JP2008097063A - Content transfer system, content recording device, and portable type content recording system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a content transfer system for checking out content in a PD even when the residual checkout validating number of times of content whose checkout request is made form the PD is 0. <P>SOLUTION: A PD requests the checkout of content to a content recording device, and when the residual checkout validating number of times of content is 0, the content recording device transmits a license reply request to the other PD. The PD which has received the license reply request returns the license of content to the content recording device. The content recording device executes check-in processing when receiving the license, and checks out the content to the PD which has made the checkout request. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a content transfer system including a content recording device and a portable content recording system.

  When transferring copyright-protected content from a content recording apparatus that records a plurality of contents to a portable device, the number of times that the license can be transferred to the portable device is limited by the number of checkouts possible in the license. When the number of possible checkouts becomes 0, the content recording apparatus cannot transfer the content to the portable device. However, when the content is checked in from the portable device to the content recording apparatus, the number of possible checkouts returns from 0 to 1, and another portable device again. It can be transferred to the device. However, when a plurality of users check out content from a single content recording device to their own portable device and use it, a certain user tries to check out the content to the portable device, but the number of checkouts allowed If is 0, the content cannot be checked out. In this case, it is necessary to identify the user who has checked out the content to the portable device, but it is difficult to identify the user. Furthermore, when a user who has already checked out the content to the portable device owns the portable device and goes out, the user needs to go home, connect the portable device to the content recording device, and check in the content. Is very inconvenient.

JP 2001-209586 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide a content transfer system capable of checking out content to the portable content recording system even when the number of remaining checkouts of the content requested to be checked out from the portable content recording system is zero. Is to provide.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a content transfer system that can easily identify a user of a portable device whose content has been checked out from a content recording apparatus.

  A content transfer system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a content recording device and a plurality of portable content recording systems connectable to the content recording device. The content recording apparatus includes a content storage unit that records a plurality of contents that can be reproduced only when a license for which a predetermined number of checkouts is determined is associated, and a remaining check of the contents in association with the checked-out contents Checkout information storage means for recording the number of times that can be checked out and identification information of the portable content recording system that is the checkout destination, and the remaining content to be checked out in response to a checkout request from the portable content recording system A number of times determination means for determining whether or not the number of possible checkouts remains, and a requesting means for transmitting a license reply request to the other portable content recording system if the remaining number of possible checkouts does not remain, Is this other portable content recording system? Check-in means for receiving a license and executing a check-in process for increasing the number of remaining check-outs of the content by 1, and transferring the content and its license to the portable content recording system, and the number of remaining check-outs Check-out means for executing a check-out process for reducing 1 by one. The portable content recording system includes: a checkout request unit that transmits a content checkout request to the content recording device; a second content storage unit that records content transferred from the content recording device; and the content recording unit A license storage means for recording the license of the content recorded in the second content storage means transferred from the apparatus, and when receiving a license reply request from the content recording apparatus, the license is returned to the content recording apparatus Replying means.

  In a preferred embodiment, the content recording device records the total number of times the content is checked out to the portable content recording system in association with the content identification information and the identification information of the portable content recording system. From among the plurality of portable content recording systems in which the recording means and the content requested to be checked out have been checked out, the portable content recording system having the smallest total number of checkouts of the content is selected from the total number recording means Selecting means. The request unit transmits a license reply request to the portable content recording system selected by the selection unit.

  In a preferred embodiment, the portable content recording system is configured to determine whether to return the license in response to the license return request, and when it is determined not to return the license, Refusal means for transmitting a refusal notice to the content recording device. The request means, when receiving the rejection notice, transmits a license reply request to another portable content recording system.

  In a preferred embodiment, the check-out information storage unit further records user information of a portable content recording system that is a check-out destination in association with the checked-out content, and the content recording device includes the check-out information. In response to the request, the information processing device further includes display means for reading out and displaying user information of all portable content recording systems that are checkout destinations of the content requested to be checked out from the checkout information storage means.

  A content recording apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is capable of recording a plurality of contents that can be connected to one or a plurality of portable content recording systems and can be played back only when having a license for which a predetermined number of checkouts is determined. Content storage means for performing the checkout, the number of remaining checkouts of the content, identification information of the portable content recording system of the checkout destination, user information of the portable content recording system, Checkout information storage means for recording, in response to a checkout request from the portable content recording system, user information of all portable content recording systems to which the content requested to be checked out is checked out, Check out remaining content The ability count and display means for displaying read from the check-out information storage unit.

  In another aspect of the present invention, an operation program for a content recording apparatus or a portable content recording system that causes a computer to execute the above-described units can be provided.

  According to the present invention, when the portable content recording system requests the content recording device to check out the content, but the remaining number of times that the content can be checked out is 0, the content recording device can record the other portable content. Send a license reply request to the system. The portable content recording system that has received the license reply request returns the license of the content to the content recording device. When the content recording apparatus receives the license, it executes a check-in process, and then checks out the content to the portable content recording system that requested the check-out. Therefore, even when the number of remaining checkouts that can be requested from the portable content recording system is 0, the content can be checked out to the portable content recording system.

  Hereinafter, although the content transfer system by preferable embodiment of this invention is demonstrated, this invention is not limited to these embodiment.

[overall structure]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a content transfer system. As shown in FIG. 1, the content transfer system includes a content recording device 10, a portable device 30 (30A, 30B), and a license transfer device (for example, a mobile phone) 50 (50A, 50B). The portable device 30 and the mobile phone 50 constitute a portable content recording system. The portable device 30A and the mobile phone 50A are owned by the user A, and the portable device 30B and the mobile phone 50B are owned by another user B. The portable device 30, the mobile phone 50, and the content recording device 10 can be connected by, for example, a USB cable. The mobile phones 50A and 50B can be connected via a network such as the Internet, for example.

  The content recording apparatus 10 stores a plurality of contents in the HDD 11, and checks out the stored contents to the portable devices 30A and 30B. A license in which a predetermined number of checkouts is determined is set for the content recorded in the HDD, and the remaining number of possible checkouts is reduced by one each time the content is checked out to the portable device. The portable device 30 records the content checked out from the content recording device on its own HDD. The portable device 30 can reproduce only licensed content among the content recorded in its own HDD. When the portable device 30A attempts to check out desired content from the content recording device 10, if the remaining number of times that the content can be checked out is 0, the content recording device 10 sends a license reply command to the portable device 30A, The data is transmitted to the mobile phone 50B via the phone 50A. The cellular phone 50B transfers the license reply command to the portable device 30B, and the portable device 30B transmits the license to the cellular phone 50A via the cellular phone 50B in response to the license reply command. The mobile phone 50A transfers the received license to the content recording device 10. The content recording apparatus 10 receives the license, executes check-in processing, and increments the remaining number of possible check-outs by one.

  Here, the content is a general term for music data, video data, still image data, and the like, and in this example, is music data (music file). Checkout means that the content recorded in the content recording apparatus 10 and its license are transferred to the portable device 30 so that the portable device 30 can play back the content. Check-in refers to returning only the content license to the content recording apparatus 10 without transferring the content recorded on the portable device 30 to the content recording apparatus. In this case, the content may be deleted in the portable device 30.

[Configuration of Content Recording Device 10]
As shown in FIG. 1, a content recording apparatus 10 includes a storage unit 11 such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and a CPU (Central
A control unit 12 such as a processing unit, a communication unit 13 such as a USB interface, an operation display unit 14, and a memory 15.

  The HDD 11 stores a plurality of contents 11A. As the content, for example, music data recorded on a CD inserted in a CD drive (not shown) is ripped based on a user instruction. Alternatively, content may be purchased from a content sales server connected via the Internet and downloaded to the HDD 11.

  The HDD 11 further stores a license table 11B shown in FIG. The license table 11 </ b> B is a table showing checkout information (that is, current license status) of content that is currently checked out to the portable device 30 among the content recorded in the HDD 11. The checkout information is associated with the content ID of the checked-out content, and includes the number of remaining checkouts possible, identification information of the checked-out portable device 30 (hereinafter referred to as PDID), and checkout time. . For example, the content with the content ID “aaa” has been checked out to the three portable devices 30 with the PDIDs YYYY, JJJJ, and GGGG, and the remaining number of checkouts is one.

  The HDD 11 further stores a user information table shown in FIG. The user information table is a table for managing the user information of the user who owns the portable device 30 and the information of the mobile phone 50, and associates the PDID with the model name of the portable device 30, the user name, and the Internet address of the mobile phone 50. (For example, e-mail address) is stored. For example, these pieces of information are preset in the portable device 30, and when the portable device 30 is first connected to the content recording apparatus 10, the information is transmitted from the portable device 30 to the content recording apparatus 10, and the user information table 11C.

  The control unit 12 controls each unit of the content recording apparatus 10 based on a program recorded in the memory 15 or the HDD 11 and executes each process shown in the following flowchart. The control unit 12 includes a content management unit 12A, a content transfer unit 12B, a license management unit 12C, a license display unit 12D, and a license transfer unit 12E.

  The content management unit 12A manages a plurality of contents in the HDD 11. In response to a checkout request from the portable device 30, the content transfer unit 12 </ b> B reads content from the HDD 11 and transfers it to the portable device 30 via the communication unit 13. The license management unit 12C updates the license table based on content check-out and check-in. Specifically, when content is checked out, each piece of information related to the checked-out content is added to the license information table, and the remaining number of times that the content can be checked out is decreased by one. When the content is checked in, each piece of information on the corresponding content is deleted from the license information table, and the remaining number of times that the content can be checked out is incremented by one. The license display unit 12D causes the operation display unit 14 to display checkout information of the selected content in response to a checkout request from the portable device 30. The license transfer unit 12E transfers the license of the content to the portable device 30 when the content transfer unit 12B transfers the content.

  The communication unit 13 is connected to the portable device 30 through, for example, a USB cable, and transmits / receives content, information on the portable device, and a license to / from the portable device 30. The communication unit 13 is connected to the mobile phone 50 by, for example, a USB cable and receives a license from the mobile phone 50.

  The operation display unit 14 displays content checkout information, and includes, for example, an LCD. The operation display unit 14 is an interface through which an instruction from the user is input, and includes, for example, an operation button provided on a remote control device or a housing.

[Configuration of Portable Device 30]
As shown in FIG. 4, the portable device 30 includes a storage unit 31 such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) and a CPU (Central
A control unit 32 such as a processing unit, a communication unit 33 such as a USB interface, an operation display unit 34, a memory 35, and a playback unit 36.

  The HDD 31 stores a plurality of contents 31 </ b> A checked out from the content recording apparatus 10. Further, the HDD 31 stores a PD side license table 31B shown in FIG. The PD-side license table 31B is a table for managing the license of the content recorded in the HDD 31, and the license is stored in association with the content ID of the content. That is, when a content is received from the content recording device 10, the license is registered in the PD side license table.

  The control unit 32 controls each unit of the portable device 30 based on a program recorded in the memory 35 or the HDD 31 and executes each process shown in the following flowchart. The control unit 32 includes a content management unit 32A, a license management unit 32B, and a license reply unit 32C.

  The content management unit 32A stores the content transferred from the content recording device 10 in the HDD 31 and manages the content recorded in the HDD 31. The license management unit 32B manages content licenses recorded in the HDD 31. Specifically, the license is registered in the PD side license table 31B in response to the checkout. The license reply unit 32C returns the content license to the mobile phone 50 in response to the license reply command from the mobile phone 50. Although not particularly limited, a screen for inquiring the user whether or not to return the license of the content to the content recording apparatus 10 is displayed on the operation display unit 34, and an instruction that the license may be returned from the user is input. In this case, the license may be returned.

  The communication unit 33 is connected to the content recording apparatus 10 via, for example, a USB cable, and transmits / receives content, information on the portable device 30, or a license to / from the content recording apparatus 10. The communication unit 33 is connected to the mobile phone 50 via, for example, a USB cable, and transmits / receives a license reply command and a license to / from the mobile phone 50.

  The operation display unit 34 displays information, and includes, for example, an LCD. The operation display unit 34 is an interface through which an instruction from the user is input, and includes, for example, an operation button provided on a remote control device or a casing.

  The reproduction unit 36 reproduces content when the license is owned, and supplies an audio signal to headphones connected externally through an amplifier circuit (not shown). That is, in the case shown in FIG. 5, the playback unit 36 can play back the contents aaa, bbb and ddd, but cannot play back the content ccc because it does not have a license.

[Configuration of mobile phone 50]
As shown in FIG. 6, the mobile phone 50 includes a CPU (Central
A control unit 51 such as a processing unit, a communication unit 52 such as a network interface or a USB interface, an operation display unit 53, and a memory 54.

  The control unit 51 controls each unit of the mobile phone 50 based on a program recorded in the memory 54 and executes each process shown in the following flowchart. The control unit 51 includes a license transfer unit 51A. The license transfer unit 51A transfers the license reply command from the portable device 30 to another mobile phone 50. The license transfer unit 51 </ b> A transfers the license received from the portable device 30 to another mobile phone 50. In addition, the license transfer unit 51A transfers the license received from another mobile phone 50 to the content recording device 10.

  The communication unit 52 is connected to another mobile phone 50 via a network such as the Internet, and transmits and receives a license reply command and a license. Further, the communication unit 52 is connected to the content recording apparatus 10 via, for example, a USB cable, and transmits / receives a license to / from the content recording apparatus 10. The communication unit 52 is connected to the portable device 30 via a USB cable or the like, and transmits / receives a license reply command and a license.

The operation of the present invention will be described below.
[Check Out Processing of Content Recording Device 10]
Processing when the portable device 30A (PDID: YYYY) shown in FIG. 1 requests the content recording apparatus 10 to check out the content (content ID: bbb) will be described with reference to FIG. The content recording device 10, the portable device 30A, and the mobile phone 50A are each connected via a USB cable. When the content recording apparatus 10 is connected to the portable device 30A via, for example, a USB cable (S101), the control unit 12 acquires the PDID from the portable device 30A and recognizes the connected portable device 30A (S102). In addition, the control unit 12 determines whether user information (model name, user name, and mobile phone address) corresponding to the acquired PDID has been registered in the user information table (S103). Only when connecting for the first time, NO is determined in S103, and the control unit 12 acquires each user information from the portable device 30A and registers it in the user information table (S104). When the user name is not registered in the portable device 30A in advance, the control unit 12 can display a screen for inputting the user name on the operation display unit 14 and allow the user to input the user name.

  Subsequently, based on an instruction from the user, the control unit 12 determines whether or not a desired content to be checked out to the portable device 30A is selected from the content recorded in the HDD 11 (S105). When a content is selected (S105: YES), the control unit 12 reads out and acquires checkout information (remaining number of checkouts, PDID, and checkout time) regarding the selected content from the license table of FIG. (S106). For example, when a content with a content ID of bbb is selected, information for four rows from the fourth to the seventh in FIG. 2 is acquired. Further, the control unit 12 acquires user information (model name, user name, and mobile phone address) corresponding to the acquired PDID from the user information table of FIG. Each acquired information is temporarily stored in the memory 15 for use in each processing described later.

  Subsequently, the control unit 12 acquires content information (title, artist name, track time, etc.) of the selected content from a content information database (not shown). Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the control unit 12 causes the operation display unit 14 to display the acquired content information and the checkout information acquired in S106 (S107). As shown in FIG. 8, on the screen of the operation display unit 14, the title, artist name, track time, remaining checkout count, and checkout destination list of the selected content are displayed in order from the top. The checkout destination list includes information on all portable devices for which the content has been checked out, and displays the model name, user name, and checkout time. By viewing this screen, the user can immediately identify who has checked out the desired content to his / her portable device, and when the remaining number of possible checkouts is 0, the user The user can be prompted to check in the content.

  Subsequently, the control unit 12 determines whether or not the remaining number of possible checkouts of the selected content remains (remaining number of possible checkouts> 0) (S108). If the remaining number of possible checkouts remains (S108: YES), checkout information (content ID, PDID and checkout time) is newly added to the license table in order to check out the content to the portable device 30A (S109). ). Then, the control unit 12 decreases the remaining number of possible checkouts by 1 and updates the remaining number of possible checkouts of the corresponding content in the license table (S110). Thereafter, the control unit 12 transfers the content to the portable device 30A via the communication unit 13 (S111).

  On the other hand, if the remaining number of possible checkouts is 0 in S108 (S108: NO), the control unit 12 executes a checkin process from another portable device 30 that has checked out the selected content (S112). Then, after the remaining number of possible checkouts is increased by 1, the process proceeds to S109, and the content is checked out to the portable device 30A (S109 to S111). Details of S112 will be described with reference to the sequence chart of FIG.

[Check-in process from other portable device 30]
In the content recording apparatus 10, one portable device 30 to be checked in (a license is returned) is selected from the plurality of portable devices 30 whose selected contents are already checked out. In this processing, the user selects a portable device on the screen of FIG. 8, or the control unit 12 automatically selects based on a predetermined condition (the automatic selection method will be described in detail later). Here, the portable device 30 to be checked in is a portable device 30B (PDID: JJJJ) shown in FIG. The control unit 12 reads the mobile phone address of the mobile phone 50B corresponding to the portable device 30B from the user information table.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 9, the content recording apparatus 10 transmits a license reply command to the portable device 30A via the USB (S201). The license reply command includes the mobile phone address of the mobile phone 50B corresponding to the portable device 30B and the content ID of the content for which a checkout request has been made (that is, the license is returned). When receiving the license reply command, the portable device 30A transfers the license reply command to the mobile phone 50A via USB (S202).

  When receiving the license reply command, the cellular phone 50A reads the address of the cellular phone 50B included in the license reply command, and transfers the license reply command to the address via the Internet (S203). The license reply command transferred here includes only the content ID of the content for which a license reply is requested.

  When receiving the license reply command, the cellular phone 50B displays on the operation display unit 54 that a license reply is requested. When viewing the license reply request, the user connects the mobile phone 50B and the portable device 30B with, for example, a USB cable. When the cellular phone 50B is connected to the portable device 30B, the license reply command is transferred to the portable device 30B (S204). When the portable device 30B receives the license reply command, the portable device 30B reads the license of the content ID included in the license reply command from the PD side license table and sends it back to the mobile phone 50B (S205). Accordingly, the portable device 30B cannot reproduce the content because the license item of the corresponding content is blank in the PD side license table of FIG.

  When receiving the license from the portable device 30B, the mobile phone 50B transfers the received license to the mobile phone 50A via the Internet (S206). The address of the mobile phone 50A is stored in the memory 54 when the license reply command is received from the mobile phone 50A in S203.

  When receiving the license from the mobile phone 50B, the mobile phone 50A transfers the license to the content recording apparatus 10 via the USB cable (S207). Upon receiving the license, the content recording device 10 executes a check-in process (S208). Specifically, the checkout information that matches the content ID (bbb) in the license table of FIG. 2 and the PDID (JJJJ) of the portable device 30B is deleted, and the remaining checkout count of the content ID (bbb) is increased by one. Let

  After executing the check-in process, the content recording apparatus 10 performs content check-out with respect to the portable device 30A (S209). This process corresponds to the process of S109 to S111 in FIG.

  As described above, when the portable device 30A tries to check out the content, but the remaining number of checkouts is 0, the content recording apparatus 10 licenses the content to another portable device 30B that has already checked out the content. And return the remaining number of possible checkouts to 1. Thereafter, the content is checked out to the portable device 30A. Accordingly, the content can be checked out even when the remaining number of times that the content can be checked out is zero.

[Modification of license reply processing]
In the above process, the portable device 30B that has received the license reply command forcibly returns the license, but the following process may be performed. That is, in S205, the portable device 30B determines whether or not to return the license of the content for which the license reply is requested to the content recording apparatus 10, and when it is determined that the license may be returned. To return the license. Specifically, a screen asking the user whether or not to return the license is displayed on the operation display unit 34, and the portable device 30 returns the license when the user inputs an instruction to return the license. Alternatively, it may be set for each content ID whether or not the license may be returned when the user requests a response from another portable device. Alternatively, the portable device 30 counts the number of times of reproduction for each content, and returns the license when the content is checked out before a predetermined period and the number of times of reproduction is less than the predetermined number. You may do it. If it is determined that the license should not be returned, the portable device 30A returns a license reply rejection notification to the content recording apparatus 10 via the mobile phones 50B and 50A. The content recording apparatus 10 that has received the license rejection notification selects another portable device (for example, the portable device 30C) whose content has been checked out, and similarly transmits a license reply command to the portable device 30C. By processing in this way, the license can be returned from a user who agrees to return the license, instead of forcing the license to be returned.

[Modified example of selecting portable device to return license]
In this example, when the content recording device 10 determines a portable device for which a license reply is requested, the total number of checkouts of the corresponding content from the content recording device 10 so far is checked, and the portable device with the smallest total number of times is checked. Select with priority. The user of the portable device having a large total number of times is considered to particularly like the content, so that the license of the content is not returned from the portable device of the user as much as possible.

  In this example, the total checkout frequency table shown in FIG. The total number of check-outs table records the total number of times that the portable device has checked out the content in association with the combination of the content ID and the PDID. When the content is checked out in S109 to S110 in FIG. 7, the total number of times corresponding to the checkout total number table is increased by one. The content recording device 10 refers to the checkout total number table when selecting a portab device for which a license reply is requested, and refers to the total number of PDIDs corresponding to the content ID of the content requested to be checked out. One of the smallest PDIDs is selected. The mobile phone address corresponding to the selected PDID is extracted from the user information table of FIG. 3 and included in the license reply command of S201 of FIG. Since other processes are the same as those in the above embodiment, the description is incorporated.

[Other Examples]
As shown in FIG. 11, the portable device 30 and the mobile phone 50 may be provided in one housing. In this case, a mobile phone with a content reproduction function having the functions of the portable device 30 and the mobile phone 50 can be applied. In this case, it is not necessary to connect the portable device 30 and the mobile phone 50 with a USB cable or the like as shown in FIG.

  As mentioned above, although preferable embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to these embodiment. For example, when the content recording apparatus 10 has a network function and the content recording apparatus 10 transmits a license reply command to the portable device 30B, the license reply command is directly transmitted to the mobile phone 50B via the Internet. May be. Further, the mobile phone 50B may directly transfer the license to the content recording apparatus 10. Further, the mobile phone 50A may transfer the license to the content recording apparatus 10 via the portable device 30A. Further, the connection among the content recording apparatus 10, the portable device 30, and the mobile phone 50 is not limited to USB, but may be IEEE 1394 or the like.

  The present invention can be suitably employed in a system including a server device that is a content recording device, a portable device that is a portable content recording device system, and a mobile phone.

1 is a diagram illustrating a content transfer system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows a license table. It is a figure which shows a user information table. 1 is a diagram showing a portable device 30. FIG. It is a figure which shows PD side license table. It is a figure which shows the mobile telephone 50. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the process of a content recording device. It is a figure which shows the display screen of the user information checked out. It is a flowchart which shows a license reply process. It is a figure which shows the checkout total frequency table. It is a figure which shows the modification of a portable content recording system.

Explanation of symbols

10 Content Recording Device 11 HDD
11B License table 11C User information table 12 Control unit 14 Operation display unit 30 Portable device 31 HDD
31B PD side license table 32 Control unit 50 Mobile phone

Claims (7)

A content recording device and a plurality of portable content recording systems connectable to the content recording device,
The content recording device
Content storage means for recording a plurality of contents that can be reproduced only when a predetermined number of checkouts is permitted and having a license;
Checkout information storage means for recording the number of remaining checkouts of the content and the identification information of the portable content recording system of the checkout destination in association with the checked-out content;
In response to a checkout request from the portable content recording system, a number determination means for determining whether or not the remaining number of checkouts of the content to be checked out remains,
Requesting means for transmitting a license reply request to the other portable content recording system if the remaining number of possible checkouts does not remain;
Check-in means for receiving a license from the other portable content recording system and executing a check-in process for increasing the remaining number of times that the content can be checked out by one;
Checkout means for transferring the content and its license to the portable content recording system and executing a checkout process for reducing the remaining number of possible checkouts by one;
The portable content recording system
Checkout request means for transmitting a content checkout request to the content recording device;
Second content storage means for recording the content transferred from the content recording device;
License storage means for recording the license of the content recorded in the second content storage means transferred from the content recording device;
A content transfer system comprising: reply means for returning the license to the content recording device when a license reply request is received from the content recording device. The content recording device is
A total number recording means for recording the total number of checkouts of the content to the portable content recording system in association with the identification information of the content and the identification information of the portable content recording system;
Selecting means for selecting, from the total number of times recording means, a portable content recording system having the smallest total number of checkouts of the content among a plurality of portable content recording systems in which the content requested for checkout has been checked out; In addition,
The content transfer system according to claim 1, wherein the request unit transmits a license reply request to the portable content recording system selected by the selection unit. The portable content recording system includes:
In response to the license reply request, reply judgment means for judging whether to reply the license;
A rejection means for transmitting a rejection notification to the content recording device when it is determined not to return the license;
The content transfer system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when the request unit receives the rejection notification, the request unit further transmits a license reply request to another portable content recording system. The checkout information storage means further records user information of the portable content recording system of the checkout destination in association with the checked out content,
In response to the checkout request, the content recording device reads out and displays user information of all portable content recording systems that are the checkout destinations of the content requested for checkout from the checkout information storage unit. The content transfer system according to claim 1, further comprising: It can be connected to multiple portable content recording systems,
Content storage means for recording a plurality of contents that can be played only when a predetermined number of checkouts is permitted and having a license;
Checkout information storage means for recording the number of remaining checkouts of the content and the identification information of the portable content recording system of the checkout destination in association with the checked-out content;
In response to a checkout request from the portable content recording system, a number determination means for determining whether or not the remaining number of checkouts of the content to be checked out remains,
Requesting means for transmitting a license reply request to the other portable content recording system if the remaining number of possible checkouts does not remain;
Check-in means for receiving a license from the other portable content recording system and executing a check-in process for increasing the remaining number of times that the content can be checked out by one;
A content recording apparatus comprising: checkout means for transferring the content and its license to the portable content recording system and executing checkout processing for reducing the remaining number of possible checkouts by one. A portable content recording system in a content transfer system comprising a content recording device and a plurality of portable content recording systems connectable to the content recording device,
Checkout request means for transmitting a content checkout request to the content recording device;
Content storage means for recording the content transferred from the content recording device;
License storage means for recording the license of the content transferred from the content recording device and recorded in the content storage means;
When receiving a check-out request from another portable content recording system and receiving a license reply request transmitted from the content recording apparatus when the remaining number of times that the content can be checked out does not remain, the license A portable content recording system comprising: replying means for replying to the content recording device. Connectable to one or more portable content recording systems;
Content storage means for recording a plurality of contents that can be played only when a predetermined number of checkouts is permitted and having a license;
Checkout information for recording the number of remaining checkouts of the content, identification information of the portable content recording system of the checkout destination, and user information of the portable content recording system in association with the checked-out content Storage means;
In response to a checkout request from the portable content recording system, user information of all portable content recording systems that are the checkout destinations of the content requested for checkout, and the remaining number of times that the content can be checked out are A content recording apparatus comprising: display means for reading out from the checkout information storage means and displaying it.

Images