WO2015037781A1

WO2015037781A1 - Application service method, recording medium on which program for carrying out the service method is recorded, and broadcast receiving apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2015037781A1
Application number: PCT/KR2013/010711
Authority: WO
Inventors: 강창환; 남성우; 김진관; 형다혜; 박재환; 이정익; 원주현
Original assignee: 주식회사 알티캐스트
Priority date: 2013-09-16
Filing date: 2013-11-25
Publication date: 2015-03-19

Abstract

The present invention relates to an application service method applied to a broadcast receiving apparatus, and to a broadcast receiving apparatus for providing an application service. An application service method, according to one embodiment of the present invention, is a method for servicing an application applied to the broadcast receiving apparatus and comprises the steps of: transmitting, to an application-providing server, a request signal for requesting a specific application; receiving the specific application from the application providing-server; and installing the received specific application, wherein the specific application may comprise a functional component which is a part for enabling functions, and a profile component which is a part for authorizing access.

Description

An application service method, a recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing the service method, and a broadcast receiving device

The present invention relates to an application service method, and more particularly, to an application service method applied to a broadcast reception device, and a broadcast reception device for providing an application service.

In the past, TVs provided only one-way services. Recently, as research on digital broadcasting standards has been actively conducted, broadcasting signals including video, audio, and data have been compressed into digital signals, thereby enabling multi-channelization. As the network processing capacity increases, it is possible to provide a two-way broadcasting service.

As a result, the performance of the set-top box or the TV itself and the increase of the network bandwidth are providing various services. In particular, various on-demand programs are provided according to a user's request as well as live programs provided in the past. Of course, in addition to these real-time or on-demand programs, various services such as games and shopping are provided. In order to provide various services as described above, various applications are required.

Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2009-0043880 discloses a broadcast application service system and a method for executing an application related to a broadcast program individually through a personal portable terminal when a plurality of people watch a broadcast program.

However, the Patent Publication No. 10-2009-0043880 does not disclose a method for servicing an application suitable for a user's characteristics.

Therefore, there is a need for a study on how to provide an application service based on the characteristics of the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a method for servicing an application based on a profile characteristic of a user, a recording medium on which a program for executing the service method is recorded, and a broadcast receiving apparatus.

According to an embodiment of the present invention to achieve the above object, a method for servicing an application applied to a broadcast receiving device, the method comprising: transmitting a request signal for requesting a specific application to the application providing server; Receiving the specific application from the application providing server; And installing the received specific application, wherein the specific application is provided with an application service method including a function component that is an implementation part and a profile component that is an access right part.

According to an embodiment of the present invention to achieve the above object, a method for servicing an application applied to a broadcast receiving device, the method comprising: transmitting a request signal for requesting a specific application to the application providing server; Receiving the specific application from the application providing server; And a recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing the step of installing the received specific application. In particular, the specific application may include a function component that is an implementation part of a function and a profile component that is an access right part.

According to an embodiment of the present invention to achieve the above object, a broadcast receiving device for providing an application service, comprising: a database for storing login information mapped to a registered user account; A transmitter for transmitting a request signal of a specific application to an application providing server; A receiving unit which receives the specific application from the application providing server; An application manager to install the received specific application; And a controller for controlling the database, the transmitter, the receiver, and the application manager, wherein the specific application includes a function component that is an implementation part of a function and a profile component that is an access right part.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, an application service may be provided based on a profile characteristic of a user.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, in addition to the application provided by default, the user can actively configure the application according to the user account.

1 illustrates a system configuration for performing an application service related to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a block diagram of a broadcast receiving apparatus providing an application service according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a flowchart illustrating an application service method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is an example of a screen on which application information is displayed according to a user account in an application service method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an application related to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is an example of a screen displaying an application list selectable by a user in an application service method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is an example of a screen displaying an application group list selectable by a user in an application service method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a diagram for describing an application group associated with one embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a flowchart illustrating a method for recommending an application in an application service method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

10 is an example of a screen for recommending an application related to an embodiment of the present invention.

11 is a diagram illustrating detailed information of an application selected for application installation in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

12 is a diagram illustrating a screen on which the application of FIG. 11 is installed and executed.

13 is a flowchart illustrating a method of mapping an application to a user account and installing the application in an application service method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

14 is another example of a screen for recommending an application related to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 illustrates a screen on which the application recommended in FIG. 14 is executed.

FIG. 16 is an example of a screen for recommending a related second application while performing a first application in an application service method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

17 is an example of a screen illustrating a state in which an application function is added in an application service method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

18 is a flowchart illustrating a method of using an application based on an authority mapped to a user account in an application service method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

19 is a flowchart illustrating a method of removing an application based on an authority mapped to a user account in an application service method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, an application service method and a broadcast reception device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" include plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this specification, terms such as “consisting of” or “comprising” should not be construed as necessarily including all of the various components or steps described in the specification, and some of the components or some steps It should be construed that it may not be included or may further include additional components or steps.

As shown, a system for performing an application service may include a broadcast receiving device 100, a broadcaster server 200, and an application providing server 300. The broadcast receiving device 100, the broadcaster server 200, and the application providing server 300 may communicate with each other through a network.

The broadcast receiving device 100 is a device capable of receiving broadcast content from the broadcaster server 200 and playing the broadcast content. For example, the broadcast reception device 200 may be a set top box, a TV, a mobile terminal, or the like.

In addition, the broadcast reception device 100 may receive an application that can be applied to the broadcast reception device 100 from the application providing server 300.

Meanwhile, the broadcaster server 200 and the application providing server 300 may be operated separately and may be integrated and operated as one.

As shown, the broadcast receiving device 100 includes a database 110, a user input unit 120, an application manager 130, an application recommender 140, a transmitter 150, a receiver 160, and an output unit ( 170, and the controller 180.

The database 110 may store profile information about the user account. The profile information may include login information (eg, age, gender, ID, password, etc.) mapped to the user account, application access authority information mapped to the user account, viewing history information according to the user account, preference information, and the like. Can be.

The user input unit 120 may receive a user input for performing a specific function. The user input may include a remote input through a remote controller as well as a direct input such as a button input or a touch input.

The application manager 130 may manage an application that may be applied to the broadcast receiving device 100 according to a user account. For example, the application manager 130 may manage an application installed by a user request by mapping it to a specific user account (for example, the currently logged-in user account).

In addition, the application manager 130 may classify and manage the applications according to the application provision form. For example, the application manager 130 may classify and manage an application configured by a user and an application provided by a broadcast service provider. Of course, the application provided by the broadcaster may be an application configured by the user according to the user's selection.

The application recommender 140 may recommend an application based on profile information about a user account, an application currently being executed, or a received user input. The application recommendation may include an application recommendation for installation (if the application to be recommended is not installed) and an application recommendation for execution (if the application to be recommended is already installed). Detailed description of the application recommendation method will be described later.

The transmitter 150 may transmit various information or signals to the outside. For example, the transmitter 150 may transmit a signal for a specific application request to the application providing server 300.

The receiver 160 may receive various contents, information, and applications. For example, the receiver 160 may receive broadcast content from the broadcaster server 200, and may receive an application from the application providing server 300.

The output unit 170 may output the application display screen, the content playback screen, and the like. In the present specification, the screen output may include outputting a screen through a display of another device as well as outputting a screen through a provided display.

The controller 180 may control the database 110, the user input unit 120, the application manager 130, the application recommender 140, the transmitter 150, the receiver 160, and the output unit 170. Can be.

Hereinafter, the structure of the application will be described first before describing the application service method of the present invention.

3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an application related to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown, an application may be composed of a functional component, a profile component, a control component, and a view component.

The functional component is a part that forms a basic framework of an application and may implement a specific function. For example, the functional component may use a specific resource for implementing the function by an object-oriented programming (OOP) method.

Profile components represent the parts of access rights and permissions of application users and operators. The profile component may include information on a basic account and an account created by a user, information on access authority control according to a user account, and information on whether an application is activated according to a user account.

The control component is the control part for the user interface. The control component includes user interface elements such as key events and navigation, a control interface such as a smartphone or a keyboard, and information about a view component mapped to a size or shape of a screen. can do.

The view component is the representation part of the application. The view component may include an image element displayed on the screen, a font displayed on the screen, and information on whether the content is displayed.

When the user account is changed, at least one of the control component and the view component may be linked to the application having the above configuration. For example, when the control component and the view component are A1 and A2, respectively, when the user account is A, when the user account is changed to B, the control component and the view component applied to the application may be changed to B1 and B2, respectively.

4 is a flowchart illustrating an application service method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The user input unit 120 may receive login information according to a specific user account (S410). The login information may include an ID, a password, etc. for a specific user account.

The login information may be received by receiving a user input for selecting a specific user account or by receiving an ID and password input for a specific user account.

When the login information for the specific user account is successfully received, the controller 170 may output a screen displaying the application information according to the logged-in specific user account (S420).

5 is an example of a screen on which application information is displayed according to a user account in an application service method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The illustrated screen is a screen displaying application information mapped to a logged-in user account while logged in with a specific user account. The illustrated screen includes a user account item 510 currently logged in, an application item 520 configured by the user directly by the user account, an application item 530 frequently used by the user, an application group 540 currently being used, and a broadcast. Menu items 550 provided by the operator may be displayed.

The user account item 510 may include an icon for a currently logged in user account. The user account item 510 may be changed according to a user's selection. Of course, the change may require an authentication procedure. The user account may be an account for an individual user or an account in which accounts for a plurality of users are combined. For example, the user account item 510 is a user account for a family, and may be an account in which a plurality of family members are combined (for example, a mother user account and a father user account may be combined to become a family user account).

The user-configured application item 520 displays a list of applications configured by the user in addition to the basically provided application. The application list configured by the user may include an application installed by the user requesting the application providing server 300 and an application included in the menu item 550 provided by the broadcaster moved through editing of the user.

If the logged-in user account is a user account in which a plurality of user accounts are combined, an application item commonly associated with the plurality of users may be displayed in the application item 520.

The application item 530 frequently used by the user may be directly configured by the user or automatically generated based on the frequency of use of the application by the user.

Information is displayed in the application group 540 currently in use. The information on the application group 540 currently in use may be referred to as an application mode state currently in use. For example, the basic application may be A, B, or C in the Basic mode, and the basic application may be A, B, C, D, E, or F in the premium mode.

When the menu item 550 provided by the broadcaster enters, a list may be displayed on an application provided by the broadcaster.

The screen shown in FIG. 6 is a screen in which a user enters a specific menu to search for an application to be added. The screen includes a category item 610 for an application and an application list 620. An application entry menu classified according to a category is displayed on the category item 610, and an application list that can be added is displayed on the application list 620. An icon, title, category, price, etc. may be displayed on the application item included in the application list 620.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the user may individually select and add one by one as shown in FIG. 6, but may select and add one application group in a package form.

In the illustrated screen, the application group list 710 is displayed. The application group list 710 includes items for a plurality of application groups. The application group may be identified in a specific mode. The user may select any one of the items included in the group list 710 and enter the corresponding mode.

As shown, a plurality of applications may be gathered into one application group. That is, application 1, application 2, and application 3 may form a group to be mode A. The application 1, the application 2, and the application 3 included in the mode A may include a common feature related to the mode A (eg, a feature related to a sport).

Meanwhile, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the display of the application list to be added may be performed by the user's search, but the application list may be displayed through the recommendation.

The user input unit 120 may receive a user input in operation S910. The application recommender 140 may recommend an associated application based on the received user input (S920).

The illustrated screen shows a screen on which an application recommendation list 1010 related to channel search is displayed when a user inputs a predetermined key for a predetermined time for channel search. For example, when a user inputs an up key or down key within a predetermined time to search a channel while watching a specific content, the application recommender 140 is currently performing Related applications can be recommended based on the function and the received user input. The user may select one item included in the application recommendation list 1010 and enter a page corresponding to the selected application item. The recommendation list 1010 may include a PVR application, a multi view application, a Grid EPG application, and the like. The PVR application is an application for content recording, and the Multi View application is an application that allows content broadcast on a plurality of channels to be played on a plurality of sub-screens, respectively. The Grid EPG application is an application for displaying EPG information in a grid form. to be.

11 is a screen illustrating a state where a user enters a detail page of an application selected for application installation. The screen may display an overview 1110, a menu 1120, and preview information 1130 of another application.

The overview 1110 may include a title, subtitle, summary, and the like for the corresponding application. In addition, the menu 1120 may include an item for bookmarking the page (PIN), an item for installation (INSTALL), a window close (CLOSE), and the like. In the preview information 1130 for another application, a screen shot of another application in addition to the corresponding application is displayed, and the preview of another application may be performed by moving left and right.

The broadcast reception device 100 may perform a request for installation of a selected application through a user input for selecting an application (selection of INSTALL) for installation of an application on the detailed page of the selected application (S430).

In response to the request, the broadcast reception device 100 may receive and install a corresponding application from the application providing server 300 (S440 and S450).

In addition, the application manager 130 may execute the installed application according to a user account (S460).

FIG. 12 illustrates a screen in which a corresponding application (in this embodiment, a multi-view application) is installed and executed through the screen illustrated in FIG. 11. The multi-view application may display a multi-view corresponding to a plurality of programs to facilitate channel search. The comparison area 1210 and the channel list 1220 may be displayed on the screen. The content currently being broadcast for the selected viewing candidate channel is displayed in the comparison area 1210, and information about the channel around the channel displayed in the comparison area 1210 is displayed in the channel list 1220. The channel list 1220 may display identification information on a corresponding channel, a title of content currently broadcast in the channel, and a reproduction screen of the content currently broadcast.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the application manager 130 may install the corresponding application by mapping to a specific user account.

When the user input for installing the application is received through the user input unit 120, the application manager 130 may additionally map other user accounts in addition to the currently logged-in application to determine whether the installation is possible (S1310). S1320).

As a result of the determination, if it is not possible to additionally install in another user account, the application manager 130 may install the application by mapping only to the currently logged-in user account (S1330).

As a result of the determination, when additional installation is possible in another user account, the application manager 130 may install the corresponding application by mapping with other user accounts in addition to the currently logged in user account (S1340).

Meanwhile, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the application recommender 140 may perform application recommendation for execution for an application that has already been installed in consideration of a function currently being performed.

14 illustrates a screen when a user input related to a previous viewing channel view is received. A recently viewed channel list may be displayed on the left side of the screen, and an currently installed application list 1410 and an installable application 1420 may be displayed on the right side of the recently viewed channel list. The currently installed application list 1410 includes an application item that is already installed in relation to a function currently being performed (view a previous viewing channel). In addition, the installable application 1420 displays an installable application item in relation to a function currently being performed (view a previous viewing channel).

FIG. 15 illustrates a screen on which an application called “My LOG” shown in the screen illustrated in FIG. 14 is executed. The screen may display a content history 1510 viewed by a user, a user account 1520 currently logged in, and a list of popular programs 1530 corresponding to a corresponding date. The popular program list 1530 may select only programs that the user did not watch.

16 illustrates a screen on which a channel guide application is executed. The screen may display an application list 1610 that can be installed in relation to a running application (channel guide application).

FIG. 17 illustrates a screen state in which an application called "Time Shift" is selected and installed in the application list 1610 illustrated in FIG. 16. As shown, an icon 1710 representing an application function selected for the currently executing application may be displayed. That is, according to an embodiment of the present invention, when any application item is selected and installed in the application list 1610, the application manager 130 may select a function of an application selected for the currently executing application (channel guide application). Time shift application). In the present specification, a time shift application refers to an application that can move and play a playback time point of content that is being broadcast.

Meanwhile, according to an embodiment of the present invention, an application service may be performed based on information on access authority control according to a user account and information on whether the user account is activated according to a user account.

In one example, a user may use an application based on permissions mapped to a user account.

The application manager 130 may determine whether the application to be executed is changeable in the user account (S1810). If the application to be executed is not possible to change the user, the application may be immediately executed (S1860). Whether the user account can be changed can be determined based on the authority mapped to the currently logged in user account. For example, if the currently logged in user account is a master account, the user can be changed.

In the present specification, the master account may control the rights of all user accounts registered in the broadcast reception device 100. Therefore, a separate authentication process may be required when logging in with the master account.

If the application to be executed is changeable in the user, the user account may be changed by the user's selection (S1820).

The application manager 130 may determine whether an application to be executed is mapped to and installed in a user account to be changed (S1830).

If the corresponding application is installed to be mapped to the user account to be changed, the application manager 130 may determine whether authentication is required when executing the corresponding application (S1840). The determination of whether the authentication is required may be determined based on the authority mapped to the currently logged in user account or the user account to be changed. For example, if the currently logged-in user account is a master account, a separate authentication procedure for running an application may not be required.

However, if a separate authentication procedure is required to execute the application, the application may be executed only when the authentication procedure is successful (S1850 and S1860).

Meanwhile, when the corresponding application is mapped to the user account to be changed and the corresponding application is not installed, the application manager 130 may determine whether the user additionally installs the application to the user account to be changed. This can be controlled to be output (S1870).

When a user input for removing a specific application installed through the user input unit 120 is received, the application manager 130 may determine whether the corresponding application is also mapped to another user account (S1910 and S1920).

As a result, when the corresponding application is mapped to another user account, the application manager 130 may output a notification message indicating that the corresponding application cannot be removed and deactivate the corresponding application (S1930).

If it is determined that the corresponding application is not mapped to another user account, the application manager 130 may remove the corresponding application (S1940).

Meanwhile, according to an embodiment of the present invention, an action that prevents the use of an application service such as application removal or inactivity may be enabled only when logged in with a master account.

As described above, according to an embodiment of the present invention, an application service may be provided based on a profile characteristic of the user (for example, a user account). Therefore, a customized service can be provided.

The above-described application service method may be embodied in the form of program instructions that can be executed by various computer means and recorded in a computer-readable recording medium. In this case, the computer-readable recording medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, and the like, alone or in combination. Meanwhile, the program instructions recorded on the recording medium may be those specially designed and configured for the present invention, or may be known and available to those skilled in computer software.

Computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape, optical media such as CD-ROMs, DVDs, and magnetic disks such as floppy disks. Magnetic-Optical Media, and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like.

The recording medium may be a transmission medium such as an optical or metal wire, a waveguide, or the like including a carrier wave for transmitting a signal specifying a program command, a data structure, or the like.

In addition, program instructions include not only machine code generated by a compiler, but also high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. The hardware device described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the present invention, and vice versa.

The application service method and the broadcast receiving apparatus described above may not be limitedly applied to the configuration and method of the above-described embodiments, but the embodiments may be all or part of each of the embodiments so that various modifications may be made. It may be configured in combination.

Claims

In the method for servicing an application applied to the broadcast receiving device,

Transmitting a request signal for requesting a specific application to an application providing server;

Receiving the specific application from the application providing server; And

Including the step of installing the received specific application,

The specific application is an application service method, characterized in that it comprises a function component that is an implementation part of the function and a profile component that is an access authority part.
The method of claim 1, wherein the specific application

And a control component that is a control part for the user interface and a view component that is an expression part.
The method of claim 2,

The profile component includes information about a user account,

The specific application is an application service method, characterized in that at least one of the control component and the view component to be applied according to the change of the user account is different.
The method of claim 2, wherein the profile component

And at least one of information on access authority control according to a user account and information on whether an application is activated according to the user account.
The method of claim 2, wherein the control component

Application service method comprising the information on the view component mapped to at least one of the size and shape of the screen.
The method of claim 3, wherein the information about the user account is

Application service method comprising the information on the master account for controlling the rights of all registered user accounts.
The method of claim 4, wherein the application service method is

Identifying a particular logged in user account; And

And executing the application based on the access right control information and the application activation information mapped to the identified specific user account.
The method of claim 1, wherein the specific application installation step is

Determining whether the second user account can be installed in addition to the logged in first user account; And

And installing the specific application by mapping with the second user account based on the determination result.
A recording medium having recorded thereon a program for performing the application service method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.
In the broadcast receiving device providing an application service,

A database that stores login information mapped to a registered user account;

A transmitter for transmitting a request signal of a specific application to an application providing server;

A receiving unit which receives the specific application from the application providing server;

An application manager to install the received specific application; And

And a controller for controlling the database, the transmitter, the receiver, and the application manager.

And the specific application includes a function component that is an implementation part and a profile component that is an access right part.
The method of claim 10, wherein the specific application is

And a control component that is a control part for the user interface and a view component that is a representation part.
The method of claim 11,

The profile component includes information about a user account,

And the at least one of the control component and the view component applied to the specific application according to a change of a user account.
The method of claim 11, wherein the profile component

And at least one of information on access authority control according to a user account and information on whether an application is activated according to the user account.
The method of claim 12, wherein the information about the user account is

Broadcast receiving apparatus, characterized in that it includes information about the master account for controlling the rights of all user accounts.
The method of claim 13,

The control unit identifies a specific user account logged in,

And the application manager executes an application based on access right control information and application activation information mapped to the identified specific user account.