JP5056965B2 - Information network system, user terminal and information transmission / reception method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation technology with a bidirectional communication function in which broadcasting and a network service such as a database are integrated.

  A conventional television (receiver) only displays an image transmitted from a broadcasting station by radio or wire, and information communication with a television user is generally only in one direction. In order to use a TV shopping service or the like guided by the broadcast guidance from the user side, a call is made to the service center. However, it is troublesome because it is necessary to take a note of the telephone number, and the telephone tends to be busy. The service center requires manpower for individual correspondence with the user who makes a call, and sufficient information cannot be obtained in a short time.

  As a method for solving this problem, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-79425 (Patent Document 1) proposes a television with a bidirectional communication function, in which a television receiver is equipped with a communication control circuit for bidirectional communication with a broadcasting station. However, in this method, the user can communicate only with the broadcasting station, and the usage method is greatly limited. On the other hand, shopping database services using personal computer communication are often troublesome tasks such as confirming the location of the database center, securing access methods, and checking whether the service content meets your needs, and can be easily used by the general public. Can not.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-79425

  As described above, the current television is premised on one-way communication, and is not suitable for bidirectional information exchange with a service provider using the television. Accordingly, in view of the above-described points, an object of the present invention is to provide an information network system capable of bidirectional information transmission between a database service provider using broadcast and a user, and a navigation device that is a user terminal thereof. There is.

In order to solve the above problem, in an information network system including a database server capable of communicating with a user terminal, the database server sends guidance information accompanying a video signal received by the user terminal from the user terminal via the network. First receiving means for receiving, and first checking means for checking the guide information received by the first receiving means with information prepared in advance in the database server as corresponding to the guide information. Communication information for providing a display screen to the user terminal when the guidance information received by the first receiving unit and the previously prepared information correspond as a result of the collation by the first collating unit Is transmitted.

  According to the present invention, a user can easily realize bidirectional communication with a database center guided by a television broadcast telop or a radio broadcast. On the other hand, on the service providing side, user information can be efficiently obtained through two-way communication with the user.

  In addition, navigation television that implements such two-way communication uses the technology of teletext receivers and personal computers, and navigation radio can be used at low cost by combining car radio with mobile phone and car navigator technology. Can be provided as easy and safe.

It is a block diagram which shows the system configuration | structure of an Example of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the navigation television of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the circuit structure of the navigation television 100 of the Example of this invention. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a circuit configuration of the television receiver body 106 in FIG. 3. It is a block diagram which shows the system configuration | structure of the database center 300 of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the communication means of a present Example. It is a flowchart which shows the control procedure which CPU101 of FIG. 3 performs. 6 is a flowchart executed by the sub computer 304 of FIG. 5. It is a figure which shows the example of the window screen displayed on the display 56 via the video memory. It is a block diagram which shows the other Example of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the other Example of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the other Example of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the circuit block diagram of a navigation radio.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a system configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, when the present invention is applied to a television, the navigation device 100 represents a navigation television, and the broadcast center 400 represents a television broadcast center. On the other hand, when the present invention is applied to a radio, the navigation device 100 represents a navigation radio, and the broadcast center 400 represents a radio broadcast center.

  First, TV applications will be described. The navigation TV 100 has a function of decoding guide information transmitted in synchronization with a TV signal, and has a function of connecting to the database center 300 via the public line 200 and communicating. The guide information includes a database center telephone number, a database ID, a TV program ID, and the like.

  How to use this service is to broadcast TV programs that expect viewers' reaction such as shopping, quizzes, questionnaires, etc. Guide information including a database center telephone number, a database server ID, and the like is transmitted in synchronization with a television program. Here, as the TV program, in addition to a normal TV program (such as a baseball broadcast), a commercial program or a spot commercial program inserted between programs can be used.

  As a method of transmitting the guidance information in synchronization with the television signal, a part of the blanking period of the television signal is used for data transmission. Specifically, a method of transmitting guidance information instead of character transmission of the text multiplex broadcasting set forth in the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications Order No. 77 issued on October 15, 1985, or the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications Ordinance issued on July 4, 1995 In the second-generation EDTV (common name EDTV-II, commentary article Nikkei Electronics no. 638, p, 140, 1995. 6.19) defined in No. 51, the two vertical blanking lines of the 22nd and 285th A part of the identification signal to be multiplexed is used. For example, if undefined bits 15 and 16 of the EDTV-II system are used, 4 bits can be used in one frame, so that a data signal of 120 bits per second can be transmitted.

  The guide information is transmitted in synchronization with a TV program guide telop or the like. Since the program lasts 15 seconds at the shortest, 1800-bit data can be transmitted during this period, and the guide information including the error correction function can be sufficiently transmitted.

  The user performs normal TV operation of the navigation TV 100 by the remote controller 109 and controls information to be transmitted to the database center 300. In the communication mode, guidance information can be used to auto-dial and auto-login to the database center, and information communication is performed with the database center 300 via the public line 200. A telephone (handset) 150 can be connected to the navigation television 100. The public line can be a telephone line, a bidirectional cable network such as ISDN or CATV, a wireless network such as mobile radio, etc., and the database center must be connected via a public line, personal computer communication, the Internet, etc. Can do.

  An appearance of the navigation television 100 is shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, the same parts as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted. The window 113 does not open during normal reception, but displays guidance information, user information, and communication information with the database center in the communication mode. The navigation television 100 can be realized by modifying a character multiplex television receiver or an EDTV-II compatible television to add a communication control function, or using a model built-in personal computer with television reception function and program software. A cable connection by CATV can be used instead of the antenna. It is also possible to replace the telephone and the public line with a bidirectional CATV.

  The circuit configuration of the navigation television 100 is shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, the following circuit is connected to the common bus 110.

  The CPU 101 executes overall control of the apparatus according to a system program stored in a read only memory (ROM) 102. Information exchanged between circuits connected to the common bus 110 is read from the transmission side circuit by the CPU 101 and written to the reception side circuit. As will be described later, the CPU 101 operates as a communication control circuit of the present invention.

  The ROM 102 stores, in addition to a system program executed by the CPU 101, data used in executing this program, for example, a character code string used as a display message, and a font conversion table for converting the character code into a character pattern. . A random access memory (RAM) 103 temporarily stores input data, output data, and a calculation result of the CPU 101.

  The non-destructive memory 104 stores and stores user information related to the present invention. User information includes a user ID (identification code), name, address, telephone number, and the like. In addition, gender, date of birth, nationality, occupation, blood type, etc. can be considered, but these are properly used according to the purpose of use. The user ID information is used for verification with a password input by the user and transmission to a communication destination. The non-destructive memory 104 is selected from a non-destructive semiconductor memory (programmable memory, flash memory, ferroelectric memory, etc.), an IC card, a magnetic card, an optical card, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, etc. according to the use. When a detachable card is used, user information can be stored separately from the navigation TV, so that it is convenient to use not only at the home navigation TV but also at a friend's house or a hotel navigation TV. Furthermore, if a credit card is used, it is not necessary to input an account number for settlement, and convenience is further improved.

  An input / output interface (I / O) 105 transfers an operation instruction from the CPU 101 to the modem 111. Also, the CPU 101 receives an instruction to switch between the modem 111 and the handset 150. In this embodiment, a modem having an automatic calling function for calling a database center in response to a telephone number instruction from the outside (in this case, the CPU 101) is used as the modem 111.

  The television (TV) receiver main body 106 displays a television image, a function of decoding guidance information inserted during a television blanking period, decoded guidance information, and information received from the database center 300 via the public line 200. Has a function of visually displaying. The operation panel 107 is installed in the television receiver main body 106, but is connected to the common path 110 in terms of circuit.

  The operation panel 107 includes a power switch, a volume switch, a numeric keypad, and a control key on the operation panel 107. The numeric keypad is used for channel selection of a broadcasting station in the normal mode, and is used for inputting numerical information as an input circuit of the present invention in the communication mode. The control key includes execution, stop, cancel, etc., and is used for executing, stopping, canceling the numeric keypad input, etc., respectively.

  The receiving circuit 108 receives an input signal transmitted from the remote controller 109 by radio. The remote controller 109 has an input switch similar to that of the operation panel 107, and transmits an input signal wirelessly.

  The circuit configuration of the television receiver main body 106 is shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, a television video signal received by an antenna 51 is selected by a tuner 52. The selected television video signal is demodulated by the demodulator 53, combined with the window image stored in the video memory 54 under the control of the display controller 55, and displayed on the display 56.

  The decoder 112 decodes the guide information inserted and transmitted in the blanking period in synchronization with the television signal. Specifically, a character broadcast decoder or an EDTV-II decoder can be used. The CPU 101 in FIG. 3 can access the video memory 54. The guidance information decoded by the decoder 112 is temporarily stored in the RAM 103 in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 101. Thereafter, the CPU 101 writes it into the video memory 54 in the form of a character pattern together with the information received from the database center 300. Character information can be displayed on the window display screen.

  In such a configuration, when the normal mode is instructed from the operation panel 107 or the remote controller 109 in FIG. 2, the CPU 101 sets the normal mode, and the operation instruction input from the operation panel 107 or the remote controller 109 is set as the TV receiver. 106. When the CPU 101 receives an instruction for the communication mode, the CPU 101 sets the communication mode and exchanges information between the navigation television 100 and the database center 300 according to the protocol procedure shown in FIG.

  The system configuration of the database center 300 is shown in FIG. When connected to the navigation television 100, the sub computer 304 connected to the public line 200 performs the following information processing together with the host computer 303, and response information determined from the information processing result is transmitted as a response to the navigation television 100. In the host computer, ID information corresponding to the guide information transmitted in a multiplexed manner with the television signal is registered in advance. The host computer 303 receives ID information from the sub computer 304 via the bus 305, and executes processing for collating the ID information and detecting specific ID information in the received ID information. A keyboard 301 inputs information to the host computer 303. A CRT (display device) 302 visually displays information instructed by the host computer.

  The public line and database center can be configured in various forms such as personal computer communication, a method of connecting a database server to the Internet, a method of using an ISDN line, and a method of using a telephone company database service. It is also possible to connect to the database center via the sending direction CATV.

  Information transmission processing performed in the system described above will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. The flowchart of FIG. 7 shows the contents of the system program executed by the CPU 101 of FIG. This system program is written in a program language executable by the CPU 101 and stored in the ROM 102. The flowchart of FIG. 8 shows the contents of the system program executed by the sub computer 304 of the database center 300 of FIG. This system program is also written in a program language and stored in the sub computer 304. 7 and 8 are functionally expressed for convenience of explanation.

  As an example of the communication mode, a case will be described in which a user views a shopping program on a broadcast television receiver and the user applies for shopping to the database center 300 of the seller. Normal mode is initialized when power is turned on.

  The user uses the operation panel 107 or the remote controller 109 to select a program. As a result, the television image of the shopping program of the designated channel is displayed on the display 56. On the broadcasting station side, a telop that prompts the start of the communication mode during broadcasting of the shopping program and a telop indicating the telephone number of the communication destination are inserted into the TV image, and the program ID, database center is used using the TV signal blanking period. Guide information consisting of the telephone number, database server ID, etc. is sent out. There are two methods for using the blanking period: a method using a blanking period defined for teletext broadcasting and a method using a blanking period defined for EDTV-II.

  Looking at this telop, the user instructs the communication mode by operating, for example, an execution key which is a specific control key from the operation panel 107 or the remote controller 109. When the CPU 101 detects that the communication mode is instructed by determining the numerical value indicated by the key (YES in S10 in FIG. 7), the CPU 101 executes the bidirectional communication program from S20. The CPU 101 fetches the guide information decoded by the decoder 112 into the RAM 103, converts it into a character pattern, writes it into a character pattern, writes it into the video memory 54, and controls the display controller 55 to open a window in a part of the video (see FIG. 2 of 113) A guidance information message is displayed on the display 56 (S20 in FIG. 7). Note that a message can be superimposed on the video signal without opening the window. A screen example at this time is shown in D10 of FIG. In addition, you may use a window and superimposition together.

  Next, the CPU 101 reads a message (code string) for prompting input of user information from the ROM 102, converts it into a character pattern, and writes it in the video memory 54, thereby displaying the message on the display 56 (S30 in FIG. 7). When viewing the message, the user inputs his / her password using the operation panel 107 or the numeric keypad of the remote controller 109 (S40 in FIG. 7). An example of the screen at this time is shown in D20 of FIG. □ in the figure indicates numeric keypad input.

  The user operates the execution key of the operation panel 107 or the remote controller 109 to instruct the start of communication. The CPU 101 issues a call instruction to the modem 111 via the I / O 105. Thus, after the modem 111 is connected to the network by the auto-dial function, the CPU 101 calls the sub computer 304 of the database center 300 by the auto-login function and transmits user information and guide information (S50 in FIG. 7). Thereafter, the system 101 waits for a response from the sub computer 304 (loop processing in S60 of FIG. 7).

  On the other hand, when the sub-computer 304 of the database center receives a user ID and a password in response to a call from the navigation TV 100, the database center sub-computer 304 checks whether or not these are registered in advance, and the result of the verification is When the user ID is not registered or the password does not match, a non-permission signal indicating non-permission of subsequent communication is transmitted as a response to the navigation television 100 (S200 → S225 in FIG. 8).

  As a result of the collation, when the user ID indicates registered, the sub computer 304 transfers the database ID and the program ID to the host computer 303, and collates whether or not they are prepared in advance by the broadcast program. If there is a mismatch as a result of the collation, a communication non-permission signal is transmitted to the navigation television 100 (S210 → S220 → S225 in FIG. 8). If the collation is correct, the sub computer 304 performs predetermined communication between the host computer 303 and the navigation television 100 (S220 → S230 → S240 in FIG. 8). When the predetermined communication is finished, an end signal is transmitted, and the control procedure of FIG. 8 is finished (S250 of FIG. 8).

  Returning to FIG. 7, when the CPU 101 of the navigation television 100 receives a permission / non-permission signal from the sub-computer 304 via the modem 111 (S60 in FIG. 7), the procedure proceeds to S100 when this signal indicates that communication is not permitted. The modem 111 is instructed to disconnect the public line 200 (S70 → S100 in FIG. 7). When the reception signal indicates permission, the CPU 101 executes communication with the sub computer, writes the transmitted communication information in the video memory 54, displays it on the display 56, and from the operation panel 107 or the numeric keypad of the remote controller 109. The input numerical information, for example, product / color designation, payment method designation, and credit number are transmitted to the sub computer 304 via the modem 111 (S70 → S80 in FIG. 7). The CPU 101 also displays the input numerical information on the display 56 of the television receiver main body 106 via the video memory 54. If the numeric keypad is entered incorrectly, correct it with the cancel key. A screen example of communication information is shown in D30 of FIG. □ in the figure indicates numeric keypad input. It should be noted that the above-described communication of passwords and credit numbers is safe if encryption communication is used.

  Hereinafter, the CPU 101 operates as a communication control circuit of the present invention until it receives an end signal from the sub computer 304, and performs transmission / reception control of information. Also, the information received from the sub computer 304 is displayed on the display 56 (loop processing of S80 to S90 in FIG. 7). Upon receiving the end signal, the CPU 101 shuts off the public line and ends this procedure (S100). Although not shown in the figure, a series of communication control can be terminated at any time by operating a stop control key provided on the operation panel and the remote controller.

  In this embodiment, the case where the database center subcomputer is accessed directly from the public line has been described. However, it is more common to access the database center via the Internet or a personal computer communication service. In this case, the sub computer 304 shown in FIG. 5 may be replaced with a gateway processor for the Internet or a personal computer communication service, the host computer 303 may be replaced with a database server, and the bus 305 may be replaced with a network.

  The navigation television shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 is assumed to be a dedicated television. However, if there is a television reception function and a personal computer with a modem, the navigation television described above in the program application software of the personal computer. The function can be easily realized. For example, in FIG. 3, the CPU 101, ROM 102, RAM 103, non-destructive memory 104, I / O 105, modem 111, and operation panel 107 can be replaced with a modem built-in personal computer and program software. These functions can also be replaced by a game machine with a built-in modem. Furthermore, if a personal computer with a built-in modem with a television receiving function or a game machine with a built-in modem with a television receiving function is used, in addition to the above, the tuner 52, demodulator 53, speaker 57, video memory 54, display controller 55, The display 56 can be replaced. However, in this case, a mechanism is required that can decode the guidance information inserted during the blanking period of the television and can be controlled by the CPU. In addition, a control device having functions of decoding guide information, inputting information, a modem, and communication control can be configured separately from the television main body, and this control device can be used as a television adapter.

  In this embodiment, the guide information is inserted into the TV blanking period. However, all the guide information is teloped on the TV screen, and the teloped guide information is decoded from the received video by image processing. Is also possible. However, in this case, a telop decoding mechanism is required.

  FIG. 10 shows another embodiment of the navigation television 100. The communication information in FIG. 9 shows an example of two-way communication with the database center. However, in order to implement a fine-grained service according to the user's preference and desire, more information from the database center is provided. There is a need to. At this time, it is often difficult to understand by screen display alone. Therefore, in the embodiment of FIG. 10, in addition to displaying the communication information from the database center on the screen, the function of outputting by voice is also provided. Communication information from the database center is sent from the data bus 110 to the voice synthesizer 58, converted into a voice signal, synthesized with television voice by the voice controller 59, and outputted from the speaker 57 as voice. In the audio controller, in addition to the method of mixing audio, it can be switched to one by a switch function.

  11 and 12 show another embodiment of communication control. 7 and 8 show a case where communication is not established when the user ID is not registered in the database center in advance. However, in order to cope with various applications using television broadcasting, it is necessary to be able to register the user ID by a simple method even for the first user. FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 are examples of the communication control of the navigation television and the database center to which the ID registration function for the first user is added, respectively.

  In the figure, FIGS. 7 and 11 and FIGS. 8 and 12 correspond to each other, and the same functions are indicated by the same numbers. In FIG. 11, the user terminal sets the communication mode, and determines whether or not it is initial registration at the stage where the guide information is stored and displayed (S21 in FIG. 11). This can be selected by the user or automatically determined by the system. When it is not initial registration, it is the same as FIG. In the case of initial registration, a call request is issued to the network, initial registration is performed according to the initial registration guide provided by the network (S61 → S22 in FIG. 11), and then the normal communication mode is entered. Corresponding communication control on the database center side is the same as FIG. 8 except for the initial registration as shown in FIG. When there is a request for initial registration from the user, the initial registration program S202 is activated and prompts the user to register, similar to online registration for personal computer communication. When this is completed, the user ID and password are confirmed by the user. If OK, the normal communication mode is entered. In the ID / password confirmation program, credit information such as a credit number is confirmed in order to avoid unauthorized user registration (S203 in FIG. 12).

  In addition, although the present Example showed the case of television shopping, the navigation television 100 is a quiz answer of the viewer in a quiz program, the examination result from the viewer of a song program or an entertainment program, a popularity vote, news, discussion It can also be used for meeting questionnaires, sports program matches and score predictions.

  Next, a case where the present invention is applied to a radio will be described. In FIG. 1, a navigation device 100 and an antenna 51 are a navigation radio and a radio antenna, respectively. The broadcast center 400 is a radio broadcast center. Broadcast information is broadcast from the broadcast center in synchronization with the radio program, and the radio program and the guide information are received by the navigation device 100. Since the guidance information includes information necessary for accessing the database center, in the communication mode, it is possible to easily perform bidirectional communication with the database center 300 via the public line 200. The database center has the same basic functions as the TV application.

  In order to transmit the guide information, for example, the FM character multiplex broadcasting data channel defined by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications Ordinance No. 30 issued on April 28, 1994 is used. That is, a program such as shopping, a quiz, and a questionnaire is broadcast on a radio program, and in synchronization with this, guidance information of the application destination database center is broadcast using a data channel. Other methods of multiplexing data transmission on FM radio include RDS (Radio-Data System, literature EBU REVIEW TCHNIC No. 200, pp. 186-192, August 1983) developed in Europe and SCA ( Subsidiary Communications Authorization, literature IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON BROADCASTING, VOL. BC-27, No. 4, pp. 65-70, DECEMBER 1981) and the like can be used.

  FIG. 13 shows an embodiment of a navigation radio. In the figure, components having the same functions as those in FIG. 3, FIG. 4 and FIG. 10 are indicated by the same numbers. However, in order to clarify the difference between radio and television, a is added as a suffix. In the figure, in the normal mode, the radio broadcast is caught by the antenna 51a, selected by the tuner 52a, the sound is demodulated by the demodulator 53a, and output by the switch 57a. On the other hand, in the communication mode, the guide information broadcast in synchronism with the radio program is decoded from the data channel by the decoder 112a and displayed on the display 56a through the common memory 110a through the common bus 110a under the control of the CPU 101a. As the display, a small and low power consumption type for character display, for example, a liquid crystal display is used. The method of executing information communication with the database center after confirming the guidance information is exactly the same as that for a television, but the description thereof is omitted. However, since it is considered that the radio is used in a mobile vehicle such as an in-vehicle radio, FIG. 13 shows a case where communication from the modem 111a to the public line is performed through the wireless antenna 51b. . Of course, this may be wired. The functions of the speech synthesizer 58a and the speech controller 59a are the same as those described with reference to FIG.

  The navigation radio shown in FIG. 13 can be realized by combining the in-vehicle radio with a data broadcast receiving function and the in-vehicle telephone technology. That is, the antenna 51a, the tuner 52a, the demodulator 53a, and the speaker 57a are normal radio reception functions, and the decoder 112a, the display memory 54a, the display 56a, the CPU 101a, the ROM 102a, and the RAM 103a are included in the data broadcast receiver. The operation panel 107a, the handset 105a, and the antenna 51b are mounted on the in-vehicle phone. Therefore, a navigation radio can be realized by adding the modem 111a and the nondestructive memory 104a for storing user information to these. In addition, since the car navigator includes many functions that can be shared, such as a display and a CPU, it can be combined with the car navigator. As in the case of television application, it is more convenient to use a removable magnetic card, optical card, IC card, credit card, etc. as the non-destructive memory. In addition, as described in the television application, the communication value with the database center is realized by auto-dial and auto-login, and the utility value is increased by making the password and credit number communication encrypted.

101 CPU
102 ROM
103 RAM
104 Non-destructive memory 105 I / O
106 TV receiver body 111 Modem 112 Decoder 100 Navigation device 200 Public line 300 Database center 400 Broadcast center

Claims (5)

An information network system including a database server capable of communicating with a user terminal,
The database server is
First receiving means for receiving guidance information associated with a video signal received by the user terminal from the user terminal via a network;
First verification means for verifying the guidance information received by the first reception means and information prepared in advance in the database server as corresponding to the guidance information ;
With
Communication information for providing a display screen to the user terminal when the guidance information received by the first receiving means corresponds to the previously prepared information as a result of the collation by the first collating means. An information network system characterized by transmitting. The information network system includes:
Second receiving means for receiving user information for identifying a user from the user terminal via a network;
Second collating means for collating the user information received by the second receiving means with user information registered in advance;
Includes sub-computer Ru provided with,
The database server is
The user information received by the second receiving means corresponds to the user information registered in advance, and the guidance information received by the first receiving means corresponds to the information prepared in advance. The information network system according to claim 1, wherein the communication information is transmitted.   The information network system according to claim 1, wherein the database server receives information input by a user on the display screen from the user terminal. A user terminal capable of communicating with the information network system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Transmitting the guidance information received accompanying the video signal to the first receiving means;
A user terminal that transmits information input by a user to the display screen received from the database server to the database server. An information transmission / reception method in an information network system including a database server capable of communicating with a user terminal,
The database server is
The guidance information associated with the video signal the user terminal receives, received via the network from the user terminal,
Said guidance information, and information which the previously prepared to the database server as corresponding to the guide information collated,
As a result of the collation, when the received guidance information corresponds to the information prepared in advance, communication information for providing a display screen to the user terminal is transmitted.

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