JP2011164901A - System, method and program for distributing digital content - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the time and effort of a manager in installation work and management of installed digital content when installing common digital content in a plurality of terminals to use the common digital content. <P>SOLUTION: In this system 1 in which a plurality of terminals 10 and 15-a and b, a sales server 100 and an information processor 50 are connected in a communicable manner, the sales server 100 receives orders for digital content only for the number of licenses from a manager terminal 10, and transmits the digital content to the information processor 50 to be a gateway to be connected to a public line for a terminal. Then, the information processor 50 receives distributed digital content, and distributes the digital content for the number of licenses to the predetermined terminals 15-a and b. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a distribution system, method, and program for downloading digital content purchased via a server and distributing the digital content to each terminal.

  In recent years, it has become common to purchase digital content from a server on the Internet. For example, when a user simply inputs a credit card number, the purchase procedure is completed, and a terminal that has completed the purchase procedure can download and use the software (Non-Patent Document 1).

  Furthermore, it is known that the user downloads the software of the mobile terminal by temporarily downloading the application to a personal computer connected to the Internet and transferring the application to the mobile terminal connected to the personal computer with a cable. (Non-Patent Document 2).

NT Resonant Co., Ltd., “goo download”, [online], [searched on February 1, 2010], Internet <URL: http: // download. goo. ne. jp />

Apple Japan Inc., “Let's evolve iPhone with new applications”, [online], [February 1, 2010 search], Internet <URL: http: // www. apple. com / jp / iphone / apps-for-iphone />

License Online Co., Ltd., “What is Software License Purchase”, [online], [Search February 1, 2010], Internet <URL: http: // www. apple. com / jp / iphone / apps-for-iphone />

  However, in the methods of Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2, since only one terminal that can download digital contents (software or the like) is targeted, a terminal used in a corporate intranet or a plurality of terminals in a home On the other hand, when downloading common software individually (when performing kitting work for a plurality of terminals), an individual installation operation is required for each terminal.

  Furthermore, as in Non-Patent Document 3, it is also known to sell software as a license. However, sales using this method can only purchase software for the number of licenses at the same time. Eventually, the administrator must manage the purchased recording media and the licenses themselves. is there. In particular, when managing a large number of software, the administrator often takes time and improvement has been desired.

  An object of the present invention is to reduce the labor of an administrator in installation work and management of digital content after installation when installing and using common digital content for a plurality of terminals. Provided are a system, a method, and a program for distributing digital contents that realize an object.

(1) A system in which a plurality of terminals, a sales server, and an information processing apparatus serving as a gateway for connecting the terminal to a public line are connected to be communicable,
The sales server is
Order accepting means for accepting orders for digital content from one of the plurality of terminals by the number of licenses;
Transmitting means for transmitting the digital content to the information processing apparatus,
The information processing apparatus includes:
Receiving means for receiving the transmitted digital content;
Distribution means for distributing the received digital content to terminals for the number of licenses;
A system comprising:

  According to the invention described in (1), in a system in which a plurality of terminals, a sales server, and an information processing apparatus are communicably connected, the sales server orders digital content from one terminal among the plurality of terminals. Are received for the number of licenses, and the digital content is transmitted to the information processing apparatus serving as a gateway for the terminal to connect to the public line. Then, the information processing apparatus receives the transmitted digital content and distributes the received digital content to as many terminals as the number of licenses.

  Therefore, since the information processing apparatus distributes digital contents to each terminal, it is possible to perform installation work in a batch, and the information processing apparatus also automatically manages the number of licenses. , Management effort can be reduced. In addition, since the digital content is stored in the information processing apparatus that is a gateway, it becomes easy for the administrator to manage the location of the digital content.

(2) The order receiving means receives a terminal ID for distributing the digital content,
The system according to (1), wherein the distribution unit of the information processing apparatus distributes the digital content to a terminal corresponding to the terminal ID.

  According to the invention described in (2), the terminal ID for distributing the digital content is received, and the distribution means of the information processing apparatus distributes the digital content to the terminal corresponding to the terminal ID. Therefore, since the digital content is distributed only to the terminal designated by the sales server (terminal designated with the terminal ID), the administrator only has to designate the terminal to be purchased at the time of purchase. Digital content is distributed to each terminal.

  (3) The distribution unit of the information processing apparatus sequentially distributes the digital content to a terminal that has accessed the information processing apparatus, and when the distributed digital content reaches the number of licenses ordered. The system according to (1), wherein distribution is terminated.

  According to the invention described in (3), the information processing apparatus serving as the gateway sequentially distributes the digital content to the terminal that has accessed the information processing apparatus, and the distributed digital content is the license ordered. When the number is reached, the distribution ends. Therefore, unlike the invention of (2), the administrator does not need to specify a terminal to be purchased at the time of purchase, and the target terminal only has to access the information processing apparatus, Enable delivery. For example, if an administrator instructs a user to whom digital content is to be distributed to access a predetermined address of an information processing apparatus by e-mail or the like, the administrator can set the terminal to an intended terminal without setting the terminal. Only on the other hand, digital contents can be distributed.

(4) A method executed by a system in which a plurality of terminals, a sales server, and an information processing apparatus serving as a gateway for connecting the terminal to a public line are connected to each other,
The sales server is
Receiving an order for digital content from one of the plurality of terminals by the number of licenses;
Transmitting the digital content to the information processing apparatus;
The information processing apparatus is
Receiving the distributed digital content;
A distribution step of distributing the received digital content to terminals corresponding to the number of licenses;
A method comprising:

  According to the invention described in (4), in a system in which a plurality of terminals, a sales server, and an information processing apparatus are communicably connected, the sales server orders digital content from one terminal among the plurality of terminals. Are received for the number of licenses, and the digital content is transmitted to the information processing apparatus serving as a gateway for the terminal to connect to the public line. Then, the information processing apparatus receives the transmitted digital content and distributes the received digital content to as many terminals as the number of licenses.

  Therefore, since the information processing apparatus distributes digital contents to each terminal, it is possible to perform installation work in a batch, and the information processing apparatus also automatically manages the number of licenses. , Management effort can be reduced. In addition, since the digital content is stored in the information processing apparatus that is a gateway, it becomes easy for the administrator to manage the location of the digital content.

(5) A program executed by a system in which a plurality of terminals, a sales server, and an information processing apparatus serving as a gateway for connecting the terminal to a public line are connected to each other,
In the sales server,
Receiving an order for digital content from one of the plurality of terminals by the number of licenses;
A transmission step for transmitting the digital content to the information processing apparatus,
In the information processing apparatus,
Receiving the transmitted digital content;
A distribution step of distributing received digital content to terminals for the number of licenses;
A program comprising

  According to the invention described in (5), in a system in which a plurality of terminals, a sales server, and an information processing apparatus are communicably connected, the sales server orders digital content from one terminal among the plurality of terminals. Are received for the number of licenses, and the digital content is transmitted to the information processing apparatus serving as a gateway for the terminal to connect to the public line. Then, the information processing apparatus receives the distributed digital content and distributes the received digital content to as many terminals as the number of licenses.

  Therefore, since the information processing apparatus distributes digital contents to each terminal, it is possible to perform installation work in a batch, and the information processing apparatus also automatically manages the number of licenses. , Management effort can be reduced. In addition, since the digital content is stored in the information processing apparatus that is a gateway, it becomes easy for the administrator to manage the location of the digital content.

(6) A system in which a plurality of terminals, a sales server, and a distribution management server are communicably connected,
The sales server is
Order accepting means for accepting orders for digital content from one of the plurality of terminals by the number of licenses;
Transmitting means for transmitting the digital content to the distribution management server,
The delivery management server
Receiving means for receiving the transmitted digital content;
Distribution means for distributing the received digital content to terminals for the number of licenses;
A system comprising:

  According to the invention described in (5), in a system in which a plurality of terminals, a sales server, and a distribution management server are communicably connected, the sales server orders digital content from one of the plurality of terminals. Are received for the number of licenses, and the digital contents are transmitted to the distribution management server. Then, the information processing apparatus receives the distributed digital content and distributes the received digital content to as many terminals as the number of licenses.

  Therefore, since the distribution management server distributes digital contents to each terminal, it is possible to perform installation work in a batch, and the distribution management server also automatically manages the number of licenses. , Management effort can be reduced. In addition, since the digital content is stored in the distribution management server that is a gateway, the location of the digital content can be easily managed for the administrator.

  According to the present invention, when common digital content is installed and used for a plurality of terminals, it is possible to reduce the time and effort of the administrator in the installation work and management of the digital content after installation. Become.

It is a figure which shows the whole system block diagram. 2 is a functional block diagram of an administrator terminal 10 and a sales server 100. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of an information processing apparatus 50. FIG. It is a flowchart of the process which a system performs. It is a figure which shows the screen image of a sales page. It is a flowchart which shows the 1 of digital content delivery processing. It is a figure which shows an order table. It is a flowchart which shows the 2 of digital content delivery processing. It is a flowchart which shows a digital content installation process. It is a figure which shows a license management table. 1 is an overall system configuration diagram including a distribution management server. FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[System configuration]
The outline of the distribution system 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the distribution system 1.

  The distribution system 1 includes a sales server 100, an information processing device 50 connected via a public line network 3, an administrator terminal 10 connected to the information processing device 50 via a LAN (Local Area Network) 2, and a terminal 15-a, b (hereinafter referred to as “terminal” as appropriate). The LAN 2 only needs to be configured to be communicable, and may be a wired or wireless connection method.

  As an outline of the processing of the distribution system 1, when the administrator purchases digital content from the administrator terminal 10 on the sales server 100, the administrator sets the number of licenses to be purchased and the terminals 15-a and b to be installed. The information processing apparatus 50 receives the digital contents from the sales server 100 and distributes them to the terminals 15-a and 15b. Therefore, when common digital content is installed and used for a plurality of terminals, it is possible to reduce the labor of the administrator in the installation work and management of the digital content after installation.

  The digital content is data in a digital format, and may be not only a software program but also a moving image, an image, music, a sentence, a figure, a table file, text data, and the like.

  The sales server 100 may be a Web server, and includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and the like as the control unit 101 (see FIG. 2). , A hard disk, SSD (Solid State Drive), or both. A database may be constructed by the control unit 101 and the storage unit 125. Furthermore, the sales server 100 includes a wired / wireless compatible device, a wireless LAN device, and the like as the communication unit 120.

  The sales server 100 includes a control unit 101, a communication unit 120, a storage unit 125, a digital content order receiving unit 102, a sales management unit 103, and a digital content transmission unit 104.

  All means or functions to be described later of the sales server 100 may not be realized by a single hardware (computer), but a system is constituted by a plurality of servers, and one or more means are realized by one server. Then, all these means may be realized as a system of the plurality of servers by connecting the plurality of servers so that they can communicate with each other.

  The information processing apparatus 50 is a computer, and includes a central processing unit (CPU), a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), and the like as a control unit 51 (see FIG. 3). , SSD (Solid State Drive) or both of them, and the communication unit 60 includes a wired / wireless compatible device, Bluetooth (registered trademark), and the like.

  The information processing apparatus 50 functions as a gateway (service gateway, home gateway), converts a private address into a global address, and connects the terminal so that it can communicate with each server (including the sales server 100) in the Internet.

  The information processing apparatus 50 includes a control unit 51, a communication unit 60, a storage unit 65, a digital content reception unit 52, a target terminal determination unit 53, a license management unit 54, and a digital content distribution unit 55. The information processing apparatus 50 stores information (terminal ID) related to a terminal connected to a public line such as the Internet in the storage unit 65 via the information processing apparatus 50 in advance.

  The administrator terminal 10 and the terminals 15-a and 15b are assumed to be computer terminals, but may be general household appliances or commercial appliances as long as the following configuration is provided. Information such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants, electronic book readers, electronic photo frames, portable music players, televisions, audio components, content playback / recording players, printers, telephones, fax machines, copiers, scanners, MFPs, etc. Not only home appliances, but also white goods such as refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashers, electric fans, air conditioners, electric stoves, rice cookers, microwave ovens, electric lighting, servers, exchanges, routers, hubs, switches, etc. Including.

  The administrator terminal 10 is a terminal used by an administrator who manages the LAN 2, and includes a control unit 11, a communication unit 20, and a storage unit 25, and includes a digital content purchase unit 12 and a distribution terminal setting unit 13. With.

  The terminals 15-a and b are terminals for users provided in the LAN 2, and include a control unit 31, a communication unit 35, a storage unit 36, a digital content receiving unit 32, and an installation unit 33. .

  The administrator terminal 10 and the terminals 15-a and b include a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and the like as the control units 11 and 31 (see FIGS. 2 and 3). The storage units 25 and 36 include either or both of a hard disk and an SSD (Solid State Drive), and the communication units 20 and 35 include a wired / wireless compatible device, a Bluetooth (registered trademark) compatible communication device, and the like. The administrator terminal 10 and the terminals 15-a and 15b may include an input unit such as a keyboard, a remote controller, a mouse, a touch panel, and a microphone that receives an input operation from the user. Furthermore, the information processing apparatus 50 may include an output unit such as a monitor or a speaker.

  Note that the administrator terminal 10 and the terminals 15-a and 15b may be physically the same terminal, and a program that realizes each means is read and executed by these terminals. The administrator terminal 10 may function as the terminals 15-a and b, and the terminals 15-a and b may function as the administrator terminal 10.

[System processing flow]
With reference to FIG. 4, processing procedures executed by each device and means of the sales server 100, the information processing device 50, and the administrator terminal 10 will be described.

  First, the administrator activates a Web browser or a dedicated application (agent program or the like) of the administrator terminal 10 and designates a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) or the like, whereby the digital content purchasing means 12 of the administrator terminal 10 Then, the sales page is accessed (step S01).

  In response to this, the digital content order receiving means 102 of the sales server 100 transmits a sales page to the administrator terminal 10 (step S02), and the digital content purchase means 12 of the administrator terminal 10 displays the sales page ( Step S03).

  The sales page is a page for accepting, from an administrator, digital content to be sold and terminals to be distributed that receive the digital content. The sales page may be a page that is different for each administrator by inputting an administrator ID or the like, or may be a page shared by all or some of the managers.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the sales page includes at least a type of digital content 81 to be purchased and a terminal 82 to be distributed. Here, the sales page may include an item of purchase in a pack in which a plurality of digital contents are combined. In the example of FIG. 5, when the administrator designates the purchase with “office pack”, the purchase of both the text software A and the calculation software B is designated.

  When the data of “terminal to be distributed” in the sales page is stored in the sales server 100, the digital content purchasing means 12 of the administrator terminal 10 does not execute step S04 and the sales page 100 Each terminal ID (PC-01 to 06) of “terminal to be distributed” is displayed. However, when the data of “terminal to be distributed” on the sales page is not stored in the sales server 100, the administrator terminal 10 accesses the information processing apparatus 50 and data related to “terminal to be distributed”. Is acquired (step S04). Then, the acquired data relating to the “terminal to be distributed” is displayed in a predetermined column of the sales page.

  Next, the delivery terminal setting means 13 of the manager terminal 10 performs order item setting processing (step S05). That is, the administrator accepts selection of digital content to be purchased and selection of “terminal to be distributed” to which the digital content is distributed. In the example of FIG. 5, the distribution terminal setting unit 13 accepts input from the administrator to the check box of the digital content to be purchased and the check box of each terminal, and the digital content to be purchased and the terminal of the distribution target Terminal ID is set. By setting the terminal ID of the terminal to be distributed by the administrator, the number of terminal IDs is specified and the number of licenses is set.

  Then, the digital content purchasing means 12 of the administrator terminal 10 makes an order request to the sales server (step S06). The digital content order receiving means 102 of the sales server 100 accepts the digital content sales order and performs settlement (step S07). This settlement result is stored and processed by the sales management means 103 of the sales server 100. If digital content is free, the payment process is omitted.

  When the order is confirmed and settlement is completed, an order table is created. The order table is a table in which terminal IDs of terminals to be distributed, digital contents to be distributed, and license numbers are associated with each other. As shown in FIG. 7, in this order table, “text software A” as digital contents is transferred to terminals with terminal IDs “PC-01, PC-03” with license numbers “AA-00-XX-01, “AA-00-XX-02” is associated.

  The terminal ID is an identifier of the terminals 15-a and 15b to be distributed, and may be a computer name, an appliance model name, a model name, or the like.

  Next, the digital content transmission means 104 of the sales server 100 transmits the digital content and the order table to the information processing apparatus 50 (step S09). Here, as for the digital content to be distributed, even if there are a plurality of terminals to be distributed, if the digital content is the same, one digital content may be transmitted to the information processing apparatus 50. Therefore, since the information processing apparatus 50 can download the digital contents in a batch, the communication efficiency can be improved compared to downloading the same digital contents from the sales server 100 for each terminal.

  The digital content receiving means 52 of the information processing device 50 receives the digital content (step S10), and the information processing device 50 executes a digital content distribution process (step S11). The digital content distribution process will be described in two examples with reference to FIGS.

  First, with reference to FIG. 6, “digital content distribution processing 1” will be described. The target terminal determination unit 53 of the information processing apparatus 50 refers to the order table received from the sales server 100 (step 20), determines “terminal to be distributed”, and the digital content distribution unit 55 performs the distribution target terminal. The distribution process is performed (step S21). In the order table of FIG. 7, in the digital content “text software A”, the distribution target terminals are “PC-01” and “PC-03”, and “PC-02” is not included. Therefore, “text software A” is distributed to “PC-01” and “PC-03”.

  With reference to FIG. 8, “digital content distribution processing 2” will be described. In the case of the present embodiment, the order table does not have to include the “terminal ID” item in the order table as shown in FIG. That is, it is not necessary to accept the input of the terminal ID to be distributed from the administrator terminal 10, and only the digital content to be distributed and its license number need be registered.

  The information processing apparatus 50 waits for access from the terminals 15-a and 15b. That is, the storage unit 65 of the information processing apparatus 50 is accessed by designating a predetermined address such as a URL address or a folder name from the terminals 15-a and 15b. The access is waited by designating this address (step S30). When the information processing apparatus 50 detects that a predetermined address is accessed from the terminal 15-a, the digital content distribution means 55 sequentially sends the accessed terminal 15-a to the terminal 15-a. Then, the digital content is distributed (step S31). Then, it is determined whether or not the number of licenses purchased at the sales server 100 is the same as the number of distributed licenses (step S32). When the number is the same (step S32: YES), the distribution process ends. If not, the process returns to step S30 and the process is repeated.

[When the digital content is software]
When the distributed digital content is a software program and the distributed terminals 15-a and b need to be installed, the terminals 15-a and b can store the digital content as shown in the example of FIG. After receiving the distribution, the digital content installation process is executed.

  The installation unit 33 of the terminals 15-a and b determines whether or not the digital content is installable content (step S40). Specifically, the determination method can be installed if the file extension of the distributed digital content is “exe” or “inst” or includes a predetermined file of the installer maker. Judge. If the file is compressed, it is determined after the file is decompressed.

  If the installation unit 33 determines that the content is installable (step S40: YES), the installation unit 33 executes an installation process (step S41), and determines that the content is not installable or the determination is unknown (step). If (NO at S40), the process returns to step S40. If there is a predetermined file of the install manufacturer or a file having a predetermined extension, the installation process starts by starting the file.

  When the installation process is completed, the installation unit 33 notifies the installation completion (step S42) and ends the process.

  In the above installation process, the case where the digital content program itself is newly installed has been described. However, an update program, an update file, an add-in, an applet, etc. are already installed on the already installed software. Even in the case of installation, the same processing is performed. In this case, the installation unit 33 determines whether there is an update program, searches for a program that executes the update process, and executes the update.

[License management]
License management executed by the license management unit 54 of the information processing apparatus 50 will be described. The information processing apparatus 50 stores the type of digital content distributed to each terminal 10, 15-a, b and the license number as a license management table as shown in FIG. That is, the digital content sold by the sales server 100 is stored in the storage unit 65, and a license management table is created based on the terminal ID and license number received from the order table. Here, information on the user name and the IP address is received and recorded from the administrator.

  As described above, since all of the digital content, the license number of the digital content, and the distributed terminal ID are stored in the information processing apparatus 50, management by the administrator becomes easy.

[Distribution Management Server]
As shown in FIG. 11, a system 5 in which a distribution management server 500 is provided instead of the information processing apparatus 50 may be used. That is, the distribution management server 500 includes a control unit 51, a communication unit 60, and a storage unit 65, like the information processing apparatus 50 of FIG. 3, and includes a digital content receiving unit 52, a target terminal determining unit 53, and a license management. Means 54 and digital content distribution means 55. The distribution management server 500 is different in that the sales server 100 and the terminals 15-a and 15b are not gateways for connecting to public lines. That is, the function of the information processing apparatus 50 is provided by the distribution management server 500, so that it is provided as a SaaS (Software as a Service) type service.

[Digital content]
In the above description, the case where the digital content is mainly a software program has been described. However, the same applies when the digital content is a moving image, an image, music, a sentence, a figure, a table file, text data, or the like. The license is managed, and the digital content is simply distributed to each terminal without performing the installation process described above.

  The means and functions described above are realized by a computer (including a CPU, an information processing device, and various devices) reading and executing a predetermined application program. The application program may be provided in a form recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a flexible disk, CD (CD-ROM, etc.), DVD (DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, etc.), for example. In this case, the computer reads the application program from the recording medium, transfers it to the internal storage device or the external storage device, stores it, and executes it. The program may be recorded in advance in a storage device (recording medium) such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, or a magneto-optical disk, and provided from the storage device to a computer via a communication line.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the present embodiment, and modifications, improvements, and the like within the scope that can achieve the object of the present invention are included in the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Distribution system 10 Administrator terminal 15-a, b terminal 50 Information processing apparatus 100 Sales server 500 Distribution management server

Claims (6)

A system in which a plurality of terminals, a sales server, and an information processing apparatus serving as a gateway for connecting the terminal to a public line are communicably connected,
The sales server is
Order accepting means for accepting orders for digital content from one of the plurality of terminals by the number of licenses;
Transmitting means for transmitting the digital content to the information processing apparatus,
The information processing apparatus includes:
Receiving means for receiving the transmitted digital content;
Distribution means for distributing the received digital content to terminals for the number of licenses;
A system comprising: The order receiving means receives a terminal ID for distributing the digital content;
The system according to claim 1, wherein the distribution unit of the information processing apparatus distributes the digital content to a terminal corresponding to the terminal ID.   The distribution means of the information processing apparatus sequentially distributes the digital content to terminals that have accessed the information processing apparatus, and distributes the distributed digital content when the number of licenses ordered is reached. The system of claim 1, which terminates. A method executed by a system in which a plurality of terminals, a sales server, and an information processing apparatus serving as a gateway for connecting the terminal to a public line are communicably connected,
The sales server is
Receiving an order for digital content from one of the plurality of terminals by the number of licenses;
Transmitting the digital content to the information processing apparatus;
The information processing apparatus is
Receiving the transmitted digital content;
A transmission step of distributing the received digital content to terminals corresponding to the number of licenses;
A method comprising: A program executed by a system in which a plurality of terminals, a sales server, and an information processing apparatus serving as a gateway for connecting the terminal to a public line are connected to each other,
In the sales server,
Receiving an order for digital content from one of the plurality of terminals by the number of licenses;
A transmission step for transmitting the digital content to the information processing apparatus,
In the information processing apparatus,
Receiving the transmitted digital content;
A distribution step of distributing received digital content to terminals for the number of licenses;
A program comprising A system in which a plurality of terminals, a sales server, and a distribution management server are communicably connected,
The sales server is
Order accepting means for accepting orders for digital content from one of the plurality of terminals by the number of licenses;
Transmitting means for transmitting the digital content to the distribution management server,
The delivery management server
Receiving means for receiving the transmitted digital content;
Distribution means for distributing the received digital content to terminals for the number of licenses;
A system comprising:

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