KR100274146B1 - Multimedia service control unit and method using computer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An apparatus and method for controlling a multimedia service using a computer is provided to enable a user to conveniently use an application program and to receive a multimedia service by installing general computers in a public place or a business place, and by enabling to the user to pay the rental fee designated. CONSTITUTION: A computer(100) includes a microcomputer(105) which process data, a system bus(110), a ROM(115) which stores a ROM-BIOS, a RAM(120) which stores a program or input/output data, a hard/floppy disk interface(125) which performs an interface between a hard disk(126) and a floppy disk(127), a monitor interface(130) which performs an interface with a monitor(131), a communication interface(135), a keyboard interface(140) which performs an interface with a keyboard(141) and a power supply unit(150). The first control unit(200) is connected to an expansion slot(145) of the computer(100). The first control unit(200) stores data processed by a program selected by a user in an allocated disk unit. The second control unit(400) bypasses a signal line connected to respectively monitor(131) and the keyboard(141) in case that a power is provided from the power supply unit(150).

Description

Apparatus and method for controlling multimedia service using computer

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for controlling a multimedia service using a computer, and in particular, to provide various multimedia services using a personal computer (PC) by inputting a service fee in a public or business place. The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for controlling a multimedia service using a computer.

In recent years, the most basic part of multimedia is the convergence of computers and home appliances, which is the digitalization of information, that is, the fusion of digitalized information. Computers are excellent at editing and storing processing, while at the same time weak at processing sound and information.

In contrast, home appliances such as televisions (TVs), audio equipments, and video cassette recorders (VCRs) are strong in processing audio and video information, but weak in editing and storing processing. Taking advantage of such computer and home appliances and complementing each other's shortcomings, the main form of multimedia is developing.

Based on the trend of multimedia and the improvement of the price / performance of personal computers, personal computers have various application programs including games, document creation, domestic and international communication as well as television broadcasting and movie and audio playback. The use of the program is diversifying.

On the other hand, such a personal computer is typically used by each individual alone in the office or at home, or by having a small portable personal computer, it was possible to use its functions with less restrictions.

However, small portable personal computers were expensive and burdened economically for all individuals to carry, and therefore, many difficulties were encountered when a person who did not possess a computer had to suddenly use a work computer from the outside.

Therefore, in the present invention, in order to utilize business or leisure time in a public place or a business place, etc., a predetermined fee is used to find a way to receive various applications using a computer and a multimedia service.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for controlling a multimedia service using a computer so that anyone can receive a unique function of a desired computer and various multimedia services by installing an unattended installation in a public place or a business place. have.

1 is a block diagram of a multimedia service control apparatus using a computer according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a process of controlling a multimedia service using a computer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for main parts of drawing>

100: computer 105: microprocessor (CPU)

110: system bus 115: ROM

120: RAM 125: Hard / Floppy Disk Interface

126: hard disk 127: floppy disk

130: monitor interface 131: monitor

135: communication interface 140: keyboard interface

141: keyboard 145: expansion slot

150: power supply unit 200: first control unit

300: fee input recognition unit 400: second control unit

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, the input and output means of the data, the ROM for storing the ROM BIOS, the main memory device for storing the program and input and output data, the central processing unit for processing control and data, the application program and its guidance message and A shell having a routine for executing a selected program with a selection menu, the auxiliary storage means including a hard disk, an expansion slot for attaching another device, and a communication port for communicating with another external device; A computer booted to load the program into the main memory; It is installed in the expansion slot of the computer, interrupts the ROM BIOS when the computer boots, allocates the allocated disk portion to a part of the hard disk, stores the data processed by the user's selection program in the allocated disk portion, and allocates the allocated disk portion at reboot. A first control unit which controls to delete and initialize data stored in the controller; Usage time notification means for setting a time allowed for the user after booting the computer and notifying the elapsed use time; And connected between the communication port of the computer and the usage time notification means, locks the input / output device for a predetermined time in synchronization with the computer booting, and applies a signal informing the allowed usage time to the computer, The invention provides a multimedia service control device having a second control unit for controlling rebooting of a computer upon receiving a termination signal.

Here, the communication port uses a serial port, and the second control unit controls the lock by bypassing a predetermined signal line connected to the keyboard and the monitor interface of the computer and the monitor, respectively, when the keyboard and the monitor are locked.

In addition, the method for controlling a multimedia service using a computer according to the present invention is a method for providing a multimedia service to a user for a fee using a computer, and is due to the use of an application program of the user for protecting the initial computer hard disk data. The first step of allocating an area for storing the generated data separately to the hard disk, and outputting a prompt message and a selection menu to use a plurality of set application programs while locking and controlling the keyboard and monitor for a predetermined time, and user selection. A second step of waiting for a second step, and a fee input accumulated when the user input is confirmed, a third step of executing an application program selected by the user during the available time corresponding to the input amount, and the allocation disk upon rebooting; Characterized in that it comprises a fourth step of deleting the stored data.

Here, preferably, the second step may further include randomly outputting various advertisements or promotional messages and screens until a user's selection is made while the user is waiting for selection, and the third step is always above the available time. Displaying on the screen and changing the available time to the level corresponding to the application program selected by the user, and displaying the screen or rebooting the computer when the available time elapses or abnormally terminates, or the available time is less than the preset time. The method may further include outputting a warning message and a screen.

The above objects and various advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the preferred embodiments of the invention described below with reference to the accompanying drawings by those skilled in the art.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram of a multimedia service control apparatus using a computer according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, which includes a microprocessor 105, a system bus 110, a ROM 115, a RAM 120, and a hard / floppy disk. Interface 125, Hard Disk 126, Floppy Disk 127, Monitor Interface 130, Monitor 131, Communication Interface 135, Keyboard Interface 140, Keyboard 141, Expansion Slot 145 And a computer 100 including a power supply unit 150, a first control unit 200, a fee for use input recognition unit 300, and a second control unit 400.

In this configuration, the computer 100 includes a microprocessor 105 which is a central processing unit (CPU), a ROM 115 in which a BIOS is stored, a RAM 120 which is a main storage device, and an auxiliary memory. A hard / floppy disk interface 125 for interfacing the hard disk 126 and the floppy disk 127 as a device, a monitor interface 130 for interfacing with the monitor 131 as a display device, and a serial port or A communication interface 135 for communicating with the outside of the computer through the parallel port, a keyboard interface 140 for interfacing with the keyboard 141 as an input device, and an external device such as a sound / modem / TV reception / DVD decoder card. An expansion slot 145 for connection with the device has a general configuration which is interconnected via a system bus 110 which is a collection of data / address / control signal lines, providing a predetermined power supply to each component. It also includes a power supply unit 150 to output a guide message, a selection menu to use a plurality of set application program at boot and to the communication port of the communication interface 135 (in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a serial port) Loading a shell program (stored in the hard disk 126 in the preferred embodiment of the present invention) that executes the selected application program based on the user during the available time corresponding to the authorized deposit signal, and terminates or authorizes the shell program. When the accumulated available time corresponding to the received deposit signal elapses, an end signal is output to the serial port of the communication interface 135.

In addition, the first control unit 200 accesses the expansion slot 145 of the computer 100, allocates the allocation disk unit to the hard disk 126 during booting, and generates or updates data due to the use of various application programs after booting. When saving, it is stored in the allocated disk part. When rebooting, the data stored in the allocated disk part is deleted and then reallocated a new allocated disk part.

In addition, the royalty input recognition unit 300 recognizes that the user inputs money, and outputs a deposit signal corresponding to the input money to the second control unit 400.

On the other hand, the second control unit 400 at the time of booting, that is, when a predetermined power is supplied from the power supply unit 150 of the computer 100, the monitor 131 from the monitor interface 130 and the keyboard interface 140 of the computer 100, respectively ) Locks the monitor 131 and the keyboard 141 for a predetermined time by intercepting the signal line connected to the keyboard and the keyboard 141 for a predetermined time, and when the deposit signal is applied from the second control unit 400, the computer 100. When the transmission signal is transmitted to the serial port of the communication interface 135 and a termination signal is received from the serial port, a reset signal is applied to the computer 100 to control the computer 100 to be rebooted.

Next, a multimedia service control operation process using a computer according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention having the above-described configuration will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 2.

First, when a predetermined power is supplied from the power supply unit 150 to the computer 100 and the second control unit 400, booting of the computer is started (step 200), and the first slot inserted into the expansion slot 145 when the computer is checked. The virtual area is allocated to the hard disk 126 by the control unit 200 (step 202).

The virtual area is used to secure data such as an application program stored in the hard disk 126 in the early stages of the hard disk 126 by a plurality of users. Is deleted on reboot for the next user.

Therefore, the user can copy and store the final work data to the auxiliary storage device of the floppy disk 127 or other computer 100 (not shown).

Next, a shell program, which will be described later on a predetermined operating system, is loaded from the hard disk 126 into the RAM 120 and resident so as to monitor multimedia service guide messages and screens, for example, messages and screens on how to use and use media services. 131 and the speaker not shown are shown to wait for the user to input the royalty (step 204).

From this point on, the shell program takes control of the computer 100 and performs a multimedia service control process to be described later.

Next, the second control unit 400 determines whether the deposit signal is applied through the serial communication port (step 206), and if the deposit signal is not applied, randomly outputs various advertisements and promotional messages and a screen (step 208). .

On the other hand, when the predetermined power is supplied from the power supply unit 150 by booting the computer 100, the second control unit 400 locks the monitor 131 and the keyboard 141 for a predetermined time (step 232), and charges the fee for use. Wait (step 234).

In this case, the time when the monitor 131 and the keyboard 141 are locked is until the computer 100 is booted and the shell program is loaded. During this time, the user cannot control the computer 100.

On the other hand, if there is a royalty input for the user to use the multimedia service through the royalty input recognition unit 300, a deposit signal corresponding to the input amount from the royalty input recognition unit 300 is applied to the second control unit 400.

Next, the second controller 400 determines whether the deposit signal is applied through the royalty input recognition unit 300 (step 236), and when the deposit signal is applied, sends the applied deposit signal to the serial port of the computer 100. Transmit (step 238).

Next, it is determined from the serial port of the computer 100 whether the end signal described later is applied (step 240), and when the end signal is applied, the reset signal is output to the reset terminal of the computer 100 to reboot the computer 100. Let's do it.

On the other hand, in the computer 100 loaded with the shell program, when a deposit signal is applied from the second control unit 400 through the serial port in step 206, the selection screen includes various application programs that can be set by the user. The display is controlled and the display is always started at a predetermined position of the top screen while counting down the available time corresponding to the applied deposit signal (step 210).

Next, execution of the application program selected by the user is started through the keyboard 141 or the mouse (not shown) (step 212).

On the other hand, since the usage fee is set differently according to the application program, the available time is displayed down counting to the level set corresponding to the selected application program (step 214).

Next, it is determined whether the application program being executed is terminated (step 216). If the application program is terminated, the process proceeds to step 212 described above to select another application program, and if the application being executed is not terminated, the application program is executed. In parallel, it is determined whether the shell program is forcibly terminated (step 218).

At this time, if the shell program is not terminated, it is recognized that the multimedia service is being performed in a normal procedure, and it is determined whether the available time being down counted remains below a predetermined predetermined time (step 220).

In this case, if the available time is less than the predetermined time, a warning message and a screen are output to warn the user to add a fee to continue using the multimedia service (step 222).

Next, it is determined whether the available time is over (step 224), and if not, it is determined whether a deposit signal is applied to the serial port (step 226).

In this case, if the wage signal is not applied, the process returns to the above-described step 216. If the deposit signal is applied, the available time is accumulated in response to the deposit signal (step 228), and the process returns to the above-described step 216. Determine whether the running application program is terminated.

On the other hand, when the shell program is forcibly terminated in the above-described step 218 or when the available time expires in the above-described step 224, the termination signal is applied to the second control unit 400 through the serial port (230). Quit.

Then, as described above, when the second control unit 400 determines whether the end signal is applied in operation 240 described above, when the end signal is applied, the second control unit 400 outputs a reset signal to the computer 100 to reboot the computer 100. 2 The control unit 400 reruns from the above step (232).

On the other hand, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

As described above, according to the present invention, a general-purpose computer can be easily added and installed unattended in a public place or a business place, and a user can conveniently use an application program such as a unique function of a computer or a multimedia service by paying a predetermined fee. It can be effective.

Claims (8)

A routine for executing a selected program together with an input / output means for data, a ROM for storing a ROMBIOS, a main memory for storing programs and input / output data, a central processing unit for processing and data, an application program and its guidance message, and a selection menu. A computer having a secondary memory means including a hard disk in which a shell program is stored, an expansion slot for attaching another device, and a communication port for communicating with another external device, and booting to load the shell program into the main memory; 100; It is installed in the expansion slot of the computer, interrupts the ROM BIOS when the computer boots, allocates the allocated disk portion to a part of the hard disk, stores the data processed by the user's selection program in the allocated disk portion, and allocates the allocated disk portion at reboot. A first control unit 200 which controls to delete and initialize data stored in the first control unit; After the booting of the computer, the user is allowed to set an allowed time and notify the elapsed time of use of the set time, and is connected between the communication port of the computer and the use time notification means to synchronize the computer with the input / output device for a predetermined time. And a second control unit (400) which controls to reboot the computer upon receiving a lock signal and a signal for notifying the allowed use time to the computer, and receiving a termination signal from the use time from the computer. 2. The multimedia service control according to claim 1, wherein the second controller 400 bypasses a signal transmitted between the central processing of the computer and the input / output means and locks the input / output means. Device. According to claim 1, wherein the user is charged with a charge input recognition unit 300 for storing the charges entered by the user and outputs the usage time information to the second control unit 400 according to the received charges, characterized in that is further provided Multimedia service control device using a computer. A method for providing a multimedia service to a user for a fee using a computer, and allocating an allocating disk unit for separately storing data generated by a user's use of an application program for protecting the initial computer hard disk data set in the hard disk. A first step of doing; A second step of outputting a guide message, a selection menu and waiting for a user's selection to use a plurality of set application programs while locking and controlling the keyboard and the monitor for a predetermined time; When the user's input fee is confirmed, the fee input is accumulated, and the third step of executing the application program selected by the user during the available time corresponding to the input amount, and the fourth step of deleting data stored in the allocation disk unit upon rebooting. Multimedia service control method using a computer comprising a. The method of claim 4, wherein the second step further comprises the step of randomly outputting various advertisements or promotional messages and screens until a user's selection is waited for the user's selection. Way. The method of claim 7, wherein the third step is to display the available time at all times on the screen, and to change the display time by varying the available time to a level corresponding to the application program selected by the user, the multimedia using a computer Service control method. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the third step of rebooting the computer when the available time elapses or abnormally terminates. The method of claim 4, wherein the third step further comprises outputting a warning message and a screen when the available time is less than or equal to a preset time.

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