WO2009087765A1

WO2009087765A1 - Electronic device and accounting control method

Info

Publication number: WO2009087765A1
Application number: PCT/JP2008/050156
Authority: WO
Inventors: Takehiro Kamiishi
Original assignee: Panasonic Corporation
Priority date: 2008-01-09
Filing date: 2008-01-09
Publication date: 2009-07-16

Abstract

An electronic device, suppressing occurrence of erroneous accounting by providing service supplied by outputting a content to a person who is permitted to receive the service. In the electronic device, a service supply control means (106) calculates an equivalent with respect to reproduction of the content when the person is the same as a user based on an identification result of a user specifying means (104).

Description

Electronic device and billing control method

The present invention relates to an electronic device and a billing method for imposing a fee for a service provided by outputting a certain content on a person who receives the service.

When charging for the fee provided for the service provided by outputting the content to the electronic device that has output the content, there are several candidates for the timing for charging the fee. That is, when the electronic device acquires the content (for example, when the electronic device includes a communication device, when the electronic device downloads the content from a server holding the content), the electronic device acquires the content. The playback time or the start time of a predetermined time interval (for example, a day unit, a week unit, or a month unit) may be mentioned.

Patent Document 1 discloses an information providing apparatus that charges a fee for a service when an electronic device reproduces the content among candidates for the timing for charging the fee. Specifically, the information providing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 is an apparatus that can reproduce audio data and video data as content, and the line of sight of a person included in an image captured by a camera having a function as a line-of-sight tracking apparatus. During the period when the line of sight is directed to the display unit, audio data and video data are reproduced and charged for the two types of data, while the line of sight is not directed to the display unit Is for playing only audio data and charging for one type of data. As a result, in the information providing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, the consideration for the service during the period when the line of sight is not directed toward the display unit is discounted than the consideration for the service during the period when the line of sight is directed toward the display unit.
JP-A-9-51519

However, when the electronic device charges for the service at the time when the electronic device reproduces the content, the person who instructed the operation to reproduce the content is permitted to receive the service (for example, the device owner) ) Or is not authenticated, the service will be provided even if a person who is not authorized to receive the service instructs the operation to play the content. As a result, the service is received. Those who are allowed to pay will be charged for services that are not actually received.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an erroneous charge is generated by providing a service provided by outputting content only to a person who is permitted to receive the service. It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic device and a billing method that can suppress the problem.

An electronic device according to the present invention is an electronic device that reproduces content, and is an image input unit that captures an image of an operator who operates the electronic device and obtains an image of the operator; The user information storage unit that stores the user image in association with the user, the operator image captured by the image input unit, and the user image stored in the user information storage unit are compared, and the same User providing means for identifying whether or not the content is provided; content display means for outputting content; and service provision control means for calculating a compensation for the reproduction of the content in association with the user. When the control means is the same as the user based on the identification result of the user specifying means, the compensation for the reproduction of the content is calculated.

In the accounting method of the present invention, the input step for acquiring the operator's image, the input operator's image and the user's image registered in advance are compared, and the comparison for identifying whether or not they are the same And a calculation step of calculating a consideration for the reproduction of the content when the user is the same as the user based on the identification result.

With this configuration, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of erroneous charges by providing the service provided by outputting the content only to those who are permitted to receive the service.

Further, the electronic device of the present invention is one in which the service providing control means controls output by the content display means when the service providing control means is the same as the user based on the identification result of the user specifying means. Including.

With this configuration, the content of the content to be played can be made different between the service user specified by image authentication and the person who is not, so that the provided service is differentiated between the two. Can do.

Further, in the electronic device of the present invention, when the user specifying unit includes a plurality of people in the image input by the image input unit, the image of each of the plurality of people and the user information storage unit And the service provision control means, based on the identification result of the user identification means, when at least one of each of the plurality of people is the same as the user, And calculating a consideration for the reproduction of the content for each user.

The electronic apparatus according to the present invention further includes a line-of-sight tracking unit that detects a direction of the line of sight of an operator included in an image input by the image input unit, and the service provision control unit includes an identification result of the user identification unit. Based on the user, and when the line of sight of the operator detected by the line-of-sight tracking unit is directed to the content display unit, the compensation for the reproduction of the content is calculated. Including.

This configuration makes it possible to realize billing that more reflects the viewing status of the viewer.

The electronic device of the present invention further includes a communication unit that communicates with a server, and the communication unit is the same as the user based on the identification result of the user specifying unit. Includes receiving content from a server.

This configuration makes it possible to use content distribution from the server.

According to the electronic device and the billing method of the present invention, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of false billing by providing the service provided by outputting the content only to those who are permitted to receive the service. can do.

Functional block diagram of an electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention The figure explaining the image authentication process by the electronic device of embodiment of this invention Other examples of functional block diagram of electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention Functional block diagram of the electronic device of Example 1 of the present invention 7 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing by the electronic apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Functional block diagram of the electronic device of Example 2 of the present invention Functional block diagram of electronic apparatus and server of Embodiment 3 of the present invention Flowchart for explaining processing by the electronic apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The flowchart explaining the process by the server of Example 3 of this invention

Explanation of symbols

101 content database 102 content display means 103 image input means 104 user specifying means 105 user information database 106 service provision control means 107 communication means 21a, 21b registered

images

22a, 22b, 22c images 301 content database 302 service provision control means 303 communication Means 401a Content database 401b Billing information database 402a LCD
402b Speaker 403 CMOS camera 404 Video processing unit 405 User information database 406 Service provision control unit 407 Communication unit 408 Timer 604 Video processing unit 606 Service provision control unit 701a Content database 701b Billing information database 702 Service provision control unit 703 Communication unit 704 Timer

Hereinafter, electronic devices according to embodiments of the present invention will be described. First, a basic configuration of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to a functional block diagram of the electronic device according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG.

The electronic apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a content database 101, content display means 102, image input means 103, user identification means 104, user information database 105, and service provision control means 106. The content database 101 is configured by a storage device that stores content to be displayed or acoustically output by the content display unit 102 (the content is configured by media data such as audio data, video data, text data, and various control data). The The content display unit 102 includes an output device that outputs media data input from the service provision control unit 106, specifically, an acoustic device such as a speaker, an earphone, or a headset, or a display device such as a display. The image input means 103 is constituted by a camera that takes an image, and the camera preferably takes a shooting direction of the camera (in order to capture a part or all of the face of the service user who is viewing the content display means 102). It is arranged so that the direction perpendicular to the image to be photographed is substantially parallel to the display direction of the display (direction perpendicular to the display surface of the display). The user specifying unit 104 refers to an image including a part or all of the face recorded in the user information database 105, or data obtained by quantifying the feature points of the part or all of the face, thereby inputting the image. Image authentication is performed on part or all of the face included in the image photographed by the camera 103. The user information database 105 includes a part of the face of the service user who is permitted to receive the service, that is, a part of the face of the service user who is permitted to view the content output by the content display unit 102. As a part, assuming that iris authentication is performed, the eyes are considered as candidates.) Or the image of all parts, or the data that digitizes the feature points of a part or all of the face of the service user Is saved.

The outline of the control processing by the service provision control means 106 will be described with reference to FIG. 2 for explaining the image authentication processing by the electronic apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. The user information database 105 includes, for each service user (in FIG. 2, user A and user B), a usage fee per unit time when using a certain service (in FIG. 2, user A has 1 yen, 5 yen is set for user B.) Registered

images

21a and 21b used for authentication of the service user are stored. The service provision control unit 106 instructs the user identification unit 104 to perform image authentication at the timing of reproducing the content. When the user specifying unit 104 inputs any one of the image 22a, the image 22b, or the image 22c acquired by photographing the user's face by the image input unit 103, the registered image stored in the user information database 105 is stored. Referring to 21a and 21b, it is identified whether the person included in any of the

input images

22a, 22b, and 22c and the service user identified by the registered

images

21a and 21b are the same person. The service provision control means 106 is notified of the result. When the service providing control unit 106 is notified by the user specifying unit 104 that the person included in the image 22a is the same person as the user A corresponding to the registered image 21a (or the person included in the image 22b is When it is notified that the user B is the same person as the user B corresponding to the registered image 21b), the predetermined content is read from the content database 101, output to the content display means 102, and the content display means 102 configures the content. The media data is reproduced, and processing for charging user A with a usage fee of 1 yen per unit time (or user B with a usage fee of 5 yen per unit time) is performed. On the other hand, when the service providing control unit 106 is notified by the user specifying unit 104 that the person included in the image 22c does not have a person corresponding to any of the registered images, the service providing control unit 106 does not reproduce the content or has already performed the content. If the content has been reproduced, the reproduction of the content is stopped.

In the electronic apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention described above, the service provision control unit 106 has been described to read the content stored in the content database 101 when reproducing the content. If the electronic device is equipped with a communication device, the content may be downloaded from the server and output to the content display means 102 as described below. FIG. 3 shows another example of a functional block diagram of the electronic device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

The electronic device according to the embodiment of the present invention further includes a communication unit 107, and transmits / receives various data to / from the server via the communication unit 107, and in particular, is transmitted by streaming distribution or download distribution from the server. Receive content.

On the other hand, the server includes a content database 301, service provision control means 302, and communication means 303. The content database 301 includes a storage device that stores content to be transmitted to an electronic device as a client. When the service provision control unit 302 receives identification information (user ID, user password, etc.) identifying the user from the electronic device via the communication unit 303, the service provision control unit 302 reads the specific content from the content database 301 with reference to the identification information. The content is transmitted to the electronic device via the communication unit 303. The communication unit 303 communicates with the electronic device and transmits / receives various data to / from the electronic device.

When the service provision control unit 106 in the electronic device according to the embodiment of the present invention includes the communication unit 107, the user included in the image 22a is the same person as the user A corresponding to the registered image 21a from the user specifying unit 104. Identification information that identifies user A (or user B) when notified of the presence (or when notified that the person included in image 22b is the same person as user B corresponding to registered image 21b) Is transmitted to the server via the communication means 107. When the service provision control unit 302 in the server according to the embodiment of the present invention receives identification information for identifying the user A (or user B) from the electronic device via the communication unit 303, the content database refers to the identification information. The specific content is read from 301, and the content is transmitted to the electronic device via the communication unit 303. When the service provision control unit 106 in the electronic device according to the embodiment of the present invention receives the content from the server, the service provision control unit 106 outputs the content to the content display unit 102, causes the content display unit 102 to reproduce the media data constituting the content, and A process of charging a usage fee of 5 yen per unit time (or a usage fee of 1 yen to user B) is performed. On the other hand, when the service providing control unit 106 is notified from the user specifying unit 104 that the person included in the image 22c does not have a corresponding person in any of the registered images, the service providing control unit 106 does not receive the content from the server, or If reception of content has already started, reception of the content is stopped. Or, if the content has already been received, the content is not reproduced. Or stop playback.

As described above, according to the electronic device according to the embodiment of the present invention, an erroneous charge is generated by providing a service provided by outputting content only to a person who is permitted to receive the service. This can be suppressed.

In the following examples, the electronic device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail.

The configuration of the electronic apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the functional block diagram of the electronic apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. The electronic apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a content database 401a, a billing information database 401b, an LCD 402a, a speaker 402b, a CMOS camera 403, a video processing unit 404, a user information database 405, a service provision control unit 406, and a timer 408. Consists of. The electronic device is configured to include operation means (not shown) such as a key for accepting a user operation and a touch panel.

The content database 401a is configured by a storage device that stores content to be output to the LCD 402a or the speaker 402b. The information stored in the content database 401a is, for example, a content name, media data type, and usage fee. The content name is information for identifying each content, the media data type is information for identifying the data format of media data constituting the content, and the usage fee is charged when the content is played back. This is a usage fee per unit time. In FIG. 4, the content identified by the content name “content A” is composed of “audio data” and “text data”, and “1 yen” is charged per second when the content is played back. The content identified by “content B” is composed of “audio data” and “video data”, and “5 yen” is charged per second when the content is reproduced. The time unit is not limited to one second.

The billing information database 401b is configured by a storage device that stores billing information billed as content is played. The billing information stored in the billing information database 401b is, for example, a user name, billing fee, and time information. The user name is information for identifying a user who can receive the provision of the service, the charging fee is the total amount of the charged fee, and the time information is the time when the charging is started. In FIG. 4, a charging fee of “1000 yen” has already been generated for the user identified by the user name “user A”, and the time when the previous charging was started (or the charging currently performed) The start time) is “2005/1/25 12:29:11”, and the user identified by the user name “User B” has already been charged a charge of “500 yen” This indicates that the time at which the previous charging was started (or the time at which the current charging started) is “2005/1/25 12:28:21”.

The LCD 402a and the speaker 402b are devices constituting the content display unit 102 in the electronic apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention described above. The CMOS camera 403 is a device constituting the image input means 103 in the electronic apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention described above. The video processing unit 404 is a chip (integrated circuit) constituting the user specifying means 104 in the electronic apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention described above. The user information database 405 is the same as the user information database 105 in the electronic apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention described above. The electronic device is not necessarily provided with a camera, and may be configured to take an image with an external camera connected by a cable or the like, and is not limited to a CMOS camera. In addition, the video processing unit 404 may be configured to perform image authentication on an image cut out at a predetermined interval from a moving image shot in real time.

The timer 408 notifies the service provision control unit 406 of the current time during timing.

Next, control processing by the service provision control unit 406 will be described with reference to a flowchart showing a flow of processing by the electronic apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG.

First, when the electronic device has not started playback of any content (step 510, N), the service provision control unit 406 acquires the current time from the timer 408 (step 501), and the previous video processing unit 404 receives an image. It is determined whether or not a certain period of time has elapsed since the execution of the user specifying process by authentication (step 502). If the service provision control unit 406 determines that the certain time has not elapsed (step 502, N), the service provision control unit 406 obtains the current time from the timer 408 again and repeats the determination of whether the certain time has elapsed. If the service provision control unit 406 determines that a certain time has elapsed (step 502, Y), the service provision control unit 406 instructs the video processing unit 404 to perform image authentication. The video processing unit 404 that has received an instruction to perform image authentication inputs an image captured by the CMOS camera 403 (step 503), refers to a registered image, and performs image authentication on the input image (step 504). The result of the image authentication, that is, whether the person is the same person as the person included in the registered image, and if the person is the same person as the person included in the registered image, the user name corresponding to the registered image, The service provision control unit 406 is notified. Furthermore, the service provision control unit 406 determines whether or not content is being played by the electronic device (step 505). Here, since the case where the electronic device has not started playing any content is considered, the service provision control unit 406 determines that the content is not played by the electronic device (step 505, N).

When the service providing control unit 406 is notified that the photographed image does not correspond to any of the registered images and there is no registered person (step 506, N), the service providing control unit 406 determines again whether the content is being played back. (Step 510), and the process returns to the process of acquiring the current time from the timer 408 (step 501). On the other hand, when notified that the person (user A) included in the registered image is the same person (step 506, Y), the service provision control unit 406 displays the content name of the content stored in the content database 401a. When the operation means detects that the user has performed an operation of reproducing any content (for example, content name “content A”) by prompting the user to select content, the operation means Notification is provided to the providing control unit, and the reproduction of the content is started (step 507), the current time is acquired from the timer 408 (step 508), and the current time is time information when charging for the reproduction of the content is started. The charging information database 40 is associated with the user name (user A) corresponding to the registered image. Stored in b (here step 509. As the time information of the user name "user A", and storing "2005/1/25 12:29:11".). The process so far is the process of determining the time when charging for content reproduction is started.

Subsequently, in the electronic device that is reproducing the content through the above-described processing, the service provision control unit 406 determines whether the content (content A) is being reproduced by the electronic device (step 510), and the electronic device If it is determined that the content (content A) is being reproduced (step 510, Y), the audio data and text data constituting the content specified by the content name “content A” are read from the content database 401a, and the LCD 402a, speaker These data are output to 402b (step 511). Furthermore, the service provision control unit 406 determines whether the data output to the LCD 402a and the speaker 402b is the last data of the content (step 512), and if it is determined that the data is the last data (step 512). In step 512, Y), the reproduction of the content ends (step 513). On the other hand, if the service provision control unit 406 determines that the data is not the last data (step 512, N), the service provision control unit 406 acquires the current time from the timer 408 (step 501), and the previous video processing unit 404 specifies the user by image authentication. It is determined whether or not a certain time has elapsed since the process was executed (step 502). Thereafter, the processing (step 505) until it is determined whether or not the content (content A) is being played back by the electronic device is as described above.

When the service provision control unit 406 determines that the content A is being played back by the electronic device (step 505, Y), if the service provision control unit 406 is notified that no corresponding person exists in any of the registered images (step 514). , N), the content A being reproduced is paused (step 515). Thereafter, the service provision control unit 406 performs image authentication again in step 504, determines that the content is not reproduced by the electronic device (step 505, N), and the person (user A) included in the registered image. ) Is notified (step 506, Y), the reproduction of the content is started (that is, the same person as the person (user A) included in the registered image is again confirmed). Pause content playback for the period of time before notification.)

On the other hand, when notified that the person (user A) included in the registered image is the same person (step 514, Y), the service provision control unit 406 acquires the current time from the timer 408 (step 516). The billing fee is calculated (step 517). If the current time acquired from the timer 408 is “2005/1/25 12:31:50”, the service provision control unit 406 displays the time information “2005/1 / of user A stored in the charging information database 401b. 25: 12: 29: 11 ”, the difference between those times is calculated, and the difference is multiplied by the usage fee“ 1 yen ”of the content A stored in the content database 401a. “159 yen” is calculated as the billing fee (“billing fee” is distinguished from “billing fee” described later). Further, the service provision control unit 406 adds “1159 yen” obtained by adding the calculated charging fee “159 yen” to the charging fee “1000 yen” of the user A stored in the charging information database 401b to the new charging charge of the user A. The fee is updated (step 518). Furthermore, the service provision control unit 406 acquires the current time from the timer 408, and uses the current time as time information when charging for the reproduction of the content is started, corresponding to the user name (user A) corresponding to the registered image. In addition, it is stored in the billing information database 401b (step 519). The process so far is the process of determining the time for dividing the period to be charged.

As described above, according to the electronic apparatus of the first embodiment of the present invention, the user who is viewing the content is continuously used by using the image authentication technology before the content is reproduced or during the content reproduction period. By authenticating, a service provided by outputting content can be provided only to a user who is permitted to receive the service. As a result, it is possible to prevent the user from being charged erroneously.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, the case where one user is recognized at the time of image authentication has been described. However, when a plurality of users are recognized at the same time, image authentication is performed for each user, and the user is recognized. A person who has been authenticated as such may be charged for a plurality of persons. For example, if three people are recognized in the input image and two service users who are permitted to receive the service are included among the three people, the charge for three people is charged to the two people. It is conceivable to charge the fee by distributing the fee. The charging rule is not limited to this, and various charging rules can be applied to the electronic device of the present invention.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, the configuration is described in which the charging fee is generated according to the time when the content is played back. However, a fixed amount of charging fee is generated by playing the content once regardless of the period during which the content is played back. It may be configured to. In this case, it may be performed only when a certain time for specifying the user is lengthened or when an operation by the user is detected. Further, the configuration for updating the billing fee each time the billing fee is generated has been described. However, when the payment processing is performed by updating the information for calculating the billing fee (for example, the total time during which the content is reproduced). A configuration may be employed in which a charging fee is calculated based on the information. Further, the fixed time for specifying the user may be a value specific to the electronic device, specified by the content to be played back, and may be changed when the content is played back. Further, the unit time of the usage fee for the content to be reproduced may be set to a certain time. For example, when the content usage fee is 10 yen per minute, it is assumed that the predetermined time is 1 minute.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, the charging fee is updated on a user basis (that is, the charging fee is not updated on a content basis, as in the charging information in the charging information database 401b shown in FIG. 4). However, it is not possible to know how much the billing fee has been charged for each content). However, the billing fee may be updated for each user and for each content. As a result, it is possible to know how much the charging fee has been generated for each content.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, the configuration in which the charging fee is generated for each content has been described. However, if the content can be further divided into a plurality of scenes, the charging fee is generated for each scene. May be. Specifically, it is determined whether or not each scene has been played back, and if that scene is played back, a charging fee corresponding to the period during which the scene is played back is calculated and associated with an identifier for identifying the scene. You can update the billing fee.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, the case has been described in which the electronic device performs a process of charging as a price for the service when the content is output. The electronic device of the present invention is not limited to billing. When content is output, compensation for the content is given in the form of access right granting, deprivation, coupon ticket issuance, disposal, point issuance, disposal, etc. You may make it pay (or enjoy).

In the first embodiment of the present invention, when the user cannot be specified, the content is not reproduced or the content being reproduced is paused. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, although content playback continues, the image quality is reduced and the content is played back, only the audio data is output without outputting the video data, or the image that prompts the content display means is displayed and displayed It is conceivable to differentiate between cases where the user can be identified and cases where the user cannot be identified.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, the case where the user who viewed the content is charged is described, that is, the case where the user and the billing charge requester are the same person. The person does not necessarily have to be the same person. For example, it is conceivable that the entire family is registered as a user, and one of them is set as a billing charge requester.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, the usage fee for each content is the same for all users. However, a different usage fee may be set for each user.

Next, the electronic apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. The electronic apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention is different from the electronic apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention in that a visual line detection function is added to the video processing unit 404 in the electronic apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 shows a functional block diagram of an electronic apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the electronic apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the processes performed by devices other than the video processing unit 404 and the service provision control unit 406 are the same as described in the first embodiment, and thus descriptions of these devices are omitted.

The video processing unit 604 in the electronic device according to the second embodiment of the present invention is a chip (integrated circuit) that constitutes the user specifying means 104 in the electronic device according to the embodiment of the present invention described above, and is stored in the user information database 405. With reference to an image including a part or all of the recorded face, or data obtained by digitizing feature points of a part or all of the face, a part or all of the face included in the image captured by the CMOS camera 403 is recorded. In addition to performing image authentication, the user's line of sight included in the captured image is tracked to determine whether the line of sight is directed to the LCD 402a.

The service provision control unit 606 in the electronic device according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention is notified from the video processing unit 604 that it is the same person as the person (user A) included in the registered image (step in the flowchart of FIG. 5). 506, Y, or step 514, Y.) and when it is notified that the line of sight of the person included in the captured image is directed to the LCD 402a, the processing from step 507 to step 509, or step 516 To Step 519. On the other hand, the service provision control unit 606 is notified that there is no corresponding person in any of the registered images (step 506, N or step 514, N in the flowchart of FIG. 5), or When it is notified that the line of sight of the person included in the captured image is not directed to the LCD 402a, the content is not reproduced or the content A being reproduced is paused (step 515).

As described above, according to the electronic apparatus of the second embodiment of the present invention, the period when the user who is permitted to receive the service provided by outputting the content is determined to be viewing the content. Can only be provided. As a result, only the period during which the user has watched, excluding the period during which the user has not been viewing even if the content is output, is charged. You can charge more appropriately for the act of viewing by.

Next, the electronic apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. In the first and second embodiments of the present invention, it has been described that the electronic device reads the content data from the content database 401a provided in its own device, and reads the billing information and writes the billing information from the billing information database 401b. Such a database may be provided in the server, and the electronic device may communicate with the server to exchange content data and billing information. FIG. 7 shows a functional block diagram of an electronic device and a server according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. The server shown in FIG. 7 includes a content database 701a, a billing information database 701b, a service provision control unit 702, a communication unit 703, and a timer 704. The content database 701a and the charging information database 701b are storage devices that store the same data as the database of the same name provided in the electronic device described in the first or second embodiment. The service provision control unit 702 is a device that constitutes the service provision control unit 302 in the server according to the embodiment of the present invention described with reference to FIG. The communication unit 703 is a device that constitutes the communication unit 303 in the server according to the embodiment of this invention described with reference to FIG.

In the third embodiment of the present invention, each process in the flowchart of FIG. 5 is divided into a process by an electronic device and a process by a server. FIG. 8 shows a flowchart for explaining processing by the electronic apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 shows a flowchart for explaining processing by the server according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

First, when the electronic device has not received any content from the server (step 806, N), the service provision control unit 406 of the electronic device acquires the current time from the timer 408 (step 801), and the previous video processing unit. It is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the user identification processing by image authentication was executed in 404 (step 802). If the service provision control unit 406 determines that the predetermined time has not elapsed (N in step 802), the service provision control unit 406 obtains the current time from the timer 408 again and repeats the determination of whether or not the predetermined time has elapsed. If the service provision control unit 406 determines that a certain time has elapsed (step 802, Y), the service provision control unit 406 instructs the video processing unit 404 to perform image authentication. The video processing unit 404 that has received an instruction to perform image authentication inputs an image captured by the CMOS camera 403 (step 803), refers to a registered image, and performs image authentication on the input image (step 804). The result of the image authentication, that is, whether the person is the same person as the person included in the registered image, and if the person is the same person as the person included in the registered image, the user name corresponding to the registered image, The service provision control unit 406 is notified. Then, the service providing control unit 406 transmits the image authentication result notified from the video processing unit 404 to the server via the communication unit 407.

On the other hand, when receiving the result of image authentication from the electronic device via the communication unit 703 (step 901), the service provision control unit 702 of the server determines whether or not content is transmitted to the electronic device (step 902). ). Here, since it is considered that no content is transmitted to the electronic device, the service provision control unit 702 determines that the content is not transmitted to the electronic device (step 902, N).

When notified that there is no corresponding person in any of the registered images (step 903, N), the service provision control unit 702 waits again to receive the result of image authentication from the electronic device (step 901). Return. On the other hand, when notified that the person (user A) included in the registered image is the same person (step 903, Y), the service provision control unit 702 changes the content name of the content stored in the content database 701a to the electronic name. The electronic device displays the received content name on the LCD 402a. When the operation means of the electronic device detects that the user has selected the content (for example, the content name “content A”), the service providing unit 406 sends a content transmission request corresponding to the content name “content A” to the communication unit. 407 to the server. Upon receiving the transmission request, the server starts transmitting the content to the electronic device (step 904), obtains the current time from the timer 704 (step 905), and starts charging for the transmission of the content based on the current time. Time information is stored in the billing information database 701b in association with the user name (user A) corresponding to the registered image (step 906). Here, it is assumed that “2005/1/25 12:29:11” is stored as the time information of the user name “user A”. ). The process so far is the process of determining the time when charging for content transmission is started. Thereafter, the service provision control unit 702 waits again to receive the result of image authentication from the electronic device (step 901).

Subsequently, in the electronic device that has received the content from the server through the above processing, the service provision control unit 406 determines whether the content (content A) is received by the electronic device (step 806). If it is determined that the content (content A) is received by the electronic device (step 806, Y), the content specified by the content name “content A” is output to the LCD 402a and the speaker 402b (step 807). Furthermore, the service provision control unit 406 determines whether or not the data output to the LCD 402a and the speaker 402b is the last data of the content (step 808), and determines that the data is the last data (step 808). In step 808, Y), the reproduction of the content ends (step 809). On the other hand, if the service provision control unit 406 determines that the data is not the last data (step 808, N), the service provision control unit 406 acquires the current time from the timer 408 (step 801), and the previous video processing unit 404 specifies the user by image authentication. It is determined whether or not a certain time has elapsed since the process was executed (step 802). Thereafter, the electronic device repeats the processing after step 803 described above.

On the other hand, when the service provision control unit 702 of the server, which is waiting to receive the result of image authentication from the electronic device, receives the result of image authentication from the electronic device (step 901), is the content transmitted to the electronic device? It is determined whether or not (step 902). When the service provision control unit 702 determines that the content A is being transmitted to the electronic device (step 902, Y), if the service provision control unit 702 is notified that no corresponding person exists in any of the registered images (step 907). , N), the transmission of the content A is temporarily stopped (step 908). Thereafter, the service provision control unit 702 waits for the result of the image authentication again in step 901, determines that the content is not transmitted to the electronic device (step 902, N), and the person (user) included in the registered image When it is notified that the person is the same person as in (A) (step 903, Y), the transmission of the content is started (that is, the person is the same person as the person (user A) included in the registered image). Pause the content until it is notified again.)

On the other hand, when the service provision control unit 702 of the server is notified that it is the same person as the person (user A) included in the registered image (step 907, Y), it acquires the current time from the timer 704 (step 907). 909) and a charging fee is calculated (step 910). If the current time acquired from the timer 704 is “2005/1/25 12:31:50”, the service provision control unit 702 displays the time information “2005/1/2005” of the user A stored in the charging information database 701b. 25: 12: 29: 11 ”, the difference between those times is calculated, and the difference is multiplied by the usage fee“ 1 yen ”of the content A stored in the content database 701a. “159 yen” is calculated as the charge. Further, the service provision control unit 702 adds “1159 yen” obtained by adding the calculated charging charge “159 yen” to the charging charge “1000 yen” of the user A stored in the charging information database 701 b to the new charging charge of the user A. The fee is updated (step 911). Further, the service provision control unit 702 obtains the current time from the timer 704, and uses the current time as time information when charging for the transmission of the content is started, corresponding to the user name (user A) corresponding to the registered image. In addition, it is stored in the billing information database 701b (step 912). The process so far is the process of determining the time for dividing the period to be charged.

As described above, according to the electronic device and the server according to the third embodiment of the present invention, the user who is viewing the content is used the image authentication technology before the server transmits the content or during the period during which the content is transmitted. By continuously authenticating, the service provided by outputting the content can be provided only to the user who is permitted to receive the service. As a result, even with a configuration using a server that transmits content to the electronic device (client), it is possible to prevent the user from being charged erroneously.

In the third embodiment of the present invention, the case where one user is recognized at the time of image authentication has been described. However, when a plurality of users are recognized at the same time, image authentication is performed for each user, and the user is recognized. A person who has been authenticated as such may be charged for a plurality of persons. For example, if three people are recognized in the input image and two service users who are permitted to receive the service are included among the three people, the charge for three people is charged to the two people. It is conceivable to charge the fee by distributing the fee. The charging rule is not limited to this, and various charging rules can be applied to the electronic device of the present invention.

In the third embodiment of the present invention, a configuration has been described in which a charging fee is generated according to the time when the content is played back. However, a fixed amount of charging fee is generated by playing the content once regardless of the period during which the content is played back. It may be configured to. Further, the configuration for updating the billing fee each time the billing fee is generated has been described. However, when the payment processing is performed by updating the information for calculating the billing fee (for example, the total time during which the content is reproduced). A configuration may be employed in which a charging fee is calculated based on the information.

In the third embodiment of the present invention, as in the charging information in the charging information database 701b shown in FIG. 7, the charging fee is updated for each user (that is, the charging fee is not updated for each content, However, it is not possible to know how much the billing fee has been charged for each content). However, the billing fee may be updated for each user and for each content. As a result, it is possible to know how much the charging fee has been generated for each content.

In the third embodiment of the present invention, the configuration in which the charging fee is generated for each content has been described. However, if the content can be further divided into a plurality of scenes, the charging fee is generated for each scene. May be. Specifically, the electronic device determines whether or not each scene has been played back. On the other hand, if the scene is played back, the server calculates a charging fee according to the period during which the scene is played back, and The charging fee may be updated in correspondence with the identifier for identifying the scene.

In the third embodiment of the present invention, the case has been described where the server performs a process of charging as a price for the service when the content is output by the electronic device. The server of the present invention is not limited to billing. When content is output, it pays for the content in the form of granting, stripping, issuing coupons, disposing, issuing points, disposing of access rights, etc. (Or enjoy it).

In the third embodiment of the present invention, when the user cannot be specified, the server does not transmit the content or pauses the content being transmitted. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, content continues to be transmitted but content with reduced image quality is transmitted, only audio data is transmitted without outputting video data, or an image for alerting is synthesized with video data and transmitted. Depending on the situation, it may be possible to differentiate between the case where the user can be identified and the case where the user cannot be identified.

In the third embodiment of the present invention, the case where the user who viewed the content is charged is described, that is, the case where the user and the charge fee requester are the same person. The person does not necessarily have to be the same person. For example, it is conceivable that the entire family is registered as a user, and one of them is set as a billing charge requester.

In the third embodiment of the present invention, the usage fee for each content is the same for all users. However, a different usage fee may be set for each user.

In the third embodiment of the present invention, the result of the image authentication is notified to the server, but the server is notified and the reproduction of the content in the image authentication electronic device is stopped as in the first embodiment. May be.

In the first to third embodiments of the present invention, the time information stored in the

billing information DBs

401b and 701b is set at the start of playback, but the time at the end of playback may be stored.

Also, in the first or third embodiment of the present invention, whether or not the user is registered by photographing an image of the user's face with an image or a feature point including part or all of the user's face as a registered image. Although authentication is performed, authentication may be performed by reading an image including a part or all of the user's fingerprint or a feature point as a registered image and reading the user's fingerprint. In this case, a fingerprint sensor or the like can be considered as the image input means. Further, the user may be authenticated by using other biometric authentication such as vein authentication for reading the shape of the palm or finger blood vessel.

Although the present invention has been described in detail and with reference to specific embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

As described above, according to the electronic device and the billing method of the present invention, a false charge is generated by providing a service provided by outputting content only to a person who is permitted to receive the service. This is useful in the technical field of electronic devices and billing methods that impose a fee for a service provided by outputting certain content on a person who receives the service.

Claims

An electronic device that plays content,
Image input means for photographing an operator who operates the electronic device and acquiring an image of the operator;
A user information storage unit for storing an image of a user permitted to reproduce the content in association with the user;
A user specifying means for comparing the image of the operator taken by the image input means with the image of the user stored in the user information storage unit and identifying whether or not they are the same;
Content display means for outputting content;
Service provision control means for calculating a price for reproducing the content in association with a user;
With
The service provision control means calculates a consideration for the reproduction of the content when it is the same as the user based on the identification result of the user specifying means.
Electronics.
The electronic device according to claim 1,
The service provision control means controls the output by the content display means when it is the same as the user based on the identification result of the user specifying means.
Electronics.
The electronic device according to claim 1 or 2,
The user specifying means identifies whether or not they are the same at a predetermined time interval;
Electronics.
The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
When a plurality of people are included in the image input by the image input unit, the user specifying unit compares the image of each of the plurality of people with the user image stored in the user information storage unit. And
The service provision control means, based on the identification result of the user specifying means, when at least one of the plurality of persons is the same as the user, the compensation for reproduction of the content for each user To calculate,
Electronics.
The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
Gaze tracking means for detecting the direction of the gaze of the operator included in the image input by the image input means,
The service providing control means is the same as the user based on the identification result of the user specifying means, and the operator's line of sight detected by the line of sight tracking means is directed to the content display means. If so, calculate a consideration for the playback of the content,
Electronics.
An electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The electronic device further includes a communication means for performing communication with the server,
The communication means receives content from the server when it is the same as the user based on the identification result of the user specifying means.
Electronics.
An input step for obtaining an image of the operator;
A comparison step of comparing the input operator image with a pre-registered user image to identify whether they are the same;
A calculation step of calculating a consideration for reproduction of the content when the user is the same as the user based on an identification result;
A billing method.