JPH0765036A - Electronic publication - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To attain the electronic publication that can increase its application up to the weekly magaxines at low cost and a high speed and also with no illicit copies. CONSTITUTION:A general user owns a read/write enable memory IC 16, and the article contents of a publication are copied with charge to a memory card including the IC 10 and a hardware lock circuit 10 serving as an illicit copy preventing means in a publication store. Then the user displays the article contents of the publication copied to an exclusive memory card having a hardware lock function serving as an illicit copy preventing means and then reads these displayed article contents.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to electronic publication of publications including magazines, books, advertising materials, newspapers, timetables, maps and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional electronic publishing involves memory cards, CDs,
Or write the article contents on a floppy disk etc. and sell it instead of a book, usually a mask ROM is made, this is incorporated into a memory card and an electronic publication is completed, which is displayed in the store of a bookstore, It is sold in the same way as ordinary printed materials, and dictionaries, encyclopedias, picture books, etc. are electronically published as CDs and memory cards (mask ROMs).

[0003]

By the way, the memory card used in the current electronic books is a small and light-weight memory device which is excellent in portability and can be directly accessed at high speed, but it is expensive. The spread of electronic books has not progressed. The realized e-book is I
This is a C-memory using the cheapest mask ROM with a unit price of bits. However, an electronic book using a mask ROM requires a long time from mask mask production to card production, and is not suitable for publications with a short publication period such as weekly magazines. Therefore, the data cannot be rewritten, and therefore, in the case of a publication that does not need to be stored, there is a problem in that it has to be discarded although it is expensive, and the cost is inevitably high.

Further, as a form similar to electronic publication, there is a data bank for delivering the contents of publication articles by data communication using a communication means such as a telephone line, and a method of expanding this to general publications is also conceivable. However, there are problems such as the spread of high-speed data lines, the communication lines of publishers being heavily congested on the day of issue of periodicals, and the long copy time. Therefore, it is necessary to solve these technical problems.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. The purpose of the present invention is to carry out electronic publishing at a low cost and speedily, and its application range is a weekly magazine or a monthly magazine. It is another object of the present invention to provide a means for preventing illegal copying of a memory card to solve the illegal copying problem.

[0006]

In order to achieve these objects, the present invention provides a readable / writable memory card owned by a general user at a retailer of publications, preferably as an illegal copy protection means. The article contents of a publication are paid for copying to a memory card having a hardware lock mechanism, and then the user uses a dedicated memory card reader, preferably a memory card reader having a hardware lock function as an illegal copy preventing means, or It is characterized by displaying and reading the article contents of a publication copied on a personal computer equipped with dedicated software.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings and its operation. In the electronic publishing according to the present invention, the retail store of the publication is a general bookstore, a station store, a convenience store, etc., and a dedicated copy machine and a master card are installed here, Copies are made for a fee, and the number of copies is written on the counter or master card of the copy machine and later settled with the publisher.

The electronic book used in this electronic publication is a readable / writable memory card, preferably a memory card and a memory card reader (reading device) having a hardware lock mechanism as a means for preventing illegal copying. Preferably, it comprises a memory card reader having a hardware lock function similar to that of a memory card, or a personal computer equipped with dedicated software or a TV receiver equipped with a dedicated adapter device. Therefore, to explain further, the memory card is composed of rewritable IC memory (FLASH memory, SRAM) without using a mask ROM, and the publishing business itself retains the copyright, not the production and sale of printed matter. It turns into copying the contents of the article of the publication to the memory card owned by the subscriber. If the subscriber thinks that the copied content is no longer needed, he or she can copy the content of the next new publication for a fee, in this way the memory card owned by the subscriber can be reused semipermanently. It By the way, a high cost is a problem, but this is a problem only when the electronic book is purchased for the first time, and the material cost is not required for the subsequent rewriting, which leads to a significant cost reduction. Also. Since there is no need to wake up the mask ROM, speedy electronic publishing is possible, and electronic publishing can be expanded and spread in fields such as weekly magazines that are subscribed only for a short time. However, it is predicted that such electronic publishing may be targeted by people who illegally copy and make a profit. Copying is generally a problem in publishing, but since the present invention is electronic publishing in which copying is directly sold, illegal copying causes fatal damage. Currently, a hard disk copy memory card reader / writer has been developed, and if you use this, you can easily copy a memory card. By the way, in electronic publishing, encryption of article contents of a publication does not make sense.
Encryption can make the pirated version of the card reader unusable, but the illegal copy (pirated version of the card) at issue here cannot be removed. The hardcopy card is indistinguishable from the original master card. Therefore, one of the means for solving the problem of illegal copying is to provide a hardware lock (locking) circuit inside the memory card, which cannot be read / written unless operated by a key obtained by decryption. It makes illegal copying impossible and secures the legitimate interests of those who run the electronic publishing business.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of a memory card having a hardware lock circuit, in which the hardware lock circuit is shown by a black box. Therefore, first, the concept of the hardware lock circuit will be described. When a signal is transmitted via hardware, it is possible to realize a circuit in which the relationship between the input signal “X” and the output signal “Y” is Y = [F (A) * G (B)] X. Here, F (A): data stored at address A G (B): data stored at address B [F (A) * G (B)]: F (A) and G (B) Data obtained as a result of the calculation with two inputs. Therefore, when F (A) and G (B) have specific values, [F (A) * G (B)] = 1, Y = Becomes X,
The signal is transmitted correctly. For example, if the addresses A and B are used as keys and the keys are obtained, F (A) and G (B) can be output. If F (A) and G (B) are input to the arithmetic circuit, a hardware lock is performed. Is released and X is directly output to the signal line Y. This means that the hardware lock has been released. If a person without a key randomly sets an address, the following will occur. That is, if the address a is set and it is not known whether it is a read or a write, but the data is read for the time being, it is an incorrect address, so [F (a) * G (B)] ≠ 1, and then the hardware lock circuit. Remains F (a)
Even if the correct address A is given after that, F (A) is not output, and the lock cannot be released unless the card is pulled out once. The same thing G
Since it also occurs in (B), if A and B are 16 bits, 2
^It is necessary to insert and remove the card the same number of times as ³² times of releasing operation, and it takes about 1 second per time, which is about 125 years. If you happen to hit A or B in the first attempt, you can read the data on this card, but if you try to write this data to another card next time, the old data will be erased and the new write operation will be performed. You will need it. However, even at the time of erasing and rewriting, the hardware lock of Y = [F (C) * G (D)] X is applied by the address keys C and D, and erasing and rewriting cannot be performed without releasing this. Furthermore, since the original card is supposed to write the key hiding place by encryption at an appropriate address, in order to create a pirated card, it is necessary to know the key hiding place and know the encryption method. The keys at addresses A, B, C, and D can be changed for each memory card, and each copy is rewritten when copying normally, so even if the key of one card is discovered by chance, Card keys are never discovered in a chain.

Further, the hardware lock circuit will be described. In FIG. 1, a connector 11 is a connector for connecting a memory card and a card reader, and a signal line to be locked by the hardware lock circuit 10 is an address signal line 12. The data signal line 13 and the control signal line 14, and any one or a plurality of these signal lines are locked. These signal lines are connected to the decoder circuit 15 and each memory IC 16 which are the original functional elements of the memory card via the hardware lock circuit 10.

An example of locking the control signal line 14 will now be described with reference to FIG. 2. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 17 is a decoder IC, which decodes an address signal to chip select signal (CS) of the corresponding IC. Generate the IC
18 is a hardware lock circuit for the control signal line 14, which is a read enable (RE).
/ Write enable (WE) line is locked. Reference numerals 19 and 20 denote gate circuits for transmitting the control signal line 14 as it is when the hardware lock circuit 18 is released, and for inhibiting transmission at the time of locking, and 21 denotes a memory IC. A control signal line lock circuit unit 2 surrounded by a dotted line in FIG.
The second example will be further described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. In FIG. 3, 23 is an address decoder, 24,
Reference numerals 25 and 26 are IC memories, 27 is a latch circuit, 28 is an arithmetic circuit, and 29 to 32 are switching devices. In such a configuration, signal data is written in the address ADO of the IC memory 26. When this is read through the address decoder 23 and the code is deciphered, the keys A and B for reading and the keys C and D for writing are written. Is obtained. When the data is read with the address as A, the output data F (A) is read by the arithmetic circuit 28 and latched by the latch circuit 27. At this time, the data bus switching unit 30 operates and the read data F (A) is not output to the data bus. Next, the address is set to B, and the data G (B) becomes the data F.
Similarly to (A), the latch circuit 2 is read by the arithmetic circuit 28.
Latched by 7. The arithmetic circuit 28 is [F (A) * G
(B)] is calculated, and the result is calculated as two signal lines (RE1, RE
Output to 2). The arithmetic circuit 28 may be a normal Boolean algebraic expression or a more sophisticated calculation expression, but RE1 = 0 and RE2 = 1 except for the combination of the data F (A) and the data G (B).
The calculation formula and the data of F (A) and G (B) must be created so that In FIG. 3, since the two signal lines RE1 = 0 and RE2 = 1 are set in FIG.
, The gate circuit 20 is opened, the gate circuit 20 is closed, and the read control signal line RE becomes 0 (active),
Data can be read from the memory IC 21.
When erasing or rewriting the memory card, IC memory 2
When the address ADO of 6 is accessed, the encrypted data is decrypted, and the data is read with the addresses C and D,
The data F (C) and G (D) are output to the arithmetic circuit 28. If C and D are correct keys, then [F (C) *
G1 (D)] results in RE1 = 1 and RE2 = 0, and the gate circuit 19 in FIG.
When 0 is opened and the write signal line WR becomes 0 (active), the memory IC 21 can be erased and rewritten. In FIG. 3, the latch circuit 27 is set to SET.
It has a terminal and a RESET terminal, and data is set when the key address is read from the IC memories 24 and 25,
Once set, it will retain that data until reset, remove the card and reinsert it
A signal is input to the ET terminal to reset the card.

Next, an outline of the memory card reader will be described. The reader is constructed by the constituent blocks shown in FIG. 4, namely, the memory card interface 40, the LCD controller 41, the display 42, the CPU 43, and the RA.
M44, ROM 45, operation keys 46, key buffer 4
7, image compression LSI 48, DMA controller 49,
A communication interface 50 and the like, of which a memory card interface 40, an LCD controller 41,
The CPU 43, the RAM 44 and the operation keys 46 are indispensable,
The CRT interface 51 is used for enlarged display on a home television, and the printer interface 52 is an optional function used for printing a part of article contents on paper. The electronic book presses the operation key 46 instead of turning pages, and the operation key 46 is provided with at least three keys of forward feed, backward feed and fast forward, and a power switch. The file format of the memory card is DOS document,
Although standard file formats such as JPEG and MPEG are adopted for common use with other electronic publications, there is no problem with the original format.

Although the embodiment has been described in detail above, it can be summarized as follows in two flows of the read operation of the memory card and the erase and rewrite operations of the memory card. (1) Flow of memory card read operation The power is turned on, and the control signal line lock circuit of FIG. 3 accesses the address ADO of the IC memory 26 to read the encrypted data. Decrypt the code and address keys A and B of the IC memory 24
To get. The data F (A) stored at the address A is read. The read data is output to the latch circuit 27 by the data bus switcher 30 and input to the arithmetic circuit 28 as "1". The data G (B) stored at the address B is read. The read data is output to the latch circuit 27 by the data bus switcher 30 and is used as the input “2” of the arithmetic circuit 28. When the inputs “1” and “2” of the arithmetic circuit 28 are set, the arithmetic effect is set in RE1 and RE2, and RE1
= 0 and RE2 = 1 are output. Since "0" is output to RE1 in FIG. 2, the gate circuit 19 is opened and the read control signal RE is transferred to the memory IC.
21 and the data can be read. When the memory card is pulled out, the latch circuit 27 is reset and the initial state is restored (locked). (2) Operation flow when erasing and rewriting the memory card The power is turned on, and the control signal line lock circuit in FIG. 3 accesses the address ADO of the IC memory 26 to read the encrypted data. Decrypt the code and address keys C and D of the IC memory 25
To get. The data F (C) stored at the address C is read. The read data is output to the latch circuit 27 by the data bus switcher 30 and input to the arithmetic circuit 28 as "1". The data G (D) stored at the address D is read. The read data is output to the latch circuit 27 by the data bus switch 32 and is used as the input “2” of the arithmetic circuit 28. When the inputs “1” and “2” of the arithmetic circuit 28 are set, the arithmetic result is set to RE1 and RE2, and RE1
= 1 and RE2 = 0 are output. In FIG. 2, since "0" is output to RE2,
The gate circuit 20 opens, and the write signal WE outputs the memory IC 21.
The data can be erased and rewritten. The read key and write key are newly added to A ₁ , B ₁ , C ₁ ,
Set to D ₁ , encrypt and write to address ADO,
Then, the data F is applied to the addresses A ₁ , B ₁ , C ₁ , and D _1.
(A), G (B), F (C), and G (D) are written.

[0014]

As described above, according to the present invention, electronic publishing can be performed inexpensively and speedily, and its application range can be expanded and spread to weekly magazines and monthly magazines.
By making illegal copying impossible, it is possible to secure the legitimate interests of the person who runs the electronic publishing business.

The electronic publication according to the present invention does not sell the memory medium storing the contents of the publication but stores the publication in a readable / writable memory card owned by a general user at a store. A large amount of print waste is created because the content of an article is copied for a fee, and then the user displays it with a dedicated memory card reader or the like to read the content of the article, which is an alternative to the conventional sale of publications. It is possible to reduce the energy consumption, protect the trees and the forests that are the raw materials for paper, reduce the mass transportation of printed materials and printed publications, and reduce the gasoline consumption. The economic effect is great.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of an example of a memory card.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a memory card that locks a control signal line.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a lock circuit of a control signal line.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an example of a memory card reader.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Hardware Lock Circuit 11 Connector 12 Address Line 13 Data Signal Line 14 Control Signal Line 15 Decoder Circuit 16 Memory IC 17 Decoder IC 18 Hardware Lock Circuit 19 and 20 Gate Circuit for Control Signal Line 21 Memory IC 22 Control Signal Line Lock Circuit Part 23 Address Decoder 24, 25, 26 IC Memory 27 Latch Circuit 28 Arithmetic Circuit 29, 30, 31, 32 Switch 40 Memory Card Interface 41 LCD Controller 43 CPU 44 RAM 46 Operation Keys

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Office reference number FI technical display location G06K 17/00 L

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. Article contents of a publication are copied for a fee to a readable / writable memory card owned by a general user at a publication store, and then the user installs a dedicated memory card reader or dedicated software. An electronic publication characterized by displaying and reading the article contents of the publication copied to the equipped personal computer. 2. The hardware lock mechanism as a means for preventing unauthorized copying is added to the memory card and the dedicated memory card reader.
Electronic publishing. 3. The electronic publication according to claim 1, wherein the dealer operates with a master card and a dedicated card copier for recording the number of copies.