JP5222216B2 - Recording medium storage device and recording medium sales management system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording medium storage device and a recording medium sales management system for selling an unused recording medium in which no data is recorded.

  Currently, various types of data storage have been put to practical use, and in particular, removable media such as DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) and BD (Blue-ray Disc) are relatively easy for users to obtain and purchase. It is widely used for various purposes such as recording and data recording.

  However, from the user's point of view, there is a risk that program recording may be missed due to out of stock, so a certain amount of reserve is necessary. As an example of a system that solves this type of problem, it is possible to apply a so-called “placement method”, which is a pharmaceutical placement and sales business. That is, a predetermined number of media (recording media) are arranged in the user's house, and when the person in charge visits the user's house next time, a fee corresponding to the number used is collected.

  In connection with the method of selling media, Patent Document 1 discloses a vending machine for media on which information such as news is recorded, and Patent Document 2 sells media on which music information is recorded. A system is disclosed in which a customer who visits a store that purchases a piece of music can view the music on his / her mobile terminal and then purchase the media on which the music information of the music is recorded.

JP-A-4-138589 JP 2002-367026 A

However, the “placement method” is inefficient due to the time and effort required for the sales person to visit the user's home, and if the visit interval is long compared to the frequency of media usage by the user, it is still a stock. I have a problem of the possibility of exhaustion.
The techniques disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 are not related to a method of selling unused media in which data is not recorded as in the present invention, but are related to a method of selling media in which data is recorded. The literature does not disclose or suggest the issues relating to the above-mentioned method for selling unused media.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to sell an unused recording medium on which no data is recorded, and collects the price of the recording medium. It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording medium storage device and a recording medium sales management system that can be efficiently executed and can prevent the user from depleting the recording medium stock.

In order to solve the above problems, a first technical means of the present invention stores a plurality of recording media in a housing, and sequentially ejects the recording media stored in the housing in response to a discharge instruction. A main body having a storage unit for identifying information, an input unit for the discharge instruction, a discharge control unit for the recording medium, a network interface, and a discharge mechanism for the recording medium, and is detachably attached to the main body. And a cartridge that stores the recording medium, and is connected to a medium management server that manages the sales of the recording medium via a network, and the discharge control unit stores the identification stored in response to the input of the discharge instruction. A recording medium discharge permission information transmission request including information is transmitted to the medium management server, and the medium management server transmits the recording medium based on a billing process for the sales price of the recording medium. The reception of the recording medium discharge permission information discharging the recording medium, said cartridge, said the discharge port of the recording medium, and an opening for engagement with the discharge mechanism of the recording medium in the cartridge, the exhaust An outlet and a shutter that shields / opens the opening and a shutter driving mechanism that drives the shutter are provided, and the shutter driving mechanism is configured so that the opening and the discharge are not attached to the main body. The shutter is driven so that the outlet and the outlet are opened and the recording medium can be discharged when the outlet is shielded and the mounting to the main body is completed .

The second technical means of the present invention is a recording medium storage device of the first technical means and a medium management server for managing the sales of the recording medium, in response to the transmission request from the recording medium storage device, A recording medium sales management system in which the sales price of the recording medium is charged based on the received verification of the identification information and the recording medium discharge permission information is transmitted is connected via the network.

  According to the present invention, it is not necessary to visit the user's home for collecting the charge of the recording medium, so that the charge can be collected efficiently. Further, since the recording medium is replenished automatically or upon user request, the possibility of the recording medium being out of stock at the user's home is reduced.

It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the recording-medium sales management system of 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the external appearance of an example of the recording medium storage apparatus which comprises the recording medium sales management system of FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation flow in the recording medium sales management system of FIG. 1 including the media storage device of FIG. 2. It is a figure which shows the structure of an example of the recording medium storage apparatus which comprises the recording medium sales management system of 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the structure of the cartridge used for the replenishment of a medium in the recording medium sales management system of 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the example of an internal structure of the general purpose computer which comprises the media management server of FIG.

  A configuration example of the recording medium sales management system according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a recording medium sales management system according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows an appearance of an example of a recording medium storage device constituting the recording medium sales management system of FIG. FIG.

  The recording medium sales management system 1 in the example of FIG. 1 includes a media storage device 2 for storing unused media (for example, DVD, BD, etc.) on which no data is recorded, and the media storage device 2 via a network N. A media management server (medium management server) 3 is connected to manage the sales of media. In the system 1 in the figure, only one media storage device 2 is provided, but a plurality of media storage devices 2 may be provided.

  The media storage device 2 has a restriction mechanism (not shown) that physically restricts use of stored media. This restriction mechanism is, for example, a locking mechanism that locks the upper cover provided to put the medium in the medium storage device 2 so as not to open. Further, the media storage device 2 has a storage mechanism (not shown) for discharging the stored media. The medium is discharged from the opening 2a in FIG. 2 in response to an operation on the discharge instruction input unit from the user, for example, an operation on the medium discharge instruction button 2b. In addition, a wireless receiving unit such as an infrared ray may be provided in the media storage device 2 and a media discharge instruction may be issued by a remote controller using the wireless.

  Although not shown, the media storage device 2 communicates with an external device via a ROM that stores various types of information such as programs, a CPU that controls the device 2 by appropriately reading and executing the program in the RAM, and a network. Network I / F for performing In addition, it includes a display unit such as an input unit (for example, composed of numeric keys) for inputting user authentication information, which will be described later, and a liquid crystal display unit for performing display related to operations on the device 2. Each of the identification information storage unit 21 and the discharge control unit 22 described later can be configured by a ROM and a CPU, and various types of information handled by the discharge control unit 22 are stored in, for example, the ROM and read out to the RAM in the processing stage.

  Returning to the description of FIG. The media storage device 2 is installed in advance at the user's home. Then, the user is charged at the stage of discharging the unused media from the media storage device 2, and when the remaining number of unused media in the media storage device 2 is reduced, automatically or at the user's request In response, the media storage device 2 is delivered to the user's home. In order to make this possible, the media storage device 2 and the media management server 3 have the following configuration.

That is, the media storage device 2 includes an identification information storage unit 21 that stores identification information for identifying the user of the device 2 to the media management server 3 and a discharge control unit 22 that controls the discharge of the media. Upon receiving a media discharge instruction from the user, the discharge control unit 22 transmits a transmission request for discharge permission information including identification information stored in the identification information storage unit 21 to the media management server 3. The discharge permission information is information indicating that discharge of media is permitted.
On the other hand, the media management server 3 includes a sales management unit 31 that manages the number of media sales. The sales management unit 31 manages the identification information of the recording medium storage device delivered to the user's home for each user, and when there is a transmission request for the discharge permission information from the media storage device 2, based on the identification information, The user of the media storage device that is the transmission request source is specified, and the charging unit 32 is instructed to charge the sales price of the media to the specified user, and the discharge permission information is returned.
Then, the ejection control unit 22 of the media storage device 2 drives the ejection mechanism and ejects the media upon receiving the media ejection permission information.

  In addition, the sales management unit 31 of the media management server 3 provides, for each user, information about the amount of medium that has already been sent (for example, the number of sheets) and information about the amount of medium that has already been charged. I manage. Based on the shipped medium amount information and the charged medium amount information, when the number of uncharged (that is, unused) media in the user's home is equal to or less than a predetermined number, the sales management unit 31 sends the shipment management unit C to the shipping management unit C. A media replenishment instruction is issued. In the shipping management unit C, for example, a human performs a shipping process for a new media storage device 2 based on a refill instruction. In addition, a refill instruction can be issued in response to a refill request from the user via the media storage device 2. The replenishment request from the user via the media storage device 2 is made via the button when a media replenishment instruction button is provided on the device 2, for example.

  With the above configuration, the collection of the media fee is automatically performed, which saves the trouble of collecting the fee due to the visit and is efficient. In addition, the media replenishment instruction is performed automatically or according to the user operation. There is little possibility of running out of stock of recording media. In addition, since the use of media is physically restricted, it is possible to cope with existing media standards without any changes.

  The above-described identification information of the media storage device 2 is registered in the identification information storage unit 21 before being sent to the user's home, for example. Alternatively, the identification information may be notified to the user in advance by mail or the like, and the user may directly input the identification information via the input unit of the media storage device, and the identification information storage unit 21 may store the identification information.

  Further, in order to avoid that the media storage device 2 is misdistributed and the media fee cannot be charged to an appropriate user, the media storage device 2 has a user authentication function, and correct authentication is performed via the input unit of the device 2. Only when the information is input, the above-described transmission request of the media discharge permission information can be transmitted. The media management server 3 may have a user authentication function instead of the media storage device 2. In this case, information input via the input unit is transmitted to the media management server 3 via the network N, and when user authentication is performed and the authentication is successful, information indicating that is stored in the media storage. Only when the reply is received from the apparatus 2 and the reply is received, the media storage apparatus 2 transmits the above-mentioned request for sending the media discharge permission information. Information necessary for the user authentication may be notified to the user in advance by mail or mail separately from the transmission of the media storage device 2 and input at the first use.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the operation flow in the recording medium sales management system of FIG. 1 including the media storage device of FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, when the user operates the media ejection instruction button 2b of the media storage device 2 to instruct media ejection (step S1), the ejection control unit 22 of the media storage device 2 passes through the network N. A request for issuing media discharge permission information including identification information stored in the identification information storage unit 21 is issued to the media management server 3 (step S2). The sales management unit 31 of the media management server 3 responds to the issuance request for the discharge permission information based on the identification information managed for each user and the identification information received from the media storage device 2. A user of the storage device 2 is specified, and a charging request for the specified user is issued to the charging unit 32 (step S3). The billing method may be a pre-charge method such as electronic money, or a post-payment by credit or the like.

  Based on the billing request, the billing unit 32 determines whether the media user can be billed for the corresponding user (step S4). If charging is not possible due to insufficient charge balance or credit limit (NO), the charging unit 32 returns a charging result indicating that charging has failed to the sales management unit 31 (step S5). In this case, the media management server 3 issues ejection non-permission information indicating that media ejection is not permitted to the media storage device 2 (step S6). The media storage device 2 receives the discharge disapproval information, and, for example, the user indicates on the display screen of the display unit of the device 2 that the media purchase has failed or that the media cannot be discharged due to insufficient charge balance. (Step S7).

  On the other hand, if charging is possible in step S4 (in the case of YES), the charging unit 32 performs charging, and then returns a charging result indicating that charging has been successful to the sales management unit 31 (step S8). Upon receiving this billing result, the media management server 3 updates the billed medium amount information (used media information) by the sales management unit 31 and issues the discharge permission information to the media storage device 2 (step S9). .

  The ejection control unit 22 of the media storage device 2 receives the ejection permission information, drives the media ejection mechanism, and ejects the media (step S10).

  Further, the sales management unit 31 of the media management server 3 compares the dispatched medium amount information (distributed media information) and the charged medium amount information of the corresponding user in parallel with the issuance of the discharge permission information. It is determined whether the number of remaining uncharged (ie, unused) media at the user's home is very small (step S11). When it is determined that the amount is not very small (in the case of NO), the processing in the media management server 3 ends. However, when it is determined that the amount is small (in the case of YES), the media management server 3 sends the media to the shipping management unit C. The refill instruction is issued and the sent medium amount information is updated (step S12). In the shipping management unit C, a shipping process is performed based on the replenishment instruction, and the media storage device 2 is shipped to the corresponding user's home (step S13). “Slight” judgment is typically a case where the number is less than a certain number, but is not limited to a specific criterion, and purchase history (billing history) of purchase date and time) is stored. That is, a user with a fast consumption pace) may be determined to be “slight” with a sufficient number of sheets.

  As described above, in this recording medium sales management system, the only operation that the user should perform before the medium is ejected and usable is only a media ejection instruction such as pressing a button, and the accounting process during that time is all automatic. Since this is done, there is no extra burden on the user.

  When the recording medium sales management system of the present invention is used, the user makes a usage contract for the system, and the media storage device 2 is delivered to the user (may be handed over at the contract location). The media storage device 2 that has discharged all the stored media is preferably collected for reuse. If media remains in the media storage device 2 when the contract expires, for example, the user may return the media, and if the media is not returned, all remaining media may be charged. . In this case, if there is an instruction to eject the medium thereafter, the medium is ejected without charging.

  A configuration example of the recording medium sales management system according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a view showing the structure of an example of a recording medium storage device constituting the recording medium sales management system of the second embodiment of the present invention, and shows a state in which a cartridge described later is not mounted. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of a cartridge used for media replenishment in the recording medium sales management system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the present specification, the X direction and the Y direction in the figure are referred to as the vertical direction and the front-rear direction, respectively.

  In the first embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 3, the media storage device 2 itself is provided with a restriction mechanism that physically restricts the use of the stored recording medium, and the media is replenished in units of the media storage device 2. It was. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the operation is performed in units of the cartridge 4 of FIG. 5 which is detachably attached to the main body B of the media storage device 2 ′ of FIG. The first embodiment and the second embodiment are different only in the media replenishment mode and the structure of the media storage device, and thus the description other than these is omitted.

  The medium storage device 2 ′ includes a main body B having a ROM, a CPU, a RAM, a network interface, a recording medium discharge mechanism, and the like, and a cartridge 4 that is detachably attached to the main body and accommodates the recording medium. The main body B has a lid 2c on the top. When the lid 2c is opened and the cartridge 4 is mounted from above, the media is stored in the media storage device 2 '. Further, the main body B of the media storage device 2 ′ has a media discharge instruction button 2b at the upper front portion, and has an opening 2a for discharging the media at the lower portion of the front surface and a shutter 2d for closing and opening the opening 2a. . Further, a key 2e that protrudes upward and is formed in a shape corresponding to a later-described key hole 4f of the cartridge 4 is provided on the rear bottom surface on the inner side. The key 2e is for releasing the restriction mechanism for restricting the media use of the cartridge 4. The key 2e may be provided so as to be always exposed, or may be provided so as to be exposed when the cover 2c is stored in the bottom when the cover 2c is opened and the cover 2c is closed.

  Furthermore, the media storage device 2 ′ has a cylindrical member 2 f at the bottom. The columnar member 2f constitutes a medium discharge mechanism, and can be driven in the front-rear direction and the vertical direction, and is a hole in the center of one medium M in the cartridge 4 mounted in the medium storage device 2 ′. Engage with M1 (see FIG. 5C). While maintaining the engaged state, the cylindrical member 2f is driven forward until a part of the media protrudes from the opening 2a, and then the member 2f is driven downward to release the engagement. Thus, it is possible to take out the medium M from the medium storage device 2.

When the medium M is taken out, the cylindrical member 2f is driven backward to a position where it can engage with the hole M1 of the next discharge candidate medium M while maintaining the state of being positioned below, and then It is driven in the direction and engages with the hole M1, so that the medium M can be moved forward.
Further, the cylindrical member 2f is positioned below in a state where the cartridge is not mounted on the media storage device 2 ′, and is driven upward when the cartridge is mounted to engage with the medium M in the cartridge 4. It is good to do.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 (A) and 5 (B), the cartridge 4 includes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped case (container) 4c having openings 4a and 4b only at the bottom of the front surface and at the bottom, and the openings 4a and 4b are respectively formed. By closing with the shutters 4d and 4e, the removal (use) of the media from the case 4c is restricted. The front opening 4a is a medium outlet and outlet, and is provided so as to communicate with the opening 2a when the cartridge 4 is mounted on the main body B of the medium storage device 2 '. On the other hand, the opening 4b on the bottom surface is provided to engage the columnar member 2f of the media storage device 2 'constituting the media discharge mechanism with the media in the cartridge.

  Further, the cartridge 4 is provided with a key hole 4f at the bottom thereof, and has a drive mechanism (not shown) for driving the shutters 4d and 4e. When the cartridge 4 is mounted on the device 2 'so that the key 2e of the media storage device 2' is inserted into the key hole 4f, the drive mechanism drives the shutters 4d and 4e so as to open the openings 4a and 4b. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5C, the hole M1 of the medium M in the case 4c is exposed, so that the hole M1 and the columnar member 2f of the media storage device 2 ′ can be engaged with each other. The media can be discharged from the case 4c through the opening 4a by 2f (that is, the media usage restriction is released). When the cartridge 4 is removed from the media storage device, the drive mechanism drives the shutter so as to shield the openings 4a and 4b and restricts the removal of the media from the opening 4a.

  In the recording medium sales management system of this embodiment, when the media discharge instruction button 2b of the media storage device 2 ′ is pressed, processing is performed in the same manner as in the flowchart of FIG. 3, and the media storage device 2 ′ receives the discharge permission information. Accordingly, the shutter 2d is driven to open the opening 2a, and the cylindrical member 2f is driven forward, whereby one piece of media is discharged through the opening 2a. Further, in the present recording medium sales management system, the medium is replenished in units of cartridges 4 as described above.

Also in the present embodiment, the collection of the media fee is automatically performed, so that it is efficient to save the trouble of collecting the fee due to the visit, and the replenishment of the media is performed automatically or according to a user instruction. There is little possibility of running out of stock of recording media. In addition, since the use of media is physically restricted, it is possible to cope with existing media standards without any changes.
Note that the above-described configuration of the media storage device is merely an example, and any configuration may be used as long as the user cannot take out the media directly from the cartridge and can take out the media stored in the cartridge only through the media storage device.

  Finally, an example of the internal configuration of a general-purpose computer constituting the media management server according to the present invention will be given using the block diagram of FIG. In the figure, 51 is a CPU, 52 is a RAM, 53 is a ROM, 54 is a storage device such as an HDD, 55 is an input device such as a keyboard and mouse (pointing device), 56 is a display device such as a CRT and LCD, and 57 is a communication device. A device, 58 is an output device, and 59 is a system bus. Information handled by this apparatus is temporarily stored in the RAM 52 at the time of processing, and is read, modified, written, and the like by the CPU 51 as necessary. A program for causing this information processing apparatus to function as a media management server according to the present invention is stored in the ROM 53 or the storage device 54, and is executed by the CPU 51 reading it into the RAM 52 as appropriate. Further, information necessary for processing (for example, user information of the recording medium sales management system) can be designated by the operator from the input device 55.

  The communication device 57 communicates with an external device via a network or the like. The CPU 51, the RAM 52, the ROM 53, the storage device 54, the input device 55, the display device 56, the communication device 57, and the output device 58 are connected by a system bus 59 and can be mutually accessed.

  The sales management unit of the media management server according to the present invention is realized by the CPU 51. Various information such as delivered media information handled by the sales management unit is stored in the storage device 54, for example, and read out to the RAM 52 in the processing stage. The user identification information received from the media storage device is stored in the RAM 52, for example.

  In the example of FIG. 1, the media management server is shown such that each function such as the media sales management unit is integrated into one device, but each function may be distributed to a plurality of devices. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Recording medium sales management system 2, 2 '... Media storage device, 2a ... Opening, 2b ... Media discharge instruction button, 2c ... Cover, 2d ... Shutter, 2e ... Key, 2f ... Cylindrical member, 3 ... Media management Server 4. Cartridge 21. Identification information storage unit 22 Discharge control unit 31 Sales management unit 32 Billing unit B Body unit

Claims (2)

A recording medium storage device that stores a plurality of recording media in a casing and sequentially discharges the recording media stored in the casing by a discharge instruction,
An identification information storage unit, an ejection instruction input unit, a recording medium ejection control unit, a network unit, and a main body unit having a recording medium ejection mechanism, and a detachably mounted main body unit for accommodating the recording medium And a cartridge that
Connected via a network to a media management server that manages the sale of the recording media,
The discharge control unit sends a transmission request for recording medium discharge permission information including the stored identification information to the medium management server in response to an input of the discharge instruction, and the medium management server sells the recording medium for the recording price. The recording medium is discharged by receiving the recording medium discharge permission information transmitted based on the charging process of
The cartridge includes a discharge port for the recording medium, an opening for engaging the recording medium in the cartridge with the discharge mechanism, a shutter for shielding / opening the discharge port and the opening, and the shutter. A shutter drive mechanism for driving,
The shutter drive mechanism shields the opening and the outlet when the cartridge is not attached to the main body, and opens the opening and the outlet when the cartridge is completely attached to the main body. A recording medium storage device , wherein the shutter is driven so that the recording medium can be discharged . A recording medium storage device according to claim 1 and a medium management server that manages sales of the recording medium, based on the received verification of the identification information in response to the transmission request from the recording medium storage device A recording medium sales management system, wherein a recording medium is charged for the sales price of the recording medium and the recording medium discharge permission information is transmitted via the network.

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