connected (that is, the terminal body 911 can be mounted).

The cradle 912 is detachably attached with the connector 928 of the AC adapter 927.
When the C adapter 927 is connected to a commercial power source or the like, the A
When the power supply voltage is supplied from the C adapter 927 to each internal circuit to start up in an operable state and the terminal body 911 is electrically connected, the AC adapter 927 causes the battery pack 926 of the terminal body 911 to be connected. Supply the power supply voltage to charge.

Further, the cradle 912 is provided with a modular jack 930 for a public line network whose communication speed is relatively slow.
And a jack for Ethernet (registered trademark) 931 (hereinafter referred to as an Ethernet jack) having a communication speed significantly higher than that of a public line network are provided.

Accordingly, when the terminal main body 911 is mounted on the cradle 912, either the public line network or Ethernet (registered trademark) is arbitrarily selected as the communication line to be used, and the selected public line network or Modular jack 930 compatible with Ethernet (registered trademark)
It also communicates with the system management server 701 and the data providing server 703 via the Ethernet jack 931.

In addition to this, the cradle 912 is provided with a video output terminal 932 and an audio output terminal 933.

As a result, when the terminal body 911 reproduces the content data in the state where the terminal body 911 is mounted on the cradle 912, the video data and the audio data forming the content data are transmitted to the television via the video output terminal 932 and the audio output terminal 933. The contents can be viewed by sending the contents to an external device such as a John receiver.

Now, the circuit configuration of portable dedicated terminal 910 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the terminal body 91
1 is provided with a main CPU 940 that integrally controls all circuits in the terminal body 911 and the cradle 912.

Further, the terminal main body 911 is provided with a sub CPU 941 which controls start and stop of each circuit in the terminal main body 911 and also has a function as a human interface.

When the power button 921 is pressed, the sub CPU 941 has the power button 921, the character input key group 914, the character type change key 915, and the cancel key 91.
6, volume control dial 922, send button 923
When a start command is given from the operation unit 942 including the jog dial 924, the battery voltage supplied from the battery pack 926 is taken into the internal power supply monitoring circuit 941A, and the power supply monitoring circuit 941A outputs the battery voltage at a plurality of predetermined levels. Converted to internal voltage and terminal body 911
Each of these circuits is individually activated by supplying it to the corresponding circuit therein.

Then, the sub CPU 941 uses the main CP.
By individually controlling the start and stop of each circuit in the terminal body 911 according to the processing content executed by the U940, it is possible to reduce the wasteful consumption of the battery voltage of the battery pack 926 as much as possible.

When the terminal body 911 is activated, the main CPU 940 reads out various programs stored in advance in the system memory 943, which is a flash ROM, via the memory bus B1 and expands them on the SDRAM 944.

As a result, the main CPU 940 causes the recording control unit 8 described above with reference to FIG.
1, reproduction control unit 84 and request data generation unit 86, FIG.
The request data generation unit 241, the recording control unit 245 and the reproduction control unit 248 described above, the request data generation unit 270 described with reference to FIG. 25, the reproduction control unit 342, the request data generation unit 344 and the recording control unit 347 described above with reference to FIG. , The operation information determination unit 54 described above with reference to FIG.
1, the request data generation unit 542, the determination unit 545, the recording control unit 546, the reproduction control unit 548, and the request data generation unit 630 described above with reference to FIG.

That is, the main CPU 940 uses a flash ROM as a data memory 945 prior to selling and renting the portable dedicated terminal 910 at the dealer.
In addition, the content data designated by the customer for purchase and / or rental, the header data added to the content data, the customer ID issued along with the customer registration, and the like are recorded in a compressed and encoded state.

After the portable dedicated terminal 910 is sold and rented to the user, the main CPU 940 operates the operation unit 942, the sub CPU 941, and the I ² C bus B2 (generally SM (System Management)
(Also called a bus), an operation request for reproduction of content data is input sequentially, and in response thereto, reproduction operation screen data is read from the system memory 943 via the memory bus B1 and The read reproduction operation screen data is sent to the timing generator 946.

The timing generator 946 controls the display unit 913 based on the screen data and video data provided from the main CPU 940 (display unit 913: 1
When the reproduction operation screen data is given from the main CPU 940, the display unit 913 is based on the reproduction operation screen data based on the reproduction operation screen data. Display the playback operation screen.

In this state, the main CPU 940 designates the content data to be reproduced and the reproduction thereof on the reproduction operation screen according to the operation of the operation unit 942, and accordingly the operation unit 942 operates the sub CPU 941 and the I ² C bus. When a content data designation command and a reproduction start command are sequentially given via B2, designated compression-coded content data (hereinafter referred to as compressed content data) from the data memory 945 via the memory bus B1. Read).

Then, the main CPU 940 decodes the compressed content data read from the data memory 945, sends the video data of the video data and audio data forming the obtained content data to the timing generator 946, and The audio data is converted into an analog audio signal by the digital-analog converter 947, and then sent to the headphone jack 919 via the headphone amplifier 948.

Accordingly, the main CPU 940 can display the video of the content based on the video data on the display unit 913 via the timing generator 946, and also based on the audio signal from the headphones (not shown) connected to the headphone jack 919. The sound of the content is output so that the content can be viewed.

Also, the main CPU 940 has an operation unit 94
When a memo input command is given from 2 through the sub CPU 941 and the I ² C bus B2 in sequence, the camera 925 captures an image of a subject for a predetermined time and captures the obtained video data, and at that time, the microphone 920 is used. Voices around time are collected, the obtained voice signals are sequentially converted into digital voice data through a microphone amplifier 949 and an analog-digital converter 950, and the video data and the voice data are compressed and encoded as memo data. After conversion, the data memory 945 is connected via the memory bus B1.
To send to and record.

By the way, the main CPU 940 at this time
In response to the operation of the character input key group 914, the character type change key 915, and the cancel key 916, the operation unit 942 causes the sub CPU to operate.
When a character string such as a comment for a memo is given as text data through the 941 and the I ² C bus B2 in sequence, the text data is added to the memo data, compression-encoded, and then recorded in the data memory 945.

Also, the main CPU 940 has an operation unit 94.
When a reproduction start command for the memo data is given from 2 through the sub CPU 941 and the I ² C bus B2 in sequence,
The contents of the memo can be confirmed via the display unit 913 and the headphones by performing the same processing as the above-described reproduction of the contents data.

By the way, the main CPU 940 has a PC
I (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus B3,
A connector 9 provided on the lower surface of the housing through a bus switch 951, a predetermined bus compliant with the PCI standard (hereinafter referred to as PCI compliant bus) B4, and a protection circuit 952 in this order.
It is electrically connected to 53.

The protection circuit 952 has a function of protecting each circuit in the terminal body 911 from external static electricity and preventing leakage of unnecessary radiation generated by data (signal) processing in the terminal body 911 to the outside. Have

Further, the protection circuit 952 is the connector 953.
It is detected whether the connector 929 of the regular cradle 912 is connected to the main CPU 940.
Have been notified.

The main CPU 940 controls the bus switch 951 according to the detection result notified from the protection circuit 952 so that the protection circuit 952 is activated until the connector 929 of the regular cradle 912 is connected to the connector 953. The electrical connection between the protection circuit 952 and the protection circuit 952 is electrically connected via the bus switch 951 only while the connector 929 of the regular cradle 912 is connected to the connector 953.

As a result, the main CPU 940 can protect itself from damage or the like even if the connector 953 is short-circuited due to an electronic device different from the cradle 912 being mistakenly connected to the connector 953.

Here, the cradle 912 takes in the power supply voltage supplied from the AC adapter 927 connected to the commercial power supply or the like into the internal power supply monitoring circuit 955, and in the power supply monitoring circuit 955, the power supply voltage is supplied to a plurality of predetermined levels. The internal voltage of each of these circuits is converted and supplied to the corresponding circuits in the cradle 912 to activate these circuits.

Also, the cradle 912 is the terminal body 91.
When No. 1 is mounted, the power supply monitoring circuit 955 converts the power supply voltage into a charging voltage of a predetermined level, and the charging voltage is supplied from the connector 929 to the battery pack 926 via the connector 953 of the terminal body 911 for charging. .

When the main CPU 940 has the terminal main body 911 attached to the cradle 912 and an operation request for communication is sequentially given from the operation unit 942 via the sub CPU 941 and the I ² C bus B2, the main CPU 940 responds to the request. The communication operation screen data is read from the system memory 943 via the memory bus B1, and the read communication operation screen data is sent to the timing generator 946 to display the communication operation screen based on the communication operation screen data on the display unit 913. .

In this state, the main CPU 940 arbitrarily selects either the public line network or the Ethernet (registered trademark) on the communication operation screen according to the operation of the operation unit 942, and the URL (Uniform of the communication partner). Resource L
ocator) is specified, and in response to this, a communication line selection specification command, a URL, and a transmission command are sequentially given from the operation unit 942 via the sub CPU 941 and the I ² C bus B2, and the communication partner specified by the URL is specified. Generate access request data for.

Then, when Ethernet (registered trademark) is selected as the communication line used for communication, the main CPU 940 compression-encodes the access request data, and the obtained access request compressed data is PCI bus B3 and bus switch. 951, PCI-compliant bus B4, protection circuit 952
Via the connector 953 to the cradle 912, and the access request compressed data is communicated in the cradle 912 from the Ethernet jack (registered trademark) from the Ethernet jack 931 through the connector 929, the Ethernet controller 956, and the Ethernet interface 957. Send to the other party.

As a result, when the main CPU 940 compression-encodes the access confirmation data corresponding to the access request from the communication partner and sends it back via the Ethernet (registered trademark), the compression-encoded access confirmation data (hereinafter referred to as "access confirmation data") is transmitted. (This is referred to as access confirmation compressed data) is taken into the connector 953 from the Ethernet jack 931 of the cradle 912 through the Ethernet interface 957, the Ethernet controller 956 and the connector 929 in sequence.
The access confirmation data is transferred from the connector 953 to the protection circuit 952, PCI compliant bus B4, bus switch 951.
And the PCI bus B3 are sequentially taken in and decoded.

[0769] Here, the system management server 7 with which the portable dedicated terminal 910 can communicate (that is, the communication is permitted)
01 or the access confirmation compressed data transmitted from the data providing server 703 of the dealer stores an identification code unique to the system management server 701 or the data providing server 703 (or the dealer).

[0770] Also, the data memory 9 of the terminal body 911.
An identification code unique to the system management server 701 or the data providing server 703 (or the dealer) with which communication is possible (that is, the communication is permitted) is recorded in 45 when the portable dedicated terminal 910 is sold or rented. There is.

Therefore, when the main CPU 940 decrypts the access confirmation data to generate the access confirmation data, the main CPU 940 compares the identification code stored in the access confirmation data with the identification code previously recorded in the data memory 945. To do.

As a result, if the compared identification codes match each other, the main CPU 940 determines that the designated communication partner is a legitimate communication partner permitted to communicate, and continues communication, whereby content data You can request acquisition, introduction of advertisers and companies, etc.

On the other hand, in the main CPU 940, if the compared identification codes are different from each other or if the identification code is not stored in the access confirmation data, the designated communication partner is different from the communication partner permitted to communicate. And the communication is forcibly terminated, the portable dedicated terminal 91
0 is designed to prevent unauthorized use of content data and the like by communicating with a communication partner who is not permitted to communicate.

[0774] In this way, the main CPU 940 can communicate only with a communication partner for whom communication is permitted in advance via the Ethernet (registered trademark), and as a result, the system management server 701 or data that is a normal communication partner. Various screen data (hereinafter referred to as various compressed screen data) such as advertiser company introduction data and content selection screen data that are compression-encoded from the providing server 703, and compressed content data for advertising and acquisition are Ethernet ( When sent via the registered trademark), these various data are taken in through the same route as the access confirmation compressed data described above,
Decrypt if necessary.

By the way, when the main CPU 940 takes in various kinds of compressed screen data, it decodes the compressed screen data and then sends it to the timing generator 946 so that various kinds of screen data are displayed on the display unit 913 via the timing generator 946. Based screens (screens for introducing advertiser companies, content selection screens, etc.) are displayed.

[0777] Further, the main CPU 940 operates from the operation unit 942 to the sub CPU 9 while communicating with a communication partner permitted to communicate in advance via Ethernet (registered trademark).
41 and the I ² C bus B2 are sequentially provided with various requests such as a content acquisition request to generate request data corresponding to the request, the generated request data is compression-encoded to obtain the request compressed data. Is transmitted to the authorized communication partner via Ethernet (registered trademark) in the same route as the above-mentioned access request compressed data.

[0777] Incidentally, when the main CPU 940 selects and designates the desired content for acquisition, the title of the desired content or the title of the desired content is input via the operation unit 942 as described above.
It is possible to enter a barcode number or the like that is associated with the content in advance.

[0777] At this time, the main CPU 940 displays the bar code pattern associated with the content on the camera 9
25, and in this case the camera 925
The captured image of the bar code pattern obtained from the above is analyzed according to a predetermined image recognition program, and as a result, the selected and designated content can be specified.

On the other hand, when the public line network is selected as the communication line used for communication, the main CPU 940 compression-encodes the access request data, and uses the obtained access request compressed data as the serial data in the I ² C bus B2. To the sub CPU 941 via.

[0780] The sub CPU 941 uses the UART (Universa
l Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter) has a device function, and after converting the access request compressed data given from the main CPU 940 into parallel data,
The access request compressed data is sent from the connector 953 to the cradle 912 via the protection circuit 952, and the access request compressed data is sequentially sent to the modular jack 9 via the connector 929 and the modem interface 958 in the cradle 912.
From 30 to the communication partner via the public line network.

As a result, when the access confirmation compressed data is returned from the communication partner via the public line network, the main CPU 940 sends the access confirmation compressed data to the cradle 9.
After the 12 modular jacks 930 sequentially take in the connector 953 via the modem interface 958 and the connector 929, the access confirmation compressed data is taken from the connector 953 to the sub CPU 941 via the protection circuit 952 and converted into serial data. Capture and decode via I ² C bus B2.

As described above, the main CPU 940 records the identification code stored in the access confirmation data obtained by decoding the access confirmation compressed data and the data memory 945 even when the public line network is used. Compare with the identification code.

As a result, the main CPU 940 determines that the accessed communication partner is a legitimate communication partner for which communication has been permitted in advance and continues communication using the public line network, only when the compared identification codes match. To do.

[0784] Then, the main CPU 940 communicates with a communication partner permitted to communicate in advance via the public line network, and the system management server 701 that is the communication partner.
When various compressed screen data such as advertiser company introduction data and content selection screen data and compressed content data for advertising and acquisition are transmitted from the data providing server 703 and the data providing server 703, these various data are transmitted from the modular jack 930 to the sub CPU 941. The data is taken in through the crossing route and processed in the same manner as when the above-mentioned Ethernet (registered trademark) is used.

[0785] The main CPU 940 operates the operation unit 942 to operate the sub CPU 941 and I ² C while communicating with a communication partner permitted to communicate in advance via the public line network.
When various requests such as a content acquisition request are sequentially given via the bus B2 to generate request data corresponding to the request, the generated request data is compression-encoded,
The obtained requested compressed data is transmitted to the authorized communication partner via the public line network via the route extending from the sub CPU 941 to the modular jack 930.

By the way, the main CPU 940 displays the content selection screen composed of the three-dimensional virtual reality space image described above with reference to FIGS. 29 to 31 on the display unit 9 in both the Ethernet (registered trademark) and the public line network.
When it is displayed in 13, the processing is performed in the same manner as the portable dedicated terminal 303 (FIGS. 28 to 37) according to the sixth embodiment described above.

[0787] Then, the main CPU 940 moves the customer image to the designated coordinate position on the content selection screen (the store first floor image and the store second floor image), and designates that the customer image has moved to the designated coordinate position. After the coordinate position data is compression-encoded, it is transmitted to the data providing server 703 via the Ethernet (registered trademark) and the public line network selected at this time.

At this time, when the data providing server 703 receives the designated coordinate position data transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 910, the data providing server 703 transmits the content data for advertisement (that is, the advertisement data) designated by the designated coordinate position data. Compress / encode the resulting compressed content data to UDP / I
Ethernet (registered trademark), which is the same as the transmission path of designated coordinate position data compressed and encoded in streaming format according to P (User Datagram Protocol / Internet Protocol)
And to the portable dedicated terminal 910 via the public line network.

As a result, when the main CPU 940 takes in the compressed content data for advertising transmitted from the data providing server 7903, it temporarily stores the fetched compressed content data for advertising in the SDRAM 944.

Then, the main CPU 940 uses the SDRA
The compressed content data for advertisement is read out from M944 and decoded, and the video data among the video data and the audio data forming the obtained content data is sent to the timing generator 946, and the audio data is converted by the digital-analog converter 947. After being converted into an analog audio signal, it is sent to the headphone jack 919 via the headphone amplifier 948.

As a result, the main CPU 940 displays, on the display unit 913, a video for advertising the content based on the video data by the timing generator 946, and at the same time, advertises the content based on the audio signal from the headphones connected to the headphone jack 919. The voice is output so that a part of the content or the like can be viewed for advertising.

In this way, the main CPU 940 uses SDRA for the compressed content data for advertisement and the like transmitted in the streaming format from the system management server 701 or the data providing server 703, which are authorized communication partners.
Streaming is performed using M944 as a buffer.

The main CPU 940 also includes a display unit 91.
When the desired content data is selected and designated on the content selection screen composed of the three-dimensional virtual reality space image displayed in 3, the content designated data representing the selected and designated content data is compression-encoded and then selected. The data is transmitted to the data providing server 703 via the existing Ethernet (registered trademark) and public network.

At this time, when the data providing server 703 receives the content designating data transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 910, the data providing server 703 compression-encodes the content data for acquisition designated by the content designating data, and obtains the obtained compression. TCP / IP (Transmission Control)
In accordance with the Control Protocol / Internet Protocol), the compressed and encoded content designation data is transmitted to the portable dedicated terminal 910 via the same Ethernet (registered trademark) and public network as the transmission route.

As a result, when the main CPU 940 takes in the compressed content data for acquisition transmitted from the data providing server 7903, the main CPU 940 temporarily stores the compressed content data as it is in the SDRAM 944, and the SDRA concerned.
While using M944 as a buffer, it is sent to the data memory 945 for recording via the memory bus B1.

In this way, when the main CPU 940 acquires various data such as compressed content data from the system management server 701 and the data providing server 703, the SDRAM 944 is used as a buffer to cause an error in the processing of these various data. To prevent and download.

In addition to this, when the terminal body 911 is mounted on the cradle 912, the main CPU 940 displays the content data on the playback operation screen displayed on the display unit 913 as the display unit of the terminal unit 911. 91
3 or a headphone jack 919 and an external device such as a television receiver can be arbitrarily selected.

Then, the main CPU 940 selects the display unit 913 and the headphone jack 919 of the terminal main body 911 as the reproduction output destination of the content data on the reproduction operation screen, and accordingly the operation unit 942 causes the sub CPU 9 to operate.
41 and the I ² C bus B2 are sequentially provided, the display unit 913 and the headphone jack selection designation command are given (along with the content data selection designation command and the reproduction start command). The compressed content data is reproduced and decoded from the data memory 945 in the same manner as described above, and thus the content is viewed through the display unit 913 and the headphones.

Also, the main CPU 940 selects an external device as the reproduction output destination of the content data on the reproduction operation screen, and in response to this, the operation unit 942 causes the sub CPU 9 to operate.
41 and the I ² C bus B2 are sequentially supplied with a selection designation command of an external device (along with a content data selection designation command and a reproduction start command), the data memory 945 is designated via the memory bus B1. Read the compressed content data.

Then, the main CPU 940 decodes the compressed content data, and converts the video data among the video data and audio data forming the obtained content data into an analog video signal in the video digital-analog converter 959. After that, the video signal is sent from the connector 953 to the cradle 912 via the protection circuit 952, and the video signal is sent to the external device from the video output terminal 932 via the connector 929 in the cradle 912.

At the same time, the main CPU 940 converts the audio data constituting the content data into an analog audio signal in the digital-analog converter 947, and then sends it out from the connector 953 to the cradle 912 via the protection circuit 952. In the cradle 912, the audio signal is converted into left and right two-channel analog audio signals via the power amplifier 960, and then output from the audio output terminal 933 to an external device.

As a result, the main CPU 940 can use not only the terminal main body 911 but also an external device to entertain contents with, for example, a large-screen display and a high-quality speaker.

Further, when the terminal body 911 is attached to the cradle 912, the main CPU 940 processes not only the content data but also the memo data in the same manner as the content data, and the display unit 913 and the headphones of the terminal body 911. And, the contents of the memo can be confirmed by any of the external devices.

In the case of the tenth embodiment, the main CPU 940 controls the system memory 943 and the data memory 945 via the control bus B5, and the digital analog converter 9 for the camera and the sound.
47 and the analog-digital converter 950 to the I ² C bus B
It is controlled via 2.

When the main CPU 940 generates the acquisition request data for the content data, the main CPU 940 specifies the desired content in the acquisition request data by the title, the bar code, etc., and the purchase and rental of the content data. Presence / absence, payment information for content data purchase price and rental fee (payment is by credit, for example), customer ID
Etc. are stored.

[0806] When the data providing server 703 receives the acquisition request data from the portable dedicated terminal 910, the data providing server 703 acquires the customer information (customer account number) of the customer who requested the acquisition of the content and the selling price of the content data each time. Also, the billing process is performed based on the rental fee and the account number of the dealing bank of the dealer.

As a result, the data providing server 703 generates billing information for selling and renting the content data, and the billing information thus generated is stored on the Internet 707.
By transmitting to the above payment processing server, the payment processing server executes electronic payment processing based on the billing information.

[0808] Therefore, the portable dedicated terminal 910 can be used while staying at home without sending the user to a dealer.
The content data can be acquired and the purchase price and rental fee of the content data can be paid.

In addition to the above configuration, in the case of this portable dedicated terminal 910, as shown in FIG. 63, the character input key group 914 having a numeric keypad provided on the front surface of the housing of the terminal main body 911 has a numeral "". Character input keys for inputting "2" to "8" are integrated to form a substantially rhombus-shaped cross key 914A.

In this case, the cross key 914A assigns the numeral "2" as a character that can be input to the upper corner 914Aa closest to the display unit 913 among the four corners, and also uses the upward direction as an inputtable command. A move command to is assigned.

[0811] Further, the cross key 914A is used for the display unit 913.
The number “8” is assigned as a character that can be input to the lower corner 914Ab that is farthest away from (i.e., faces the upper corner 914Aa), and a downward movement command is assigned as an inputtable command. Has been.

Further, with the cross key 914A, the numeral "4" is assigned as a character that can be input to the left corner 914Ac that is closest to the left side surface of the housing, and a move command to the left is assigned as an input command. Has been.

[0813] Furthermore, the cross key 914A is assigned with the numeral "6" as a character that can be input in the right corner 914Ad closest to the right side surface of the housing (that is, facing the left corner 914Ac), and can be input. A right move command is assigned as the new command.

Further, the cross key 914A is provided on the upper corner 9
14Aa and a lower corner portion 914Ab connecting a virtual diagonal line and a left corner portion 914Ac and a right corner portion 914Ad including a central portion including a central position orthogonal to the virtual position.
The number “5” and the vowel “U” are assigned as the characters that can be input to Ae, and the character input command is assigned as the commands that can be input.

The cross key 914A, for example, slightly protrudes from the front surface of the housing with the back surface substantially centered being supported, and has an upper corner 914Aa, a lower corner 914Ab, a left corner 914Ac and a right corner 914Ad. When is pressed, the entire upper portion of the upper corner 9 is tilted by inclining the entire cross key 914A with the supporting position at the center of the back surface as a fulcrum.
14Aa, the lower corner 914Ab, the left corner 914Ac and the right corner 914Ad, characters (numerals) and movement commands in four directions can be input.

[0816] Further, the cross key 914A is used for the central portion 914.
When Ae is pressed down, the cross key 914A is pushed into the surface of the housing without being particularly inclined, so that the central portion 9
The characters and commands assigned to 14Ae can be input.

In addition to this, the character input key group 914 is
The upper corner 914Aa and the left corner 9 of the cross key 914A
The first character input key 914B is arranged in the vicinity of the central portion of the first hypotenuse connecting 14Ac, and the first character input key 9
The number “1” and the vowel “A” are assigned to 14B as the characters that can be input.

Also, the character input key group 914 includes the upper corner portion 914Aa and the right corner portion 914Ad of the cross key 914A.
The second character input key 9 near the center of the second hypotenuse connecting
14C is arranged and the second character input key 914C
, The number “3” and the vowel “e” are assigned as characters that can be input.

Further, the character input key group 914 includes the left corner 914Ac and the lower corner 914A of the cross key 914A.
A third character input key 914D is arranged near the center of the third hypotenuse connecting b, and the third character input key 914D is arranged.
, The number “7” and the vowel “i” are assigned as the characters that can be input.

Further, the character input key group 914 includes the right corner 914Ad and the lower corner 914A of the cross key 914A.
A fourth character input key 914E is arranged near the center of the fourth hypotenuse connecting b, and the fourth character input key 914E is arranged.
, The number "9" and the vowel "O" are assigned as the characters that can be input.

[0821] In addition to this, the character input key group 914 is
A fifth character input key 914F is arranged in the vicinity of the lower corner portion 914Ab of the cross key 914A, and a number "0" and a blank space are assigned to the fifth character input key 914F as characters that can be input. In addition, an input character confirmation command and a conversion command are assigned as inputtable commands.

Incidentally, the character type changing key 915 arranged in the vicinity of the character input key group 914 is a type of input target character (Hiragana, Roman letters, numbers) as an inputtable instruction.
A character type designation command for arbitrarily specifying is assigned.

The main CPU 940 then uses the cross key 914A and the first to fifth character input keys 914B.
Through 914F and the character type change key 915, etc., a desired character can be input.

That is, in the main CPU 940, when the character type change key 915 is pressed during the character input processing, the sub CPU 94 issues a hiragana designation command for designating, for example, hiragana as the type of the input target character.
1 and I ² C bus B2 are sequentially applied, the hiragana input screen data stored in advance from the system memory 943 is read out via the memory bus B1.

The main CPU 940 sends the Hiragana input screen data read from the system memory 943 to the timing generator 946, and the Hiragana input screen data shown in FIG. 64 based on the Hiragana input screen data is displayed on the display unit 913 via the timing generator 946. A screen 965 is displayed.

In this case, the hiragana input screen 965 is configured such that an input character display area 966 and a hiragana selection table 967 formed of a hiragana character matrix are sequentially provided from the upper side to the lower side.

Also, in the hiragana selection table 967, 46 vowel and consonant sounds are displayed in a selectable manner as a table of 11 rows and 5 columns divided into "A" row to "N" row. In the empty space of the "n" line, dakuten, semi-dakuten, punctuation marks, and punctuation marks are displayed in a selectable manner.In addition, in the initial state, a cursor (not shown) is displayed over the letter "a" in Hiragana It is displayed overlaid.

Here, the main CPU 940 makes the display unit 9
When the hiragana input screen 965 is displayed at 13, the upper corner 914Aa, the lower corner 914Ab of the cross key 914A,
In response to pressing of the left corner 914Ac and the right corner 914Ad, commands to move in the four directions of up, down, left and right are accepted.

[0829] Actually, the main CPU 940 causes the display unit 91 to
3 with the hiragana input screen 965 displayed, the left corner 914Ac and the right corner 914Ad of the cross key 914A.
When is pressed to give a move command to the left and a move command to the right from the operation unit 942 sequentially via the sub CPU 941 and the I ² C bus B2, the left corner of the hiragana selection table 967 is displayed. 914Ac and right corner 9
The cursor is moved leftward and rightward by the number of characters corresponding to the number of times 14Ad is pressed.

Also, the main CPU 940 selects the cross key 9
When the upper corner 914Aa and the lower corner 914Ab of the 14A are pressed, an upward movement command and a downward movement command are issued from the operation unit 942 to the sub CPUs 941 and I.
^When sequentially given through the ² C bus B2, the upper corner portion 914Aa and the lower corner portion 91 on the hiragana selection table 967 are given.
The cursor is moved upward and downward by the number of characters corresponding to the number of times 4Ab is pressed.

By the way, the main CPU 940 at this time
In the hiragana selection table 967, the rightmost row (“A” row) and the leftmost row (“N” row) are virtually connected, and the top row (“A” row) and bottom row (“O” row) are connected. By virtually connecting, the cursor is circularly moved with respect to the row and the column in response to a movement command given from the operation unit 942.

[0832] That is, the main CPU 940 moves the cursor to the "A" line (rightmost line) in the hiragana selection table 967.
Cross key 914A from any state
When the right corner 914Ad of the is pressed once, the cursor is moved from the line “a” to the line “n” (leftmost line) without changing the column, and the cursor is moved to the line “n” (leftmost line). Left corner 91 of the four-way controller 914A from the state of being overlapped with any of the rows of
When 4Ac is pressed once, the cursor is moved from the “n” row to the “a” row (rightmost row) without changing the column.

[0833] Further, when the main CPU 940 presses the upper corner portion 914Aa of the cross key 914A once from the state where the cursor is over any row of the "A" column (uppermost column) in the hiragana selection table 967. , Move the cursor from the “A” column to the “O” column (bottom row) without changing the row, and move the cursor to any row of the “O” column (bottom row). Lower corner 91
When 4Ab is pressed once, the cursor is moved from the “O” column to the “A” column (top row) without changing the row.

The main CPU 940 presses the central portion 914Ae of the cross key 914A and the first to fourth character input keys 914B to 914E once with the hiragana input screen 965 displayed on the display portion 913. And accepts instruction commands in the “A” to “O” columns corresponding to pre-assigned vowels that can be input.

As a result, the main CPU 940 moves the cursor on the row "A" to the row "O" on the hiragana selection table 967 of the hiragana input screen 965, and in the central portion 914Ae of the cross key 914A. Also, when the first to fourth character input keys 914B to 914E are pressed once, the sub CPU 941 issues an instruction command from the operation unit 942 in a row "a" to a row "o" different from the row on which the cursor is placed. And I ² C bus B2 sequentially, the cursor is moved directly to the designated “A” to “O” columns without changing the row on the hiragana selection table 967.

In this way, the CPU 940 moves the cursor on the hiragana selection table 967 to select a desired character (that is, after the cursor is placed on the desired character), and then the central portion of the cross key 914A. By pressing the 914Ae twice in a short time, the operation unit 942
When an input command is sequentially given from the sub CPU 941 and the I ² C bus B2 from the hiragana input screen 96, the character on which the cursor is over is determined as an undetermined character to be input.
No. 5 is displayed in the input character display area 966.

Also, the main CPU 940 displays the one or more unconfirmed characters in the input character display area 966 of the hiragana input screen 965 and displays the fifth character input key 91.
When 4F is pressed once and a confirmation command is sequentially given from the operation unit 942 through the sub CPU 941 and the I ² C bus B2, the input of the unconfirmed character displayed in the input character display area 966 is confirmed. And change to confirmed characters.

In this state, when the fifth character input key 914F is pressed again, the main CPU 940 sends a conversion command from the operation unit 942 to the sub CPU 941 and I ² C.
When given through the bus B2 in sequence, converted characters such as lowercase letters, katakana, and kanji corresponding to the confirmed character displayed in the input character display area 966 are displayed according to the number of times the fifth character input key 914F is pressed. The characters are sequentially changed and displayed, and thus the desired conversion character is selected.

Then, when the character type change key 915 or the cross key 914A is pressed while the converted character is displayed in the input character display area 966, the main CPU 940,
From the operation unit 942 to the sub CPU 941 and the I ² C bus B2
The converted character is defined as the confirmed input character in response to the confirmation command given through the.

Incidentally, the main CPU 940 moves the cursor on the hiragana selection table 967 in response to the pressing of the cross key 914A and the first to fourth character input keys 914B to 914E, and the "YA" line and the "WA" line. When a blank space is selected, a blank space can be input as a character to be input.

[0841] Further, the main CPU940 is sub cancel instruction from the operation unit 942 by the cancel key 916 is depressed during the input process of Hiragana CPU941 and ^I 2 C
When given through the bus B2 sequentially, the processing contents at that time are canceled and the processing returns to the previous processing by the number corresponding to the number of times the cancel key 916 is pressed.

[0842] That is, the main CPU 940, for example, the input character display area 966 of the hiragana input screen 965.
When the cancel key 916 is pressed once with the undetermined character displayed on the screen, the undetermined character is erased from the input character display area 967, and the input target character can be selected using the hiragana selection table 967. Return to the state.

[0843] In this way, the main CPU 940 can sequentially input desired characters by sequentially repeating the series of processes described above.

If the character type changing key 915 is pressed twice in a short time during the hiragana input process, the main CPU 940 issues an end command for the hiragana input process from the operation unit 942 to the sub CPUs 941 and I.
² C bus B2 is applied sequentially.

Thus, main CPU 940 terminates the hiragana input processing in response to the termination command.

By the way, the character input processing described above is
Specifically, the input of the characters “Sora” will be described as an example. The main CPU 940 first displays the hiragana input screen 965 on the display unit 913, and the hiragana selection table 96.
With the cursor over the letter "7" in 7
When the left corner 914Ac of 14A is pressed twice or the right corner 914Ad of the cross key 914A is pressed 9 times, the cursor is moved to "A" on the hiragana selection table 967.
Move from above the letter to above the letter "sa".

Next, when the upper corner 914Aa of the cross key 914A is pressed once or the lower corner 914Ab of the cross key 914A is pressed four times, the main CPU 940 moves the cursor on the hiragana selection table 967. While moving from the character "sa" to the character "so", at this time, even if the fourth character input key 914E is pressed once,
On the hiragana selection table 967, the cursor is moved irregularly directly from the character "sa" to the character "so" instead of moving character by character.

[0848] In this state, when the central portion 914Ae of the cross key 914A is pressed twice in succession, the main CPU 940 displays the character "so" in the input character display area 966 as an undetermined character to be input. .

Subsequently, when the right corner 914Ad of the cross key 914A is pressed five times or the left corner 914Ac of the cross key 914A is pressed six times, the main CPU 940 moves the cursor on the hiragana selection table 967. Move from above the letter "so" to above the letter "ro".

Then, when the lower corner 914Ab of the cross key 914A is pressed once or the upper corner 914Aa of the cross key 914A is pressed four times, the main CPU 940 moves the cursor on the hiragana selection table 967. While moving from the character "ro" to the character "ra", at this time, even if the first character input key 914B is pressed once,
On the hiragana selection table 967, the cursor is irregularly directly moved from the character "ro" to the character "ra".

In this state, when the central portion 914Ae of the cross key 914A is pressed twice in succession, the main CPU 940 displays the character "ra" in the input character display area 966 as an undetermined character to be input. .

Here, when the fifth character input key 914F is pressed once, the main CPU 940 displays the undetermined characters of the hiragana "sora" displayed in the input character display area 966 of the hiragana input screen 965. If it is changed to a fixed character and the conversion request for the "sora" is not particularly input, for example, another character is continuously input.

On the other hand, when the fifth character input key 914F is pressed again in the state where the hiragana "sora" is changed from the unfixed character to the fixed character, the main CPU 940 inputs the hiragana input screen 965. Character display area 966
, The hiragana fixed character “sora” is sequentially converted and displayed as converted characters such as katakana “sora” and kanji “empty” according to the number of times the fifth character input key 914F is pressed, and the desired character is displayed. After displaying the converted characters, the character type change key 9
When the 15 key or the cross key 914A is pressed, the converted character is changed to the confirmed character.

In this way, the main CPU 940 can use the cross key 914A and the hiragana selection table 967 to easily select a character to be input during the hiragana input process.

At this time, the main CPU 940 also uses the central portion 914Ae of the cross key 914A and the first to fourth character input keys 914B to 914E together, and selects the desired row without changing the cursor on the hiragana selection table 967. By irregularly moving the characters directly to the character in the column, the number of times of inputting the operation command during the character input processing can be significantly reduced, and the character to be input can be selected more easily.

Also, when the character type changing key 915 is pressed, the main CPU 940 issues a Roman character designating instruction for designating Roman character as the type of the input character from the operation unit 942 through the sub CPU 941 and the I ² C bus B2 in sequence. Then, the Roman character input screen data stored in advance from the system memory 943 is read out via the memory bus B1.

[0857] Then, the main CPU 940 sends the Roman character input screen data read from the system memory 943 to the timing generator 946 to cause the display unit 91 to go through the timing generator 946.
A Roman character input screen 968 shown in FIG. 65 based on the Roman character input screen data is displayed in 3.

The Romaji input screen 968 is constructed by sequentially providing an input character display area 969 and a Romaji selection table 970 consisting of a character matrix of Romaji, symbols and numbers in order from the upper side to the lower side.

[0859] Also, in the Roman character selection table 970, "A" is displayed.
To “Z”, 26 Roman letters, 19 symbols such as “+” and “−”, and 10 numbers from “1” to “0”
Characters are displayed as a table with 11 rows and 5 columns in a selectable manner, and in the initial state, for example, a cursor (not shown) for reversing and displaying characters on the letter "A" of the Roman alphabet.
Are overlaid.

In this case, the main CPU 940 executes the cross key 914 in the same manner as in the above-mentioned hiragana input processing.
When the upper corner 914Aa, the lower corner 914Ab, the left corner 914Ac, and the right corner 914Ad of A are pressed, the cursor is moved up, down, left, or right on the Roman character selection table 970, and at that time, the cross The central portion 914Ae of the key 914A and the first to fourth character input keys 914
In response to the depression of B to 914E, the cursor is irregularly moved to the designated column on the Roman character selection table 970 (that is, the "A" to "E" columns) without changing the row.

In this way, the main CPU 940 causes the desired character to be selected on the Roman character selection table 970, and the selected input target character is selected as the central portion 91 of the cross key 914A.
4Ae and the fifth character input key 914F or the like are pressed to display undetermined characters as they are or as lowercase letters on the input character display area 969 of the Roman character input screen 968 and displayed as confirmed characters. It is designed so that symbols and numbers can be input.

By the way, when the character type change key 915 is pressed during the input processing of hiragana and roman characters, the main CPU 940 operates the operation unit 942 to operate the sub CPUs 941 and I.
^According to the Roman character designation command and the Hiragana designation command sequentially given via the ² C bus B2, the Hiragana input screen 965 that was displayed on the display unit 913 was replaced with the Romaji input screen 968 or was displayed until then. The Romaji input screen 968 is replaced with the Hiragana input screen 965.

Thus, the main CPU 940 can easily input a character string in which Hiragana, Roman letters, symbols and numbers are freely mixed.

By the way, the main CPU 940 operates as shown in FIG.
In the state where the content selection screen including the three-dimensional virtual reality space image described above with reference to FIG. 31 is displayed on the display unit 913, the upper corner 914Aa, the lower corner 914Ab, the left corner 914Ac, and the right corner of the cross key 914A are displayed. 914A
When the moving direction is instructed by pressing d, the customer image can be freely moved in the instructed direction on the content selection screen (in-store first floor image and in-store second floor image).

Also, when the main CPU 940 presses the character type change key 915 while displaying a predetermined content selection screen for selecting desired content data using the bar code on the display unit 913, A shift is made to a numeral input mode in which a numeral can be inputted through the cross key 914A and the first to fifth character input keys 914B to 914F.

[0866] Then, when the cross key 914A and the first to fifth character input keys 914B to 914F are pressed, the main CPU 940 can input a barcode number on the content selection screen.

Further, the main CPU 940 displays the predetermined content selection screen for directly inputting the content title or the like to select the content data on the display unit 913 and the character type change key 91.
When the type of the input target character is designated by pressing 5, the corresponding hiragana selection table 967 and the Roman character selection table 970 are additionally displayed on the display unit 913.

Thus, the main CPU 940 can input various characters such as the title of the desired content and the customer's name on the content selection screen in the same manner as in the character input processing described above.

In the case of the tenth embodiment, FIG.
As is clear from the figure, the terminal main body 911 has a portion of the cross key 914A (upper corner portion 914Aa, lower corner portion 914Ab, left side) of the character input key group 914 that can input numbers “0” to “9”. Corner 914Ac, right corner 914Ad
And the central portion 914Ae) and the first to fifth character input keys 914B to 914F are arranged on the surface of the housing in substantially the same arrangement as a numeric keypad such as a mobile phone, a stationary touch-tone phone, and a keyboard of a personal computer. .

That is, in the terminal main body 911, in the character input key group 914, keys for inputting “1” to “3” are arranged from the left side to the right side of the upper row, and from the left side to the right side during interruption. Keys for inputting "4" to "6" are arranged, keys for inputting "7" to "9" are arranged in the lower row from left to right, and "0" is arranged in the lower row of the lower row. A key for inputting "" is arranged.

Therefore, the terminal body 911 of the portable dedicated terminal 910 newly remembers the arrangement of the character input key group 914 for a customer who is already using a portable telephone, a stationary touch-tone telephone, a personal computer or the like. Without doing so, it is possible to operate the character input key group 914 without any discomfort in the same manner as the operation of the numeric keypad that is used by everyday people.

Also, in the terminal main body 911, the cross key 914A is formed by a part of the ten-key pad and is also used for inputting numbers, characters, and directions, thereby reducing the number of operation keys provided on the surface of the casing as much as possible. be able to.

Also, in such a terminal body 911, the vowels (“a” to “o”) for selecting the columns of the hiragana selection table 967 and the romaji selection table 970 are reversed from the left and right of the roman letter “N”. The first and third character input keys 914B and 914D of the character input key group 914 and the central portion 9 of the cross key 914A so that they can be drawn with one stroke.
14Ae, second and fourth character input keys 914C and 9
Allocated to 14E.

Therefore, the terminal main body 911 has the first and third character input keys 914B to which vowels (“a” to “o”) for selecting columns of the hiragana selection table 967 and the Roman character selection table 970 are assigned. And 914D, cross key 9
The layout of the central portion 914Ae of 14A and the second and fourth character input keys 914C and 914E is made easy to remember.

Here, the main CPU 9 of the terminal body 911
40 reads out the character input processing program stored in advance in the system memory 943 via the memory bus B1 and expands it on the SDRAM 944.

Then, in the character input processing, the main CPU 940 enters the character input processing procedure RT38 shown in FIGS. 66 and 67 from the start step and proceeds to step SP451 in accordance with the character input processing program developed on the SDRAM 944. .

[0877] In step SP451, the main CP
The U940 waits for the type of input target character (Hiragana and Romaji) to be specified via the character type change key 915, and when the type of input target character is specified,
Move to step SP452.

[0877] In step SP452, the main CP
The U 940 is a hiragana selection table 967 or a romaji selection table 967 on the display unit 913 according to a hiragana designation command or romaji designation command input via the character type change key 915.
70 is displayed and it moves to step SP453.

[0879] In step SP453, the main CP
U940 determines whether the type of the input target character has been changed.

To obtain a negative result in this step SP453, the type of the input target character is not particularly changed, and the hiragana selection table 967 or the Roman character selection table 970 displayed on the display unit 913 in step SP452 is used as it is. It means that hiragana or romaji, symbols, and numbers are input, and at this time, the main CPU 940
Moves to step SP454.

[0881] In Step SP454, the main CP
The U940 determines whether or not the cursor on the hiragana selection table 967 and the Roman character selection table 970 is instructed to move in the up / down / left / right directions.

Obtaining a positive result in this step SP454 means moving the cursor on the hiragana selection table 967 and romaji selection table 970 by one character in either the up, down, left or right direction. At this time, the main CP
The U940 moves to step SP455.

[0883] In step SP455, the main CP
U940 is the upper corner 914Aa, the lower corner 914Ab, the left corner 9 of the cross key 914A in step SP454.
14Ac and the right corner 914Ad, the cursor is moved in the designated direction by one character on the hiragana selection table 967 and the Romaji selection table 970 in response to a movement command in any of the up, down, left, and right directions. Let step S
Move to P456.

[0884] In step SP456, the main CP
U940 is selected on the Hiragana selection table 967 and the Romaji selection table 970 (that is, the cursor is overlaid).
It is determined whether the character is designated as the input character.

Obtaining a positive result in step SP456 means that the character selected in the hiragana selection table 967 and the Roman character selection table 970 is designated as the input target character. At this time, the main CPU 940 determines in step SP457. Move on to.

[0886] In step SP457, the main CP
U940 changes the input target character selected on the hiragana selection table 967 and the romaji selection table 970 to an undetermined character in accordance with the input command input through the central portion 914Ae of the cross key 914A in step SP456. Move to step SP458.

[0887] In Step SP458, the main CP
U940 determines whether or not the undetermined character has been determined.

Obtaining a positive result in step SP458 means that an unconfirmed character has been designated as the input confirmed character, and at this time the main CPU 940 proceeds to step SP459.

[0889] In Step SP459, the main CP
The U940 changes the unconfirmed character to the confirmed character in response to the confirmation command input through the fifth character input key 914F in step SP458, and proceeds to step SP460.

[0890] In step SP460, the main CP
The U940 determines whether or not conversion for the confirmed character has been requested.

[0891] Obtaining a positive result in step SP460 means converting the confirmed character into a corresponding converted character such as lowercase letters, katakana, or kanji. At this time, the main CPU 940 proceeds to step SP461.

[0892] In step SP461, the main CP
The U940 displays the converted character corresponding to the confirmed character on the display unit 913 in response to the conversion request input via the fifth character input key 914F in step SP460, and proceeds to step SP462.

[0893] In Step SP462, the main CP
U940 determines whether the converted character has been confirmed.

Obtaining an affirmative result in step SP462 means that the desired conversion character corresponding to the confirmed character is confirmed as the character to be input. At this time, the main CPU 940 causes the character type changing key 915 or the cross key. The conversion character is changed to the confirmed character in accordance with the confirmation command input via 914A, and the process proceeds to step SP463.

[0895] In step SP463, the main CP
The U940 determines whether or not the input of characters has been completed, and if a positive result is obtained by inputting an end command via the character type change key 915, the process moves to step SP464 to end the character input processing procedure RT38. .

By the way, obtaining a positive result in step SP453 means that the hiragana selection table 967 and the Roman character selection table 97 displayed on the display unit 913 in step SP452 due to the change of the type of the input character.
Hiragana by using the other, which is different from either 0,
Or means that Roman letters, symbols, and numbers are entered,
At this time, the main CPU 940 moves to step SP465.

[0897] In step SP465, the main CP
U940 is the character type change key 91 in step SP453.
In response to a new hiragana designation command or Romaji designation command input via 5, the display unit 913 displays a step SP4.
One of the hiragana selection table 967 and the Romaji selection table 970 displayed in 52 is displayed, and the other is displayed, and the process proceeds to step SP454.

[0898] Further, obtaining a negative result in step SP454 means that the cursor may be irregularly moved to a desired column on the hiragana selection table 967 and the Roman character selection table 970. CPU
940 moves to step SP466.

[0899] In step SP466, the main CP
The U940 determines whether or not a column for moving the cursor is designated on the hiragana selection table 967 and the Roman character selection table 970.

Obtaining a negative result in step SP466 means that the instruction of the column for moving the cursor on the hiragana selection table 967 and the Romaji selection table 970 has been abandoned. At this time, the main CPU 940 proceeds to step SP453. Return.

On the other hand, in step SP466, a positive result is obtained by moving the cursor irregularly when the column for moving the cursor is designated on the hiragana selection table 967 and the Roman character selection table 970. It means that the main CPU 940 at this time
Move to step SP467.

[0902] In step SP467, the main CP
U940 is the central portion 914Ae of the cross key 914A and the first to fourth character input keys 91 in step SP466.
4B to 914E, the hiragana selection table 967 and the romaji selection table 970 according to the column command input.
The cursor is directly moved to the designated column without changing the row, and the process proceeds to step SP456.

Further, obtaining a negative result in step SP456 means that the character to be input is being selected while moving the cursor on the hiragana selection table 967 and the Roman character selection table 970. At this time, The main CPU 940 returns to step SP453.

Obtaining a negative result in step SP458 means canceling the unfixed character by, for example, erroneously selecting the character. At this time, the main CPU 940 inputs it through the cancel key 916. In response to the cancel command, the undetermined characters for which the confirmation has been canceled are erased and the process returns to step SP453.

[0905] In step SP460, a negative result is obtained by inputting another character without converting the fixed character into the corresponding converted character or inputting a character without converting the fixed character into the corresponding converted character. Means that the main CPU 940 moves to step SP463.

Obtaining a negative result in step SP462 means that, for example, as a result of searching the conversion character, it is noticed that the fixed character is erroneously input.
At this time, the main CPU 940 erases the erroneously input confirmed character in response to the cancel instruction input via the cancel key 916, and returns to step SP453.

Obtaining a negative result in step SP463 means that characters are continuously input,
At this time, the main CPU 940 returns to step SP453, and until the positive result is obtained in step SP463, steps SP463-SP453-SP454.
-SP455-SP456-SP457-SP458-
SP459-SP460-SP461-SP462-S
The process loop of P463 is repeated to input a character.

With the above configuration, in the terminal main body 911 of the portable dedicated terminal 910, the hiragana selection table 967 and the Roman character selection table 9 are displayed on the display unit 913 during the character input processing.
70 is displayed.

[0909] In this state, the terminal body 911 moves to the cross key 9
The upper corner 914Aa, the lower corner 914Ab, the left corner 914Ac, and the right corner 914Ad of 14A are pressed, and one character in the up, down, left, and right directions with respect to the cursor on the hiragana selection table 967 and the Romaji selection table 970. When the moving direction is designated, the cursor is moved by one character in the designated up, down, left, and right directions on the hiragana selection table 967 and the Roman character selection table 970.

Also, the terminal body 911 is provided with the cross key 914.
When the central portion 914Ae of A and the first to fourth character input keys 914B to 914E are pressed, the hiragana selection table 9
When the column to be moved to the cursor on 67 and the Romaji selection table 970 is designated, the cursor is directly moved to the designated column on the Hiragana selection table 967 and the Romaji selection table 970 without changing the row.

Therefore, in the terminal main body 911, in the process of inputting characters, the hiragana selection table 96 is operated in response to the operation of the cross key 914A provided in the character input key group 914 having a numeric keypad.
7 and the Roman character selection table 970, the cursor is sequentially moved up, down, left and right by one character, so that the input target character can be easily selected with a relatively small number of character input keys.

At the same time, in the terminal body 911, the hiragana selection table 967 and the Roman character selection table 970 are displayed on the hiragana selection table 967 according to the operation of the central portion 914Ae of the cross key 914A and the first to fourth character input keys 914B to 914E. Since the cursor is directly moved to the desired column, the number of times of inputting the operation command for moving the cursor can be significantly reduced, and the character to be input can be selected more easily.

In addition to this, in the terminal body 911,
A number is assigned as a character that can be input to the character input key group 914A having a ten-key configuration, and a command for inputting a column in a character selection table, a command for a moving direction with respect to a moving target image such as a cursor, and the like are allocated as an inputable command. Therefore, if the character input key group 914A is operated, in addition to the input of characters, the number for the barcode associated with the content data can be input to specify the content data to be acquired, and the three-dimensional virtual The customer image can be moved on the content selection screen made of the physical space image to select the content data to be acquired.

For this reason, in the terminal body 911, only the character input key group 914 having a ten-key structure having a relatively small number of character input keys is used for inputting characters, selecting and specifying content data, and controlling content selection images. Can be executed.

With the above arrangement, in the terminal main body 911, the upper corner portion 914Aa, the lower corner portion 914Ab, and the left corner portion 914Ac of the cross key 914A are processed at the time of character input processing.
In response to the depression of the right corner 914Ad, the display unit 913
On the hiragana selection table 967 and the Romaji selection table 970 displayed on the screen, the cursor is moved in the vertical and horizontal directions by one character, and the central portion 914Ae of the cross key 914A and the first to fourth character input keys 914B to 914E. In response to pressing, the hiragana selection table 967 and the romaji selection table 9
By moving the cursor on 70 directly to the designated column without changing the row, the hiragana selection table 967
Also, a character to be input can be easily selected on the Romaji selection table 970, and thus it is possible to realize a data providing system that makes it much easier to input characters in the terminal body.

In the tenth embodiment described above, the character input key group 914 having the cross key 914A and the first to fifth character input keys 914B to 914F is provided on the surface of the housing of the terminal body 911. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and in FIG. 68 in which parts corresponding to those in FIG. 63 are designated by the same reference numerals, a numeric keypad configuration is provided on the front surface of the housing of the terminal body, and the numeral “” is used. 1 "
Through character input keys for inputting "9" are integrally formed in a substantially square shape, and a character input key group 971 having a fifth character input key 914F is provided, or FIG. In FIG. 69 in which parts corresponding to and are assigned the same reference numerals, nine character input keys 972A to 972A, which have a ten-key configuration on the front surface of the housing of the terminal body and which can input numbers “1” to “9” A character input key group 972 having 972I and a fifth character input key 914F may be provided.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 68, the integrated direction key 971A of the character input key group 971 provided on the front surface of the housing of the terminal body can be input to the central portion on the first side closest to the display unit 913. The number "2" is assigned as a character, and an upward movement command is assigned as an inputtable command.

[0918] Further, the integrated direction key 971A is used for the display unit 9
The numeral “8” is assigned as a character that can be input to the central portion of the second side that is farthest from 13, and a downward movement command is assigned as an inputable command.

Further, the integral direction key 971A is assigned with the numeral "4" as a character that can be input in the central portion of the third side closest to the left side surface of the housing, and is a leftward input command. The movement command of is assigned.

Further, the integral direction key 971A is assigned with the numeral "6" as a character that can be input in the central portion on the fourth side closest to the right side surface of the housing, and is a right direction as an inputtable command. The movement command of is assigned.

[0921] In addition to this, the integrated direction key 971A is
A character "1" and a vowel "a" are assigned as characters that can be input in the upper right corner where the first and third sides are in contact, and characters that can be input in the upper right corner where the first and fourth sides are in contact The number “3” and the vowel “E” are assigned as.

Also, in the integral direction key 971A, the numeral "7" and the vowel "I" are assigned as the characters that can be input in the lower left corner where the second and third sides are in contact, and the second and fourth directional keys 971A are assigned. The number "9" and the vowel "O" are assigned as characters that can be input in the lower right corner where the sides touch.

Further, the integrated direction key 971A is assigned with the numeral "5" and the vowel "U" as characters that can be input in the central portion including the center position of the integrated direction key 971A, and as an inputtable command. Character input commands are assigned.

The integrated direction key 971A, for example, slightly protrudes from the front surface of the housing while the back surface is supported substantially in the center thereof, and is located at the center, the upper left corner, and the upper right corner of the first to fourth sides. When the lower left corner and the lower right corner are pressed, the integrated directional key 97 with the supporting position at the substantially center of the back surface as a fulcrum.
By inclining 1A, the characters assigned to the central part, the upper left corner, the upper right corner, the lower left corner and the lower right corner on the first to fourth sides and the movement commands in four directions are input. It is designed to get you.

When the central portion of the integrated directional key 971A is depressed, the integrated directional key 971A is pushed into the surface of the casing without being particularly inclined, so that the characters and commands assigned to the central portion can be displayed. It is designed to be enterable.

As a result, the terminal main body provided with the character input key group 971 having the integrated direction key 971A corresponds to the portable dedicated terminal 910 according to the tenth embodiment described above in response to the depression of the integrated direction key 971A. Terminal body 91
Hiragana selection table 967 and Romaji selection table 9 as in 1
It is possible to move the cursor one by one and irregularly on the character 70 so that the character to be input can be easily selected, and thus the character can be remarkably input.

[0927] Further, the terminal body is provided with the integrated directional key 9
In addition to inputting characters, the character input key group 971 having 71A is used for bar codes associated with the movement of the customer image on the content selection screen formed of the three-dimensional virtual reality space and the content data to be acquired. It can also be used for entering numbers.

[0928] In addition, in this terminal body, the character input keys capable of inputting the nine numbers "1" to "9" of the numeric keypad are integrated into one integrated directional key 971A. The character input key group 9 is different from the terminal body 911 of the portable dedicated terminal 910 according to the tenth embodiment.
The arrangement space of 71 can be significantly reduced,
Thus, the housing of the terminal body 911 can be downsized.

Note that the integral direction key 971A is provided with a triangular mark representing the inputtable moving direction at the center of each of the first to fourth sides, and this mark is different from the surface of the integral direction key 971A. By selecting different colors, it is possible to visually and easily recognize the site where the movement direction can be input and the movement direction.

By the way, with regard to the integrated direction key 971, the left diagonally upward moving command is assigned to the upper left corner, the right diagonal upward moving command is assigned to the upper right corner, and the left lower diagonal is moved to the left diagonal. By assigning a move command in the downward direction and a move command in the lower right corner in the diagonally right downward direction, the command is moved vertically, horizontally, left diagonally upward, diagonally right upward, diagonally left downward, and diagonal right downward. It is also possible to indicate 8 directions with and.

By doing so, the hiragana selection table 967 can be obtained.
Also, on the Roman character selection table 970, the cursor can be moved to a desired character with a smaller number of operations as compared with an instruction in only four directions of up, down, left and right, and thus a character can be easily input.

[0932] Also, by using the integrated directional keys capable of designating eight directions, the customer image can be freely moved in the designated eight directions on the content selection screen formed of the three-dimensional virtual reality space image.

By the way, when it is possible to instruct the integrated direction key 971 in eight directions, vowels are left assigned to the upper left corner, the upper right corner, the lower left corner and the lower right corner, and the input mode is switched. It is also possible to switch the movable direction and the instructable state of the column according to the command, or to allocate the move command instead of the vowel to the upper left corner, the upper right corner, the lower left corner and the lower right corner. Is also good.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 69, nine character input keys 972A to 972I of a character input key group 971 provided on the front surface of the housing of the terminal body are arranged in 3 rows and 3 columns.

In this case, of the nine character input keys 972A to 972I, the character input key 9 arranged on the upper left side
The number "1" and the vowel "a" that can be input are assigned to 72A, and the number "2" that can be input to the character input key 972B arranged in the center of the upper row.
Character input key 9 assigned to and arranged on the upper right side
The number "3" and the vowel "e" are assigned to the 72C as the characters that can be input.

The character input key 972D arranged on the left side of the middle row is assigned with the numeral "4" as a character that can be input, and the character input key 972E arranged at the center of the middle row.
Is assigned a numeral "5" and a vowel "u" as characters that can be input, and the letter input key 972F arranged on the right side of the middle row is assigned a numeral "6" as characters that can be input.

Further, the character input key 972G arranged on the left side of the lower row is assigned with the numeral "7" and the vowel "I" as the characters that can be input, and the character input key 972H arranged at the center of the lower row is input. The number "8" is assigned as a possible character, and the number "9" and the vowel "O" are assigned as an enterable character to the character input key 972I arranged on the lower right side.

In addition to this, nine character input keys 972
Among the characters A to 972I, a character input key 972B arranged in the upper center is assigned an upward movement command as an inputtable command, and a character input key 972H arranged in the lower center is displayed as an inputtable command. A move command in the direction is assigned.

[0939] The character input key 972D arranged on the left side of the middle row is assigned with a move command to the left as an inputtable command, and the character input key 92D arranged on the right side of the middle row is assigned.
A movement command to the right is assigned to 72F as an inputtable instruction.

[0940] As a result, the terminal body provided with the character input key group 972 is provided with the character input key group 972.
In addition to inputting characters, it can also be used for moving a customer image on a content selection screen composed of a three-dimensional virtual reality space and inputting a bar code number associated with content data to be acquired. .

Of the nine character input keys 972A to 972I of the character input key group 972, four character input keys 972B, 972D, 9 capable of inputting a moving direction.
72F and 972H with other character input keys 972A and 97
If a color different from 2C, 972E, 972G, and 972I is selected, a character input key 972 in which the moving direction can be input can be input.
B, 972D, 972F, and 972H can be easily recognized visually.

By the way, also for the cross key 914A of the character input key group 914 described with reference to FIG. 63, the upper corner 914Aa, the lower corner 914Ab, and the left corner 914A.
If a triangular mark is drawn on c and the right corner 914Ad and a color different from that of the other parts is selected, it is possible to easily visually recognize the part in which the moving direction can be input and the moving direction thereof.

The character input key group 972 includes vowels ("A" to "O") for the character input keys 972A, 972G, 972E, 972C and 972I on the upper left side, lower left side, middle center, upper right side and lower right side. ) Was reversed so that the letter “N” in the Roman alphabet was reversed so that it could be drawn with one stroke.

However, in the character input key group 972, if a vowel is assigned to a character input key different from the character input key to which the movement direction command is assigned, the movement direction command and the vowel instruction are switched between input modes. Can be entered concurrently without any need for
As shown in FIGS. 70 (A) to (G), the vowels ("A" to "A" to the character input keys 972A, 972G, 972E, 972C, and 972I on the upper left side, lower left side, middle center, upper right side, and lower right side are input. "O") may be assigned so that various line drawings such as Roman "N" characters or Roman "Z" characters can be drawn with one stroke, as shown in FIGS. 71 (A) and 71 (B). As described above, various line drawings may be assigned without being limited to one-stroke writing.

Regarding the assignment of such vowels,
The character input key group 91 described above with reference to FIGS. 63 and 68.
4 and 971.

In the tenth embodiment described above, the case where the hiragana selection table 967 and the Roman character selection table 970 are displayed on the display unit 913 during the character input processing has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Not limited to this, at the time of character input processing, a katakana selection table formed of a katakana character matrix on the display unit 913, a romaji selection table capable of selecting only Roman characters, only symbols and only numbers, a symbol selection table and a number selection table, It is also possible to display a character selection table of various other configurations such as a Roman character and numeral selection table in which Roman characters and numerals can be mixed and selected.

[0947] By the way, if a selection table of Roman letters, symbols and numbers is prepared individually, and these selection tables are composed of, for example, 11 rows and 5 columns, one selection table includes Roman letters and Greek letters, Arabic numbers and It is possible to easily select Chinese characters and the like, and further various symbols other than the symbols in the Roman character selection table 970 described above with reference to FIG.

Furthermore, in the tenth embodiment described above, the central portion 914Ae of the cross key 914A to which vowels are assigned and the first to fourth character input keys 914B.
Through 914E, the horizontal hiragana selection table 9
67 and the case where the horizontal columns of the Roman character selection table 970 are designated, the present invention is not limited to this, and as shown in FIGS. 72 (A) and 72 (B), a vertically long hiragana selection table. Using the 980 and the Romaji selection table 981, the hiragana selection table 980 and the Romaji selection table 981 corresponding to the depression of the central portion 914Ae of the cross key 914A and the first to fourth character input keys 914B to 914E.
Alternatively, the cursor can be moved irregularly even in this case, and the same effect as that of the tenth embodiment described above can be obtained.

Furthermore, in the tenth embodiment described above, the hiragana selection table 967 and the Roman character selection table 97.
When moving the cursor from any line to another line on 0,
The case where the cursor is moved without changing the column has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the cursor is moved from any row to another row on the hiragana selection table 967 and the Romaji selection table 970. At this time, the cursor may be automatically moved from a given row to a specific column without changing the row, and then may be moved to another row without changing the column.

Furthermore, in the tenth embodiment described above, the upper corner 914Aa, the lower corner 914Ab, the left corner 914Ac and the right corner 91 of the cross key 914A are used.
The case where the cursor is moved by one character in the designated direction on the hiragana selection table 967 and the Roman character selection table 970 in response to pressing 4Ad once has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. , The upper corner 914Aa, the lower corner 914Ab, the left corner 914 of the cross key 914A.
It is also possible to move the cursor by a predetermined number of characters in the designated direction on the hiragana selection table 967 and the Roman character selection table 970 according to the pressing time of Ac and the right corner 914Ad once.

With this arrangement, the upper corner 914Aa, the lower corner 914Ab and the left corner 91 of the cross key 914A can be obtained.
4Ac and the right-hand corner 914Ad is pressed for a relatively long time, the cursor is moved in the hiragana selection table 967 and the romaji selection table 970 while being successively overlapped on the consecutive characters in the designated direction. And the upper corner 9 of the cross key 914A when selecting the input character.
14Aa, the lower corner 914Ab, the left corner 914Ac, and the right corner 914Ad can be pressed less frequently.

Furthermore, in the tenth embodiment described above, the hiragana selection table 967 and the romaji selection table 97.
The case where the cursor is moved across both the row and the column to select the input target character on 0 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this and, for example, as shown in FIG. A hiragana selection table 982 composed of only one row of "A" to "N" is displayed on the display unit 913, and the left corner 914Ac and the right corner 91 of the cross key 914A are displayed.
In response to pressing 4Ad, move the cursor to the desired line on the hiragana selection table 982, and then use the cross key 914.
A character (vowel and consonant) corresponding to the designated vowel in the desired line is selected and displayed in response to pressing of the central portion 914Ae of A and the first to fourth character input keys 914B to 914E. May be.

The hiragana selection table 967 described above with reference to FIG. 64 is a general table. If the hiragana selection table 982 is displayed on the display unit 913, the hiragana selection table 967 is displayed.
Can be easily recalled to select an input target character. Further, in the display unit 913, the hiragana selection table 9
The area for displaying 82 can be significantly reduced, and a large number of input-determined characters can be displayed accordingly.

Furthermore, in the tenth embodiment described above, in the portable dedicated terminal 910, the terminal main body 91
The main CPU 940 of No. 1 executes the character input processing procedure described above with reference to FIGS. 66 and 67 according to various programs such as the character input program stored in advance in the system memory 943, and the recording control unit 81 described above with reference to FIG. , Reproduction control unit 84 and request data generation unit 8
6, the request data generation unit 241 described above with reference to FIG.
The recording control unit 245 and the reproduction control unit 248, the request data generation unit 270 described above with reference to FIG. 25, the reproduction control unit 342 described above with reference to FIG. 28, the request data generation unit 344 and the recording control unit 347 described above with reference to FIG. Unit 541, request data generation unit 542, determination unit 545,
The recording control unit 546, the reproduction control unit 548, and the case where the same processing as the request data generation unit 630 described above with reference to FIG. 45 is executed have been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various programs are stored. By installing the program storage medium in the terminal body 911, various processes such as a character input process procedure may be executed.

[0955] Incidentally, a flexible disk is, for example, a program storage medium for installing various programs for executing the above-mentioned various processes in the terminal main body 911 of the portable dedicated terminal 910 to make them executable. , A CD-ROM, a DVD, etc., as well as a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, or the like in which various programs are temporarily or permanently stored. As means for storing various programs in these program storage media, wired and wireless communication media such as local area networks, the Internet, and digital satellite broadcasting may be used, and various communication interfaces such as routers and modems may be used. It may be stored.

(12) Other Embodiments In the above first to tenth embodiments, the character input device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The terminal body 9 of the portable dedicated terminal 910 described above for No. 3
11 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and if a character can be input, a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance),
Various other character input devices can be widely applied such as electronic devices such as a stationary touch-tone phone.

Also, in the above-described first to tenth embodiments, the case where the display unit 913 described above with reference to FIGS. 59 to 73 is applied as the display means for displaying at least one column of the character matrix is described. I said
The present invention is not limited to this, and various other display means such as a display unit externally attachable to the terminal body 911 can be widely applied as long as at least one column of the character matrix can be displayed.

Furthermore, in the above-described first to tenth embodiments, the first and second directions parallel to the rows of the character matrix and opposite to each other and the first and second directions parallel to the columns of the character matrix and opposite to each other. As direction designating means for designating the third and fourth directions of orientation, the cross key 914A of the character input key groups 914, 971, 972 described above with reference to FIGS. 59 to 73, the integrated direction key 971A, the character input key. 97
Although the case where 2B, 972D, 972F, and 972H are applied has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and the first and second directions parallel to the rows of the character matrix and opposite to each other.
The direction indicating means of various shapes and configurations can be widely applied as long as the direction of and the third and fourth directions parallel to the columns of the character matrix and opposite to each other can be indicated.

Furthermore, in the above-described first to tenth embodiments, the character input key groups 914, 971, 972 described above with reference to FIGS. 59 to 73 are used as the column designating means for designating the columns of the character matrix. Center portion 914Ae of the cross key 914A and the first to fourth character input keys 91
4B to 914E, integrated direction key 971A, character input keys 972A, 972C, 972E, 972G, 972I
Although the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and if the columns of the character matrix can be designated, column designating means of various other shapes and configurations can be widely applied.

Further, in the above-described first to tenth embodiments, selection is made within the character matrix in accordance with the first to fourth directions and columns designated via the direction designating means and the column designating means. As the character recognition means for recognizing the input target character, the main CP described above with reference to FIGS.
I have described the case where U940 is applied.
The present invention is not limited to this, and according to the first to fourth directions and rows instructed via the direction indicating means and the row indicating means,
If the input target character selected in the character matrix can be recognized, various other character recognition means such as a microprocessor can be widely applied.

Furthermore, in the above-described first to tenth embodiments, the indicator for designating the kana in the character matrix is displayed on the display means, and the indicator designated via the direction designating means and the column designating means is displayed. As display control means for moving the indicator on the character matrix according to the first to fourth directions and columns, FIG.
9 to 73, the case where the main CPU 940 described above is applied has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and an indicator that indicates a kana in a character matrix is displayed on the display unit, and the direction indicating unit and If the indicator can be moved on the character matrix in accordance with the first to fourth directions and columns designated via the column designating means, various other display control means such as a microprocessor can be provided. It can be widely applied.

Furthermore, in the above-described first to tenth embodiments, the direction indicating mode in which the first to eighth directions can be instructed via the integrated direction key and the numeral input via the integrated direction key. The case where the character type changing key 915 described above with reference to FIGS. 59 to 73 is applied as the mode selecting means for selecting a possible numeral input mode has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the integrated directional key. If it is possible to select the direction indicating mode in which the first to eighth directions can be instructed via the and the number input mode in which the numbers can be input through the integrated direction keys, other commands and the like are assigned together. Various other mode selecting means such as operation keys can be widely applied.

Further, in the above-described first to tenth embodiments, eight input portions provided at equal angular intervals around the predetermined reference point and one input provided at the reference point. Are integrated with each other, and eight input units are assigned directional instruction commands for designating first to eighth directions toward the periphery at equal angular intervals from the reference point, and the eight input units and one
In the case where the integrated direction key 971A of the character input key group 971 described above with reference to FIGS. 59 to 73 is applied as the integrated direction key to which different one-digit numbers are assigned as the characters that can be input to each input unit. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and eight input sections provided at equal angular intervals around a predetermined reference point and one input section provided at the reference point are integrated. , 8 input sections are assigned directional instruction commands for instructing first to eighth directions toward the periphery at equal angular intervals from the reference point, and input to the 8 input sections and 1 input section If different one-digit numbers are assigned as possible characters, the integrated directional keys of various shapes and configurations can be widely applied.

Further, in the above-described first to tenth embodiments, FIGS. 59 to 73 have been described above as the display means for displaying the character matrix and the indicator designating the characters in the character matrix. The case where the display unit 913 is applied has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this.
If it is possible to display a character matrix and an indicator that indicates a character in the character matrix, various other display means such as a display unit that can be externally attached to the terminal body 911 can be widely applied. it can.

Further, in the above-described first to tenth embodiments, when the direction indicating mode is selected via the mode selecting means, the first to eighth directions indicated via the integrated direction key. The case where the main CPU 940 described above with reference to FIGS. 59 to 73 is applied as the display control means for moving the indicator on the character matrix according to the above is described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the mode selection means. When the direction indication mode is selected via the, if the indicator can be moved on the character matrix in accordance with the first to eighth directions indicated via the integrated direction keys, it becomes possible to operate like a microprocessor. Various other display control means can be widely applied.

Further, in the above-described first to tenth embodiments, when the cursor for reversing the characters described above with reference to FIGS. 59 to 73 is applied as the indicator for moving on the character matrix. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is possible to widely apply various other indicators such as cursors for displaying the background of characters in reverse and images of various shapes such as arrows for pointing the characters. You can

[0967]

As described above, according to the present invention, at least one column of the character matrix is displayed on the display means, and in the character recognition means, the first and second columns parallel to the rows of the character matrix and opposite to each other. Columns of the character matrix and first to fourth directions designated via direction designating means for designating directions and third and fourth directions parallel to and opposite to the columns of the character matrix. By recognizing the input target character selected in the character matrix in accordance with the column designated via the column designating means for designating A desired input target character can be selected by sequentially changing rows and columns in the character matrix, and at this time, according to the instruction of the column, the rows of other columns in the character matrix can be changed without changing the row. Characters can be directly selected as input characters, thus It is possible to make it easy to input character to the dramatically.

Also, eight input parts provided at equal angular intervals around a predetermined reference point and 1 provided at the reference point.
8 input sections are integrated, 8 input sections are assigned directional instruction commands for instructing the first to eighth directions toward the periphery at equal angular intervals from the reference point, and 8 input sections Section and one input section select a direction indicating mode capable of indicating the first to eighth directions via an integrated direction key to which different one-digit numbers are assigned as characters that can be input, and display means A character matrix and an indicator designating a character in the character matrix are displayed on the display, and the indicator is designated on the character matrix in accordance with the first to eighth directions designated by the display control means via the integrated direction keys. By making it move, it is possible to freely move the instruction in eight directions in the character matrix in response to the instructions in the first to eighth directions to select the desired input target character, and thus the character is input. To make it much easier to enter Kill.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a usage pattern of the Internet by a data providing system.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a usage pattern of a portable dedicated terminal rented to a customer.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a usage pattern of a portable dedicated terminal sold to a customer.

FIG. 4 is a first configuration of a data providing system according to the present description.
It is a block diagram showing an embodiment of.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a data providing system according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a data format of header data added to content data.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a rental reservation processing procedure in the data providing system.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a data providing system according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a data format of content acquisition request data for acquiring content data from a content server.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a rental reservation processing procedure in the data providing system.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a data providing system according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of advertiser company registration information.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of customer registration information.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing contract conditions between a customer, an advertiser, and a company.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of customer registration information updated by a customer using the Internet.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a matching unit.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of advertiser company introduction information.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of customer introduction information.

FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of advertiser company information updated by contract establishment.

FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of customer registration information updated by the conclusion of a contract.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing a procedure of advertiser company registration processing in the data providing system.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing an advertiser company introduction processing procedure in the data providing system.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing an advertiser company introduction processing procedure in the data providing system.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing a contract processing procedure in the data providing system.

FIG. 25 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a data providing system according to a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 26 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a matching unit.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing a procedure for introducing an advertiser company in the data providing system.

FIG. 28 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a data providing system according to a sixth embodiment.

FIG. 29 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a content selection screen using a three-dimensional virtual reality space image showing the inside of a store.

FIG. 30 is a schematic diagram illustrating reproduction of advertisement data on a content selection screen.

FIG. 31 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a content selection screen customized according to a customer request.

FIG. 32 is a flowchart showing a content providing processing procedure using content selection screen data in the data providing system.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of a content providing processing procedure in the data providing system.

FIG. 34 is a flowchart showing a customization processing procedure in the data providing system.

FIG. 35 is a flowchart showing a content providing processing procedure using customized screen data in the data providing system.

FIG. 36 is a conceptual diagram for explaining customization of a content selection screen according to another embodiment with respect to the sixth embodiment.

FIG. 37 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method of providing content data from a content server to a data providing server.

FIG. 38 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a data providing system according to a seventh embodiment.

FIG. 39 is a schematic diagram for explaining rental of content data.

FIG. 40 is a schematic diagram for explaining a request for equivalent exchange.

[Fig. 41] Single song content data and single C
It is a conceptual diagram with which the equivalent exchange with the package media of D is provided.

FIG. 42 is a conceptual diagram for explaining delivery of package media by equivalent exchange.

FIG. 43 is a flowchart showing an equivalent exchange processing procedure in the data providing system.

FIG. 44 is a flowchart showing an equivalent exchange processing procedure in the data providing system.

FIG. 45 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a data providing system according to an eighth embodiment.

FIG. 46 is a schematic diagram for explaining a request for equivalent exchange.

FIG. 47 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a data table in a package media database.

FIG. 48 is a conceptual diagram for explaining equivalent exchange of a plurality of content data and a package medium of an album CD.

FIG. 49 is a flowchart showing an equivalent exchange processing procedure in the data providing system.

FIG. 50 is a flowchart showing an equivalent exchange processing procedure in the data providing system.

FIG. 51 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a data providing system according to a ninth embodiment.

FIG. 52 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a system management server.

FIG. 53 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a request terminal.

FIG. 54 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a data providing server.

FIG. 55 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a package providing server.

FIG. 56 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of an advertiser company server.

FIG. 57 is a schematic external view showing a configuration of a portable dedicated terminal.

FIG. 58 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a portable dedicated terminal.

FIG. 59 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a data providing system according to a tenth embodiment.

FIG. 60 is a schematic line external view showing a configuration of a portable dedicated terminal.

FIG. 61 is a schematic external view showing the configuration of the back surface of the terminal body.

FIG. 62 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a portable dedicated terminal.

FIG. 63 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a character input key group.

FIG. 64 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a hiragana input screen.

[Fig. 65] Fig. 65 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a Roman character input screen.

FIG. 66 is a flowchart showing a character input processing procedure.

FIG. 67 is a flowchart showing a character input processing procedure.

FIG. 68 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a character input key group according to another embodiment of the tenth embodiment.

FIG. 69 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a character input key group according to another embodiment of the tenth embodiment.

FIG. 70 is a schematic diagram for explaining allocation of vowels to character input keys according to another embodiment of the tenth embodiment.

FIG. 71 is a schematic diagram for explaining the allocation of vowels to character input keys according to another embodiment of the tenth embodiment.

72 is a schematic diagram showing configurations of a hiragana selection table and a Roman character selection table according to another embodiment of the tenth embodiment. FIG.

FIG. 73 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of a hiragana selection table according to another embodiment of the tenth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

900 ... Data providing system, 910 ... Portable dedicated terminal, 911 ... Terminal body, 914, 971, 972 ...
... Character input key group, 914A ... Cross key, 914Aa
...... Upper corner, 914Ab ...... Lower corner, 914Ac ...
… Left corner, 914Ad …… Right corner, 914Ae ……
Center part, 914B ... 1st character input key, 914C ...
... second character input key, 914D ... third character input key, 914E ... fourth character input key, 914F ... fifth character input key, 915 ... character type change key, 940
...... Main CPU, 913 …… Display unit, 942 …… Operation unit, 946 …… Timing generator, 967, 98
0, 982 ... Hiragana selection table, 970, 981 ... Roman character selection table, 971A ... Integrated direction key, 972A to 972I ... Character input key, RT38 ... Character input processing procedure.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Shigeki Yonezawa             Soni, 2-17-1, Higashigotanda, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo             -In EMCS Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 5B020 FF14

Claims (45)

[Claims] 1. A display means for displaying at least one column of a character matrix, first and second directions parallel to the rows of the character matrix and opposite to each other, and parallel to the columns of the character matrix and to each other. Directional indicating means for indicating the opposite third and fourth directions, column indicating means for indicating a column of the character matrix, and instruction through the direction indicating means and the column indicating means. A character input device, comprising: character recognition means for recognizing an input target character selected in the character matrix according to the first to fourth directions and the column. 2. The display means displays at least one column of the character matrix listing the kana of selectable vowels and consonants, and the character recognition means displays the at least one column designated by the direction indicating means. 1st and 2nd
Recognizing the input target character selected in the character matrix in accordance with the direction of, and the column designated via the column designating means and associated with the vowel in the character matrix. The character input device according to claim 1. 3. The character recognizing means includes the first to fourth instructions given by the direction indicating means.
The character input device according to claim 2, wherein the character to be input selected in the character matrix is recognized according to the direction. 4. An indicator for designating the kana in the character matrix is displayed on the display means, and the first to fourth directions designated by the direction designating means and the column designating means and the direction. The character input device according to claim 3, further comprising display control means for moving the indicator on the character matrix according to a column. 5. The direction indicating means has a direction indicating input section corresponding to substantially the center of each of the four sides of the quadrilateral, and each of the direction indicating input sections is connected to the four sides from the center of the quadrangle. Direction instruction commands for instructing the first to fourth directions toward the substantially center are assigned, and the column instruction means has column instruction input portions corresponding to the four corners of the quadrangle and the center. 5. The character input device according to claim 4, wherein a column instruction command for instructing the column of the character selection table is assigned to each column instruction input unit. 6. The display means reproduces the inside of a predetermined store and the customer who visited the store.
A three-dimensional virtual reality space image is displayed, and the display control means moves the customer image within the three-dimensional virtual reality space image according to the first to fourth directions instructed via the direction instructing means. The character input device according to claim 5, wherein 7. The column designating means is assigned to each of the column designating input sections with direction designating commands for designating fifth to eighth directions from the center of the quadrilateral to the four corners. The quadrilateral integrated directional key integrated with the directional indicating means, wherein the display control means includes the first to eighth directional keys instructed via the integrated directional key.
7. The character input device according to claim 6, wherein the image of the customer is moved in the three-dimensional virtual reality space image according to the direction of. 8. The integrated directional key is assigned a different one-digit number as a character that can be input to each of the direction instruction input sections and each of the column instruction input sections. Character input device. 9. A direction indicating mode capable of instructing the first to eighth directions via the integrated direction key and a numeral input mode capable of inputting the numeral via the integrated direction key. Mode selection means, and when the number input mode is selected via the mode selection means, the identification information consisting of a number associated with desired acquisition data is input via the integrated direction key. The character input device according to claim 8. 10. A display step of displaying at least one column of a character matrix, first and second directions parallel to rows of the character matrix and opposite to each other, and parallel to the columns of the character matrix and to each other. The first to fourth directions designated by the direction designating means for designating the opposite third and fourth directions, and the column designating means for designating the columns of the character matrix. And a character recognition step of recognizing an input target character selected in the character matrix in accordance with the column designated via the character input method. 11. The displaying step displays at least one column of the character matrix for displaying a list of selectable vowel and consonant kana, and the character recognizing step displays the at least one column specified by the direction indicating means. 1st and 2nd
Recognizing the input target character selected in the character matrix in accordance with the direction of, and the column designated via the column designating means and associated with the vowel in the character matrix. The character input method according to claim 10, wherein: 12. The character recognizing step includes the first to fourth instructions given by the direction indicating means.
The character input method according to claim 11, wherein the character to be input selected in the character matrix is recognized according to the direction. 13. An indicator for instructing the kana on the character matrix is moved according to the first to fourth directions and the column instructed through the direction instructing means and the column instructing means. The character input method according to claim 12, further comprising a display control step. 14. The character recognizing step has a direction indicating input section corresponding to substantially the center of each of the four sides of the quadrilateral, and each of the direction indicating input sections is connected to the four sides from the center of the quadrangle. The first to fourth directions instructed via the direction instructing means to which the direction instructing instructions for instructing the first to fourth directions toward the substantially center are assigned, and the quadrilateral 4 An instruction is provided via the column instruction means having column instruction input units corresponding to the corners and the center, and each column instruction input unit is assigned a column instruction command for instructing the column of the character selection table. The character input method according to claim 13, wherein the input target character selected in the character matrix is recognized according to the column that has been input. 15. The display step reproduces the inside of a predetermined store and a customer who visits the store.
A three-dimensional virtual reality space image is displayed, and the display control step moves the image of the customer in the three-dimensional virtual reality space image according to the first to fourth directions instructed via the direction instructing means. The character input method according to claim 14, wherein the character input method is performed. 16. In the display control step, a direction instruction command for instructing a fifth to an eighth direction from the center of the quadrilateral to the four corners is assigned to each of the column instruction input sections. In the three-dimensional virtual reality space image, the column indicating means and the direction indicating means are integrated in the three-dimensional virtual reality space image in accordance with the first to eighth directions indicated via the quadrangular integrated direction key. The character input method according to claim 15, wherein the image of the customer is moved. 17. The first directional key via the integrated directional key to which a different one-digit number is assigned as a character that can be input to each of the direction instruction input sections and each of the column instruction input sections.
To the direction input mode capable of instructing the eighth direction and the number input mode selected by the mode selection means for selecting the number input mode capable of inputting the number through the integral direction key 17. The character input method according to claim 16, further comprising: an identification information input step of inputting identification information composed of a number associated with desired acquisition data via the integrated direction key. 18. A display step for displaying at least one column of a character matrix, first and second directions parallel to rows of the character matrix and opposite to each other, and parallel to the columns of the character matrix and to each other. The first to fourth directions designated by the direction designating means for designating the opposite third and fourth directions, and the column designating means for designating the columns of the character matrix. A character for causing a character input device to execute a character input processing program, which comprises a character recognition step for recognizing an input target character selected in the character matrix according to the column designated via the character input device. Input processing program storage medium. 19. The display step displays at least one column of the character matrix for displaying a list of kana of selectable vowels and consonants, and the character recognition step comprises the step of instructing via the direction instructing means. 1st and 2nd
Recognizing the input target character selected in the character matrix in accordance with the direction of, and the column designated via the column designating means and associated with the vowel in the character matrix. 19. The character input processing program storage medium according to claim 18. 20. The character recognizing step includes the first to fourth instructions given by the direction indicating means.
20. The character input processing program storage medium according to claim 19, wherein the character to be input selected in the character matrix is recognized according to the direction. 21. An indicator for instructing the kana on the character matrix is moved according to the first to fourth directions and the column instructed via the direction instructing means and the column instructing means. 21. The character input processing program storage medium according to claim 20, further comprising a display control step. 22. The character recognizing step has a direction indicating input section corresponding to substantially the center of each of the four sides of the quadrangle, and each of the direction indicating input sections is connected to the four sides from the center of the quadrangle. The first to fourth directions instructed via the direction instructing means to which the direction instructing instructions for instructing the first to fourth directions toward the substantially center are assigned, and the quadrilateral 4 An instruction is provided via the column instruction means having column instruction input units corresponding to the corners and the center, and each column instruction input unit is assigned a column instruction command for instructing the column of the character selection table. 22. The character input processing program storage medium according to claim 21, wherein the character to be input selected in the character matrix is recognized according to the selected column. 23. The display step reproduces the inside of a predetermined store and the customer who visited the store.
A three-dimensional virtual reality space image is displayed, and the display control step moves the image of the customer in the three-dimensional virtual reality space image according to the first to fourth directions instructed via the direction instructing means. The character input processing program storage medium according to claim 22, wherein the storage medium is a character input processing program storage medium. 24. In the display control step, a direction instruction command for instructing a fifth to an eighth direction toward the four corners from the center of the quadrangle is assigned to each of the column instruction input parts. In the three-dimensional virtual reality space image, the column indicating means and the direction indicating means are integrated in the three-dimensional virtual reality space image in accordance with the first to eighth directions indicated via the quadrangular integrated direction key. 24. The character input processing program storage medium according to claim 23, wherein the image of the customer is moved. 25. The first directional key via the integrated directional key to which a different one-digit number is assigned as a character that can be input to each of the direction instruction input sections and each of the column instruction input sections
To the direction input mode capable of instructing the eighth direction and the number input mode selected by the mode selection means for selecting the number input mode capable of inputting the number through the integral direction key 25. The character input processing program storage according to claim 24, further comprising: an identification information input step of inputting identification information composed of a number associated with desired acquisition data via the integrated direction key. Medium. 26. A display step of displaying at least one column of a character matrix on a character input device; first and second directions parallel to rows of the character matrix and opposite to each other; Instructing the columns of the character matrix and the first to fourth directions instructed via the direction instructing means for instructing third and fourth directions parallel to and opposite to each other. A character input processing program for executing a character recognition step of recognizing an input target character selected in the character matrix according to the column designated via the column designating means. 27. The displaying step displays at least one column of the character matrix listing the kana of selectable vowels and consonants, and the character recognizing step displays the first character instructed via the direction indicating means. 1st and 2nd
Recognizing the input target character selected in the character matrix in accordance with the direction of, and the column designated via the column designating means and associated with the vowel in the character matrix. 27. The character input processing program according to claim 26. 28. The character recognition step, wherein the first to fourth instructions are given by the direction indicating means.
The character input processing program according to claim 27, wherein the character to be input selected in the character matrix is recognized according to the direction. 29. An indicator for instructing the kana on the character matrix is moved according to the first to fourth directions and the column instructed via the direction instructing means and the column instructing means. 29. The character input processing program according to claim 28, further comprising a display control step. 30. The character recognizing step has a direction indicating input section corresponding to substantially the center of each of the four sides of the quadrilateral, and each of the direction indicating input sections is connected to the four sides from the center of the quadrangle. The first to fourth directions instructed via the direction instructing means to which the direction instructing instructions for instructing the first to fourth directions toward the substantially center are assigned, and the quadrilateral 4 An instruction is provided via the column instruction means having column instruction input units corresponding to the corners and the center, and each column instruction input unit is assigned a column instruction command for instructing the column of the character selection table. 30. The character input processing program according to claim 29, wherein the character to be input selected in the character matrix is recognized according to the selected column. 31. The display step reproduces the inside of a predetermined store and a customer who visits the store.
A three-dimensional virtual reality space image is displayed, and the display control step moves the image of the customer in the three-dimensional virtual reality space image according to the first to fourth directions instructed via the direction instructing means. The character input processing program according to claim 30, wherein the character input processing program is executed. 32. In the display control step, a direction instruction command for instructing a fifth to an eighth direction toward the four corners from the center of the quadrangle is assigned to each of the column instruction input sections. In the three-dimensional virtual reality space image, the column indicating means and the direction indicating means are integrated in the three-dimensional virtual reality space image in accordance with the first to eighth directions indicated via the quadrangular integrated direction key. 32. The character input processing program according to claim 31, wherein the image of the customer is moved. 33. The first directional key via the integrated directional key to which a different one-digit number is assigned as a character that can be input to each of the direction instruction input sections and each of the column instruction input sections
To the direction input mode capable of instructing the eighth direction and the number input mode selected by the mode selection means for selecting the number input mode capable of inputting the number through the integral direction key 33. The character input processing program according to claim 32, further comprising an identification information input step of inputting identification information composed of a number associated with desired acquisition data via the integrated direction key. 34. Eight input units provided at equal angular intervals around a predetermined reference point and one input unit provided at the reference point are integrated to form the eight input units. Is assigned a direction instruction command for instructing the first to eighth directions toward the surroundings at the equal angular intervals from the reference point, and can be input to the eight input units and the one input unit. Different directional keys to which different one-digit numbers are assigned respectively, a direction indicating mode capable of instructing the first to eighth directions via the integrated directional key, and the integrated directional key A mode selecting means for selecting a numeral input mode in which a numeral can be inputted, a display means for displaying a character matrix and an indicator for indicating a character in the character matrix, and a direction for displaying the direction via the mode selecting means. When the instruction mode is selected Character input apparatus characterized by comprising a display control means for moving the indicator on the character matrix in accordance with the direction of the first to eighth instructed via the integral direction keys. 35. The display means reproduces the inside of a predetermined store and the customer who visited the store.
The three-dimensional virtual reality space image is displayed, and the display control means moves the image of the customer in the three-dimensional virtual reality space image according to the first to eighth directions instructed via the integral direction key. The character input device according to claim 34, wherein 36. The display control means, when the number input mode is selected via the mode selection means, an identification consisting of a number associated with desired acquisition data via the integrated direction key. The character input device according to claim 35, wherein information is input. 37. Eight input units provided at equal angular intervals around a predetermined reference point and one input unit provided at the reference point are integrated to form the eight input units. Is assigned a direction instruction command for instructing the first to eighth directions toward the surroundings at the equal angular intervals from the reference point, and can be input to the eight input units and the one input unit. The direction indicating mode capable of indicating the first to eighth directions is selected through the integrated direction keys to which different one-digit numbers are assigned as different characters, and the character matrix and the characters in the character matrix are selected. A display step for displaying an indicator for instructing, and the first to eighth instructions instructed via the integrated direction key
And a display control step of moving the indicator on the character matrix according to the direction of the character input method. 38. The display step displays the three-dimensional virtual reality space image that reproduces the inside of a predetermined store and the customer who visited the store while selecting the direction indicating mode, and the display control step, 38. The character input method according to claim 37, wherein the image of the customer is moved in the three-dimensional virtual reality space image according to the first to eighth directions instructed via the integrated direction key. . 39. A mode selecting step for selecting the numeral input mode, wherein the display controlling step causes the identification information consisting of a numeral associated with desired acquisition data to be inputted through the integral direction key. The character input method according to claim 38, wherein: 40. The eight input units provided at equal angular intervals around a predetermined reference point and one input unit provided at the reference point are integrated to form the eight input units. Is assigned a direction instruction command for instructing the first to eighth directions toward the surroundings at the equal angular intervals from the reference point, and can be input to the eight input units and the one input unit. The direction indicating mode capable of indicating the first to eighth directions is selected through the integrated direction keys to which different one-digit numbers are assigned as different characters, and the character matrix and the characters in the character matrix are selected. A display step for displaying an indicator for instructing, and the first to eighth instructions instructed via the integrated direction key
And a display control step of moving the indicator on the character matrix according to the direction of the character input processing program storage medium for causing a character input device to execute the character input processing program. 41. The display step displays a three-dimensional virtual reality space image reproducing the inside of a predetermined store and a customer who visits the store while selecting the direction indicating mode, and the display control step comprises: The character input process according to claim 40, wherein the image of the customer is moved in the three-dimensional virtual reality space image in accordance with the first to eighth directions instructed via the integrated direction key. Program storage medium. 42. A mode selecting step for selecting the numeral input mode, wherein the display controlling step causes the identification information consisting of a numeral associated with desired acquisition data to be inputted through the integrated direction key. 42. The character input processing program storage medium according to claim 41. 43. A character input device, wherein eight input parts provided at equal angular intervals around a predetermined reference point and one input part provided at the reference point are integrated. , The eight input sections are assigned with direction instruction commands for instructing the first to eighth directions toward the surroundings at the equal angular intervals from the reference point, and the eight input sections and the one input section. Selecting a direction indicating mode capable of indicating the first to eighth directions through an integrated direction key to which different one-digit numbers are assigned as characters that can be input to each of the input units, and a character matrix; A display step of displaying a designator designating a character in the character matrix, and the first to eighth designations made via the integral direction key.
A character input processing program for executing a display control step of moving the indicator on the character matrix in accordance with the direction of. 44. The display step displays a three-dimensional virtual reality space image reproducing the inside of a predetermined store and a customer who visits the store while selecting the direction indicating mode, and the display control step comprises: The character input processing program according to claim 43, wherein the image of the customer is moved in the three-dimensional virtual reality space image in accordance with the first to eighth directions instructed via the integrated direction key. 45. A mode selection step of selecting the numeral input mode, wherein the display control step causes the identification information consisting of a numeral associated with desired acquisition data to be inputted through the integral direction key. The character input processing program according to claim 44, wherein: