KR20010081949A - Kiosk system having a centralized control scheme based on the internet - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An automatic information system of a central integrated control method using Internet is provided to control a multitude of automatic terminal by using a central integrated control method. CONSTITUTION: A memory(330) stores automatic information and an advertisement file transmitted from a server. A touch screen monitor(310) is formed with a multitude of selection item and input signals corresponding to the selection items. The first monitor(340) displays guide information corresponding to a user input signal generated from the touch screen monitor(310). The first control portion(350) controls the memory(330), the touch screen monitor(310), and the first monitor(340). A broadcasting signal reception portion(410) selects a broadcasting program channel through a transmission channel of a broadcasting program source. A graphic control portion(400) synthesizes the received broadcasting program and graphic data of the advertisement file stored in the memory(330) and outputs a synthesized signal. The second monitor(420) displays the synthesized signal. The second control portion(430) controls the broadcasting signal reception portion(410), the graphic control portion(400), and the second monitor(420).

Description

Unmanned information system with centralized control method using internet {KIOSK SYSTEM HAVING A CENTRALIZED CONTROL SCHEME BASED ON THE INTERNET}

The present invention relates to an unmanned guidance system, and more particularly, to an unmanned information system capable of controlling a plurality of unmanned terminals in a central control manner based on the Internet.

A typical unmanned terminal, also known as a kiosk, is mainly installed in a place where a large crowd gathers to perform an unmanned information terminal that provides unmanned travel information and video advertisement graphics.

However, most existing unmanned terminals only provide a limited number of functions, such as broadcast programs, unattended guides, video advertisements and unattended guides, and internet connection or unattended guide.

Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, while controlling all the unmanned terminals based on the Internet in a centralized control method, each of the unmanned terminal in the video advertising, broadcasting media, advertising files, unmanned guidance and Internet services It is an object of the present invention to provide an unmanned information system that can efficiently provide.

According to the present invention for achieving the above object, an unmanned information system based on the Internet, a plurality of unmanned terminals; A database for storing unattended information and advertisement files; A server for communicating with each of the unmanned terminals through the Internet, and transmitting unmanned information and advertisement files stored in the database to each of the unmanned terminals according to a predetermined schedule;

Each of the unattended terminals includes: memory means for temporarily storing unattended information and an advertisement file transmitted from the server; A touch screen providing a touch screen type screen having a plurality of selection items selected by a user, and generating a user input signal corresponding to the item selected on the screen; A first monitor configured to display guide information corresponding to a user input signal generated on the touch screen; The user input communicated with the server via the Internet to control storage of the unattended information and advertisement information in the memory means, construct the touch screen type screen on the touch screen, and transmit the user input through the touch screen screen First control means for controlling unattended information corresponding to the user input signal retrieved from the memory means to be displayed on the first monitor in response to the signal; Television broadcast receiving means for selecting a channel of a broadcast program transmitted through a transmission channel from a broadcast program source; Graphic control means for synthesizing a broadcast program received through a channel tuned by said television broadcast receiving means and an advertisement graphic accompanying an advertisement file read out from said memory means; A second monitor for displaying the signal synthesized by the graphic control means; In communication with the first control means, the television broadcast receiving means is controlled in accordance with a user input signal transmitted from the first control means, and the graphic control means is controlled so that the synthesized signal of the broadcast program and the advertisement graphic is controlled. And a second control unit for displaying on the second monitor.

1 is a schematic block diagram of an unmanned information system constructed in accordance with the present invention;

2 is a block diagram showing an internal circuit configuration of an unmanned terminal according to the present invention;

3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a communication frame made between a server system of the present invention and each unattended terminal;

4 is a diagram illustrating a synthesized broadcast program and advertisement graphic displayed by a screen division method on an advertisement monitor;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an advertisement graphic superimposed on a broadcast program displayed on an advertisement monitor;

6A and 6B are flowcharts illustrating the operation of the unmanned terminal according to the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

100: server system 120: database

300: unattended terminal 310: touch screen monitor

340: unmanned information monitor 410: TV reception card

420: advertising monitor 450: graphics control unit

460: unmanned terminal body

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail the operation of the preferred embodiment according to the present invention.

Figure 1 shows a schematic block diagram of an unmanned guidance system constructed in accordance with the present invention, Figure 2 shows the appearance of the unmanned terminal shown in FIG. As shown, the unmanned information system of the present invention includes a server system 100 and a plurality of unmanned terminals 300 that communicate with each other largely through the Internet 500.

The server system 100 includes a database 120 and a server 140. The database 120 stores various unmanned guide information including a text file, a video file, a graphic file, and the like, and a plurality of advertisement files. The server 140 communicates with each wireless terminal 300 through the Internet 500, and transmits the unattended guide information and the advertisement file stored in the database 120 to each unattended terminal 300 in units of frames. The unmanned guidance information and the advertisement file stored in the database 120 may be deleted and updated, and the information related to the change may be loaded on each unmanned terminal according to a preset schedule, for example, in a frame described below once a day. 300).

Referring to FIG. 3, a structure of a frame transmitted and received between the server 140 and each unmanned terminal 300 is illustrated. The transmission / reception frame is a bit 210 for synchronization of transmission and reception between the server system 100 and each unmanned terminal 300, a bit 220 indicating that the frame transmission between the server system 100 and the unmanned terminal 300 is started, and the server. Transmitting / receiving frame control command between the system 100 and the unmanned terminal 300, for example, a frame control command 230 indicating an input signal, an output signal, a delete signal, an update signal, a channel signal, and the destination address of the transmit / receive frame. Bit 240, data source bits 250 indicating the type of data source in the transmission / reception frame, for example, a video file, a text file, a GIF file, a JPG file, a flash file, a WAV file, an MP3 file, or the like. An error checking bit 260 for checking an error of a transmission / reception frame, a bit 270 indicating the end of a transmission / reception frame, and a frame reception status bit 280 indicating a reception state of a transmission / reception frame being transmitted.

Meanwhile, each unmanned terminal 300 includes a touch screen monitor 310, a network interface 320, a storage unit 330, an unmanned information monitor 340, a first control unit 350, a television reception card 410, The advertisement monitor 420 and the second control unit 430.

As illustrated in more detail in FIG. 2, the unmanned terminal 300 has a rectangular main body 450 in appearance, and has an unmanned information monitor 340 and an advertisement monitor 420 up and down on the front side of the main body 450. ) Is disposed, and the touch screen 310 is disposed on one side of the inclined upper surface of the main body adjacent to the lower advertising monitor 420.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the touch screen 310 provides a touch screen type screen having a plurality of selection items selected by a user under the control of the first control unit 350, and corresponds to an item selected on the screen. Generate user input signals. The screen displayed on the touch screen 310 may be used to select various guide information useful for the user displayed on the unmanned information monitor 340, for example, various travel time schedules, directions, and the like, as described below. Items, and selection and adjustment button items for adjusting a channel, a volume, and the like of a broadcast program played on the advertisement monitor 420 as described below. In addition, the touch screen 310 generates a user input signal corresponding to a selection item and an adjustment button item displayed on its screen when the user selects the touch button by a user's finger or the like, and touches the touch screen 310. The user input signal generated by the scheme is transmitted to the first control unit 350.

The network interface 320 includes all networking means that enable connection to the server system 100 via the Internet 500, such as a modem, and interface data in units of frames transmitted to and received from the server system 100. Frame unit data including the unmanned guide information and the advertisement information received from the server system 100 is temporarily stored in a storage unit 330 such as a RAM or a hard disk under the control of the first controller 350.

The unmanned information monitor 340 is used as a monitor to display information related to the unmanned guide information item selected on the touch screen 310 of the unmanned terminal 450 retrieved from the storage unit 330 under the control of the first control unit 100. .

The first control unit 350, which may be implemented as a microcomputer, provides various guide information screens and channel and volume adjustment screens described above with respect to the touch screen 310, and is generated according to an item selected on the touch screen 310. Recognizes a user input signal, and performs an operation corresponding to the recognized user input signal. In addition, the first control unit 350 communicates with the server system 100 and the Internet 500 through the network interface 320, and unattended various video advertisements and unmanned guide information provided from the server system 100. The information is displayed through the monitor 340.

Meanwhile, the television reception card 410 basically includes a tuner (not shown) and a memory (not shown), and are broadcast programs transmitted through a transmission channel from a broadcast source such as a broadcast station under the control of the second control unit 200. Receive The received broadcast program is an analog broadcast signal, which is converted from the television reception card 410 into a digital television signal for a PC. The digital television signal converted by the television reception card 410 is temporarily stored in the video memory 440.

The digital television signal stored in the video memory 440 is synthesized with the advertisement graphic signal accompanying the advertisement file read out from the storage 330 under the control of the graphics controller 450 and then displayed on the advertisement monitor 420.

The advertising monitor 420 is used as a monitor for a PC displaying a signal synthesized in the video memory 440 under the control of the graphic controller 450.

The graphic controller 450 generates a screen obtained by synthesizing the digital television signal and the advertisement graphic signal by using the screen division method as illustrated in FIG. 4. For example, FIG. 4A shows a resolution of a screen of an advertisement monitor 420, for example, 1280 * 1024 resolution divided into two screens having 960 * 1024 resolution and 320 * 1024 resolution. 1280 * 1024 resolution divided into three screens with 1280 * 256 resolution, 1280 * 512 resolution, and 1280 * 256 resolution, and FIG. 4C shows 1280 * 1024 resolution with 960 * 768 resolution, 320 * 768 resolution, and 1280 resolution. 4D shows a division into three screens having 256 resolutions, and FIG. 4D shows a television broadcasting program (upper side of the screen) on two divided screens having 1280 * 1024 resolutions and 1280 * 768 resolutions. And a screen in which the advertisement and the lower side of the screen are synthesized and displayed. In order to divide the screen as described above, the graphic controller 450 controls the TV receiving card 410 to adjust the horizontal and vertical resolutions of the digital television signal and the advertising graphic signal read from the storage unit 330, thereby controlling the video memory ( 440, the television broadcast program and the advertising graphic are combined and displayed on one monitor 420 as shown in FIG. 4D. In FIG. 4, although the screen of the monitor 420 is illustrated and described as being only divided into two or three, it will be appreciated that the screen of the monitor 420 may be further divided.

In addition, according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 5, a specific character, logo or mark of the advertisement or the advertisement is displayed on the entire screen of the monitor 420 or the screen of the divided and displayed television broadcast program as illustrated in FIG. It can also create an effect that allows the overlapping advertisement to move in the form of a circle, zigzag form, etc. along a given path. This technique inserts a picture character of an advertising graphic into a portion of a horizontal and vertical line of a digital broadcast signal stored in the video memory 440, as is well known in the art, and x and y of the inserted horizontal and vertical line. By moving the coordinate position to a given path value, the moving effect can be achieved. This is a step further from the advertisement displayed on the monitor, and while watching various broadcasting media, a character is displayed on one side or the center of the screen to express and disappear the content, and the user is not bored. Can produce advertising effects that do not cause.

Like the first control unit 350, the second control unit 430, which may be implemented as a microcomputer, controls the TV receiving card 410 in response to a channel selection and volume change signal transmitted from the first control unit 350. The transmission channel information is changed to receive a broadcast program of a desired channel, and the volume of the received broadcast program is adjusted. In addition, the second controller 430 controls the graphic controller 450 to synthesize the broadcast program received through the TV receiving card 410 and the advertisement file read from the storage unit 330 in the video memory 440 for advertisement. To be displayed on the monitor 420.

The operation of the unmanned information system of the present invention having the above-described configuration will be described in detail as follows with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

6A illustrates a control process of the first control unit 350, and FIG. 6B is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the second control unit 430, and according to a predetermined schedule from the server system 100 through the Internet 500. An operation performed in the state of receiving unattended information and an advertisement file will be described.

Referring to FIG. 6A, in step 510, the first controller 350 checks a user input signal generated on the touch screen 310 to determine whether the user input signal is an input signal for unmanned guidance or a TV program. Determine whether it is an input signal. If it is an unattended guide related input signal, the process proceeds to step 520, and if it is an input signal related to a television program, for example, a channel selection and volume control signal, the process proceeds to step 540 where the user input signal is transmitted to the second control unit ( 430) to be processed.

Thereafter, the first control unit 350 checks the unmanned guide-related user input signal and retrieves the unmanned guide information corresponding to the content requested by the user from the storage unit 330 (step 520), and monitors the retrieved unmanned guide information. Display on 340 (step 530).

Meanwhile, referring to FIG. 6B, the second controller 430 initializes the TV receiving card 410 at the initial stage of the system (step 550), and then a broadcast program related user input signal transmitted from the first controller 350 is received. Check if it has been received (step 560).

If the user input signal related to the broadcast program has not been received, the process proceeds to step 570 where the advertisement file provided from the server system 100 and the channel currently tuned in the TV reception card 410 are interworked with the graphic controller 450. The broadcast program received through the input is input to the graphic memory 440.

Next, the broadcast program and the advertisement file input to the graphic memory 440 are synthesized in a screen division method under the control of the graphic controller 450 (step 580), and the synthesized screen is displayed on the monitor 420.

Meanwhile, when a channel change or volume control signal is transmitted from the first control unit 350, the second control unit 430 controls the television reception card 410 to change the channel or volume selected by the user. At this time, the broadcast program received through the changed channel is synthesized with the advertisement graphic in step 580 described above and displayed on the monitor 420.

As described above, the unmanned information system can simultaneously control a plurality of unmanned terminals in a centralized manner based on the Internet, and each unmanned terminal is equipped with a plurality of monitors to provide unmanned guide information through one monitor. In addition, through another monitor, a television broadcast program and an advertisement graphic may be synthesized and provided simultaneously. This synthesis method is compared to an inefficient advertising effect in which the user's eyes are divided into down / up or left / right in an unmanned terminal of the prior art having two monitors separately, that is, a television monitor and an advertisement monitor. By focusing attention on, there is an advantage that can maximize the effect of advertising by eye fixation.

Claims (4)

In the unmanned information system based on the Internet, Multiple unmanned terminals; A database for storing unattended information and advertisement files; A server for communicating with each of the unmanned terminals through the Internet, and transmitting unmanned information and advertisement files stored in the database to each of the unmanned terminals according to a predetermined schedule; Each of these unmanned terminals is: Memory means for temporarily storing the unmanned information and the advertisement file transmitted from the server; A touch screen providing a touch screen type screen having a plurality of selection items selected by a user, and generating a user input signal corresponding to the item selected on the screen; A first monitor configured to display guide information corresponding to a user input signal generated on the touch screen; The user input communicated with the server via the Internet to control storage of the unattended information and advertisement information in the memory means, construct the touch screen type screen on the touch screen, and transmit the user input through the touch screen screen First control means for controlling unattended information corresponding to the user input signal retrieved from the memory means to be displayed on the first monitor in response to the signal; Television broadcast receiving means for selecting a channel of a broadcast program transmitted through a transmission channel from a broadcast program source; Graphic control means for synthesizing a broadcast program received through a channel tuned by said television broadcast receiving means and an advertisement graphic accompanying an advertisement file read out from said memory means; A second monitor for displaying the signal synthesized by the graphic control means; In communication with the first control means, the television broadcast receiving means is controlled in accordance with a user input signal transmitted from the first control means, and the graphic control means is controlled so that the synthesized signal of the broadcast program and the advertisement graphic is controlled. And a second control unit for displaying on the second monitor. The method of claim 1, wherein the graphic control means: A video memory for synthesizing the digital television signal and a graphic signal accompanying an advertisement file read out from the memory means; And a graphic controller controlling the video memory to generate a screen in which the digital television signal and the advertisement graphic signal are synthesized. The unmanned information system according to claim 2, wherein the graphic controller divides the screen of the television monitor into a plurality of screens so that the broadcast program and the advertisement graphic are displayed separately on each of the divided screens. The unmanned information system of claim 3, wherein the graphic controller controls the advertisement graphic to move along a given path by overlapping the advertisement graphic on the displayed broadcast program screen.