WO2001059637A1

WO2001059637A1 - Software distribution system, processor, information distributing device and storage medium

Info

Publication number: WO2001059637A1
Application number: PCT/JP2000/000734
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hirohito Nakagawa
Original assignee: Hirohito Nakagawa
Priority date: 2000-02-09
Filing date: 2000-02-09
Publication date: 2001-08-16
Also published as: AU2000224602A1; WO2001059637A9

Abstract

A software distribution system characterized by comprising an information distributing unit for distributing software and advertisement information not related to software, and a user terminal for displaying advertisement information not related to software during a software-based processing period.

Description

Description Software distribution system, processing device, information distribution device, and storage medium

Technical field

The present invention relates to a software distribution system. In particular, the present invention relates to a software distribution system including a processing device that performs processing based on software and an information distribution device that distributes predetermined information to the processing device. Background art

WO97 / 275531 is a technology for displaying advertisement information on a user terminal. W0997 / 275531 displays advertisement information on a user terminal based on preregistered user information. However, the advertising information selected based on the user information included advertising information that the user was not interested in. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a software distribution system that can solve the above-described problems. Disclosure of the invention

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a software distribution system for distributing software for causing a computer to perform a predetermined process, wherein the information distribution unit distributes software and advertisement information not related to the software. And a user terminal for displaying advertisement information unrelated to the software for a period of processing based on the software.

In another aspect of the first aspect, the user terminal includes a software processing unit that performs processing based on software, an advertisement information display processing unit that displays advertisement information, and an advertisement display processing unit that displays advertisement information. And a permission unit for permitting the processing to the software processing unit when the processing can be performed.

Further, the software processing unit has a start-up unit that inquires of the permission unit whether or not the processing can be started. You may start.

In addition, an advertisement storage unit that stores the advertisement information, and an advertisement update unit that updates the advertisement information stored in the advertisement storage unit based on a condition for updating the advertisement information. If the update is not required, the processing may be permitted to the software processing unit. In addition, the user terminal has a software processing unit for processing based on the software, an advertisement information display processing unit for displaying the advertisement information, and whether or not the software processing unit processes the designated software for displaying the advertisement information. The software processing unit may include a monitoring unit configured to monitor the advertisement, and the monitoring unit may cause the advertisement information display processing unit to display an advertisement over a period in which the designated software is being processed.

In addition, it has a software information storage unit for storing software identification information for specifying software for which advertisement information is to be displayed by the advertisement display processing unit, and is specified by the software identification information stored in the software information storage unit. The monitoring unit may cause the advertisement display processing unit to display the advertisement information when the software processing unit starts processing based on the software.

Further, a software storage processing unit for inputting software identification information to the software information storage unit may be provided.

Further, the software storage processing unit may store the software information in the software information storage unit when the software is distributed from the information distribution device.

The advertisement information is updated by the advertisement storage unit that stores the advertisement information, the advertisement update unit that updates the advertisement information stored in the advertisement storage based on the condition for updating the advertisement information, and the advertisement update unit. A software improvement unit that improves software so that the advertisement information cannot be processed based on the software to be displayed by the advertisement display processing unit when there is no such information may be provided.

In addition, the user terminal transmits to the information distribution unit an acquisition unit that acquires detailed information associated with the advertisement information via the network, and an advertisement identification information identifying the advertisement information of the advertisement information from which the detailed information has been acquired. The information distribution unit may have a usage status notification unit for notifying, and the information distribution unit may distribute the advertisement information to the user terminal based on the advertisement identification information notified from the usage status notification unit.

It also has a network environment detection unit that detects whether the network is available. However, when the network is available, the usage status notification unit may notify the usage status to the information distribution unit.

Further, the information distribution unit has a processing result file storage unit for storing the processing result file processed by the software processing unit, and the user terminal has a storage unit for storing the processing result file, and terminates the processing. In this case, the software processing unit may cause the processing result file to be stored in the processing result file storage unit and the storage unit.

Further, when starting the processing, the software processing unit determines which one of the processing result file stored in the processing result file storage unit and the processing result file stored in the storage unit will be used based on a new processing result file. You can do it.

Further, the information distribution unit has a processing result file storage unit for storing the processing result file processed by the software processing unit, and the user terminal has a storage unit for storing the processing result file, and has been updated by the processing. The software processing unit has a temporary information storage unit that temporarily stores the processing result file, and when processing is completed, the software processing unit stores the processing result file in the storage unit and the temporary information storage unit, and is used by the network. When possible, the usage status notification unit may cause the processing result file stored in the temporary storage unit to be stored in the processing result file. Storage unit.

Further, the information distribution unit detects the type of the advertisement information for which the detailed information has been acquired based on the advertisement identification information notified from the usage status notification unit, and distributes the detected type of advertisement information to the user terminal. Is also good.

Further, the information distribution unit may detect the number of times detailed information is acquired for each type of advertisement information, and distribute the advertisement information based on the number of times acquired. ·.

Na ll field ^. R is working with software mechanism ¾ software ^ And an advertisement information display processing section for displaying advertisement information.

Another aspect of the second mode may include a permission unit that permits the software processing unit to perform processing when the advertisement information display processing unit can display the advertisement information. In addition, the software processing unit has an activation unit that inquires of the permission unit whether or not the processing can be started, and when permitted by the permission unit, causes the activation unit and the software processing unit to start processing. The processing for displaying the advertisement information in the advertisement information display processing unit may be started.

In addition, the advertisement storage unit includes an advertisement storage unit that stores the plurality of pieces of advertisement information, and an advertisement update unit that updates the advertisement information stored in the advertisement storage unit based on a condition for updating the advertisement information. If you do not need to update the advertising information, you may allow the software processing unit to process it.

Further, the permission unit may permit the software processing unit to perform the process based on the time when the advertisement information is stored in the advertisement storage unit.

Further, the advertisement storage unit stores display designation information for designating display of the advertisement information associated with the advertisement information to be stored, and the permitting unit stores the display designation information of the display designation information designated to be displayed. Based on the number, the processing may be permitted to the software processing unit.

In addition, when the permission unit is not permitted, the activation unit may request the advertisement update unit to update the advertisement information.

Further, the advertisement storage unit has information specifying that the advertisement information may be deleted for each advertisement information to be stored, and the advertisement update unit deletes the advertisement information specified to be deleted, The newly acquired advertisement information may be stored in the advertisement storage unit.

Further, an acquisition unit for acquiring, via a network, detailed information associated with the advertisement information, a use for monitoring the advertisement information displayed by the advertisement information display processing unit and the advertisement information for which the detailed information has been acquired. Usage information storage for storing the status monitoring unit, the first advertisement specifying information for specifying the advertisement information displayed by the advertisement information display processing unit, and the second advertisement specifying information for specifying the advertisement information for which the detailed information has been acquired. Unit, the first advertisement specifying information stored in the usage information storage unit on a predetermined server provided in the network, and the second advertisement specifying information. May be further provided.

The usage status monitoring unit further monitors software being processed by the software processing unit, and the usage information notifying unit further includes software identification information for identifying the software monitored by the usage status monitoring unit, and further includes network information. The notification may be sent to a predetermined server provided in the server.

In addition, a network environment detection unit for detecting whether or not a network can be used is further provided. The usage information storage unit stores software identification information. When the network is available, the usage information notification unit is used as the usage information storage unit. The first advertisement specifying information, the second advertisement specifying information, and the software specifying information stored in the server may be notified to a predetermined server. The advertisement receiving unit may further include an advertisement receiving unit that receives the advertisement information via the network, and the advertisement updating unit may cause the advertisement storing unit to store the advertisement information received by the advertisement receiving unit. The advertisement storage unit has first advertisement information and linked advertisement designation information for designating second advertisement information to be displayed simultaneously with the first advertisement information. The first advertisement information specified by the dynamic advertisement specification information and the second advertisement information may be displayed simultaneously.

The software processing unit further includes a storage unit for storing a processing result file generated by the processing in the software processing unit. When the processing is completed, the software processing unit stores the processing result file in the storage unit in a predetermined manner via the network. May be stored on the server. The software processing unit further includes a temporary information storage unit for temporarily storing the processing result file updated by the processing, and when ending the processing, the software processing unit stores the processing result file in the storage unit and the temporary information storage unit. When the network is available, the usage status notification unit may cause the processing result file stored in the temporary storage unit to be stored in a predetermined server.

In addition, a processing result file acquiring unit for acquiring a processing result file stored in a predetermined server is further provided. When starting the processing, the processing result file acquiring unit is configured to store the processing result file stored in the predetermined server. And a processing result file stored in the storage unit, a new processing result file may be determined, and processing may be performed based on the processing result file determined to be new.

Also, software that monitors software being processed by the software processing unit A software monitoring unit may be further provided, and when the software processing unit starts processing, the software monitoring unit may cause the advertisement information display processing unit to display the advertisement information.

The information processing apparatus further includes a software identification information storage unit for storing software identification information for identifying the designated software, on which the advertisement information is to be displayed by the advertisement display processing unit, and when the software processing unit starts processing, the monitoring unit Alternatively, it may be determined whether or not to display the advertisement information in the advertisement display processing unit based on the software specification information stored in the software specification information storage unit.

In addition, a software storage unit for storing software, and a software storage processing unit for inputting software specific information of designated software stored in the software storage unit to the software specific information storage unit are further provided. Is also good.

In addition, the apparatus further includes a receiving unit that receives the designated software via the network. When the designated software received via the network is stored in the software storage unit, the software storage processing unit stores the designated software in the software storage unit. The software specifying information of the designated software may be stored in the software specifying information storage unit.

Also, an advertisement storage unit for storing the advertisement information, an advertisement update unit for updating the advertisement information stored in the advertisement storage unit, and, based on the designated software, when the advertisement information is not updated by the advertisement update unit. And a software improvement unit that improves the designated software so that the specified software cannot be processed.

When the advertisement information has not been updated, the software improving unit may encrypt the designated software.

If the advertisement information is not updated, the software improvement unit may add prohibition information for prohibiting the processing of the designated software to a predetermined position of the designated software.

If the advertisement information has not been updated, the software improvement unit may change the data structure of the designated software.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information distribution apparatus for distributing advertisement information to be displayed on a user terminal when designated software for displaying the advertisement information is being processed at the user terminal, An advertisement information database that stores advertisement information, a first count value associated with the designated software, and a second count value associated with the advertisement information A count value storage unit for storing a value, an advertisement information distribution unit for distributing advertisement information to a user terminal via the network, a usage status of the designated software at the user terminal, and a display of the distributed advertisement information A usage information receiving unit that receives usage information including a situation from a user terminal via a network, and a first count value updated based on the usage information, and a second count value associated with the advertisement information. And a counting unit for updating the information.

According to another aspect of the third mode, the usage information includes advertisement specifying information for specifying the advertisement information displayed on the user terminal, and designation information processed on the user terminal when the advertisement information is displayed. The count unit updates the first count value associated with the software identification information included in the usage information, and associates the first count value with the advertisement identification information included in the usage information. The received second count value may be updated.

Also, when multiple pieces of designated software are processed on the user terminal when the advertising information is displayed on the user terminal, the usage information is sent from the user terminal on the user terminal for each designated software. The counter further includes information indicating whether or not the input software is in an active state, and the counting unit updates the first count value for each of the specified software based on whether or not the specified software is in an active state. Well ,.

In addition, a software database is provided for storing operation information for specifying whether the designated software operates in the background in association with the software identification information, and the counting unit stores the software information in the usage information included in the usage information. The first count value associated with each designated software may be updated based on the associated operation information.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is an information distribution apparatus for distributing content to a user terminal via a network, comprising: a content database storing a plurality of types of content; and a user of the user terminal. Includes a user database that stores user information including information about the contents, a content distribution unit that distributes contents to user terminals via a network, and the user's response to the contents stored in the user terminals A usage information receiving unit for receiving usage information from a user terminal via a network; A category setting unit that sets the type of content to be distributed to the user based on the information and usage information, and the content distribution unit selects and uses the type of content set by the category setting unit from the content database An information distribution apparatus characterized in that the information is distributed to a user terminal.

According to another aspect of the fourth mode, the category setting unit includes a first type setting unit that sets the type of the first content based on the user information, and a type of the second content based on the usage information. Content to be distributed to the user terminal based on the second type setting unit to be set, the first type information set by the first type setting unit, and the second type information set by the second type setting unit And a setting control unit for setting the type of the setting.

In addition, the content distribution unit distributes the content and information regarding the detailed content associated with the content to the user terminal, and determines whether the usage information has obtained the detailed content based on the information regarding the detailed content. And the second type setting unit may set the second type information based on the type of the content associated with the access information for which the acquisition of the detailed content has been specified.

Further, the setting control unit may instruct the content distribution unit to increase the ratio of the content of the second type information included in the content distributed to the user terminal.

The content database has first advertisement information and linked advertisement specifying information for specifying second advertisement information to be displayed simultaneously with the first advertisement information. The first advertisement information specified by the information and the second advertisement information may be simultaneously delivered to the user terminal.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is an advertisement information display method for displaying advertisement information unrelated to software over a period in which processing is performed based on software, and determines whether or not advertisement information can be displayed. Steps to permit the processing based on the software if it is determined that the advertising information can be displayed, and the steps related to the software if the processing based on the software is permitted. And a step of displaying advertisement information.

A sixth aspect of the present invention is an advertisement information display method for displaying advertisement information unrelated to software for a period of processing based on software. Monitoring the software being executed, detecting the start of processing based on the software, instructing to display the advertising information, and instructing to display the advertising information. Providing an advertisement information display method, comprising the step of displaying advertisement information.

A seventh aspect of the present invention is an information distribution method for distributing advertisement information to be displayed on a user terminal when designated software for displaying advertisement information is being processed at a user terminal, Distributing the information to the user terminal via the network, and receiving, via the network, the usage information including the usage status of the designated software and the display status of the distributed advertisement information at the user terminal. Updating the first count value associated with the designated software based on the usage information and updating the second count value associated with the advertisement information;

An information distribution method characterized by comprising:

An eighth aspect of the present invention is an information distribution method for distributing content to a user terminal via a network, the content distribution step of distributing the content to the user terminal via the network, and a use for the content. Setting the type of content to be delivered to the user based on the step of receiving the usage information including the user's response via the network and the user information including the information on the user of the user terminal and the usage information A content setting step of selecting a type of content set in the category setting step from a content database storing a plurality of contents. According to another aspect of the eighth aspect, the content database has first advertisement information and linked advertisement designation information that designates second advertisement information to be displayed simultaneously with the first advertisement information. In the step, when the first advertisement information is selected, the first advertisement information and the second advertisement information may be simultaneously delivered to the user terminal.

A ninth aspect of the present invention is a recording medium storing a computer-readable program, wherein the program causes a program code for performing processing based on the first software and advertisement information to be displayed. And a program code for determining whether or not advertisement information can be displayed, and, when it is determined that advertisement information can be displayed, a process based on the first software is started, and a second code different from the first software is started. No so And a program code for displaying advertisement information on software.

A tenth aspect of the present invention is a recording medium storing a computer-readable program, the program comprising: a program code for monitoring first software causing a computer to perform processing; A program code for determining whether or not the first software is designated software for displaying advertisement information; and, if the first software is designated software, a second software different from the first software. And a program code for instructing display of a recording medium.

An eleventh aspect of the present invention is a recording medium storing a computer-readable program, the program comprising: a program code for delivering advertising information to a user terminal via a network; First information associated with the software based on the program code received from the user terminal via the network and the usage information including the usage status of the software and the display status of the distributed advertisement information, and And a program code for updating the count value and updating the second count value associated with the advertisement information.

A twelfth aspect of the present invention is a recording medium storing a computer-readable program, the program comprising: a content delivery program code for delivering content to a user terminal via a network; Based on the category setting program code that receives the usage information including the reaction of the user of the user terminal via the network, and the user information including the information on the user of the user terminal and the usage information, A program code that sets the type of content to be delivered to the content and a content type set by the category setting program code are selected from a content database that stores multiple content, and the selected content is delivered to the content delivery program code Content selection program To provide a recording medium, wherein the obtaining Bei and de.

According to another aspect of the first and second aspects, the content database has first advertisement information and linked advertisement designation information that designates second advertisement information to be displayed simultaneously with the first advertisement information. The selection program code, when selecting the first advertising information, The first advertisement information and the second advertisement information may be selected.

A thirteenth aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to perform a predetermined process, and the program is configured to display a program code for performing a process based on the first software and advertisement information. A program code for determining whether or not the advertisement information can be displayed, and, if it is determined that the advertisement information can be displayed, a process based on the first software is started and a second code different from the first software is started. And a program code for causing the software to display advertisement information.

A fourteenth aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to perform a predetermined process, the program comprising: a program code for monitoring first software causing the computer to perform a process; Is a program code for determining whether or not the designated software is to display advertisement information, and if the first software is the designated software, the program code is sent to a second software different from the first software. And a program code for instructing to display information. A fifteenth aspect of the present invention is a recording medium storing an operating system that causes a computer to perform processing based on software, wherein the operating system stores a program code for performing processing based on software and advertising information. When the program code to be displayed, the program code to store the software specifying information that specifies the specified software for which the advertisement information is to be displayed, and whether the software is the specified software are to be processed based on the specified software And a program code for displaying advertisement information.

A sixteenth aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to perform a predetermined process, a program code for distributing advertisement information to a user terminal via a network, and a software usage status at the user terminal. The first count value associated with the software is updated based on the program code for receiving the use information including the display status of the delivered advertisement information via the network and the use information, and is associated with the advertisement information. And a program code for updating the obtained second count value. To provide a program.

A seventeenth aspect of the present invention is a computer data signal carried on a carrier wave, wherein the computer data signal can display a code segment for performing processing based on the first software and advertisement information. A code segment for determining whether or not the advertisement information can be displayed, and when it is determined that the advertisement information can be displayed, a process based on the first software is started, and a second software different from the first software is started. And a code segment for causing the software to display advertisement information.

The above summary of the present invention does not list all of the necessary features of the present invention, and a sub-combination of these features may also be an invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of the software distribution system 500.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the user terminal 100.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the software processing unit 102. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the advertisement display processing unit 104.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the advertisement updating unit 106.

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the usage status notification unit 108.

FIG. 7 shows an example of the data structure of the user information storage unit 110.

FIG. 8 shows an example of the data structure of the display condition storage section 114.

FIG. 9 shows an example of the data structure of the advertisement storage unit 116.

FIG. 10 shows an example of the data structure of the usage information storage unit 112.

FIG. 11 is an example of the data structure of a database that holds update conditions.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart until the processing of the designated software in the software processing unit 102 is started.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of a process of determining whether or not the advertisement updating unit 106 has the ability to update the advertisement information.

FIG. 14 is an example of the display screen.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of the process in the usage status notification unit 108. FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram of the user terminal 100 and the information distribution device 200.

Figure 17 shows an example of a screen for entering user information.

FIG. 18 shows an example of the display screen.

FIG. 19 is an example of a functional block diagram of the information distribution device 200.

FIG. 20 is an example of a detailed functional block diagram of the update information output unit 210.

FIG. 21 is an example of a detailed function block diagram of the category setting section 242.

FIG. 22 shows an example of the data structure of the usage information database 230.

FIG. 23 shows an example of the data structure of the user information database 228.

FIG. 24 shows an example of the data structure of the advertisement information database 222.

FIG. 25 shows an example of the data structure of the software database 218.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart of the category setting section 242.

FIG. 27 is an example of a flowchart of the charging unit 2 14.

FIG. 28 is an example of a screen displayed on the software provider main terminal 14.

FIG. 29 is an example of a screen displayed on the advertiser terminal 12.

FIG. 30 is an example of a block diagram of a user terminal 600 which is a second form of the user terminal 100. As shown in FIG.

FIG. 31 shows an example of the data structure of the update information storage section 128.

FIG. 32 is an example of a functional block diagram of the information distribution device 650.

FIG. 33 is an example of the data structure of the user file database 234.

FIG. 34 is a flowchart of the comparison process in the file update unit 107. FIG. 35 is a block diagram of a user terminal 700 which is a third embodiment of the user terminal 100. As shown in FIG.

FIG. 36 shows an example of the data structure of the software specifying information storage section 176.

FIG. 37 is a flowchart of a process of displaying advertisement information on the user terminal 700. 'FIG. 38 is a detailed functional block diagram of the advertisement updating unit 174.

FIG. 39 is a flowchart of a process for updating the advertisement information in the user terminal 700.

FIG. 40 is a diagram of a hard-wired book of the user terminal 100. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the invention. However, the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and all combinations of the features described in the embodiments are examples of the invention. It is not always necessary for the solution.

FIG. 1 is an example of a functional block diagram of the software distribution system 500. The software distribution system 500 includes an advertiser terminal 12, a software provider terminal 14, a user terminal 100, and an information distribution device 200 connected via the Internet 10 as a network. . The information distribution device 200 transmits predetermined information to the user terminal 100, the advertiser terminal 12, and the software provider terminal 14. For example, the predetermined information includes software, which causes a computer to perform predetermined processing, image data, character data, and content such as audio data.

The information distribution device 200 transmits to the user terminal 100 the software and the advertisement information to be displayed when the software supplied from the information distribution device 200 is activated.

The advertiser terminal 12 is a terminal of the advertiser of the advertisement information supplied to the user terminal 100. The information distribution device 200 transmits to the advertiser terminal 12 advertisement distribution information such as the number of display times, the display time, the number of distributions, and the advertisement fee of the advertisement information. Therefore, the advertiser can always see the advertisement distribution information by the advertiser terminal 12.

The software provider terminal 14 is a terminal of a provider of software distributed to the user terminal 100. The information distribution device 200 transmits software information such as the number of software distributions, the usage status, and the software usage fee to be returned to the software provider to the software provider terminal 14. Therefore, the software provider can always see the software information on the software provider terminal 14.

The user terminal 100 activates the software supplied from the information distributing device 200 and displays the advertisement information distributed from the information transmitting device 200 on the display device. The user terminal 100 stores information relating to the use of the software, such as the software activation time and the number of activations, and the number of times the advertisement information is displayed, the display time, and the software activated when the advertisement information is displayed. Advertising information such as software specific information to be specified To the information distribution apparatus 200 of information on the use of the information.

The information distribution device 200 calculates the advertisement fee to be charged to the advertiser based on the information on the use of the software notified from the user terminal 100 and the information on the use of the advertisement information, and provides the software. Calculate mainly the software usage fee to be returned. The software usage fee may be paid from the advertising fee, in which case the user can use the software free of charge. In another form, a portion of the software usage fee may be paid from advertising fees.

FIG. 2 is an example of a functional block diagram of the user terminal 100. The user terminal 100 has a software processing unit 102, an advertisement display processing unit 104, an information storage unit 105, an advertisement updating unit 106, a software storage unit 120, a storage unit 121, An input unit 122, a display unit 124, and a communication unit 126 are provided. The information storage unit 105 is a usage status notification unit 108, a user information storage unit 110, a usage information storage unit 112, a display condition storage unit 114, an advertisement storage unit 116, and updated. It has a condition storage unit 118.

The software storage unit 120 stores designated software that can be started when advertisement information is displayed. For example, the designated software is software that causes the user terminal 100 to perform processes such as word processing, spreadsheets, games, and recording and playback of music information. The input unit 122 outputs, to the software processing unit 102, software specifying information for specifying software to be processed by the user terminal 100. For example, the input unit 122 outputs, via an input device such as a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, and a tablet, to the software processing unit 102, software specifying information that specifies software instructed to be processed. For example, the software specifying information may be a file name unique to each software stored in the software storage unit 120.

The software processing unit 1 2 reads the software stored in the software storage unit 120 based on the software specifying information supplied from the input unit 122. The software processing unit 102 performs a predetermined process based on the read software. When the designated software is read, the software processing unit 102 determines whether or not to start the read designated software based on the update information stored in the update condition storage unit 118. I do. If it is determined that it can be started, The wear processing unit 102 instructs the advertisement display processing unit 104 to display the advertisement information. The software processing unit 102 outputs designated processing information generated by processing based on the designated software to the display unit 124. The software processing unit 102 stores information generated by the processing of the designated software in the storage unit 121, and reads information necessary for processing of the designated software from the storage unit 121.

When the display of the advertisement information is instructed from the software processing unit 102, the advertisement display processing unit 104 stores the advertisement based on the display conditions stored in the display condition storage unit 114. The advertisement information stored in the section 1 16 is selected and output to the display section 124. In addition, the usage information such as the advertisement specifying information for specifying the selected advertisement information and the display time is stored in the usage information storage unit 112. Therefore, the user terminal 100 can simultaneously display the designated processing information generated by processing based on the designated software and the advertisement information on the display unit 124.

The advertisement update unit 106 updates the advertisement information based on the update condition for updating the advertisement information stored in the update condition storage unit 118 and the advertisement information stored in the advertisement storage unit 116. It is determined whether or not to update. When it is determined that the advertisement information is to be updated, the advertisement updating unit 106 acquires the advertisement information tailored to the user who uses the user terminal 100 from the information distribution apparatus 200 via the Internet 10. The advertisement updating unit 106 outputs the newly acquired advertisement information to the advertisement storage unit 116. In addition, the advertisement updating unit 106 obtains new advertisement information from the information distribution device 200 and also newly obtains display conditions and update conditions, and respectively obtains display condition storage units 114 and update condition storage units. Output to 1 1 8 Therefore, the advertisement storage section 116 can store new advertisement information based on the update condition. In addition, the display condition storage unit 114 and the update condition storage unit 118 can store new display conditions and update conditions based on the update conditions.

The communication unit 126 transmits and receives information via the Internet 10. For example, the communication unit 126 may be a modem and connect to the Internet 10 using a public line such as a telephone line or an ISDN line. Also, for example, it may be connected to the Internet 10 by a dedicated line. Further, for example, the communication unit 126 may transmit and receive information based on the TCPZIP protocol. The advertisement updating unit 106 updates the advertisement information via the communication unit 126. The usage status notification unit 108 transmits the usage information stored in the usage information storage unit 112 to the information distribution device 200 via the Internet 10. The use status notifying unit 108 detects whether or not the communication unit 126 can communicate via the Internet 10, and transmits use information to the information distribution device 200 when communication is possible. For example, when the communication unit 126 is a modem, the usage status notification unit 108 is used by the provider and PPP (Point to Point).

Protocol) By detecting the connection, the connection to the Internet 100 is detected, and the usage information is transmitted to the information distribution device 200. For example, when always connected to the Internet 10 via a dedicated line or the like, the usage status notification unit 108 may transmit usage information to the information distribution device 200 at predetermined time intervals. For example, the usage status notification unit 108 may transmit the usage information to the information distribution device 200 when the amount of information transmitted and received by the communication unit 126 is small. Therefore, the usage information can be transmitted to the information distribution device 200 without the user using the user terminal 100 being conscious. The advertisement updating unit 106 can update the advertisement information when communication is possible via the Internet 10.

FIG. 3 is an example of a functional block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the software processing unit 102. The software processing unit 102 includes a start instruction unit 130, a start permission unit 132, an end instruction unit 134, and a software execution unit 136. The start instructing unit 130 inquires of the start permitting unit 132 whether the process can be started based on the software. The activation permitting unit 132 determines whether or not to permit processing based on the update condition stored in the update condition storage unit 118. For example, the activation permitting unit 132 determines whether or not to permit the process based on the information stored in the update condition storing unit 118 when the broad information is stored in the advertisement storing unit 116. It may be determined. For example, the process may be permitted when the advertisement information is updated during a predetermined period. For example, whether to permit the process may be determined based on the number of pieces of advertisement information to be displayed. For example, the processing may be permitted when the number of advertisements to be displayed is larger than a predetermined number.

When the activation permitting unit 132 permits the processing, the activation instruction unit 130 causes the advertisement display processing unit 104 to start displaying the advertisement information. In addition, the start instruction unit 130 causes the software execution unit 1336 to start processing based on the designated software.

The software execution section 1 36 is generated by processing based on the specified software. The designated processing information is output to the display unit 124. For example, when the fixed software is software that causes the user terminal 100 to perform the processing of the word processor, the designated processing information is information for forming the screen of the word processor on the display unit 124. The software execution unit 1336 stores information generated by the processing of the designated software in the storage unit 121, and reads information necessary for the processing of the designated software from the storage unit 121. When the processing of the specified software is completed, the software execution unit 1336 outputs the end of the processing to the termination instruction unit 1334. The termination instruction unit 134 outputs to the advertisement display processing unit 104 that the designated software has been terminated. When the designated software is terminated, the advertisement display processing section 104 ends the display processing of the advertisement information. Further, for example, the advertisement display processing unit 104 may inquire of the user using the user terminal 100 whether to end the display of the advertisement information.

If the activation permitting unit 132 does not permit the processing, the activation instructing unit 130 causes the advertisement updating unit 106 to update the advertisement information. When the advertisement updating unit 106 updates the advertisement information, the activation instructing unit 130 allows the software execution unit 133 to perform processing based on the designated software. Therefore, the software processing unit 102 can determine whether or not the processing can be performed based on the designated software. If the processing can be performed, the advertisement information is displayed on the advertisement display processing section 104, and the software execution section 136 can start the processing of the designated software.

FIG. 4 is an example of a functional block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the advertisement display processing unit 104. The advertisement display processing section 104 has a usage monitoring section 140, an advertisement selection section 144, an external information acquisition section 144, an image display processing section 144, and a character display processing section 148. . The advertisement selection unit 144 selects the advertisement information stored in the advertisement storage unit 116 and outputs it to either the image display processing B146 or the character display processing unit 148. The advertisement selection unit 144 may select the advertisement information based on the display conditions stored in the display condition storage unit 114.

For example, the display condition may specify that the type of advertisement information is selected according to the display time. For example, if the display condition specifies that advertisement information related to meals such as restaurants should be selected during the time period from 11:30 to 13:30, the advertisement selection section 1 4 2 In the time zone of 11: 30 to 13: 30, restaurants etc. Is selected and displayed on the display unit 124. For example, when the display condition specifies that the advertisement information is selected according to the designated software being processed in the software processing unit 102, the advertisement selection unit 144 Advertisement information is selected based on the designated software processed in 102 and displayed on the display unit 124.

The advertisement selecting unit 144 outputs the advertisement information to either the image display processing unit 144 or the character display processing unit 148 according to the type of the selected advertisement information. For example, when the advertisement information is image information, the advertisement selection unit 142 outputs the advertisement information to the image display processing unit 146. For example, when the advertisement information is character information, the advertisement selection unit 144 outputs the advertisement information to the character display processing unit 148. When the selected advertisement information is an image, the advertisement selection unit 144 outputs the advertisement information to the image display processing unit 146. The image display processing unit 146 causes the advertisement information of the image to be displayed in a predetermined area of the display unit 124. If the selected advertisement information is text, the advertisement selection unit 144 outputs the advertisement information to the character display processing unit 148. The character display processing unit 148 causes the advertisement information of the character to be displayed in a predetermined area of the display unit 124. For example, the character display processing unit 148 may display the advertisement information of the characters so as to sequentially flow in a predetermined area of the display unit 124.

The advertisement selecting unit 14 2 uses the advertisement specifying information for specifying the selected advertisement information and the software specifying information for specifying the specified software being processed in the software processing unit 102, as a usage status monitoring unit 14. Output to 0.

The external information obtaining unit 144 receives the detailed information associated with the advertisement information displayed on the display unit 124 via a communication unit 126 via a predetermined service provided on the Internet 10. Get from ba. Further, the external information acquisition unit 144 causes the display unit 124 to display the acquired detailed information. For example, when it is specified that the detailed information of the advertisement information displayed on the display unit 124 is to be obtained, the external information obtaining unit 144 obtains the detailed information via the Internet Display the detailed information on the display 1 2 4.

The usage status monitoring unit 140 includes the advertisement identification information of the advertisement information selected by the advertisement selection unit 142, the software identification information of the designated software being processed in the software processing unit 102, and external It monitors the advertising information for which detailed information has been obtained by the information obtaining unit 144. The usage status monitoring unit 140 is configured by the advertisement selection unit 144 The advertisement information of the advertisement information, the software identification information, and the information specifying whether the detailed information of the selected advertisement information has been acquired are stored in the usage information storage unit 112. FIG. 5 is an example of a functional block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the advertisement updating unit 106. The advertisement update unit 106 has an update determination unit 160, an acquisition unit 162, and a storage processing unit 1664. The update determination unit 160 determines whether or not to update the advertisement information based on the update conditions stored in the update condition storage unit 118. When it is determined that the advertisement information is updated, the update determination unit 160 requests the acquisition unit 162 to update the advertisement information.

For example, the update determination unit 160 may determine that the advertisement information is updated based on the updated time. For example, it may be determined that the advertisement information is updated when the advertisement information is not updated in a predetermined period. For example, the update determination unit 160 may determine to update based on the number of advertisement information that can be displayed. For example, it may be determined to update when the number of pieces of advertisement information that can be displayed becomes smaller than a predetermined number. For example, the update determination unit 160 may determine to update based on the number of times detailed information has been acquired in a predetermined period. For example, it may be determined that the update is performed when the number of times the detailed information is acquired in a predetermined period is less than the predetermined number.

When it is determined that the update is to be performed, the update determination unit 160 preferably causes the display unit 124 to display an inquiry screen for inquiring the user whether or not to update. The user instructs whether or not to update by looking at the inquiry screen. Further, in another form, when it is determined that the advertisement information is to be updated, the acquisition unit 162 may be requested to update the advertisement information without receiving a user instruction.

Upon receiving a request to update the advertising information from the update determining unit 160, the acquiring unit 162 newly transmits an advertisement from the information distribution device 200 provided on the Internet 10 via the communication unit 126. Get information. Further, the acquisition unit 162 transmits the user identification information for identifying the user stored in the user information storage unit 110 to the information distribution device 200. The information distribution device 200 can distribute the advertisement information according to the user's preference to the user terminal 100 based on the user identification information.

The storage processing unit 164 causes the advertisement storage unit 116 to store the advertising information newly acquired by the acquiring unit 162. The display condition and the update condition newly acquired by the acquisition unit 162 are stored in the display condition storage unit 114 and the update condition storage unit 118. When storing the newly acquired advertisement information in the advertisement storage unit 116, the storage processing unit 164 stores the advertisement information based on the storage capacity of the advertisement storage unit 116.

For example, the advertisement information already stored in the advertisement storage unit 116 may be deleted and newly acquired advertisement information may be stored. For example, of the advertisement information stored in the advertisement storage unit 116, the advertisement information determined to be deleted is deleted, and the newly acquired advertisement information is stored in the advertisement storage unit 116. You may. For example, it may be determined whether or not to delete, based on the time stored in the advertisement storage unit 116. For example, it is determined whether or not to delete based on the number of times displayed on the display unit 124. For example, it may be determined whether or not the power to delete is based on whether or not the detailed information has been acquired.

Therefore, the advertisement updating unit 106 can newly acquire advertisement information from the information distribution device 200 provided on the Internet 10 via the communication unit 126. Also, the acquired advertisement information can be stored in the advertisement storage section 116.

FIG. 6 is an example of a functional block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the usage status notification unit 108. The use status notification unit 108 includes a notification information selection unit 150 and a network environment monitoring unit 152. The network environment monitoring unit 152 monitors whether or not connection to the Internet 10 is possible via the communication unit 126. When the connection can be established, the network environment monitoring unit 152 notifies the notification information selection unit 150 that the connection can be established. For example, when the communication unit 126 is a modem, the network environment monitoring unit 152 monitors whether or not the connection to the Internet 10 is established by making a PPP (Point to Point Protocol) connection with the provider. For example, if the communication unit 126 is always connected to the Internet 10 via a dedicated line or the like, the network environment monitoring unit 152 notifies the notification information selection unit that it can connect to the Internet 10 at predetermined time intervals. You may notify 150. For example, if the communication unit 126 is always connected to the Internet 10 via a dedicated S or a dedicated line, the network environment monitoring unit 152 will be switched according to the amount of information in the communication unit 126. The notification information selection unit 150 may be notified that connection to the network 10 is possible. For example, if the communication unit 126 is always connected to the Internet 10 via a dedicated line or the like, the network environment monitoring unit 152 sets the amount of information in the communication unit 126 in advance. The notification information selection unit 150 may be notified that it is possible to connect to the Internet 10 when the amount of information is smaller than the information amount. When notified that connection to the Internet 10 is possible, the notification information selection unit 150 transmits the usage information stored in the usage information storage unit 112 to the information distribution device 200. In addition, the notification information selection unit 150 may transmit the user identification information and the usage information stored in the user information storage unit 110 to the information distribution device 200. Since the user identification information and the usage information are transmitted, the information distribution device 200 can acquire the usage information for each user identification information. Therefore, the usage status notifying section 108 can notify the information distribution apparatus 200 of the usage status when the connection can be made to the Internet 10 via the communication section 126.

FIG. 7 shows an example of the data structure of the user information storage unit 110. The user information storage unit 110 stores user information for each user who uses the user terminal 100. User information includes information about the user, such as the user ID 601 that identifies the user who uses the software distribution system 500, the name of the user 602, the address of the user 603, and advertisements. It has an automatic update flag 604 for designating whether information is automatically updated. For example, the use status notification unit 108 or the advertisement updating unit 106 transmits the user ID 601 to the information distribution device 200 as user identification information for identifying the user.

When it is determined that the advertisement is to be updated, the advertisement updating unit 106 can use the automatic update flag 604 to query the user as to whether or not to perform the update, and to update the advertisement information without receiving the instruction from the user. Decide whether to update.

For example, if Mr. Nakagawa registered in No3 uses the user terminal 100, the usage status notification unit 108 or the advertisement update unit 106 will use the user identification information as the user identification information. To transmit the user ID 600 1 “A—0 0 150” to the information distribution apparatus 200. Further, the automatic update flag 604 is “1” which specifies that the advertisement information is automatically updated. Therefore, when it is determined that the advertisement information is updated, the advertisement update unit 106 automatically updates the advertisement information. Since the user information storage unit 110 has user information of a plurality of users, even when the user terminal 100 is used by a plurality of users, the advertisement information corresponding to the user is displayed. be able to. Further, in another embodiment, the user information storage unit 110 may include, for each user, information on the user's preference such as occupation, business type, position, hobby, and interest.

FIG. 8A shows an example of the data structure of the display condition storage unit 114. Display condition storage The section 114 specifies the time zone for displaying the advertising information 606, the category for specifying the type of advertising information to be displayed, and the time for displaying the advertising information for each time zone for displaying the advertising information. Display time 608. The advertisement selection unit 142 selects the type of advertisement information to be displayed based on the time period to be displayed. For example, when selecting the advertisement information to be displayed at 11:25, the advertisement selection unit 142 selects the advertisement information to be displayed based on the display condition specified by No10. Since the category 607 specified by No. 10 holds “restran” and “food”, the advertisement selection unit 1442 stores advertisement information related to “restaurant” and “food”. Select and display it on the display 1 2 4. Also, since the display time 608 holds “3”, the advertisement selection unit 142 causes the display unit 124 to display the advertisement information for three minutes. Therefore, the advertisement selecting unit 144 can select the advertisement information to be displayed according to the time for displaying the advertisement information.

For example, when selecting the advertisement information to be displayed at 8:45, the advertisement selection unit 142 selects the advertisement information based on the display condition specified by No5. The power category 607 specified by No 5 holds a “software mode” that specifies to determine according to the specified software being processed by the software processing unit 102. When the display category 607 holds the “software mode”, the advertisement selecting unit 144 refers to a software category database that associates the designated software with the type of advertisement information to be displayed.

Fig. 8 (b) shows an example of the data structure of the software 'category database. Software The category database is stored in the display condition storage unit 114. The software category database has, for each specified software, a software ID 610 which is software specifying information for specifying the specified software, and a category 611 for specifying the type of advertisement information to be displayed. The advertisement selection unit 142 selects the type of advertisement information to be displayed based on the software ID of the designated software being processed in the software processing unit 102. For example, when the software processing unit 102 processes the designated software identified by the software ID “S 005”, the advertisement selection unit 142 expands the relationship between “travel” and “leisure”. The notification information is selected and displayed on the display section 124. Therefore, the advertisement selecting unit 142 can select the advertisement information to be displayed for each time zone and each specified software. FIG. 9 shows an example of the data structure of the advertisement storage unit 116. The advertisement storage unit 116 stores, for each piece of advertisement information, an advertisement ID 621, which is advertisement identification information for specifying advertisement information, a file name 622 of advertisement information, and detailed information on advertisement information. Detailed information storage address 6 2 3 that specifies the location of the advertisement, linked advertisement ID 6 2 4 that associates multiple pieces of advertising information, category 6 26 that indicates the type of advertising information, and advertising information display section 1 2 4 Display position to specify the display position 6 2 7, Deletion condition to specify the deletion condition of advertising information 6 3 4, Number of display 6 3 2 indicating the number of times the advertising information is displayed, and whether or not to delete the advertising information And a deletion flag 6 3 3 for specifying The deletion condition 634 has a deadline 628 for displaying the advertisement information and a frequency 630 for displaying the advertisement information. Further, it has a flag 629 associated with the term 628 and a flag 631 associated with the number of times 6330.

The file name 6 22 holds the file name of the advertisement information stored in the advertisement storage section 1 16. The advertisement display processing unit 104 detects advertisement information from the advertisement storage unit 116 based on the file name. The detailed information storage address 6 23 holds information for specifying the location where the detailed information is stored. For example, the detailed information storage address 6 23 may hold information specifying detailed information stored in a predetermined server provided on the Internet 10. Further, the detailed information storage address 6 23 may hold the file name of the detailed information stored in the advertisement storage section 116. When the user instructs to acquire the detailed information of the advertisement information displayed on the display unit 124, the external information acquisition unit 144, based on the address stored in the detailed information storage address 623, Get detailed information. +.

Linked advertisement ID 624 holds information that associates a plurality of pieces of advertisement information. For example, the linked advertisement ID 624 holds the advertisement ID of the associated advertisement information. For example, when associating the advertisement ID “0 0 1 0 0” with the advertisement ID “0 0 0 1 1”, each of the linked advertisement IDs of the advertisement ID “0 0 1 0 0” and the advertisement ID “0 0 1 0 1” 6 2 4 holds “0 0 1 0 0”. By holding the same advertisement ID in the linked advertisement ID 624, it is possible to associate a plurality of pieces of advertisement information. Therefore, the advertisement selecting unit 142 can simultaneously display the advertisement information associated with each other on the display unit 124. For example, it is possible to display image advertisement information and character advertisement information at the same time. It can attract the attention of the people and increase the advertising effect.

The advertisement selection unit 144 selects a predetermined type of advertisement information based on the information held in the category 626. For example, when selecting the advertisement information relating to “travel”, the advertisement selecting unit 144 selects the advertisement information in which “travel” is stored in the category 6 26. Therefore, the advertisement selecting unit 144 can select a predetermined type of advertisement information. The image display processing unit 146 and the character display processing unit 148 display advertisement information in a predetermined area of the display unit 124 based on the information held at the display position 627. Therefore, the position where the advertisement information is displayed can be specified.

The advertisement selection unit 14 2 selects advertisement information that can be displayed based on the deletion condition 6 3 4. Flag 6 29 and flag 6 31 specify a combination of deletion conditions. For example, when the flag 629 is held at "1" and the flag 631 is held at S "0", the period 628 holds the period during which the advertisement information can be displayed. The number of times 6330 holds the minimum number of times of display by the date held in the time limit 628. Therefore, if the flag 629 holds "1" and the flag 631 holds S "0.", it is compensated that the advertisement information is selected until the date held in the deadline 628. It is compensated that the number of times of display is at least the number of times held at the number of 630. For example, based on the deletion condition of No. 25, the advertisement selecting unit 144 sets the advertisement information of the advertisement ID “0000” to at least 100% by April 1, 2000. More than once, display on display 1 2 4.

For example, when the flag 629 power S “0” is held and the flag 631 power S “1” is held, the number of times 630 holds the number of times the advertisement information is displayed. The time limit 6 28 holds a time limit for displaying the advertisement information the number of times held in the number of times 6 30. Therefore, if the flag 6 29 power S “0” is held and the flag 6 3 1 power S “1” is held, it is compensated that the advertisement information is displayed as many times as the number 6 3 0 holds, By the date held in the deadline 6 228, it is compensated that the number of times displayed in the number 6 3 0 is displayed. For example, based on the deletion condition of No. 26, the advertisement selecting unit 1442 converts the advertisement information of the advertisement ID “000035” into “50” by March 10, 2000. Only the times are displayed on the display section 1 2 4. For example, if the flag 6 2 9 force S “1” is held and the flag 6 31 1 “1” is held, the date held in the deadline 6 2 8 or the display count held in the frequency 6 3 0 The advertisement information is displayed until one of them is satisfied. For example, based on the deletion condition of No 27 The advertisement selection section 1 4 2 displays the advertisement information of the advertisement ID “0 0 1 0 0” until March 15, 2000, or until the number of display times reaches 80, 2 Display on 4. The advertisement selection unit 142 stores the number of times of the advertisement information displayed on the display unit 124 in the number of display times 632. Therefore, the value held by the number of display times 6 3 2 increases by 1 every time the advertisement information is displayed. The advertisement selection unit 14 2 determines whether or not to display the advertisement information on the display unit 1 24 based on the value held in the number of times 6 3 0 and the value held in the number of times of display 6 3 2. judge. In addition, when it is determined that the display is not required, the advertisement selection unit 142 causes the deletion flag 633 to hold “1” designating that deletion is permitted. The storage processing unit 16 4 deletes the advertisement information holding “1” in the deletion flag 6 33 and stores the advertisement information newly obtained from the information distribution device 200 in the advertisement storage unit 1 16. Let it. FIG. 10 shows an example of the data structure of the usage information storage unit 112. The usage information storage unit 112 holds usage information (112a, 112b, 112c) for each display area for displaying advertisement information. The usage information 112a holds usage information for the advertisement information displayed on the first display area, which is the first display area. The usage information 1 1 2a is the advertisement ID 641 of the advertisement information displayed on the first display unit, the start time 642 indicating the start time when the advertisement information was displayed, and the time when the display of the advertisement information was completed. End time 643 indicating detailed information, access to detailed information indicating whether or not the detailed information was acquired 644, software specific information of the specified software being processed in the software processing unit 102 It has a software ID 645 and an active software ID 646 that holds the software ID being operated by the user.

The usage monitoring unit 140 includes an advertisement ID of the advertisement information displayed on the display unit 124, a display start time, a display end time, information indicating whether or not detailed information has been obtained, and a software processing unit 100. The software ID of the designated software being processed in step 2 and the software ID of the active designated software are stored in the usage information storage unit 112.

For example, in the case of No 36, the advertisement ID holds “0 0 0 3 5”. The start time 6 4 2 holds “12:40”. The end time is "1 2:45". Detailed information access holds “0” indicating that detailed information has not been obtained. The software ID holds “S 0 0 3 5” and “S 0 0 9”. Active software The software ID holds “S009”. The usage status notification unit 108 transmits the usage information stored by the usage status monitoring unit 140 to the information distribution device 200. The usage information 112b holds usage information for the advertisement information displayed on the second display unit, which is the second display area. Further, the usage information 111c holds usage information for the advertisement information displayed on the third display unit, which is the third display area. The usage information 1 1 2b and 1 1 2c have the same data structure as 1 1 2a, and therefore the description is omitted.

FIG. 11A shows an example of a data structure of a database stored in the update condition storage unit 118 and holding a date when the advertisement information is updated. This database holds an update date 651 for updating information, and a period 6559 that specifies how many days after the update date must be updated. When the advertisement information is updated, the storage processing unit 164 holds the update date on the update date 651. Further, the value held in the period 659 may be distributed from the information distribution device 200, for example. For example, it may be set according to the number of updated advertisement information. The update determination unit 160 determines whether to update the advertisement information based on the update date held in the update date 651, and the period 559. Therefore, the update determining unit 160 can determine that the advertisement information is updated when the advertisement information has not been updated for a predetermined period.

FIG. 11B is an example of the update condition stored in the update condition storage unit 118. The update condition includes the total number 653 indicating the total number of advertisement information stored in the advertisement storage unit 116, the number of displayable advertisements 654 indicating the number of displayable advertisement information, and the update determination unit 16 And a threshold value 655 used to determine whether to update with 0. The number of displayable advertisements 6 5 4 may be the number of deletion flags 6 3 3 described with reference to FIG. 9 that hold “◦”. When the deletion condition is satisfied, the advertisement selection unit 1 4 Changed by 2. For example, when the value held in the number of displayable advertisements 654 becomes smaller than the value held in the threshold 655, the update determination unit 160 updates the advertisement information. judge. Therefore, the update determining unit 160 can determine whether to update the advertisement information based on the number of displayable advertisement information.

FIG. 11 (c) shows an example of the update condition stored in the update condition storage unit 118. The update conditions include a count expiration date specifying the expiration date used to determine whether or not the update is to be performed, a detailed information access frequency indicating the number of times the detailed information has been obtained, And a threshold value 658 used when the update determination unit 160 determines whether or not to update. The detailed information access count 657 is the number of times the detailed information has been acquired by the date held in the count period 656, and is changed by the use status monitoring unit 140. For example, the update determination unit 160 determines that the number of detailed information accesses 657 is smaller than the number of times stored in the threshold 658 by the date stored in the count period 656, It is determined that the advertisement information is updated. Therefore, the update determination unit 160 can determine whether to update the advertisement information based on the number of times the detailed information has been acquired.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart until the processing of the designated software in the software processing unit 102 is started. When the specified software is read from the software storage unit 120 into the software processing unit 102, the start instruction unit 130 determines whether or not the processing of the specified software can be started. Contact The activation permitting unit 1332 determines whether or not the processing of the specified software may be started based on the update date information stored in the update condition storage unit 118 (S10). .

When the activation permitting unit 1332 permits the processing of the designated software, the activation instructing unit 130 instructs the software executing unit 1336 to perform processing based on the designated software. Further, the activation instruction unit 130 instructs the advertisement display processing unit 104 to start displaying the advertisement information (S16).

If the activation permitting unit 132 does not permit the processing of the designated software, the activation instructing unit 130 requests the advertisement updating unit 106 to update the advertisement information. The advertisement updating unit 106 determines whether or not to update the advertisement information (S12). For example, the advertisement updating unit 106 inquires of the user whether to update the advertisement information. When the user instructs to update the advertisement information, the advertisement update unit 106 updates the advertisement information (S14). When the advertisement information is updated, the activation instruction unit 130 instructs the software execution unit 135 and the advertisement display processing unit 104 to start processing. For example, the advertisement information may be automatically updated based on the automatic update flag 604 described with reference to FIG.

When the user instructs not to update the advertisement information, the activation instruction unit 130 notifies the software execution unit 1336 and the advertisement display processing unit 104 that no processing is performed. Therefore, if the advertising information has not been updated, start the specified software. Can not.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of a process of determining whether or not to update the advertisement information in the advertisement updating unit 106. The update determining unit 160 determines whether it is necessary to update the advertisement at a predetermined timing (S200). For example, the predetermined timing to be determined may be a case where an instruction to update the advertisement is issued from the activation instruction unit 130. For example, the predetermined timing for the determination may be when the advertisement display processing unit 104 starts processing for displaying the advertisement information. For example, the predetermined timing for the determination may be when the network environment monitoring unit 152 instructs the notification information selection unit 150 to use the network. For example, the predetermined timing to be determined may be the timing at which the usage status monitoring unit 140 stores the usage information in the usage information storage unit 112.

The update determining unit 160 determines whether it is necessary to update the advertisement information based on the update condition stored in the update condition storage unit 118. For example, the update determination unit 160 may determine whether it is necessary to update the advertisement information based on the time when the advertisement information was stored in the advertisement storage unit 116. For example, the update determination unit 160 may determine whether it is necessary to update based on the number of pieces of advertisement information that need to be displayed. For example, the update determination unit 160 may determine whether or not the force that needs to be updated is based on the number of times the detailed information has been acquired.

If it is determined that the advertisement information needs to be updated, the user is inquired whether to update the advertisement information (S22). For example, the update determination unit 160 may cause the display unit 124 to display a message inquiring whether to update the advertisement information. User power When the user specifies to update the advertisement information, the update determination unit 160 instructs the acquisition unit 162 to update the advertisement information. The obtaining unit 162 obtains the advertisement information from the information distribution device 200 and outputs it to the storage processing unit 164. The storage processing unit 164 stores the newly acquired advertisement information in the advertisement storage unit 116 (S24). If the user specifies not to update the advertisement information, the update determination unit 160 ends the processing for determining the update of the advertisement information.

In another embodiment, for example, the update determining unit 160 may automatically instruct the obtaining unit 162 to update the advertisement information. For example, specifically, the value held in the automatic update 604 stored in the user information storage unit 110 described with reference to FIG. Based on the information, it is determined whether or not the advertisement information is automatically updated. For example, when the automatic update 604 holds “1”, the update determination unit 160 automatically instructs the acquisition unit 162 to update the advertisement information. It is preferable that the value held by the automatic update 604 can be arbitrarily set by the user. Therefore, the advertisement update unit 106 can update the advertisement information based on the update condition stored in the update condition storage unit 118.

FIG. 14 (a) is an example of a display screen displayed on the display unit 124 in step S 22 of asking the user whether to update the advertising information described with reference to FIG. 13. . For example, when the user specifies the “Yes” button 40, the update process is started (S24). For example, if the user specifies the "No" button 42, the update process is terminated.

FIG. 14 (b) is an example of the display screen displayed on the display unit 124 in step S22 in which the user inquires whether to update the advertising information described with reference to FIG. . This display screen further has a check box 44 for specifying whether to automatically update the advertisement information. Check box 4 4 can specify two values of whether or not to check, and the value specified in check box 4 4 is retained in user information storage unit 110 automatic update 6 0 4 Linked to the value that is For example, when the check box 44 is checked, “1” is held in the automatic update 604 of the user information storage unit 110. For example, when the check box 44 is not checked, “0” is held in the automatic update 604 of the user information storage unit 110. Therefore, the user can specify whether to automatically update the advertisement information.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of the process in the usage status notification unit 108. The network environment monitoring unit 152 determines whether or not the network can be used (S30) _{c If the} network is available, the network environment monitoring unit 152 sends the notification information selection unit 1505 to the network. Notify that it is available. The notification information selection unit 150 determines whether there is information to be notified to the information distribution device 200 (S32). If there is information to be notified, the notification information selection section 150 stores the user ID stored in the user information storage section 110 in the usage information stored in the usage information storage section 112. 0 1 is added and transmitted to the information distribution device 200 (S34). If there is no information to be notified, the notification information selection unit 150 ends the process of transmitting the usage information to the information distribution device 200. Therefore, The usage status notification unit 108 can transmit the usage information stored in the usage information storage unit 112 when the network is available.

FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram of the user terminal 100 and the information distribution device 200 when the user first uses the software distribution system 500. The user inputs user information (S40). For example, user information includes information that identifies the user, such as name, email address, address, gender, age, occupation, and post, as well as the user's hobbies, favorite foods, disliked foods, and interests. It has information about the user's preferences, such as things. For example, the user terminal 100 may display a predetermined screen for inputting user information, and the user may input the user information on the predetermined screen.

The user terminal 100 transmits the user information to the information distribution device 200 (S41). Upon receiving the user information, the information distribution device 200 stores the user information and issues a user ID for specifying the user (S42). The information distribution device 200 transmits the issued user ID to the user terminal 100 described with reference to FIG. 7 (S42). The user terminal 100 stores the received user ID in the user ID 601 of the user information storage unit 110 (S444). Therefore, the user information storage unit 110 can store the user ID for each user. The information distribution device 200 can specify the user based on the user ID. Also, for example, advertisement information tailored to the user's preference can be distributed to the user. Also, for example, usage information can be managed for each user. Also, for example, the distributed advertisement information can be managed for each user. Also, for example, distributed software identification information can be managed for each user.

FIG. 17 is an example of the screen for inputting user information described in the user information input step S40 described in FIG. This screen has a name input section 50 for entering the user's name, an e-mail address input section 52 for entering the user's e-mail address, an address input section 54 for entering the user's address, Gender selection part 5 6 to select gender, age selection part 58 to select the age of the user, occupation selection part 60 to select the occupation of the user, job selection part 62 to select the position of the user 62, use Preference selection section 6 4 for selecting user preference information, check box 6 6 for specifying whether or not to automatically update advertisement information, and transmitting input user information to information distribution apparatus 200. "Send" button 6 8, enter And a “clear” button 70 for causing the user terminal 100 to delete the used user information. The check box 66 can specify two values, whether to be checked or not. The value specified in the check box 66 is automatically stored in the user information storage unit 110 described with reference to FIG. Update Linked to the value held in 604. For example, when the software distribution system 500 is used for the first time, a screen for inputting user information is preferably displayed on the display unit 124. Since a screen for inputting user information is displayed on the display section 124, user information can be easily registered.

FIG. 18 is an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 124. The display section 124 has a software display section (20, 22), an advertisement display section 24, and a detailed information display section 38. The software display section (20, 22) is a screen displayed by the designated software. When the user activates a plurality of designated software, a plurality of software display sections 20 are displayed. The advertisement display section 24 has a first advertisement display section 26, a second advertisement display section 28, a third advertisement display section 30, an update button 32, a setting button 34, and a close button 36. For example, the first advertisement display section 26 and the third advertisement display section 30 are display areas for displaying image advertisement information, and are displayed by the image display processing section 146. For example, the second advertisement display unit 28 is a display area for displaying character advertisement information, and is displayed by the character display processing unit 148.

Information for specifying the display area held in the display position 6 27 stored in the advertisement storage section 1 16 described with reference to FIG. 9 and the first advertisement display section 26 and the second advertisement display section 28 Alternatively, the advertisement information is associated with the third advertisement display unit 30, and the advertisement display processing unit 104 displays the advertisement information at one of the display positions based on the information held in the display position 6 27. For example, when the display position 6 27 holds “1”, the advertisement display processing unit 104 causes the first advertisement display unit 26 to display the advertisement information. For example, when the display position 6 27 holds “2”, the advertisement display processing unit 104 causes the second advertisement display unit 28 to display the advertisement information. For example, when the display position 6 27 holds “3”, the advertisement display processing unit 104 causes the third advertisement display unit 30 to display the advertisement information.

Further, the advertisement display processing unit 104 selects the advertisement information to be simultaneously displayed on the advertisement display unit 24 based on the linked advertisement ID 624 stored in the advertisement storage unit 116. In addition, the advertisement display processing unit 104 displays the display position 6 2 in each selected advertisement information. The advertisement information is displayed at the display position specified by the value held in 7. For example, in the advertisement storage unit 116 shown in FIG. 9, it is specified that No 27 and No 28 are displayed in conjunction with each other. The advertisement information specified by the advertisement ID “0100” is displayed in the first advertisement display section 26. For example, the advertisement information specified by the advertisement ID “0101” is displayed on the second advertisement display unit 28. Therefore, a plurality of advertisements can be displayed at the same time when the advertisement storage unit 116 holds the linked advertisement ID 624. In addition, by holding the display position 6 27 by the advertisement storage unit 1 16, the position where the advertisement is to be displayed can be specified.

The update button 32 is a button for instructing the advertisement updating unit 106 to update the advertisement information. When the update button 32 is specified, the advertisement updating unit 106 starts processing for updating the advertisement information. Therefore, the user can force the advertisement updating unit 106 to update the advertisement information. The setting button 34 is a button for instructing to change the setting of the advertisement display section 24. By specifying the setting buttons 34, for example, the user can change the user information. For example, you can set the ability to automatically update advertising information when a network is available. The close button 36 is a button for stopping the processing of the advertisement display processing unit 104. The close button 36 will not function if the specified software is being processed. For example, the close button 36 may not be displayed if the designated software is being processed. The advertisement display processing section 104 causes the close button 36 to function when notified by the end instruction section 134 of the end of the processing of the designated software.

The detailed information display section 38 is an area for displaying detailed information associated with the advertisement information. When it is specified that the detailed information of the advertisement information is to be obtained, the obtaining section 16 2 performs the details based on the information stored in the detailed information storage address 6 23 stored in the advertisement storage section 1 16. Get information. The acquiring unit 162 causes the detailed information display unit 38 to display the acquired detailed information. For example, the user specifies the advertisement information of interest among the advertisement information displayed on the first advertisement display section 26, the second advertisement display section 28 or the third advertisement display section 30. For example, when the user gives an instruction to the user terminal 100 using a mouse, the user clicks on advertisement information of interest. The acquiring unit 162 causes the detailed information display unit 38 to display the detailed information associated with the advertising information that has been tickered. FIG. 19 is an example of a functional block diagram of the information distribution device 200. The information distribution device 200 includes a communication unit 202, a software transmission unit 204, an ID issuing unit 206, a notification information input unit 208, an update information output unit 210, and a display information generation unit 211. 2. It has a charging unit 216 and an information storage unit 216. The information storage unit 2 16 contains a software database 2 18, a software provider database 2 20, a software registrant database 2 2 2, an advertising information database 2 2 4, an advertiser database 2 2 6, and a user information database 2 28, It has a usage information database 230 and a billing database 230.

The software database 218 stores designated software. The software provider database 220 stores information on the specified software provider stored in the software database 218. The software registrant database 222 stores the user information that stores the designated software stored in the software database 210 in the software storage section 120 of the user terminal 100. . The advertisement information database 222 stores advertisement information. The advertiser database 222 stores information on the advertiser of the advertisement information stored in the advertisement information database 222. The user information database 228 stores the user information transmitted from the user terminal 100. The usage information database 230 stores usage information transmitted from the user terminal 100. The charging database 232 stores information on software usage fees to be returned to the designated software provider and information on advertising fees to be charged to advertisers.

The communication unit 202 transmits and receives information via the Internet 10. For example, the communication unit 202 may be a modem and connect to the Internet 10 using a public line such as a telephone line or an ISDN line. Also, it may be connected to the Internet 10 via a dedicated line. Further, for example, the communication unit 202 may transmit and receive information based on the TCP / IP protocol.

The software transmission unit 204 distributes the designated software stored in the software database 210 to the user terminal 100 provided on the Internet 10 via the communication unit 202. . When distributing the designated software, the software transmission unit 204 soft-fills the user ID that identifies the user who delivered the designated software. It is stored in the air registrant database. Therefore, it is possible to manage the user who has stored the designated software in the software storage section 120 of the user terminal 100.

Upon receiving the user information transmitted from the user terminal 100, the ID issuing unit 206 issues a user ID for identifying the user, and then issues the issued user ID to the user terminal 1. Send to 0 0. The ID issuing unit 206 stores the user information in the user information database 228. Therefore, the user information of the user using the software distribution system 500 can be managed.

When receiving the use information transmitted from the user terminal 100, the notification information input unit 208 stores the use information in the use information database 230 for each user. Therefore, usage information for each user can be managed.

When the distribution of advertisement information is requested from the user terminal 100, the update information output unit 210 selects the advertisement information suitable for the user from the advertisement information database 222 and the user terminal 100. Deliver to 0. For example, the update information output unit 210 selects the advertisement information based on the user information database 228 and the use information database 230.

When the advertiser terminal 12 requests the display of the billing information including the distribution status, the display information generation unit 2 12 reads necessary information from the information stored in the information storage unit 2 16. Generates display information tailored to the advertiser and outputs it to the advertiser terminal 12. Also, when a request is made from the software provider terminal 14 to display return information including the distribution status, the necessary information is read from the information stored in the information storage unit 216, and the display is tailored to the software provider. The information is generated and output to the software providing main terminal 14. For example, the display information generation unit 211 generates display information based on a text description language such as XML (extensible markup language), HTML (hypertext markup language) ^ SGML (standard generalized markup language). You may.

The accounting unit 2 14 calculates an advertisement fee to be charged to the advertiser based on the information on the use of the software notified from the user terminal 100 and the information on the use of the advertisement information. Further, the charging unit 214 calculates the software usage fee to be returned to the software provider based on the information on the use of the software notified from the user terminal 100 and the information on the use of the advertisement information. The charging unit 2 14 stores the calculated advertisement fee and software usage fee in the charging database 2 32. FIG. 20 is an example of a detailed functional block diagram of the update information output unit 210. The update information output unit 210 includes a selection unit 240, a category setting unit 242, a display condition generation unit 244, and an update condition generation unit 246. The category setting unit 242 sets the type of advertisement information to be delivered to the user terminal 100 based on the user information stored in the user information database 228. Also, the category setting unit 242 can sequentially change the type of advertisement information to be delivered to the user terminal 100 based on the usage information stored in the usage information database 230. . For example, the category setting unit 242 can narrow down the type of advertisement information to be distributed to the user terminal 100 based on the usage information.

The category setting section 242 outputs the type of advertisement information according to the user to the selection section 244Q. Further, the category setting unit 244 outputs the usage information to the display condition generation unit 244. In addition, when the type of the advertisement information to be distributed to the user terminal 100 is changed, the category setting unit 242 outputs to the update condition generation unit 246 the fact that the type has been changed. The selection unit 240 selects the advertisement information from the advertisement information database 224 based on the type of the advertisement information supplied from the category setting unit 242, and distributes the advertisement information to the user terminal 100. . Further, for example, the selection unit 240 may output an advertisement ID specifying the selected advertisement information to the display condition generation unit 244.

The display condition generation unit 244 generates a display condition of the advertisement information based on the type of the advertisement information supplied from the category setting unit 242, and outputs the display condition to the user terminal 100. The display conditions generated by the display condition generation unit 244 are stored in the display condition storage unit 114. .

The update condition generation unit 246 generates the update condition of the advertisement information stored in the user terminal 100 based on the type of the advertisement information supplied from the category setting unit 242. The update condition generated by the update condition generation unit 246 is stored in the update condition storage unit 118. Therefore, the information distribution device 200 can distribute advertisement information tailored to the user. Further, the information distribution device 200 can distribute the display condition of the advertisement information and the update condition of the advertisement information.

FIG. 21 is an example of a detailed functional block diagram of the category setting section 242. The category setting section 24 is composed of the first advertisement type setting section 241, the second advertisement type setting section 24 Equipped with a regular supervision department 2 4 5. The first advertisement type setting unit 241 sets the type of advertisement information according to the user based on the user information stored in the user information database 228. For example, the first advertisement type setting unit 241 sets the type of advertisement information based on the user's preference. The first advertisement type setting unit 241 outputs the first advertisement type information set based on the user information to the setting control unit 245.

The second advertisement type setting unit 243 sets the type of advertisement information according to the user based on the usage information stored in the usage information database 230. The second advertisement type setting unit 243 outputs the second advertisement type information set based on the usage information to the setting control unit 245. For example, the second advertisement type setting unit 243 may set the second advertisement type information based on the type of the advertisement information for which the detailed information has been acquired. For example, the second advertisement type information may be set based on the type of advertisement information for which detailed information has been frequently acquired. For example, the second advertisement type information may be set based on the type of advertisement information for which the ratio of obtaining detailed information is high.

In addition, the second advertisement type setting unit 243 determines, based on the usage information, whether or not the type of the advertisement information distributed to the user is suitable for the user, and sets the determination result to the setting control unit 243. Output to 5 For example, based on the number of pieces of advertisement information for which detailed information has been acquired, the second advertisement type setting unit 243 determines whether the type of advertisement information delivered to the user is appropriate for the user. Good. For example, if the number of pieces of advertisement information for which detailed information has been acquired is less than a predetermined number, the second advertisement type setting unit 243 determines that the type of advertisement information delivered to the user does not match the user. May be.

The setting control section 245 sets the type of advertisement information according to the user based on the first advertisement type information and the second advertisement type information. For example, when setting the type of advertisement information for a user who uses the software distribution system 500 for the first time, the setting control unit 245 selects the first advertisement supplied from the first advertisement type setting unit 241. The type information is output to the selection unit 240 as the type of advertisement information. When the advertisement information is distributed to the user terminal 100 again, the setting control unit 245 selects the second advertisement type information supplied from the second advertisement type setting unit 243 as the type of the advertisement information. Output to part 240. Therefore, it is possible to further narrow down the types of advertisement information expected to be of interest to the user among the types of advertisement information selected by the first advertisement type information. In addition, when the second advertisement type setting unit 243 notifies the user that the type of the advertisement information distributed to the user is not suitable for the user, the configuration management unit 245 determines the advertisement to be distributed to the user. Change the type of information. For example, the setting supervising unit 245 may change based on the type of advertisement information included in the first advertisement type information. For example, the setting control unit 245 may randomly select the type of advertisement information stored in the advertisement information database 224 and add the type to the type of advertisement information to be distributed to the user. For example, the setting control unit 245 may add the type of advertisement information distributed to a user of the same age as the user to the type of advertisement information to be distributed. For example, the setting control unit 245 may add the type of advertisement information distributed to users of the same gender as the user to the type of advertisement information to be distributed. For example, the setting control section 245 may add the type of advertisement information distributed to a user of the same occupation as the user to the type of advertisement information to be distributed. Therefore, the category setting unit 242 can change the type of the advertisement information to be delivered to the user based on whether or not the type of the advertisement information delivered to the user is correct.

Since the second advertisement type setting section 2 43 narrows down the type of advertisement information according to the user, the update information output section 210 increases the number of times the advertisement information is distributed to the user terminal 100 It can distribute advertisement information tailored to users. .

Further, as another form, the setting control unit 245 sets the type of the advertisement information included in the first advertisement type information to the type of the advertisement information narrowed down by the second advertisement type setting unit 243. May be added. For example, the setting control unit 245 may add the type of advertisement information selected at random from the first advertisement type information to the type of advertisement information narrowed down by the second advertisement type setting unit 243. . By adding the first advertisement type information to the second advertisement type information, the type of advertisement information distributed to the user terminal '100 can be limited. For example, the setting control unit 245 may cause the selection unit 240 to select the advertisement information so that the percentage of the type of advertisement information set in the second advertisement type information increases.

The setting control unit 245 also displays the type of the advertisement information, the number of times the advertisement information is displayed for each time period stored in the usage information database 230, and the number of times the detailed information is acquired, in the display condition generation unit. Output to 2 4 4. The display condition generation unit 244 determines the display condition based on the type of the advertisement information, the number of times the advertisement information is displayed for each time zone stored in the usage information database 230, and the number of times the detailed information is obtained. Generate Further, the setting control unit 245 outputs the type of the advertisement information to the update condition generating unit 246. The update condition generation unit 246 generates an update condition by comparing the type of the previous advertisement information with the type of the supplied advertisement information. For example, the update condition generation unit 246 may generate the update condition based on the number of types of the changed advertisement information. For example, the update condition generation unit 246 may set a period for designating how many days from the update date it is necessary to update based on the number of changed advertisement information.

FIGS. 22 (a), (b) and (c) are examples of the data structure of the usage information database 230. The notification information input unit 208 described in FIG. 19 stores the usage information transmitted from the user terminal 100 in the usage information database 230. The update information output unit 210 selects the advertising information based on the usage information stored in the usage information database 230. When storing the usage information in the usage information database 230, the notification information input unit 208 rearranges the data so that the update information output unit 210 can easily use the usage information. FIG. 22 (a) shows a data structure indicating the number of times detailed information has been acquired for each type of advertisement information. FIG. 22 (b) is a data structure showing the number of times the advertisement information is displayed and the number of times the detailed information is acquired in a predetermined time slot. Figure 22 (c) shows a data structure that indicates the access rate to detailed information for each piece of specified software. Further, the notification information input unit 208 may store the usage information transmitted from the user terminal 100 without rearranging the usage information.

Figure 22 (a) shows a data structure that indicates the number of times detailed information has been acquired for each type of advertising information. This data structure is composed of a category indicating the type of advertisement information, a total number of display indicating the number of displayed information, a detailed information access count indicating the number of times the detailed information has been obtained, and obtaining the detailed information. The access rate is 704, which is the calculated rate. For example, the access rate 704 can be obtained by dividing the detailed information access frequency 703 by the total number of displays 702. For example, the second advertisement type setting unit 243 outputs the type of the advertisement information having the high access rate 704 to the setting control unit 245 as the second advertisement type information. For example, the second advertisement type setting unit 243 retrieves a predetermined number of types of advertisement information in ascending order of the access rate 704 and outputs it to the setting control unit 245 as second advertisement information. . For example, when three types of advertisement information are selected from the data shown in FIG. 22 (a) as the second advertisement type information, the second advertisement type setting section 2443 includes “game” and “computer”. And "music" Is output to the setting control section 245 as the second advertisement type information.

FIG. 22 (b) is a data structure showing the number of times advertisement information is displayed and the number of times detailed information is acquired in a predetermined time slot. This data structure includes a time zone 706, a display count 707 indicating the number of times the advertisement information is displayed, and a detailed information access count 708 indicating the number of times the detailed information is acquired. With this data structure, the number of times advertisement information is displayed and the number of times detailed information is obtained can be known for each time period. Therefore, the display condition generation unit 244 can generate the display condition for each time zone.

For example, the display condition generating unit 244 may generate a condition for displaying predetermined advertisement information during a time period when the number of times of displaying the advertisement information is large. For example, the display condition generation unit 244 may generate a condition for displaying the advertisement information set in the second advertisement type information during a time period when the number of times of displaying the advertisement information is large. For example, the display condition generating unit 244 may generate a condition for displaying the advertisement information set in the first advertisement type information during a time period when the number of times of displaying the advertisement information is large. For example, the display condition generating unit 244 may generate a condition for displaying the advertisement information set in the second advertisement type information during a time period during which the detailed information is acquired many times. For example, the display condition generation unit 244 may generate a condition for displaying advertisement information of a store that sells a predetermined product during a time period in which the detailed information is frequently acquired. For example, it is preferable that a store that sells a predetermined product is a virtual store provided in a network where the product can be purchased via the network. Therefore, the display condition generation unit 244 can generate the display condition for each time zone.

Figure 22 (c) is a data structure showing the access rate to detailed information for each specified software. This data structure is composed of software ID 710, which is software identification information for specifying the specified software, number of usages 711 indicating the number of times the specified software has been used, and usage time 712 indicating the usage time of the specified software. , The number of advertisement displays indicating the number of advertisement information displayed while the specified software is being processed 713, the number of detailed information accesses indicating the number of times detailed information was obtained while the specified software was being processed 7 14. Access rate 7 15 indicating the rate at which detailed information was acquired. The access rate 715 can be obtained by dividing the detailed information access count 703 by the total display count 702. From this data structure, the number of times that the advertisement information for each specified software is displayed and the number of times that the detailed information is obtained can be known. Therefore, the display condition generator 2 4 4 Can be generated for each software.

'For example, the display condition generation unit 244 may generate a condition for displaying predetermined advertisement information when designated software having a large number of display times of advertisement information is activated. For example, the display condition generation unit 244 may generate the condition for displaying the advertisement information set in the second advertisement type information when the designated software having a large number of display times of the advertisement information is activated. Good. For example, the display condition generation unit 244 may generate a condition for displaying the advertisement information set in the first advertisement type information when the designated software having a large number of display times of the advertisement information is activated. . For example, the display condition generation unit 244 may generate a condition for displaying the advertisement information set in the second advertisement type information when the designated software that has acquired the detailed information many times is running. Good. For example, the display condition generation unit 244 may generate a condition for displaying advertisement information of a store that sells a predetermined product when the designated software that has acquired the detailed information many times is running. . For example, it is preferable that the store that sells a predetermined product is a temporary store provided in a network where the product can be purchased via the network. Therefore, the display condition generating unit 244 can generate the display condition for each designated software. FIG. 23 shows an example of the data structure of the user information database 228. The user information database ₂ 28 contains the user ID 6 6 1 that identifies the user, the user's name 6 6 2, the user's e-mail address 6 6 3, the user's address 6 6 4, and the user. It has sex 6 65, user age 6 6 6, user occupation 6 6 7, user title 6 6 8, and distribution category 6 69, which is the type of advertising information to be distributed to users. The ID issuing unit 206 stores the user information transmitted from the user terminal 100 in the user information database 228. When the user information is stored in the user information database 228, the ID issuing unit 206 transmits the user ID specifying the user to the user terminal 100. The first advertisement type setting unit 241 described using FIG. 21 generates the first advertisement type information based on the information held in the distribution category 669.

For example, when advertising information is distributed to the user with the user ID “A 0150 0”, the first advertisement type setting unit 241 sets “computer”, “travel”, “game” and “music” The information is output to the setting control section 245 as the first advertisement type information. For example, if the user has acquired the detailed information of “combiner” and “travel” many times, the second advertisement type setting unit 2 43 outputs “computer” and “travel” as the second advertisement type information to the setting control section 2 45.

FIG. 24 shows an example of the data structure of the advertisement information database 222. Advertising information database ₂ 2 4, ad ID 6 7 2 showing the advertisement specific information that identifies the advertisement information, the advertiser ID 6 7 3 showing an advertiser specific information to identify the advertising main, of the advertising information file name 6 7 4, Detailed information storage address indicating the location where the detailed information associated with the advertisement information is stored 6 7 5, Linked advertisement ID that associates multiple pieces of advertisement information 6 7 6, Specify the display position of the advertisement information Display position 6 7 7, Category 6 7 8 indicating the type of advertisement information, Number of distributions 6 7 9 indicating the number of advertisement information distributed, Display time 6 8 0 indicating the total time the advertisement information was displayed, Detailed information Access number 6 8 1, indicating the number of times that the information was acquired.6. Delete condition 6 9 6, specifying the condition for deleting the advertisement information when the advertisement information is stored in the user terminal 100. 6 9 7, Display conditions for advertising information With the delivery conditions 6 9 8.

The deletion conditions 696 are defined as the number of days from when the advertisement information is stored in the user terminal 100 until it is deleted, and the table from when the advertisement information is stored in the user terminal 100 until it is deleted. The number of indications is 6 8 4. In addition, a flag 683 associated with the number of days 682 and a flag 685 associated with the number of display times 684 are provided. Flag 683 and flag 685 specify a combination of deletion conditions. The value held in the deletion condition 696 is stored in the deletion condition 634 of the advertisement storage unit 116 described with reference to FIG.

The display conditions 699 include a time zone 686 for specifying a time zone for displaying advertisement information, and a software ID 687. By allowing the software ID 687 to hold the software ID, it is possible to specify that the advertisement information be displayed when the designated software held by the software ID 687 is activated. The display condition generating unit 244 was described using the display condition 699, the data described using FIG. 22 (b), the data described using FIG. 22 (c), and FIG. 21. The display conditions described with reference to FIGS. 8A and 8B may be generated based on the type of the advertisement information set by the setting control unit 245.

The distribution conditions 696 include a period 688 for specifying a period during which the advertisement information can be distributed to the user terminal 100 and a target 688 for specifying a user to distribute the advertisement information. For example, The selection unit 240 transmits an advertisement to be transmitted to the user terminal 100 based on the type of advertisement information supplied from the category setting unit 242 and the type of advertisement information held in the category 678. Select information. Next, for example, it is determined that the selected advertisement information may be distributed to the user terminal 100 based on the date held in the deadline 6888 of the selected advertisement information. Furthermore, for example, based on the user information of the user who uses the user terminal 100, it is determined whether or not the force corresponds to the information indicating the target held in the target 689. Therefore, the selection unit 240 can distribute the advertisement information to the user corresponding to the distribution target, and can distribute the advertisement information to the user expected to show interest.

When selecting the advertisement information to be delivered to the user terminal 100, the selection unit 240, when selecting the advertisement information to be delivered, has an advertisement ID 672, a file name 672, a detailed information storage address 623, linked advertising ID 6 7 6, the display position 6 7 7, to deliver to the category 6 7 8, the user terminal 1 0 0 read the deletion condition 6 9 6 from the advertisement information database ₂ 2 4. The advertisement updating unit 106 stores the information in the advertisement storage unit 116.

FIG. 25 shows an example of the data structure of the software database 218. The software database 218 is a software ID 691, which indicates software identification information for identifying the designated software stored in the software database 218, a file name of the designated software 696, a software of the designated software. Software name 692, Category 693 indicating the type of specified software, Background operation flag 694 to specify whether the specified software runs in the background, Provider that identifies the provider of the specified software ID 695, the number of startups 750 indicating the number of times the user terminal 100 was started, the total startup time 751 indicating the time that the user terminal 100 0 was started, and the user terminal 1 0 It has an active time 752 that indicates the time it was active at 0.

The background operation flag 694 holds information indicating a method of operating the specified software. For example, the background operation flag 694 holds information for specifying whether or not the specified software automatically performs a predetermined process without any operation from the user. For example, in the case of designated software for reproducing music information, the background operation flag 694 holds “1” for designating operation in the background. For example, the knock-ground operation flag 694 is returned to the designated software provider. It is used by the billing unit 214 when calculating the original software usage fee.

The number of startups 75 0 holds the number of startups started in the user terminal 100 0. The notification information input unit 208 counts the software IDs included in the usage information notified from the user terminal 100 and holds the count value for each software. For example, the notification information input unit 208 detects a software ID included in the usage information notified from the user terminal 100, and updates the number of activations associated with the detected software ID. . For example, the notification information input unit 208 may increment the activation count associated with the detected software ID by one each time the software ID is detected. Therefore, the number of activations 75 0 can hold the number of activations at the user terminal 100.

The total activation time 751 holds the time at which the software specified by the software ID is activated on the user terminal 100. The notification information input unit 208 counts the startup time based on the software ID included in the usage information notified from the user terminal 100 and the display time of the advertisement information, and calculates the total startup time. 5 Hold at 1. For example, the notification information input unit 208 detects the time at which the advertisement information included in the usage information notified from the user terminal 100 is displayed and the software ID, and determines the detected software ID. Update the associated total startup time. For example, each time the software ID is detected, the notification information input unit 208 sets the time at which the advertisement information is displayed to the value held in the total startup time 751 associated with the detected software ID. You can update the total boot time 7 5 1 by adding it. Therefore, the total activation time 751 can hold the activation time at the user terminal 100.

The active time 752 holds the time during which the user terminal 100 was active. The notification information input unit 208 counts the active time based on the active software ID included in the usage information notified from the user terminal 100 and the display time of the advertisement information, and activates it. Hold at time 752. For example, the notification information input unit 208 detects the active software ID and the time at which the advertisement information included in the usage information notified from the user terminal 100 is displayed, and detects the detected activity. Update the active time associated with the software ID. For example, each time the notification information input unit 208 detects an active software ID, The active time 752 may be updated by adding the time when the advertisement information is displayed to the value held in the total activation time 751 associated with the software ID. Therefore, the active time 752 can hold the time during which the user terminal 100 was active.

The charging unit 2 14 described with reference to FIG. 19 returns to the software provider based on the values held in the number of startups 75 0, the total startup time 75 1 or the active time 75 2 Calculate the original software usage fee. For example, the charging unit 214 may calculate the software usage fee based on the value held in the number of startups 7550. For example, the charging unit 214 may calculate the software usage fee based on the value held in the total startup time 751. For example, the billing unit 214 may calculate the software usage fee based on the value held in the active time 752.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart of the category setting unit 242 described with reference to FIGS. 20 and 21. The second advertisement type setting unit 243 determines whether the type of advertisement information delivered to the user matches the user (S50). For example, the second advertisement type setting unit 243 may determine whether the type of the advertisement information distributed to the user matches the user based on the number of the advertisement information for which the detailed information has been acquired. . For example, if the number of pieces of advertisement information for which detailed information has been acquired is less than a predetermined number, the second advertisement type setting unit 243 determines that the type of advertisement information delivered to the user does not match the user. It may be determined. If it is determined that the type of the advertisement information delivered to the user matches the user, the setting control unit 245 sets the ratio of the type of the advertisement information to be delivered to the user based on the second advertisement type information. (S54). For example, the setting control section 245 may change the ratio of the type of the advertisement information specified by the second advertisement type information included in the advertisement information delivered to the user. For example, the setting control unit 245 may instruct the selection unit 240 to distribute a large amount of advertisement information of the type specified by the second advertisement type information to the user.

If it is determined that the type of the advertisement information delivered to the user does not match the user, the setting gun unit 245 changes the type of the advertisement information delivered to the user (S52). For example, the setting supervision section 245 may change based on the type of advertisement information included in the first advertisement type information. For example, the setting section 245 randomly selects the type of advertisement information stored in the advertisement information database 224 and determines the type of advertisement information to be delivered to the user. May be added. For example, the setting control unit 245 may add the type of advertisement information distributed to a user of the same age as the user to the type of advertisement information to be distributed. For example, the setting control unit 245 may add the type of advertisement information distributed to users of the same gender as the user to the type of advertisement information to be distributed. For example, the setting control unit 245 may add the type of advertisement information distributed to a user in the same occupation as the user to the type of advertisement information to be distributed. The setting control section 245 sets the type of advertisement information to be delivered to the user based on the first advertisement type information and the second advertisement type information, and outputs the information to the selection section 240 (S56) . Therefore, the category setting section 242 can gradually narrow down the advertisement information suitable for the user. FIG. 27 is an example of a flowchart of the charging unit 2 14. The accounting unit 2 14 calculates the software usage fee to be returned to the designated software provider based on the usage information described with reference to FIG. The billing unit 214 detects the software ID 645 included in the usage information (S600). The accounting unit 214 detects the active software ID 646 included in the usage information (S62). The billing unit 214 detects whether software operating in the background exists in the software ID 645 (S64). The accounting unit 214 detects based on the software ID included in the software ID 645 and the background operation flag 694 included in the software database 218. The accounting unit 214 can calculate the software usage fee based on whether or not the designated software has been activated.

By including information on whether the designated software is active or not in the usage information, even when a plurality of designated softwares have been activated, the billing unit 214 can charge the software usage fee according to whether the designated software is active. Can be calculated. For example, the billing process of the billing unit 2 14 will be described using the example of No 37 included in the usage information storage unit 112 described with reference to FIG. The designated software that was running when the advertising information “0 0 1 1 5” was displayed on the first display unit was “S 0 0 3 5”, “S 0 0 9”, “S 0 1 2 5 The three. At this time, the designated software that was active was “S 0 1 2 5 j. It can be seen that the designated software that was active. The billing unit 2 14 distinguishes the software usage fee based on whether it is active or not. For example, the billing unit 2 14 may set the software fee for the active designated software higher than the software fee for the inactive designated software. Good.

The billing unit 2 14 also determines whether or not “S 0 0 3 5”, “S 0 0 9”, and “S 0 1 2 5” have software operating in the background by using a background operation flag. Judgment is made based on the value held in 694. Based on the value held in the background operation flag 694, the charging unit 214 can determine that "S009" operates in the background. Therefore, the charging unit 214 can distinguish between the software usage fee of the inactive designated software and the software usage fee of the designated software operating in the background. For example, the software usage fee for software running in the background may be the same as the software usage fee for software running in the background.

FIG. 28 is an example of a screen displayed on the software provider main terminal 14. The display screen displayed on the software provider terminal 14 includes a software list section 72, a display information change button 74, and a contact information display section 76. Display described with reference to FIG. 19 The information generation unit 2 12 displays the information to be provided to the software provider among the information stored in the information storage unit 2 16 on the software provider main terminal 14. Let it. For example, the display information generation unit 2 1 2, the display information XM L (extensible markup language), generated on the basis of the H TM L (hypertext markup language) N S GM L (standard generalized markup language) text description language such as You may.

The software list section 72 includes the name of the software provided by the software provider, the software ID, the number of registrations, which is the number of times the software has been stored in the software storage section 120 of the user terminal 100, The information is stored and stored in the information storage unit 216, such as the order of the software and the current redemption amount, and displays information to be notified to the software provider.

The display information change button 74 is a button for specifying that information to be displayed on the software list section 72 is to be changed. When the display information change button 74 is specified, the display information generation unit 211 changes the information displayed on the software list unit 72. The contact information display section 7.6 is an area for displaying a message to the software provider. FIG. 29 is an example of a screen displayed on the advertiser terminal 12. The display screens displayed on the advertiser terminals 12 are the advertisement information list 78, the display information change button 80, and the contact information table. It has a display portion 82. The display information generating unit 2 12 described with reference to FIG. 19 causes the advertiser terminal 12 to display information to be provided to the advertiser among the information stored in the information storage unit 2 16. For example, the display information generation unit 211 generates display information based on a text description language such as XML (extensible markup language), Η Η ML (hypertext markup language), and SGML (.standard generalized markup language). You may.

The advertisement information list 78 includes the advertisement ID of the advertisement information requested by the advertiser, the total number of times of display on the user terminal 100, and the time displayed on the user terminal 100. The information is stored in the information storage unit 216, such as the display time, the number of times that detailed information is acquired, the number of times of access, and the time limit for distributing advertisement information, and displays information to be notified to advertisers.

The display information change button 80 is a button for specifying that information to be displayed in the advertisement information list 78 is to be changed. When the display information change button 80 is designated, the display information generation unit 2 12 changes the information to be displayed on the advertisement information list 78. The contact information display section 76 is an area for displaying a message to the advertiser.

FIG. 30 is an example of a functional block diagram of a user terminal 600 which is a second embodiment of the user terminal 100. The user terminal 600 includes a file update unit 107, a temporary information storage unit 127, and an update information storage unit 128 in addition to the function block of the user terminal 100. The function blocks denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the user terminal 100 have the same functions as the functions of the function blocks described with reference to FIG.

The user terminal 600 stores the file information generated by the operation of the designated software in the software processing unit 102 into the storage unit 121 and the information distribution device 650 provided in the Internet 10. Can be stored. The information distribution device 650 shown in FIG. 32 includes a user file database 234 for storing file information in addition to the function block of the information distribution device 200 described with reference to FIG. Prepare.

When ending the processing based on the designated software, the software processing unit 102 stores the file information in the storage unit 121 and the temporary information storage unit 127. For example, the software processing unit 102 may store the file information in the storage unit 121 and the temporary information storage unit 127 when the user instructs to save the file information. Les ,. The software processing unit 102 checks whether the generated file information is new information. File update information indicating whether or not the information is stored in the update information storage unit 128. For example, the software processing unit 102 generates file update information different from the file update information stored in the update information storage unit 128. For example, the file update information may be a code generated each time the file information is updated. For example, the codes may be numbers, letters, and combinations of numbers and letters. For example, the code is a number and may be incremented each time the file information is updated. For example, the software processing unit 102 updates the date when the file information was stored in the storage unit 121 and the temporary information storage unit 127 in association with the file identification information that identifies the file information. The information is stored in the information storage unit 128. For example, the file identification information may be a file name of the file information.

To terminate processing based on the designated software, the software processing unit

102 notifies the file updating unit 107 of the end of the processing. The file update unit 107 reads the file update information from the update information storage unit 128 and transmits it to the information distribution device 650 via the communication unit 126. The information distribution device 650 stores file update information for each user.

When detecting that the network can be used, the use status notification unit 108 transmits the file information stored in the temporary information storage unit 127 to the information distribution device 650. When the network is available, the file information is automatically transmitted to the information distribution device 650, so that the user does not need to store the file information in the information distribution device 650 consciously. Therefore, the information distribution device 650 can store the file information. · When processing is started based on the designated software, the software processing unit 102 determines which of the information stored in the storage unit 121 and the information stored in the information distribution device 200 is newer. An inquiry is made to the file updating unit 107 as to whether or not the file is updated.

The file update unit 107 compares the file update information stored in the update information storage unit 128 with the file update information stored in the information distribution device 650, and stores it in the storage unit 122. It is determined which of the stored file information and the file information stored in the information distribution device 650 is newer. If the file information stored in the information distribution device 650 is newer than the file information stored in the storage unit 121, The new unit 107 acquires the file information from the information distribution device 650 and outputs it to the software processing unit 102. Also, the file update information of the file information acquired from the information distribution device 650 is stored in the update information storage unit 128. For example, the file update unit 107 determines whether or not the file update information stored in the update information storage unit 128 matches the file update information stored in the information distribution device 650. The newness of the file information may be determined based on the file information. For example, if the file update information is a number and is incremented each time the file information is updated, the file update unit 107 determines whether the number in the file update information is large or not. Alternatively, the newness of the file information may be determined.

If the file information stored in the storage unit 121 is newer than the file information stored in the information distribution device 650, the file update unit 107 reads the file information from the storage unit 121. To the software processing unit 102.

Therefore, the user can handle the same file information using a terminal that can connect to the Internet 10. For example, file information can be handled even when it is needed on the go. Further, even when designated software capable of processing file information is not stored in the terminal, designated software stored in the information distribution device 650 can be downloaded. Therefore, a user can handle file information if there is a terminal that can connect to the Internet 10.

FIG. 31 shows an example of the data structure of the update information storage section 128. The update information storage unit 128 contains a software ID 741, which indicates the software identification information that identifies the designated software that generated the file information, the file name 742 of the file information specified by the user, and the file information It has an update code 743, which is file update information that changes each time it is updated. For example, in No 31, the software ID 741 holds “S 0 0 3 5”. The file name 742 holds the “ski tour” assigned to the user. The update code 7 4 3 holds “3 1 5 0”. Each time you update the file, an update code is generated.

FIG. 32 is an example of a functional block diagram of the information distribution device 650. The information distribution device 650 is a user file data base in addition to the functional blocks of the information roster self-service device 200. 2 3 4 The function blocks to which the same reference numerals are assigned as those of the information distribution apparatus 200 have the same functions as the function blocks described with reference to FIG.

The notification information input unit 208 stores the file update information or file information transmitted from the user terminal 600 in the user file database 234. Also, when transmission of file update information is requested from the user terminal 600, the file update information stored in the user file database 234 is transmitted to the user terminal 600. When the file update information transmitted from the user terminal 600 is received, the notification information input unit 208 receives the information specifying that the file information has been updated from the user file database 230. To be stored. After receiving the file update information, the information distribution device 650 stores the file information supplied from the user terminal 600 in the user file database 234.

FIG. 33 is an example of the data structure of the user file database 234. The user file database 2 3 4 contains, for each user, a software ID 7 2 2 that identifies the designated software that generated the file information, a file name 7 2 .3 of the file information specified by the user, and file information. Update code 724, file update information that changes each time it is updated, file name 725, file name of file information stored in user file database 23, updated file It has an update flag 726 indicating that the information has not yet been stored in the user file database 234.

The value stored in the file name stored in the file name is assigned by the notification information input section when the file information transmitted from the user terminal is stored in the user file database. This is information for specifying file information. For example, it may be information for specifying a storage location of file information. Specifically, the storage file name 725 holds a path for specifying the storage location of the file information.

When the file update information is received, the notification information input unit 208 causes the update flag 726 to hold information designating that the file needs to be updated. For example, when updating is necessary, the notification information input unit 208 causes the update flag 726 to hold “1”. When file information is stored in the user file database 234, the notification information input section In the step 208, “0” designating that there is no need to update is stored in the update flag 7 26. The notification information input unit 208 causes the update code 724 to hold the update code stored in the update code 743 of the update information storage unit 128.

Therefore, based on the update code 726, the file update unit 107 determines which of the file information stored in the storage unit 121 and the file information stored in the user file database 234 is newer. Can be determined. For example, in the case where the update code 7 2 6 force S “1” is held, the file update section 107 has updated the file '' information [|, but has not updated the updated file information. It can be determined that it is not stored in the user file database 234.

FIG. 34 is a flowchart of the comparison process in the file updating unit 107 described with reference to FIG. The file update unit 107 reads the file update information stored in the update information storage unit 128 and the file update information stored in the information distribution device 65 (S90). The file update unit 107 compares the read file update information and determines which of the file information stored in the storage unit 121 and the file information stored in the information distribution device 650 is newer. Is determined (S92). When the file information stored in the storage unit 121 is newer, the file update unit 107 determines that the file information stored in the storage unit 121 is used for processing by the software processing unit 102. To instruct. If the file information stored in the information distribution device 650 is newer, the file updating unit 107 obtains the file information stored in the information distribution device 650 and executes the software processing unit 1 0 Output to 2. Therefore, the software processing unit 102 can use the new file information out of the file information stored in the storage unit 121 and the file information stored in the information distribution device 650 for processing. it can. '

FIG. 35 is a functional block diagram of a user terminal 700 which is a third embodiment of the user terminal 100. As shown in FIG. The user terminal 700 includes a software monitoring unit 170, a software specific information storage unit 176, and a software storage processing unit 175 in addition to the functional blocks of the user terminal 100. The function blocks to which the same reference numerals are assigned as those of the user terminal 100 have the same functions as the function blocks described with reference to FIG. The software storage unit 120 stores the software distributed from the information distribution device 200. Store hardware. The software processing unit 172 reads the software stored in the software storage unit 120 based on the software specifying information supplied from the input unit 122. Further, the software processing section 172 performs a predetermined process based on the read software.

The software monitoring unit 170 monitors the software being processed by the software processing unit 1702. The software monitoring unit 170 determines whether or not the software being processed in the software processing unit 1702 is software for displaying advertisement information. If the software monitoring unit 170 determines that the software should display the advertisement information, the software monitoring unit 170 causes the advertisement display processing unit 104 to start processing for displaying the advertisement information.

Software specifying information storage unit 1 ₇ 6 stores information of the software to display the advertisement information. For example, the software specifying information storage unit 176 stores software specifying information for specifying software for which advertisement information is to be displayed. For example, the software identification information storage unit 176 may store a software ID. For example, the software specific information storage unit 176 may store a file name of a software for displaying advertisement information. The software monitoring unit 170 determines, based on the information stored in the software specific information storage unit 176, whether or not the software to display the advertisement information is available.

The software monitoring unit 170 detects software specifying information supplied from the input unit 122 to the software processing unit 172, and detects the detected software specifying information and the software specifying information storage unit 176. It is determined whether or not the software should display the advertising information based on the software specifying information stored in the. For example, the software-to-air monitoring unit 170 includes software specification information supplied from the input unit 122 to the software processing unit 172 and software specification information stored in the software specification information storage unit 176. If you agree, it may be determined that the software should display advertising information. When the software processing unit 172 completes the processing by the software for displaying the advertisement information, the software monitoring unit 170 displays the advertisement information on the advertisement display processing unit 104 on the display unit 124. Notify that the process to be performed may be terminated. The software storage processing unit 175 acquires the software from the information distribution device 200 and stores the software in the software storage unit 120. Further, the software storage processing unit 175 causes the software specification information storage unit 1.6 to store software specification information for specifying the software stored in the software storage unit 120. For example, the software storage processing unit 175 may store the software ID in the software identification information storage unit 176. For example, the software storage processing unit 175 may store the file name of the software in the software identification information storage unit 176. Therefore, when the software obtained from the information distribution device 200 is processed by the software processing unit 172, the advertisement display processing unit 104 displays the advertisement information on the display unit 124. Can be.

FIG. 36 shows an example of the data structure of the software specifying information storage section 176. The software specifying information storage unit 176 has software ID 730 for specifying software for displaying advertisement information. The software monitoring unit 170 determines based on the software ID held in the software ID 731, whether or not the software should display advertisement information. For example, when the software specified by the software ID “S 0 355” is being processed by the software processing unit 170 2, the software monitoring unit 170 0 transmits the advertisement information to the advertisement display processing unit 104. Is displayed on the display section 1 2 4.

FIG. 37 is a flowchart of a process of displaying advertisement information on the user terminal 700. The software monitoring unit 170 monitors whether or not the software for displaying the advertisement information has been activated in the software processing unit 170 (S700). When the software for displaying the advertisement information is activated in the software processing unit 172, the software monitoring unit 170 causes the advertisement display processing unit 104 to display the advertisement information on the display unit 124. It is instructed to start the processing (S72). The software monitoring unit 170 monitors whether or not the software for displaying the advertisement information is being processed by the software processing unit 1702 (S74). When the software for displaying the advertisement information is terminated, the software monitoring unit 170 instructs the advertisement display processing unit 104 to end the process of displaying the advertisement information on the display unit 124. (S76). In another embodiment, the monitoring unit 170 includes a software processing unit 1 In step 03, the number of designated software programs being processed may be counted, and the advertisement display processing unit 104 may be notified that the advertisement display may be terminated when the count value becomes zero.

FIG. 38 is a detailed functional block diagram of the advertisement updating unit 174. The advertisement update unit 174 includes an update information acquisition unit 162, an update determination unit 160, and a software improvement unit 180. The update determination unit 160 determines whether to update the advertisement information based on the update condition stored in the update condition storage unit 118. When it is determined that the advertisement information is updated, the update determination unit 160 notifies the user that the advertisement information needs to be updated. For example, the update determination unit 160 may cause the display unit 124 to display a screen notifying the user that the advertisement information needs to be updated. When it is instructed to update the advertisement information, the update information acquisition unit 162 acquires the advertisement information from the information distribution device 200 and stores it in the advertisement storage unit 116.

If the user is not instructed to update the advertisement information, the update judging unit 160 makes the software improvement unit 180 improve the software stored in the software storage unit 120 so that it cannot be used. To instruct. For example, the software improvement section 180 may make an improvement so that the software for displaying the advertisement information stored in the software specific information storage section 176 cannot be used. For example, the software improvement unit 180 may not be able to use software by encrypting it. For example, the software improvement unit 180 may disable software by adding prohibition information for prohibiting software processing to a predetermined position of the software. For example, the Software Improvement Department 180 may change the data structure of the software so that the software cannot be used. The software improvement section 180 makes software unusable by improving the software. Therefore, when the advertisement information is not updated, the software processing section 17 can be made unable to use software.

FIG. 39 is a flowchart of a process of updating the advertisement information in the user terminal 700. The update determination unit 160 determines whether it is necessary to update the advertisement information based on the update condition storage unit 118 (S800). The update judging unit 160 inquires of the user whether or not the ability to update the advertisement information (S82). Updating advertising information to users Is instructed, the update determination unit 160 instructs the update information acquisition unit 162 to update the advertisement information. The update information acquisition unit 162 acquires the advertisement information from the information distribution device 200 and stores it in the advertisement storage unit 116 (S84). When the user is instructed not to update the advertisement information, the update determining unit 160 instructs to improve the software so that it cannot be used. The software improvement unit 180 improves the software stored in the software storage unit 120 (S86). Therefore, if the advertisement information is not updated, the user terminal 700 cannot use the software.

FIG. 40 is a hardware block diagram of the user terminal 100. The user terminal 100 has a display device 302, an input device 304, a receiving device 320, an external storage device 306, a hard disk 308, a CPU 310 and a memory 314. . The function block of the user terminal 100 described with reference to FIG. 2 is configured by executing a predetermined program using these hardware. This program is stored in the hard disk 308 and is called and executed by the CPU 310 as needed. In addition, this program is stored in an optical storage medium such as a CD-ROM 314, a semiconductor storage medium such as a memory card 316, and an external storage device 306 of a magnetic storage medium such as a floppy disk 318. It may be stored. This program may be stored in a compressed state. The input device 304 has a device such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a touch panel for inputting predetermined information from a user. The communication device 320 transmits and receives predetermined information via the Internet 10.

The hard disk .308 stores designated software. When the activation of the designated software is instructed via the input device 304, the CPU 310 performs a predetermined process based on the designated software stored in the hard disk 308. When the CPU 310 starts processing based on the designated software, the start instruction section 130, start permission section 132, end instruction section 134, and software execution section described with reference to FIG. 1 3 6 is formed. For example, the designated software may be stored in an external storage medium such as an optical disk 314, a memory card 316 or a floppy disk 318. For example, the designated software may be stored in memory 312. For example, the specified software may be stored on the hard disk 308 in a compressed state. Les ,. For example, the designated software may be stored in a compressed state on an external storage medium. For example, the designated software may be stored in the memory 312 in a compressed state.

The start instructing unit 130 that causes the designated software to perform predetermined processing is included in the program that forms the designated software. Therefore, the activation instructing unit 130 is always formed when the designated software is started. Therefore, when performing predetermined processing based on the designated software, the advertisement display processing unit 104 is always formed. Therefore, when processing is performed based on the designated software, the advertisement information is always displayed.

When the activation permitting unit 132 permits activation of the designated software, the activation instructing unit 130 activates a program forming the advertisement display processing unit 104 stored in the hard disk 308. The CPU 310 starts processing for displaying advertisement information based on a program for forming the advertisement display processing unit 104 stored in the hard disk 308. For example, a program for forming the advertisement display processing unit 104 may be stored in an external storage medium such as the optical disk 314, the memory card 316, or the flip-flop disk 318. For example, a program for forming the advertisement display processing unit 104 may be stored in the memory 312. For example, a program for forming the advertisement display processing unit 104 may be stored in the hard disk 308 in a compressed state. For example, a program for forming the advertisement display processing unit 104 may be stored in an external storage medium in a compressed state. For example, a program for forming the advertisement display processing unit 104 may be stored in the memory 312 in a compressed state. ■

When the designated software is started, the CPU 310 starts a process of updating the advertisement information based on a program forming the advertisement updating unit 106 stored in the hard disk 308. For example, the program for forming the advertisement updating unit 106 may be stored in an external storage medium such as the optical disk 314, the memory card 316, or the floppy disk 318. For example, a program for forming the advertisement updating unit 106 may be stored in the memory 312. For example, a program for forming the advertisement updating unit 106 may be stored in the hard disk 308 in a compressed state. For example, a program for forming the advertisement updating unit 106 is as follows. It may be stored in an external storage medium in a compressed state. For example, a program for forming the advertisement updating unit 106 may be stored in the memory 312 in a compressed state. The CPU 310 performs a process of notifying user information based on a program forming the usage status notification unit 108 stored in the hard disk 308. For example, the CPU 310 may always form the usage status notification unit 108.

The function block of the user terminal 700 described with reference to FIG. 35 is configured by executing these hardware and a predetermined program. This program is stored in the hard disk 308 and is called and executed by the CPU 310 as needed. The program is stored in an optical storage medium such as a CD-ROM 314, a semiconductor storage medium such as a memory card 316, and an external storage device 306 of a magnetic storage medium such as a floppy disk 318. You may. This program may be stored in a compressed state.

The program forming the monitoring unit 170 is always running. For example, it is preferable that an operation system that comprehensively performs processing in the user terminal 700 includes a monitoring unit 170 and a software information storage unit 176. Since the operation system includes the monitoring unit 170, the monitoring unit 170 can always function. Therefore, when the software specified by the software ID stored in the software information storage unit 176 is processed by the software processing unit 172, the advertisement display processing unit 104 displays the advertisement information. It can be displayed in section 124.

Based on the instruction to store the software, the CPU 310 starts a program for forming the software storage processing units 1 to 5 stored in the hard disk 308. For example, the program for forming the software storage processing unit 175 may be stored in an external storage medium such as the optical disk 314, the memory card 316, or the floppy disk 318. For example, software .: The program for forming the key storage processing unit 17 5 may be stored in the memory 3 12. For example, a program for forming the software storage processing unit 175 may be stored in the hard disk 308 in a compressed state. For example, a program for forming the software storage processing unit 175 may be stored in an external storage medium in a compressed state. For example, a program for forming the software storage processing unit 175 The system may be stored in the memory 312 in a compressed state.

For example, it is preferable that an operation system that comprehensively performs processing in the user terminal 700 and a software storage processing unit 175 be provided. Since the operation system includes the software storage processing unit 175, the software storage processing unit 175 can always function. Since the software storage processing unit 175 always functions, the user can easily store the software stored in the information distribution device 200 in the software storage unit 120.

Further, the user terminal 600, the information distribution device 200, and the information distribution device 650 may be realized by the same hardware as the user terminal 100 described with reference to FIG. With the above configuration, the designated software can be activated when the advertisement information is displayed. For example, by using the software distribution system 500, software can be provided to users free of charge. Users will be able to use the software they paid for for free. In addition, since users can acquire software via a network, they can acquire software when needed. Further, an area for displaying advertisement information can be provided to the advertiser. As described above, the present invention has been described using the embodiment, but the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiment. Various changes or improvements can be made to the above embodiment. It is apparent from the description of the claims that the embodiments with such changes or improvements can be included in the technical scope of the present invention. The following are examples of such changes.

As a first modification, the advertisement display processing unit 104 may change the display position of the advertisement information based on the type of designated software being processed in the software processing unit 102 . For example, the advertisement display processing unit 104 displays the advertisement information at a position where the advertisement display unit 24 does not interfere with the use of the software specified by the user. For example, in the case of designated software that requires a large display area, the advertisement display processing unit 104 displays advertisement information in a corner of the screen. For example, in the case of designated software that requires a large display area, select the textual advertising information and display it in the corner of the screen.

As a second modification, the advertisement display processing unit 104 further includes a detection unit that detects the position of the software display unit 20. The display position of the information may be changed. For example, the advertisement display processing unit 104 displays the advertisement information at a position where the advertisement information does not overlap with the software display unit 20.

As a third modification, the billing unit 216 may charge the advertisement fee according to the time zone in which the advertisement information is displayed. For example, the charging unit 2 14 may charge the advertisement fee of the advertisement information for each time zone based on the data structure described with reference to FIG. 22 (b). For example, the charging unit 2 14 may charge the advertisement so that the higher the number of display times, the higher the advertising fee. Since the data structure described with reference to FIG. 22 (b) is provided for each user, the charging unit 2 14 can charge the advertisement fee according to the time zone of each user.

As a fourth modification, when storing software acquired from the information distribution device 200 in the software storage unit 120, the software storage processing unit 175 registers the advertisement information as software to be displayed. Ask the user whether or not it is possible to match. When the user has specified that the advertisement information is to be registered as software to be displayed, the software storage processing unit 175 sends the software identification information for identifying the software acquired from the information distribution apparatus 200 to the software storage processing unit 175. It is stored in the software specific information storage section 1 76. Industrial applicability

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, advertisement information can be displayed when software is started.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. A software distribution system that distributes software that causes a computer to perform predetermined processing,

An information distribution unit that distributes the software and advertisement information not related to the software;

Over the period of processing based on the software, a user terminal that displays the advertisement information,

A software distribution system comprising:

2. The user terminal comprises: a software processing unit that performs processing based on the software;

An advertisement information display processing unit for displaying the advertisement information;

A permission unit that permits the software processing unit to execute the processing when the advertisement display processing unit can display the advertisement information;

2. The software distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the software distribution system has:

3. The user terminal includes: a software processing unit that performs processing based on the software;

A monitoring unit that monitors whether or not the designated software to display the advertisement information is being processed,

2. The software distribution system according to claim 1, wherein in the software processing unit, the monitoring unit causes the advertisement information display processing unit to display an advertisement over a period during which the designated software is being processed.

4. The user terminal includes: an acquiring unit configured to acquire detailed information associated with the advertisement information via a network;

A use status notification unit that notifies the information distribution unit of advertisement identification information that specifies the advertisement information of the advertisement information from which the detailed information is obtained;

Has,

The information distribution unit is based on the advertisement identification information notified from the use status notification unit. 4. The software distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the advertisement information is distributed to the user terminal.

5. The information roster unit has a processing result file storage unit for storing a processing result file processed in the software processing unit,

The user terminal has a storage unit for storing the processing result file,

The claim according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein when ending the processing, the software processing unit stores the processing result file in the processing result file storage unit and the storage unit. Software distribution system described in 1.

6. The information distribution unit detects a type of the advertisement information from which the detailed information is acquired based on the advertisement identification information notified from the use status notification unit, and detects the detected type of the advertisement information. 6. The software distribution system according to claim 4, wherein the software is distributed to the user terminal.

7. The use status notification unit notifies the information distribution unit of software information that specifies the software being processed by the software processing unit,

A charging unit that calculates an advertisement fee to be charged to an advertiser of the advertisement information specified by the advertisement specification information, based on the advertisement specification information notified from the use status notification unit;

A return unit that calculates, based on the software information, a fee for using the software to be returned to a provider of the software specified by the software information, Software distribution system according to any of the above.

8. A software processing unit that performs processing based on software;

Over the period during which the software processing unit is performing the processing, an advertisement information display processing unit that displays advertisement information that is not related to the software.

A processing device comprising:

9. A permission unit that permits the software processing unit to perform the processing when the advertisement information display processing unit can display the advertisement information.

9. The processing apparatus according to claim 8, comprising:

10. The software processing unit determines whether or not the processing may be started by the permission unit. Has an activation unit for inquiring about

10. When permitted by the permission unit, the activation unit causes the software processing unit to start the processing, and causes the advertisement information display processing unit to start processing to display the advertisement information. A processing device according to claim 1.

1 1. An advertisement storage unit for storing a plurality of the advertisement information,

An advertisement updating unit that updates the advertisement information stored in the advertisement storage unit based on a condition for updating the advertisement information;

10. The processing device according to claim 10, wherein the permission unit permits the software processing unit to perform processing when the advertisement information need not be updated.

12. The processing device according to claim 11, wherein the permission unit permits the processing to the software processing unit based on a time when the advertisement information is stored in the advertisement storage unit.

13. The advertisement storage unit stores display designation information designating display of advertisement information associated with the stored advertisement information,

12. The processing device according to claim 11, wherein the permission unit permits the software processing unit to perform the processing based on the number of pieces of display specification information specified to be displayed. .

14. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein when the permission unit is not permitted, the activation unit requests the advertisement updating unit to update the advertisement information. Processing equipment.

15. The advertisement storage unit has information for designating that the advertisement information may be deleted for each of the advertisement information to be stored,

The advertisement updating unit according to claim 11, wherein the advertisement updating unit deletes the advertisement information designated to be deleted, and stores the newly acquired advertisement information in the advertisement storage unit. A processing device according to any one of the above.

16. An acquiring unit that acquires detailed information associated with the advertisement information via a network,

A use status monitoring unit that monitors the advertisement information displayed by the advertisement information display processing unit and the advertisement information from which the detailed information has been acquired; A usage information storage unit that stores first advertisement identification information that identifies the advertisement information displayed by the advertisement information display processing unit, and second advertisement identification information that identifies the advertisement information from which the detailed information has been acquired; ,.

A use information notifying unit that notifies the first advertisement specifying information and the second advertisement specifying information stored in the use information storage unit to a predetermined server provided in the network. The processing apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 15, wherein:

17. The usage status monitoring unit further monitors software processed in the software processing unit,

16. The device according to claim 16, wherein the use information notifying unit notifies software specifying information for specifying the software monitored by the use state monitoring unit to a predetermined server provided in the network. A processing device according to claim 1.

18. A network environment detection unit for detecting whether the network is available or not is further provided.

The usage information storage unit stores the software identification information,

When the network is available, the use information notifying unit sends the first advertisement specifying information, the second advertisement specifying information, and the software-specific information stored in the use information storage unit to the predetermined server. The processing device according to claim 17, wherein the notification is performed.

1 9. An advertisement receiving unit for receiving the advertisement information via the network is further provided.

The processing device according to any one of claims 11 to 18, wherein the advertisement updating unit stores the advertisement information received by the advertisement receiving unit in the advertisement storage unit.

20. The advertisement storage unit has first advertisement information and linked advertisement designation information for designating second advertisement information to be displayed simultaneously with the first advertisement information,

10. The advertisement information display processing unit according to claim 11, wherein the first advertisement information and the second advertisement information designated by the linked advertisement designation information are simultaneously displayed. A processing device according to claim 1.

21. A storage unit for storing a processing result file generated by the processing in the software processing unit, 20. The method according to claim 16, wherein, when terminating the processing, the software processing unit stores the processing result: in the storage unit and the predetermined server via the network. A processing device according to any one of the above.

2. A temporary information storage unit for temporarily storing the processing result file updated by the processing,

When ending the processing, the software processing unit stores the processing result file in the storage unit and the temporary information storage unit,

22. The processing according to claim 21, wherein, when the network is available, the use status notification unit causes the predetermined result server to store the processing result file stored in the temporary storage unit. apparatus.

23. The apparatus further comprises a processing result file obtaining unit for obtaining the processing result file stored in the predetermined server,

When starting the processing, the processing result file obtaining unit may be configured to select a new one of the processing result file stored in the predetermined server and the processing result file stored in the storage unit. 23. The processing apparatus according to claim 21, wherein a result file is determined, and the processing is performed based on the processing result file determined to be new.

2 4. It further comprises a software monitoring unit that monitors the software being processed by the software processing unit,

9. The processing device according to claim 8, wherein the software monitoring unit causes the advertisement information display processing unit to display the advertisement information when the software processing unit starts the processing.

25. A software specification information storage unit for storing software specification information for specifying the designated software for displaying the advertisement information by the advertisement display processing unit,

When the software processing unit starts processing, the monitoring unit determines whether to display the advertisement information on the advertisement display processing unit based on the software specification information stored in the software-specific information storage unit. The processing device according to claim 24, wherein it is determined whether or not the processing is performed.

26. A software storage unit for storing the software,

A software storage processing unit that inputs the software specification information of the designated software stored in the software storage unit into the software specification information storage unit;

The processing apparatus according to claim 25, further comprising:

27. The system further comprises a receiving unit that receives the designated software via a network, and when the designated software received via the network is stored in the software storage unit, the software storage processing unit includes: 27. The processing device according to claim 26, wherein the software specifying information of the specified software stored in the storage unit is stored in the software specifying information storage unit.

2 8. An advertisement storage unit for storing the advertisement information,

An advertisement update unit that updates the advertisement information stored in the advertisement storage unit; and if the advertisement information is not updated by the advertisement update unit, the advertisement update unit cannot process the advertisement information based on the designated software. A software improvement unit that improves specified software

The processing apparatus according to any one of claims 24 to 27, further comprising:

29. The processing apparatus according to claim 28, wherein, when the advertisement information is not updated, the software improvement unit encrypts the designated software.

30. If the advertisement information is not updated, the software improvement unit adds prohibition information for prohibiting processing of the designated software to a predetermined position of the designated software. 28. The processing apparatus according to item 8.

31. The method according to claim 28, wherein when the advertisement information is not updated, the software improvement unit changes the data structure of the designated software.

3 2. An information distribution device for distributing advertisement information to be displayed on the user terminal when designated software for displaying the advertisement information is being processed in the user terminal.

An advertisement information database storing the advertisement information;

The first count value associated with the designated software and the advertisement information A count value storage unit for storing the attached second count value,

An advertisement information distribution unit that distributes the advertisement information to the user terminal via the network;

A usage information receiving unit that receives usage information including a usage status of the designated software and a display status of the distributed advertisement information from the user terminal via the network in the user terminal;

A counting unit that updates the first count value based on the usage information and updates the second count value;

An information distribution device comprising:

33. The usage information includes advertisement specification information for specifying the advertisement information displayed on the user terminal, and the specified software processed on the user terminal when the advertisement information is displayed. The software-specific information to be specified, wherein the counting unit updates the first count value associated with the software-specific information included in the usage information; and 33. The information distribution device according to claim 32, wherein the associated second count value is updated.

3 4. When the advertisement information is displayed on the user terminal and a plurality of the designated software are processed in the user terminal, the use information is provided for each of the designated software. Further comprising information indicating whether or not the user terminal was in an active state capable of accepting an input from the user; 34. The information distribution device according to claim 33, wherein the first count value is updated for each of the designated software.

35. A software database for storing operation information for specifying whether the specified software operates in the background in association with the software identification information,

The counting unit updates the first count value associated with each of the designated software based on the operation information associated with the software specifying information included in the usage information. The information distribution device according to claim 34, wherein

36. An information distribution device that distributes contents to user terminals via a network,

A content database storing a plurality of types of content;

A user database for storing user information including information on a user of the user terminal;

A content distribution unit that distributes the content to the user terminal via the network;

A usage information receiving unit that receives usage information including a response of the user to the content stored in the user terminal from the user terminal via the network, based on the user information and the usage information; A category setting unit for setting the type of the content to be distributed to the user.

The information distribution device, wherein the content distribution unit selects the type of the content set by the category setting unit from the content database and distributes the content to the user terminal.

37. The category setting unit includes: a first type setting unit configured to set a type of a first content based on the user information;

A second type setting unit for setting a type of the second content based on the usage information; a first type information set by the first type setting unit; and a second type setting unit set by the second type setting unit. A setting control section for setting a type of the content to be delivered to the user terminal based on the second type information;

37. The information distribution device according to claim 36, comprising:

38. The content distribution unit distributes the content and information about detailed content associated with the content to the user terminal,

The usage information includes access information specifying whether or not the detailed content has been obtained based on the information on the detailed content,

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the second type setting unit sets the second type information based on a type of the content associated with the access information designated to have acquired the detailed content. 7. The information distribution device according to 7.

3 9. The setting control section may determine that the content of the second type information is the user terminal. 39. The information distribution device according to claim 38, wherein the content distribution unit is instructed to increase a ratio included in the content distributed to the content distribution unit.

40. The content database has first advertisement information and linked advertisement designation information for designating second advertisement information to be displayed simultaneously with the first advertisement information. The method according to any one of claims 36 to 39, wherein the first advertisement information and the second advertisement information specified by the linked advertisement specification information are simultaneously delivered to the user terminal. Information distribution device.

4 1. An advertisement information display method for displaying advertisement information related to the software for a period of processing based on the software,

Determining whether or not the ability to display the advertisement information;

When it is determined that the advertisement information can be displayed, a step of permitting processing based on the software;

Displaying the advertisement information, which is not associated with the software, if the processing is permitted based on the software; and

An advertisement information display method comprising:

4 2. An advertisement information display method for displaying advertisement information related to the software over a period of processing based on the software,

Monitoring the software performing the processing;

When detecting that the processing has been started based on the software, instructing to display the advertisement information;

Displaying the advertisement information when instructed to display the advertisement information; and

An advertisement information display method comprising:

4 3. An information distribution method for distributing the advertisement information to be displayed on the user terminal when the designated software for displaying the advertisement information is processed in the user terminal,

Distributing the advertisement information to the user terminal via the network; and using the user terminal, the usage information including the usage status of the designated software, and the display status of the delivered advertisement information, Steps to receive via network And

Updating a first count value associated with the designated software based on the usage information, and updating a second count value associated with the advertisement information. .

4 4. An information distribution method for distributing content to user terminals via a network.

A content distribution step of distributing the content to the user terminal via the network;

Receiving usage information including a response of the user to the content via the network;

A category setting step for setting a type of the content to be distributed to the user based on user information including information on a user of the user terminal and the usage information;

The information distribution method, wherein in the content distribution step, the content of the type set in the power category setting step is selected from a content database storing a plurality of the content.

45. The content database has first advertisement information and linked advertisement designation information designating second advertisement information to be displayed simultaneously with the first advertisement information, and the content distribution step includes: The information distribution method according to claim 44, wherein, when the first advertisement information is selected, the first advertisement information and the second advertisement information are simultaneously delivered to the user terminal. .

46. A recording medium storing a computer-readable program, wherein the program is:

A program code for performing processing based on the first software,

A program code for determining whether or not the advertisement information can be displayed; and, when determining that the advertisement information can be displayed, starting the processing based on the first software. Program code for displaying the advertisement information on second software different from the first software,

A recording medium comprising:

47. A recording medium storing a computer-readable program, wherein the program is:

Program code for monitoring first software that causes the computer to perform processing;

Program code for determining whether the first software is designated software for displaying advertisement information,

When the first software is the designated software, a program code indicating that the advertisement information is displayed on second software different from the first software; and

A recording medium comprising:

4 8. A recording medium storing a computer-readable program, wherein the program is:

Program code for distributing advertisement information to a user terminal via a network, and use information including a software use status of the user terminal and a display status of the distributed advertisement information, Program code received from the user terminal,

And a program code for updating a first count value associated with software based on the usage information and updating a second count value associated with the advertisement information.

49. A recording medium storing a computer readable program, wherein the program is:

A content distribution program code for distributing content to user terminals via a network,

Program code for receiving, via the network, usage information including a response of a user of the user terminal to the content,

A category setting program code for setting a type of the content to be distributed to the user based on user information including information on the user of the user terminal and the usage information;

The code of the type set by the category setting program code A content selection program code for selecting a content from a content database storing a plurality of the content, and distributing the selected content to the content distribution program code.

A recording medium comprising:

50. The content database has first advertisement information and linked advertisement designation information for designating second advertisement information to be displayed simultaneously with the first advertisement information, and the content selection program code comprises: The recording medium according to claim 1, further comprising a program code for selecting the first advertisement information and the second advertisement information when the first advertisement information is selected.

5 1. A program for causing a computer to perform a predetermined process, wherein the program is

A program code for performing processing based on the first software,

A program characterized by comprising:

5 2. A program for causing a computer to perform a predetermined process, wherein the program is:

Program code for monitoring first software causing the computer to perform processing;

A program characterized by comprising:

5 3. A recording medium storing an operating system for causing a computer to perform processing based on software, wherein the operating system A program code for processing based on the software, a program code for displaying advertisement information,

A program code for storing software specifying information for specifying designated software for which the advertisement information is to be displayed,

Determining whether the software is the designated software, and performing processing based on the designated software, a program code for displaying the advertisement information;

A recording medium comprising:

5 4. A program that causes a computer to perform a predetermined process.

Receiving, via the network, a program code for distributing advertisement information to a user terminal via a network, and usage information including a software usage status of the user terminal and a display status of the distributed advertisement information. Program code, and

A program code for updating a first count value associated with software based on the usage information and updating a second count value associated with the advertisement information.

5 5. A computer data signal carried on a carrier wave, wherein the computer data signal is:

A code segment for performing processing based on the first software,

A code segment for determining whether or not the advertisement information can be displayed; and, when determining that the advertisement information can be displayed, starting the processing based on the first software. A code segment for displaying the advertisement information on second software different from the first software,

A computer data signal mounted on a carrier wave, comprising: