KR101686183B1 - Method and apparatus for providing digital goods using url coupon - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for providing a digital product using a URL coupon, the method comprising: generating a URL for providing a digital product including information on the digital product; generating a URL coupon including the URL for providing the digital product; Receiving the digital goods provision request at the URL for digital goods offering, authenticating the user, and identifying the authenticated user information and the digital goods with the digital goods management server, And transmitting the information processing request including the information, thereby making it possible to provide digital goods more conveniently and safely.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING DIGITAL GOODS USING URL COUPON [0002]

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing digital goods using URL coupons.

As e-commerce develops, coupons for providing digital goods have appeared. Normally, the coupon issuer provides the coupon code to the user and the user directly inputs the coupon code to the coupon issuer side system. Such digital commodity coupons are inconvenient for the issuance, management, and use of the digital commodity coupons, and are less secure, so that more convenient and safer coupons are required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a method and apparatus for providing a digital product using a URL coupon.

An apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a communication unit for transmitting and receiving data; And generating a URL for providing a digital product including information on the digital product, generating a URL coupon including the URL for providing the digital product, receiving a digital product provision request via the communication unit with the digital product providing URL And a control unit for authenticating the user and transmitting the information processing request including the authenticated user information and the identification information on the digital goods to the digital goods management server through the communication unit.

An apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a communication unit for transmitting and receiving data; And generating a URL for providing a digital product including information on the digital product, generating a URL coupon including the URL for providing the digital product, receiving a digital product provision request via the communication unit with the digital product providing URL And a controller for providing the digital goods in response to the digital goods provision request.

An apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a communication unit for transmitting and receiving data; And a communication unit for receiving a coupon issue request from the URL for coupon issuance through the communication unit, and transmitting, through the communication unit, a URL coupon corresponding to the coupon issue request And transmits the digital product providing request to the digital goods management server through the communication unit, and transmits the authenticated user information and the digital goods information to the digital goods management server through the communication unit, And a control unit for transmitting an information processing request including identification information on the information processing apparatus.

An apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a communication unit for transmitting and receiving data; And a communication unit for receiving a coupon issue request from the URL for coupon issuance through the communication unit, and transmitting, through the communication unit, a URL coupon corresponding to the coupon issue request And a controller for receiving the digital product provision request from the URL for providing a digital product included in the URL coupon through the communication unit and providing the digital product in response to the digital product provision request.

An apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a communication unit for transmitting and receiving data; And a URL for issuing a coupon that includes information on the digital product, receives a URL coupon provision request from the user, transmits a coupon issue request to the URL for coupon issuance through the communication unit, And a control unit for receiving the URL coupon including the URL for providing digital goods corresponding to the coupon issue request and providing the URL coupon to the user.

Preferably, the control unit stores identification information on the URL coupon, compares the received digital goods provision request with identification information on the stored URL coupon, and determines whether the received digital goods provision request is a normal request .

Preferably, the control unit determines whether the coupon issue request is received from a predetermined URL.

Preferably, the control unit generates the URL coupon in real time upon receipt of the coupon issue request.

Preferably, the control unit performs the user authentication using the user ID of the social network service.

Advantageously, the information contained in the URL coupon can be encrypted by an encryption algorithm.

Preferably, the information contained in the URL for coupon issuance may be encrypted by an encryption algorithm.

Preferably, the URL coupon may be a markup language element including the URL for providing the digital goods.

Advantageously, the URL coupon may be a limited number URL coupon capable of providing the digital product a predetermined number of times.

Advantageously, the URL coupon may be a time limited URL coupon capable of providing the digital goods for a predefined period of time.

Advantageously, said URL coupon is an unlimited URL coupon capable of providing an unlimited number of said digital goods.

A communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a first server and a second server, wherein the first server comprises: a first communication unit for transmitting and receiving data; And generating a URL for providing a digital product including information on the digital product, generating a URL coupon including the URL for providing the digital product, and transmitting the digital product providing request to the digital product providing URL via the first communication unit And a first control unit for authenticating a user and transmitting an information processing request including identification information on the authenticated user information and the digital goods to the second server via the first communication unit, The second server includes: a second communication unit for transmitting and receiving data; And a second controller receiving the information processing request and providing the digital goods to the authenticated user.

A communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a first server and a second server, wherein the first server comprises: a first communication unit for transmitting and receiving data; And a server for receiving a coupon issue request from the second server via the first communication unit with the URL for coupon issuance, And transmits the URL coupon corresponding to the coupon issue request to the second server, receives the digital goods provision request from the URL for providing the digital goods included in the URL coupon through the first communication unit, authenticates the user, A second communication unit for transmitting and receiving data, a second communication unit for transmitting and receiving data, and a second control unit for performing a request for providing a product and a process corresponding to the authenticated user. And a second communication unit for receiving a coupon issue request from the user via the second communication unit, and for transmitting the coupon issue request to the first server via the URL for coupon issuance, And a second control unit for receiving the URL coupon from the first server through the second communication unit and providing the URL coupon to the user through the second communication unit.

A method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: generating a URL for providing a digital product including information on a digital product; Generating a URL coupon including the URL for providing the digital goods; Transmitting the URL coupon; Receiving a digital goods provision request at the URL for providing the digital goods; Authenticating the user; And transmitting an information processing request including the authenticated user information and the identification information on the digital goods to the digital goods management server.

A method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: generating a URL for providing a digital product including information on a digital product; Generating a URL coupon including the URL for providing the digital goods; Receiving a digital goods provision request at the URL for providing the digital goods; And providing the digital goods in response to the digital goods provision request.

A method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: generating a URL for issuing a URL coupon including information on a digital product; Receiving a coupon issue request at the URL for coupon issuance; Transmitting a URL coupon corresponding to the coupon issue request; Receiving a digital goods provision request with a URL for providing a digital goods contained in the URL coupon; Authenticating the user; And transmitting an information processing request including the authenticated user information and the identification information on the digital goods to the digital goods management server.

A method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: generating a URL for issuing a URL coupon including information on a digital product; Receiving a coupon issue request at the URL for coupon issuance; Transmitting a URL coupon corresponding to the coupon issue request; Receiving a digital goods provision request with a URL for providing a digital goods contained in the URL coupon; And providing the digital goods in response to the digital goods provision request.

A method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: storing a URL for issuing a URL coupon including information on a digital product; Receiving a URL coupon provision request from a user; Transmitting a coupon issue request to the URL for coupon issuance; Receiving a URL coupon including a URL for providing a digital goods corresponding to the coupon issue request; And transmitting the URL coupon to the user.

The present invention includes a computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute a method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 is a view schematically showing a configuration of a digital goods providing system using an URL coupon according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram schematically illustrating a flow of a digital product providing method using an URL coupon according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG.
FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram schematically illustrating a flow of a digital product providing method using a URL coupon according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in order to clarify the technical idea of the present invention. In the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a computer system according to an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. For convenience of explanation, the apparatus and method are described together when necessary.

1 is a view schematically showing a configuration of a digital goods providing system using an URL coupon according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a digital goods management server 110, a URL coupon management server 120, and a secondary distribution server 130 that can communicate with each other. These may be servers managed by the same business entity or servers managed by different business entities. The digital goods management server includes a communication unit 140 and a control unit 150. The URL coupon management server includes a communication unit 160 and a control unit 170. The secondary distribution server includes a communication unit 180 and a control unit 190, . Each communication unit transmits and receives data, and each control unit processes data transmitted and received through each communication unit. The specific operation thereof will be described below with reference to FIG. 2 and FIG.

FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram schematically illustrating a flow of a digital product providing method using a URL coupon according to an embodiment of the present invention. In a case where a URL coupon is directly provided to a user from a URL coupon management server side without a secondary distributor . Referring to FIG. 2, the digital goods management server 110 transmits URL coupon issue information to the URL coupon management server 120 (210). The URL coupon issue information is information used for issuing a URL coupon. For example, the URL coupon issue information includes identification information of a company on the digital goods management server side, identification information of an application related to the digital goods, name of the URL coupon, The network address, the type of URL coupon, the identification information of the digital product, the network address of the image representing the digital product, the name of the digital product, the detailed description of the digital product, and the number of digital products. Here, the digital goods may include digital subscriptions, discount coupons, free shipping coupons, etc., as well as various digital contents such as digital media, electronic books and game items.

The type of the URL coupon includes, for example, a limited-number URL coupon capable of providing a digital product a predetermined number of times, a limited-time URL coupon capable of providing a digital product for a predefined period, There is an unlimited URL coupon that can be made. For a limited number of URL coupons, a predefined count of 1 results in a one-time URL coupon that is used only once and is discarded.

The digital goods management server side can transmit the URL coupon issue information to the URL coupon management server side through the communication unit 140 and can transmit the URL coupon issue information to the recording medium for offline delivery or oral delivery, .

The URL coupon management server that has received the URL coupon issue information generates a URL for providing a digital product containing information on the digital product (220). The information on the digital goods is information used to provide the digital goods to the user, and may include some of the URL coupon issuing information. Information contained in URL coupons, such as information on digital goods, can be encrypted by a cryptographic algorithm such as AES, DES, or SEED for security purposes.

The URL coupon management server generates a URL coupon including the URL for providing the digital goods (230). When the URL coupon is generated on the side of the URL coupon management server, the digital commodity management server side does not need to develop or manage a system other than making a decision about issuing a coupon. Therefore, SMEs can easily issue coupons.

The URL coupon may be a markup language element including the URL for providing the digital goods, for example, an HTML tag block as follows.

<a href = "http://www.testntservice.com/linpon.php?linponid=a~1S $ dSZK; mIkBKv9823? * 1029 @ xzX! = as? 23x-0% csh0ElC + lh ~ sPOo2B = + a23df # ? " title = "Story of ranch" target = "_ blank">

<img id = http://demo.testntservice.com/images/linpon_normal.jpg

 src = "http://demo.testntservice.com/images/linpon_normal.jpg" style = "">

The URL coupon may have a similar form, or may simply be the URL itself for providing digital goods.

The URL coupon management server provides the generated URL coupon to the user 200 (240). For example, URL coupons can be delivered to users via email or text messages. At this time, the URL coupon management server may provide a URL coupon according to a request for providing a URL coupon (for example, purchase of a URL coupon) or may provide a URL coupon unilaterally without request of the user (for example, free distribution of a URL coupon) .

When the user sends a digital product offer request to the URL of the URL coupon, the URL coupon management server receives the digital product offer request through the communication unit (250). For example, if the URL coupon is the above-described HTM tag block, the URL coupon shown in FIG. 4 may be displayed on the web browser on the user side, and the user may transmit the digital product offer request to the URL coupon management server by clicking the URL coupon .

The URL coupon management server receiving the digital product provision request performs the user authentication (260). The user authentication can be performed using the user ID of the digital goods management server or the own user ID of the URL coupon management server, or can be performed using a third party user ID such as a social network service. Particularly, when the user authentication is performed by using the user ID of the widely used social network service such as Facebook, the user can reduce the troubles of having to go through a separate registration procedure when using the URL coupon, Before using the URL coupon, you can contact the digital goods management server later to receive the digital goods.

When the user authentication is completed, the URL coupon management server transmits an information processing request including user information authenticated to the digital goods management server and identification information on the digital goods through the communication unit (270). The digital goods management server receiving the information processing request provides the digital goods to the user (280). The provision of the digital goods may be to perform information processing on the user account in the digital goods management server or to actually deliver the digital goods to the user.

According to the embodiment, the URL coupon management server stores identification information on a URL coupon to be generated, and upon receipt of the digital product provision request, compares the identification information with the identification information about the stored URL coupon to determine whether the received digital product provision request is a normal request The security can be enhanced.

Using the URL coupon according to the present invention makes it very convenient for the user to use the coupon since the coupon code need not be directly recognized and input by the user. In other words, existing coupons require the user to visually recognize the coupon code, find the specified application or web site and input the coupon code by hand, and if the input / output device is limited, such as a mobile device, There is a disadvantage in that it is difficult to view the code and the application for inputting the code at the same time or to switch between the applications, while the URL coupon according to the present invention is automatically performed when the user simply clicks the link. On the other hand, the server side need not develop a separate device (GUI or the like) for allowing the user to input the coupon code.

In addition, the existing coupon code is generally alphanumeric or only numeric (eg ASLK-1223-1LKJ-SDF8) to make it easy for the user to visually recognize and input manually, confusing capital letters I , The lowercase letter l (L), the number 0 and the letter O, and it is difficult to distinguish between uppercase and lowercase letters. As the number of available characters decreases, the length of the coupon code becomes longer. However, the length of the coupon code can not be made too long for user's recognition and inputting convenience. That is, existing coupon codes have limitations in the complexity, such as the available characters and the length of the codes, so that it is hard to use a highly secure encryption algorithm, and the pattern of security is inferior. Accordingly, the coupon issuer has a burden to develop and manage a separate pattern algorithm, and it is very inconvenient for the user to directly input even such a limited form coupon code. Nevertheless, since the security of the code is low, And the automatic coupon generator was produced and distributed.

On the other hand, since the URL coupon according to the present invention does not need to be directly recognized and input by the user, it can have any length and any complex character (e.g., a ~ 1S $ dSZK; mIkBKv9823? * 1029 @xzX! = as? 23x-0% csh0ElC + lh ~ sPOo2B = + a23df #?). Therefore, the URL coupon according to the present invention is highly suitable for encrypting its contents by an encryption algorithm, and thus has an advantage of high security.

The URL coupon can have a very complex form of encryption, but because it uses a stronger encryption algorithm than the existing pattern scheme, the actual decrypted internal coupon value can have a very simple pattern rule (e.g., serial number). Therefore, unlike existing coupon system, development cost is very low and development difficulty is very low, so even beginner developers can make rules within half a day, but security is very high. In particular, it is difficult to search for and retrieve attribute values that match the coupon, because the coupon value of the existing coupon is complicated. However, the URL coupon according to the present invention is advantageous in that attribute values can be easily set and inquired because the internal coupon value is simple.

On the other hand, since existing coupons are difficult to generate in real time, generally large quantities must be issued in advance, and it is expensive to securely store and manage the coupon codes issued. On the other hand, the URL coupon according to the present invention is very easy to generate in real time because the internal coupon value is simple. Therefore, there is no need to store and manage a large amount of coupons on both the digital goods management server side, the URL coupon management server side, and the secondary distribution server side, and the coupon system operation cost is greatly reduced.

Although the case where the digital goods management server 110 and the URL coupon management server 120 are separated is described above, the two may be one server. In this case, the server generating the URL coupon 230 provides the digital product directly to the user in response to the digital product provision request of the user (280), and the user authentication 260 may be omitted in some cases. Steps 210 and 270 may occur within the server or may be omitted.

FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram schematically illustrating a flow of a digital product providing method using a URL coupon according to another embodiment of the present invention, in which a URL coupon is provided to a user through a secondary distributor. Secondary distributors include various sales systems such as Internet shopping, home shopping, convenience stores, and the like. In the following description of the embodiment of FIG. 3, description overlapping with the embodiment of FIG. 2 may be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 3, the digital goods management server 110 transmits URL coupon issue information to the URL coupon management server 120 (310). The URL coupon issue information 310 may include information for generating a URL for issuing a URL coupon in addition to those described in connection with the URL coupon issue information 210 in FIG. The delivery of the URL coupon issuing information may be performed by a computer communication through the communication unit 140, an offline delivery method, or the like.

The URL coupon management server that has received the URL coupon issue information generates a URL for coupon issue including information on the digital goods (320). According to the embodiment, if the attribute of the coupon is set to prefab in the URL coupon issue information 210 for generating the URL for digital goods provision shown in Fig. 2, a URL for coupon issue can be generated. The information contained in the URL for issuing the URL coupon can be encrypted by an encryption algorithm for security. An example of a URL for issuing a URL coupon is as follows.

http://www.testntservice.com:17201/Linpon/Prefab/=A#+jEaB?s1==

The URL coupon management server transfers (330) a URL for URL coupon issuing to the secondary distribution server 130 by way of computer communication or offline delivery method through the communication unit 160, and the secondary distribution server transmits the URL coupon for delivery The URL is stored in the storage device (340).

When the user 200 requests the secondary distribution server to provide the URL coupon (350), the secondary distribution server transmits the coupon issue request to the URL coupon management server as the URL for coupon issue (360). The URL coupon management server that has received the coupon issue request to the URL for coupon issue sends the coupon issue coupon to the secondary distribution server (370). According to an embodiment, the URL coupon management server may enhance security by determining whether a received coupon issue request is received from a URL of a pre-designated secondary distributor server.

The URL coupon generation process is the same as that described with reference to FIG. 2, and preferably the URL coupon management server generates a URL coupon corresponding to the coupon issue request in real time upon receiving the coupon issue request and transmits it to the secondary distribution server . In other words, in the case of existing coupons, in order to distribute coupons through a secondary distributor, a certain number of coupons (eg, 5000) must be generated in advance and transmitted to the secondary distributor. Therefore, both sides must securely store and manage a large amount of coupons When the coupon issuing URL is transmitted to the secondary distribution server as in the present invention, it is possible to generate the coupon in real time when the secondary distributor actually provides the coupon to the user without generating the coupon in advance, This is greatly saved.

In particular, the existing coupon method requires a significant effort of security contracts and a high level of security and management technology between digital product holders and distributors (such as consigners) for the purposes of tracking sales and calculating costs in distributing digital goods A lot of costs were incurred. However, according to the present invention, since the secondary distributor only transmits the URL and transmits the signal using the URL as it is, a device such as a separate DB connection with the coupon issuer side is not necessary and a separate programming There is no development burden and there is almost no possibility of error in operation of coupon system. The coupon issuer will be able to utilize various secondary distributors at no additional cost under the security contract.

The secondary distribution server receives the URL coupon including the URL for digital goods provision and provides it to the user (380). According to the embodiment, the secondary distribution server may partially modify the URL coupon received from the URL coupon management server and provide the URL coupon to the user, or receive information necessary for generating a URL coupon such as a URL for providing a digital product from the URL coupon management server, A URL coupon may be generated and presented to the user.

The manner in which the user uses the URL coupon is the same as that described with reference to FIG. The digital goods management server 110 and the URL coupon management server 120 may be one server instead of a separate server as described with reference to FIG.

The exemplary structures according to the present invention may be embodied in a computer program product recorded on a recording medium readable by program instructions, a software module, a microcode, a computer (including all devices having an information processing function) Logic circuits, custom semiconductors, or firmware. Examples of the computer-readable recording medium include ROM, RAM, CD, DVD, magnetic tape, hard disk, floppy disk, hard disk, optical data storage device, Transmission). In addition, the computer-readable recording medium may be distributed over network-connected computer systems so that computer readable codes can be stored and executed in a distributed manner.

The present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments shown in the drawings. These embodiments are to be considered as illustrative rather than limiting, and should be considered in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. The true scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the technical idea of the appended claims rather than the above description. Although specific terms are used herein, they are used for the purpose of describing the concept of the present invention only and are not used to limit the scope of the present invention described in the claims or the claims. It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. It is to be understood that the equivalents include all components that are invented in order to perform the same function irrespective of the currently known equivalents as well as the equivalents to be developed in the future.

Claims (13)

A communication unit for transmitting and receiving data; And
A URL for providing a digital product containing information on the digital product is generated,
Generating a URL coupon including the URL for providing the digital goods,
Providing the URL coupon,
Receiving a digital goods provision request to the digital goods providing URL through the communication unit,
Authenticate the user,
And a control unit for transmitting an information processing request including the authenticated user information and identification information on the digital goods to the digital goods management server through the communication unit when the user authentication is completed,
Wherein the information processing request is a request to provide the digital product to the authenticated user. A communication unit for transmitting and receiving data; And
A URL for providing a digital product containing information on the digital product is generated,
Generating a URL coupon including the URL for providing the digital goods,
Providing the URL coupon,
Receiving a digital goods provision request to the digital goods providing URL through the communication unit,
Authenticate the user,
And a controller for providing the digital goods to the authenticated user in response to the digital goods provision request when the user authentication is completed. 3. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Wherein,
Storing identification information on the URL coupon,
And compares the received digital product provision request with identification information on the stored URL coupon to determine whether the received digital product provision request is a normal request. 3. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Wherein,
And performs the user authentication using a user ID of the social network service. 3. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Wherein the information contained in the URL coupon is encrypted by an encryption algorithm. 3. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Wherein the URL coupon is a markup language element including the URL for providing the digital goods. 3. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Wherein the URL coupon is a limited number URL coupon capable of providing the digital product a predetermined number of times. 3. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Wherein the URL coupon is a time limited URL coupon capable of providing the digital goods for a predefined period of time. 3. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Providing the digital product to the authenticated user comprises:
And performs information processing to provide the digital goods to the account of the authenticated user. A communication system comprising a first server and a second server,
Wherein the first server comprises:
A first communication unit for transmitting and receiving data; And
A URL for providing a digital product containing information on the digital product is generated,
Generating a URL coupon including the URL for providing the digital goods,
Providing the URL coupon,
Receiving a digital goods provision request from the first communication unit through the URL for providing the digital goods,
Authenticate the user,
And a first controller for transmitting an information processing request including the authenticated user information and identification information on the digital goods to the second server through the first communication unit when the user authentication is completed,
Wherein the second server comprises:
A second communication unit for transmitting and receiving data; And
Receiving the information processing request,
And a second controller for providing the digital goods to the authenticated user. Generating a URL for providing a digital product including information on the digital product;
Generating a URL coupon including the URL for providing the digital goods;
Providing the URL coupon;
Receiving a digital goods provision request at the URL for providing the digital goods;
Authenticating the user; And
When the user authentication is completed, transmits an information processing request including the authenticated user information and identification information on the digital goods to the digital goods management server,
Wherein the information processing request is a request to provide the digital product to the authenticated user. Generating a URL for providing a digital product including information on the digital product;
Generating a URL coupon including the URL for providing the digital goods;
Providing the URL coupon;
Receiving a digital goods provision request at the URL for providing the digital goods;
Authenticating the user; And
And when the user authentication is completed, providing the digital goods to the authenticated user corresponding to the digital goods provision request. A computer-readable recording medium on which a program for performing the method of any one of claims 11 to 12 is recorded.

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