KR100697100B1 - internet multimedia telephone system and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

An Internet multimedia telephone system and a method thereof are provided to service multimedia contents between the first user terminal and the second user terminal whose call is connected, in order that users can share the contents, thus optimum multimedia contents are provided to the connected users. An authentication server(20) performs authentication of users connecting with a system(100). An interface server(10) provides information on the authenticated users to the users connecting with the system(100). A call processing server(30) performs a call connection processing function with at least more than one of the second user terminals connected to the first user terminal over the Internet according to a call connection request received from the first user terminal, based on the information provided through the interface server(10). A multimedia server(40) provides multimedia contents between the first user terminal and the second user terminals whose calls are connected.

Description

Internet multimedia telephone system and method

1 is a network connection diagram of an internet multimedia telephone system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a structural diagram of an internet multimedia telephone system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is an overall flowchart illustrating a call and content providing process according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

4 is an exemplary diagram illustrating an information flow based on the process illustrated in FIG. 3.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a content providing process illustrated in FIG. 3 in more detail.

6 is an exemplary view showing a flow of payment processing during a call connection according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention relates to an Internet telephone system and a method thereof, and more particularly, to a telephone system and method capable of transmitting and receiving multimedia data and a multi-party call through the Internet.

Along with the spread of the Internet, the use of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) using IP network is increasing. Such an internet phone enables a call to an existing wired or wireless network through a dedicated program installed in an internet phone terminal, for example, a computer. The main advantage of this VoIP is that by integrating the telephone service using the existing IP network, telephone users can receive long distance and international telephone service in the Internet and intranet environment with only local telephone charges. Recently, call connection technologies and terminal devices have been developed to enable video calls as well as voice calls through VoIP.

Prior arts related to Internet telephony include Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2005-18233, "Multimedia Management System Using Portable Terminal Device." In this technology, multimedia data is exchanged between portable terminal devices through the multimedia management server on the Internet, so that two-way communication between video and audio is performed. The multimedia information is shared between the portable terminal devices. It is disclosed that it can be provided.

Another technique is a "multimedia communication service providing system and method thereof" of Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2004-60230. This prior art discloses a multimedia communication service providing system that provides high quality music at the same time when voice telephone service users use wired telephone service.

Another technique is "Complex multimedia service method and system therefor" of Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2001-110557. This prior art discloses the integration of one-to-one video telephony, remote video conferencing, tele-education, live internet broadcasting, teleconsulting, on-demand video services, and the like to provide simultaneous voice and video.

Recently, the demand for various services through the Internet of the users is increasing, but the prior art only discloses the concept of providing predetermined data such as images or music in addition to the voice according to the call between users over the Internet, There is no mention of any method or means of enabling users to receive more services while making phone calls based on the data provided.

In addition, despite the low cost of providing the Internet call service, the use rate of the service is very low, since there is no provision for inducing interest of users.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an internet multimedia telephone system and method for activating a telephone call over the Internet by inducing a telephone call of a user.

In addition, the technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is to enable users to use a variety of multimedia services while making a phone call at least two or more phone calls.

In addition, the technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is to allow the user to more easily select a call partner to facilitate the call.

Internet multimedia telephone system according to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above technical problem, in a system that provides a telephone call service to the terminal connected to a plurality of user terminals through the Internet, for the users connecting to the system An authentication server for performing authentication; An interface server that provides information about authenticated users to users who access the system; A call processing server performing call connection processing with at least one second user terminal connected through the Internet according to a call connection request from a first user terminal based on the information provided through the interface server; And a multimedia server providing multimedia content between the first user terminal and the second user terminal to which the call is connected.

Telephone connection and content providing method according to another aspect of the present invention, connected to a plurality of user terminals via the Internet, in the telephone connection and content providing method of a system for providing a telephone call service to the terminal, the system is connected to Performing call connection processing with at least one second user terminal according to a call connection request of the first user; Providing, by the system, multimedia content related information to a terminal according to a request of a first user or a second user to whom a call is connected; And when the corresponding multimedia content request is input from the first user or the second user based on the information, the system providing the network addresses of the requested multimedia content to the terminals of the first and second users. In this case, the first and second user terminals play the multimedia content based on the network address, thereby sharing content between the first and second users.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention.

In addition, when a part is said to "include" a certain component, this means that it may further include other components, except to exclude other components unless otherwise stated.

1 is a diagram illustrating a network connection state of an internet multimedia telephone system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, an internet multimedia telephone system 100 (hereinafter, referred to as a "multimedia telephone system" for convenience of description) according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention refers to the Internet (including wired and wireless Internet). It is connected to the user terminal (3010, 320) that allows the Internet phone call of the user through, and can also be connected to the predetermined terminal 330 through a heterogeneous network.

The user terminals 310, 320, and 330 are communication devices capable of making a phone call by accessing the multimedia telephone system 100 through the network 220, and are particularly terminals having a display device. For example, it may be a terminal or an IP phone with a built-in softphone. Here, a soft phone is a program installed in a PC, PDA, mobile terminal, etc. to enable a telephone call through the Internet, and an IP phone is an Internet phone-only device having a phone structure in hardware while incorporating a program function of the soft phone. .

The user terminals 310, 320, 330 are connected to the multimedia telephone system 100 through VoIP gateways 410, 420, 430. Here, the VoIP gateway may be a program provided from the system 100 in a plug-in manner and installed in a user terminal, or may be hardware installed to connect the terminal and the system 100.

Multimedia telephone system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention provides a telephone call service between the user terminal (310,320,330) connected through the Internet 200 through the VoIP gateway (410,420,430), in particular according to the user's selection By providing a predetermined multimedia service, users who make a call can make a phone call while sharing the multimedia service.

The multimedia telephone system 100 may be connected to the PSTN 600 through the VoIP gateways 420 and 430 to enable a telephone call with the terminal 330 connected to a heterogeneous network other than the Internet. In this case, the VoIP gateways 420 and 430 Exchanger 510 and 520 are installed between the PSTN 600 and the PSTN 600, and a telephone call and multimedia content sharing are performed between the system 100 and the terminal 330 connected to the heterogeneous network 600.

2 illustrates the structure of a multimedia telephone system according to an embodiment of the present invention in more detail.

As shown in FIG. 2, the multimedia telephone system 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention generally includes an interface server 10, an authentication server 20, a call processing server 30, and a multimedia server 40. Include.

The interface server 10 functions as a kind of web server that provides a page (eg, a home page of the system) for providing a service through the system to the user terminal in response to a system connection request from the terminal. In addition, various information provided through each server may be converted to a communication standard so as to be provided to a terminal, or may be provided to each server by receiving information provided from the terminal.

The authentication server 20 performs authentication for the connecting user, and for this purpose, a plurality of pieces of information about users who receive a telephone call service through the system--for example, a password corresponding to a user identification number (ID, etc.) The subscriber database 21, including contacts, etc .;

Meanwhile, in the embodiment of the present invention, the interface server 10 checks the users currently logged into the system 100 on the basis of the authentication processing result provided from the authentication server, so that the user can easily designate a call connection target. Inform users who log in with information about logged in users. In this case, when the first user logs in, in order to immediately inform whether the second users associated with the first user are logged in, the connection database 11 in which the information of the logged-in users is stored, and another user who has formed a predetermined relationship for each user And a relational database 12 in which information about them is stored. The relationship database 12 may store, for example, information such as IDs of other users who have formed a predetermined relationship for each user.

The call processing server 30 performs a call connection process with another user terminal connected through the Internet 20 in response to a call connection request from the user terminal 300. To this end, the call processing server 30 includes a call processing unit 31 for receiving a call connection request and performing call connection processing accordingly, and in addition to the caller's state (for example, a busy state, etc.) according to the call connection processing. ) May further include a status check unit 32 for displaying the result.

Meanwhile, the multimedia server 40 provides predetermined multimedia contents delivered through the interface server 10 to the user terminals 310, 320, and 330. In particular, the multimedia server 40 provides multimedia to user terminals that are connected by the call processing server 30. Provide content. To this end, the multimedia server 40 is a multimedia content (image data, voice data, text data, etc., provided from a user or predetermined content providers, including various types of data such as wmv, asf, swf, etc.) or The system includes a content database 41 in which the multimedia contents produced by the system are stored, and a content providing unit 42 providing the multimedia contents selected by the user to the corresponding terminal. In addition, in order to further activate contents that users can share with each other during a call, a content classification unit for collecting what multimedia contents are provided during a call in units of a predetermined period and classifying the collected results by predetermined items ( 43). Therefore, the content providing unit 41 may provide the user with the call to the predetermined multimedia content based on the classification result by the content classification unit, and then provide the user with the call with the predetermined multimedia content according to the user's selection.

In addition, the user may further include a reservation database 44 in which content reservation information is stored for each user in order to immediately provide multimedia contents desired by the user during a call connection without a separate selection process. The content reservation information includes identification information on content requested to be provided when a call is connected for each user, and in addition, identification information (ID or telephone number, etc.) of a person to be able to change the content shared by the user who is calling. May be matched with the predetermined content identification information and stored. Alternatively, the predetermined time zone and the content identification information may be matched with each other so as to provide different contents for each call time of the user.

Meanwhile, the multimedia server 40 may provide contents owned in the contents database 41 to the users, or may receive contents from an external contents provider or service providers and provide the contents to the users.

The Internet multimedia telephone system 100 having such a structure performs a call connection between the user terminals 310 and 320 through the Internet as shown in FIG. 1, and also compresses or compresses the voice data into a predetermined codec format. It recovers and performs a call connection with the terminal 330 connected to the private branch exchange network through the VoIP gateway 420 transmitted to the private branch exchange 510. In addition, the VoIP gateway 430 performs a call with the terminal 330 connected to the PSTN 600 network. Since the call connection through the gateway is a known technique, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In addition, the above-described multimedia telephone system and its servers are classified according to their functions, and may be classified differently according to their implementation. For example, the databases may be implemented in the form of being included in one server, and the relational database 12 or the access database 11 may be implemented in the form of being included in the call processing server 30 or the multimedia server 40. It may be.

Next, the operation of the Internet multimedia telephone system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the structure as described above.

3 is an overall flowchart illustrating a call and content providing process according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 4 is an exemplary view showing the process. In the following description, a user receives a telephone connection service through the Internet using a terminal in which a soft phone such as a PC is embedded. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the same applies to a call between terminals connected through a heterogeneous network. Can be.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the first user connects to the system 100 using the terminal 310 (S100), the interface server 10 of the system 100 displays a web page that provides a telephone connection service. Provided to the user terminal 310. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the home page is displayed on the terminal 310 by being connected to the web site of the system 100. On the other hand, the web page providing the telephone connection service may be implemented in the form of having a dedicated skin for providing a telephone connection function and additional functions (for example, watching a movie, shopping, payment, etc.).

When the first user inputs information for logging in on the web page, the authentication server 20 performs authentication according to whether the information stored in the subscriber database 21 matches the input information (S110), The authentication processing result is displayed on the web page via the interface server 10.

When user authentication is made, the interface server 10 stores the identification information (ID, etc.) of the authenticated, logged-in first user in the connection database 11 to record that the first user has logged in to the system 100. (S120), identification information (ID, etc.) for other currently connected users stored in the access database 11 is extracted and displayed on the web page (S130). At this time, in order to make it easier and faster for the first user to know whether or not the relevant users are connected, the users who have formed a predetermined relationship with the first user from the relational database 12 (hereinafter, referred to as “partners”) are listed. The identification information is extracted from the plurality of users stored in the access database 11 and displayed only on the web page. Therefore, when the first user logs in to the system 100, the first user can easily know which users are connected to the system 100, and in particular, the first user can easily know whether the related persons who have formed a predetermined relationship are connected.

Thereafter, the first user may select a user to be called from other logged-in users (eg, parties) provided on the web page. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, a user to whom a first user wants to call is called a second user, and the second user may be at least one.

When the first user requests a call connection while selecting the second user (S140), the interface server 10 provides the request to the call processing server 30, and the call processing unit 31 of the call processing server 30 It receives the information (eg, IP address, etc.) of the second user provided from the interface server 10 and transmits a call connection request to the terminal 320 of the second user based on the information. In response to the call connection request, a call connection request is displayed to the terminal 320 of the second user together with identification information of the first user. Then, when the call response request of the second user is answered, the call of the call processing server 30 is received. The processor 31 connects a call between the first user terminal 310 and the second user terminal 320 (S150). This call connection process is performed a plurality of times according to the number of second users, so that a call connection is made between the first user and at least one second user. Therefore, a telephone call is made between the terminal of the first user and the second user that is connected to the call (S160).

Alternatively, the first user can directly input information (ID or telephone number, etc.) of the second user, and in this case, the call processing server 30 is based on the information provided from the terminal of the first user. Connect a call with a second user terminal.

As described above, after the call connection is established between the first user and the second user, in order to activate a call between the first user and the second user, the multimedia content is connected to the call in the embodiment of the present invention. Provided to the first and second users (S170). Therefore, the first and second users share the same content (S180).

The multimedia content providing process is illustrated in more detail in FIG. 5.

As shown in FIG. 5, when providing multimedia content, the content providing unit 42 of the multimedia server 40 may provide an optimal content that may further induce interest of the first user and the second user. The searcher searches the reservation database 44 to check whether there is content that the first user has requested to provide when the call is connected (S171 to S172).

If there is a reserved content, the content providing unit 42 extracts the corresponding content from the database 44 and provides it to the terminals 310 and 320 of the first user and the second user, so that the first user and the second user have a call. Allows you to share multimedia content. At this time, if a set condition, for example, a call target or time zone is set for the reserved content, the second user is the call target or the current time or the time when the first user requests a call connection is the set time zone. The reserved contents are provided (S173 to S175).

However, if there is no reserved content, or if the second user is not the set call target or the set time period is not satisfied, the content providing unit 42 of the multimedia server 40 stores a plurality of multimedia stored in the content database 41. Information about the contents is provided to the terminals 310 and 320 of the first user and the second user who are making the call connection (S176). Accordingly, the information on the multimedia content that can be provided by the system 100 is displayed on the terminals of the first and second users, and in this case, the information about the content that can be provided may be displayed for each category.

Then, when the first user or the second user selects one multimedia content, the content provider 42 provides the selected multimedia content to the first and second user terminals 310 and 320 (S177).

As described above, the multimedia content is provided to the first and second user terminals in which the call is made through various paths, and as illustrated in FIG. 4 according to the playback selection of the first or second user, The reproduced content may be displayed on a terminal and, for example, displayed on a predetermined area on a call screen. Here, the call screen is a screen in which the first user and the second user are displayed or predetermined characters input by the user are displayed, and the multimedia content may be displayed over the entire area of the call screen or only in some areas.

Therefore, more topics may be triggered based on the multimedia content played between the first and second users. For example, you can exchange opinions through a call in real time while watching a funny video such as a movie or football together. In addition, it is possible to purchase a predetermined article while talking, and in this case, the other party's opinion on the article can be easily provided through a telephone call.

On the other hand, when shopping content is provided when a call is connected and the user inputs a purchase intention, the multimedia server 40 of the system 100 is connected to a shopping service provider (not shown) or a payment server (not shown) of the system itself. By connecting a terminal, payment for the item to be purchased is made. 6 illustrates a flow of payment processing during call connection.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, when a purchase and a payment for a predetermined item are requested while shopping contents are provided during a call connection, a payment screen is provided only to a terminal of the user who requested the purchase for information security, and the call is made. The payment screen is not provided to another user's terminal. That is, when the first user makes a purchase and requests a payment, only the first user terminal is connected to a payment server (not shown) to receive a payment screen, and the second user terminal is connected to the multimedia server 40. By maintaining the connected state, the second user can view only the shopping content or the predetermined screen provided by the multimedia server 40.

As described above, the telephone system according to the embodiment of the present invention functions as a platform capable of delivering multimedia content that may involve active communication with the other party, and also provides a content provider and a predetermined service (a shopping service provider). Etc.) can serve as a channel for new revenues.

Therefore, various multimedia contents are shared among the calling users, thereby inducing the interest of the users, and as a result, it is possible to activate the telephone call through the Internet more.

On the other hand, when providing multimedia content, users can receive multimedia content that is automatically reserved during a call without a separate selection process, and also directly load the content stored locally through a function such as "load". Can be loaded. In addition, the user may be provided with a network address, for example, a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) assigned to the multimedia content from the system, and the content may be provided by reproducing the content through the network address on the terminal. In this case, the multimedia server 40 provides the information on the content by category in step S176, and provides a predetermined function button, such as [URL copy], corresponding to the content of each category to selectively select a user. It is possible to easily copy the URL of the content.

In addition, the user can navigate the content of each category provided by the system itself for the telephone connection and the content service, so that the user can easily select and receive specific content. In addition, it is possible to share the content stored in each user terminal with each other, so that personal-to-person communication can be activated more. In this case, the multimedia server 40 collects the contents stored from the terminals of the users who access the system 100 and displays the collected information on a web page so that the users can select the selected contents. Read from the terminal of the user and provide to the terminal of the other user.

Meanwhile, in an embodiment of the present invention, in order to provide an optimal multimedia content that may cause interest to a user, the content classifying unit 43 of the multimedia server 40 may be configured between the first and second users who are making a call connection. Collect and store information (identification information, information about the user using the content, etc.) about the content being played and shared. In addition, each content collected in a predetermined period of time (for example, one day, etc.) is classified by a predetermined item, for example, classified by items such as gender, age, occupation, and residential area of users who use the content. Allows users with certain characteristics to know what content they have used. As such, the multimedia server 40 may provide the information on the predetermined multimedia content based on the characteristics of the first user in step S176 based on the collected information on the unique content when the call is connected. Or, the most used in a predetermined period (for example, a period up to one day before the first user requests a call connection, etc.) based on the information classified and collected by the content classification unit 43 in step S176. Information may be provided in order of multimedia contents. Therefore, since the user can be provided with interesting multimedia contents, more various calls can be made between users.

The method described above may be implemented in the form of a program stored in a computer-readable recording medium. The recording medium may include any kind of recording device that stores data that can be read by a computer. For example, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, and the like may be used. Included is implemented in the form of).

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the most practical and preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above disclosed embodiments, but also includes various modifications and equivalents within the scope of the following claims. In the above, the user is provided with information of other users (or related parties) logged into the system so that the user can easily select a contact person, or the user directly requests a call connection by inputting the contact's phone number. Alternatively, a search function can be provided so that the user can find and select the callee. That is, when the user does not know the other party's telephone number or ID, when the user inputs a predetermined condition, the user can find and provide information on other users who satisfy the condition, so that the user can easily select a call partner.

As described above, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a call through the Internet can be easily performed by using a terminal equipped with a display device. In particular, by providing optimal multimedia contents to callers, various multimedia services can be used while talking on the phone, and various interests can be generated between the callers. You can.

Claims (9)

In a system connected to a plurality of user terminals through the Internet, to provide a telephone call service to the terminal, An authentication server that performs authentication for users accessing the system; An interface server that provides information about authenticated users to users who access the system; A call processing server performing call connection processing with at least one second user terminal connected through the Internet according to a call connection request from a first user terminal based on the information provided through the interface server; And Multimedia server for providing multimedia content between the first user terminal and the second user terminal connected to the call Including, The multimedia server A content database in which multimedia content is stored; Content reservation information is stored for each user, and the reservation information corresponds to identification information for content requested to be provided when a call is connected for each user, and a setting condition including at least one of identification information of a callee and a set time zone is matched. A reservation database; When the reservation information of the first user is stored in the reservation database, when the setting condition of the reservation information is satisfied, the corresponding multimedia content is provided to the terminals of the first and second users, and when there is no reservation information. Content providing unit for providing a predetermined multimedia content selected by the first or second user to the first and second user terminal Multimedia telephone system comprising a. The method of claim 1 The interface server An access database that stores information of users authenticated by accessing the system; And Relationship database that stores information about other users who have formed a relationship for each user Including; When the first user accesses the system, the multimedia forms a predetermined relationship with the first user based on the connection and relationship database and provides information about the second users connected to the system to the terminal of the first user. Telephone system. The method according to claim 1 or 2 The multimedia server Contents classification unit that collects what multimedia contents are provided to users during a predetermined period and classifies the collected results by predetermined items Multimedia telephone system further comprising. The method according to claim 1 or 2 The content providing unit provides a network address of multimedia content to the first and second user terminals, and the first and second user terminals play the multimedia content based on the network address. In a telephone connection and content providing method of a system connected to a plurality of user terminals through the Internet and providing a telephone call service to the terminal, Performing call connection processing with at least one second user terminal according to a call connection request of a first user to which the system is connected; Reservation information in which the system presets content to be provided when the first user or the second user connects the call--identification of the callee in response to the identification information on the content requested to be provided when the call connects for each user. Confirming whether a setting condition including at least one of the information and the setting time zone is matched; If there is reservation information, providing the corresponding multimedia contents to the terminals of the first and second users only when the setting condition of the reservation information is satisfied; If the reservation information does not exist, providing the multimedia content related information to the terminal at the request of the first user or the second user; And If the predetermined multimedia content request is input from the first user or the second user based on the information, providing the requested multimedia contents to the terminals of the first and second users. Telephone connection and content providing method comprising a. The method of claim 5 The providing of the multimedia content to the first and second user terminals may include providing a network address of the multimedia content to the first and second user terminals. And the first and second user terminals play the multimedia content based on the network address. delete The method of claim 5 Collecting the multimedia contents provided by the users during the call on a predetermined time period and classifying the collected results by predetermined items; When providing the information related to the multimedia content, telephone connection and content providing method for providing information on the content corresponding to the item matching the characteristics of the first user or the second user. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing the method of any one of claims 5, 6 or 8.

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