KR101625973B1 - Method, system and computer-readable recording medium for providing digital content - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method, system and computer-readable recording medium for providing digital content.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for providing digital content, comprising: displaying a list of a plurality of episodes of digital content on a user's terminal device, wherein at least some of the plurality of episodes have unlock- And when one of the plurality of episodes is selected in the user terminal device, if the unlocking time of the selected episode arrives, the entirety of the selected episode is provided to the user terminal device, and if not So that the selected episode is not visible to the user.

Description

[0001] METHOD, SYSTEM AND COMPUTER READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM FOR PROVIDING DIGITAL CONTENT [0002]

The present invention relates to a method, system and computer-readable recording medium for providing digital content.

Recently, as the Internet has become widespread, a variety of cultural contents are being provided through the Internet. Among them, Internet cartoon content is becoming popular. This content is also called the coinage of webtoon. Since many commercial films based on the story of Webtoon have been produced and still being produced, it can be said that Webtoon is a core cultural content.

Various techniques for providing such a webtoon have also been proposed. For example, Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2001-0105954 discloses a technique related to " Method for making and operating a cartoon for the Internet ".

However, WebtoTun is used as an indirect means to generate revenue by mainly advertisements, character products, PPL, etc. in large portal sites, and is provided free of charge. Therefore, users of WebtoTun still recognize that Webtoon is an independent product I do not have much. Therefore, there has been a problem that it is difficult to achieve sufficient economic success when simply selling the webtoart itself.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve all the problems of the prior art described above.

In the present invention, in providing each episode of the webtoon (or more broadly, digital content composed of a plurality of episodes), one episode is paid for a predetermined period of time, but is free So that it is another purpose to reduce the user's negative feelings about the paid WebtoTune.

The present invention allows a plurality of episodes of the webtoon to be provided at the same time, while allowing some episodes to be provided free of charge so that the user can easily access the webtoon while the remaining portions are provided as a fee, It is another purpose.

In order to accomplish the above object, a representative structure of the present invention is as follows.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for providing digital content comprising: displaying a list of a plurality of episodes of digital content on a user's terminal device, wherein at least some of the plurality of episodes have unlock- And when one of the plurality of episodes is selected in the user terminal device, if the unlocking time of the selected episode arrives, the entirety of the selected episode is provided to the user terminal device, and if not So that the selected episode is not visible to the user.

In addition to this, another method for implementing the present invention, another system, and a computer-readable recording medium for recording a computer program for executing the method are further provided.

According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the user's negative feelings about the paid webtoon.

According to the present invention, the user can easily access the webtoon, and the webtoon itself can be made as a profitable product.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an overall system for providing digital cartoon content according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of the digital cartoon content providing system 200 in detail according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an exemplary diagram illustrating that digital cartoon content is provided to a user terminal device 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The following detailed description of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. It should be understood that the various embodiments of the present invention are different, but need not be mutually exclusive. For example, the specific shapes, structures, and characteristics described herein may be implemented by changing from one embodiment to another without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It should also be understood that the location or arrangement of individual components within each embodiment may be varied without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the following detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention should be construed as encompassing the scope of the appended claims and all equivalents thereof. In the drawings, like reference numbers designate the same or similar components throughout the several views.

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily carry out the present invention.

[Preferred Embodiment of the Present Invention]

In the present specification, content is a concept of collectively referred to as digital information or individual information elements, which are accessible through a communication network, such as characters, codes, sounds, sounds, images, moving pictures. Such content may comprise, for example, data such as text, images, animations, audio, links (e.g., web links), or a combination of at least two of these data.

Meanwhile, although digital cartoon content is mentioned as a main example of the digital content according to the present invention, any digital content can be provided in a plurality of episodes or chapters and can be sequentially provided, . For example, a novel, a drama, a movie including two or more pieces may be regarded as digital contents of the present invention.

Configuration of the entire system

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an overall system for providing digital cartoon content according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1, an overall system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include a communication network 100, a digital cartoon content providing system 200, and a user terminal device 300. As shown in FIG.

First, the communication network 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention can be configured without regard to communication modes such as wired communication and wireless communication. The communication network 100 can be a local area network (LAN), a metropolitan area network ), A wide area network (WAN), and the like. Preferably, the communication network 100 referred to herein may be the well-known Internet or World Wide Web (WWW). However, the communication network 100 may include, at least in part, a known wire / wireless data communication network, a known telephone network, or a known wire / wireless television communication network, without being limited thereto.

Next, the digital cartoon content providing system 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention can perform a function of providing a predetermined digital comic book content to the user terminal device 300 through the communication network 100. In particular, digital cartoon content may be provided for a fee or may be provided free of charge, depending on the time at which the provision is made.

The configuration and functions of the digital cartoon content providing system 200 according to the present invention will be described in more detail below.

Finally, the user terminal device 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention is a digital device including a function of communicating with the digital comic book content providing system 200, such as a desktop computer, a notebook computer, a workstation, a PDA, If a digital device having a memory means such as a web pad (in particular, a smart pad), a mobile phone (in particular, a smart phone), a wearable device (for example, a smart watch or a smart glass) Can be employed as the user terminal device 300 according to the present invention.

In particular, the user terminal device 300 may include an application program or a browser (not shown) program for allowing the user to receive digital cartoon content. In the present invention, an application program or a browser program may allow a user to view a digital comic book content, make a predetermined selection on the content, and make payment for such content in some cases . These programs will be described in detail below.

Composition of digital cartoon content providing system

Hereinafter, an internal configuration of the digital cartoon content providing system 200 according to the present invention and functions of the respective components will be described.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of the digital cartoon content providing system 200 in detail according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The digital cartoon content providing system 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be a digital device having memory means and equipped with a microprocessor to have computing capability. The digital cartoon content providing system 200 may be a server system. 2, the digital cartoon content providing system 200 may include a content providing unit 210, a content managing unit 220, a database 230, a communication unit 240, and a control unit 250 have. The content providing unit 210, the content managing unit 220, the database 230, the communication unit 240 and the control unit 250 may be configured such that at least a part of the content providing unit 210 communicates with the user terminal device 300 Lt; / RTI > Such a program module may be included in the digital cartoon content providing system 200 in the form of an operating system, an application program module or other program module, and may be physically stored in various known storage devices. Such a program module may also be stored in a remote storage device capable of communicating with the digital comic book content providing system 200. [ Such program modules, on the other hand, encompass but are not limited to routines, subroutines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types as described below in accordance with the present invention.

First, the content providing unit 210 according to an embodiment of the present invention may perform a function of providing digital cartoon content to the user terminal device 300. The provided digital comic book content is preferably one or more of a plurality of episodes of a webtoon of one theme or title.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary diagram illustrating that digital cartoon content is provided to a user terminal device 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in the figure, the content provider 210 may display a list of thumbnails of a plurality of episodes of the webtoon on the user terminal device 300. The thumbnail (or the list of thumbnails) may be transmitted to the user terminal device 300 by the content provider 210 first.

In order to display the thumbnail list as described above, the content provider 210 specifies a plurality of episodes of the webtoons to be provided, and displays predetermined unlocking time information (that is, free Information about the timing provided by the user. Such unlocking time information may be transmitted to the user terminal device 300 in the form of a tag in the form of a tag on the thumbnail of each episode or in the form of an encrypted code embedded therein or may be separately transmitted while being matched with the identification information of each episode .

In this case, the application program or the browser program of the user terminal device 300 displays the thumbnails of the episodes provided from the content provider 210 in order and displays the thumbnails of the episodes (for example, 3), the user can immediately see the corresponding thumbnail according to the selection of the corresponding thumbnail, and an episode in which the lock period has not expired (i.e., an episode such as 310-330 in Fig. 3) ), The user can not see it immediately. In this case, the length of the lock period may vary depending on the episode count. As shown, for the episode of the next epoch of the current searchable episode (i.e., the episode of 330), a lock period of the week of the next episode (i.e., 320 episodes) For the next episode (ie, 310 episodes), a lockout period of three weeks may be granted. Of course, some episodes at the beginning may not be unlocked at all, so the user may be able to see them at any time. In order to allow the user to be aware of such a lockout period, the application program or browser program may display the lockout period in the portion 331 of the thumbnail of each episode and the symbol in the portion 333 of the lock .

On the other hand, the content providing unit 210 can transmit the entire file of the episode that the user can view to the user terminal device 300 only by selection of the corresponding thumbnail or the like. In this case, the application program or the browser program may provide the user with the episode as a whole.

Next, the content management unit 220 according to an embodiment of the present invention, when the user selects an episode that has not yet reached the unlocking time and makes a settlement, the entirety of the episode (Preferably, immediately) to the user.

If the user is interested in the free episode after watching the free episode, the user may want to watch paid episodes such as 310-330 as shown in FIG. In this case, the user may wait patiently until the unlocking time arrives so as to enjoy the episode after the episode has been switched to the free episode, but the episode may be viewed more quickly by a predetermined payment.

For example, if the user selects the episode 330 after viewing the price guide graphic 335 displayed with respect to the episode 330 in which the lock symbol 333 is displayed, (Not shown) in accordance with the conventional technique and receives a prize (for example, a cyber coin having a character similar to that of cash or cash) from the user, the entire episode 330 is used by the user Can be provided to the terminal device 300 immediately.

Meanwhile, the content management unit 220 may manage the image file of the charged episode provided according to the above-described method to have a higher resolution than the image file of the free episode. This can help to encourage the user to purchase by making it possible for the user to obtain even more sufficient gain, that is, not only time gain but also visual gain.

It should also be noted that although the lock period according to the present invention is illustrated above as being a week or day level, depending on the needs of those skilled in the art practicing the present invention, the lock period can be set at a level of a shorter duration (e.g., ) Or a longer time level (for example, year or month).

Next, in the database 230 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the image files of the episode of the Webtoon to be provided, the information of the unlocking timing that may be given in advance for each episode, and the like are stored . Although the database 230 is shown in FIG. 2 as being included and configured in the digital comic book content providing system 200, according to the needs of those skilled in the art implementing the present invention, the database 230 may include a digital comic book content providing system 200 As shown in FIG. Meanwhile, the database 230 in the present invention is a concept including a computer-readable recording medium, and may be a broad database including not only a consultation database but also a data record based on a file system, Even if a set can retrieve it and extract data, it can be a database 230 in the present invention.

The communication unit 240 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may perform a function of enabling data transmission / reception to / from the content providing unit 210, the content managing unit 220, and the database 230.

The control unit 250 may control the flow of data between the content providing unit 210, the content managing unit 220, the database 230, and the communication unit 240 have. That is, the control unit 250 according to the present invention controls the flow of data from / to the outside of the digital comics content providing system 200 or the data flow between the respective components of the digital comics content providing system 200, The control unit 210, the content management unit 220, the database 230, and the communication unit 240, respectively.

The embodiments of the present invention described above can be implemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed through various computer components and recorded in a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium may include program commands, data files, data structures, and the like, alone or in combination. The program instructions recorded on the computer-readable recording medium may be those specifically designed and configured for the present invention or may be those known and used by those skilled in the computer software arts. Examples of computer-readable media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tape, optical recording media such as CD-ROM and DVD, magneto-optical media such as floptical disks, medium, and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Examples of program instructions include machine language code, such as those generated by a compiler, as well as high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. The hardware device may be modified into one or more software modules for performing the processing according to the present invention, and vice versa.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Accordingly, the spirit of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the above-described embodiments, and all ranges that are equivalent to or equivalent to the claims of the present invention as well as the claims .

200: Digital cartoon content providing system
210: Content Offering
220:
230: Database
240:
250:

Claims (9)

CLAIMS 1. A method for providing digital content,
Displaying a list of a plurality of episodes of digital content on a user's terminal device, wherein at least a part of the plurality of episodes is given unlocking time information,
When one of the plurality of episodes is selected in the user terminal device, when the unlocking time of the selected episode has arrived, the user terminal device is provided with all of the selected episodes, and if not, Making the user < RTI ID = 0.0 >
If another one of the plurality of episodes is selected in the user terminal device and the unlocking time of the selected other episode does not arrive, the entirety of the selected other episodes is provided to the user terminal device Step
≪ / RTI > The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the at least some of the plurality of episodes have the unlocking time information being sequential. The method according to claim 1,
And a lock period in accordance with the lock release timing information is further displayed in the user terminal device. delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the resolution of the image file of the selected other episode is higher than the resolution of the image file of the episode provided free of charge. A system for providing digital content,
Wherein a list of a plurality of episodes of the digital content is displayed on the terminal device of the user, wherein at least a part of the plurality of episodes is given unlocking time information, and wherein one of the plurality of episodes Providing the entire selected episode to the user terminal device when the unlocking time of the selected episode arrives; if not, the user can not view the selected episode;
If another one of the plurality of episodes is selected in the user terminal device and the unlocking time of the selected other episode does not arrive, the entirety of the selected other episodes is provided to the user terminal device A content management unit
A database storing the entirety of the selected episode and the entirety of the selected other episodes
/ RTI > The method according to claim 6,
And a lock period in accordance with the unlock time information is further displayed in the user terminal device. delete A computer-readable recording medium recording a computer program for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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