JPH08251571A - Charging device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To charge a high-efficiency compressed and encoded signal according to its reception mode and a decoding mode such as a hierarchical stage and decoding time difference at the time of decoding. CONSTITUTION: A transmission device 31 multiplexes a charge calculating function and a correction signal for obtaining a charge value on the basis of the time difference between storage time and reproduction time with an image compressed signal that is compressed and encoded by a signal mixing circuit 34, and then sends them. A terminal device 30 stores the received multiplexed image compressed signal in a storage means 15 and also stores the storage time in a storage time register 15a. Then a storage and reproduction control circuit 14 controls reproduction and a function separating circuit 5 separates the reproduced storage signal into the charge calculating function and image compressed signal. The image compressed signal is decoded by a decoding circuit 6 and an image signal is outputted. At this time, a charge calculating circuit 17 calculates the charge value on the basis of the charge calculating function and the time difference obtained by a subtracter 11. Consequently, the signal can be charged on the basis of the time difference.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

[Object of the invention]

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a billing device used for pay broadcasting, and more particularly to a billing device based on a decoding form and a reproducing form of a user when receiving a highly efficient compression-coded image information signal at a sending side. The present invention relates to a billing device suitable for billing.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, pay-per-view broadcasting has been carried out. Generally, in pay-per-view broadcasting in a pay-per-view system, there are a transmission method for transmitting various image information using a cable and a transmission method using radio waves using a communication satellite. Among them, cable television broadcasting facilities using cables (hereinafter, C
ATV) distributes a television signal from a center device to subscriber terminal devices by a cable, and is expected to provide various image information services as well as to increase the number of channels.

CATV services include broadcasting services such as re-communication and independent broadcasting, as well as non-broadcasting services such as charging for pay programs, home shopping, and home banking. Further, in recent years, by using a two-way communication function between a center device and a terminal device group in CATV, a subscriber can access a center device equipped with a video server to receive a video and audio information service via a cable. Video on demand system has been developed. As a result, if the subscriber terminal requests the center apparatus for the video software, the desired video software can be viewed in real time.

On the other hand, in recent years, digital processing of images has been studied. Various systems have been studied for recording digital image data obtained by compressing a moving image signal in a magnetic recording / reproducing device. Generally, when a video signal is digitized, the amount of information becomes enormous, and it is difficult to transmit or record the information without compressing it in terms of communication speed and cost. Therefore, an image compression technique is indispensable for transmitting or recording a digital video signal, and various standardization plans have been studied in recent years. MPEG for moving images
(Moving Picture Experts Group) method is standardized. In MPEG, DCT (Discrete Cosine)
Transform) Transform, interframe predictive coding, run length coding, and entropy coding are used in combination to code a video signal. That is, in the MPEG system, 1
Not only is compression by DCT (intraframe compression) performed within a frame, but interframe compression that reduces the redundancy in the time axis direction by utilizing the correlation between frames is adopted. The inter-frame compression is to further reduce the bit rate by taking advantage of the fact that a general moving image is very similar to the preceding and following frames and obtaining the difference between the preceding and following frames and encoding the difference value. In particular, motion-compensated interframe predictive coding that reduces prediction error by predicting motion compensation of an image and obtaining a difference between frames is effective.

By performing high-efficiency compression coding on a moving image signal in this way, the code amount can be further reduced and it can be widely used for transmission media, storage media and the like.

[0007] By the way, as is well known, the pay view of the paper view system is a system in which a charge value is set at the same time as it is received by a subscriber. That is, when the desired signal is received, the charge value is set immediately. Therefore, in such a billing method, since the desired received signal is the same signal as the signal to be viewed and there is no time lag, the billing value can be easily determined at the time of reception. Further, it is possible to form a billing device for determining a billing value with a simple configuration.

[0008] Recently, in such pay-per-view type pay broadcasting, a pay broadcasting form in which a service is provided by using a compressed coded signal subjected to the above-described high efficiency coding has been studied. That is, by using the compression coded signal of the high efficiency compression coding method, the required transmission frequency bandwidth is significantly narrowed compared with the conventional non-compression coded signal.
This makes it possible to further increase the number of channels and provide high-quality images to subscribers. In addition, a pay-broadcasting form that utilizes a compression-encoded signal of a high-efficiency compression-encoding system and further employs a video-on-demand system has attracted attention. In particular, in the video-on-demand system of such a high-efficiency compression coding system, it is known that it is possible to provide image information according to each request of each subscriber.
Further, as the number of channels increases, the selection range of subscribers expands, so that there are advantages of not only satisfying the needs of subscribers but also gaining subscribers.

By the way, in the high-efficiency compression encoding processing on the transmission side (also referred to as the center device), the compression encoding processing of the original signal may be performed hierarchically. That is, the encoding process is performed according to the image quality level to adjust the code amount of the moving image signal encoded data. In this case, in the decoding processing of the received signal on the subscriber side, the decoding processing is hierarchically controlled. Therefore, considering the billing method for the subscriber, when billing for receiving a desired signal, it is desirable to change the billing value according to the layer to be decoded.

With the standardization of the high-efficiency compression coding system, a so-called digital VCR for recording (accumulating) the high-efficiency compression coding signal as it is on a tape has been studied.
A terminal device provided with a storage means such as the digital VCR has also been developed. In pay broadcasting using this terminal device, a compression coded signal of a channel desired by a subscriber is received and temporarily stored, and thereafter, for example, the stored signal is reproduced and decoded at a time desired by the subscriber to obtain image information. To get In this way, the subscriber can enjoy the image information at any time. In other words, pay broadcasting using a terminal device differs from the conventional pay-per-view method of pay broadcasting.
The desired received signal is not always the same as the viewed signal. That is, since transmission and reception are performed in a plurality of completely different signal forms, signals of a plurality of signal forms are stored in the storage means. Since the signal to be viewed is a reproduction signal obtained by selecting from the accumulated signal group in which a plurality of types of received signals are accumulated,
It is different from the signal at the time of reception and also different in time.

Generally, regarding the image information accumulated as described above, considering the value of the image and the audio signal,
It can be classified into those that decrease over time and those that do not. For example, real-time image information such as news and weather forecast belongs to the former, and its value decreases as the broadcast time elapses. On the other hand, image information such as movies belongs to the latter and its value does not change with time. That is, in pay broadcasting using the storage means, when charging a signal to be viewed, it is necessary to sufficiently consider the variability of the value depending on the source content of the image information as described above. In other words, considering the value variability due to the source content of the image information, for example, in the case where the image information is accumulated, rather than the charging method that charges the desired signal like the conventional pay-per-view method,
It is desirable to use a method of deciding to adjust the charge value according to the time difference between the time of decoding the reproduction signal or the time of reception and the time of decoding. However, in pay broadcasting using the terminal device, there is a problem in that a charging method that finely changes the charging value based on a change in time value of the source image information cannot be performed.

Further, even when charging is applied to a received signal which is hierarchically compression-coded by the high-efficiency coding system, there is a problem that the charging cannot be done according to the decoding hierarchy.

Further, by adopting the high-efficiency compression encoding method as described above, it is expected that the number of channels will be increased from the conventional one. Especially, in the video-on-demand system, a wired transmission form is used. Therefore, the request signal from the subscriber may be concentrated in a certain time zone. That is, the congestion degree of the transmission line changes depending on the time zone. For example, the line is crowded during the golden time, and there is room for the line at midnight and early morning. For this reason, it is desirable to change the billing value depending on the time of day when the request signal is sent from the terminal device or the congestion of the line. However, under the present circumstances, detailed billing is performed according to the usage state of the subscriber as described above. There is also a problem that you cannot do it.

[0014]

As described above, in the conventional billing apparatus, when billing a high-efficiency compression-coded signal, the billing method is based on the receiving form, the decoding step such as the hierarchical stage at the time of decoding, and the decoding time difference. There was a problem that the billing value could not be changed. Further, in the case of a video-on-demand system capable of two-way communication, there is also a problem that it is not possible to obtain a charge value according to the time zone requested by the subscriber and the state of use of the line.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and when charging a high-efficiency compression-coded signal, it is based on a decoding form such as a receiving form, a hierarchical stage at the time of decoding, and a decoding time difference. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a billing device that can perform billing.

[0016]

Configuration of the Invention

[0017]

A billing device according to the present invention according to claim 1 is a billing calculation function for calculating the information value of a compression coded information signal and the information of the information signal in a decoder on the receiving side. And a transmission means for multiplexing and transmitting a multiplexed signal. A billing device according to the present invention as set forth in claim 10, comprising: input means for taking in a multiplex signal of a compression-coded information signal and a billing calculation function for calculating the value of information of the information signal; and the input means. Of the multiplex signal, separating means for separating the compression-coded information signal and the billing calculation function, and an information signal by decoding the compression-coded information signal separated by the separating means. And a billing calculation unit that calculates and outputs a billing value corresponding to the information signal output by the decoding unit based on the billing calculation function separated by the separating unit. It is equipped.

[0018]

According to the present invention of claim 1, the sending means multiplexes and multiplexes the compression-coded information signal and a billing calculation function for calculating the value of the information of the information signal in the decoder on the receiving side. Send a signal. Thus, if the billing calculation function is separated from the multiplexed signal in the decoding on the receiving side, the billing value based on the value of the information can be calculated for the decoded information signal.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the input means takes in a multiple signal of the compression-coded information signal and the charge calculation function for calculating the value of the information of the information signal. After that, the multiplexed signal taken in by the input means is given to the separating means, and the separating means separates the compression-coded information signal and the billing calculation function. The compression-coded information signal separated by the separation means is given to the decoding means, and the decoding means decodes the compression-coded information signal and outputs the information signal. At this time, the charge calculating means calculates and outputs a charge value corresponding to the information signal output by the decoding means, based on the charge calculating function separated by the separating means.
Thus, when the multiplexed signal sent from the sending means is received and the information signal to be decoded is charged, the charge value based on the charge calculation function can be obtained.

[0020]

An embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2 show an embodiment of a charging device according to the present invention, FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a terminal device equipped with the charging device, and FIG. 2 is a broadcast used in the terminal device of FIG. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the structure of a wave signal.

The present invention is for charging based on the reception mode, the decoding mode, etc. In this embodiment, first, when charging is performed using a terminal device equipped with a storage means And an example of a charging method for charging based on the time difference at the time of reproduction will be described in detail.

In FIG. 1, in a terminal device 30 equipped with a billing device, an image compression signal, a calibration signal and an adjustment billing signal (hereinafter referred to as a billing calculation function) are transmitted by a transmission device 31 (for example, a center device equipped with a server). ) Is transmitted via a predetermined transmission mode 38 (for example, radio wave or cable). That is,
The transmission device 31 is an image signal compression circuit 3 as a transmission means.
3, calibration signal generation circuit 35, billing calculation function generation circuit 36
And a signal mixing circuit 34. In the transmission device 31, the image compression circuit 33 performs high-efficiency compression encoding processing on the image signal as an information signal input via the image signal input terminal 32 and supplies the image signal to the signal mixing circuit 34. The signal mixing circuit 34 multiplexes the calibration signal (time information) generated by the calibration signal generation circuit 35 and the charging calculation function generated by the charging calculation function generation circuit 36 with the image compression signal and outputs the multiplexed signal via the output terminal 37. Output.

On the other hand, from the terminal device 30 to the terminal device 3
The request signal based on the request by 0 may also be output to the transmission side (transmission device 31) via the transmission form 38 (cable in this case). That is, a bidirectional communication video-on-demand system can also be configured. Terminal device 30
The broadcast wave signal input terminal 1 of the transmitter side (transmitter 31)
The broadcast wave signal transmitted from is supplied. The structure of this broadcast wave signal is shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the broadcast wave signals used in the billing device according to the present invention are image compression signals S0, S1, which are obtained by subjecting the image signals to high-efficiency compression encoding processing on the transmitting side.
Sx, charge calculation functions H0, H1, ... Hx multiplexed at the beginning of each image compression signal Sx, and a calibration signal k for deriving an accurate time when charging by a time difference. There is. The image compression signal Sx is compression-encoded data obtained by subjecting the image signal to the high-efficiency compression-encoding process by the image compression circuit 33 as described above, and is configured by arranging a plurality of image compression signals S0, S1 ,. are doing. The charge calculation function Hx is a signal necessary for deriving a charge value based on the reception form and the decoding form, and the image compression signals S0, S
, ... Sx corresponding to billing calculation functions H0, H1, ... Hx
Is multiplexed at the beginning of each image compression signal Sx as shown in FIG. Further, a multiplexed image compression signal (a multiplexed signal of the image compression signal Sx and the accounting calculation function, which is also referred to as a multiplexed stream) formed by multiplexing the accounting calculation functions Hx is provided in the terminal device 30. A calibration signal K as time information for calibrating the internal clock 8 is multiplexed so as to be arranged at the head portion. The broadcast wave signal having such a configuration, that is, the bit stream is transmitted via a transmission medium such as a cable or a radio wave, and is given to the broadcast wave signal input terminal 1 of the terminal device 30 shown in FIG.
In addition to the above-described charging calculation function Hx, a charging mode signal indicating a charging type may be multiplexed at the beginning of the image compressed signal Sx.

The broadcast wave signal (bit stream) supplied through the broadcast wave signal input terminal 1 is used as a calibration signal separation circuit 2
Give to. The calibration signal demultiplexing circuit 2 demultiplexes the broadcast wave signal of the form shown in FIG. 2 into a calibration signal (time information) and a multiple image compression signal in which a billing calculation function is multiplexed, and the calibration signal is given to the internal clock 8 and multiplexed. The image compression signal is given to the selector 3. When the calibration signal is given, the internal clock 8 calibrates the time based on this calibration signal. That is, the internal clock 8 is corrected at the time when the broadcast wave signal is transmitted. After that, the internal clock 8 outputs the corrected time to the storage time register 15a. Further, the internal clock 8 outputs a time (hereinafter, referred to as a count time) counted by a timer (provided in the internal clock) that operates by being corrected to the reproduction time register 9.

The terminal device 30 is provided with a storage means 15 capable of storing (recording) a compression coded signal in a recording medium. The selector 3, when accumulating the supplied multiplex image compression signal, gives the multiplex image compression signal to the storage means 15, and otherwise gives it to the selector 4.
At this time, the selector 3 is switched and controlled by the storage / reproduction control circuit 14. That is, the storage / reproduction control circuit 14 outputs the multiplex image compression signal as a non-storing signal when directly reproducing the multiplex image compression signal, and outputs the multiplex image compression signal to the storage means 15 when storing the multiplex image compression signal. The selector 3 is switched to output.

Now, it is assumed that the storage / reproduction control circuit 14 gives an instruction for reproduction (non-storage). In this case, the multiple image compression signal is given to the function separation circuit 5 via the selector 4 by the switching operation by the selector 3.

Alternatively, it is assumed that the accumulation / reproduction control circuit 14 has instructed accumulation. In this case, selector 3
The multiple image compression signal is accumulated by the switching operation by the storage means 15.
The storage means 15 stores the supplied multiple image compression signal. The storage means 15 is, for example, a tape or a CD.
It is possible to record the image compression coded signal as it is on a recording medium such as, and has an extremely large capacity recording area. Thereby, it is possible to record the multiplex image compression signal for each channel for a predetermined number of channels. At the time of accumulating the multiplex image compression signal, the multiplex image compression signal for each channel is recorded as an accumulation signal 1, an accumulation signal 2, an accumulation signal 3, ... Corresponding to each channel. The storage means 15 has a storage time storage register 15a corresponding to each storage signal. The storage time storage register 15a includes a plurality of storage units, and when the multiplex image compression signal is stored,
The storage time register 15a stores the storage time corresponding to the storage signal, that is, the storage time obtained by the internal clock 8 in the storage unit corresponding to each storage signal.

On the other hand, during reproduction, reproduction control is performed by the accumulation / reproduction control circuit 14 so as to reproduce any one of the plurality of accumulated signals accumulated by the accumulating means 15. . That is, the storage / reproduction control circuit 14 outputs a control signal for reproduction to the selector 16 to reproduce and output one storage signal. At this time, the storage time corresponding to the selected storage signal is also read from the storage time register 15a and output together with the storage signal. The reproduced accumulated signal n is passed through the selector 4 to the function separation circuit 5
On the other hand, the accumulation time n of the accumulation signal n is set to the selector 10
Give to.

The selector 4 is switched by the switching control by the storage / reproduction control circuit 14. For example, selector 4
When reproducing the stored signal, the storage / reproduction control circuit 1
The accumulated signal and the accumulated time which have been reproduced by the changeover control are output. Further, when the selector 4 immediately reproduces upon reception, the selector 4 switches in reverse to the above and outputs the non-accumulation signal (multiplexed image compression signal).

The function separation circuit 5 separates the input multiple image compression signal into the image compression signal Sx and the charge calculation function Hx shown in FIG. After that, the image compression signal Sx is given to the decoding circuit 6, and the billing calculation function Hx is given to the billing calculation circuit 17. The decoding circuit 6 performs a decoding process on the input image compression signal to obtain an original image signal before the encoding process. The decoded image signal is applied to a television receiver such as a monitor through the selector 7 and the output terminal 18 to display a video based on the image signal on the screen.

On the other hand, when the image compression signal is given to the decoding circuit 6, the count time from the internal clock 8 is given to the reproduction time register 9 and stored therein. The reproduction time register 9 gives the stored count time to the selector 10 and the subtractor 11 as the reproduction time. The selector 10 switches and outputs one of the input accumulation time n and reproduction time by the switching control by the accumulation / reproduction control circuit 14. For example, the selector 10 outputs the reproduction time when the reproduction mode is instructed, and outputs the accumulation time n when the accumulation mode is instructed.
The output time of the selector 10 is given to the subtractor 11 and the selector 12.

The subtractor 11 subtracts the reproduction time from the reproduction time register 9 and the output time from the selector 10. That is, the time difference between the reproduction time and the time of the currently designated mode is detected. For example, if the accumulation mode is instructed, the subtractor 11 subtracts the accumulation time and the reproduction time and outputs the time difference. If the reproduction mode is instructed, the subtractor 11 subtracts the reproduction time from the reproduction time, that is, outputs a time difference of 0. The output of the subtractor 11 is given to the billing calculation circuit 17 via the selector 12.

The billing calculation circuit 17 calculates a billing value for the image signal to be reproduced, based on the billing calculation function Hx from the function separation circuit 5 and the time difference from the subtractor 11. The calculated charge value is output as charge value data from the charge value data output terminal 19 to, for example, the transmission side (center device) via the transmission medium. At this time, the charge calculation circuit 1
When it is impossible to calculate the charge value, 7 outputs a control signal to the selector 7 and controls so as to prohibit the output of the image signal.

Although not shown, the billing mode changing circuit 13 receives the billing mode signal when the billing mode signal is multiplexed with the input broadcast signal, and controls switching of the selector 12 based on the billing mode signal. . For example,
When the charging mode is a mode in which charging is performed based on the time difference between the accumulation time and the reproduction time, the selector 12 is switched so as to output the time difference detected by the subtractor 11 to the charging calculation circuit 17. When the charging mode charges based on the transmission time zone, the selector 12 is switched to output the accumulated time to the charging calculation circuit 17. still,
The charging mode changing circuit 13 may be manually operated by the user to arbitrarily change the charging mode. in this way,
The charging mode changing circuit 13 is used by the subscriber (mode).
In order to perform billing according to the above, the time information given to the billing calculation circuit 17 is switched to obtain the billing value based on the mode.

Next, the operation of the charging device shown in FIG. 1 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the charge calculation function for each application, and FIG. 3A shows the charge value for each image information determined by the time difference and the charge value function.
The vertical axis shows the charge value and the horizontal axis shows the time difference. It should be noted that movies, sports, news, weather forecasts, etc. are shown as the respective image information, and one example is shown in which they do not affect the temporal value.

First, on the transmission side (transmission device 31 in FIG. 1), a billing calculation function Hx according to the information content of the image compression signal is set in advance. That is, the receiving side obtains a billing value based on the time value (time difference) of the information content.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3 (a), with respect to the contents of the image information, the charging calculation function H is set so that the receiving side (subscriber) can obtain the charging value based on the time difference and the time value.
Set x. In this case, as shown in the figure, since the image information of a movie or the like is such that the value of the image hardly depends on the passage of time, it is desirable that the charging value be a curve which is substantially constant with respect to the time difference. . Therefore, for image information such as a movie, the charge calculation function Hx is set so as to obtain a charge value that does not significantly affect the time difference and is multiplexed with the image compressed signal such as a movie. In addition, as information contents, there are some contents such as news and weather forecasts whose image value significantly decreases with the passage of time. In such image information, the charging calculation function Hx is set so as to obtain a charging value that decreases as the time difference increases as shown in the figure, and is multiplexed with the image compression signal such as news and weather forecast.
In this manner, on the transmitting side, the image signal is subjected to high-efficiency compression encoding processing to generate the image compressed signal, and the charging calculation function Hx (see FIG. 3) and the calibration signal K corresponding to the information content of the image signal are generated. Multiplexing generates a broadcast wave signal (bit stream) and transmits it to the subscriber's terminal device 30. Now, it is assumed that the broadcast wave signal is input to the broadcast wave signal input terminal 1 of the terminal device 30 and the image compression signal of the broadcast wave signal is stored according to an instruction from the subscriber. Then, the calibration signal separation circuit 2 separates the multiplex image compression signal and the calibration signal K, and the multiplex image compression signal is accumulated by the accumulating means 15 via the selector 3. The calibration signal K is given to the internal clock 8 to calibrate the internal clock 8 and this time is stored at the accumulation time n.
Similarly, it is stored in the storage time register 15a of the storage means 15.

Thereafter, it is assumed that the subscriber reproduces data by using the storage / reproduction control circuit 14 after a predetermined time has elapsed. Then, the accumulating means 15 is set in the reproducing mode to reproduce the accumulating signal n, and the accumulating signal n is given to the function separating circuit 5 via the selector 4. Then, the function calculating circuit 1 separates the multiplexed charging calculation function Hx, and the charging calculation circuit 1
Give to 7. The image compression signal Sx separated by the function separation circuit 5 is decoded by the decoding circuit 6 and output to a monitor or the like via the selector 7 and the image signal output terminal 17 to display a video image based on the image signal on the screen. .

On the other hand, when the accumulated signal is reproduced, the accumulation time n
Is also read out and the accumulation time n is given to the subtractor 11 via the selector 10. Further, the reproduction time register 9 gives the reproduction time at which the accumulated signal n is reproduced to the subtractor 11, and the subtracter 11 detects the time difference. This detection result (time difference) is given to the charge calculation circuit 17. After that, the charge calculation circuit 17 calculates a charge value according to the time value at the time of reproduction from the time difference and the charge calculation function Hx. in this case,
Since the billing calculation function Hx has a value for obtaining the billing value as shown in FIG. 3A, the billing calculation circuit 17 can obtain the billing value based on the time difference. As a result, it is possible to charge according to the time value, and it is possible to perform optimum charging for both the subscriber and the provider. In addition, the present embodiment can be applied to a video-on-demand system capable of bidirectional communication. That is, the charging is performed based on the time zone based on the subscriber's request for image information. In this case, first, on the transmitting side, as shown in FIG. 3B, the charge calculation function is set so that the charge value according to the request time of the subscriber can be obtained. For example, as shown in the figure, midnight (2
At around 4:00) and early morning (around 8:00 to 8:00 in the figure), the billing value is reduced during the relatively infrequent use of the line, while at the golden time (around 20:00 in the figure). The billing value should be increased during times when the line is frequently used. In this way, the billing calculation function is set so that the billing value according to the time zone at the time of request of the subscriber can be obtained. Then, the charge calculation function is multiplexed with the image compression signal of the image information according to the request and transmitted to the terminal device 30 of the subscriber.

The terminal device 30 operates in the same manner as in the above-described example, and the charge calculation circuit 17 calculates the charge value according to the time of the request. At this time, the charging mode changing circuit 13
The switching control of the selector 12 switches the selector 12 to give the accumulation time (reproduction time in the case of immediate reproduction) directly to the billing calculation circuit 17. As a result, in the case of a pay broadcasting system that employs the video-on-demand system, it becomes possible to perform billing according to the time desired by the subscriber.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, different charge values can be obtained depending on the contents of the image information, and
A billing value based on time value can also be obtained. Further, it can be applied to a video-on-demand system, and in this case, charging can be performed according to the time zone requested by the subscriber.

By the way, in the charging device according to the present invention,
Since the storage means 15 is provided, a usage state by the subscriber in which the accumulated signal accumulated is reproduced a plurality of times may be considered. Therefore, it is desirable to charge such that a specific charge value is determined for reproduction. FIG. 4 shows an example of a billing device that performs such billing.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the billing device according to the present invention, and is a block diagram of a terminal device having the billing device. The components shown in FIG. 4 are the same as those in the device shown in FIG. Also, in the apparatus shown in FIG. 4, it is assumed that the broadcast wave signal transmitted by the transmission device 31 (see FIG. 1) as the transmission means is given as in the above-described embodiment.

In this embodiment, in place of the accumulated signal register 15a (see FIG. 1) in the accumulating means 15, a reproduction number register 15b for accumulating the number of times of reproduction counted each time the accumulated signal is reproduced is provided and reproduced. Sometimes, the number of times of reproduction stored in the number-of-reproductions register 15b is read out, and the charging value is calculated by the charging calculation circuit 17 together with the charging calculation function to obtain the charging value based on the number of times of reproduction. Is different from.

As shown in FIG. 4, the broadcast wave signal input terminal 1
The broadcast wave signal input via the is given to the storage means 15 via the selector 3 and stored by the storage means 15. At this time, the number of times of reproduction of the stored accumulated signal is set to 0 as the number of times of reproduction and stored in the number of times of reproduction register 15b.

On the other hand, at the time of reproduction, reproduction is performed under the control of the storage / reproduction control circuit 14 as in the above-described embodiment. In this case, the selector 16 is switched to reproduce and output the accumulated signal n accumulated in the accumulating means 15.
The reproduced accumulated signal n is given to the function separation circuit 5,
The image compression signal Sx and the charge calculation function Hx are separated. The image compression signal Sx is decoded by the decoding circuit 6, and the image signal is output via the image signal output terminal 18. At this time, when the reproduced image compression signal Sx is given to the decoding circuit 6, the decoding circuit 6 outputs a control signal for counting the number of reproduction times of the reproduction number register 15b. The reproduction number register 15b counts the number of times of reproduction of the corresponding stored signal at the time of reproduction by the control signal from the decoding circuit 6 and updates the reproduction number 0. That is, the number of reproduction times 0 becomes the number of reproduction times 1. The accumulation / reproduction control circuit 14 reproduces the accumulation signal n and, at the same time, reads out the reproduction number n corresponding to the reproduced accumulation signal from the reproduction number register 15b and gives it to the charge calculation circuit 17. The charge calculation circuit 17
The charge value is calculated based on the charge calculation function Hx from the function separation circuit 5 and the number of reproduction times n. The calculated charge value is output as charge value data via the charge value output terminal 19.

In this embodiment, the transmitting side (see FIG.
In the transmitting device 31), the charging calculation function Hx is set according to the number of times the compressed image signal is reproduced. That is, the receiving side obtains a charge value based on the number of reproductions. For example, as shown in FIG. 3C, the billing calculation function Hx is set so that the billing value based on the number of reproductions of the image information can be obtained at the receiving side (subscriber). In this case, as shown in the figure, at the time of the first reproduction (once in the figure), the charge value is increased, and
The charge calculation function is set so that the charge value is reduced each time the number of times of reproduction increases. In this manner, on the transmitting side, the image signal is subjected to high-efficiency compression encoding processing to generate the image compressed signal, and the charge calculation function Hx (see FIG. 3) and the calibration signal K corresponding to the number of reproductions of the image signal are generated. Multiplexing generates a broadcast wave signal (bit stream) and transmits it to the subscriber's terminal device 40.

Now, assume that the accumulated signal n has been reproduced. Then, the reproduced accumulated signal n is separated by the function separating circuit 5, and the separated image compression signal Sx is decoded by the decoding circuit 6. At this time, the number of times of reproduction corresponding to the reproduced accumulated signal n is also the number of times of reproduction register 15b.
It is read out and given to the charge calculation circuit 17. The decoded image signal is output via the image signal output terminal 18, and a video image based on the image signal is displayed on the screen by a monitor (not shown) or the like. On the other hand, the charge calculation circuit 17 calculates a charge value based on the charge calculation function Hx and the number of reproductions n. That is, the charge value according to the number of times of reproduction as shown in FIG. 3C is obtained.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to charge the fee based on the number of times of reproduction.

By the way, the billing device according to the present invention can also perform billing according to the transmission form of broadcast wave signals, billing according to layers for layer-encoded image compression signals, and billing according to regions. . Next, such a charging method will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the charging device according to the present invention, and is a block diagram showing an example of a terminal device equipped with the charging device. In the device shown in FIG. 5, the same components as those in the device shown in FIG. Further, also in the apparatus shown in FIG. 5, it is assumed that the broadcast wave signal transmitted by the transmitting apparatus 31 (see FIG. 1) as the transmitting means is given as in the above-described embodiment.

In this embodiment, it is possible to input a compression coded signal transmitted by a plurality of transmission media (for example, terrestrial wave, satellite wave, wire, etc.). That is, instead of the stored signal register 15a (see FIG. 1) in the storage means 15, a signal (hereinafter referred to as an identification code) indicating the transmission form of the reproduction signal is provided so that the charging can be performed according to a plurality of transmission media. A transmission form register 15c for accumulating is provided. At the time of reproduction, the signal indicating the transmission form accumulated in the transmission form register 15c is read out, and the billing value is calculated by the billing calculation circuit 17 together with the billing calculation function to obtain the billing value based on the transmission medium. Is the difference.

In FIG. 5, the terminal device 50 has a terrestrial wave signal input terminal 1a, a satellite wave signal input terminal 1b, and a wired signal input terminal 1c for inputting broadcast wave signals transmitted by at least three transmission media. Is equipped with. The image compression signal transmitted by the ground wave is input to the ground wave signal input terminal 1a, and the satellite wave signal input terminal 1b is input.
An image compression signal transmitted by a satellite wave using a satellite is input to. In addition, the wired signal input terminal 1c,
For example, the image compression signal transmitted using a transmission medium such as a cable is input. In this way, it is possible to input the image compression signals respectively transmitted by the plurality of transmission media. Each input terminal 1a, 1b, 1c
The image compression signal input via is given to the selector 20. The selector 20 controls the switching by the received wave selection circuit 22 so that one of the input image compression signals of each transmission mode is selected.
Select and output two image compression signals. The selected image compression signal is given to the storage means 15 via the selector 21,
It is accumulated by the accumulation means 15. At this time, the reception wave selection circuit 22 generates an identification code indicating the selected transmission medium (indicated as a transmission form n in the drawing), and stores this identification code in the transmission form register 15c via the selector 21. Further, the storage / reproduction control circuit 14 can store the identification code in the storage section corresponding to the transmission mode of the transmission mode register 15c by switching the selector 21.

On the other hand, at the time of reproduction, reproduction is performed under the control of the storage / reproduction control circuit 14 as in the above-described embodiment. In this case, the selector 16 is switched to reproduce and output the accumulated signal n accumulated in the accumulating means 15.
The reproduced accumulated signal n is given to the function separation circuit 5,
The image compression signal Sx and the charge calculation function Hx are separated. The image compression signal Sx is decoded by the decoding circuit 6, and the image signal is output via the image signal output terminal 18. The accumulation / reproduction control circuit 14 reproduces the accumulation signal n, and at the same time, reads out the identification code n (transmission form n) corresponding to the reproduced accumulation signal from the transmission form register 15c,
It is given to the charge calculation circuit 17. The billing calculation circuit 17 has a billing calculation function Hx from the function separation circuit 5 and an identification code n.
The charge value is calculated based on (transmission form n). The calculated charge value is output as charge value data via the charge value output terminal 19.

Also in this embodiment, similarly to the above-described embodiment, the charge calculation function Hx corresponding to each transmission mode is set in advance on the transmitting side (transmitting device 31 in FIG. 1). That is, the receiving side obtains a billing value based on the transmission mode. In this manner, on the transmitting side, the image signal is subjected to high-efficiency compression encoding processing to generate the image compressed signal, and the charging calculation function Hx and the calibration signal K corresponding to the transmission medium of the image signal are multiplexed to broadcast wave. A signal (bit stream) is generated and transmitted to the terminal device 50 of the subscriber.

Now, assume that the accumulated signal n has been reproduced. Then, the reproduced accumulated signal n is separated by the function separating circuit 5, and the separated image compression signal Sx is decoded by the decoding circuit 6. At this time, the identification signal n indicating the transmission medium of the reproduced accumulated signal n is also read from the transmission form register 15c and given to the billing calculation circuit 17. The decoded image signal is output via the image signal output terminal 18, and a video image based on the image signal is displayed on the screen by a monitor (not shown) or the like. On the other hand, the charge calculation circuit 17 calculates a charge value based on the charge calculation function Hx and the identification signal n. As a result, it becomes possible to charge according to the transmission medium.

The input compressed image signal may be hierarchically encoded on the transmitting side.
In this case, a layer is specified in the terminal device 50 on the receiving side, and decoding processing is performed based on this specified layer to reproduce. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a decoding hierarchy selection circuit 23 is provided to control the decoding processing according to the hierarchy by the decoding circuit 6. The decoding hierarchy selection circuit 23 can arbitrarily select a hierarchy level, generates a control signal for performing a decoding process based on the selected hierarchy level, and supplies the control signal to the decoding circuit 6. The decryption layer selection circuit 23 also generates an identification code (also referred to as a decryption layer code) based on the determined layer level and supplies it to the billing calculation circuit 17 via the selector 12. The billing mode changing circuit 13 switches the selector 12 to give the billing calculation circuit 17 a decoding layer code of the transmission mode identification code n and the decoding layer code. As a result, the charging mode can be changed.

In the present embodiment, the transmitting side (transmitting device 31 in FIG. 1) also preliminarily multiplexes the information (code) indicating the hierarchical level of the encoding process into the compressed image signal. Also,
The charging calculation function Hx corresponding to this code is also set in the same manner as in the above embodiment. That is, the receiving side obtains the charge value based on the hierarchy level. By transmitting the bit streams thus multiplexed from the transmitting side, it becomes possible for the billing calculation circuit 17 to obtain the billing value according to the hierarchy level at the time of reception. That is, it is possible to charge according to the image quality. In this embodiment, the high-efficiency compression coding method on the transmission side is MPEG1 or M.
The PEG2 method is particularly effective. For example, by selecting a layer code by the viewer using the decoding selection circuit 23, it is possible to switch each program according to the image quality desired by the viewer. Becomes

Further, in the present invention, it is possible to charge for each area. In other words, when receiving information for each region (weather forecast for each region, traffic information, etc.),
It is also possible to charge according to the region. That is, the charging is performed based on the area where the terminal device exists.

The terminal device for making such a charge is
This can be implemented by a configuration similar to that of the terminal device 50 shown in FIG. 5. For example, instead of the decoding layer selection circuit 23, a register (not shown) for holding a regional code described later is provided. In this case, the area code for each area in which the charge value is changed is stored in the register, and when the input image compression signal is decoded, the register reads the area code and gives it to the charge calculation circuit 17.

On the other hand, on the transmitting side (center device),
The billing calculation function Hx for obtaining the billing value based on the regional code in advance is also set in the same manner as in the above embodiment. The bit stream thus multiplexed is the terminal device 50 shown in FIG.
Send to. Then, as in the above-described embodiment, the function separating circuit 5 separates the charge calculating function Hx, and the charge calculating function Hx is given to the charge calculating circuit 17. Charge calculation circuit 17
Calculates the charge value of the reproduced image signal based on the charge calculation function Hx and the regional code. As a result, it is possible to obtain a charge value according to each region.

In the present embodiment, the area code is pre-multiplexed with the charge calculation function, the area code is detected at the time of reception, and the charge value is calculated based on the detection result and the charge calculation function. It may be configured as follows.

Further, in the embodiment according to the present invention, the billing device in the case of using the digital system signal such as the high efficiency compression coded signal has been described, but it is also possible to use the analog signal. The charging calculation function to be multiplexed with the image signal may be configured to be multiplexed using a predetermined frequency band.

Further, the billing device according to the embodiment of the present invention is
It may be configured as an information receiving terminal device (setup converter) capable of judging a plurality of information. For example, when a video-on-demand system is adopted, it is clear that more effective billing can be performed. Is.

[0068]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The charge value calculation function is multiplexed with the high-efficiency compression encoded signal and transmitted, and at the time of reception, the charge calculation function is extracted in the terminal device to calculate the charge value, thereby adjusting the charge according to the reception form and the decoding form. be able to.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a charging device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a broadcast signal used in the charging device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a charging calculation function according to usage.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the charging device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the charging device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Broadcast wave signal input terminal, 2 ... Calibration signal separation circuit, 5 ...
Function separating circuit 3, 4, 7, 10, 12, 16 ... Selector, 6 ... Decoding circuit, 8 ... Internal clock, 9 ... Reproduction time register, 11 ... Subtractor, 13 ... Charging mode changing circuit, 14 ...
Storage / reproduction control circuit, 15 ... Storage means (digital VC
R), 15a ... Accumulation time register, 17 ... Charge calculation circuit, 18 ... Image signal output terminal, 19 ... Charge value data output terminal.

Claims (17)

[Claims] 1. A sending means for sending a multiplexed signal by multiplexing a compression-coded information signal and a charging calculation function for calculating the value of the information of the information signal in a decoder on the receiving side. Charging device characterized by. 2. The charging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the charging calculation function is a function based on a time difference between a transmission time of the multiplex signal and a reproduction time of the decoder. 3. The charging calculation function is a function based on a transmission time zone of the multiplex signal.
The charging device described in. 4. The billing device according to claim 1, wherein the billing calculation function is a function based on the number of reproduction times in the decoder. 5. The billing device according to claim 1, wherein the billing calculation function is a function based on a transmission form. 6. The billing device according to claim 1, wherein the billing calculation function is a function based on an area in which the decoder on the receiving side exists. 7. The transmission means is for hierarchically encoding the information signal, and the billing calculation function is a function based on a hierarchy at the time of reproduction in the decoder. The billing device described. 8. The billing device according to claim 1, wherein the sending means multiplexes time information indicating a sending time into the multiplexed signal and sends the multiplexed signal. 9. The transmission means transmits the multiplex signal in response to a request from the receiving side.
The charging device described in. 10. Input means for taking in a multiplex signal of a compression-coded information signal and a billing calculation function for calculating the value of information of the information signal, and the multiplex signal from the input means is inputted. Separating means for separating the compression-coded information signal and the charging calculation function, and decoding means for decoding the compression-coded information signal separated by the separating means and outputting the information signal. A billing calculation means for calculating and outputting a billing value corresponding to the information signal output by the decoding means based on the billing calculation function separated by the separating means. Billing device. 11. The charging apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the input unit includes a storage unit that stores the multiplexed signal and then supplies the separated signal to the separation unit. 12. The billing calculation means includes a clock means to detect an input time zone of the multiplex signal to the input means, and calculates a billing value based on the input time zone using the billing calculation function. The charging device according to claim 10, wherein: 13. The charging calculation means includes a clock means to detect a storage time of the multiplex signal in the storage means, and to calculate a charging value based on the storage time using the charging calculation function. The charging device according to claim 11, wherein the charging device is a charging device. 14. The billing device according to claim 12, wherein the clock means corrects a time used for billing calculation based on time information included in the multiplex signal. . 15. The charging calculation means includes a counting means to calculate the number of times of reproduction of the multiplex signal, and uses the charging calculation function to calculate a charging value based on the calculated number of times of reproduction. The charging device according to claim 11. 16. The billing calculation means includes a discriminating means to discriminate a transmission form of the multiplex signal input in different transmission forms, and calculates a billing value based on the transmission form using the billing calculation function. The charging device according to claim 10, wherein: 17. The billing device according to claim 10, wherein the billing calculation unit prohibits the output of the decryption unit when the billing calculation is not normally performed.