JPH11143953A - Online charging system, server system applied to the online charging system, terminal device applied to the online charging system, charging method in the online charging system, and computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] To prevent billing when content has not arrived,
It is an object to realize smooth and reliable commercial transactions on a network. SOLUTION: When a purchase request is made from a client 1 to a server system 2, authentication is performed by credit between the server system 2 and the credit credit / settlement server 3, and as a result of the authentication, the purchaser is authorized to purchase. When descending, required contents are distributed from the server system 2 to the client 1 as a purchaser. Thereafter, when the reception completion notification is transferred from the client 1 to the server system 2, the purchaser's billing process is performed in the server system 2, and after a certain period of time, the communication between the server system 2 and the credit credit / settlement server 3 is performed. Is settled.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an online charging system for online trading of contents to be sold in an electronic market virtually built on a network, a server system applied to the online charging system, and an online charging system. Applicable terminal equipment,
The present invention relates to a charging method in an online charging system and a computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the charging method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in online shopping using an electronic market, digital goods such as application software are traded as contents. In this online shopping, a purchaser selects required contents from various contents displayed on the screen of a personal computer and requests the center, that is, the seller, to make a purchase.

[0003] On the merchant side, the requested content is distributed on-line, but before the distribution, it is common to charge the buyer. That is, the online shopping system incorporates an online charging system. The actual distribution operation of the content starts after the charging process by the online charging system is completed.

[0004]

However, in the above-described online charging system, when the content is distributed after the charging process is completed, a problem may occur due to a communication error or the like, and the content may not reach the purchaser without fail. there were.

[0005] In addition, even if the contents reach the purchaser surely, there is a case where the contents that the user does not want arrive due to an erroneous operation of the purchaser. In this case, there has been a problem that the product cannot be returned because charging has already been performed at the stage of content distribution.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems of the prior art by providing an online charging system capable of realizing a smooth and reliable commercial transaction on a network, a server system applied to the online charging system, and an online charging. An object of the present invention is to provide a terminal device applied to the system, a charging method in an online charging system, and a computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the method.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems The above-mentioned problems are solved,
In order to achieve the object, an online charging system according to the invention of claim 1 is connected to a network, virtually constructs an electronic market formed by a plurality of contents on the network, and sells and sells contents through the electronic market. A server system for controlling the billing, and one or more terminal devices connected to the network for accessing the electronic marketplace and controlling content purchase, and the terminal device is connected to the terminal device via the network. In the case where the content is sold to the terminal device, a predetermined notice is transferred from the terminal device to the server system after the content is transferred from the server system to the terminal device, and then the billing process is performed. And

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the content sales, after the content is transferred from the server system to the terminal device, a predetermined notice is transferred from the terminal device to the server system, and then the accounting process is performed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent billing in a state in which the content has not arrived, thereby realizing a smooth and reliable commercial transaction on the network.

An online charging system according to a second aspect of the present invention is connected to a network, virtually constructs an electronic market formed by a plurality of contents on the network, and sells and sells the contents through the electronic market. A server system that controls charging, and one or more terminal devices that are connected to the network and access the electronic market to control content purchase,
When content is sold from the server system to the terminal device via the network,
A billing process is performed after a lapse of a fixed time after the content transfer from the server system to the terminal device.

[0010] According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the content sales, the accounting process is performed after a lapse of a predetermined time after the content is transferred from the server system to the terminal device. This makes it possible to prevent a meaningless delay in the charging timing due to the commercial transaction.

An online charging system according to a third aspect of the present invention is connected to a network, virtually constructs an electronic market formed by a plurality of contents on the network, and sells and sells the contents through the electronic market. A server system that controls charging, and one or more terminal devices that are connected to the network and access the electronic market to control content purchase,
If the content is sold from the server system to the terminal device via the network and a purchase cancel request is made before a predetermined time elapses after the content is transferred from the server system to the terminal device, charging is performed. The processing is canceled.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in the content sales, if a purchase cancel request is made before a predetermined time elapses after the content transfer from the server system to the terminal device, the billing process is canceled. Therefore, the cooling system can be applied for a certain period after the commercial transaction in the same manner as the ordinary commercial transaction, whereby the online purchase can be canceled.

An online charging system according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is connected to a network, virtually constructs an electronic market formed by a plurality of contents on the network, and sells and sells the contents through the electronic market. A server system that controls charging, and one or more terminal devices that are connected to the network and access the electronic market to control content purchase,
The terminal device, a request unit for requesting the server system for required content in the electronic market built on the network, and the required content requested by the request unit is received by distribution of the server system. Notification means for transferring a notification of reception completion to the server system, wherein the server system distributes the required content requested by the request means of the terminal device; And charging means for executing a charging process when the notification of the completion of the reception is transferred by the notification means after the distribution of the required content by the distribution means.

According to this invention, when the terminal device requests the server system for the required content in the electronic market, the server system distributes the required content to the terminal device. Thereafter, the server system performs the billing process in accordance with the reception completion notification sent from the terminal device. Therefore, it is possible to prevent billing at the selling source in a state where the content has not arrived at the selling destination, and Thus, smooth and reliable commercial transactions on the network can be realized.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the online charging system according to the fourth aspect, the server system has a content database in which a plurality of contents for forming the electronic market are registered. Features.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, as in the fifth aspect of the present invention, the server system may register a plurality of contents for forming an electronic market by using a contents database.

An online charging system according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is connected to a network, virtually constructs an electronic market formed by a plurality of contents on the network, and encrypts the electronic market through the electronic market. A server system for controlling sales and billing thereof, and one or more terminal devices connected to the network for controlling access to the electronic market and purchasing content that requires decryption, the terminal device comprising: Requesting means for requesting the server system for required content encrypted in the electronic market built on a network, and the encrypted required content received in response to the request of the requesting means; Decryption is performed using a decryption key received for the content to decrypt the content. And a notifying unit for transferring a notification of completion of decoding to the server system when decoding is completed by the decoding unit. Distribute the required content requested,
Distribution means for distributing a decryption key for decrypting the required content, and after distributing the required content and the decryption key by the distribution means, the notification of the completion of decryption has been transferred by the notification means. Charging means for executing a charging process in the case.

According to the present invention, when the terminal device requests the server system for the required content in the electronic market, the server system transmits the required content and the decryption key to the terminal device. And then the terminal device decrypts the content, and the server system executes the accounting process according to the decryption completion notification sent from the terminal device.
In the system, it is possible to prevent billing at the seller before the content usage reaches a certain stage at the seller, thereby realizing a smooth and reliable commercial transaction on the network.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the online charging system according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the server system includes a content database in which a plurality of encrypted contents for forming the electronic market are registered. A key database in which a decryption key for decrypting each of the plurality of encrypted contents registered in the content database is registered, and each content in the content database and each decryption key in the key database are It is characterized in that it is managed so as to have a correspondence.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, as in the seventh aspect of the present invention, in the server system, a plurality of encrypted contents for forming an electronic market are registered by a contents database, and the plurality of encrypted contents are registered by a key database. A decryption key for decrypting each of the plurality of encrypted contents registered in the content database may be registered. At this time, each content in the content database corresponds to each decryption key in the key database. It is preferable to manage them so that they have a relationship.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the online charging system according to any one of the fourth to seventh aspects, the server system measures a certain period of time after distribution by the distribution means, and Even if the notification by the notifying unit is not received within the time, the charging is instructed to the charging unit after the predetermined time.

According to the invention of claim 8, in the server system, even if a notification of completion of reception or decoding is not received from the terminal device within a certain time after the content distribution, billing is performed after the certain time. Therefore, the commercial transaction can be managed by time, and thereby, it is possible to prevent a meaningless delay of the charging timing due to the commercial transaction.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the online charging system according to any one of the fourth to eighth aspects, the server system measures a certain time after the delivery by the delivery means, and When a purchase cancellation request is received from the terminal device within the time, the charge instruction is instructed to the charge means.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, in the server system, when a purchase cancellation request is issued from the terminal device within a certain time after the content distribution, the charge cancellation is performed. Similarly,
The cooling system can be applied for a certain period after the commercial transaction, thereby making it possible to cancel the purchase online.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the online charging system according to the ninth aspect, the server system deletes the required content from the terminal device when the charging system is instructed to cancel the charging. The notification is performed, and the terminal device deletes the required content according to the notification.

According to the tenth aspect, when the server system notifies the terminal device of the deletion of the required content at the time of canceling the charging, the terminal device deletes the required content in accordance with the notification. As a result, it is possible to prevent an unforeseen situation such as unauthorized use beforehand, and thereby it is possible to reliably return the content.

The server system of the online billing system according to the eleventh aspect of the present invention is connected to a network, virtually constructs an electronic market formed by a plurality of contents on the network, and executes the contents through the electronic market. A server system for an online billing system, comprising: a server system for controlling sales and billing thereof; and one or more terminal devices connected to the network to access the electronic market and control content purchase. A content database in which a plurality of contents for forming the electronic market are registered, and distribution means for reading and distributing required content requested from the terminal device from the content database,
After the distribution means distributes the required content, a charging means for executing a charging process when a reception completion notification is transferred from the terminal device.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, a plurality of contents for forming an electronic market are registered in the contents database, and the required contents requested by the terminal device are read from the contents database and distributed. Since the charging process is executed when the notification of the completion of the reception is transmitted from the terminal device, it is possible to prevent the charging in a state where the content has not arrived at the sales destination on the online charging system, It is possible to realize smooth and reliable commercial transactions on a network.

The server system of the online charging system according to the invention of claim 12 is connected to a network, virtually constructs an electronic market formed by a plurality of contents on the network, and encrypts the electronic market through the electronic market. Online charging system comprising: a server system for controlling content sales and charging for the content, and one or a plurality of terminal devices connected to the network for controlling the purchase of content that needs to access the electronic market and require decryption. Server system, for registering a plurality of encrypted content for forming the electronic market, and for decrypting each of the plurality of encrypted content registered in the content database A key database in which a decryption key is registered. Each content in the content database and each decryption key in the key database are managed so as to have a corresponding relationship, and the required content requested from the terminal device is read out from the content database and distributed, and A distribution unit that reads a decryption key for decrypting the content from the key database and distributes the decryption key, and after the distribution unit distributes the required content and the decryption key, a notification of the completion of decryption is transferred from the terminal device. Charging means for executing a charging process in the case where the charging has been performed.

According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, each content in the content database is managed so as to have a corresponding relationship with each decryption key in the key database, and the required content requested from the terminal device is stored in the content database. And distributes the decryption key for decrypting the required content from the key database, and executes the accounting process when the terminal device is notified of the completion of the decryption. Therefore, on the online charging system, it is possible to prevent charging before the content usage reaches a certain stage at the sales destination, thereby realizing a smooth and reliable commercial transaction on the network. .

The server system of the online charging system according to the invention of claim 13 is based on claim 11 or 12.
In the invention of the above, measuring a fixed time after the distribution by the distribution means, and instructing the charging means to charge after a predetermined time even if a notification from the terminal device is not received within the predetermined time. Features.

According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, even if a notification of the completion of reception or the completion of decoding is not received from the terminal device within a certain time after the distribution of the content, the billing is performed after the certain time. The commercial transaction can be managed by time, and thereby, it is possible to prevent a meaningless delay of the charging timing due to the commercial transaction.

Further, the server system of the online charging system according to the invention of claim 14 is based on claim 11 or 12.
In the invention according to the invention, a predetermined time is measured after the distribution by the distribution unit, and if a purchase cancellation request is issued from the terminal device within the predetermined time, the charging unit is instructed to cancel the charging. And

[0034] According to the fourteenth aspect of the invention, when the purchase cancellation request is issued from the terminal device within a predetermined time after the content distribution, the charge cancellation is performed. A cooling system can be applied for a certain period of time, whereby it is possible to cancel the purchase online.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in the server system of the on-line charging system according to the fourteenth aspect, when the charging cancellation is instructed, a notification for deleting the required content is sent to the terminal device. It is characterized by performing.

According to the fifteenth aspect, when an instruction to cancel charging is issued, a notification to delete required content is sent to the terminal device, thereby preventing an unexpected situation such as unauthorized use. This makes it possible to realize reliable content return.

The terminal device of the online charging system according to the sixteenth aspect of the present invention is connected to a network,
A server system that virtually constructs an electronic market formed by a plurality of contents on the network and controls content sales and billing through the electronic market, and a content that is connected to the network and accesses the electronic market to access the electronic market. Requesting means for requesting the server system for required content in the electronic market built on the network, comprising: one or more terminal devices for controlling purchase; and Notification means for transferring, when the required content requested by the request means is received by the distribution of the server system, a notification of completion of reception as a signal for executing a charging process to the server system; It is characterized by having.

According to the sixteenth aspect of the present invention, when the required content requested for the electronic market established on the network is received from the server system, a signal for executing a charging process for the server system. The transfer of the notification of the completion of reception is transferred, so that it is possible to prevent charging at the seller in the state where the content has not arrived on the online charging system, thereby realizing smooth and reliable business transactions on the network It is possible to

The terminal device of the online charging system according to the invention of claim 17 is connected to a network,
A server system for virtually constructing an electronic market formed by a plurality of contents on the network and controlling content sales and charging for the encrypted contents through the electronic market, and connected to the network to access the electronic market And / or a plurality of terminal devices for controlling the purchase of contents that require decryption. The terminal device of an online billing system, comprising: a required content encrypted in the electronic market built on the network; Requesting means for requesting the server system for a decryption key for decrypting the content, and receiving the encrypted required content received in response to the request of the requesting means in response to the content. Decryption means for decrypting the content using a decryption key for decrypting the content, If the decoding is completed by Nos means, and notifying means for transferring signal to become a decoding completion notification for executing the charging process for the server system,
It is characterized by having.

According to the seventeenth aspect of the present invention, when the required content and the decryption key for the electronic market requested on the electronic market built on the network are received from the server system, the content is decrypted and then transmitted to the server system. Since the notification of the completion of decoding, which is a signal for executing the billing process, is transferred to the online billing system,
It is possible to prevent billing at the seller before the content usage reaches a certain stage, thereby realizing a smooth and reliable business transaction on the network.

The terminal device of the online charging system according to the eighteenth aspect of the present invention is the terminal device of the sixteenth or seventeenth aspect, wherein after requesting the server system to cancel the purchase, the terminal system transmits required content from the server system. When there is a notification to delete, the required content is deleted according to the notification.

According to the eighteenth aspect of the present invention, when a request for canceling purchase is made to the server system and a notification is received from the server system to delete the required content, the required content is deleted according to the notification. As a result, the cancellation procedure for merchandise distribution can be completed online, thereby enabling efficient online shopping operation.

According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, a charging method for an online charging system is connected to a network.
A server system that virtually constructs an electronic market formed by a plurality of contents on the network and controls content sales and billing through the electronic market, and a content that is connected to the network and accesses the electronic market to access the electronic market. A billing method for an online billing system, comprising: one or a plurality of terminal devices for controlling purchase; wherein the terminal device transmits required content to the server system in the electronic market established on the network. A first step of requesting; a second step of transferring the required content requested in the first step from the server system to the terminal device;
The required content requested by the step is the second content.
A third step of transferring a notification of reception completion from the terminal device to the server system after being transferred by the step, and a notification of the reception completion being transferred from the terminal device to the server system by the third step. And a fourth step of executing a billing process after the transaction.

According to the nineteenth aspect of the present invention, in an electronic market established on a network, a terminal device requests required content from a server system, and the required content is transferred from the server system to the terminal device. Then, after the terminal device transmits the notification of the completion of the reception to the server system, the process of executing the billing process is performed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the billing at the selling source when the content has not arrived at the selling destination. Thereby, it is possible to realize smooth and reliable commercial transactions on the network.

Also, a billing method for an online billing system according to the invention of claim 20 is connected to a network,
A server system for virtually constructing an electronic market formed by a plurality of contents on the network and controlling content sales and charging for the encrypted contents through the electronic market, and connected to the network to access the electronic market And / or a plurality of terminal devices for controlling content purchase requiring decryption and decryption, and wherein the server device is connected to the server system in the electronic market established on the network. A first step of simultaneously or separately requesting the required content and a decryption key for decrypting the content, and the required content simultaneously or separately requested by the first step. Simultaneous or separate transfer from the server system to the terminal device Step, the terminal device uses the decryption key for decrypting the content, the encrypted required content received in response to the request of the first step, received corresponding to the content. A third step of transmitting the notification of completion of decryption from the terminal device to the server system when the decryption is completed by the third step; and And a fifth step of executing a billing process after the notification of the completion of the decryption is transferred to the server system.

According to the twentieth aspect, in the electronic market established on the network, the required content encrypted from the terminal device to the server system and the decryption key for decrypting the content are simultaneously or simultaneously stored. Request separately, transfer the required content and the simultaneous or separate from the server system to the terminal device, decrypt the required content using the decryption key in the terminal device, and then notify the server system of the completion of decryption Is transferred to the server system, and after the notification of the completion of the decryption is transferred to the server system, the billing process is executed.
It is possible to prevent billing at the seller before the use of the content reaches the certain stage at the seller, thereby realizing a smooth and reliable commercial transaction on the network.

According to a twenty-first aspect of the present invention, in the charging method for an online charging system according to the nineteenth or twentieth aspect, the server system measures a certain time after the transfer in the second step, and A sixth step of executing the accounting process after the predetermined time even if the notification is not received within a time period is included.

According to the twenty-first aspect, in the server system, a certain time is measured after the content is transferred, and even if a notification of reception completion or decoding completion is not received within the certain time, charging is performed after the certain time. Including the steps to execute the process, you can manage business transactions in time,
Thereby, it is possible to prevent a meaningless delay of the charging timing due to the commercial transaction.

According to a twenty-second aspect of the present invention, in the charging method for the online charging system according to the nineteenth or twentieth aspect, the server system measures a certain time after the transfer in the second step, and In a case where a purchase cancellation request is issued from the terminal device to the server system within the time, a seventh step of canceling the accounting process is included.

According to the twenty-second aspect of the present invention, in the server system, a certain time is measured after the content is transferred, and if the terminal device issues a purchase cancel request to the server system within the certain time, Since the process of canceling the billing process is included, the cooling system can be applied for a certain period after the commercial transaction as in the case of the normal commercial transaction, and it is possible to cancel the purchase online. .

A recording medium according to a twenty-third aspect of the present invention records a program for causing a computer to execute the method according to any one of the nineteenth to twenty-second aspects, so that the program becomes machine-readable. Thus, the operation of any one of claims 19 to 22 can be realized by a computer.

[0052]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. (Embodiment 1) First, an online charging system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be functionally described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram functionally showing an online charging system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the online charging system connects the client 1 and the server system 2 to a network INT such as the Internet or a commercial network made up of a telephone line, thereby realizing online content buying and selling. . The server system 2 provides credit credit /
Connect the settlement server 3 and purchase the client 1
Credit and settlement for online.

In FIG. 1, even when a plurality of clients are connected to the network INT, there is a one-to-one correspondence between the client and the server system 2 in terms of content purchase and sale. For simplification of description, FIG. 1 shows only the client 1 as a user.

As shown in FIG. 1, the client 1
For example, it comprises a content selection and user information input unit 11, a content request unit 12, a content reception unit 13, a reception completion notification unit 14, and a content storage unit 15.
The content selection and user information input unit 11 selects required content from an electronic market formed on the network INT and inputs user information to make a purchase request. Here, the user information refers to information such as a credit number and a name registered with a credit company necessary for paying a purchase amount using credits or the like.

The content request unit 12 makes a purchase request to the server system 2 using the information input by the content selection and user information input unit 11, and receives an authentication result at that time. The content receiving unit 13 is a server system 2 (content database 23 described later).
Receives content data from. Reception completion notification unit 14
Sends a reception completion notification to the server system 2 in response to the reception completion of the content receiving unit 13. The content storage unit 15 stores the content data received by the content reception unit 13.

Although illustration and detailed description are omitted, communication between the client 1 and the server system 2
E-commerce security technology is applied as well as encryption technology. As an example of the security technology, SET (Secure Electronic T)
reactions) are preferred, but not limited thereto.

As shown in FIG. 1, the server system 2 includes, for example, an authentication unit 21, a content distribution unit 22, a content database 23, a charging unit 24, and a charging log database 25. The authentication unit 21 authenticates a user in response to a purchase request from the content request unit 12 of the client 1. The authentication unit 21 performs credit with the credit credit / settlement server 3 at the time of authentication, and returns an authentication result obtained by the credit to the content requesting unit 12.

The content delivery unit 22 instructs the content database 23 to deliver content when the purchase is permitted by the authentication of the authentication unit 21 (indicated by OK in the figure). The content database 23 registers content data provided from a content provider via a line or the like, and distributes predetermined content data to the client 1 (the content receiving unit 13) in accordance with a distribution instruction from the content distribution unit 22.

The billing unit 24 performs a billing process for the purchaser (client 1) on the billing log database 25 when receiving the reception completion notification from the reception completion notifying unit 14 of the client 1. The charging log database 25 stores the charging unit 2
4. The accounting information for each purchaser charged in step 4 is registered.
The charge log database 25 transfers, for example, charge information for making a payment to the credit / payment server 3 at regular intervals.

Next, the operation sequence will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation sequence of the online charging system according to the first embodiment. In the above-described online charging system, when a purchase request is made from the client 1 to the server system 2, authentication is performed by credit between the server system 2 and the credit credit / settlement server 3. As a result of the authentication, when the purchaser is granted the purchase, the required content is distributed from the server system 2 to the client 1 as the purchaser.

After that, when the reception completion notification is transferred from the client 1 to the server system 2, the server system 2 performs the purchaser's accounting process, and after a certain period of time, the server system 2 and the credit credit / settlement server 3 Is settled between and. In this way, it is possible to prevent charging in a state where the content has not arrived.

Next, the function of the above-mentioned offline charging system will be described in terms of hardware. First, the client 1 will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the hardware of the client 1 of the online charging system according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the client 1 has a CPU 101, a ROM 102,
M103, application memory 104, display 105, keyboard 106, mouse 107, hard disk drive (HDD) 108, hard disk (H
D) 109, floppy disk drive (FDD) 1
11, floppy disk (FD) 112, modem 11
3, a unit such as an interface (I / F) 114 is provided, and each unit is connected by a bus.

The CPU 101 controls the operation of the entire client 1 by various programs such as the ROM 102 and the application 104. The CPU 101 performs the functions of FIG. 1 described above, namely, the content selection and input operation of the user information input unit 11, the purchase request operation of the content request unit 12, the reception operation of the content reception unit 13, and the notification operation of the reception completion notification unit 14. , The storage operation in the content storage unit 15 is controlled.

The ROM 102 stores a program such as an operating system (OS) for operating the CPU 101, for example. The RAM 103 includes the CPU 10
1 work area. The application memory 104 stores an application program for performing a content trading operation (see FIG. 6 described later) of the first embodiment.

The display 105 forms a display screen by content selection operation, content and the like. Keyboard 1
06 is provided with keys for character input,
Points the screen displayed on the display 105. The HDD 108 controls reading / writing of data from / to the HD 109 under the control of the CPU 101. The HD 109 corresponds to the content storage unit 15 and stores (stores) data written under the control of the HDD 108. In the HD 109, a content area 110 for storing content is secured.

The FDD 111 controls reading / writing of data from / to the FD 112 under the control of the CPU 101. The FD 112 corresponds to the content storage unit 15,
The data written under the control of the FDD 111 is stored (accumulated). The modem 113 is connected to the network INT via the I / F 114, and performs modulation and demodulation during communication. I
/ F 114 is connected to the network I via the communication line 116.
It is connected to the NT and controls the interface between the network INT and the inside.

Next, the server system 2 will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the hardware of the server system 2 of the online charging system according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the server system 2 is divided into a part responsible for processing on the network INT side and a part responsible for processing with the credit credit / settlement server 3.

One part on the network INT side is C
It is configured by units such as a PU 201, a ROM 202, a RAM 203, an application memory 204, a modem 205, an I / F 206, and a disk device 208, and each unit is connected to a bus 210A. The other part on the credit credit / settlement server 3 side is a CPU 211, RO
M212, RAM 213, application memory 21
4, a modem 215, an I / F 216, and other units, and each unit is connected to the bus 210B.
The buses 210A and 210B are connected to the dual memory 2
09 so that they can communicate with each other.

First, in the part on the network INT side, the CPU 201 controls the operation of the entire server system 2 with the ROM 202 and various programs of the application 204 in relation to the client 2. This CP
U201 is the function of FIG. 1 described above, that is, the authentication unit 2
1 controls the distribution operation of the content distribution unit 22, the charging operation of the charging unit 24, and the like.

The ROM 202 stores programs such as an operating system (OS) for the CPU 201 to operate on the network INT side. RA
M203 is used as a work area of the CPU 201. The application memory 204 stores an application program for performing a content buying / selling operation (see FIG. 6 described later) of the first embodiment.

The disk device 208 stores a content database 208 corresponding to the content database 23.
A, and a charging log database 208B corresponding to the charging log database 25. This disk device 2
08 controls read / write of data from / to the content database 208A and the accounting log database 208B under the control of the CPU 201. Modem 205
Is connected to the network INT via the I / F 206 and performs modulation and demodulation during communication. The I / F 206 is connected to the network INT via the communication line 207, and controls an interface between the network INT and the inside.

Subsequently, in the part on the credit credit / settlement server 3 side, the CPU 211 performs the RO operation of the entire server system 2 in relation to the credit credit / settlement server 3.
It is controlled by various programs of M212 and the application 214. The CPU 211 controls the functions of FIG. 1 described above, that is, the credit operation of the authentication unit 21, the settlement operation by the accounting log database 25 (208B), and the like.

The ROM 212 stores a program such as an operating system (OS) for the CPU 211 to operate on the credit credit / settlement server 3 side. The RAM 213 is used as a work area of the CPU 211. The application memory 214 stores an application program for performing the credit / settlement operation of the first embodiment (see FIG. 6 described later).

The modem 215 is connected to the credit credit / settlement server 3 via the I / F 216 and performs modulation and demodulation during communication. The I / F 216 is connected to the credit credit / settlement server 3 via the communication line 217, and controls an interface between the credit credit / settlement server 3 and the inside.

Subsequently, the content database 208A
Will be described. FIG. 5 shows the content database 20.
It is a figure explaining the content of 8A. The content database 208A is a database of content data provided by a content provider. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the contents are classified by genre, and all genres are commonly associated with all types of contents. Content data of each genre is stored in association with the type of content.

Next, the online shopping operation will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the operation according to the first embodiment, FIGS. 7 and 8 are diagrams illustrating screen transitions during online shopping, and FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of the billing log database 208B.

FIG. 6 shows a commercial transaction operation between the client 1 and the server system 2. Server system 2
Creates a virtual electronic market with digital contents for the network INT. At this time, when the client 1 accesses the electronic market via the network INT, the server system 2 provides the client 1 with the content information (step S1).
The client 1 can display the electronic market on the display 105 based on the content information. At this time, various contents are displayed and displayed on the electronic market (step C1).

FIG. 7A shows a display example of the electronic market on the display 105. Display 1
05 displays the title column 1051a of the content and its content column 1051b in association with each other. Content column 10
In 51b, check boxes 1052a and 1052 for selecting or canceling the content desired to be purchased.
52b and 1052c are provided. Here, three contents CNT1, CNT2, CNT3 are displayed, and check boxes 1052a, 1052b, 1
052c corresponds to each content.

For example, after the check column 1052a of the content CNT1 is checked (selected) (step C
2) When an order is instructed by operating the keyboard 106 or the mouse 107 (step C3), information on the selected content and user information are transmitted to the server system 2. Before this transmission, an input operation of user information is required.

FIG. 7B shows a screen for inputting user information. In the display 105, a purchased product name display column 1053 is displayed for inputting user information.
a, purchase price display field 1053b, credit card click field 1053c and bank closing date click field 1053d as payment method options, user ID input field 1053e and pass input field 1053f as member information, and company name input field as credit card information A user information input screen is displayed with a reference numeral 1053g, a validity period field h, a card number input field 1053i, a card name input field 1053j, and a disk storage destination specification field 1053k.

Further, at the bottom of the display screen, a cancel icon 105 for canceling the input operation of the user information is displayed.
3l, and a purchase icon 1053m for instructing a transmission of a purchase request based on the input user information are displayed. After the user inputs necessary items to the above-described user information input screen, a purchase request is made by operating the purchase icon 1053m (step C4). Thereafter, the process enters a standby state waiting for an authentication result.

In the server system 2, when a purchase request from the client 1 is received (step S2), an authentication process is executed based on the user information sent in the purchase request (step S3). As a result of the authentication, if the purchase is permitted (step S4), the content selected by the user of the client 1 is read from the content database 208A and distributed via the network INT (step S5). In this way,
After the delivery of the requested content to the client 1, the process enters a standby state waiting for the reception completion notification to arrive. On the other hand, as a result of the authentication, if the purchase is rejected (step S4), a notification of the purchase rejection is transferred to the client 1, and this commercial transaction ends (step S6).

When the purchase permission is obtained from the server system 2 and the requested content is transferred (step C5), an operation of receiving the content and storing it in the content area 110 in the HD 109 is executed. (Step C6). In the first embodiment, since the point is whether or not the data has been received, the timing of decoding the data regarding the reception is not described. In addition, during the reception of the content, as shown in FIG.
Message 1054a is displayed. On the other hand, when the notification of the purchase refusal is received (step C5), a message indicating that the purchase is not allowed is displayed on the display 105 (step C7), and the commercial transaction operation ends.

When the reception and storage of the content are completed in step S6, it is determined whether the reception of the content has been completed normally (step C8). If the reception is successful (step C8), a reception completion notification is transmitted to the server system 2 (step C8).
9). In this case, as shown in FIG. 8A, a message 1054b is displayed on the display 105 such as "Notification of completion of reception". On the other hand, if the content reception could not be completed normally due to a communication failure or the like (step C8), this commercial transaction is terminated as if it did not exist.

When the server system 2 receives the reception completion notification (step S7), it is assumed that the contents have been normally delivered to the client 1 as the purchaser, and the purchaser is charged (step S8). ). The information charged by this charging process is managed as shown in FIG. That is, in the charging log database 208B shown in FIG. 9, the user name of the client 1 is AAA.
In the case of, the user AAA is
Charge information LA on the 10th, 15th and 15th of the same month
1, LA2, LA3 are logged. If the user name of another client is BBB, the user B
In the BB, the billing information LB1 and LB2 are logged on October 1, 1997 and 7, respectively.

On the other hand, when the reception completion notification is not received (step S7), the processing is terminated without charging the purchaser. Note that the billing process may wait until a reception completion notification is received as long as the smooth operation of the system is not hindered.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to prevent billing at the seller in the state where the content has not arrived at the seller, so that smooth and reliable commercial transactions on the network can be performed. It is possible to realize.

(Embodiment 2) In Embodiment 1 described above, the server system performs billing upon completion of client reception. However, as in Embodiment 2 described below, client May be charged by the server system upon completion of the decryption.

First, an online charging system according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be functionally described. FIG. 10 is a block diagram functionally showing an online charging system according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 10, the online charging system connects the client 4 and the server system 5 to the same network INT as in the first embodiment, and realizes online content trading. The server system 5 connects the credit credit / settlement server 3 similar to that of the above-described first embodiment via a communication line, and performs online credit and settlement for the client 4 as a purchaser.

FIG. 10 shows that, even when a plurality of clients are connected to the network INT, one of the client and the server system 5 is involved in buying and selling contents.
Because of the one-to-one correspondence, FIG. 10 shows only the client 4 as a user as a representative example and for simplicity of description.

The internal configuration of the client 4 and the server system 5 described below will be described with reference to the first embodiment.
Parts having the same functions as those described above are denoted by the same names and numbers, and detailed description is omitted.

First, as shown in FIG. 10, the client 4, for example, selects the content selection and user information input unit 11, the content / key request unit 41, the content and decryption key receiving unit 42, the content decryption unit 43, the decryption completion It comprises a notification unit 44 and a content storage unit 15.

The content / key request unit 21 issues a purchase request or a key request to the server system 5 using the information input by the content selection and user information input unit 11, and receives an authentication result at the time of the purchase request. . The content and decryption key receiving unit 42 receives the encrypted content data from the server system 5 (content database 53 described later) and receives the decryption key from the server system 5 (key database 54 described later).

The content decrypting unit 43 decrypts the encrypted content received by the content and decryption key receiving unit 42 by using the decryption key received to decrypt the content. The decoding completion notifying unit 44 sends a decoding completion notification to the server system 5 in response to the normal decoding completion of the content decoding unit 43.

Although illustration and detailed description are omitted in the second embodiment as well, the communication between the client 1 and the server system 2 uses not only the encryption technology but also the encryption technology.
E-commerce security technology is applied. An example of the security technology is SET (Secure).
Electronic Transactions)
Is preferred, but is not limited thereto.

As shown in FIG. 10, the server system 5 includes, for example, an authentication unit 21, a content / key distribution unit 51,
Content encryption unit 52, content database 5
3, a key database 54, a charging unit 55, and a charging log database 25.

The content / key distribution unit 51
When the purchase is permitted by the authentication of the client (indicated by OK in the figure), the distribution of the encrypted content is instructed to the content database 53, and the key database 54 is responded to the key request of the content / key request unit 41 of the client 4.
Is instructed to distribute the decryption key corresponding to the distributed content. The content encryption unit 52 encrypts the content data provided by the content provider, and associates the encrypted content with a decryption key for decrypting the content in the content database 53 and the key database 54, respectively. Register to have.

The content database 53 registers the content data encrypted by the content encryption unit 52, and transmits predetermined encrypted content data in accordance with the distribution instruction of the content / key distribution unit 51 to the client 4 (content and Distribution to the key receiving unit 42). The key database 54 registers a decryption key of the content data encrypted by the content encryption unit 52, and stores a decryption key corresponding to predetermined encrypted content data in accordance with a distribution instruction of the content / key distribution unit 51. Client 4
(Content and key receiving unit 42). Billing unit 5
5 receives the decryption completion notification from the decryption completion notification unit 44 of the client 4, and performs the charging process of the purchaser (client 4) on the charging log database 25.

Next, the operation sequence will be described. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation sequence of the online charging system according to the second embodiment. In the online charging system described above, when a purchase request is made from the client 4 to the server system 5, authentication is performed by credit between the server system 5 and the credit credit / settlement server 3. As a result of the authentication, when the purchase permission is granted to the buyer, the required content (encrypted)
And the decryption key are distributed from the server system 5 to the client 4 as the purchaser.

After that, when the decryption completion notification is transferred from the client 4 to the server system 5, the server system 5 performs the charging process of the purchaser, and after a certain period of time, the server system 5 and the credit credit / settlement server 3 Is settled between and. In this way, it is possible to prevent billing at the seller before the content usage reaches a certain stage at the seller.

Now, as for the hardware configuration according to the second embodiment, since the same configuration as the configuration of the client 1 according to the first embodiment described above can be applied to the client 4, its illustration and description are omitted. In addition, since the server system 5 can apply the same configuration as the server system 2 of the first embodiment as a whole, only different portions will be described. Here, only the main part of the server system 5 needs to be described.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the hardware of the main part of server system 5 of the online charging system according to the second embodiment. The content database 20 is stored in the disk device 208 of the first embodiment.
Although two types of databases, 8A and the billing log database 208B, are provided, in the second embodiment,
A disk device 219 is connected to the bus 210A instead of the disk device 208. This disk device 21
Reference numeral 9 denotes a content database 219A corresponding to the content database 53, a key database 219B corresponding to the key database 54, and a charging log database 2
5 has a charge log database 219C.

Next, the relationship between the content database 219A and the key database 219B will be described. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a method of managing the correspondence between the content database 219A and the key database 219B according to the second embodiment. In FIG.
, CD2, CD3,... Respectively indicate content data, and KD1, KD2, KD3.

In the server system 5, a number is assigned to each content in order to manage the content, and the correspondence between the content and the decryption key is managed by the number. Specifically, for example, in the case where the numbers are managed in the form of 1, 2, 3,..., As shown in FIG.
Content No. 1 is given a correspondence relationship between the content data CD1 and the decryption key data KD1. 2 is given a correspondence relationship between the content data CD2 and the decryption key data KD2.
o. 3 includes the content data CD3 and the decryption key data K
The correspondence with D3 is given. For example, content N
o. When the purchase request is made, the encrypted content data CD1 and its decryption key data KD1 are distributed to the client 4.

Next, the online shopping operation will be described. FIG. 14 is a flowchart for explaining the operation according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining screen transitions during online shopping according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 14 shows a commercial transaction operation between the client 4 and the server system 5. The server system 5 forms a virtual electronic market with digital contents on the network INT. At this time, when the client 4 accesses the electronic market through the network INT, the client system
Is provided with content information (step S1).
1). The client 4 can display the electronic market on the display 105 based on the content information. At this time, various contents are displayed and displayed on the electronic market (step C11).

In the second embodiment as well, as in the first embodiment described above, the display 10 is operated by the user.
The necessary items are input on the user information input screen 5 (step C12). Thereafter, when an order is instructed by operating the keyboard 106 or the mouse 107 (step C13), information on the selected content and user information are transmitted to the server system 5. That is, a purchase request is made by operating the purchase icon 1053m (see FIG. 7B) (step C14). Thereafter, the process enters a standby state waiting for the authentication result. In the second embodiment, since the encrypted content is purchased, the client 4 requests the server system 5 for the decryption key immediately after receiving the requested content.

When the server system 5 receives the purchase request from the client 4 (step S12),
An authentication process is performed based on the user information sent in the purchase request (step S13). As a result of the authentication, if the purchase is permitted (step S14), the content selected by the user of the client 4 is read from the content database 219A and distributed via the network INT. Further, in response to the key request after the content distribution, a decryption key stored and managed in association with the content distributed this time is read from the key database 219B and distributed via the network INT (step S15).

After the requested content and its decryption key have been distributed to the client 4 in this way,
The processing is in a standby state of waiting for the notification of the completion of decoding. On the other hand, if the purchase is not permitted as a result of the authentication in step S13 (step S14), a notice of purchase non-permission is transferred to the client 4, and this commercial transaction ends (step S16).

If the purchase permission is granted from the server system 5 and the requested content and its decryption key are transferred (step C15), the decrypted key transferred together with the transferred content is transmitted. Then, an operation of storing the decrypted content in the content area 110 in the HD 109 is executed (step C16). Here, during the reception of the content, a message 1055a such as “receiving the content” is displayed on the display 105 as shown in FIG. Also, during the reception of the decryption key, a message 1055b such as "Receiving the decryption key" is displayed on the display 105 as shown in FIG.

On the other hand, if the purchase rejection notice is received in step C15, a message indicating that the purchase is not permitted is displayed on the display 105 (step C17), and this commercial transaction operation ends.

When the reception, decryption and storage of the content are completed in step S16, it is determined whether or not the decryption of the content has been completed normally (step C1).
8). If decoding is successful (step C18),
A decoding completion notification is transmitted to the server system 5 (step C19). In this case, as shown in FIG.
Is displayed as shown in FIG. On the other hand, if the content reception cannot be completed normally due to communication failure in content reception, incomplete content decryption, or the like (step C1).
8), this commercial transaction is terminated as if it did not exist.

When the server system 5 receives the decryption completion notification (step S17), it determines that the content has been normally delivered to the client 4 as the purchaser and the client 4 can be used, and the purchaser's billing process is performed. The process is executed (Step S18). The information charged by this charging process is managed in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

On the other hand, if the decryption completion notification has not been received (step S17), the process ends without charging the purchaser. In the billing process, as long as smooth operation of the system is not hindered, it may be possible to wait until a decoding completion notification is received.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, in addition to the effects of the above-described embodiment, in addition to the effect of the above-described system, the sales destination in the sales destination before the content usage reaches a certain stage (after decryption) at the sales destination. , It is possible to realize a smooth and reliable commercial transaction on the network.

(Embodiment 3) In the above-described Embodiments 1 and 2, the system uses the notification such as the completion of reception and the completion of decoding as the timing of charging. However, in Embodiment 3 described below, As described above, the billing process may be automatically executed even if there is no notification after a certain period of time has elapsed after the content distribution. Since the entire configuration of the third embodiment can be applied to any of the configurations of the first and second embodiments, only the main parts are illustrated in the following description.

First, the essential parts will be described functionally. FIG. 16 is a block diagram functionally showing a main part of a server system of the online charging system according to the third embodiment. The online charging system according to the third embodiment further includes a distribution-completion period measuring unit 61 that measures a certain time. For example, when the configuration of the first embodiment is applied, the distribution-completion period measuring unit 61 measures a certain time in response to a distribution instruction from the content distribution unit 22, that is, a signal to start measurement.

The distribution-completion period measuring unit 61 performs an expiration notification for instructing the charging unit 24 to charge when the reception completion notification has not been transmitted to the charging unit 24 during the measurement of the predetermined time. It is. Normally, the charging unit 24 executes the charging process in accordance with the reception completion notification. However, in the second embodiment, the charging process is automatically performed after a lapse of a certain time after the distribution by the measurement of the distribution-completion period measuring unit 61. Will be

Note that the distribution-completion period measuring unit 61 not only performs the measurement after the completion of the measurement for a certain period of time, but also receives the completion notification from the billing unit 24 within a certain period of time. Stop the measurement operation.

In the above description, an application example according to the first embodiment has been described. However, as shown in FIG. 16, the present invention is also applicable to the second embodiment. That is, in the application of the second embodiment, the content / key distribution unit 51 signals the start of measurement instead of the content distribution unit 22, and the charging unit 55 replaces the charging unit 24 and the expiration notification from the distribution-completion period measuring unit 61. Receiving or distributing within a certain time-Completion period measuring unit 6
1 to output a completion notification of the decoding.

Next, the operation sequence will be described. FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation sequence of the online charging system according to the third embodiment. In the online charging system described above, the client 1
When a purchase request is made from (or 4) to the server system 2 (or 5), authentication is performed by credit between the server system 2 (or 5) and the credit credit / settlement server 3. As a result of the authentication, when the purchaser is granted the purchase permission, the required content (a decryption key is required if the content has been encrypted) is transmitted from the server system 2 (or 5) to the client 1 (or the purchaser). 4).

At this time, in the server system 2 (or 5), measurement for a certain time indicated by TO is performed. Thereafter, when the reception (or decryption) completion notification is transferred from the client 1 (or 4) to the server system 2 (or 5) during the measurement of the certain time T0, the server system 2
In (or 5), the buyer is charged (in the case of (1) in FIG. 17).

On the other hand, if the measurement of the predetermined time T0 is completed before the completion notification is received, the server system 2 (or 5)
, The charging process is automatically performed, and when a completion notification is received thereafter, the charging has already been completed (case (2) in FIG. 17). This, in other words,
This indicates that billing will be performed after a certain period of time T0, regardless of whether a completion notification has been received. In this way, business transactions can be managed by time.

Next, only the main part of the online shopping operation will be described. FIG. 18 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the main part according to the third embodiment.
In the following description, a case where the present invention is applied to the first embodiment will be described as an example. In the third embodiment, when the distribution of the requested content is completed (see step S5 in FIG. 6), measurement of a certain time is started (step S31). Then, in a succeeding step S32, it is determined whether or not a reception completion notice is received. In a succeeding step S33, a predetermined time T0 is determined.
Is performed to determine whether or not has elapsed. If there is no reception completion notification and the measurement of the fixed time T0 is being performed,
Steps S32 and S33 are repeatedly executed.

If it is determined in step S32 that the reception completion notification has been received without waiting for the elapse of the predetermined time T0, the process proceeds to step S34 to execute a process of charging the purchaser. If it is determined in step S33 that the predetermined time T0 has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S33.
Then, the process goes to step S34 to execute the charging process for the purchaser without waiting for the arrival of the reception completion notification. Here, it is assumed that the processing subsequent to step S6 in the flowchart of FIG. 6 leads to the end of this processing.

The flowchart of FIG. 18 is applicable to the second embodiment. In that case, step S15 (see FIG. 14) is incorporated in place of step S5,
Step S16 instead of step S6 (see FIG. 14)
Is incorporated.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, even if a notification of reception completion or decryption completion does not arrive from a client within a certain time after content distribution in the server system, billing is performed after the certain time. , The business transaction can be managed in time. Thereby, it is possible to prevent a meaningless delay of the charging timing due to the commercial transaction.

(Embodiment 4) According to the present invention, an online return technique may be applied to Embodiments 1 and 2 described above as in Embodiment 4 described below. Since the entire configuration of the fourth embodiment can be applied to any of the configurations of the first and second embodiments, only the main parts are illustrated in the following description.

First, the essential parts will be described functionally. FIG. 19 is a block diagram functionally showing a main part of the online charging system according to the fourth embodiment. In FIG. 19, a client 7 and a server system 8 according to the seventh embodiment are indicated.

The client 7 is the same as that of the first embodiment.
3, a content return request unit 71, a content deletion unit 72, a content storage unit 73,
This is a configuration in which a return completion notification unit 74 and a non-return notification unit 75 are added. After receiving the content, the content return requesting unit 71 issues a return request to the server system 8 to request a content return if the content selection is incorrect or the content does not satisfy the request. I do.

The content deletion section 72 deletes the content requested to be returned in accordance with the deletion notification transmitted from the server system 8. The content storage unit 73 stores the content purchased from the server system 8 and deletes the content to be deleted in accordance with the deletion by the content deletion unit 72. The return completion notification unit 74 sends a return return usage notification to the server system 8 when the content deletion of the content storage unit 73 is completed. The non-returnable notification unit 75 notifies the user of the client 7 of the non-returnability when the non-returnable notification is sent from the server system 8.

The server system 8 further includes a delivery-completion period measuring unit 81, a return request accepting unit 82, and a return possibility determination unit 8 in addition to any one of the above-described first to third embodiments.
3. A configuration in which a content deletion notification unit 84, a non-returnable notification unit 85, and a return completion notification confirmation unit 86 are added. The distribution-completion period measuring unit 81 differs from the distribution-completion period measuring unit 61 of the third embodiment described above in that even if the completion notification is received, no charge is instructed until a certain time elapses, and a certain time elapses. The charging is instructed at the timing.

The return request receiving unit 82 receives a return request transmitted from the content return request unit 71 of the client 7. The return / non-return determination unit 83 includes a return request reception unit 82
Is determined according to the return request accepted by the customer. The return / non-return determination unit 83 determines that return is possible and cancels charging while the distribution-completion period measuring unit 81 is measuring for a certain period of time, and on the other hand, determines that return is not possible at the expiration of a certain period.

The content deletion notifying section 84 sends a deletion notification to the content deleting section 72 of the client 7 when the return permission determining section 83 determines that the return is possible. The non-returnable notification unit 85 sends a non-returnable notification to the non-returnable notification unit 74 of the client 7 when the returnable / non-returnable determination unit 83 determines that the product cannot be returned. The return completion notification confirmation unit 86
When the return completion notification transmitted from the return completion notification unit 75 of the client 7 is received, the return completion is internally confirmed.

The above description of the configuration is based on the case where the configuration of the first embodiment is applied.
As described above, in the application to the second embodiment, for the sake of explanation, the content / key distribution unit 51 replaces the content distribution unit 22 and the charging unit 55 replaces the charging unit 24.

Next, the operation sequence will be described. FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation sequence of the online charging system according to the fourth embodiment. In the online charging system described above, when a purchase request is made from the client 7 to the server system 8, authentication is performed by credit between the server system 8 and the credit credit / settlement server 3. As a result of the authentication, when the purchaser is granted the purchase, the required content (a decryption key is required if the content has been encrypted) is sent to the server system 8.
Is delivered to the client 7 as a purchaser.

At that time, the server system 8 performs measurement for a certain time indicated by T1. Thereafter, during the measurement of the fixed time T1, the client 7 sends the server system 8
When the notification of the return request is transferred to (1 in FIG. 20)
-1)) Since the server system 8 has not yet been charged, a content deletion notification is sent back to the client 7 in response to the return request ((1-2) in FIG. 20). After that, the client 7 deletes the content,
The return completion notice is transferred to the server system 8 as the completion notice ((1-3) in FIG. 2). In this case, since the returned goods are established, the billing process is not performed even after the lapse of the predetermined time T1.

On the other hand, if the return request is made after the lapse of the fixed time T1 ((2-1) in FIG. 20), the billing process has already been performed after the lapse of the fixed time T1. Therefore, it cannot be returned due to the commercial transaction in this system. Therefore, the server system 8 transfers a non-returnable notice to the client 7 (see (2--
2)). In this way, the cooling system can be applied for a certain period after the commercial transaction, as in the normal commercial transaction.

Next, the online shopping operation will be described. FIG. 21 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the main part according to the fourth embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating screen transition during online shopping. Here, the operation flow after the step C9 of the first embodiment (or the step C19 of the second embodiment described above) for the client 7 is shown, and for the server system 8, the step S5 of the first embodiment (or the above-described step S5) is performed. The operation flow after step S15) of the second embodiment is shown.

In the following description, Embodiment 1 will be described as an example. Note that, regarding the flowchart of the server system 8, the operation when the purchased content is requested to be returned within the fixed time T1 is linked to the operation when the returned content is requested after the fixed time T1 is exceeded. Is shown.

After the reception completion notification is transmitted in step C9, the client 7 can request a return of the purchased content for the user's convenience. In the fourth embodiment, the content purchase request and the content return request are operated from the same initial screen. That is, as in the first embodiment, the display 105 has
Content title field 1051a and its content field 105
1b are displayed in association with each other.

In the content column 1051b, check columns 1052a, 1052b, and 1052 are displayed together with the contents of the contents CNT1, CNT2, and CNT3, respectively.
c is arranged. Further, in the fourth embodiment, since a return request can be made for each content, a purchase procedure icon 1056a for indicating whether the check is for a purchase request or a check for a return request and a return procedure icon 1056a are provided. A procedure icon 1056b is displayed.

Here, the purchase procedure icon 1056a is used for setting the user information for the purchase of the content checked in the check box (see FIG. 7B of the first embodiment).
Reference). The return procedure icon 1056b is an icon for shifting to a process (see FIG. 22 (b)) of designating a content for which a return request is to be made among contents that have already been requested for purchase and received.

Therefore, when the user selects and returns the return procedure icon 1056b in the client 7, a content return request is made in step S41.
At this time, a list of the contents that have already been purchased and received are displayed on the display 105. For example, when the currently received content is the content CNT1, as shown in FIG.
7a displays the title of the content CNT1, and the internal column 1057b displays the content CN.
The content of T1 is displayed.

In the case of this return request as well, the contents column 1057
A check box 1052d for checking the content is provided in b. At this time, the content CN
Since T1 is to be returned, DC in FIG.
Indicated as NT. Further, at the bottom of the display screen, a cancel icon 1058a for canceling the return request mode and a return icon 1058b for transmitting a return request to the server system 8 are displayed. In the example of FIG. 22B, the content requested to be returned by the return icon 1058b is the content DCNT checked in the check box 1052d.

Then, after the user checks the check box 1052d of the content DCNT, the return icon 1
When the user selects “058b”, a return request is transmitted from the client 7 to the server system 8. The processing after the content return request is transmitted is in a standby state waiting for a content deletion notification to be received from the server system 8.

On the other hand, in the server system 8, after the content distribution in step S5, the measurement of the fixed time T1 is started (step S41), and the return from the client 7 is performed until the fixed time T1 elapses (step S42). It is determined whether there is a request (step S43). That is, if there is no return request in step S43, the process returns to step S42 again, and it is determined that a predetermined time T1 has elapsed. For example, the content CNT1 (content D
If there is a return request for the content CNT, the process proceeds to step S44, and a deletion notification of the content CNT1 (content DCNT) is transmitted to the client 7 that has requested the content return. It should be noted that the server system 8 confirms the elapse of the predetermined time T1, and if there is no request for returning the content CNT1 by then, the charging process for the content CNT1 is automatically executed. (Step S45).

If a request is received from the client 7 after the lapse of the predetermined time T1 (step S46) and the request is a return request for the purchased content CNT1 (step S47), the predetermined time T1 has already been reached.
Has passed, and the charging process has been completed, so a message indicating that the content CNT1 cannot be returned is notified (step S48). If the request from the client 7 is another request such as a purchase request (step S47), another process is executed.

Now, in the client 7, step C
If a content deletion notification arrives after the content return request by 41 (step C42), the process proceeds to step C43, where the content CNT1 stored in the content area is deleted. in this case,
If the content CNT1 is application software, an uninstall process is executed. At this time, as shown in FIG.
Contains a message 1059 stating "Content is being deleted".
a is displayed.

Further, after the content deletion is completed, a return completion notification is transferred from the client 7 to the server system 8 (step C44). After the transfer of the return completion notification is completed, the message 105 indicating that the return has been completed, as shown in FIG.
9b is displayed. With this display, the purchaser confirms that the product has been returned.

On the other hand, if, after the content return request by step C41, a return-not-notification notification is received instead of a content-deletion notification (step C42), the process proceeds to step S45, and the process returns to step S45. As shown, a message 1059c to the effect that "... will not be returned" is displayed on the display 105. With this display, the purchaser confirms that the product could not be returned.

As described above, according to the fourth embodiment, in the server system 8, if the purchase cancellation request is received from the client 7 within a certain time after the content distribution, the charging is canceled. Therefore, the cooling system can be applied for a certain period after the commercial transaction as in the normal commercial transaction. This makes it possible to cancel the purchase online.

When the server system 8 notifies the client 7 of the deletion of the required content at the time of canceling the charging, the client 7 deletes the required content according to the notification. It is possible to prevent unforeseen situations such as unauthorized use from occurring. This makes it possible to reliably return the content.

[0154]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, in the content sales, the billing process is performed after a predetermined notification is transferred from the terminal device to the server system after the content is transferred from the server system to the terminal device. Is implemented, it is possible to prevent charging in a state where content has not arrived, and thereby obtain an online charging system capable of realizing a smooth and reliable commercial transaction on a network. To play.

According to the second aspect of the invention, in the content sales, the accounting process is performed after a lapse of a predetermined time after the content is transferred from the server system to the terminal device. Therefore, the commercial transaction is managed by time. This makes it possible to obtain an online charging system capable of preventing a meaningless delay in charging timing due to a commercial transaction.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in the content sales, if a purchase cancellation request is made before a lapse of a predetermined time after the content transfer from the server system to the terminal device, the billing process is canceled. As a result, it is possible to apply a cooling system for a certain period after the commercial transaction, similar to a normal commercial transaction, thereby obtaining an online billing system that can cancel the purchase online. It works.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when required content in the electronic market is requested from the terminal device to the server system, the required content is distributed from the server system to the terminal device. Thereafter, the server system performs the billing process in accordance with the reception completion notification sent from the terminal device, so that it is possible to prevent the billing at the selling source in the content non-arrival state at the selling destination, As a result, it is possible to obtain an online charging system capable of realizing a smooth and reliable commercial transaction on a network.

Further, according to the invention of claim 5, according to claim 4,
In the invention of the first aspect, the server system has an effect that an online charging system capable of forming an electronic market by a plurality of contents registered in the content database is obtained.

According to the invention of claim 6, when a required content in the electronic market is requested from the terminal device to the server system, the required content and its decryption are transmitted from the server system to the terminal device. Key and delivered,
After that, the terminal device decrypts the content,
In the server system, the billing process is executed in accordance with the decoding completion notification sent from the terminal device, so that the system prevents billing at the seller before the content reaches a certain stage at the seller. It is possible,
As a result, it is possible to obtain an online charging system capable of realizing a smooth and reliable commercial transaction on a network.

Further, according to the invention of claim 7, according to claim 6,
In the invention of the above, in the server system, it is possible to form an electronic market by a plurality of encrypted contents registered in the content database,
There is an effect that an online charging system capable of decrypting each of the plurality of encrypted contents registered in the content database with the decryption key registered in the key database is obtained.

Further, according to the invention of claim 8, according to claim 4,
In any one of the inventions of (1) to (7), in the server system, even if a notification of the completion of reception or the completion of decoding is not received from the terminal device within a certain time after the content distribution, billing is performed after the certain time. In addition, it is possible to manage a commercial transaction by time, thereby providing an online charging system capable of preventing a useless delay in charging timing due to the commercial transaction.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the fourth aspect of the present invention provides
In any one of the inventions, the server system cancels the billing when a purchase cancellation request is received from the terminal device within a certain period of time after the content distribution. The cooling system can be applied for a certain period after the commercial transaction, thereby providing an online charging system capable of realizing purchase cancellation online.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the ninth aspect of the invention, when the server system notifies the terminal device of the deletion of the required content at the time of canceling the charging, Since the required content is deleted according to the notification, it is possible to prevent an unforeseen situation such as improper use beforehand, thereby obtaining an online billing system capable of reliably returning the content. The effect is that it can be done.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, a plurality of contents for forming an electronic market are registered in the contents database, and required contents requested by the terminal device are read out from the contents database and distributed. Later, when the notification of the completion of the reception is transmitted from the terminal device, the billing process is executed, so that the online billing system can prevent the billing in the state where the content has not arrived at the sales destination. As a result, an effect is obtained that a server system of an online charging system capable of realizing smooth and reliable commercial transactions on a network is obtained.

According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, each content in the content database is managed so as to have a corresponding relationship with each decryption key in the key database, and the required content requested by the terminal device is stored in the content database. After reading from the database and distributing, and reading and distributing a decryption key for decrypting the required content from the key database, the accounting process is performed when a notification of the completion of decryption is transmitted from the terminal device. In the online charging system, it is possible to prevent charging before the content usage reaches a certain stage at the sales destination, thereby realizing a smooth and reliable business transaction on the network. There is an effect that a server system of an online charging system can be obtained.

According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the eleventh or twelfth aspect of the present invention, even if a notification of the completion of reception or the completion of decryption has not been received from the terminal device within a certain period of time after the distribution of the content, the terminal device may be notified after a certain period of time. Is designed to execute the billing, so that the commercial transaction can be managed in time, thereby providing an online billing system server system capable of preventing a meaningless delay of the billing timing due to the commercial transaction. To play.

According to the fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the eleventh or twelfth aspect of the present invention, if a purchase cancellation request is received from a terminal device within a certain period of time after content distribution, the charge is canceled. Therefore, similar to normal commercial transactions, a cooling system can be applied for a certain period after the commercial transactions, thereby providing an online charging system server system capable of realizing online purchase cancellation. It works.

According to the fifteenth aspect, in the fourteenth aspect, when the user instructs to cancel the charge,
Since the terminal device is notified of the deletion of the required content, unexpected situations such as unauthorized use can be prevented beforehand, and as a result, online content can be reliably returned. This has the effect of providing a billing system.

According to the sixteenth aspect of the present invention, when required content requested for the electronic market established on the network is received from the server system, the server system executes a billing process. Since the notification of the completion of reception, which is a signal, is forwarded, it is possible to prevent billing at the seller in the state where the content has not arrived on the online billing system, thereby enabling smooth and reliable commercial transactions on the network. There is an effect that a terminal device of an online charging system that can be realized is obtained.

According to the seventeenth aspect of the present invention, when a required content and a decryption key requested for an electronic market established on the network are received from the server system, the server system is decrypted after decrypting the content. , A notification of the completion of decryption, which is a signal to execute the billing process, is transferred, so that the online billing system can prevent the billing at the seller before the content usage reaches a certain stage. This makes it possible to obtain a terminal device of an online charging system capable of realizing a smooth and reliable commercial transaction on a network.

According to the eighteenth aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the sixteenth aspect or the seventeenth aspect, after requesting the server system to cancel the purchase, when the server system notifies the server system of deleting required content, Following the notice, we removed the required content,
Cancellation process for product distribution is completed online,
As a result, an effect is obtained that a terminal device of an online charging system that can efficiently operate online shopping is obtained.

According to the nineteenth aspect of the present invention, in an electronic market established on a network, a terminal device requests a required content from a server system, and the required content is transmitted from the server system to the terminal device. After that, the terminal device transmits the notification of the completion of reception to the server system, and then executes the accounting process. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the accounting at the selling source in the state where the content has not arrived at the selling destination. This makes it possible to obtain a charging method of an online charging system capable of realizing smooth and reliable commercial transactions on a network.

According to the twentieth aspect of the present invention, in the electronic market established on the network, the required content encrypted from the terminal device to the server system and the decryption key for decrypting the content are simultaneously transmitted. Alternatively, the required contents and the required contents are transferred simultaneously or separately from the server system to the terminal device, and the required contents are decrypted by the terminal device using the decryption key, and then the decryption is completed for the server system. Since the notification is transferred and the accounting process is executed after the notification of the completion of the decryption is transferred to the server system,
Billing of online billing system that can prevent billing at the seller before content usage reaches the certain stage at the seller, thereby enabling smooth and reliable commercial transactions on the network This has the effect that a method can be obtained.

Further, according to the twenty-first aspect of the present invention, in the nineteenth or twentieth aspect, the server system measures a predetermined time after the content transfer, and notifies the reception completion or the decoding completion within the predetermined time. A step of executing a billing process after a certain period of time even if no incoming call is included, so that commercial transactions can be managed by time, thereby preventing unnecessary delays in billing timing due to commercial transactions. There is an effect that a billing method of the billing system can be obtained.

According to the invention of claim 22, in the invention of claim 19 or 20, in the server system,
A certain period of time is measured after the content transfer, and if the terminal device issues a purchase cancellation request to the server system within the certain period of time, a step of canceling the billing process is included. , You can apply a cooling system for a certain period after the transaction,
As a result, there is an effect that a charging method of an online charging system capable of realizing online purchase cancellation can be obtained.

According to the twenty-third aspect of the present invention, by recording a program for causing a computer to execute the method according to any one of the nineteenth to twenty-second aspects, the program becomes machine-readable. Accordingly, there is an effect that a recording medium capable of realizing the operation of any one of claims 19 to 22 by a computer can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram functionally showing an online charging system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation sequence of the online charging system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a client of the online charging system according to the first embodiment in terms of hardware.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a hardware of a server system of the online charging system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the contents of a content database according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating screen transition during online shopping according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating screen transition during online shopping according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a billing log database according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram functionally showing an online charging system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation sequence of the online charging system according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing hardware of a main part of a server system of an online charging system according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a method for managing the correspondence between a content database and a key database according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an operation according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating screen transition during online shopping according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram functionally showing a main part of a server system of an online charging system according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation sequence of the online charging system according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a main part according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram functionally showing a main part of an online charging system according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation sequence of the online charging system according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a main part according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating screen transition during online shopping according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating screen transition during online shopping according to the fourth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 4, 7 client 2, 5, 8 server system 11 content selection and user information input unit 12 content request unit 13 content reception unit 14 reception completion notification unit 15 content storage unit 21 authentication unit 22 content distribution unit 23, 208A content database 24 Charging unit 25, 208B Charging log database 41 Content / key request unit 42 Content and decryption key receiving unit 43 Content decrypting unit 44 Decryption completion notifying unit 51 Content / key distribution unit 52 Content encrypting unit 53, 219A Content database 54, 219C Key database 55 Billing unit 61, 81 Distribution-completion period measuring unit 71 Content return request unit 72 Content deletion unit 73 Content storage unit 83 Returnable / non-returnable judgment unit 84 Content deletion notification unit 101, 1 CPU 102,202 ROM 103,203 RAM 104,204 application memory 105 display 106 keyboard 107 mouse 109 HD 112 FD 113,205 modems 208,219 disk device 219C billing log database

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] August 11, 1998

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0040

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

According to the invention of claim 17, if the required content and its decryption key requested the electronic market constructed on the network received from the server system, after the content decryption, the server system Since the notification of the completion of decoding, which is a signal for executing the billing process, is transferred to the online billing system,
It is possible to prevent billing at the seller before the content usage reaches a certain stage, thereby realizing a smooth and reliable business transaction on the network.

[Procedure amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0129

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

First, the essential parts will be described functionally. FIG. 19 is a block diagram functionally showing a main part of the online charging system according to the fourth embodiment. In FIG. 19, the client of the fourth embodiment is indicated by 7, and the server system is indicated by 8.

[Procedure amendment 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name]

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

The content deletion section 72 deletes the content requested to be returned in accordance with the deletion notification transmitted from the server system 8. The content storage unit 73 stores the content purchased from the server system 8 and deletes the content to be deleted in accordance with the deletion by the content deletion unit 72. The return completion notification unit 74 sends a return completion notification to the server system 8 when the content deletion of the content storage unit 73 is completed. The non-returnable notification unit 75 notifies the user of the client 7 of the non-returnability when the non-returnable notification is sent from the server system 8.

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name]

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

The content deletion notifying section 84 sends a deletion notification to the content deleting section 72 of the client 7 when the return permission determining section 83 determines that the return is possible. Non-returnable notification unit 85, and transmits the non-returnable notice to non-returnable notification unit 7 5 of client 7 when the return determination unit 83 has made a determination of non-returnable. The return completion notification confirmation unit 86
Internally to make sure the return is complete when accepting the coming return completion notification is transferred from the return completion notification unit 7 4 of client 7.

[Procedure amendment 5]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0144

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0144] Therefore, the client 7, when the user selects the operation to complete the return process icon 1056b, the content return request in step C 41 is performed.
At this time, a list of the contents that have already been purchased and received are displayed on the display 105. For example, when the currently received content is the content CNT1, as shown in FIG.
7a displays the title of the content CNT1, and the internal column 1057b displays the content CN.
The content of T1 is displayed.

[Procedure amendment 6]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0147

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

On the other hand, in the server system 8, after the content distribution in step S5, the measurement of the fixed time T1 is started (step S41), and the return from the client 7 is performed until the fixed time T1 elapses (step S42). It is determined whether there is a request (step S43). That is, if there is no return request in step S43, the process returns to step S42 again, and it is determined that a predetermined time T1 has elapsed. For example, the content CNT1 (content D
If there is a return request for the content CNT, the process proceeds to step S44, and a deletion notification of the content CNT1 (content DCNT) is transmitted to the client 7 that has requested the content return. Incidentally, the elapse of a predetermined time T1 in the server system 8 is confirmed, when there is no return request for the content CNT1 so far is automatically accounting process Ru is executed for content CNT1 (step S45).

[Procedure amendment 7]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] FIG.

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG. 10

[Procedure amendment 8]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] FIG.

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG. 11

[Procedure amendment 9]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] FIG.

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG. 13

[Procedure amendment 10]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] FIG.

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG. 14

[Procedure amendment 11]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] FIG.

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG.

[Procedure amendment 12]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] FIG.

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG. 16

[Procedure amendment 13]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] FIG.

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG.

[Procedure amendment 14]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] FIG.

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG.

[Procedure amendment 15]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] FIG.

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG.

[Procedure amendment 16]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] FIG.

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG.

Continuation of front page (54) [Title of the Invention] Online charging system, server system applied to online charging system, terminal device applied to online charging system, charging method in online charging system, and execution of the method on computer -Readable recording medium recording a program to be executed

Claims (23)

[Claims] 1. A server system that is connected to a network, virtually constructs an electronic market formed by a plurality of contents on the network, and controls content sales and billing through the electronic market. And one or more terminal devices that access the electronic marketplace to control content purchase, and wherein when the server system sells content to the terminal device via the network,
An online charging system, wherein a charging process is performed after a predetermined notification is transferred from the terminal device to the server system after content transfer from the server system to the terminal device. 2. A server system that is connected to a network, virtually constructs an electronic market formed by a plurality of contents on the network, and controls content sales and billing through the electronic market, and a connection to the network. And one or more terminal devices that access the electronic marketplace to control content purchase, and wherein when the server system sells content to the terminal device via the network,
An online charging system, wherein a charging process is performed after a lapse of a fixed time after the content transfer from the server system to the terminal device. 3. A server system that is connected to a network, virtually constructs an electronic market formed by a plurality of contents on the network, and controls content sales and charging for the electronic market through the electronic market. And one or more terminal devices that access the electronic marketplace and control the purchase of the content. Content is sold from the server system to the terminal device via the network, and from the server system. If there is a purchase cancellation request before a predetermined time elapses after the content transfer to the terminal device, the billing process is canceled. 4. A server system that is connected to a network, virtually constructs an electronic market formed by a plurality of contents on the network, and controls content sales and billing through the electronic market, and a connection to the network. And one or more terminal devices for accessing the electronic market and controlling content purchase, wherein the terminal device requests required content from the server system in the electronic market built on the network. Requesting means, and notifying means for transferring a notification of reception completion to the server system when the required content requested by the requesting means is received by distribution of the server system, The server system includes the required command requested by the request unit of the terminal device. Distribution means for distributing the content, and charging means for executing a charging process when the notification of the completion of reception is transferred by the notification means after distributing the required content by the distribution means. Online billing system characterized by the following. 5. The online charging system according to claim 4, wherein said server system has a content database in which a plurality of contents for forming said electronic market are registered. 6. A server system that is connected to a network, virtually constructs an electronic market formed by a plurality of contents on the network, and controls the sale of contents by encryption and the charging thereof through the electronic market. One or more terminal devices connected to a network and controlling access to the electronic market to purchase contents requiring decryption, wherein the terminal device performs encryption in the electronic market built on the network. Requesting means for requesting the requested required content to the server system; and the encrypted required content received in response to the request of the requesting means, the content being received corresponding to the content. Decryption means for decrypting using a decryption key for decryption; decryption completed by the decryption means Notification means for transferring a notification of completion of decryption to the server system, the server system distributes the required content requested by the requesting means of the terminal device, and A distributing means for distributing a decryption key for decrypting the required content; and, after distributing the required content and the decryption key by the distributing means, the notification of the completion of decryption is transferred by the notifying means And an accounting means for executing an accounting process. 7. The server system according to claim 1, wherein the content database registers a plurality of encrypted contents for forming the electronic market, and decrypts each of the plurality of encrypted contents registered in the content database. 7. A key database in which a decryption key for performing registration is registered, and each content in the content database and each decryption key in the key database are managed so as to have a corresponding relationship. Billing system. 8. The server system measures a predetermined time after the distribution by the distribution unit, and charges the charging unit after the predetermined time even if the notification by the notification unit is not received within the predetermined time. The online charging system according to any one of claims 4 to 7, further comprising: 9. The server system measures a certain period of time after the distribution by the distribution unit, and when there is a purchase cancellation request from the terminal device within the predetermined period, the server system cancels the charging to the charging unit. The online charging system according to any one of claims 4 to 8, wherein the on-line billing system is instructed. 10. The server system, when instructing the accounting cancellation, notifies the terminal device to delete the required content, and the terminal device
The online charging system according to claim 9, wherein the required content is deleted according to the notification. 11. A server system connected to a network, virtually constructing an electronic market formed by a plurality of contents on the network, and controlling content sales and billing through the electronic market, and a server system connected to the network. A server system for an online charging system, comprising: one or a plurality of terminal devices for accessing the electronic market and controlling content purchase; and wherein a plurality of contents for forming the electronic market are registered. A database, distribution means for reading and distributing required content requested from the terminal device from the content database, and after distributing the required content by the distribution means, a notification of reception completion is transferred from the terminal device. Charging means for executing charging processing when Server system online charging system comprising the. 12. A server system connected to a network, virtually constructing an electronic market formed by a plurality of contents on the network, and controlling content sales by encryption and billing through the electronic market, A server system for an online billing system, comprising: one or more terminal devices connected to a network and controlling access to the electronic market to purchase content that requires decryption. A content database in which a plurality of encrypted contents are registered; and a key database in which a decryption key for decrypting each of the plurality of encrypted contents registered in the content database is registered. Of each key and the key database The decryption key is managed so as to have a correspondence, and the required content requested from the terminal device is read out from the content database and distributed, and a decryption key for decrypting the required content is set to the decryption key. Distribution means for reading out and distributing from a key database, and charging means for executing a charging process when a notification of completion of decryption is transferred from the terminal device after distributing the required content and its decryption key by the distribution means. A server system for an online billing system, comprising: 13. A method of measuring a predetermined time after the distribution by the distribution unit and instructing the charging unit to charge after the predetermined time even if a notification from the terminal device is not received within the predetermined time. The server system of the online charging system according to claim 11, wherein: 14. A method of measuring a predetermined time after distribution by the distribution means, and instructing the charging means to cancel the charging when the terminal device receives a purchase cancellation request within the predetermined time. A server system for an online charging system according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the server system comprises: 15. When the charge cancellation is instructed,
The server system of an online charging system according to claim 14, wherein the terminal device is notified of deleting the required content. 16. A server system that is connected to a network, virtually constructs an electronic market formed by a plurality of contents on the network, and controls content sales and billing through the electronic market, and is connected to the network. And one or more terminal devices that access the electronic marketplace and control content purchase. A terminal device of an online charging system, comprising: Requesting means for requesting the server system; and receiving, as a signal for performing a billing process on the server system, when the required content requested by the requesting means is received by distribution of the server system. Notification means for transferring a notification of completion, and Terminal equipment of inline billing system. 17. A server system connected to a network, virtually constructing an electronic market formed by a plurality of contents on the network, and controlling content sales by encryption and charging thereof through the electronic market; One or more terminal devices connected to a network to access the electronic marketplace and control the purchase of content that requires decryption; and a terminal device of an online charging system, comprising: Requesting means for requesting the server system for required content encrypted in the electronic market and a decryption key for decrypting the content; and the encrypted required content received in response to the request of the requesting means. Decrypts the content received corresponding to the content; Decoding means for decoding using the decryption key of the following, when the decoding by the decoding means is completed, a notifying means for transferring a notification of the completion of decoding serving as a signal for performing a billing process to the server system, A terminal device for an online charging system, comprising: 18. When a request for canceling a purchase is issued to the server system, when a notice to delete required content is received from the server system, the required content is deleted according to the notification. Item 18. The terminal device of the online charging system according to item 16 or 17. 19. A server system connected to a network, virtually constructing an electronic market formed by a plurality of contents on the network, and controlling content sales and billing through the electronic market, and connecting to the network. And an at least one terminal device for accessing the electronic market and controlling content purchase, comprising: a charging method for an online charging system, comprising: A first step of requesting required content from the server system; a second step of transferring the required content requested in the first step from the server system to the terminal device; After the requested content is transferred by the second step, A third step of transferring a notification of completion of reception from the terminal device to the server system; and executing a charging process after the notification of completion of reception is transferred from the terminal device to the server system in the third step. A charging method for an online charging system, comprising: four steps: 20. A server system which is connected to a network, virtually constructs an electronic market formed by a plurality of contents on the network, and controls sales of contents by encryption and billing thereof through the electronic market. And a terminal device connected to a network and controlling access to the electronic marketplace to purchase content requiring decryption. A charging method for an online charging system, comprising: A first step of simultaneously or separately requesting required encrypted content and a decryption key for decrypting the content from the terminal device to the server system in the electronic market; and simultaneously or separately by the first step Simultaneously or separately with the required content and A second step of transferring from the server system to the terminal device; and the encrypted required content received in response to the request of the first process in the terminal device, wherein the encrypted required content is received corresponding to the content. A third step of decrypting using a decryption key for decrypting the content, and a fourth step of transmitting a notification of completion of decryption from the terminal device to the server system when the decryption is completed in the third step. And a fifth step of executing a billing process after the notification of the completion of the decryption is transferred from the terminal device to the server system in the fourth step. 21. A sixth step in the server system, wherein a certain time is measured after the transfer in the second step, and the billing process is executed after the certain time even if the notification is not received within the certain time. 21. The charging method for an online charging system according to claim 19, wherein the charging method includes: 22. The server system, wherein a certain period of time is measured after the transfer in the second step, and when the terminal device issues a purchase cancel request to the server system within the certain period, 20. The method according to claim 19, further comprising a seventh step of canceling the charging process.
Or a charging method for an online charging system according to item 20. 23. A computer-readable recording medium on which a program for causing a computer to execute the method according to claim 19 is recorded.