KR100462144B1 - Control box system for a PC - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a control box system for manipulating the use of a dedicated browser with a remote controller that can conveniently access the contents of a specific website by accessing the Internet without using a keyboard or a mouse of a PC. Such a system of the present invention is equipped with a dedicated browser and driving software for driving a control box to connect a control box to a specific site at the time of initial installation so that a unique number and subscriber information can be registered at the site, and the control box and the PC communicate with each other. If a request signal is received from the control box, a request is made to log in to the server, and if a login is approved, a personal computer and monitor configured to drive a dedicated browser, a remote control, and a personal computer are received to communicate with the personal computer when a signal from the remote control is received. When the unique code request signal is received from the personal computer, a preset unique code is provided and the control box operates normally when the driving permission signal is received from the personal computer.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the user can easily use the contents even if they do not know how to use the Internet or a computer because the operation is extremely simple.

Description

Control box system for operating a dedicated browser with a remote control

The present invention relates to a control box system for manipulating the use of a dedicated browser with a remote controller that can conveniently access the contents of a specific website by accessing the Internet without using a keyboard or a mouse of a PC.

In recent years, as the use of the Internet has become more common, Internet access using a personal computer (PC) has become commonplace, while a television set-top for accessing the Internet through a television, a central medium of home culture, to use various services and contents The supply of boxes is gradually increasing.

The conventional TV set-top box is connected to a specific server by built-in software and receives a service through this server. However, the TV set-top box is basically designed to allow a user to navigate an Internet site arbitrarily by embedding an Internet browser.

On the other hand, services currently provided through the Internet have a structure in which a user can select a content provider (CP) for the browser. In such a structure, the content provider (CP) registers the content on the site and the user accesses it. There is no choice but to be passive.

As Internet users are nearing saturation as of today, the increase in content providers has resulted in a relative decline in these market sizes and fierce competition among operators.

Therefore, if there is a way that the content provider (CP) can exclusively supply his or her contents to the Internet users when operating the remote control so that the PC monitor can be used in the same concept as the TV, by reversing this structure, You can do it.

In the present invention, when using a keyboard or mouse to meet the above needs, the user can surf the web arbitrarily after connecting to the Internet as in a normal personal computer (PC). Its purpose is to provide a control box system for manipulating the use of a dedicated browser with a remote control that automatically connects only (CP) and makes it easy to use the Internet.

1 is a block diagram showing an entire network configuration to which the present invention is applied,

2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control box system according to the present invention;

3 is a flowchart illustrating a content providing procedure according to the present invention;

4 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure performed by software of a control box according to the present invention;

5 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure performed by a control box driving software of a PC according to the present invention;

6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure performed by a server according to the present invention;

7 is an example of a dedicated browser screen according to the present invention.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

104: remote control 110: control box

111: microprocessor 112: RS232C driver / USB

114: buffer 121: infrared sensor

122,123: LED 130: PC

131: motherboard 132: video card

133: sound card 134: serial port

136: operating system 137: dedicated browser

140: content provider (CP) 142: web server

144: database

In order to achieve the above object, the system of the present invention is equipped with a driving software for driving a dedicated browser and a control box in a user PC. And a personal computer configured to perform a data communication with the control box and receive a driving request signal from the control box, request a login to the server, and then operate a dedicated browser when the login is approved. Characterized in that composed of input means (for example, a remote control).

In addition, in order to achieve the above object, the method of the present invention, in a system in which a personal computer can be connected only to a specific content site via the Internet, at the time of initial installation the unique code and subscriber information embedded in the control box the content Registering at the providing site; When the control box receives a signal requesting the operation from the input means, the communication step with the personal computer to transmit and request the unique number, the personal computer accessing the site to transmit the unique number and subscriber information Comparing the received information with the registered information and allowing login; And when the personal computer receives the login permission from the site, driving the dedicated browser to display the initial screen on the PC monitor.

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

1 is a block diagram showing the overall network configuration according to the present invention, the control box 110 is connected to the Internet 108 through a personal computer 130, the Internet 108 exclusively in accordance with the present invention The content provider 140 for providing the content is connected. According to the present invention, the control box 110 for watching Internet TV or various contents by remote wireless input means (remote control) such as a TV by using the PC 130 may be implemented as a monitor or a PC, but usually a personal computer. It is preferable to be implemented as a detachable type connected to the side (130), in this case the control box 110 and the personal computer 130 is connected via a cable.

Referring to FIG. 1, the control box 110 includes a microprocessor (111 in FIG. 2) for communication control with a personal computer 130 connected to a serial port or a USB port of a PC 130 as described below. When receiving a power on (PWR ON) signal by the remote control transmits the drive request to the personal computer 130, and when a unique code request is received from the PC 130, it transmits a pre-built 'unique code',

The personal computer (PC: 130) includes a hardware including a main board 131, a video card (VGA: 132), a sound card 133, and a serial communication port 134, and a drive for driving the control box 110. The control box drive software 135, an operating system (O / S: 136), and a dedicated browser 137 for accessing only a specific site through the control box 110 are provided. Drive request), read the unique code in the control box 110 to access the server 142 via the Internet 108 and then send login information (eg, unique code and subscriber ID, password, etc.) If a login is requested and a login is approved from the server 142, a dedicated browser screen is displayed on the monitor.

The content provider 140 includes a web server 142 and a database 144 to store unique codes and subscriber information (eg, subscriber id, password, address, name, social security number, contact information, etc.) of each control box user. 144 to manage the subscriber, and if the login (log-in) is requested from the control box drive program 137 of the personal computer 130, check the unique code and subscriber information registered in the database 144 at the time of initial registration Approve the login. After logging in, a basic web page (FIG. 7) is provided, a menu and a link for selecting various contents are provided, and contents selected by the user are provided. At this time, if the provided content is paid, the charge is processed.

As such, according to the present invention, the control box 110 operates only by the control box driving software 135 of the personal computer 130, and the control box driving software 135 supplies the unique number when the control box 110 requests the driving. After reading and checking the content provider 140 and allowing the driving only when approved, and allowing a specific content provider 140 to be accessed through the dedicated browser 137, the content is exclusively used while the control box 110 is used. Can provide.

2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control box according to the present invention, the control box 110 of the present invention is a microprocessor 111 and RS-232C driver or USB driver 112, infrared sensor 121, Status LED 122, and cable connection connectors (not shown).

2, the microprocessor 111 is connected to the serial port 134 of the PC via the Rx, Tx, and Control signal line via the RS232C driver 112 to communicate according to a predetermined protocol or to communicate according to the USB protocol. After receiving the operation signal of the remote controller 104 through the infrared sensor 121, it is decoded and transmitted to the PC 130 in a predetermined format. When the power is turned on, the power LED 123 is turned on to indicate that power is applied, and the operation state is displayed on the status LED 122. In the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the infrared sensor has been described as a remote controller, but an RF sensor may be used.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a content providing procedure according to the present invention, and illustrates an operation procedure between a remote controller 104, a control box 110, a PC 130, and a server 140 operated by a user.

3, the control box 110 is connected to the PC 130 serial port or the USB port at the time of initial installation, and then the control box driving software 135 and the dedicated browser 136 are installed on the PC 130 ( install).

Subsequently, by operating the control box driving software 135 and requesting a unique code (IDcode) while communicating with the control box 110 through the serial communication port or USB port 134, and receives a unique code from the control box 110 After accessing the server 142, a unique code and subscriber information (User Information) are input and registered (S1 to S4). At this time, the 'unique number' is a unique value (e.g., 12 digits) stored in the EPIROM inside the microprocessor 111 at the time of manufacturing the control box 110, the subscriber information is the control box buyer (content user) The subscriber ID, password, address, name, social security number, contact information, etc., entered for registration after accessing the server 142 of the content provider 140. This information provided to the server 142 at the time of initial subscription is stored in the database 144 and used for subscriber management (authentication and billing, etc.).

When the user (subscriber) operates the power button (PWR ON) of the remote controller 104 to use the content after the subscription is completed as described above, the signal is transmitted to the microprocessor 111 of the control box through the infrared sensor 121. The microprocessor 111 interprets this and transmits the driving request signal to the PC 130 (S5 and S6).

When the PC 130 receives a driving request signal from the control box 110, the PC 130 turns on the PC 130 and executes the control box driving software 135 to serially output a unique code request command (Idcode req) to the control box 110. The port or USB port 134 is transmitted, and when a unique code is received from the control box 110, the unique code, ID and password and other information required for login is transmitted to the server 142 (S7 ~ S10). In this case, in order to be able to control the on / off of the PC 130 through the control box 110, means for controlling the PC power should be provided.

When the server 142 receives the login information from the PC 130 and compares it with the registered information stored in the database 144, the server 142 transmits a Permit Login to the PC 130 and accordingly, the PC ( 130 drives a dedicated browser 137 for viewing content (S11 to S17). When the dedicated browser 137 is driven, the login web site page is displayed on the monitor screen.

On the other hand, when the user sees the basic menu screen of the PC monitor, and operates the menu keys or the up, down, left, right direction keys of the remote control 104, the control box 110 receives and interprets them and forwards them to the personal computer 130. In addition, the personal computer 130 transmits this signal to the server 142 so that the user can select the desired content (S18 to S23). In this case, unlike the general Internet browser, the screen provided by the dedicated browser 137 does not have an address input window for surfing the web, so that only the exclusive content site provided by default is not accessible. In addition, since the menu is selected in the screen provided by the server 142, no complicated input device such as a wireless keyboard or a wireless mouse is required, and only a very simple key such as a power key (PWR), a menu key, an up, down, left and right arrow keys is provided. Since the remote controller 104 can be easily operated, the Internet contents can be easily used by those who are not familiar with the Internet or computers. In addition, if the content selected by the user is paid, billing is started in accordance with a predetermined agreement.

When the user operates the remote controller 104 to turn off the power, the control box 110 transmits an off request signal to the PC 130, and the PC 130 receives the off request signal from the server 142. In addition to transmitting a signal to request a logout to the PC 130 is automatically turned off (S24 ~ S30).

4 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure performed by the software of the main control box according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, when the power is turned on, the control box 110 executes software embedded in the microprocessor 111 to perform self-diagnosis and initialization procedures, and waits for event generation (401 to 403). . At this time, the LED (122,123) indicating the operating state indicating the power-on state is turned on to display the operating state to the user.

When the control box ON signal is received from the remote controller 104 through the infrared sensor 121 in the air, a driving request signal is transmitted to the PC 130 (406, 407), and a code request signal is transmitted from the PC 130. When received, the unique code is transmitted to the PC 130 (404 and 405). When the power-off signal is received, the power-off request signal is transmitted to the PC 130 (410, 411). When the power off is allowed, the control box enters the standby mode (412, 413).

5 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure performed by the control box driving software of the PC according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the control box driving software 135 of the personal computer requests a unique code from the control box 110 in the case of the first installation, and then receives a unique code after connecting to the server 142. Register by entering subscriber information (501 ~ 505).

When the driving request signal is received from the control box 110 after the registration is completed, the control box driving software 135 is executed after the wake-up, and the control box 110 requests a unique code (507 to 509).

When the unique code is received, the server 142 requests the login by transmitting login information such as a unique code, a subscriber ID, and a password (510 to 512).

If the login is allowed from the server 142, the dedicated browser 137 may be driven to view the contents provided by the content provider 140 (513 to 515).

When the off request signal is received from the control box 110, the server 142 connects to request a logout, transmits an off permission signal to the control box 110, and turns off the PC 519 (516 ~). If a timer interrupt occurs, the connection status of the dedicated browser is checked (520, 521).

6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure performed by a server according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, when an arbitrary PC 130 is connected, information required for registration, for example, a unique code, personal information of a subscriber, an ID, a password, and the like, is registered in the database 144 when the first PC is connected (601, 602). ).

If you request to log in after registration, the login information, that is, the unique code, subscriber ID, password, etc., which are transmitted at the time of login is compared with the registered information, and the login is allowed, and if it does not match, the login is not allowed (603,604). ).

If the login is successful, a default web page is provided to allow content selection (605, 606). When the user selects the content, the corresponding content is provided, and when the user pays, the billing starts according to a predetermined method (607, 608). If the logout is requested, the content is stopped, the logout is processed, and the billing is terminated (609, 610).

7 is an example of a dedicated browser screen according to the present invention, which is an example of a basic screen that appears after logging into the exclusive content provider 140 through a control box.

Referring to FIG. 7, an item type (DVD, VOD, My Video, Movie of the Day) is displayed on the upper right side of the screen, and a title selectable with the up / down keys is displayed on the right side of the screen, and the left and right arrow keys are partially displayed. A screen for selecting a channel or the like is displayed.

As described above, the dedicated browser according to the present invention blocks the internet surfing path and provides only a simple link setting menu, thereby restricting the user from accessing other sites on the Internet. Because it can be found only by itself, the operation is extremely easy.

As described above, according to the present invention, by using a monitor of a personal computer as a TV screen, it is possible to select and watch various specific contents provided on the Internet using only the remote controller.

By using this feature, after the content provider divides the control box according to the present invention to the general provider free of charge or at a very low cost, the user exclusively provides the content when using the system of the present invention with a remote controller. Since the stability of the business can be guaranteed and the operation is extremely simple from the user's point of view, the content can be easily used even if the user does not know how to use the Internet or a computer. In addition, since a unique number is embedded in the control box, and a unique number and subscriber ID (id) or password are used together at the time of authentication at the server and the PC, it is possible to prevent unauthorized use of the bill due to theft or loss of the control box. Can be.

Claims (7)

Equipped with a dedicated browser and driving software for driving the control box, the control box is connected to a specific site during the initial installation to register a unique number and subscriber information on the site, and the control box and the PC communicate with each other to drive from the control box. A personal computer configured to request a login to the server when a request signal is received, and to drive a dedicated browser when login is approved; A remote control unit having an on / off button and up, down, left and right moving buttons for the user to operate the web through a control box; And A sensing sensor for receiving a control signal of the remote controller, a communication driver for connecting to the personal computer, and a microprocessor for interpreting the operation signal from the detection sensor and transmitting it to the personal computer through the communication driver. When a signal from the remote control is received, the controller communicates with the personal computer to request driving, and when a unique code request signal is received from the personal computer, a preset unique code is provided, and when a driving permission signal is received from the personal computer, Control box system for manipulating the use of a dedicated browser with a remote control, characterized in that consisting of a control box that operates. delete The method of claim 1, wherein the detection sensor Control box system for manipulating the use of a dedicated browser with a remote control, characterized in that either infrared sensor or RF sensor. delete delete delete delete