Patent ID: 6201771
Filing Date: 2001-03-13
Classification: G06Q,G07F,G11B,H04H

Abstract:
An information providing apparatus, comprising:a loading section in which a recording medium including use state identification information indicating one of a personal use and an unspecified user's use is removably loaded;recording means for recording content information in said recording medium loaded in said loading section;use state detecting means for detecting which of said personal use and said unspecified user's use said use state identification information of said recording medium loaded in said loading section indicates;ejecting means for ejecting said recording medium to an outside of said apparatus;content detecting means for detecting a kind of content information to be recorded in said recording medium ejected by said ejecting means;a housing section capable of housing a recording medium in which one of various kinds of content information is recorded in advance; andcontrol means, wherein when said use state detecting means detects that said use state identification information of said recording medium indicates said personal use, said control means controls said recording means so that said content information of the kind detected by said content detecting means is recorded in said recording medium loaded in said loading section, and then, said control means controls said ejecting means so that said recording medium loaded in said loading section is ejected,and when said use state detecting means detects that said use state identification information of said recording medium indicates said unspecified user's use, said control means controls said ejecting means so that said recording medium in which said content information of the kind detected by said content detecting means is recorded is ejected among recording media housed in said housing section.