KR20100114407A - System for a contents sharing using mobile terminal with multiple network interfaces and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A contents sharing system using a mobile terminal having a multi network interface and a method for the same are provided to form one data cluster for contents sharing centered by the mobile terminal and to share contents between slave terminals, thereby sharing the contents with other terminal on the external net through the mobile terminal in a mobile terminals having communication interface with external net. CONSTITUTION: A cluster member management unit(122) registers external slave terminal and internal slave terminal to data cluster. A cluster contents management unit(121) generates data cluster meat information by contents profile information of the slave terminal. A cluster management unit(125) transmits the data cluster meta information to the slave terminal. The cluster management unit transmits the relevant contents to the slave terminal requesting the contents.

Description

System for a contents sharing using mobile terminal with multiple network interfaces and method

The present invention relates to a content sharing system and a method thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to a sharing system and a method using a mobile terminal having multiple network interfaces.

The present invention is derived from the research conducted as part of the IT growth engine technology development project of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and the Ministry of Information and Communication Research and Development. [Task management number: 2006-S-038-03, Task name: Terminal adaptation for mobile convergence computing Type embedded operating system development].

Common file or content sharing is done via web hard or peer-to-peer.

The web hard method has the advantage that the search is accurate and quick download is possible because both the content and the metadata about the content are stored in the web hard. However, all explosive content must be handled by the content providing server side, and thus, the server must be continuously expanded to provide new content. As a result, there are many difficulties in terms of cost and management, and it is difficult to provide free contents. Most of them are provided based on a paid service.

The P2P method can generally be divided into a distributed method and a centralized method. In the distributed method, both the content and the metadata about the content are distributed and retained by the users. In the centralized method, the metadata of the content is managed separately by a central server to provide search efficiency. Centralized peer-to-peer is generally preferred for fast search and search efficiency.

More specifically, in the case of a centralized peer-to-peer service, each peer node uploads metadata about its content to the central peer-to-peer server through a high-speed wired network, and then the central peer-to-peer server accesses the content owned by each peer node. It is a method of integrating and managing metadata about data. Therefore, the query message for content search is delivered to the central P2P server, and the central P2P server searches for the corresponding content using metadata. Such centralized P2P services include Nepster and eDonkey.

On the other hand, in the distributed P2P service, each peer node distributes and manages content and metadata about the content. Therefore, a query message for content search is broadcast to all peer nodes, and all peer nodes perform a search for the corresponding content in their content database, and then send the search result to the peer node that sent the query message. do. That is, if there is a peer node with the corresponding content, the peer node with the corresponding content transmits a reply message including its location information (eg, IP address) to the peer node that sent the query message. The peer node receiving the reply message holds the content using the storage location of the content included in the reply message (ie, the IP address of the peer node holding the content, and the relative file directory location within the peer node). Ask the peer node to send the content. The peer node holding the content completes a series of file sharing processors by transmitting the content to the peer node that requested the content. Such distributed P2P services include Gnutella and FreeNet.

Meanwhile, with the rapid proliferation of Wibro and 3G mobile communication services, mobile internet services are emerging as a new content sharing means. A representative example of mobile peer-to-peer services is Sun Microsystems' JXTA platform.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a structure of a conventional mobile peer-to-peer service (JXTA).

In the case of Red Star, commercialization has not yet been made, and development is underway based on open source from the R & D level. Red Star adopts the concept of proxy or relay server in order to overcome the battery limit of the terminal, which is the maximum limitation of mobile service, and the proxy server of the wired network acts as the proxy server of the mobile terminal. The mobile terminals 11, 13, and 15 are stored in the plurality of terminals 31, 33, and 35 through the meta information retrieval server 40 connected to the proxy server 20 when necessary. It searches for content, and if necessary, requests and downloads the content or uploads the content to the proxy server 20 to perform a similar P2P service.

However, in the case of the aforementioned mobile P2P service, it is difficult to view the P2P service as a pure concept. In addition, in the case of the conventional mobile peer-to-peer service, all mobile terminals should be able to access the Internet. Therefore, in order to receive the mobile peer-to-peer service, all mobile terminals must communicate with external networks (eg, HSDPA, WCDMA, etc.). There is a problem that must have In addition, all mobile terminals must pay a communication cost according to content transmission.

In addition, the mobile terminal that is provided with a wireless network interface (for example, Bluetooth, etc.) for short-range communication, but does not have a communication interface with the external network can not share content with other terminals in the external network There is this. Of course, there is a method in which a mobile communication terminal (a terminal capable of communicating with an external network) can be indirectly provided with content acquired from an external network using a short range communication method. There is a problem that can not provide a variety of content to the user because the choice is limited.

The present invention has been proposed to solve the above problems,

By forming one data cluster for content sharing around a mobile terminal (gateway terminal) having multiple network interfaces, and enabling the content to be shared between slave terminals registered in the data cluster, the slave terminal is connected to the external network. It is an object of the present invention to share content with other terminals existing in an external network even if the communication interface is not provided.

The gateway terminal according to the present invention is a cluster that registers the external slave terminal and the internal slave terminal to a data cluster according to a data cluster registration request from an external slave terminal connected through a mobile communication network and an internal slave terminal connected through a local area network. Member management unit; A cluster content manager configured to receive content profile information from the registered slave terminal and generate data cluster meta information based on the received content profile information; And a cluster manager configured to transmit the data cluster meta information to the registered slave terminal, and to process the corresponding content to be transmitted to the slave terminal that requested the content when a content request is received from the registered slave terminal.

In particular, the cluster content management unit may receive content profile information from the registered slave terminal periodically and update the data cluster meta information.

In addition, when the content request is received from the slave terminal registered in the data cluster, the cluster authentication unit for determining whether the content access level of the slave terminal requesting the content to determine whether the slave terminal has access authority to the content further comprising: It is done.

The mobile communication network may be any one of HSDPA, CDMA, WCDMA, WiBro, WiMAX, and UMTS.

The short range wireless network may be one of Zigbee, Bluetooth, UWB, wireless Ethernet, WLAN, RFID, Ruby, NFC, and infrared communication.

The apparatus may further include a QoS management unit configured to receive QoS request information from the internal slave terminals and to apply the requirements included in the QoS request information received from the internal slave terminals when interworking with the mobile communication network. It is done.

In addition, when a content request is received from the registered slave terminal, the cluster manager determines whether the corresponding content needs to be converted based on the device profile information of the slave terminal that requested the content, and if the conversion is necessary, And requesting conversion of the corresponding content.

The internal slave terminal may be connected to the local area network in an ad hoc mode.

Meanwhile, the content providing method according to the present invention is a method for providing content by a gateway terminal connected to an external slave terminal through a mobile communication network and connected to an internal slave terminal through a short range wireless network, wherein the external slave terminal and the internal terminal are provided. Registering the external slave terminal and the internal slave terminal to a data cluster according to a data cluster registration request from a slave terminal; Receiving content profile information from the registered slave terminal; Generating data cluster meta information using the content profile information; Transmitting the data cluster meta information to the registered slave terminal; And if the content request is received from the registered slave terminal, processing the corresponding content to be transmitted to the slave terminal that requested the content.

In particular, the content profile information is characterized in that it comprises one or more of the title, type, file size, and resolution information of the content held by the slave terminal.

The method may further include: periodically receiving content profile information from the registered slave terminal and updating the data cluster meta information; And transmitting the updated data cluster meta information to the registered slave terminal.

The processing of the corresponding content to be transmitted to the slave terminal requesting the content may include determining a content access level of the slave terminal requesting the content to determine whether the content is a slave terminal having access to the corresponding content. It is characterized by.

The processing of the corresponding content to be transmitted to the slave terminal requesting the content may include determining whether the corresponding content needs to be converted; And when the conversion is necessary, requesting the media converter to convert the corresponding content.

In addition, the step of requesting the media converter to convert the corresponding content, characterized in that it comprises the step of transmitting the device profile information and access information of the slave terminal requesting the content.

The method may further include transmitting a message indicating that the media converter has requested content conversion because the corresponding content needs to be converted, to the slave terminal that has requested the corresponding content.

The determining of whether the corresponding content requires conversion may include determining whether the corresponding content requires conversion by comparing device profile information of the slave terminal requesting the content with profile information of the corresponding content.

The registering of the external slave terminal and the internal slave terminal in the data cluster may include authenticating the external slave terminal and the external slave terminal using user authentication information included in the data cluster registration request message. Characterized in that.

In addition, receiving QoS request information from the internal slave terminals; And applying a requirement included in QoS request information received from the internal slave terminals when interworking with the mobile communication network.

A communication interface with an external network by forming a data cluster for content sharing centering on a mobile terminal (gateway terminal) having a multi-network interface and allowing content to be shared among slave terminals registered in the data cluster. Mobile terminals that are not equipped with the gateway terminal can share content with other terminals in the external network. Therefore, except for the cost incurred in the communication between the gateway terminal and the external network, since no additional communication cost is generated, various contents can be provided at a low communication cost.

In addition, by providing a mobile terminal that does not have a communication interface with an external network, a connection function with an external network may be provided so that these mobile terminals may share files with external computing terminals or receive basic Internet communication. .

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals are used for the same components, and repeated descriptions and detailed descriptions of well-known functions and configurations that may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention will be omitted. Embodiments of the present invention are provided to more completely explain the present invention to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the shape and size of elements in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity.

2 is a conceptual diagram schematically illustrating a content sharing system using a mobile terminal having a multi-network interface according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the content sharing system of the present invention includes a gateway terminal 100, a wireless network to which the internal slave terminal 200 and the gateway terminal 100 which form one wireless network centered on the gateway terminal 100. An external slave terminal 300 that exists outside of the, and the external slave terminal 300 and the media converter 400 connected via the Internet network.

The gateway terminal 100 is connected to one or more internal slave terminals 200 through an ad-hoc network 140 to form one mobile data cluster. At this time, the internal slave terminal 200 connected to the gateway terminal 100 through the ad hoc network is provided with a wireless network interface for short-range communication (for example, bluetooth, UWB, Zigbee, etc.), but the communication interface with the external network ( That is, the communication interface for accessing the Internet network corresponds to a mobile terminal not provided. For example, it may be a notebook, a PDA, a telematics terminal, an MP3 player, or the like.

The gateway terminal 100 plays a central role in configuring a mobile data cluster. That is, one mobile data cluster is managed by one gateway terminal 100, and the mobile data cluster is generated and destroyed around the gateway terminal 100. Therefore, as illustrated in FIG. 2, a plurality of mobile data clusters may be formed according to the number of gateway terminals 100. Each mobile data cluster may be connected to another mobile data cluster through a gateway terminal to configure one data sharing cluster (see FIG. 12).

According to the present invention, slave terminals can form one data cluster through a gateway terminal. Therefore, even a mobile terminal having no communication interface with an external communication network can share various contents with other terminals existing in the external network, and each slave terminal can share content without incurring additional communication costs. have. In the present invention, 'data cluster' means a content sharing area centered on the gateway terminal.

Hereinafter, for convenience of description, one gateway terminal 100 will be described as an example. In addition, the wireless network 500 formed around the gateway terminal 100 will be referred to as an 'internal network', and the Internet network 700 connected to the gateway terminal 100 through the mobile communication network 600 will be referred to as 'outside'. Network '. As shown in FIG. 2, a terminal existing in the internal network will be referred to as an internal slave terminal 200, and a terminal existing in the external network will be referred to as an external slave terminal 300.

The gateway terminal 100 serves as a gateway for transmitting a packet from the internal network to the external network through the mobile communication network 600 or for transmitting a packet from the external network to the internal network.

The media converter 400 receives a corresponding content from a slave terminal (including internal and external slave terminals) having the corresponding content in response to a content conversion request of the gateway terminal 100 and converts the content.

The configuration and functions of the above-described gateway terminal 100, the internal slave terminal 200, the external slave terminal 300, and the media converter 400 will be described in more detail later with reference to FIGS.

3 is a view for explaining the configuration of the gateway terminal in a content sharing system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

The gateway terminal 100 according to the present invention includes a user interface 110, a control module 120, an IP routing module 130, a wireless communication module 150, and a mobile communication module 160.

The wireless communication module 150 shares its network identifier with the internal slave terminal 200 to form a local area wireless network in the ad hoc mode centered on itself. In the embodiment of the present invention, it is assumed that a wireless local area network (WLAN) is used to form an ad hoc network. On the other hand, it is not limited to the above-described communication method, Bluetooth, Zigbee, infrared (IrDA), UWB (Ultra WideBand), NFC (Near Field Communication), Ruby (Rubee), Wireless Ethernet (Wireless ethernet) Of course, it can be applied by applying a short-range wireless communication method such as RFID.

The mobile communication module 160 performs a call set up in the mobile communication network to configure one data cluster (hereinafter, referred to as a 'data cluster') for content sharing by accessing external slave terminals through the mobile communication network. do. In more detail, the mobile communication module 160 performs a series of processes such as communication line setting processing with an external network, including obtaining an IP address, selecting a path through a network, and allowing a connection to a receiving terminal. An embodiment of the present invention will be described assuming that high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) is used as a mobile communication technology for accessing an external network. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described communication method, but is not limited to wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), wireless broadband (WiBro), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS). Of course, it can be applied by applying a mobile communication method such as).

When the content request is received from the slave terminals registered in the data cluster, the control module 120 processes the corresponding content to be shared with the slave terminal that requested the content.

In more detail, the control module 120 includes the cluster content manager 121, the cluster member manager 122, the device profile manager 123, the cluster manager 125, the cluster authenticator 127, and the QoS manager 129. ).

The cluster content manager 121 collects profile information from slave terminals registered in the data cluster, comprehensively organizes them, generates data cluster meta-information (DCMI), and then slaves belonging to the data cluster. To be sent to. The cluster content manager 121 stores the generated data cluster meta information in a database DB and manages it. The cluster content manager 121 transmits the data cluster meta information to the slave terminals registered in the data cluster periodically or whenever the information is updated, so that the slave terminals belonging to the data cluster can maintain the latest data cluster meta information. Make sure

The cluster member manager 122 manages registration, withdrawal, and login of slave terminals. In addition, the cluster member manager 122 identifies the current state of the slave terminals (eg, Log in / Log out / Join / Leave, etc.) and belongs to the data cluster, but logs out (ie, a data cluster registration request message to the gateway terminal). The slave terminals, which are not transmitted to the terminal 100 or are not in an activated state, to request registration to the data cluster using a message or a voice call function.

The device profile manager 123 receives a profile registration request (PRR) message from slave terminals registered in the data cluster, and uses the device profile information (eg, terminal type, manufacturer, specification, etc.) included in the data cluster to the data cluster. Manage profile information of registered slave terminals.

The cluster manager 125 transmits the data cluster meta information to the slave terminal registered in the data cluster, and when the content request is received from the slave terminal registered in the data cluster, the corresponding content may be transmitted to the slave terminal requesting the content. Process.

14 illustrates an example of a data cluster management screen in a user interface of a gateway terminal 100 and a slave terminal.

When the cluster authentication unit 127 receives a data cluster registration request (DCRR) from a slave terminal existing in the data cluster, the cluster authentication unit 127 checks the content access level included in the data cluster registration request message, and has a slave terminal having access to the corresponding content. Determine the cognition. If the access level satisfies a predetermined criterion, the content is provided to the corresponding slave terminal. Otherwise, the content is rejected.

The QoS manager 129 receives QoS request information from slave terminals registered in the data cluster, and applies the request included in the received QoS request information when interworking with an external network. In the existing routers, the function of providing QoS is not provided at all. However, the gateway terminal 100 according to the present invention provides a scheme for satisfying a desired level of QoS for each of the internal slave terminals connected to the ad hoc network. The method of providing QoS performs an absolute bandwidth mechanism in the IP routing module 130 by a control signal from the QoS management unit 129 or performs a relative bandwidth mechanism using a known class-based queue or a neighbored fair queue. Can be achieved. A person skilled in the art can easily infer a method of providing the above-described QoS through the present specification, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The IP routing module 130 allows the packet from the internal network to be delivered to the external network through the mobile communication network, or the packet from the external network is delivered to the internal network. As described above, QoS is provided by performing an absolute bandwidth mechanism according to a control signal from the QoS manager 129 or by performing a relative bandwidth mechanism using a known class-based queue or a neighbored fair queue.

The user interface 110 is an interface for a user to receive a data cluster service according to the present invention and may be implemented in the form of a graphical user interface (GUI). 15 shows an example of a multimedia management screen in the user interface of the gateway terminal 100 and the slave terminal.

4 is a diagram illustrating in detail the configuration of a slave terminal in a content sharing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The slave terminal 200 according to the present invention includes a user interface 210, a control module 220, and a wireless communication module 240.

The user interface 210 may be implemented in the form of a GUI as an interface for a user to receive a data cluster service according to the present invention.

The control module 220 includes a cluster manager 222, a device profile manager 224, a gateway terminal searcher 225, a cluster content manager 227, and a QoS requester 229.

The cluster manager 222 manages registration, withdrawal, and login of slave terminals in the data cluster. More specifically, the cluster manager 222 transmits a data cluster registration request (DCRR) to the gateway terminal 100 so that the slave terminal registers with the corresponding data cluster centered on the gateway terminal 100. Be sure to Similarly, when leaving or logging in, the corresponding request message is transmitted to the gateway terminal 100 to be processed to leave or log in.

The cluster manager 222 receives a data cluster registration replay (DCRP) indicating that the data cluster has been registered to the data cluster, and confirms that the cluster manager 222 has registered the data cluster. After the cluster manager 222 transmits the data cluster registration request to the gateway terminal 100, if the data cluster reply is not received from the gateway terminal 100 after the set time, the cluster manager 222 transmits the data cluster registration request to the gateway terminal 100. Send back to. The cluster manager 222 repeats the above-described process until the data cluster registration reply is received from the gateway terminal 100.

The device profile manager 224 may transmit its hardware-related information (eg, terminal type, manufacturer, specification, etc.) and information on all of the contents (eg, content title, type, file size, resolution, etc.) to the gateway terminal 100. Transmits a profile registration request (PRR) including a), so that the profile information of the slave terminal 200 is registered in the gateway terminal 100. The device profile manager 224 transmits the profile registration request to the gateway terminal 100, and if the profile registration reply is not received from the gateway terminal 100 after the set time, sends the profile registration request to the gateway terminal 100 again. do. The above-described process is repeated until the profile registration reply is received from the gateway terminal 100.

The gateway terminal searching unit 225 may share the WLAN SSID set by the gateway terminal 100 to form a wireless network centered on itself through a preset method, and participate in the wireless network in an ad hoc mode.

The cluster content manager 227 receives data cluster meta-information (DCMI) transmitted from the gateway terminal 100 periodically or whenever the information is updated to keep the data cluster meta information up-to-date. Manage.

The QoS requesting unit 229 transmits QoS requirements to the gateway terminal 100 so that the requested QoS is applied when interworking with an external network.

The wireless communication module 240 configures the WLAN in the ad hoc mode by sharing the WLAN SSID with the gateway terminal 100 and forms an ad hoc network around the gateway terminal 100. In addition, short-range wireless communication methods such as Bluetooth, zigbee, infrared, UWB (Near Wide Communication), near field communication (NFC), and ruby (Rubee) may be applied.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating in detail the configuration of a media converter in a content sharing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The media converter 400 according to the present invention includes a user interface 410, a control module 420, a content conversion module 430, and a wireless communication module 440.

The user interface 410 may be implemented in the form of a GUI as an interface for a user to receive a data cluster service according to the present invention.

The control module 420 determines whether a content conversion request is received from the gateway terminal 100, and when the content conversion request is received from the gateway terminal 100, requests the content to the slave terminal having the corresponding content. In this case, the content conversion request received from the gateway terminal 100 includes profile information of the slave terminal that requested the content, so that the content may be converted to be suitable for the corresponding slave terminal. The control module 420 outputs a content conversion command to the content conversion module 430 based on the profile information of the slave terminal that requested the corresponding content. In addition, the content conversion module 430 converts the corresponding content based on the profile information (that is, suitable for the slave terminal that requested the content).

The wireless communication module 440 receives a content conversion request transmitted from the gateway terminal 100 and processes the content converted by the content conversion module 430 to be transmitted to the corresponding slave terminal according to the request.

6 to 8 are flowcharts illustrating a process of configuring a data cluster and sharing content to slave terminals according to the present invention in detail.

Hereinafter, the gateway terminal 100 in the content sharing system according to an embodiment of the present invention uses a high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) as a mobile communication method for accessing an external network, and wirelessly accesses an internal network. It is assumed that the wireless local area network (WLAN) is used as the communication method.

First, the gateway terminal 100 activates the communication device for accessing the external network and the communication device for accessing the internal network, preparing and waiting for communication with the external network and the internal network (S102). In addition, the gateway terminal 100 performs a call set up in the mobile communication network to configure a data cluster (S104). In more detail, the gateway terminal 100 performs a series of processes, such as communication line establishment with the external network, including obtaining an IP address, selecting a path through a network, and allowing a connection to a receiving terminal. In addition, the gateway terminal 100 shares a WLAN Service Set Identifier (SSID), which is its network identifier, with the internal slave terminal 200 to form a wireless network around itself. That is, when the internal slave unit 200 configures the WLAN in the ad hoc mode and shares the WLAN SSID of the gateway terminal 100, one wireless network is formed (S106). At this time, the internal slave terminals 200 are assigned a private IP by a NAT (Network Address Translation) function provided by the gateway terminal 100. The gateway terminal 100 can provide basic internet access functions as well as a function for downloading the contents of the data cluster to the internal slave terminals 200 using the private IP assigned to the internal slave terminals 200. .

Next, the gateway terminal 100 configuring one ad hoc network waits for a data cluster registration request (DCRR) from the internal slave terminals 200 to which the private IP is allocated through the NAT function (S108). At this time, the gateway terminal 100 waits not only for the internal slave terminal 200 but also for a data cluster registration request from the external slave terminal 300 existing in the external network connected through the mobile communication network. Hereinafter, the internal slave terminal 200 and the external slave terminal 300 will be collectively referred to as a 'slave terminal'. Slave terminals to register in the data cluster transmits a data cluster registration request to the gateway terminal 100, the gateway terminal 100 receives a data cluster registration request transmitted from the slave terminal. When the gateway terminal 100 receives the data cluster registration request from the slave terminal (S110), the gateway terminal 100 transmits a data cluster registration reply (DCRP), which is a message indicating that the data cluster registration request has been registered to the data cluster (S112). ). In addition, the gateway terminal 100 registers the corresponding slave terminal in the data cluster after a predetermined authentication process using the user authentication information included in the data cluster registration request (S114).

Next, the gateway terminal 100 waits for a profile registration request (PRR) from the slave terminal registered in the data cluster (S116). In this case, the profile registration request message transmitted from the slave terminal includes hardware related information of the corresponding slave terminal and information on all of the content. When the gateway terminal 100 receives a profile registration request from the slave terminal registered in the data cluster (S118), the gateway terminal 100 transmits a profile registration reply (PRP) to the corresponding slave terminal (S120). The gateway terminal 100 registers the profile of the corresponding slave terminal (S122). In this manner, the gateway terminal 100 receives a profile registration request message from all slave terminals registered in the data cluster, and stores the hardware related information included in the profile registration request message and information on all contents held by the slave in the database. Save it.

In addition, the gateway terminal 100 generates data cluster meta-information (DCMI) by synthesizing the information stored in the database (S124), and generates all the cluster terminals registered in the data cluster. Are transmitted to them (S126). The data cluster meta information includes all or part of file resources (ie, metadata about content) of content owned by slave terminals registered to each data cluster. Accordingly, each slave terminal can search whether there is a desired content by using the data cluster meta information. In this case, the data cluster meta information does not include hardware profile information of each slave terminal.

In addition, the gateway terminal 100 confirms whether an acknowledgment message is received from each slave terminal registered in the data cluster in order to confirm whether the data cluster meta information is transmitted to all slave terminals registered in the data cluster (S128). . When the acknowledgment message according to the transmission of the data cluster meta information does not arrive from the slave terminal, the gateway terminal 100 retransmits the data cluster meta information and confirms whether the acknowledgment message is received from the slave terminal again.

When the gateway terminal 100 receives the acknowledgment message from all slave terminals registered in the data cluster, the gateway terminal 100 switches to the idle mode and checks whether a content request is received from the slave terminal registered in the data cluster (S130). ). All content transmission and sharing in the data cluster is controlled by the gateway terminal 100. That is, the gateway terminal 100 manages and controls content sharing and transmission made between slave terminals in the data cluster. In more detail, when the gateway terminal 100 receives a content request for content existing in the data cluster from a slave terminal belonging to the data cluster (S134), first, the gateway terminal 100 checks the content access level included in the received content request message. By determining whether the user has access to the content (S136).

As a result of the determination in step S136, when the legitimate user has access to the corresponding content, the gateway terminal 100 determines whether the corresponding content needs to be converted (S138). In more detail, the device profile of the slave terminal that requested the content is compared with the corresponding content profile information to determine whether the corresponding content needs to be converted. For example, if the resolution (320x480) of the display of the slave terminal requesting the content is lower than the resolution (1024X768) of the content, media conversion such as downsizing the content to fit the device profile and adjusting the bandwidth should be performed. do.

Therefore, as a result of the determination in step S138, when the content needs to be converted, the gateway terminal 100 does not immediately request the content from the slave terminal having the content, and converts the content to the media converter 400. Request (S140). In this case, the content conversion request message transmitted from the gateway terminal 100 to the media converter 400 includes device profile information and access information (eg, an IP address) of the slave terminal requesting the corresponding content. The media converter 400 may include access information for accessing the slave terminal having the corresponding content so as to request the corresponding content from the slave terminal.

As a result of the determination in step S138, when the corresponding content does not need to be converted, the gateway terminal 100 immediately requests the content from the slave terminal having the corresponding content. In this case, the content request message transmitted to the slave terminal includes access information of the slave terminal that requested the content.

In addition, the gateway terminal 100 transmits a confirmation message indicating that the content request has been normally received to the slave terminal requesting the corresponding content (S146). In this case, as a result of the determination in step S138, when the corresponding content needs to be converted and the media converter 400 needs to be converted, the gateway terminal 100 needs to convert the corresponding content to convert the content to the media converter 400. A message indicating that a request has been made (that is, a message indicating that the content sender has been switched to the media converter, not the slave terminal having the corresponding content) is included in the confirmation message.

9 to 10 are flowcharts illustrating in detail a process in which a slave terminal configures a data cluster and receives contents from another slave terminal according to the present invention.

As described above, the external slave terminal and the internal slave terminal in the content sharing system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the same configuration. Therefore, hereinafter, only internal slave terminals (hereinafter referred to as 'slave terminals') will be described.

First, the slave terminal activates the communication device to perform communication via the ad hoc network, and prepares and waits for communication (S202). When the communication device is activated and ready for communication, the slave terminal may configure the wireless ad hoc network by the gateway terminal 100 through a preset method or a separate acquisition method for connection with the gateway terminal 100. It connects to the SSID (Service Set Identifier) set in order (S204).

After the slave terminal secures the WLAN channel with the gateway terminal 100, the slave terminal transmits and waits for a data cluster registration request (DCRR) to the gateway terminal 100 (S206). One or more slave terminals transmit a data cluster registration request message to the gateway terminal 100 to form one data cluster around the gateway terminal 100.

Next, after the slave terminal transmits a data cluster registration request message to the gateway terminal 100, the slave terminal checks whether a data cluster registration reply (DCRP) message is received from the gateway terminal 100 (S208).

When the slave terminal receives the data cluster registration reply message from the gateway terminal 100 in step S208, the slave terminal is registered in the data cluster.

Next, the slave terminal transmits a profile registration request (PRR) to the gateway terminal 100 and waits (S210). In this case, the profile registration request message includes hardware related information of the corresponding slave terminal and information on all of the content. After transmitting the profile registration request in step S210, the slave terminal checks whether a profile registration reply (PRP) is received from the gateway terminal (100) (S212). When the profile registration reply is received from the gateway terminal 100, the slave terminal checks whether data cluster meta information (DCMI) is received from the gateway terminal 100 (S214).

If data cluster meta information is received in step S214 (S216). As described above, the data cluster meta information includes all or some file resources (that is, metadata about the contents) of the slave terminals registered in the data cluster. Accordingly, each slave terminal can search for content according to a user input using the data cluster meta information received from the gateway terminal 100. In this case, the data cluster meta information does not include hardware profile information of each slave terminal in order to prevent a problem caused by unnecessary data transmission (eg, wasting bandwidth and increasing storage capacity).

Meanwhile, the slave terminal displays the data cluster meta information (DCMI) received from the gateway terminal 100 to the user through the user interface, and the user can search whether there is content desired by the displayed information. If the desired content exists, it can be selected. When the user selects the desired content using the information displayed through the user interface of the slave terminal, a request message for requesting the selected content is transmitted to the gateway terminal 100 (S218).

Then, the slave terminal confirms whether a confirmation message according to the content request is received from the gateway terminal 100 (S220). When the slave terminal requesting the content in step S220 receives the confirmation message according to the content request from the gateway terminal 100, the slave terminal requesting the content is the content from the slave terminal or media converter 400 that holds the content. Check whether the transmission (S222). In this case, when the corresponding content needs to be converted (that is, when the content is not suitable for the slave terminal requesting the content by comparing the device profile information of the slave terminal requesting the content with the profile information of the content), the slave terminal requesting the content. Receives the content from the media converter 400, otherwise receives the content from the slave terminal holding the content.

When the corresponding content is received from the media converter or the slave terminal within the limited time, this is executed (S230). However, if not, the content re-request message is transmitted to the gateway terminal 100 so that the corresponding content can be received. At this time, the number of re-request is limited by the system.

11 is a flowchart illustrating a process of converting corresponding content and providing the same to a slave terminal by the media converter according to the present invention.

The media converter 400 activates the content conversion module and prepares and waits to receive and convert the content from the slave terminal having the corresponding content according to the content conversion request from the gateway terminal 100 (S301).

In operation S303, the media converter 400 determines whether a content conversion request message is received from the gateway terminal 100.

When the content conversion request message is received from the gateway terminal 100 in step S303, the content is requested to the corresponding slave terminal using the access information (eg, an IP address) of the slave terminal having the corresponding content included in the content conversion request message. In operation S 307, content is received from a slave terminal having the corresponding content, in operation S 307.

Next, the media converter 400 transcodes the content received from the slave terminal in accordance with the format. That is, the content is converted to suit the content by referring to the profile information of the slave terminal that requested the content (S309). The media converter 400 transmits the converted content to the slave terminal that requested the content (S311).

According to the present invention, by forming a data sharing cluster centering on a mobile terminal (gateway terminal) having a multi-network interface, it is possible to share the content between the slave terminals registered in the data sharing cluster, thereby connecting to the external communication network Mobile terminals can share content with other terminals in the external network through the gateway terminal. In addition, except for the cost incurred during communication between the gateway terminal and the external network, since no additional communication cost is generated, various contents can be provided at a low communication cost. For example, laptops, PDAs, telematics terminals, or slave terminals with other computing functions can be connected to the external network so that these slave terminals can share files with other slave terminals via a gateway terminal or perform basic Internet communication. Can be provided.

The present invention can be embodied as computer readable codes on a computer readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium includes all kinds of recording devices in which data that can be read by a computer system is stored. Examples of computer-readable recording media may include ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, and optical data storage. Also included are those implemented in the form of carrier waves (eg, transmission over the Internet). The computer readable recording medium can also be distributed over network coupled systems so that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion.

As mentioned above, although the preferred embodiment of this invention was shown and described, this invention is not limited to the specific embodiment mentioned above, Usually, in the technical field to which this invention pertains without deviating from the summary of this invention claimed in a claim. Various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art, and these modifications should not be individually understood from the technical spirit or the prospect of the present invention.

1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a structure of a conventional mobile P2P service.

2 is a conceptual diagram schematically illustrating a content sharing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a view for explaining the configuration of the gateway terminal in a content sharing system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a diagram illustrating in detail the configuration of a slave terminal in a content sharing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating in detail the configuration of a media converter in a content sharing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 to 8 are flowcharts illustrating a process of configuring a data cluster and sharing content to slave terminals according to the present invention in detail.

9 to 10 are flowcharts illustrating in detail a process in which a slave terminal configures a data cluster and receives contents from another slave terminal according to the present invention.

11 is a flowchart illustrating a process of converting corresponding content and providing the same to a slave terminal by the media converter according to the present invention.

12 is an exemplary diagram for explaining a data sharing cluster according to the present invention.

13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a user interface of a gateway terminal and a slave terminal according to the present invention.

14 illustrates an example of a data cluster management screen in the user interface of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example of a multimedia management screen in the user interface of FIG. 13.

Claims (18)

A cluster member manager configured to register the external slave terminal and the internal slave terminal to a data cluster according to a data cluster registration request from an external slave terminal connected through a mobile communication network and an internal slave terminal connected through a local area network; A cluster content manager configured to receive content profile information from the registered slave terminal and generate data cluster meta information based on the received content profile information; And And a cluster manager configured to transmit the data cluster meta information to the registered slave terminal and to process the corresponding content to be transmitted to the slave terminal requesting the content when a content request is received from the registered slave terminal. The method according to claim 1, The cluster content management unit, And periodically receiving content profile information from the registered slave terminal to update the data cluster meta information. The method according to claim 1, When the content request is received from the slave terminal registered in the data cluster, the cluster authentication unit for determining the content access level of the slave terminal requesting the content to determine whether the slave terminal has access authority to the content further comprising: Gateway terminal. The method according to claim 1, The mobile communication network, Gateway device, characterized in that the mobile communication network of any one of HSDPA, CDMA, WCDMA, WiBro, WiMAX, and UMTS. The method according to claim 1, The short-range wireless network, Gateway terminal, characterized in that the wireless network of any one of ZigBee, Bluetooth, UWB, wireless Ethernet, WLAN, RFID, Ruby, NFC and infrared communication. The method according to claim 1, And a QoS management unit for receiving the QoS request information from the internal slave terminals and applying the requirements included in the QoS request information received from the internal slave terminals when interworking with the mobile communication network. Gateway terminal. The method according to claim 1, The cluster management unit, When the content request is received from the registered slave terminal, it is determined whether the corresponding content needs to be converted based on the device profile information of the slave terminal that requested the content, and if the conversion is necessary, requesting the media converter to convert the corresponding content. Gateway terminal, characterized in that. The method according to claim 1, The internal slave terminal is connected to the local area network in the ad hoc mode (ad-hoc) gateway terminal. A method for providing content by a gateway terminal connected to an external slave terminal through a mobile communication network and connected to an internal slave terminal through a local area wireless network, Registering the external slave terminal and the internal slave terminal to a data cluster according to a data cluster registration request from the external slave terminal and the internal slave terminal; Receiving content profile information from the registered slave terminal; Generating data cluster meta information using the content profile information; Transmitting the data cluster meta information to the registered slave terminal; And And when the content request is received from the registered slave terminal, processing the corresponding content to be transmitted to the slave terminal requesting the content. The method according to claim 9, The content profile information, And at least one of title, type, file size, and resolution information of the content held by the slave terminal. The method according to claim 9, Periodically receiving the content profile information from the registered slave terminal and updating the data cluster meta information; And And transmitting the updated data cluster meta information to the registered slave terminal. The method according to claim 9, The processing of transmitting the corresponding content to the slave terminal requesting the content may include: Determining whether a slave terminal has access to the corresponding content by checking a content access level of the slave terminal requesting the content. The method according to claim 9, The processing of the corresponding content to be transmitted to the slave terminal requesting the content may include: Determining whether the corresponding content needs to be converted; And If a conversion is necessary, requesting the media converter to convert the corresponding content. 14. The method of claim 13, The step of requesting the media converter to convert the corresponding content, And transmitting device profile information and access information of the slave terminal that has requested the content. 14. The method of claim 13, And transmitting a message indicating that the media converter has requested content conversion because the content needs to be converted to the slave terminal that requested the content. 14. The method of claim 13, Determining whether the corresponding content needs to be converted, And comparing device profile information of the slave terminal requesting the content with profile information of the corresponding content to determine whether the corresponding content needs to be converted. The method according to claim 9, Registering the external slave terminal and the internal slave terminal to a data cluster, Authenticating the external slave terminal and the external slave terminal using user authentication information included in the data cluster registration request message. The method according to claim 9, Receiving QoS request information from the internal slave terminals; And And applying a requirement contained in QoS request information received from the internal slave terminals when interworking with the mobile communication network.

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