KR20020061884A - Videotex Terminal Using General Network - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An image information service terminal is provided to use general communication networks, and to transceive various information between a terminal server and a user information service terminal, thereby directly using various information services at home. CONSTITUTION: An external A/V terminal(101) is connected to external input/output devices. An LCD(103) is used for GUI screen processing. A camera(102) transmits a motion picture in real time. A GUI(104) processes a screen necessary for operating an information service terminal, and processes a menu interface. An information screen processor(105) shows information supplied from a terminal server through the first communication network on a screen. Message processors(106, 116) transceive services between the information terminal and the terminal server. An A/V Codec(107) compresses and restores a motion picture and a voice signal. Protocol processors(108, 118) process a communication protocol and an information service terminal protocol necessary for information transceiving between the information service terminal and the terminal server. The first communication network interfaces(109a, 109b) are physically connected to communicate the information service terminal and the terminal server through the first communication network.

Description

Video information terminal using general communication network {Videotex Terminal Using General Network}

The present invention relates to a video information terminal using a general communication network, and more particularly, it is possible to send and receive various information including text, video, and voice between a terminal server and a user information terminal using a general communication network such as a PSTN, LAN, or the Internet. An information service terminal for implementing an information service system.

A conventional information terminal is a portable information terminal.

The portable information terminal adds a communication function to a form such as an electronic organizer, and may be, for example, a PDA or a PCS.

The PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) is a general term for a palm-sized small device having a calculation, information storage and retrieval function for personal or business purposes, and is often used to maintain a schedule calendar and address book information.

The PCS is a wireless telephone service that is somewhat similar to a cellular phone, but expands mobility with a focus on personal services.

This is sometimes called digital cellular (although cellular systems can also be digital).

The portable information terminal includes a wireless call receiver therein to receive call information from the outside, and includes a modem therein so that the user can transmit information to the outside when the user connects the portable information terminal to a communication line. It can receive information from the outside, and the types of information that can be processed include text and still images.

However, the services provided by conventional portable information terminals are limited to limited types of information such as simple text or still images that record personal information or communication, and thus the range of information usage is not very wide. There is a problem that can not display the information on the screen.

Even in image processing, only a still image can be shown to show a natural image like a video.

In addition, since the internal information camera is not installed in the portable information terminal, it cannot provide real-time video, and because it does not have its own video processing function such as video codec, it cannot show the video and there is no external A / V terminal so Could not utilize.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the information terminal user directly connects various types of information services through a service company operating a terminal server by using the terminal at a predetermined position and connecting to a general telephone network (PSTN). In addition, it provides a voice call function and a video call function that complies with the H.324 standard protocol. Therefore, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a video information terminal using a general communication network that does not require a separate voice / video phone. It is.

The present invention can also display video information unlike conventional portable information terminals and information retrieval systems that handle relatively simple information such as texts and still images, and can display real-time video by e-mail using a camera connected to the terminal. The purpose is to provide a video information terminal using a general communication network that can be written and exchanged with other users.

The present invention also provides a video information terminal using a general communication network that can achieve a more visual advertising effect when the service provider provides an advertising service because the video can be displayed during operation of the terminal using the video processing function of the terminal. The purpose is.

The present invention also provides a general communication network capable of processing a variety of services such as text and video mail transmission, text message transmission, information search such as stock / weather, movie / performance video preview and ticket reservation service, Internet search, etc. The purpose is to provide a video information terminal used.

The present invention also uses a conventional communication network such as PSTN, network, Internet, etc., and by using a computer as a terminal server, a video information terminal using a general communication network that requires no additional equipment necessary for system construction and has a low construction cost. The purpose is to provide.

1 is an overall system configuration of an information terminal according to the present invention.

2 is a system configuration diagram of an information terminal server according to the present invention.

3 is a system flowchart showing an operation procedure of the information terminal according to the present invention.

4 is a system flowchart showing an operation procedure of the information terminal server according to the present invention.

5 is a flowchart of an interworking service on a protocol according to an operation of an information terminal according to the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

100: information terminal 101: external video / audio

102: camera 103: LCD

104: GUI105: information screen processing unit

106,116: message processing unit 107: A / V codec

108, 118: protocol processing unit 109: first communication network

109a, 109b: first communication network interface

110: terminal server 111: information service interface

112: server DB113: the second communication network

113a: second communication network interface 114: external server

200: mail server 201: content server

201a,... , 201n: Content DB202: Text message transmission service

203: mobile phone

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, FIGS. 1 to 5.

1 is an overall system configuration of an information terminal to which the present invention is applied.

The information terminal 100 is hardware and software that receives a service such as an information search from the terminal server 110.

The external video / audio 101 is a device used by being connected to an external A / V terminal of the information terminal 100 and is an external input / output device such as an external camera, a camcorder, or a TV.

The LCD 103 is used for GUI screen processing such as screen output of video and text information.

Camera 102 is an internal CCD or internal CMOS camera used for real-time video transmission.

The GUI 104 processes screens and menu interfaces necessary for operating the information terminal 100.

The information screen processing unit 105 (Inforamtion Viewer) shows the information provided from the terminal server 110 on the screen.

The message processor 106 transmits and receives a service between the information terminal 100 and the terminal server 110.

The A / V codec 107 compresses and restores video and audio signals.

A protocol processor 108 processes a communication protocol and an information terminal 100 protocol necessary for transmitting and receiving information between the information terminal 100 and the terminal server 110.

The first communication network 109 is a communication network between the information terminal 100 and the terminal server 110 includes a PSTN, a LAN, and the Internet.

The first communication network interface 109a is suitably physically connected to enable effective communication between the information terminal 100 and the terminal server 110.

The information terminal 100 has a smart update function to automatically update the information used by storing it in the information terminal 100 with new information when necessary, and this function includes the information terminal 100 and the terminal server 110. This is done automatically after the connection, and the information is stored in a storage means such as a ROM.

The information terminal 100 can be used to process all moving images, still images, audio, and general data (text and binary). When the information terminal 100 is implemented using the H.324 standard protocol, The H.263 codec and the G.723.1 codec are used for speech processing.

The communication protocol and the A / V codec 107 may vary depending on the information terminal implementation.

The modem is embedded in the information terminal 100 and uses the H.324 protocol, which is an international standard multimedia communication protocol, on the PSTN and implements its own information service protocol using the user data transmission / reception function of the H.324 protocol. The information terminal 100 of the present invention that can process a variety of information is implemented.

The information terminal 100 is equipped with a telephone circuit and a modem to support a video call function that supports the H.324 protocol by using a modem, a mounted camera, a display device (LCD, TV, etc.) together with a general telephone function. The information terminal 100 of the present invention enables a video call with another video terminal or a video phone supporting the H.324 protocol through a general telephone network (PSTN) without passing through the terminal server 110.

2 is a service system configuration diagram illustrating a configuration and operation method of a terminal server.

The terminal server 110 is hardware and software that processes a service requested from the information terminal 100 and provides information to the information terminal 100.

The first communication network interface 109b is appropriately physically connected to enable effective communication between the information terminal 100 and the terminal server 110.

The protocol processor 118 processes a communication protocol and a terminal server 110 protocol necessary for transmitting and receiving information between the information terminal 100 and the terminal server 110.

The message processing unit 116 transmits and receives a service between the information terminal 100 and the terminal server 110.

An information service interface 111 obtains necessary information or processes services from hardware connected to the terminal server 110 and other servers connected to a communication network.

The server DB 112 stores various kinds of information required for the operation of the terminal server 110.

The second communication network 113 is a communication network between the terminal server 110 and the external server 114 that is accessed by the terminal server 110, such as a LAN and the Internet.

The second communication network interface 113a is appropriately physically connected to communicate effectively between the terminal server 110 and the external server 114.

The external server 114 is another server on the network that accesses from the terminal server 110.

3 is a system flowchart describing the operation procedure of the information terminal.

4 is a system flowchart describing an operation procedure of the information terminal server.

The user of the information terminal 100 accesses the terminal server 110 by selecting a menu on the screen of the information terminal 100 or by using a specific key (S100).

When connected to the terminal server 110, the top service menu is displayed on the screen of the information terminal 100 (S102).

If it is determined whether or not there is an end request (S104), if there is an end request, it terminates, and if not, the information terminal 100 determines whether or not the user selects a specific service item on the screen (S106) and does not select a specific service item. Return to step S104.

When a specific service item is selected and the index of the service item and the contracted service code and related data are sent to the terminal server 110 (S108-S116), the terminal server 110 analyzes the data received from the information terminal 100. After the requested information is retrieved and appropriately processed to transmit to the information terminal 100 or process the requested service (S118-S122).

When the service menu item on the screen is selected in the step S106, the information terminal 100 receives the sub-menu list from the terminal server 110 again or requests the terminal server 110 for the selected service function to display the information terminal 100 screen. It can show the information provided from the terminal server 110 to.

In this case, a button or a cursor is placed on a service item and an enter key is pressed on the keypad of the information terminal 100 to select or press a number key to perform a corresponding service function.

On the other hand, the terminal server 110 is connected to the information terminal 100 (S200), when the termination request is received (S202) ends.

If the service is received from the information terminal 100 without receiving the termination request (S204), it is checked whether the service code is correct (S206), and if it is not the correct service code, an unknown message is transmitted to the information terminal 100.

If the correct service code is confirmed, it is determined whether to use the external server 114 (S208), and if the external server 114 is not used, the information is directly processed using the server DB 112 linked to the terminal server 110. do.

That is, the server DB 112 retrieves the information (S212) and determines whether or not service processing is possible (S216). If service processing is not possible, a reject message is transmitted to the information terminal 100 (S228).

If service processing is possible, the service processing operation is performed (S218), and whether there is transmission information is determined (S220), and if there is transmission information, a response message is transmitted to the information terminal 100 (S222).

If there is no transmission information, service processing is performed (S224), and an acknowledgment message is transmitted to the information terminal 100 (S226).

If the external server 114 is to be used in the step S208, access to the external server 114 on the second communication network 113 connected to the terminal server 110 can obtain necessary information or allow the server to process the service. have.

That is, when a service process is requested to the external server 114 in a state of being connected to the external server 114 (S210), the external server 114 determines whether there is transmission information (S230), and if there is transmission information, the terminal. Information is sent to the server 110 (S234).

If there is no transmission information, the service is processed (S232), the terminal server 110 notifies the processing result (S236), and the terminal server 110 determines whether or not the processing (S238), and if it has been processed, confirms the information terminal ( 100) (S240), if not processed, and transmits a rejection message to the information terminal (100) (S242).

Generally, as described above, the information terminal 100 is connected to the terminal server 110, but on the contrary, the terminal server 110 may be connected to the information terminal 100. For example, the terminal server 110 may be connected to the information terminal 100. The information terminal 100 may automatically access the information terminal 100 when a certain time has been set for a predetermined service by the user so that the information terminal 100 may operate a specific function.

The information terminal 100 may have a smart update function of automatically updating the information used by storing it in the information terminal 100 with new information when necessary, and the function of the information terminal 100 and the terminal server. Immediately after the connection between the 110 is made automatically.

Information service protocols and service messages contracted between the information terminal 100 and the terminal server 110 are used to process information such as plain text, still images, video, text, and video E-mail.

Implementation of the protocol exchanged between the information terminal 100 and the terminal server 110 may vary depending on the contents of the service provided and the processing method of the service message, and the service message on the protocol used is a request or an indication. It is divided into Indication, Acknowledge, Response, Reject, Unknown, etc.

The Request message is a message that must receive a response from the other party, and the Indication message simply informs the other party of the information.

When receiving the above two service messages from the other party, the response message sent to the other party is simply an acknowledgment message that is used to approve the service request and perform the requested service, along with a series of service information. ) There is a message.

Reject message is used to reject request received from the other party.

In addition, when the received message does not include a mutually agreed service code, an unknown message is sent to inform the requesting party of the wrong service.

The information terminal 100 according to the present invention can be used to process both video and still images, audio, and general data (text and binary). When the information terminal 100 is implemented using the H.324 standard protocol. The H.263 codec may be used for video processing and the G.723.1 codec may be used for voice processing. Such a communication protocol and A / V codec 107 may vary according to the implementation of the information terminal 100.

5 shows a flow of service and service messages interworked during H.324 communication, including a data mode connection of an modem, an H.324 connection process, and a communication connection between the information terminal 100 and the terminal server 110.

5 is a summary of the overall content and processing procedure of the present invention.

The four elements shown at the top of the drawing, that is, the GUI 104, the first communication network 109, the terminal server equipment, and the second communication network 113 are environments required for requesting and processing information services, and their meanings are as follows. .

The GUI 104 is an interface between the user and the information terminal 100, and information such as a user input / selection screen for accepting a request from the user and a request from the user, or a notification function to the user. The terminal 100 functions to display information on the screen to the user.

For example, the service menu screen and the service processing screen of the information terminal 100 are shown.

The first communication network 109 is a communication network between the information terminal 100 and the terminal server 110, and usually means a PSTN which is a general telephone network.

The terminal server equipment is server equipment such as a server server 112 and a server DB 112 connected to the terminal server 110.

The second communication network 113 is a communication network between the terminal server 110 and the database and the external server 114.

The following describes the objects (people, equipment) that request and process information services.

A user is a person who operates the information terminal 100.

The information terminal 100 is an information service device that a user uses to request or process information.

The terminal server 110 is a server system that substantially processes user requests and sends information to the information terminal 100. The terminal server 110 generally refers to a computer.

Server DB 112 is a data server that stores information to be sent to the user's information terminal (100).

The external server 114 is another server on the network that the terminal server 110 uses to perform a function that cannot be processed.

In the present invention, the information service is performed by the user and the information terminal 100, the terminal server 110, the server DB 112 connected to the terminal server, and the external server 114 exchange information with each other.

In FIG. 5, the flow of time is represented from the top to the bottom, and in the same line, the direction of internal operations (request / response of information, data transfer, etc.) between two objects in the direction of the arrow is represented.

The double arrow indicates a process that is performed simultaneously between two objects.

For example, when the [user] first selects the <information terminal menu>, the [information terminal] makes a {ring} to the [terminal server] according to the user's {server connection request}.

In the above example, [] refers to the object, <> refers to the operation of the object, and {} refers to internal operations (information request / response, data transmission, etc.) between the objects.

Accordingly, FIG. 5 shows that the information terminal system is generally performed in the following order.

The user selects the information terminal 100 menu.

The information terminal 100 attempts a telephone connection to the terminal server 110.

The terminal server 110 is connected to the voice call in response to the call request (Ring) of the information terminal 100.

Modem data mode is connected by attempting modem data mode connection for data exchange between information terminal 100 and terminal server 110.

H.324 connection is attempted between the information terminal 100 and the terminal server 110 to exchange H.324 protocols.

The H.324 connection between the information terminal 100 and the terminal server 110 is completed and a user login is performed.

The information service is performed by performing a service request / response by exchanging data between the information terminal 100 and the terminal server 110, and this process may be repeated.

The information service is performed independently for each service.

Therefore, each service # of FIG. 5 is not listed according to the passage of time, and is performed only when the corresponding service # menu is selected.

The user returns to the top menu or selects the information service release (logout) menu from the information terminal 100 menu.

The information terminal 100 performs a user logout by releasing the H.324 connection while notifying the terminal server 110 of the H.324 disconnection.

The terminal server 110 is notified of the disconnection from the information terminal 100 and releases the H.324 connection.

According to the present invention, an information terminal user can use an information terminal at home and connect to a general telephone network to use a variety of information services directly at home through a service company operating a terminal server. It also features video calling that complies with the H.324 standard protocol, eliminating the need to purchase a separate voice / video phone.

Another advantage of the present invention is that unlike conventional portable information terminals and information retrieval systems that handle relatively simple forms of information such as text and still images, it can also show video information, using a camera connected to the information terminal E-real-time video You can write with -mail to send and receive with other users.

In addition, since a video advertisement can be displayed during the operation of the information terminal using the video processing function of the information terminal, the advertisement company can achieve a more visual advertisement effect when the service provider provides the advertisement service.

In addition, various information services such as text and video mail transmission and reception, text message transmission, information retrieval such as securities and weather, movie and performance video preview and ticket reservation service, and internet search can be performed with one information terminal.

In addition, the information terminal system uses existing communication networks such as PSTN, Network, Internet, etc., and uses a computer as a terminal server, thus eliminating the additional equipment necessary for the system construction and low construction cost.

Claims (4)

An external A / V terminal connected to an external input / output device such as an external camera, camcorder, or TV, LCD which is used for GUI screen processing such as screen output of image and text information, The camera used for real-time video transmission, A GUI that processes screens and menu interfaces required for operating an information terminal, An information screen processing unit for displaying on the screen information received from a terminal server through a first communication network. A message processing unit for transmitting and receiving services between the information terminal and the terminal server; An A / V codec that compresses and restores video and audio signals, A protocol processing unit for processing communication protocols and information terminal protocols required for transmitting and receiving information between the information terminal and the terminal server; In the first communication network which is a communication network between the information terminal and the terminal server, the first communication network interface that is physically connected properly so as to effectively communicate between the information terminal and the terminal server, Image information terminal using a general communication network comprising a. The method of claim 1, wherein the modem is further embedded in the information terminal to process a variety of information, such as text and video using the H.324 protocol on the PSTN and the user data transmission and reception function of the H.324 protocol Video information terminal using communication network. The video terminal of claim 1, wherein the information terminal further includes a modem and a telephone circuit, and supports a video call function supporting the H.324 protocol, thereby supporting other information terminals or a H.324 protocol through a PSTN network. A video information terminal using a general communication network, characterized in that video calls as well as voice calls. The image using a general communication network according to claim 1, wherein the information terminal is automatically updated by receiving information necessary for performing the information terminal from the terminal server immediately after the connection between the information terminal and the terminal server and storing the information in the storage means. Information terminal.