KR200486347Y1 - Server and system for brokerage of virtual elements - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an intermediary server and system for intermediating virtual elements of virtual content. The mediation server receives, from the client computing device, a first request for at least one virtual element. The mediation server, in response to the first request, generates at least one virtual element and a second request associated with the client, and sends the second request to the virtual content provision server. The virtual content provision server, in response to the second request, processes to place at least one virtual element in the vicinity of the virtual object associated with the client. The mediation server receives a client confirmation signal from the client computing device in response to the processing of the virtual content provision server according to the second request. The mediation server generates a mediation server confirmation signal in response to the client confirmation signal, and transmits the mediation server confirmation signal to the virtual content provision server.

Description

≪ Desc / Clms Page number 1 > SERVER AND SYSTEM FOR BROKERAGE OF VIRTUAL ELEMENTS < RTI ID = 0.0 >

The present invention generally relates to an intermediary server and system for mediating virtual content, e.g., virtual elements of location-based augmented reality content.

Virtual reality (VR) is an interface between a human and a computer that makes the user feel as if they are interacting with the actual surroundings and environment by creating a specific environment or situation desired by the user. In addition to the development of virtual reality, an augmented reality that combines a virtual image or an image having additional information in real time in a real space to provide a single image in order to assist the real world or immerse more in virtual contents AR) or mixed reality (MR) have been actively studied. The augmented reality or mixed reality is different from the virtual reality that is constructed only in the virtual world in that the distinction between reality and virtual is ambiguous by overlapping a three-dimensional virtual image created by computer graphics on the actual background or image that the user is viewing .

One of the augmented reality contents is an augmented reality content that provides a location based service in association with the actual geographical position of the real world. In such location-based augmented reality contents, the position on the augmented reality contents corresponds to the geographical position of the real world. When the user interacts with the augmented reality content through the user device, performing a specific action in the real world also affects the augmented reality content. Such location-based augmented reality contents have already been applied to games to induce users' interest. For example, U.S. Patent No. 9226106 entitled " Systems and Methods for Filtering " communication within a location-based game ". The prior US patent reduces the communication burden of the user device by filtering the communication data for the user device in excess of the predetermined criteria in a location based game having virtual world geography parallel to real world geography.

On the other hand, a user who uses virtual contents purchases a game character or an item related thereto from a server that provides virtual contents online, and further exchanges virtual elements such as items and game characters with other users in offline, It often occurs even when purchasing. Accordingly, if there is a method or system for intermediating such a virtual element, it is possible to provide convenience to the user who uses the virtual content, and to perform various businesses using the virtual element. However, conventional mediation methods and systems only provide a method and system for providing brokerage services for goods, such as real estate, online. Korean Patent No. 10-0397006 also discloses a logistics intermediation method using the Internet, so that the conventional intermediation service can be provided on-line.

In particular, in the case of the above-described location-based augmented reality contents, since the location on the content corresponds to an actual geographical location, it may be desirable to provide a virtual element associated with the geographical location from a business point of view. Accordingly, the present invention is generally described in terms of a method, a server, a system, and a computer program for mediating virtual content, particularly virtual components of location-based augmented reality content.

US 9226106 B1 KR 10-0397006 B1

In one embodiment, a method for brokering a virtual element on a mediation server is presented. The method may include the step of the mediation server receiving, from the computing device of the client, a first request for at least one virtual element. The method may include the step of the mediation server responding to a first request from a computing device of the client, generating at least one virtual element and a second request associated with the client. The method may include the intermediary server sending a second request to the virtual content provision server. The virtual content providing server may provide virtual contents including a plurality of virtual objects and at least one virtual element. The virtual content may be location-based augmented reality content, wherein each of the plurality of virtual objects is mapped to correspond to an actual object. The second request may include a request to cause the virtual content provisioning server to place at least one virtual element in the vicinity of the virtual object associated with the client of the plurality of virtual objects. Additionally or alternatively, the second request may include a request to cause the virtual content provisioning server to transmit data associated with the at least one virtual element to the computing device of the client. For example, the second request may include at least one of a type of at least one virtual element, a quantity of at least one virtual element, a placement time of at least one virtual element, an address of the client, GPS coordinates of the client, And may be associated with at least one of the client's SNS accounts. When the virtual content providing server performs processing on the virtual element in response to the second request, the mediation server receives a client confirmation signal from the computing device of the client to confirm that the processing of the first request of the client is performed in response thereto The method comprising the steps of: The method may include generating an intermediary server acknowledgment signal that, in response to the client acknowledgment signal, confirms that the processing according to the second request of the intermediary server has been successful. The method may further include the step of the intermediary server transmitting the intermediary server identification signal to the virtual content providing server. The method may further comprise providing the computing device of the client with a request generation means associated with at least one virtual element. From the request generation means displayed on the client ' s computing device, the client may generate a first request. The request generation means may cause the client to generate a first request comprising a request for at least one of a kind of at least one virtual element, a sale price, a quantity and a deployment location. The method may further comprise providing the user device using the virtual content with information for the user associated with the at least one virtual element. The user information may be information associated with at least one virtual element that is useful for a user to use the virtual content and may include information associated with at least one of the type, quantity, placement location, and additional virtual elements of the at least one virtual element. The user may generate a third request for the additional virtual element via the user device. The method further comprises the step of the intermediary server receiving a third request for the additional virtual element from the user device and in response to the third request from the user device generating the fourth request associated with the additional virtual element and the user device . The method may include the intermediary server sending a fourth request to the virtual content provision server. The fourth request may include a request to the virtual content provision server to process the additional virtual element to be added to the user's virtual element.

In another embodiment, a mediation server for mediating a virtual entity is presented. The mediation server may include a database. The database may store data regarding at least one of the type, price, and location of the at least one virtual element. The mediation server may further include a request processing module. The request processing module may include a client request receiving submodule, a mediation server request generating submodule, and a mediation server request sending submodule. The client request receiving submodule can receive, from a computing device of the client, a client request for at least one virtual element. The mediation server request generation submodule may, in response to a client request from a client's computing device, generate a first mediation server request associated with the at least one virtual element and the client. The mediation server request sending submodule may transmit the first mediation server request to the virtual content providing server that provides the virtual content including a plurality of virtual objects and at least one virtual element. The first mediation server request may include a request to cause the virtual content provisioning server to place at least one virtual element in the vicinity of a virtual object associated with a client of the plurality of virtual objects. Additionally or alternatively, the first mediation server request may include a request to process the virtual content provisioning server to transfer data associated with the at least one virtual element to the computing device of the client. The mediation server may further include a signal processing module. The signal processing module may include a client signal receiving submodule, a mediation server signal generating submodule, and a mediation server signal sending submodule. The client signal receiving submodule may receive the client acknowledgment signal from the client's computing device in response to the processing of the virtual content provision server according to the first mediation server request. The mediation server signal generation submodule may generate a mediation server identification signal in response to the client identification signal. The mediation server signal sending submodule can transmit the mediation server confirmation signal to the virtual content providing server. The mediation server may further include an interface provision module. The interface provision module may be communicatively coupled to the request processing module. The interface provision module may provide an interface that enables generation of a client request on a computing device of the client. The client request may include a request for at least one of a kind of at least one virtual element, a sale price, a quantity, and a placement location. The interface providing module may provide the user device using the virtual content with information for the user associated with at least one virtual element. The information for the user associated with the at least one virtual element may include information associated with at least one of the type, quantity, placement location, and additional virtual elements of the at least one virtual element. The interface providing module may provide an interface that enables generation of a user request for an additional virtual element on a user device using virtual contents. The request processing module may further include a user request receiving submodule. The user request receiving submodule can receive a user request from a user device using the virtual content. The mediation server request generation submodule may, in response to a user request from the user device, generate a second mediation server request associated with the additional virtual element and the user device. The mediation server request sending submodule may send a second mediation server request associated with the additional virtual element and the user device to the virtual content provision server. The second mediation server request may include a request to cause the virtual content provision server to process the additional virtual element to be added to the user's virtual element.

In yet another embodiment, a computer program stored on a medium for mediating a virtual element in conjunction with an intermediary computing device is presented. The computer program, when executed by the intermediary computing device, may comprise a sequence of instructions for causing a client computing device to receive a first request for at least one virtual element. The computer program, when executed by the intermediary computing device, may comprise a sequence of instructions for causing, in response to a first request from a client computing device, to generate a second request associated with the at least one virtual element and the client. The computer program, when executed by the intermediary computing device, may comprise a sequence of instructions to cause a second request to be transmitted to the virtual content provision server providing the virtual content. The virtual content may include a plurality of virtual objects and at least one virtual element. The second request may include a request to cause the virtual content provisioning server to place at least one virtual element in the vicinity of the virtual object associated with the client of the plurality of virtual objects. Additionally or alternatively, the second request may include a request to cause the virtual content provisioning server to transmit data associated with the at least one virtual element to the computing device of the client. The computer program, when executed by the intermediary computing device, may comprise a sequence of instructions to cause the client computing device to receive a client confirmation signal in response to processing of the virtual content provision server according to the second request. The computer program, when executed by the intermediary computing device, may comprise a sequence of instructions that, in response to the client acknowledgment signal, cause the intermediary server acknowledgment signal to be generated. The computer program, when executed by the intermediary computing device, may comprise a sequence of instructions to cause the intermediary server identification signal to be transmitted to the virtual content provision server. The computer program, when executed by the intermediary computing device, may further comprise a sequence of instructions for causing a user device utilizing the virtual content to provide information for a user associated with the at least one virtual element. The information for the user associated with the at least one virtual element may include information associated with at least one of the type, quantity, placement location, and additional virtual elements of the at least one virtual element. The computer program, when executed by the intermediary computing device, may further comprise a sequence of instructions to cause the client computing device to provide request generation means associated with at least one virtual element. The request generation means may be displayed on the client computing device to cause the first request to be generated. The first request may include a request for at least one of a type of at least one virtual element, a sale price, a quantity, and a placement location.

In yet another embodiment, a system for mediating a virtual element is presented. The system may include a client computing device, a mediation server, and a virtual content provisioning server. The virtual content providing server may provide virtual contents, and the virtual contents may include a plurality of virtual objects and at least one virtual element. The client computing device may generate a first request for at least one virtual element. The mediation server may receive a first request from the client computing device. The mediation server may, in response to the first request, generate at least one virtual element and a second request associated with the client. The mediation server can transmit the second request to the virtual content providing server. The virtual content provision server can receive the second request from the mediation server. The virtual content provision server may process the at least one virtual element in response to the second request to place the virtual object near the virtual object associated with the client among the plurality of virtual objects. Additionally or alternatively, the virtual content provisioning server may, in response to the second request, process the data associated with the at least one virtual element to be transmitted to the computing device of the client.

The foregoing summary is exemplary only and is not intended to be limiting in any way. In addition to the exemplary aspects, embodiments, and features described above, additional aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and detailed description below.

The foregoing and other features of the present disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. These drawings depict only a few embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure and, therefore, should not be construed as limiting the scope thereof. The present disclosure will be described in more detail and with reference to the accompanying drawings.
1 schematically illustrates an exemplary virtual element mediation system;
2 illustrates a mapping of a virtual world to a real world in a location-based augmented reality content;
Figure 3 illustrates a flow chart for mediating a virtual element;
4 shows a block diagram of an exemplary mediation server;
5 illustrates a database of a mediation server;
Figure 6 illustrates an interface for a client displayed on a client computing device;
7 illustrates an interface for a user to be displayed on a user device;
8 shows a process for intermediating virtual elements on a mediation server; And
Figure 9 illustrates an exemplary computer program product that may be used to mediate a virtual element.
Are all arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein.

In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof. Like numbers in the drawings generally identify similar elements unless otherwise indicated in the context. The illustrative embodiments set forth in the description, drawings, and claims are not intended to limit the scope of the claims. Other embodiments may be utilized and other modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the objects set forth herein. It will be readily appreciated that aspects of the present disclosure, as generally described herein and illustrated in the drawings, may be arranged, substituted, combined, separated and designed in various different configurations, all of which are explicitly contemplated herein.

1 schematically illustrates an exemplary virtual element mediation system arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein. The intermediary system comprises a client computing device 110, a mediation server 120, a virtual content provision server 130 and a user device 140, and each component is generally connected via a network. A network refers to a connection structure in which information can be exchanged between each node such as terminals and servers. One example of such a network is Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Internet, LAN Network, wireless LAN, WAN, PAN, 3G, 4G, LTE, and the like.

The client computing device 110 may be implemented as a personal computing device that includes both a desktop computer and a non-desktop computer configuration. User device 140 may be a mobile phone, a personal data assistant, a personal media player device, a wearable device such as an augmented reality glass, a wireless web-watch device, a personal headset device, (Or mobile) electronic device such as a hybrid device including any of the above-described devices. The mediation server 120 and the virtual content provision server 130 may be implemented as any computing device including a processor and a memory. Although the mediation server 120 and the virtual content providing server 130 are shown separately in this system, the integrated management server may perform the roles of the mediation server 120 and the virtual content providing server 130 at the same time.

The virtual content providing server 130 may provide (1e) virtual content, e.g., location-based augmented reality content, to the user device 140. [ The virtual content may include virtual objects and virtual elements. Here, a virtual object means a virtual component required to construct a virtual world. For example, in the case of location-based augmented reality contents, a virtual world corresponding to the real world is constructed. At this time, virtual objects can be created corresponding to all real objects (real objects) such as buildings, trees, . The construction of a virtual world corresponding to the real world in such location based augmented reality contents will be described in more detail with reference to Fig. A user who uses virtual content can also be implemented as one object, and the user can be selectively displayed on the virtual content in the form of an avatar or the like. The virtual element means a virtual component that the user can obtain when using the augmented reality contents. For example, in a position-based augmented reality game, a user can acquire characters, items, energy, weapons, etc. as virtual elements. The operations that the user performs in association with the virtual content through the user device 140 may be transmitted 1e 'to the virtual content providing server 130 and may affect the virtual content.

Client computing device 110 refers to a computing device on a client that wishes to make business use of a virtual element that a user can obtain. In the location-based augmented reality contents, since the virtual objects can correspond to the actual building, the client can be related to the actual building. However, the virtual world can be constructed so that the client is associated with a specific virtual object on the virtual content even if it is not the case of the location-based augmented reality contents. For example, even in the case of virtual reality contents that are established only in a virtual world, in the case of a client providing a service related to food, virtual elements in the form of food or energy on the virtual reality contents are provided to the user device 140 . Accordingly, the client computing device 110 may want the desired virtual element to be placed near the virtual object associated with the client, or to be directly transmitted (1c) to the client computing device, and through this intermediary server 120, (1a) to the providing server (130).

The mediation server 120 stores information on the virtual element provided by the virtual content providing server 130 (1b ') and information necessary for the intermediary service. The mediation server 120 processes the information into an appropriate form and either transmits (1a ') to the client computing device 110 or transmits (1d) to the user device 140 in order to promote or provide the intermediary service. When the client computing device 110 generates a request (1a) to use the intermediary service from the provided information or when the user device 140 generates the request (1d '), the intermediary server 120 transmits the virtual content providing server (1b) to process it to the server (130).

The virtual content providing server 130 may process the virtual content in response to a request from the mediation server 120. [ Additionally or alternatively, the virtual content provision server 130 may transmit (1c) or transmit (1e) data about the virtual element directly to the client computing device 110 or to the user device 140. An acknowledgment signal is transmitted (1d ') from the user device 140 to the mediation server 120 or the mediation server 120 receives the confirmation signal from the client computing device 110 in response to the confirmation of the processing of the virtual content providing server 130. [ The confirmation signal 1a may be generated. The mediation server 120 may generate an acknowledgment signal of the mediation server 120 and transmit (1b) the mediation server 120 to the virtual content provision server 130 in response to the confirmation signal.

The client computing device 110 may interact with the user device 140 when the virtual content providing server 130 transmits data on the virtual element directly to the client computing device 110. [ Alternatively, the client computing device 110 may request the virtual content providing server 130 to perform processing for the user device 140 at a point in time when the virtual computing element 110 wants to use the virtual element.

FIG. 2 illustrates a mapping of a virtual world to a real world in a location based augmented reality content, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein. Figure 2 (a) shows the real world, and Figure 2 (b) shows the corresponding virtual world. As described above, in the location-based augmented reality contents, a virtual world is constructed to correspond to the real world. The actual objects to which the virtual objects can correspond include all real objects such as trees, roads, as well as buildings such as shops, libraries, museums, hospitals, public institutions, schools and the like. In FIG. 2 (a), there is a building 210 and a building 212 at the geographic location of the real world. In this case, the virtual object 210 'corresponding to the building 210 and the virtual object 212' corresponding to the building 212 are also generated on the augmented reality contents, and are disposed at the positions of the virtual world corresponding to the real world. For example, GPS coordinates may be used as position data so as to indicate the position of the virtual world. Users using the augmented reality content are shown at 220, 222, and 224. The user's location may be entered as user location data on the virtual content using the sensor of the user device. In the virtual world, a user's location can be represented by 220 ', 222' and 224 '. At this time, the user can optionally be displayed on the virtual content in the form of an avatar. When the GPS coordinates are used as the location of the virtual world, the location of the user can be directly received from the GPS sensor of the user device and reflected on the virtual content. The virtual elements that the user intends to acquire from the augmented reality contents are shown as stars 230 ', 232', 234 ', 236' and 238 'in FIG. 2 (b). The virtual elements 230 ', 232', 234 ', 236', and 238 'may be any kind and form, such as energy, weapons, characters, items, Virtual elements can also be placed around, around, and inside a virtual object. The user can acquire virtual elements through the user device while traveling around the real world. For example, if the user 220 finds a virtual element 238 'to be displayed on the user device, the virtual element 238' is obtained if the user device's sensor recognizes it by taking a picture or performing a specific operation at that location .

Figure 3 illustrates a flow diagram for mediating a virtual element, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein. The components 110, 120, 130 of FIG. 3 labeled like the components of FIG. 1 will not be described again for clarity and brevity. First, the client computing device 110 generates a request for at least one virtual element and transmits 310 to the mediation server 120. The request of the client computing device 110 is a request to distribute or transmit the virtual element by intermediating the virtual element to the mediation server 120, for example, by classifying the type, quantity, and reception position of the virtual element purchased by the client . The mediation server 120 receives the request of the client, generates the mediation server request from the mediation server 120, and transmits the mediation server request to the virtual content providing server 130 (320). The intermediary server request is a request generated by processing the information included in the request of the client and the client information, and is a request to the virtual content providing server 130 to arrange or transmit the virtual element to the client at the request of the client. The virtual content providing server 130 receives the request of the mediation server 120 and analyzes the request of the mediation server 120. [ The virtual content providing server 130 determines whether the client desires to receive the corresponding virtual element directly from the client computing device 110 in response to a request from the mediation server 120, (330), respectively. When the client receives the corresponding virtual element directly from the client computing device 110 or confirms that the virtual element is placed in the vicinity of the virtual object associated with the client, a client confirmation signal is generated indicating that the processing for the request is well completed, (340) to the base station (120). Additionally or alternatively, when the virtual element is processed to be placed near the virtual object associated with the client, the virtual content provision server 130 may determine that the element has been placed in the vicinity of the virtual object associated with the client, To the device 110, or notify the mediation server 120 directly from the virtual content providing server. When the mediation server 120 receives the client confirmation signal (or the placement notification signal of the virtual content provision server 130), it can generate the mediation server confirmation signal and transmit the mediation server confirmation signal to the virtual content provision server 130 (350) . Alternatively, the intermediary server 120 may charge the commission for the intermediary service together with the intermediary server acknowledgment signal to the virtual content providing server 130.

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary mediation server 400, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein. The mediation server 400 may mediate a virtual element of the virtual content between the virtual content providing server and the client computing device. The mediation server 400 may include a database (DB) 440. The database 440 may store data related to the type, quantity, price and location of the virtual element, and the data may include, for example, information about the virtual element or the virtual element added or changed on the virtual content, May be periodically updated at the time of processing in connection with the element. The details of the data stored in the database 440 and the database 440 will be described in more detail below with reference to FIG.

The mediation server 400 may further include a request processing module 410. Here, a module is a computer logic that can perform a desired function, and may be implemented from hardware, software, and / or firmware, or a combination thereof. Further, each module includes one or more sub-modules, and the function performed by each sub-module is related to the function of performing the function of the module. The request processing module 410 may include a client request receiving submodule, an intermediate server request generating submodule, and a mediation server request sending submodule. The client request receiving submodule receives a client request for a virtual element from a computing device of the client. For example, a client request may be generated including the type and quantity of virtual elements the client wishes to purchase, the receipt location, or the receipt time. The mediation server request generation submodule may, in response to a client request from a client's computing device, generate a first mediation server request associated with the virtual element and the client. The first intermediary server request further includes information about the client together with the kind and quantity of the virtual element that the client intends to purchase in the client request and the receipt position so that the virtual content providing server can process the client's request . The information about the client may include, for example, the address of the client, the GPS coordinates of the client, the classification of the client, the IP address of the client, the account of the client, and the SNS account of the client. The classification of the client may be, for example, classification according to what kind of service the client provides in reality. The mediation server request sending submodule sends the first mediation server request to the virtual content provision server. The virtual content providing server, in response to the first intermediary server request, performs processing for the virtual element requested by the client in the client request. The processing may be such as to cause the client to place virtual elements in the vicinity of the virtual objects associated with the client, or to process data directly to the client computing device, depending on the receiving location selected by the client for each virtual element upon client request have.

The mediation server may further include a signal processing module 420. The signal processing module 420 includes a client signal receiving submodule, a mediating server signal generating submodule, and a mediating server signal transmitting submodule. In response to the first mediation server request, the virtual content provision server processes the virtual element to place it near the virtual object associated with the client, or directly processes it to send to the client computing device, . The client signal receiving submodule receives a client acknowledgment signal from the client ' s computing device. The mediation server signal generation submodule, in response to the client confirmation signal, generates a mediation server confirmation signal. Optionally, the intermediary server validation signal may include an invoice for the intermediary service. The intermediary server signal transmission submodule may transmit an intermediary server confirmation signal to the virtual contents provision server to notify the virtual contents provision server that the processing of the client request has been performed well, Of the application.

The mediation server may further include an interface provision module 430. The interface providing module 430 may provide an interface for a virtual content providing server, a client interface for a client computing device, and / or a user interface for a user device, respectively, to the virtual content providing server. Here, an interface refers to means for providing information related to a mediocable virtual element when using an intermediary service, and for generating a request related thereto when necessary. The interface providing module 430 may provide an interface for a virtual content providing server to the virtual content providing server. The interface for the virtual content providing server may include, for example, information about the client computing device or the user device using the mediation service, and information about the processed user request or client request list separately from the mediation server request. The client interface may include information about the type of virtual element that can be purchased, the price of the virtual element, the quantity of available virtual elements that can be purchased, and the type of receipt. Further, in the client interface, the client request can be generated from the information for the client by allowing the client to select each desired virtual element and its quantity, reception position and / or reception time. The interface for the client will be described in more detail below with respect to FIG. The interface for the user can provide information about the virtual element or the additional virtual element being mediated by using the intermediary service. For example, the information about the virtual element may include information such as the type of the virtual element disposed in the vicinity of the actual position of the user apparatus or the position of the user in the virtual content, the place related to the client in which the virtual element is disposed, (E.g., an event, etc.) that can acquire a virtual element if sent directly to the client computing device. The information on the additional virtual element that can be used in addition to the virtual element held by the user may include information on the type of the additional virtual element that can be purchased, the price of the additional virtual element, and the like. Further, in the user interface, a user request can be generated by selecting each additional virtual element desired by the user and the quantity or the like from the user-specific information. The user interface will be described in more detail below with respect to FIG.

The interface provision module 430 may be communicatively coupled to the request processing module 410. Accordingly, the interface providing module 430 receives the client request generated by the client computing device at the client interface at the client request receiving submodule of the request processing module 410, The server request transmitting module generates a first intermediary server request and transmits the first intermediary server request to the virtual content providing server. The request processing module 410 may further include a user request receiving submodule. The user request receiving module may receive from the user device a user request generated by the user with respect to the additional virtual element in the user interface. However, alternatively or additionally, a case may be considered in which the virtual element can be purchased in the user's apparatus. In response to a user request from the user device, the mediation server request generation submodule may generate a second mediation server request associated with the additional virtual element and the user device. The second intermediary server request further includes information about the user along with the type and quantity of the additional virtual element that the user intends to purchase in the user request, for example, so that the virtual content providing server can process the user's request. The information about the user device may include, for example, a user account, a user's IP address, and a user's SNS account. The mediation server request sending submodule sends the second mediation server request to the virtual content providing server. The virtual content providing server, in response to the second intermediary server request, processes the additional virtual element requested by the user in the second request to be added to the user's virtual element.

FIG. 5 illustrates a database 500, in relation to database 400 of the mediation server of FIG. 4, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein. The database 500 may store data that may be useful in providing intermediary services for the virtual element. For example, data that may be useful in providing an intermediary service may include data relating to the type of virtual element or additional virtual element, the number of intermediaries, and / or the number of intermediaries, the price, the location, and so on. The data stored in the illustrated database of FIG. 5 includes a type of virtual element 510 for providing an intermediary service, a price (price 1) 520 for purchasing each virtual element from the virtual content providing server, (Price 2) (530) that sells the product. In addition, the data stored in the database includes a mediation quantity 540 of each virtual element, a placement position (position 1) 550 in the case where the virtual element mediated according to the client request is arranged in the vicinity of the virtual object, (Position 2) 560 when the data relating to the mediating virtual element is directly transmitted to the client computing device. In category 510, it is categorized according to the type of data that refers to one or more virtual elements that provide intermediary services such as character 1, character 2, character 3, and so on. For the character 1, the price 1 (520) is 500 won, and the price 2 (530) is 600 won. In addition, the quantity 540 is displayed for the character 1, and the data about the quantity of the brokerage or the total brokerage quantity for the character 1 can be stored as 10. When the intermediary service is performed, when the virtual element is disposed in the vicinity of the virtual object associated with the client, data on the position of the virtual object or the actual world position associated with the corresponding client is stored in position 1 550 as AAA, BBB, etc. . On the other hand, when the intermediary service is performed, data that can refer to the transfer position, such as an IP address, a client account, etc., is stored as aaa and the like as the location 2 (560) when the virtual element is directly transferred to the client computing device . Similarly, for the character 2, the price 1 (520) is 100 won, the price 2 (530) is 150 won, the quantity 540 is 21 and the position 1 550 is CCC, DDD, ) Is stored as bbb, ccc, ddd, etc. For character 3, price 1 520 is 300 won, price 2 530 is 400 won, quantity 540 is 16, position 1 550 is FFF, GGG, etc., position (2) is stored as eee, fff and so on. The data in these databases can be updated periodically. For example, when the virtual content providing server adds or changes the virtual element of the virtual content, or performs processing according to the request of the client computing device or the intermediary server, the data of the database can be updated.

Figure 6 illustrates an interface 600 for a client that is displayed on a client computing device, provided by an interface provision module of a mediation server in Figure 4, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein. Through the client interface 600, the client can generate a request for at least one virtual element desired to be purchased. Thus, the request can include, for example, information about the type, price, quantity and position of the desired virtual element. In the client interface 600, the client selects the type of virtual element 610 (character 1, character 2 and character 3) and confirms the price 620 (600 won, 150 won, 400 won) of each character (630) (3, 2, 4). At location 640, the client may select location 1 if the virtual content provision server wants to place the virtual element in the vicinity of the virtual object associated with the client in the virtual content, and may select location 2 if the user wishes to receive transmission directly from the client computing device . Further, although not shown, when the position 1 is selected, the client can select the time at which the virtual element is disposed.

Figure 7 illustrates an interface for a user to be displayed on a user device, provided by an interface provision module of a mediation server in Figure 4, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein. The user interface 700 may provide information about the currently mediated or mediated virtual element or additional virtual element that is available through the mediation service. The additional virtual element is similar to the virtual element, but is added to the virtual element to assist the virtual element. For example, if a character refers to a virtual element in a location-based augmented reality game, elements that decorate a character such as a character's clothes or a hair style can be referred to as additional virtual elements. For example, the information about the virtual element may include information such as the type of the virtual element disposed in the vicinity of the actual position of the user apparatus or the position of the user in the virtual content, the place related to the client in which the virtual element is disposed, (E.g., an event, etc.) that can acquire the virtual element if it is directly sent to the client computing device. The information on the additional virtual element that can be used in addition to the virtual element held by the user may include information on the type of the additional virtual element that can be purchased, the price of the additional virtual element, and the like. In addition, the user interface 700 may generate a user request from such user information by allowing the user to select each desired additional virtual element and its quantity or the like. Such a user interface 700 is illustrated in Fig. For example, there are a J convenience store and a W pizza store in a place 720 of the client within 100 meters of the actual distance on the basis of the user equipment, and each store character 1 and characters 3 and 5 in the vicinity thereof. The user will go to the W pizza shop to acquire character 3 and perform an action to acquire character 3. In this process, the user can expect to purchase the pizza at the W pizza shop. Alternatively, the W pizza store may have the character 3 in the computing device, and may request the user to transmit the character 3 directly to the user computing device or to the virtual content providing server when the user purchases the pizza. Similarly, the user interface includes an actual place 720 corresponding to a virtual object of a client using a mediation service arranged at a distance from the user apparatus and located at distances 710, 500m, and 1.2km, and a character 730 ) Are provided.

8 illustrates a process for mediating a virtual entity on a mediation server, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein. The process of FIG. 8 may be implemented using, for example, the mediation system discussed with respect to FIG. The exemplary process may include one or more actions, acts or functions illustrated by one or more of the blocks S2, S4, S6, S8, S10, S12 and / or S14. Although shown as separate blocks in FIG. 8, various blocks may be divided into additional blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or removed, depending on the required implementation.

Processing may begin at block S2 "from a client computing device, receiving a first request for at least one virtual element ". Prior to initiating processing, the mediation server may provide an interface for the client to allow the client computing device to generate the first request. The client interface includes information about at least one or more virtual elements included in the virtual content provided by the virtual content server. For example, in the client interface, the type of each virtual element, the price of the virtual element, and the purchasable quantity of the virtual element can be provided. After looking at this information, the user may create a first request for at least one or more virtual elements desired. The first request may include, for example, a request regarding the type, price, quantity, location and / or deployment time of the virtual element desired by the user. At block S2, the mediation server may receive a first request from the client computing device that the client has created through the interface for the client.

Processing may continue at block S2 to block S4, in response to the first request from the client computing device, to generate a second request associated with the at least one virtual element and the client. At block S4, the mediation server may generate a second request that includes information associated with the client along with the client ' s request for at least one virtual element.

The processing may continue to block S6 in which "the second request is transmitted to the virtual content providing server providing virtual contents" In block S6, the mediation server may send a second request to the virtual content provision server via the network.

Processing may continue at block S6 to block S8 where "the virtual content provision server responds to the second request to process at least one virtual entity to place in the vicinity of the virtual entity associated with the client " of the plurality of virtual entities. In block S8, the virtual content provision server may receive the second request and place at least one virtual element requested by the client in the vicinity of the virtual object associated with the client. Additionally or alternatively, the virtual content provisioning server may, in response to the second request, send data associated with the virtual element requested by the client to the computing device of the client.

Processing may continue at block S8, in response to "processing of the virtual content provision server according to the second request, to receive a client confirmation signal from the client computing device ". If the virtual content providing server responds to the second request and places at least one virtual element in the vicinity of the virtual object, the client confirms it and sends a client confirmation signal indicating that the first request has been successfully processed to the mediation server through the client computing device Lt; / RTI > At block S10, the mediation server may receive a client confirmation signal sent from the client computing device.

Processing may continue to block S12, in response to the "client acknowledgment signal, generate a mediation server acknowledgment signal" at block S10. In block S12, the mediation server may generate an intermediary server confirmation signal indicating that the second request has been successfully processed to the virtual content provision server. Optionally, the intermediary server may include an invoice for the intermediary service in the intermediary server acknowledgment signal.

Processing may continue at block S12 to block S14 "send a mediation server confirmation signal to the virtual content provision server ". In block S14, the mediation server can transmit the mediation server confirmation signal to the virtual content provision server through the network.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary computer program product that may be used to mediate a virtual element, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein. Program product 900 may include signal bearing medium 902. The signal bearing medium 902 may include one or more instructions 904 that, in response to execution by a processor, may provide the features and functionality described above with respect to FIGS. 1-8. For example, the one or more instructions 904 may include instructions for receiving a first request for at least one virtual element from a computing device of a client, at least one virtual element and at least one virtual element, in response to a first request from a computing device of the client, Instructions for generating a second request associated with a client, and / or instructions for sending a second request to a virtual content provision server providing virtual content. In addition, the one or more instructions 904 may include instructions for receiving a client confirmation signal from the client computing device in response to processing of the virtual content provision server in response to the second request, in response to the client confirmation signal, And / or an intermediary server confirmation signal to the virtual content provision server. In addition, the one or more instructions 904 may include instructions for providing a user device using virtual content with information for a user associated with at least one virtual element, instructions for providing the user device with request generation means associated with additional virtual elements, and / Or instructions for providing the client computing device with a request generation means associated with at least one virtual element. Thus, for example, referring to the intermediary system 100, the intermediary server 120 may initiate one or more of the blocks shown in FIG. 8 in response to an instruction 904 conveyed by the medium 902.

In some implementations, signal bearing medium 902 may include a computer readable medium 906 such as a hard disk drive, compact disc (CD), digital video disc (DVD), digital tape, memory, It is not. In some implementations, the signal-bearing medium 902 may include, but is not limited to, a recordable medium 908 such as memory, read / write (R / W) CD, R / In some implementations, the signal-bearing medium 902 includes a communication medium 910 such as a digital and / or analog communication medium (e.g., a fiber optic cable, a waveguide, a wired communication link, a wireless communication link, But is not limited thereto. Thus, for example, the program product 900 may be embodied by the RF signal embedding medium 902, in which the signal-bearing medium 902 is conveyed by a wireless communication medium 910 (e.g., a wireless communication medium in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 standard) May be delivered to one or more modules of the mediation server (120).

This disclosure is not intended to be limited to the specific examples described in this application, which are intended as illustrations of various aspects. As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, many modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. That is, a functionally equivalent method and apparatus within the scope of the present disclosure may become apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description. Such modifications and variations are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. This disclosure will be limited only by the terms of the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular examples only and is not intended to be limiting.

As used herein with respect to the use of substantially any plural and / or singular terms, those skilled in the art can interpret plural as singular and / or plural singular, as appropriate for the context and / or application. The singular / plural selection may be explicitly described herein for clarity. It will also be understood by those skilled in the art that, in general, terms used in this disclosure, particularly those used in the appended claims, generally denote "open" terms (e.g., Quot; having "and" having " are to be interpreted as having at least, etc.).

While various aspects and examples have been disclosed herein, other aspects and examples will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and examples described in this disclosure are presented for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.

Claims (6)

An intermediary server for intermediating virtual elements,
Request processing module; And
Database
Lt; / RTI >
Wherein the request processing module comprises a client request receiving submodule, an intermediary server request generating submodule, and an intermediary server request sending submodule,
Wherein the client request receiving submodule receives from the computing device of the client a client request for at least one virtual element,
Wherein the mediation server request generation submodule is responsive to the client request from a computing device of the client to generate a first mediation server request associated with the at least one virtual element and the client,
Wherein the mediating server request transmitting submodule transmits the first mediating server request to a virtual contents providing server providing virtual contents including a plurality of virtual objects and the at least one virtual element,
Wherein the first intermediary server request comprises a request to cause the virtual content provision server to place the at least one virtual element in the vicinity of a virtual object associated with the client of the plurality of virtual objects,
Wherein the database stores data relating to at least one of a type, a price and a location of the at least one virtual element. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a signal processing module including a client signal receiving submodule, a mediation server signal generating submodule, and a mediation server signal sending submodule,
Wherein the client signal receiving submodule receives a client confirmation signal from the computing device of the client in response to the processing of the virtual content provision server according to the first intermediary server request,
Wherein the mediation server signal generation submodule generates a mediation server identification signal in response to the client identification signal,
Wherein the mediation server signal sending submodule sends the mediation server confirmation signal to the virtual content provision server. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising an interface provision module communicatively coupled to the request processing module,
Wherein the interface provision module provides an interface to enable generation of the client request on a computing device of the client,
Wherein the client request comprises a request for at least one of a type, a sale price, a quantity, and a deployment location of the at least one virtual element. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the interface providing module provides the user device using the virtual content with information for the user associated with the at least one virtual element,
Wherein the information for the user associated with the at least one virtual element includes information associated with at least one of the type, quantity, placement location, and additional virtual element of the at least one virtual element. 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the request processing module further comprises a user request receiving submodule,
Wherein the interface provision module provides an interface that enables generation of a user request for the additional virtual element on a user device using the virtual content,
Wherein the user request receiving submodule receives the user request from the user device using the virtual content,
Wherein the mediation server request generation submodule is responsive to the user request from the user device to generate a second mediation server request associated with the additional virtual entity and the user device,
Wherein the mediation server request sending submodule sends to the virtual content provision server a second mediation server request associated with the additional virtual element and the user device,
Wherein the second intermediary server request comprises a request to cause the virtual content provision server to process the additional virtual element to be added to the user's virtual element. A system for mediating a virtual element,
A client computing device;
A mediation server; And
A virtual content providing server for providing virtual contents including a plurality of virtual objects and at least one virtual element
Lt; / RTI >
The client computing device generating a first request for the at least one virtual element,
The mediation server comprises:
Receiving, from the client computing device, the first request,
In response to the first request, generating a second request associated with the at least one virtual element and the client,
Transmits the second request to the virtual content providing server,
The virtual content providing server
Receiving the second request from the intermediary server,
And in response to the second request, to process the at least one virtual element to place it near the virtual object associated with the client of the plurality of virtual objects.

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