WO2008048008A1

WO2008048008A1 - System for transmitting information to be added to contents and method for using the same

Info

Publication number: WO2008048008A1
Application number: PCT/KR2007/004711
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sukil Kim; Sejoon Kim
Original assignee: Jason R & D Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2006-10-16
Filing date: 2007-09-27
Publication date: 2008-04-24
Also published as: KR20090064559A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system for transmitting information to be added to contents and a method for using the same, more particularly, to a system and a method for using the system, which is capable of extracting the additional information from the contents, and transmitting the additional information to a terminal device of a user, thereby making the user convenient to use the additional information. The object of the present invention is accomplished by a system for transmitting information to be added to contents, which comprises a playing unit to play said contents, and to extract said additional information from said contents and store therein; and a terminal device to receive said additional information from said playing unit, and to guide a user therewith. Accordingly, the present invention has advantageous effects in that the playing unit of the system, which gains contents including additional information therein and play the contents, can extract the additional information and transmit it to a terminal device of a user, thereby providing convenience for a user with the terminal device to receive the additional information, and make use of more information related to the contents through the additional information.

Description

SYSTEM FOR TRANSMITTING INFORMATION TO BE ADDED TO CONTENTS AND METHOD FOR USING THE

SAME

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to a system for transmitting information to be added to contents and a method for using the same, more particularly, to a system and a method for using the system, which is capable of extracting additional information of contents from the contents, and transmitting the additional information to a terminal device of a user, thereby making the user convenient to use the additional information.

[2]

Background Art

[3] An RFID technology enables to read the information of an RFID tag or a transponder wirelessly by using a certain frequency band, and with speed without contacting an RFID reader with a tag.

[4] When an RFID technology is used in trading, a tag in which product information is stored is attached to the product (or to a paper marking the product, or a mockup) and recognized by an RFID reader, thereby making it easy and fast to read the product information stored therein.

[5] An RFID technology, therefore, is applied to various fields such as logistics, purchasing goods, authentication of various goods, payment, entrance and exit management, library management, etc. For example, a purchase system using an RFID technology is adopted in a large store or a shopping center such that a tag in which product information is stored is attached to the product; a buyer with the product passes through a gate where an RFID reader is installed; the reader recognizes the product information stored in the tag and the product code automatically; and the buyer pays for the product. In another use, a tag including specific information of the product may be attached to advertisements such as posters or shopping catalogs, thereby making it possible to browse additional information about the product or to purchase the product at once by being read by a mobile communication device such as a moblie handset, a PDA, etc.

[6] Meanwhile, in digital broadcasting through a conventional digital TV or a mobile phone, an electronic promgram guide (EPG) is provided in order for viewers to check the program list for each given broadcasting company by time. An EPG is a broadcast program schedule displayed on the screen of a digital TV through a data broadcasting which makes uses of an empty frequency band or a remaining channel. Viewers can collect information on what program of which broadcasting company to be broadcast not only on the day but also after a week. Conventional technologies which provide an EPG, however, are only available to one person at a time, and unable to provide various additional information related to contents such as TV programs.

[7]

Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem

[8] The object of the present invention is to provide a system and a method for using the system, of which a playing unit, which receives and plays contents such as motion pictures, still images, and audio signals, has a storage device and a transmission device to transmit the information stored in the storage device to a terminal device; and the contents include additional information which is to be stored in the storage device, thereby enabling a user of the contents like motion pictures, still images, and audio signals, which are received by the playing unit, to be guided with the additional information of the contents.

[9]

Technical Solution

[10] The above object of the present invention is accomplished by a system for transmitting information to be added to contents, which plays said contents including said additional information and transmits said additional information to a user's terminal device in order to guide the user therewith. The system comprises a playing unit to play said contents, and to extract said additional information from said contents and store it; and a terminal device to receive said additional information of contents from said playing unit, and to guide a user therewith.

[11] The above object of the present invention is also accomplished by a method for using the system, which comprises a first step of gaining said contents by a playing unit to play said contents; a second step of extracting said additional information included in said contents; a third step of storing said extracted additional information in a storage device of said playing unit; a fourth step of transmitting said stored additional information to a terminal device of a user; and a fifth step of guiding a user with said additional information received by said terminal device.

[12]

Advantageous Effects

[13] Accordingly, the present invention of a system for transmitting information to be added to contents and a method for using the same has advantageous effects in that the playing unit of the system, which gains contents including additional information thereof and plays the contents, can extract the additional information of the contents and transmit it to a terminal device of a user, thereby conveniently providing the additional information to the user.

[14] In addition, the present invention has a prominent and advantageous effect in that it can provide convenience for a user with a terminal device to receive additional information of contents, and make use of more information related to the contents through the additional information.

[15]

Brief Description of the Drawings

[16] FIG. 1 is a schemetic diagram illustrating an embodiment according to the present invention of a system for transmitting information to be added to contents, and

[17] FIG. 2 is a flowchart describing an embodiment according to the present invention of a method for using the system for transmitting information to be added to contents.

[18]

Mode for the Invention

[19] The terms and the words used in the specification and the claims should not be limitedly construed with ordinary or lexical meaning. Rather, they should be construed with the meanings and the conceptions according to the idea of the present invention, abiding by the principle that an inventor can properly define the conception of terms so as to describe his or her own invention with the best manner.

[20] While the present invention has been described with reference to particular illustrative embodiments, it is not to be restricted by the embodiments but only by the appended claims. It is to be appreciated that those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

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

[22] FIG. 1 is a schemetic diagram illustrating an embodiment according to the present invention of a system for transmitting information to be added to contents.

[23] Referring to FIG. 1, the present invention of a system for transmitting information to be added to contents comprises a playing unit 110 to play the contents, and a terminal device 120 to receive from the playing unit 110 and play the additional information of the contents such as cast, location, geography, items, pieces of music, advertisements, etc. appearing in the contents.

[24] The system according to the present invention receives contents such as motion pictures, still images, and audio signals from a content provider 100 such as a broadcasting station and a web server via a transmission means 101 such as the internet, cable broadcast, over-the-air broadcast, satellite broadcast, and so on, or gains such contents in a content provider 100 such as a DVD, a CD, a video tape, and the like. The contents according to an embodiment of the present invention include additional information of contents to be stored in a storage device 113, and more desirably, further include control signals to control the storage device 113.

[25] The playing unit 110 is a means to play provided contents such as motion pictures, still images, and audio signals, and is preferably any one of devices such as a wired or wireless TV set, an IPTV, a set-top box, a PC, a radio, a kiosk, an electronic display board, etc. The playing unit 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a decoder 111, a controller 112, a storage device 113, and a transmission device 114: the decoder is to extract content signals which is received by the playing unit 110; the controller 112 is to extract control signals to control the storage device 113 in the playing unit 110 and information to be stored in the storage device 113 from the signals extracted by the decoder 111, and to control the storage device 113 with the control signals; the storage device 113 is to store additional information extracted from the contents; and the transmission device 114 is to transmit the additional information stored in the storage device 113 to a terminal device 120 of a user.

[26] The controller 112 extracts control signals to control the storage device 113 and additional information of contents to be stored in the storage device 113 from digital signals extracted by the decoder 111, and makes use of three modes of a write mode, a read mode, and a standby mode through the control signals, thereby writing the additional information of contents in the storage device 113, reading it, and standing by as stopping writing or reading of the storage device 113 in order not to affect a receiving device 121 of the terminal device 120 which reads the additional information in the storage device 113.

[27] The terminal device 120 according to an embodiment of the present invention is a means to guide users by receiving the additional information of contents stored in the storage device 113 of the playing unit 110, and comprises a receiving device 121 in order to receive additional information from the transmission device 114, and, more desirably, includes a device and a function to connect to mobile communication service or the internet. In addition, The terminal device 120 according to the present invention is preferably any one of terminal devices such as a moble handset, a PDA, a laptop computer, a game machine, a PMP, an MP3, a remote controller, and so on. The terminal device 120 according to the present invention can be set to store an interesting information list received from a user, and to selectively receive the additional information corresponding to the interesting information list in the midst of the additional information of contents stored in the storage device 113, thereby making it possible to exclude transmission or receiving of unnecessary additional information and guide a user with the desired information with speed. [28] In an embodiment of the system for transmitting information to be added to contents according to the present invention described above, an RFID technology can be adopted, thereby making it possible to store the additional information of contents in the storage device 113, for example, an RFID tag, and guide a user with the additional information received by an RFID reader, the receiving device 121, which is included in the terminal device 120. The present invention is not only limitted to an RFID technology, but can adopt information storage media such as a hard disc, an RAM, a flash memory and the like, or wireless transmission technology or means such as BlueTooth, IrDA, ZigBee, UWB, UPAN, and so on in storing the additional information of contents and transmitting it to the terminal device 120 to guide a user with the information.

[29] FIG. 2 is a flowchart describing an embodiment according to the present invention of a method for using the system for transmitting information to be added to contents.

[30] Referring to FIG. 2, a playing unit, which plays contents such as motion pictures, still images, and audio signals, gains the contents from a content provider such as a broadcasting station, a web server and the like by use of transmission means such as the internet, cable broadcast, over-the-air broadcast, satellite broadcast, etc. (S210). The contents, which are gained by the playing unit of the present invention of the system for transmitting information to be added to contents, include additional information related to the contents such as cast, location, geography, items, pieces of music, advertisements, etc. appearing in the contents, and more preferably, further include control signals to control the storage device where contents are recorded.

[31] The playing unit of the present invention includes a decorder, where, after the step of gaining contents, the additional information included in the contents and control signals are extracted and sampled (S220).

[32] The extracted additional information of contents is recorded in the storage device included in the playing unit (S230), and then transmitted from the transmittion device of the playing unit to the receiving device included in a terminal device of a user (S240).

[33] The additional information of contents transmitted to the terminal device is displayed on the screen of the terminal device to guide the user therewith (S250). In addition, the method for using the system for transmitting information to be added to contents, makes it possible to gain additional information of contents, when using a terminal device which is capable of providing access to a mobile communication network or the internet, by connecting with telephone numbers or website information included in the additional information through the terminal device. For example, the playing unit of TV set gains a content of a TV drama, and extracts the additional information included in the content such as the cast, the items, the goods, the pieces of music, etc., and transmits it to a mobile handset, the terminal device of a user, thereby guiding the user with the additional information. The user can gain the additional information of the drama by use of the mobile handset's function of wireless internet connection through the website address included in the additional information, and purchase a piece of specific goods appearing in the drama on the spot when desiring to.

[34] Hereinafter follows a description referring to an embodiment of TV home shopping according to the present invention by using the system for transmitting information to be added to contents. In the trends of conventional home shopping, telephone numbers of the call center for ordering appear in a part of the screen during the advertisement, and then a buyer calls to the corresponding number to order an item. However, in an embodiment of the present invention, when additional information related to a product such as the product number or the telephone number is released with the content of TV video signal, a playing unit such as a TV receiver device or a set-top box, which receives the content, extracts the additional information and the video signal, writes the additional information in an installed storage device through the controller included in the playing unit (the write mode), checks whether the additional information is written properly (the read mode), and stands-by as stopping the operation in order for a terminal device of a user to receive the written additional information (the standby mode). Therefore, while the advertisement is going on, the additional information related to the product on being advertised remains as written in the storage device installed in the playing unit.

[35] At this time, when a user tries to consult the additional information about the product or to buy the product, the transmission device included in the playing unit transmits the additional information to the receiving device included in user's terminal device. The terminal device reads the additional information and guides the user therewith through the screen of the terminal device. When the terminal device has a function to provide access to a mobile communication network, the terminal device is capable of carrying out an order of a product at once by use of the telephone number included in the additional information; when the terminal device has a function to provide access to the wired or wireless internet, the terminal device is capable of carrying out an order of a product at once by use of the website address of the product seller. In addition, when the terminal device of the present invention of the system for transmitting information to be added to contents is a TV remote controller, it reads configuration information of the TV receiver device, and displays it to the user.

[36] Referring to another embodiment according to the present invention of the system for transmitting information to be added to contents, while a playing unit such as DVD, VCR, and so on plays a content of a motion picture such as VOD, the playing unit extracts additional information of the content such as the cast, the synopsis, the items, and the like appearing in the content such as a movie, a drama, etc. and transmits the additional information to user's terminal device. The user can refer to the additional information through the terminal device to purchase the items or the products that are carried by the cast. Let us say that the content is a DVD. When a playing unit plays the DVD, the additional information, which is synchronized with the motion picture of the DVD title to be included in the title, is decoded to be stored in a storage device in the playing unit, and is transmitted to a receiving device of a terminal device of a user to guide the user.

[37] Referring to still another embodiment according to the present invention of the system for transmitting information to be added to contents, when being applied in a movie theater, additional information such as clothing, accessaries, food, restaurants, etc. appearing in a movie can be synchronized with the movie clip showing in the theater, and written in a storage device in an information release device (a storage device and a transmission device), which is equipped in various places in the theater. A user who has a terminal device including a receiving device can receive the information by use of the receiving device to check the additional information of a movie and buy items at once when necessary. This embodiment can be applied not only to a movie theater, but also to most public places such as sports stadiums, stock markets, parking lots, shopping centers, entertainment complexes, and so on, thereby providing a means for release of useful information.

[38] The embodiment described above according to the present invention of the system for transmitting information to be added to contents, can be applied with an RFID technology for information transmission, by storing additional information extracted from the contents together with an RFID tag in a playing unit, and transmitting the additional information to an RFID reader included in a terminal device in order to guide a user with the additional information of contents. The present invention is not only limited thereto, but can make use of wireless communication technology such as Bluetooth, ZigBee, IrDA, and the like.

[39] Although the present invention has been described with reference to several preferred embodiments, the description is illustrative of the invention and is not to be construed as limiting the invention. Various modifications and variations may occur to those skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

[1] A system for transmitting information to be added to contents, which plays said contents including said additional information and transmits said additional information to a terminal device of a user in order to guide the user, comprising: a playing unit to play said contents, and to extract said additional information from said contents and store it therein; and a terminal device to receive said additional information of contents from said playing unit, and to guide a user therewith.

[2] The system for transmitting information to be added to contents of claim 1, wherein said playing unit includes: a decoder to extract said additional information from said contents; a storage device to store said additional information therein; and a transmission device to transmit said additional information stored in said storage device to said terminal device.

[3] The system for transmitting information to be added to contents of claim 2, wherein said contents include control signals to control said storage device; and said playing unit further includes a controller to control said storage device by use of said control signals.

[4] The system for transmitting information to be added to contents of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said playing unit is any one of a group consisting of a wired or wireless TV set, an IPTV, a set-top box, a PC, a radio, a kiosk, or an electronic display board.

[5] The system for transmitting information to be added to contents of claim 2, wherein said terminal device includes a receiving device to receive said additional information from said transmission device.

[6] The system for transmitting information to be added to contents of claim 5, wherein said terminal device is any one of a group consisting of a moble handset, a PDA, a laptop computer, a game machine, a PMP, an MP3, or a remote controller.

[7] The system for transmitting information to be added to contents of claim 5, wherein said terminal device further includes a device to connect to a mobile communication network or the internet.

[8] The system for transmitting information to be added to contents of claim 5, wherein said storage device of said playing unit is an RFID tag; and said terminal device is an RFID reader.

[9] A method for using the system for transmitting information to be added to contents, comprising: a first step of gaining said contents by a playing unit to play said contents; a second step of extracting said additional information included in said contents; a third step of storing said extracted additional information in a storage device of said playing unit; a fourth step of transmitting said stored additional information to a terminal device of a user; and a fifth step of guiding a user with said additional information received by said terminal device. [10] The method for using the system of claim 9, wherein said first step is to gain said contents from a content provider such as a broadcasting station or a web server by use of a transmission means such as the internet, cable broadcast, over-the-air broadcast, satellite broadcast, or mobile communication. [11] The method for using the system of claim 9, wherein said fourth step is to transmit said additional information to said terminal device by use of any one of a group consisting of RFID, BlueTooth, IrDA, ZigBee, UWB, or UPAN. [12] The method for using the system of claim 9, further comprising, after said fifth step, a step of gaining more information about said contents by connecting said terminal device to mobile communication service or the internet through said additional information. [13] The method for using the system of claim 9, wherein said terminal device of said fourth step only receives selected additional information corresponding to a interesting information list in the midst of said additional information by setting said interesing information list of a user in advance.