Abstract:
Disclosed are a community providing system, a community providing method, and a computer-readable recording medium for storing a program capable of carrying out the method. In one embodiment, community configuration items including at least one of a template and a background image of a community are provided, and corresponding URL information is sorted and stored for each user when the user specifies a desired community configuration item. A community environment to which the requested community configuration item is applied is provided after receiving the URL information on the requested community configuration item according to the request made by the user. Therefore, system usage may be increased because of the provision of various community environments where the user can show his personality through the establishment of various environments.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
   This application is a U.S. national phase application of PCT International Application No. PCT/KR2005/002510, filed Aug. 1, 2005, which claims priority of Korean Patent Application No. 2004-0060956, filed Aug. 2, 2004, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
   TECHNICAL FIELD 
   The present invention relates to a community providing system and a community providing method. More specifically, the present invention relates to a community providing system and a community providing method for providing a community environment to a plurality of user terminals connected through a network. 
   BACKGROUND 
   A community service represents a service provided on the Internet by an Internet service provider, and provides environments in which various online users can present themselves and communicate with other users. Recent community services include cafes, blogs, bulletin boards, and web-zines. 
   As the number of community service providers and community services users has increased, some users have indicated a desire to receive additional or distinctive services that may be different from the normal services. That is, the same uniform community environments, for example, title areas, post areas, link areas, and archive areas in the case of blogs have been generally provided to owners of blogs, without considering the individual needs of the blog owners. 
   If necessary, community-setting environments can be changed by modifying the whole background image of the community or setting predetermined decoration items. However, the above-described modification by the user setting process modifies only a very small part of the whole community environmental setting, and it generates effects of decorating given areas or changing background images without changing the whole layout of the community environment. 
   Therefore, the conventional art restricts differences between the communities, which may degrade users&#39; interest in visiting sites and communicating with various communities, thereby reducing improvements of service usage. 
   SUMMARY 
   It is an advantage of the present invention to provide a distinctive community environment to various users through changes of community environmental layouts. 
   It is another advantage of the present invention to provide a community environment selected and set by the user. 
   As a result, one advantage of the present invention is to provide a distinctive community environment for increasing usage of community services. 
   In one embodiment of the present invention, a community providing system for providing a community environment to user terminals connected through a network includes a goods server for storing community configuration items including at least one of a template and a background image of a community, an item shop server for specifying community configuration items, an item database for sorting and storing URL information on specified community configuration items for respective users, a bridge server for delivering URL information on the requested community configuration item from the item database when a user terminal requests the bridge server to apply a specified community configuration item, and a community server for generating a community web page to which the requested community configuration item is applied and providing the community web page to the user terminal based on the URL information on the community configuration item delivered by the bridge server. 
   The community server may further provide a cookie including URL information on the community configuration item to the user terminal, and provide a community environment based on the URL information on the community configuration item stored in the cookie when the user terminal in an access state has the cookie. 
   The community server may also delete the cookie stored in the user terminal and again receive URL information on the community configuration item from the bridge server depending on conditions. 
   The cookie may further comprise cookie expiration period information, and the community server may again receive URL information on the community configuration item from the bridge server when the cookie expiration period is passed. 
   In another embodiment of the present invention, a community providing method for providing a community environment to user terminals connected through a network includes storing community configuration items including a template and a background image of a community, specifying the community configuration item, sorting and storing URL information on the specified community configuration item for respective users, delivering URL information on the requested community configuration item when a request to apply the specified community configuration item is provided by a user terminal, and generating and providing a community web page to which the requested community configuration item is applied based on URL information on the delivered community configuration item. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  shows a schematic representation of a system configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  to  FIG. 7  show various exemplary templates applied to the community environment configuration. 
       FIG. 8  shows a flowchart for a community providing method according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 9  shows a detailed flowchart for generating and updating cookies according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   In the following detailed description, embodiments of the invention have been shown and described by way of illustration. However, the invention is capable of modification in various respects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not restrictive. To clarify the present invention, various parts which may be well known in the art are not described in the specification, and parts for which similar descriptions are provided have the same reference numerals. 
   As shown in  FIG. 1 , the community providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention is connected to a plurality of user terminals  100 - 1 ,  100 - 2 , . . . ,  100 - n  (which will all be referred to with the reference numeral of  100 ) through the network, and includes an item shop server  300 , an item database  400 , a bridge server  600 , a goods server  500 , and a community server  700 . 
   The user terminal  100  is a communication terminal for accessing the community providing system through the network  200 , and may include a variety of communication services, for example, a mobile terminal, a computer, and an Internet TV. 
   The goods server  500  stores community configuration items including at least one template and one background image of a community. 
   The template of the community represents information on the configuration with which the documents finally output to the user are displayed to the screen of the user terminal  100 . Also, the background image of the community represents information on the image that is applied to the whole community environment and is then displayed. 
   The goods server  500  stores at least one community template and background image, and can be generally configured such that the template and the background image can be added or deleted by a system manager. 
   Also, the goods server  500  can store various community configuration items for configuring other new community environments in addition to the template and the background image. 
   The item shop server  300  specifies community configuration items to be used. The specification of community configuration items can be configured in an item-buying format, and although it is not restricted only to the case of buying. The item shop server  300  presents various community configuration items that are stored in the goods server  500  and can be purchased by users. To accomplish this, the user may access the item shop server  300  and may buy a template and a background image to be used for the user&#39;s community environment configuration. 
   In this instance, the template and the background image can be individually presented so that the user may separately buy the template and the background image, or they can be presented in pairs so that the user may buy a specific template and a corresponding background image in a package. 
   The item database  400  stores URL information on the specific community configuration items bought by respective users from the item shop server  300  according to the respective users. In this instance, when a single user buys a plurality of community configuration items, for example a template and a background image, the item database  400  stores respective URL information on the template and the background image according to the purchasing user. 
   Therefore, the item database  400  stores information on the user community configuration items according to users, where each user can be associated with a plurality of community configuration item information. 
   In this instance, the URL information on the community configuration items represents information that indicates the real locations at which the item files such as the template and background image are stored, and the goods server  500  that pre-stores and manages the community configuration items can indicate the storage locations of respective files. In addition, if needed, the same server can indicate the storage locations of files when the community configuration items are duplicated and stored in another server. 
   For example, the image for configuring the community environment can be stored in the goods server  500 , and the template can be duplicated from the goods server  500  and be stored in the community server  700 . In this instance, the URL information on the template file may be the storage location of the template file in the community server  700 , and the URL information on the background image may be the storage location of the background image file in the goods server  500 . 
   When receiving a request to apply a specified community configuration item from the user terminal, the bridge server  600  receives URL information on the requested community configuration item from the item database  400  and transmits the URL information to the community server  700 . That is, when receiving a request from the community server  700 , the bridge server  600  receives URL information on the requested specific community configuration item from the item database  400 . 
   The community server  700  provides a community environment to which the community configuration item requested based on the URL information on the community configuration item transmitted from the bridge server  600  is applied. 
   That is, when the user accesses the community server  700  and requests application of the specific template and the background image bought by the user for the community environment, the community server  700  seeks URL information on the corresponding template and the background image from the bridge server  600 , generates a community web page configured with the corresponding template and the background image based on the URL information on the template and the background image transmitted by the bridge server  600 , and provides the community web page to the user terminal. 
   For example, as shown in  FIG. 2  to  FIG. 7 , when the community server  700  is a blog server, the goods server  500  stores various templates to be used for the configuration of blogs. 
   In the case of the two-column and left template shown in  FIG. 2 , the blog screen provided to the user terminal  100  is divided into two columns except for the top title area, where the left column is assigned as an area of various links and archives, and the right column is assigned as an area of posts. 
   In this instance, the archives represent documents generated in the past, and the documents from the past are provided in the format of calendars or monthly lists. Also, the posts indicate articles written in the blog sites that correspond to posted articles on the bulletin board, and may indicate all writings uploaded to the blog, documents, posted articles, and data. In the case of the two-column and right template shown in  FIG. 3 , the blog screen is divided into two columns except for the top title area, where the left column is assigned as an area for posts, and the right column is assigned as an area for various links and archives. 
   Also, in the case of the three-column template shown in  FIG. 4 , the blog screen is divided into three columns except for the top title area, where one of the left and right columns is assigned as an area for archives, the other column is assigned as an area for links, and the central column is assigned as an area for posts. 
   In addition, in the case of a vertical single-column template shown in  FIG. 5 , the blog screen has a single page except for the top title area, where the archive and link menus are minimized, and most of the page is provided for posting contents. Therefore, one of the archive and link menus can be positioned at the top of the screen and the other one at the bottom thereof, or they may both be positioned at one of the top and the bottom. 
   Further, in the case of the horizontal one-column template shown in  FIG. 6 , the user scrolls the screen in the horizontal direction to read posts while fixing the vertical length of the blog screen. In this instance, the archive and link menu components are applicable in various manners. 
   In the case of the mini homepage template shown in  FIG. 7 , sizes and layouts are controlled to be similar to those of the “homepage” service, which is a personal homepage providing service currently provided by various community service providers to aim at single posts. In this instance, the homepage service represents a service that provides an online space to users and allows the users to manage the online space. Also, since it requires no professional techniques in uploading and managing data, it is easier to manage the homepage service than the general personal homepages. 
   Positions of the title, archive, and links on the mini homepage template are designed in various manners. 
   The goods server  500  can have various template designs as well as the above-noted templates, and can store background images and various community configuration items. 
   For example, when user A accesses the item shop server  300 , selects a one-column vertical template (d) and a corresponding background image from among various templates and background images, and buys them, URL information on the storing location of the one-column vertical template (d) and the background image is stored as community configuration item buying information on user A in the item database  400 . 
   In this instance, when user A buys a template and a background image, the item database  400  stores additional buying information as community configuration item buying information in addition to the existing stored information associated with user A. 
   Next, when user A accesses the community server  700  for providing the blog service to request application of the one-column vertical template (d) and the background image through a menu for resetting blog environments, the community server  700  inquires about URL information on the requested one-column horizontal template ( 2   d  of  FIG. 2 ) and background image of the bridge server  600  and provides a blog environment based on the URL information of the requested one-column horizontal template ( 2   d  of  FIG. 2 ) and background image provided by the bridge server  600 . 
   In this instance, the URL information on the requested one-column horizontal template ( 2   d  of  FIG. 2 ) and background image may indicate an initially-stored file storing location in the goods server  500 , or the URL information on the template may indicate a file storing location in the community server  700  when the community server  700  duplicates template information from the goods server  500  and stores the same. 
   The community server  700  provides a cookie including URL information on the community configuration item to the user terminal  100 , and when the user terminal  100  has the cookie at the time of access, the community server  700  generates and provides a web page based on the URL information on the community configuration item stored in the cookie. 
   A community providing method according to the embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to  FIG. 8 . 
   In step S 100 , a community configuration item having information on templates and images to be applied to the configuration of various community environments is generated and stored. 
   In step S 101 , a user selects one of the various community configuration items provided to the user terminal  100  to specify the desired community configuration item. In this instance, the specification can be performed either in the format of the user&#39;s buying the corresponding items or by a simple selection without paying costs. 
   In step S 102 , URL information on the specified community configuration items is sorted according to users and is then stored. 
   For example, when user A selects a one-column vertical template ( FIG. 2   d ) and a corresponding background image from among various templates and background images and buys them, the one-column vertical template ( FIG. 2   d ) and the corresponding background image are specified, and corresponding URL information is stored as community configuration item buying information associated with user A. 
   Next, in steps S 103  and S 105 , when a request to apply the specific community configuration item is generated from the user terminal  100 , URL information on the corresponding item is inquired and transmitted, and a community web page to which the community configuration item requested based on the URL information is applied is generated and provided. 
   In this instance, a cookie including URL information on the community configuration item is provided to the user terminal  100  in step S 107 . When the user terminal has the cookie at the time of access, a community web page is generated and provided based on the URL information on the community configuration item stored in the cookie. 
   Therefore, the web page is quickly generated and provided since the process of inquiring URL information on the community configuration item for the purpose of generating the community web page each time the user terminal  100  is accessed is omitted. 
   A community providing method referring to the cookie will now be described in detail with reference to  FIG. 9 . 
   Referring to  FIG. 9 , when the user terminal  100  is accessed in step S 200  and the user having accessed the community server  700  requests application of a specific community configuration item to the community web page, the existing cookie is eliminated in steps S 201 , S 203 , and S 205 . 
   Newly setting the community environment by applying the specific community configuration item is allowed for the manager or a host of the corresponding community, which accordingly corresponds to the case in which, for example, a subscriber of a blog service accesses the blog. 
   In this instance, no cookie for referring to URL information on the community configuration item for generating a community web page exists, and hence, the community server  700  inquires about URL information on the requested community configuration item again in step S 207 . The community server  700  again generates a community web page to which a new template and a background image are applied based on the URL information on the received community configuration item and provides them to the user terminal  100 . In this instance, the community server  700  generates a cookie again based on the URL information and provides the cookie to the user terminal  100  in steps S 207  and S 209 . 
   For example, when a blog service subscriber accesses his blog, the community server  700  deletes the existing cookie stored in the user terminal  100 , and inquires for URL information on the template and the background image again. 
   That is, when the user accesses his community, the user receives a community web page based not on information stored in the user terminal but rather based on URL information on the community configuration item received again. Therefore, when the user accesses his community, the user can receive community environments to which recent changes are applied in no relation to the cookie information stored in the user terminal  100 . 
   When the user having accessed the community in the previous step S 201  is a visitor who does not belong to the community, the community server  700  generates a community web page and provides the same based on the URL information on the community configuration item included in the cookie stored in the user terminal  100  in steps S 211 , S 213 , and S 215 . 
   Therefore, the visitor cannot receive the new community web page when the cookie stored in the user terminal  100  of the visitor has no URL information on a new template and a background image even though the community accessed by the visitor is established with the new template and the background image by the manager or the host. 
   The cookie further includes information on a cookie expiration period. Therefore, when the expiration period of the cookie stored in the user terminal  100  is passed in the previous step S 213 , the community server  700  again inquires about URL information on the community configuration item, and generates and provides a community environment based on the URL information on the received community configuration item in step S 207  and S 209 . 
   That is, communication traffic provided to the system can be reduced since the community web page is generated and provided to the visitor in advance based on the stored cookie. In this instance, changes of the accessed community environment may not be applied. Therefore, the changes of the community environment may be controlled at regular intervals by establishing a predetermined expiration period for the cookie and controlling the URL information on the community configuration item to be inquired about again when the expiration period has passed. 
   In this instance, the web page is generated by inquiring about URL information on the community configuration item in steps S 207  and S 209  when the user terminal  100  has no cookie stored therein. 
   While this invention has been described in connection with the attached drawings, 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. 
   INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY 
   According to embodiments of the present invention, various community environments established by a user are provided, differing from the existing formalized community environment. 
   That is, various community environments are provided by modifying the whole layout through application of various templates in addition to changes in the background images for the community environment. 
   As a result, users&#39; interest is increased and service usage is improved through the provision of the different and various community environments.