KR20040017581A - Home shopping method using a digital set-top box - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A home shopping method using a digital set-top box is provided to make the home shopping by providing the PPL(Product PLacement) information simultaneously with appearance of a PPL product while a user views the VOD(Video On Demand) by using the digital set-top box. CONSTITUTION: If a shopping related category is selected from many categories on an initial screen of a TV by turning on the digital set-top box, the detail option items are displayed. If a VOD cinema is selected by selecting the VOD cinema viewing(S22), the digital set-top box displays the VOD cinema received from a system operating device and offers the information of the PPL product appearing on the VOD in real-time by user's intention(S32). If the user wants to buy the product from the PPL information, a price settlement of the product is advanced. If the price settlement is carried out, the digital set-top box provides the information for the price settlement to a service providing device through the system operating device.

Description

Home shopping method using a digital set-top box}

The present invention relates to a home shopping method using a digital set-top box, and more particularly, a digital shopping system is provided by providing a purchase information of a product appearing at a predetermined VOD screen simultaneously with the appearance of the corresponding product using a digital set-top box. It relates to a home shopping method using a set-top box.

Since launching the digital satellite broadcasting service with about 1 million subscribers in the US DirecticTV in 1994, some of the world's leading broadcasters have begun to prepare and prepare digital satellite broadcasting. It will be carried out in earnest and cable TV will be digitally broadcasted in the future.

As the broadcasting has evolved from analog to digital, the biggest change is to receive paid professional channel services for each subscriber according to the multi-channel of broadcasting, and to support two-way communication between broadcasters and subscribers. Bidirectional information transmission and reception between viewers can be made.

As the two-way information transmission and reception is performed, viewers can actively participate in information such as programs and advertisements to be watched, and this can be realized by internet access through a high-speed communication network such as ADSL.

The home shopping apparatus using the conventional digital set-top box among the services using the two-way broadcasting is already disclosed in Korean Patent No. 2001-085033, and the home shopping apparatus using the digital set-top box disclosed in Korean Patent No. 2001-085033. As shown in FIG. 1, a broadcasting station 100 including a broadcasting base station 101 for transmitting a broadcasting signal and a data management server 102 of the broadcasting station, a satellite and terrestrial wave (not shown), or a cable transmission line 200. , Digital set-top box 310 and CAS (Conditional Access System Module) module 320, digital broadcast receiving system 300, smart card 400, TV monitor 500, wireless remote control 600, the CAS module An Internet server 700 connected to the external server 320 to communicate with an external server, an authentication server 800 for performing financial authentication for payment of information about a subscriber, and a home shopping server 900 are performed.

According to this configuration, in order to perform home shopping, the digital set-top box 310 receives a two-way broadcast transmitted through the satellite and terrestrial or cable transmission line 200, smart card 400 is inserted into the CAS module 320 In order to receive a secure service as a legitimate subscriber in accordance with the payment of the viewing fee, authentication processing for home shopping is performed through the Internet 700. The authentication server 800 authenticates the purchase process for home shopping by inserting the smart card 400 into the CAS module 320 installed in the digital broadcasting reception system 300, and transmits the corresponding authentication information to the computer of the financial institution. The home shopping server 900 receives the authentication information processed by the authentication server 800 and transmits the purchase processing information of home shopping to the data management server 102 of the corresponding broadcasting station.

That is, after watching a home shopping broadcast of the digital TV, the user (home shopper) presses the purchase button of the wireless remote controller 600 and inserts the smart card 400 into the digital broadcast receiving system 300, and the smart card 400. ) Is inserted, check the user's confirmation by entering the user's password, and if the user is confirmed, it ends after purchase confirmation.

Such a home shopping apparatus using a conventional digital set-top box is compact and lightweight, despite the use of a smart card that is easy to carry and has excellent security. There is a problem of having to insert a smart card, and there is a problem in that it is inconvenient to see the screen being viewed since the purchase process information is unconditionally displayed irrespective of the user's intention on the monitor being watched.

In addition, the home shopping apparatus using the conventional digital set-top box is to receive only the program of the home shopping-related channel transmitted from the broadcasting station, which mainly has only the housewife of the home as the main customer has no marketing effect for the children in the home.

The present invention has been proposed in order to solve the above-mentioned problems. A digital set-top box is provided so that home shopping can be performed by simultaneously providing the purchase information of a product appearing at the time of a predetermined VOD watching using the digital set-top box. The purpose is to provide a home shopping method using.

1 is a block diagram of a home shopping system using a conventional digital TV set-top box,

2 is a configuration diagram of a system to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied;

3 is an internal configuration diagram of the digital set-top box shown in FIG.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a home shopping method using a digital set-top box according to an embodiment of the present invention.

?? Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

10: Server of credit card company 20: Device for providing service

30: Internet 40: system operating device

50: digital set-top box 100: broadcasting station

101: broadcasting base station 102: data management server

200: transmission line 300: digital broadcasting receiving system

310: digital set-top box 320: CAS module

400: smart card 500: TV monitor

600: wireless remote control 700: Internet

800: authentication server 900: home shopping server

In order to achieve the above object, a home shopping method using a digital set-top box according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is provided with a service content selected by a user using a telephone line of a VDSL to display in real time through a television, and a credit card terminal. Your digital set-top box with features; A system operating device installed at a predetermined unit of area and relaying service contents required by the digital set-top box in real time by two-way data communication with an arbitrary digital set-top box; And a service providing apparatus for providing corresponding service contents to a corresponding system operating apparatus in real time according to a service content request from the system operating apparatus input through the Internet.

A first step of displaying detailed selection items on a monitor of the television when the digital set-top box is turned on and a shopping-related category is selected from among a plurality of categories displayed on the initial screen on the television; When the VOD movie view is selected from the displayed detailed selection items and the desired VOD movie is selected, the digital set-top box receives the selected VOD movie from the system operating system and displays it on the television. A second process of providing purchase information of goods appearing during the screening in real time; A third process of inducing payment for a corresponding product when a user's purchase selection for a certain product is made among purchase information of the product provided in real time; And when the payment is made, the digital set-top box has a fourth process of providing information regarding the payment of the corresponding user to the service providing device through the system operating device.

Hereinafter, a home shopping method using a digital set top box according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a configuration diagram of a system to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied and receives a service content selected by a user using a telephone line of a VDSL and displays it on a television in real time, and a digital set-top box of a user having a credit card terminal function ( 50); It is installed by a predetermined regional unit, and is connected to the digital set-top box 50 of the plurality of users in the region through a telephone line of VDSL, and required by the corresponding digital set-top box by two-way data communication with any digital set-top box. System operating apparatus for providing a service content in real time (40); Receiving and storing various service contents from a content providing device (not shown), and corresponding service contents in real time according to service content requests from the system operating device 40 input through the Internet 30. A service providing device 20 which is provided to 40 and is capable of producing a predetermined paper sheet; And a server 10 of a credit card company.

Here, the content providing device is a device managed by a content provider, the service providing device 20 is a device managed by a service provider, the system operating device 40 is a system operator (that is, a virtual store that is granted goodwill) It can be called an operator).

In FIG. 2, only two system operating units 40 are shown, but more than one may be used. One system operating unit 40 is capable of two-way communication with about 150 digital set-top boxes 50. Of course, the one system operating device 40 may be two-way communication with more than 150 digital set-top box 50, as well as can be expanded.

The service providing apparatus 20 includes: a first storage unit for storing contents related to various services; A streaming server which transmits the service contents stored in the first storage unit to the system operating apparatus 40 through the Internet, and inputs the input service contents to the first storage unit; A storage area network (SAN) switching unit installed between the first storage unit and the streaming server to switch service content movement between the first storage unit and the streaming server; A web / database server for delivering various service contents provided from the content providing apparatus (not shown) to the streaming server through the Internet; Additional information of service contents stored in the first storage unit (for example, location and serial number of each service content, access information of each service operating device, access information of a content providing device, billing information, and operation of other service providing devices) A second storage unit for storing information necessary for the storage; And a Manager PC that searches, inserts, deletes, updates, and reconstructs additional information stored in the second storage unit through the DML command in the web / database server.

The service providing apparatus 20 and the content providing apparatus (not shown) are interconnected by the Internet connected to the web / database server, and the service providing apparatus 20 and the system are connected through the Internet 30 connected with the streaming server. The operating devices 40 are interconnected.

In addition, the first storage means a large capacity, which can be expanded as needed, and is used in the same manner as using one storage space with the help of the sand switching unit. That is, the first storage unit is physically independent of a plurality, but is logically a storage space.

The service providing apparatus 20 receives movie or value-added data from a content providing apparatus (not shown) and stores it in the first storage unit. The stored content is 10 megabytes to several gigabytes. Therefore, in order to solve this, it is necessary to have a switch and a plurality of storage unit.

In addition, the streaming server in the service providing apparatus 20 supplies the service contents to the system operating apparatuses 40 in various places at the same time by using a method of reproducing voice, video, animation, etc. in real time on the Internet.

The San switching unit performs service content movement between the first storage unit and the streaming server by a fiber channel.

In addition, the streaming server provides service contents to multiple system operating apparatuses 300 at the same time using a method of reproducing voice, video, animation, etc. in real time on the Internet.

According to the service providing apparatus 20 shown in FIG. 2, for example, when a content providing apparatus (not shown) supplies the content of a movie "Missing Spirited by Sen and Chihiro" to the service providing apparatus 20, the service providing apparatus is provided. 20 stores the contents of the movie "Sen and Chihiro's missing" in the first storage unit.

That is, if the service providing device 20 receives the content of the movie "Sen and Chihiro's missing" provided by the content providing device (not shown) through the Internet, the web / database server is connected to the first storage unit via the switching unit. Save it. And additional information (i.e., the location and serial number where the movie "Sen and Chihiro is missing", access information of each system operating device, access information of a content providing device (not shown), and various other service providing devices). Information necessary for the operation of 20 is stored in the second storage unit through a small computer system interface (SCSI). The manager fish retrieves, inserts, deletes, updates, and reorganizes the data stored in the second storage through the DML (Data Manipulation Language) command to the web / database server. The result is passed to the second store.

On the other hand, the system operating device 40, the storage unit for storing the service content provided from the service providing device 20; A media server connected to the Internet by a cable or an optical cable to receive service contents provided from the service providing apparatus 20, and temporarily store and output the service contents in the storage unit; A multi-point distribution unit for setting and outputting a plurality of transmission paths for service contents output from the media server; And a private branch exchange which transmits the service contents from the multipoint distribution unit to the corresponding digital set-top box 50 via a telephone line.

The media server is connected to the streaming server of the service providing apparatus 20 by a cable or an optical cable to receive service contents and store the received service contents in a storage unit.

Then, the digital set-top box 50, as shown in Figure 3, from a plurality of audio / video input sources (e.g., television tuner, movie camera, VTR, cable broadcasting, satellite broadcasting, CCD camera, microphone, etc.) A plurality of analog / digital converters (ADCs) for receiving audio / video signals and digitally converting them; The audio / video signal of one channel selected from the audio / video signals of the multiple channels provided from the analog / digital converters is output through the storage signal output port, and the audio / video signals and MPEG of the multiple channels are output. An audio / video switching unit for outputting the decoded audio / video signal through the audio / video signal output port; An MPEG encoder which receives an audio / video signal output through the storage signal output port of the audio / video switching unit and encodes the MPEG signal; A storage unit in the form of a hard disk drive (HDD) in which audio / video signals encoded by the MPEG encoder are stored, and MPEG contents input through a VDSL line or a LAN line are stored; A sub-control unit which stores the output data from the MPEG encoder and the MPEG contents input through the VDSL line or the LAN line to the storage unit, and outputs the data stored in the storage unit; A main control unit for providing a control command for storing and outputting data to the storage unit to the sub control unit, and controlling a corresponding operation based on a remote signal from the remote control received from the remote control receiving unit; An MPEG decoder which MPEG-decodes the data outputted from the sub-controller and transmits the MPEG-decoded data to the audio / video switching unit; A screen generator for making a video signal of one channel among the video signals of the plurality of channels from the audio / video switching unit as a main screen and a video signal of other channels as a sub picture; Compare the contents of the 24-bit overlay memory of RGB 8: 8: 8 to a specific color key value (i.e. the color key value corresponding to the OSD character (or picture) required for the screens to be output). An OSD synthesizer for implementing a graphic OSD suitable for a screen from the screen generator; A video output section for displaying a video screen from the OSD synthesizing section on a television monitor (not shown); An audio / digital / analog converter for analog converting a voice signal of an active channel to the main screen provided by the audio / video switcher; An audio output unit for outputting audio from the audio digital / analog conversion unit to the outside through a speaker of a television (not shown); RAM which stores codes of operating programs required for the digital set-top box; And a ROM in which all programs related to driving and control of the digital set-top box are stored.

Here, the audio / video switching unit, the sub control unit and the OSD synthesis unit are field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), which are types of programmable logic chips.

The main control unit and the sub control unit communicate with each other via a local bus. The ROM further stores personal information (eg, name, address, credit card information, ID card information, etc.) of the user using the digital set-top box.

In addition, in FIG. 3, the screen generating unit, the OSD synthesizing unit, the image output unit, the audio digital / analog converting unit, and the audio output unit are collectively referred to as a plurality of channels of audio and video output from the audio / video switching unit. It is called audio / video output means outputted according to a user's selection condition under the control of the controller.

The MPEG encoder has a built-in first-in-first-out (FIFO) buffer (not shown), and the secondary controller directly accesses the buffer of the MPEG encoder, and the main controller processes only the control command. The main control unit processes only the control command and the address index for the storage unit, and the sub control unit is in charge of the remaining large burst transmission.

In addition, in FIG. 3, the VDSL line is a telephone line, and a VOD is realized through the VDSL line, and the LAN line is composed of two Internet lines as the Internet line. A network interface card (NIC) is installed between the VDSL line and the two LAN lines and the local bus. The network interface card ensures that the digital set-top box and the network are always connected. The network interface card connected to the two internet lines is provided with a network address translation (NAT) function, which is used as a home gateway device. In other words, if the user is not in a VDSL environment, the digital set-top box of the present invention may be directly connected to an Internet line (ie, a LAN line).

In addition, the ROM of FIG. 3 includes VOIP software for enabling a digital set-top box to perform a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) function, and a slick (SLIC-SUBSCRIBER LINE INTERFACE CIRCUITS) on a local bus to perform the VOIP function. One output terminal of is connected, and the other output terminal of the SLIC is connected to the audio / video switching unit.

The SLIC outputs an analog audio signal input as a digital audio signal. The digital audio signal output from the output terminal of the SLIC is input to the audio / video switching unit and also to the main control unit via the local bus.

The main control unit controls the VOIP function based on the VOIP software after storing the VOIP software stored in the ROM when the digital set-top box is powered on. Therefore, the digital set-top box of FIG. 3 also serves as a VOIP phone. That is, the digital set-top box of FIG. 3 has a built-in VOIP function for transmitting voice and video using IP.

In FIG. 3, an audio / video signal input from the audio / video input source (ie, a signal input through an analog / digital converter) is composed of an RCA input and a super video (S-video), and the four input sources. Only the audio / video signal of one input source is stored in the storage unit through the MPEG encoder and the sub-controller according to the command of the main controller. Since the four input sources are transmitted to the screen generating unit in real time, they are displayed in a combination of up to three channels while displaying the stored contents.

In addition, the digital set-top box of FIG. 3 can be selected and used in a VDSL telephone environment or a LAN environment capable of high-speed communication of up to 25 megabytes per second and 12 megabits per second in both directions. When a network is selected, a server (not shown) is selected. Through updating the latest content information and necessary data is provided by the user's request. In addition, to facilitate multi-tasking, data input through the network is stored in a hard disk drive (HDD) storage for temporal buffering, and then read from the storage to convert the MPEG decoder and audio / video. It is transmitted to the screen generator through the unit.

According to the digital set-top box of FIG. 3 configured as described above, various contents can be provided as desired through the VDSL line or the LAN line as well as the normal PVR function, and output is also possible.

In addition, since the digital set-top box 50 has a user's credit card terminal function therein, the risk of leakage to the outside can be eliminated by directly managing the credit card.

In another embodiment, the user is provided with a separate magnetic card or IC card or similar hardware containing personal information and credit card information, and the digital set-top box of the present invention has a device (not shown) for accessing the same. It can be used as security and billing information.

Next, a home shopping operation using a digital set top box according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4.

When the user turns on the digital set-top box 50, a number of categories are displayed on the initial screen on the television associated with the digital set-top box 50, in which the user is associated with the shopping-related VOD category (i.e., shopping-related). When the VOD content is selected (step S10), detailed selection items (eg, shopping channel selection, shopping mall-specific VOD view, VOD movie view, etc.) of the shopping-related VOD content are displayed on the monitor of the television.

Here, when the user selects the shopping channel selection by viewing the detailed selection items displayed on the monitor of the television (step S12), the corresponding selection signal is sent to the digital set-top box 50. The digital set-top box 50, which is wirelessly transmitted and receives the selection signal (that is, a signal indicating that the shopping channel selection is selected), selects a shopping channel that the user wants to watch, and transmits the program of the shopping channel to the television. Since it is shown live through the user, the user is watching the program of the shopping channel of his choice while watching the television (step S14) and is provided with the purchase information of the associated specific product in real time (step S16).

On the other hand, when the user selects the shopping mall-specific VOD view by operating the remote controller (not shown) by viewing the detailed selection items displayed on the monitor of the television (step S18), the corresponding selection signal is transmitted to the digital set-top box 50. The digital set-top box 50 is wirelessly transmitted to and receives the selection signal (that is, a signal indicating that the shopping mall-only VOD view is selected) requests the shopping mall-only VOD to the system operating apparatus 40, and the system operating apparatus. 40 provides the digital set-top box 50 with a shopping mall-specific VOD (eg, clothing, appliances, food, accessories, etc.). Accordingly, the shopping mall-specific VOD is displayed on the monitor of the television associated with the digital set-top box 50, and the user selectively views the product information on the desired product while viewing the displayed shopping mall-specific VOD (step S20).

Also, when the user selects the VOD movie view by operating the remote controller (not shown) by viewing the detailed selection items displayed on the monitor of the television (step S22), the corresponding selection signal is sent to the digital set-top box 50. The digital set-top box 50, which is wirelessly transmitted and receives the selection signal (i.e., the signal indicating that the VOD movie view is selected), asks the user through the television monitor what the desired VOD movie is and wants the user to watch it. When the VOD movie is input (or selected), the VOD movie is requested to the corresponding system operating device 40. Accordingly, the system operating device 40 transmits a DVD-quality high-definition VOD movie (ie, a user-selected VOD movie) to the digital set-top box 50. Here, the purchase information of the goods appearing in the DVD-quality high-definition VOD movie transmitted from the system operating device 40 to the digital set-top box 50 is included.

The digital set-top box 50 displays a message on the monitor of the television inquiring whether or not to provide the purchase information of the goods during the VOD screening. Accordingly, the user decides according to his or her intention (step S24).

If the user does not select to provide the purchase information (eg, the character and the purchase information of the affiliated product) of the product during the VOD screening, the digital set-top box 50 prevents the purchase information of the product from being displayed. Only the selected VOD movies are displayed on the screen by the television. Accordingly, the user can watch the DVD-quality high-definition VOD movie without viewing the purchase information of the product (step S26), and when the DVD-quality high-definition VOD movie is finished, the digital set-top box 50 is the DVD-class watched by the user. The purchase information of the product related to the high quality VOD movie is displayed on the screen of the television (step S28).

If the user selects to provide purchase information (eg, character and affiliated product purchase information) of the product during the VOD screening, the digital set-top box 50 displays the VOD movie selected by the user on the screen. The purchase information of the product related to the DVD-quality high-definition VOD movie watched by the user together with the VOD movie screening is displayed in real time in a subtitle at the bottom of the screen of the television (step S32).

In this way, when the user selects a purchase for a certain product by looking at the purchase information of the product displayed on the monitor (screen) of the television, that is, the user selects the purchase by operating the remote controller, the corresponding purchase selection is made. The signal is wirelessly transmitted to the digital set-top box 50, and the digital set-top box 50 stores the product in a shopping cart (e.g., a storage) based on the received purchase selection signal (step S34).

Subsequently, the digital set-top box 50 induces the user to decide whether to pay by credit card, giro payment, or TV home banking on the monitor of the television (step S36).

If the user selects among credit cards, giro payments, and TV home banking by operating the remote control, the user is prompted to select partial payments such as one-time payment, three-month payment, six-month payment, and the like (step S38).

If the user selects among the partial payment such as lump sum payment, 3-month installment payment, 6-month installment payment, etc. by operating the remote control, the digital set-top box 50 displays the selected product stored in the shopping cart on the screen of the television. The display is displayed again to confirm and the product is added and deleted (step S40).

In addition, when the user selects the giro payment, the corresponding digital set-top box 50 provides the user's various input information (eg, address, name, telephone number, etc.) for the giro payment through the system operating device 40. To the 20, the service providing apparatus 20 produces the giro paper based on the input information, and the manager of the service providing apparatus 20 sends the produced giro paper to the user. .

After confirmation or addition / deletion of the purchase by the user, if the payment by credit card or TV home banking is performed, the digital set-top box 50 sends the user's card use authorization number through the system operating device 40. The service providing device 20 transmits to the service providing device 20 and receives the user's card use approval number, and notifies the card use approval number to the server 10 of the credit card company (step). S42).

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, the user (consumer) can easily purchase various products by providing subtitles and information on purchase of the products (characters and affiliated products) appearing at the time of VOD screening. Instead, the automatic payment is made only by clicking a button on the remote control, and thus, the inconvenience of ordering a product is eliminated compared to the conventional home shopping.

Unlike the prior art, since the input of the smart card is not necessary, there is an effect that concerns about leakage of the card number and password are eliminated.

On the other hand, the present invention is not limited only to the above-described embodiment, but can be modified and modified within the scope not departing from the gist of the present invention, the technical idea to which such modifications and variations are also applied to the claims Must see

Claims (6)

A user's digital set-top box that receives a service content selected by a user using a telephone line of a VDSL and displays it on a television in real time, and has a credit card terminal function; A system operating device installed at a predetermined unit of area and relaying service contents required by the digital set-top box in real time by two-way data communication with an arbitrary digital set-top box; And a service providing apparatus for providing corresponding service contents to a corresponding system operating apparatus in real time according to a service content request from the system operating apparatus input through the Internet. A first step of displaying detailed selection items on a monitor of the television when the digital set-top box is turned on and a shopping-related category is selected from among a plurality of categories displayed on the initial screen on the television; When the VOD movie view is selected from the displayed detailed selection items and the desired VOD movie is selected, the digital set-top box receives the selected VOD movie from the system operating system and displays it on the television. A second process of providing purchase information of goods appearing during the screening in real time; A third process of inducing payment for a corresponding product when a user's purchase selection for a certain product is made among purchase information of the product provided in real time; And When the payment is made, the digital set-top box includes a fourth process of providing information regarding the payment of the corresponding user to the service providing device through the system operating device. . The method of claim 1, The detailed selection items are a shopping channel selection, a shopping mall-only VOD view, and a VOD movie view. The method of claim 1, Purchasing information of the goods provided in real time in the second process is displayed on the bottom of the screen of the television as a subtitle home shopping method using a digital set-top box. The method of claim 1, If the user does not select to provide the purchase information of the goods appearing during the VOD movie screening in the second process, when the VOD movie ends, the purchase information of the related goods is displayed as a subtitle at the bottom of the screen of the television. Home shopping method using a digital set-top box. The method of claim 1, The payment method is a home shopping method using a digital set-top box, characterized in that the payment by credit card, payment by Jiro payment, payment by TV home banking alternative. The method of claim 5, When payment by credit card or TV home banking is performed, the digital set-top box transmits the user's card use approval number to the service providing device through the system operating device, and receives the user's card use approval number. The service providing apparatus is a home shopping method using a digital set-top box characterized in that notifying the server of the credit card company use authorization number.