1. A program executing apparatus for executing a software program, comprising: reception means for receiving program start enable signal distributed from a data distributing device and data for substitution or insertion for original data of said software program; and control means for substituting or inserting the original data of said software program for said data responsive to the program start enable signal received by said reception means for executing said software program.

2. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said control means executes said software program only when the software program to be executed is a regular software program.

3. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said control means is responsive to said program start enable signal to judge whether or not the software program is suited for being started on the program executing apparatus; and wherein if said software program is judged to be suited for being started on the program executing apparatus, said control means causes the software program to be executed.

4. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the program start enable signal distributed by said data distribution device is the information encrypted in accordance with a pre-set algorithm so that said software program can be executed by said control means only when the software program to be executed by the program executing apparatus is a regular program.

5. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said control means decodes the encrypted program start enable signal and causes the software program to be executed only when the program start enable signal have been decoded regularly.

6. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said software program contains a program for decoding the encrypted program start enable signal.

7. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said software program contains a program for decoding the encrypted program start enable signal and a program for substituting or inserting the distributed data for data of a portion of the software program for executing the resulting software program.

8. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said software program contains a program for decoding the encrypted program start enable signal and a program for substituting or inserting the distributed data for original data of a portion of the software program for executing the resulting software program; and wherein said control means controls execution of said software program using the decoding program and the executing program.

9. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said original data of the software program is recorded on a random accessible recording medium.

10. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein said reception means receives said program start enable signal and said data, said reception means also receiving the address information specifying for which portion of the software program recorded on the recording medium the data distributed by said data distribution device is substituted or inserted.

11. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein said reception means receives said program start enable signal and said data, said reception means also receiving the address information specifying for which portion of the software program recorded on the recording medium the data distributed by said data distribution device is substituted or inserted; and wherein said control means when executing said software program causes the distributed data to be substituted or inserted for original data of the software program at a position corresponding to said address information.

12. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein said control means is programmed so that, when the software program is executed in accordance with the program start enable signal, a routine is executed which executes the software program using the distributed data in place of a routine of executing the software program using original data on the recording medium specified by said address information.

13. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 9, having a buffer memory for storing the data distributed by said data distributing device.

14. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein said reception means receives said program start enable signal and said data, said reception means also receiving the medium address, that is the address information specifying for which portion of the software program recorded on the recording medium the data distributed by said data distribution device is substituted or inserted; said control means holding on memory the medium address and the data in association with each other prior to execution of said software program; and wherein if readout of data corresponding to said medium address is commanded during execution of said software program, said control means causes the software program to be executed using data stored in said buffer memory without using the original data on said software program corresponding to said medium address.

15. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein said control means is programmed so that, when the software program is executed in accordance with the program start enable signal, a routine is executed which executes the software program using the distributed data in place of a routine of executing the software program using data on the recording medium specified by said medium address.

16. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein if said program start enable signal is supplied at a pre-set interval from said data distributing device, said control means first decodes the encrypted program start enable signal and then causes the data to be stored in said buffer memory.

17. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein said control means decodes the program start enable signal supplied from the data distributing device; said control device causing the data to be stored in the buffer memory if the program start enable signal has been decoded regularly; said control device being programmed for substituting or inserting the data stored in said buffer memory for part of the original data of the software program recorded on said recording medium for executing the software program.

18. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein said control means decodes the program start enable signal distributed from the data distributing device; said control device causing the execution of the software program to be limited if the program start enable signal has not been decoded regularly.

19. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein the data distributed by said data distribution device has a format correlated with the medium address which is the above-mentioned address information specifying for which portions of the original software program recorded on the recording medium the above data is substituted or inserted.

20. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 19, wherein said control means causes the data distributed by said data distribution device, a buffer address specifying the recording position of distributed data in said buffer memory and the medium address corresponding to the distributed data to be correlated with one another for storage of the correlated data therein.

21. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 19, wherein said control means is programmed so that it is judged whether or not there is a readout request for data on a recording medium corresponding to the medium address stored in said buffer memory; if there is a readout request for data on a recording medium corresponding to the medium address, data stored in said buffer memory is read out in meeting with the buffer address stored in association with the medium address in said buffer memory, without reading out data corresponding to said medium address from said recording medium; and so that the software program is executed using data read out from said buffer memory.

22. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein if said program start enable signal is supplied at a pre-set period from said data distributing device, said control means first judges whether or not the program start enable signal has been decoded regularly and subsequently causes the data distributed from said data distributing device to be stored in said buffer memory.

23. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein said control means is programmed so that, of plural sorts of data distributed from said data distributing device, only data correlated with the program ID representing the software program executed by the program executing apparatus will be stored in said buffer memory.

24. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein if the program executing apparatus and the data distribution device can communicate bi-directionally, said control means transmits the program ID signal representing the software program to said data distributing device in order to have the program start enable signal and said data pertaining to said software program distributed from said data distribution device.

25. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 24, wherein said control means is responsive to said program ID signal to judge whether or not the data is to be received on the basis of the program start enable signal returned by said data distribution device.

26. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 24, wherein said control means is responsive to said program ID signal to limit the starting of said software program on the basis of the program start enable signal returned by said data distribution device.

27. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 24, wherein said control means is responsive to said program ID signal to vary the results of execution of said software program on the basis of the program start enable signal and the data returned by said data distribution device.

28. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 24, wherein the apparatus is connected to display means adapted for displaying a video image generated on executing the software program; said control means being programmed for switching from a video image which might be displayed on said display means if the software program is executed using only the data recorded on said recording medium to a video image which might be displayed on said display means if the software program is executed using data returned from said data distributing device, responsive to the program ID signal.

29. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein if it is commanded to execute the software program recorded on said recording medium, said control means performs first transmitting processing of transmitting the program ID signal representing the software program to said data distributing device in order to have the program start enable signal and said data pertaining to said software program distributed from said data distribution device; first judgment processing of judging whether or not the distributed program start enable signal has been decoded regularly; causing data distributed from said data distributing device to be stored in said buffer memory if the program start enable signal has been decoded regularly in said first judgment processing; second transmitting processing of re-transmitting the program ID signal to said data distributing device; and second judgment processing of re-judging whether or not the distributed program start enable signal has been decoded regularly; said control means causing the software program to be executed using the data store in said buffer memory if the program start enable signal has been decoded regularly in said second judgment processing.

30. A program updating apparatus in which original data of part of the software program recorded on a recording medium is updated to data distributed from a data distributing device as claimed in claim 1, comprising: receiving means for receiving from the data distributing device a program start enable signal for enabling starting of said software program and said data; and updating means for updating the original data of part of said software program only when said program start enable signal has been decoded regularly.

31. A program executing method for executing a software program using the program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, comprising: a receiving step 0t receiving program a start enable signal distributed by said data distributing means and data for substitution or insertion for original data of part of said software program; and a control step of substituting or inserting said data for original data of part of said software program responsive to the program start enable signal received in said receiving step for executing the resulting software program.

32. A program executing apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

33. A program updating apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

34. A program executing method substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

ASPECIFICATION
Gamo Machine System, B r o a d c a s t i n g System, D-a4-a
D i s t r i b u t i o n System and MethodProgram Executing Apparatus and method
Technical Field
This invention relates to a game machine system, capable of
d i s p l a y i n g commercial advertisements, a data d i s t r i b u t i o n system and
method for d i s t r i b u t i n g data, a program executing method and
apparatus for executing the software and a program starting
controllin g method and apparatus.
Background Art
This invention has a technical p e r t i n e n c e to the Japanese
patent Application No.7-166,682 of the same inventor filed in the
name of the assignee of the present i n v e n t i o n on June 30, 1995,
e n t i t l e d 'Game Machine System and Game Method Capable of
Commercial Advertisements'.
Recently, game machines have been propagated not only in the
d e d i c a t e d game corner shops, but also in homes, such that the
racing game software of a vehicle or the aircraft flight simulator
game software is marketed in large q u a n t i t i e s .
In the game machine, if a game software item, such as a racing
game software item, is s t a r t e d , the landscape f a i t h f u l l y representing
a real Fl racing field is represented on a display. Each racing car
is run on a circuit course at an elevated speed in accordance with
commands entered by an operator via an operating board, such as
a j o y s t i c k .
Although commercial ads are p r e s e n t e d in the r e a l ' F l racing
f i e l d on a walling of a background circuit course, placards,
a d v e r t i s i n g towers or on a chassis of the vehicle, there lacks an
i n s t a n c e of p o s i t i v e l y i n c o r p o r a t i n g the corresponding commercial
ads in the game software.
The ads b u i l t on the game are l i m i t e d to advertisements of the
software producing firms before or after the game of the game
software or on scene change, while there lacks an i n s t a n c e in which
p o s i t i v e commercial ads are made in p a r t i c u l a r scenes in the game
s o f t w a r e.
Even if ads are sometimes d i s p l a y e d in the background, these
are formal ads for f a i t h f u l l y s i m u l a t i n g the real landscape of the
c i r c u i t course, while there are no instances of commercial ads
t a k i n g p r o f i t a b i l i t y i n t o a c c o u n t .
The current civil TV broadcasting firms are managed by
p r o f i t s from the commercial ads, instead of broadcasting fees being
charged to the receivers.
In similar manner, if commercial ads can be built into the
w a l l i n g of the background circuit course, placards or a d v e r t i s i n g
towers of the game software, for meeting the demands of a t h i r d
firm, the advertisement fees can be charged to the a d v e r t i s i n g firm
so that the sale price of the game software can be lowered or
reduced to zero.
Moreover, since a p a r t i c u l a r game software is thought to be
used a number of times, if the c o n t e n t s of the ads can be o p t i o n a l l y
m o d i f i e d or u p d a t e d , these will prove to be effective commercial ads
to lead to expected advertisement income. This accounts for the
motive which has led to the present i n v e n t i o n .
The Japanese patent a p p l i c a t i o n No.7-166,682 discloses an
i n v e n t i o n in which it is proposed to introduce commercial ads
d u r i n g the game.
The insertion of the commercial ads leads to cost reduction
and hence to increased sale volume of t h e game software.
However, there lacks a s u i t a b l e method whereby it can be
judged whether or not the commercial ads are introduced and in
o p e r a t i o n so that, if there are i n t r o d u c e d no commercial ads, the
operation of the software will cease.
I f the commercial ads are i n t r o d u c e d and in operation, the
sponsors of the commercial ads have to bear and pay the charges.
Therefore, it is necessary to i n h i b i t the o p e r a t i o n of the software
without making the commercial ads. This, however, has not been
taken into account sufficiently in the invention p e r t a i n i n g to the
Japanese Patent application No.7-1 66,682.
When a game software is first p r e s e n t e d for sale, many users
use the software. However, as time e l a p s e s since the start of sale,
the number of the users is decreased.
If the number of t h e users is decreased, the u t i l i t y of t h e game
software as the commercial ads is decreased. In a game machine
which cannot be run unless the updated commercial ads are
i n t r o d u c e d , it i s n e c e s s a r y t o d i s t r i b u t e the u p d a t e d software d a t a
a l t h o u g h the commercial ads are lowered i n u t i l i t y , t h u s r a i s i n g t h
cost of t h e so ft ware.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of t h e present i n v e n t i o n to p r o v i d e a
game machine system in which home game machines are connected
via a communication network to a host computer (controller) to
provide a game machine system and in which the game software
items used in the game machine system is designed so that the
commercial ads can be b u i l t into the game software responsive to
the demands of the a d v e r t i s i n g firms. It is also an object of the
present i n v e n t i o n to provide a game method u t i l i z i n g the game
machine system, a data d i s t r i b u t i o n system, a p r o g r am executing
method and apparatus and a program start controlling method and
a p p a r a t u s , e x p l o i t i n g t h i s game m a c h i n e system.
It is another object of the present i n v e n t i o n to provide a game
m a c h i n e system in which commercial ads u t i l i z e d in the game
m a c h i n e system cam be s u i t a b l y e a s i l y u p d a t e d , and a game method
u t i l i z i n g the game machine system, a data d i s t r i b u t i o n system, a
program executing method and apparatus and a program start
c o n t r o l l i n g method and apparatus, e x p l o i t i n g t h i s game machine
system.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a
s u i t a b l e method for judging whether or not commercial ads are
i n t r o d u c e d and in o p e r a t i o n in a game s o f t w a r e item and for t a k i n g
measures so that the game software will not be in o p e r a t i o n if the
r e s u l t of j u d g m e n t i s n e g a t i v e .
It is a f u r t h e r object of the present i n v e n t i o n to provide a
s y s t em for s t a r t i n g a game of a game software put on sale some
time before and the sale volume of which is decreased, even failing
t h e newly updated commercial ads, and a data d i s t r i b u t i o n system,
a program executing method and a p p a r a t u s and a program start
controlling method and apparatus, exploiting this game machine
system.
A broadcast system according to the present i n v e n t i o n is such
a system capable of d i s t r i b u t i n g digital data, in which, in a
r e c e i v i n g side system, software start enable signals are r e p e a t e d l y
sent to a receiving side system at an i n t e r v a l and in which an
i d e n t i f i c a t i o n signal for the software and data for s u b s t i t u t i o n or
i n s e r t i o n for a portion of the data d u r i n g o p e r a t i o n of the software
are d i s t r i b u t e d in an interval between the software start enable
s i g n a l s . In this case, the data for s u b s t i t u t i o n or i n s e r t i o n may be
commercial ads.
The game can only be s t a r t e d when the software start enable
signal is sent to the receiving side. By containing the time
i n f o r m a t i o n i n the software start enable s i g n a l , the i n f o r m a t i o n can
be varied r a n d o m l y .
A t r a n s m i t t i n g side system d i s t r i b u t i n g the digital data by
e x p l o i t i n g the broadcast system, according t o the present i n v e n t i o n ,
i s such a system i n which a s o f t w a r e s t a r t e n a b l e s i g n a l , an
i d e n t i f i c a t i o n signal for a software s t a r t e d in the receiving side
system and data for s u b s t i t u t i o n or insertion for a portion of the
data d u r i n g o p e r a t i o n of t h e software are stored in a s t o r a g e device,
the software start enable signal is sent to the receiving side system
and the software identification signal and the data for substitution
or i n s e r t i o n are sent in an interval between the software start
enable signals. In this case, the data for s u b s t i t u t i o n or i n s e r t i o n
may be commercial ads.
The game can only be s t a r t e d when the software start enable
signal is sent to the receiving side. By containing the time
information in the software start enable signal, the information can
be v a r i e d r a n d o m l y .
A receiving side system for receiving d i g i t a l data d i s t r i b u t e d
by exploiting a broadcast system, according to the present
i n v e n t i o n , is such a system which includes receiver means for
receiving the digital data and a game machine connected to the
receiver means and capable of running the software. The game
software is p r o h i b i t e d from s t a r t i n g in the game machine until the
software start enable signal is received by the receiver means. In
t h i s case, the data for s u b s t i t u t i o n or i n s e r t i o n may be commercial
ads.
The game can only be started when the software start enable
signal is sent to the receiving side. By c o n t a i n i n g the time
i n f o r m a t i o n in the software start enable signal, the i n f o r m a t i o n can
be v a r i e d r a n d o m l y .
An o p t i c a l disc used in a receiving side system adapted for
receiving d a t a d i s t r i b u t e d by e x p l o i t i n g the broadcast system or the
c o m m u n i c a t i o n system, according t o the present i n v e n t i o n , is such
a n o p t i c a l d i s c i n which a s o f t w a r e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n s i g n a l is
appended to a recorded software i t em and the receiving side system
can s e l e c t i v e l y use the d i s t r i b u t e d data.
A c o m m u n i c a t i o n system for r e c e i v i n g / t r a n s m i t t i n g d i g i t a l d a t a ,
according to the present i n v e n t i o n , is such a communication system
in which, if an i d e n t i f i c a t i o n signal for a software to be s t a r t e d is
received from a receiving side system, a software start enable signal
is sent, at the same time as data for s u b s t i t u t i o n or i n s e r t i o n for a
p o r t i o n of t h e data d u r i n g o p e r a t i o n of t h e software are d i s t r i b u t e d .
In this case, the data for substitution or insertion may be
commercial ads.
The game can only be s t a r t e d when the software s t a r t enable
signal is sent to the receiving side. By c o n t a i n i n g the time
i n f o r m a t i o n in the software start enable signal, the i n f o r m a t i o n can
be v a r i e d r a n d o m l y .
A t r a n s m i t t i n g side system "capable of receiving and
t r a n s m i t t i n g d i g i t a l data by e x p l o i t i n g the communication system,
according to the present invention, is such a system in which a
software start enable signal, a signal' capable of i d e n t i f y i n g a
software s t a r t e d on a receiving side system and data for s u b s t i t u t i o n
or i n s e r t i o n for a p o r t i o n of the data during o p e r a t i o n of the
software are stored in a storage device, and in which, if t h e signal
capable of i d e n t i f y i n g the s t a r t e d software is received from the
t r a n s m i t t i n g side system, a software start enable signal is sent to
the t r a n s m i t t i n g side system and data for s u b s t i t u t i o n or i n s e r t i o
for a portion of the data during operation of the software are
distributed. In this case, the data for s u b s t i t u t i o n or insertion may
be commercial ads.
The game can only be started when the software start enable
signal is sent to the receiving side. By containing the time
i n f o r m a t i o n in the software s t a r t enable signal, the i n f o r m a t i o n can
be varied randomly.
A receiving side system capable of receiving and t r a n s m i t t i n g
d i g i t a l data by e x p l o i t i n g the communication system, according to
the present i n v e n t i o n , i n c l u d e s c o m m u n i c a t i o n f u n c t i o n means and
a game machine c a p a b l e of o p e r a t i n g a software item. The game
machine transmits, on s t a r t i n g the software, an i d e n t i f i c a t i o n signal
for the software adapted for s t a r t i n g , to a t r a n s m i t t i n g side system,
the s t a r t i n g of the software being i n h i b i t e d u n t i l acceptance of the
software start enable signal sent next. In this case, the data for
s u b s t i t u t i o n or i n s e r t i o n may be commercial ads.
The game can only be s t a r t e d when the software start enable
signal is sent to the receiving side. By containing the time
i n f o r m a t i o n in the software start enable signal, the i n f o r m a t i o n can
be varied randomly.
A data d i s t r i b u t i o n system for d i s t r i b u t i n g data to a p l u r a l i t y
of receiving devices, according to the present invention, includes
means for recognizing a software p r o g r am s t a r t e d on a receiving
s i d e device on r e c e p t i o n of the s u p p l i e d program i d e n t i f i c a t i o n
i n f o r m a t i o n , means for g e n e r a t i n g program start enable signal, which
is a signal in meeting with a software program recognized by the
r e c o g n i t i o n means and which, if the software program is a r e g u l a r
software program, enables s t a r t i n g of the regular software program,
and means for d i s t r i b u t i n g the program start enable signal and for
d i s t r i b u t i n g data for s u b s t i t u t i o n or i n s e r t i o n of part of the software
program s t a r t e d in accordance with the program start enable s i g n a l .
A program executing apparatus for executing a software
program, according to the present i n v e n t i o n , includes reception
means for r e c e i v i n g program start enable signal d i s t r i b u t e d from a
d a t a d i s t r i b u t i n g device and data for s u b s t i t u t i o n or i n s e r t i o n for
o r i g i n a l data of the software program and control means for
s u b s t i t u t i n g or i n s e r t i n g the o r i g i n a l d a t a of the software p r o g r am
for the data responsive to the program start enable signal received
by the r e c e p t i o n means for e x e c u t i n g the software program.
A program start control a p p a r a t u s for c o n t r o l l i n g the s t a r t i n g
of a software program according to the present i n v e n t i o n i n c l u d e s
r e c e i v i n g means for receiving from a data d i s t r i b u t i n g device data
for s u b s t i t u t i o n or i n s e r t i o n for o r i g i n a l data of part of the
software program and an e n c r y p t e d program start enable signal and
l i m i t i n g means for e n a b l i n g execution of a program of s u b s t i t u t i n g
or i n s e r t i n g the data for original data of part of the software
program i f t h e encrypted p r o g r am s t a r t e n a b l e signal can be decoded
r e g u l a r l y . The l i m i t i n g means l i m i t s s t a r t i n g of t h e software p r o g r am
i f the encrypted program start enable signal cannot be decoded
regularly.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
F i g . l shows a scene in a racing game in an embodiment of the
present i n v e n t i o n .
Fig.2 shows a scene in a racing game in an embodiment of the
present i n v e n t i o n .
Fig.3 shows a t r a n s m i t t i n g side system for supplying CM data
exploiting a broadcasting system in an embodiment of the present
i n v e n t i o n .
Fig.4 shows a game d e d i c a t e d machine of an embodiment of a
r e c e p t i o n side system in an embodiment of the present i n v e n t i o n .
Fig.5 shows a system employing a personal computer of an
embodiment of the r e c e i v i n g side system embodying the present
i n v e n t i o n .
Fig.6 shows an example of a receiving side system embodying
the present i n v e n t i o n .
Fig.7 shows an embodiment of a t r a n s m i t t i n g side system and
a receiving side system embodying the present invention.
F i g . 8 shows t h e manner in which, in a game d e d i c a t e d machine
embodying the present invention, an address of a buffer RAM
h o l d i n g updated data is recorded in the main RAM and the data is
c a l l e d out d u r i n g the game.
Fig.9 shows d e t a i l s of the c a l l - o u t method in a main RAM of
F i g . 8 .
Fig.10 shows a case of u s i n g a personal computer embodying
the present invention in which updated data is recorded in other
p o r t i o n s of the main RAM, an address of the updated data is
recorded in a corresponding p o r t i o n of the game software and in
which the data is called out during the game.
F i g . 1 1 shows details of the c a l l - o u t method in the main RAM
in Figs. 1 0 and 1 1.
Fig.12 is a similar view to Fig.10 of the embodiment of the
present invention showing the downloading of a game program.
Fig.13 shows new CM data as such being built into the main
RAM.
Fig.14 shows a broadcast format of data inclusive of the new
CM data sent from the t r a n s m i t t i n g side system t a k i n g a d v a n t a g e of
t h e b r o a d c a s t system embodying t h e p r e s e n t i n v e n t i o n .
Fig.15 shows details of the PSE of the broadcast format shown
in Fig.14, program ID and the CM d a t a .
Fig.16 shows the protocol in the case of u t i l i z i n g the
c o m m u n i c a t i o n system embodying the p r e s e n t i n v e n t i o n .
Fig.17 shows an example of encoding of PSE signals embodying
the present invention.
Fig.18 shows an instance of decoding of the PSE signals
embodying the present invention.
Fig.19 shows a flowchart of encoding the PSE signals in
c o n n e c t i o n with Fig.17 in an embodiment of the present i n v e n t i o n
and s p e c i f i c a l l y showing t h e f l o w c h a r t of i n v e r s i o n of d a t a and t i m e
d a t a .
Fig.20 shows a flowchart of encoding of PSE signals in
connection with Fig.17 in an embodiment of the present invention
and s p e c i f i c a l l y showing the m a n n e r of a p p e n d a g e of i n s e r t i o n d a t a .
Fig.21 shows a flowchart of encoding of PSE signals in
connection with Fig.17 in an embodiment of the present i n v e n t i o n
and s p e c i f i c a l l y showing the manner o ( a d d i t i o n of dummy data.
Fig.22 shows a flowchart of encoding of PSE signals in
c o n n e c t i o n with Fig.17 in an embodiment of the present i n v e n t i o n
and s p e c i f i c a l l y showing the manner of appendage of a header.
Fig.23 shows a flowchart of encoding the PSE signals in
c o n n e c t i o n with Fig.18 in an embodiment of the present i n v e n t i o n
and s p e c i f i c a l l y showing the flowchart of detectio n of data and time
d a t a .
Fig.24 shows a flowchart showing the decoding of PSE signals
in connection with Fig.18 embodying the present invention and
s p e c i f i c a l l y showing s u b t r a c t i o n of dummy d a t a .
Fig.25 shows a flowchart showing the decoding of PSE signals
i n connection with Fig.18 embodying the present invention and
s p e c i f i c a l l y showing e x t r a c t i o n of i n s e r t e d d a t a .
Fig.26 shows a flowchart showing the decoding of PSE signals
i n connection with Fig.18 embodying the present i n v e n t i o n and
s p e c i f i c a l l y showing r e - a r r a y i n g of d a t a and t i m e data.
Fig.27 shows a flowchart showing the processing of PSE
signals in a game dedicated machine or a personal computer PC
employing a b r o a d c a s t s y s t em embodying t h e p r e s e n t i n v e n t i o n .
Fig.28 shows a flowchart showing the processing of CM signals
in a game d e d i c a t e d machine or a personal computer employing a
broadcast system embodying t h e p r e s e n t i n v e n t i o n .
Fig.29 shows a flowchart shiwing the processing of PSE
s i g n a l s in a game dedicated machine or a personal computer PC
employing a broadcast system embodying the present i n v e n t i o n .
Fig.30 shows a flowchart showing the a c q u i s i t i o n of CM data
in a game dedicated machine or a p e r s o n a l computer PC employing
a broadcast system embodying the p r e s e n t i n v e n t i o n .
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
R e f e r r i n g to the drawings, preferred embodiments of the
present invention will be explained in detail.
The embodiments of the present i n v e n t i o n are meant to
encompass a game machine system, a c o m m u n i c a t i o n system and a
broadcast system in which a code for l i m i t i n g the s t a r t i n g of a game
p r o g r am is sent from a CM data server on s t a r t i n g a game software
item such as to inhibit starting of the game in the absence of a CM
i n s e r t e d t h e r e i n .
F i g s . l and 2 i l l u s t r a t e a seene in a game.
Fig.l shows a scene when a software s u p p l i e d as a CD-ROM
(game program) is d i r e c t l y s t a r t e d in which CM data 1 and 3 are
original old data while a car 2 and a flag 4 are also original old
data.
Fig.2 is a scene when a CM data p o r t i o n or a n o t h e r data
p o r t i o n is r e p l a c e d by new d a t a ( u p d a t e d data) by the broadcast or
c o m m u n i c a t i o n system.
In the software supplied by the CD-ROM, a placard 1 is an
a d v e r t i s e m e n t of a timepiece, as shown in F i g . l . In Fig.2, it is an
a d v e r t i s e m e n t for hamburger. S i m i l a r l y , a car 2 is d i f f e r e n t in color,
w h i l e a car 3 is not only different in color but is an advertisement
for a camera instead of for a cigarette in F i g . l . A flag 4 is a tricolor
flag d i v i d e d in the transverse d i r e c t i o n and a tri-color flag
d i v i d e d in the l o n g i t u d i n a l d i r e c t i o n . That is, by exchanging data of
part of t h e game software, different a d v e r t i s e m e n t s can be i n s e r t e d
even in t h e same game.
These commercial advertisements and scenes of games, such
as cars or flags, that can be updated, are termed "CM data or the
like" i n t h e p r e s e n t s p e c i f i c a t i o n and drawings.
Transmission Side System and Reception Side System
Figs.3 to 7 are block diagrams of a system for executing a
game software item capable of u p d a t i n g mainly the CM data or the
like.
Referring to the following table 1, the schematics of the
system now e x p l a i n e d will be comprehensively c l a r i f i e d .
(Table Removed)
F i r s t , there is a d i f f e r e n c e as to whether the system used in
u p d a t i n g the CM data is a b r o a d c a s t system or the c o m m u n i c a t i o n
system.
As the transmission side system supplying updated new CM
d a t a , the broadcasting system is shown in Fig.3 and the
communication system is shown in an upper part of Fig.6 and an
upper part of Fig.7. The difference between Figs.6 and 7 is t h a t
the former transmits only the new CM data, while the latter
f u r n i s h e s , in a d d i t i o n to the CM data or the like, the game software
(game program) i t s e l f b y so-called downloading.
Turning to the receiving side system, a game dedicated
machine and a personal computer (so-called 'PC') can be used as
t h e equipment used on the receiving side system in both the case of
using the b r o a d c a s t i n g system and t h e c o m m u n i c a t i n g system. In t h e
present s p e c i f i c a t i o n , the t e rm 'game machine' means both the game
dedicated machine and the p e r s o n a l computer.
Figs.4 and 7 show the difference in the s u p p l y i n g route of the
new CM data or the like.
First, if the b r o a d c a s t i n g system is used, and the game
d e d i c a t e d machine is used as the equipment used on the r e c e i v i n g
side, the game program ( i n c l u d i n g old CM data or the l i k e ) is sent
by the CD-ROM purchased by the user. The new CM d a t a or the l i k e
i s then sent via t h i s b r o a d c a s t i n g system to the buffer RAM of the
game dedicated machine. The corresponding system is now
explained in d e t a i l by referring to Fig.4.
Next, if t h e b r o a d c a s t system is used, and a personal computer
i s used as the equipment used on the receiving side, the game
p r o g r am c o n t a i n i n g t h e o l d CM data i s s i m i l a r l y s u p p l i e d by the CDROM.
The new CM data or the like is then supplied via this
broadcast system to a HDD (hard disc drive) of the personal
computer. The corresponding system is explained in detail with
reference to Fig.5.
Next, if the communication system is used, and a game
d e d i c a t e d machine is used as the equipment used on the receiving
side, the game program containing the old CM data is s i m i l a r l y
s u p p l i e d by the CD-ROM. The new CM data or the like is then
s u p p l i e d via this c o m m u n i c a t i o n system to a buffer RAM of the
game d e d i c a t e d machine.
The c o r r e s p o n d i n g system is explained in d e t a i l with reference
to Fig.6.
Next, if the communication system is used, and a personal
computer is used as the e q u i p m e n t used on the receiving side, the
game program containing the old CM data is s i m i l a r l y supplied by
the CD-ROM. The new CM data or the like is then supplied via
t h i s communication system to a HDD of the personal computer. The
c o r r e s p o n d i n g system is e x p l a i n e d in detail with reference to Fig.7.
In Fig.7, the game program i t s e l f , c o n t a i n i n g the old CM data
or the like, is f u r n i s h e d by downloading .from the t r a n s m i t t i n g side
computer system via c o m m u n i c a t i o n system to the HDD of the
p e r s o n a l computer, and s u b s e q u e n t l y the new CM data or the l i k e
i s f u r n i s h e d via this c o m m u n i c a t i o n system to the HDD of the
p e r s o n a l computer. The c o r r e s p o n d i n g system is also e x p l a i n e d in
d e t a i l with reference to Fig. 7
The respective systems are h e r e i n a f t e r e x p l a i n e d .
T r a n s m i t t i n g Side System
T r a n s m i t t i n g Side System Employing the Broadcast System
Fig.3 shows a block d i a g r am of a t r a n s m i t t i n g side broadcast
system in case the broadcast system is used for t r a n s m i t t i n g the CM
data or the l i k e s u i t a b l y u p d a t e d with lapse of time. The new CM
d a t a or the like is herein sent to the receiving side system of each
home u s i n g one channel of a d i g i t a l m u l t i - c h a n n e l b r o a d c a s t .
This broadcast system i n c l u d e s a hard disc drive (HDD) 10, a
c o n t r o l computer 11, a timepiece 12, a synchronizer 13, a data
encoder 14, a mixer 16, a RS encoder 17, an i n t e r l e a v e r 18, a
QAM/QPSK encoder 19 and a t r a n s m i t t e r 20. The broadcast system
also includes an antenna 21, a (broadcast or communication)
s a t e l l i t e 22 or a cable 23, depending on the type of the broadcast
system.
The CM data or the like is stored in the HDD 10 as a CM
server. The control computer 1 1 reads from the HDD 1 1 the
p r o g r am start enable signal (PSE signal) as later explained, a
p r o g r am ID ( i d e n t i f i c a t i o n ) , CM data and other data (CM data or
the like), at a pre-set time interval,, in a s s o c i a t i o n with the
reference timepiece 12, and t r a n s f e r s the read-out data to the
s y n c h r o n i z e r 13. The t r a n s f e r r e d CM data or the l i k e is converted
by the s y n c h r o n i z e r 13 i n t o a t i m e s y n c h r o n i z a t i o n signal which is
t h e n encoded by the data encoder 14 and thence s u p p l i e d to the
mixer 1 6.
The supplied CM data or the l i k e is m u l t i p l e x e d by the mixer
16 with video and audio signals for other channels encoded with
high efficiency encoding by a MPEG encoder 15. The multiplexed
signals are encoded with Reed-Solomon codes by the RS encoder 17
and interleaved by the interleaver 18 so as to be then modulated for
b r o a d c a s t i n g by the QAM/QPSK encoder 19.
I f the broadcasting s a t e l l i t e (BS) is used, the modulated
s i g n a l s are modulated with QPSK m o d u l a t i o n (four-phase phase
s h i f t i n g and m o d u l a t i o n ) . If t h e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s a t e l l i t e (CS) or the
cable (CATV) is used, the m o d u l a t e d signals are modulated with
QAM ( q u a d r a t u r e a m p l i t u d e m o d u l a t i o n ) .
In t h e case of t h e s a t e l l i t e b r o a d c a s t i n g , the m o d u l a t e d s i g n a
are then sent via antenna 21 and s a t e l l i t e (BS/CS) 22 to the
r e c e i v i n g side (game dedicated machine or the personal computer)
of a home 24. In case of the CATV, the modulated signals are sent
via CATV cable 23 to the receiving system of the home 24. Thus,
t h e receiving side system employing the broadcast system is the
u n i d i r e c t i o n a l communication of s u p p l y i n g only the CM data or the
l i k e .
T r a n s m i t t i n g Side System E x p l o i t i n g t h e C o m m u n i c a t i o n System
The upper part of Fig.6 and an upper part of F i g . 7 show block
diagrams of the t r a n s m i t t i n g side system in case of using the
c o m m u n i c a t i o n system for t r a n s m i t t i n g the CM data or the l i k e
s u i t a b l y u p d a t e d with lapse of time. Since this t r a n s m i t t i n g side
system has data exchange with the receiving side system, it will be
e x p l a i n e d in conjunction with the e x p l a n a t i o n of the receiving side
system with reference to Figs.6 and 7.
R e c e i v i n g Side System
The receiving side system i s h e r e i n a f t e r e x p l a i n e d .
Receiving side Game Dedicated System Exploiting the Broadcast
System
Fig.4 shows such a receiving side system in which, if the
broadcast system is used, ands the game' dedicated machine is
u t i l i z e d as the game machine of the receiving side system, the game
program ( i n c l u d i n g the old CM data or the like) is s u p p l i e d by the
CD-ROM p u r c h a s e d by the user and s u b s e q u e n t l y t h e new CM data
or the l i k e is s u p p l i e d via t h i s broadcast system to the buffer RAM
of t h e game d e d i c a t e d machine.
I f the broadcast system is used, data is supplied
u n i d i r e c t i o n a l l y , that is in a d i r e c t i o n from the broadcast system to
t h e r e c e i v i n g side system.
This receiving side system i n c l u d e s a set top box 51, as
r e c e i v i n g means for receiving signals sent via s a t e l l i t e 22 or over
cable 23 (such as new CM data), and a game d e d i c a t e d machine 52.
The set top box 51 include a tuner 25, a QAM/QPSK decoder 26,
a d e i n t e r l e a v e r 27, a RS decoder 28, a MPEG decoder 29, a data
decoder 69 and a serial i n t e r f a c e 30.
The game d e d i c a t e d machine 52 of Fig.4 may, for example, be
' P l a y s t a t i o n ' m a n u f a c t u r e d by SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT
INC. This game d e d i c a t e d machine 52 includes a buffer RAM 31, a
receiver 32, a sound processor unit 33, a sound RAM 34, a motion
JPEG decider 35, a DMA c o n t r o l l e r 36, a g r a p h i c processor u n i t 37,
a video RAM 38, a flash memory 39, a CD-ROM 40, a CD-ROM
d r i v e 41, a CD-ROM decoder 42, an OS ROM 43, a CPU 44, such
as R3000 series, a geometric transfer engine 45, a main RAM 46
and a main bus.
The signals sent over the s a t e l l i t e 22 or cable 23, such as new
CM d a t a , are selected by the tuner 25 in the set top box 51, so as
to be then QPSK demodulated or QAM demodulated by the
QAM/QPSK decoder 26 in a reversed manner from the case of the
processing during modulation. The demodulated signals are then
d e i n t e r l e a v e d by a d e i n t e r l e a v e r 27 and d e m o d u l a t e d for the Reed-
Solomon code by the RS decoder 28. The r e s u l t i n g video and audio
s i g n a l s of the usual broadcast program, independent of the game
software, are d e m o d u l a t e d by the MPEG decoder 29 for r e s t o r a t i o n
to the video and audio signals.
The new CM data or the l i k e for the game d e d i c a t e d machine,
are passed t h r o u g h a data decoder 69, which forms a pair with the
t r a n s m i t t i n g side data encoder 14 of Fig.3, so as to be supplied via
s e r i a l i n t e r f a c e 30 to the game dedicated machine 52. The data
received by the receiver 32 of the game dedicated machine 52 is
stored in the buffer RAM 31 a d a p t e d for a b s o r b i n g the d i f f e r e n c e
i n the t r a n s f e r r a t e i n s i d e and o u t s i d e the game d e d i c a t e d m a c h i n e .
When the CD-ROM disc 40, having recorded t h e r e i n t h e game
program ( i n c l u d i n g old CM data or the like), is loaded on the CDROM
d r i v e 41 of the game d e d i c a t e d machine 52, t h e game p r o g r am
i s t r a n s f e r r e d via the CD-ROM decoder 42 to the main RAM 46 for
storage.
During t h i s transfer, the new CM data or the l i k e already in
the buffer RAM 31 may be assembled in the main program, or a subr
o u t i n e call may be assembled in the main program after t r a n s f e r
for calling out the new CM data or the like in the buffer RAM 31,
as will be e x p l a i n e d s u b s e q u e n t l y in d e t a i l . In any case, t h e CPU
causes the game to proceed based on the data in the main RAM 46.
The f u n c t i o n of the remaining portions of the game dedicated
machine 52 w i l l be e x p l a i n e d b r i e f l y . The OS of t h e game dedicated
machine is stored in the OS ROM 43 and a DMA ( d i r e c t memory
access) c o n t r o l l e r 36 controls data t r a n s f e r via the main bus. The
flash memory 39, holding on memory the time data in the PSE
s i g n a l , as will be e x p l a i n e d s u b s t a n t i a l l y , is used for s t a r t i n g the
next game. The geometric transfer engine 45 (coordinate
t r a n s f o r m a t i o n engine) effects coordinate calculations on an object,
while t h e motion JPEG d e c i d e r 35 defreezes the compressed p i c t u r e
data. The motion JPEG decider 35, CPU 44 and the geometric
t r a n s f e r engine 45, s u r r o u n d e d by a broken line, are c o n s t r u c t e d as
a o n e - c h i p 1C.
The graphic processor unit 37 for vide o u t p u t t i n g , as an
o u t p u t t i n g system, c o n t r o l s the p i c t u r e displayed on a m o n i t o r , not
shown. The video RAM 38 performs the role of the p i c t u r e feedout
buffer so that the picture is outputted by a monitor. The sound
o u t p u t t i n g sound processor unit 33 for o u t p u t t i n g the speech
controls the speech control from the speaker, while the sound RAM
34 performs the role of t h e feed-out ouffer, as the video RAM 38,
so that the speech is o u t p u t t e d by the speaker, not shown.
Reception Side Personal Computer System E x p l o i t i n g the Broadcast
System
Fig.5 shows a receiving side system in which, when the
broadcast s y s t em is s i m i l a r l y used and & personal computer (PC) is
used as the game machine of the receiving side system, the game
p r o g r am c o n t a i n i n g the old CM d a t a or t h e l i k e i s s i m i l a r l y s u p p l i e d
by the CD-ROM and the new CM data of the like is s u p p l i e d via
t h i s broadcast system to the HDD (hard disc drive) of the p e r s o n a l
computer.
The receiving side system shown in Fig.5 i n c l u d e s the set top
box 51, a d a p t e d fro receiving signal sent via s a t e l l i t e 22 or over
cable 23, and a personal computer (PC) 68. The set top box 51 is
s i m i l a r to that shown in Fig.4. . T h e personal computer 68 is a
personal computer similar to the DOS/V machine and includes a CDROM
drive 41, a serial i n t e r f a c e 53, a sound card 54, a VGA 55,
a keyboard controller 56, a DMA controller 57, a BIOS ROM 58, a
SCSI i n t e r f a c e 59, a HDD 60, an IDE interface 61, a FDD 62, a
FDD c o n t r o l l e r 63, a CPU 64, an I/O bus, an I/O channel and a
main bus.
On comparison with the system of Fig.4, the r e c e i v i n g side
system of Fig.5 d i f f e r s from the system of Fig.4 in t h a t a p e r s o n a l
computer (PC) 68 is used as a game machine in place of the game
d e d i c a t e d machine 52. The set top box 51 is not explained
specifically because it is the same as that shown in Fig.4. The new
CM data sent over the serial interface 30 of the set top box 51 is
received by the serial interface 53 in the personal computer 68 and
t r a n s m i t t e d over the 10 bus, I/O channel and the main bus so as to
be recorded via IDE i n t e r f a c e 61 on the HDD 60.
In the personal computer 68, s i m i l a r l y to the game d e d i c a t e d
machine 52, if the CD-ROM disc 40, having recorded t h e r e o n the
game program ( c o n t a i n i n g the old CM data or the l i k e ) , is loaded
on the drive 41, the game program is t r a n s f e r r e d via the SCSI
i n t e r f a c e 59 to the m a i n RAM 46 for storage. During t h i s t r a n s f e r ,
the new CM data or the like is read out from the HDD 60 so as to
be stored in other sites on the main RAM 46. A s u b - r o u t i n e call is
then assembled in the main program on the main RAM 46 for calling
out the CM data or the like in other p o r t i o n s of the main RAM.
This method will be explained later in more d e t a i l . In any case, the
CPU 44 causes the game to proceed on the basis of d a t a in the main
RAM 46.
T u r n i n g to other components of the personal computer (PC)
68, the CPU 64 is e.g., a 486 series of INTEL INC. of USA, while
BIOS (Basic I/O system) ROM 58 has the computer OS loaded
t h e r e o n and the DMA (direct memory access) c o n t r o l l e r 57 effects
data t r a n s f e r control over the main bus.
The floppy disc drive (FDD) 62 effects data read-write on or
from the floppy disc via a FDD c o n t r o l l e r 63.
The keyboard c o n t r o l l e r 56 receives signals from the keyboard
and the mouse. Turning to the output system, the video graphics
array (VGA) 55 o u t p u t s video signals to a monitor, not shown,
while the sound card 54 restores the encoded signals by e.g., MIDI
(music instruments digital interface) for o u t p u t t i n g the restored
signals via a speaker.
Game dedicated system Exploiting the Communication System
Fig.6 shows the t r a n s m i t t i n g s i d e system and the r e c e i v i n g side
system when u t i l i z i n g t h e c o m m u n i c a t i o n system.
If the game d e d i c a t e d machine is used, there is shown as a
game machine on the r e c e i v i n g side system a receiving system in
which the game p r o g r am containing the old CM data or the like is
supplied by the CD-ROM purchased by the user and in which the old
CM data or the like is supplied via this communication system to
the buffer RAM of the game dedicated machine. The case of u s i n g
the communication system differs from the case of using the
broadcast system in that the b i - d i r e c t i o n a l communication is c a r r i e d
out in the former case with the t r a n s m i t t i n g side system.
The t r a n s m i t t i n g side system employing the c o m m u n i c a t i o n
system includes the HDD 10, as a server for the CM data or the
like, control computer 11, timepiece 12, FDDI (fiber d i s t r i b u t e d
26
d a t a i n t e r f a c e ) 47, and a modem 48, and is connected to a t e l e p h o n e
network 49.
The game dedicated machine 52 of the receiving side system
i s s i m i l a r to that of Fig.4 except t h a t its receiving end is a modem
50.
In the game dedicated m a c h i n e 52, if the CD-ROM disc 40 is
loaded on the drive 41, the program ID s i g n a l s as l a t e r e x p l a i n e d
are read and sent via modem 50, t e l e p h o n e network 49 and h o s t - s i d e
modem 48 to the control computer 11.
In the control computer 11, the p r o g r am start enable (PSE)
signal, as later explained, the p r o g r am ID signal and new CM data
stored in the hard disc drive as a server of the CM data, are sent
via modem 48 and telephone network 49 to a modem in the game
d e d i c a t e d m a c h i n e 52.
The game dedicated machine 52 s t a r t s the operation by the
program start enable (PSE) signal for storage of the CM data or the
l i k e in the buffer RAM 31. The operation in the game dedicated
machine 52 is otherwise the same as that in the system of Fig.4 so
t h a t the c o r r e s p o n d i n g e x p l a n a t i o n i s o m i t t e d for s i m p l i c i t y .
Receiving Side Personal C o m p u t e r System E x p l o i t i n g Communication
System
Fig.7 shows a receiving system in which, if the communication
system is used, and the personal computer is used as a game
machine of the receiving side system, the game program containing
the old CM data or the l i k e is s u p p l i e d by the CD-ROM and the new
CM data or the like is s u p p l i e d via t h i s c o m m u n i c a t i o n s y s t em to
the HDD of t h e personal computer.
Fig.7 shows a receiving system in which the game so ft ware as
such, c o n t a i n i n g the old CM data or t h e l i k e , is p u l l e d out from the
t r a n s m i t t i n g side computer system via the c o m m u n i c a t i o n system to
the HDD of the personal computer and in which new CM data or the
l i k e is supplied via this communication system to the HDD of the
personal c o m p u t e r . Although the game software as such i s
downloaded only once at first, the new CM data or the like is
supplied each time the game software is supplied.
For downloading, the t r a n s m i t t i n g side system e x p l o i t i n g the
c o m m u n i c a t i o n system has the FDD 147, HDD 65 as a program
server, and a program server c o n t r o l computer 66, in a d d i t i o n to the
s y s t em of Fig.6.
In t h i s system, the personal computer 68 is used as a game
machine in place of the game d e d i c a t e d machine 52 of Fig.6. This
system differs from the system of Fig.5 in that its receiving end is
a modem 67. As in Fig.6, when the CD-ROM disc 40 is loaded on
the CD-ROM drive 41, the program ID s i g n a l , as l a t e r e x p l a i n e d , is
read via SCSI interface 59. This program ID signal is sent via
model 67, t e l e p h o n e network 49 and the host side modem 48 to the
c o n t r o l computer 11.
The control computer 11 sends the program start enable signal
(PSE signal) as later explained, the program ID signal supplied
t h e r e t o and the CM data stored in the HDD 10 as a CM server to
the modem 67 in the game d e d i c a t e d machine 52. The CM data or
the l i k e is s t o r e d in t h e HDD 60 as in the system of F i g . 5 .
With this system, the game software is not acquired by
p u r c h a s i n g the CD-ROM 40, but is obtained on d o w n l o a d i n g from
the host computer. The downloading request from the personal
computer 68 is sent via modem 67, telephone network 49, host side
modem 48 and FDD 147 to the program server c o n t r o l l i n g computer
66.
The program server c o n t r o l l i n g computer 66 is responsive to
the downloading request from the p e r s o n a l computer 68 to send the
pre-set program stored in the HDD 65 as a program server via FDD
147, modem 48 and t e l e p h o n e n e t w o r k 49 to the modem 67 in the
personal computer 68.
The personal computer 68 then causes the gam p r o g r am to be
s t o r e d in the HDD 60.
On p r o g r am s t a r t i n g , the game p r o g r am is read to the RAM 46
from the HDD 60 i n s t e a d of from the CD-ROM 40. Only one game
software d o w n l o a d i n g o p e r a t i o n suffices for one game sort. That is,
a l t h o u g h downloading needs to be carried out for each d i f f e r e n t
type of the game software items, the same sort of the game
software, once stored, needs only to be read from the HDD 60.
Conversely, the new CM data or the like, stored in the HDD 10, is
read out via t e l e p h o n e network 49 each time the game software is
s t a r t e d . This system is otherwise the same as the system of Fig.5
and hence i s not e x p l a i n e d s p e c i f i c a l l y .
Program S t r u c t u r e of Game Software (Entire S t r u c t u r e )
The following t a b l e 2 shows the program s t r u c t u r e on the main
RAM during execution of the game software used in the abovedescribed
v a r i o u s systems.
(Table Removed)
The game machine of the receiving side system is classified
i n t o the game dedicated machine and t h e personal computer (PC),
as d e s c r i b e d above. The game p r o g r a m , i n c l u s i v e of t h e o r i g i n a l old
CM d a t a , is mainly recorded on the CD-ROM purchased by the user.
If the game program is downloaded, as an exceptional case, the
game program is directly recorded on the HDD of the personal
computer. The updated new CM data or the like is recorded from
the transmitting side via the broadcast system or the communication
system on the buffer RAM or on the HDD if the receiving side
system uses the game dedicated machine or the personal computer,
r e s p e c t i v e l y . The correspondence to the receiving side system,
e x p l a i n e d with reference to F i g s . 4 to 7, is shown in Table 2.
The game is executed in accordance with the game software on
t h e main RAM t r a n s f e r r e d from t h i s CD-ROM or from the HDD. If
the CM data or the l i k e in the game software recorded on the main
RAM is modified or u p d a t e d w i t h progress of the game, the manner
of handling the new CM data is classified, as explained with
reference to Figs.8 to 13.
Stated briefly, the new CM data or the like is not assembled
i n t o t h e game d e d i c a t e d machine, but the a d d r e s s of the buffer RAM
of the u p d a t e d data is recorded in the main RAM and the u p d a t e d
data is called for in the buffer RAM, as shown in Fig.8. The callout
method is shown in d e t a i l in Fig.9.
The u p d a t e d data as such is not recorded in p e r t i n e n t p o r t i o n s
of t h e game software of the main RAM, but is recorded in other
p o r t i o n s of t h e same main RAM, while the address of t h e u p d a t e d
data is r e c o r d e d in the p e r t i n e n t p o r t i o n s of the game software and
the u p d a t e d d a t a is c a l l e d out from the other addresses on the main
RAM, as shown in Fig.10. The c a l l - o u t method is shown in detail
in F i g . l 1 .
Fig.12 shows case similar to Fig.10 with the exception that t h e
game program is downloaded on the HDD 6.
Fig.13 shows a case of assembling the new CM data or the l i k e
as such in the main RAM ( s u b - r o u t i n e c a l l ) .
Program S t r u c t u r e
C a l l i n g New CM Data on Buffer RAM on Main RAM
Fig.8 shows a first embodiment of the present i n v e n t i o n in
which, when t r a n s f e r r i n g the game software on the CD-ROM 40 to
the main RAM 46, in the game dedicated machine 52, any new CM
data on the buffer RAM 31, if any, is left as is and only the data
of the s u b - r o u t i n e call is left in the main RAM 46, such t h a t , if an
area of the CM data in the main program on the main RAM 46 to
be u p d a t e d is reached, the CM data is s u b - r o u t i n e called (called
out). This can be adopted in the system of F i g s . 4 and 6.
The CD-ROM 40 has recorded thereon program ID data 80,
PSE check data 81, game program PRG(l) data 82, old CM data
Old-CM(l) 83, game program PRG(2) data 84, game program
PRG(3) data 86, old CM data Old-CM(3) 87 and game program
PRG(4) data 88, in this order. The old CM data Old-CM(l) 83 to
01d-CM(3) 87 are not l i m i t e d to the CM data but is the CM data or
the l i k e also encompassing the p i c t u r e s to be u p d a t e d , such as car
or flag colors explained with reference to Figs.l and 2. On the
buffer RAM 31 are recorded the program ID data 80, new CM data
New-CM(l) 91 and New-CM(2) 90.
When t r a n s f e r r i n g d a t a of the a d d r e s s e s CO to C9 on the CDROM
40 to the main RAM 46, data cf the addresses CO to C9 on
t h e CD-ROM 40 are d i r e c t l y t r a n s f e r r e d to the addresses MO to M9
on the main RAM 46. The addresses of the t r a n s f e r r e d CM data or
t h e like for u p d a t i n g on the main RAM 46 are c a l c u l a t e d and the
l e a d i n g end of the CM data or the l i k e to be u p d a t e d is r e w r i t t e n
t o the s u b - r o u t i n e call command and to the j u m p command.
After t h i s rewriting, the old CM data Old-CM(l) is r e w r i t t e n
to call data C a l l ( l ) 93, while old CM d a t a Old-CM(2) is r e w r i t t e n
to call data Call(2) 94 for c a l l i n g new CM data new-CM(2). An
a d d r e s s B3 of the new CM data New-CM(l) 91 is recorded in the
c a l l data 93, while an address B2 of the new CM data New-CM(2)
90 is recorded in the call data 94.
The c h a r a c t e r i s t i c p o r t i o n s of t h i s program are e x p l a i n e d in
d e t a i l with reference to Fig.9. As e x p l a i n ed with reference to
Fig.8, if the new CM data is on the .buffer RAM 31, s u b - r o u t i n e
c a l l i n g is made to the address B3 on the buffer RAM 31 at the
l e a d i n g end of the call data C a l l ( l ) 93 of the program on the main
RAM 46. Conversely, the new CM data New-CM(l) (91) on the
buffer RAM 31 is r e t u r n e d by return, so that, at an end of
p r o c e s s i n g , control is at a p o i n t next to the sub-routine call of the
c a l l data C a l l ( l ) 93 on the main RAM 46. Since t h i s portion
c o n t a i n s a j u m p command of s k i p p i n g to an a d d r e s s Magnetic disc
device 4 on the main RAM 46, the data of the p r e v i o u s l y w r i t t e n
d a t a of t h e addresses Magnetic head device 3 and Magnetic disc
device 4 are d i s r e g a r d e d .
C a l l i n g New CM data on t h e same Main RAM on t h e main RAM
Fig.10 shows a case in which, when t r a n s f e r r i n g the game
p r o g r am data on the CD-ROM 40 to the main RAM 46, the new CM
d a t a on the HDD 60 is not t r a n s f e r r e d to a c o r r e s p o n d i n g area on
the main RAM 46, but is t r a n s f e r r e d to a d i f f e r e n t area. In the
game program on the main RAM 46, the' new CM data in this
d i f f e r e n t area is s u b r o u t i n e - c a l l e d . A l a r g e - c a p a c i t y main RAM,
capable of having data of the CD-ROM 40 and HDD 60
s i m u l t a n e o u s l y , may be conceived. This main RAM can be used in
the system of F i g s . 5 and 7.
As in Fig.8, if the addresses CO to C9 on the CD-ROM 40 are
t r a n s f e r r e d to the main RAM 46, data of t h e addresses CO to C9 on
the CD-ROM 40 are d i r e c t l y t r a n s f e r r e d to the a d d r e s s e s MO to M9
on the main RAM 46. The program ID80, CM data i n f o r m a t i o n 89
and the new CM data 1, 2 (91,90) at the addresses HO to H4 on the
HDD 60 are then t r a n s f e r r e d to the addresses M10 to M14 in a
d i f f e r e n t area from the game software of t h e main RAM 46.
The a d d r e s s on the main RAM 46 of t h e p o s t - t r a n s f e r CM data
for u p d a t i n g is c a l c u l a t e d , based on the CM data i n f o r m a t i o n in t h e
d i f f e r e n t area on t h e RAM 46, and the l e a d i n g end of t h e data to be
r e w r i t t e n is r e w r i t t e n to a s u b - r o u t i n e call command and a j u m p
command. The old CM data Old-CM(l) 83 and t h e old CM d a t a Old-
CM(2) 85 are r e w r i t t e n to call d a t a C a l l ( l ) 93 for c a l l i n g t h e new
CM data New-CM(l) and to call data Call(2) 94 for calling the new
CM data New-CM(2), respectively.
F i g . 1 2 shows a case of downloading the game so ft ware in
which, in the personal computer 68, a program is had in HDD 60,
d a t a on the HDD 60 is t r a n s f e r r e d to the main RAM 46, and new
CM data or the like on the HDD 60 is transferred to an area
d i f f e r e n t from the same software on the main RAM 46 and in which
new CM data or t h e l i k e on the main RAM 46 is s u b - r o u t i n e called
in the main p r o g r am on the main RAM 46. This can be used in the
system of Fig.7. As compared with Fig.10, only the o r i g i n of
transfer is changed from the CD-ROM 40 to the HDD 60 (directly
recorded b y t h e d o w n l o a d i n g ) .
The data of the addresses HO to H9 on the HDD 40 is d i r e c t l y
t r a n s f e r r e d to the addresses MO to M9 on the main RAM 46. The
p r o g r am ID data 80, CM data i n f o r m a t i o n 89 and the new CM data
90, 91 at the addresses Head supporting driving unit 10 to H14 on
the HDD 60 are transferred to the addresses MO to M14 which
r e p r e s e n t d i f f e r e n t areas from the game software t r a n s f e r r e d to the
main RAM 46. Then, based on the CM data i n f o r m a t i o n 89 on t h e
d i f f e r e n t area on the main RAM 46, the addresses of t h e main RAM
46 of the new p o s t - t r a n s f e r CM data are calculated and the leading
end of t h e CM data being t r a n s f e r r e d is r e w r i t t e n to t h e s u b - r o u t i n e
call commands and t h e j u m p commands. The old CM d a t a Old-CM(l)
83 and the old CM data 01d-CM(2) 85 on the main RAM 46 are
r e w r i t t e n to the call data C a l l ( l ) 93 and to call data Call(2) 94,
r e s p e c t i v e l y .
Fig.11 shows d e t a i l s of the r e w r i t t e n data in meeting with
Figs.10 and 12. As compared to Fig.9, already e x p l a i n e d , the new
CM data or the l i k e is not on the buffer RAM but on the main RAM
46. Sub-routine calling is to the a d d r e s s M13 of the d i f f e r e n t area
on the main RAM 46 at the l e a d i n g end of the call data C a l l ( l ) 93
on t h e main RAM 46. The new CM data New-CM(l) (91) is r e t u r n e d
by r e t u r n , so t h a t , at an end of processing, control is at a point
next to the s u b - r o u t i n e call of the call data C a l l ( l ) 93 on the main
RAM 46. Since t h i s p o r t i o n c o n t a i n s a j u m p command of s k i p p i n g
to an a d d r e s s Magnetic disc device 4 on the main RAM 46, the data
of the p r e v i o u s l y w r i t t e n data of t h e addresses Magnetic head device
3 and Magnetic disc device 4 are d i s r e g a r d e d .
Instance of Assembling Updated CD Data on the main RAM
Fig.13 shows a case wherein, when t r a n s f e r r i n g the game
software on the CD-ROM 40 to the main RAM 46 in the game
d e d i c a t e d machine 52 e x p l o i t i n g the broadcast system or the
c o m m u n i c a t i o n system, the new CM data or the like on the buffer
RAM 31 is also sent to the main RAM 46 so as to be assembled to
the main program. This can be used in the system of Figs.4 and 6.
In the CD-ROM 40, there are s e q u e n t i a l l y recorded program ID
data 80, PSE check data 81, game program PRG(l) d a t a 82, old CM
d a t a Old-CM(l) 83, game program PRG(2) data 84, old CM data
01d-CM(2) 85, game program PRG(3) data 86, old CM data Old-
CM(3) 87 and game program PRG(4) data 88, are recorded
s e q u e n t i a l l y . The old CM data Old-CM(l) to Old-CM(3) are not
l i m i t e d to the CM data but is the CM data or the like also
encompassing the p i c t u r e s to be u p d a t e d , such as car or flap colors
e x p l a i n e d with reference to F i g s . l and 2.
The addresses CO to C9 on the CD-ROM 40 are l o a d e d on the
main RAM 46 ( c o r r e s p o n d i n g to the buffer RAM 31 of Figs.4 and
6). On the buffer RAM 31 are recorded the program ID data 80, CM
d a t a information 89, new CM data New-CM(l) 91 and New-CM(2)
90. The CM data i n f o r m a t i o n 89 is the CM data management
i n f o r m a t i o n f i l i n g the address of the buffer RAM 31 r e c o r d i n g the
new CM data or the like and the address of the CD-ROM 40
r e c o r d i n g the c o r r e s p o n d i n g old CM data or the l i k e . Although the
CM data Old-CM(l) and CM data Old-CM(2) are u p d a t e d , the CM
d a t a Old-CM(3) is not u p d a t e d . Thus, the first old CM data or the
p r e - u p d a t i n g data are commended to be used.
If, during data t r a n s f e r from the CD-ROM 40 to the main RAM
46, there is an address on the CD-ROM 40 of the CM data or the
l i k e being u p d a t e d in the CM data i n f o r m a t i o n 89 of t h e buffer RAM
31, the origin of t r a n s f e r switches from the CD-ROM 40 to the
buffer RAM 31, such t h a t pre-set new CM data form the buffer RAM
31 is t r a n s f e r r e d . After the end of t h i s t r a n s f e r , the p r o c e s s i n g
r e v e r t s to data t r a n s f e r from the CD-ROM 40.
The game software data are s e q u e n t i a l l y read out from the
address CO on the CD-ROM 40 so as to be s e q u e n t i a l l y stored
beginning from the address MO on the main RAM 46. When the site
of transfer is the address C3 of t h e CD-ROM 40, transfer switches
to the transfer of the CM data New-CM(2) 90 from the address B2
of the buffer RAM 31, because the old CM d a t a 01d-CM(2) 85 is to
be updated and the c o r r e s p o n d i n g address Cartridge 5 is at the CM
data i n f o r m a t i o n 89 on the buffer RAM 31. When the address B3 is
reached, t r a n s f e r again switches to transfer from the address C6 of
the CD-ROM 40.
Then, when the address of the CD-ROM 40 reaches Center hub
7, since the old CM data Old-CM(3) 87 is not to be u p d a t e d , the
address Center hub 7 is not recorded in the CM data i n f o r m a t i o n 89
of the buffer RAM 31. Thus, data transfer is c o n t i n u e d , with the
CM data 3 remaining to be the old CM data Old-CM(3) 87, to
t e r m i n a t e data t r a n s f e r at a d d r e s s C9.
Thus, new CM data New-CM(l) 91 and new CM data New-
CM(2) 90 are w r i t t e n on the main RAM 46 in place of the old CM
data Old-CM(l) 83 and old CM data Old-CM(2) 85 on the CD-ROM
40. However, the CM data 3 is w r i t t e n on the main RAM 46 as the
old CM data Old-CM(3) 87.
Since in general the capacity of t h e main RAM 46 is s m a l l e r
than that of the CD-ROM 40, the game is executed as necessary
data is t r a n s f e r r e d from the buffer RAM 31 to the main RAM 46
when the corresponding address is reached in the course of
e x e c u t i o n of the game program. When the CM data area is reached
on the game software, reference is had to the CM data i n f o r m a t i o n
on the buffer RAM to capture the data from the buffer RAM if
necessary to execute the game.
Date Format E x p l o i t i n g the Broadcast System and C o m m u n i c a t i o n
Protocol E x p l o i t i n g t h e C o m m u n i c a t i o n System
Data Format Exploiting Broadcast System
It has been explained by Table 2 that the new CM data or the
l i k e is supplied to the receiving side system by exploiting the
broadcast system or the c o m m u n i c a t i o n system. Referring to Figs.14
to 16, the communication protocol d u r i n g t r a n s m i s s i o n of the new
CM data in the c o m m u n i c a t i o n system, such as the new CM d a t a or
the l i k e i n the broadcast system.
In the broadcast system, new CM d a t a is sent from t h e sending
s i d e b r o a d c a s t s t a t i o n t o t h e r e c e i v i n g side system by u n i d i r e c t i o n a l
communication. Fig.14 shows the broadcast format of data
c o n t a i n i n g t h e new CM data s u p p l i e d from the broadcast s t a t i o n . As
shown therein, data made up of four blocks of A to D are
r e p e a t e d l y broadcast at an i n t e r v a l corresponding to a CM i n t e r v a l
105.
Each of the blocks A to D are s t a r t e d at the program start
enable (PSE) signal 100. The length of each block, that is the
i n t e r v a l from the PSE signal to the next block PSE signal is termed
a PSE i n t e r v a l 117, and is of a pre-set data l e n g t h . The PSE 100 is
a program start e n a b l e s i g n a l . If t h e r e c e i v i n g side game d e d i c a t e d
m a c h i n e or personal computer can c o n f i rm the a r r i v a l of the PSE
100, the game program is s t a r t e d . S t a t e d d i f f e r e n t l y , the game
software s t a r t i n g is i n h i b i t e d if the a r r i v a l of the PSE 100 cannot
be confirmed. That is, the game software not having the CM data or
t h e l i k e cannot be s t a r t e d .
As shown in the lower part of the figures, each of the
respective blocks A to D has, next to the PSE 100, the program ID,
also referred to as 'program code', and plural sets of CM data
(such as sets of 107 and 108) a s s o c i a t e d with the program ID. First,
t h e program ID is read, and the CM data coincident with the
p r o g r am ID is c a p t u r e d i n t o the game machine. The block A (code
101) has three new CM data a s s o c i a t e d with three program codes,
namely '#ASW000001', '# AS WOO 1 2056' and '#BZQ4625023 '. To
these CM data are accorded the corresponding program
i d e n t i f i c a t i o n s i g n a l s a s h e a d e r s .
F i r s t , there is the PSE 100, followed by the program ID107
and associated CM data '#ASW000001' 108, followed by the
p r o g r am ID 109 and associated CM data '#ASWOO 12056' 110,
f i n a l l y followed by the program ID 111 and associated CM data
'#BZQ4625023' 112. Since the block length (PSE i n t e r v a l 117) is
c o n s t a n t , the deficit p o r t i o n is made up for by the gap 106 to
complete a block. The block B is c o n s t i t u t e d by the CM data of
different sorts from the block A. These blocks A to D of t h e same
c o n t e n t s , making up the sole CM i n t e r v a l 105, are broadcast
r e p e a t e d l y s e q u e n t i a l l y .
In the course of the CM i n t e r v a l 105, at least one new CM
d a t a is t r a n s f e r r e d . If t h e r e is no a r r i v a l of CM d a t a d u r i n g the CM
i n t e r v a l 105, there is no b r o a d c a s t CM d a t a , such that the CM d a t a
i s not updated. If the game software is an old one used for some
long time since its f i r s t sale, the number of u s e r s is few, such t h a t ,
if the CM data is u p d a t e d , the effect is only small so t h a t new CM
data is not broadcast. If the new CM data is not broadcast, the
game program can be started if the arrival of the PSE 100 is
confirmed. In this case, the old CM data or the latest updated CM
data on t h e game program is r e p r o d u c e d .
In the CM i n t e r v a l 105, the PSE i n t e r v a l 117 is set at a preset
i n t e r v a l , such as 1/4 i n t e r v a l . The software can be s t a r t e d by
r e c e i v i n g this PSE signal. For smoothing the startup of the
software, t h i s i n t e r v a l is selected to be s h o r t e r t h a n the CM i n t e r v a
105. The s t a r t u p of t h e game software is i n h i b i t e d if the arrival of
t h e PSE 100 cannot be confirmed, without dependency on
u p d a t i n g / n o n - u p d a t i n g .
Fig.15 shows d e t a i l s of t h e signal data formats of the PSE
144, program ID 145 and the new CM data 146.
The PSE 144 is made up of a PSE header (2 bytes) 120 and
PSE data (14 bytes) 121. The PSE data 121 has i n s e r t e d t h e r e i n the
software start enable code and time data. Since there is the time
data, the PSE data is v a r i e d with time such that the data is v a r i a b l e
each time the game software is s t a r t e d . Thus, the data security
( c o n f i d e n t i a l i t y ) is secured such t h a t , by checking the PSE data, the
s t a r t u p of a game w i t h n o n - u p d a t e d CM data is i n h i b i t e d effectively.
The PSE data will be e x p l a i n e d in d e t a i l w i t h reference to Figs.17,
18 and 27.
The program ID (program code) 145 has the p r o g r am ID header
(2 bytes) 122, a data l e n g t h (8 bytes) 123 i n d i c a t i n g t h e l e n g t h of
t h e next following data and the program ID data (16 bytes) 124.
The program ID data 124 is fixed at 16 bytes, so t h a i the data
length 123 is always '16'.
The CM data 146 has a CM data header (2 bytes) 125, a t o t a l
CM data length (8 bytes) 126 and a total item number data 127
s p e c i f y i n g the t o t a l number of d i v i s i o n s or the t o t a l item nut r (8
bytes) s p e c i f y i n g t o which data sites corresponds the next f o l l o w i n g
CM data. These data are followed by the new CM data 128 for
u p d a t i n g .
The new CM data for u p d a t i n g 128 is d i v i d e d by a number
c o r r e s p o n d i n g to the t o t a l item number n shown by the t o t a l item
number data 127. Each of the n portions of the CM data has a
d i v i s i o n header (2 bytes) 129, a d i v i s i o n data l e n g t h (8 bytes) 130,
s p e c i f y i n g the length of t h e next following d i v i d e d data p o r t i o n s ,
t h e d i v i s i o n number (8 bytes) 131 specifying the serial number of
t h e d i v i d e d data p o r t i o n s and the CD program address (32 bytes)
132 s p e c i f y i n g the address of the main program on the CD-ROM,
followed by the new CM data New-CM(l) 133 for a c t u a l u p d a t i n g .
This s e q u e n c e is r e p e a t e d up to the n ' t h d i v i d e d data p o r t i o n (CM
data New-CM(n)) 138 specified by the t o t a l number of d i v i s i o n s ,
t h a t i s t h e t o t a l i t em number d a t a 127.
C o m m u n i c a t i o n P r o t o c o l U t i l i z i n g t h e C o m m u n i c a t i o n S y s t em
On the other hand, if the communication system is used, f i r s t
the game is s t a r t e d with the game d e d i c a t e d machine or the personal
computer of the receiving side system and the program ID is read
and sent over the t e l e p h o n e network 49 to the sending side system
by way of preforming b i d i r e c t i o n a l communication. Fig.16 shows
schematics of the protocol in the communication system. The
exchanged data format is the same as that shown in Figs.14 and 15.
Referring to Figs.6, 7 and 16, if the game software stored in
the CD-ROM 40 is s t a r t e d , the program ID signals are a c q u i r e d
from the CD-ROM 40. These program ID signals are sent from the
home 24 to the CM server c o n t r o l l i n g computer 1 1 (arrow a in
Fig.16).
The CM server c o n t r o l l i n g computer 11, which has received
the program ID signals, retrieves the CM data a s s o c i a t e d with the
program ID s i g n a l s from the HDD 10 which is the CM server. After
the end of the r e t r i e v a l , the CM server c o n t r o l l i n g computer 11
r e t u r n s the PSE s i g n a l s 141, program ID 142 and the CM data 143,
in t h i s order (arrows b, c and d in Fig.16).
The second PSE signal is then acquired, as later e x p l a i n e d .
That is, the program ID signal is again sent from the home 24 to
t h e CM server c o n t r o l l i n g computer 11, while the PSE signal is
r e t u r n e d from the CM server the home 24.
In the home 24, the time i n f o r m a t i o n of the PSE signal,
i n d i c a t e d by arrow b of Fig.16, is compared at the home 24 to the
PSE signal i n d i c a t e d by arrow / to judge the two PSE signals to be
correct if the error is w i t h i n a pre-set allowable value to permit the
start of the game, whereas, if the error exceeds the allowable value,
the two PSE signals are judged to be in error to t e r m i n a t e the
operation. Meanwhile, if the long time has elapsed since the first
sale of the game software, such that there is no c o r r e s p o n d i n g CM
data on the HDD 10, only the PSE signals and the program ID are
returned. The receiving side system can confirm arrival of the PSE
signals to permit the start of t h e game software. Meanwhile, in t h i s
protocol, the p r o g r am ID is not indispensab'le, but is used only for
c o n f i r m a t i o n p u r p o s e s .
Encoding and D e c o d i n g of PSE Signals
A specified insertion code, as set by the game software
producer, is i n s e r t e d into the PSE signals, and the r e c e i v i n g side
system j u d g e s the coincidence or n o n - c o i n c i d e n c e of the i n s e r t i o n
code for d e t e r m i n i n g whether or not the game can be s t a r t e d .
Encoding
The PSE has the time information and hence is changed with
time so that it is effective in safety, as described above. Referring
to Figs. 17 and 18, encoding and decoding examples for the PSE
s i g n a l s in t h e CM server c o n t r o l l i n g computer 11 will be e x p l a i n e d .
Fig.17 is an example of encoding. For the PSE s i g n a l s , the
t i m e of the reference timepiece 12 is used. This time is a c q u i r e d as
the date and time of d i s t r i b u t i o n (year, month, day, hour, minute
and second) (1996.2.29, 18:05:38' and is s y m b o l i z e d as shown at B
in Fig.17. The symbolized signal is then r e - o r d e r e d so that t h e MSB
side and the LSB side are i n t e r c h a n g e d with each other, as shown
at C in Fig.17, to p r o v i d e the symbol sequence in the order of the
decreasing rate of change (second - year). The l e a d i n g end at the
beginning of the game is formed by a sort of random numbers for
thereby specifying the point of i n s e r t i o n of the i n s e r t i o n data as
now e x p l a i n e d .
The l e a d i n g end number of t h e re-arrayed signal is a c q u i r e d (D
in Fig.17). This number is '8' in the present embodiment. There is
no change up to the l e a d i n g end number (8) as counted from t h e
l e a d i n g end. However, the i n s e r t i o n code is inserted at the next
p o i n t (9th p o i n t ) . In the present embodiment, the i n s e r t i o n code is
' o k ' . After the i n s e r t i o n code, the n ' t h data ff. are shifted and
c o n t i n u e d (E in Fig.17). Conversion is made to the 8-bit data in
accordance w i t h JIS (F in Fig.17).
The dummy data code, o p t i o n a l l y set by the game software
producer, is acquired. The dummy data may differ from one game
software to another. In the present embodiment, the dummy code
i s ' s t a r t o k ' (G in F i g . 1 7 ) . Similarly, the dummy code (G in
Fig.170) is also converted into JIS 8-bit data (H in F i g . 1 7 ) . These
two 8-bit data (F and H in Fig.17) are added t o g e t h e r b i t - b y - b i t to
give an a d d i t i o n data (I in Fig.17). To this a d d i t i o n data are
appended the PSE header '03h, f7h' and the r e s u l t i n g PSE is
encoded and t r a n s m i t t e d (J in Fig.17).
Encoding Flowchart
Figs.19 to 22 show t h e PSE e n c o d i n g f l o w c h a r t . The encoding
processing is c a r r i e d out by t h e CM server c o n t r o l l i n g computer 1 1
in Figs.6, 7 and 1 6.
Fig.19 is a flowchart up to re-arraying at the time of PSE
encoding.
First, at step S170, the date and time data is a c q u i r e d . Then,
at step S171, the date and time data is converted into a string of
-numerical figures N(j). The s t r i n g of numerical figures prior to rea
r r a y i n g in N(j) and that s u b s e q u e n t to r e - a r r a y i n g is M(j), where
j s p e c i f i e s the serial number in the string. The number of numerical
f i g u r e s in the date and t i m e data jmax is 12 in the embodiment of
Fig.17. At step S172, j is set to 1 (j = l ) . At steps S173, S174 and
S175, the o p e r a t i o n s of i n s e r t i n g the j ' t h data of N i n t o the (jmaxj
+ l ) t h place in M is r e p e a t e d from j=l to i=jmax (=12). This rearrays
the s t r i n g of n u m e r i c a l values N(j) of the date and time data
so t h a t the MSB side and the LSB side are i n t e r c h a n g e d to give the
s t r i n g of l e t t e r s M(j).
F i g . 2 0 is a flowchart up to the a d d i t i o n of i n s e r t i o n data (E
in Fig.17), which is carried out next to affirmative judgment of step
S174 in Fig.19. Since the i n s e r t i o n data in Fig.17 is ' o k ' , imax = 2 .
Next, at step S177, j is set so that j=jmax+imax = 2. Then, at step
S177, j is set so that j=jmax + i m a x (=12 + 2=14). The data are s h i f t e d
by imax s e q u e n t i a l l y from the last l e t t e r . Then, at step S178,
M(j+jmax) = M(j). From the l a s t p o r t i o n of the s t r i n g , the s t r i n g up
to M ( l ) + l is shifted by imax. M(l) c o r r e s p o n d s to the leading end
number of the s t r i n g M(j). Since the s t r i n g is u n c h a n g e d up to this
l e a d i n g end number, the i n s e r t i o n and s h i f t i n g p o i n t i s downstream
of M ( l ) + l s t letter. At the next step S180, j = j - l . The steps S178 to
S180 are repeated until the requirement of the step S179 is met. If
t h e condition of step S179 is met, processing transfers to step
S1181 to set i = l . Then, at step S182, M(M(l) + i) = I(i) to insert
t h e i n s e r t i o n code beginning from the M ( l ) + l s t l e t t e r . The steps
S182, S183 and S184 are t h e n r e p e a t e d u n t i l the c o n d i t i o n i = Imax
is met at step S183. Is the c o n d i t i o n of step S183 is met,
p r o c e s s i n g t r a n s fers to step S184 of Fig.21.
F i g . 2 1 is a flowchart showing the process of PSE encoding of
F i g . 1 7 up to the step of a d d i t i o n of dummy data (I in Fig.17), and
shows the sequence following the a f f i r m a t i v e decision at step S183
of Fig.20.
F i r s t , at strep s!84, the dummy l e t t e r s t r i n g D(k) is a c q u i r e d
at step S184. Since the dummy d a ta D(k) is ' s t a r t o k ' in Fig.17, the
number of l e t t e r s kmax is 7. Then, at step S185, j = l and k = l . At
step S186, M(j) and the dummy data D(k) In the same rank in the
sequence are s e q u e n t i a l l y summed b e g i n n i n g from the l e a d i n g end.
At step S188, it is j u d g e d whether j - j m a x * imax. If t h e above
c o n d i t i o n is not met, j is set so that j-j + 1 at step S188. Then, at
step S189, it is judged whether or not k = kmax. If t h i s c o n d i t i o n
is not met, k is set at step S191 to k = k + l . The steps as from step
S186 are then r e p e a t e d . If t h e dummy d a t a becomes depleted e a r l i e r
than the letter string, k is updated and, at step S191, the dummy
d a t a is again added beginning from the l e a d i n g end. If, at step
S187, j=jmax + imax, the above addition is t e r m i n a t e d and
processing t r a n s f e r s to step S192 of Fig.22.
Fig.22 is a flowchart for header appendage during PSE
encoding shown in Fig.17.
First, at step S192, the header H(i) is a c q u i r e d . Since the PSE
header is of 2 bytes, lmax = 2. Then, at step S193, j=l and i=l are
set. Then, at step S194, data are s h i f t e d backwards by a header so
that the (jmax + i m a x + l m a x - l ) t h letter of M corresponds to
(jmax + i m a x - l ) t h letter of M. At step S19'5, it is judged whether
nor not j=jmax + imax and, if t h i s c o n d i t i o n is not met, j=j + l is set
at step S196. The processing of steps S194, S195 and S196 is
r e p e a t e d . If j - j m a x + i m a x is met at step S195, processing t r a n s f e r s
to step S197. Then, at step S197, M(1)=H(1) is set. At step S198,
it is judged whether or not i = imax and, at step S199, i = i + l is set.
The processing of the steps S197, S198 and S199 is repeated so
that the PSE header is appended at .the leading end. If i = imax is
met at step S198, the above processing is t e r m i n a t e d .
Decoding
Fig.18 is an example of decoding of PSE which is the reverse
operation of e n c o d i n g of F i g . 1 7 .
The PSE data is received as shown at A in F i g . l S a n d the
header is first removed, as shown at B in Fig.18. Then, as shown at
C in Fig.18, the dummy code ' s t a r t o k ' is acquired, as shown at C
in Fig.18, and converted i n t o the 8-bit data of JIS as d u r i n g
e n c o d i n g at D in Fig.18. The s u b t r a c t i n g p r o c e s s i n g reversed from
t h a t during encoding is performed for r e s t o r a t i o n to the JIS code
shown at F in Fig.18, b e f o r e r e v e r t i n g to the JIS code shown at f
in Fig.18.
The l e a d i n g number '8' is then a c q u i r e d at G in Fig.18 for
s e t t i ng the position of i n s e r t i o n of t h e i n s e r t i o n code. The i n s e r t i o n
code is extracted at H in Fig.18 and the date time code is i s o l a t e d
at I in Fig.18. The r e - a r r a y i n g for i n v e r t i n g the MSB and LSB sides
i s performed at J in Fig.18 for o b t a i n i n g the d i s t r i b u t i o n date and
time o f ' 1 9 9 6 . 2 . 2 9 18:05:38' shown at K in Fig.18 is o b t a i n e d .
Decoding Flowchart
Figs.23 to 26 show t h e PSE decoding f l o w c h a r t . Fig.23 is a
flowchart showing the s e q u e n c e o f P S E decoding shown i n F i g . 1 8 .
F i r s t , at step S200, the header H ( l ) is a c q u i r e d . Since the PSE
header is of 2 bytes, lmax = 2. Then, at step S201, j = l and i = l are
set. Then, at step S202, it is j u d g e d by the PSE check 81 of F i g . 1 3
whether or not the s e q u e n t i a l l y entered input data ID is the same
as the leading data H(l) of t h e PSE header '03h, f7h'. If the input
data is the same as H(l), p r o c e s s i n g t r a n s f e r s to step S204. At
step S204, it is j u d g e d whether or nqt l = l m a x . If t h i s c o n d i t i o n is
not met, 1 = 1+1 is set at step S205. The processing as from step
S202 is repeated for s e q u e n t i a l l y j u d g i n g the next data. If the
c o n d i t i o n is not met at s t e p S203, processing reverts to step S201
to repeat t h e p r o c e s s i n g . If the c o n d i t i o n of step S204 is met, t h a t
i s if the d a t a is the same up to the last data H(lmax), the header is
j u d g e d to have been detected and p r o c e s s i n g t r a n s f e r s to step S206.
After detecting the header, the ID is u p d a t e d at step S206 and, at
step S207, M(j) = ID is set. The next following data s t r i n g is
c a p t u r e d to M(j). Then, at step S208, it is j u d g e d whether or not
j=jmax + imax. If t h i s c o n d i t i o n is not met, j=j + l is set at step S209
to repeat the processing as from step S206. If the c o n d i t i o n at step
S208 is met, processing t r a n s f e r s to step S 2 1 0 ' o f F i g . 2 4 .
Fig.24 is a flowchart up to the s u b t r a c t i o n of dummy data at
t h e time of PSE decoding shown in Fig.18.
F i r s t , at step S210, a dummy l e t t e r s t r i n g D(k) is a c q u i r e d .
Since the dummy data is ' s t a r t o k ' in t h e embodiment of Fig.4, the
number of l e t t e r s kmax is 7. Then, at step S211, j = l and k=l are
set. Then, at step S212, M(j) = M(j) - D(k) is set, such that the
dummy data i s s e q u e n t i a l l y s u b t r a c t e d f r om the l e a d i n g end. At step
S213, it is j u d g e d whether or not j=jmax + imax. If t h i s c o n d i t i o n is
not met, j=j + l is set at step S214. At step S215, it is judged
whether or not k=kmax. If t h i s c o n d i t i o n is not met, K=K+1 is set
at step S216 and the processing as from step S212 is repeated. On
i
the other hand, if the c o n d i t i o n of step S215 is met, that is if the
dummy d a t a becomes depleted before d e p l e t i o n of the l e t t e r s t r i n g ,
k=l is set at step S217 and the p r o c e s s i n g as from the step S212
i s repeated for again summing t h e dummy d a t a from the l e a d i n g end.
Fig.25 is a flowchart up to e x t r a c t i o n of t h e i n s e r t i o n data at
the time of PSE decoding shown in Fig.18.
First, at step S218, the i n s e r t i o n letter s t r i n g l(i) is acquired.
Since the i n s e r t i o n data is 'ok' in Fig.17, imax is equal to 2. Then,
at step S219, j = M ( l ) and i=l are set. M(l) is the l e a d i n g end l e t t e r
of the s t r i n g of l e t t e r s M(j). At step S220, it is judged whether or
not j is the numerical figure. If M(l) is the numerical figure, the
f i g u r e specifies the p o s i t i o n of the i n s e r t i o n code. If M(l) is not a
numerical figure, it i n d i c a t e s that dummy data is at the l e a d i n g end.
I f the l e a d i n g end is the numerical figure, processing t r a n s f e r s to
step S221 to make j u d g m e n t whether or not the l e t t e r string is the
same as the i n s e r t i o n code as from the M ( l ) + l s t l e t t e r at which the
i n s e r t i o n code is entered. If n o n - c o i n c i d e n t data occurs at step S221
in the course of d e c i s i o n , the data is j u d g e d to be not the PSE code
such that processing reverts to a c q u i s i t i o n of the PSE header of
Fig.23. If all the i n s e r t i o n codes are found to be c o i n c i d e n t , data
at back of the insertion code is shifted at step S227. Conversely,
i f the leading end is not the numerical figure, data at back of the
i n s e r t i o n code 'ok' once becomes, zero. Therefore, it is judged
whether or not the data is zero. If the data is not zero, the data is
found not to be the PSE code such that processing transfers to
a c q u i s i t i o n of the PSE header of step S201 of Fig.23. The
subsequent o p e r a t i o n is the same as the processing when the leading
end is the numerical figure.
F i r s t , at step S229, j=l is set. Then, at step S230, the l e t t e r
s t r i n g M(j) is re-arrayed so that the MSB and LSB sides are
reversed from each other to give the string of numerical figures
N(j). Then, at step S231, it is j u d g e d whether j=jmax and, if t h i s
c o n d i t i o n is not met, j-j+1 is set at step S232 to repeat the
processing as from step S230. If t h e c o n d i t i o n of step S231 is met,
processing t r a n s f e r s to step S233 to convert the s t r i n g of numerical
figures N(j) into date and time data to t e r m i n a t e the decoding
processing.
PSE Signal Processing and CM Data A c q u i s i t i o n Method
The PSE signals, thus acquired, are processed on the receiving
side in a different manner depending on whether the broadcast
system or t h e communication system is used, as now e x p l a i n e d .
PSE Signal processing and CM Data a c q u i s i t i ' o n in Game Machine
Figs. 27 and 28 are flowcharts showing the method for
p r o c e s s i n g the PSE signals and the a c q u i r i n g the CM data in the
game machine exploiting the broadcast system.
Fig.27 shows the method of p r o c e s s i n g the PSE s i g n a l s . At
step S240, denotes the sequence of a c q u i s i t i o n of t h e PSE signals.
At step S240, t h i s ; is i n i t i a l i z e d to 1 ( i = l ) . The flash memory 39
of F i g . 4 holds the time information1 in the PSE signal received on
previous startup. At step S241, the time information thus held is
a c q u i r e d as TP(0). The personal computer (PC) holds the time
i n f o r m a t i o n in the PSE signal r e c e i v e d on previous s t a r t u p on the
HDD 60, so t h a t , in such case, the time i n f o r m a t i o n is a c q u i r e d as
TP(0) from the HDD.
If the i ' t h PSE signal is acquired in the course of progress of
the game software, the time i n f o r m a t i o n i n c l u s i v e of t h e d a t e and
time is simply i n c r e a s e d . Thus, it is checked if PSE(i) > P S E ( i - l )
h o l d s and, if the result is NO, the game is i n t e r r u p t e d by
programming t e c h n i q u e s .
The o p e r a t i o n of the time counter TC is e x p l a i n e d .
This time counter TC p e r p e t u a l l y counts the i n t e r n a l clocks.
This time counter TC, used for various a p p l i c a t i o n s , is h e r e i n used
for j u d g i n g whether or not the PSE signal will be received in the
l i m i t i n g time d u r a t i o n TO. TC = 0 at Step S242 means r e s e t t i n g the
counter. At step S242, the counter is reset to wait for reception
of the PSE signal at the next step S243. If, however, the PSE
s i g n a l is not r e c e i v e d w i t h i n a pre-set c o n s t a n t time TO ( t i n e - o u t ) ,
i t is j u d g e d at step S244 that the broadcast is not being received.
Thus, processing t r a n s f e r s t o step S245 to d i s p l a y ' n o n - c o n n e c t i o n '
or ' i n t e r r u p t i o n ' to t e r m i n a t e the p r o c e s s i n g . Meanwhile, TO needs
to be longer t h a n t h e PSE i n t e r v a l 1 17.
On r e c e p t i o n of the PSE signal, the value of TC is first
e n t e r e d to and held in the TIC at step S246. However, t h i s value
i s i r r e l e v a n t for the first check since it is used during the second
check. Then, at the next step s247, since the time i n f o r m a t i o n in
t h e PSE data of the received PSE signal is TP(i), that is i = l , it is
h e l d in TP(1). Moreover, the t i m e ' d a t a in the flash memory 39 is
u p d a t e d at step S248 in the HDD 10 for evading a s i t u a t i o n in
which erroneous large time data shall be entered to c o n t i n u e error
code display in the next stage judgment symbol. At step S248, time
d a t a in the flash memory 39 is u p d a t e d . In case of the personal
computer (PC) 68, the time i n f o r m a t i o n in t h e HDD 10 is n a t u r a l l y
u p d a t e d at step S248.
At step S249, the p r e v i o u s l y acquired time data TP(0) is
compared to the current TP(1). As a matter of course, the newly
a c q u i r e d time data must specify the backward time r a t h e r t h a n the
forward time. If t h i s c o n d i t i o n , that is
TP(i) > T P ( i - l )
i s not met, processing t r a n s f e r s to step S250 to d i s p l a y an error
code specifying that the signal is in error before t e r m i n a t i n g the
o p e r a t i o n .
If the result of check at step S24'9 is YES, processing
t r a n s f e r s t o step S251 to j u d g e whether the PSE signal a c q u i s i t i o n
i s the f i r s t occurrence, t h a t is if i = l . If t h e r e s u l t of j u d g e m e n t is
YES, the value of / is u p d a t e d at step S253. Then, processing
r e v e r t s to step S242 to reset the time c o u n t e r TC for a c q u i r i n g t h e
second PSE signal at step S243.
If the r e s u l t of judgment at step S249 is YES, processing
t r a n s f e r s to step S251 to judge whether the PSE signal has been
a c q u i r e d for the f i r s t time, that is whether or not i = l . If t h e result
is YES, the value of / is updated at step S253. Then, processing
reverts to step S242 to reset the time counter TC for a c q u i r i n g the
PSE signal a second time. Then, the time data in the PSE signal
received at step S247 is held in TP(2), at the same time as the time
d a t a in the flash memory 39 is updated at step S248. At the next
step S249, TP(1) is compared to TP(2) as at the f i r s t t i m e .
At t h i s step S249, since the time data TP(2) s p e c i f i e s t h e more
backward time than the forward time data TP(1), processing
t r a n s f e r s to the next step S251. Since is not 1, processing
t r a n s f e r s to step S252. At t h i s step S252, the value of TCI o b t a i n e d
on c o u n t i n g the clocks in the game machine is compared to the
difference between the received TP(1) and TP(2). Since the PSE is
s e q u e n t i a l l y t r a n s m i t t e d at the pre-set PSE i n t e r v a l , as e x p l a i n e d
with reference to Fig.14, the difference between two consecutive
values, such as TP(1) and TP(2), must indicate a value
c o r r e s p o n d i n g to the above PSE i n t e r v a l . Thus, if the allowable
error value, i n c l u s i v e of t h e PSE i n t e r v a l difference, is w i t h i n ±8T,
the two PSE signals are j u d g e d to be correct signals. Thus, the
software is started to t e r m i n a t e the o p e r a t i o n . That is, if the
a l l o w a b l e time d i f f e r e n c e as t h e a l l o w a b l e error i s 6T and
TPDmin = TP(i) - T P ( i - l ) - 8T
and
TPDmax = TP(i) - T P ( i - l ) + 8T ,.
it is j u d g e d at step S252 whether or not
TPDmin = TP(i) - T P ( i - l ) - 8T < TPDmax = TP(i) - T P ( i - l )
+ 8T h o l d s . If the allowable value is exceeded, processing t r a n s f e r s
to step S250 to d i s p l a y an ' e r r o r code' specifying t h a t the signal is
in error to t e r m i n a t e t h e o p e r a t i o n .
Fig.28 shows the method for acquiring the CM data when
employing the b r o a d c a s t system. In this figure, m denotes the
sequence of a c q u i s i t i o n of t h e program ID s i g n a l . At the f i r s t step
S255, m = 0 is set. At the next step S256, the p r o g r am ID signal on
the CD-ROM is h e l d as the PIDcd. At step S257, m is u p d a t e d each
time the program ID signal is a c q u i r e d . Then, at t h e next step S258,
the program ID signal of the CM data is entered from the set top
box to the PID(m). Then, at step S259, the received program ID
signal PID(m) is s e q u e n t i a l l y compared to the PIDcd of the
program ID signal on the CD-ROM and, incase of coincidence,
processing proceeds to a c q u i s i t i o n of the CM data downstream of
step S261.
Since the same CM data is r e p e a t e d l y b r o a d c a s t , as explained
with reference to Fig.14, if the first m=l at'step S260a, p r o c e s s i n g
reverts to step S257 and, if otherwise, that is if m>l, processing
t r a n s f e r s to step S260b. At step S260b, processing reverts to step
S257 u n t i l the first received program ID signal P I D ( l ) is received,
and, if the f i r s t received program ID signal PID(l) is received,
that is if PID(m) = P I D ( l ) , the o p e r a t i o n is t e r m i n a t e d as i n d i c a t i n
that the CM data has made i t s round.
During reception of CM data as from step S261, j denotes the
number of the divided data w r i t t e n in the buffer RAM 31 of Fig.4
and BA(j) denotes the address at which the CM data has been
written in the buffer RAM 31 of Fig.4. If reference is also had to
F i g . 1 5 , the number of t o t a l d i v i s i o n s or the total item number n,
specifying to which number of data sites corresponds the CM data
i s specified by the total item number 127, whilst the d i v i s i o n
number or the d i v i s i o n sequence k s p e c i f y i n g the serial number of
t h e divided d a t a p o r t i o n s is s p e c i f i e d by the divided data l e n g t h s
130, 135. The disc address DA(k) specifying the a d d r e s s of the
main program on the CD-ROM is s p e c i f i e d by the disc addresses
132, 137.
At step S261, j = 0 and L(0) = 0 are set, whereas, at step S262,
n = t o t a l item number or t h e t o t a l number of d i v i s i o n s .
The buffer RAM 31, in which the CM data is written, is
divided into a CM data area for w r i t i n g the CM data and the CM
data i n f o r m a t i o n a d a p t e d for h o l d i n g the i n f o r m a t i o n of t h e CM data
h e l d on the buffer RAM 31. At step S263, j=j+l is set, by way of
u p d a t i n g . BA(j) is the current buffer address as found from the
buffer a d d r e s s B A ( j - l ) of t h e p r e v i o u s CM data and the d i v i d e d data
l e n g t h L ( j - l ) . At step S264, the a c q u i r e d new CM data New-CM(k)
i s s e q u e n t i a l l y w r i t t e n in the CM data area of the buffer RAM 31,
while the d i v i d e d data l e n g t h L(k) r e p r e s e n t i n g the l e n g t h of t h e
d i v i d e d data is u p d a t e d to the CM data i n f o r m a t i o n of the buffer
RAM 31, and the disc address DA(k), which is the CD program
address specifying the address of t h e main program on the CD-ROM
acquired at step S265, is u p d a t e d . At step S267, these data and t h e
w r i t t e n address BA(k) of t h e buffer RAM 3 1 are written.
At step S268, if the number of the d i v i d e d written data j is
c o i n c i d e n t with the number of d i v i s i o n s n specifying to which
number of data sites corresponds the CM data, it is judged that all
CM data can be w r i t t e n , before t e r m i n a t i n g the p r o c e s s i n g .
PSE Signal P r o c e s s i n g i n t h e C o m m u n i c a t i o n System and A c q u i s i t i o n
of CM Data
Figs.29 and 30 show t h e method for processing the PSE signal
in case of u t i l i z a t i o n of the c o m m u n i c a t i o n system and the method
for a c q u i r i n g the CM d a t a . In p a r t i c u l a r , Figs.29 and 30 show the
PSE signal processing method and the CM data a c q u i r i n g method,
r e s p e c t i v e l y . If the communication system is used, the program ID
read by the receiving side system from the CD-ROM 40 is sent via
t h e telephone network 49 to the t r a n s m i s s i o n side system and
s u b s e q u e n t l y the PSE signal is supplied from the t r a n s m i t t i n g side
s y s t em to the r e c e i v i n g side system.
In Fig.29, s i m i l a r l y to Fig.27, is i n i t i a l i z e d io 1 at step
S269, where denotes the sequence in which the PSE signal has
been acquired. In the flash memory 39 of Fig.4, the time
i n f o r m a t i o n in the p r e v i o u s l y PSE s i g n a l is held. At step S270, the
t i m e i n f o r m a t i o n t h u s h e l d i s a c q u i r e d as TP(0). S i m i l a r l y , since t h e
personal computer 68 shown in Fig.6 holds in the HDD 60 the time
i n f o r m a t i o n in the p r e v i o u s l y received PSE signal, the time
i n f o r m a t i o n is received as TP(0) from the HDD.
Then, at step S271, the time counter TC is reset (TC = 0) and,
at step S272, PIDcd of the program ID signal on the CD-ROM is
t r a n s m i t t e d (arrow a in Fig.16) to wait for reception of the PSE
s i g n a l at step S273. At step S274, if t h e PSE signal is not received
w i t h i n a pre-set time TO ( t i m e - o u t ) , the broadcast is deemed as
being not received, so t h a t , at step S275, ' n o n - c o n n e c t i o n ' is
d i s p l a y e d t o t e r m i n a t e t h e p r o c e s s i n g .
On r e c e p t i o n of t h e PSE signal (arrow b in Fig.16), p r o c e s s i n g
proceeds to a c q u i s i t i o n of CM data (arrows c and d in Fig.16).
F i r s t , at step S276a, the value of TC is e n t e r e d to TIC. This is
i r r e l e v a n t to the first t r i a l since the v a l u e is used for the second
check. At step S276b, the time counter TC is again reset to zero
(TC = 0). This is because the CM data is a c q u i r e d first in case of
communication thus leaving vacant t i m e u n t i l a c q u i s i t i o n of t h e PSE
s i g n a l . Then, at step S277, time data in the received PSE signal is
held in TP(1), at the same t i m e as time data in the flash memory 39
i s updated. As a matter of course, in the case of the personal
computer 68, the time i n f o r m a t i o n in t h e HDD 10 is u p d a t e d at step
S278.
At t h e next step S279, the p r e v i o u s l y a c q u i r e d time d a t a TP(0)
i s compared to the current TP(1). As a m a t t e r of course, the newly
a c q u i r e d t i m e data must i n d i c a t e t h e b a c k w a r d t i m e w i t h respect t o
the previous value. If t h i s c o n d i t i o n is not met, an 'error code'
i n d i c a t i n g that the signal is in error is displayed at step S280 to
t e r m i n a t e the o p e r a t i o n . If the decision is met, processing proceeds
to a c q u i s i t i o n of t h e CM data (arrows c and d in Fig.16).
In Fig.30, the program ID from the PID = t r a n s m i s s i o n system
i s set at the first step S285a. At the next step S285b, the received
p r o g r am ID signal PID is compared to t h e p r o g r am ID signal PIDcd
on the CD-ROM. It the two signals coincide with each other,
p r o c e s s i n g proceeds to a c q u i s i t i o n of the CM data as from step
S287. In case of n o n - c o i n c i d e n c e , p r o c e s s i n g t r a n s f e r s to step S286
to d i s p l a y 'ID error' specifying n o n - c o i n c i d e n c e of the p r o g r am ID
signals to t e r m i n a t e the p r o c e s s i n g .
The steps S287 to S294 of the CM data a c q u i s i t i o n p o r t i o n
since comparison of t h e PID and PIDcd of the program ID signal at
step S285b as to signal coincidence and the affirmative decision are
the same as the steps S261 to S268 of Fig.28 and hence the
description is o m i t t e d for s i m p l i c i t y . That is, if the allowed time
difference, which is the allowed error value, is 6T, and
TPDmin = TP(i) - TP(i-l) - 8T
and
TPDmax = TP(i) - TP(i-l) + 6T
i t is j u d g e d at step S282 whether or not
TPDmin = TP(i) - TP(i-l) - 6T < TPDmax = TP(i) - TP(i-l) + 6T
holds.
Conversely, should the allowed value be exceeded, processing
t r a n s f e r s to step S280 to display an ' e r r o r code' specifying that the
signal is in error to t e r m i n a t e the operation. Meanwhile, since the
time d e v i a t i o n since t r a n s m i s s i o n u n t i l r e c e p t i o n is larger in case of
c o m m u n i c a t i o n than in case of broadcast, 6T needs to be set to a
larger value.
With the game machine which has acquire the CM data as
described above, the program is allowed to proceed based on the
CM d a t a .
In all of the above-described embodiments of the present
i n v e n t i o n , it is checked on s t a r t u p of the software whether or not
commercial ads are received and, if the commercial ads are not
r e c e i v e d , the software start can be h a l t e d to i n h i b i t i l l e g a l use.
Moreover, o p e r a t i o n s t a r t with an i l l e g a l signal can be e x c l u d e d on
software s t a r t u p .
That is, a game machine can be provided by connecting the
household game machines via a communication network or the l i k e
to a host computer. Moreover, the game machine and the game
p l a y i n g method employing the system can be provided in which
commercial ads can be b u i l t i n t o the game software u t i l i z e d in the
game machine system responsive to the needs of a d v e r t i s i n g firms.
Also, the game machine and the 'game playing method
employing t h e system can be p r o v i d e d i n which commercial ads b u i l t
i n t o the game software u t i l i z e d in the game machine system can be
o p t i m a l l y u p d a t e d e a s i l y .
In a d d i t i o n , a s u i t a b l e method can be p r o v i d e d in w h i c h it can
be j u d g e d whether commercial ads are b u i l t into the game software
and in o p e r a t i o n and in which, if the commercial ads are b u i l t i n t o
the game software in t h i s manner, the corresponding o p e r a t i o n is
i n h i b i t e d .
Furthermore, a system can be provided in which, if some time
has elapsed since first sale of a game software such that the number
of users and hence u t i l i t y of commercial ads is decreased, the game
can be started even failing transmission of newly updated
commercial ads.
Based on the above-described embodiments of the present
i n v e n t i o n , the following examples of e x e c u t i o n are recited.
Case of Utilizing Broadcast system
(1) A broadcast system capable of d i s t r i b u t i n g digital data in which
a. signal enabling s t a r t i n g of a software repeatedly at an interval
(PSE) is sent to a receiver, such as a set top box, and in which a
signal for i d e n t i f y i n g a software i d e n t i f y i n g a software s t a r t e d on
a receiver side (program ID) and data for s u b s t i t u t i o n or i n s e r t i o n
(such as CM data) for s u b s t i t u t i o n of part of data used in the
software operation are distributed between the repeatedly sent
software start enable signal.
(2) A broadcast system capable of d i s t r i b u t i n g d i g i t a l data in which
a signal enabling start of a software, a signal for i d e n t i f y i n g a
software started on the side of a receiver, and data for s u b s t i t u t i o n
or i n s e r t i o n of part of data used during the operation of the
software are s t o r e d in a storage device, such as a hard disc drive,
in which
a signal enabling starting of a software repeatedly at an
i n t e r v a l (PSE) is sent to a receiver, such as a set top box, and in
which a signal for i d e n t i f y i n g a software i d e n t i f y i n g a software
s t a r t e d on a receiver side and data for s u b s t i t u t i o n or i n s e r t i o n of
part of data used in the software o p e r a t i o n are d i s t r i b u t e d between
the r e p e a t e d l y sent software s t a r t enable s i g n a l .
(3) A game machine having a receiver capable of receiving digital
data sent by broadcast and a game machine capable of running a
software, in which, in s t a r t i n g the software, the software is not
s t a r t e d until acceptance of a signal enabling starting of the
forwarded software.
(4) A game machine having a receiver capable of r e c e i v i n g d i g i t a l
data sent by broadcast and a game machine capable of running a
software, in which, if an i d e n t i f i c a t i o n signal which is the same as
the i d e n t i f i c a t i o n signal for a software which has been s t a r t e d and
d a t a for substitution or i n s e r t i o n for s u b s t i t u t i o n of part of data
of t h e software are received d u r i n g software operation, the data is
s u b s t i t u t e d or i n s e r t e d d u r i n g r u n n i n g of t h e software.
(5) A game machine having a receiver capable of r e c e i v i n g digital
data sent by broadcast and a game machine capable of r u n n i n g a
software, in which, if an i d e n t i f i c a t i o n signal for a software which
has been s t a r t e d is not received during software operation, the
o p e r a t i o n of t h e game machine is continued on the i n i t i a l software.
(6) A game m a c h i n e having a receiver c a p a b l e of r e c e i v i n g d i g i t a l
data sent by broadcast and a game machine capable of r u n n i n g a
software, in which, in s t a r t i n g the software, the software is not
started until acceptance of a signal enabling starting of the
forwarded software, and in which, if an i d e n t i f i c a t i o n signal which
i s the same as the i d e n t i f i c a t i o n signal for a s t a r t e d software and
data for substitution or insertion of part of data of the software
are received d u r i n g the software o p e r a t i o n , the data is s u b s t i t u t e d
or i n s e r t e d d u r i n g r u n n i n g of the software and, if the i d e n t i f i c a t i o n
signal for the software is not received, the o p e r a t i o n is c o n t i n u e d
on the i n i t i a l software.
(7) A b r o a d c a s t system p e r t i n e n t to (1) above in which the data for
s u b s t i t u t i o n or insertion of part of data of the software are
commercial a d v e r t i s e m e n t .
(8) A broadcast system p e r t i n e n t to (2) above in which the data for
s u b s t i t u t i o n or insertion of part of data of the software are
commercial a d v e r t i s e m e n t .
(9) A broadcast system p e r t i n e n t to (4) or (6) above in which the
data for s u b s t i t u t i o n or i n s e r t i o n of part of data of the software
are commercial a d v e r t i s e m e n t .
(10) A software p e r t i n e n t to (4), (5), (6) or (9) in which there is
i n s e r t e d an i d e n t i f i c a t i o n signal for t h e software.
(11) An optical disc pertinent to (10) having also recorded the
s o f t w a r e.
(12) A broadcast system p e r t i n e n t to (1) or (7) in which the signal
e n a b l i n g s t a r t i n g of t h e software i s u p d a t e d .
(13) A broadcast system p e r t i n e n t to (2) or (8) in which the signal
e n a b l i n g s t a r t i n g of t h e software is u p d a t e d .
(14) A game machine p e r t i n e n t to (3), (6) or (9) in which, if t h e
signal e n a b l i n g s t a r t i n g of t h e software is not u p d a t e d , the software
i s not s t a r t e d .
(15) A broadcast system p e r t i n e n t to (12) in which the time
i n f o r m a t i o n is used as a signal enabling s t a r t i n g of a software for
u p d a t i n g .
(16) A broadcast system p e r t i n e n t to (13) in which the time
i n f o r m a t i o n is used as a signal enabling s t a r t i n g of a software for
u p d a t i n g .
(17) A broadcast system pertinent to (14) in which the time
i n f o r m a t i o n is used as a signal e n a b l i n g s t a r t i n g of a software for
u p d a t i n g and in which, if the time i n f o r m a t i o n shows an u n u s u a l
66
value, the software is not u p d a t e d or the o p e r a t i o n is d i s c o n t i n u e d .
(18) A game machine pertinent to (17) in which, if the time
information in a signal enabling starting of the software is smaller
t h a n the p r e v i o u s l y received value, the software is not updated or
the o p e r a t i o n i s d i s c o n t i n u e d .
(19) A game machine pertinent to (17) in which, if the software
enable signal are received at least twice on startup, and the
difference between the p r e v i o u s l y received time i n f o r m a t i o n and the
t ie i n f o r m a t i o n received next differs from an integrated clock value,
as found by integrating the clocks in the receiving system, since the
p r e v i o u s r e c e p t i o n ands the next reception, the software is not
started.
(20) A game machine p e r t i n e n t to (17) in which, if the so f t ware
e n a b l e signal are received at least twice during o p e r a t i o n of the
software, and the difference between the p r e v i o u s l y received time
i n f o r m a t i o n and the time information received next differs from an
integrated clock value, as found by integrating the clocks in the
receiving system, since the previous reception and the next
reception, the o p e r a t i o n i s d i s c o n t i n u e d .
Case of U t i l i z i n g Communication system .
(1) A c o m m u n i c a t i o n system capable of r e c e i v i n g / s e n d i n g d i g i t a l
data in which, if a signal enabling i d e n t i f y i n g a software for
s t a r t i ng is received from a terminal side, a signal enabling s t a r t i n g
a software is sent to the terminal, whilst data for s u b s t i t u t i o n or
i n s e r t i o n of part of data used in the operation of the software is
d i s t r i b u t e d .
(2) A communication system capable of receiving/sending digital
data in which a signal enabling s t a r t i n g of a software and a signal
enabling i d e n t i f i c a t i o n of a software started on a receiver side and
d a t a for s u b s t i t u t i o n or i n s e r t i o n of part of data used in the
o p e r a t i o n of the software are stored in a storage device such as a
hard disc drive and in which
if a signal enabling identifying a software for starting is
received from a terminal side, a signal enabling starting a software
i s sent to the t e r m i n a l , whilst data for s u b s t i t u t i o n or i n s e r t i o n of
part of data used in the o p e r a t i o n of t h e software is d i s t r i b u t e d .
(3) A game machine having a communication f u n c t i o n and c a p a b l e
of o p e r a t i n g a software in which, on s t a r t i n g a software, a signal
capable of i d e n t i f y i n g a software to be started is t r a n s m i t t e d and in
which the software is not started u n t i l acceptance of a subsequently
sent signal enabling identification of a software.
(4) A game machine having a communication f u n c t i o n and capable
of o p e r a t i n g a software in which a signal capable of i d e n t i f y i n g a
software for s t a r t i n g is t r a n s m i t t e d and, if s u b s e q u e n t l y data for
s u b s t i t u t i o n or i n s e r t i o n of part of software data is received, part
of data is s u b s t i t u t e d or i n s e r t e d d u r i n g r u n n i n g of the software for
executing the game.
(5) A game machine having a communication function and capable
of o p e r a t i n g a software in which a signal capable of i d e n t i f y i n g a
software for s t a r t i n g is t r a n s m i t t e d and, if s u b s e q u e n t l y data for
s u b s t i t u t i o n or i n s e r t i o n of p a r t of software data is not received,
the game i s executed on the i n i t i a l software.
(6) A game m a c h i n e having a c o m m u n i c a t i o n f u n c t i o n and capable
of operating a software in which, on s t a r t i n g a software, a signal
capable of i d e n t i f y i n g a software tc be started is t r a n s m i t t e d , in
which the software is not s t a r t e d u n t i l acceptance of a subsequently
sent signal e n a b l i n g i d e n t i f i c a t i o n of a software, and in which, if
subsequently data for s u b s t i t u t i o n or i n s e r t i o n of part of software
data is received, the o p e r a t i o n is executed on s u b s t i t u t i n g or
i n s e r t i n g part of data d u r i n g r u n n i n g of the software, whereas, if
data for s u b s t i t u t i o n or i n s e r t i o n of part 6f software data is not
received, the game is executed on the i n i t i a l software.
(7) A c o m m u n i c a t i o n system p e r t i n e n t to (1) in which data for
, s u b s t i t u t i o n or i n s e r t i o n of part of software data used during
r u n n i n g of the software are commercial ads.
(8) A communication system p e r t i n e n t to (2) in which data for
s u b s t i t u t i o n or i n s e r t i o n of part of software data used during
running of t h e software are commercial ads.
(9) A communication system p e r t i n e n t to (4) or (6) in which data
for s u b s t i t u t i o n or i n s e r t i o n of part of software data used during
r u n n i n g of t h e software are commercial ads.
(10) A so ft ware used in (4), (5), (6) or (9) in which there is
i n s e r t e d an i d e n t i f i c a t i o n signal for a software.
(11) An optical disc p e r t i n e n t to (10) having also recorded the
s o f t w a r e.
(12) A communication system p e r t i n e n t to (1) or (7) in which the
signal e n a b l i n g s t a r t i n g of the software i s u p d a t e d .
(13) A communication system pertinent to (2) or (8) in which the
signal enabling starting of the software is updated.
(14) A game machine pertinent to (3), (6) or (9) in which, if the
signal enabling s t a r t i n g of the software is not u p d a t e d , the software
i s not s t a r t e d .
(15) A communication system pertinent to (12) in which the time
i n f o r m a t i o n is used as a signal e n a b l i n g s t a r t i n g of a software for
u p d a t i n g .
(16) A communication system pertinent to '(13) in which the time
i n f o r m a t i o n is used as a signal e n a b l i n g s t a r t i n g of a software for
u p d a t i n g .
(17) A game machine p e r t i n e n t to (14) in which the time i n f o r m a t i o n
is used as a signal e n a b l i n g s t a r t i n g of a software for u p d a t i n g and
in which, if the time information shows an unusual value, the
software is not updated or the operation is discontinued.
(18) A game machine pertinent to (17) in which, if the time
i n f o r m a t i o n in a signal enabling s t a r t i n g of the software is smaller
than the previously received value, the software is not updated or
the o p e r a t i o n i s d i s c o n t i n u e d .
(19) A game machine p e r t i n e n t to (17) in which, on s t a r t u p of a
software, a signal capable of i d e n t i f y i n g the software is t r a n s m i t t e d
and a signal enabling startup of the software is received, in which
subsequently a signal capable of identifying the software is again
t r a n s m i t t e d and a signal enabling s t a r t u p of the software is
received, in which the number of clocks in the game machine since
p r e v i o u s r e c e p t i o n u n t i l next r e c e p t i o n i s i n t e g r a t e d , and i n which,
if the difference between the p r e v i o u s l y received time i n f o r m a t i o n
and the subsequently received time information differs s i g n i f i c a n t l y
from the i n t e g r a t e d clock values, the software is not s t a r t e d .
(20) A game machine p e r t i n e n t to (17) in which, during r u n n i n g of
a software, a signal capable of i d e n t i f y i n g the software is
t r a n s m i t t e d and a signal enabling startup of the software is
received, in which s u b s e q u e n t l y a signal capable of i d e n t i f y i n g the
software is again t r a n s m i t t e d and a signal 'enabling s t a r t u p of the
software is received, in which the number of clocks in the game
machine since p r e v i o u s r e c e p t i o n u n t i l next r e c e p t i o n i s i n t e g r a t e d ,
and i n which, i f t h e d i f f e r e n c e between t h e p r e v i o u s l y received t i m e
information and the subsequently received time information differs
s i g n i f i c a n t l y from the i n t e g r a t e d clock values, the software is not
s t a r t e d .

WE CLAIM:
1. A program executing apparatus for executing a software program,
comprising:
reception means for receiving program start enable signal distributed from a
data distributing device and data for substitution or insertion for original
data of said software program; and
control means for substituting or inserting the original data of said software
program for said data responsive to the program start enable signal received
by said reception means for executing said software program.
2. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
control means executes said software program only when the software
program to be executed is a regular software program.
3. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
control means is responsive to said program start enable signal to judge
whether or not the software program is suited for being started on the
program executing apparatus; and wherein
if said software program is judged to be suited for being started on the
program executing apparatus, said control means causes the software
program to be executed.
4. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
program start enable signal distributed by said data distribution device is
the information encrypted in accordance with a pre-set algorithm so that
said software program can be executed by said control means only when the
software program to be executed by the program executing apparatus is a
regular program.
5. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said
control means decodes the encrypted program start enable signal and
causes the software program to be executed only when the program start
enable signal have been decoded regularly.
6. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said
software program contains a program for decoding the encrypted program
start enable signal.
7. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said
software program contains a program for decoding the encrypted program
start enable signal and a program for substituting or inserting the
distributed data for data of a portion of the software program for executing
the resulting software program.
8. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said
software program contains a program for decoding the encrypted program
start enable signal and a program for substituting or inserting the
distributed data for original data of a portion of the software program for
executing the resulting software program; and wherein
said control means controls execution of said software program using the
decoding program and the executing program.
9. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
original data of the software program is recorded on a random accessible
recording medium.
10. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein said
reception means receives said program start enable signal and said data,
said reception means also receiving the address information specifying for
which portion of the software program recorded on the recording medium
the data distributed by said data distribution device is substituted or
inserted.
11. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein said
reception means receives said program start enable signal and said data,
said reception means also receiving the address information specifying for
which portion of the software program recorded on the recording medium
the data distributed by said data distribution device is substituted or
inserted; and wherein
said control means when executing said software program causes the
distributed data to be substituted or inserted for original data of the
software program at a position corresponding to said address information.
12. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein said
control means is programmed so that, when the software program is
executed in accordance with the program start enable signal, a routine is
executed which executes the software program using the distributed data in
place of a routine of executing the software program using original data on
the recording medium specified by said address information.
13. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 9, having a buffer
memory for storing the data distributed by said data distributing device.
14. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein said
reception means receives said program start enable signal and said data,
said reception means also receiving the medium address, that is the address
information specifying for which portion of the software program recorded on
the recording medium the data distributed by said data distribution device
is substituted or inserted;
said control means holding on memory the medium address and the data in
association with each other prior to execution of said software program; and
wherein
if readout of data corresponding to said medium address is commanded
during execution of said software program, said control means causes the
software program to be executed using data stored in said buffer memory
without using the original data on said software program corresponding to
said medium address.
15. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein said
control means is programmed so that, when the software program is
executed in accordance with the program start enable signal, a routine is
executed which executes the software program using the distributed data in
place of a routine of executing the software program using data on the
recording medium specified by said medium address.
16. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein if said
program start enable signal is supplied at a pre-set interval from said data
distributing device,
said control means first decodes the encrypted program start enable signal
and then causes the data to be stored in said buffer memory.
17. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein said
control means decodes the program start enable signal supplied from the
data distributing device;
said control device causing the data to be stored in the buffer memory if the
program start enable signal has been decoded regularly;
said control device being programmed for substituting or inserting the data
stored in said buffer memory for part of the original data of the software
program recorded on said recording medium for executing the software
program.
18. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein said
control means decodes the program start enable signal distributed from the
data distributing device;
said control device causing the execution of the software program to be
limited if the program start enable signal has not been decoded regularly.
19. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein the data
distributed by said data distribution device has a format correlated with the
medium address which is the above-mentioned address information
specifying for which portions of the original software program recorded on
the recording medium the above data is substituted or inserted.
20. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 19, wherein said
control means causes the data distributed by said data distribution device, a
buffer address specifying the recording position of distributed data in said
buffer memory and the medium address corresponding to the distributed
data to be correlated with one another for storage of the correlated data
therein.
21. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 19, wherein said
control means is programmed so that
it is judged whether or not there is a readout request for data on a recording
medium corresponding to the medium address stored in said buffer
memory;
if there is a readout request for data on a recording medium corresponding
to the medium address, data stored in said buffer memory is read out in
meeting with the buffer address stored in association with the medium
address in said buffer memory, without reading out data corresponding to
said medium address from said recording medium; and so that
the software program is executed using data read out from said buffer
memory.
22. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein
if said program start enable signal is supplied at a pre-set period from said
data distributing device,
said control means first judges whether or not the program start enable
signal has been decoded regularly and subsequently causes the data
distributed from said data distributing device to be stored in said buffer
memory.
23. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein said
control means is programmed so that, of plural sorts of data distributed
from said data distributing device, only data correlated with the program ID
representing the software program executed by the program executing
apparatus will be stored in said buffer memory.
24. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein if the
program executing apparatus and the data distribution device can
communicate bi-directionally, said control means transmits the program ID
signal representing the software program to said data distributing device in
order to have the program start enable signal and said data pertaining to
said software program distributed from said data distribution device.
25. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 24, wherein said
control means is responsive to said program ID signal to judge whether or
not the data is to be received on the basis of the program start enable signal
returned by said data distribution device.
26. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 24, wherein said
control means is responsive to said program ID signal to limit the starting of
said software program on the basis of the program start enable signal
returned by said data distribution device.
27. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 24, wherein said
control means is responsive to said program ID signal to vary the results of
execution of said software program on the basis of the program start enable
signal and the data returned by said data distribution device.
28. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 24, wherein
the apparatus is connected to display means adapted for displaying a video
image generated on executing the software program;
said control means being programmed for switching from a video image
which might be displayed on said display means if the software program is
executed using only the data recorded on said recording medium to a video
image which might be displayed on said display means if the software
program is executed using data returned from said data distributing device,
responsive to the program ID signal.
29. The program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein if it is
commanded to execute the software program recorded on said recording
medium, said control means performs
first transmitting processing of transmitting the program ID signal
representing the software program to said data distributing device in order
to have the program start enable signal and said data pertaining to said
software program distributed from said data distribution device;
first judgment processing of judging whether or not the distributed program
start enable signal has been decoded regularly;
causing data distributed from said data distributing device to be stored in
said buffer memory if the program start enable signal has been decoded
regularly in said first judgment processing;
second transmitting processing of re-transmitting the program ID signal to
said data distributing device; and
second judgment processing of re-judging whether or not the distributed
program start enable signal has been decoded regularly;
said control means causing the software program to be executed using the
data store in said buffer memory if the program start enable signal has been
decoded regularly in said second judgment processing.
30. A program updating apparatus in which original data of part of the software
program recorded on a recording medium is updated to data distributed
from a data distributing device as claimed in claim 1, comprising:
receiving means for receiving from the data distributing device a program
start enable signal for enabling starting of said software program and said
data; and
updating means for updating the original data of part of said software
program only when said program start enable signal has been decoded
regularly.
31. A program executing method for executing a software program using the
program executing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, comprising:
a receiving step 0t receiving program a start enable signal distributed by
said data distributing means and data for substitution or insertion for
original data of part of said software program; and
a control step of substituting or inserting said data for original data of part
of said software program responsive to the program start enable signal
received in said receiving step for executing the resulting software program.
32. A program executing apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with
reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
33. A program updating apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with
reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
34. A program executing method substantially as hereinbefore described with
reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.