KR20090074641A - Method of offering a location information service - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of offering a location information service is provided to supply location information of the third person having a wireless terminal through a digital television. A controller of a digital television outputs a broadcasting program received to a channel which is currently selected(504). The controller transmits a location information request, a serial number of the digital television or a network address assigned to the digital television to a location information providing system through a network(506). The controller receives location information from the location information providing system and stores it in a data storage unit(508). The controller outputs the location information to a display unit or a speaker of the digital television according to a selected output mode(510).

Description

How to provide location information service {METHOD OF OFFERING A LOCATION INFORMATION SERVICE}

The present invention relates to a method for providing location information service, and more particularly, to a method for providing location information service implemented in a digital television.

Recently, due to the spread of the high-speed Internet and the advent of the digitalized program production environment, digital broadcasting systems using digital televisions that can provide various additional contents as well as the functions of the existing televisions have been developed.

As one of such digital broadcasting systems, a digital broadcasting system using an Internet Protocol (hereinafter, simply referred to as 'IP') network is used. A digital broadcasting system using an IP network refers to a service that can provide various contents delivered through an IP-based communication network through a television. The digital television using an IP network is an MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 method through an IP network. It performs the function of displaying digital information compressed and transmitted by technology. Digital television using the IP network as described above can provide a variety of additional services, such as Internet search, watching movies, home banking, short message service (SMS) and reservation services.

In addition, a television (recording function television) equipped with a personal video recorder (PVR) function that automatically records and plays back a broadcast in an internal storage unit (HDD: hard disk drive) is also a digital television. It is widely spread in recent years. Since the recording function TV as described above includes a storage unit (HDD), not only a broadcast program but also various contents such as EPG and schedule information can be stored, so that the user can obtain various information from the digital television.

That is, the digital television not only provides various information to the user through the Internet, but also stores and provides various contents to the user.

On the other hand, digital television is not only used by the widest user in the house, but also may be connected to various systems through a network. Documents such as Application No. 10-2000-0014410 disclose the location information of the elderly through digital television. A method of providing is described.

For example, the techniques described in the above literature provide a method for carrying out a location-capable wireless terminal to the elderly while displaying the tracked location information on a digital television, thereby enabling the user to locate the elderly. I'm proposing.

However, the above-described prior arts merely propose a method of providing the position of the elderly through the display unit of the digital television, and there is a problem in that no additional service is provided.

That is, the user not only wants to know the location information of the elderly through digital television, but also wants to be provided with various other additional information. For example, a user may not only want to know the current location of a third party who visits his home or office, but may also want to know information such as stop information or estimated time of arrival according to each means of transportation. Does not provide the information as described above.

In addition, the conventional techniques require that the user output the location information through a separate menu in order to check the location information of the third party while the user is watching the broadcast program through the digital television, thereby allowing the user to continuously watch the digital television. There is a problem that can not be.

In addition, the conventional technologies provide a third party's location information only by the user's selection, which causes the user to be unable to concentrate on other tasks.

On the other hand, a service that a mobile communication system extracts location information of a third party's wireless terminal and transmits it to a user's wireless terminal is already widely used, but there is a limitation that such a conventional service is provided only between the wireless terminal and the wireless terminal. . In order to overcome this problem, a service for receiving location information of a third party wireless terminal is provided from a personal computer (PC) connected to the Internet, but using a personal computer is more inconvenient than using a digital television as described above. There is this.

An object of the present invention for solving the above problems is to carry the wireless terminal with a digital television in consideration of the moving state of the wireless terminal, the state in which the position information is output through the display unit, and the time interval in which the position information is output. A location information service providing method capable of providing location information of a third party.

According to an aspect of the present invention, in the method for providing a location information service applied to a digital television, when a request for location information for a wireless terminal is received, the controller of the digital television sends the request to the digital television and the network. Transmitting to a location information providing system that is connected via; Storing, by the control unit, the location information in a data storage unit of the digital television when location information on the wireless terminal is received from the location information providing system in response to the request; And analyzing, by the controller, a moving state mode of the wireless terminal matched with the request, an output mode in which a state of outputting position information is output, and a time interval mode in which a time interval for outputting position information is output. And outputting the location information in a state corresponding to the above.

The present invention provides a third party's location information by various methods through video or audio, and at a predetermined time interval, thereby providing a third party's desired location information without disturbing the user's viewing of a broadcast program. It has an excellent effect.

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

1 is a configuration diagram of a digital broadcasting system to which a method for providing location information service according to the present invention is applied.

As shown in FIG. 1, the digital broadcasting system to which the method for providing location information service according to the present invention is applied transmits various broadcasting programs such as over-the-air broadcasting program, cable broadcasting program, satellite broadcasting program, internet broadcasting program, and cable broadcasting program. A digital television 400 for outputting a broadcast program transmitted from a broadcasting station system while outputting position information transmitted from a position information providing system, and a wireless terminal 300 possessed by a third party from the digital television. When the location information request is received, the location information providing system 200 for extracting and transmitting the location information of the wireless terminal to the digital television, and comprises a wireless terminal 300 used by a third party.

The broadcasting station system 100 is a system for providing broadcast programs as described above, and may be variously operated according to its type.

The digital television 400 not only performs a basic function of outputting a broadcast program transmitted from a broadcasting station system, but also outputs location information of a wireless terminal received from a location information providing system according to a preset mode.

The location information providing system 200 performs a function of extracting location information of a wireless terminal possessed by a third party and transmitting the location information to the digital television, and may be a mobile communication system performing a location information providing function through a wireless terminal. have. That is, the mobile communication system may extract location information of the wireless terminal using information of the wireless terminal of the third party received from the satellites or the base stations. The method of providing the location information of the wireless terminal by the location information providing system may be performed by various methods currently implemented.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of the digital television shown in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the digital television to which the method for providing location information service according to the present invention is applied, has a channel tuning unit 410, a signal processing unit 420, a display unit 430, a speaker 440, and a data storage unit. 450, an interface 460, a user selector 470, and a controller 490.

The channel tuning unit 410 may include one or more tuners for tuning a broadcast signal received through an antenna, and a demodulator for outputting the tuned signal in a transport stream form through a demodulation process and an error correction process. The broadcast signal having a frequency band corresponding to the tuning control signal of the controller is tuned.

The signal processor 420 processes a broadcast signal of a channel tuned through the channel tuner and displays the same on the display. In addition, the signal processing unit processes not only the broadcast signal received through the channel tuning unit but also an image signal of an electronic program guide (EPG) (hereinafter, simply referred to as 'EPG') stored in the data storage unit. It can also be indicated in the unit. An EPG refers to organization information of a broadcast program individually received from a broadcasting station or a second broadcast service provider, and is stored and managed in a data storage unit.

The display unit 430 performs a function of outputting a video signal decoded by a signal processor from a broadcast signal of a selected channel so that a user can view it, and may include digital light processing (DLP), liquid crystal display (LCD), and PDP ( Various types of display modules such as Plasma Display Penal) may be applied.

The speaker 440 performs a function of outputting the audio signal decoded by the signal processor among the broadcast signals of the selected channel so that a user can hear it.

The data storage unit 450 is composed of a hard disk drive and the like, and stores a broadcast signal and EPG information received from the channel tuning unit. In addition, the data storage unit stores various types of map information for providing a location information service, and may store location information of a wireless terminal transmitted from the location information providing system.

The interface 460 connects with a network and a computer (PC) to transmit and receive various broadcast signals and information. In particular, the interface performs a function of receiving location information of a wireless terminal by communicating with a location information providing system through a network.

The user selector 470 includes various buttons for controlling the controller, and in particular, includes a button for allowing a user to request location information of the wireless terminal. On the other hand, the user selection unit includes at least one of a remote signal receiving unit for receiving a remote control signal transmitted from a remote control means such as a remote control or at least one of the front panel consisting of buttons formed on the outside of the television, each of the remote control and the front panel It contains various buttons as one.

The controller 490 is implemented as a CPU or a microcomputer. The controller 490 not only outputs a broadcast program among the broadcast signals transmitted through the channel tuning unit, but also stores the broadcast signal in the data storage unit. It may be. In particular, the controller applied to the present invention may perform a function of outputting the location information of the wireless terminal transmitted from the location information providing system through the display unit or the speaker according to a method set by the user.

On the other hand, the present invention is to output the location information of the wireless terminal of the digital television having the above-described configuration, hereinafter, will be described in detail with respect to the method for providing location information service according to the present invention with reference to FIG.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of providing a location information service according to the present invention.

While the digital television is being driven in the power-on state (502), the controller of the digital television outputs the broadcast program received on the currently selected channel (504).

While the broadcast program is being output, the user may request to provide the location information by selecting the location information button or other specific button of the user selection unit, and the control unit receiving the location information request may request the location information request and the serial number of the digital television. The number or network address assigned to the digital television is transmitted to the location information providing system through the network (506).

Meanwhile, the user may select and input information corresponding to various modes when requesting a location.

First, the user must enter the telephone number of the wireless terminal possessed by a third party who wants to know the location information.

Second, the user can select a movement state mode for which path the third party using the wireless terminal is currently moving. For example, you can choose whether you are on foot, by taxi or by car, by bus, or by subway. This information can be obtained by the user making a telephone call with a third party in advance. That is, the user may ask the third party which means they are currently moving to and then select one of the four items through the menu. When the information is not selected, that is, when the user cannot know the moving state of the third party, the controller sets the moving state to a mode of moving by taxi or car.

Third, since the present invention provides location information to the user through various output modes, the user can select an output mode for viewing the location information. For example, the user may be provided with the location information through a map displayed on the entire screen of the display through the location information view menu, and the output is provided in the display unit separately from the screen for outputting the broadcast program to output the location information. Location information may be provided through a window, voice information may be provided, or subtitle information may be provided. In addition, the user may be provided with location information of a third party through a PIP (Picture In Picture) in a general map form, or may be provided through each bus stop or each subway stop display information displayed on the bottom of the screen. Accordingly, the user can select any one of the various output modes as described above. In this case, when any one of the output modes is not selected, the controller may arbitrarily select any one of the output modes and set the output mode, or set the output mode to the default output mode preset by the user. .

Fourth, the user may select a time interval mode for receiving location information, except that the user wants to receive location information through a map displayed on the entire screen of the display through the location information view menu. That is, the user may set the time interval for outputting the location information in each output mode corresponding to the output through the output window, audio output, subtitle output, PIP output, stop display output. For example, the user may be provided with location information at 10 minute intervals or may be provided at 30 minute intervals. In addition, when a third person moves by bus or subway, the user may select a time interval mode so that location information may be provided whenever a third person arrives at each stop.

The location information providing system receiving the request for location information may generate location information of a wireless terminal possessed by a third party and transmit the location information to a digital television using various known methods. The data is received and stored in the data storage unit (508).

The control unit storing the location information outputs the location information through the display unit or the speaker of the digital television according to the output mode selected in operation 510.

Hereinafter, methods of the controller outputting position information according to each output mode will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 to 8.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of outputting location information in detail in the method for providing location information service according to the present invention, and shows the location information output process 510 of FIG. 3 in detail. 5 to 8 are various exemplary views illustrating a state in which location information is output according to the method for providing location information service according to the present invention.

As described above, the controller stores the location information received from the location information providing system (508) while analyzing the mode selected by the user (512). That is, the controller analyzes whether the moving state mode is selected from among walking, taxi or private movement, bus movement, and subway movement. On the other hand, when the movement state mode is not selected, the control unit can select the movement state mode by taxi or private movement. In addition, the controller analyzes whether the output mode is selected among an output window mode, a voice mode, a caption mode, a PIP mode, a map output mode, and a stop output mode. In addition, the controller analyzes how many minutes or hours the time interval mode is set.

When the mode analysis is completed by the process 512, the controller analyzes the position information according to the moving state mode. For example, if the movement state mode is set to walking or taxi or private movement, the controller analyzes the position information in the form of coordinates transmitted from the position information providing system with the map information, and tries to identify a third party ( The wireless terminal) determines which feature on the map is near. In addition, when the movement status mode is set to bus movement or subway movement, the controller analyzes information on which stop the third party (wireless terminal) is currently approaching using the location information in the form of coordinates. .

When the above analysis process is completed, the controller outputs the location information of the third party (wireless terminal) using the preset output mode and time interval mode (516). Meanwhile, even when each output mode to be described below is not selected, the controller may output position information according to the requested output mode when a request signal for each output mode is received. That is, the description of each output mode described below is a method made when the user selects one of the output mode and the time interval in the output mode and the time interval mode. In detail, the control unit outputs the position information output in each of the following output modes at each time interval set through the time interval mode.

However, if the time interval mode is not set or the continuous mode is set, the control unit continuously outputs the location information of the feature currently passed by the third party, and then another feature that the third party can recognize on the map. If it is determined that the water is passing through, the location information may be output with reference to another feature.

First, the control unit outputs location information according to the map output mode as follows. That is, when the output mode is set as the map output mode, when the specific output mode is not set, or when the location information view menu is selected from the user while the specific output mode is set, the control unit may display the screen on the display unit. The location of the wireless terminal is output along with the map. The map output mode is similar to a location information service provided through a terminal (navigation) that is mounted on a vehicle and is generally used to provide location information. The controller displays the location of the wireless terminal on a map output on the screen of the display unit. To print it out. In detail, when the user wants to check the location of the third party while watching a broadcast program through the screen of the display unit, the user may select the map output mode through a specific button of the user selection unit or the location information view menu displayed on the screen. When the map output mode is selected, the controller displays the coordinate information of the wireless terminal stored in the data storage unit on the map and outputs it on the screen. After that, when the user requests the conversion to the previous mode, the map output is interrupted and the previously output broadcast program is output again. As another method, the controller may output a map on the image of the broadcast program. In the map output mode as described above, a separate time interval mode is not required, and the location information is output in a map form only at the request of the user.

Second, the control unit outputs the location information according to the output window mode as follows. That is, when the output mode is set to the output window mode, the controller converts the position information of the third party analyzed through the mode analysis process 512 and the location information analysis process 514 into text, as shown in FIG. 5. It is output through the same output window 432. For example, if the third party is walking, taxiing or driving, and the third party is passing the 'Patent Office', the controller displays the phrase 'XX is passing in front of the Patent Office' in the output window. You can print In addition, when a third party is moving the bus and is currently passing through 'Samsung Station', the controller may output the phrase 'XX is passing through Samsung Station' on the output window. At this time, the controller outputs a phrase for each time interval set through the time interval mode as described above.

Third, the control unit outputs the location information according to the voice mode as follows. That is, when the output mode is set to the voice mode, the controller converts the location information of the third party analyzed through the mode analysis process and the location information analysis process into the voice signal to operate the speaker 440 as shown in FIG. 5. Will output via For example, the controller converts the phrases described in the output window mode into a voice signal and outputs them through the speaker. At this time, the controller outputs the voice according to a preset time interval.

Fourth, the control unit outputs the location information according to the caption mode as follows. That is, when the output mode is set to the caption mode, the control unit may display the captions described in the output window mode on the image of the broadcast program being output on the screen of the display unit 430 as shown in FIG. 6. In this case, the subtitles are output at predetermined time intervals.

Fifth, the control unit outputs the location information according to the PIP mode as follows. That is, when the output mode is set to the PIP mode, the control unit outputs the map described in the map output mode to the PIP 434 on the broadcast program image as shown in FIG. 7, wherein the preset time interval PIP will be printed out every time. In addition, the user may determine the location of the third party by enlarging or reducing the size of the map output through the PIP. On the other hand, the PIP is output as a small window 434 on the screen on which the image of the broadcast program is output, as shown in Figure 7, when the housewife switching signal is received from the user selector, the controller is output via the PIP map You can also output full screen and broadcast program video through PIP.

Sixth, the control unit outputs the location information according to the stop output mode as follows. That is, when the output mode is set to the stop output mode, the controller sets the third party's location information for each stop unit through the location information analysis process and then displays the stop output screen 435 as shown in FIG. 8. The stop will be displayed. That is, when the third party's movement state mode is set to bus movement or subway movement, as shown in FIG. 8, the controller may display the stop output screen 435 on which the subway route map or the bus route diagram is displayed. On the other hand, by giving a separate symbol or color to a stop near the third party is located in the route map, it is possible to confirm the location of the third party to the user. In this case, the controller outputs the subway route map or the bus route diagram as described above at predetermined time intervals.

Seventh, the controller may output the various combinations of the six methods as described above. For example, the controller may combine the voice mode to all the output modes and output the third party's location information. That is, the controller may output the map information through the PIP in the PIP mode, and inform the current location of the third party by voice through the speaker. In addition, the controller may output the third party's position on the route map as shown in FIG. 8 in the stop output mode, and output the name of the corresponding stop through the speaker.

On the other hand, the control unit may not only provide the third party's position information through each output mode as described above, but may also provide information on the estimated time of arrival. For example, the controller stores the location information received from the location information providing system in the data storage unit, calculates the arrival time information to a specific place by using the travel distance and the travel time information up to the present, and then displays the display unit or You can also output through the speaker.

In detail, when the final destination of the third party is input through the user selection unit, the controller may calculate distance information based on the current location of the third party and the location of the destination. Accordingly, the control unit calculates the travel time and the travel distance of the third party through the location information transmitted from the location information providing system, and then calculates the arrival time and distance to the destination of the third party using the calculated distance information. Can be output.

That is, by using the present invention as described above, the user can check the position and arrival time information of the third party while watching the digital television.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention should not be limited to the contents described in the detailed description of the specification but should be defined by the claims.

1 is a configuration diagram of a digital broadcasting system to which a method for providing location information service according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of the digital television shown in FIG.

3 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method for providing location information service according to the present invention.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of outputting location information in a method of providing location information service according to the present invention;

5 to 8 are various exemplary views showing a state in which the location information is output in accordance with the method for providing location information service according to the present invention.

<Description of Major Symbols in Drawing>

410: channel tuning unit 420: signal processing unit

430: display unit 440: speaker

450: data storage unit 460: interface

470: user selection unit 490: control unit

300: wireless terminal

Claims (9)

In the location information service providing method applied to digital television, If a request for location information for a wireless terminal is received, transmitting, by the controller of the digital television, the request to a location information providing system connected to the digital television via a network; Storing, by the control unit, the location information in a data storage unit of the digital television when location information on the wireless terminal is received from the location information providing system in response to the request; And The controller analyzes the movement state mode of the wireless terminal, the output mode in which the state of the position information is output, and the time interval mode in which the time interval in which the position information is output, are matched with the request. And outputting the location information in a corresponding state. The method of claim 1, The moving state mode, location information service providing method characterized in that at least any one of moving, taxi or private, bus, subway movement. The method of claim 1, The output mode is at least one of the map output mode, output window mode, voice mode, caption mode, PIP mode, stop output mode. The method of claim 1, Outputting the location information, Analyzing, by the controller, a movement time mode of the wireless terminal, an output mode in which a state in which position information is to be output, and a time interval in which a time interval at which position information is output, are matched with the request; And When the output mode is an output window mode for outputting the position information through an output window provided in the display unit of the digital television for outputting the position information, the control unit is located in the vicinity of the wireless terminal. And outputting information about a feature as text through the output window at each time interval. The method of claim 4, wherein If the output mode is set to the voice mode, the control unit further comprises the step of outputting information about the feature located in the vicinity of the wireless terminal as a voice through the speaker of the digital television at the time intervals; How to provide location information service. The method of claim 4, wherein If the output mode is set to a caption mode, the control unit further includes outputting caption information about a feature located in the vicinity of the wireless terminal to the display unit of the digital television at each time interval. How to provide location information service. The method of claim 4, wherein If the output mode is set to a PIP mode, the control unit further includes a step of outputting, by the control unit, a map on which the location of the wireless terminal is displayed to the display unit of the digital television at each time interval as a PIP; How we deliver the service. The method of claim 4, wherein When the output mode is set to the stop output mode, the control unit uses the vehicle information selected in the movement state mode to display a stop output screen displaying a route map of a subway or a bus displaying the location of the wireless terminal. And outputting to the display unit of the digital television every time interval. The method of claim 4, wherein When the destination information of the user possessing the wireless terminal is stored in the data storage unit, the controller analyzes the estimated arrival time using the location information and the destination information, and then stores the estimated arrival time as the location information. And providing the location information service.

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