Access Company, Ltd.

Other

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation

Mitsubishi Ufj Nicos Co., Ltd.

Tomihisa Kamada

Hiroyuki Suzuki

Fumio Kawabata

Atsushi Murakami

Yasuyuki Sekiguchi

Masaaki Ejima

Toshimizu Abiko

Tomonori Watanabe

Kunihiro Ishiguro

Kazumasa Fueki

Akihito Monta

Toshihiko Fukuda

Shun Tanaka

Ryusuke Narukawa

Takeshi Motohashi

Eiji Kuwana

Koichi Hayasaka

A method of managing downloading contents in a network system including a terminal device, a management server and a downloading site includes three phases of procedures. In a first phase procedure, the management server receives a request for downloading contents from the terminal device and performs a predetermined registration operation. In a second phase procedure, the management server transmits attribution data corresponding to the contents to be downloaded by the terminal device, the attribution data including information of the downloading site. In a third phase procedure, the terminal device accessed the downloading site in accordance with the information included in the attribution data and downloads the contents.

Usage period management system for applications

A contact position detecting unitdetects the position on the touch panel touched by a controlling object. A rendering unitdetermines the layout of a document file including a link and display the document in the layout thus determined. A link position specifying unitspecifies the position of the link in the screen. A detection area setting unitsets an object detection area for determination that the link is selected by the user as a result of contact with the controlling object associated one-to-one with the link, such that the object detection area occupies a range different from that of the link and is spaced apart from an adjacent object detection area by a predefined minimum distance, that the display mode of the link is maintained, and that the object detection area is superposed on the link. A matching unitmatches the position on the touch panel touched by the controlling object against the range occupied by the object detection area so as to determine which object detection area is selected.

Portable information terminal

In a portable communication terminal that functions as a communication instrument by installing an identification recording medium having subscriber information recorded therein, an application acquiring unitis operative to transmit a contract number recorded in the identification recording medium to the server when the identification recording medium is installed for the first time, and downloads an application program linked to the contract number from the server. A checking unitis operative to check identification information embedded in the application program against identification information embedded in the identification recording medium. A function restricting unitis operative to restrict the use of at least a part of the functions of the application program when the identification information of the application program does not match the identification information of the identification recording medium.

Portable communication terminal, program executed by portable communication terminal

A home gateway apparatus is connected to a storage apparatus. A cell phone terminal is connected to the home gateway apparatus via an IP network. Upon acknowledging a telephone number from the cell phone terminal, the home gateway apparatus communicates an IP address of the home gateway apparatus to the cell phone terminal. Subsequently, upon acknowledging a connection request to the IP address thus communicated, the home gateway apparatus performs a process of authenticating the connection request, based on the telephone number of the cell phone terminal and the telephone number already acknowledged. Further, the home gateway apparatus makes the storage apparatus available for use by the cell phone terminal thus authenticated via the IP network.

Communication method, communication apparatus, cell phone terminal, and communication system for performing connection via a network

A registration server () is connected to a mobile terminal () via a communication network () and registers desired scene information specifying a desired scene of a user in a broadcast program together with the communication address information (telephone number or mail address or the like) of the mobile terminal (). A scene management server () classifies and manages the scene information on the real scene appearing in the broadcast program. A message transmission server () checks whether the real scene corresponds to the desired scene. If it does, the scene management server () transmits scene information indicating that broadcast of the desired scene is or has been started via the communication network () or the data broadcast to the user, i.e., the mobile terminal (). In response to the notification of the scene information, the user of the mobile terminal () can view the scene substantially in real time by the TV On instruction without performing channel setting.

Broadcast program scene notification system

A message display terminal for displaying content existing on a network comprises reception means which receives an HTTP response message, a first display area for displaying a message body, a second display area for displaying other information, and display control means which lets the second display area display advertisement data.

Message display terminal, gateway server, program for message display terminal, and program for gateway server

A user-dedicated storage area () of a cellular phone () is retained in a storage server () on a network (). Software purchased by a user via a sales server () is not transferred directly to the user's cellular phone () but is stored in the user-dedicated storage area () of the user. The user downloads the software from his or her own dedicated storage area () to his or her own cellular phone () before using the software.

Mobile information terminal device, storage, server, and method for providing storage region

In the case where a single user selectively uses plural wireless communication terminals by mounting and demounting a subscriber identification card thereon and therefrom, user convenience in such selective use of the plural terminals can be enhanced by synchronizing user data among those plural terminals. For this purpose, at least updated portion of the data stored in the memory in terminal is uploaded from the first terminalon which SIM card (subscriber information card)is mounted, to a servervia a communication network, according to a user's request or automatically. After the SIM carddemounted from the first terminal is mounted on the second terminalor, data to be downloaded to the second terminal from the serveris determined according to the user's request or automatically, and the data is downloaded to the second terminal from the server. In the second terminal, thus downloaded data is used to update the contents in the memory.

Wireless communication terminal synchronization method, wireless communication system, wireless communication terminal, and server

By performing initial user registration via an SSL-compliant browser in an information home electric applianceuser's private key, digital certificate, and member information are downloaded (b) into the storage device in the information home electric appliance. At card use time, when the user selects products on a merchant's SSL-compliant server and issues a purchase instruction (c), the user is identified locally in the information home electric appliance based on a personal identification number. Subsequently, the information home electric appliance accesses an SSL-compliant settlement server(C) and sends a digital certificate and member information stored in the appliance. Then, mutual authentication is performed between the user and the settlement server and, based on the member information, an authorization gatewayauthorizes the account settlement (c). This allows even an information home electric appliance with a relatively small capacity memory device to conduct relatively secure transactions over the Internet using a credit card.

Information home electric appliance

The TV program table data in the area where a viewer resides are received through the Internet or a broadcasting medium by using the TV set with an internet connection function at the viewer. While the viewer is watching a TV program, the audience data including viewed channel information and viewed time information are automatically obtained. The obtained audience data are compared with the TV program table data to identify the watched program. The program ID of the identified program and the viewed time information are transferred to a data collecting center through the Internet together with the viewer ID data. By utilizing the Internet for the distribution of the TV program table data to the viewers and for the collection of the audience data, the nationwide TV audience data can be easily collected and used to make statistics. Since viewed channel and viewed time information are correlated with programs on the viewer's side, the load of processing the data on the center side can be relieved.

Method and device for obtaining audience data on TV program

An Internet television device having a capability of connecting to the Internet. An HTML document received from a WEB server includes a definition of assigning operation buttons of a remote controller to hot spots, the definition containing button identifiers indicative of the operation buttons. An Internet television device interprets the received HTML document to develop an image on an image memory. During this interpretation, the button identifiers of operation buttons of the remote controller are recognized so as to create a button assignment table which correlates the recognized button identifiers with hot spots corresponding to anchor tags in the HTML document. The HTML document also includes display information as to which button is assigned to each hot spot. When a user presses an operation button corresponding to a desired hot spot on the display screen, the Internet television device recognizes which hot spot has been designated by referring to the button assignment table and then selects the hot spot. Thus, it is possible to select a desired hot spot on a WEB browser screen in such a manner as in the channel selection of the TV set.

Internet television device capable of selecting hot spots by the use operation buttons

An internet television apparatus which has an internet connecting capability, comprising a means for storing an HTML document received from a Web server, a means for interpreting the HTML document and develops an image on an image memory, a display device on which the developed image is displayed, a means for recognizing anchor tags existing in the HTML document to detect mutual positional relationship among hot spots, corresponding to the recognized anchor tags, on the browser screen so as to generate a transfer list which defines the positional-relationship, and a control means for determining to which hot spot a focus is to be transferred next from a currently focussed hot spot by referring to the transfer list on the basis of the currently focussed hot spot and a user's operation to the operation key or keys for indicating at least four directions, and for transferring the focus onto the determined hot spot.

Internet television apparatus

An information apparatus which has access means by which a document on the Internet is accessed and automatic Web tracing means which automatically trace link destinations successively according to a predetermined rule and parameters based on the link information which is set in the accessed document. The predetermined rule is either a depth-first search or a width-first search. The predetermined parameters include at least a link depth limit to be used when the link destinations are traced downward in the hierarchy, an interval of time required for a transit from one document to another, and an automatic Web tracing time-out time. The rule and parameters may be specified by a user. Automatic Web tracing may be performed either on-line or off-line. Thus, time-varying information can passively be received as if it were television information, minimizing operation steps necessary for a user to perform the automatic Web browsing of the Internet.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Tomihisa Kamada