WO2003005609A1

WO2003005609A1 - Character terminal, and character information providing method and system using same

Info

Publication number: WO2003005609A1
Application number: PCT/KR2001/000959
Authority: WO
Inventors: Deok-Woo Kim; Tae-Uk Byun; Young-Guk Cho; Dae-Young Jeon
Original assignee: Woori Technology Inc.
Priority date: 2001-06-05
Filing date: 2001-06-05
Publication date: 2003-01-16

Abstract

Disclosed is an information providing method and system and a character terminal. Various message or image pools are provided to a server, and messages, images or operation data selected by a terminal user are transmitted to a recipient terminal so that the terminal reproduces the messages or images or activates predetermined motions at an established time. The character terminal receives information on messages or image data, operations and a reproducing time, and reproduces messages or images corresponding to the information or performs predetermined operations. The character terminal comprises a speaker; an operation driver; a data receiver for receiving messages, images and a reproducing time and demodulating them; a storage unit; a display; a driver for performing predetermined operations; and a controller for determining the reproducing time and controlling the speaker, the display and the driver to perform operations corresponding to the demodulated data at the reproducing time.

Description

Character Terminal and Character-Information-Providing Method and

System Using Same

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(a) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a character terminal, and to an

information-providing method and system using the same. More specifically, the present invention relates to a system and method for transmitting voice messages, image data, and motion information to a predetermined user, and a character terminal enabling a recipient to reproduce received data and thereby reproduce voice messages, restore image data, and execute predetermined motions on the basis of the system.

(b) Description of the Related Art

As electric communication technologies have developed, various

categories of communication service have been created. In particular, the digital mobile communication system represented by the cellular

communication system has overcome the limits of frequency resources to

thereby enable more users to receive voice and data communication

services anywhere and anytime, and further to receive image services of the

IMT2000 that represents the next generation data communication service of

the near future. Generally sold cellular and PCS mobile phones include flip-type, folder-type, and sliding-type mobile phones, which have extremely similar outward appearances, and they do not presently provide character terminals that have epoch-making designs such as of entertainers, animals, and boy- and girl-friends. Recently, telephone covers having character forms such as bear dolls and other animals have come to be sold, but these covers temporarily surround telephone housings to protect the telephones and improve their appearance, and they are not unified with the telephones nor are they applied to a method for further creating additional value with a unified format with the telephones.

That is, the conventional terminals have merits to provide communication to users without time and spatial limits, but they only provide common services to the users by using instantaneous and bidirectional properties of the communication, and they do not provide greater added value in connection with the characters. .

To reinforce functions of the cellular communication system, most cellular service providers provide various additional services as well as voice mail in the level of a telephone exchange. The voice mail service enables a caller to record the caller's speech message for the recipient when the caller

cannot contact the recipient. Therefore, most messages recorded through voice mail are the caller's speech messages.

The existing voice mail service requires a bidirectional communication terminal for accessing a mail box, checking message arrivals,

and reading the messages, such as a cellular phone or a cable telephone,

and exclusive-use character terminals for receiving and reproducing

messages stored in a mail box, messages stored in a service provider's

system, or those selected from an image pool have not yet been disclosed.

In addition, according to the conventional voice mail service, the user must

check messages through telephone access, and hence, when the recipient forgets to or concentrates on other jobs because he is very busy, the recipient might not listen to the messages stored in the voice mail at the right moment, but rather accesses them later.

The conventional character dolls have only outward appearances related to the corresponding characters, and they do not provide voice messages or image data related to the characters. Also, some dolls may exhibit a few motions that may even be selected by a user* but the selection does not enable the user to download desired motions on the network, nor

provide the user with various types of information in cooperation. with motion.

Further, these characters only provide the doll owners with the value

of conventional dolls, thereby failing to create greater added value by

allowing the owners to apply other marketing management methods to the

dolls.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a character

information-providing method and system for storing various messages,

image data, and motion pools in a server that implements a character

information-providing method to the character terminal, and transmitting

voice messages, images, or motions selected by a character terminal owner

or a third person to a recipient's character terminal so that the terminal may

reproduce the messages and the images.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a character terminal for receiving messages, image information data, motion information, and message reproducing-time data corresponding to the message and image data selected by a character terminal owner or a third person, reproducing the messages or the images at the message reproducing time, and executing other related tasks.

In one aspect of the present invention, a character information

transmitting system for accessing a sender terminal through a

communication network, receiving from the sender terminal a transmission

request of a voice message and image or motion data, and transmitting

information on the voice message and the image or motion data to a

recipient terminal according to the transmission request so that the recipient

terminal may reproduce the voice message, display the images, or perform a

predetermined motion corresponding to the voice message data, comprises:

a data pool storage unit for storing a plurality of voice messages and image and motion data selectable by the data transmission request; and a server

for transmitting a list of the data stored in the data pool storage unit to the

sender terminal so that the sender may select at least one item from the list

and select a reproducing time and the recipient terminal, and transmitting

information on the selected data and the reproducing-time data to the

selected recipient terminal, thereby allowing the selected recipient terminal to reproduce the voice message, display the images, or demonstrate a motion

corresponding to the selected data at the selected reproducing time.

The voice messages and the image and motion data stored in the data pool storage unit are divided into a plurality of groups for respective types of recipient terminals, and accordingly, the server allows the sender to select desired data from a data group corresponding to the selected recipient terminal.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the selected

data information includes all the selected data, and in another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the selected data information includes

a predetermined code for indicating a type of the selected data, and in this

case, the selected recipient terminal selects one of the data stored therein on

the basis of the code to execute reproducing, displaying, or motion

demonstrating.

In another aspect of the present invention, a character information

transmitting method comprises: (a) the sender accessing, through a network, a server including a data pool storage unit for storing a plurality of voice

messages and image and motion data; (b) transmitting a list of the data

stored in the data pool storage unit to the sender from the server, while the

sender accesses the server, so that the sender may select at least one of the

voice messages and the image and motion data and select the recipient

terminal; (c) the sender transmitting the data transmitting request including

the data and the recipient terminal selected by the sender to the server; (d) transmitting the data selected by the sender to the selected recipient terminal; and (e) the selected recipient terminal reproducing the voice message, displaying the images, or demonstrating the motion corresponding to the selected data according to a mode set by the recipient terminal immediately upon receiving the data or at the selected reproducing time.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the server transmits information on the selected data and the selected reproducing time to the selected recipient terminal when receiving the data request signal from

the sender. Accordingly, the recipient terminal reproduces the message after

standing by until the selected reproducing time.

In still another aspect of the present invention, a terminal with a

character form has an appearance of an entertainer or an animal character,

and receives external data information and reproducing-time information to

reproduce the voice messages, display the images, or demonstrate the

motions. The character terminal having a predetermined character appearance, for receiving an external voice message and reproducing-time

information, and for reproducing the voice message corresponding to the

data information, comprises: a speaker for reproducing the voice message; a

data-information receiver for receiving the data information and the

reproducing-time information; a demodulator for demodulating the received

data information and the reproducing-time information according to a

transmission method; a storage unit for storing the demodulated data information and the reproducing-time data; and a controller for controlling to determine whether the reproducing time has arrived and outputting the voice message corresponding to the demodulated message data information through the speaker when it has.

The data-information receiver receives the message data information and the reproducing-time information and demodulates the same. The storage unit stores the demodulated message data information and the

reproducing-time data. The controller determines whether the reproducing time has arrived, and controls to output a voice message to the speaker,

display an image, or demonstrate a motion, corresponding to the

demodulated data information, at the reproducing time. The voice message

is one selected from a group including natural voice messages, music, and a

combination thereof. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention,

the terminal further comprises a display for displaying a number and types of

demodulated data information stored in the storage unit. In the preferred embodiment, the data-information receiver

receives the message data information and the reproducing-time information

through radio links. In another preferred embodiment, a communication

terminal may access an additional recipient data terminal including a

computer to download data information and the reproducing-time information

from a data terminal. In these embodiments, the data-information receiver

comprises a communication port for receiving the data information and the

reproducing-time information from the computer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, ^' which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention, and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of

the invention: FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a system for transmitting voice

messages and image data according to a preferred embodiment of the

present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a detailed block diagram of a host of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 shows a database configuration according to a preferred

embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows a detailed block diagram of a radio link subsystem of

FIG. 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 shows a detailed block diagram of a recipient terminal of FIG.

1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart for transmitting voice messages by the

system for transmitting voice messages and image data of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 7 shows a detailed block diagram of a radio link subsystem of

FIG. 1 according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 shows a detailed block diagram of a recipient terminal of FIG.

1 according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of a system for transmitting voice messages and image data according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the following detailed description, only the preferred embodiment

of the invention has been shown and described, simply by way of illustration

of the best mode contemplated by the inventor(s) of carrying out the

invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of modification in

various obvious respects, all without departing from the invention.

Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in

nature, and not restrictive.

FIG. 1 shows a character-information-providing system using a

character terminal according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The character-information-providing system built on the basis of

the Internet 1 comprises a host 10; a plurality of message-sender computers

50 (they are referred to as sender computers hereinafter, and it is obvious

that they may be implemented as other corresponding terminals when the

embodiment of the present invention is realized on another network); a radio

link subsystem 60 for accessing the host 10 through the Internet 1 ; and a

recipient terminal 80 for accessing the radio link subsystem 60 through a radio link.

When the sender computer 50 accesses the host 10, the host 10 provides the sender computer 50 with web documents having extensions of html or asp so that the sender may select a desired message type and input a recipient's terminal number and a reproducing time of a message, an

image, or a motion into an input window of the recipient terminal 80. When the sender makes a selection, inputs the same, and requests data

transmission, the host 10 transmits voice message, image, or motion data information to the recipient terminal 80 through the radio link subsystem 60

according to the transmission request. Accordingly, the recipient terminal 80

reproduces the voice message or restores the image matched with the voice

message or the image data, and executes a predetermined motion according

to motion information.

In the preferred embodiment, the recipient terminal 80 may be one of

a bidirectional terminal and a unidirectional device that does not transmit information but just receives the same. The recipient terminal 80 has the

appearance of an entertainer or an animal character, and it comprises a

circuit for processing received signals, a speaker, a display, and a motion-

driving circuit. The host 10 stores a voice message, an image, and a motion

library for each recipient terminal 80 having a different appearance. In this

instance, the voice message, the image, and the motion stored as a library

are generated by recording the voice or a predetermined song of an actor whose appearance is formed as an outward shape of the corresponding terminal, or an actor-related image; sampling them; compressing them; and encoding them. The voice-related data may be generated into a voice- related code data database so as to transmit predetermined codes that are matched with a predetermined voice.

The motion information stored in the library may also be a code-type database that may assign a plurality of motions including eye blinking, ear

moving in the up and down direction, and mouth opening and closing, and the embodiment is realized by using the above-noted codes. Therefore, the

sender selects a predetermined message from among the voice message,

the image, or the motion library corresponding to the recipient terminal 80,

and the recipient terminal 80 may accordingly restore voice or music videos

recorded by the actor of the appearance of the corresponding terminal or

exhibit a predetermined motion at a predetermined reproducing time

assigned by the sender. The voice messages stored in the database include the above-noted actor's voice, other persons' voices such as respective

senders' voices previously registered or uploaded, songs, combinations of

other persons' voices and songs, and advertisement messages, and the

images include image data composed and uploaded by the sender.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the voice

message or the image data information transmitted to the recipient terminal

80 from the host 10 includes the whole of the compressed and encoded

message data, and in another embodiment, it may include codes that represent categories of several message data previously selected and stored in the library, and not the whole of the compressed and encoded message data. In this case, the recipient terminal 80 stores voice message data recorded by the actor of the appearance of the corresponding terminal, music data, or image data through a downloading or a previous restoration process, selects one of the voice message data and the music data stored on the basis of the codes, and reproduces the same.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the data are transmitted and received between the sender and the host 10 on the Internet, but the Internet is only one

exemplification of the network.

FIG. 2 shows one preferred embodiment of the host 10 of FIG. 1.

The host 10 comprises: a WWW (world wide web) server 12 (referred to as a

web server hereinafter); a network interface 14 for enabling the web server

12 to transmit and receive data packets according to the TCP/IP protocol; a plurality of Internet documents 16 in the HTML (hypertext markup language)

format; an application program 18; and a database 28. In addition, the host

10 comprises a hub (not illustrated) and a router (not illustrated) for enabling

access to the network (e.g., the Internet 1 ) through the network interface 14.

The HTML documents 16 represent a set of web page files that may

be transmitted to the sender computer 50 and displayed on a screen. Each

file is provided on one screen. The HTML documents 16 include an initial screen, a system introduction screen, a user registration screen, a plurality of optional screens for calling ASP (active server page) files 20 and executing them, and pages for implementing various help-information-providing screens.

In the preferred embodiment, most portions of the application program 18 are implemented by script programs included in each ASP file 20, such as VB scripts. Further, the application program 18 may comprise other

program modules or objects made of component software 22. The program modules or objects are used so as to transmit data to the recipient terminal

80 according to a request of transmitting a voice or music message, and

image or motion data, by the sender. The application program comprises an

ADO (ActiveX database object) 24 for enabling each ASP file 20 or another

program module to access the database 28 according to the ODBC (open

database connectivity) rule 26. When called by one of the ASP files 20 or

another application program, the ADO 24 accesses the database 28 through the ODBC rule 26 to add data to the database 28 or select stored data, and

modifies, deletes, or provides them to the application program 18.

The database 28 may be implemented using an Oracle, an Informix,

or an MS SQL server. FIG. 3 shows types of unit databases in the database

28 of FIG. 2, and respective field structures. As shown, the database 28

comprises a plurality of unit databases including a member database 31 , a

terminal database 32, a transmission carrier database 33, an advertisement database 34, an announcement database 35, a notice board database 36, and a visitor-recording database 37. As described above, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the ADO 24 manages the database 28 through the OBDC rule 26. In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the database 28 may be linked to the application program 18 by another linker such as a JDBC.

Referring to FIG. 3, the member database 31 stores IDs, passwords,

and personal profiles assigned by the system to registered members. The

terminal database 32 stores data on the types of terminals that receive messages and reproduce them, and their features. Namely, the terminal

database 32 stores model names and makers of the corresponding terminals,

and character actors appearing on the terminals, in respective records.

Also, the terminal database 32 stores titles of messages selectable

by the sender and transmittable to the recipient, compressed and encoded

message data, and letter contents. In this instance, the compressed and encoded message data represent recorded data of the corresponding

character actor's voice, songs, or images, or analog-digital converted and

compressed data of uploaded data. In addition, the terminal database 32

stores the corresponding terminals' memory sizes and transmission methods.

The memory size determines an amount of data information that may be

transmitted to the recipient terminal 80 and be concurrently stored in it, and the terminal's transmission method determines a transmission carrier when a

plurality of transmission carriers are managed.

The transmission carrier database 33 stores each transmission

carrier's company name, telephone number, IP (Internet protocol) address,

and transmission method. In addition, in order to calculate and settle the telephone call fee that a manager of the host 10 pays for the transmission carrier, it is desirable to add fields including accumulated call rates through corresponding carriers, unit call fees, settled prices, and unsettled prices, to the transmission carrier database 33.

The advertisement database 34 for executing banner or character

advertisements through HTML documents comprises fields of advertisement

names, images, advertiser names, URLs, descriptions, and counts of visitors.

The announcement database 35 for storing announcements to be provided

to the respective users comprises fields of serial numbers, titles,

announcement contents, visiting counts, and announcement dates of the

respective announcements. The notice board database 36 for storing written data uploaded to the notice board by a system manager or users comprises

fields of titles, announcement articles, written dates, writers' names and

electronic mail addresses, passwords used for uploading the articles, and

reference announcement numbers. The visitor-recording database 37 for

providing a visitor's book to the visitors of the web server 12 comprises fields

of serial numbers, visitors' names, visiting dates, and left messages for the

respective articles uploaded to the visitor's book.

Further, for example when the character is a singer character, by enabling introduction of new songs and transmitting the user's own

messages through the character-information-providing service according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the present invention may provide an additional service for implementing active management for fan clubs.

In addition, by further including a voice analysis data database on

the voice messages, the present invention may implement a method for

minimizing the volume of voice data of a sender.

FIG. 4 shows a radio link subsystem 60 of FIG. 1 according to a

preferred embodiment of the present invention. The subsystem is generated

by modifying a radio paging signal transmitting system, and it outputs radio

paging signals according to paging request signals received through an

external communication network such as the PSTN, multiplexes voice/song

messages and image or motion data information to the radio paging signals, modulates them, and outputs the modulated data. The radio link subsystem

60 comprises a controller 61 , a first network interface 62, an analog/digital

(A/D) converter 63, a compressor 64, a memory 65, a second network

interface 66, a buffer 67, a multiplexing and formatting unit 68, a scrambler

69, a modulator 70, a transmitter 71 , and an antenna 72.

The first network interface 62 interfaces an external communication

network including the PSTN to the radio link subsystem 60 so that the radio link subsystem 60 may receive a radio paging request signal from the PSTN. The A/D converter 63 converts analog radio paging signals or voice signals into digital data. The compressor 64 compresses the digital radio paging data transmitted from the A/D converter 63 in the time fashion to reduce redundancy in the data. The memory 65 temporarily stores the compressed digital radio paging data.

The .second network interface 66 interfaces a senders' network

including the Internet to the radio link subsystem 60 so that the radio link

subsystem 60 may receive voice messages and image or motion data

information from the host 10 of FIGs. 1 and 2 through a communication

network. The voice messages and image or motion data information

received through the second network interface 66 is temporarily stored in the

buffer 67.

The multiplexing and formatting unit 68 multiplexes the compressed

digital radio paging data output from the memory 65, and the voice messages and image or motion data information output from the buffer 67,

and formats the multiplexed data according to a predetermined protocol

adopted by a radio paging system. In this instance, the protocol includes the

POCSAG (post office committee standardization advisory group) method

and the FLEX method. The scrambler 69 scrambles the formatted data so as

to prevent the data from being monitored and hacked by a third person when the data are transmitted through radio links. The modulator 70 performs an

FSK (frequency shift keying) modulation on the scrambled data, and the transmitter 71 amplifies the modulated RF (radio frequency) signals and radiates them in the radio wave format through the antenna 72.

Referring to FIG. 4, the controller 61 implemented using a microcontroller controls all the units. In particular, the data compression and scrambling processes by the compressor 64 and the scrambler 69 may by implemented in the controller 61 in a software manner, and in this case, the compressor 64 and the scrambler 60 may be omitted from FIG. 4. A

predetermined portion of the radio link subsystem 60 shown in FIG. 4 may

be provided to a radio paging exchange, and another predetermined portion

to a radio paging base station.

In addition, an additional network interface may be provided so as to

realize the character information service using a character terminal through

another network such as a telephone network instead of the Internet.

FIG. 5 shows a recipient terminal 80 of FIG. 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The recipient terminal is

suitable for a system that adopts the radio link accessing device of FIG. 4,

which is a modified radio pager. Therefore, in the case the preferred

embodiment of the present invention is realized in connection with the

personal mobile communication as obviously described above, the recipient

terminal 80 of FIG. 5 may be implemented using a mobile phone, and in this

case, the respective configuration units in FIGs. 4 and 5 may be appropriately modified.

The recipient terminal 80 as shown in FIG. 5 receives the RF signals formatted in the radio paging signal format, stores the voice messages and image or motion data information transmitted to the recipient terminal 80, and reproduces/restores voice messages or images corresponding to the-, voice messages and image or motion data information or executes a predetermined motion at a predetermined time. As shown, the recipient terminal 80 comprises a controller 81 , an antenna 82, an RF amplifier 83, a

demodulator 84, a descrambler 85, a decompressor 86, a deformatter 87, a memory 88, a D/A converter 89, an output amplifier 90, a speaker 91 , a

manipulator 92, a display 93, a power unit 94, and a motion driver 95.

The antenna 82 captures the radio waves radiated from the antenna

72 of the radio link accessing device of FIG. 4. The RF amplifier 83 amplifies

the RF signals provided from the antenna 82. The demodulator 84 detects

FSK modulation signals from the amplified RF signals and demodulates the detected signals to output digital data. The descrambler 85 descrambles the scrambled data output from the demodulator 84 to restore them to original sequences. The decompressor 86 decompresses the descrambled data, and in this instance, the decompressed data have a pattern formatted according to the radio paging protocol.

The deformatter 87 extracts a target address from a header of the data output from the decompressor 86, and compares the target address with a proper address of the deformatter 87. When the two addresses are matched, that is, when information included in a received frame is transmitted to the corresponding terminal 80, the deformatter 87 removes the header to extract a portion that corresponds to the original information, and sequentially stores the same in the memory 88.

Regarding the data stored in the memory 88, voice messages, image or motion data, and periodical or once-reproducing time of the corresponding message, are stored in a lookup table format. The controller 81 continuously refers to the reproducing time from among the data stored in the memory 88, and outputs the voice messages or image data to the D/A converter 89 when the reproducing time comes. The D/A converter 89 converts the data output from the memory 88 into analog signals, and the output amplifier 90 amplifies the analog signals and outputs the amplified signals to the speaker

91 or the display 93.

In the like manner of the controller of FIG. 4, the controller 81 of FIG. 5 is implemented using a microcontroller, and it controls the whole operation

of the terminal 80. In particular, the data compression, descrambling, and

deformatting processes respectively executed by the decompressor 86, the

descrambler 85, and the deformatter 87 may be implemented in the

controller 81 in a software manner, and in this instance, these units may be

omitted from FIG. 5. The manipulator 92 enables the user to desirably modify

the operation of the terminal 80 or to check its states. The operation includes resetting the terminal, and checking, deleting, or reproducing the stored message data. The display 93 may be implemented using various displaying devices, and it displays states including image information, the number of stored messages, their categories and reproducing time, and it also displays

the overall operation status of the terminal 80. Referring to FIG. 5, the power unit 94 for supplying power to the respective units of the terminal includes a

dry cell or a chargeable battery. In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the manipulator 92 or the display 93 may be obviously

omitted.

FIG. 6 shows a process for transmitting voice messages and image

or motion data by the character-information-providing system using a

character terminal of FIG. 1. With reference to FIGs. 2 through 6, an

operation of the system of FIG. 1 and a transmission process will be

described.

Initially, the sender who desires to transmit a voice message, or image or motion information, uses the sender's terminal to access the host

10 through the Internet 1 in step S200. In the preferred embodiment of the

present invention, the sender terminal is implemented using a computer, and

in another preferred embodiment, the sender terminal may be realized using

a wire or wireless telephone, and in this case the terminal accesses the host

through a telephone network. In this instance, the web browser installed in the sender computer 50 displays a homepage provided by the host 10.

Under this state, the sender selects a message, or an image or motion transmission menu, and then selects a recipient terminal type and a terminal number in step S202 by inputting the desired terminal type and the terminal number to an input window on the web document, or from a plurality of available options displayed in the menu format.

When the sender selects a desired terminal and presses a 'terminate selection' button, a message or an image or motion selection ASP

is called from the host 10, and a script therein is executed. Accordingly, the

ADO accesses the terminal database of the database 28 to call a message, a title of images and motions, and text contents transmittable to the

corresponding terminal. When the scripts in the ASP are exchanged with the

message, the title of the images or motions, and the text contents called from

the database, the ASP file is transmitted to the sender computer 50. Hence,

the sender may select one of a plurality of messages, images, and motions,

including, for example, greetings such as "Good morning, it's time to wake up," "It's time for bed, good night," and daily songs or messages such as

"I'll be with you in an hour. Don't forget!" As described above, it is desirable

to record the greeting messages with the voice of the character provided to

the appearance of the corresponding terminal.

The sender selects at least one of the voice message, the images, or

the motions, together with a desirable reproducing time and a state of

whether to periodically reproduce the same in step S204. When the sender

selects a message and presses a 'send' button displayed on the browser, a

transmission request frame, including information on the selection, is transmitted to the host 10. When the transmission request frame is received, the host 10 refers to the transmission carrier database to obtain information needed for transmission, and transmits data information to the transmission carrier, that is, the radio signal subsystem 60, so that the information may be transmitted to the recipient terminal 80 in step S206.

The data information transmitted to the recipient terminal 80 is stored in the terminal memory 88 in step S208. In this instance, the terminal display

93 may display a message that new data have arrived. The terminal

controller 81 outputs a corresponding voice or a song message to the

speaker, or reproduces images, and then executes a predetermined motion

each time a reproducing time for the respective data arrives in step S210.

The recipient manipulates keys of the terminal manipulator 92 to display a

number and contents of the currently stored voices, song messages, images, and motions to the display 93, and deletes or reproduces all or a part of them. FIG. 7 shows a radio link subsystem 60 of FIG. 1 according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention. It is a modified FM broadcasting system, and it uses subcarriers of FM broadcasting signals to encode the voice/song messages and image or motion data information according to the DARC (data radio channel) format, multiplex the same to the FM broadcasting signals, and output them. The radio link subsystem 60 shown in FIG. 7 comprises an FM modulator 102, a network interface 104, an encoder 106, a multiplexer 108, a transmitter 110, and an antenna 111. The FM modulator 102 FM-modulates voice signals for conventional

FM broadcasting. The network interface 104 interfaces the Internet to a broadcasting system so that the radio link subsystem 60 may receive voice/song messages, and image or motion data information, from the host of FIGs. 1 and 2 through the Internet. The encoder 106 performs an error correction encoding process, inserts a sync signal to the error correction encoded voice/song messages and image or motion data information, and performs an LMSK (level minimum frequency shift keying) modulation on them to encode the voice/song messages and image or motion data information into the FM-DARC signal format. The multiplexer 108 performs a frequency multiplexing process on the conventional FM-modulated broadcasting voice signals, the encoded voice/song messages, and the image or motion data information, so that the encoded voice message data information may be provided to the subcarrier that is away from the FM carrier frequency by 76 kHz. The transmitter 110 amplifies the multiplexed signals and radiates them in the radio wave format through the antenna 111. If needed, the radio link subsystem 60 may further comprise a network interface for implementing the character-information-providing service using a character terminal through another network such as a telephone network, instead of the Internet.

FIG. 8 shows a recipient terminal 80 of FIG. 1 according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the recipient terminal is appropriate to the system that adopts the radio link subsystem of FIG. 7. The terminal receives FM broadcasting signals, extracts a voice/song message and image or motion data formatted in the FM-DARC format, stores the voice/song message and image or motion data transmitted to the terminal, and reproduces a voice message corresponding to the voice/song message and an image or motion data at a predetermined time. As shown, the recipient terminal 80 comprises a microprocessor 112, an FM receiver 114, a DARC signal demodulator 116, a memory 126, a D/A converter 128, an output amplifier 130, a speaker 132, a manipulator 134, a display 136, a power unit 138, and a motion driver 139.

The FM receiver 114 amplifies the FM broadcasting signals provided from the antenna 82, frequency-converts them into baseband signals, and outputs the same. A band-pass filter 118 of the DARC signal demodulator

1 16 extracts DARC modulation signals from the baseband FM broadcasting

signals, and outputs them. The band-pass filter 118 has a central frequency

of 76kHz and a bandwidth of substantially 40kHz.

An LMSK demodulator 120 LMSK-demodulates the output signals of

the band-pass filter 1 18, and a sync restorer 122 restores a sync signal from

the demodulated signals. An error corrector 124 performs error correction

decoding to remove errors generated during the transmission process, and outputs error-corrected DARC data. The restored DARC data are temporarily stored in the memory 126 according to control by the microprocessor 1 12.

The microprocessor 112 extracts the voice/song message and image or motion data information which has an address identical with that of the corresponding terminal from among the DARC data stored in the memory 126, and stores the same again in the memory 126. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the memory

126 stores the voice/song messages and image or motion data together with

the corresponding message's reproducing time in a lookup table format. The

microprocessor 112 incessantly refers to the reproducing time from among

the data stored in the memory 126 so as to output the voice/song messages

and image or motion data once the reproducing time has arrived, to the D/A

converter 128. The D/A converter 128 converts the data output by the

memory 126 into analog signals, and the output amplifier 130 amplifies the analog signals and outputs them to the speaker 132. Since functions of the

manipulator 134, the display 136, the power unit, and the motion driver 139

are similar to those shown in FIG. 5, no corresponding descriptions will be

provided.

FIG. 9 shows a character information service system using a

character terminal according to another preferred embodiment of the present

invention. As shown, the host 140 responds to the transmission request by the sender computer 50 to process the voice/song message and image or motion data information in a file format, attach it to electronic mail, and transmit the same to the recipient computer 150. The recipient connects the recipient's terminal 160 to a serial port or a USB port of the computer 150 to

download the information, and thereby stores message data in the memoryr In this instance, the configuration of the character terminal may be modified so as to download desired data files.

Since the configuration of the host 140 in the preferred embodiment of the present invention is similar to that of FIG. 2, no further detailed

descriptions will be provided. However, in order for the sender computer 50

to request a transmission and concurrently input an electronic mail address

of a recipient, web documents provided by the host 140 need to include a

unit for selecting or inputting electronic mail, and the database 28 also needs

to be reinforced in response to this. In addition, the host 140 is required to

include an electronic mail server, in particular, a mail-sending server such as an SMTP server. Referring to FIG. 9, it is obvious that the sender computer 50 may be matched with the recipient computer 150. In this case, the sender downloads the terminal character's voice/song message and image or

motion data to the sender's computer, and downloads the same to the

terminal so as to reproduce the voice/song message, reproduce the images, or exhibit the motion at a predetermined time.

The above descriptions provide preferred embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention may be variously modified without being restricted to them. For example, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the sender requests the host to transmit voice/song messages and image or motion data information through the Internet, and in another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the sender may request a data-information transrnission from the host through wireless communication networks including a PSTN, a satellite communication network, and a cellular phone network. Also, when transmitting the voice/song message and image or motion data information to the recipient terminal from the host, the host may transmit the data information to the recipient terminal through wireless communication networks such as the PSTN, the satellite communication network, and the cellular phone network instead of using the radio paging network and the FM-DARC broadcasting system.

In addition, the sender may select one of the voice/song messages, images, and motions stored in the host, and transmit the same, and the

sender may further use a microphone and a camera installed in the

computer to directly input a voice/song message or an image or upload a file.

In the above, voice messages are provided as an example case for

describing the embodiments, and without being restricted to this, the

messages that may be transmittable by the system according to the present

invention further include music, the sender's own voice, and voice, image,

and motion information generated by combining songs with the sender's

voice for advertisements and fan club management. In the subsequent descriptions and claims, the 'voice message'

includes music and songs as well as voice messages.

The recipient terminal may reproduce the message once or periodically. In the case of reproduction once, the reproducing time may be a time immediately after the terminal receives voice message information data, or a time reserved by the sender. When the sender selects one-time or

periodical reservation reproduction to request a message transmission, the

host may transmit corresponding message information data including

reservation time information to the recipient terminal, and the recipient

terminal may reproduce the data immediately or after standing by for up to

the reservation time, and in addition, the host may store the message

information data up to just before the reservation time, and the host then

transmits the information to the recipient terminal so as to reproduce the same immediately or at a predetermined time.

Further, a case of one-to-one transmission where a single sender

transmits a message to a single recipient is described in the above, and the

present invention may be applied as a message casting method for a single

sender to transmit a message to a plurality of recipients, which may be

applied to a case of a group that may become a character or characters, to

promote the group or the characters, or to transmit their songs to promote the same, or it may be managed in a fan-managing method.

Also, a character doll that forms a terminal appearance in the preferred embodiment for implementing a character information service using a character terminal may be divided into a plurality of components including, for example, a head, a body, and legs, and accordingly, the

terminal appearance may be configured with a particular combination.

By allowing the sender to sequentially select several motions from a basic motion pool, the components of the character terminal may obviously

be demonstrated according to a predetermined motion sequence.

Further, when a user uses a mobile phone to receive a character

information service using a character terminal according to the present

invention, more added value may obviously be created by extracting position

information (using conventional methods or applying the GPS) and providing

it to the sender (e.g., when providing the position of a child to its parents in

the case the child carries a character terminal). The modified embodiments may be easily implemented by a skilled person on the basis of the above-described preferred embodiments, and accordingly, no further detailed description will be provided. In addition, a skilled person may understand that obvious components such as a clock signal generator and motion units (e.g., eyes, ears, and a mouth) are omitted from the terminals of FIGs. 5 and 7, and the obvious components may be easily realized.

As described, the present invention allows a plurality of owners who have a terminal with a star or an animal character appearance to receive voice/song messages recorded in the corresponding characters' voices, and image or motion data. Requests for transmitting the voice messages, songs, images, or motion data may be performed by a third person or a terminal owner, and the transmitted messages may be reproduced once or periodically for each time frame. In particular, the character of the terminal according to the present invention provides a friendly appearance to the terminal owner so that the owner feels satisfied carrying the terminal, and the character may be sold as character products usable for managing a fan club. Also, friendly relationships between friends, lovers, or parents and children may be maintained through transmissions of voice/song messages and image or motion data, and emotional sympathy may be possible through the bidirectional voice communication. Further, the external characters of the terminals may be diversified so that the terminal users such as lovers or a father and a son may appropriately select desired ones.

While this invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A character information transmitting system for accessing a sender terminal through a communication network, receiving from the sender terminal a transmission request of one selected from among a voice message, an image, a motion, and a combination thereof, and transmitting information on the transmission request to a recipient terminal so that the recipient terminal may perform a motion corresponding to the transmitted data, comprising: a data pool storage unit for storing a plurality of voice messages and image and motion data selectable by the transmission request; and a server for transmitting a list of the data stored in the data pool storage unit to the sender terminal so that the sender may select at least one item from the list and select a reproducing time and the recipient terminal, and transmitting information on the selected data and the reproducing-time data to the selected recipient terminal, the selected recipient terminal performing a motion corresponding to the selected data at the selected reproducing time, and the voice message being one selected from a group including a natural voice message, music, and a combination thereof.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the recipient terminal reproduces the voice message when the sender selects the voice message, the recipient terminal displays the image when the sender selects the image, and the recipient terminal demonstrates the motion when the sender selects the motion.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the selected data information includes a predetermined code for indicating a type of the selected data, and the selected recipient terminal selects one of the data stored therein on the basis of the predetermined code to execute a corresponding motion.

4. The system of claim 1 or 3, wherein the voice messages and the image and motion data stored in the data pool storage unit are divided into a plurality of groups for respective types of the recipient terminals, and the server allows the sender to select at least one of the data from a data group corresponding to the selected recipient terminal.

5. The system of claim 4, further comprising a radio-repeating subsystem for receiving the selected data information and the reproducing- time data from the server, and transmitting the selected data information to the recipient terminal through radio links.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the radio-repeating subsystem

converts the selected data information into a predetermined communication signal format, and transmits the same to the recipient terminal.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the radio-repeating subsystem

encodes the selected data information using subcarriers in the FM

broadcasting frequency band, multiplexes the encoded data and FM

broadcasting signals, and transmits the multiplexed data to the recipient

terminal.

8. The system of claim 1 or 3, further comprising a recipient client computer for receiving the selected data information from the server through the communication network, storing it, and enabling the recipient terminal to download the stored data information.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the recipient client computer is matched with the sender terminal.

10. The system of claim 1 or 3, wherein the server transmits the selected data information to a plurality of recipient terminals so that the recipient terminals may identically perform a motion corresponding to the selected data information.

11. The system of one of claims 1 through 3, 5 through 7, and 9, wherein the communication network includes the Internet, a cable telephone network, a wireless telephone network, a satellite communication network, and a combination thereof, and the sender terminal is appropriately optimized for the communication network.

12. A character information transmitting method for receiving a transmission request for one of a voice message, an image, a motion, and a

combination thereof from a sender, and transmitting information on the

transmission request to a recipient terminal in response to the transmission

request, comprising:

(a) the sender accessing, through a network, a server including a

data pool storage unit for storing a plurality of voice messages and image and motion data;

(b) transmitting a list of the data stored in the data pool storage unit to the sender from the server, while the sender is accessed to the server, so that the sender may select at least one of the voice messages and the image and motion data and select the recipient terminal;

(c) the sender transmitting the data transmitting request including the selected data and the selected recipient terminal to the server; and

(d) transmitting the selected data to the selected recipient terminal so that the selected recipient terminal may perform a motion corresponding to the selected data, the voice message being one selected from a group including natural voice messages, music, and a combination thereof.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the server allows the sender to additionally select a reproduction time in (b), the data transmission request further comprises the selected reproduction time data in (c), and the selected recipient terminal performs a motion corresponding to the selected data at the selected time in (d).

14. A character terminal having a predetermined character

appearance, for receiving an external voice message and reproducing-time

information, and reproducing the voice message corresponding to the data

information, comprising:

a speaker for reproducing the voice message;

a data-information receiver for receiving the data information and the reproducing-time information; a demodulator for demodulating the received data information and the reproducing-time information according to a transmission method; a storage unit for storing the demodulated data information and the reproducing-time data; and a controller for controlling to determine whether the reproducing time comes, and outputting the voice message corresponding to the demodulated message data information through the speaker, the voice message being one selected from a group including natural voice messages, music, and a combination thereof.

15. The terminal of claim 14, wherein the data information further comprises image information, and the character terminal further comprises a display for displaying the images or text information.

16. The terminal of claim 14 or 15, wherein the data information further comprises motion information, and the character terminal further comprises a motion driver for demonstrating a predetermined motion according to the motion information.

17. The terminal of claim 14 or 15, wherein the data-information

receiver receives the message data information and the reproducing-time

information through radio links.

18. The terminal of claim 16, wherein the data-information receiver receives the message data information and the reproducing-time information through radio links.

19. The terminal of claim 14 or 15, wherein the data-information receiver comprises a communication port for accessing a computer to receive the message data information and the reproducing-time information from the computer.

20. The terminal of claim 16, wherein the data-information receiver comprises a communication port for accessing a computer to receive the message data information and the reproducing-time information from the computer.

1/9

FIG.l