Programs, information processing methods, terminals

Abstract

To enable charging for at least a portion of content.SOLUTION: A program provided herein is run by a terminal and causes a control unit of the terminal to perform first processing for charging for at least a portion of content being displayed on a display unit of the terminal according to input to the terminal by a user of the terminal.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1-1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to programs, information processing methods, terminals, servers, etc.

Background Art

[0002] For example, as a technology related to the distribution of content available to users, there is a technology related to the distribution of e-books (for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

[0004] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a program executed by a terminal causes a control unit of the terminal to perform a first process related to charging at least a part of the content displayed on a display unit of the terminal based on an input by a user of the terminal to the terminal. According to a second aspect of the present invention, an information processing method of a terminal includes causing a control unit of the terminal to perform a process related to charging at least a part of the content displayed on a display unit of the terminal based on an input by a user of the terminal to the terminal. According to a third aspect of the present invention, a terminal includes a display unit and a control unit that performs a process related to charging at least a part of the content displayed on the display unit based on an input by a user of the terminal to the terminal. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a terminal includes a processor that reads a program stored in a memory and executes a process based on the program, and the processor executes a process related to charging at least a part of the content displayed on a display unit of the terminal based on an input by a user of the terminal to the terminal.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0005] [Figure 1-1] A diagram showing an example of the system configuration of a communication system according to the embodiment. [Figure 1-2] A diagram showing an example of a function realized by the control unit of the server according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-3] A diagram showing an example of information stored in the storage unit of the server according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-4] A diagram showing an example of the data structure of account registration data according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-5] A diagram showing an example of the data structure of a digital content management database according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-6] A diagram showing an example of the data structure of digital content configuration data according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-7] A diagram showing an example of the data structure of the account management database according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-8] A diagram showing an example of the data structure of digital content-specific billing management data related to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-9] A diagram showing an example of a function realized by the control unit of the terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-10] A diagram showing an example of information stored in the memory unit of the terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-11] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of a terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-12] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of a terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-13] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of a terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-14] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of a terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-15] A flowchart showing an example of the processing flow performed by each device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2-1] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of a terminal according to the second embodiment. [Figure 2-2]A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of the terminal according to the second embodiment. [Figure 2-3] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of the terminal according to the second embodiment. [Figure 2-4] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of the terminal according to the second embodiment. [Figure 3-1] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of the terminal according to the third embodiment. [Figure 3-2] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of the terminal according to the third embodiment. [Figure 3-3] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of the terminal according to the third embodiment. [Figure 3-4] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of the terminal according to the third embodiment. [Figure 3-5] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of the terminal according to the third embodiment. [Figure 3-6] A flowchart showing an example of the processing flow executed by each device according to the third embodiment. [Figure 4-1] A diagram showing an example of the data configuration of the privilege management database according to the fourth embodiment. [Figure 4-2] A flowchart showing an example of the processing flow executed by each device according to the fourth embodiment. [Figure 5-1] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of the terminal according to the fifth embodiment. [Figure 5-2] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of the terminal according to the fifth embodiment. [Figure 5-3] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of the terminal according to the fifth embodiment. [Figure 5-4] A flowchart showing an example of the processing flow executed by each device according to the fifth embodiment. [Figure 6-1] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of the terminal according to the sixth embodiment. [Figure 6-2] A flowchart showing an example of the processing flow executed by the terminal according to the sixth embodiment. [Figure 6-3]A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of a terminal relating to the sixth modified example. [Figure 6-4] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of a terminal relating to the sixth modified example. [Figure 7-1] (1) A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of the terminal according to the seventh embodiment. (2) A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of the terminal according to the seventh embodiment. [Figure 7-2] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of a terminal relating to the seventh modified example. [Figure 7-3] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of a terminal relating to the seventh modified example. [Figure 7-4] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of a terminal relating to the seventh modified example. [Figure 8-1] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of a terminal according to the eighth embodiment. [Figure 8-2] A flowchart showing an example of the processing flow executed by the terminal according to the eighth embodiment. [Figure 9-1] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of a terminal according to the ninth embodiment. [Figure 9-2] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of a terminal according to the ninth embodiment. [Figure 10-1] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of a terminal according to the 10th embodiment. [Figure 11-1] A diagram showing an example of the data structure of an analog content management database according to the 11th embodiment. [Figure 11-2] A diagram showing an example of the data structure of analog content configuration data according to the 11th embodiment. [Figure 11-3] A diagram showing an example of the data structure of the account management database according to the 11th embodiment. [Figure 11-4] This figure shows an example of the data structure of analog content-specific evaluation management data according to the 11th embodiment. [Figure 11-5] A diagram showing an example of information displayed on the display unit of the terminal according to the 11th embodiment. [Figure 11-6]A diagram showing an example of information displayed on the display unit of the terminal according to the 11th embodiment. [Figure 11-7] A diagram showing an example of information displayed on the display unit of the terminal according to the 11th embodiment. [Figure 11-8] A flowchart showing an example of the processing flow performed by each device according to the 11th embodiment. [Figure 11-9] A flowchart showing an example of the processing flow performed by each device related to the 11th modified example. [Figure 11-10] A diagram showing an example of the information displayed on the display unit of the terminal relating to the 11th modified example. [Figure 12-1] A diagram showing an example of information displayed on the display unit of the terminal according to the 12th embodiment. [Figure 12-2] A flowchart showing an example of the processing flow performed by a terminal related to the 12th variation. [Figure 13-1] (1) A diagram showing an example of information displayed on the display unit of the terminal according to the 13th embodiment. (2) A diagram showing an example of information displayed on the display unit of the terminal according to the 13th embodiment. [Figure 13-2] (1) A diagram showing an example of information displayed on the display unit of the terminal according to the 13th embodiment. (2) A diagram showing an example of information displayed on the display unit of the terminal according to the 13th embodiment. [Figure 13-3] A diagram showing an example of the information displayed on the display unit of the terminal relating to the 13th modified example. [Figure 13-4] A diagram showing an example of the information displayed on the display unit of the terminal relating to the 13th modified example. [Figure 13-5] A flowchart showing an example of the processing flow performed by a terminal related to the 13th modified example. [Figure 13-6] A diagram showing an example of the information displayed on the display unit of the terminal relating to the 13th modified example. [Figure 14-1] A diagram showing an example of information displayed on the display unit of a terminal according to the 14th embodiment. [Figure 14-2] A diagram showing an example of information displayed on the display unit of a terminal according to the 14th embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0006] <Compliance with legal matters> Please note that the disclosures described herein are subject to compliance with the laws of the implementing country, including the confidentiality of communications, which are necessary for the implementation of these disclosures.

[0007] <Embodiment> This specification includes phrases such as "as an example, not an limitation" for clarity, but please note that this does not limit the scope of the embodiments described below to those specific phrases.

[0008] Embodiments for implementing the program etc. related to this disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0009] A system, not limited to but as an example, can be defined as a system comprising multiple devices. Multiple devices may be a combination of devices of the same type, a combination of devices of different types, or a combination of devices of the same type and devices of different types. Furthermore, the term "system" can also be thought of, not as a limited definition, but as an example, as a system in which multiple devices work together to perform some kind of processing.

[0010] Furthermore, a system involving a client (client device) and a server can be considered, not as an exhaustive list, but as an example, as at least one of the following: (1) Terminals & Servers (2) Server (3) terminal

[0011] (1) is, as an example and not an limitation, a system comprising at least one terminal and at least one server. This example is a client-server system.

[0012] The server may consist of the following devices, not as an example but as an exception, and may be a single device or a combination of multiple devices.

[0013] Specifically, a server may consist of, but is not limited to, at least one processor (for example, a CPU: Central Processing Unit, a GPU: Graphics Processing Unit, an APU: Accelerated Processing Unit, a DSP: Digital Signal Processor (for example, an ASIC: Application Specific Integrated Circuit, an FPGA: Field Programmable Gate Array), etc.), a computer device (processor + memory), a control device, an arithmetic unit, a processing unit, etc., and may be configured with multiple identical units of any one device (for example, a CPU + CPU, a homogeneous multicore processor, etc.), or with multiple heterogeneous units of any one device (for example, a CPU + DSP, a heterogeneous multicore processor, etc.), or with a combination of multiple devices (for example, a processor + computer device, a processor + arithmetic unit, a heterogeneous configuration of multiple devices, etc.). Note that the processor may be a virtual processor.

[0014] Furthermore, when a server performs some processing, if it is configured as a single device, the processing described in the embodiment will be performed by that single device. If it is configured as having multiple devices, some processing may be performed by one device and other processing may be performed by the other devices. As an example, and not an limitation, if it is configured as having a processor and an arithmetic unit, the first processing may be performed by the processor and the second processing may be performed by the arithmetic unit. Furthermore, if the system consists of multiple devices, each device may be arranged in a location that is physically separated from the others.

[0015] Furthermore, the server's functionality is not limited; for example, it may be provided in the form of PaaS, IaaS, or SaaS in cloud computing.

[0016] Furthermore, the system's control unit can be at least one of either the terminal's control unit or the server's control unit. In other words, the system's control unit can be any of the following, not limited to: (1A) only the terminal's control unit, (1B) only the server's control unit, or (1C) both the terminal's control unit and the server's control unit.

[0017] Furthermore, the control and processing performed by the system's control unit (hereinafter collectively referred to as "control, etc.") may be (1A) performed solely by the terminal's control unit, (1B) performed solely by the server's control unit, or (1C) performed by both the terminal's control unit and the server's control unit. Furthermore, (1C) is not an limitation but an example in which some of the controls that the system would normally perform are performed by the control unit of the terminal, and the remaining controls are performed by the control unit of the server. In this case, the allocation of controls may be equal, or they may be allocated in different proportions.

[0018] Furthermore, when referring to the server's communication unit, if the server is composed of a single device, it may refer to the communication unit itself provided by that single device. Also, if the server is composed of multiple devices, the server's communication unit may include the communication units provided by each of those devices. As an example, and not an limitation, if a server comprises a first device and a second device, with the first device having a first communication unit and the second device having a second communication unit, then the communication unit of the server may be considered a concept that includes both the first and second communication units.

[0019] (2) may, as an example and not an limitation, be a system consisting of multiple servers (hereinafter referred to as the "server system"). In this case, the configuration described above can be applied similarly to the configuration of each server.

[0020] The control and other functions performed by the server system may be performed by (2A) only one server, (2B) only the other servers, or (2C) one server and the other servers. Furthermore, (2C) is not limited to but is an example in which one server may perform some of the controls that the server system performs, and the remaining controls may be performed by other servers. In this case, the allocation of controls may be divided equally, or it may be allocated in different proportions.

[0021] (3) can be a system consisting of multiple terminals, not an exhaustive example. This system can be, as an example and not limited to, the following: A system that assigns server functionality to terminals (a distributed system). This is not limited to this example, but can be achieved using blockchain technology. A system in which terminals communicate wirelessly with each other. This is not limited to this system, but can be achieved by using short-range wireless communication technologies such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) to communicate in a P2P (peer-to-peer) manner.

[0022] Furthermore, the above applies not only to the control unit but also to each functional unit that can be a component of the system, such as the input / output unit, communication unit, memory unit, and clock unit.

[0023] In the following embodiments, a system including terminals and servers (a client-server system, for example, is provided as an example, but is not an limitation) is illustrated. Furthermore, it is also possible to apply the server system described in (2) above as the server.

[0024] Furthermore, instead of a system that includes terminals and servers, it is also possible to apply a system that does not include a server, such as the system described in (3) above, not as a limitation but as an example. In this case, the embodiment can be constructed based on the aforementioned blockchain technology. Specifically, and not limited to, but as an example, data stored and managed on the server described in the following embodiment is stored on the blockchain. Then, when a terminal generates a transaction to the blockchain and the transaction is approved on the blockchain, the data stored on the blockchain is updated.

[0025] Furthermore, even when the term "terminal" is used, it is not limited to the meaning of a terminal as a client device in a client-server system. In other words, the term "terminal" can sometimes include the concept of a device that is not part of a client-server relationship.

[0026] Furthermore, the expression "by communication I / F" is used as appropriate in this specification. This is not an limitation, but rather an example that the device may send and receive various information and data via a communication I / F (via a communication unit) based on the control of a control unit (processor, etc.).

[0027] Furthermore, in this specification, when terms such as "concerning" or "related" are used, "B concerning A" or "B related to A" may be used not as an limitation, but as an example, to mean "B" that has some kind of relationship with "A". Specific examples will be given later.

[0028] Furthermore, in this specification, when a device processes two or more things, such as "transmitting A and B" or "receiving A and B," it may include both cases where "A" and "B" are performed at the same time (hereinafter referred to as "simultaneous") and cases where "A" and "B" are performed at different times (hereinafter referred to as "non-simultaneous"). As an example, rather than being limited, when we say that we are transmitting the first piece of information and the second piece of information, we may include both concepts: transmitting the first piece of information and the second piece of information at the same time, and transmitting the first piece of information and the second piece of information at different times. Furthermore, taking into consideration lag (time lag), "simultaneous" may include "almost simultaneous."

[0029] Furthermore, even if "A" and "B" are performed at different times, this only requires that the processing targets "A" and "B," and their purposes do not necessarily have to be the same. As an example, rather than being limited, when transmitting the first and second pieces of information as described above, it is sufficient to simply transmit the first and second pieces of information, and this may include cases where the first and second pieces of information are transmitted for different purposes, as well as cases where they are transmitted for the same purpose.

[0030] In the following embodiment, a book reader service is presented as an example of a service for a user of terminal 20 to view digital content on terminal 20. The application for implementing the book reader service is referred to as the "book reader application."

[0031] The following are examples of forms that can be used to implement a book reader service (book reader application), but they are not limited to any specific form. (A) A configuration in which the book reader application is configured as a standalone application. (B) A form in which the book reader service function is provided as a feature of an application such as a messaging application. (C) Forms of an application (integrated application) that have the functions of a book reader service and the functions of a messaging service, etc. (D) Configuration of the messaging application as a separate application from the book reader application.

[0032] In form (A), a book reader service provider can be a book reader application provider, not as an example but as an exception.

[0033] In forms (B) and (C), the book reader service provider can be the same type of provider as the messaging service provider, etc., not as an limitation but as an example. Alternatively, in this case, one approach is to use a common account for both the user account in the messaging application and the user account in the book reader application. Alternatively, in this case, the user account in the messaging application and the user account in the book reader application could be automatically associated (linked).

[0034] In form (D), the book reader service provider may be a different business from the messaging service provider, etc., as an example, rather than being limited to such a business. Alternatively, in this case, one approach would be to perform a process that associates (links) the user account in the messaging application with the user account in the book reader application.

[0035] Alternatively, instead of the above, a messaging service or similar function may be included as part of the book reader application.

[0036] <Examples> The following describes some examples. Recently, users are increasingly accessing digital content such as digital comics using book reader applications and other similar tools. Digital content can be defined, not as a limited definition, but as an example, as content composed in a digital format. Furthermore, users frequently access content not only in digital format but also in print media.

[0037] The following embodiments illustrate methods for users to charge for or rate at least a portion of digital content or at least a portion of print content. In the following embodiments, the content may include, but is not limited to, books (books may be included in books or treated separately from books), magazines, and moving images (including anime, movies, etc.). Furthermore, books may include comics, novels, reference books, photo books, etc. In other words, the content may include, but is not limited to, various forms of content such as text, images, and sound. Furthermore, the content provided in print media is not limited to any specific format; it could include any of the above examples provided in print format.

[0038] Furthermore, in the following embodiments, the elements that constitute the content will be referred to as "content elements." Content elements are not limited to any one thing, but are examples of at least a part of the content. In the following embodiments, users will be able to charge for and rate content elements. Specific examples of content elements will be described later.

[0039] Furthermore, in the following examples, "charging" means that the user makes a payment to the service provider in legal tender or the like. However, since the dictionary definition of "charging" is imposing a payment on a user, from the user's perspective, it might be acceptable to refer to it as "payment" or something similar instead of "charging."

[0040] <First Example> The first embodiment is an embodiment relating to a user of terminal 20 being charged for at least a portion of digital content.

[0041] The contents described in the first embodiment are applicable to any of the other embodiments and any of the other modifications. Furthermore, components identical to those previously mentioned are given the same symbols, and their explanation is omitted.

[0042] <System Configuration> Figure 1-1 shows an example of the system configuration of the communication system 1 in an embodiment of the present disclosure. In communication system 1, as an example and not limited to, a server 10 is connected to multiple terminals 20 (terminal 20A, terminal 20B, terminal 20C, ...) via network 30.

[0043] Server 10 has the function of providing predetermined services (not limited to, but for example, a book reader service) to terminals 20 owned by users via the network 30. Server 10 can also be described as, not limited to, a digital content server, for example. In this embodiment, the book reader service provider (operator) is the user of Server 10.

[0044] Furthermore, there is no limit to the number of servers 10 or terminals 20 connected to network 30.

[0045] Terminal 20 (Terminal 20A, Terminal 20B, Terminal 20C, ...) can be any information processing terminal capable of realizing the functions described in each embodiment. Terminal 20 includes, but is not limited to, smartphones, mobile phones (feature phones), tablet terminals, computers (but is not limited to, for example, desktops, laptops, tablets, etc.), media computer platforms (but is not limited to, for example, cable, satellite set-top boxes, digital video recorders), handheld computer devices (but is not limited to, for example, PDAs (personal digital assistants), email clients, etc.), wearable devices (glasses-type devices, watch-type devices, etc.), VR (Virtual Reality) terminals, smart speakers (voice recognition devices), or other types of computers or communication platforms. Terminal 20 may also be referred to as an information processing terminal.

[0046] The configurations of terminals 20A, 20B, and 20C can be identical, not as an example but as an extension. Furthermore, if necessary, the terminal used by user X may be referred to as terminal 20X, and user information in a predetermined service associated with user X or terminal 20X may be referred to as user information X, or not. User information refers to information about a user associated with an account used by that user in a given service. User information includes, but is not limited to, information associated with a user, such as the user's name, user icon image, user's age, user's gender, user's address, user's hobbies and preferences, and user identifier, which may be entered by the user or assigned by the given service. It may include any one of these items, a combination thereof, or not.

[0047] Network 30 plays the role of connecting one or more terminals 20 and one or more servers 10. In other words, network 30 refers to a communication network that provides a connection path so that the various devices described above can send and receive data after they are connected.

[0048] One or more parts of network 30 may or may not be wired or wireless networks. Network 30 may include, but is not limited to, an ad hoc network, an intranet, an extranet, a virtual private network (VPN), a local area network (LAN), a wireless LAN (WLAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless WAN (WWAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), part of the internet, part of a public switched telephone network (PSTN), a mobile phone network, ISDN (integrated service digital networks), wireless LAN, LTE (long term evolution), CDMA (code division multiple access), Bluetooth (registered trademark), satellite communications, or two or more combinations thereof. Network 30 may include one or more networks 30.

[0049] Server 10 (not limited to, but an example of a server, information processing device, or information management device) has the function of providing predetermined services to terminal 20. Server 10 may be any information processing device capable of realizing the functions described in each embodiment. Server 10 includes, but is not limited to, a server device, a computer (not limited to, but an example of, a desktop, laptop, tablet, etc.), a media computer platform (not limited to, but an example of, a cable, satellite set-top box, digital video recorder, etc.), a handheld computer device (not limited to, but an example of, a PDA, email client, etc.), or other types of computers or communication platforms. Server 10 may also be referred to as an information processing device. If it is not necessary to distinguish between Server 10 and terminal 20, Server 10 and terminal 20 may or may not be referred to as information processing devices.

[0050] [Hardware configuration of each device] The hardware configuration of each device included in communication system 1 will be described below.

[0051] (1) Terminal hardware configuration Figure 1-1 shows an example of the hardware configuration of terminal 20. Terminal 20 comprises a control unit 21 (CPU: central processing unit), a storage unit 28, a communication interface 22, an input / output unit 23, a clock unit 29A, and a position calculation information detection unit 29B. The hardware components of terminal 20 are interconnected via bus B, not as an example but as an example. It is not mandatory for terminal 20's hardware configuration to include all components. Not as an example but as an example, terminal 20 may have a configuration in which individual components or multiple components are removed, or it may not.

[0052] The communication interface 22 transmits and receives various types of data via the network 30. Communication may be performed via wired or wireless connections, and any communication protocol may be used as long as communication between the interfaces is possible. The communication interface 22 has the function of communicating with various devices, such as the server 10, via the network 30. The communication interface 22 transmits various types of data to the server 10 and other devices according to instructions from the control unit 21. The communication interface 22 also receives various types of data transmitted from the server 10 and other devices and transmits them to the control unit 21. The communication interface 22 may also be simply referred to as the communication unit. Furthermore, if the communication interface 22 is composed of a physically structured circuit, it may be referred to as the communication circuit.

[0053] The input / output unit 23 includes devices for inputting various operations to the terminal 20, and devices for outputting processing results processed by the terminal 20. The input / output unit 23 may have an integrated input unit and an output unit, or it may have separate input and output units, or it may not have to be integrated.

[0054] The input unit is implemented by any or any combination of any type of device capable of receiving input from the user and transmitting the information related to the input to the control unit 21. The input unit includes, but is not limited to, hardware keys such as touch panels, touch displays, and keyboards, pointing devices such as mice, cameras (operation input via video), and microphones (operation input via voice).

[0055] The output unit is implemented by any or any combination of any type of device capable of outputting the processing results processed by the control unit 21. The output unit includes, but is not limited to, touch panels, touch displays, speakers (for audio output), lenses (for, but is not limited to, 3D (three-dimensional) output or hologram output), printers, and the like.

[0056] This is merely one example, but the input / output unit 23 may include, but is not limited to, a display unit 24, an audio input unit 25, an audio output unit 26, and an imaging unit 27.

[0057] The display unit 24 is implemented by any or a combination of any type of device capable of displaying data according to the display data written to the frame buffer. The display unit 24 includes, but is not limited to, touch panels, touch displays, monitors (but is not limited to, liquid crystal displays and OLEDs (organic electroluminescence displays)), head-mounted displays (HDMs), projection mapping, holograms, and devices capable of displaying images, text information, etc., in air (which may or may not be a vacuum). These display units 24 may or may not be capable of displaying display data in 3D.

[0058] The sound input unit 25 is used for inputting sound data (including voice data; the same applies hereinafter). The sound input unit 25 includes a microphone, etc. The sound output unit 26 is used for outputting sound data. The sound output unit 26 includes a speaker and the like. The imaging unit 27 is used to acquire image data (including still image data and moving image data; the same applies hereinafter). The imaging unit 27 includes a camera, etc.

[0059] If the input / output unit 23 is a touch panel, the input / output unit 23 and the display unit 24 may be arranged facing each other and have substantially the same size and shape.

[0060] The clock unit 29A is the built-in clock of the terminal 20 and outputs time information (timing information). The clock unit 29A is configured, for example, using a crystal oscillator or the like. The clock unit 29A can also be described, for example, as a timing unit or a time information detection unit.

[0061] The clock unit 29A may or may not have a clock that conforms to the NITZ (Network Identity and Time Zone) standard, etc.

[0062] The position calculation information detection unit 29B is a functional unit that detects (measures) information necessary for the control unit 21 to calculate (measure) the position of its own terminal 20 (hereinafter referred to as "position calculation information"). The position calculation information detection unit 29B can also be described as a position calculation sensor unit, not as an extension of this definition, but as an example.

[0063] The position calculation information detection unit 29B includes, but is not limited to, satellite positioning sensors (satellite positioning units) which are sensors or units for calculating the position of terminal 20 using a satellite positioning system such as GPS (Global Positioning System), inertial measurement sensors (inertial measurement units (IMUs)) which are sensors or units for calculating the position of terminal 20 using an inertial navigation system, and UWB positioning sensors (UWB positioning units) which are sensors or units for calculating the position of terminal 20 using UWB (Ultra Wide Band).

[0064] The satellite positioning unit includes, but is not limited to, an RF receiving circuit that converts RF (Radio Frequency) signals, including positioning satellite signals transmitted from positioning satellites received by an antenna (not shown), into digital signals, and a baseband processing circuit that performs correlation calculations on the digital signals output from the RF receiving circuit to capture positioning satellite signals, and outputs information such as satellite orbit data and time data extracted from the positioning satellite signals as position calculation information.

[0065] The inertial measurement unit has inertial sensors, which are sensors that detect information necessary to calculate the position of terminal 20 by inertial navigation calculations. The inertial sensors include, but are not limited to, a 3-axis accelerometer and a 3-axis gyroscope, and output the acceleration detected by the accelerometer and the angular velocity detected by the gyroscope as position calculation information.

[0066] The UWB positioning unit includes, but is not limited to, an ultra-wideband RF receiving circuit that converts an ultra-wideband RF (Radio Frequency) signal, including a positioning ultra-wideband pulse signal transmitted from a positioning beacon received by an antenna (not shown), into a digital signal, and a relative position calculation processing circuit that calculates the relative position between the terminal 20 and the positioning beacon based on the digital signal output from the ultra-wideband RF receiving circuit. For example, the UWB positioning unit may or may not function as a positioning beacon by transmitting an ultra-wideband RF signal containing a positioning ultra-wideband pulse signal from an antenna (not shown).

[0067] The control unit 21 calculates the position of its own terminal 20 at regular or specific timings, based on the position calculation information detected by the position calculation information detection unit 29B, not as an example but as an example. The position of the terminal is referred to as the "terminal position," and the calculated terminal position is referred to as the "calculated terminal position." The control unit 21 may or may not store the calculated terminal position in the storage unit 28 as calculated terminal position history data, associated with the date and time the calculated terminal position was calculated.

[0068] The control unit 21 has physically structured circuitry to perform functions realized by code or instructions contained within the program, and is implemented, not limited to but for example, by a data processing device built into the hardware. Therefore, the control unit 21 may or may not be described as a control circuit.

[0069] The control unit 21 includes, but is not limited to, a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a processor core, a multiprocessor, an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit), and an FPGA (field programmable gate array).

[0070] The storage unit 28 has the function of storing various programs and data necessary for the operation of the terminal 20. The storage unit 28 includes, but is not limited to, various storage media such as HDD (hard disk drive), SSD (solid state drive), flash memory, RAM (random access memory), and ROM (read-only memory). The storage unit 28 may or may not be referred to as memory.

[0071] Terminal 20 stores program P in storage unit 28, and by executing program P, the control unit 21 executes the processing of each part included in the control unit 21. In other words, program P stored in storage unit 28 enables terminal 20 to realize the various functions executed by the control unit 21. Furthermore, this program P may or may not be described as a program module.

[0072] (2) Server hardware configuration Figure 1-1 shows an example of the hardware configuration of server 10. Server 10 comprises a control unit 11 (CPU), a storage unit 15, a communication interface 14, an input / output unit 12, and a clock unit 19. The hardware components of Server 10 are interconnected via bus B, not as an example but as an example. It is not mandatory for Server 10's hardware configuration to include all components. For example but as an example, Server 10's hardware may be configured to exclude individual or multiple components, or it may not.

[0073] The control unit 11 has physically structured circuitry to perform functions realized by code or instructions contained within the program, and is implemented, not limited to but for example, by a data processing device built into the hardware.

[0074] The control unit 11 is typically a central processing unit (CPU), but may also be a microprocessor, processor core, multiprocessor, ASIC, FPGA, or otherwise. In this disclosure, the control unit 11 is not limited to these.

[0075] The storage unit 15 has the function of storing various programs and data necessary for the operation of the server 10. The storage unit 15 is implemented using various storage media such as HDDs, SSDs, and flash memory. However, in this disclosure, the storage unit 15 is not limited to these. Also, the storage unit 15 may or may not be referred to as memory.

[0076] The communication interface 14 transmits and receives various types of data via the network 30. Communication may be performed via wired or wireless connections, and any communication protocol may be used as long as communication between the interfaces is possible. The communication interface 14 has the function of communicating with various devices, such as terminals 20, via the network 30. The communication interface 14 transmits various types of data to various devices, such as terminals 20, according to instructions from the control unit 11. The communication interface 14 also receives various types of data transmitted from various devices, such as terminals 20, and transmits them to the control unit 11. The communication interface 14 may also be simply referred to as the communication unit. Furthermore, if the communication interface 14 is composed of a physically structured circuit, it may be referred to as the communication circuit.

[0077] The input / output unit 12 includes devices for inputting various operations to the server 10, and devices for outputting processing results processed by the server 10. The input / output unit 12 may have an integrated input unit and an output unit, or it may have separate input and output units, or it may not have to be integrated.

[0078] The input unit is implemented by any or a combination of any type of device capable of receiving user input and transmitting the information related to the input to the control unit 11. The input unit is typically implemented by hardware keys such as keyboards or pointing devices such as mice. The input unit is not limited to, but may also include, for example, a touch panel, a camera (operation input via video), or a microphone (operation input via voice).

[0079] The output unit is implemented by any or any combination of any type of device capable of outputting the processing results processed by the control unit 11. The output unit includes, but is not limited to, touch panels, touch displays, speakers (sound output), lenses (but is not limited to, 3D (three-dimensional) output or hologram output), printers, and the like.

[0080] This is merely one example, but the input / output unit 12 may include a display unit 13, not as an example, but as an example.

[0081] The display unit 13 is implemented by a display or the like. The display is typically implemented by a monitor (not limited to, but for example, a liquid crystal display or an OLED (organic electroluminescence display)). The display may also be a head-mounted display (HDM) or not. These displays may or may not be capable of displaying data in 3D. In this disclosure, the display is not limited to these.

[0082] The clock unit 19 is the built-in clock of the server 10 and outputs time information (timing information). The clock unit 19 is configured to include, but is not limited to, a hardware clock such as an RTC (Real Time Clock) or a system clock. The clock unit 19 can also be described, but is not limited to, a timing unit or a time information detection unit. (3) Others Server 10 stores program P in storage unit 15, and by executing program P, the control unit 11 performs the processing of each part included in the control unit 11. In other words, program P stored in storage unit 15 enables server 10 to realize each function executed by the control unit 11. This program P may or may not be described as a program module. The same applies to other devices.

[0083] Each embodiment of this disclosure is described as being realized by the CPU of terminal 20 and / or server 10 executing program P.

[0084] Furthermore, the control unit 21 of terminal 20 and / or the control unit 11 of server 10 may implement each process not only with a CPU having a control circuit, but also with logic circuits (hardware) or dedicated circuits formed on an integrated circuit (IC (Integrated Circuit) chip, LSI (Large Scale Integration)), etc., or they may not. Also, these circuits may be implemented by one or more integrated circuits, and the multiple processes shown in each embodiment may be implemented by a single integrated circuit, or they may not. In addition, LSIs are sometimes called VLSI, Super LSI, Ultra LSI, etc., depending on the degree of integration. For this reason, the control unit 21 may or may not be described as a control circuit.

[0085] Furthermore, the program P of each embodiment of the present disclosure (for example, a software program, a computer program, or a program module, but not limited to these) may or may not be provided stored on a computer-readable storage medium. The storage medium is a “non-temporary tangible medium” capable of storing the program P. Also, the program P may or may not be for the purpose of implementing some of the functions of each embodiment of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the program P may or may not be a so-called differential file (differential program) that can implement the functions of each embodiment of the present disclosure in combination with a program P already recorded on the storage medium.

[0086] Furthermore, when we refer to a system program (a program executed by a system), the system is as described above. The system program described above is a program that can be executed across the entire system, and this program is not limited to, for example, composed of programs for each device that makes up the system, and the programs stored in each device that makes up the system may be different. In other words, it does not have to be a common program for each device that makes up the system. As an example, and not an limitation, if the system consists of a terminal and a server, and the system program is P1, then the system program P1 consists of a program P2 stored on the terminal and a program P3 stored on the server, and P2 and P3 are for executing the system program and may be different programs. As an example, and not an limitation, the program P2 stored on the terminal may be a program that performs a first process and sends the result of the first process to the server, and the program P3 stored on the server may be a program that performs a second process on the received result of the first process and sends the result of the second process to the terminal.

[0087] The storage medium may include one or more semiconductor-based or other integrated circuits (ICs) (for example, but not limited to, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs)), hard disk drives (HDDs), hybrid hard drives (HHDs), optical disks, optical disk drives (ODDs), magneto-optical disks, magneto-optical drives, floppy diskettes, floppy disk drives (FDDs), magnetic tapes, solid-state drives (SSDs), RAM drives, secure digital cards, or drives, any other suitable storage medium, or any two or more suitable combinations thereof. The storage medium may be volatile, non-volatile, or a combination of volatile and non-volatile, where appropriate. The storage medium is not limited to these examples and may be any device or medium capable of storing program P. The storage medium may or may not be referred to as memory.

[0088] The server 10 and / or terminal 20 can realize the functions of the multiple functional units shown in each embodiment by reading the program P stored in the storage medium and executing the read program P.

[0089] Furthermore, the program P of this disclosure may or may not be provided to the server 10 and / or terminal 20 via any transmission medium capable of transmitting the program (such as a communication network or broadcast waves). The server 10 and / or terminal 20 realize the functions of the multiple functional units shown in each embodiment by executing the program P downloaded via the Internet or the like, for example, without limit.

[0090] Furthermore, each embodiment of this disclosure can also be realized in the form of a data signal in which the program P is embodied by electronic transmission. At least part of the processing on server 10 and / or terminal 20 may or may not be implemented by cloud computing consisting of one or more computers. The configuration may be such that at least some or all of the processing on terminal 20 is performed by server 10, or it may not be so. In this case, the configuration may be such that at least some or all of the processing of each functional unit of the control unit 21 of terminal 20 is performed by server 10, or it may not be so. The configuration may be such that at least some or all of the processing in the server 10 is performed by the terminal 20, or it may not be so. In this case, the configuration may be such that at least some or all of the processing of each functional unit of the control unit 11 of the server 10 is performed by the terminal 20, or it may not be so.

[0091] Unless otherwise explicitly stated, the configuration of the determination in the embodiments of this disclosure is not mandatory, and a predetermined process may be performed if the determination condition is met, or if the determination condition is not met, or not.

[0092] The programs disclosed herein may be implemented using, but are not limited to, scripting languages ​​such as ActionScript and JavaScript®, compiled languages ​​such as Objective-C and Java®, and markup languages ​​such as HTML Living Standard, as examples.

[0093] <Functional Configuration> (1) Server Functional Configuration Figure 1-2 shows an example of a function realized by the control unit 11 of the server 10 in this embodiment. The control unit 11 may include, but is not limited to, an application management processing unit 111 as a functional unit for executing application management processing according to an application management processing program 151 stored in the storage unit 15.

[0094] Figure 1-3 shows an example of the information stored in the storage unit 15 of the server 10 in this embodiment. The memory unit 15 stores, but is not limited to, an application management processing program 151 executed as application management processing, account registration data 153, a digital content management database 155, a digital content database 156, and an account management database 159, as examples.

[0095] The account registration data 153 is registration data related to the account of the application (in this embodiment, the book reader application), and an example of its data structure is shown in Figure 1-4. The account registration data 153 stores, as an example and not limited to, the username, application ID, and other registration information in association with each other.

[0096] The username is the name of the account on device 20 using this application. It is not limited to this name, but rather, it is the name registered by the user of device 20 when they use the application.

[0097] An application ID is information used to identify an application account, or the account itself. This application ID is preferably a unique value for each account, and is not limited to, but is set and stored by the server 10 as an example for each account. The Application ID is information associated with terminal 20 or the user of terminal 20, and is an example of information about the terminal or the user of the terminal.

[0098] Other registration information may include, but is not limited to, various types of information such as identification information to identify terminal 20, terminal 20's phone number (terminal phone number), email address (terminal email address), and authentication information such as passwords used for various authentications in the application (login password, authentication password, etc.).

[0099] The identification information used to identify terminal 20 can be, for example, the terminal ID (or, for example, the IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity)), not limited to these. Furthermore, the identification information used to identify the user of terminal 20 is not limited to specific examples; it could be an application ID for general users or an application ID for official users.

[0100] You may or may not use "User ID" instead of "Application ID". Furthermore, for applications where only one account can be registered per device 20, the limitation is not restrictive; for example, "identification information for identifying device 20 = identification information for identifying the user of device 20 = application ID" can be used.

[0101] Furthermore, as an example and not an limitation, it may be possible to assign multiple terminal IDs to a single application ID, or not. In this case, one application ID may be used as the identification (login) target, and the application may be launched simultaneously on multiple terminals 20, or not.

[0102] Furthermore, it is possible to apply a method of managing accounts using information such as the terminal's phone number instead of various IDs such as application IDs. In this case, instead of storing information such as the application ID in the account registration data 153, information such as the terminal phone number can be stored in the account registration data 153. Alternatively, the application ID information may be associated with the terminal phone number information on a one-to-one basis, or it may not be necessary to do so.

[0103] For the sake of simplicity, in the following embodiments, it will be assumed that one account is registered for each terminal 20. Furthermore, in this case, as described above, "identification information for identifying terminal 20 = identification information for identifying the user of terminal 20 = application ID," therefore, the term "user of the account" used in the following explanation may be considered substantially synonymous with "terminal of the account."

[0104] The digital content management database 155 is a database that stores data for managing the digital content stored in the digital content database 156, and an example of its data structure is shown in Figure 1-5. The digital content management database 155 stores, as an example and not an exhaustive list, one or more digital content management data entries for each genre (category) of digital content.

[0105] Each digital content management data entry stores, not limited to, but as an example, the genre of that digital content and one or more individual digital content data entries that are specific to the digital content within that genre.

[0106] As an example, not a limiting example, the digital content management data shown at the very front of this diagram is data categorized as "Books (Manga)". Each piece of data for each piece of digital content stores, but is not limited to, a digital content ID to identify the digital content, the title of the digital content, episode number data, character definition data, and digital content configuration data. In addition, the data for each piece of digital content may also include, but are not limited to, various other pieces of information such as the publication date, distribution start date, author, publisher, and publishing house of that digital content.

[0107] The following is an example of data related to manga. This may be referred to as "digital manga" or simply "manga."

[0108] A digital content ID is an ID used to uniquely identify digital content (in this example, digital comics). It is not limited to this example, but rather, an ID is assigned and stored by server 10 for each piece of digital content.

[0109] The episode number data refers to the number of episodes in this digital content. Depending on the format (form) of the digital content, it may also be possible to store data such as the volume of the digital content or the chapter of the digital content.

[0110] Character definition data is definition data related to the characters appearing in this digital content. It is not limited to this data, but rather stores information such as a character ID and character name to uniquely identify the characters appearing in this digital content.

[0111] Furthermore, if the genre of the digital content is "novel," the character definition data may be the character definition data relating to the characters appearing in that novel.

[0112] Figure 1-6 shows an example of the data structure of the digital content configuration data in this embodiment. Digital content configuration data is the configuration data for each page of this digital content. It is not limited to this, but examples include the page ID (page number), panel layout configuration data, and panel-specific management data.

[0113] The page ID stores an ID (number) that identifies a page (not necessarily an entire page, but an example of a part of the content) included in this digital comic.

[0114] The panel layout data stores, not limited to but as an example, data about the layout of the comic panels that make up the page of the digital comic identified by this page ID. It stores data such as where each panel is located on the page (not limited to but as an example, the range of pixels each panel occupies).

[0115] The frame-specific management data includes, but is not limited to, frame IDs, frame elements, corresponding frame element IDs, and frame element placement configuration data, all stored in association with each other.

[0116] The frame ID is stored, not as an example but as an ID set by server 10 to uniquely identify each frame contained in the page identified by this page ID.

[0117] Panel elements can be, but are not limited to, elements that make up the panel identified by this panel ID (hereinafter referred to as "panel elements"), and, but are not limited to, elements such as characters, character dialogue, and scenes contained in this panel are stored as panel elements.

[0118] The corresponding frame element ID stores the ID of the associated frame element. The "Character" element within a panel stores the character's character ID, not as an example but as an exception. This character ID is stored based on the character ID of each character stored in the character definition data, not as an example but as an exception.

[0119] Within the panel element "dialogue," the dialogue ID of that dialogue is stored, not necessarily but as an example. This dialogue ID is not necessarily limited but as an example; it is a unique ID set by server 10 that is stored. The "Scene" element within a frame stores the Scene ID of that scene, not necessarily an exclusive one, but as an example. This Scene ID is not necessarily an exclusive one, but as an example, it stores an ID uniquely set by Server 10.

[0120] The panel element arrangement configuration data stores, not limited to but as an example, data regarding the arrangement configuration of associated panel elements within the comic panel identified by this panel ID.

[0121] All or part of the data stored in the above-mentioned digital content management data may be considered metadata related to that digital content.

[0122] The digital content database 156 stores, as an example and not an exhaustive list, data on digital content that can be delivered to the terminal 20 by a book reader application.

[0123] The account management database 159 is a database for managing each account (each terminal or each user) stored in the account registration data 153. Figure 1-7 shows an example of the data structure of the account management database 159A, which is one example of its data structure.

[0124] The account management database 159A stores one or more account management data entries, each representing data for a specific account.

[0125] Each account management data set will store, for example, an application ID, digital content usage data, and one or more digital content-specific billing management data entries.

[0126] The application ID stored in account registration data 153 is the application ID stored in the application ID field.

[0127] Digital content usage data may include, but are not limited to, information such as the digital content ID corresponding to the terminal 20 of this application ID, or the digital content used by that user. Digital content used by a user may include, but are not limited to, digital content purchased by the user of terminal 20, or digital content borrowed by the user of terminal 20, whether paid or free.

[0128] The digital content-specific billing management data is, as an example, data for managing billing by terminal 20 of this application ID or its user, for each digital content stored in the digital content usage data. An example of its data structure is shown in Figure 1-8. Each digital content-specific billing management data set will store, for example, the digital content ID, billing history data, and billing history summary data.

[0129] The digital content ID stores the digital content ID stored in the digital content usage data.

[0130] The billing history data is data for individually managing the billing history information of the terminal 20 of this application ID, or its user, for the digital content elements of the digital content identified by this digital content ID. Examples, though not limited to, include the billing date and time, the billing element ID, and the billing amount (charge amount).

[0131] The billing date and time is not limited to any specific date, but for example, it stores the date and time when the server 10 received the billing request information sent from terminal 20, or the date and time when the server 10 settled the billing based on the billing request information.

[0132] The billing element ID stores, not limited to but as an example, the ID associated with the billed digital content element in the digital content identified by this digital content ID.

[0133] In this embodiment, the system is configured to allow users to charge for digital content elements (hereinafter referred to as "digital content elements") that constitute digital content and can be viewed and recognized by the user by displaying them on the display unit 24 of the user's terminal 20, and which the user selects themselves. This is different from elements whose content can only be viewed by paying a fee (for example, a sealed package whose contents can only be viewed by paying a fee), and can be understood as elements that, once the digital content becomes available, the user can basically view unconditionally, and the user can charge for the elements they select themselves.

[0134] Digital content elements may include, but are not limited to, at least one of the following: (1) All digital content (2) The Digital Content Scene (3) Digital content pages (items with pages) (4) Digital content frames (things that have frames) (5) Dialogue of characters and other characters in digital content (6) Characters and other elements in digital content Users may charge for these digital content elements.

[0135] (1) This refers to cases where the entire digital content (all of one digital content) is subject to billing, and is not limited to this case; for example, the "digital content ID" corresponding to that digital content can be stored in the billing element ID.

[0136] Furthermore, digital content can be made available for users to acquire (purchase) and use for a fee, rather than being limited to a specific purpose. Charging for the entire digital content is different from paying to acquire that digital content. It can be understood as a form of donation-like payment for the entire digital content, where a user pays to acquire the content, and then, after actually using it, is satisfied with or likes it.

[0137] (2) refers to cases where scenes of digital content are subject to billing, and is not limited to such cases. For example, the "scene ID" corresponding to the scene in the digital content for which a billing request was made can be stored in the billing element ID. (3) refers to cases where pages of digital content are subject to billing, and is not limited to such cases. For example, the "page ID" corresponding to the page on which a billing request has been made within that digital content can be stored in the billing element ID. (4) refers to a case where a frame of digital content is subject to billing, and is not limited to this case; for example, the "frame ID" corresponding to the frame for which a billing request has been made among the digital content can be stored in the billing element ID. (5) refers to cases where the lines of characters or other personalities in digital content are subject to charges, and is not limited to such cases. For example, the "lines ID" corresponding to the lines of dialogue for which a charge request has been made in the digital content can be stored in the charge element ID. (6) refers to cases where characters or other elements of digital content are subject to charges, and is not limited to such cases. For example, the "ID" corresponding to the character or other element of the digital content for which a charge request has been made can be stored in the charge element ID.

[0138] Furthermore, not limited to this example, but as an example, in digital comics, the characters in that digital comic are considered the same character regardless of which panel or page they appear in. In other words, if a character is to be charged, the charge must be applied to a single character throughout the entire digital content. Therefore, the element ID within the corresponding panel can store a common character ID corresponding to that character, provided that the character being charged is the same. The same can be applied to characters and other related elements.

[0139] Furthermore, as an example, not limited to digital comics, a scene in a digital comic can be a scene (a single scene) that unfolds across multiple panels (which may or may not span multiple pages) or multiple pages. As an example, not limited to digital comics, a book reader service provider (server 10) can define a scene that a user can charge as a scene consisting of multiple panels (where multiple panel IDs are associated with a scene ID) or a scene consisting of multiple pages (where multiple page IDs are associated with a scene ID). Furthermore, it is not necessarily limited to spanning multiple panels or pages; for example, a scene within a single panel may also be included.

[0140] The billing amount stores the amount charged by the user on device 20 for the corresponding billing element ID. Alternatively, instead of, or in addition to, the charge amount, the number of times the charge has been made may be recorded.

[0141] The billing history summary data is data compiled from billing history data, specifically for terminal 20 of this application ID, or for its users. While not limited to this, it includes, for example, information such as billing amount and number of billing cycles for each type of digital content element. Note that it is not mandatory to store this billing history data.

[0142] (2) Terminal Functional Configuration Figure 1-9 shows an example of a function realized by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 in this embodiment. The control unit 21 may, but is not limited to, include an application processing unit 211 as a functional unit for executing application processing according to an application processing program 281 stored in the storage unit 28.

[0143] Figure 1-10 shows an example of data stored in the storage unit 28 of the terminal 20 in this embodiment. The memory unit 28 stores, but is not limited to, an application processing program 281 that is executed as application processing, an application ID 283 corresponding to this terminal 20 or the user account of this terminal 20, and digital content data 285.

[0144] The digital content data 285 stores, but is not limited to, data of digital content used by this terminal 20 or by the user of this terminal 20. The digital content data 285 includes data necessary to display this digital content on the display unit 24.

[0145] The terminal 20 may acquire the digital content data 285 from the server 10 by downloading it, or by streaming it. If acquired by streaming, the digital content data does not need to be stored in the storage of the terminal 20's memory unit 28.

[0146] Furthermore, the digital content data 285 may also include, as an example and not an exhaustive list, digital content management data (metadata) stored by the server 10.

[0147] In the download method, as an example, when terminal 20 downloads digital content data, it may also download digital content management data (metadata) at the same time. Furthermore, after downloading the digital content data 285, the terminal 20 may communicate with the server 10 to acquire digital content management data (metadata) as needed when displaying the digital content on the display unit 24.

[0148] In addition, in the streaming method, when the server 10 delivers digital content data to the terminal 20 via streaming, it may also deliver digital content management data (metadata) to the terminal 20 via streaming as needed. Alternatively, the digital content management data (metadata) may be initially obtained by the terminal 20 from the server 10 via download, and the digital content data 285 may be delivered from the server 10 to the terminal 20 via streaming.

[0149] <Display screen> In the following examples, rather than being limited, we will illustrate the case where terminal 20 is a tablet equipped with a landscape-oriented display unit 24. Here, again, rather than being limited, we will illustrate the case where terminal 20 displays a landscape-oriented digital comic on the display unit 24 using a book reader application.

[0150] A tablet, as an example but not an exhaustive list, has a touch panel positioned opposite its display that functions as an input area, thereby forming a touchscreen. When an element such as an icon, button, item, or input area is displayed on the display, and a portion of the touch panel opposite the area where the element is displayed is operated by the user, the program associated with that element or a subroutine of that program is executed.

[0151] The screen transitions described below are merely examples of screen transitions for implementing the method of this disclosure. Some screens may be omitted or additional screens may be added to the screen transitions exemplified below.

[0152] Furthermore, the charges in the method disclosed herein are not limited to but can, for example, be interpreted as donations from users. For this reason, in the example display screens shown below, charges may be illustrated as "donations."

[0153] Furthermore, in the example display screen shown below, buttons and icons are shown as user-input (operable) information displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20, but it is not necessary to strictly distinguish between buttons and icons. A button may be an icon, and an icon may be a button.

[0154] Figures 1-11 and 1-12 show an example of the screen transitions displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20 in this embodiment. First, we will illustrate the case where charges are made for comic strip panels.

[0155] The upper part of Figure 1-11 shows the manga display screen of the book reader application. The name of the book reader application, "Book Reader App," is displayed in the upper left part of the screen. The upper right part of the screen displays the home button (HBT) for returning to the home screen in the book reader application, the bookmark button (MBT) for setting bookmarks in the book reader application, the charge button (BBT) for making charges in the book reader application, and the icon image and username of the user of this device 20 in the book reader application (in this example, "User AA").

[0156] Below that, there is a manga information display area, which is a region for displaying manga information (not limited to, but for example, information related to the manga currently open in the book reader application (first manga information, second manga information)). In this example, the first manga information (not limited to, but for example, page 22 of this manga) is displayed on the right side of the manga information display area, and the second manga information (not limited to, but for example, page 23 of this manga) is displayed on the left side of the manga display area. Also, buttons BTa and BTb for turning the pages of this manga (forward / backward) are displayed on the left and right sides outside the manga display area.

[0157] For example, and not limited to, when any panel of the manga information (for example, the top panel PN1 of the second manga information) is touched by the user, the panel PN1 touched by the user will be displayed in a display mode that indicates that panel PN1 is selected (hereinafter referred to as the "selected mode" as appropriate), as shown in the upper part of Figure 1-11. Specifically, for example, and not limited to, the panel PN1 touched by the user will be displayed by the control unit 21, such as by hatching. Hereafter, a panel that has been touched by the user and whose display mode has changed to indicate that it is selected will be referred to as the "selected panel," the "panel in selected state," etc. as appropriate.

[0158] As an example, and not limited to this case, if a selected piece is present and the user touches the payment button BBT as shown in the lower part of Figure 1-11, the display shown in the upper part of Figure 1-12 will appear as an example, not limited to this case. On this screen, superimposed on the comic display screen at the bottom of Figure 1-11, the billing setting area BSR is displayed for setting the billing amount (charge amount) for the selected panel PN1.

[0159] The billing settings area BSR displays billing amount information (in this example, the text "Donation for this piece," the default billing amount for the piece (100 yen in this example), and buttons to increase or decrease the billing amount), a billing execution button BT1 to execute the billing (in this example, a button containing the text "Billing"), and a billing cancellation button BT2 to cancel the billing settings (in this example, a button containing the text "Cancel").

[0160] As an example, and not limited to this case, if the charge amount is set to "100 yen" and the user touches the charge execution button BT1, the display shown in the lower part of Figure 1-12 will appear. On this screen, the display of frame PN1, which was selected, returns to its original state, and a billed icon BIC (in this example, an icon containing the character "￥") is displayed superimposed on the upper right of this frame. In other words, in this example, information indicating that the user has made a purchase is displayed in association with the digital content element that the user has purchased. This makes it easy for the user to understand which digital content element they have purchased. However, this display is not mandatory, and you may choose not to display it.

[0161] Figures 1-13 and 1-14 show an example of the screen transitions displayed on the display unit 24 of terminal 20A in this embodiment. Here, we illustrate the case where charges are made for manga characters.

[0162] In the screen shown at the top of Figure 1-13, unlike the comic display screen at the top of Figure 1-11, any character in the comic information (not limited to this, but for example, character A in the top panel of the second comic information) is touched by the user, and this character is displayed in a selected state. Hereafter, a character that has been touched by the user and whose display state has changed to a selected state will be referred to as the "selected character," "character in selected state," etc., as appropriate.

[0163] As an example, and not limited to this case, if a character is selected and the user touches the billing button BBT as shown in the lower part of Figure 1-13, the display shown in the upper part of Figure 1-14 will appear, as an example, not limited to this case. On this screen, a billing target confirmation area (BTR) is displayed superimposed on the comic display screen at the bottom of Figure 1-13, allowing users to confirm whether the billing target is a scene related to the selected character or the character itself.

[0164] The BTR area for confirming the chargeable item displays, as an example, the text "Select the item to donate to," a scene button BT5 (in this example, a button containing the text "This Scene") to select that the chargeable item is a scene related to the currently selected character, and a character button BT6 (in this example, a button containing the text "This Character") to select that the chargeable item is the currently selected character itself.

[0165] As an example, and not limited to this case, when the character button BT6 is touched by the user, a display similar to the one shown at the bottom of Figure 1-14 will be shown. On this screen, the billing confirmation area at the top of Figure 1-14 is removed, and the aforementioned billing setting area BSR, which is used to set the billing amount for the selected character, is displayed superimposed on the manga display screen.

[0166] In this example, the billing settings area BSR displays billing amount information (in this example, the text "Donation for this character", the default billing amount for the character (300 yen in this example), and buttons to increase or decrease the billing amount), as well as the aforementioned billing execution button BT1 and billing cancellation button BT2.

[0167] Furthermore, unlike the panel example mentioned earlier, in the lower part of Figure 1-14, based on the selection of character A as the target of the charge, all display modes of character A shown on pages 22 and 23, displayed in display unit 24, are the selected modes. This is based on the fact that characters are a common element in manga. Alternatively, the system may display only the portion of the character selected by the user as the target of the charge. In other words, in the example above, only character A in frame PN1 may be displayed in the selected state.

[0168] As an example, and not limited to this case, if the charge amount is set to "300 yen," and the user touches the charge execution button BT1, then, as an example, and not limited to this case, on the manga display screen, the display mode of the selected character will return to its original state, and a charged icon (in this example, an icon containing the character "￥") will be superimposed on the upper right of these characters (not shown).

[0169] Furthermore, users may be allowed to select multiple digital content elements that are subject to charge and be charged for them together. Users may be allowed to select multiple digital content elements of different types (not limited to these, but for example, pages and panels, panels and dialogue, panels and characters, etc.) and be charged for them together, or they may be allowed to select multiple digital content elements of the same type (not limited to these, but for example, dialogue and dialogue) and be charged for them together. Instead of limiting it to specifics, for example, you could allow users to select two lines of dialogue from a character in the top panel of page 22 and charge for them together.

[0170] Furthermore, although a bookmark button (MBT) is provided in the above display screen, it does not need to be included if bookmark setting is not required.

[0171] Furthermore, bookmarks may be set not only on pages, but also on other digital content elements such as panels, scenes, and dialogue, as examples. Furthermore, it may be possible to set bookmarks for characters. In this case, since the characters are common, it is not limited to setting bookmarks for characters, but for example, bookmarks may be set to associate a character with a frame containing the character, or with a line of dialogue from the character, or with a scene containing the character. Based on these bookmarks, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 may display the corresponding frame, line of dialogue, or scene on the display unit 24. Bookmarks will be explained in a later example.

[0172] <Processing> Figure 1-15 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow performed by each device in this embodiment. In this figure, the processing performed by the control unit 21 of terminal 20A is shown on the left, and the processing performed by the control unit 11 of server 10 is shown on the right.

[0173] The processes described below are merely examples of processes for implementing the method of this disclosure, and are not limited to these. You may add other steps to the process described below, or you may omit (delete) some steps from the process described below.

[0174] Furthermore, as mentioned above, terminal 20A may obtain digital content data from server 10 either by downloading it or by streaming it. The same applies hereafter.

[0175] First, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A, based on the input from the user of terminal 20A to the input / output unit 23, starts executing processing related to displaying digital content (not limited to, but for example, pages of a digital comic) on the display unit 24, based on the digital content data 285 (or streaming digital content data) stored in the storage unit 28 (A110). This processing also includes, not limited to, processing to display the next page and processing to display the previous page.

[0176] Next, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A determines whether or not input for billing has been made by the user of terminal 20A via the input / output unit 23 (A120). Specifically, and not limited to, but as an example, it determines whether input has been made via the input / output unit 23 to select an element to be billed on the page displayed on the display unit 24 by touch operation, etc., input has been made to the aforementioned billing button BBT etc., and input has been made to execute billing by inputting the billing amount (billing request amount) (input to the aforementioned billing execution button BT1 etc.). At this time, based on these inputs, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A determines the digital content element to be billed and the amount to be billed (hereinafter referred to as the "billing request amount").

[0177] Subsequently, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A transmits to the server 10 via the communication interface 22 (A140) the application ID 283 (the application ID of terminal 20A or user AA) stored in the memory unit 28, as well as, but not limited to, at least the digital content ID, the digital content element ID corresponding to the determined digital content element, and the billing amount. Alternatively, the page ID of the page currently displayed on the display unit 24 may be included in the billing request information and sent to the server 10.

[0178] The control unit 11 of the server 10 determines whether or not it has received billing request information from the terminal 20A via the communication interface 14 (S110). If it determines that the request has been received (S110: YES), the control unit 11 of the server 10 performs the billing and settlement process (S120). Specifically, and not limited to, but as an example, it settles the billing amount for the digital content element identified by the digital content element ID included in the received billing request information, based on the settlement method (settlement method) set in advance by the user of the terminal 20A. Then, the control unit 11 of the server 10 updates the billing history data and billing history summary data included in the digital content-specific billing management data in the account management data of the application ID included in the received billing request information, which is stored in the account management data of the application ID included in the received billing request information, within the account management database 159A.

[0179] Furthermore, there are no limitations on the payment methods (payment options); various methods such as credit cards, debit cards, electronic money, bank account transfers, and convenience store payments are applicable.

[0180] Subsequently, the control unit 11 of the server 10 transmits the billing and settlement result information, which is information of the billing and settlement process, to the terminal 20A via the communication interface 14 (S150). After step A140, when the terminal 20A receives billing and settlement result information from the server 10 via the communication interface 22, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A displays the received billing and settlement result information on the display unit 24 (A150).

[0181] After step A150, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A determines whether to terminate the process (A190). If it determines not to terminate (A190: NO), it returns to A120. On the other hand, if it is determined that the process is finished (A190: YES), the control unit 21 of terminal 20 terminates the process.

[0182] After S150, the control unit 11 of the server 10 determines whether or not to terminate the process (S190). If it determines not to terminate (S190: NO), it returns the process to S110. On the other hand, if it is determined that the process should be terminated (S190:YES), the control unit 11 of the server 10 terminates the process.

[0183] Furthermore, the server 10 is not limited to sending the billing and payment result information at the timing described above; it may also send it later, such as when the digital content has been viewed to completion. Additionally, multiple billing and payment result information entries may be sent later from the server 10 in a single batch. Furthermore, in the above process, steps A150 and S150 may be omitted.

[0184] <Effects of the First Example> This embodiment shows a configuration in which the terminal 20, based on input from the user of the terminal 20, has a control unit 21 that performs processes related to charging at least a portion of the content (not limited to, an example of first processes related to charging), such as receiving user input for charging various elements (not limited to, but an example of at least a portion of the content) of the digital content displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20, determining the charge target and charge amount, and transmitting charge request information. As an example of the effects obtained by this configuration, the terminal can charge for at least a portion of the content displayed on the terminal's display unit based on input from the terminal's user.

[0185] Furthermore, this embodiment shows a configuration in which the server 10 (not limited to, an example of a server that communicates with the terminal) settles the charge based on the processing (not limited to, an example of a first processing) related to charging at least a portion of the content performed by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20. As an example of the effects of this configuration, based on the first process, the server communicating with the terminal can ensure that billing is properly settled.

[0186] <First variation (1)> In the above embodiment, the server 10 may determine which digital content elements the user of terminal 20 will charge.

[0187] In this case, not limited to but as an example, in step A120 in Figure 1-15, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A determines, not limited to but as an example, information regarding the user-inputted position of the display unit 24 (not limited to but as an example, position coordinates) (hereinafter referred to as "input position information") and the billing request amount based on user input via the input / output unit 23. Then, in step A140, not limited to but as an example, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A sends the billing request information to the server 10, including the page ID, the input position information determined in step A120, and the billing request amount.

[0188] In step S120, the control unit 11 of the server 10 identifies the corresponding digital content and page based on the billing request information received from the terminal 20A, not as an example but as an example. Then, from the identified page, it identifies the digital content element that the user of terminal 20A is billing, based on the input location information included in the billing request information, the metadata, and the corresponding digital content image data stored in the digital content database 156. The control unit 11 may then settle the billing request amount for the identified digital content element.

[0189] Furthermore, unlike the above embodiment, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may request metadata about the new page from the server 10 each time a new page of digital content is displayed on the display unit 24, and receive and acquire the metadata about the new page transmitted from the server 10.

[0190] These principles are also applicable to the embodiments and modifications described below.

[0191] <Second Example> The second embodiment is an embodiment relating to a user interface (UI) for allowing the user of terminal 20 to input at least a portion of the digital content subject to billing.

[0192] The contents described in the second embodiment are applicable to any of the other embodiments or any of the other modifications. Furthermore, components identical to those previously mentioned are given the same symbols, and their explanation is omitted.

[0193] <Display screen> Figures 2-1 and 2-2 show an example of the screen transitions displayed on the display unit 24 of terminal 20A in this embodiment. Here, we illustrate an example in which dialogue is selected as a chargeable item by long-pressing a speech bubble in a manga.

[0194] In the screen shown at the top of Figure 2-1, unlike the comic display screen at the top of Figure 1-11, any location in the comic information (not limited to this, but for example, the position within the speech bubble SB1 of character A in the top panel of the second comic information is shown as touched by the user) is then displayed in a selected manner, including, but not limited to this, the page containing this operation location (in this example, the area corresponding to page 23).

[0195] In this example, if the user touches and holds the position within the speech bubble SB1 of character A's dialogue in the top panel of the second comic information (i.e., long-pressing), and a first set time (not limited to, but for example, 1 second) has elapsed since the start of the long-press, the page containing this operation position (hereinafter referred to as the "long-press position") (in this example, the area corresponding to page 23) may be displayed in a selected manner.

[0196] In the following, pages whose display mode has changed to a selected mode and are currently selected will be referred to as "selected pages," "pages in a selected state," etc., as appropriate.

[0197] As an example, not limited to this case, if the long-press position is pressed and held by the user as shown in the upper part of Figure 2-1, and the second set time (2 seconds as an example, not limited to this case) has elapsed since the start of the long-press, the display shown in the lower part of Figure 2-1 will appear as an example, not limited to this case. Unlike the comic book display screen shown in the upper part of Figure 2-1, this screen shows panel PN1, including the long-press position, in a selected state. In other words, the area displayed in the selected state is narrower (the size of the area is smaller) compared to the upper part of Figure 2-1.

[0198] As an example, not limited to this case, if the long-press position is pressed and held by the user as shown in the lower part of Figure 2-1, and the third set time (3 seconds as an example, not limited to this case) has elapsed since the start of the long-press, the display shown in the upper part of Figure 2-2 will be shown as an example, not limited to this case. Unlike the comic book display screen at the bottom of Figure 2-1, this screen shows the speech bubble SB1, including the long-press position, displayed in a selected state. In other words, the area displayed in the selected state is narrower (the size of the area is smaller) compared to the bottom of Figure 2-1.

[0199] As an example, not limited to this case, if a speech bubble containing selected dialogue is displayed and the user touches the payment button (BBT), the display shown in the lower part of Figure 2-2 will appear. On this screen, the aforementioned billing setting area BSR is displayed superimposed on the comic display screen shown in the upper part of Figure 2-2, for setting the billing amount for the selected dialogue bubble.

[0200] In this example, the billing settings area BSR displays billing amount information (in this example, the text "Donation for this line of dialogue," the default billing amount for the line of dialogue (100 yen in this example), and buttons to increase or decrease the billing amount), as well as the aforementioned billing execution button BT1 and billing cancellation button BT2.

[0201] Figures 2-3 and 2-4 show an example of the screen transitions displayed on the display unit 24 of terminal 20A in this embodiment. Here, an example is given in which a character is selected as a chargeable item by long-pressing a character in a manga.

[0202] In the screen shown at the top of Figure 2-3, unlike the comic display screen at the top of Figure 2-1, when the user long-presses any position in the comic information (not limited to any specific position, but for example, the position of character B in the second panel of the first comic information), and a first set time (not limited to any specific position, but for example, 1 second) has elapsed since the long-press began, the page containing this long-pressed position (in this example, the area corresponding to page 22) is displayed in a selected manner.

[0203] As an example, not limited to this case, if the long-press position is pressed and held by the user as shown in the upper part of Figure 2-3, and the second set time (2 seconds as an example, not limited to this case) has elapsed since the start of the long-press, the display shown in the lower part of Figure 2-3 will appear as an example, not limited to this case. Unlike the comic book display screen shown in the upper part of Figure 2-3, this screen shows panel PN2, including the long-press position, displayed in the selected state.

[0204] As an example, not limited to this case, if the long-press position is pressed and held by the user as shown in the lower part of Figure 2-3, and the third set time (3 seconds as an example, not limited to this case) has elapsed since the start of the long-press, the display shown in the upper part of Figure 2-4 will be displayed as an example, not limited to this case. Unlike the comic book display screen at the bottom of Figure 2-3, this screen shows a state where the character (not limited to this, but for example, character B) including the long-press position is displayed in a selected state.

[0205] As an example, and not limited to this case, if a character is selected and the user touches the payment button (BBT), the display shown in the lower part of Figure 2-4 will appear. On this screen, the above-described charging setting area BSR for setting the charging amount for the selected character is configured to be displayed superimposed on the comic display screen above Figure 2-4.

[0206] Unlike the above-described example of the dialogue, on the lower side of Figure 2-4, based on the fact that Character B has been selected as the charging target, the display mode of all Character Bs displayed on this page (page 22 in this example) is the selected mode. This is based on the fact that the characters are common elements in the comic. In addition, if Character B also appears on page 23 that is displayed together with page 22, Character B that appears on page 23 may also be displayed in the selected mode. However, in this example, Character B does not appear on page 23.

[0207] <Process> In this embodiment, as an example and not by limitation, in step A120 of the process of Figure 1-15, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A, as described above, based on a user input such as a long-press operation via the input / output unit 23, causes the clock unit 29A to measure the elapsed time since the start of the user input, and causes the display unit 24 to display the selection display in the set selection mode. Then, based on the elapsed time, control is performed to change the display range (size, area) of the selection display.

[0208] In this case, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may control to widen (enlarge) the display range (size, area) of the selection display so that the area displayed in the selection mode expands from the smallest digital content element based on the position where the user input is made to the largest digital content element based on the measured elapsed time. Conversely, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may control to narrow (reduce) the display range (size, area) of the selection display so that the area displayed in the selection mode shrinks from the largest digital content element based on the position where the user input is made to the smallest digital content element based on the measured elapsed time.

[0209] Also, in the above example, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A changes the display range (size, area) of the selection display based on the long-pressed time (length of time), but it is not limited to this. As an example rather than a limitation, the display range of the selection display may be changed based on the number of times the screen is touched by the user. In this case, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A controls the display range (size, area) of the selection display to be widened (increased) such that the area displayed in the selection mode expands from the smallest digital content element based on the user input position (touched position) to the largest digital content element based on the number of touches. Conversely, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may also control the display range (size, area) of the selection display to be narrowed (decreased) such that the area displayed in the selection mode shrinks from the largest digital content element based on the user input position (touched position) to the smallest digital content element based on the number of touches.

[0210] Also, based on an operation for specifying a range by the user, as an example rather than a limitation, such as performing a pinch (pinch-in / pinch-out) operation after touching to narrow or widen the range, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may perform control to change the display range of the selection display.

[0211] <Effects of the Second Embodiment> In this embodiment, terminal 20 displays on display unit 24 a display for the control unit 21 to obtain information such as a digital content element ID corresponding to the digital content element to be charged among the digital content (not limited to, but an example of first information), and a display for the user to select the content element to be charged (not limited to, but an example of a first display for the control unit to obtain first information including information about at least a part of the content based on input from the terminal user). Then, terminal 20 is configured to have the control unit 21 perform processing related to charging at least a part of the aforementioned content (not limited to, but an example of first processing) based on the information such as the digital content element ID obtained by the control unit 21. As an example of the effects of the embodiment obtained by this configuration, a first display is shown on the display unit for the control unit to acquire first information, which includes information about at least a part of the content, based on input from the terminal user. Then, based on the first information acquired by the control unit, a first process is performed to charge for at least a part of the content, thereby appropriately charging for at least a part of the content.

[0212] In this case, the terminal 20 may also have the control unit 21 control the size of the first display based on touch operations or other inputs made by the user of the terminal 20 on the display (not limited to, but an example of the first display) that allows the user to select the digital content elements to be charged. As an example of the effects obtained by this configuration, the terminal can change the size of the first display based on input from the terminal user to the first display for which the control unit acquires first information including at least a portion of the content based on input from the terminal user. In this way, the terminal user can be appropriately prompted to input at least a portion of the content for which the user wishes to be charged, and the control unit can appropriately acquire first information including at least a portion of the content based on input from the terminal user.

[0213] In this case, the size of the first display may also be changed based on the duration of the user's touch operation on the first display. As an example of the effects obtained by this configuration, the size of the first display can be changed based on the time taken for the user to input information on the first display. This allows the user to easily and appropriately input at least a portion of the content for which they wish to be charged, based on the time taken for input on the first display.

[0214] <Third Example> The third embodiment is an embodiment that allows the user of terminal 20 to check information about at least some of the digital content that they have paid for, and information about at least some of the digital content that other users have paid for.

[0215] It would be convenient for users to be able to see which digital content elements they have paid for. Furthermore, knowing how much other users are paying for which elements of digital content could potentially motivate users to pay for at least a portion of that content themselves.

[0216] The contents described in the third embodiment are applicable to any of the other embodiments or other modifications. Furthermore, components identical to those previously mentioned are given the same symbols, and their explanation is omitted.

[0217] <Display screen> Figure 3-1 shows an example of the screen transitions displayed on the display unit 24 of terminal 20A in this embodiment.

[0218] In the screen shown at the top of Figure 3-1, unlike the manga display screen at the top of Figure 1-11, no chargeable items are selected, not as a limited example. In this state, when the user touches the charge button BBT as shown at the top of Figure 3-1, the display shown at the bottom of Figure 3-1 will appear, not as a limited example.

[0219] This screen is the billing history display screen of the book reader application. Unlike the upper part of Figure 3-1, the bottom of the top of the screen contains a billing history display area for displaying information related to the billing history. In this example, the top center of the billing history display area displays manga title information / manga volume number information (not limited to, but as an example, the text "○○'s Great Adventure / Volume 2") and a billing ranking button BRBT (not limited to, but as an example, a button containing the text "Show Donation Ranking") for displaying the billing ranking. Also, the top left of the billing history display area displays a start button HRBT (not limited to, but as an example, a button containing the text "Read from the beginning") for reading this manga from the beginning, and the top right of the billing history display area displays a continue button TRBT (not limited to, but as an example, a button containing the text "Continue reading") for reading this manga from where it left off.

[0220] Below that, the billing history title information (not limited to specific titles, but as an example, an icon containing the character "￥" and the words "Donation History") is displayed at the top left, and the display switching tab STB for switching the display of billing history according to the digital content element is displayed at the top right. In this example, based on the default text "Per Volume" being displayed in the display switching tab STB, the billing history according to the number of volumes of the manga is displayed.

[0221] Furthermore, below that, your billing history information (first billing history information, second billing history information, third billing history information, ...) (hereinafter referred to as "your user billing history information") is displayed in chronological order of when you made a purchase, not as a limited example. Specifically, the leftmost section displays the first billing history information (not limited to this example, but including character A, the text "Character A", the billing amount (300 yen in this example), and a re-billing button ABT1 to bill this character again (in this example, a button containing the text "Donate to this character")), and to its right displays the second billing history information (not limited to this example, but including the first panel on page 23, the text "p.23 1st panel", the billing amount (100 yen in this example), and a re-billing button ABT2 to bill this panel again (in this example, a button containing the text "Donate to this panel")), and to its right displays the third billing history information (not limited to this example, but including the fourth panel on page 22, the text "p.22 4th panel", the billing amount (100 yen in this example), and a re-billing button ABT3 to bill this panel again (in this example, a button containing the text "Donate to this panel")). In other words, based on the default setting of the display switching tab STB to "by volume," the billing history information for this digital manga (in this example, "The Great Adventure of XX," specifically volume 2) is displayed from the user's billing history information.

[0222] Furthermore, as part of the user's billing history information, it is also possible to display the number of times a user has made a purchase, either in place of or in addition to the amount of their purchase. The same applies hereafter.

[0223] Figure 3-2 shows an example of the screen transitions displayed on the display unit 24 of terminal 20A in this embodiment. Here, we illustrate an example of switching the display of the manga billing history according to the character.

[0224] In the screen shown at the top of Figure 3-2, unlike the billing history display screen at the bottom of Figure 3-1, the display switching tab STB is touched and expanded by the user, and the "Per Character" tab within this expanded display switching tab STB is shown to have been touched by the user. Based on this operation, the display mode of the "Per Character" tab is displayed differently from the others.

[0225] As an example, not limited to this case, when the user touches the "Per Character" tab as shown in the upper part of Figure 3-2, the display shown in the lower part of Figure 3-2 will appear. Unlike the billing history display screen shown in the upper part of Figure 3-2, this screen displays the words "Per Character" in the display switching tab.

[0226] Furthermore, below that, as user billing history information, and not limited to examples, the leftmost part displays the first billing history information (not limited to examples, but character A, the text "Character A", billing amount (300 yen in this example), and a re-billing button ABT1 to bill this character again (in this example, a button containing the text "Donate to this character")), to the right of that displays the second billing history information (not limited to examples, but character C, the text "Character C", billing amount (100 yen in this example), and a re-billing button ABT4 to bill this character again (in this example, a button containing the text "Donate to this character")), to the right of that displays the third billing history information (not limited to examples, but character B, the text "Character B", billing amount (50 yen in this example), and a re-billing button ABT5 to bill this character again (in this example, a button containing the text "Donate to this character")). In other words, based on the selection of the "Per Character" tab in the display switching tab, the billing history information targeting characters is extracted and displayed from the aforementioned user billing history information.

[0227] FIG. 3-3 is a diagram showing an example of the transition of the screen displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20A in this embodiment. Here, the case of displaying the charge ranking of comics is exemplified.

[0228] The screen shown in the upper part of FIG. 3-3 shows a state where the charge ranking button BRBT has been touched by the user, unlike the charge history display screen in the lower part of FIG. 3-2. Then, as an example and not a limitation, the display as shown in the lower part of FIG. 3-3 is made. On this screen, unlike the charge history display screen in the upper part of FIG. 3-3, below the top of the charge history display screen, charge ranking title information (as an example and not a limitation, a crown icon and the characters "Donation Ranking") is displayed at the upper left of the top, and the display switching tab STB (as an example and not a limitation, the tab of "Per Frame") is displayed at the upper right of the top.

[0229] Also, at the position where the charge ranking button BRBT was displayed, a charge history display button BHBT (as an example and not a limitation, a button including the characters "Donation History Display") for returning to the display screen of the charge history information of the own user is displayed.

[0230] Also, below that, charge ranking information (first charge ranking information, second charge ranking information, third charge ranking information ···) is displayed in descending order of the charge amount.

[0231] Specifically, the leftmost section displays the first billing ranking information (not limited to this, but as an example, an icon indicating the 1st place ranking, the icon image and username (in this example, "User CC"), the billing amount (in this example, 1,000 yen), the first panel on page 23, the text "p.23 1st panel", and a special billing button SBT1 for you (User AA) to bill this panel that another user (User CC) has billed (in this example, a button containing the text "Donate to this panel")), and to its right is the second billing ranking information (not limited to this, but as an example, an icon indicating the 2nd place ranking, the icon image and username (in this example, "User BB"), the billing amount (in this example, 800 yen), the fourth panel on page 22, "p.22 The text "4th panel" is displayed, along with a special payment button SBT2 (in this example, a button containing the text "Donate to this panel") for the user (User AA) to pay for this panel which another user (User BB) has already paid for. To the right of this, the 3rd payment ranking information is displayed (not limited to this, but as an example, an icon indicating the 3rd place ranking, the icon image and username (in this example, "User DD"), the payment amount (in this example, 700 yen), the first panel on page 23, the text "p.23 1st panel", and a special payment button SBT3 (in this example, a button containing the text "Donate to this panel") for the user (User AA) to pay for this panel which another user (User DD) has already paid for.

[0232] Note that this example shows a ranking based on spending, displaying items in descending order of spending, but this is not the only way to do so. It is sufficient for user AA to be able to see the billing information of other users (at least one other user), and it does not necessarily have to be displayed in a ranking format. Alternatively, the number of times other users have made purchases may be displayed instead of, or in addition to, the amount of purchases made by other users.

[0233] Figure 3-4 shows an example of the screen transitions displayed on the display unit 24 of terminal 20A in this embodiment. Here, we illustrate the case where the manga billing ranking is switched to a display according to each volume.

[0234] In the screen shown at the top of Figure 3-4, unlike the billing history display screen at the bottom of Figure 3-3, the display switching tab SBT is touched and expanded by the user, and the "Per Volume" tab within this expanded display switching tab SBT is shown to be touched by the user. In this example, the display mode of the "Per Volume" tab is displayed differently from the others.

[0235] As an example, not limited to this case, when the "Per Volume" tab is touched by the user, as shown in the upper part of Figure 3-4, the display shown in the lower part of Figure 3-4 will appear. Unlike the billing history display screen at the top of Figure 3-4, this screen shows the words "per volume" in the display switching tab SBT.

[0236] Furthermore, below that, as a payment ranking information, and not limited to examples, the leftmost part displays the first payment ranking information (not limited to examples, but including an icon indicating the 1st place ranking, icon image and username (in this example, "User CC"), payment amount (in this example, 4,100 yen), the text "The element you donated to the most", character A, the text "Character A", and a special payment button SBT4 (in this example, a button containing the text "Donate to this character") for you (User AA) to pay for this character that another user (User CC) has paid for). To the right of that, the second payment ranking information (not limited to examples, but including an icon indicating the 2nd place ranking, icon image and username (in this example, "User BB"), payment amount (in this example, 2,400 yen), the text "The element you donated to the most", the fourth panel on page 22, "p.22 The text "4th panel" is displayed, along with a special payment button SBT5 (in this example, a button containing the text "Donate to this panel") for the user (User AA) to pay for this panel which another user (User BB) has already paid for. To the right of this, the 3rd payment ranking information is displayed (not limited to this, but as an example, an icon indicating the 3rd place ranking, the icon image and username (in this example, "User DD"), the payment amount (in this example, 2300 yen), the text "The element you donated to the most", the first panel on page 22, the text "p.22 1st panel", and a special payment button SBT6 (in this example, a button containing the text "Donate to this line") for the user (User AA) to pay for this line which another user (User DD) has already paid for.

[0237] More specifically, User CC ranked first with a total billing amount (hereinafter referred to as "total billing amount") of "4,100 yen," and it was shown that the digital content element that received the most billing out of this total of "4,100 yen" was Character A. Furthermore, User BB ranked second with a total billing amount of "2,400 yen," and it was shown that the digital content element that received the most billing out of this total was the fourth panel on page 23. Furthermore, User DD ranked 3rd with a total spending of "2,300 yen," and it was revealed that the most frequently spent digital content element was a speech bubble displayed in the first panel of page 22, based on the selected options. This allows User AA to understand the ranking of total spending and which digital content elements are being charged for.

[0238] Furthermore, in the above, it is also possible to display the user's billing history information and billing ranking information on a page-by-page basis. Furthermore, the system may display user billing history information and billing ranking information based on which page the user started viewing. For example, in the example in Figure 3-1, based on the fact that user billing history information and billing ranking information were displayed from pages 22 and 23, the system may display user billing history information and billing rankings related to digital content elements associated with pages 22 and 23. This allows users to understand their billing history and billing rankings related to the page they are currently viewing.

[0239] Furthermore, the billing history information may be sorted and displayed according to the page from which the user accessed the billing history information. For example, in the example in Figure 3-1, based on the fact that the user accessed the billing history information from pages 22 and 23, the billing history information for digital content elements related to pages 22 and 23 may be displayed in order. This makes it easier for the user to understand their billing history related to the page they are currently viewing.

[0240] In addition, as a billing ranking, unlike the above, it is also possible to display a billing ranking on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20 that ranks each digital content element by who has paid how much for that digital content element, rather than limiting it to specific elements.

[0241] Figure 3-5 shows an example of the screen displayed on the display unit 24 of terminal 20A in this case. Figure 3-5(1) shows a ranking of paid content (donation ranking), specifically the first panel of page 23 of a manga, as an example rather than a limited one. Users can access this screen by selecting "By Panel" from the display switching tab SBT, and then selecting this panel (the first panel of page 23) from the list of panels not shown.

[0242] On the left side of the screen, the text "p.23 Panel 1," the image of this panel, and a special payment button SBT8 for charging for this panel are displayed. To the right of that, a ranking of users who have paid for this panel is displayed based on the amount they have paid. This allows users to see who paid how much for any given piece.

[0243] In Figure 3-5(2), the ranking of spending (donation ranking) for manga character A is displayed as an example, not limited to any specific character. Users can access this screen by selecting "By Character" from the display switching tab SBT, and then selecting this character (character A) from the list of characters not shown.

[0244] On the left side of the screen, the words "Character A," an image of this character, and a special payment button SBT9 for purchasing this character are displayed. To the right of that, a ranking of users who have purchased this character is displayed based on the amount they have spent. This allows users to see who has spent how much on any given character.

[0245] Furthermore, it may be possible to display other digital content elements in a similar manner. Additionally, a ranking based on the number of purchases may be displayed, or a ranking based on both the amount and number of purchases may be displayed.

[0246] Furthermore, the billing ranking information shown above includes billing information from other users (hereinafter referred to as "other user billing information"). For this reason, billing ranking information can be considered a type of other user billing information.

[0247] <Processing> Figure 3-6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the processing flow performed in the communication system 1 in this embodiment. The interpretation of the figure is the same as in Figure 1-15.

[0248] If it is determined in S190 that the process should not be terminated (S190: NO), the control unit 11 of the server 10 determines whether the conditions for sending the user's billing history information have been met (S310). The conditions for sending user billing history information are not limited; for example, they could be "receiving user billing history information transmission request information from terminal 20A requesting the transmission of user billing history information."

[0249] In this case, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A may, before step A310, while the digital content page is displayed on the display unit 24, send a request to send user billing history information to the server 10 based on the input / output unit 23, via user AA of terminal 20A, to display user billing history information (for example, an operation input to operate the billing button BBT without selecting a digital content element, or an operation input to the billing history display button BHBT).

[0250] In this case, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A may, as an example and not an exhaustive one, send user billing history information transmission request information, including at least the application ID 283 stored in the storage unit 28, to the server 10 via the communication interface 22. Alternatively, the page ID of the page currently displayed on the display unit 24 may be included in the user billing history information transmission request information and sent to the server 10.

[0251] Furthermore, as shown in the example screen, it is also possible to display the user's billing history information for each digital content element. In this case, as an example rather than being limited, the user may include identification information of the type of digital content element selected by the user using the aforementioned display switching tab STB, etc., in the user billing history information transmission request information and send it to the server 10.

[0252] If the conditions for sending user billing history information are met (S310:YES), the control unit 11 of the server 10 identifies the account management data containing the application ID of user AA of terminal 20A from the account management database 159A, and obtains user AA's billing history information based on that billing history data or billing history summary data. Furthermore, if the user billing history information transmission request information received from terminal 20A includes a page ID, the billing history information of user AA for the page identified by that page ID may be obtained.

[0253] Next, the control unit 11 of the server 10 transmits the acquired billing history information of user AA to the terminal 20A via the communication interface 14 as its own user billing history information (S320).

[0254] When the terminal 20A receives its own user billing history information from the server 10 via the communication interface 22 (A310: YES), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A displays the received user billing history information on the display unit 24 (A320).

[0255] After S320, the control unit 11 of the server 10 determines whether or not the conditions for sending billing ranking information have been met (S330). The conditions for sending billing ranking information are not limited; for example, they could be "receiving a billing ranking information transmission request from terminal 20A requesting the transmission of billing ranking information."

[0256] In this case, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A may, for example, send a billing ranking information transmission request information to the server 10 based on the input / output unit 23 receiving input (for example, an operation input to the billing ranking button BRBT) from user AA of terminal 20A while the page of digital content is displayed on the display unit 24 before step A330. In this case, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A may, for example, send billing ranking information transmission request information including at least the application ID 283 stored in the storage unit 28 to the server 10 via the communication I / F 22. Alternatively, the page ID of the page currently displayed on the display unit 24 may be included in the billing ranking information transmission request information and sent to the server 10.

[0257] Furthermore, as shown in the example screen, it is also possible to display billing rankings for each digital content element. In this case, as an example rather than being limited, the user may use the aforementioned display switching tab STB or the like to include identification information of the type of digital content element selected by the user in the billing ranking information transmission request information and send it to the server 10.

[0258] Next, the control unit 11 of the server 10 generates billing ranking information based on the billing history data (or billing history summary data) for each account (application ID), and transmits the generated billing ranking information to the terminal 20A via the communication I / F 14 (S340). Then, the control unit 11 of the server 10 returns the process to S110.

[0259] When the terminal 20A receives billing ranking information from the server 10 via the communication interface 22 (A330: YES), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A displays the received billing ranking information on the display unit 24 (A340). Then, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A returns processing to A110.

[0260] Here, the billing ranking information may include all users, including users of device 20A. Alternatively, the billing ranking information may be made available to all users except those using terminal 20A (hereinafter referred to as "other users").

[0261] Furthermore, it is not mandatory to include information on the amount of money spent in the user's billing history or billing ranking information. Instead of information on the amount of money spent, information on the number of times a purchase was made may be included, for example. Alternatively, both information on the amount of money spent and the number of times a purchase was made may be included.

[0262] Furthermore, in the above process, steps A150 and S150 may be omitted. Furthermore, in the above process, either step A310, A320, S310, S320 or step A330, A340, S330, S340 may be omitted.

[0263] <Effects of the third embodiment> This embodiment shows a configuration in which terminal 20 receives billing information from other users (not limited to, but an example of a first user different from the terminal user) such as billing ranking information (not limited to, but an example of second information relating to at least a part of the content billed by the first user) via a communication I / F 22, and displays the received billing information from other users on the display unit 24. As an example of the effects of this configuration, the terminal can acquire second information regarding at least a portion of the content that has been charged by a first user who is different from the terminal's user, and then display this information on the display unit to inform the terminal's user. In this way, it becomes possible to increase the motivation of the terminal user to charge for at least a portion of the content, or to encourage a charging competition.

[0264] In this case, the billing information by other users may also include information on the amount of money that other users have spent (not limited to this information, but an example of information on the amount of money that the first user has spent on at least a portion of the content). One example of the effects of this configuration is that it is possible to inform the terminal user of how much money has been charged by a first user who is different from the terminal user.

[0265] In this case, terminal 20 may also display user billing history information (an example of third information including the amount charged by the terminal user) on the display unit 24, which includes information on the amount charged by the user of terminal 20 for digital content elements that the user of terminal 20 has billed, based on the billing process (not limited to, but an example of first processing). As an example of the effects of the embodiment obtained by this configuration, the terminal can display third information on its display unit, including the amount charged by the terminal user for at least a portion of the content that the terminal user has charged for, based on the first process, and inform the terminal user. Furthermore, in conjunction with the above, it becomes possible, not limited to but as an example, to allow the user to compare their own charge amount with the charge amounts of other users, and thereby to engage in a charging competition.

[0266] <Third variation (1)> In the above embodiment, instead of, or in addition to, ranking-format information (such as billing ranking information), other users' billing history information (hereinafter referred to as "other users' billing history information") may be transmitted from the server 10 to the terminal 20 and displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20, as other users' billing information, not limited to, but as an example. This other users' billing history information may be, not limited to, but as an example, an example of second information relating to at least a portion of the content billed by the first user.

[0267] In this case, server 10 may also select any of the following users as other users, not as a limited selection, but as an example. • A set number of other users sampled from other users • One user selected from other users

[0268] Furthermore, in these cases, the server 10 may, for example, select other users based on the user information of the terminal 20 (for example, user attribute information, etc.). As an example, rather than being limited, user information such as the user's gender, age, occupation, hobbies, preferences, and interests may be pre-registered in the server 10. Then, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may determine users who have the same or similar user information based on at least one of these user information pieces, and select the users determined in this way as other users. This allows users on device 20 to refer to billing information of users with the same or similar user information.

[0269] <Third variation (2)> In the above embodiment, the conditions for transmitting user billing history information and billing ranking information were based on user input on terminal 20, but the embodiment is not limited to this. For example, conditions not based on user input may also be set.

[0270] As an example, not an exhaustive one, in the process shown in Figure 3-6, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A determines that the user of terminal 20 has viewed the digital content to the end when the last page of the digital content is displayed on the display unit 24. The display of the last page on the display unit 24 can be determined, not an exhaustive one, but as an example, based on the page ID (page number) stored in the digital content configuration data. When it is determined that the digital content has been viewed to the end, the system may send user billing history information transmission request information and billing ranking information transmission request information to the server 10. In other words, conditions based on the viewing of the digital content to the end may be set as user billing history information transmission conditions and billing ranking information transmission conditions.

[0271] The final page may or may not be the end of the book, an afterword, a colophon, etc. The display may or may not be required to include sections such as the end of the book, afterword, and colophon on the display unit 24. Furthermore, the condition may be that the back cover is displayed on the display unit 24, or it may not be.

[0272] Furthermore, after the control unit 21 of terminal 20A determines that the digital content has been viewed to the end, it may send user billing history information transmission request information and billing ranking information transmission request information to the server 10 when the user inputs to reread the same digital content, or, for example, when the cover page (front cover) of the digital content is displayed on the display unit 24. In other words, conditions based on re-viewing the digital content may be set as user billing history information transmission conditions and billing ranking information transmission conditions.

[0273] Furthermore, some users may, after viewing the next page displayed on the terminal 20's display unit 24, input a message to return to the previous page, displaying the previous page on the terminal 20's display unit 24 for viewing. In such cases, the terminal 20 may request user billing history information and billing ranking information for that page from the server 10 based on the fact that the previous page was displayed on the terminal 20's display unit 24. In other words, conditions based on the return of a page may be set as user billing history information transmission conditions and billing ranking information transmission conditions. The same procedure may be followed if the user inputs a request to return to any page from a page currently displayed on the display unit 24.

[0274] <Fourth Example> The fourth embodiment is an embodiment that enables the user of terminal 20 to receive benefits based on charges made by the user of terminal 20 for at least a portion of the digital content. If they can obtain a perk, users of device 20 may be willing to pay for at least some of the digital content.

[0275] The contents described in the fourth embodiment are applicable to any of the other embodiments or other modifications. Furthermore, components identical to those previously mentioned are given the same symbols, and their explanation is omitted.

[0276] <Data Structure> Figure 4-1 shows an example of a benefits management database stored in the storage unit 15 of the server 10 in this embodiment. The bonus management database stores bonus management data not as a limited set of items, but as data for each piece of digital content, for example.

[0277] Each reward management data entry will store, for example, a digital content ID and reward data, although this is not a limited example. The bonus data will store information such as the type of bonus, the conditions for granting the bonus, and the bonus content, not as a limited example, but as an association.

[0278] The "Type" field, rather than being limited to specific categories, stores examples such as the type of benefit granting conditions. Rather than being limited to a specific category, one or more categories can be stored, such as "Total" as a reward granting condition based on the total amount charged (and / or number of charges), or "Chapter / Volume" as a reward granting condition based on the story or volume of digital content.

[0279] The conditions for granting benefits are pre-set conditions for granting benefits. The reward details refer to the rewards that will be granted to device 20 or its user if the corresponding reward eligibility conditions are determined to have been met.

[0280] As an example, not limited to specific categories, the "Cumulative" category has the condition "Cumulative spending reaches 30,000 yen" as the reward condition, and the reward content is a "Mob Character Application Ticket." This indicates that, for the digital content identified by this digital content ID, as an example, not limited to specific categories, if the total amount spent to date reaches the set amount, an application ticket to appear as a mob character in the digital content will be granted.

[0281] As an example, not limited to specific characters, the "Cumulative" category has the condition for receiving a reward that "the total amount spent on a specific character reaches 2,000 yen," and the reward itself is a "reward application ticket for merchandise of that specific character." This indicates that when the total amount spent on a specific character (not limited to specific characters, but for example, the main character) among the characters appearing in the digital content identified by this digital content ID reaches the set amount, an application ticket for merchandise of that specific character will be awarded as one of the available items.

[0282] As an example, not limited to specific categories, the "Episode / Volume" category has a reward condition of "the total amount charged for the latest episode reaches 1,000 yen," and the reward content is a "coupon for purchasing the next episode." This indicates that for the latest episode of the digital content identified by this digital content ID, a coupon will be granted that allows the user to purchase the content of the episode following the latest episode once the total amount charged for that episode reaches the set amount.

[0283] As an example, not limited to specifics, the "Chapter / Volume" category has the condition "Total amount spent on the latest volume reaches 3,000 yen" as the reward condition, and the reward content is a "Coupon for purchasing the next volume." This indicates that for the latest volume of the digital content identified by this digital content ID, a coupon will be granted that allows the user to purchase the content of the volume following the latest volume.

[0284] Although we have decided to establish categories here, it is also possible to omit them. Furthermore, the benefit conditions and benefits exemplified here are merely examples and are not exhaustive.

[0285] Rather than being limited to specific examples, you may set reward conditions and reward content based on individual elements from the various digital content elements mentioned above, or you may set reward conditions and reward content based on a combination of two or more elements.

[0286] Furthermore, while the above example shows a benefit related to the right to have the granted user appear as a background character in digital content, instead of this, or in addition to this, a benefit could also be set that includes the right to have the granted user appear as an official character in digital content for a single episode or volume.

[0287] Additionally, as a bonus, you may offer the aforementioned points for in-game purchases.

[0288] <Processing> Figure 4-2 shows an example of the processing flow performed by each device in this embodiment. The way to interpret the figure is the same as in Figure 1-15, etc. After step S150, the control unit 11 of the server 10 determines whether the reward granting conditions have been met (S410). Specifically, in this example, it determines whether the aforementioned reward granting conditions have been met for user AA of terminal 20A, based on the aforementioned reward management database.

[0289] If it is determined that the conditions for granting the benefit have not been met (S410: NO), the control unit 11 of the server 10 moves the process to step S190. On the other hand, if it is determined that the conditions for granting the benefit have been met (S410: YES), the control unit 11 of the server 10 transmits benefit information regarding the benefit content associated with the benefit granting conditions that were determined to have been met to the terminal 20A via the communication I / F 14 (S420). Then, the control unit 11 of the server 10 moves on to step S190.

[0290] After step A150, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A determines whether or not it has received reward information from server 10 via the communication I / F 22 (A410). If it is determined that no signal was received (A410: NO), the control unit 21 of terminal 20A proceeds to step A190. On the other hand, if it is determined that the information has been received (A410: YES), the control unit 21 of terminal 20A displays the received reward information on the display unit 24 (A420). Then, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A proceeds to step A190.

[0291] <Effects of the 4th embodiment> In this embodiment, terminal 20 receives, via communication I / F 22, reward information (not limited to specific rewards, but an example of information regarding rewards) based on the amount or number of charges for at least some of the digital content by users of terminal 20. The terminal 20 then displays the received reward information on display unit 24. One example of the effects of this configuration is that users of the device can receive benefits based on the amount or number of times they charge for at least a portion of the digital content. As a result, users can be motivated to make purchases.

[0292] In this case, the benefits may also include information such as application forms for digital content related to the first content, such as the next volume or next episode of the digital content currently being used by the user of terminal 20 (not limited to the first digital content) (not limited to the second content) (not limited to the first content). One example of the effects of this configuration is that the user of the device can receive benefits related to the use of second content associated with first content. As a result, it is possible to provide users with an incentive to pay.

[0293] <Fourth variation (1)> As may also relate to the benefits described in the above embodiment, terminal 20 may also perform control to change the display manner of a digital content element that has been charged by the user of terminal 20, or a portion related to that digital content element, or to change the display content of a digital content element that has been charged by the user of terminal 20, or a portion related to that digital content element.

[0294] For convenience, let's consider two types of digital content: Content A (content displayed in monochrome) and Content B (content displayed in color). Please note that these contents are not limited to specific examples, but are essentially the same in content, differing only in whether they are in color or monochrome.

[0295] The control unit 21 of terminal 20 receives content A and content B from server 10, for example, but not limited to this. The timing of this reception is not limited to this, but for example, it may be at the time of purchase of the digital content, but it does not necessarily have to be at the same time. The control unit 21 of terminal 20 displays the received content A on the display unit 24. When a user of terminal 20 charges for a digital content element, the control unit 21 of terminal 20 identifies the color of the display area of ​​the corresponding digital content element in content B, not limited to, but as an example. Then, based on the identified color information, the control unit 21 of terminal 20 displays the display area of ​​the charged digital content element in content A in that color.

[0296] As an example, and not limited to specifics, if a character is purchased, all of that character within the digital content may be displayed in color. If a charge is made for dialogue, that dialogue may be displayed in color. If a charge is made for a panel, that panel may be displayed in color. If a page is charged for, it may be displayed in color.

[0297] Furthermore, if a charge is made for a line of dialogue, it is not limited to displaying it in color; for example, the dialogue and the character speaking it may be displayed in color, or the panel containing the dialogue may be displayed in color. Furthermore, if a character is purchased, instead of limiting it to a specific character, for example, the character and the lines they speak may be displayed in color, or all frames containing that character may be displayed in color. Furthermore, if a charge is made for a panel, it may be possible to display the entire page containing that panel in color, rather than limiting it to a specific area. The same applies to the scenes.

[0298] Furthermore, the content of the digital content may be differed, rather than the way it is displayed. Within the bounds of not deviating from the original work, you may, for example, replace background characters with other characters, or replace the lines spoken by background characters with different lines, etc.

[0299] These can be considered as perks associated with paid content, but you don't have to think of them as perks.

[0300] This modified example shows a configuration in which terminal 20 uses a control unit 21 to control the display of a digital content element (not limited to, but an example of at least a part of the content) or a portion related to that digital content element, which has been charged by the user of terminal 20, or uses a control unit 21 to control the display content of a digital content element (not limited to, but an example of at least a part of the content) or a portion related to that digital content element, which has been charged by the user of terminal 20. As an example of the effects of this modified configuration, the display manner or content of at least a portion of the content, or a portion related thereto, is changed based on the user of the device paying for at least a portion of the content, thereby providing interest to the user of the device.

[0301] <Example 5> The fifth embodiment is an embodiment relating to sharing information about at least a portion of the digital content that a user of terminal 20 has paid for with other users. Being able to share information about at least some of the digital content you've paid for with other users allows you to promote yourself to them. Furthermore, other users might consider paying for at least some of the digital content themselves.

[0302] The contents described in the fifth embodiment are applicable to any of the other embodiments or other modifications. Furthermore, components identical to those previously mentioned are given the same symbols, and their explanation is omitted.

[0303] <Display screen> Figures 5-1 to 5-3 show an example of the screen transitions displayed on the display unit 24 of terminal 20A and the display unit 24 of terminal 20B in this embodiment.

[0304] The screen shown in the upper part of Figure 5-1 differs from the comic display screen in the lower part of Figure 1-12 in that the paid icon BIC (in this example, an icon containing the character "￥") for panel PN1 is shown to have been touched by the user. In this case, the display shown in the lower part of Figure 5-1 is shown as an example, not an exhaustive one. On this screen, superimposed on the comic display screen at the top of Figure 5-1, is a billed settings area BUR, where you can change the amount of the billed item and share the fact that you have made a bill with your friends, with panel PN1 being the target of the billing.

[0305] The BUR (Billed Settings) area displays the amount paid (in this example, the text "Donation for this panel" and the amount paid for the panel (100 yen in this example)), a button BT7 to change the amount paid (in this example, a button containing the text "Change"), and a button BT8 to share the paid information with friends (in this example, a button containing the text "Share").

[0306] As an example, and not limited to this case, when the paid share button BT8 is touched by a user, a display similar to the upper part of Figure 5-2 will be shown. On this screen, the paid settings area at the bottom of Figure 5-1 is erased, and a sharing target settings area STR, for setting friends to share the paid information with, is displayed superimposed on the manga display screen.

[0307] The sharing target setting area STR displays information about potential friends to share with (in this example, the text "Select friends to share with," an icon image, and usernames (in this example, "User BB," "User CC," "User DD," "User EE," ...)) and a sharing execution button BT9 (in this example, a button containing the text "Execute") for sharing that a charge has been made to the selected friends.

[0308] Furthermore, unlike the comic display screen at the bottom of Figure 2-1, this screen displays panel PN1, which previously had the "paid" icon superimposed, in a selected state, and the "paid" icon has changed to the "paid details" icon BDIC, which includes the payment amount. This is to make the digital content element being shared (a panel in this example) easier for the user to understand.

[0309] As an example, not limited to this case, let's assume that "User BB" and "User CC" are selected (in this example, these users have checkmarks), and the shared execution button BT9 is touched by a user. In this case, among the friends who share that user AA has made a charge, the display unit 24 of user BB's terminal 20B will show a screen like the one shown in the lower part of Figure 5-2, not as a limiting example, but as an example.

[0310] The screen shown at the bottom of Figure 5-2 is an example of a manga display screen shown on the display unit 24 of terminal 20B. Unlike the comic book display screen shown in the upper part of Figure 5-1, this screen displays the icon image and username (in this example, "User BB") of the user's book reader application for terminal 20B in the upper right portion of the screen.

[0311] Additionally, superimposed on the upper right of the frame PN1, which was paid for by user AA, is information indicating that another user has made a purchase. This information includes the paid icon BIC and the user icon UIC of the other user who made the purchase (user AA in this example).

[0312] In this example, the system is configured to display an AUBR (Audio Access Program) overlaid on the manga display screen to notify users that other users have made purchases.

[0313] The AUBR, the display area for information on other users' purchases, shows information on other users' purchases (in this example, the text "AA has made a donation," an icon image and username (in this example, "User AA"), the amount paid (in this example, "100 yen"), the first panel of page 23, manga title information / volume number information (not limited to this, but as an example, the text "The Great Adventure of ○○ / Volume 2"), and the text "the first panel of page 23").

[0314] Furthermore, when user BB touches the AUBR area for displaying information already paid by other users, or, for example, the manga title information / volume number information included in this area (for example, the text "The Great Adventure of XX / Volume 2" or the text "The first panel on page 23"), the control unit 21 of terminal 20B may display this manga on the display unit 24. If the digital content data 285 corresponding to this manga is stored in the memory unit 28 of terminal 20B, the control unit 21 of terminal 20B can display this manga on the display unit 24 based on this digital content data 285. If the digital content data 285 corresponding to this manga is not stored in the memory unit 28 of terminal 20B, the digital content data of this manga can be obtained from the server 10 by download or streaming and displayed on the display unit 24.

[0315] In this case, the control unit 21 of terminal 20B may display the comic on the display unit 24 from the beginning, or it may display the page containing the digital content element that user AA has already paid for (in this example, the first panel of page 23) (in this example, page 23) on the display unit 24. Alternatively, user BB may be able to pay for this panel (in this example, the first panel of page 23) either after displaying this page on the display unit 24, or without displaying this page on the display unit 24.

[0316] The screen shown in the upper part of Figure 5-3 shows the state when the user icon UIC of user AA in the comic display screen in the lower part of Figure 5-2 is touched. Note that in this screen, the other user billing information display area AUBR in the lower part of Figure 5-2 is closed.

[0317] In this case, instead of being limited, an example like the one shown at the bottom of Figure 5-3 will be displayed. Unlike the upper part of Figure 5-3, this screen displays other users' paid information superimposed on the manga display screen, and the other user-related billing settings area AUSR for setting the billing amount for panel PN1 is displayed as a speech bubble from the paid icon BIC next to the user icon UIC.

[0318] The AUSR area for setting charges related to other users displays information about the amount charged by other users (in this example, the text "Donation amount for this frame", the icon image of "User AA", and the amount that User AA has already charged (in this example, "100 yen")) and the charge execution button BT10 for making a charge (in this example, a button containing the text "Donate to this frame").

[0319] Subsequently, for example, when the charge execution button BT10 is touched by user BB, user BB can charge this frame PN1, which was charged by user AA, for example. In this way, user BB can also charge based on the information shared by user AA (information that 100 yen was charged for the first frame on page 23), thus promoting user BB's charging.

[0320] In this example, when the display unit 24 of user BB's terminal 20B shows the billing settings area for other users, user BB can perform billing based on the information billed by user AA. However, the system is not limited to this configuration. As an example, and not an exhaustive one, when information different from the billing settings area for other users is displayed on the display unit 24 of user BB's terminal 20B, user BB may be configured to bill based on the information billed by user AA. As an example, and not an exhaustive one, when the display area for information that other users have been charged is displayed on the display unit 24 of user BB's terminal 20B, user BB may charge based on the information that user AA has been charged. In this case, the display area for information that other users have been charged may include a charge setting button for making a charge (as an example, not an exhaustive one, a button containing the words "Donate to this frame").

[0321] <Processing> Figure 5-4 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow performed by each device in this embodiment. In this figure, from left to right, the processing performed by the control unit 21 of terminal 20A, the processing performed by the control unit 11 of server 10, and the processing performed by the control unit 21 of terminal 20B are shown, respectively.

[0322] Furthermore, the sharing of billing information does not necessarily have to be performed when the digital content (such as pages contained in the digital content) is displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20. It is not limited to this; for example, it may be possible to perform the sharing from the home screen of a book reader application.

[0323] The control unit 21 of terminal 20A determines whether or not user input has been made to share its billing information via the input / output unit 23 (A510). If it determines that such input has been made (A510: YES), it displays the sharing target setting information on the display unit 24 for setting the sharing target from among users registered as friends, not limited to any specific group (A520).

[0324] Here, "friends" can be defined not exclusively, but as an example, as users (accounts) associated with one's own user (one's own account) within a book reader application. The data associated with this account (friend registration data) may be stored on server 10, and terminal 20A may request the friend registration data from server 10 and retrieve the friend registration data from server 10. Additionally, it may be possible to configure terminal 20A to also store friend registration data.

[0325] Next, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A determines whether or not user input for selecting a sharing target has been made via the input / output unit 23 (A530). If it determines that it has been made (A530: YES), it sends sharing request information to the server 10 via the communication interface 22, including, but not limited to, the application ID 283 (the application ID of terminal 20A or user AA) stored in the storage unit 28, the application ID of the user selected as the sharing target (in this example, the application ID of terminal 20B or user BB selected as the sharing target), the digital content ID, and the digital content element ID of the paid digital content element to be shared among the digital content identified by that digital content ID (A540). Then, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A moves on to determining the termination of A590.

[0326] The control unit 11 of the server 10 determines whether or not it has received the shared request information via the communication interface 14 (S510). If it determines that it has received the information (S510: YES), it identifies the billing information of user AA on terminal 20A based on the received shared request information and transmits this as shared billing information to terminal 20B via the communication interface 14 (S520).

[0327] Furthermore, since shared billing information is billing information for another user (user AA) from the perspective of user BB, it can be considered a type of other user billing information. Furthermore, the shared billing information may include information on at least one of the following: the amount billed by user AA and the number of billing transactions.

[0328] The control unit 21 of terminal 20B determines whether or not it has received shared billing information from server 10 via the communication interface 22 (B510). If it determines that it has received the information (B510: YES), it displays the received shared billing information on the display unit 24 (B520).

[0329] If the book reader application is not running on terminal 20B, the system may notify the user that shared billing information has been received via push notification or the like by displaying it on the display unit 24. Based on user input in response to this notification, the system may launch the book reader application and display the corresponding section on the display unit 24. Alternatively, the system may be configured to automatically launch a book reader application and display the corresponding section on the display unit 24.

[0330] Next, the control unit 21 of terminal 20B determines via the input / output unit 23 whether or not a user input has been made to charge based on the shared billing information (B530). If it determines that such input has been made (B530: YES), it sends billing request information for charging the digital content elements included in the shared billing information to the server 10 via the communication interface 22 (B540).

[0331] After step S520, the control unit 11 of the server 10 determines whether or not it has received billing request information via the communication I / F 14 (S530). If it determines that it has received the information (S530: YES), it performs the billing and settlement process described above (S120) and transmits the billing and settlement result information (S150). Then, the control unit 11 of the server 10 moves on to the termination determination in S590.

[0332] After step B540, the control unit 21 of terminal 20B displays the billing and settlement result information received from server 10 via the communication I / F 22 on the display unit 24 (B550). Then, the control unit 21 of terminal 20B moves on to determining the termination of B590.

[0333] It is not mandatory to enable other users to make charges based on the shared billing information, and steps S530-S150 and B530-B550 may be omitted in this process. In other words, it may be sufficient to simply enable the sharing of billing information.

[0334] <Effects of the 5th Example> This embodiment shows a configuration in which terminal 20, based on input from the user of terminal 20, has a control unit 21 that processes information regarding digital content elements (not limited to, but an example of at least a part of the content) that the user of terminal 20 has charged, to share with other users (not limited to, but an example of a user different from the terminal user), such as friends. As an example of the effects of this configuration, the terminal can share information about at least a portion of the content that the terminal's user has paid for with a user other than the terminal's user. This means that, as an example, the user who receives this information may, based on that information, be charged for at least a portion of the same content or at least a portion of related content.

[0335] <Fifth variation (1)> The user of device 20 may be allowed to view a list of at least some of the digital content they have purchased. Being able to view a list of at least some of the digital content they have purchased may be convenient for the user.

[0336] In this case, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A may, for example, request user billing history information (which may also be called user billing list information) from the server 10, receive the user billing history list information from the server 10, and display it on the display unit 24, similar to steps A310 to A320 of the process in Figure 3-6, not limited to this case. In this case, the server 10 may, for example, transmit user billing history information to terminal 20A that includes at least one of the following: the billing amount and the number of billings for each digital content element.

[0337] Furthermore, in this case, as in the fifth embodiment, the user of terminal 20 may share this user billing history information and user billing list information with other users such as friends based on user input to share with their terminal 20, where the user billing history information and user billing list information are displayed on the display unit 24. The sharing method can be similarly implemented based on the process shown in Figure 5-4, so a detailed explanation will be omitted.

[0338] This modified example shows a configuration in which terminal 20 displays user billing history information and user billing list information (not limited to these, but an example of a list of at least some of the content that the terminal's user has billed) on display unit 24. As an example of the effects of this modified configuration, the terminal can display a list of at least some of the content that the terminal user has paid for, allowing the terminal user to confirm it.

[0339] Furthermore, this modified example shows a configuration in which terminal 20 has a control unit 21 that performs processing related to sharing the above list with a user other than the user of terminal 20, based on input from the user of terminal 20 to terminal 20, where the above list is displayed on the display unit 24. One example of the effects of this modified configuration is that the device can share a list of at least some of the content that the device's user has paid for with a user other than the device's user. This means that, as an example, the user who receives this information may, based on that information, be charged for at least some of the same content or at least some of related content.

[0340] <Sixth Example> The sixth embodiment is an embodiment of a method for inducing users of terminal 20 to pay for at least a portion of the digital content. Some users, when viewing digital content for the first time, may be so focused on the content itself that they may not consider, or even think about, paying for at least part of that content.

[0341] The contents described in the sixth embodiment are applicable to any of the other embodiments or other modifications. Furthermore, components identical to those previously mentioned are given the same symbols, and their explanation is omitted.

[0342] In this embodiment, we encourage users to pay for digital content elements by devising ways to make them re-view the digital content.

[0343] Specifically, the control unit 21 of terminal 20 displays information (display) on the display unit 24 that guides the user to view the digital content from the beginning, or information (display) that guides the user to return to view a specific page of the digital content, at times such as when it determines that the user of terminal 20 has viewed the digital content to the end. This information may be considered, for example, information related to charging for digital content elements (hereinafter referred to as "charging-related information").

[0344] As mentioned above, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 may, for example, determine that the user of the terminal 20 has viewed the digital content to the end when the last page of the digital content is displayed on the display unit 24.

[0345] The final page may or may not be the end of the book, an afterword, a colophon, etc. The display may or may not be required to include sections such as the end of the book, afterword, and colophon on the display unit 24. Furthermore, the condition may be that the back cover is displayed on the display unit 24, or it may not be.

[0346] <Display screen> Figure 6-1 is a diagram showing an example of the screen transitions displayed on the display unit 24 of terminal 20A in this embodiment.

[0347] The upper part of Figure 6-1 shows the manga display screen of a book reader application. Unlike the upper part of Figure 1-11, the first manga information (not limited to, but as an example, page 164 of this manga) is displayed on the right side of the manga information display area, and the end-of-volume manga information is displayed on the left side of the manga display area. Page 164 of the manga displayed on the right side can be an example of the final page of this manga, not limited to, but as an example.

[0348] The manga information at the end of the volume includes, but is not limited to, manga title information / volume number information (for example, the text "The Great Adventure of ○○ / Volume 2"), the text "Why not reread your favorite scenes?", bookmark information (for example, a white icon indicating a bookmark and the text "Your Bookmark", a black icon indicating a bookmark and the text "p.67", a black icon indicating a bookmark and the text "p.134"), other user comments (for example, a white icon indicating a comment and the text "Comments from Friends", an icon image of user BB and the text "'Character A is so cool!' >>p.164", an icon image of user CC and the text "'Character B is so cool~' >>p.22"), a reread button BT11 to read the manga from the beginning (for example, a button including the text "Read from the beginning"), and a next volume button BT12 to read the next volume of the manga (for example, a button including the text "Read Volume 3").

[0349] Furthermore, the text "p.67" and "p.134" in the bookmark information are linked information (linked content), and when these characters are touched by the user, the user is redirected to the comic display screen of the page indicated by these characters (page numbers). Similarly, the text "Character A is so cool!" >> p.164 and "Character B is so cool!" >> p.22 from other users' comments are also configured to work the same way. When a user touches these characters, the user is redirected to the comic display screen of the page indicated by these characters (page numbers).

[0350] As an example, not limited to this case, when the text "Character B is cool~" >> p.22 is touched by the user, as shown in the upper part of Figure 6-1, the display shown in the lower part of Figure 6-1 will appear, also as an example, not limited to this case. In this example, the user who posted the comment "Character B is cool~" >> p.22 (user BB in this example) commented on the dialogue of Character B in the second panel on page 22. Based on this, the speech bubble for Character B's dialogue in the second panel on page 22 is displayed in a selected state in the lower part of Figure 6-1. In addition, superimposed on the upper right of this speech bubble, comment information is displayed, including a comment icon CIC (a black icon indicating a comment in this example) indicating that user BB made the comment, and a user icon UIC indicating that user BB made the comment.

[0351] In this state, if the user touches the charge button BBT, the aforementioned charge setting area BSR will be displayed, superimposed on the comic display screen at the top of Figure 6-1 (not limited to this case, but as an example), for setting the charge amount for the selected dialogue bubble.

[0352] The billing settings area BSR displays billing amount information (in this example, the text "Donation for this line," the default billing amount for the line (100 yen in this example), and buttons to increase or decrease the billing amount), as well as the aforementioned billing execution button BT1 and billing cancellation button BT2.

[0353] As an example, and not limited to this case, if the charge amount is set to "100 yen," and the user touches the charge execution button BT1, the display of the selected dialogue bubble will return to its original state, and a charge icon (in this example, an icon containing the characters "￥") will be superimposed on the upper right of the dialogue bubble along with the comment icon CIC (not shown).

[0354] In this way, by providing a navigation link that allows users to jump to the relevant section of the manga indicated by other users' comments at the end of the manga, and by displaying the manga screen with the relevant section selected, it becomes easy to charge users for the digital content elements they have commented on.

[0355] As explained in the first embodiment, it is also possible to enable bookmarking for digital content elements other than pages. In this case, although not limited to this, for example, information about the bookmarked frame, scene, dialogue, character, etc. may be displayed with links in the "Your Bookmarks" section at the top of Figure 6-1, and the same processing as described above may be performed.

[0356] <Processing> Figure 6-2 is a flowchart showing an example of the content display processing flow performed by the control unit 21 of terminal 20A in this embodiment. The control unit 21 of terminal 20A displays a page of digital content on the display unit 24 based on the display settings of the display unit 24 (A610).

[0357] In step A610, when the final page is displayed, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A may, as an example but not limited to, display at least one of the following information on the display unit 24: information such as a message prompting the user of terminal 20 to view the digital content again, bookmark information, and information about comments from friends.

[0358] The bookmark information is not limited to this; for example, it can be displayed based on the bookmark information set in step A630, which will be described later.

[0359] As an example, and not limited to specific cases, when displaying the final page, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A can request information about comments from friends from server 10 and display the page based on the information obtained by receiving it from server 10. Furthermore, the timing for retrieving information about comments from friends from server 10 is not limited to the time when the final page is displayed; it may be done at an earlier time.

[0360] Subsequently, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A determines whether or not user input (not limited to, but for example, operation of the bookmark button MBT) has been made to set a bookmark on the page currently displayed on the display unit 24 via the input / output unit 23 (A620).

[0361] If it is determined that this has been done (A620: YES), the control unit 21 of terminal 20A performs the bookmark setting process (A630). Specifically, as an example, but not limited to, it associates the page number of the page selected by the user as the page to set a bookmark on, corresponding to the digital content ID of the digital content currently being used, with the application ID stored in the storage unit 28, and stores this association in the storage unit 28. The bookmark information may also be stored in the storage unit 15 of the server 10.

[0362] Subsequently, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A determines whether or not user input to display the following has been received via the input / output unit 23 (A640). If it is determined that the action was not performed (A640: NO), the control unit 21 of terminal 20A moves the processing to A690. On the other hand, if it is determined that the last page has been done (A640: YES), the control unit 21 of terminal 20A determines whether or not the last page is currently being displayed on the display unit 24 (A650).

[0363] If it is determined that the last page is not being displayed (A650: NO), the control unit 21 of terminal 20A updates the display settings of the display unit 24 with the page number of the next page to be displayed (A660). Then, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A returns to A610.

[0364] On the other hand, if it is determined that the last page is being displayed on the display unit 24 (A650: YES), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A determines whether or not user input has been made to return to a specific page via the input / output unit 23 (A670). Specifically, based on the various pieces of information described above, it determines, not limited to but as an example, whether or not user input has been made for a page number displayed in link format.

[0365] If it is determined that the action has been taken (A670: YES), the control unit 21 of terminal 20A updates the display settings of the display unit 24 with the page number of the destination page selected by the user as the return page (A680). Then, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A returns the process to A610.

[0366] If it is determined in A670 that there is no return (A670:NO), the control unit 21 of terminal 20A determines whether or not user input to display the previous state has been made via the input / output unit 23 (A681). If it is determined that the action has been taken (A681: YES), the control unit 21 of terminal 20A updates the display settings of the display unit 24 with the page number of the page to be displayed (A685). Then, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A returns the process to A610.

[0367] If it is determined in A681 that no input has been made (A681:NO), the control unit 21 of terminal 20A determines whether or not to terminate the process by determining whether or not user input has been made to terminate the display of the digital content via the input / output unit 23 (A690). If it is determined that the process should not be terminated (A690: NO), the control unit 21 of terminal 20A returns the process to A610. On the other hand, if it is determined that the process should be terminated (A690:YES), the control unit 21 of terminal 20A terminates the digital content display process.

[0368] <Effects of the 6th Example> This embodiment shows a configuration in which terminal 20 displays information on display unit 24 such as information for displaying digital content from the beginning, bookmark information set on the page, and information about comments from friends (not limited to, but an example of fourth information related to displaying content displayed on the display unit on the display unit). As an example of the effects obtained by this configuration, based on the fourth piece of information, the content displayed on the display unit can be displayed on the display unit.

[0369] In this case, terminal 20 may also cause the digital content to be displayed on the display unit 24 from the beginning based on input from the user of terminal 20 regarding information (not limited to, but an example of the fourth information) for displaying the digital content displayed on the display unit 24 from the beginning. As an example of the effects of this configuration, the terminal can display content from the beginning based on input from the terminal user to the fourth piece of information displayed on the display unit. This allows the terminal user to re-view the content from the beginning, thus providing an incentive to charge for at least a portion of the content.

[0370] In this case, terminal 20 may also display pages included in the digital content (not limited to, but an example of a part of the content) on the display unit 24 based on input from the user of terminal 20 regarding information such as information for displaying the digital content displayed on the display unit 24 from the beginning, bookmark information set on the page, and information from friends (not limited to, but an example of the fourth type of information). As an example of the effects of this configuration, the terminal can display a portion of the content based on input from the terminal user to the fourth piece of information displayed on the display unit. This allows the terminal user to re-view any portion of the content, thus providing an incentive to charge for at least a portion of the content.

[0371] <Sixth variation (1)> In relation to the above embodiment, and as an example, but not limited to, a page that has been displayed at least once on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20 may not be able to be charged unless it is displayed again.

[0372] As mentioned above, when a user of terminal 20 views digital content for the first time, they may be so focused on the content that they do not intend to charge for at least part of it, or the thought may not even cross their mind. For this reason, not as an example but as an example, it is conceivable that charging may be enabled when a page that has been displayed at least once on the display unit 24 of terminal 20 is displayed again on the display unit 24 of terminal 20.

[0373] Figure 6-3 shows an example of the screen transitions displayed on the display unit 24 of terminal 20A in this modified example.

[0374] In this example, the upper display screen in Figure 6-3 is an example of the display screen when user AA is reading this manga for the first time, and the lower display screen in Figure 6-3 is an example of the display screen when user AA is reading this manga for the second time or later. When user AA is reading this manga for the second time or later, this can include, but not necessarily, cases where the user has read part of the manga and then gone back to read it from any page, or, but not necessarily, cases where the user has read the manga to the end and then gone back to read it from any page.

[0375] The upper part of Figure 6-3 shows the manga display screen when reading this manga for the first time in the book reader application. In this example, panel PN1 is selected as a chargeable item and displayed in the selected mode, but the charge button BBT is displayed in a different display mode than the other buttons (hereinafter referred to as "disabled mode" as appropriate). Specifically, and not limited to this example, when the display mode of the charge button BBT is the disabled mode, it is displayed by hatching or other means by the control unit 21 of terminal 20.

[0376] Even if there is a selected frame, and the payment button BBT is in a disabled display mode, touching the payment button BBT will not display the payment settings area for setting the payment amount for the selected frame.

[0377] The lower part of Figure 6-3 shows the manga display screen when reading this manga in a book reader application for the second time or later (not limited to this case, but as an example), and unlike the upper part of Figure 6-1, the payment button BBT is not displayed in a disabled state.

[0378] As an example, and not limited to this case, if a selected frame (frame PN1 in this example) is present and the user touches the payment button BBT, the display shown in the lower part of Figure 6-1 will appear. On this screen, the aforementioned billing setting area BSR is displayed superimposed on the comic display screen shown in the upper part of Figure 6-1, for setting the billing amount for the selected panel PN1.

[0379] In this way, if the user is reading this manga for the first time in the book reader application, displaying the payment button BBT in a way that indicates it is not accepting input will allow the user to easily recognize that payment for the manga is restricted. Conversely, if the user is reading this manga for the first time in the book reader application, displaying the payment button BBT in a way that indicates it is accepting input will allow the user to easily recognize that payment for the manga is not restricted.

[0380] In this case, when the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 displays a page on the display unit 24, it sets a page display flag to "ON" in association with the page number of that page, indicating that the page has been displayed. The display flag can be set to "OFF" by default.

[0381] When the terminal 20's control unit 21 displays a new page on the display unit 24, it determines the page display flag set in association with that page. If the page display flag is set to "OFF", it can choose not to send billing request information to the server 10, even if user input for billing is received via the input / output unit 23. Conversely, if the page display flag is set to "ON", it can choose to send billing request information to the server 10 if user input for billing is received via the input / output unit 23.

[0382] Furthermore, when displaying the same page again, this is not limited to this example, but rather an example: • To return to a previous page and then display it again. • To display the page again after proceeding to a later page. That is a possibility.

[0383] Any of the above may be applied in this process. You may choose to apply only one of the above methods. For example, you could apply the above methods only when you proceed to a later page and then return to that page to display it. Furthermore, in this case, it is not limited to but may also include, as an example, cases where, after the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 has displayed the last page on the display unit 24 (determining that the user has viewed the digital content to the end), it displays the digital content from the beginning based on the aforementioned input for reading the digital content from the beginning and displays a specific page again, or displays a specific page again based on a bookmark, or displays a specific page based on a friend's comment, etc.

[0384] This modified example shows a configuration in which, when a page (not limited to, but an example of a part of the content) included in the digital content is displayed on the display unit 24 of terminal 20, the control unit 21 does not perform the processing related to charging based on input from the user of terminal 20 to terminal 20, but when that page is displayed on the display unit 24 again, the control unit 21 performs the processing related to charging based on input from the user of terminal 20 to terminal 20. As an example of the effects of this modified configuration, if a portion of the content is displayed on the terminal's display, the control unit does not perform the first process based on the input from the terminal's user to the terminal. However, if the portion is displayed on the display again, the control unit can perform the first process based on the input from the terminal's user to the terminal. This makes it possible, not limited to but as an example, that the terminal user cannot be charged unless the same portion of the content is displayed on the display again. Not limited to but as an example, when a user views the content for the first time, they may be focused on the content and not consider charging. However, if the same portion of the content is displayed on the display again, the user may consider charging because they have likely viewed that portion at least once before.

[0385] <Sixth variation (2)> In the above embodiment, the display content and display manner may be made different depending on whether the digital content is displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20 at least once or on subsequent occasions. This is another example of a method to encourage the user to view the digital content again.

[0386] As mentioned above, for convenience, we will consider Content A (content displayed in monochrome) and Content B (content displayed in color) as digital content. These examples are not limited to specific content; they may differ only in whether they are in color or monochrome, and the content itself may be the same.

[0387] As mentioned above, the control unit 21 of terminal 20 receives content A and content B from server 10, not limited to, but as an example. The timing of this reception is not limited to, but may be, for example, when digital content is purchased, but it does not necessarily have to be at the same time. The control unit 21 of terminal 20, as an example (not limited to), displays content A on the display unit 24 the first time, and displays content B on the display unit 24 from the second time onward.

[0388] Furthermore, as an example and not limited to the above, terminal 20 may display digital content that differs in content or at least some of its elements from the original digital content (hereinafter referred to as "partially modified digital content") on the display unit 24 the first time, and display the original digital content on the display unit 24 from the second time onward. In this case, the partially modified digital content may, as an example and not limited to the above, replace some of the characters (for example, mob characters) that appear in the original digital content with other characters, or change some of their lines.

[0389] Furthermore, in this case, some users may notice the differences between the original digital content and the partially modified digital content. Therefore, as an example, and not limited to this, if user input is made via the input / output unit 23 of terminal 20 to charge for the differences (differences), and the charge request information is sent from terminal 20 to server 10, after the server 10 has processed the charge settlement, it may send reward information to that user's terminal 20 at a set timing. The rewards (reward information) can include various types of rewards as described in the fourth embodiment.

[0390] Furthermore, without requiring payment, terminal 20 may display confirmation information on display unit 24 regarding notifying server 10 of the discrepancies based on user input regarding the discrepancies via input / output unit 23. Based on user input acknowledging acceptance of the confirmation information, terminal 20 may send discrepancy notification information, including information for identifying the discrepancies (such as the corresponding digital content element ID), to server 10. When server 10 receives the discrepancy notification information from terminal 20, it may send reward information to the user's terminal 20. In other words, rewards may be given for finding discrepancies without requiring payment.

[0391] <Sixth variation (3)> As described above, there are cases where a user of device 20 may be charged for at least a portion of the digital content if they re-view the digital content from the beginning or re-view a specific page. On the other hand, since the user of device 20 has already viewed all or part of the digital content at least once, they may become interested in other digital content, such as a continuation of the digital content, and want to view it. In such cases, the user may be reluctant to switch to other digital content because they have already viewed the digital content (revisited it). Furthermore, book reader service providers and authors / creators of digital content may want users to purchase and view other digital content as well.

[0392] Therefore, the terminal 20 may, for example, display information (display) on the display unit 24 that serves as a guide to transition to other digital content when the user views and charges for digital content again, rather than being limited to any other type of digital content.

[0393] Figure 6-4 shows an example of the screen transitions displayed on the display unit 24 of terminal 20A in this modified example. This example is an example of a screen displayed after the user returns to page 23 and billing is performed for frame PN1.

[0394] As an example, not limited to this case, when the charge execution button BT1 is touched by the user and a charge is made, as shown in the upper part of Figure 1-12, a display like the upper part of Figure 6-4 will be shown, also as an example, not limited to this case. This screen is the manga display screen of the book reader application, and unlike the lower part of Figure 1-12, the manga recommendation area RCMR, which recommends other manga, is superimposed on the manga display screen of the lower part of Figure 1-11.

[0395] The manga recommendation area RCMR displays manga recommendation information (in this example, the text "People who donated to this panel also read these works", the first manga recommendation information (in this example, the cover of XX's Great Adventure / Volume 3 and the text "XX's Great Adventure / Volume 3"), the second manga recommendation information (in this example, the cover of XX's Story / Volume 5 and the text "XX's Story / Volume 5")), and a close button to close this manga recommendation area (in this example, a button containing the symbol "×").

[0396] The manga recommendation information displayed in this manga recommendation area includes examples such as the next volume of the manga currently being read, or manga frequently read by users who have paid for this panel. However, the recommendations are not limited to these formats; manga by the same author as the manga currently being read, or other manga with scenes similar to the panel that was paid for, may also be displayed.

[0397] The first and second manga recommendation information, among other manga recommendation information, are linked content that includes link information, and are configured such that when these manga recommendation information are touched by a user, the user is redirected to the manga display screen of the manga indicated by these manga recommendation information.

[0398] As an example, not limited to this case, when the first manga recommendation information is touched by the user, as shown in the upper part of Figure 6-4, the display shown in the lower part of Figure 6-4 will appear. This screen shows the manga display screen for "○○'s Great Adventure / Volume 3" in a book reader application. Unlike the upper part of Figure 6-4, the first manga information (not limited to, but as an example, the back of the cover of this manga) is displayed on the right side of the manga information display area, and the second manga information (not limited to, but as an example, the title page of this manga) is displayed on the left side of the manga display area.

[0399] Here, let's assume that user AA is reading the manga "○○'s Great Adventure / Volume 3" for the first time. In this case, as shown in the lower part of Figure 6-4, the user can easily recognize that payment for the manga is restricted because the payment button BBT is displayed in a disabled state.

[0400] In this way, by providing a clear link that allows users to easily access other manga related to the manga they are currently reading after making a purchase, it is possible to motivate them to read other manga.

[0401] In the example above, if the user charges after returning, terminal 20 displays information on display unit 24 that guides the user to view other digital content, but this is not limited to this. Returning is not mandatory or required; for example, a similar display could be shown based on whether the user was charged upon their first visit.

[0402] Furthermore, some users may return to a specific page not for the purpose of making a payment, but to reconfirm the content, for example. In this case, the control unit 21 of terminal 20 may, for example, display information that guides the user to view other digital content similar to the above, when a page popular with other users (hereinafter referred to as a "popular page") is displayed on the display unit 24, even if the user of terminal 20 has not made any charges or other purchases.

[0403] Here, "popular pages" are not limited to any specific page, but may be, for example, at least one of the following pages. (C-1) Pages where the number of charges is equal to or greater than the set number. (C-2) Pages where the charge amount is equal to or greater than the set amount. (C-3) Pages that are ranked highly in the billing rankings (not limited to specific pages, but for example, 1st to 3rd place) (C-4) Pages where the user engagement level, calculated based on at least one of the following pieces of information (number of charges or amount charged), is equal to or greater than the set value.

[0404] In addition to these, you may also include at least one of the following pages as popular pages, not as an example but as a limitation. (C-5) Pages with a comment count equal to or exceeding the set number. (C-6) Pages displayed on terminal 20 more than the set number of times (or exceeding the set number of times)

[0405] This information can be aggregated by server 10, not as an example but as an example.

[0406] Furthermore, whether or not a page is displayed on terminal 20 is not limited to this; for example, the control unit 21 of terminal 20 can send information indicating that a page has been displayed (hereinafter referred to as "page display information") to the server 10 each time a page is displayed on the display unit 24, so that the server 10 can keep track of this. The server 10 can then tally up the number of times each page has been displayed.

[0407] Furthermore, instead of defining digital content elements as pages, digital content elements may be defined as elements included in a page (not limited to these, but examples include panels, character dialogue, etc.), and pages containing these elements that meet the same conditions as above may be designated as "popular pages."

[0408] <Sixth variation (4)> As described above, in order to allow users to view digital content again, terminal 20 may, for example, display information about digital content that the user of terminal 20 has already viewed on a screen different from the screen on which the digital content is displayed on the display unit 24. Specifically, for example, information about digital content that the user of terminal 20 has already viewed may be displayed on the home screen (or top screen) of the book reader application.

[0409] In this case, rather than being limited to a specific format, information about previously viewed digital content may be displayed using various formats such as banners, carousels, or popups. Furthermore, if user input is received regarding the information of this digital content, the terminal 20 may, for example, display the digital content on the display unit 24 from the beginning.

[0410] In this case, information about the parts the user is interested in may be displayed in association with the digital content the user has already viewed. Furthermore, information that guides the user to display the parts they are interested in on the display unit 24 may also be displayed, and if the user makes a request for that information, the terminal 20 may display the parts they are interested in on the display unit 24.

[0411] The control unit 21 of terminal 20 can estimate the areas of concern for the user based on at least one of the following pieces of information, not limited to, but as an example: • Page display time • User biometric information • User eye-tracking information

[0412] The page display time can be defined as the time the page was displayed on the display unit 24. Pages with long display times may contain important scenes or other relevant information, and may be pages that users are interested in. The page display time can be measured for each page, but not limited to this; for example, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 can start timing the clock unit 29A when it displays the page on the display unit 24, and stop timing the clock unit 29A when it hides the page from the display unit 24.

[0413] User biometric information is not limited to this and could include, for example, the user's heart rate, blood pressure, and amount of hand sweat. Pages where the user's heart rate or blood pressure increases, or where the user's hand sweat increases, may contain important scenes or other content that the user is interested in. In this case, a biosensor can be installed in the terminal 20, and the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 can estimate the areas of concern for the user based on the biosensor's detected biometric information.

[0414] User eye-tracking information is not limited to this; for example, it can refer to information detected using eye-tracking (gaze detection) technology. Areas the user was fixated on may represent important scenes or other significant moments. In this case, the eye tracker (device for measuring eye movements) can be, but is not limited to, a glasses-type device, as described later, which can be, but is not limited to, a glasses-type device equipped with an eye-tracking sensor, a depth-sensing camera, etc. Then, a terminal 20 such as a tablet or smartphone and this glasses-type device can be connected via communication and cooperate, and the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 can detect the gaze of the user wearing the glasses-type device and identify the area the user was fixated on.

[0415] Furthermore, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 may be configured to display the various displays described above on the display unit 24 at a set timing. The set timing is not limited to specific events; for example, it could be a milestone or holiday period (for example, the change of seasons, New Year's, Golden Week, Obon, Christmas, or the end of the year). This way, users on device 20 can be motivated to view previously viewed digital content again and be incentivized to pay for it.

[0416] Furthermore, at times such as the end of the year, server 10 may send information to terminal 20 regarding the digital content element that the user of terminal 20 has paid for the most during that year (this may include information on at least one of the number of times it has been paid for and the amount paid), and this information may be displayed on terminal 20. This information may include all digital content used by the user, or it may include only the digital content that was used most frequently or most often.

[0417] In this case, based on the input to the terminal 20 that displays information about the digital content element, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 may cause the display unit 24 to display the page containing the digital content element.

[0418] This example of the display screen will be illustrated in the seventh modified example.

[0419] <Example 7> The seventh embodiment, which is also related to the sixth embodiment, is an embodiment of a method for inducing users of terminal 20 to pay for at least a portion of the digital content. As explained in the sixth embodiment, some users, when viewing digital content for the first time, may be so focused on the content that they may not think about or even consider charging for at least part of that digital content.

[0420] The contents described in the seventh embodiment are applicable to any of the other embodiments or any of the other modifications. Furthermore, components identical to those previously mentioned are given the same symbols, and their explanation is omitted.

[0421] In this embodiment, the system encourages users to charge for digital content elements by displaying information that directly or indirectly recommends charging for digital content elements (information that prompts charging). Specifically, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 displays information on the display unit 24 that recommends to the user to charge for digital content elements (hereinafter referred to as "charging recommendation information"), not as an example but as an example. Furthermore, information recommending payment may be referred to as payment promotion information, etc.

[0422] <Display screen> Figure 7-1 shows an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 24 of terminal 20A in this embodiment. Figure 7-1(1), similar to the diagram shown at the top of Figure 6-1, displays the first manga information (not limited to, but as an example, page 164 of this manga) on the right side of the manga information display area, and the end-of-volume manga information on the left side of the manga display area. Page 164 of the manga displayed on the right side can be an example of the final page of this manga, not limited to, but as an example.

[0423] The manga information at the end of the volume, while not limited to specific titles, includes, for example, manga title information and volume number information (for example, the text "The Great Adventure of XX / Volume 2"). Unlike the diagram shown at the top of Figure 6-1, it also displays information indicated by the text "Why not make a donation to anything that interests you?". This information can be considered as a payment recommendation, directly encouraging users to make payments.

[0424] Furthermore, below that, unlike the diagram shown in the upper part of Figure 6-1, a "Donation Ranking" (Charge Ranking) is displayed, showing popular pages in a ranking format based on at least one of the amount charged or the number of times charged. Specifically, in this example, "P.55" is displayed as the number one ranked page, "P.92" as the number two ranked page, and so on. The text of these pages is linked information (linked content), and when these characters are touched by a user, the user is redirected to the comic display screen of the page indicated by these characters (page numbers). This information can be considered as charge recommendation information that indirectly encourages users to charge. Note that popular pages are not limited to specific pages; for example, they may be any page that satisfies at least one of the conditions (C-1) to (C-6) mentioned above.

[0425] In Figure 7-2(2), similar to Figure 6-1(1), information is displayed with the text "Why not make a donation to something that interests you?", and below that, unlike in Figure 6-1(1), information about pages that the user (user AA) is interested in is displayed as "Pages you are interested in". The pages that the user (user AA) is interested in can be displayed based on the page display time, as explained in the 6th modified example (4), not limited to any other example. Specifically, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A measures the page display time of each page based on the method described above. Then, as an example, not limited to any other example, information about pages whose page display time is equal to or greater than a set time can be displayed on the display unit 24 (for example, the last part of the digital content displayed on the display unit 24) as information about pages that the user is interested in.

[0426] In this example screen, two pages are displayed on a single screen. Therefore, in this example, the page display time is measured as if the two pages were a single unit. For this reason, the "Pages you are interested in" section displays information for both pages displayed on the same screen.

[0427] Specifically, in this example, pages "P.22~P.23" are displayed in association with the page display time as the page with the longest display time, followed by "P.46~P.47" as the next longest display time, and so on. The text on these pages is linked information (linked content), and when these characters are touched by the user, the user is redirected to the comic display screen of the page indicated by these characters (page numbers). This information can be interpreted as indirectly encouraging the user to pay.

[0428] Note that in this example screen, "Page Dwell Time" is displayed from the user's perspective, but it could also be displayed as "Page Display Time." Furthermore, this page display time (page dwell time) information may be hidden.

[0429] Alternatively, the screen shown above may be configured to display only the information indicated by the text, "Why not make a donation to a place that interests you?" Additionally, the information indicated by the text "Why not make a donation to something that interests you?" may be hidden from at least one of the screens shown in Figure 7-1(1) and Figure 7-1(2). Alternatively, the donation ranking information in Figure 7-1(1) and the page of interest information in Figure 7-1(2) may be displayed together.

[0430] <Processing> In this embodiment, as an example rather than an limitation, in the process shown in Figure 6-2, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A causes the clock unit 29A to measure time when a new page is displayed on the display unit 24, and measures the time from when the page is displayed until the page is hidden as the page display time. Then, as an example rather than an limitation, the page number of the page, the page display time, and the application ID stored in the storage unit 28 are associated with the digital content ID of the currently used digital content and stored in the storage unit 28.

[0431] Furthermore, when the control unit 21 of terminal 20A displays the final page in step A610, it may, as an example but not limited to, display at least one of the following information on the display unit 24: information such as a message prompting the user of terminal 20 to pay, the information on popular pages as described above, and information on pages that the user of terminal 20 has viewed for a long time based on page display time.

[0432] Information on popular pages is not limited to specific pages; for example, when displaying the last page, terminal 20A can request information on popular pages from server 10 and obtain it by receiving it from server 10. Furthermore, the timing for retrieving information about popular pages from server 10 is not limited to the time when the last page is displayed; it may be done at an earlier time.

[0433] The information about pages that the user of terminal 20 viewed for a long time, based on page display time, is not limited to this; for example, it can be obtained and displayed by acquiring the page display time information for each page stored in the storage unit 28, as described above.

[0434] Furthermore, if the control unit 21 of terminal 20A determines in step A650 that the last page is being displayed (A650: YES), it may determine, based on the various information described above, whether or not user input has been made for the page number displayed in link format.

[0435] Furthermore, the display unit 24 may not only display information about pages of interest to the user based on page display time, but may also, as explained in the 6th modification (4), display information about pages of interest to the user based on the user's biometric information, eye-tracking information, etc., as an example, rather than being limited to that.

[0436] <Effects of the 7th Example> This embodiment shows a configuration in which the terminal 20 displays on the display unit 24 information recommending charges for the digital content elements of the digital content displayed on the display unit 24 (not limited to, but an example of fifth information related to encouraging charges for at least a part of the content). As an example of the effects obtained by this configuration, the terminal can prompt the user to charge for at least a portion of the content displayed on the display unit.

[0437] In this case, the recommended billing information (not limited to, but an example of the fifth type of information) may also include information about billing by other users (not limited to, but an example of information about billing by at least one user different from the device's user). As an example of the effects of this configuration, fifth information, including information regarding billing by a first user different from the terminal user, can be displayed on the display unit to prompt the terminal user to bill for at least a portion of the content.

[0438] In this case, information regarding charges made by other users (not limited to, but an example of information regarding charges made by at least one user different from the device user) may include information regarding digital content elements that have been charged by other users for an amount or more than the set amount, or for more than the set number of times. As an example of the effects of this configuration, and not an exhaustive one, it is possible to encourage the user of the device to charge for at least a portion of the content that has been charged for a certain amount or number of times by a first user who is different from the user of the device.

[0439] In this case, the recommended payment information (not limited to, but an example of fifth-category information) may also include information about pages included in the digital content (not limited to, but an example of a portion included in the content). One example of the effects of this configuration is that it allows users of a device to be prompted to pay for a portion of the content they are entitled to.

[0440] In this case, the recommended billing information (not limited to specific information, but an example of the fifth type of information) may also include information about pages where the time displayed on the display unit 24 was longer than the set time. As an example of the effects of this configuration, and not an exhaustive one, it is possible to prompt the user of the terminal to be charged for a portion of the time that was displayed on the terminal's display for a certain period of time.

[0441] In this case, terminal 20 may also display a page included in the content (not limited to, but an example of a part included in the content) on the display unit 24 based on input from the user of terminal 20 regarding the billing recommendation information (not limited to, but an example of the fifth type of information) displayed on the display unit 24. As an example of the effects of this configuration, the terminal can display a portion of the content on its display based on input from the terminal user regarding the fifth piece of information displayed on the display. This makes it possible for the terminal user to easily charge for a portion of the content, or at least a portion of that portion.

[0442] In this case, the recommended payment information (not limited, but an example of the fifth type of information) may be displayed on the display unit 24 when the final page or the like is displayed on the display unit 24 (not limited, but an example when the content is viewed to the end). One example of the effects of this configuration is that, if the content is viewed to the end, the fifth piece of information can be displayed on the display unit. When viewing content for the first time, users may be focused on the content and may not think about or even consider charging for at least part of it. However, by displaying the fifth piece of information on the display unit when the content is viewed to the end, the likelihood of the user making a payment can be increased.

[0443] <7th variation (1)> The contents described in the 6th Modification (1) to the 6th Modification (4) are also applicable to the 7th Embodiment. Furthermore, the aforementioned fourth type of information, such as the information for displaying digital content from the beginning, the bookmark information set on the page, and the comment information from friends, as described in the sixth embodiment, can also be considered a type of information that encourages charging for digital content elements.

[0444] <7th variation (2)> In the above embodiment, we showed an example where popular pages were displayed in a ranking format as information recommending payment, but this is not limited to that. As a way to encourage users to pay, popular digital content elements other than the page itself may be displayed in a ranking format or similar.

[0445] Figure 7-2 shows an example of the screen displayed on the display unit 24 of terminal 20A in this case. This screen corresponds to the screen shown in Figure 7-1(1). In the upper part of Figure 7-2, the ranking of the number of charges for each panel is displayed in the charging ranking (donation ranking) section, which is a type of charging recommendation information displayed at the end of the book. The panels displayed here can be considered to be popular panels. Specifically, the ranking of the most-paid panels is displayed along with a reduced image of the corresponding panel and the text that identifies that panel. In this example, the most-paid panel (which can be considered the most popular panel) is "the fourth panel on page 22," and the next most-paid panel (which can be considered the next most popular panel) is "the first panel on page 22."

[0446] In the upper screen of Figure 7-2, if, as an example, user AA touches the reduced image corresponding to "the first frame on page 22," the display shown in the lower part of Figure 7-2 will appear, also as an example. In this example, page 22, which contains frame PN3 corresponding to the touched "first frame on page 22," and page 23 are displayed on the display unit 24. In this example, the frame of frame PN3 is highlighted in color (not limited to red, but shown as an example). Alternatively, the frame of the frame could be highlighted with a thick line or similar instead of color. This allows users to easily identify which frames are the target frames. Furthermore, by selecting these frames as the ones to be charged (displayed in a selection format) and configuring the billing settings, users can then charge for these frames.

[0447] Furthermore, when displaying the lower screen of Figure 7-2 on the display unit 24, instead of highlighting the frame as described above, the frame may be displayed in a selected state (selected as a chargeable item), similar to the example shown in Figure 6-1. This allows the user to directly charge for this frame.

[0448] Figure 7-3 shows another example of Figure 7-2. The upper screen in Figure 7-2 is the same as the upper screen in Figure 7-1. In this example, in the upper screen of Figure 7-3, based on the fact that user AA touched the thumbnail image corresponding to "the first frame on page 22," the billing setting area BSR for this frame is displayed in the center of the screen. This allows for direct charging for this particular piece.

[0449] Furthermore, in the upper screen of Figure 7-2, as an example (not limited to this case), when a user AA touches a reduced image of a frame, the display unit 24 displays a selection prompt for the user to choose between displaying the page containing that frame, as shown in the lower part of Figure 7-2, or directly charging, as shown in the lower part of Figure 7-3. If the former is selected, the display shown in the lower part of Figure 7-2 may be shown, and if the latter is selected, the display shown in the lower part of Figure 7-3 may be shown.

[0450] <Seventh variation (3)> In relation to the sixth modification (4), in order to allow the user to view the digital content again and to prompt payment for elements of the digital content that have already been viewed, the terminal 20 may display information about the digital content that the user of its terminal 20 has viewed on a screen different from the screen on which the digital content is displayed on the display unit 24. Specifically, and not limited to, as an example, information about the digital content that the user of its terminal 20 has viewed may be displayed on the home screen (or top screen) of the book reader application.

[0451] In this case, rather than being limited to a specific format, information about previously viewed digital content may be displayed using various formats such as banners, carousels, or popups. Furthermore, if user input is received regarding the information of this digital content, the terminal 20 may, for example, display the digital content on the display unit 24 from the beginning.

[0452] Figure 7-4 shows an example of the home screen (or top screen) of the book reader application displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20A in this modified example. On this screen, as an example of information about digital comics provided by the book reader application, featured information is displayed at the top of the screen, followed by information on newly released digital comics. Below that, advertisements related to digital comics are displayed.

[0453] Furthermore, the bottom of the screen features an area that displays information about digital comics that users can view for free, not as a limited selection but as an example. In this example, a pop-up window called the Viewed Digital Content Display Area (ADR), which contains information about comics that the user of terminal 20A has read in the past, is superimposed on this area.

[0454] The ADR (Advanced Digital Content Display Area) for viewed digital content, while not limited to this example, displays images of digital manga previously read by the user of terminal 20A, arranged horizontally, along with the text "Manga I've read in the past." When any of these digital comic images is touched by the user, the digital comic will be displayed on the display unit 24 (not limited to, but as an example), allowing the user to view the digital comic from the beginning.

[0455] In this example, the words "Why not make a donation?" (or "Why not pay?") are displayed at the top of the ADR (Advanced Display Area) which shows viewed digital content. This "Why not make a donation?" text can be considered a type of payment recommendation information as described above. In this way, it is possible to encourage users to pay for digital content elements they have previously viewed. Note that displaying information recommending purchases is not mandatory, and it is optional to choose not to display it.

[0456] Furthermore, as mentioned in the sixth modification (4), the ADR (Advanced Display Area) of the viewed digital content display screen in Figure 7-4 may also display information about the parts of the digital content that the user is interested in, in association with each piece of digital content. In addition, information that serves as a guide to display the parts of

[0457] As mentioned above, the areas of concern for users can be estimated, not limited to, but as examples, based on at least one of the following pieces of information. • Page display time • User biometric information • User eye-tracking information

[0458] Furthermore, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 may, for example, display the viewed digital content display area (ADR) on the home screen shown in Figure 7-4 at a set timing. The set timing can be any of the various timings described in the sixth modified example (4).

[0459] <Eighth Example> The eighth embodiment is an embodiment relating to a UI for users of terminal 20 to make charges, and to settlement of charges by server 10.

[0460] The contents described in the eighth embodiment are applicable to any of the other embodiments or other modifications. Furthermore, components identical to those previously mentioned are given the same symbols, and their explanation is omitted.

[0461] <Display screen> Figure 8-1 is a diagram showing an example of the screen transitions displayed on the display unit 24 of terminal 20A in this embodiment.

[0462] In this example, the display screen shows a state where multiple digital content elements, including character A, the first panel on page 23, and the fourth panel on page 22, have been selected as potential charges. Specifically, and this is not an exhaustive example, when a button to select a digital content element as a potential charge is touched by the user (not shown), information about the digital content element corresponding to the touched button is stored in server 10 or terminal 20A as a potential charge that may be charged in the future. Based on this information, the potential charge information is then displayed in the potential charge display screen described later.

[0463] For example, and not limited to this case, when the user touches the billing button BBT in the state shown in the upper part of Figure 3-1, the display shown in the upper part of Figure 8-1 may be shown.

[0464] The upper screen in Figure 8-1 is the billing candidate display screen of the book reader application. At the bottom of the top of the screen is the billing candidate display area, which is an area for displaying information related to billing candidates. In this example, unlike the billing history display screen at the bottom of Figure 3-1, billing candidate title information (not limited to this, but as an example, an icon containing the character "￥" and the words "Donation Candidate") is displayed at the top left, and a display switching tab STB for switching the display of billing candidates according to the digital content element is displayed at the top right. In this example, based on the default text "Per Volume" being displayed on the display switching tab STB, the billing history according to the number of volumes of the manga is displayed.

[0465] Furthermore, below that, as an example rather than a limited selection, information on potential charges (first potential charge, second potential charge, third potential charge, ...) is displayed. Specifically, the leftmost section displays the first payment option information (not limited to this, but as an example, character A, the text "Character A", the payment amount (300 yen in this example), and a select payment button CBT1 to charge this selected character (in this example, a button containing the text "Donate to this character")), and to its right displays the second payment option information (not limited to this, but as an example, the first panel on page 23, the text "p.23 1st panel", the payment amount (100 yen in this example), and a select payment button CBT2 to charge this selected panel (in this example, a button containing the text "Donate to this panel")), and to its right displays the third payment option information (not limited to this, but as an example, the fourth panel on page 22, the text "p.22 4th panel", the payment amount (100 yen in this example), and a select payment button CBT3 to charge this selected panel (in this example, a button containing the text "Donate to this panel")). In other words, based on the default setting of the display tab, "By Volume," the charge option information displayed is for this digital manga (in this example, "The Great Adventure of XX," specifically volume 2). Hereafter, charge information will be referred to as "charge option" as appropriate.

[0466] Furthermore, on the billing option display screen, the user may set the billing amount for the billing option as they wish. For example, when the user touches the billing amount of the billing option information, the billing amount for the billing option information may be changed from the default amount.

[0467] As an example, rather than being limited, the display shown in the lower part of Figure 8-1 can be shown when a set trigger or condition is met (for example, when the user touches the button for making a purchase on the home screen, when the user finishes reading this volume, or when it is the end of the month).

[0468] The lower screen in Figure 8-1 is the billing management display screen of the book reader application. Unlike the upper screen in Figure 8-1, the bottom of the top of the screen contains a billing management display area, which is an area for displaying information related to billing management. In this example, the top left of the billing management display area displays billing management title information (not limited to this, but as an example, an icon containing the character "￥" and the words "Donation Management").

[0469] Below that, from left to right, are displayed the following: a display area for the number of payment options selected by the user (not limited to this, but for example, the text "Donation Options: 10"), a display area for the number of payment options selected to actually be charged (paid) (not limited to this, but for example, the text "Payment Selected: 9"), and a display area for the total estimated charge amount (hereinafter referred to as "Total Estimated Charge Amount" as appropriate) (not limited to this, but for example, the text "Total Donation Amount: 1,900 yen"), which is the sum of the charges based on the number of payment options selected to actually be charged (paid).

[0470] Furthermore, below that, as an example rather than a limitation, the billing candidate management information selected by the user on the billing candidate display screen (1st billing candidate management information, 2nd billing candidate management information, 3rd billing candidate management information, 4th billing candidate management information, ...) is displayed. Specifically, the leftmost section displays the first billing candidate management information (not limited to, but as an example, Character A from "The Great Adventure of XX / Volume 2", the text "Character A", the billing amount (300 yen in this example), and the manga title information / manga volume number information (not limited to, but as an example, the text "The Great Adventure of XX / Volume 2")), and to its right displays the second billing candidate management information (not limited to, but as an example, the first panel on page 23 of "The Great Adventure of XX / Volume 2", the text "p.23 1st panel", the billing amount (100 yen in this example), and the manga title information / manga volume number information (not limited to, but as an example, the text "The Great Adventure of XX / Volume 2")), and to its right displays the third billing candidate management information (not limited to, but as an example, the fourth panel on page 22 of "The Great Adventure of XX / Volume 2", "p.22 The text "4th panel", the charge amount (100 yen in this example), and the manga title information / manga volume number information (not limited to any specific title, but as an example, the text "The Great Adventure of XX / Volume 2") are displayed, and to the right of that, the 4th charge candidate management information (not limited to any specific title, but as an example, the 4th panel on page 32 of The Great Adventure of XX / Volume 3, the text "p.32 2nd panel", the charge amount (200 yen in this example), and the manga title information / manga volume number information (not limited to any specific title, but as an example, the text "The Great Adventure of XX / Volume 3") are displayed.

[0471] This example shows a state where nine billing candidate management information items are selected, including the first, third, and fourth billing candidate management information items, and the checkboxes (circular in this example) associated with these billing candidate management information items are checked.

[0472] Additionally, at the bottom center of the screen, there is a payment button BT15 (not limited to this, but for example, a button containing the words "Donation Payment") for making payments for the digital content element corresponding to the selected billing candidate management information.

[0473] For example, if billing candidate management information is selected and the payment button BT15 is touched by the user (not shown), then, for example, billing can be performed for the digital content elements selected by the user in a single transaction.

[0474] <Processing> Figure 8-2 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow performed by each device in this embodiment. This process can be executed as a subroutine, not limited to, but as an example, in the application processing performed by the control unit 21 of terminal 20A and the application management processing performed by the control unit 11 of server 10.

[0475] In parallel with this process, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A and the control unit 11 of server 10 may perform the following processes, not as an example but as an example. The control unit 21 of terminal 20A, in step A140 of Figure 1-15 (not limited to this, but as an example), transmits billing candidate information to the server 10 via the communication interface 22, including, in addition to the application ID 283 stored in the storage unit 28, the digital content ID of the digital content currently being used by the user, the digital content element ID determined in step A120, and the billing request amount. The control unit 11 of the server 10, as an example but not limited to, in the steps of AS110 in Figure 1-15, determines whether or not it has received billing candidate information from terminal 20A via the communication I / F 14. If it determines that it has received the information, it associates the application ID (in this example, the application ID of user AA) included in the received billing candidate information with the digital content element ID and the billing request amount included in this billing candidate information and stores them in the storage unit 15 as billing candidate list information.

[0476] In the process shown in Figure 8-2, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A determines whether the conditions for displaying the list of billing candidates have been met (A820). The conditions for displaying the list of billing candidates are not limited to these, but can be any of the following as examples. (E1) The payment button was operated on a specific screen of the book reader application (not limited to this, but for example, the home screen). (E2) It was determined that the digital content being used had been viewed to completion. (E3) Input has been made to access the digital content being used from the beginning.

[0477] If it is determined that the transaction is successful (A820: YES), the control unit 21 of terminal 20A requests the billing candidate list information from server 10 via the communication interface 22, receives the billing candidate list information from server 10 via the communication interface 22, and displays it on the display unit 24 (A830).

[0478] Subsequently, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A determines, via the input / output unit 23, whether or not a user input has been made to select a digital content element to be charged from the list of charge candidates displayed on the display unit 24 and to charge it (A825). If it is determined that the action has been taken (A825: YES), the control unit 21 of terminal 20A sends billing request information to the server 10 via the communication interface 22 for the selected digital content element, similar to step A140 in Figure 1-15 (A840).

[0479] The control unit 11 of the server 10 determines whether or not it has received billing request information from the terminal 20A via the communication interface 14 (S810). If it determines that it has received the information (S810: YES), it performs a batch billing and settlement process (S820). Specifically, and not limited to, but as an example, it settles the total amount of the billing request for one or more digital content elements identified by one or more digital content element IDs included in the received billing request information, based on the settlement method (settlement method) set in advance by the user of the terminal 20A. The control unit 11 of the server 10 then updates the billing history data and billing history summary data.

[0480] Subsequently, the control unit 11 of the server 10 transmits the batch billing and settlement result information from the batch billing and settlement process to the terminal 20A via the communication I / F 14 (S850). After step A840, when the terminal 20A receives the batch billing and settlement result information from the server 10 via the communication I / F 22, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A displays the received batch billing and settlement result information on the display unit 24 (A850).

[0481] In contrast to the above, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A may, for example, store the billing candidate information determined in step A140 of Figure 1-15 as billing candidate list information in the storage unit 28 of terminal 20A. Then, in step A830, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A may display the billing candidate list information stored in the storage unit 28 on the display unit 24.

[0482] <Effects of the 8th Example> This embodiment shows a configuration in which the billing process (not limited to, but an example of the first process) performed by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 is performed based on billing candidate information selected by the user of the terminal 20 from among billing candidate information that designates a first digital content element input by the user of the terminal 20 as a billing candidate, and billing candidate information that designates a second digital content element input by the user of the terminal 20 as a billing candidate. As an example of the effects of this configuration, the terminal can perform a first process based on information regarding charging for at least a first portion of the content, which has been entered by the terminal user, and information regarding charging for at least a second portion of the content, which has been entered by the terminal user, and which has been selected by the terminal user. This means that, as an example, the terminal user can keep the content they want to charge for and later select which of those to actually charge, which may be convenient for the user.

[0483] <Variation 8 (1)> In the above embodiment, the server 10 may be configured to process the billing payment at set intervals, such as monthly. It is also possible to set any period, not just monthly intervals.

[0484] In this case, as shown in Figure 8-2, instead of the control unit 11 of the server 10 performing the batch billing and settlement processing in S820 based on the receipt of billing request information in S810, the control unit 11 of the server 10 can perform the batch billing and settlement processing based on the billing candidate list information after a set period has elapsed.

[0485] In this case, in step S850 of Figure 8-2, the control unit 11 of the server 10 can transmit the information regarding the set period's bulk billing and settlement result, obtained through the bulk billing and settlement process for the set period, to the terminal 20A via the communication I / F 14. Then, in step A850, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A can display the information regarding the set period's bulk billing and settlement result, received from the server 10 via the communication I / F 22, on the display unit 24.

[0486] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A may be configured to display the billing candidate list information on the display unit 24 when the set period has elapsed. In this case, the billing candidate list information display conditions described above may be modified as follows: (E4) The set period has elapsed, or the set date (or time) has arrived (not limited to this, but for example, the billing date has arrived). You should set these things up.

[0487] Unlike the above, and not limited to this, as an example, in the process shown in Figure 1-15, one billing target is selected on terminal 20A, and the control unit 11 of server 10 performs billing and settlement processing (step S120 in Figure 1-15, etc.) based on the billing request information received from terminal 20A. The control unit 11 of server 10 may then send the batch billing and settlement result information for the set period to terminal 20A when the set period has elapsed (step S850 in Figure 8-2). In other words, each time a billing target is selected by the user of terminal 20, the server 10 settles the billing, but the billing and settlement result information may be sent from server 10 to terminal 20A all at once for the set period.

[0488] Furthermore, in the process shown in Figure 8-2, even if the billing candidate list information is displayed on the display unit 24 of terminal 20A based on the billing candidate list information display conditions (E1) to (E3) described above, the control unit 11 of server 10 will similarly perform a batch billing settlement process (step S820 in Figure 8-2, etc.) based on the billing request information received from terminal 20A. The control unit 11 of server 10 may also send batch billing settlement result information for the set period to terminal 20A when the set period has elapsed (step S850 in Figure 8-2). In other words, each time a billing target is selected from the billing candidate list by the user of terminal 20, the server 10 will settle the billing, but the billing settlement result information may be sent from server 10 to terminal 20A all at once for the set period.

[0489] This modified example shows a configuration in which billing is settled by server 10 at set intervals. One example of the benefits of this modified configuration is that billing can be consolidated and processed at set intervals, which may be convenient for users.

[0490] In this case, terminal 20 receives a set period lump-sum billing information from server 10 via communication I / F 22, which associates information about the amount charged by terminal 20's users and the digital content elements that were charged during the set period. Terminal 20 may then display the received set period lump-sum billing information on display unit 24. As an example of the effects of this modified configuration, the terminal can receive and display sixth information from the server, which associates information about the amount charged by the terminal user that was settled by the server during a set period with information about at least a portion of the content that was charged, thereby informing the terminal user.

[0491] <Variation 8 (2)> In addition to the above, the timing at which server 10 settles the billing may also be the timing at which billing request information is sent from terminal 20 to server 10 (the timing at which a billing request is made by the user, each time such a request is made), as explained in the first embodiment, etc.

[0492] In addition, and this is not an exhaustive example, when it is determined that the digital content has been viewed to the end on terminal 20, the server 10 may settle the charges in a batch based on one or more billing request information sent from terminal 20 to the server 10 up to that point. In this case, the control unit 21 of terminal 20, for example, when it determines that the last page has been displayed on the display unit 24, sends information to the server 10 via the communication interface 22 to indicate this. The server 10 can then perform the batch billing and settlement process based on having received this information from terminal 20.

[0493] <Variation 8 (3)> Furthermore, in relation to billing (payment), server 10 may set limits on at least one of the number of billing cycles and the amount of billing. Since digital content may be viewed by children, the above limits may be used to prevent unlimited billing.

[0494] In this case, for accounts with restrictions set, if the restrictions are exceeded, the server 10 can prevent the payment from being processed even if it receives payment request information from the terminal 20. Furthermore, if server 10 performs a lump-sum payment, it can be configured to perform the lump-sum payment only for those for which a payment has been requested, within the limits of the restrictions.

[0495] <Example 9> The ninth embodiment is an embodiment that allows creators and editors of digital content (hereinafter collectively referred to as "service providers") and users of book reader services to check billing information. Furthermore, book reader service providers may be included among the service providers.

[0496] The contents described in the ninth embodiment are applicable to any of the other embodiments or other modifications. Furthermore, components identical to those previously mentioned are given the same symbols, and their explanation is omitted.

[0497] <Display screen> In this embodiment, the display screen illustrates an example of displaying a charge heatmap related to manga charges. Here, a tablet terminal equipped with a vertically oriented display unit 24 is given as an example of the terminal 20 used by the service provider.

[0498] In this example, the method of visually clarifying the strength (magnitude) of charging data (numerical values) based on at least one of the charging amount and the number of charges for any digital content element of a manga by displaying them in different colors is called a "charging heatmap." Specifically, and not limited to, but as an example, a digital content element is displayed in the first mode (white in this example) when the charging data is weakest (smallest), in the third mode (red in this example) when the charging data is strongest (largest), and in the second mode (blue in this example) when the charging data is stronger (larger) than in the first mode but weaker (smaller) than in the third mode.

[0499] Figures 9-1 and 9-2 show an example of the screen transitions displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20 in this embodiment. Here, the "Book Editor Application" is used as an example of an application for users to check billing information for using the book reader service.

[0500] Figure 9-1 shows the billing heatmap screen for the Book Editor application. The name of the Book Editor application, "Book Editor App," is displayed in the center of the top of the screen. Also, the editor settings button for configuring various settings within the Book Editor application is displayed in the upper right part of the screen.

[0501] Below that, there is a billing heatmap display area, which is a region for displaying billing heatmap information (not limited to, but for example, any digital content element displayed in any of the display modes from the first to the third mode). In this example, the billing heatmap title (not limited to, but for example, the words "Donation Heatmap") is displayed in the center of the top of the billing heatmap display area.

[0502] Below that, manga title information / volume number information (not limited to specific titles, but for example, "The Great Adventure of XX / Volume 2") is displayed at the top center, and a display toggle tab STB for switching the display of the billing heatmap according to the digital content elements is displayed at the top right. In this example, based on the default text "per panel" being displayed in the display toggle tab STB, the billing heatmap according to the manga panels is displayed.

[0503] Furthermore, below that, as an example rather than a limited one, the billing heatmap information (1st billing heatmap information, 2nd billing heatmap information, 3rd billing heatmap information, ...) is displayed in the order of the manga pages. In this example, the billing heatmap information corresponding to pages 1 through 10 is displayed from the top left to the right, and the billing heatmap information corresponding to pages 11 through 20 is displayed from the leftmost part of the row below to the right, and so on, with the billing heatmaps displayed in a similar order thereafter.

[0504] Specifically, the top left displays the first billing heatmap information of the second aspect (in this example, a blue icon and the text "p.001" are shown, not as an example but as an illustration of the first page), to its right displays the second billing heatmap information of the first aspect (in this example, a white icon and the text "p.002" are shown, not as an example but as an illustration of the second page), to its right displays the third billing heatmap information of the first aspect (in this example, a white icon and the text "p.003" are shown, not as an example but as an illustration of the third page), (and so on), and to the right of the ninth billing heatmap information (not shown) displays the tenth billing heatmap information of the second aspect (in this example, a blue icon and the text "p.010" are shown, not as an example but as an illustration of the tenth page). The following explanation is omitted as it is as shown on the display screen.

[0505] The billing heatmap information is linked content that includes link information. When this billing heatmap information is touched by a user, the user is redirected to the billing heatmap details screen for the page corresponding to that billing heatmap information.

[0506] As an example, not limited to this case, when the user touches the 23rd billing heatmap information (in this example, a red icon indicating page 23 and the text "p.023"), a display similar to Figure 9-2 will be shown. This screen is the billing heatmap details display screen of the book editor application. Unlike Figure 9-1, the billing heatmap details display area (HMR) is located at the bottom of the top of the screen, and is an area for displaying billing heatmap details (in this example, 23 pages of the manga color-coded according to the magnitude of the billing (strength of the billing data)).

[0507] As an example, and not limited to any specific case, when any frame in the detailed display area of ​​the billing heatmap (HMR) (for example, the first frame on page 23) is touched by a user, the display shown in Figure 9-2 will appear. On this screen, the BGR (Billing Graph Display Area) is displayed overlaid on the HMR (Billing Heatmap Details Display Area) to show the billing graph for the frames touched by the user.

[0508] The BGR (Background Green) area for displaying the billing graph shows, as an example, the words "Donation for this frame," a billing graph for this frame (in this example, a line graph showing the number of charges and the amount charged), and a close button to close the BGR area (in this example, a button with an "×" symbol).

[0509] In this example, the billing graph is displayed with the horizontal axis representing the date and the vertical axis representing the number of charges and the amount charged. This type of display makes it easy for the service provider to understand how much was charged for each frame on this page (page 23 in this example) on each day or during each period.

[0510] Note that it is not mandatory to display both the graph showing the number of charges and the graph showing the amount charged; you may choose to display only one of the graphs. Additionally, it may be possible to switch between these graphs in the display.

[0511] Furthermore, while Figure 9-1 shows an example of displaying heatmap information for page-specific billing on the display unit 24, the system is not limited to this example. As an example, not limited to the above, in the example display screen shown in Figure 9-1, heatmap information for charges targeting other digital content elements, such as frames, scenes, dialogue, characters, etc., may be displayed on the display unit 24. Furthermore, the heatmap information for billing may be displayed on the display unit 24 in a way that switches for each digital content element.

[0512] <Processing> In this embodiment, the control unit 11 of the server 10 performs a process to generate the above-mentioned billing heatmap information, etc., based on the billing management data for each application ID stored in the account management database 159, based on the set conditions. The control unit 11 of the server 10 can then transmit the generated billing heatmap information to the service provider terminal 20 via the communication I / F 14. In addition, the display unit 13 of the server 10 may display the billing heatmap information.

[0513] The set conditions are not limited to those specified above, but can include, for example, when an input requesting the generation of billing heatmap information is received via the input / output unit 12 of server 10, when a set period of time has elapsed, when a set date and time has arrived, when a set time has arrived, or combinations of these conditions.

[0514] In this way, by allowing service providers to view the billing heatmap, it becomes easy to understand how much each digital content element is being billed by users of the book reader application on their devices 20.

[0515] The above example shows server 10 generating the billing heatmap information, but this is not the only example. Similar to the aforementioned billing ranking, the server 10 may generate billing ranking information for all users (or some users) using the book reader application and send this information to the service provider's terminal 20.

[0516] In this case, server 10 may generate billing ranking information that can be displayed sorted by various digital content elements, similar to the billing ranking mentioned above. By doing so, the service provider can statistically determine which digital content elements users are interested in (like, are fond of). In other words, the service provider can analyze what kind of panel layouts, scenes, characters, dialogue, etc., users are interested in, and use this information to create new works, etc.

[0517] Furthermore, as mentioned above, the server 10 may pre-register user attribute information, including, but not limited to, the user's gender, age, occupation, hobbies, preferences, and interests. The server 10 may then aggregate billing information according to the user attribute information. The aggregated results may then be linked to billing ranking information and sent to the service provider's terminal 20. In this way, the service provider can perform a more detailed analysis of which users with which attributes are interested in which types of panel layouts, scenes, characters, dialogue, etc., based on the user's attribute information.

[0518] Furthermore, server 10 may perform a process to aggregate information on how user billing changes over time. In other words, based on user billing information over a certain period, it may aggregate information (changes over time, changes in preferences) on how the items users bill change over time. Server 10 may then transmit the aggregated information to the service provider's terminal 20. By doing so, the service provider can analyze the information and use it to change the total amount of goods offered to users as rewards or to create side stories.

[0519] <Tenth Example> In the above embodiment, digital content viewed by the user with the terminal 20 in landscape orientation was used as an example (not limited to, but an example being a landscape-readable digital comic), but the embodiment is not limited to this. The contents described in each of the above embodiments and each of the above modifications may be applied to digital content viewed by the user with the terminal 20 in a vertical position (not limited to, but for example, a vertically-reading digital comic).

[0520] The contents described in the 10th embodiment are applicable to any of the other embodiments or other modifications. Furthermore, components identical to those previously mentioned are given the same symbols, and their explanation is omitted.

[0521] <Display screen> In this embodiment, terminal 20 is described as a smartphone equipped with a vertically oriented display unit 24. Furthermore, as an example rather than an limitation, we illustrate a case where terminal 20 displays a vertically oriented digital comic on the display unit 24 using a book reader application.

[0522] A smartphone, as an example, has a touch panel that functions as an input area, positioned opposite its display, thereby forming a touchscreen. When an element such as an icon, button, item, or input area is displayed on the display, and a portion of the touch panel opposite the area where the element is displayed is operated by the user, the program associated with that element or a subroutine of that program is executed.

[0523] Figure 10-1 is a diagram showing an example of the screen transitions displayed on the display unit 24 of terminal 20A in this embodiment.

[0524] Figure 10-1, on the left, shows the manga display screen of the book reader application. The name of the book reader application, "Book Reader App," is displayed in the center of the top of the screen. Also, the icon image and username (in this example, "User AA") of the user of this terminal 20A in the book reader application are displayed on the right side of the screen.

[0525] Below that, there is a manga information display area, which is a region for displaying manga information (not limited to manga, but for example, information related to the manga currently open in a book reader application (manga information)). Specifically, in a smartphone equipped with a vertically oriented display unit 24, one page of a manga is displayed across the entire screen in the manga information display area.

[0526] Additionally, superimposed on the manga display screen, the following buttons are displayed in the lower right corner of the screen: the Home button (HBT) for returning to the home screen in the book reader application, the Bookmark button (MBT) for setting bookmarks in the book reader application, and the Charge button (BBT) for making in-app purchases in the book reader application.

[0527] As an example, and not limited to any specific case, when a user touches any panel of a manga (for example, the top panel of the manga), the panel touched by the user will be displayed in a selected state, as shown on the left side of Figure 10-1.

[0528] As an example, and not limited to this case, if there is a selected piece, and the user touches the payment button BBT as shown in the center of Figure 10-1, the display shown in the center of Figure 10-1 will appear. On this screen, the billing settings area BSR, which is used to set the billing amount for the selected panel, is displayed superimposed on the comic display screen on the left side of Figure 10-1.

[0529] The billing settings area BSR displays billing amount information (in this example, the text "Donation for this piece," the default billing amount for the piece (100 yen in this example), and buttons to increase or decrease the billing amount), as well as the aforementioned billing execution button BT1 and billing cancellation button BT2.

[0530] As an example, and not limited to this case, if the charge amount is set to "100 yen," and the user touches the charge execution button BT1 as shown in the center of Figure 10-1, the display shown on the right side of Figure 10-1 will appear as an example, not limited to this case. On this screen, the display of the selected frame returns to its original state, and a paid icon (in this example, an icon containing the character "￥", the user AA icon image, and the payment amount (100 yen in this example)) is displayed in the lower right corner of the frame.

[0531] <Processing> The method of this embodiment can be similarly implemented by the processes described in the first to ninth embodiments, so a detailed explanation will be omitted.

[0532] Thus, the same method as in the above embodiment can be applied to digital content such as vertically-reading digital comics. Furthermore, as shown in this example of the display screen, even if the terminal 20 is not limited to a tablet device, but is a smartphone with a smaller display screen, digital content can be appropriately displayed on the display unit 24, enabling the user to make payments.

[0533] <Examples related to Examples 1 to 10> The first to tenth embodiments illustrate cases where the user of terminal 20 charges for at least a portion of the digital content, but are not limited thereto.

[0534] As an example, rather than being limited, users of device 20 may be allowed to "like" at least some of the digital content, similar to how it's done on social media. The term "Like" may be interpreted, not exclusively, as information indicating that a user of device 20 has evaluated at least a portion of the digital content. Therefore, in the following, a user of device 20 giving a "Like" may be expressed as "evaluating" or "making an evaluation."

[0535] Furthermore, the above evaluation is not limited to any specific example, but can be considered as a type of favorable or positive evaluation of at least some of the content by users of device 20. Furthermore, a "Like" can be interpreted as the user of device 20 supporting at least a portion of the digital content.

[0536] Examples of using ratings such as "Like" will be explained in detail in the following 11th example and beyond. Therefore, we will only indicate that these methods are also applicable to the 1st to 10th examples, and will omit a detailed explanation here.

[0537] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the server 10 of the book reader service provider (a server that provides book reader services and a server that manages information related to book reader applications) is used to perform billing and payment processing, but the invention is not limited to this. A payment server (not limited to this, but an example of a first server different from the server) that can communicate with server 10 and manages the settlement of charges may be used to perform the settlement of charges. This may also apply to the following examples and modifications.

[0538] <11th Example> The 11th embodiment differs from the 1st to 10th embodiments in that it assumes a scenario where the user of terminal 20 views paper-based content (analog content) rather than digital content.

[0539] The contents described in the 11th embodiment are applicable to any of the other embodiments or other modifications. Furthermore, components identical to those previously mentioned are given the same symbols, and their explanation is omitted.

[0540] In the following, to distinguish it from digital content, content in print media will be referred to as "analog content." It may also be referred to as print media content.

[0541] Furthermore, the following describes a method by which a user of terminal 20 can rate at least a portion of the analog content with "likes" or similar ratings, and charge for it in the same manner as in the previously described embodiment. The difference from the previously described embodiment is that the target can be at least a portion of the analog content, rather than at least a portion of the digital content.

[0542] In the following explanation, the information used by the user of device 20 to rate items such as "likes" is not limited to this, but rather can be used as an example of information used by the user of device 20 to rate at least a portion of analog content. Furthermore, in the following explanation, the information used by the user of device 20 for billing is not limited to this, but rather can be an example of information related to the user of device 20 billing for at least a portion of the analog content. Furthermore, this information can be considered comprehensively as information about at least a portion of the analog content.

[0543] In the following embodiment, AR glasses, a type of glasses-type device, are primarily used as the terminal 20 worn by the user. AR glasses, not as a limiting definition but as an example, can be defined as a device that can overlay digital information onto real-world space. AR stands for Augmented Reality, and it is configured to display information that does not actually exist (virtual information) overlaid on the real-world space that the user sees through the glasses (things that exist in reality as seen through a display). It can also be described as a device that recognizes real-world space using sensors and enables representations that combine the real world and digital information.

[0544] In addition to the configuration shown in Figure 1-1, the terminal 20 may also be equipped with sensors such as the aforementioned IMU (accelerometer, gyroscope, etc.), not as an example, but as an example. A geomagnetic sensor may also be provided. Alternatively, they could be called MR (Mixed Reality) glasses instead of AR glasses.

[0545] Furthermore, terminal 20 is not limited to a glasses-type device; for example, terminal 20 could be the aforementioned tablet device or smartphone. This will be discussed later.

[0546] <Data Structure> In this embodiment, the storage unit 15 of the server 10 stores, for example but not limited to, an AR application management processing program executed as AR application management processing, AR application account registration data 153, an analog content management database 157, and an account management database 159.

[0547] Figure 11-1 shows an example of the data configuration of an analog content management database 157, which is an example of an analog content management database 157 stored in the storage unit 15 of the server 10 in this embodiment.

[0548] The analog content management database 157 is a database that stores data for managing information about analog content viewed by users of terminal 20 using an AR book reader application run on terminal 20. For example, it stores one or more analog content management data entries as management data for each genre (category) of analog content.

[0549] Server 10 assigns a unique analog content ID to each type of analog content. Additionally, Server 10 can, as an example (though not limited to), analyze the elements and structure of the analog content and generate analog content management data based on the analysis results.

[0550] Each analog content management data entry stores, not limited to, but as an example, the genre of that analog content and one or more individual analog content data entries that are specific to the analog content within that genre.

[0551] Each individual analog content data file stores, not limited to but as an example, an analog content ID to identify the analog content, the title of the analog content, episode number data, character definition data, analog content configuration data, and analog content image data. In addition, the data for each analog content may also include, but is not limited to, various other pieces of information such as the publication date, author, publisher, and publishing house of that analog content.

[0552] In the following explanation, we will use data related to the analog content genre "manga" as an example, rather than limiting it to specific examples. It may also be simply referred to as "manga."

[0553] The analog content ID is an ID used to uniquely identify analog content (in this example, comics). It is not limited to this case, but rather, as an example, an ID is assigned and stored by server 10 for each piece of analog content.

[0554] The episode number data refers to the episode count data for this analog content. Depending on the format (form) of the analog content, data such as the volume of the analog content or the chapter of the analog content may also be stored.

[0555] Character definition data is definition data related to the characters appearing in this analog content. It is not limited to this, but rather stores information such as a character ID and character name to uniquely identify the characters appearing in this analog content.

[0556] Furthermore, if the genre of the analog content is "novel," the character definition data may be the character definition data relating to the characters appearing in that novel.

[0557] Figure 11-2 shows an example of the data structure of analog content configuration data in this embodiment. Analog content configuration data may include, but is not limited to, page IDs (page numbers), frame layout configuration data, and frame-specific management data. These configurations are not limiting; as an example, the digital content configuration data shown in Figure 1-6 can be similarly configured by replacing the digital content with analog content, so a detailed explanation is omitted.

[0558] The analog content image data may include, but is not limited to, image data related to the analog content (for example, image data of the cover, image data of each page, image data of the back cover, etc.).

[0559] Figure 11-3 shows an example of the data structure of account management database 159B, which is an example of account management database 159 in this embodiment. The account management database 159B stores one or more account management data entries, each representing data for a specific account.

[0560] Each account management data entry stores, for example, an application ID and one or more analog content-specific evaluation management data entries.

[0561] The application ID stored in account registration data 153 is the application ID stored in the application ID field.

[0562] The analog content-specific evaluation management data is not limited to, but is an example of data used to manage evaluations by terminal 20 of this application ID, or by its users, for each analog content. An example of its data structure is shown in Figure 11-4. Each analog content's evaluation management data includes, but is not limited to, the analog content ID, evaluation history data, and evaluation history summary data, as examples.

[0563] The analog content ID stores the analog content ID of the analog content used by the user, which is identified based on the captured image of the cover, title page, etc. of the analog content captured by the imaging unit 27 of the terminal 20.

[0564] The evaluation history data is data for individually managing evaluation history information by terminal 20 of this application ID or its user for analog content elements of analog content identified by this analog content ID. Examples, though not limited to, include the evaluation date and time, the evaluation element ID, and the number of evaluations, all of which are stored in association.

[0565] The evaluation date and time will not be limited to any specific date, but will, for example, be the date and time when the server 10 received the evaluation information sent from terminal 20.

[0566] The evaluation element ID stores, not as an example but as an example, the ID corresponding to the evaluated analog content element in the analog content identified by this analog content ID.

[0567] Here, among the content elements, the content elements of analog content are referred to as "analog content elements." Similar to digital content elements, analog content elements can be, but are not limited to, at least one of the following: (1) All analog content (2) Scenes of analog content (3) Pages of analog content (items with pages) (4) Analog content frames (items with frames) (5) Dialogue of characters and other people in analog content (6) Characters and other personalities in analog content Users may rate and charge for these analog content elements.

[0568] (1) This refers to a case where the entire analog content (the entirety of one analog content) is the subject of evaluation. It is not limited to this case, but as an example, the "analog content ID" corresponding to that analog content can be stored in the evaluation element ID. (2) applies when scenes from analog content are to be evaluated, and is not limited to this case. For example, the "scene ID" corresponding to the scene in the analog content for which the evaluation request was made can be stored in the evaluation element ID. (3) refers to cases where analog content pages are subject to charges, and is not limited to such cases. For example, the "page ID" corresponding to the page for which an evaluation request has been made among the analog content can be stored in the evaluation element ID. (4) is a case where the frames of analog content are to be evaluated, and is not limited to this case. For example, the "frame ID" corresponding to the frame of the analog content for which an evaluation request has been made can be stored in the evaluation element ID. (5) refers to cases where the dialogue of characters or other people in analog content is the subject of evaluation, and is not limited to such cases. For example, the "dialogue ID" corresponding to the dialogue for which evaluation is requested in the digital content can be stored in the evaluation element ID. (6) refers to cases where the subjects of evaluation are characters or other elements of analog content, and is not limited to such cases. For example, the "ID" corresponding to the character or other element of the analog content for which an evaluation request has been made can be stored in the evaluation element ID.

[0569] The evaluation count stores the number of times a user on device 20 has given a "like" to the corresponding evaluation element ID.

[0570] The evaluation history summary data is data compiled from evaluation history data, specifically the evaluation history information of terminal 20 of this application ID, or its users. While not limited to this, for example, the number of evaluations, etc., are compiled and stored for each type of analog content element. Note that it is not mandatory to store this evaluation history summary data.

[0571] It is also possible to charge for services other than evaluation, but the data structure and approach in this case are the same as those for digital content described in the first embodiment, so the illustrations and explanations are omitted.

[0572] The storage unit 28 of terminal 20 stores, but is not limited to, an AR application processing program that is executed as an AR book reader application process, and an application ID 283 that corresponds to terminal 20 or the user account of terminal 20. Furthermore, the storage unit 28 stores the analog content configuration data (metadata) of the analog content received from the server 10.

[0573] <Display screen> In the following example, rather than being an limitation, we will illustrate the case where terminal 20 is AR glasses (glasses-type device). In this case, the glasses portion of the AR glasses can be used as the display unit 24. Furthermore, in the following, a book reader application that utilizes AR and runs on terminal 20 will be referred to as an "AR book reader application."

[0574] In this example, the system is configured so that users on device 20 can "like" (rate) analog content elements (paper media content elements) in the manga.

[0575] Figure 11-5 shows an example of the display of a manga and the display unit 24 of the terminal 20A in this embodiment. Here, we illustrate the case where a user "likes" a panel of the manga. The information displayed on the display unit 24 of terminal 20A can be augmented reality (AR) information.

[0576] The terminal 20A is configured to allow the user to view analog comic book information in a see-through manner via the display unit 24. In this example, pages 22 and 23 of the comic book are shown open.

[0577] In the upper part of Figure 11-5, the words "AR Book Reader App" are displayed in the upper left of the display unit 24 as the name of the AR book reader application. Also, the icon image of the user of this terminal 20 in the AR book reader application (in this example, "User AA") is displayed in the upper right of the display unit 24. In addition, the evaluation button ("Like" button) IBT (not limited to, but an example including a star mark) for "liking" (evaluating) analog content elements in the AR book reader application is displayed in the lower right of the display unit 24.

[0578] As a way for users to select analog content elements, and this is not an exhaustive example, users may either physically touch the analog content with their fingers, or they may point to the analog content in space without actually touching it. Hereafter, this user input will be referred to as "first user input" for convenience.

[0579] Furthermore, although the diagram shows AR information displayed on the glasses (display unit 24) of the AR glasses (terminal 20), to the user, buttons, icons, etc., appear to be floating in the space between the AR glasses and the analog content. The user can perform user input by touching these floating buttons, icons, etc., in that space with their finger or other means. Hereinafter, this user input will be referred to as "second user input" for the information (AR information) displayed on the display unit 24 for convenience.

[0580] The terminal 20 can detect these user inputs based on, but not limited to, images captured by the imaging unit 27, etc.

[0581] For example, when any panel of a manga (for example, the first panel on page 23) is input by the first user, the area (position) of the display unit 24 corresponding to that panel is displayed in a selected manner, as shown in the upper part of Figure 11-5. Specifically, for example, the area of ​​the display unit 24 corresponding to that panel is displayed by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A, such as by hatching.

[0582] As an example, and not limited to this case, if a frame is selected and the evaluation button IBT displayed on the display unit 24 is pressed by the second user, the display shown in the lower part of Figure 11-5 will be shown, as an example, and not limited to this case. On this screen, the display unit 24 returns the display mode of the selected frame to its original state, and an evaluated icon IIC (an icon including a star mark in this example) is displayed superimposed on the upper right of the selected frame.

[0583] In this example, we showed a case where a "like" is given by the second user inputting the evaluation button IBT displayed on the display unit 24 after an analog content element has been selected. However, the system is not limited to this form, and the analog content element may be selected after the evaluation button IBT is input by the second user. Specifically, when the analog content element is input by the first user after the evaluation button IBT is input by the second user, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 may perform the process of giving a "like" to the selected analog content element.

[0584] <Processing> Figure 11-8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the processing flow performed by each device in this embodiment. The interpretation of the figure is the same as in Figure 1-15. Although the steps are not illustrated, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A first determines whether the imaging unit 27 has captured an image containing information that identifies the analog content the user is trying to view (such as the cover or title page of the analog content, including the title, author's name, publisher's name, etc.). If it determines that an image has been captured, it transmits the data of the captured image (hereinafter referred to as "image data") to the server 10 via the communication interface 22. Note that the data may also be compressed before being transmitted to the server 10.

[0585] In response, the control unit 11 of the server 10 identifies the analog content by comparing the imaging data received from the terminal 20A with the analog content image data stored in the analog content management database 157 for each individual analog content. Then, the control unit 11 of the server 10 transmits analog content identification data, which includes, but is not limited to, the analog content ID, title, episode number data, and character definition data from the analog content data that stores the analog content ID corresponding to the identified analog content, to the terminal 20A via the communication interface 14. The control unit 21 of the terminal 20A then stores the received analog content identification data in the storage unit 28. In this way, terminal 20A can obtain basic data (metadata) about the analog content that the user is about to view.

[0586] The control unit 21 of terminal 20A controls the imaging unit 27 to start imaging and also starts the execution of AR display processing (A1010). In the AR display processing, as an example, the display unit 24 of terminal 20 (the lenses of AR glasses if it is AR glasses, or the display if it is a smartphone or tablet, etc.) starts displaying AR information.

[0587] In AR display processing, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A displays AR information on the display unit 24 based on the relative positional relationship between the analog content and its own terminal 20, not limited to, but as an example. More specifically, it can determine the relative position of the analog content to its own terminal 20 based on the captured image etc. captured by the imaging unit 27, and based on the result, it can display AR information on the display unit 24 as if superimposed on the analog content. Furthermore, the system is not limited to the imaging unit 27. Other detection units (detection devices) configured in the terminal 20 may also be used. For example, a position and depth detection unit based on LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) (laser lidar, infrared lidar, 3D lidar), millimeter-wave radar, ultrasonic sensors, etc., may be configured in the terminal 20, and the detection results of this position and depth detection unit may be used to display AR information.

[0588] When applying AR glasses as an example, rather than limiting it to a specific case, the position and orientation of the display unit 24 change due to the movements (head movements, etc.) of the user wearing the AR glasses. However, even if the position and orientation of the terminal 20 change, the AR information can be appropriately displayed on the display unit 24 based on the detection results of the various detection units described above.

[0589] Next, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A determines whether or not a new page of analog content has been detected based on the captured image, etc. (A1020). If detection is determined to have occurred (A1020: YES), the control unit 21 of terminal 20A transmits the image data to the server 10 via the communication interface 22 (A1030). Alternatively, the server 10 may transmit compressed or otherwise modified image data.

[0590] If the communication interface 14 determines that imaging data has been received from terminal 20A (S1020: YES), the control unit 11 of the server 10 performs a new page determination process (S1030). Specifically, it determines the new page detected by terminal 20A based on the imaging data received from terminal 20A and the analog content-specific data in which the previously acquired analog content ID is stored.

[0591] Next, the control unit 11 of the server 10 transmits new page data relating to the determined new page to the terminal 20A via the communication interface 14 (S1040). The new page data may, but is not limited to, include analog content configuration data (metadata) in which the page ID (page number) of the determined new page is stored, from the analog content data described above.

[0592] After step A1030, when new page data is received from server 10 via communication I / F 22, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A stores the received new page data in the storage unit 28, associating it with the analog content data previously stored in the storage unit 28 (A1040). In this way, terminal 20A acquires data (metadata) related to the new page each time a new page is detected.

[0593] Next, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A determines whether or not a first user input has been detected on the relevant page (A1050). The relevant page is not limited to, for example, if a new page is detected in A1020, it may be that new page, and if no new page is detected in A1020, it may be the page before that new page was detected. Specifically, for example, it determines whether or not a first user input has been made to any position or area on the relevant page based on the captured image, etc.

[0594] If first user input is detected (A1050: YES), the control unit 21 of terminal 20A performs evaluation target determination processing (A1060). Specifically, for example, it determines how many pixels (areas) horizontally and downward from the top left (or top right) of the page the first user input was made in, thereby identifying information about the location of the first user input on the page (for example, location coordinates) (hereinafter referred to as "input location information"). Then, based on the identified input location information and the analog content configuration data included in the new page data, it determines the analog content element that the user will evaluate.

[0595] Next, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A determines whether or not the evaluation button IBT displayed on the display unit 24 has been input by the second user. If it is determined that a second user has entered data, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A sends evaluation request information to the server 10 via the communication interface 22, which includes, but is not limited to, the application ID 283 (the application ID of terminal 20A or user AA) stored in the memory unit 28, as well as, for example, at least the analog content ID and the analog content element ID corresponding to the determined analog content element (A1070).

[0596] The control unit 11 of the server 10 determines whether or not it has received evaluation request information from the terminal 20A via the communication interface 14 (S1050). If it is determined that the information has been received (S1070: YES), the control unit 11 of the server 10 performs evaluation processing (S1060). Specifically, and not limited to, but as an example, it updates the evaluation history data and evaluation history summary data contained in the analog content-specific evaluation management data, which stores the corresponding analog content element ID in the account management data of the application ID included in the received evaluation request information in the account management database 159B.

[0597] Subsequently, the control unit 11 of the server 10 transmits the evaluation result information obtained from the evaluation process to the terminal 20A via the communication interface 14 (S1080). Then, the control unit 11 of the server 10 moves on to the termination determination in S1090.

[0598] After step A1070, when evaluation result information is received from server 10 via communication I / F 22, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A displays the received evaluation result information on display unit 24 (A1080). Then, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A moves on to the termination determination of A1090.

[0599] Furthermore, server 10 is not limited to sending the evaluation result information at this time; it may also send it later, such as when the analog content has been viewed to the end. It may also send multiple evaluation result information items together at a later date. Furthermore, in the above process, steps A1080 and S1080 may be omitted.

[0600] Furthermore, in this process, terminal 20A retrieves metadata related to each page from server 10 and stores it in storage unit 28, but this is not limited to this. When initially acquiring analog content identification data from the server 10, the entire metadata of the analog content may also be acquired from the server 10 and stored in the storage unit 28.

[0601] <Effects of the 11th Example> In this embodiment, terminal 20 acquires information such as an analog content element ID (not limited to, but an example of at least a part of the analog content) corresponding to an analog content element (not limited to, but an example of at least a part of the analog content) of the analog content input by the user of terminal 20, via the control unit 21. Then, based on the acquisition of information such as the analog content element ID, terminal 20 transmits information about that analog content element (not limited to, but an example of second information about at least a part of the analog content) to the server 10 via the communication interface 22. As an example of the effects of this configuration, the terminal can acquire first information relating to at least a portion of the analog content input by the terminal's user, and then transmit second information relating to at least a portion of that analog content to the server.

[0602] In this case, the second piece of information may also include information such as evaluation request information for requesting users to "like" analog content elements (not limited to, but an example of information regarding the evaluation of at least a part of the analog content by the terminal user). As an example of the effects of this configuration, the terminal can acquire first information regarding at least a portion of the analog content input by the terminal's user, and then notify the server that the terminal's user has evaluated at least a portion of that analog content.

[0603] Furthermore, this embodiment shows a configuration in which information such as the analog content element ID (not limited to, but an example of first information relating to at least a part of the analog content) corresponding to the analog content elements of the analog content input by the user of the terminal 20 is acquired by the control unit 21 based on detection information in which the analog content is detected by the imaging unit 27 of the terminal 20. As an example of the effects obtained by this configuration, first information can be appropriately acquired based on detection information obtained when analog content is detected by the terminal's detection unit.

[0604] In this case, information such as the analog content element ID corresponding to the analog content element of the analog content input by the user of terminal 20 (not limited to, but an example of first information relating to at least a part of the analog content) may be acquired by the control unit 21 based on detection information in which the analog content is detected by the detection unit such as the imaging unit 27 of terminal 20 and input by the user of terminal 20. As an example of the effects obtained by this configuration, first information can be appropriately acquired based on detection information obtained when analog content is detected by the terminal's detection unit and input from the terminal's user.

[0605] In this case, the terminal 20 may be positioned away from the analog content, at a location where the analog content is captured (or detected, not limited to) by the imaging unit 27 (or, not limited to, an example of the terminal's detection unit). As an example of the effects of this configuration, the first information can be appropriately acquired by a terminal positioned at a location where the analog content is detected by the detection unit.

[0606] In this case, terminal 20 may also be made wearable by the user of terminal 20, such as a glasses-type device. One example of the effects of this configuration is that the terminal, worn by the user, can ensure that the first information is properly acquired and the second information is properly transmitted to the server. Since the user only needs to wear the terminal and view the analog content, it may be user-friendly.

[0607] <11th variation (1)> In the above embodiment, the imaging unit 27 was given as an example of one of the detection units of the terminal 20, but it is not limited to this. As mentioned above, the terminal 20 may be configured with a position depth detection unit based on LiDAR (laser lidar, infrared lidar, 3D lidar), millimeter-wave radar, ultrasonic sensor, etc., as an example, and the same processing as above may be performed based on the detection results of this position depth detection unit. Alternatively, the same processing as above may be performed using the image captured by the imaging unit 27 in combination. This also applies to the examples and modified examples described below.

[0608] <11th variation (2)> Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 may use the eye-tracking technology described above to determine (identify) the analog content elements that the user evaluates or charges for. Specifically, and not limited to, a terminal 20 equipped with an eye-tracking sensor, a depth-sensing camera, etc. may be configured. Based on the user's eye-tracking information (gaze information) detected by this eye-tracking sensor, depth-sensing camera, etc., the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 may determine which analog content elements the user will rate or charge for. This also applies to the examples and modified versions described below.

[0609] <11th variation (3)> In the above embodiment, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 may detect input to buttons, icons, etc., displayed on the display unit 24 based on the user's eye-tracking information (gaze information).

[0610] Furthermore, input to buttons and icons displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20 may be performed using a laser pointer or the like, instead of fingers or eye movements.

[0611] These principles are also applicable to the embodiments and modifications described below.

[0612] <11th variation (4)> The above embodiment shows an example of a user of terminal 20 evaluating analog content elements, but is not limited to this. Rather than being limited, as an example, it may be possible to enable the user of terminal 20 to charge for analog content elements in the same way as the charging for digital content elements described in the first to tenth embodiments.

[0613] Figure 11-6 shows an example of the display of a manga and the display unit 24 of the terminal 20A in this modified example.

[0614] In the upper part of Figure 11-6, the right side of the display unit 24 shows, in addition to the evaluation button IBT, a comment button CMBT for commenting in the AR book reader application and a charge button BBT for charging in the AR book reader application, as examples, not limited to these.

[0615] As an example, and not limited to this case, if a frame is selected and the second user inputs the charge button BBT displayed on the display unit 24 as shown in the lower part of Figure 11-6, the display shown in the upper part of Figure 11-7 will appear, also as an example, not limited to this case. In this example, the charge setting area BSR for setting the charge amount (billing amount) for the selected frame is displayed in the center of the display unit 24.

[0616] The billing settings area BSR displays billing amount information (in this example, the text "Donation for this piece," the default billing amount for the piece (100 yen in this example), and buttons to increase or decrease the billing amount), a billing execution button BT1 for billing (in this example, a button containing the text "Bill"), and a billing cancellation button BT2 for canceling the billing settings (in this example, a button containing the text "Cancel").

[0617] As an example, and not limited to this case, if the charge amount is set to "100 yen" and the charge execution button BT1 is pressed by the second user, the display shown in the lower part of Figure 11-7 will appear. In the display unit 24, the display mode of the selected frame returns to its original state, and a paid icon BIC (in this example, an icon containing the character "￥") is displayed superimposed on the upper right of the selected frame.

[0618] Figure 11-9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the processing flow performed by each device in this embodiment. The interpretation of the figure is the same as in Figure 11-8. In step A1050, if it is determined that user input (first user input) has been detected on the relevant page (A1050: YES), the control unit 21 of terminal 20A performs a billing determination process (A1062). Specifically, and not limited to, but as an example, it determines the position on the relevant page where the input was made, such as determining how many pixels horizontally and downwards from the top left (or top right) of the page. Then, based on the determined position coordinates and the analog content configuration data included in the new page data, it determines the analog content element for which the user will be charged.

[0619] Next, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A determines whether the billing button BBT displayed on the display unit 24 has been input by the second user. If it is determined that a second user has entered information, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A transmits to the server 10 via the communication interface 22 the application ID 283 (the application ID of terminal 20A or user AA) stored in the memory unit 28, as well as, but not limited to, at least the analog content ID, the analog content element ID corresponding to the determined analog content element, and the billing amount (A1072).

[0620] After step S1040, the control unit 11 of the server 10 determines whether or not it has received billing request information from the terminal 20A via the communication I / F 14 (S1052). If it is determined that the data has been received (S1052: YES), the control unit 11 of the server 10 performs the billing and payment process (S1062). Since the billing and payment processing can be implemented using the same process as described in Figure 1-15, etc., the explanation will be omitted.

[0621] Subsequently, the control unit 11 of the server 10 transmits the billing and settlement result information to the terminal 20A via the communication interface 14 (S1082). Then, the control unit 11 of the server 10 moves the processing to step S1090.

[0622] After step A1072, when the terminal 20A receives billing and settlement result information from the server 10 via the communication interface 22, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A displays the received billing and settlement result information on the display unit 24 (A1082). Then, the co...

Claims

1. A program executed by a terminal, Based on input from the user of the terminal to the terminal, the control unit of the terminal performs a first process relating to charging for at least a portion of the content displayed on the display unit of the terminal. Displaying information on the display unit regarding the display of the content shown on the display unit, Based on input from the user of the terminal regarding the information displayed on the display unit, the terminal performs the following actions: displaying the content on the display unit from the beginning.

2. A program executed by a terminal, Based on input from the user of the terminal to the terminal, the control unit of the terminal performs a first process relating to charging for at least a portion of the content displayed on the display unit of the terminal. When a portion of the content is displayed on the display unit, the control unit does not perform the first process based on input from the user of the terminal to the terminal. When the portion is displayed on the display unit again, the control unit performs the first process based on input from the user of the terminal to the terminal.

3. A program executed by a terminal, Based on input from the user of the terminal to the terminal, the control unit of the terminal performs a first process relating to charging for at least a portion of the content displayed on the display unit of the terminal. The terminal performs the following actions: display information on the display unit prompting the user to charge for at least a portion of the content displayed on the display unit.

4. The program according to claim 3, The aforementioned information includes information relating to charges made by a first user who is different from the user of the terminal.

5. A program according to any one of claims 1 to 4, The terminal performs the operation of displaying a first display on the display unit for the control unit to acquire first information, which includes at least a portion of the content, based on input from the user of the terminal. The first processing is performed by the control unit based on the first information acquired by the control unit.

6. A program according to any one of claims 1 to 5, The communication unit of the terminal receives second information relating to at least a portion of the content that was charged by a first user who is different from the user of the terminal, The terminal performs the action of displaying the second information on the display unit.

7. A program according to any one of claims 1 to 6, Based on the first processing, the terminal displays third information on the display unit, including the amount of money charged by the terminal user for at least a portion of the content that the terminal user has charged.

8. A program according to any one of claims 1 to 7, The communication unit of the terminal receives information regarding benefits based on the amount charged by the user of the terminal or the number of charges, The terminal performs the following actions: displaying information regarding the aforementioned benefits on the display unit.

9. A program according to any one of claims 1 to 8, The terminal performs the operation by controlling the control unit to change the display manner or display content of at least a portion of the content that the terminal user has charged, or a portion related thereto.

10. A program according to any one of claims 1 to 9, The terminal performs the action of displaying a list of at least some of the content that the user of the terminal has paid for on the display unit.

11. A program according to any one of claims 1 to 10, Based on the first process, the server communicating with the terminal settles the charge.

12. A terminal information processing method, The terminal's control unit performs a process related to charging for at least a portion of the content displayed on the terminal's display unit, based on input from the terminal's user to the terminal. Displaying information on the display unit regarding the display of the content shown on the display unit, This includes displaying the content on the display unit from the beginning based on input from the user of the terminal regarding the information displayed on the display unit.

13. It is a terminal, Display unit and The terminal comprises a control unit that performs processing related to charging for at least a portion of the content displayed on the display unit based on input from the user of the terminal, The control unit controls the display unit to display information regarding the display of the content displayed on the display unit, and controls the display unit to display the content from the beginning based on input from the user of the terminal regarding the information displayed on the display unit.

14. A terminal information processing method, The terminal's control unit performs a process related to charging for at least a portion of the content displayed on the terminal's display unit, based on input from the terminal's user to the terminal. The control unit does not perform the processing based on input from the user of the terminal when a portion of the content is displayed on the display unit, and the control unit performs the processing based on input from the user of the terminal when the portion is displayed on the display unit again.

15. A terminal, Display unit and The terminal comprises a control unit that performs processing related to charging for at least a portion of the content displayed on the display unit based on input from the user of the terminal, If a portion of the content is displayed on the display unit, the control unit does not perform the processing based on input from the user of the terminal to the terminal, and if the portion is displayed on the display unit again, it performs the processing based on input from the user of the terminal to the terminal.

16. A terminal information processing method, The terminal's control unit performs a process related to charging for at least a portion of the content displayed on the terminal's display unit, based on input from the terminal's user to the terminal. This includes displaying information on the display unit that prompts the user to charge for at least a portion of the content displayed on the display unit.

17. A terminal, Display unit and The terminal comprises a control unit that performs processing related to charging for at least a portion of the content displayed on the display unit based on input from the user of the terminal, The control unit performs control to display information on the display unit that prompts the user to charge for at least a portion of the content displayed on the display unit.

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