U.S. patent application number 13/330247 was filed with the patent office on 2012-07-05 for system for providing advertisement information.
This patent application is currently assigned to AQ CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Jin Hwa KIM, SANG Hoon LEE.
Application Number | 20120173318 13/330247 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46381591 |
Filed Date | 2012-07-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120173318 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
LEE; SANG Hoon ; et
al. |
July 5, 2012 |
SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING ADVERTISEMENT INFORMATION
Abstract
Disclosed herein is a system for providing advertisement
information. The system includes a mobile terminal, a panel unit,
and an advertisement management server. The mobile terminal
operates in card mode in its initial stage, switches to read mode
in response to a request for mode-switching, searches for and
output AID information, and receives the data of advertisement
media using tagging. The panel unit switches from read mode in its
initial stage to card mode in response to a request for
mode-switching from the mobile terminal, outputs received
advertisement media as multimedia, and radiates and transfers the
advertisement media as data when the mobile terminal performs the
tagging. The advertisement management server searches for or create
in real time the advertisement media and outputs and provides the
advertisement media, together with a matched tag applet in response
to a request from the panel unit.
Inventors: |
LEE; SANG Hoon;
(Gyeonggi-do, KR) ; KIM; Jin Hwa; (Namyangju-si,
KR) |
Assignee: |
AQ CO., LTD.
Seoul
KR
|
Family ID: |
46381591 |
Appl. No.: |
13/330247 |
Filed: |
December 19, 2011 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
705/14.4 ;
235/375 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 20/3278 20130101;
G06F 3/04842 20130101; G06F 3/0482 20130101; G06Q 30/0241 20130101;
G06F 3/0488 20130101; G06F 3/1454 20130101; H04W 4/80 20180201;
G06Q 20/204 20130101; H04B 5/0025 20130101; G06Q 30/0267 20130101;
G06Q 90/00 20130101; H04W 76/14 20180201; H04B 5/0031 20130101;
G06F 3/0416 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/14.4 ;
235/375 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 30/02 20120101
G06Q030/02; G06F 17/00 20060101 G06F017/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jan 4, 2011 |
KR |
10-2011-0000401 |
Jan 26, 2011 |
KR |
10-2011-0007792 |
Nov 4, 2011 |
KR |
10-2011-0114483 |
Claims
1. A system for providing advertisement information, comprising: a
mobile terminal configured to operate in card mode in its initial
stage, switch to read mode in response to a request for
mode-switching, search for and output Identifier (ID) information,
and receive data of advertisement media using tagging; a panel unit
configured to send the request for mode-switching to the mobile
terminal, switch from read mode in its initial stage to card mode
in response to a request for mode-switching from the mobile
terminal, output received the advertisement media, and, radiate and
transfer the advertisement media as data when the mobile terminal
performs the tagging; and an advertisement management server
configured to search for or create in real time the advertisement
media, and output and provide the advertisement media, together
with a matched tag applet in response to a request from the panel
unit.
2. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the panel unit
comprises: a panel operation unit configured to receive the
advertisement media and the matched tag applet from the
advertisement management server and record the advertisement media
and the matched tag applet in an assigned area; and an
advertisement output unit configured to, under the control of the
panel operation unit, output the advertisement media as a
multimedia signal, radiate the matched tag applet, and radiate the
advertisement media as data when the mobile terminal tags the
radiated tag applet.
3. The system as set forth in claim 2, wherein the advertisement
output unit comprises: an output unit for outputting the
advertisement media as the multimedia signal under the control of
the panel operation unit; and an antenna unit configured to
selectively radiate the matched tag applet and the advertisement
media under the control of the panel operation unit, wherein the
antenna unit is configured to, after radiating the matched tag
applet, detect the tagging of the mobile terminal and perform
transfer of the advertisement media to the panel operation
unit.
4. The system as set forth in claim 2, wherein the panel operation
unit comprises: a process unit configured to connect to the
advertisement management server, and receive the advertisement
media provided from the advertisement management server; a tag
applet unit configured to record and store the advertisement media
and the matched tag applet in respective assigned areas under the
control of the process unit; a Near Field Communication (NFC)
controller unit configured to, when the advertisement output unit
detects the tagging of the mobile terminal, output the
advertisement media as data under the control of the process unit,
the NFC controller unit configured to, when the mobile terminal
performs the tagging, send the request for mode-switching to the
mobile terminal to switch to read mode, and switch to the card mode
after determining that the mobile terminal is switched to read
mode; and an advertisement signal processing unit configured to
output the advertisement media as the multimedia signal under the
control of the process unit.
5. The system as set forth in claim 3, wherein the output unit
comprises a plurality of output units and the antenna unit
comprises a plurality of antenna units; the plurality of output
units and the plurality of antenna units are paired into a
plurality of pairs; an output unit of each pair connects to the
panel operation unit and outputs the advertisement media; and an
antenna unit of the each pair connects to the panel operation unit,
and selectively radiates the matched tag applet and the data of the
advertisement media.
6. The system as set forth in claim 4, wherein the advertisement
signal processing unit outputs a plurality of advertisement media
at different times under the control of the process unit; and the
NFC controller unit outputs the tag applet which is matched when
the advertisement signal processing unit outputs the advertisement
media, and outputs the data of the advertisement media if the
tagging of the mobile terminal is detected when the matched tag
applet is output.
7. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the advertisement
management server comprises: a control unit configured to receive a
signal of the request of the tag applet from the panel unit; an
advertisement radiation database (DB) unit configured to, under the
control of the control unit, create or search for the advertisement
media in real time, create the matched tag applet and transfer the
advertisement media and the matched tag applet to the panel unit;
and a tag applet database (DB) unit configured to record the
advertisement media and the tag applet matched to the advertisement
media in respective tables under the control of the control
unit.
8. The system as set forth in claim 7, wherein the advertisement
management server further comprises an advertisement tag applet
unit configured to create the tag applet under the control of the
control unit.
9. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the mobile terminal
further comprises a scanner unit configured to scan a Quick
Response (QR) code and a barcode; the panel unit further comprises
a QR code analysis unit configured to analyze the QR code, a
barcode analysis unit configured to analyze the barcode, and a code
radiation unit configured to radiate tag applets of the QR code and
the barcode; and the advertisement management server further
comprises a QR code tag applet unit configured to create the tag
applet of the QR code and a barcode tag applet unit configured to
create the tag applet of the barcode.
10. A system for providing commodity information, comprising: an
apparatus unit comprising a panel unit for capturing and displaying
an optical code of a commodity, and an operation unit for
recognizing the optical code captured by the panel unit and
converting the optical code into commodity data; and a server unit
configure to receive the commodity data transmitted by the
operation unit, convert the commodity data into a tag applet, and
transmit the tag applet to the operation unit; wherein the
operation unit records the tag applet transmitted by the server
unit, convert the tag applet into a Near Field Communication (NFC)
signal, and output the NFC signal to the panel unit; and the panel
unit transmits the tag applet to a tagging NFC mobile terminal
using NFC communication.
11. The system as set forth in claim 10, wherein the panel unit
comprises: a camera unit configured to capture the optical code
including a Quick Response (QR) code of the commodity; an output
unit configured to output and display the optical code captured by
the camera unit; and an NFC antenna unit configured to wirelessly
transmit the NFC signal output by the operation unit.
12. The system as set forth in claim 10, wherein the operation unit
comprises: an Quick Response (QR) analysis unit configured to
receive the optical code captured by the panel unit, recognize and
analyze a QR code, and convert the QR code into the commodity data;
a process unit configured to receive the commodity data from the QR
analysis unit, output the commodity data to the server unit, and
receive the tag applet from the server unit; an NFC controller unit
configured to, under the control of the process unit, convert the
tag applet into the NFC signal and output the NFC signal to the
panel unit; and a tag applet recording unit configured to record or
delete the tag applet under the control of the NFC controller
unit.
13. The system as set forth in claim 11, wherein the panel unit
further comprises a barcode scanner unit configured to scan the
optical code including a barcode of the commodity, and the
operation unit further comprises a barcode analysis unit configured
to receive the optical code from the panel unit, recognize and
analyze the barcode, and covert the barcode into commodity
data.
14. The system as set forth in claim 10, wherein the server unit
comprises: a tag applet issuance unit configured to receive the
commodity data from the operation unit and convert the commodity
data into the tag applet; a commodity information database (DB)
unit configured to receive the commodity data from the operation
unit and search for corresponding commodity information; and a
control unit configured to perform control so that the commodity
information found by the commodity information DB unit is applied
to the tag applet issuance unit and the commodity data and the
matched commodity information into the tag applet.
15. The system as set forth in claim 14, wherein the operation unit
comprises: an Quick Response (QR) analysis unit configured to
receive the optical code captured by the panel unit, recognize and
analyze a QR code, and convert the QR code into commodity data; a
process unit configured to receive the commodity data from the QR
analysis unit, output the commodity data to the server unit, and
receive the tag applet from the server unit; an NFC controller unit
configured to, under the control of the process unit, convert the
tag applet into the NFC signal and output the NFC signal to the
panel unit; a tag applet recording unit configured to record or
delete the tag applet under the control of the NFC controller unit;
and an output control unit configured to convert the tag applet
into a multimedia signal and output the multimedia signal to the
panel unit; wherein the process unit outputs the tag applet to both
the NFC controller unit and the output control unit.
16. A system for providing commodity information, comprising: an
apparatus unit comprising: a panel unit for capturing and
displaying an optical code of a commodity; and an operation unit
for recognizing the optical code captured by the panel unit,
converting the optical code into commodity data, and converting the
commodity data into a tag applet and output the tag applet to the
panel unit; and wherein the panel unit transmits the tag applet to
a tagging Near Field Communication (NFC) mobile terminal using NFC
communication.
17. The system as set forth in claim 16, further comprising a
server unit comprised of a commodity information database (DB) unit
for connecting to the operation unit and recording a plurality of
pieces of commodity information linked using link information.
18. The system as set forth in claim 16, wherein the panel unit
comprises: a camera unit configured to capture an optical code
including a Quick Response (QR) code of the commodity; an output
unit configured to output and display the optical code captured by
the camera unit, or the commodity information output by the
operation unit; and an NFC antenna unit configured to wirelessly
transmit the tag applet as an NFC signal.
19. The system as set forth in claim 16, wherein the operation unit
comprises: an QR analysis unit configured to receive the optical
code captured by the panel unit, recognize and analyze a QR code,
and convert the QR code into the commodity data; a process unit
configured to receive the commodity data from the QR analysis unit;
an NFC controller unit configured to, under the control of the
process unit, convert an applied signal into an NFC signal and
output the NFC signal to the panel unit; a tag applet recording
unit configured to record or delete the applied signal under the
control of the NFC controller unit; an output control unit
configured to convert the applied signal into a multimedia signal
and output the multimedia signal to the panel unit; and a tag
applet issuance unit configured to convert the commodity data,
provided by the process unit, into the tag applet.
20. The system as set forth in claim 19, wherein the system further
comprises a server unit, and the process unit is configured to
analyze the commodity data, separate link information from the
commodity data, and provide the link information to the server
unit.
21. The system as set forth in claim 20, wherein the server unit
comprises: a commodity information database (DB) unit configured to
search for commodity information corresponding to the link
information; and a tag applet issuance unit configured to receive
the commodity information found by the commodity information DB
unit and convert the commodity information into the tag applet.
22. The system as set forth in claim 18, wherein the panel unit
further comprises a barcode scanner unit configured to scan the
optical code including a barcode of the commodity, and the
operation unit further comprises a barcode analysis unit configured
to receive the optical code from the panel unit, recognize and
analyze the barcode, and covert the barcode into commodity
data.
23. A Near Field Communication (NFC) tag generation device,
comprising: a content output unit configured to output one or more
pieces of content, and receive a selection of content using a
user's manipulation or predetermined default setting; an operation
control unit for searching for a tag data corresponding to the
selected content; an NFC controller unit configured to set
transmission mode corresponding to the tag data; a memory unit
configured to store the content and the tag data; a communication
interface unit configured to update information about the content
or tag data with information about new content or tag data; and an
NFC antenna unit configured to transmit the tag data using NFC
communication; wherein the operation control unit transfers a
control signal requesting switching to transmission mode
corresponding to the selected content to the NFC controller
unit.
24. The NFC tag generation device as set forth in claim 23, further
comprising at least one tag recording unit for temporarily
recording tag data to be transmitted to an outside, wherein the
operation control unit transfers a recording control signal
recording the found tag data in the tag recording unit to the NFC
controller unit.
25. The NFC tag generation device as set forth in claim 24, wherein
the tag recording unit is included in one of more selected from
among the operation control unit, the NFC controller unit and the
memory unit.
26. The NFC tag generation device as set forth in any one of claim
23, wherein the content output unit comprises a touch screen; and
the content is output via the touch screen, and the content to be
transmitted is selected by touching the touch screen.
27. A Near Field Communication (NFC) tag transmission method,
comprising: outputting one or more pieces of content which can be
played back to a first terminal; selecting content to be
transmitted from among the one or more pieces of content;
activating transmission mode corresponding to the selected content;
searching for tag data corresponding to the content; establishing a
data transmission session between a second terminal and the first
terminal; and transmitting the tag data from the second terminal to
the first terminal.
28. The NFC tag transmission method of claim 27, further comprising
running an application corresponding to the transmission mode
between the activating and the searching.
29. The NFC tag transmission method of claim 27, further comprising
requesting, at the second terminal, tag data from the first
terminal between the outputting and the selecting, and the
selection of the content is performed by using a predetermined
method in response to the request from the first terminal.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION AND CLAIM OF PRIORITY
[0001] The present application claims the benefit of Korean patent
application Nos. 10-2011-0000401, 10-2011-0007792 and
10-2011-0114483 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on
Jan. 4, 2011, Jan. 26, 2011 and Nov. 4, 2011, respectively, the
entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to the provision of
information about an advertisement to a mobile terminal in the form
of data.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Advertising is to provide characteristic information about a
specific commodity or service (hereinafter referred to as the
"commodity") to potential consumers and customers in order to
promote the sales and distribution of the commodity, and
corresponds to one-way communication.
[0006] Advertising media includes a variety of media such as
wallpaper, a poster, a signboard, street facilities, a leaflet,
radio, a movie, TV, a web banner, a popup advertisement, a
magazine, a newspaper, a sticker, and a shopping cart.
[0007] However, such advertising media utilize still images, and
therefore the amounts of information to be provided are limited.
Although moving image information is utilized recently, it is
difficult to repeatedly view and analyze the moving image
information which is played.
[0008] Meanwhile, mobile terminals are communication devices which
have the advantage of being able to wirelessly connect to a mobile
communication system, and wirelessly connect to and communicate
with desired counterparties anytime and anywhere while moving. Such
mobile terminals are always carried because of the characteristic
of communication that communication may be made anytime and
anywhere, but have low utilization rate because the period for
which they are actually utilized for communication is short.
[0009] Therefore, in order to increase the utilization rate of
mobile terminals, additional functionalities, such as E-book, MP3,
camera, recorder, scanner, multimedia player, and game machine
functionalities, have been added to the mobile terminals. Recently,
mobile phones to which tablet computer functionality has been added
have been introduced under the name of smartphones. The development
of mobile phones to which functionality is added tends to
continue.
[0010] Furthermore, short-distance wireless communication
functionality, such as Bluetooth, Radio Frequency Identification
(RFID), and/or Near Field Communication (NFC), is added to mobile
terminals, and therefore the mobile phones can perform tag
functionality for managing the history information of commodities,
smartcard functionality for performing electronic payment, and/or
Peer-to-Peer (P2P) functionality for performing one-to-one
communication.
[0011] Conventional advertising media have the disadvantages of
instantaneously providing information, and being unable to review
the content of an advertisement when a person moves away from a
location where the advertisement is made. Conventional moving
image-based advertising media also have the disadvantages of being
unable to review the content of an advertisement over time, being
unable to represent information using a moving image at times, and
being unable to review the content of an advertisement when a
person moves away from a location where the advertisement is
made.
[0012] That is, conventional advertising media is disadvantageous
in that it is difficult to review the content of an advertisement
when a person moves away from a location where the advertisement is
made, a still image advertisement can represent a relatively
limited amount of information, and a moving image advertisement
cannot represent information which needs to be reviewed and
analyzed for a long time, such as a railway schedule.
[0013] Therefore, there is a need for a technology which receives
the content of an advertisement from an advertisement medium,
records the advertisement in a mobile terminal, and allows a user
to repeatedly review and analyze the content of the advertisement
when the user moves away from the advertising medium and needs to
repeatedly review and analyze the content of the advertisement for
a long time.
[0014] Mobile terminals are communication devices which are capable
of wirelessly connecting to and communicating with desired
counterparties anytime and anywhere while moving within service
areas. Such mobile terminals which are always carried to prepare
for communication that may be made anytime and anywhere have low
utilization rate because the period for which they are actually
utilized for communication is short. The utilization rate of mobile
terminals tends to be increased by adding additional
functionalities, such as E-book, MP3, camera, recorder, scanner,
multimedia player, and game machine functionalities, to the mobile
terminals Recently, the utilization rate of mobile terminals is
further increased by adding NFC functionality for performing tag
functionality, smartcard functionality and P2P functionality.
[0015] Since current mobile terminals tend to be equipped with NFC
functionality, a mobile terminal will be described as being an NFC
mobile terminal in the following description.
[0016] Furthermore, thanks to the development of communication
technology, the development of manufacturing technology and the
improvement of mass production technology, the price of NFC mobile
terminals and the communication cost have been reduced, and each
adult has about one NFC mobile terminal with the advent of the
personal communication era.
[0017] Meanwhile, a purchaser who purchases a commodity has prior
knowledge about the corresponding commodity and purchase the
commodity selected at need, while a vendor generally perform the
promotion or advertising of his or her commodity so that the
commodity can be selected by many purchasers.
[0018] Purchasers may hesitate or may not immediately make up his
or her mind when there is a plurality of commodities of the same
type or a similar type.
[0019] A barcode or a Quick Response (QR) code indicative of
information, such as the name, manufacturer, price, release date,
expiration date, serial number and location of a commodity, is
represented on a commodity.
[0020] Conventionally, information about a commodity, such as the
advertisement, use and functionality of the commodity, is provided
using advertising leaflets, specifications and promotion materials
in the form of a discontinuous and concentrated event.
[0021] Therefore, it is difficult for a user or a purchaser to
obtain the advertisement information of a commodity in such an
event where the commodity is advertized. Furthermore, even when a
person participates in such an event and becomes aware of the
advertisement information of a commodity, the person forgets the
information over time, and therefore the effect of such advertising
is very low.
[0022] Furthermore, since specific information about a commodity,
such as the advertisement information, expiration date and use of
the commodity, is frequently changed and updated, it is difficult
to provide accurate information to purchasers.
[0023] Therefore, there is a need for the development of a
technology which is capable of providing information about each
commodity (hereinafter referred to as "commodity information")
including, for example, the advertisement information, promotion
information, name, release date, expiration date, manufacturer,
serial number and price information of the commodity using a QR
code or a barcode (hereinafter referred to as an "optical code")
which is represented on the commodity.
[0024] In particular, there is a need for the development of a
technology which is capable of providing commodity information,
included in an optical code represented on each commodity, to an
NFC mobile terminal which is being carried by an individual person
using NFC communication, so that a purchaser can rapidly check
accurate commodity information.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0025] An aspect of the present invention is to provide an
advertisement information provision system which is capable of
receiving the content of an advertisement from an advertisement
output medium in the form of data, recording the content of the
advertisement in a mobile terminal, allowing a user to repeatedly
play back and view the content of the advertisement when the user
has moved to a remote location and needs to review it, and allowing
the user to review the content of the advertisement over time.
[0026] Another aspect of the present invention is to provide an
advertisement information provision system which is capable of
outputting a variety of types of advertisements using a single
advertisement output medium.
[0027] Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a
commodity information provision system which is capable of
recognizing an optical code represented on a commodity, converting
commodity information, included in the optical code, into NFC tag
applet information, and transmitting the NFC tag applet information
to an NFC mobile terminal so that a user can view the commodity
information.
[0028] Still another aspect of the present invention is to provide
an NFC tag generation device and an NFC tag transmission method
which are capable of receiving content from a content output device
in the form of tag data and recording the tag data in a mobile
terminal.
[0029] Still another aspect of the present invention is to provide
an NFC tag generation device and an NFC tag transmission method
which are capable of outputting a variety of types of pieces of
content using a single content output device and setting a suitable
transmission method for corresponding content.
[0030] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a
system for providing advertisement information includes a mobile
terminal configured to operate in card mode in its initial stage,
switch to read mode in response to a request for mode-switching,
search for and output AID information, and receive data of
advertisement media using tagging; a panel unit configured to send
the request for mode-switching to the mobile terminal, switch from
read mode in its initial stage to card mode in response to a
request for mode-switching from the mobile terminal, output
received the advertisement media, and, radiate and transfer the
advertisement media as data when the mobile terminal performs the
tagging; and an advertisement management server configured to
search for or create in real time the advertisement media, and
output and provide the advertisement media, together with a matched
tag applet in response to a request from the panel unit.
[0031] The panel unit may include a panel operation unit configured
to receive the advertisement media and the matched tag applet from
the advertisement management server and record the advertisement
media and the matched tag applet in an assigned area; and an
advertisement output unit configured to, under the control of the
panel operation unit, output the advertisement media as multimedia
signal, radiate the matched tag applet, and radiate the
advertisement media as data when the mobile terminal tags the
radiated tag applet.
[0032] The advertisement output unit may include an output unit for
outputting the advertisement media as the multimedia signal under
the control of the panel operation unit; and an antenna unit
configured to selectively radiate the matched tag applet and the
advertisement media under the control of the panel operation unit;
wherein the antenna unit is configured to, after radiating the
matched tag applet, detect the tagging of the mobile terminal and
perform transfer of the advertisement media to the panel operation
unit.
[0033] The panel operation unit may include a process unit
configured to connect to the advertisement management server, and
receive the advertisement media provided from the advertisement
management server; a tag applet unit configured to record and store
the advertisement media and the matched tag applet in respective
assigned areas under the control of the process unit; an NFC
controller unit configured to, when the advertisement output unit
detects the tagging of the mobile terminal, output the
advertisement media as data under the control of the process unit,
the NFC controller unit configured to, when the mobile terminal
performs the tagging, send the request for mode-switching to the
mobile terminal to switch to read mode, and switch to the card mode
after determining that the mobile terminal is switched to read
mode; and an advertisement signal processing unit configured to
output the advertisement media as a multimedia signal under the
control of the process unit.
[0034] The output unit may include a plurality of output units and
the antenna unit may include a plurality of antenna units; the
plurality of output units and the plurality of antenna units may be
paired into a plurality of pairs; an output unit of each pair may
connect to the advertisement signal processing unit of the panel
operation unit and output the advertisement media; and an antenna
unit of the each pair may connect to the NFC controller unit of the
panel operation unit, and selectively radiate the matched tag
applet and the data of the advertisement media.
[0035] The advertisement signal processing unit may output a
plurality of advertisement media at different times under the
control of the process unit; and the NFC controller unit may output
the tag applet which is matched when the advertisement signal
processing unit outputs the advertisement media, and output the
data of the advertisement media if the tagging of the mobile
terminal is detected when the matched tag applet is output.
[0036] The advertisement management server may include a control
unit configured to receive a signal of the request of the tag
applet from the panel unit; an advertisement radiation DB unit
configured to, under the control of the control unit, create or
search for the advertisement media in real time, create the matched
tag applet and transfer the advertisement media and the matched tag
applet to the panel unit; and a tag applet DB unit configured to
record the advertisement media and the tag applet matched to the
advertisement media in respective tables under the control of the
control unit.
[0037] The advertisement management server may further include an
advertisement tag applet unit configured to create the tag applet
under the control of the control unit.
[0038] The mobile terminal may further include a scanner unit
configured to scan a QR code and a barcode; the panel unit further
may include a QR code analysis unit configured to analyze the QR
code, a barcode analysis unit configured to analyze the barcode,
and a code radiation unit configured to radiate tag applets of the
QR code and the barcode; and the advertisement management server
may further include a QR code tag applet unit configured to create
the tag applet of the QR code and a barcode tag applet unit
configured to create the tag applet of the barcode.
[0039] According to another embodiment of the present invention, a
system for providing commodity information, includes an apparatus
unit configured to include a panel unit for capturing and
displaying an optical code of a commodity, and an operation unit
for recognizing the optical code captured by the panel unit and
converting the optical code into commodity data; and a server unit
configure to receive the commodity data transmitted by the
operation unit, convert the commodity data into a tag applet, and
transmit the tag applet to the operation unit; wherein the
operation unit records the tag applet transmitted by the server
unit, convert the tag applet into an NFC signal, and output the NFC
signal to the panel unit; and wherein the panel unit transmits the
tag applet to a tagging NFC mobile terminal using NFC
communication.
[0040] The panel unit may include a camera unit configured to
capture the optical code including a QR code of the commodity; an
output unit configured to output and display the optical code
captured by the camera unit; and an NFC antenna unit configured to
wirelessly transmit the NFC signal output by the operation
unit.
[0041] The operation unit may include an QR analysis unit
configured to receive the optical code captured by the panel unit,
recognize and analyze a QR code, and convert the QR code into the
commodity data; a process unit configured to receive the commodity
data from the QR analysis unit, output the commodity data to the
server unit, and receive the tag applet from the server unit; an
NFC controller unit configured to, under the control of the process
unit, convert the tag applet into the NFC signal and output the NFC
signal to the panel unit; and a tag applet recording unit
configured to record or delete the tag applet under the control of
the NFC controller unit.
[0042] The panel unit may further include a barcode scanner unit
configured to scan the optical code including a barcode of the
commodity.
[0043] The operation unit may further include a barcode analysis
unit configured to receive the optical code from the panel unit,
recognize and analyze a barcode, and covert the barcode into
commodity data.
[0044] The server unit may include a tag applet issuance unit
configured to receive the commodity data from the operation unit
and convert the commodity data into the tag applet; a commodity
information DB unit configured to receive the commodity data from
the operation unit and search for corresponding commodity
information; and a control unit configured to perform control so
that the commodity information found by the commodity information
DB unit is applied to the tag applet issuance unit and the
commodity data and the matched commodity information into the tag
applet.
[0045] The panel unit may include a camera unit configured to
capture an optical code including a QR code of the commodity; an
output unit configured to output and display the optical code
captured by the camera unit; and an NFC antenna unit configured to
wirelessly transmit a tag applet, output by the operation unit, as
an NFC signal; wherein the output unit outputs and displays the
commodity information output by the operation unit, or outputs and
displays the optical code captured by the camera unit.
[0046] The operation unit may include an QR analysis unit
configured to receive the optical code captured by the panel unit,
recognize and analyze a QR code, and convert the QR code into
commodity data; a process unit configured to receive the commodity
data from the QR analysis unit, output the commodity data to the
server unit, and receive the tag applet from the server unit; an
NFC controller unit configured to, under the control of the process
unit, convert the tag applet into the NFC signal and output the NFC
signal to the panel unit; a tag applet recording unit configured to
record or delete the tag applet under the control of the NFC
controller unit; and an output control unit configured to convert
the tag applet into a multimedia signal and output the multimedia
signal to the panel unit; wherein the process unit outputs the tag
applet to both the NFC controller unit and the output control
unit.
[0047] The panel unit may further include a barcode scanner unit
configured to scan an optical code including a barcode of the
commodity.
[0048] The operation unit may further include a barcode analysis
unit configured to receive the optical code from the panel unit,
recognize and analyze a barcode, and covert the barcode into
commodity data.
[0049] According to still another embodiment of the present
invention, a system for providing commodity information, includes
an apparatus unit configured to include a panel unit for capturing
and displaying an optical code of a commodity, and an operation
unit for recognizing the optical code captured by the panel unit,
converting the optical code into commodity data, and converting the
commodity data into a tag applet and output the tag applet to the
panel unit; and wherein the panel unit transmits the tag applet to
a tagging NFC mobile terminal using NFC communication.
[0050] The system may further include a server unit configured to
include a commodity information DB unit for connecting to the
operation unit and recording a plurality of pieces of commodity
information linked using link information.
[0051] The panel unit may include a camera unit configured to
capture an optical code including a QR code of the commodity; an
output unit configured to output and display the optical code
captured by the camera unit or the commodity information output by
the operation unit; and an NFC antenna unit configured to
wirelessly transmit the tag applet as an NFC signal.
[0052] The operation unit may include an QR analysis unit
configured to receive the optical code captured by the panel unit,
recognize and analyze a QR code, and convert the QR code into the
commodity data; a process unit configured to receive the commodity
data from the QR analysis unit; an NFC controller unit configured
to, under the control of the process unit, convert an applied
signal into an NFC signal and output the NFC signal to the panel
unit; a tag applet recording unit configured to record or delete
the applied signal under the control of the NFC controller unit; an
output control unit configured to convert the applied signal into a
multimedia signal and output the multimedia signal to the panel
unit; and a tag applet issuance unit configured to convert the
commodity data, provided by the process unit, into the tag
applet.
[0053] The process unit may be configured to analyze the commodity
data, separate link information from the commodity data, and
provide the link information to the server unit.
[0054] The server unit may include a commodity information DB unit
configured to search for commodity information corresponding to the
link information; and a tag applet issuance unit configured to
receive the commodity information found by the commodity
information DB unit and convert the commodity information into the
tag applet.
[0055] The panel unit may further include a barcode scanner unit
configured to scan the optical code including a barcode of the
commodity.
[0056] The operation unit may further include a barcode analysis
unit configured to receive the optical code from the panel unit,
recognize and analyze the barcode, and covert the barcode into
commodity data.
[0057] According to yet another embodiment of the present
invention, an NFC tag generation device includes a content output
unit configured to output one or more pieces of content, and
receive a selection of content using a user's manipulation or
predetermined default setting; an operation control unit for
searching for a tag data corresponding to the selected content; an
NFC controller unit configured to set transmission mode
corresponding to the tag data; a memory unit configured to store
the content and the tag data; a communication interface unit
configured to update information about the content or tag data with
information about new content or tag data; and an NFC antenna unit
configured to transmit the tag data using NFC communication;
wherein the operation control unit transfers a control signal
requesting switching to transmission mode corresponding to the
selected content to the NFC controller unit.
[0058] The NFC tag may further include at least one tag recording
unit for temporarily recording tag data to be transmitted to an
outside; wherein the operation control unit transfers a recording
control signal recording the found tag data in the tag recording
unit to the NFC controller unit.
[0059] The tag recording unit may be included in one of more
selected from among the operation control unit, the NFC controller
unit and the memory unit.
[0060] The content output unit may include a touch screen; and the
content may be output via the touch screen, and the content to be
transmitted may be selected by touching the touch screen.
[0061] According to yet another embodiment of the present
invention, an NFC tag transmission method including: outputting one
or more pieces of content which can be played back to a first
terminal; selecting content to be transmitted from among the one or
more pieces of content; activating transmission mode corresponding
to the selected content; searching for tag data corresponding to
the content; establishing a data transmission session between a
second terminal and the first terminal; and transmitting the tag
data from the second terminal to the first terminal.
[0062] The NFC tag transmission method, may further include running
an application corresponding to the transmission mode between the
activating and the searching.
[0063] The NFC tag transmission method may further include
requesting, at the second terminal, tag data from the first
terminal between the outputting and the selecting, and the
selection of the content is performed by using a predetermined
method in response to the request from the first terminal;
activating transmission mode corresponding to the selected content;
searching for tag data corresponding to the content; and
transmitting the tag data from a second terminal to the first
terminal.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0064] The above and other aspects, 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:
[0065] FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating the
configuration of an advertisement information provision system
according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0066] FIG. 2 is a detailed functional block diagram illustrating
the configuration of an advertisement management server according
to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0067] FIG. 3 is a detailed functional block diagram illustrating
the configuration of a panel unit according to a first embodiment
of the present invention;
[0068] FIG. 4 is a detailed functional block diagram illustrating
the configuration of a panel unit according to a second embodiment
of the present invention;
[0069] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of operating
the advertisement information provision system according to an
embodiment of the present invention;
[0070] FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram illustrating the
configuration of an advertisement information provision system
according to another embodiment of the present invention;
[0071] FIG. 7 is a detailed functional block diagram illustrating
the configuration of an advertisement management server according
to another embodiment of the present invention;
[0072] FIG. 8 is a detailed functional block diagram illustrating
the configuration of a panel unit according to a third embodiment
of the present invention;
[0073] FIG. 9 is a detailed functional block diagram illustrating
the configuration of a panel unit according to a fourth embodiment
of the present invention;
[0074] FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram illustrating the
configuration of a commodity information provision system according
to a fifth embodiment of the present invention;
[0075] FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram illustrating the
configuration of a commodity information provision system according
to a sixth embodiment of the present invention;
[0076] FIG. 12 is a functional block diagram illustrating the
configuration of a commodity information provision system according
to a seventh embodiment of the present invention;
[0077] FIG. 13 is a functional block diagram illustrating the
configuration of a commodity information provision system according
to an eighth embodiment of the present invention;
[0078] FIG. 14 is a functional block diagram illustrating the
configuration of a commodity information provision system according
to a ninth embodiment of the present invention;
[0079] FIG. 15 is a functional block diagram illustrating the
configuration of a commodity information provision system according
to a tenth embodiment of the present invention;
[0080] FIG. 16 is a signal flow diagram illustrating the operation
of the commodity information provision system according to the
fifth embodiment of the present invention;
[0081] FIG. 17 is a signal flow diagram illustrating the operation
of the commodity information provision system according to the
sixth embodiment of the present invention;
[0082] FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an NFC tag generation
device and a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the
present invention;
[0083] FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the configuration of an NFC tag
generation device according to an embodiment of the present
invention;
[0084] FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating an NFC tag transmission
method according to an embodiment of the present invention; and
[0085] FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating an NFC tag transmission
method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
[0086] Reference now should be made to the drawings, in which the
same reference numerals are used throughout the different drawings
to designate the same or similar components.
[0087] The present invention may be modified in a variety of ways,
and may include a variety of embodiments. Specific embodiments will
be illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described in detail
below. However, it should be appreciated that this is not intended
to limit the present invention to the specific embodiments, but the
present invention includes all modifications, equivalents and
alternatives which fall within the spirit and technical range of
the present invention. Descriptions of well-known functions and
constructions which have been deemed to make the gist of the
present invention unnecessarily vague will be omitted below.
[0088] In the present invention, an advertisement medium is
described as being a multimedia signal including an image(s), a
character(s), and a sound signal, and an operation applet is
described as being an application program which performs control
for a selected application.
[0089] That is, a mobile terminal includes a plurality of
application programs, each of the application programs is referred
to as an operation applet, and the application programs are
identified by respective pieces of applet identifier (AID)
information. Furthermore, the same applets may be assigned
different pieces of applet identifier (AID) information when their
versions or manufacturers are different.
[0090] When a mobile terminal communicates with a counterparty
mobile terminal, or a mobile terminal operates a specific
application program in conjunction with a counterparty mobile
terminal in a one-to-one correspondence, they should include and
operate the same applets having the same applet identifier (AID)
information.
[0091] Communication mode in which signals are transmitted and
received in NFC communication includes card mode and read mode. The
card mode is described as being mode in which recorded information
signals are provided to a counterparty, and the read mode is
described as being mode in which the recorded information signals
of a counterparty are read.
[0092] A barcode is a linear one-dimensional (1D) code which is
formed by combining a plurality of white and black bars having
different widths and can be easily read by a computer, and is
widely used to represent the unique number and/or price information
of a commodity.
[0093] A Quick Response (QR) code is a matrix-type two-dimensional
(2D) code which is formed by arranging small square dots equally in
lateral and vertical directions and can be read by a computer. A QR
code may have on its each side dots the number of which ranges from
21 to 177, can record a maximum of 23,648 bits, can be recovered
thanks to its supplementary property when part of its data is
damaged, and can be recognized or read in all directions of 360
degrees.
[0094] Tagging or tag is described as being the state of being
close to a counterparty without electrically direct contact.
[0095] FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating the
configuration of an advertisement information provision system
10000 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0096] Referring to FIG. 1, the advertisement information provision
system 10000 according to the embodiment of the present invention
will now be described in detail. The advertisement information
provision system 10000 includes a mobile terminal 11000, a panel
unit 12000, and an advertisement management server 13000.
[0097] The mobile terminal 11000 is a mobile communication terminal
capable of wirelessly accessing a mobile communication system and
immediately communicating with a desired counterparty ubiquitously,
and records a plurality of operation applets, identified by applet
identifier (AID) information, in an assigned memory area.
[0098] The mobile terminal 11000 operates in card mode in its
initial stage, tags the panel unit 12000, searches for a record of
designated applet identifier (AID) information from the plurality
of recorded applet identifier (AID) information in response to a
request from the panel unit 12000, and notifies the panel unit
12000 of search results once the record of designated AID
information has been retrieved.
[0099] In the following description of the present invention, the
mobile terminal 11000 will be described as recording a designated
operation applet, and an applet corresponding to applet identifier
(AID) information requested by the panel unit 12000 will be
described as an operation applet capable of receiving advertisement
media.
[0100] The fact that the mobile terminal 11000 has retrieved AID
information designed by the panel unit 12000 means that the mobile
terminal 11000 and the panel unit 12000 can activate the same
operation applet and then perform data communication without
suffering from errors.
[0101] The mobile terminal 11000 wakes up an operation applet
corresponding to the designated applet identifier (AID)
information, that is, an operation applet capable of receiving
advertisements, so that it can enter an active state in response to
a mode-switching request from the panel unit 12000, switches the
operating mode from the initial card mode to read mode, and
notifies the panel unit 12000 of the results of the wake-up and the
mode-switching.
[0102] In this case, the mobile terminal 11000 additionally
transmits a mode-switching request signal, requesting switching to
card mode, to the panel unit 12000.
[0103] Furthermore, the mobile terminal 11000 receives
advertisement media data from the panel unit 12000 while staying in
a tagged state, and notifies the panel unit 12000 of the completion
of the reception if the reception is completed without undergoing
errors.
[0104] The panel unit 12000 includes a panel operation unit 12100
and an advertisement output unit 12200. The panel operation unit
12100 includes a process unit 12110, a tag applet unit 12120, an
NFC controller unit 12130, and an advertisement signal processing
unit 12140. The advertisement output unit 12200 includes an output
unit 12220 and an antenna unit 12240.
[0105] When a mobile terminal 11000 tags the panel unit 12000 in
initial read mode in which the information of a counterparty is
read, the panel unit 12000 request a search for corresponding
applet identifier (AID) information to check whether an operation
applet for receiving an advertisement has been recorded in the
mobile terminal 11000, and requests that the mobile terminal 11000
switches to read mode when receiving search results.
[0106] The process unit 12110 which constitutes a part of the panel
operation unit 12100 of the panel unit 12000 requests a tag applet,
including advertisement media, from the connected advertisement
management server 13000, and receives the tag applet.
[0107] In the following description, a tag applet will be described
as being matched to a corresponding advertising medium, and
advertisement media will be described as multimedia including a
still image(s), a moving image(s), a character(s), a sound(s),
and/or an image(s), but not limited thereto.
[0108] The process unit 12110 records the received advertisement
media and tag applet in respective assigned areas of the tag applet
unit 12120. There are a variety of types of tag applets depending
on the contents and purposes of advertisements, and the tag applet
unit 12120 records tag applets which are matched to a plurality of
various advertisement media.
[0109] Since the process unit 12110 performs control so that any
advertisement media selected from among those recorded in the tag
applet unit 12120 is applied and output to the advertisement signal
processing unit 12140, the advertisement signal processing unit
12140 classifies the applied advertisement media as a multimedia
signal including an image(s), a sound(s), or a character(s) and
outputs the multimedia signal to the output unit 12220 of the
advertisement output unit 12200.
[0110] The output unit 12220 includes a video unit for outputting
video signals and character signals and an audio unit for
outputting sound signals.
[0111] Meanwhile, the process unit 12110 performs control so that a
tag applet matched to an advertisement medium output by the
advertisement signal processing unit 12140 can be read from the tag
applet unit 12120, and be applied to and output by the NFC
controller unit 12130.
[0112] Since the NFC controller unit 12130 outputs the applied tag
applet to the antenna unit 12240 of the advertisement output unit
12200, the antenna unit 12240 can radiate a signal which resonates
with, for example, a radio frequency in the 13.56 MHz band.
[0113] In an embodiment, when the mobile terminal 11000 tags the
antenna unit 12240, the antenna unit 12240 detects the tagging of
the mobile terminal 11000 and provides notification to the NFC
controller unit 12130 of the panel operation unit 12100, and the
NFC controller unit 12130 requests a search for applet identifier
(AID) information to check if the AID information of the operation
applet which will receive an advertisement has been recorded in the
mobile terminal and outputs a signal requesting the mode-switching
of the mobile terminal 11000 if the corresponding AID information
has been retrieved and returned.
[0114] The NFC controller unit 12130 checks if the mobile terminal
11000 has switched to read mode in response to a mode-switching
request, and performs switching to card mode which provides
recorded data when a signal requesting mode-switching is received
from the mobile terminal 11000.
[0115] When the switching to card mode has been performed, the NFC
controller unit 12130 searches for advertisement media, being
currently output by the output unit 12220, from the tag applet unit
12120 and then outputs the advertisement media to the antenna unit
12240 under the control of the process unit 12110, and the antenna
unit radiates data to the mobile terminal 11000.
[0116] Here, the output unit 12220 and the antenna unit 12240 may
be paired with each other, and may output and radiate advertisement
media of the same content under the control and monitoring of the
process unit 12110.
[0117] Therefore, when the output unit 12220 and the antenna unit
12240 form a single pair in accordance with the embodiment, a
plurality of advertisement media is output at different times. When
output units 12220 and antenna units 12240 form a plurality of
pairs in accordance with another embodiment, a plurality of
advertisement media can be simultaneously output and provided via
respective paths. The different configurations according to the
embodiment of the panel unit 12000 will be described in detail
below with reference to the accompanying drawing.
[0118] The advertisement management server 13000 may create and
provide a plurality of advertisement media in real time or search
for and provide one or more of a plurality of recorded
advertisement media in response to a request from the panel unit
12000. The advertisement management server 13000 includes a control
unit 13100, an advertisement radiation DB unit 13200, and a tag
applet DB unit 13300. The configuration of the advertisement
management server 13000 will be described in detail below with
reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0119] FIG. 2 is a detailed functional block diagram illustrating
the configuration of an advertisement management server 13000
according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0120] Referring to FIG. 2, the advertisement management server
13000 will now be described in detail. The control unit 13100
controls and monitors the advertisement radiation DB unit 13200 and
the tag applet DB unit 13300 so that created or retrieved
advertisement media can be delivered in real time when a signal
requesting the provision of a tag applet including selected
advertisement media is received from the panel unit 12000.
[0121] When the advertisement radiation DB unit 13200 is controlled
by the control unit 13100 so that the advertisement radiation DB
unit 13200 generates advertisement media in real time, the
advertisement radiation DB unit 13200 may receive a multimedia
signal from the outside and then create a new advertisement medium
in real time, may create a new advertisement medium using a
multimedia signal received from the outside and an advertisement
medium retrieved in real time, or may create a new advertisement
medium using a plurality of retrieved advertisement media in real
time.
[0122] The advertisement radiation DB unit 13200 may record the
advertisement medium, created in real time, in its own assigned
area, and search for and reuse it later.
[0123] Furthermore, under the control of the control unit 13100,
the tag applet DB unit 13300 creates a tag applet, which matches
the advertisement medium created by the advertisement radiation DB
unit 13200, and at the same time transmits it to the advertisement
radiation DB unit 13200 and records it in its own assigned
area.
[0124] Here, the tag applet is described as being an application
program which enables a counterparty to receive an advertisement
medium which is created and radiated using an NFC wireless
method.
[0125] The control unit 13100 controls the advertisement radiation
DB unit 13200, so that a created or retrieved advertisement medium
is read. The control unit 13100 controls the tag applet DB unit
13300 so that a tag applet which is matched to the advertisement
medium is newly created or a corresponding retrieved tag applet is
applied to the advertisement radiation DB unit 13200.
[0126] That is, according to an embodiment of the present
invention, when the advertisement radiation DB unit 13200 creates a
new advertisement medium, a new tag created by the tag applet DB
unit 13300 is used. In contrast, when the advertisement radiation
DB unit 13200 retrieves an existing recorded advertisement medium,
an existing tag applet recorded in the tag applet DB unit 13300 is
retrieved and used.
[0127] The advertisement radiation DB unit 13200 completes
provision by transmitting the created and retrieved advertisement
medium and the corresponding tag applet to the panel unit 12000 in
real time under the control and monitoring of the control unit
13100.
[0128] FIG. 3 is a detailed functional block diagram illustrating
the configuration of a panel unit 12000 according to a first
embodiment of the present invention.
[0129] Referring to FIG. 3, the panel unit 12000 will now be
described in detail. The panel unit 12000 according to the first
embodiment includes a panel operation unit 12100, and an
advertisement output unit 12200.
[0130] The panel operation unit 12100 includes a process unit
12110, a tag applet unit 12120, an NFC controller unit 12130, and
an advertisement signal processing unit 12140. The advertisement
output unit 12200 includes an output unit 12220, and an antenna
unit 12240.
[0131] Here, the output unit 12220 and antenna unit 12240 of the
advertisement output unit 12200 form a pair so that they output and
radiate signals of the same content while operating in conjunction
with each other.
[0132] That is, the output unit 12220 and the antenna unit 12240
which constitute the advertisement output unit 12200 output or
radiate an advertisement medium of the same content, form a pair,
and have corresponding paths over which data of the same content is
transmitted.
[0133] The process unit 12110 which constitutes a part of the panel
operation unit 12100 receives a corresponding tag applet matched to
the advertisement media from the advertisement management server
13000, records it in the assigned area of the tag applet unit
12120, and applies it to the NFC controller unit 12130 and the
advertisement signal processing unit 12140.
[0134] The NFC controller unit 12130 outputs a designated
advertisement medium to the antenna unit 12240 via a corresponding
path in the form of data under the control and monitoring of the
process unit 12110.
[0135] Furthermore, the advertisement signal processing unit 12140
outputs a designated advertisement medium to the output unit 12220
via a corresponding path in the form of a multimedia signal under
the control and monitoring of the process unit 12110.
[0136] The advertisement output unit 12200 outputs one or more
designated advertisement media under the control of the panel
operation unit 12100. It is apparent that when a plurality of
advertisements are output, different advertisement media are output
and radiated at different times.
[0137] In the configuration according to the first embodiment of
the present invention, a selected advertisement medium is output
through the output unit 12220 in the form of a multimedia signal,
and, when the mobile terminal 11000 tags the antenna unit 12240, an
advertisement medium of content which is the same as the content of
the advertisement medium output through the output unit 12220 is
provided in the form of data.
[0138] Accordingly, the mobile terminal 11000 receives the
advertisement medium, which output through the output unit 12220,
in the form of data by tagging the antenna unit 12240 and then
records it in its own memory area, so that there are the advantages
of repeatedly viewing and/or listening to the corresponding
advertisement medium ubiquitously and analyzing it over time.
[0139] In particular, there is the advantage of reviewing or
comparing and analyzing the content of the advertisement media (or
media) when the content of an advertisement is summarized or the
time tables of a movie or the prices of a product are compared with
each other.
[0140] FIG. 4 is a detailed functional block diagram illustrating
the configuration of a panel unit 12000 according to a second
embodiment of the present invention.
[0141] Referring to FIG. 4, the panel unit 12000 will now be
described in detail. The panel unit 12000 according to the second
embodiment includes a panel operation unit 12100, and an
advertisement output unit 12200.
[0142] The panel operation unit 12100 includes a process unit
12110, a tag applet unit 12120, an NFC controller unit 12130, and
an advertisement signal processing unit 12140. The advertisement
output unit 12200 includes an output unit 12220 including first to
n-th output units 12221, 12222, . . . , and 12223, and an antenna
unit 12240 including first to n-th antenna units 12241, 12242, . .
. , and 12243.
[0143] In an embodiment, the first output unit 12221 and the first
antenna unit 12241 form a pair, the second output unit 12222 and
the second antenna unit 12242 form a pair, . . . , and the n-th
output unit 12223 and the n-th antenna unit 12243 form a pair.
[0144] The output unit 12220 and the antenna unit 12240 paired as
described above output an advertisement medium of the same content
via a corresponding path of each pair.
[0145] Since the process unit 12110 and tag applet unit 12120 of
the panel operation unit 12100 are the same as those of the first
embodiment, a description thereof is omitted to avoid a redundant
description.
[0146] The NFC controller unit 12130 may separately manage the
paths of the plurality of antenna units 12241, 12242, . . . , and
12243 which constitute the antenna unit 12240, and performs control
so that the plurality of antenna units 12241, 12242, . . . , and
12243 output and radiate corresponding tag applets and so that when
it is determined that the mobile terminal 11000 has performed
tagging or tag reading on one of the antenna units 12241, 12242, .
. . , and 12243, a matched corresponding advertisement medium is
output in the form of data, thus being radiated via the
corresponding antenna unit 12241, 12242 . . . , or 12243.
[0147] Furthermore, the advertisement signal processing unit 12140
may separately manage the paths of the plurality of output units
12221, 12222 . . . , and 12223 which constitute the output unit
12220, and performs control so that a corresponding advertisement
medium is output in the form of a multimedia signal.
[0148] Here, the NFC controller unit 12130 and the advertisement
signal processing unit 12140 are synchronized with each other and
output information corresponding to an advertisement medium of the
same content over a path to which a pair of the synchronized output
unit 12220 and antenna unit 12240 of the advertisement output unit
12200 are connected.
[0149] The configuration of the embodiment of the present invention
has the advantage of selectively or simultaneously outputting one
or more advertisements selected from among a plurality of a variety
of advertisements using a single advertisement medium.
[0150] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of operating
the advertisement information provision system according to an
embodiment of the present invention.
[0151] Referring to FIG. 5, the process of operating the
advertisement information provision system according to the
embodiment of the present invention will now be described in
detail. The mobile terminal operates in card mode in its initial
stage, the panel unit operates in read mode in its initial stage,
and the panel unit outputs an advertisement medium in the form of a
multimedia signal and also outputs a tag applet matched to the
advertisement medium in the form of data in accordance with the
first or second embodiment.
[0152] Card mode is described as being the state of providing
recorded information to a counterparty, while read mode is
described as being the state of reading the information of a
counterparty.
[0153] When a user desires to download the content of an
advertisement medium currently being advertised in order to
repeatedly play back or analyze the content of the advertisement
medium output by an output unit of the panel unit, the mobile
terminal tags a corresponding antenna unit which is paired with the
output unit at step S2010.
[0154] The panel unit issues a request to the mobile terminal that
it search for corresponding applet identifier (AID) and make a
response at step S2020 in order to check whether a corresponding
operation applet capable of receiving the advertisement medium has
been recorded in the mobile terminal.
[0155] The mobile terminal searches for the corresponding AID
information and then returns information about retrieved
corresponding ID in response to the request from the panel unit at
step S2030. In this case, the panel unit requests mode-switching
from the mobile terminal at step S2040. The request for
mode-switching is to request that the mobile terminal switches to
read mode and operates in read mode.
[0156] When the mobile terminal receives a mode-switching request
signal from the panel unit, the mobile terminal wakes up a
corresponding operation applet so that it is activated to receive
the advertisement medium at step S2050, and is automatically
switched from the current card mode to read mode at step S2060.
[0157] That is, the mobile terminal automatically switches from
current card mode to read mode, and at the same time notifies the
panel unit of the mode-switching and requests that the panel unit
automatically switch its operating mode from read mode to card mode
at step S2070.
[0158] The panel unit switches the current operating mode of the
mobile terminal from read mode back to card mode in response to the
response and the request at step S2080, and returns the results of
the automatic mode-switching to the card mode to the mobile
terminal at step S2090.
[0159] Furthermore, the panel unit requests to the advertisement
management server a tag applet capable of downloading an
advertisement medium matched to the tagged antenna unit and the
corresponding advertisement medium from the advertisement
management server at step S2100, and the advertisement management
server creates or searches for the requested advertisement medium
and the matched tag applet in real time at step S2110, and
transmits and provides the advertisement medium retrieved or
created in real time to the panel unit at step S2120.
[0160] The panel unit checks the advertisement medium and the
matched tag applet for errors while receiving the advertisement
medium and the matched tag applet provided by the advertisement
management server, records the received advertisement medium and
matched tag applet in the assigned memory area of the tag applet
unit if they have been received without any error, and monitors
whether the mobile terminal performs tagging for reading at step
S2130.
[0161] In this case, if the corresponding advertisement medium and
matched tag applet have been already recorded in the memory area of
the tag applet unit, the panel unit may not request transmission
from the advertisement management server.
[0162] When the panel determines that the mobile terminal is in a
tag reading state so that it can read the advertisement medium in
the form of data at step S2140, the panel unit transmits the
matched tag applet and the corresponding advertisement medium to
the mobile terminal via the tagged corresponding antenna unit in
the form of data at step S2150.
[0163] The mobile terminal checks whether the data of the
advertisement medium has been received without any error using the
received tag applet at step S2160, and, if the overall data of the
advertisement medium has been received without any error, the
mobile terminal returns a reception completion signal to the panel
unit at step S2170.
[0164] FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram illustrating the
configuration of an advertisement information provision system
10000 according to another embodiment of the present invention.
[0165] Referring to FIG. 6, the advertisement information provision
system 10000 will now be described in detail. The advertisement
information provision system 10000 includes a mobile terminal
11000, a panel unit 12000, and an advertisement management server
13000.
[0166] Since the advertisement information provision system
illustrated in FIG. 6 is similar to that illustrated in FIG. 1,
descriptions of differences therebetween will now be mainly
provided.
[0167] The mobile terminal 11000 has the functionality of
immediately and wirelessly connecting to and communicating with a
desired counterparty ubiquitously while moving, like the mobile
terminal illustrated in FIG. 1. The mobile terminal 11000 further
includes a scanner unit 1110 which is capable of reading a barcode
and a QR code by scanning them.
[0168] Here, the barcode and the QR code are described as being
output by the panel unit 12000. The scanner unit 1110 may include
one or more which are selected from among a configuration for
optically scanning a barcode and a QR code and a configuration for
wireless receiving them.
[0169] The panel unit 12000 includes a panel operation unit 12100
and an advertisement output unit 12200, like the panel unit
illustrated in FIG. 1.
[0170] The panel operation unit 12100 includes a QR code analysis
unit 12150 and a barcode analysis unit 12160. The advertisement
output unit 12200 includes a code radiation unit 12260.
[0171] The QR code analysis unit 12150 and the barcode analysis
unit 12160 apply the QR code or barcode to the NFC controller unit
12130 under the control of the process unit 12110. The NFC
controller unit 12130 applies the QR code or barcode to the code
radiation unit 12260 of the advertisement output unit 12200, so
that the QR code or barcode can be transmitted.
[0172] Here, according to an embodiment of the present invention,
the code radiation unit 12260 may include a display unit which
visually displays a QR code or barcode. The code radiation unit may
perform wireless output.
[0173] The configuration of the panel unit 12000 will be described
in detail later with reference to the accompanying drawing and an
embodiment.
[0174] The advertisement management server 13000 includes a control
unit 13100, an advertisement radiation DB unit 13200, a tag applet
DB unit 13300, like the advertisement management server illustrated
in FIG. 1, and further includes an advertisement tag applet unit
13400, a QR code tag applet unit 13500, and a barcode tag applet
unit 13600.
[0175] The advertisement management server 13000 will be described
in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawing.
[0176] FIG. 7 is a detailed functional block diagram illustrating
the configuration of an advertisement management server 13000
according to another embodiment of the present invention.
[0177] Referring to FIG. 7, the advertisement management server
13000 will now be described in detail. The advertisement management
server 13000 includes a control unit 13100, an advertisement
radiation DB unit 13200, a tag applet DB unit 13300, an
advertisement tag applet unit 13400, a QR code tag applet unit
13500, and a barcode tag applet unit 13600.
[0178] Since the configuration and operation of the control unit
13100 and the advertisement radiation DB unit 13200 are the same as
those illustrated in FIG. 2, redundant descriptions thereof will
not be given here.
[0179] The tag applet DB unit 13300 records all tag applets, being
created or created by the advertisement management server 13000,
under the control and monitoring of the control unit 13100. A tag
applet selected by searching may be reused.
[0180] The advertisement tag applet unit 13400 creates a tag applet
which matches the advertisement media created by the advertisement
radiation DB unit 13200, and then transmits the tag applet to the
tag applet DB unit 13300, under the control of the control unit
13100.
[0181] Here, the tag applet is described as being an application
program which enables a counterparty to receive an advertisement
media which is created and then transmitted via an NFC wireless
connection.
[0182] The QR code tag applet unit 13500 creates a QR code tag
applet under the control of the control unit 13100, and the barcode
tag applet unit 13600 creates a barcode tag applet under the
control of the control unit.
[0183] The QR code tag applet and the barcode tag applet created by
the QR code tag applet unit 13500 and the barcode tag applet unit
13600, respectively, are applied to the advertisement radiation DB
unit 13200, and then transmitted to the panel unit 12000, under the
control of the control unit 13100.
[0184] FIG. 8 is a detailed functional block diagram illustrating
the configuration of a panel unit 12000 according to a third
embodiment of the present invention.
[0185] Referring to FIG. 8, the panel unit 12000 according to the
third embodiment of the present invention will now be described in
detail. The panel unit 12000 according to the third embodiment
includes a panel operation unit 12100, and an advertisement output
unit 12200, like that according to the first embodiment.
[0186] The panel operation unit 12100 includes a process unit
12110, a tag applet unit 12120, an NFC controller unit 12130, an
advertisement signal processing unit 12140, a QR code analysis unit
12150, and a barcode analysis unit 12160. The advertisement output
unit 12200 includes an output unit 12220, an antenna unit 12240,
and a code radiation unit 12260.
[0187] Here, since the process unit 12110, tag applet unit 12120,
NFC controller unit 12130 and advertisement signal processing unit
12140 of the panel operation unit 12100 and the output unit 12220
and antenna unit 12240 of the advertisement output unit 12200 are
the same as those of the first embodiment, redundant descriptions
thereof will be omitted here.
[0188] The QR code analysis unit 12150 analyzes a received QR code
or outputs a created QR code to the advertisement output unit 12200
via the NFC controller unit 12130 under the control and monitoring
of the process unit 12110.
[0189] The barcode analysis unit 12160 analyzes a received barcode
or outputs a created barcode to the advertisement output unit 12200
via the NFC controller unit 12130 under the control and monitoring
of the process unit 12110.
[0190] The code radiation unit 12260 radiates an applied QR code or
barcode via the NFC controller unit 12130.
[0191] The configuration according to the embodiment of the present
invention has the advantage of outputting QR code or barcode while
outputting a single advertisement medium or outputting a plurality
of advertisement media at different times.
[0192] FIG. 9 is a detailed functional block diagram illustrating
the configuration of a panel unit 12000 according to a fourth
embodiment of the present invention.
[0193] Referring to FIG. 9, the panel unit 12000 according to the
fourth embodiment of the present invention 12000 will now be
described in detail. The panel unit 12000 according to the fourth
embodiment includes a panel operation unit 12100 and an
advertisement output unit 12200, like that of the second
embodiment.
[0194] Since the process unit 12110, tag applet unit 12120, NFC
controller unit 12130 and advertisement signal processing unit
12140 of the panel operation unit 12100 have same configurations
and operations as those of the second embodiment and the QR code
analysis unit 12150 and barcode analysis unit 12160 of the panel
operation unit 12100 have same configurations and operations as
those of the third embodiment, redundant descriptions thereof will
not be given here.
[0195] Furthermore, since the output unit 12220 and antenna unit
12240 of the advertisement transmission unit 12200 have the same
configurations and operations as those of the second embodiment and
the code radiation unit 12260 of the advertisement transmission
unit 12200 have the same configurations and operations as those of
the third embodiment, redundant descriptions thereof will not be
given here.
[0196] A barcode is a linear one-dimensional (1D) code which is
formed by combining a plurality of white and black bars having
different widths and can be easily read by a computer, and is
widely used to record information about the name, management
number, release date, expiration date and price of a commodity.
[0197] A QR (Quick Response) code is a matrix-type two-dimensional
(2D) code which is formed by arranging small square dots equally in
lateral and vertical directions and can be read by a computer. A QR
code may have on its each side dots the number of which ranges from
21 to 177, can record a maximum of 23,648 bits, can be recovered
thanks to its supplementary property when part of its data is
damaged, and can be recognized or read in all directions of 360
degrees. That is, QR codes can record larger amounts of information
than barcodes, and may include link information.
[0198] The current QR code is a 2D code technology develop and
released by a company, and new-types of 2D code technologies may be
developed by other companies in other forms.
[0199] The tagging or tag is described as being the state of
recognizing the electrical data of a counterparty near the
counterparty without electrically direct contact.
[0200] The NFC mobile terminal includes a plurality of application
programs. Each of the application programs is referred to an
applet. The application programs are identified by respective
pieces of applet identifier (AID). Furthermore, the same applets
may be assigned different pieces of applet identifier (AID) when
their versions or manufacturers are different.
[0201] When a specific device including the NFC mobile terminal
communicates with or operates in conjunction with a counterparty
device in a one-to-one correspondence, they should include and
operate the same applets having the same AID information.
[0202] Furthermore, the same applets having the same AID
information may be divided into a main applet and a sub-applet. In
the present invention, the main applet is referred to as a driving
applet, and the sub-applet is referred to as a tag applet.
[0203] Therefore, NFC mobile terminals which operate with each
other should include and operate the same applets, and therefore
should have the same AID information.
[0204] Communication mode in which signals are transmitted and
received using an NFC method includes card mode and read mode. The
card mode is described as being mode in which recorded information
signals are provided to a counterparty, and the read mode is
described as being mode in which information signals recorded in a
counterparty are read.
[0205] In the present invention, content is described as being
digital data information including one or more of media such as a
character(s), a still image(s), a moving image(s), image(s), and
sound(s), and multimedia is described as being an output including
one or more of a sound(s), a moving image(s), a still image(s), and
a character(s).
[0206] Furthermore, commodity information is described as including
the advertisement information, characteristic information,
expiration date, use, price, etc. of a corresponding commodity.
[0207] FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram illustrating the
configuration of a commodity information provision system 1000
according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
[0208] Referring to FIG. 10, the commodity information provision
system 1000 according to the fifth embodiment of the present
invention will now be described in detail. The commodity
information provision system 1000 includes an apparatus unit 1090
including a panel unit 1100 and an operation unit 1200 and a server
unit 1300.
[0209] The apparatus unit 1090 includes the panel unit 1100 and the
operation unit 1200, and may be one selected from among a NFC
reader and a mobile terminal, which is the same throughout the
following description.
[0210] The panel unit 1100 may include a camera unit 1110, an
output unit 1120, and an NFC antenna unit 1130. The operation unit
1200 may include a QR analysis unit 1210, a process unit 1220, an
NFC controller unit 1230, and a tag applet recording unit 1240. The
server unit 1300 may include a tag applet issuance unit 1310.
[0211] The camera unit 1110 includes a camera which captures an
image of an optical code (including, for example, a QR code) which
is represented on a commodity 1400.
[0212] The output unit 1120 outputs and displays an image, captured
by the camera unit 1110, so that the image can be visually checked
or viewed. Here, according to an embodiment of the present
invention, it may be checked whether such an optical code has been
accurately scanned or captured by the camera unit 1110, using the
output unit 2120.
[0213] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the NFC
antenna unit 1130 is configured to be turned to a wireless
frequency in the 13.56 MHz band, and wirelessly transmits and
receives NFC signals.
[0214] The QR analysis unit 1210 receives the optical code captured
by the camera unit 1110, recognizes and analyzes a QR code, and
converts the QR code into commodity data.
[0215] The commodity data recognized, analyzed and obtained using
the QR code includes a variety of information such as the name,
manufacturer, management number, release date, expiration date,
price, features, use and advertisement information of a commodity
1400, and may further include link information.
[0216] The process unit 1220 monitors and controls the functional
units of the panel unit 1100 and the operation unit 1200, receives
the commodity data from the QR analysis unit 1210, and outputs the
commodity data to the server unit 1300.
[0217] Furthermore, the process unit 1220 receives a tag applet
provided by the server unit 1300, and applies the tag applet to the
NFC controller unit 1230.
[0218] The NFC controller unit 1230 operates in NFC read mode in
its initial stage, and records information about the tag applet,
provided by the process unit 1220, in the assigned area of the tag
applet recording unit 1240.
[0219] The NFC controller unit 1230 monitors the NFC antenna unit
1130 of the panel unit 1100, and detects the tagging of the NFC
mobile terminal 1500.
[0220] When the NFC controller unit 1230 detects the tagging of the
NFC mobile terminal 1500, it requests applet identifier (AID),
requests that mode-switching is automatically performed, and
receives a response signal indicative of corresponding results.
[0221] Once the NFC controller unit 1230 has received the response
signal, it is automatically switched from read mode to card mode,
and outputs a tag applet recorded in the tag applet recording unit
1240, thereby transmitting the tag applet to the NFC mobile
terminal 1500 via the NFC antenna unit 1130.
[0222] In this case, when the NFC controller unit 1230 receives a
response indicative of the normal reception of the tag applet
without transmission error from the NFC mobile terminal 1500, it
deletes the corresponding tag applet recorded in the tag applet
recording unit 1240. That is, the information of the tag applet is
allowed to be provided only once.
[0223] The server unit 1300 includes the tag applet issuance unit
1310, receives the commodity data provided by the operation unit
1200, converts the commodity data into a tag applet using the tag
applet issuance unit 1310, and transmits the tag applet to the
operation unit 1200.
[0224] The commodity 1400 may be any type of commodity, and an
optical code may be represented, for example, on the surface of the
commodity 1400.
[0225] The NFC mobile terminal 1500 connects to the mobile
communication system, and communicates with a desired counterparty
via a wireless connection. The NFC mobile terminal 1500 may include
an NFC communication function and then perform NFC communications.
Alternatively, the NFC mobile terminal 1500 may include only an NFC
communication function.
[0226] The NFC mobile terminal 1500 includes a plurality of
application applets including a driving applet, and these applets
are identified by respective pieces of AID information. The driving
applet is described as being an application program which transmits
and receives commodity information.
[0227] The NFC mobile terminal 1500 operates in card mode in its
initial stage, receives a signal requesting AID information and a
signal requesting mode-switching from the operation unit 1200 via
the panel unit 1100, provides retrieved AID information, wakes up
and operates a corresponding driving applet, performs switching to
read mode, and returns a response signal indicative of results
corresponding to a request signal to the operation unit 1200 via
the panel unit 1100.
[0228] After the NFC mobile terminal 1500 has been automatically
switched to read mode, the NFC mobile terminal 1500 receives a tag
applet from the operation unit 1200, and outputs the tag applet via
its own output unit using an operating driving applet in the form
of multimedia.
[0229] The configuration according to the fifth embodiment of the
present invention converts commodity information recorded in a QR
code or an optical code represented on the surface of a commodity
into a tag applet and transfers the tag applet to the NFC mobile
terminal, and the NFC mobile terminal receives the tag applet using
an NFC method and outputs the commodity information using a waked
driving applet in the form of multimedia content
[0230] FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram illustrating the
configuration of a commodity information provision system according
to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.
[0231] Referring to FIG. 11, the commodity information provision
system 2000 according to the sixth embodiment of the present
invention will now be described in detail. The commodity
information provision system 2000 according to the sixth embodiment
of the present invention includes an apparatus unit 2090 including
a panel unit 2100 and operation unit 2200 and a server unit
2300.
[0232] The apparatus unit 2090 includes the panel unit 2100 and the
operation unit 2200, and may be any one of an NFC reader and a
mobile terminal, which is the same throughout the following
description.
[0233] The commodity information provision system 2000 according to
the sixth embodiment is the same as the commodity information
provision system 1000 of the fifth embodiment except that the
commodity information provision system 2000 according to the sixth
embodiment further includes a barcode scanner unit 2140 and a
barcode analysis unit 2250 compared to the commodity information
provision system 1000 of the fifth embodiment.
[0234] That is, since the configuration of the server unit 2300
including an output unit 2120, an NFC antenna unit 2130, a process
unit 2220, an NFC controller unit 2230, a tag applet recording unit
2240, and a tag applet issuance unit 2310 is the same as that of
the fifth embodiment except for reference numerals, redundant
descriptions will be omitted and only necessary descriptions will
be given.
[0235] Therefore, the configurations of the unique barcode scanner
unit 2140 and barcode analysis unit 2250 will now be described in
detail.
[0236] The camera unit 2110 captures a QR code, and applies the QR
code to both the output unit 2120 and the QR analysis unit 2210.
The barcode scanner unit 2140 scans a barcode, and applies the
scanned image to both the output unit 2120 and the barcode analysis
unit 2250.
[0237] The barcode and the QR code may be the same in the type and
content of information to be recorded, and may be different in the
amount of information which can be recorded therein.
[0238] That is, the barcode is a computer-readable 1D code, and can
record a relatively limited amount of information because the
amount of data which can be recorded in the barcode is small. The
QR code is a computer-readable 2D code, and is widely used recently
QR because it has the advantages of being able to record a maximum
of 23,648 bits and also recording link information.
[0239] The configuration according to the sixth embodiment of the
present invention converts commodity information recorded in
optical codes including a barcode and a QR code represented on the
surface of a commodity 1400 into a tag applet and transfers the tag
applet to the NFC mobile terminal 1500, and the NFC mobile terminal
1500 receives the tag applet using an NFC method and outputs the
commodity information using a waked driving applet in the form of
multimedia content. The configuration according to the sixth
embodiment is different from the configuration of the present
invention in that the configuration according to the sixth
embodiment uses both the barcode and the QR code.
[0240] FIG. 12 is a functional block diagram illustrating the
configuration of a commodity information provision system 3000
according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.
[0241] Referring to FIG. 12, the commodity information provision
system 3000 according to the seventh embodiment of the present
invention will now be described in detail. The commodity
information provision system 3000 according to the seventh
embodiment of the present invention includes an apparatus unit 3090
including a panel unit 3100 and an operation unit 3200 and a server
unit 3300.
[0242] The apparatus unit 3090 includes the panel unit 3100 and the
operation unit 3200, and may be any one selected from among an NFC
reader and a mobile terminal, which is the same throughout the
following description.
[0243] The commodity information provision system 3000 according to
the seventh embodiment is the same as the commodity information
provision system 1000 according to the fifth embodiment except that
the output unit 3120 of the panel unit 3100 is connected to both a
camera unit 3110 and the operation unit 3200, the operation unit
3200 further includes an output control unit 3250, and the server
unit 3300 further includes a commodity information DB unit 3320 and
a control unit 3330.
[0244] Since the other configurations of the commodity information
provision system 3000 according to the seventh embodiment is the
same as the commodity information provision system 1000 according
to the fifth embodiment except for reference numerals, redundant
descriptions will be omitted and only necessary descriptions will
be given.
[0245] The output unit 3120 of the panel unit 3100 visually outputs
video signals captured by the camera unit 3110, thereby allows
whether the camera unit 3110 is accurately capturing an optical
code to be checked, and also outputs a multimedia content signal
selectively applied by the operation unit 3200.
[0246] The output control unit 3250 of the operation unit 3200
applies the tag applet, applied by the server unit 3300, to the
output unit 3120 under the control of the process unit 3220,
thereby allowing the output unit 3120 to be output in the form of a
multimedia signal.
[0247] That is, the process unit 3220 provides the information of
the tag applet, applied by the server unit 3300, to both the NFC
controller unit 3230 and the output control unit 3250 at the same
time.
[0248] The server unit 3300 receives the commodity data applied via
the operation unit 3200, and applies the commodity data to the tag
applet issuance unit 3310 and the commodity information DB unit
3320.
[0249] The tag applet issuance unit 3310 converts the commodity
data, applied by the operation unit 3200, into a tag applet, as
described in the descriptions of the fifth and sixth
embodiments.
[0250] The commodity information DB unit 3300 analyzes the
commodity data applied by the operation unit 3200, and, if link
information is included in the commodity data, extracts the link
information and connects to the corresponding link, thereby
searching for and providing the corresponding commodity
information.
[0251] The control unit 3330 performs control so that the
corresponding commodity information found by the commodity
information DB unit 3320 can be applied to the tag applet issuance
unit 3310 and converted into a tag applet. In this case, the
control unit 3330 performs control and monitoring so that the
commodity information is converted into a tag applet which matches
commodity data included in an optical code.
[0252] The server unit 3300 provides the tag applet, issued and
created by the tag applet issuance unit 3310, to the process unit
3220 of the operation unit 3200.
[0253] The configuration according to the seventh embodiment of the
present invention converts commodity information, recorded in a QR
code or an optical code represented on the surface of a commodity,
into a tag applet, transfers the tag applet to the NFC mobile
terminal, and also searches for and includes more commodity
information linked using link information, thereby transferring the
matched tag applet to the NFC mobile terminal. The NFC mobile
terminal receives the tag applet using an NFC method, and outputs
commodity information using a waked driving applet in the form of
multimedia content.
[0254] FIG. 13 is a functional block diagram illustrating the
configuration of a commodity information provision system 4000
according to a eighth embodiment of the present invention.
[0255] Referring to FIG. 13, the commodity information provision
system 4000 according to the eighth embodiment of the present
invention will now be described in detail. The commodity
information provision system 4000 according to the eighth
embodiment of the present invention includes an apparatus unit 4090
including a panel unit 4100 and an operation unit 4200 and a server
unit 4300. The commodity information provision system 4000
according to the eighth embodiment is similar to the commodity
information provision system 3000 according to the seventh
embodiment.
[0256] The apparatus unit 4090 includes the panel unit 4100 and the
operation unit 4200, and may be any one selected from among an NFC
reader and a mobile terminal, which is the same throughout the
following description.
[0257] The commodity information provision system 4000 according to
the eighth embodiment is different from the commodity information
provision system 3000 according to the seventh embodiment in that
the panel unit 4100 further includes a barcode scanner unit 4140
and the operation unit 4200 further includes a barcode analysis
unit 4260. Since the commodity information provision system 4000
according to the eighth embodiment is the same as the commodity
information provision system 3000 according to the seventh
embodiment except for reference numerals, redundant descriptions
will be omitted and only necessary descriptions will be given.
[0258] The camera unit 4110 captures a QR code and applies the
captured image to both the output unit 4120 and the QR analysis
unit 4210, and the barcode scanner unit 4140 scans a barcode and
applies the scanned image to both the output unit 4120 and the
barcode analysis unit 4260.
[0259] The barcode and the QR code are the same in the type and
content of information to be recorded, and are different in the
amount of information which can be recorded therein, as described
above.
[0260] The configuration according to the eighth embodiment of the
present invention has the advantage of converting commodity
information, recorded in optical codes including a QR code and a
barcode represented on the surface of a commodity, and commodity
information, found using link information, into a tag applet and
outputting the tag applet via the NFC mobile terminal.
[0261] FIG. 14 is a functional block diagram illustrating the
configuration of a commodity information provision system 5000
according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention.
[0262] Referring FIG. 14, the commodity information provision
system 5000 according to the ninth embodiment of the present
invention will now be described in detail. The commodity
information provision system 5000 according to the ninth embodiment
of the present invention includes an apparatus unit 5090 including
a panel unit 5100 and an operation unit 5200. The commodity
information provision system 5000 according to the ninth embodiment
is partially the same as the commodity information provision system
4000 according to the eighth embodiment.
[0263] The apparatus unit 5090 includes the panel unit 5100 and the
operation unit 5200, and may be any one selected from among an NFC
reader and a mobile terminal, which is the same throughout the
following description.
[0264] Since the panel unit 5100 includes a camera unit 5110, an
output unit 5120, an NFC antenna unit 5130 and a barcode scanner
unit 5140 and is the same as the panel unit 4100 of the eighth
embodiment except for reference numerals, a redundant description
thereof will be omitted here.
[0265] The operation unit 5200 includes a QR analysis unit 5210, a
process unit 5220, an NFC controller unit 5230, a tag applet
recording unit 5240, an output control unit 5250, a barcode
analysis unit 5260, and a tag applet issuance unit 5270.
[0266] The configuration of the operation unit 5200 according to
the ninth embodiment is different from that of the operation unit
4200 according to the eighth embodiment in that the operation unit
5200 further includes a tag applet issuance unit 5270 and the
process unit 5220 is not connected to a server unit.
[0267] That is, in the ninth embodiment, a server unit is not
provided and instead the functionality of the server unit is
performed by the tag applet issuance unit 5270 of the operation
unit 5200, so that the additional functionality of the process unit
5220 and the additionally provided tag applet issuance unit 5270
will now be described chiefly.
[0268] The process unit 5220 recognizes a QR code captured by the
QR analysis unit 5210, and receives analyzed commodity data.
[0269] Furthermore, the process unit 5220 recognizes a barcode
scanned by the barcode analysis unit 5260, and receives analyzed
commodity data.
[0270] The process unit 5220 transfers commodity information,
received from the QR analysis unit 5210 and the barcode analysis
unit 5260, to the tag applet issuance unit 5270.
[0271] The commodity information according to the ninth embodiment
is information that an optical code can include therein, and
includes one or more of the advertisement, manufacturer, vendor,
release date, expiration date, price information, serial number,
name and contact information of a corresponding commodity 1400.
That is, since the commodity information according to the ninth
embodiment does not include image information and link information,
the amount of information which can be provided may be relatively
small.
[0272] The tag applet issuance unit 5270 converts the commodity
data, applied by the process unit 5220, into a tag applet, and
applies the tag applet to both the NFC controller unit 5230 and the
process unit 5220.
[0273] The NFC controller unit 5230 records the applied tag applet
in the assigned area of the tag applet recording unit 5240, and
provides the applied tag applet if it is determined that the NFC
mobile terminal 1500 has tagged the NFC antenna unit 5130.
[0274] The process unit 5220 provides the tag applet, applied by
the tag applet issuance unit 5270, to the output control unit 5250,
thereby allowing the tag applet to be output via the output unit
5120.
[0275] The configuration according to the ninth embodiment of the
present invention has the advantages of converting commodity
information, recorded in optical codes including a QR code and a
barcode represented on the surface of a commodity, into a tag
applet in the operation unit itself, outputting the tag applet via
the output unit in the form of content and wirelessly providing the
tag applet to the NFC mobile terminal to be output.
[0276] FIG. 15 is a functional block diagram illustrating the
configuration of a commodity information provision system 6000
according to a tenth embodiment of the present invention.
[0277] Referring to FIG. 15, the commodity information provision
system 6000 according to the tenth embodiment of the present
invention will now be described in detail. The commodity
information provision system 6000 according to the tenth embodiment
of the present invention includes an apparatus unit 6090 including
a panel unit 6100 and an operation unit 6200 and a server unit
6300, and is partially the same as the commodity information
provision system 5000 according to the ninth embodiment.
[0278] The apparatus unit 6090 includes the panel unit 6100 and the
operation unit 6200, and may be any one selected from among an NFC
reader and a mobile terminal, which is the same throughout the
following description.
[0279] Since the panel unit 6100 includes a camera unit 6110, an
output unit 6120, an NFC antenna unit 6130 and a barcode scanner
unit 6140 and is the same in configuration as the panel unit 5100
of the ninth embodiment, a redundant description thereof will be
omitted and only descriptions necessary to describe the tenth
embodiment will be given.
[0280] The operation unit 6200 includes a QR analysis unit 6210, a
process unit 6220, an NFC controller unit 6230, a tag applet
recording unit 6240, an output control unit 6250, a barcode
analysis unit 6260, and a tag applet issuance unit 6270.
[0281] The server unit 6300 includes a commodity information DB
unit 6310 and a tag applet issuance unit 6320, the commodity
information DB unit 6310 records a variety of commodity information
linked using link information, and the tag applet issuance unit
6320 converts commodity information into a tag applet.
[0282] Since the configuration of the operation unit 6200 of the
tenth embodiment is different from the configuration of the
operation unit 5200 of the ninth embodiment in that the process
unit 6220 directly connects to the NFC controller unit 6230 or
connects to the NFC controller unit 6230 via the tag applet
issuance unit 6270, different and necessary descriptions will be
given chiefly.
[0283] The process unit 6220 checks whether link information has
been included in the commodity data applied by the QR analysis unit
6210 by analyzing the commodity data.
[0284] Here, the process unit 6220 checks whether link information
is included in the commodity data provided by the barcode analysis
unit by analyzing the commodity data.
[0285] It will be apparent that link information may be also
included in a barcode.
[0286] The process unit 6220 analyzes commodity data applied by the
QR analysis unit 6210 or barcode analysis unit 6260, separates link
information if the link information has been included in the
commodity data, and applies (transfers) the link information to the
server unit 6300.
[0287] That is, the process unit 6220 according to the tenth
embodiment is different from the process unit 5220 according to the
ninth embodiment in that the function of checking whether link
information has been included, separating the link information and
transferring the link information to the server unit has been added
to the function of the process unit 5220 according to the ninth
embodiment.
[0288] Using a process of connecting to a path corresponding to
link information applied by the process unit 6220, the server unit
6300 searches for corresponding commodity information from the
commodity information DB unit 6310 and applies the found commodity
information to the tag applet issuance unit 6320.
[0289] The tag applet issuance unit 6320 converts the found and
applied commodity information into a tag applet, and provides the
commodity information to the process unit 6220 of the operation
unit 6200.
[0290] The process unit 6220 directly applies (transfers) the tag
applet, applied by the server unit 6300, to both the NFC controller
unit 6230 and the output control unit 6250.
[0291] Meanwhile, the process unit 6220 performs control so that
the commodity information applied by the QR analysis unit 6210 is
applied (transferred) to the tag applet issuance unit 6270 and then
converted into a tag applet, the tag applet issuance unit 6270
applies (transfers) the tag applet, obtained by converting the
commodity information, both the NFC controller unit 6230 and the
process unit 6220, and the process unit 6220 applies (transfers)
the tag applet to the output control unit 6250.
[0292] The NFC controller unit 6230 is different in that it
includes the functionality described in conjunction with the ninth
embodiment and additionally receives the tag applets from both the
tag applet issuance unit 6270 and the process unit 6220. Since the
configurations and functionalities of the tag applet recording unit
6240, the output control unit 6250, the QR analysis unit 6210 and
the barcode analysis unit 6260 are the same as those of the ninth
embodiment, redundant descriptions thereof will be omitted
here.
[0293] The configuration according to the tenth embodiment of the
present invention converts commodity information, recorded on
optical codes including a QR code and a barcode represented on the
surface of a commodity, into a tag applet using the operation unit
itself.
[0294] In particular, the configuration according to the tenth
embodiment of the present invention has the advantage of
additionally providing a variety and abundance of commodity
information because the configuration detects link information
included in a QR code and a barcode, searches for corresponding
commodity information from the server unit, converts the commodity
information into a tag applet, and provides the tag applet.
[0295] FIG. 16 is a signal flow diagram illustrating the operation
of the commodity information provision system according to the
fifth embodiment of the present invention.
[0296] Referring to FIG. 16, the operation of the fifth embodiment
will now be described in detail based on the configuration of the
eighth embodiment.
[0297] The NFC mobile terminal 1500 operates in card mode in its
initial stage, and the operation unit 4200 operates in read mode in
its initial stage.
[0298] An optical code of a commodity 1400 is scanned by bringing
the optical code close to the panel unit 4100 at step ST5010, the
panel unit 4100 transfers the scanned optical code to the operation
unit 4200, and the operation unit recognizes the optical code and
converts the optical code into commodity data at step ST5020.
[0299] The operation unit transmits the obtained commodity data to
the server unit at step ST5030, and the server unit checks whether
link information has been included in commodity data by analyzing
the commodity data at step ST5040, makes a connection using the
corresponding link information if the link information has been
included, and searches for commodity information at step
ST5050.
[0300] The server unit converts the commodity data, applied by the
operation unit, into a tag applet and issues the tag applet,
converts the commodity data and matched commodity information into
a tag applet and issues the tag applet if the commodity information
has been found using a link at step ST5060, and transmits the tag
applet to the operation unit at step ST5070.
[0301] The operation unit records the tag applet, transmitted by
the server unit, in an assigned area at step ST5080, checks whether
the NFC mobile terminal 1500 has performed tagging by monitoring
the panel unit, and, if the NFC mobile terminal 1500 has performed
tagging at step ST5090, requests the NFC mobile terminal to search
for AID information via the panel unit and at the same time
requests automatic mode-switching, and receives corresponding
results in the form of a response signal at step ST5100.
[0302] In this case, the NFC mobile terminal wakes up the driving
applet and operates the driving applet in an active state and
switches from card mode to read mode at step ST5110, and the
operation unit switches from read mode to card mode at step
ST5120.
[0303] The operation unit which has switched to card mode transmits
the recorded tag applet to the NFC mobile terminal via the panel
unit using, for example, a frequency in the 13.56 MHz band, and the
NFC mobile terminal returns a response signal indicative of
reception without error at step ST5130.
[0304] If it is determined that the tag applet has been transmitted
without error, the operation unit deletes a record of the
corresponding tag applet at step ST5140, and the NFC mobile
terminal outputs the commodity information by running the received
tag applet at step ST5150.
[0305] The present invention has the advantage of downloading
commodity information to the NFC mobile terminal in the form of
content using an optical code including a barcode or a QR code
represented on a commodity and conveniently playing back and
viewing the commodity information anytime and anywhere.
[0306] FIG. 17 is a signal flow diagram illustrating the operation
of the commodity information provision system according to the
sixth embodiment of the present invention.
[0307] Referring to FIG. 17, the operation of the commodity
information provision system according to the sixth embodiment of
the present invention will now be described based on the
configuration of the eighth embodiment.
[0308] The operation of the commodity information provision system
according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention is
different in that the initial operating modes of the NFC mobile
terminal 1500 and the operation unit 4200 are not designated and
set.
[0309] That is, the NFC mobile terminal 1500 and the operation unit
4200 automatically switches between read mode and card mode.
[0310] Therefore, the operation of the commodity information
provision system according to the sixth embodiment is different
from the operation of the commodity information provision system
according to the fifth embodiment in that the process of making a
mode-switching request and transmitting a corresponding response
signal is not required.
[0311] Only different descriptions will now be given.
[0312] In an initial stage, the NFC mobile terminal 1500 and the
operation unit 4200 operate in read mode or card mode, and
automatically switch operating mode every period of time which is
freely set.
[0313] Since steps ST6010 to ST6090 in FIG. 17 are the same as
steps ST5010 to ST5090 in the operation of the fifth embodiment,
redundant descriptions thereof will be omitted here.
[0314] The operation unit 4200 monitors the panel unit 4100, and,
if it is determined that the NFC mobile terminal 1500 has performed
tagging, requests the NFC mobile terminal to search for AID
information and the receives AID information of search results in
the form of a response signal at step ST6100.
[0315] The NFC mobile terminal wakes up the driving applet and
operates the driving applet in an active state, and activates the
loop time of read mode and automatically switches to read mode at
step ST6110.
[0316] The operation unit also activates the loop time of card mode
and automatically switches to card mode at step ST6120.
[0317] Furthermore, since steps ST6130 to ST6150 in FIG. 17 are the
same as steps ST5130 to ST5150 in the operation of the fifth
embodiment, redundant descriptions thereof will be omitted
here.
[0318] The operation of the sixth embodiment has the advantage of
the step of processing signals being simplified because the NFC
mobile terminal 1500 and the operation unit 4200 do not exchange
signals for mode-switching, thereby increasing processing
speed.
[0319] FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an NFC tag generation
device 20 and a mobile terminal 10 according to an embodiment of
the present invention, and FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the
configuration of an NFC tag generation device 20 according to an
embodiment of the present invention.
[0320] Referring to FIG. 18, the NFC tag generation device 20
according to the embodiment of the present invention outputs
content including a still image(s), a moving image(s) and/or music
to the outside, and plays back the content.
[0321] A user may bring the NFC communication-enabled NFC terminal
10 close to the NFC tag generation device 20, and receive content
including a still image(s), a moving image(s) or music in the form
of tag data.
[0322] Referring to FIG. 19, the NFC tag generation device 20 for
outputting content to the outside and transmitting tag data to the
NFC terminal 10 includes an NFC controller unit 210, an operation
control unit 220, a memory unit 230, a tag recording unit 240, a
content output unit 250, an NFC antenna unit 260, and a
communication interface unit 270.
[0323] The NFC tag generation device 20 may output one or more
pieces of content via the content output unit 250.
[0324] The content may include a medium (media) which can be played
back, such as a still image(s), such as a photo(s), a moving
image(s) or music.
[0325] The content output unit 250 may receive a selection of
content using the user's manipulation or predetermined default
setting.
[0326] For example, when the content output unit 250 is provided
with a touch screen and one or more pieces of content are
alternately output at regular intervals, the user may transfer a
command to select content to be transmitted to the NFC terminal 10
in such a way as to touch the touch screen.
[0327] According to an embodiment of the present invention, when
the user does not directly transmit a selection command to the
content output unit 250 but brings the NFC terminal 10 close to the
NFC tag generation device 20, the tag generation device 20 detects
a signal from the NFC terminal 10.
[0328] Accordingly, specific content may be selected by
predetermined default setting without requiring a content selection
command via the content output unit 250.
[0329] The operation control unit 220 may search for tag data
corresponding to content selected via the content output unit
250.
[0330] There are tag data which corresponds to each of one or more
pieces of content which are output to the outside via the content
output unit 250.
[0331] Once the content has been selected via the content output
unit 250, the operation control unit 220 may detect a selected
command signal and search for tag data corresponding to the
content.
[0332] The NFC controller unit 210 may select transmission mode
corresponding to the content selected by the content output unit
250.
[0333] The operation control unit 220 transmits a control signal
requesting switching to transmission mode corresponding to the
selected content to the NFC controller unit 210.
[0334] Methods of transmitting data using NFC communication may be
classified into card mode, P2P mode, and RW mode. The transmission
method may vary with mode depending on the type of content, or all
transmission methods may be used.
[0335] According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is
possible to use a method in which mode-switching stops in
corresponding transmission mode when a transmission method
corresponding to content is determined in a mode polling state
where card mode, P2P mode and RW mode are alternating.
[0336] The memory unit 230 may store content to be output to the
outside and tag data corresponding to the content.
[0337] The memory unit 230 may store content-related data and tag
data in its tag data DB unit and content DB unit, which may be
constructed in the form of separate storage spaces.
[0338] The tag recording unit 240 may include one or more tag
recording units, and may temporarily record the tag data of the NFC
tag generation device 20 to be transmitted to the outside.
[0339] The tag recording unit 240 may be included in one or more
selected from among the NFC controller unit 210, the operation
control unit 220, and the memory unit 230.
[0340] In order to transmit tag data, corresponding to content
selected by the user, to the NFC terminal 10, the operation control
unit 220 may transfer a control signal, recording the corresponding
tag data in the tag recording unit 240, to the NFC controller unit
210.
[0341] The NFC antenna unit 260 may transmit tag data to the NFC
communication-enabled NFC terminal 10 using an NFC communication
method.
[0342] When the user brings the NFC terminal 10 close to the NFC
tag generation device 20 in order to receive selected content, the
NFC tag generation device 20 transmits corresponding tag data via
the NFC antenna unit 260 in preset transmission mode.
[0343] The communication interface unit 270 may update information
about content or tag data, stored in the memory unit 230, with
information about new content or tag data.
[0344] For this purpose, the communication interface unit 270 may
communicate with another content or tag data provision server.
[0345] The communication interface unit 270 may include a
communication device which performs the functionality of a mobile
communication terminal and can connect to a mobile communication
network.
[0346] FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating an NFC tag transmission
method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0347] At step S10, the NFC tag generation device 20 outputs
content to the outside, and receives a selection of content from a
user.
[0348] The NFC generation device 20 may output one or more pieces
of content to the outside, and the user may select content to be
received.
[0349] At step S20, the user requests tag data from the NFC tag
generation device 20.
[0350] When the user selects desired content at step S10, a signal
requesting tag data is automatically transmitted from the NFC tag
generation device 20.
[0351] At step S30, the setting of transmission mode corresponding
to the content selected at step S10 is analyzed.
[0352] Methods of transmitting data using NFC communication may be
classified into card mode, P2P mode, and RW mode. The transmission
method may vary with mode depending on the type of content, or all
transmission methods may be used.
[0353] It is possible to use a method in which mode-switching stops
in corresponding transmission mode when a transmission method
corresponding to content is determined in a mode polling state
where card mode, P2P mode and RW mode are alternating.
[0354] At step S40, an application based on the transmission mode
analyzed and determined at step S30 is run.
[0355] At step S50, tag data corresponding to the selected content
is searched for.
[0356] At step S60, when the user brings the NFC terminal 10 close
to the NFC tag generation device 20 in order to receive selected
content, the NFC tag generation device 20 transmits corresponding
tag data in the transmission mode set at step S30.
[0357] Meanwhile, when the tag NFC terminal 10 is caused to tag the
NFC tag generation device 20 without inputting a command to select
content to the NFC tag generation device 20 at step S10,
predetermined tag data may be transmitted to the NFC terminal 10 in
predetermined transmission mode.
[0358] That is, when the NFC tag generation device 20 detects a
signal for NFC communication because the NFC terminal 10 comes
close to the NFC tag generation device 20, content may be selected
using a predetermined method.
[0359] According to an embodiment of the present invention, when
the tag NFC terminal 10 is caused to tag the NFC tag generation
device 20 without inputting a command to select content to the NFC
tag generation device 20 at step S10, content at the time when the
tagging is performed may be selected, and tag data corresponding to
the content may be transmitted to the NFC terminal 10.
[0360] FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating an NFC tag transmission
method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0361] Since steps S100 to S300 are the same as steps S10 to S30 of
FIG. 3, detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted here.
[0362] At step S400, tag data corresponding to selected content is
searched for.
[0363] At step S500, the tag data found at step S400 is recorded in
a separate storage space.
[0364] At step S600, when the NFC terminal 10 is brought close to
the NFC tag generation device 20 in order to receive the content
selected by the user, the NFC tag generation device 20 transmits
the tag data, stored in the separate storage space, to the NFC
terminal 10 in the transmission mode set at step S30.
[0365] Meanwhile, when the tag NFC terminal 10 is caused to tag the
NFC tag generation device 20 without inputting a command to select
content to the NFC tag generation device 20 at step S100,
predetermined tag data may be transmitted to the NFC terminal 10 in
predetermined transmission mode.
[0366] That is, when the NFC tag generation device 20 detects a
signal for NFC communication because the NFC terminal 10 comes
close to the NFC tag generation device 20, content may be selected
using a predetermined method.
[0367] According to an embodiment of the present invention, when
the tag NFC terminal 10 is caused to tag the NFC tag generation
device 20 without inputting a command to select content to the NFC
tag generation device 20 at step S100, content at the time when the
tagging is performed may be selected, and tag data corresponding to
the content may be transmitted to the NFC terminal 10.
[0368] The embodiments of the present invention configured as
described above has the advantage of repeatedly viewing the content
of an advertisement and analyzing it over time when a user is far
away from an advertisement medium because the content of the
advertisement can be provided and recorded in the form of data by
allowing a mobile terminal to tag an advertisement output
medium.
[0369] Furthermore, the embodiments of the present invention has
the advantage of outputting a variety of types of advertisements as
corresponding multimedia information and providing them in the form
of data using a single output medium.
[0370] Meanwhile, the embodiments of the present invention has the
advantage of conveniently providing a variety of types of
advertisement information using QR codes or barcodes.
[0371] Furthermore, the embodiments of the present invention has
the advantage of recognizing an optical code including a barcode or
a QR code represented on a commodity, converting commodity
information, included in the optical code, into an NFC tag applet
and providing the NFC tag applet to an NFC mobile terminal, thereby
enabling a user to rapidly check accurate commodity information and
to purchase optimum commodities because the present invention
can.
[0372] Furthermore, the embodiments of the present invention has
the advantage of receiving and recording content in the form of tag
data using the tagging of a content output medium by a mobile
terminal and allowing a user to repeatedly review the content when
the user is far away from a content medium and to analyze the
content over time.
[0373] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention
have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the
art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and
substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and
spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying
claims.
* * * * *