JP2008210404A - Onerous information distribution server, and onerous information distribution method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a onerous information distribution server capable of reducing effectively a working burden generated when selling onerous information by an ISP. <P>SOLUTION: This onerous information distribution server 201 for holding and providing a onerous content receives an access from a user terminal 401 through a server 301 of a provider A, and displays merchandise information of the onerous content. The onerous information distribution server 201 receives also a purchase subscription command of the onerous information, and an admission command for a user member, from the server 301 of the provider A, and conducts purchase processing and admission processing. The onerous information distribution server 201 registers information of purchase and use situations into a purchase information DB 203 to control charge information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a computer system, and in particular, exhibits and provides (distributes, etc.) merchandise of paid information (also called paid content) on a network, manages billing information about purchased paid content, The present invention relates to a paid information distribution server and a paid information distribution method for effectively reducing the burden on a service provider.

In recent years, the use of the Internet has become increasingly popular, and a wide variety of contents have been provided through the Internet, and the opportunity to purchase paid contents through the Internet has increased.
As described above, when purchasing paid content through the Internet, the purchase is often made through an Internet service provider (also simply referred to as “ISP”) to which the user is subscribed. This is because the user has already acquired the “ID” and “password” from the ISP, and the ISP has attribute information such as the user's name, address, account number, and credit card number registered. This is because it has a billing means, so that it is possible to smoothly purchase paid contents and settle the price.

Regarding such a system, there is, for example, Patent Document 1 shown below.
International Publication No. 01/33445

However, in order to sell paid content in an ISP, the following work is required in addition to the work for payment.
・ Management of paid content to be sold It is necessary to classify and arrange various paid content to be sold and arrange them on the product shelves on the screen. It becomes a burden.
-Management of purchase information and billing information When a user purchases paid content or uses paid content, it is necessary to record and manage the billing information for them. In particular, in the case of content with a time limit with a time limit, it is necessary to manage the effective time, and thus a large work load is imposed.
-Provision of paid content In addition, the management and maintenance of content provision (distribution) to a large number of users is a heavy burden.

  In this way, when ISPs sell paid content on the Internet, in addition to the original ISP operations (for example, membership registration, Internet connection service, usage fee settlement, etc.), many new work loads In addition, the work burden is duplicated for each ISP, and the economic efficiency is remarkably reduced.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to distribute paid information that can effectively reduce the work load that occurs when selling paid information (paid content) with an ISP. It is to provide a server and a paid information distribution method.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a paid information distribution server that holds billing content information each time and provides the billing content each time, and a provider that prompts the user terminal to purchase the paid information and performs billing processing. A paid information distribution server in a paid information distribution system connected to a server via a network, the content information database storing information related to paid information, and information related to content purchased by the user stored for each user Upon receipt of a purchase information database and an information acquisition request command related to billing content transmitted from the provider server, the content information database is referred to, and if there is information on the billing content every time an acquisition request is made, a success code is acquired. Billing content whenever requested If there is no information, a reply means for returning an error code to the provider server, and receiving a billing content purchase command transmitted from the provider server after the login processing of the user terminal is normally performed in the provider server, And charging information management means for storing in the content information database that the content corresponding to the transmitted charging content purchase command is purchased by the user and managing the charging information. To do.

  Further, according to the present invention, in the above-described paid information distribution server, when the billing information management means receives a billing content purchase command each time, the billing information management means performs use processing to confirm that the content has been purchased by the user. When the use process is successful, the access key and URL and the success code necessary for using the content are stored in the content information database. When the use process fails, an error code is stored in the provider server. It is characterized by transmitting.

  Further, the present invention provides the above-mentioned paid information distribution server for accepting access related to the purchase of billing content from the user terminal by guidance from the provider server and displaying the product information of the billing content every time it is provided. Product information display means.

  Further, according to the present invention, in the above-described paid information distribution server, a purchase request for paid information or a use status confirmation request command is received from the provider server, and purchase of a designated user is performed with reference to the purchase information database. It is further characterized by further comprising usage status inquiry processing means for returning usage status information.

  Further, the present invention provides the above-described paid information distribution server that receives a data operation processing request command for performing customer support from the provider server, executes the requested data processing, and sends the execution result to the provider server. It is further characterized by further comprising a data operation processing means for replying to.

  Also, the present invention provides a paid information distribution server that holds billing content information each time and provides billing content each time, and a provider server that prompts the user terminal to purchase the paid information and performs billing processing via a network. The paid information distribution server in the connected paid information distribution system, wherein the paid information distribution server stores, for each user, a content information database in which information on paid information is stored and information on content purchased by the user. A purchase information database, and using the paid information distribution server, when the reply means of the paid information distribution server receives an information acquisition request command related to billing content each time transmitted from the provider server, Refer to the content information database for acquisition If there is billing content information each time a request is made, a success code is returned to the provider server if there is no billing content information each time an acquisition request is made, and billing information management of the paid information distribution server When the means receives the charging content purchase command transmitted from the provider server after the login processing of the user terminal is normally performed in the provider server, the content corresponding to the transmitted charging content purchase command every time Storing the purchase by the user in the content information database and performing accounting information management.

  Also, the present invention provides a paid information distribution server that holds billing content information each time and provides billing content each time, and a provider server that prompts the user terminal to purchase the paid information and performs billing processing via a network. The paid information distribution server in the connected paid information distribution system, wherein the paid information distribution server stores, for each user, a content information database in which information on paid information is stored and information on content purchased by the user. A purchase information database, and when the computer of the paid information distribution server receives an information acquisition request command related to billing content transmitted from the provider server, the acquisition request is referred to the content information database. Billing content every time If there is no information, a reply code is sent back to the provider server if there is no information on the billing contents every time an acquisition request is made. After the login processing of the user terminal is normally performed in the provider server When a charge content purchase command transmitted from the provider server is received, the content information database stores that the content corresponding to the transmitted charge content purchase command is purchased by the user. This is a program for functioning as accounting information management means for performing management.

In the paid information distribution server described above, the paid information distribution server receives a purchase application command for paid information or an enrollment command for becoming a paid information user from the provider server, and performs the purchase process or the enrollment process. At the same time, purchase information and usage information are registered to manage billing information.
As a result, it is possible to reduce loads such as distribution of paid information and accounting information management performed by the provider. Further, by consolidating the sales management load of paid information in each provider into the paid information distribution server, the efficiency of the paid information sales work is remarkably improved.

In addition, the paid information distribution server accepts access to paid information from the user terminal via the provider server, and displays product information corresponding to the type of the paid information toward the user terminal.
As a result, the burden of sorting and organizing various types of paid information to be sold at the provider and maintaining the paid information that is fluctuating daily in a system that distributes paid information can be reduced. it can.

In this paid information distribution server, the paid information distribution server receives a monthly membership enrollment command transmitted from the provider server, and registers the designated user as a member of the monthly membership system content in the purchase information database. Then, the usage information of the monthly membership system content is registered in the purchase information database to manage the billing information.
As a result, it is possible to reduce loads such as distribution of monthly membership system content and billing information management performed by the provider.

Further, in this paid information distribution server, the URL information with access key necessary for the user to use the period membership system content is generated and transmitted to the provider server.
As a result, only legitimate members who have obtained information on URLs with access keys can use the monthly membership system content.

In this paid information distribution server, the withdrawal request command for the user to withdraw from the membership of the period membership system content is received from the provider server, and the withdrawal process is performed.
As a result, it is possible to easily withdraw membership members of the period membership system content from the provider server.

Further, in the paid information distribution server, the access time limit calculating means calculates the access time limit to the term membership system content of the user terminal, and the access refusal means exceeds the time limit calculated by the access time limit calculating means before the provider When the access key issuance request command is received from, error information is generated without generating the URL information with the access key, and is transmitted to the provider server.
As a result, the withdrawal process of the member who uses the term membership system content is automatically processed, so that the user can withdraw without going through the procedure for withdrawal.

In addition, the paid information distribution server receives, from the provider server, information on a user who has canceled the provider contract with the provider every predetermined period, and registers a user who has canceled the provider contract as a member using the paid information. Remove from.
This ensures that the member who has canceled the provider contract can be withdrawn.

The paid information distribution server refers to the purchase information database, generates a billing file serving as billing settlement data for each set period, and notifies the provider server of the billing file. In addition, a billing result file in which the result of the settlement is recorded is received from the provider server, the billing result file is referred to, and the user who has not been able to settle is deleted from the membership registration using the paid information.
As a result, the monthly billing settlement process can be performed reliably, and the withdrawal process for members who have not been able to settle can be performed reliably.

As described above, according to the present invention, the paid information distribution server receives the billing content purchase command transmitted from the provider server, performs the processing necessary for providing the content to the user terminal, and The purchase information is registered in the purchase information database to manage the billing information.
As a result, it is possible to reduce loads such as distribution of billing contents and billing information management each time performed by the provider.

In addition, this paid information distribution server receives a request for confirmation of purchase or usage status of paid information from the provider server, refers to the purchase information database, and returns information on purchase and usage status of the specified user. To do.
As a result, the user usage status can be easily inquired from the provider server.

The paid information distribution server receives a data operation processing request command for performing customer support from the provider server, executes the requested data processing, and returns the execution result to the provider server.
Thereby, customer support can be easily performed from the provider server.

  Hereinafter, a paid information distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a paid information distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, reference numeral 100 denotes a paid information provider who is the creator or provider of paid content (paid information). Reference numeral 201 denotes a paid information distribution server of a paid information distributor who records the paid content and provides the paid content to the user terminal 401. Reference numeral 301 denotes a provider A server. The paid information distribution server 201 and the provider A server 301 are connected via the Internet.

In the paid information distribution system of this example, the following cases are assumed as usage forms of paid content by the user.
Number-of-items charged content (charged content each time): Content that can be purchased and used by the user, and the charged amount is accumulated each time content is purchased.
Monthly membership system content (period membership system content): Content that can be registered and used as a member of the target content. This content can be used by paying a predetermined usage fee every month. The billing amount is calculated on a monthly basis.
Period-based content (period-member-based content): Content with a usage time set, and content that can be used only for a set period when registered as a member.

  Paid content is still images such as photos, characters, logos, screens, moving images such as videos and movies, and paid content such as newspapers, magazines, and novels, and paid products such as personal computers and cameras. Information on merchandise sales, such as purchase of paid tickets such as air tickets, concert tickets, etc., in images or text, information on service provision, etc., in which applications for paid services such as paid transportation are represented in images or text, etc. It refers to information related to everything that is traded between the user and the provider. The provision of paid content to the user is performed by transmitting the paid content to the user's terminal and displaying it. The paid goods and the paid tickets are provided by means such as mail, and the paid service is provided by providing the service to the user.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the provider server and the paid information distribution server 201. Main functions directly related to the present invention provided in the provider server 301 and the paid information distribution server 201 are shown in FIG. It is shown.
First, each function in the provider server 301 will be described.
The access guidance function 311 allows the user to select an item for purchasing paid content (for example, the item “digital content” in the web page illustrated in FIG. 3) from the provider's web page (for example, the page illustrated in FIG. 3). In this case, the provider A server 301 switches the access destination of the user terminal 401 to the paid information distribution server 201. This is because exhibition of merchandise information of paid contents is performed by the paid information distribution server 201 in a collective manner.
The purchase acceptance function 312 is a function for accepting a purchase application or use application for paid content from the user terminal 401.
The purchased user authentication function 313 is a means for authenticating the legitimacy of a user who has purchased a paid content or applied for use with reference to the member information DB 302.
The processing request command issue function 314 is a function for transmitting a processing request command to the paid information distribution server 201 and causing the requested information distribution server 201 to perform the requested process. Note that a processing request from the provider A server 301 to the paid information distribution server 201 is made in a command format.

Next, each function in the paid information distribution server 201 will be described.
The product information display function 211 is a function for displaying the product information of the paid content to be provided as a product display shelf.
The command response processing function 212 is a function for receiving a processing request command from the provider A server 301, executing the specified processing contents, and returning the execution result to the provider A server 301. .
The billing information management function 213 records information on a user who has purchased paid content or a user who has become a member of the paid content in the purchase information database (DB), and stores billing information for the user in the purchase information database (DB). ) Is a function for recording and managing.
The content providing function 214 is a function that performs necessary processing for distributing (sending and displaying) paid content to the user terminal 401. The content providing function 214 has an access time limit calculating function and an access refusal function.
Note that the content information database (content information DB) 202 is a database in which information about paid content is recorded, and FIG. 12 shows a data configuration example of the content information DB 202. The purchase information database (purchase information DB) 203 is a database in which user content purchase information, member registration information for monthly membership system content and period system content, billing information, and the like are recorded. An example of the data structure is shown.

In addition, in the paid information distribution system shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, when a user intends to purchase or use paid content (paid information) as a member, the outline is performed as follows.
(1) The user accesses the server 301 of the provider A to which the user subscribes from the terminal 401 and connects to the Internet.
(2) When the user intends to purchase paid content provided by provider A, “entertainment (digital content)” is selected from the top page of provider A, for example, the top page of provider A as illustrated in FIG. When selected, access from the user terminal 401 is guided to the paid information distribution server 201, and the user terminal 401 is connected to the paid information distribution server 201.
(3) The paid information distribution server 201 is provided with abundant pages corresponding to product shelves for sorting and displaying the product information of the paid content, and the user can search and examine the favorite content. .
(4) When the content to be purchased is decided and an application for purchasing the content is made, the purchase application information is transmitted to the server 301 of the provider A, and the provider server 301 receives the “purchase acceptance” and the “user's right” Sexual authentication "is performed.
(5) When the application for content purchase is received by the server 301 of the provider A, the following necessary work is performed by the paid information distribution server 201.
・ Distribution of paid content to user terminal 401 ・ Recording of purchase information of paid content or usage information in purchase information DB 203 and management of billing information ・ Creation of monthly billing file and notification to provider, etc.

  Next, a specific processing procedure when the user purchases or uses paid content will be described in detail.

[Procedure for membership processing of monthly membership system content]
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the procedure of the membership process for becoming a member who uses the monthly membership system content. The membership process for the monthly membership system content is performed as follows. It is assumed that the user terminal 401 is already connected to the server 201 of the paid information distributor.
(1) The user opens the “detailed page for each content” prepared in the paid information distribution server 201 by the user terminal 401. The “detail page for each content” is a page corresponding to the product display shelf arranged for each content type, and the user selects the content to be used as a member from the “detail page for each content” (step S101). ).

(2) When the desired content is selected in the “detailed page by content”, the “free page by content” is displayed (step S102). The “content-specific free page” is prepared for each content, and is a page for performing a procedure for joining as a member, a procedure for withdrawal from membership, and the like. In the method parameter POST / GET used for data transmission / reception, “AID” indicates an affiliate ID (ID: identification symbol), and “CID” indicates a content ID.

(3) When the user applies for membership on the “free page by content”, information on AID (affiliate ID) and CID (content ID) is transmitted from the user terminal 401 to the server 301 of the provider A ( Step S103)

(4) The provider A server 301 uses the CID information received from the user terminal 401 and the PID (provider A ID (identification symbol)) information to the paid information distribution server 201 to execute the command “CONINFO (PID (CID) ”is issued (step S104). The command “CONINFO” is a content information acquisition command.

(5) The paid information distribution server 201 searches the content information DB 202 and returns a command “Response” to the server 301 of the provider A (step S105).
・ If there is content information corresponding to CID,
“Response (success code (0xx) with content information)” is returned.
・ If there is no content information corresponding to the CID,
“Response (error code (1xx))” is returned.

(6) Upon receiving the command “Response”, the provider 301 server 301 performs code determination processing (step S106), and in the case of an error code (1xx), transmits error information to the user terminal 401, An error screen is displayed (step S107). In the case of a success code (0xx), information such as the content name and price is transmitted to the user terminal 401, and an input screen for “ID” and “password” for membership application is displayed (step S108).
(7) User ID, password, AID, and CID information is transmitted from the user terminal 401 to the provider A server 301 (step S110).
(8) The server 301 of provider A performs user authentication (step S111).
(9) If the user authentication result is not possible (N), information to that effect is transmitted to the user terminal 401 and an authentication error screen is displayed (step S112).

(10) If the user is authenticated normally, a monthly content membership command “MEMJOIN (PID / UID / CID)” is issued to the paid information distribution server 201 (step S113). The command “MEMJOIN” is a monthly content membership command.

(11) The paid information distribution server 201 performs member registration processing in the purchase information DB 203 (step S114).
・ If the membership registration process is successful,
“Response (success code (0xx) access key input URL)” is returned.
・ If the member registration process fails,
Returns “Response (error code (1xx))”.
(12) Upon receiving the command “Response”, the provider 301 server 301 performs code determination processing (step S115), and in the case of an error code (1xx), transmits error information to the user terminal 401, A double registration error screen or the like is displayed (step S116). In the case of a success code (0xx), an enrollment completion screen is displayed on the user terminal 401 and information on “URL with access key” is transmitted to the user terminal 401 (step S117).
With the above procedure, the membership processing for the monthly membership system is completed.

[Procedure for admission of monthly membership system content]
Next, the admission process after the admission process to the monthly membership system content is completed will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a procedure for admission processing of the monthly membership system content. In FIG. 5, the access from the user terminal 401 to the “detailed page by content” and the “free page by content” is shown in FIG. Since this is the same as the case of No. 4, the description thereof will be omitted, and the subsequent procedure will be described.
(1) Information of AID (affiliate ID) and CID (content ID) is transmitted from the user terminal 401 to the server 301 of the provider A (step S201).
(2) The server 301 of provider A displays an authentication form screen on the user terminal 401 (step S202).
(3) At the user terminal 401, the ID and password are input and transmitted to the server 301 of provider A (step S203).
(4) The server 301 of provider A performs user authentication (step S204).
(5) If the user authentication result is not possible (N), information indicating that is transmitted to the user terminal 401 and an authentication error screen is displayed (step S205).

(6) When the user is normally authenticated, an access key issue command “KEYSSUE (PID / UID / CID)” is issued to the paid information distribution server 201 (step S206).

(7) The paid information distribution server 201 performs entrance processing (step S207).
・ If the admission process is successful,
“Response (success code (0xx) access key input URL)” is returned.
・ If the admission process fails,
“Response (error code (1xx))” is returned.

(8) Upon receiving the command “Response”, the provider 301 server 301 performs code determination processing (step S208), and in the case of an error code (1xx), transmits error information to the user terminal 401, An error screen or the like is displayed (step S209). In the case of a success code (0xx), HTML (including information on URL with access key) including META Reference is returned to the user terminal 401 (step S210). The user can obtain the information of the URL with an access key and use paid content.

[Purchase content purchase processing]
Next, the procedure of the purchase processing of the number-charging content will be described.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a procedure for purchasing the number-charged content. In FIG. 6, the access to the “detailed page by content” and the “free page by content” from the user terminal 401 in FIG. Since this is the same as in the above case, the description thereof is omitted, and the subsequent procedure will be described.
(1) AID, CID, and CGI parameter information is transmitted from the user terminal 401 to the provider A server 301 (step S301).

(2) The provider A server 301 uses the CID information received from the user terminal 401 and the PID (provider A ID (identification symbol)) information to the paid information distribution server 201 to execute the command “CONINFO (PID (CID) ”is issued (step S302). The command “CONINFO” is a content information acquisition command.

(3) The paid information distribution server 201 searches the content information DB 202 and returns the content “Response” to the server 301 of the provider A (step S303).
・ If there is content information corresponding to CID,
“Response (success code (0xx) with content information)” is returned.
・ If there is no content information corresponding to the CID,
Returns “Response (error code (1xx))”.
(4) Upon receiving the command “Response”, the provider 301 server 301 performs code determination processing (step S304), and in the case of an error code (1xx), transmits error information to the user terminal 401, An error screen is displayed (step S305). In the case of a success code (0xx), information such as the content name and price is transmitted to the user terminal 401, and an input screen for “ID” and “password” is displayed (step S306).
(5) The user ID, password, AID, CID, and CGI parameter information are transmitted from the user terminal 401 to the provider A server 301 (step S307).
(6) The server 301 of provider A performs user authentication (step S308).
(7) If the user authentication result is not possible (N), information to that effect is transmitted to the user terminal 401, and an authentication error screen is displayed (step S309).

(8) When user authentication is normally performed, the number-of-contents content purchase command “PAYONCE (PID / UID / CID / AID + CGI parameter)” is issued to the paid information distribution server 201 (step S310).

(9) The paid information distribution server 201 performs usage processing and records it in the purchase information DB 203 (step S311).
・ If the usage process is successful,
“Response (success code (0xx) access key input URL)” is returned.
・ If usage processing fails,
“Response (error code (1xx))” is returned.

(10) Upon receiving the command “Response”, the provider 301 server 301 performs code determination processing (step S312). If the error code is (1xx), the error information is transmitted to the user terminal 401, and the system An error screen or the like is displayed (step S313). In the case of a success code (0xx), HTML including META Reference (including information on url + CGI parameter with access key) is returned to the user terminal 401 (step S210).
With the above procedure, the usage processing of the number-charging content is completed.

[Procedure for withdrawal from monthly membership system content]
Next, a procedure for withdrawal processing when a member of the monthly membership system content is terminated will be described. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a procedure for withdrawal processing of the monthly membership system content. In FIG. 7, the access to the “detailed page by content” and the “free page by content” from the user terminal 401 is shown in FIG. Since this is the same as the case of No. 4, the description thereof will be omitted, and the subsequent procedure will be described.
(1) The AID and CID information is transmitted from the user terminal 401 to the provider 301 server 301 (step S401).
(2) The server 301 of provider A displays an authentication form screen on the user terminal 401 (step S402).
(3) At the user terminal 401, the ID and password are input and transmitted to the server 301 of provider A (step S403).
(4) The server 301 of provider A performs user authentication (step S404).
(5) If the user authentication result is not possible (N), information indicating that is transmitted to the user terminal 401, and an authentication error screen is displayed (step S405).

(6) If the user is normally authenticated, the withdrawal command “MEMQUIT (PID / UID / CID)” is issued to the paid information distribution server 201 (step S406).

(7) The paid information distribution server 201 performs a withdrawal process (step S407).
・ If the withdrawal process is successful,
“Response (success code (0xx))” is returned.
・ If the withdrawal process fails,
Returns “Response (error code (1xx))”.
(8) Upon receiving the command “Response”, the provider 301 server 301 performs code determination processing (step S408), and in the case of an error code (1xx), transmits error information to the user terminal 401, An enrollment error screen is displayed (step S409). In the case of a success code (0xx), a withdrawal completion screen is displayed (step S410).

[Procedures for admission and admission processing of period-based (non-continuous) content]
Within the paid information distribution server 201, a usage period is set from the CID (content ID), and processing is performed so that it can be used within the period.
For example, when the period-based content is paid content that can be accessed only by the user for one day, when the membership registration processing is performed in the paid information distribution server 201, the access time limit provided by the content providing function 214 is provided. The calculation function calculates the access expiration time after 24 hours. After the access time limit, the access refusal function provided in the content providing function 214 returns an error code indicating access refusal to the provider A server when performing the admission process.

  The processing flow between the user terminal 401, the provider A server 301, and the paid information distributor server 201 is the same as the admission processing shown in FIG. 4 and the admission processing flow shown in FIG. In step S114 of FIG. 4, the access time limit calculation function described above calculates the access time limit time, and in the admission process in step S207 of FIG. 5, whether or not the access deny function has passed the access time limit time. to decide.

[Content Usage Status Inquiry Process]
Next, a processing procedure when the user inquires about the usage status of content will be described. FIG. 8 shows a procedure of content usage status inquiry processing.
(1) The user terminal 401 accesses the provider A server 301 for use status inquiry (step S501).
(2) Since the inquiry screen form is displayed on the terminal 401 of the user, “inquire” is selected on this screen (step S3502).
(3) The server 301 of provider A displays an authentication form screen on the user terminal 401 (step S503). At the user terminal 401, the ID and password are input and transmitted to the provider 301 server 301.
(4) The server 301 of provider A performs user authentication (step S504).
(5) If the user authentication result is not possible (N), information indicating that is transmitted to the user terminal 401, and an authentication error screen is displayed (step S505).

(6) If the user is successfully authenticated, a purchase status confirmation command “PAYLIST (PID / UID / period)” is issued to the paid information distribution server 201 (step S506).

(7) The paid information distribution server 201 performs usage status inquiry processing (step S507).
・ If the usage status inquiry process is successful,
Returns “Response (success code (0xx) / use information)”. Note that the usage information here is, for example, information such as usage information: (purchase date / time / content name / price).
・ If usage status inquiry processing fails,
“Response (error code (1xx))” is returned.

(8) Upon receiving the command “Response”, the provider 301 server 301 performs code determination processing (step S508), and in the case of an error code (1xx), transmits error information to the user terminal 401, An error screen or the like is displayed (step S509). In the case of a success code (0xx), the usage status information of the user is displayed on the usage status inquiry screen (step S510).

[Unsubscribe from user provider]
Next, a processing procedure when the user cancels the provider contract with provider A and withdraws from the membership will be described. This withdrawal process is performed as a batch process. FIG. 9 shows the processing procedure, which is performed as follows.
(1) The provider 301 server 301 creates a withdrawal member ID list every month and sends the withdrawal member ID list to the paid information distribution server 201 (step S601).
(2) The paid information distribution server 201 performs a monthly membership system batch withdrawal process based on the received withdrawal member ID list (step S602).

[Monthly billing procedure]
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a procedure of monthly billing processing, which will be described below.
(1) The paid information distribution server 201 closes each month, creates a billing file for one month (step S701), and notifies the server 301 of the provider A of the sales record.

(2) The provider 301 server 301 makes a payment request to a credit company or the like based on the charging file received from the paid information distribution server 201, and outputs the result as a charging result file (step S702).
(3) The accounting result file is returned to the paid information distribution server 201. In the result file below, the result of the success or failure of the payment is recorded, and the paid information distributor calculates his share and bills provider A. Note that the user who has not been able to charge is recorded as a person who has failed to charge, and takes a procedure such as forced withdrawal (step S703).

[Data operation processing (customer support interface)]
Next, customer support processing will be described.
In the paid information flow system according to the present invention, the following support processing can be performed by using the processing command.
-Enter the user ID (UID) and content ID (CID) to cancel the registration of the monthly membership system content. For example, the command “MEMQUIT” is used.
-Entering a user ID (UID) and a content ID (CID) and purchasing (registering) the content. For example, the command “PAYONCE” is used.
-Input user ID (UID) and content ID (CID), and cancel the billing for the current month. For example, the command “CANCEL” is used.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a procedure of data operation processing by customer support. The procedure will be described below.
(1) The customer support terminal 501 accesses the server 301 of the provider A for data operation processing (step S801).
(2) The provider A server 301 displays a support screen menu on the customer support terminal 501 (step S802). When “operation content” is selected on the support screen, an authentication form screen is displayed (step S803).
(3) The customer support terminal 501 inputs the ID and password, and transmits them to the server 301 of provider A (step S804).
(4) The provider A server 301 authenticates the customer supporter (step S805).
(5) If the authentication result of the customer supporter is not possible (N), information indicating that is transmitted to the customer support terminal 501 and an authentication error screen is displayed (step S806).
(6) If the customer support person is successfully authenticated, a data operation menu screen is displayed on the customer support terminal 501. On this screen, the user ID (UID), content ID (CID), and operation details are input and transmitted to the server 301 of provider A (step S807).
(7) The server 301 of the provider A issues a command corresponding to the operation content to the paid information distribution server 201 (distribution server call: step S808).

(8) The paid information distribution server 201 performs data operation processing on the purchase information DB 203 or the content information DB 202 (step S809).
・ If the data manipulation process is successful,
“Response (success code (0xx) usage information)” is returned.
・ If data manipulation processing fails,
“Response (error code (1xx))” is returned.

(9) Upon receiving the command “Response”, the provider 301 server 301 performs code determination processing (step S810), and in the case of an error code (1xx), transmits error information to the customer support terminal 501 to generate a system error. A screen or the like is displayed (step S811). In the case of a success code (0xx), an operation processing end screen is displayed (step S812).

  In the paid information distribution system according to the present embodiment, the paid information distribution server 201 holds the paid content, but the paid content is held by the server 301 of the provider A, and the admission process, the admission process, and the withdrawal process are performed. Processing other than processing for presenting paid content on the user terminal 401, such as processing, may be performed by the paid information distribution server.

  It is realized by the “paid information distributor server”, “provider server”, “user terminal”, and computer system in the above description. Then, all or part of the above-described processes may be stored in a computer-readable recording medium in the form of a program, and the above-described process may be performed by the computer reading and executing the program. Here, the recording medium of the computer system means a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a magnetic hard disk, a magnetic tape, a semiconductor memory, or the like.

  The program may be transmitted from a computer system storing the program in a storage device or the like to another computer system via a transmission medium such as an electric communication line. Here, the transmission medium of the telecommunication line means a metal wire, an optical fiber, an electromagnetic field, or the like having a physical property of transmitting a signal by electricity or electromagnetic waves.

  Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the paid information distribution server of the present invention is not limited to the above illustrated example, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Of course.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows the structure of the paid information distribution system by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the function structural example of the server of a provider, and a chargeable information distribution server. It is a figure which shows the example of the top page of a provider. It is a figure which shows the procedure of the membership process of monthly fee system content. It is a figure which shows the procedure of the entrance process of a monthly membership system content. It is a figure which shows the procedure of the purchase processing of number charge content. It is a figure which shows the procedure of the withdrawal process of the monthly membership system content. It is a figure which shows the procedure of a content utilization condition inquiry process. It is a figure which shows the process sequence when a user cancels | releases a provider contract and withdraws. It is a figure which shows the procedure of a monthly charge process. It is a figure which shows the procedure of the example of a data operation process by customer support. It is a figure which shows the data structural example of content information DB. It is a figure which shows the data structural example of purchase information DB.

Explanation of symbols

1 Communication Network 100 Paid Information Provider 201 Paid Information Distribution Server 202 Content Information DB
203 Purchase information DB
211 Product Information Display Function 212 Command Response Processing Function 213 Charge Information Management Function 214 Content Provision Function 301 Provider A Server 311 Access Guidance Function 312 Purchase Acceptance Function 313 Purchase User Authentication Function 314 Processing Request Command Issuance Function 401 User Terminal

Claims (7)

Paid information distribution server that holds billing content information each time and provides billing content each time, and a provider server that prompts the user terminal to purchase fee information and performs billing processing is connected via a network The paid information distribution server in the system,
A content information database in which information on paid information is stored;
A purchase information database for storing information on the content purchased by the user for each user;
Whenever an information acquisition request command related to billing content is received from the provider server, the content information database is referred to, and if there is information on the billing content every time an acquisition request is made, a success code is displayed each time an acquisition request is made. A reply means for returning an error code to the provider server if there is no information on the billing content;
When a charge content purchase command transmitted from the provider server is received after the login process of the user terminal is normally performed in the provider server, the content corresponding to the transmitted charge content purchase command is transmitted to the user And a charging information management means for storing charging information in the content information database and managing charging information. When the billing information management means receives a billing content purchase command each time, the billing information management means stores the content in the content information database that the content has been purchased by the user, and succeeds in the use processing. The fee-charging method according to claim 1, wherein an access key, a URL, and a success code necessary for using the content are transmitted to the provider server when the use process fails. Information distribution server. Product information display means for accepting access related to the purchase of billing content from the user terminal by guidance from the provider server and displaying product information of the billing content every time it is provided;
The paid information distribution server according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising:   Usage status inquiry processing means for receiving a paid information purchase or usage status confirmation request command from the provider server, referring to the purchase information database, and returning purchase and usage status information of a specified user The paid information distribution server according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: Receiving a data operation processing request command for performing customer support from the provider server, executing the requested data processing, and further comprising data operation processing means for returning the execution result to the provider server; The paid information distribution server according to any one of claims 1 to 4. Paid information distribution server that holds billing content information each time and provides billing content each time, and a provider server that prompts the user terminal to purchase fee information and performs billing processing is connected via a network The paid information distribution server in the system, wherein the paid information distribution server includes: a content information database in which information on paid information is stored; and a purchase information database in which information on content purchased by a user is stored for each user. Having
Using the paid information distribution server,
Reply means of the paid information distribution server,
Whenever an information acquisition request command related to billing content is received from the provider server, the content information database is referred to, and if there is information on the billing content every time an acquisition request is made, a success code is displayed each time an acquisition request is made. A step of returning an error code to the provider server if there is no chargeable content information;
Billing information management means of the paid information distribution server,
When a charge content purchase command transmitted from the provider server is received after the login process of the user terminal is normally performed in the provider server, the content corresponding to the transmitted charge content purchase command is transmitted to the user A charge information distribution method for executing the step of storing billing information management by storing in the content information database. Paid information distribution server that holds billing content information each time and provides billing content each time, and a provider server that prompts the user terminal to purchase fee information and performs billing processing is connected via a network The paid information distribution server in the system, wherein the paid information distribution server includes: a content information database in which information on paid information is stored; and a purchase information database in which information on content purchased by a user is stored for each user. Having
The computer of the paid information distribution server,
Whenever an information acquisition request command related to billing content is received from the provider server, the content information database is referred to, and if there is information on the billing content every time an acquisition request is made, a success code is displayed each time an acquisition request is made. Reply means for returning an error code to the provider server if there is no billing content information;
When a charge content purchase command transmitted from the provider server is received after the login process of the user terminal is normally performed in the provider server, the content corresponding to the transmitted charge content purchase command is transmitted to the user Charging information management means for storing the purchase by the content information database and managing charging information;
Program to function as.

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