JPH1078867A - Software flow system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a new service mode of new software service using a network by realizing charge (meter rate system) according to the reception of the use of software. SOLUTION: A charge management agent 102 (agent AG) is provided with a fuel tank 103 in which the available amounts of rental soft 101 are stored, and the operation situation of the rental soft is monitored, the using amounts are calculated, and the fuel tank is updated. A customer management AG105 is provided with a customer DB, and a charging AG106 for supplying fuel to the fuel tank periodically or according to a request, and collecting charge data is transmitted to a client for executing the supply of the fuel and the collection of the charge data, and a charge is calculated based on the charge data and the content of the customer DB, and claimed to a user. An environment management AG107 manages a computer environment as the DB. When version-up is generated, a version management AG110 transmits a soft distribution AG111 to a client with a new version and an install program, and the new version is installed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the distribution of software, and in particular, charges a fee for use of a user's software on a pay-per-use basis, and when the software is upgraded, releases the upgraded software to the user. Related to a software distribution system to be distributed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional software distribution system includes:
Generally, sales contracts are sold out, in which software is stored in a storage medium such as a compact disk (CD) or floppy disk (FD), and sold or mailed at stores. A non-sold-out fee form includes a charge for renting software for a specified period or accessing value-added information via a communication line usage fee. However, the former is a form in which a fixed rental fee is paid irrespective of use / unused, and the latter is an indirect payment of a time usage fee depending on the connection time of the communication line.

[0003] With regard to software distribution methods, paid and free software is also distributed using a network (Internet, personal computer communication). In the case of payment, when the prescribed fee payment procedure is completed, a key (encrypted key) enabling the use of the distributed software will be sent via a network etc. and used by using it become. However, even for these, if the software itself is paid, it is a sales contract with a sell-out system. In addition, there is a sales form using a software catalog using a CD-ROM and recording a large number of software with use restrictions (function restrictions, period restrictions), but the usage fee is also aimed at buying and selling.

On the other hand, as for software version assurance and version management, there is a system for collectively managing and installing software in a closed network environment such as a corporate LAN. This is intended to automate the installation of software on client systems connected to a limited number of servers in the network. Therefore, the network is a limited network such as a personal computer net or a LAN. Also,
It does not cover services such as version upgrades via networks or education / inquiries.

[0005]

The existing software distribution system requires considerable distribution (time and cost) costs to software manufacturers and users. In order to solve this, some of the conventional techniques described above have been developed. However, fundamentally, the price system is a system of selling out single software, and the network is only used for distribution purposes. There is only one form of software that uses the line usage fee, but the computer on which the software is executed is not a computer owned by the user, and not only does it cost extra line usage fees, but also performs according to the capacity and congestion of the line. There is a problem that is affected.

As described above, since the main objects of the prior art are to expand the distribution channel and reduce the distribution cost, the following problems have not been solved. First, it cannot prevent illegal copying of software after sale. Second, there is a problem in that if you stand on the user side, you have to purchase expensive software without knowing its true value. As a result, the fact is that the purchase of expensive software that is hardly used and the illegal copying of software are rampant, which hinders the sound distribution of software.

An object of the present invention is to solve these problems of the existing software distribution system. Based on the viewpoint that software is a service, the service, that is, the use of software, has been received. It is to realize charging (pay-as-you-go system) according to minutes. Moreover,
An object of the present invention is to provide a new software service form using a wide-area, high-speed network such as the Internet.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a software distribution system in which a client that uses rental software and a server that manages the use status of the rental software in the client are connected by a network. The client includes a charging management unit, the charging management unit includes a fuel tank table indicating a remaining usable amount such as a usable period of the rental software and a usable time, and monitors an operation status of the rental software. The server updates the remaining usable amount and creates billing data based on the usage fee. The server includes customer management means, and the customer management means manages customer information, rental software, and fee data for each customer. With the client on a regular basis or as requested by the client A charging agent having a function of supplying fuel to the fuel tank table and a function of collecting the charging data is sent, and the charging agent performs fuel supply and collection of the charging data. It seeks a fee based on the contents of the customer database and charges the user.

[0009] Furthermore, only the charge management means of the client manages permission for a request to start rental software from a user.

[0010] Further, when the user requests the activation of the rental software, the charge management means of the client activates the rental software when the remaining usable amount satisfies the usage amount required for the activation of the rental software. Is allowed.

Further, the charging management means of the client is configured to forcibly terminate the rental software when the user does not give permission for a request to start the rental software.

[0012] The charge management means of the client may set, as the fuel tank table, a first fuel tank table for managing the use time of the rental software, a second fuel tank table for managing the use period, and a charge. It has at least one of a third fuel tank table for managing the use of the function, and the charge data is created by the use time, the use period, the use function, or their cooperation.

Further, the charging agent is provided with a function for checking unauthorized use, and the charging agent is made to check for irregularities such as rewriting the fuel tank table.

Further, the present invention is a software distribution system in which a client that uses the rental software and a server that manages the use status of the rental software in the client and manages the upgrade of the rental software are connected by a network. Means and an environmental management means, the billing management means has a fuel tank table indicating a remaining usable amount such as a usable period of the rental software, a usable time, etc. The available amount is updated, billing data is created based on the usage fee, the environment management means checks the environment of the computer, and manages the check result as an environment information database. Means for managing customer information, A billing agent having a customer database for managing software and billing data, and sending a billing agent having a fuel replenishing function to the fuel tank table and a billing data collecting function to the client periodically or according to a request from the client; Have the charging agent refuel and collect billing data,
Based on the billing data sent from the billing agent and the contents of the customer database, a fee is charged to the user, and the version management means has a version database for managing the version information of the rental software possessed by the user. When the rental software is upgraded, a software distribution agent having version upgrade data and an installation program necessary for the version upgrade is sent to the client, and the environment management of the computer environment information required for the installation is sent to the software distribution agent. An inquiry to the means and installation of version upgrade data based on the computer environment information are performed.

A software distribution system in which a client that uses software and a server that manages software version in the client are connected by a network, wherein the client includes environment management means, and the environment management means manages the environment of the computer. Investigate,
The server manages the survey result as an environment information database, the server includes a version management unit, and the version management unit includes a version database for managing version information of the software owned by the user, When a version upgrade occurs, a software distribution agent having version upgrade data and an installation program required for the version upgrade is sent to the client, and the software distribution agent is inquired of the computer environment information required for the installation to the environment management means. In addition, installation of version upgrade data based on computer environment information is performed.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the system and processing flow to be achieved by the present invention and the concept of the service form achieved thereby will be described with reference to FIG. 1, and then each processing unit will be described in detail. The invention consists of two systems. One is to implement pay-as-you-go software (100 to 100
6, 120) System 130 (hereinafter “soft rental system”)
The other is a system 140 (hereinafter, referred to as a “software distribution system”) that realizes automatic distribution of software (107 to 113). Although both systems are described separately, both systems can be integrated and operated as an integrated system. Further, in the present embodiment, it is assumed that exchange of money related to the service is performed by an affiliated bank 114 connected through a network. As for the exchange of money, the exchange of electronic money between the parties can be considered, but the present invention does not depend on these methods of exchange of money. Hereinafter, the present invention will be described.

The software rental system 130 is a distribution system for realizing the distribution of pay-per-use software based on a rental contract. The software to be rented (hereinafter, referred to as “rental software”) is sent from a server 116 (hereinafter, referred to as “provider”) that provides the service of the rental software, together with the charging management agent 102 that realizes usage-based usage. Is done. Here, the agent means an advanced program having both independence and cooperation. The rental software 101 is activated via the charge management agent 102 (100). The charge management agent 102 is a rental software
The operating status of 101 is monitored, and the amount of rental software used is measured (104). The operating status is, for example, a time during which the rental software 101 is activated, a CPU time used by the rental software, a used function, and the like. The charge management agent 102
As a means of charging the rental software, a fuel tank (fuel tank table) 103 (here) indicating the usable amount of the rental software (operable time of the rental software, available CPU time of the rental software, available functions of the rental software) In this example, the useable time of the rental software is expressed in terms of fuel, and the fuel tank is actually a table.) The fuel is consumed according to the usage of the rental software. And charge. Then, use restriction such as suspension of use of the rental software is performed according to the remaining amount of the fuel (120). Here, the operable time of the rental software is the time during which the target program is running on the computer, and the consumable CPU time of the rental software is the time during which the target program can be executed by the CPU. The usable functions of the rental software are various functions for which the charging of the rental software is set. In addition, the fuel tank 103 is prepared for each software, and the operating time of the rental software,
The available CPU time of the rental software and the available functions of the rental software are provided. The calculation of the usage amount of the rental software may be calculated separately for the operable time, the consuming CPU time, and the function, or may be calculated in a combined form. The provider 116 sends a charging agent 106 for refueling, collecting charging data, and checking for improper use to the user 118 via a network, periodically or in response to a request from the user 118. The billing data collected by the billing agent 106 is sent to the provider 116 via the network, and the money is collected from the partner bank 114 based on the billing data. The above is the processing flow of the software rental system.

Next, the software distribution system 140 will be described. This system realizes software distribution and version upgrade via a network.
When the software distribution system starts, the environment management agent 107, which is a program for managing the environment of the computer, is sent from the provider 116 to the user 117. After being started, the sent environment management agent 107 checks a computer environment such as a runtime library required for executing the program, and manages it in a database (108). The provider 116 is provided with a version management agent 110 that holds information on the software version of the user 117, and provides information necessary for upgrading the software held by the user as needed. In this case, the distribution agent 111 is sent from the provider 116 to the user side 117. Distribution agent
Reference numeral 111 carries difference data or all files for the software to be upgraded, a version upgrade program, and is equipped with a means for upgrading the corresponding software. User side 11
The distribution agent 111 started in step 7 requests information necessary for installation from the environment management agent 107 and installs software. After software installation, the environment management agent reflects changes in the computer environment caused by the installation in the database and prepares for the subsequent installation. The above is the processing flow of the software distribution system.

Although the software rental system and the software distribution system have been described separately, the customer management agent and the version management agent are provided in the same server, and the rental software, the charging management agent, and the environment management agent are provided together on the client side. Needless to say, the charging system and the software distribution agent are sent from the server to the client to form an integrated system.

Next, the flow of processing including fee collection in the software rental system will be described with reference to FIG. The rental software user 118 registers the account number and password (201) of the account established by the user 118 at the partner bank 114 with the software distribution provider 116. The provider 116 performs an automatic debit procedure for the partner bank 114 using the account number and the password (201) for the partner bank 114 (202, 203). The account number and the password 201 sent from the user 118 are encrypted so that the contents can be confirmed only by the partner bank 114. This cipher includes:
For example, a public key method is used. Upon completion of the withdrawal procedure at the partner bank 114 (204), the provider 116
Sends the rental software 101 to the user 118 (205).
Thereafter, the user 118 starts the rental software 101 from the charging management agent sent together with the rental software 101 (2
06), service is started. When the service is started, a billing agent for collecting the usage fee of the rental software 101 is sent from the provider 116 periodically or in response to a request from the user (207), and the billing data is transferred to the provider 1.
It is sent to the 16 side (207, 208). The provider 116 collects the rental software usage fee from the partner bank 114 based on the billing data (210, 211). The above is the flow of processing with the partner bank for fee collection.

Hereinafter, each system will be described in detail. FIG. 3 shows the configuration and processing flow of the software rental system. As described above, in the soft rental system 130, the customer management agent 105, the billing management agent 1
02 and a billing agent 106. The charge management agent 102 is equipped with a fuel tank 103 for managing the rental software 101. The fuel tank 103 is consumed depending on the usage amount of the rental software (startup time, CPU time, used function type). Also, when the fuel becomes less than a certain amount,
Restrict use such as terminating the rental software (120).
The customer management agent 105 manages a customer who lends rental software by using a customer database 303. In addition, a billing agent for billing rental software and refueling is sent periodically or in response to a request from the user (300). The billing agent 106 receives the billing data 301 from the billing management agent 102 and reports it to the customer management agent 105 (304). In addition, the fuel tank is checked and fuel is supplied (302). In addition,
The customer management agent 105 has to communicate with the user for each processing such as refueling, collecting billing data, checking for improper use, refueling, etc. every time processing is performed. Like billing agent
By sending 106 to the user, the number of communications can be significantly reduced. In addition, the billing agent 106
When the necessary processing is completed, it can disappear. For this reason, a program that may be changed by the user if it is resident on the user side, such as a program for checking unauthorized use, disappears when the processing is completed, and there is no risk of the program being changed by the user.

Next, referring to FIG.
The customer database 303 managed by 5 will be described.
The customer database 303 has a table format of 400 shown in FIG. 4, and stores customer information 402 and contracted rental software for each customer 401 as a list (403, 404). The customer information 402 stores a user's IP address, an account number used for automatic debit, a password, and the like. The contract rental software list 403 stores a link 405 to rental software information that stores the fee form of the contracted rental software, the lease information 406 of the rental software, and the contracted charge form type 407. The rental information 406 stores the date and time of previous charging, statistics of the usage amount of rental software, and the like. In the rental software information 408, a charge form 410 of each rental software 409 is stored. For example, WP
The column designated by 001-4.0 and A stores the basic fee of the rental software WP001-4.0 when the fee type is A. Price form type 407 of contract rental software list 403
Shows this charge form 410. In the figure, ● indicates a pointer.

Next, the configuration of the fuel tank (fuel tank table) 103 will be described with reference to FIG. Fuel tank 103
Stores a fuel tank capacity 501, a fuel remaining amount 502, a fuel efficiency 503, and checksum information 504 for each rental software contracted by the user. The fuel efficiency 503 is the same as the charge form stored in the customer database described in the previous section. The checksum information 504 is information for preventing fraud on the fuel tank.

Hereinafter, the processing of the rental system will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. First, the flow of processing when the rental software is started will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG.
And the flow of processing of the charging management agent will be described with reference to FIG. First, the flow of processing at the time of starting rental software will be described with reference to FIG. User 11
8 requests the charging management agent 102 to start the rental software (600). Upon receiving the request from the user, the charge management agent checks the remaining amount of fuel corresponding to the rental software to be started (601).
If there is fuel required for activation, the rental software is activated (602). The user then uses the software as usual (603).

Next, the flow of processing of the charging management agent when starting rental software will be described with reference to FIG. Upon receiving a rental software activation request from the user, the charging management agent checks the remaining amount of fuel from the fuel tank of the rental software that has received the activation request. When the remaining fuel is low (700), a message prompting the user to refuel is output (701). As a criterion for the small amount, for example, a criterion such as whether one hour is divided may be provided. When the user requests refueling in response to the refueling message (702), the user requests the server side customer management agent to refuel via the network (703). Further, when the remaining amount of fuel is equal to or more than the preset start-up amount of the rental software (704), the rental software is started (705). The above is the processing flow when the rental software is started.

Next, the flow of processing when charging the rental software will be described with reference to FIGS. The overall flow will be described with reference to FIG. 8, and the flow of processing of the charging management agent will be described with reference to FIG. First, a flow of processing when charging the rental software will be described with reference to FIG. Billing Management Agent
102 obtains the operating status of the rental software at every predetermined time (800). Thereafter, the charging management agent consumes fuel from the fuel tank corresponding to the rental software based on the acquired information (801). If the remaining amount of fuel is less than the continuous operation of the rental software, the charging management agent ends the rental software (802).

Next, the flow of processing of the charging management agent when charging the rental software will be described with reference to FIG. The billing management agent 102 acquires the operating status of the rental software at predetermined intervals (900). After obtaining the operation status, check the fuel of the corresponding rental software and if the remaining fuel is low (901),
A message prompting refueling is output (902). When the user requests refueling in response to the refueling message (903), the user requests refueling to the server-side customer management agent via the network (90).
Four). Next, the charge management agent 102 consumes fuel from the fuel tank corresponding to the rental software based on the acquired information (906). At the time of fuel consumption, if the remaining amount in the fuel tank is less than the fuel consumption, the fuel consumption is saved and the rental software is terminated (907, 908). Further, the stored fuel consumption is consumed at the time of refueling (described in FIG. 12). The above is the flow of processing when charging the rental software.

Next, the flow of processing when collecting rental software usage fees will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 10 shows the overall flow, FIG. 11 shows the flow of processing of the customer management agent, FIG. 12 shows the flow of processing of the charging management agent, and FIG. 13 shows the flow of processing of the charging agent. Each will be described. First, a flow of processing at the time of collecting the rental software usage fee will be described with reference to FIG.
Collection of rental software usage fee, customer management agent 10
5 is performed by sending a charging agent 106 to the user (charging management agent 102) on a regular or based on the user's refueling request. At the time of collecting the usage fee, the charging agent 106 refuels the rental software as needed. In this collection process, the customer management agent 105 on the server side sends the charging agent 106 to the charging management agent resident on the user side (100
0), the charge management agent 102 starts the charge agent (1001). Billing Management Agent 10
2 receives and starts the charging agent 106. When the charging agent 106 is activated, the charging agent checks the remaining amount of the fuel tank as a collection process (100
2). Thereafter, the charging agent verifies that the fuel tank is fraudulent (1003). This is done, for example, by attaching a checksum to the fuel tank and verifying it. Also, refuel the fuel tank (1004). After the collection is completed, the charging agent sends the collection data to the server-side customer management agent (1005).

Next, the flow of processing of the customer management agent when collecting the rental software usage fee will be described with reference to FIG. The customer management agent 105 sends a charging agent 106 for collecting the rental fee for the rental software and refueling the user to the user periodically or in response to a request from the user. When sending a billing agent, first, the customer's (IP) address and contract information of rental software are obtained from the customer database 303 (FIG. 4) for managing customer information (110).
0) After that, the billing agent is sent to the customer (1102), the billing data is acquired from the billing agent moved to the customer side (1103), and the usage fee is actually collected through the affiliated bank based on the acquired billing data. (110
Four).

Next, the processing flow of the charging management agent when collecting the rental software usage fee will be described with reference to FIG.
The charge management agent 102 first activates the charge agent 106 sent from the customer management agent 105 (1200). Then, the information of the fuel tank 103 (FIG. 5) of the relevant rental software is sent to the activated charging agent (1201). Also, if you need to refuel,
Receives fuel data and replenishes it to fuel tank 103 (120
2, 1203). Further, if there is any unconsumed fuel, the fuel is consumed (1205).

Next, the flow of the process of the charging agent 106 when collecting the rental software usage fee will be described with reference to FIG.
The charging agent 106 started from the charging management agent 102 receives the information of the fuel tank from the charging management agent (1300). Next, based on the sent fuel data, it is confirmed whether or not a fraud such as “the content of the fuel tank has been altered” has been performed (1301). For this confirmation, for example, a checksum or the like is used. If fraud is found, it will be reported to the server's customer management agent and the user will be penalized accordingly (1302). For example, a method of imposing a surcharge on the user can be considered. Next, if there is a request for refueling, the refueling data is sent to the charge management agent (1305). Finally, the fuel consumption is sent to the customer management agent of the provider (1305). The above is the processing flow when collecting the rental software usage fee.

Finally, the flow of processing when the rental software is completed will be described with reference to FIG. When the user 118 terminates the rental software 101 (1401), a program termination notification is sent to the OS. The accounting management agent 102 detects the end notification 1402 of the rental software. After that, fuel is consumed by the amount of rental software used (140
3). This fuel consumption processing 1403 is the same as the processing at the time of charging in FIG. The above is the detailed description of the processing flow of the software rental system.

Next, a software distribution system will be described. FIG. 15 shows the configuration and processing flow of the software distribution system. As described above, the software distribution system includes the version management agent 110, the environment management agent 107, and the software distribution agent 111. The version management agent 110 manages software version information owned by the user using the version database 1500. When the software version of the user is upgraded, the data and the installation program necessary for the software version upgrade are carried to the software distribution agent and sent to the user (1501). Environmental Management Agent 107
Is sent from the server to the user when the software distribution service is started. When sent to the user, the environment of the user's computer is investigated and managed as a database (108). When the software distribution agent 111 upgrades the software, the environment management agent 107 presents environment information (1.
12). The software distribution agent 111 carries data necessary for upgrading the software and an installation program, and visits the user (1501). When the user visits the user, the environment management agent 107 holding the computer environment is inquired about information on the computer environment necessary for software installation (112), and the software is installed based on the information (113).

Next, a version database managed by the version management agent will be described with reference to FIG. The version database 1500 has a table format shown as 1600 in FIG. 16, and stores customer information 1602 for each customer 1601 and contract software for which a software version assurance contract has been made as a list (1603, 1604). The customer information 1602 stores the user's IP address and the like. The contracted software list 1603 stores a link 1605 to information on the version and the current user version information 1606 for each software contracted by the user.

Table 1607 for software version
Has a version history table for each software 1608
There is a link 1609 to 1610. The version history table 1610 includes a difference file 16 for each version 1611.
12 is stored. In the figure, ● indicates a pointer.

Next, the environment information database managed by the environment management agent will be described with reference to FIG. The environment information database has a table format shown as 1700, and information 1702 of the user's computer is stored in each of the environment items 1701 of the computer.

Hereinafter, the processing of the rental system will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. First, the flow of processing when the environmental management agent is sent to the user will be described with reference to FIG. When the distribution service starts, first, an environment management agent 107 that manages a user's computer environment and assists in software installation.
Is sent to the user 117 from the service provider. When the user activates the sent environment management agent 107 (1801), the environment management agent 107 checks the computer environment (1802). Items of the computer environment include the items shown in FIG. When the computer environment check is completed, the user 117 sets the installation location of the distributed program and whether or not to inquire about version upgrade.
(1803).

Next, the flow of processing at the time of software distribution will be described with reference to FIG. The software version upgrade is performed when the version of the corresponding software is upgraded or when a user requests a version upgrade. When distributing software, the version management agent 110 sends a software distribution agent 111 carrying a file and an installation program necessary for upgrading the corresponding software to the environment management agent 107 on the user side. The environment management agent 107 receiving the software distribution agent 111 activates the software distribution agent (1901). The activated software distribution agent 111 inquires the environment management agent about the computer environment required by the installation program carried (190)
2). After the inquiry, the software distribution agent
The installation program carried by the user is activated to upgrade the software version (1903). After the installation is completed, if there is a change in the computer environment such as addition or change of a runtime library or a device driver, the change is reported to the environment management agent and the environment database is changed (1904). The above is the description of the processing flow of the software distribution system. The embodiments of the present invention have been described above.

[0039]

According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a distribution form of software that pays only accurate usage fees. Therefore, the spread of software can be greatly expanded. Further, according to the present invention, connection to the network can be made only by the minimum necessary connection such as acquisition of software and payment of a fee, and there is no extra communication fee. Moreover, the execution performance of the software used does not depend on the state of network traffic. Since the present invention can be realized by adding a billing part to existing software, it is possible to effectively use an enormous existing software asset. Further, according to the present invention, distribution /
The entire software distribution service such as collection / version management / inquiry can be automated, and distribution costs can be significantly reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a system.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a flow of processing including collection of a fee of the software rental system.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration and a processing flow of a software rental system.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a customer database.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a fuel tank (fuel tank table).

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the flow of the entire software rental system when the rental software is activated.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a flow of processing of a charging management agent when rental software is activated.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the flow of the entire software rental system when charging for rental software.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a flow of a charge management agent process when charging for rental software.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the flow of the entire software rental system when collecting rental software usage fees.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the flow of processing of a customer management agent when collecting rental software usage fees.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a flow of processing of a charging management agent when collecting a rental software usage fee.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the flow of processing of a charging agent when collecting rental software usage fees.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the flow of the entire software rental system when the rental software is completed.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a configuration and a processing flow of the software distribution system.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a configuration of a version database.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a configuration of an environment database.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing the flow of processing when the environment management agent is started.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a flow of processing when distributing version-up software.

[Explanation of symbols]

 101 rental software 102 charging management agent 103 fuel tank (fuel tank table) 105 customer management agent 106 charging agent 107 environment management agent 110 version management agent 111 software distribution agent

Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Office reference number FI Technical display location G06F 13/00 357 G06F 13/00 357Z 15/00 330 15/00 330Z 17/60 15/21 Z

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A software distribution system in which a client that uses rental software and a server that manages the use status of the rental software in the client are connected via a network, wherein the client includes charging management means, and the charging management means Has a fuel tank table that shows the remaining usable amount such as the usable period and usable time of the rental software, monitors the operating status of the rental software, updates the remaining usable amount, and charges data based on the usage fee. The server has a customer management means, the customer management means has a customer database for managing customer information, rental software and fee data for each customer, the client periodically or according to a request from the client The function of replenishing fuel to the fuel tank table and A charging agent having a function of collecting money data is sent, the charging agent is refueled and charging data is collected, and a fee is requested from the user based on the charging data sent from the charging agent and the contents of the customer database. Claims software distribution system. 2. The software distribution system according to claim 1, wherein only permission management means of the client manages permission for a request to start rental software from a user. 3. The software distribution system according to claim 2, wherein, when a user issues a request to start the rental software, the charging management means of the client uses the remaining amount required for starting the rental software as the remaining use amount. A software distribution system which permits activation of the rental software when a possible amount is satisfied. 4. The software distribution system according to claim 2, wherein the billing management means of the client forcibly terminates the rental software when not giving permission to start a rental software from a user. A software distribution system characterized by: 5. The software distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the charging management means of the client includes a first fuel tank table for managing a use time of the rental software as the fuel tank table, and a second fuel tank table for managing a use period. And at least one of a third fuel tank table and a third fuel tank table that manages the use of the set function of charging, wherein the charging data is used for a use time or a use period, or a use function, or the like. A software distribution system characterized by being created in cooperation with 6. The software distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the charging agent has an unauthorized use checking function, and the charging agent performs an illegal check such as rewriting of a fuel tank table. system. 7. A software distribution system in which a client that uses rental software and a server that manages the use status of the rental software in the client and manages a version upgrade of the rental software are connected by a network. Management means and environment management means, wherein the billing management means includes a usable period of the rental software,
It has a fuel tank table indicating the remaining usable amount such as usable time, monitors the operating status of the rental software, updates the remaining usable amount, creates billing data based on the usage fee, and the environment management means Surveying the environment of the computer, managing the survey result as an environment information database, the server includes a customer management unit and a version management unit, and the customer management unit includes, for each customer, customer information, rental software, and fee data. Has a customer database that manages
Periodically or in response to a request from the client, a charging agent having a function of refueling the fuel tank table and a function of collecting the charging data is sent to the client, and the fuel agent is supplied to the charging agent and the charging data is collected. Requesting a charge based on the billing data sent from the billing agent and the contents of the customer database, and charging the user; the version management means has a version database for managing version information of the rental software possessed by the user; When the rental software owned by the user is upgraded, a software distribution agent having version upgrade data and an installation program necessary for the version upgrade is sent to the client, and the software distribution agent is installed on the software distribution agent. A software distribution system for inquiring the environment management means of necessary computer environment information and installing version upgrade data based on the computer environment information. 8. A software distribution system in which a client that uses software and a server that manages software versions in the client are connected by a network, wherein the client includes an environment management unit, and the environment management unit includes a computer. The server is provided with version management means, and the version management means has a version database for managing software version information possessed by the user. When the software version of the user is upgraded, a software distribution agent having version upgrade data and an installation program necessary for the version upgrade is sent to the client, and the software distribution agent is Software distribution system, characterized in that to perform a query against the environmental management unit of the computer environment information required to install, the installation of the version upgrade data based on computing environmental information.