JPH05219502A - Charging device for subscription broadcast from artificial satellite - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To print out a subscription program viewed by a home terminal and its charge by a printer in the home terminal only for the confirmation of the charge. CONSTITUTION:A charge table 35 and a charge calculation storage means 34 are provided in a home terminal 30. A subscription broadcast program is selected by a descrambler 31, the viewing is started and a prescribed time elapses, then the selected program and its view start time are detected by a view program detection means 32, the result is added to a charge calculation storage means 34, then the charge calculation storage means 34 references the charge table 35 to calculate and store the view charge with respect to the view program. When an output instruction is fed to the charge calculation storage means 34, the stored content is printed out by a printer 5.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a billing device for pay broadcasting from an artificial satellite, and more particularly to a pay broadcast from an artificial satellite which charges a viewing fee to a home terminal when a scrambled pay program is viewed at the home terminal. To a billing device for.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a conventional billing device for pay broadcasting from an artificial satellite of this type.

The billing device for pay broadcasting from an artificial satellite shown in FIG. 2 receives a signal from a ground station for transmitting a pay broadcast program (not shown) on the ground and sends a signal from the artificial satellite 1 for transmitting to the ground. One or more home terminals 3 that are individually received, and when the home terminal 3 receives a pay program, the viewing information transmitted from the home terminal 3 through the telephone line 4 is received and collected, and the home terminals are separated by a certain period of time. The center 2 is configured to calculate a viewing fee based on the viewing information and generate a bill for the viewing fee.

In the home terminal 3, a descrambler 31 for restoring the scrambled signal sent from the artificial satellite 1 to the state before being scrambled.
When the descrambler 31 is operated, the program selected by the descrambler 31 is detected and the viewing program detecting means 32 for outputting the result is connected to the output side of the viewing program detecting means 32. A viewing information sending means 36 for sending the output from the viewed program detecting means 32 to the center 2 via the telephone line 4 is provided.

On the other hand, in the center 2, the viewing information collecting means 21 for receiving and collecting the viewing information output from the viewing information sending means 36 sent via the telephone line 4, and the viewing information collecting means 21. Billing means 2 for billing each home terminal based on the viewing information collected by
Have two.

Descrambler 31 of home terminal 3
When a desired program is selected and this state continues for a predetermined time, the viewed program detection means 32 operates, the descrambler 31 detects the selected program, and the detected time (including date and time) is detected. The result may be output to the viewing information sending means 36.

Upon receipt of this output, the viewing information sending means 36 adds an identification code given in advance for each home terminal to the received information and sends it as viewing information to the viewing information collecting means 21 via the telephone line 4. To do. The viewing information sending means 21 receives, collects and stores this viewing information. After a predetermined time has elapsed, the fee bill preparation means 22 refers to the viewing information collected by the viewing information collection means 21, A viewing charge is calculated for each home terminal based on the viewing information and a bill is created.

This bill is sent to the home terminal side, and the user of the home terminal pays the viewing fee.

It should be noted that the descrambler 31 described above outputs a viewable signal to a television receiver or other receiver (not shown) for trial listening.

[0010]

In the above-described conventional billing device for pay broadcasting from artificial satellites, when a user of the home terminal operates the descrambler 31 and a predetermined time elapses, viewing for billing the viewing fee. Since information is sent from the home terminal 3 side to the center 2 side via the telephone line 4 and charging is performed based on this viewing information, the user of this home terminal cancels the program selected by the descrambler 31 as described above. If it is not performed before the watched program detecting means 32 operates, it will be charged. Therefore, when the user mistakenly selects a program other than the desired program by the descrambler on the home terminal 3 side and selects another desired program after the elapse of the above-described certain time, the desired program is not selected. No charge will be made even for the above-mentioned erroneously selected program, and such charge is not recognized by the user of the home terminal 3 at the time of performing the above-mentioned erroneous operation. However, when a considerable amount of time has passed and the invoice was sent from the center 2 side, it was noticed that the wrong program other than the desired program was charged for the first time. It has the drawback that there will be a dispute with the side viewing biller.

Further, even if the user of the above-mentioned home terminal remembers that he / she listened to the watching program when he / she listened to a pay broadcast program, the memory fades at the time of receiving the invoice. However, it has a drawback that it causes an illusion that the program requested by the bill has not been viewed, which causes a dispute with the payer of the viewing fee.

The object of the present invention is to store the program listened to at the home terminal on the side of the home terminal described above, calculate the viewing charge, and when the user of the home terminal 3 wants to obtain information on the viewing charge. It is an object of the present invention to provide a billing device for pay broadcasting from an artificial satellite, which allows the stored contents to be output to a printer for confirmation.

[0013]

In the billing device for pay broadcasting from an artificial satellite according to the present invention, a subscriber side receives a pay broadcasting program relating to a scrambled image transmitted through the artificial satellite from a home terminal, and the subscriber terminal receives the pay broadcasting program. The descrambler provided in the terminal is operated to select and receive the program, and when this state elapses for a predetermined time, the selected program is identified by the viewed program detecting means and given in advance for each home terminal. Is added by an identification code and sent as viewing information by a viewing information sending means via a telephone line, and the viewing information is received by a viewing information collecting means provided in the center via the telephone line and collected. Within the center based on the viewing information collected by the viewing information collection means for each predetermined period for each home terminal In the charging apparatus pay that for broadcasting from satellite to create an invoice for viewing fee by the home terminal by vignetting fee billing means,
A fee table for storing all the pay-broadcast programs transmitted from the artificial satellite in association with the viewing fee for each program, and when the output from the viewed-program detecting means is received, the program is viewed with reference to the fee table. For a program, the viewing fee is calculated and stored in association with the program, and when the output command is received, the fee calculation storage means for outputting the stored content, and the fee calculation connected to the output side of the fee calculation storage means A printer for printing the output of the means is provided on the home terminal side.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a billing device for pay broadcasting from an artificial satellite according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, a billing device for pay broadcasting from an artificial satellite according to the present embodiment includes a home terminal 30 for receiving a scrambled signal transmitted via the artificial satellite 1, The viewing information transmitted from the home terminal 30 is collected, the home terminal 30 is charged based on the collected viewing information, and a bill for the program viewed at the home terminal 30 is created. It is composed of a center 2 and a printer 5 which prints a fee for a viewing program to be charged, which is output from the home terminal 30.

The above-mentioned center 2 is the same as that described in FIG. The descrambler 31 in the home terminal 30, the viewing program detecting means 32, and the viewing information sending means 36 are the same as those described in FIG.

In the home terminal 30, a charge table 35 is stored in which the paying charges corresponding to the pay broadcast programs corresponding to the pay broadcast programs which can be received are stored, and the home terminal 30 is provided. Every time the descrambler 31 is operated to watch a pay broadcast program, the charge is calculated by referring to the above-mentioned charge table 35 and stored in association with the program listened to, and a predetermined output command is added from the outside. And the charge calculation storage means 34 for outputting the above-mentioned stored audition charge and the corresponding program to the printer 5 described above.

The listening program detection means 32 is the descrambler 3
When the above-mentioned information about the selected pay broadcast viewing program of 1 is output, the charge calculation storage means 34 receives this information, refers to the charge table 35, and extracts the charge of the pay broadcast program currently received, The charge is stored in association with the program being viewed.

When a predetermined output command from a device (not shown) in the home terminal 30 is applied to the charge calculation storage means 34, the viewed program and the charge stored up to that point are stored in the charge calculation storage means. It is output from 34 to the printer 5.

The user of the home terminal 30 can read the output of the printer 5 and know the amount of the viewing charge to be paid by the home terminal 30 and the program watched. Therefore, the user of the home terminal can check the program watched by himself / herself before viewing the pay broadcast before the memory becomes unclear.

[0022]

As described above, the billing device for pay broadcasting from the artificial satellite according to the present invention, even on the home terminal side, provides information about the pay program viewed by the home terminal and the program. Since you can have the printer output the fee to pay and the desired time,
Before the bill for the viewing fee is sent from the center side, the amount of the viewing fee for such pay broadcasting can be known. That is, the above-mentioned invoice is often sent to the home terminal side after a long time has elapsed since the program for which the invoice is charged is viewed, whereas the invoice is considered to be charged by the printer 5. There is an advantage that the charge can be known even after a short time has passed since the start of viewing the pay program.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a charging device for pay broadcasting from an artificial satellite of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a conventional device of this type.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Satellite 2 Center 4 Telephone Line 5 Printer 30 Home Terminal 31 Descrambler 32 Watched Program Detection Means 34 Charge Calculation Storage Means 35 Charge Table 36 Watching Information Transmission Means

Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification number Office reference number FI technical display location // G06F 1/00 370 F 7927-5B

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A subscriber side receives a pay broadcast program related to a scrambled image transmitted through an artificial satellite by a home terminal, operates a descrambler provided in the home terminal, and selects the program. When this state is received and this state elapses for a predetermined time, the selected program is identified by the viewing program detecting means, and an identification code given in advance for each home terminal is added to view it as viewing information through the telephone line. The viewing information is sent by the information sending means, the viewing information is received by the viewing information collecting means provided in the center through the telephone line, and is collected by the viewing information collecting means at each predetermined period for each home terminal. Viewing charges for each home terminal by means of a charge bill preparation means provided in the center based on the viewing information In a billing device for paying broadcasting from an artificial satellite for making a bill, a charge table for storing viewing charges corresponding to all programs of the pay broadcasting transmitted from the artificial satellite, and the viewing When the output from the program detection means is received, the viewing fee is calculated and stored in association with the program viewed with reference to the fee table, and when the output command is received, the stored content is output. A billing device for pay broadcasting from an artificial satellite, comprising: storage means and a printer connected to the output side of the charge calculation storage means and printing the output of the charge calculation means.