Abstract:
A kiosk system centrally controlled through the Internet includes a database for storing public information and advertisement image, a server for reading the public information and the advertisement image stored in the database according to a preset timing schedule and transmitting them through the Internet, and a plurality of kiosks for receiving the public information and the advertisement image from the server through the Internet, a broadcast signal through wireless channels from broadcasting stations, and displaying the advertisement image together with the broadcasting image such that the advertisement image is movably floating along a preset path on the broadcasting image.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to a kiosk system, and more particularly to a kiosk system for centrally controlling a plurality of kiosks through a public network such as Internet.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Prior Art  
           [0004]    Typically, kiosks are installed public places such as bus terminals, airports, and etc. where the public is gathered so as to provide public with various information such as travel information, commercial advertisement, and etc.  
           [0005]    However, the conventional kiosks are limited in that they can perform very limited functions. For example, the conventional kiosks may simultaneously provide television broadcasting and public information-providing services, commercial advertisement and public information-providing services, Internet access, or only public information-providing service.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    The present invention has been made in an effort to solve the above problems.  
           [0007]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a kiosk system capable of interactively providing users with various information by the kiosks communicating with a server through a public network such as Internet.  
           [0008]    It is another object of the present invention to provide a kiosk system capable of remotely controlling the kiosk terminals by a remote central server so as to effectively providing the users with various kinds of functions and services such as commercial advertisement, television broadcasting, VOD advertisement, public information, and Internet access services.  
           [0009]    It is still another object of the present invention to provide a kiosk system capable of providing various services on respective display screens such that the commercial advertisement and television broadcasting services are provided on one screen, and VOD advertisement, public information, and Internet access services are provided on at least one other screed.  
           [0010]    It is still another object of the present invention to provide a kiosk system capable of displaying a broadcasting image received through wireless channel on a screen of the kiosk together with overlapped motion graphic user interface advertisements, broadcasting channel information, user selectable advertisement, public information, and Internet access information in a predetermined order.  
           [0011]    It is still another object of the present invention to provide a kiosk system allowing users to input instructions by adopting touch screen mechanism so as to interactively provide the user with various services.  
           [0012]    To achieve the above objects, the kiosk system of the present invention comprises a database for storing public information and advertisement image, a server for reading the public information and the advertisement image stored in the database according to a preset timing schedule and transmitting them through the Internet, and a plurality of kiosks for receiving the public information and the advertisement image from the server through the Internet, a broadcast signal through wireless channels from broadcasting stations, and displaying the advertisement image together with television broadcasting image on a monitor, such that the advertisement image is movably floating along a preset path on the broadcasting image. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]    The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a kiosk system according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a kiosk of the kiosk system of this invention;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 3 is a view showing the construction of a data frame transmitted between a server and each kiosk of this invention;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIGS. 4 a  to  4   d  are views showing a divided screen for simultaneously displaying a broadcast program coordinated with an advertisement signal using a screen division process on the advertisement monitor of this invention;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 5 is a view showing a screen for displaying an advertisement signal overlapped on a broadcast program on an advertisement monitor of this invention; and  
         [0019]    [0019]FIGS. 6 a  and  6   b  are flowcharts showing the operations of the kiosk of this invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0020]    [0020]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a kiosk system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a kiosk of the kiosk system. Referring to FIG. 1, the kiosk system comprises a server system  100  and a plurality of kiosks  300  communicating with the server system  100  through the Internet  500 .  
         [0021]    The server system  100  includes a database  120  and a server  400 . The database  120  stores a variety of data such as a text files, a video clips, and graphic files for public information, and a plurality of advertisement clips. The server  140  communicates with each kiosk  300  through the Internet  500 . The server  140  also transmits the public information and the advertisement clips stored in the database  120  to the kiosk  300  in units of frames. The public information and the advertisement clips can be deleted and updated, and the update information can be displayed on the screen of the kiosk  300  according to a predetermined schedule, for example, in one time per day.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 3 is a view showing the data frame communicating between the server system  100  and kiosks  300 .  
         [0023]    Referring to FIG. 3, the data frame consists of frame start field  210 , frame code field  220 , destination address  230 , destination address field  240 , transmission time field  250 , frame length field  260 , data end field  270 , and a longitudinal redundancy check (LRC) field  280 .  
         [0024]    The frame start field  210  is 1 byte and indicates start point of the frame, and the frame code field  220  is 5 bytes and indicates a kind of the frame such as input, output, delete, update, and channel signals. The destination address field  230  is 8 bytes and indicates the address of the frame destination, and the transmission time field  240  is 12 bytes and indicates the transmission time of the frame. The frame length field  250  is 6 bytes and indicates the length of the data, and the data field  260  following the frame length field  250  has variable length according to the data to be transmitted. The frame end field  270  is 1 byte and indicates the end of the frame, and the LRC field  280  is 1 byte for detecting data transmission errors in the frame.  
         [0025]    Referring to FIG. 1, the kiosk  300  includes a touch screen  310 , a network interface unit  320 , a storage unit  330 , a public information monitor  340 , a first controller  350 , a television reception card  410 , an advertisement monitor  420 , and a second controller  430 .  
         [0026]    As shown in FIG. 2, the kiosk  300  comprises a main body  460  having a shape of a rectangular column with a frontward projected lower portion. The kiosk  300  is provided with the public information monitor  340  and advertisement monitor  420  at respective upper and lower portions of a front wall thereof. The touch screen  310  is arranged at the upper surface of the projected lower portion of the main body  460  perpendicularly adjacent to the lower side of the advertisement monitor  420 .  
         [0027]    Referring to FIG. 1 again, the touch screen  310  displays a graphic user interface listing a plurality of selection items in order for the user to select an item by touching the item on the touch screen  310  under control of the first controller  350 . That is, the touch screen  310  displays information items such as travel schedules road maps, and etc. such that detail information on each item is displayed on the public information monitor  340  when the item is selected, and displays television broadcasting channel and sound volume buttons enabling the user to select a channel and to adjust sound volume of the motion graphic user interface displaying on the advertisement monitor  420 .  
         [0028]    If the channel or volume button is selected by the user, a selection signal is generated and transmitted to the first controller  350  so as to change channel or adjust sound volume.  
         [0029]    The network interface unit  320  includes a networking means like a modem for enabling the kiosk  300  so as to communicate with the server system  100  through the Internet  500 The data received from the server system  100  are temporally stored in the storage unit  330  such as a RAM or a hard disc under control of the first controller  350 .  
         [0030]    The public information monitor  340  is used for displaying the information retrieved from the storage unit  330  in response to the user&#39;s item selection on the touch screen  310  under the control of the first controller  350 .  
         [0031]    The first controller  350  controls the touch screen  310  so as to display the various public information items and the channel and volume adjusting buttons on the touch screen  310 , receives the user input signal from the touch screen  310 , and performs an operation in response to the user input signal. Further, the first controller  350  communicates with the server system  100  through the network interface unit  320  over the Internet  500 . The first controller  350  further controls the public information monitor  340  to display various commercial advertisement and public information provided from the server system  100 .  
         [0032]    The television reception card  410  typically has a tuner (not shown) and a memory (not shown). The card  410  receives a broadcasting signal from a broadcast source such as a broadcast station through a transmission channel under the control of the second controller  430 . The received broadcasting signal is an analog signal such that the analog signal is converted into a digital signal for a personal computer (PC) by the television reception card  410 . The digital television signal is temporarily stored in the video memory  440 .  
         [0033]    The digital television signal stored in the video memory  440  is coordinated with advertisement signal from the storage unit  330  to be displayed on the advertisement monitor  420  under the control of a graphic controller  450 .  
         [0034]    The advertisement monitor  420  is used as a PC monitor for displaying the signal coordinated by the video memory  440  under the control of the graphic controller  450 .  
         [0035]    [0035]FIGS. 4 a  to  4   d  are views showing a divided screen for simultaneously displaying the broadcasting signal coordinated with the advertisement signal through a screen division process on the advertisement monitor  420 .  
         [0036]    As shown in FIGS. 4 a  to  4   d , the graphic controller  450  controls such that the advertisement screen simultaneously displays two or more images on the screen divided into two or more frames through the screen division process, such that a main frame displays the digital television signal and the others displays advertisements. For example, in the advertisement monitor  420  of FIG. 4 a , the screen with a resolution of 1280*1024 is divided into two frames with resolutions of 960*1024 and 320*1024, respectively. Referring to FIG. 4 b , the screen with a resolution of 1280*1024 is divided into three frames with resolutions of 1280*256, 1280*512, and 1280*256, respectively. Referring to FIG. 4 c , the screen with a resolution of 1280*1024 is divided into three frames with resolutions of 960*768, 320*768, and 1280*256, respectively. Referring to FIG. 4 d , the screen divided into two frames with respective resolutions of 1280*768 and 1280*256 displays the television broadcasting signal on the upper frame and the advertisement signal on the lower frame at the same time. For dividing the screen of the advertisement monitor  420 , the graphic controller  450  controls the television reception card  410  such that the television reception card  410  adjusts horizontal and vertical resolutions of the digital television signal and advertisement signal from the storage unit  330 . The resolution-adjusted television and the advertisement signals are stored in the video memory  440 . Thereby, the television broadcasting signal coordinated with the advertisement signal can be displayed on the monitor  420  as shown in FIG. 4 d . In FIGS. 4 a  to  4   d , the screen of the monitor  420  is divided into two or three frames as examples, however, the screen can be divided into more frames without affecting the functioning of this invention.  
         [0037]    [0037]FIG. 5 is an exemplary view of a screen for illustrating how the advertisement signal is overlapped with the broadcasting image on the monitor  420 . Referring to FIG. 5, characters are displayed with the television broadcasting image displayed on a full screen or divided screen of the monitor  420  of FIG. 4, and the advertisement image can be a specific character, a logo, or a mark. The overlapped advertisement image can be set so as to move along a predetermined path by drawing a shape of circle or zigzag on the television broadcasting image. Such an overlapping technique, as is well known in the field, can be obtained by inserting video characters of the advertisement signal in any parts of the horizontal and vertical lines of the digital television signal which is stored in the video memory  440 , and varying x and y coordinates of the inserted horizontal and vertical lines according to the preset path. In this case, the overlapping technique is regarded to be progressed by one step from a conventional advertisement just displayed on a monitor. In the overlapped advertisement image, a predetermined character appears at any one side or at the center of the screen to display a desired advertisement image, and then disappears from the screen, during a watching of various broadcast channels by the user. Thereby, the user experiences an enhanced advertising effect, and is not bored by the advertisement image.  
         [0038]    The second controller  430 , which can be realized as a microcomputer similarly to the first controller  350 , controls the television reception card  410  so as to change transmission channel to receive a broadcasting image of a desired broadcasting channel, and to adjust the volume level of the received broadcasting channel, in response to the channel and volume adjusting signal received from the first controller  350 . Further, the second controller  430  controls the graphic controller  450  to coordinate the broadcasting image received through the television reception card  410  with the advertisement image or characters from the storage unit  330  in the video memory so as to display the coordinated image on the advertisement monitor  420 .  
         [0039]    The operation of the above-structured kiosk system will be described in detail in accompanying with FIGS. 6 a  and  6   b  hereinafter.  
         [0040]    [0040]FIGS. 6 a  and  6   b  are flowcharts illustrating the respective control processes of the first and second controllers  350  and  430 .  
         [0041]    Referring to FIGS. 6 a  and  6   b , the control operation performed in the state of receiving the public information and the advertising file according to the timing schedule preset by the server system  100  through the Internet  500  is described.  
         [0042]    Referring to FIG. 6 a , the first controller  350  receives the user input signal generated by the touch screen  310  and determines whether the user input signal is related to the public information or the television broadcasting at step  510 . If it is determined that the user input signal is related to the public information, the first controller  350  retrieves in the storage unit  330  for retrieving requested information at step  520  and displays the retrieved public information on the public information monitor  340  at step  530 .  
         [0043]    On the other hand, if it is determined the user input signal is related to a television manipulation, for example, a channel and volume adjustment at step  510 , the first controller  350  transmits the user input signal to the second controller  430  at step  540 .  
         [0044]    Referring to FIG. 6 b , the second controller  430  initializes the television reception card  410  when the system is powered on at step  550 , and then determines whether or not the user input signal related to the television manipulation has been received from the first controller  350  at step  560 . If it is determined that the user input signal related to the television manipulation is not received, the second controller  430  controls such that the advertisement image from the server system  100  and the broadcasting image from the television reception card  410  through the previously selected (or tuned) channel are transmitted to the video memory  440  at step  570 .  
         [0045]    Next, the broadcasting image and the advertisement image stored in the video memory  440  are coordinated together through the screen division process under the control of the graphic controller  450  at step  580 . Consequently, the coordinated screen is displayed on the monitor  420  at step  600 .  
         [0046]    At step  560 , if the television manipulation signal such as channel and volume adjusting signal is received from the first controller  350 , the second controller  430  controls the television reception card  410  so as to change the channel or adjust the volume according to the user&#39;s manipulation at step  590 . In this case, the broadcasting image received through the changed channel is coordinated with the advertisement signal at step  580 , and is displayed on the divided screen of the monitor  420 .  
         [0047]    As described above, the present invention provides a kiosk system for simultaneously centrally controlling a plurality of kiosks through the Internet. The present invention is advantageous in that the kiosks with a plurality of monitors make it possible to display the public information on one monitor, and at the same time, display a television broadcasting image together with an advertisement image on another monitor. The kiosk system employing the coordinated displaying technique according to the present invention is advantageous in that it allows the user to concentrate on one monitor, thus maximizing an advertising effect through the user&#39;s concentration on the monitor relative to the conventional kiosk system having two separate monitors as a television monitor and an advertisement monitor that disperses user&#39;s attention.  
         [0048]    Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail hereinabove, it should be clearly understood that many variations and/or modifications of the basic inventive concepts herein taught which may appear to those skilled in the present art will still fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention, as defined in the appended claims.