KR20060008761A - System and method for user authentication in digital tv broadcasting - Google Patents

Abstract

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system and method for user authentication of digital TV broadcasting. The present invention relates to a user of a digital television broadcasting, which can provide efficient viewing restriction and high security by authenticating a user of digital television broadcasting through an authorized certificate registered in a mobile terminal. An authentication system and method. To this end, the user authentication system for digital TV broadcasting according to the present invention includes a mobile terminal having a user certificate embedded therein, a set-top box receiving a user certificate from the mobile terminal and transmitting it through a network, and a user received from the set-top box. It is composed of an authentication server that checks the validity of the certificate and whether or not the user registration, the authentication server, when the set-top box receives the authentication approval from the authentication server to operate in a predetermined user mode by applying a user environment stored therein It is characterized by.

Description

System and method for user authentication of digital TV broadcasting {SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR USER AUTHENTICATION IN DIGITAL TV BROADCASTING}

1 is a schematic diagram of a user authentication system for digital TV broadcasting according to the present invention;

2 is an internal configuration diagram of a set-top box used in the user authentication system of digital TV broadcasting according to the present invention.

3 is a flow chart of a user authentication method of digital TV broadcasting according to the present invention.

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

10: authentication server 20: cable service provider server

30: network 40: set-top box (STB)

41: cable modem 42: reception restriction module

43: DTV receiver 44: memory

45 control part 46 MPEG decoder

50: DTV 60: mobile terminal

The present invention relates to a system and method for user authentication of digital TV broadcasting. More particularly, the present invention relates to digital digital broadcasting that can provide effective viewing restriction and high security by authenticating a user of digital television broadcasting through an authorized certificate registered in a mobile terminal. A system and method for authenticating a user of a TV broadcast.

Digital TV broadcasting generally refers to a technology for processing, recording, and transmitting various types of information used as TV signals as digital data. In DTV broadcasting, multimedia elements, high-definition TV screens, and CD-quality audio can be realized in addition to the functions of conventional broadcasting.

Digital TVs can be divided into two types: HDTV (High Definition TV) and SDTV (Standard Definition TV). HDTV is a broadcasting method that can provide 5 times higher image quality than analog TV and can provide rich sound quality of Dolby Digital 5.1 channel that can be felt in movie theater. SDTV has lower quality than HDTV but it can provide more additional services. It can broadcast.

With increasing interest in digital TV broadcasting, many households purchase digital TV (PDP, projection TV, etc.) and set-top boxes (if the digital TV is set-top box integrated, no set-top box is required) to watch digital TV broadcasting. Growing.

In digital TV broadcasting, additional services are provided in addition to the basic broadcasting, and users of various layers may have differentiated access rights in using broadcasting and other services.

In order to give differentiated access to a broadcast, there is a method of restricting viewing of a broadcast by using a conventional fingerprint recognition remote control. That is, the fingerprint recognition device is attached to the remote controller so that the fingerprint recognition is requested at the time of changing the channel or the viewing of a specific time zone, so that the channel can be changed or watched only when the fingerprints match, and the power is cut off.

An alternative is Point of Deployment, which the Ministry of Information and Communication mandated this year for set-top boxes in relation to cable digital TV technical standards. POD is a cable card with a Received Restriction System (CAS) that contains various subscriber information, and has a subscriber authentication and copy protection function of cable digital broadcasting. This POD is characterized by being installed separately from the set-top box. Subscribers can receive digital TV service by purchasing a set-top box suitable for themselves and receiving a POD from a cable broadcasting company (SO) in their area.

However, the conventional user authentication method for limiting viewing has a problem that 1) the fingerprint recognition remote control has a high probability of fingerprint recognition failure, and thus malfunctions frequently occur and the user continues to request approval, thereby reducing the convenience of the user. 2) In the case of a device such as a POD, there is no troublesome response to malfunction or continuous approval request, but there is only a parental restriction and content protection function per call (one unit viewing household), and it is not considered for users in the call. There is a problem that the digital broadcast viewing is exposed to anyone.

Disclosure of Invention The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a user authentication system and method for digital TV broadcasting, which is more effective and secure than the conventional parental control systems for digital TV broadcasting.

The configuration of the present invention devised to achieve the above object is as follows. The present invention provides a mobile terminal having a user certificate embedded therein, a set-top box that receives a user certificate from the mobile terminal and transmits it through a network, and confirms the validity of the user certificate received from the set-top box and whether the user is registered or not. When the set-top box receives the authentication approval from the authentication server, the set-top box operates in a predetermined user mode by applying a user environment stored therein.

In addition, the user authentication method of digital TV broadcasting according to the present invention comprises the steps of operating the set-top box in the basic mode when the power is turned on, requesting user authentication in the set-top box, and inputting a user certificate into the set-top box Transmitting the user certificate to an authentication server through a network; checking whether the user certificate is legal in the authentication server; and rejecting the set-top box through the network if the user certificate is not recognized. Is transmitted, if the legality of the user certificate is acknowledged, checking whether the user is registered, and if the user is not registered, rejection is transmitted to the set-top box through the network, and if the user is registered Sending authorization to the set-top box via a network And, when the set top box receives the approval, the user environment stored therein is applied to the system to switch to the user mode.

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

1 shows a schematic configuration of a user authentication system for digital TV broadcasting according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the user authentication system for digital TV broadcasting includes an authentication server 10 for user authentication, a cable broadcasting service provider server 20 for providing a digital TV broadcasting service, and a network connecting components of the system. 30, a set-top box 40 to subscribe to a cable broadcasting company to receive digital broadcasts, a digital TV 50 for displaying a digital broadcast image, and a mobile terminal 60 having a user certificate therein.

The authentication server 10 transmits a user certificate to a mobile terminal of a user who subscribes to a cable broadcasting company in order to watch digital TV broadcasting in connection with a cable broadcasting service provider, and when the user sends a user certificate through the set-top box 40, Perform authorization approval by confirming legality and user registration.

The cable provider server 20 serves as a repeater for receiving a digital broadcast signal transmitted over the general airwave and transmitting it to the subscriber set-top box 40 through a cable, and provides various additional services for general digital broadcasting. .

The set top box 40 is connected to the cable provider server 20 to receive the digital broadcast provided from the cable provider server 20, the DTV 50 displays the received digital broadcast on the screen. In the embodiment of the present invention, the set-top box 40 and the digital TV 50 are shown separately, but in the case of the digital TV in which the set-top box 40 is integrated, the set-top box 40 is not necessary and the digital The TV 50 performs the function of the set top box as it is.

The user authentication system of digital TV broadcasting according to the present invention does not apply when viewing digital broadcasting through a general UHF or VHF antenna, but applies when a digital TV user subscribes to a cable broadcasting and uses a digital broadcasting service. However, in general, due to the terrain or regional conditions, the signal strength is weak, so it is often difficult to watch digital broadcasting properly, and it is common to subscribe to a cable broadcasting company to use various additional services in addition to general digital broadcasting.

2 illustrates an internal configuration of the set top box 40.

As shown in FIG. 2, the set-top box 40 includes a cable modem 41 connected to the network 30, a reception limiting module 42 for filtering the received digital broadcast to limit viewing, and a digital TV video and audio signal. DTV receiver 43 for receiving a predetermined signal and performing predetermined processing, MPEG decoder 46 for restoring the compressed video and audio signals and outputting the original video and audio signals, and controller 45 for controlling the operation of each component. And a memory 44 that stores user environment variables.                     

Now, the user authentication process in the user authentication system of the digital TV broadcast configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 3, first, when power is supplied to the set top box 40 connected to the cable 30, the set top box 40 operates in a basic mode and requests user authentication through a predetermined display device.

When the user inserts the mobile terminal 60 in which the user certificate is embedded in the set-top box 40 according to the user authentication request of the set-top box 40, the user certificate is input to the control unit 45 and the cable modem 41 is connected. Via the network 30 is transmitted to the authentication server 10. Here, the user certificate embedded in the mobile terminal 60 is a user of the mobile terminal when the user subscribes to the cable provider, issuing a unique user certificate from the authentication server 10 associated with the cable provider and moves through wireless communication Transmit to terminal 60. Communication between the set-top box 40 and the mobile terminal 60 for inputting a user certificate into the set-top box 40 is made through a USB cable.

Upon receiving the user certificate from the authentication server 10, it is checked whether the user certificate is legal. As a result of checking the validity of the received user certificate, if the legality is not recognized, the rejection is transmitted to the set-top box 40 through the network 30, and if the legality of the user certificate is recognized, the user is registered.

If the user is not registered, the approval rejection is transmitted to the set-top box 40 of the network 30, and if the user is registered, the approval is transmitted to the set-top box 40 through the network 30.                     

Even if the legality of the user certificate is not recognized or there is no problem with the user certificate, if the user is not registered due to non-payment of the subscription fee and the rejection is transmitted to the set-top box 40, the set-top box 40 operates in the initial basic mode. May continue or it may be turned off to interrupt operation.

When the set-top box 40 receives the final authentication approval from the authentication server 10, the user environment variables stored in the internal memory 44 are applied to the system to switch to the user mode. The broadcast service can be used.

According to the present invention configured as described above, the user authentication for the digital TV service through the authentication certificate embedded in the mobile terminal and set the user environment accordingly, simpler, more efficient and secure than the conventional parental control systems for digital TV broadcasting. There is an effect that can provide an excellent user authentication scheme.

Claims (5)

With a mobile terminal containing a user certificate, A set-top box which receives a user certificate from the mobile terminal and transmits it through a network; It is composed of an authentication server for confirming the validity of the user certificate received from the set-top box and whether or not the user registration is authenticated, And receiving the authentication approval from the authentication server, the set-top box operates in a predetermined user mode by applying a user environment stored therein. The method of claim 1, And the user certificate is transmitted to the mobile terminal of the user from the authentication server associated with the cable broadcasting service provider when the user subscribes to the digital TV service through the cable broadcasting service provider. The method of claim 1, The mobile terminal and the set-top box is connected by a USB cable so that the user certificate is input to the set-top box user authentication system. When the power is turned on, the set-top box operates in the basic mode, Requesting user authentication at the set top box; Inputting a user certificate into the set-top box and transmitting the user certificate to an authentication server through a network; Checking whether the user certificate is legal in the authentication server; If the legality of the user certificate is not recognized, an authorization denial is transmitted to the set-top box through the network; if the legality of the user certificate is recognized, checking whether the user is registered; If the user is not registered, denial is sent to the set-top box via the network; if the user is registered, sending the approval to the set-top box through the network; And when the set top box receives the approval, converting the user environment stored in the system into a user mode when the set top box receives the approval. The method of claim 4, wherein And when the rejection is transmitted to the set-top box, the set-top box maintains or turns off the basic mode.

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