KR20120090590A - Method and apparatus for providing external network service to home network devive - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A method and an apparatus for supplying a service of an external network in a home network device are provided to supply a simplified integration charging method through interworking a home network device with an external network service. CONSTITUTION: A gateway(200) receives a service request message for a specific external network service from a first user device. The gateway detects a service access control policy. A service supplying server(300) determines access to the first user device for specific media content corresponding to the service request message. The service supplying server supplies the specific media content to the first user device.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING EXTERNAL NETWORK SERVICE TO HOME NETWORK DEVIVE}

The present invention relates to a home network, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for providing a service by a service provider in an external network to a device of the home network.

In the convergence era, the convergence of telecommunications and broadcasting is attracting attention as one of the next generation market leading technologies as a new marketable new business model. In particular, IP TV (Internet Protocol Television) service, the largest axis of communication and broadcasting convergence service, provides not only recombination or combining existing broadcasting, voice and data technologies into one, but also supports two-way service to provide more diverse business models and It is a technology that can create services. In particular, IP TV technology does not provide specialized services in limited terminal environments like conventional broadcasting services, but fixed terminals such as set-top boxes, personal computers (PCs), TVs, mobile phones, and personal digital assistants (PDAs). The service may be provided to the mobile terminal. In addition, IP TV service provides a service regardless of the type of network, such as a wired network, a wireless network, a broadcast network. Accordingly, in addition to providing and applying the same service in various environments, various types of services can be found by considering various environments.

On the other hand, the home network is applied to a variety of wired and wireless technologies to provide a network incorporating a personal computer (PC), home appliances, controllers, various facilities, as well as a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA) in the home. Such a home network is generally implemented in a PC-oriented network environment, but is gradually expanding into an environment including home appliances using various sub-network technologies. For example, UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) technology has been proposed as a technology for networking home appliances in a unified manner using the Internet protocol.

UPnP technology is based on distributed and open networking architectures, enabling each appliance in the home network to be peer to peer networking instead of being centrally managed. Typically, in home network middleware, UPnP devices model specific services as actions and state variables, control points automatically discover UPnP devices, and then specific services can be provided to other devices nearby. To be able.

As such, the home network service exchanges information and contents in the home independently of the external network, and thus does not require a separate charging method or access control for using the service. However, in order to apply and use a paid service provided in an external network such as an IP TV service to a home network, a new service subscription and service access control method for charging is required.

1 is a diagram illustrating a service model in the case of providing a conventional pay broadcasting service in a home. In Fig. 1, a broadcaster is, for example, a broadcaster service provider that provides IP TV service. The DLNA media server is a device for simultaneously serving as a gateway for receiving broadcast content from a broadcaster as well as a server for sharing media content in a home. For example, the DLNA media server may be a set-top box. DLNA TV is a device that can receive and share broadcast content from a DLNA media server through a DLNA service.

In-house services, such as the conventional DLNA, can share media between home network devices without separate procedures such as user authentication and service authentication. Therefore, once a broadcaster provides broadcast content to a media server, the home TVs can freely use the broadcast content through the media server. However, it is necessary to restrict the sharing of media in the home by the copyright of commercial broadcasting contents or the operation policy of the contents provider.

Therefore, in order to provide a broadcasting service while appropriately charging two or more TVs in the home, a conventional set-top box for each TV should be installed.

As described above, in the case of using the broadcast service on a plurality of TVs through a home network in the home, a billing procedure for paying a service fee through a contract with a broadcaster is required for each TV, that is, each user device. To this end, broadcasters must provide a set-top box for each TV, which adds management costs.

Such a problem may exist in all services providing media content requiring access control through an external network, in addition to a broadcasting service such as an IP TV service. For example, in a media service that provides e-books, music files, game contents, and the like for a fee, it is possible to appropriately set a bill that may occur when home network devices consume the provided media content. I need a way to do it.

Therefore, in order to solve the above problems, a method of providing a user's convenience by unifying a media server such as a set-top box by using a home network service such as UPnP and controlling access to an operator-based media sharing service. And an apparatus.

The present invention also provides a method and apparatus for controlling the access of a home network device to media content provided from an external network to a home network, and setting a charge according to the access.

The present invention also provides a method and apparatus for providing an integrated service subscription procedure and a service execution procedure for a service provided from an external network to a home network.

In addition, the present invention provides a subscription information required when a user subscribes to a service of an external network through a home network, and a method and apparatus capable of delivering subscription information to a service provider of an external network.

The present invention also provides a method and apparatus for setting access rights information of a home network device for media content of an external network service by using user subscription information.

The present invention provides a method for providing an external network service in a gateway device connecting a home network and an external network, the method comprising: receiving a service request message for a specific external network service from a user device connected to a home network; And detecting a service access control policy corresponding to the specific external service and serving as a reference for controlling access of at least one user device to media content related to the specific external network service, and detecting the detected service access control policy. The method may include determining whether to provide the user device with respect to media content corresponding to the specific external network service.

The present invention can increase user convenience by providing a simplified integrated billing method through interworking between home network service and external network service. In addition, the present invention can reduce the cost of maintaining the set-top box, which was required for each home network device, by providing a single gateway device to provide a plurality of home network devices with media content provided from an external network. have.

1 is a diagram illustrating a service model in the case of providing a conventional pay broadcasting service in a house;
2 is a diagram showing the configuration of each network device according to an embodiment of the present invention;
3 is a view showing a service subscription process according to an embodiment of the present invention;
4 is a diagram illustrating a service execution process according to an embodiment of the present invention;
5 is a view showing an example of service subscription information according to an embodiment of the present invention;
6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a service policy according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the same components in the drawings are represented by the same reference numerals and symbols as much as possible even though they are shown in different drawings. In the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear.

In the present invention, when providing a service provider-based external network service to a home network, a service provider can control a home network device's access to related media content, and can provide a method and an apparatus for charging accordingly. do. The present invention can be applied to various external network services for providing media content requiring access control.

For example, the external network may include a mobile communication network, a broadcast network, a public switched telephone network (PSTN), a public data network (PDN), the Internet, and the like. The external network service may include a broadcasting service, a music file providing service, a game providing service, an e-book providing service, and a news providing service. In addition, the present invention can be applied to various types of home network middleware, for example, Jini (Java Intelligent Network Infrastructure), LonWorks, home audio / video interoperability (HAVi), Universal Plug and Play (UPnP), and the like.

In the following description, to help understand the present invention, an IP TV service of the ETSI TISPAN (European Telecommunications Standards Institute Telecommunications and Internet converged Services and Protocols for Advanced Networking) standard and a UPnP-based Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) service are taken as an example. An embodiment of the present invention will be described.

1 illustrates a problem of a conventional in-house media sharing service. The broadcaster is a broadcast service provider that provides an IP TV, and the like, and the DLNA media server is a device that simultaneously serves as a gateway for receiving broadcast content from a broadcaster as well as a server for sharing media content in a home. DLNA TV is a device that can share broadcast content provided from a DLNA media server through a DLNA service. Home networks such as DLNA can share media contents without additional procedures such as user authentication and service authentication. Therefore, once a broadcaster provides broadcast content to a media server, home TVs can freely use the broadcast content through the media server. However, there is a need to restrict the sharing of media in the house by the copyright of the commercial broadcasting contents or the operation policy of the contents provider.

For example, the following service scenarios may be derived to provide service access control for free in-home media sharing for such commercial broadcasting contents and to avoid inconvenience in using a service of a user.

<Service Scenario>

-Differentiate the service charge according to the agreement and the number of devices available for the broadcast content

-Granting usage rights and authentication according to a specific user or a specific type of device for broadcasting content

Various service scenarios may be derived in addition to the above service scenarios, but a method for controlling access to media content of a home network device is required in common.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a procedure for a user of a home network device (hereinafter referred to as a user device) to subscribe to a corresponding service through a gateway in order to receive an external network service. The service provider transmits an access control policy for media content to the gateway for authentication and billing management according to the user's subscription information. In addition, upon request for service provision of the user device, the gateway performs authentication and access control on the media content according to the access control policy received from the service provider. Additionally, the media server may report details of access of the media content of the home network device to the service provider.

In the present invention, the service access control policy is a policy for controlling access of at least one user device to a service or media content related to a service provided in an external network. Such an access control policy becomes a criterion for determining whether to provide corresponding media content to a specific user device. Accordingly, indiscriminate sharing of media content can be prevented, and a service provider can grant appropriate billing.

2 shows a configuration of a network according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention, each entity is written as an example of an IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) based TISPAN, but in addition to TISPAN, a home network and an external network interoperate with each other to provide a media content service and a service. Application is possible.

In FIG. 2, the user device 100 and the gateway 200 are devices that form a home network, and the service providing server 300 is located in an external network connected to the home network, thereby providing media content, for example, broadcast content, to the home network. It provides a server device.

The user device 100 constitutes a home network and communicates with the gateway 200 to actually consume media content provided from an external network. For example, a television, a mobile phone, a PMP, a music file playback device, or the like may be used. Can be. The user device 100 may include a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) user agent 110, a media client 120, and a media renderer 130.

SIP user agent 110 processes the SIP message. In an embodiment of the present invention, since the home network provides a service in connection with an SIP-based external network as an example, the user device 100 includes a SIP user agent 110 as an example. In another embodiment, the SIP user agent 110 may not be included in the user device 100.

The media client 120 generates a service list request message and transmits it to the gateway 200 to request a list of services provided from an external network. Then, a subscription request message for requesting subscription to a specific service selected by the user from the service list received by the gateway 100 or a service request message for requesting media content corresponding to the specific service is generated and transmitted to the gateway 200. Can be. Accordingly, the media client 120 includes a message generator for generating a service list request message, a subscription request message, a service request message, a communication unit for transmitting and receiving messages and various data, and a storage unit for storing a service list. . In addition, the media client 120 may perform an AV control point function for requesting and managing media content.

The service list request message, the subscription request message, and the service request message may be generated in a SIP format through the SIP user agent 110. If the SIP user agent 110 is not included, the service list request message, the subscription request message, and the service request message will be generated according to the protocol commonly used in the home network.

The media renderer 130 plays the media content actually transmitted by the gateway 200. Accordingly, the media renderer 130 may include at least one of various modules capable of playing media content, for example, a music file playing module, a video playing module, a TV module, a display, and a speaker.

The gateway 200 is a device acting as a gateway between the home network and the external network, and according to an embodiment of the present invention, the SIP proxy module 210, the media server 220, and a service policy enforcement unit are provided. , A service policy resource unit, and a media content provider 250.

The media content providing unit 250 serves as a path for delivering specific media content to the user device 100 according to the type of service transmitted by the service providing server 300. For example, in case of an IP TV service, the service providing server 300 serves as a passage for delivering the broadcast content transmitted to the media renderer 130 of the user device 100.

The SIP proxy module 210 receives the SIP message from the service providing server 300, modifies it, and delivers the SIP message to the SIP user agent 110 of the user device 100. The SIP proxy module 210 transmits the SIP message transmitted from the user device 100. It also serves to deliver a message to the service providing server 300. According to another embodiment of the present invention, if the user device 100 does not support SIP, that is, the SIP user agent 110 is not included in the user device 100, the SIP proxy module 210 Among the various messages received from the user device 100, a message to be delivered to the service providing server 300 may be converted into a SIP format and transmitted to the service providing server 300. In addition, the message transmitted from the service providing server 300 to the user device 100 may be converted.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, if the home network does not interwork with a SIP-based external network, the SIP proxy module 210 may not be included in the gateway 200. In this case, the proxy module supporting the corresponding protocol of the external network will be included in the gateway 200.

The media server 220 operates based on the DLNA, and when the service list request message is received from the media client 120 of the user device 100, if the service list has already been received and stored from the service providing server 300, the media server 220 operates. The stored service list is transmitted to the user device 100. Alternatively, the service provider 300 may request the corresponding service list from the service providing server 300 to obtain the service list, and transmit the requested service list to the media client 120.

When the media server 220 receives the service subscription request message from the user device 100, the media server 220 performs authentication of a subscription request for the user device 100, and if authentication is normally processed, the media server 220 provides a service through the SIP proxy module 210. It transmits to the provision server 300. In addition, the service providing server 300 receives a subscription request response message corresponding to the subscription request message through the SIP proxy module 210. Thereafter, when the media server 220 receives the service access control policy corresponding to the subscription request from the service providing server 300 through the SIP proxy module 210, the media server 220 transmits the service access control policy to the service policy manager 240.

In addition, when the media server 220 receives the service request message from the user device 100, the media server 220 transmits the service request message to the service policy execution unit 230. Subsequently, if the service policy execution unit 230 is notified of access to the media content associated with the service request message, the media server 220 transmits a service execution failure message to the user device 100. When the service policy execution unit 230 notifies the access to the media content related to the service request message, the media server 220 provides the media content to the user device 100. In this case, the media content may be already downloaded from the service providing server 300 and stored in the gateway 200, or may be downloaded from the service providing server 300 in real time. When downloading the media content in real time, the media server 220 transmits a service request message to the service providing server 300 through the SIP proxy module 210. The media server 220 reports the details of providing the media content to the user device 100 to the service providing server 300.

The service policy manager 240 stores and sets a service access control policy received from the service providing server 300. The service access control policy is an access policy for controlling access of at least one user device to media content related to a service provided in an external network. Such an access control policy becomes a criterion for determining whether to provide corresponding media content to a specific user device.

The service policy execution unit 230 receives the service access control policy set in the service policy management unit 240 and controls the actual access to the media content of the user device 100. That is, when the service request message transmitted from the user device 100 is transmitted to the policy execution unit 240 through the media server 220, the policy execution unit 240 may apply the service access control policy set in the service policy management unit 240. Determine and determine the accessibility of the requested service on the basis of that.

If the service policy execution unit 230 determines that the user device 100 can access the media content corresponding to the service, the service policy execution unit 230 notifies the media server 220 of the access permission. When the service policy execution unit 230 determines that the user device 100 cannot access the media content corresponding to the service, the service policy execution unit 230 notifies the media server 220 of the inaccessibility.

In this process, the service policy execution unit 230 may request additional information from the user device 100 through the media server 220 according to the access control policy corresponding to the user device 100. For example, if a corresponding service is set in a policy for use by a specific user, the user device 100 requests a specific ID or password accordingly. The service information may be determined by comparing information received from the user device 100 with related information included in the access control policy.

The service providing server 300 is a server device that is located in an external network and provides a service for a specific media content to a home network. The service providing server 300 includes an authentication processor 310, a service policy determiner 320, and a service content storage 330. ).

When the authentication processor 310 receives a subscription request message from the gateway 200 according to the present invention, the authentication processor 310 processes authentication and subscription with respect to the user device 100, and transmits the result to the gateway 100. When the service request message is received from the gateway 200, authentication of the corresponding user device and authentication of the service request may be processed.

When the service policy determination unit 320 determines the service subscription to the user device in the authentication processor 310, the service policy determination unit 320 configures a service access control policy corresponding to the user device, and delivers the service access control policy to the gateway 200. The service access control policy corresponding to each user device may be changed according to the service providing history reported by the gateway 200, the request of the user device, or the request of the service provider, and the changed service access control policy is transferred to the corresponding gateway. do.

The service content storage unit 330 stores various media contents provided by the service providing server 300.

3 illustrates a process in which the user device 100 subscribes to the service providing server 300 in the network configured as shown in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 3, in operation 501, the user device 100 transmits a service list request message for using a broadcast service to the gateway 200 through a home network.

Upon receiving the service list request message, the gateway 200 does not have a stored service list or the service providing server 300 in step 503 through the IMS network 400 to provide the most recent service list to the gateway 200. Requests a list of available services and receives the list of available services. The gateway 200 transmits the service list received in step 505 to the user device 100 through the home network.

The user device 100 displays the received service list and receives a selection input for a specific service item from the user. In this case, if the selected service item is a service that is already subscribed, the user device 100 performs a service execution procedure, and if not, displays a menu window for the subscription procedure. The user may input subscription information for service subscription in the displayed menu window. In this case, the input subscription information may include user identification information, a password, or a subscription option. The subscription option includes one or more information such as a billing option for the service, a service approach, and the number of allowed devices. The billing options represent the way of billing, for example, prepaid, postpaid, real time billing and the like. The service approach represents identification information to be used when requesting a corresponding service, and may be, for example, a user identifier, a device identifier, a type of a device capable of executing a service. The number of allowed devices indicates the number of devices that can simultaneously access the corresponding service.

The user device 100 constructs a subscription request message including the input subscription information, the device information, and the service identification information, and transmits the subscription request message to the gateway 200 through the home network in step 509.

The gateway 200 checks the device information included in the subscription request message received in step 511 to determine whether the user device 100 that has transmitted the service subscription request message is a normal user device. If the authentication procedure is successfully performed, the gateway 200 transmits a subscription request message to the service providing server 300 through the IMS network 400 in step 513. At this time, the subscription request message includes identification information and subscription information of the gateway 200.

The service providing server 300 checks the gateway information in the subscription request message in step 515, and confirms whether the subscription request message is transmitted from the normally registered gateway. The gateway 200 is added to the usage list for the service corresponding to the service identification information included in the service request message according to the subscription information delivered together. In addition, the service providing server 300 transmits a subscription response message to the gateway 200 in step 517 through the IMS network.

The service providing server 300 determines a service access control policy for performing access control on the corresponding service to the gateway 200, and transmits it to the gateway 200 in step 519. The service access control policy may be determined based on subscription information included in the subscription request message. For example, the service access control policy may include identification information of a corresponding service, a service access method, the number of allowed devices, service information, and the like. The information included in the service access control information is used as a criterion for determining whether to provide media content of a related service in the future.

The gateway 200 stores the service access control policy received in step 521 in association with the related service or the user device 100. At this time, if the relevant service access control policy already exists, add or update it. In operation 523, the gateway 200 transmits a subscription complete message to the user device 100.

4 is a diagram illustrating a process in which the user device 100 requests a service to watch a subscribed broadcast service according to the process of FIG. 3.

The user device 100 obtains and displays a service list in step 601 in a similar process to steps 501 to 503 described above. The user checks the displayed service list and selects a broadcast service to be watched. Accordingly, in operation 603, the user device 100 receives a selection input for a broadcast service of which service subscription is already completed from the service list, and transmits a service request message for receiving the corresponding broadcast content to the gateway 200 in step 605. . At this time, the service request message includes identification information of a broadcast service, user identification information, and identification information of a user device and device type information.

The gateway 200 checks the service request message of the user device 100 in step 607 and checks the information of the access control policy to check whether the service request is accepted or rejected. In other words, a service access control policy corresponding to the user identification information or the device identification information included in the service request message and corresponding to the requested broadcast service is searched for. Then, it is determined whether to provide related media content based on the information included in the retrieved service access control policy and the information included in the service request message received from the user device 100. In this process, the gateway 200 may request additional information from the user device 100 according to an access control policy corresponding to the user device 100. For example, if a corresponding service is set in a policy for use by a specific user, the user device 100 requests a specific ID or password accordingly. The service information may be determined by comparing information received from the user device 100 with related information included in the access control policy. The gateway 200 transmits a service request message to the service providing server 300 when the validity check is successful, that is, when the media content corresponding to the broadcast service to be provided is not stored when the validation is determined to provide the service.

When the service providing server 300 receives the service request message from the gateway 200, in operation 611, the service providing server 300 determines whether the request is from a gateway subscribed to a service, and determines that the service request is a normal service request. If the service providing server 300 determines that the service request is a normal request, the service providing server 300 transmits a service preparation message to the gateway 200 in step 613.

The gateway 200 transmits a preparation message to the user device 100 in step 615 of the service received from the service providing server 300. Through the above procedure, the user device 100 is ready to watch the content corresponding to the selected broadcast service, and may then play the media content.

In step 619, the gateway 200 reports the service access control policy execution history to the service providing server 300. Reporting of service access control policy execution history may be performed periodically or in real time.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the following various scenarios may be configured for the basic service scenario.

-When subscribing to a service, the number of user devices that can watch a broadcast is limited. The number of devices that can be simultaneously viewed according to the contract condition is selected, and this is included in the service access control policy and registered in the gateway 200. When the user device 100 requests a service, if the number of user devices simultaneously connecting to receive the specific external network service through a home network exceeds the number of registered simultaneous access allowable devices, the gateway 200 Send a denial of service message.

-When joining the service, the user ID and password information is included in the service access control policy so that only a specific user can use the service, and is registered in the gateway 200. If a user other than a registered user requests a service, the gateway 200 transmits a service rejection message.

-When joining the service, the user device identification information is included in the service access control policy so that only a specific user device can use the service, and is registered in the gateway 200. If a device other than the registered user device requests the service, that is, if the identification information of the user device requesting the service does not match the identification information of the registered user device, the gateway 200 transmits a service rejection message.

-Check whether the contract can be renewed when joining the service. In the case of the denial of service, the gateway 200 transmits a message to the corresponding user device asking whether to add the number of user devices that can be used at the same time or to register the user information that can be used by renewing the service contract. Update and, accordingly, service access control policy.

In each of the above scenarios, information to be checked when providing a service, for example, the number of devices that can be simultaneously viewed, an ID and password for allowing a specific user to use the service, and a specific user device to use the service. User device information, information on whether a contract can be renewed, and the like are included in the service access control policy and transmitted to the gateway 200.

Table 1 shows an embodiment of a service subscription request message according to the service scenario described above.

MESSAGE sip: SP.IPTV.com SIP / 2.0 Via: SIP / 2.0 / UDP GW.home.com; branch = abc123
To: SP IPTV <sip: SP.IPTV.com>
From: CND1 <cnd1.home.com>; tag = 123456
Call-ID: abcde12345
Cseq: 56678 MESSAGE
Contact: <sip: cnd1.hom.com>
Content-Type: application / subscription + xml
Content-Length: 150 (XML body)
XML instance for service subscription schema

The service subscription request message is made in the form of a SIP message and delivered to the service providing server 300 through the gateway 200. At this time, since the method and header part of the SIP message follows the conventional SIP message, a detailed description of each header field is omitted. However, the data model for information such as subscription conditions and options is additionally defined when the service is subscribed. That is, in the Content-Type header field for defining the information included in the body part of the SIP message, declare application / subscription + xml to express the information for the subscription in XML format, and the body for the service subscription in XML format. Described.

5 shows a data model for service subscription information delivered in Table 1 above. The subscription 700 of the data model for service subscription information is largely composed of a charging option 710, an access type 720, and a number of allowed devices 750. The allowed device number 750 represents the number of user devices that can be serviced at the same time.

The access type 730 represents a service available condition. According to the access type 730, the user item 731 is used to register a user ID when making a service request using the user identification information 732. Also, a registered device item 733 is used to register usable device identification information when a service request is made using the device identification information 734. Authorized device item 735 is also used to register the device type 736 for which the service is available. As an example, when registering a commercial video profile (CVP) device defined for DLNA service (737), only devices that support CVP can use the service.

The billing option 710 may be subscribed to by selecting among prepaid 711, postpaid 715, and real time billing 719. In the case of the prepaid agent 711, a pay-as-you-go 712 and a flat rate 713 may be selected, and an unlimited use plan 714 for a specific service package may be selected. At this time, the charge is made at the time of the first subscription. In the case of postpaid plans, the plan is the same as prepaid plans, but after the service is used, a bill is charged at a later point in time. In the real-time billing system, it is possible to select billing based on the selection time of the content to be viewed or the total viewing time from the start time to the end time. Based on the data, it is possible to add an additional charging option and an authorized device type according to the service type.

When the user selects a desired service type, the corresponding item of the service subscription information is activated, and a specific valid value is stored and transmitted to the service providing server 300 through the gateway 200.

Table 2 shows an example of a service request message that the user device 100 sends to the gateway 200.

HTTP POST request URL HOST: hostname: portNumber
CONTENT-LENGTH: bytes in body
CONTENT-TYPE: text / xml; charset = "utf-8"
USER-AGENT: OS / version UPnP / 1.1 product / version
SOAPACTION: "urn: schemas-upnp-org: service: serviceType: v # actionName"
<? xml version = "1.0"?>
<s: Envelope
xmlns: s = "http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/"
s: encodingStyle = "http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/encoding/">
<s: Body>
<u: actionName xmlns: u = "urn: schemas-upnp-org: service: serviceType: v">
<argumentName> device identification </ argumentName>
<!-other in args and their values go here, if any->
</ u: actionName>
</ s: Body>
</ s: Envelope>

The service execution request message follows the form of action invocation defined in UPnP. At this time, since the HTTP header and SOAP body for action invocation follow the conventional UPnP action invocation, detailed description of each field is omitted. However, the arguments required for service requests are newly defined. In other words, an argument to specify user identification information or device identification information and device type required when requesting service execution is added.

FIG. 6 shows a data model of a service access control policy configured by the service providing server 300 based on service subscription information and delivered to the gateway 200. The service access control policy 800 may include an access type 810, an allowable device number 820, and service information data 830. The access type 810 and the number of allowed devices 820 are the same as the access type 730 and the number of allowed devices 750 of FIG. 5. The service information data 830 indicates that the service execution request of the user device is denied. In order to be included in the service request failure message, it may be composed of recommendation service data 831 and advertisement data 832. The recommended service data 831 is recommended service package information provided by the service provider. When a service request fails, it can contain information that a user can refer to when renewing a service subscription. The advertisement data 832 is an advertisement for delivering to the user device 100, but may be used to advertise new services or new contents, although it is not directly related to a service that the user actually wants to use.

According to the service subscription information, the corresponding item of the service access control policy 800 is activated and specific valid values are stored and transmitted to the gateway 200.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be defined by the described embodiments, but should be determined by the equivalent of claims and claims.

Claims (16)

In the gateway device for connecting the home network and the external network to provide an external network service,
Receiving a service request message for a specific external network service from a first user device connected to a home network;
Detecting a service access control policy corresponding to the first user device and serving as a reference for access control of at least one user device with respect to media content related to the specific external network service;
Determining whether to permit access of the user device to specific media content corresponding to the service request message based on the detected service access control policy and the information included in the service request message;
And if it is determined that the access is granted, providing the specific media content to the first user device. The method of claim 1, wherein the detected service access control policy is determined by a server providing the specific external network service and forwarded to the gateway when the first user device joins the specific external network service. How to provide network services. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a service subscription request message for the specific external network service from a second user device connected to the home network;
Adding identification information of the gateway to the service subscription request message and transmitting the identification information to the server providing the specific external network service;
And receiving and storing a service access control policy determined according to the subscription information included in the service subscription request message from the server. The method of claim 3, wherein the subscription information includes at least one of a billing option, a service access method, and information on the number of devices allowed to access at the same time. The method of claim 1, further comprising reporting a history of providing the specific media content to the first user device to a server providing the specific external network service. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of whether to grant access to the user device comprises:
Detecting the number of user devices currently receiving the specific external network service through the home network, if the detected service access control policy includes the number of simultaneous access allowable device numbers;
Granting access to the specific media content if the number of detected user devices is less than the number of concurrent access devices;
And disabling access to the specific media content if the number of the user devices is the same as the number of the simultaneous access allowable devices. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of whether to grant access to the user device comprises:
If the detected service access control policy includes a policy for allowing a specific user to use the specific external network service, requesting a corresponding ID and password from the first user device;
Granting access to the specific media content if the ID and password received from the first user device match the corresponding ID and password;
If the ID and password received from the first user device do not match the corresponding ID and password, disabling access to the specific media content. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of whether to grant access to the user device comprises:
If the detected service access control policy includes a policy for allowing a specific user device to use the specific external network service, the identification information of the first user device included in the service request message is compared with the corresponding user device identification information. To do that,
Granting access to the specific media content when the identification information of the first user device and the corresponding user device identification information match;
And if the identification information of the first user device and the corresponding user device identification information do not match, disabling access to the specific media content. A gateway device that connects a home network and an external network and provides external network service,
Receives a service request message for a specific external network service from a first user device connected to a home network and delivers the service request message to a service policy execution unit, and the service policy execution unit notifies the access permission of the specific media content corresponding to the service request message. A media server for transmitting the specific media content to the first user device;
Upon receiving the service request message, the service policy management unit detects a service access control policy corresponding to the first user device and which is a criterion for controlling access of at least one user device to media content related to the specific external network service. And determining whether to allow the user device to access specific media content corresponding to the service request message based on the detected service access control policy and the information included in the service request message, and transmit the determined access to the media server. And the service policy execution unit. The method of claim 9, wherein the detected service access control policy is determined by a server providing the specific external network service and stored in the service policy management unit when the first user device joins the specific external network service. Gateway device. The method of claim 9, wherein the media server receives a service subscription request message for the specific external network service from a second user device connected to the home network, and adds identification information of the gateway to the service subscription request message. Transmitting to a server providing a specific external network service, and receiving the service access control policy determined according to the subscription information included in the service subscription request message from the server, and storing the service access control policy in the service policy management unit. 12. The gateway device of claim 11, wherein the subscription information includes at least one of a billing option, a service access method, and information about the number of simultaneous access allowable devices. The gateway device of claim 9, wherein the media server reports the details of providing the specific media content to the first user device to a server providing the specific external network service. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the service policy execution unit detects the number of user devices currently receiving the specific external network service through the home network if the detected service access control policy includes the number of simultaneous access allowable device information. And when the number of detected user devices is smaller than the number of simultaneous access allowable devices, the media server is notified of the permission to access the specific media content, and when the number of user devices is equal to the number of concurrent access allowable devices. And notifying the media server of the inability to access the specific media content. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the service policy execution unit, if the detected service access control policy includes a policy for allowing a specific user to use the specific external network service, the ID to the first user device via the media server And requesting a password, and notifying the media server of permission to access the specific media content if the ID and password received from the first user device match the corresponding ID and password, and received from the first user device. And if the ID and password do not match the corresponding ID and password, notifying the media server of the inability to access the specific media content. The method of claim 9, wherein the service policy execution unit
If the detected service access control policy includes a policy for allowing a specific user device to use the specific external network service, the identification information of the first user device included in the service request message is compared with the corresponding user device identification information. If the identification information of the first user device and the corresponding user device identification information match, the media server is notified of permission to access the specific media content, and the identification information of the first user device and the corresponding user device identification are determined. And if the information does not match, notifying the media server of the inability to access the specific media content.

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