JP2006202316A - Digital content distribution system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology capable of distributing digital contents speedily. <P>SOLUTION: A digital content distribution method for distributing digital contents through a network comprises steps for: instructing the distribution of digital contents according to a distribution schedule; distributing the digital contents according to the instructed distribution schedule; and selling a specific digital content selected from the distributed digital contents. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a digital content distribution system for distributing digital content, and in particular, distributes digital content generated by digitizing originals such as books from a storage management center to a store and sells the digital content selected by the customer at the store. The present invention relates to a technology that is effective when applied to a digital content distribution system.

  With the spread of the Internet, electronic commerce has progressed, and the sale of digital content that can be sold and delivered over the network has attracted attention. In addition, the digitization of information (novels, comics, music, games, etc.) sold on goods and package media through existing distribution routes and distribution / sales on the network are expected.

  Conventional technologies for selling digitized content include online sales of various contents at electronic mall sites on the Internet, download of digital content via the network, and storage media for contents desired by customers at stores such as convenience stores Terminals that are copied to the provided media, services that deliver information by telephone service number, etc. are operating as real businesses.

  Patent Document 1 describes an information distribution system that distributes information created or edited using information distributed in a network and an information creation method applied to the system. This information distribution system creates new information using information distributed in the network and distributes it through the network, and creates and changes information according to processing conditions such as information viewing environment and creation environment. The editing process can be easily executed.

  In addition, distribution and sales using paper media currently play a central role in content distribution and sales. In distribution using paper media, the format of printing and bundling the content on paper is the distribution format and It affects the viewing style and is currently forming a culture. While preserving the distribution form and viewing form and inheriting the formed culture, the content using paper media is converted into digital content, and the system is shifted to a system that realizes network distribution and sales. Environmental problems of existing distribution media There is a need for a digital content distribution system that solves distribution issues such as content up-to-date issues, product return and disposal issues, and distribution cost issues.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-254850

  In the conventional technology for selling digital content, the digital content is sold, but it is not distributed in the form of digital data throughout the digital content distribution system. There is a problem that the digital content generated by the method cannot be immediately distributed to a dealer via a network and sold to a customer.

  That is, in the conventional technology for selling digital contents, normal distribution such as delivery of CD-ROM storing digital contents is included in the middle of the digital contents distribution system. There is a problem that it takes several days for delivery of digital contents that are requested.

  In addition, when digital content is sold via a network, the digital content is copied and sold. However, the conventional technology for selling digital content collects a digital content license fee according to the number of copies, Since a system for paying the content holder has not been established, there is a problem that a license fee corresponding to the number of sales may not be paid to the content holder.

  In addition, the form that the user views is important for the content already distributed. That is, what is distributed in the form of a book has a form as a book, and a method for searching for it as a book has been established. There is a reader's way of reading a book such as reading for each page and turning the page.

  However, the conventional technology for selling digital content does not digitize the appearance such as the appearance of books and CDs that are actually distributed as faithfully as possible. There is a case where the appearance of digital content digitized from the original may differ greatly, and there is a problem that it becomes difficult to handle it in the same way as the actual one. For example, if you enter only the text data of a book to make it an electronic book, the appearance information such as the cover and spine cover will be lost. It is difficult to search for an electronic book consisting only of text data in the same way as the above.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems and provide a technique capable of distributing digital contents at high speed.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of distributing license fees according to the number of digital contents sold to content holders.

  The present invention is a digital content distribution system for distributing digital content via a network, which distributes and sells digital content via a network and distributes a license fee according to the number of sales to content holders. .

  In the digital content distribution system of the present invention, first, an original is received from a content holder that owns the original of the content, and digitized by a digitization center to generate digital content. The generated digital content is stored in the storage management center after being approved by the content holder.

  In the storage management center, a distribution schedule for distributing digital contents is created, and a plurality of digital contents are distributed from the storage management center to a store according to the distribution schedule. A plurality of distribution stores are divided into specific groups such as affiliated stores and a plurality of distribution management centers are installed to manage distribution to stores belonging to each group, and the distribution management centers are relayed to distribute the distribution. May be performed.

  The dealer sells the digital content by copying the specific digital content selected by the customer from the distributed digital content to a medium or downloading it to a playback device.

  When the digital content desired by the customer is not distributed to the store, a distribution request is transmitted from the store to the storage management center via the distribution management center, and the digital content is distributed on demand. The digital content distributed on demand is cached in the distribution management center when passing through the distribution management center, and when there is the same distribution request from another store managed by the distribution management center, the storage management center On-demand distribution is performed to the store having the same distribution request from the distribution management center.

  Each sales store collects sales information by storing the sales contents in a magnetic disk device every time digital contents are sold. The storage management center receives the sales information collected at each store via the distribution management center, sums it up, calculates the license fee, and then remits the license fee to the content holder.

  As described above, according to the digital content distribution system of the present invention, the distribution of the digital content from the storage management center to the store is performed via the network, so that the digital content can be distributed at a high speed.

  According to the present invention, since digital contents are all distributed from the storage management center to the store via the network, the digital contents can be distributed at high speed.

  A digital content distribution system according to an embodiment that sells an electronic book generated by digitizing a book at a store such as a bookstore or a convenience store will be described below.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a digital content distribution system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the digital content distribution system of the present embodiment includes a digitizing device 100, an approval device 110, a storage management device 120, a distribution management device 130, a sales device 140, and a playback device 150. is doing.

  The digitizing apparatus 100 is an apparatus that digitizes an original book to generate an electronic book, receives an approval message from the approval apparatus 110, and sends it to the storage management apparatus 120. The approval device 110 is a device for approving the contents of the electronic book generated by the digitizing device 100 on the publisher side.

  The storage management device 120 is a device that stores the electronic book generated by the digitizing device 100. The distribution management device 130 converts the communication protocol between the storage management device 120 and the sales device 140 to absorb the interface difference, and manages the distribution of the electronic book to the sales device 140 connected to the device. Device.

  The sales apparatus 140 is an apparatus that sells an electronic book to a customer by copying the electronic book selected by the customer to a medium or downloading the electronic book to the playback device 150. The playback device 150 is a device that plays back an electronic book purchased by the sales device 140.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, a plurality of distribution management centers are connected to a single storage management center via a network, and a plurality of sales stores, such as a bookstore, a convenience store, and an electronic mall, are connected to one distribution management center. Are connected via a network. Here, the network is a communication path for distributing an electronic book as digital content from a predetermined place to a place, and includes both wired and wireless.

  The distribution management center converts the communication protocol between the storage management center and the store, and distributes to a plurality of stores belonging to each group when the plurality of stores are divided into specific groups such as affiliated stores. In the case of a store that does not belong to any group, it may be configured to connect directly to the storage management center without going through the distribution management center. In this way, distribution stores that belong to one group are made the same type of stores as affiliated stores, etc., so if it is a convenience store, distribution will be focused on magazines, etc. Can stand up. As shown in FIG. 1, a distribution management center may be provided for each group to form a plurality of distribution management centers, or a plurality of groups may be connected to one distribution management center and each group within one distribution management center. Different management may be performed.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the digitizing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the digitizing apparatus 100 according to this embodiment includes a CPU 201, a memory 202, a magnetic disk device 203, a keyboard 204, a display device 205, a communication adapter 206, and a scanner 207. Yes.

  The CPU 201 is a control device that controls the operation of the entire digitizing apparatus 100. The memory 202 is a storage device that loads various processing programs and data for controlling the operation of the digitizing apparatus 100. The magnetic disk device 203 is a storage device for storing data such as the various processing programs and electronic books.

  The keyboard 204 is an input device for inputting an operation instruction or the like to the digitizing device 100. The display device 205 is an output device that displays the operation status of the digitizing device 100. The communication adapter 206 is an adapter that communicates with other devices. The scanner 207 is a device that reads an original book as image data.

  The digitizing apparatus 100 includes a digitizing processing unit 210. The digitization processing unit 210 is a processing unit that digitizes an original book to generate an electronic book, requests the approval device 110 to confirm the contents, and sends the approved electronic book to the storage management device 120.

  A program for causing the digitizing apparatus 100 to function as the digitizing processing unit 210 is recorded on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM and stored in a magnetic disk or the like, and then loaded into a memory and executed. The medium for recording the program may be a medium other than the CD-ROM.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the approval device 110 of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the approval device 110 according to this embodiment includes a CPU 301, a memory 302, a magnetic disk device 303, a keyboard 304, a display device 305, and a communication adapter 306.

  The CPU 301 is a control device that controls the overall operation of the approval device 110. The memory 302 is a storage device that loads various processing programs and data for controlling the operation of the approval device 110. The magnetic disk device 303 is a storage device that stores data such as the various processing programs and electronic books.

  The keyboard 304 is an input device for inputting an operation instruction or the like to the approval device 110. The display device 305 is an output device that displays the operation status and the like of the approval device 110. The communication adapter 306 is an adapter that communicates with other devices.

  The approval apparatus 110 has an approval processing unit 310. The approval processing unit 310 is a processing unit that displays the contents of the electronic book requested to confirm the contents from the digitizing apparatus 100 and transmits a message indicating whether to approve the contents of the electronic book to the digitizing apparatus 100. .

  A program for causing the approval device 110 to function as the approval processing unit 310 is recorded on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM and stored in a magnetic disk or the like, and then loaded into a memory and executed. The medium for recording the program may be a medium other than the CD-ROM.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the storage management device 120 of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the storage management device 120 of this embodiment includes a CPU 401, a memory 402, a magnetic disk device 403, a keyboard 404, a display device 405, and a communication adapter 406.

  The CPU 401 is a control device that controls the operation of the entire storage management device 120. The memory 402 is a storage device that loads various processing programs and data for controlling the operation of the accumulation management device 120. The magnetic disk device 403 is a storage device for storing data such as the various processing programs and electronic books.

  The keyboard 404 is an input device for inputting an operation instruction or the like to the storage management device 120. The display device 405 is an output device that displays the operation status of the storage management device 120. The communication adapter 406 is an adapter that communicates with other devices.

  Further, the storage management device 120 includes a storage management processing unit 410, a distribution control processing unit 411, a request-time distribution processing unit 412, and a license processing unit 413.

  The accumulation management processing unit 410 is a processing unit that receives the electronic book created by the digitizing apparatus 100 and stores it in the magnetic disk device 403. The distribution control processing unit 411 is a processing unit that creates a distribution schedule for distributing an electronic book to the sales apparatus 140 and instructs the distribution management apparatus 130 to distribute the electronic book according to the distribution schedule. The on-request distribution processing unit 412 is a processing unit that receives a distribution request from the sales apparatus 140 relayed from the distribution management apparatus 130 and transmits the electronic book requested for distribution to the distribution management apparatus 130.

  The license processing unit 413 aggregates the sales information collected by each sales apparatus 140 for each electronic book, calculates a license fee for each electronic book from the total sales information, and calculates the calculated license fee for each electronic book. This is the processing unit that sends money to publishers.

  A program for causing the storage management device 120 to function as the storage management processing unit 410, the distribution control processing unit 411, the on-demand distribution processing unit 412 and the license processing unit 413 is recorded on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM and stored on a magnetic disk or the like. It is assumed that after being stored, it is loaded into memory and executed. The medium for recording the program may be a medium other than the CD-ROM.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the distribution management apparatus 130 of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the distribution management device 130 of this embodiment includes a CPU 501, a memory 502, a magnetic disk device 503, a keyboard 504, a display device 505, and a communication adapter 506.

  The CPU 501 is a control device that controls the overall operation of the distribution management device 130. The memory 502 is a storage device that loads various processing programs and data for controlling the operation of the distribution management device 130. The magnetic disk device 503 is a storage device that stores data such as the various processing programs and electronic books.

  A keyboard 504 is an input device for inputting an operation instruction or the like to the distribution management device 130. The display device 505 is an output device that displays the operation status and the like of the distribution management device 130. The communication adapter 506 is an adapter that communicates with other devices.

  In addition, the distribution management apparatus 130 includes a protocol conversion processing unit 510, a distribution processing unit 511, a distribution request relay processing unit 512, and a sales information relay processing unit 513.

  The protocol conversion processing unit 510 is a processing unit that mutually converts communication protocols between the storage management device 120 and the sales device 140 to absorb differences in interface. The distribution processing unit 511 is a processing unit that distributes the electronic book to the sales apparatus 140 according to the distribution schedule instructed from the storage management apparatus 120.

  The distribution request relay processing unit 512 is a processing unit that relays a distribution request from the sales apparatus 140 to the storage management apparatus 120 and distributes the electronic book transmitted from the storage management apparatus 120 in response to the distribution request to the sales apparatus 140. The sales information relay processing unit 513 is a processing unit that relays the sales information transmitted from the sales device 140 to the storage management device 120.

  A program for causing the distribution management device 130 to function as the protocol conversion processing unit 510, the distribution processing unit 511, the distribution request relay processing unit 512, and the sales information relay processing unit 513 is recorded on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM and is recorded on a magnetic disk or the like. It is assumed that after being stored in the memory, it is loaded into the memory and executed. The medium for recording the program may be a medium other than the CD-ROM.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the sales apparatus 140 of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the sales apparatus 140 of this embodiment includes a CPU 601, a memory 602, a magnetic disk device 603, a keyboard 604, a display device 605, a communication adapter 606, and a medium writing device 607. ing.

  The CPU 601 is a control device that controls the operation of the entire sales apparatus 140. The memory 602 is a storage device that loads various processing programs and data for controlling the operation of the sales apparatus 140. A magnetic disk device 603 is a storage device that stores data such as the various processing programs and electronic books.

  A keyboard 604 is an input device for inputting an operation instruction or the like to the sales apparatus 140. The display device 605 is an output device that displays the operating status of the sales device 140 and the like. The communication adapter 606 is an adapter that communicates with other devices. The medium writing device 607 is a device that writes a selected electronic book on a medium.

  The sales apparatus 140 includes a distribution content reception processing unit 610, a selection processing unit 611, a sales processing unit 612, a distribution request processing unit 613, and a sales information collection processing unit 614.

  The distribution content reception processing unit 610 is a processing unit that receives the electronic book distributed from the distribution management device 130 and stores it in the magnetic disk device 603. The selection processing unit 611 is a processing unit that receives identification information of a specific electronic book selected by the customer from the product information of the electronic book.

  The sales processing unit 612 is a processing unit that sells a specific electronic book selected by a customer. The distribution request processing unit 613 is a processing unit that transmits a distribution request for the electronic book selected by the customer to the distribution management apparatus 130. The sales information collection processing unit 614 is a processing unit that collects sales information of electronic books sold by the sales device 140 and transmits the sales information to the storage management device 120.

  A program for causing the sales apparatus 140 to function as the distribution content reception processing unit 610, the selection processing unit 611, the sales processing unit 612, the distribution request processing unit 613, and the sales information collection processing unit 614 is recorded on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM. Then, after being stored in a magnetic disk or the like, it is loaded into a memory and executed. The medium for recording the program may be a medium other than the CD-ROM.

  Next, in the digital content distribution system of the present embodiment, a process for digitizing a book owned by a publisher and generating an electronic book as digital content will be described.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the digitization processing unit 210 of this embodiment. After receiving the original from the publisher in step 701, in step 702, the digitization processing unit 210 of the digitizing apparatus 100 digitizes the received original to generate an electronic book and generates product information corresponding to the electronic book. To do. In step 703, the digitized electronic book is transmitted to the publisher approval device 110 and a response from the approval processing unit 310 is awaited.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the approval processing unit 310 of this embodiment. In step 801, the approval processing unit 310 of the approval device 110 receives the electronic book generated by the digitizing device 100, and in step 802 displays the content of the received electronic book on the display device 305.

  In step 803, an input from the operator is accepted. If the operation content input from the operator approves the content of the electronic book, the process proceeds to step 804, and an approval message is transmitted to the digitizing apparatus 100. If the operation content input by the operator is an instruction to correct the electronic book, the process proceeds to step 805 to transmit the correction content input by the operator to the digitizing apparatus 100.

  In step 704, the digitization processing unit 210 of the digitizing apparatus 100 checks the content of the response message from the publisher, and if there is a correction to the electronic book generated in step 702, the correction processing is performed in step 705. Later, the process returns to step 702, and the processing after digitization is performed again. If the content of the electronic book generated in step 702 is approved, the electronic book is sent to the storage management processing unit 410 of the storage management device 120.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the storage management processing unit 410 of this embodiment. In step 901, the storage management processing unit 410 of the storage management device 120 receives the electronic book and the product information transmitted from the digitizing device 100. In step 902, the electronic book and its product information are stored in a database in the magnetic disk device 403. In step 903, database update processing such as index update is performed.

  Next, in the digital content distribution system of the present embodiment, processing for selling an electronic book after distributing the electronic book stored in the storage management device 120 to the sales device 140 will be described.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the distribution control processing unit 411 of the present embodiment. In step 1001, the distribution control processing unit 411 of the storage management apparatus 120 creates a distribution schedule for distributing the electronic book to the sales apparatus 140. In step 1002, the electronic book distributed according to the distribution schedule and its product information are read.

  In step 1003, the created distribution schedule, the read electronic book and its product information are transmitted to the distribution management apparatus 130, and the distribution management apparatus 130 is instructed to distribute the electronic book according to the distribution schedule. In step 1004, it is checked whether or not the distribution instruction to each distribution management apparatus that performs distribution processing according to the distribution schedule is completed. If the instruction to each distribution management apparatus has not been completed yet, the process returns to step 1003 to continue the process, and if the instruction to each distribution management apparatus has been completed, the process ends.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the distribution processing unit 511 of the present embodiment. In step 1101, the distribution processing unit 511 of the distribution management device 130 receives the distribution schedule, the electronic book, and its product information as a distribution instruction from the storage management device 120. In step 1102, the received distribution schedule, electronic book, and product information thereof are stored in the magnetic disk device 503.

  In step 1103, the protocol conversion processing unit 510 distributes the electronic book and its merchandise information to each sales apparatus 140 according to the distribution schedule while converting the communication protocol between the storage management apparatus 120 and the sales apparatus 140. In step 1104, it is checked whether or not the distribution of the electronic book and the merchandise information to each sales apparatus for which distribution processing is performed according to the distribution schedule is completed. If the distribution to each sales apparatus has not been completed yet, the process returns to step 1103 to continue the process. If the distribution to each sales apparatus has been completed, the process ends. It is also possible to perform broadcast communication to a plurality of sales devices 140 using a communication satellite or the like, and distribute the electronic book and its product information to each sales device for which distribution processing is performed according to the distribution schedule. good.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the distribution content reception processing unit 610 of the present embodiment. In step 1201, the distribution content reception processing unit 610 of the sales apparatus 140 receives the electronic book and product information distributed from the distribution management apparatus 130 and stores them in the magnetic disk device 603. In step 1202, the received merchandise information is added to the previous merchandise information, and the data used for search processing when the customer selects an electronic book to purchase is updated. In step 1203, the free capacity of the magnetic disk device 603 is checked, and disk management processing such as deleting data that has not been recently used for sales is performed according to the value.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the sales processing unit 612 of this embodiment. In step 1301, the selection processing unit 611 of the sales apparatus 140 displays a GUI (Graphical User Interface) for searching for an electronic book on the display apparatus 605, and accepts a search condition input by a customer. When a search condition is input from the customer, the selection processing unit 611 searches for product information in the sales apparatus 140 in step 1302 and reads product information of an electronic book that matches the received search condition. In step 1303, merchandise information of the electronic book obtained as a result of the search is displayed on the display device 605, and the selection of the electronic book by the customer is accepted.

  In step 1304, it is checked whether or not a specific electronic book in the displayed product information is selected by the customer. If an electronic book is selected, the process proceeds to step 1305. If re-search is instructed, the process returns to step 1301 and accepts input of search conditions again.

  In step 1305, the sales processing unit 612 checks whether or not the electronic book selected by the customer has already been distributed. If the electronic book has already been distributed, the process proceeds to step 1307 to sell the distributed electronic book. I do. If the electronic book has not been distributed, the process proceeds to step 1306 where the distribution request processing unit 613 transmits the electronic book distribution request to the distribution management apparatus 130 and receives the electronic book on demand.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the distribution request relay processing unit 512 of the present embodiment. In step 1401, the distribution request relay processing unit 512 of the distribution management apparatus 130 receives the distribution request from the sales apparatus 140. In step 1402, it is checked whether the electronic book requested by the received distribution request is already stored in the magnetic disk device 503 of the distribution management device 130. If the electronic book is stored in the distribution management device 130. If not, go to Step 1405; otherwise, go to Step 1403. In step 1403, the protocol conversion processing unit 510 transmits the distribution request received from the sales apparatus 140 to the storage management apparatus 120 while converting the communication protocol between the storage management apparatus 120 and the sales apparatus 140.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the on-demand delivery processing unit 412 of this embodiment. In step 1501, the on-demand distribution processing unit 412 of the storage management device 120 receives the distribution request from the sales device 140 relayed by the distribution management device 130. In step 1502, the electronic book requested by the received distribution request is searched, and in step 1503, the searched electronic book is read. In step 1504, the read electronic book is transmitted to the distribution management apparatus 130, and the distribution management apparatus 130 is instructed to distribute the electronic book.

  In step 1404, the electronic book transmitted from the storage management device 120 in response to the distribution request is received and stored in the magnetic disk device 503. In step 1405, the electronic book requested from the sales apparatus 140 in response to the distribution request is read from the magnetic disk device 503 and distributed to the sales apparatus 140.

  In step 1307, the sales processing unit 612 of the sales apparatus 140 performs sales processing of the electronic book distributed from the distribution management apparatus 130, and remits the sales from the sales apparatus 140 to the license processing account. In step 1308, the sales information collection processing unit 614 of the sales apparatus 140 purchases the product ID of the electronic book sold, the salesperson ID of the salesperson in charge, as sales information indicating the contents of the sales processing performed in the above processing. The customer's personal ID, payment confirmation type, sales date, etc. are stored in the magnetic disk device 603.

  Further, the digitization processing unit 210 of the digitizing apparatus 100 can generate an electronic book composed of a plurality of digital data by dividing the original book by a predetermined unit such as a chapter or a page and digitizing it. The selection processing unit 611 of the sales apparatus 140 may accept selection of the divided predetermined unit of electronic books, and the sales processing unit 612 may sell the divided predetermined units of electronic books. In the digital content distribution system of this embodiment, since the original content can be divided and sold in arbitrary units as described above, a more flexible service can be provided to the customer.

  The digitization processing unit 210 of the digitizing apparatus 100 may generate an electronic book by digitizing an original book as image data. In this case, since the appearance of the original content is reproduced as image data, the characters in the book are input as text data, the figure in the book is input as image data, and the input dext data and image data are then input. Compared with the case of editing and digitizing into an electronic book, it is not necessary to perform an editing operation to faithfully reproduce the original content, and characters that cannot be expressed as text data can also be expressed.

  When the selection processing unit 611 of the sales apparatus 140 selects a specific electronic book, if the generated image data of the cover or spine is displayed as product information, the book is arranged in an actual bookstore. This state can be reproduced on the display device 605 of the sales apparatus 140, and the customer can select an electronic book as if he / she selects a book at a bookstore.

  Next, in the digital content distribution system of this embodiment, a process for distributing the profits to publishers according to the number of electronic books sold by the sales apparatus 140 will be described.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the license processing unit 413 of this embodiment. In step 1601, the license processing unit 413 of the storage management device 120 transmits a transmission request for sales information collected by the sales device 140 to the distribution management device 130.

  In step 1602, the license processing unit 413 of the storage management device 120 receives the sales information of the sales device 140 relayed by the distribution management device 130. In step 1603, the received sales information is stored in the magnetic disk device 403.

  In step 1604, it is checked whether or not each distribution management device connected to the storage management device 120 has received the sales information from them. If the reception of sales information from each distribution management apparatus has not been completed yet, the process returns to step 1601 to continue the process. If the reception of sales information from each distribution management apparatus has been completed, the process ends. .

  In step 1605, the sales information received from the plurality of sales devices 140 is read from the magnetic disk device 403 and totaled for each electronic book. In step 1606, the copyright sales management information in the magnetic disk device 403 is referred to, and the totaled sales are recorded. The license fee for each electronic book is calculated from the information.

  In step 1607, the calculated license fee for each electronic book is tabulated for each publisher. In step 1608, the tabulated license fee is counted from the license processing account to which the sales in each sales device 140 are transferred to each publisher's account. Send money.

  FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the sales information relay processing unit 513 of the present embodiment. In step 1701, the sales information relay processing unit 513 of the distribution management device 130 receives the sales information request transmitted from the storage management device 120. In step 1702, the protocol conversion processing unit 510 causes the storage management device 120, the sales device 140, and the like. The received sales information request is relayed to the sales apparatus 140 while converting the communication protocol between them.

  In step 1703, the sales information relay processing unit 513 of the distribution management device 130 receives the sales information transmitted from the sales device 140, and in step 1704, the protocol conversion processing unit 510 performs a communication between the storage management device 120 and the sales device 140. The sales information is transmitted to the storage management device 120 while converting the communication protocol.

  In step 1705, for each sales apparatus for which sales information is relayed by the distribution management apparatus 130, it is checked whether or not the relay of the sales information has been completed. If the sales information of each sales apparatus has not been relayed yet, the process returns to step 1702 to continue the process. If the relay of the sales information of each sales apparatus 140 is completed, the process ends.

  FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the sales information collection processing unit 614 of this embodiment. In step 1801, the sales information collection processing unit 614 of the sales apparatus 140 receives the sales information request relayed by the distribution management apparatus 130. In step 1802, the sales information is read from the magnetic disk device 603 and totaled for each electronic book. In step 1803, the totaled sales information is transmitted to the distribution management device 130.

  Next, another configuration example in the digital content distribution system of this embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a second configuration example of the digital content distribution system of the present embodiment. In the digital content distribution system shown in FIG. 19, the digitization center, the storage management center, and the distribution management center are integrated into one center. In this case, each center can share necessary equipment or operate it. The number of necessary personnel can be reduced.

  FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a third configuration example of the digital content distribution system of the present embodiment. In the digital content distribution system shown in FIG. 20, each digitization center is installed in the vicinity of a publisher, and the storage management center and the distribution management center are integrated into one center. In this case, since the digitization can be performed near the location of each publisher where the original content actually exists, the distribution of the original content can be reduced.

  FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a fourth configuration example of the digital content distribution system of this embodiment. In the digital content distribution system shown in FIG. 21, the digitization center and the storage management center are integrated into one center and connected to each distribution management center. In this case, since each distribution management center can be separately arranged for each distribution route, network traffic during transmission / reception of digital contents, product information, etc. can be reduced, and processing load can be distributed. . In each distribution center, equipment dedicated to the distribution can be prepared.

  As described above, according to the digital content distribution system of the present embodiment, the distribution of the digital content from the storage management center to the store is performed via the network, so that the digital content can be distributed at high speed. .

  Also, according to the digital content distribution system of this embodiment, when selling digital content, the sales information is collected and the license fee is calculated, so the license fee corresponding to the number of digital content sold is distributed to the content holders. Is possible.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the digital content distribution system of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the digitizing apparatus 100 of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the approval apparatus 110 of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the accumulation | storage management apparatus 120 of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the delivery management apparatus 130 of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the sales apparatus 140 of this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the digitization process part 210 of this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the approval process part 310 of this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the accumulation | storage management process part 410 of this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the delivery control process part 411 of this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the delivery process part 511 of this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the delivery content reception process part 610 of this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the sales process part 612 of this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the delivery request relay process part 512 of this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the delivery process part 412 at the time of this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the license process part 413 of this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the sales information relay process part 513 of this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the sales information collection process part 614 of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the 2nd structural example of the digital content distribution system of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the 3rd structural example of the digital content distribution system of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the 4th structural example of the digital content distribution system of this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Digitizing device, 110 ... Approval device, 120 ... Accumulation management device, 130 ... Distribution management device, 140 ... Sales device, 150 ... Reproduction device, 201 ... CPU, 202 ... Memory, 203 ... Magnetic disk device, 204 ... Keyboard 205 ... Display device, 206 ... Communication adapter, 207 ... Scanner, 210 ... Digitization processing unit, 301 ... CPU, 302 ... Memory, 303 ... Magnetic disk device, 304 ... Keyboard, 305 ... Display device, 306 ... Communication adapter, 310 ... Approval processing unit, 401 ... CPU, 402 ... Memory, 403 ... Magnetic disk device, 404 ... Keyboard, 405 ... Display device, 406 ... Communication adapter, 410 ... Storage management processing unit, 411 ... Distribution control processing unit, 412 ... On-demand delivery processing unit, 413 ... license processing unit, 5 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... CPU, 502 ... Memory, 503 ... Magnetic disk device, 504 ... Keyboard, 505 ... Display device, 506 ... Communication adapter, 510 ... Protocol conversion processing unit, 511 ... Distribution processing unit, 512 ... Distribution request relay processing unit, 513 ... sales information relay processing unit, 601 ... CPU, 602 ... memory, 603 ... magnetic disk device, 604 ... keyboard, 605 ... display device, 606 ... communication adapter, 607 ... medium writing device, 610 ... distribution content reception processing unit, 611 ... selection processing unit, 612 ... sales processing unit, 613 ... distribution request processing unit, 614 ... sales information collection processing unit.

Claims (6)

In a digital content distribution system including a storage management device that stores digital content to be distributed, a distribution management device connected to the storage management device, and a sales device connected to the distribution management device,
The distribution management device includes:
A storage device that stores digital content distributed from the storage management device, product information of the digital content, and a distribution schedule of the digital content;
A memory storing a program for executing processing in the distribution management device;
According to the program stored in the memory, based on the distribution schedule, distributes the designated digital content and product information to a sales apparatus belonging to the same type of store group connected to the distribution management apparatus, A digital content distribution request is received from a sales device belonging to the same type of store group, and it is determined whether or not the requested digital content is included in the digital content stored in the storage device. If not included, the digital content is distributed to the sales device. If not, the requested digital content distribution request is transmitted to the storage management device, and the digital content distributed in response to the distribution request is transmitted. An information processing device that stores content in the distribution management device and distributes the content to the sales device;
A digital content distribution system comprising: In the digital content distribution system according to claim 1,
The distribution management device, when the communication protocol between the storage management device and the distribution management device and the communication protocol between the sales device and the distribution management device are different according to the program stored in the memory A digital content distribution system characterized in that protocol conversion is performed according to the difference between the protocols. In the digital content distribution system according to claim 1,
The accumulation management device includes:
A storage device for storing digital contents to be distributed;
A memory storing a program for executing processing in the storage management device;
The digital content stored in the storage device is managed in accordance with the program stored in the memory, and when the distribution request for the digital content stored in the storage device is received, the request is made to the distribution management device. An information processing apparatus for instructing the distribution management apparatus to perform distribution at the time of distributing the digital content and collective distribution of the digital content collectively to the sales apparatus in accordance with the distribution schedule. A digital content distribution system characterized by The digital content distribution system according to claim 1,
The sales device is:
A storage device for storing digital content distributed from the distribution management device;
A display device for displaying the contents of the digital content sold in the sales device;
An input device for receiving selection input of digital content to be purchased in the sales device;
A medium writing device for writing digital content purchased in the sales device to a storage medium;
A memory storing a program for executing processing in the selling device;
According to the program stored in the memory, the digital content distributed from the distribution management device is stored in the storage device, the digital content to be purchased is specified according to the input in the input device, and the specified An information processing device that requests the distribution management device to distribute the designated digital content when the digital content is not in the storage device, and performs a sales process of the designated digital content. A digital content distribution system characterized by In the digital content distribution system according to claim 1,
The information processing device of the sales device performs a sales process of the digital content distributed from the distribution management device connected to the sales device, collects sales information in the sales device, and stores it in the storage device of the sales device ,
The information processing device of the storage management device makes a transmission request for sales information collected in the sales device connected to the distribution management device to the distribution management device connected to the storage management device,
The information processing device of the storage management device receives the sales information corresponding to the transmission request, stores it in the storage device of the storage management device, and calculates the license fee by totaling the stored sales information for each digital content A digital content distribution system characterized by The digital content distribution system according to claim 1 further comprises a digitizing device and an approval device connected to the storage management device,
The digitizing device comprises:
A reading device that reads the original content;
A storage device for storing the read content;
A memory storing a program for performing processing in the digitizing device;
According to a program stored in the memory, the original content read by the reading device is digitized to create digital content, the created digital content is transmitted to the approval device, and an approval message is sent from the approval device. If received, an information processing device that transmits the created digital content to the storage management device,
The approval device is:
A storage device for storing digital content transmitted from the digitizing device;
A display device for displaying the transmitted digital content;
An input device for receiving an input of an approval result related to the digital content;
A memory storing a program for performing processing in the approval device;
An information processing device that displays digital content transmitted from the digitizing device on the display device in accordance with a program stored in the memory, and transmits an approval result input in the input device to the digitizing device;
A digital content distribution system comprising:

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