JP2001117985A - Information managing system for browser - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable the picture display control of detailed utilization display or linen display and the free/pay changing control of Internet utilization while using general equipment having a browser function. SOLUTION: When a user designates a desired service from a video input/ output device 11, a request demand is sent from the video input/output device 11 to a CATV head end device 15. This CATV head end device 15 controls an STB controller 16, assigns the idle control channel of an Internet STB 17 to the video input/output device of the demand source and permits remote control from the video input/output device 11. The Internet STB 17 performs an output demand to Web server 22 on an Internet server 21 while using Web browser. Corresponding to this output demand, the Web server 22 executes prescribed control processing through an html trap control CGI 23 previously made resident, and displays that picture on the user side video input/output device 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a browser-based information management system for managing billing information and the like generated in hotels, hospitals, recreation facilities, apartment buildings, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, in hotels, hospitals, and the like,
Various usage accounting, usage statement display (BILL display),
Processing such as linen display is performed using dedicated hardware devices. Each of the dedicated hardware devices includes a dedicated character character ROM (OSDC) for output.
Also, a memory buffer for processing and displaying the screen inside the machine is required, and there are limitations on the output characters and the number of display screens when outputting a screen to a TV screen or the like.

[0003] Further, in the billing system for commercial use of the Internet in hotels, hospitals, general facilities, and the like, there is only a billing system for determining whether all are paid or free. As a method used for the charge determination, a charge method that refers to a communication log of a communication device or the like and a charge method that refers to an access user log file of an access server are generally used.

[0004]

However, in the billing control in the commercial use as described above, it is necessary to control the screen display of the billing warning and the like according to the timing used by the user.
It is impossible to distinguish between free and paid billing in the Internet content by using a remote control or a keyboard device as a user's operation device.

[0005] Further, in the use statement display (BILL display) and the linen display, it is impossible to function unless a dedicated device is used, and interactive information display can be performed without being limited by display characters, the number of display screens, and the like. It is impossible to do.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to use a general device having a browser function to control screen display such as usage statement display and linen display, as well as CATV and cable television in a building. It is an object of the present invention to provide an information management system using a browser capable of performing free and paid charging control of the use of the Internet for commercial use on the general Internet, intranet, extranet or the like.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information management system using a browser, a plurality of video input / output devices having a browser function connected to a head-end device of a CATV system in a building, and the head-end device. STB
An Internet STB having a Web browser function connected via a controller;
A LAN communication device for connecting the TB to an Internet communication network; and an Internet server connected to the LAN communication device.
The server is provided with an html trap control CGI.
The request from the video input / output device is processed by the ml trap control CGI.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the information management system using a browser according to the first aspect, the Internet server outputs an html file in response to an Internet charging processing request input from a video input / output device on the user side. Html trap control CGI performs html trap control on the button / link of each content screen to identify the contents of the request, and the URL of the free / paid content.
According to this determination, information is acquired before accessing the Internet information, and a charging determination is performed in advance. Based on the determination result, display control of a charging warning screen and charging accounting processing are performed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the information management system using a browser according to the first aspect, the Internet server transmits a predetermined information display request input from a video input / output device on the user side to an html trap control CGI. And displays the screen on the user's video input / output device by CGI controlled by html and java script.

According to a fourth aspect, in the information management system using a browser according to the third aspect, the predetermined information display request input from the video input / output device on the user side is:
It is characterized by various billing, usage statement display, and linen display.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the information management system using a browser according to the third aspect, the Internet server receives an html request when a linen display request is input from the video input / output device on the user side. The cleaning status of each room is displayed on the video input / output device on the user side by the trap control CGI.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an information management system using a browser according to the present invention. In addition, FIG. 1 uses a two-way communication system in a hotel CATV,
This figure shows a case where information management such as Internet billing control, usage statement display (BILL display), and linen display is performed.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 11 denotes a video input / output device such as a television or a personal computer, which is installed in each guest room, linen room, etc. of a hotel, and includes a keyboard 12, a remote controller 13, and the like. The remote control 13 is a remote control common to TVs, pay programs, and the Internet. The video input / output device 11
Can be operated not only by the keyboard 12 and the remote controller 13 but also by a dedicated remote controller (not shown) carried by the employee. This dedicated remote control is used, for example, when displaying linen information on the video input / output device 11.

The video input / output device 11 is connected to the CAT via a video trunk line (two-way communication) 14 of the CATV in the building.
Connected to V headend device 15. The CATV head-end device 15 is connected to a host computer 20 that manages the entire hotel and is connected to an Internet STB 17 via an STB controller 16. The Internet STB 17 is an STB (set-top box) device having a Web browser function.
Ethernet LAN and L such as router, HUB (hub)
It is connected to the Internet communication network 19 via the AN communication device 18. The STB device includes, for example, an up modulator,
A transmitter / receiver including a downstream demodulator and a control CPU and a separator are provided, and a signal modulated by the transmitter / receiver is output to the bidirectional transmission path via the separator. The CATV head-end device 15, STB controller 16, Internet STB 17, and the like are provided in a hotel management center.

The LAN communication device 18 is connected to the Ethernet
Via the rnet LAN 24, for example, it is connected to the Internet server 21 provided in the management center. The Internet server 21 is connected to the CATV headend device 15 via a serial communication line 25.

The Internet server 21 has a We
b server 22, html trap control CGI (Common G
ateway Interface) 23 is mounted. This htm
In the trap control CGI 23, for example, charging control, BI
Control functions such as LL control, linen control, and CATV control are provided. The above-mentioned various billing, usage statement display, linen display, and the like are all performed on the Web server 22 by the html trap control CGI 23.

The Web server 22 sends a processing request from the video input / output device 11 to the CATV headend device 15,
STB controller 16, Internet STB 17,
When sent via the LAN communication device 18 and the Ethernet LAN 24, the html trap control CGI 23 performs html trap control in accordance with the processing request, and outputs the result to the video input / output device 11 for display. In this case, the display screen is controlled by CGI controlled by html and java script.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described. On the video input / output device 11 installed in each guest room, a menu screen as shown in FIG. 2 transmitted from the Web server 22 is displayed in an initial state.

On this menu screen, screens for a hotel information service (free) and an Internet connection service (paid) are displayed. The hotel information service (free of charge) includes, for example, event information, room service, facility information, restaurant information, transportation, map around the hotel, usage details, and the like. Internet connection services (paid) include e-mail, Internet search, weather information,
There are newspapers and tourist information.

The above menu is displayed on the keyboard 12 or the remote controller 1 provided by each hotel guest in each guest room.
3 can be used for any selection. When an employee causes the video input / output device 11 to display linen, a dedicated remote control carried by each employee is used.

When the user specifies a desired service, free or paid, from the menu screen, the video input / output device 11
From the CAT via the video trunk 14
It is sent to the V head end device 15. Upon receiving the request request from the video input / output device 11, the CATV head end device 15 controls the STB controller 16,
A vacant control channel of the Internet STB 17 is allocated to the video input / output device 11 of the request source. This allows the video input / output device 11 to connect to the Internet STB
17 can be remotely controlled. The free / paid information transfer is performed on the same channel, and the channel assignment is not changed when the free / paid is selected.

As described above, the Internet STB 17 which can be remotely controlled from the video input / output device 11 has a
An output request is made to the Web server 22 of the Internet server 21 that controls the contents of the Internet using the browser b. In response to this output request, the Web server 22 transmits the html trap control CGI2 resident in advance.
In step 3, the control is switched to the CGI process for separating each control.

The control CGI for charging control is transmitted with information from the html trap control CGI 23 about the contents of use by the user, and receives a URL (Uniform Resource Management) required for charging control.
uceLocator) to determine whether the content is free content or paid content, and output a billing warning screen, automatically perform billing processing, and the like.

Also, in the control control for the display request of the use statement by the user and the control control for the linen request by the employee, the operation information of the user necessary for each control is controlled by the html trap control CGI 23 in the same manner as described above. Is transmitted to each control GCI script, and control is performed by performing screen output control and communication control with other communication devices. All of the controlled processes are performed on the Web server 22, and a CGI script for each control is sent to the requesting user in html.
And convert the result to Internet STB
17 to the browser side, the Internet STB 17 sends the STB controller 16 and the CATV
It is sent to the video input / output device 11 via the head end device 15 and the display of the screen is controlled.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a BILL display screen when the customer selects "Usage statement" on the menu screen. The Web server 22 transmits BILL information to the Internet STB 1 using an Internet browser based on the customer request statement data received from the host computer.
7. The BILL is sent to the customer room via the STB controller 16 and the CATV headend device 15, and the BILL, that is, the usage details are displayed on the video input / output device 11 in the customer room. For example, a room number,
Usage date, total summary breakdown, total billed total,
Items such as details of the billing statement are shown. The usage statement is
The display can be switched between English and Japanese, and the switching is automatically performed on the Web server 22 side, and can also be switched by a request from the guest room. For example, the menu display button 31 of “Return to Menu” and the English display button 32 for switching to English display are displayed on the screen, and the menu display button 31 and the English display button 32 are selected by using a cursor key of the remote controller 13 or the like. It can be switched. Also, in the above screen display, the conventional 1
The overflow data by screen output is not the next screen, but the output data is scrolled up and down by a remote controller so that all data can be displayed on one screen.

FIG. 4 shows a display example of linen information. The linen information can be displayed on the television screen of the video input / output device 11 by operating an exclusive remote control carried by an employee in all guest rooms and each linen room of the hotel. The display content of the linen information is determined by a message of the host computer 20, and always displays the latest information. FIG. 4 shows an example in which the status (state) of each guest room on the fifth and sixth floors of the hotel is displayed. Also on this linen display screen, as with the BILL display screen, all data can be displayed by scrolling up and down by operating a remote controller. In FIG. 4, the state of each room is indicated by abbreviations, and the legend is shown below.

“Night”: Check-in / stay (stay) “Out”: Scheduled to depart today “Empty”: Check-out / vacancy “Disability”: Out-of-order “Finger”: Cleaning request “Medium”: Cleaning start / During cleaning “Point”: Waiting for inspection / Cleaning completed “Complete”: Inspection completed “Early”: Pre-assigned The contents of the above legend are specified in the dedicated remote control in advance. The employee can input information such as “cleaning start”, “cleaning end”, and “inspection completed” using the dedicated remote controller. These pieces of input information are sent to the Web server 22.

When the employee inputs the above information from the dedicated remote controller, the guest room status is changed by the processing of the Web server 22 as shown in FIG. That is, when "cleaning start" is input in the state of "cleaning request", the cabin status changes to "cleaning". If you enter "cleaning complete" in this "cleaning" state, the cabin status will be "waiting for inspection"
Changes to If "inspection completed" is input in the "inspection waiting" state, the cabin status is changed to "inspection completed". When this "inspection completed" state is reached, C / I (check-in) becomes possible. This C / I (check-in)
Is provided from the host computer 20. Information transmission between the host computer 20 and the Web server 22 is performed via the CATV head-end device 15 and the serial communication line 25.

Although the above embodiment has been described with reference to a case where the present invention is applied to a hotel, the present invention can also be applied to a hospital, a recreation facility, a condominium, and the like. Further, the present invention can be similarly implemented when a device such as the Internet STB 17 having a Web browser function is installed on the user side, for example, at the place of the video input / output device 11. When the input / output device having the Web browser function is installed instead of the video input / output device 11, the STB controller 16 and the Internet STB
It is not necessary to provide 17.

[0031]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, a low-cost general household device having a browser function can be used for BI
An LL display function and a linen display function can be realized. In addition, for billing control and billing in commercial use of the Internet, billing can be distinguished between free content and paid content by performing each billing control at an appropriate timing using a method to determine the user's usage operation. Becomes

In the guest room or the linen room, the employee can operate the exclusive remote control to display and check the linen information on the screen, and can also input the status of each guest room, thereby improving work efficiency. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an information management system using a browser according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary view showing a menu display screen in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary view showing an example of a BILL display screen in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary view showing an example of a linen display screen in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a change in display of a guest room status when status information of each room is input on the linen display screen of FIG. 4;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Video input / output device 12 Keyboard 13 Remote control 14 Video trunk line 15 CATV head end device 16 STB controller 17 Internet STB 18 LAN communication equipment 19 Internet communication network 20 Host computer 21 Internet server 22 Web server 23 html trap control CGI 24 Ethernet LAN 24 25 serial Communication line 31 Menu display button 32 English display button

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G06F 15/21 360 (72) Inventor Tadashi Makino 1406 Hasunuma, Omiya City, Saitama Prefecture Yagi Antenna Omiya Plant ( 72) Inventor Takeshi Ueda 1406 Hasunuma, Omiya City, Saitama Prefecture Yagi Antenna F-term in Omiya Plant, Inc. BB05 BC18 BC23 BD02 BD07 5E501 AB06 AB14 AB15 AB18 BA05 CA02 CB01

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of video input / output devices having a browser function connected to a head-end device of a CATV system in a building, and an Internet STB having a Web browser function connected to the head-end device via an STB controller. A LAN communication device for connecting the Internet STB to an Internet communication network,
An internet server connected to a communication device, wherein the internet server has a web server
An information management system based on a browser, comprising a trap control CGI, wherein a request from the video input / output device is processed by the html trap control CGI. 2. The Internet server, in response to an Internet billing processing request input from a video input / output device on the user side, controls the button link of each content screen output in html by html trap control CGI. To determine the content of the request, determine the URL of the free / paid content, obtain the information before accessing the Internet information, make a charging determination in advance, and control the display of the charging warning screen based on the determination result. 2. The information management system using a browser according to claim 1, wherein a charge accounting process is performed. 3. The Internet server processes a predetermined information display request input from a video input / output device on the user side by an html trap control CGI, and displays a video on the user side by a CGI controlled by html and java script. 2. The information management system according to claim 1, wherein a screen is displayed on an input / output device. 4. The browser according to claim 3, wherein the predetermined information display request input from the video input / output device on the user side is for various types of billing, usage statement display, and linen display. Information management system. 5. The Internet server, when a linen display request is input and designated from the video input / output device on the user side, cleans each room to the video input / output device on the user side by the html trap control CGI. 4. The information management system according to claim 3, wherein a status is displayed.