WO2005001738A1

WO2005001738A1 - Method for selectively filtering regional information transmitted to digital broadcasting receiver with postal code

Info

Publication number: WO2005001738A1
Application number: PCT/KR2004/001534
Authority: WO
Inventors: Zino Lee
Original assignee: Alticast Corp.
Priority date: 2003-06-27
Filing date: 2004-06-25
Publication date: 2005-01-06
Also published as: KR20050004303A; KR100509008B1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for selectively filtering area information which is transmitted to a digital broadcasting receiver based on zip codes. The method comprises the steps of: confirming that the information which is transmitted to a digital broadcasting receiver through a broadcasting network is related to a specific area; extracting a target area from the above information based on information related to a specific area; confirming whether or not the zip codes which are stored in the memory of the above target area and a digital broadcasting receiver match; handling the received information regarding only the area information which is matched by handling the received information and storing it in a storing apparatus of a digital broadcasting receiver. The above method makes it possible for a user who receives information to receive the area information selectively, and to have effective filtering regarding area information.

Description

METHOD FOR SELECTIVELY FILTERING REGIONAL INFORMATION TRANSMITTED TO DIGITAL BROADCASTING RECEIVER WITH POSTAL CODE

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for selectively filtering regional information transmitted to a digital broadcasting receiver with a postal code.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Internet is widely used for opinion polls, shopping, banking, and so on. Particularly, as you may know from the word, "internet is a sea of information," various information are exchanged and shared through the internet. The internet became the essential tools of modern life. Accompanied with rapid distribution of the internet and development of bi-directional communications, digital televisions have been popularly commercially available. As a result of the rapid distribution of the digital television, various information is believed to be transmitted through the medium, "digital television". Particularly, the situation will be strengthened, considering that the televisions are media to which all the classes are intimate and easily accessible including the aged and housewives who are not intimate to a computer.

Currently, more than 100 channels are commercially available in a satellite broadcasting and users are exposed to wide information. However, the users want to selectively view user- oriented information, which is the information that satisfies user's preference or demand. Particularly, regional information is still more.

Postal code is closely related to the regional information, and is being used in a several field. KR published Patent No. 2002-0008661 discloses a method for matching a seller with a purchaser using the postal code comprising calculating the distance between the seller and the purchaser with the postal code and determining the closest ones. KR Patent No. 10-0323407 discloses a method for providing information to users, comprising storing various information based on information code, distributing the information to a user based on the user-inputted postal code and the information code. However, KR published Patent No. 2002-0008661 or KR Patent No. 10-0323407 is not applicable to regional information transmitted in a form of broadcasting.

DISCLOSURE

TECHNICAL PROBLEM An object of the present invention is to provide a method for filtering regional information transmitted through a broadcasting network to a digital broadcasting receiver with user's postal code. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method in which regional information transmitted through a broadcasting network to a digital broadcasting receiver is selectively filtered with user's postal code and the filtered regional information is hierarchically maintained by efficient operation of the postal code.

TECHNICAL SOLUTION The method according to the present invention comprises confirming whether an information transmitted to a digital broadcasting receiver is a regional information, extracting a targeted region from the information if the information is the regional information, confirming whether the targeted region is matched with a postal code stored in a memory, and storing the information which is matched with the postal code into a storage of the digital broadcasting receiver.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECT The method according to the present invention enables users to selectively receive regional information with a postal code. In addition, OR operation described in FIG. 3 provides hierarchical maintenance of the received regional information.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the method in accordance with the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a preferred embodiment in which matching of targeted region of regional information with the postal code is performed by AND operation. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a preferred embodiment in which matching of targeted region of regional information with the postal code is performed by OR operation. FIG. 4 shows an user interface displayed on a user's display in which filtering of regional information is performed by OR operation. FIG. 5 shows an user interface displayed on a user's display in which filtering of regional information is performed with two postal codes.

MODE FOR INVENTION In the following, the present invention will be more fully illustrated referring to the accompanied drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the method in accordance with the present invention. Suppose that a user (3) wants to collect information related to Seocho-gu, belonging to Kangnam area of Seoul. In this case, the user (3) inputs a postal code "137-XXX" which is corresponding to Seocho-gu with an input device (not shown) such as wireless keyboard or remote control, and the inputted postal code is stored into a memory (102) of a digital broadcasting receiver (1). When a certain information is transmitted to the digital broadcasting receiver (1), a signal processing and control unit (101) of the digital broadcasting receiver (1) confirms whether the received information is a region-based information (shortly, regional information). In a case that the received information is a regional information, the signal processing and control unit (101) extracts the targeted region form the regional information. Thereafter, if the targeted region is matched with the postal code stored in the memory (102), the information is treated by the signal processing and control unit (101) and stored into a storage (103) of the digital broadcasting receiver (1). In response to the request of the user (3), the information is displayed on a user's display (2) (for example, digital television).

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a preferred embodiment in which matching of the targeted region of regional information with the postal code is performed by AND operation (or combinational operation). As used herein, the phrase "AND operation" is defined as an operation which selectively filters the information that targets the region "belonging" to the postal code. For example, supposed that the postal code, inputted by the user and stored into the memory of the digital broadcasting receiver, is "137-XXX" (201) (wherein "1" represents Seoul, "3" represents a Central region of Seoul, "7" represents "Seocho-gu" of the Central region, and

"X" represents truncation operator which accepts any number positioned in the character) . In this case, only the regional information which targets Seocho-gu or its sub-region is accepted, and others are disregarded, h other words, when the targeted region of the received regional information is Seoul, this information is disregarded. Further, when the received regional information targets other regions excluding Seoul (for example, Kangwon-do), this information is also disregarded. Furthermore, when the received regional information targets a region which belongs to Seoul but is not Seocho-gu (for example, north area of a Han-river) or a region which belongs to the Central region but is not Seocho-gu (for example, Kangnam-gu), the situation is also the same. More specifically, when the targeted region of the received regional information (202) is "137-XXX" (202a), the received regional information is treated by the signal processing and control unit of the digital broadcasting receiver and stored into the memory of the digital broadcasting receiver. Further, when the targeted region of the received regional information is "137-7XX" (202b), the received regional information is also stored into the memory of the digital broadcasting receiver, because the targeted region is within the range specified by the user. To the contrary, when the targeted region of the received regional information is "1XX- XXX" (202c), the information targets all the region belonging to Seoul and is disregarded, even though the targeted region includes the user-specified region, hi the same way, when the targeted region of the received regional information is "13X-XXX" (202d), the information is also disregarded. When the targeted region of the received regional information is "2XX-XXX" (202e), the information is also disregarded because the information targets outside of Seoul. When the targeted region of the received regional information is "14X-XXX" (202f), the information is also disregarded because the information targets outside of the specified region even though the targeted region belongs to Seoul. When the targeted region of the received regional information is "134-XXX" (202g), the information is also disregarded for the same reason. Filtering of the regional information by the AND operation ensures credibility of the information, because only the information which targets the region specified by the user is accepted. But, the information relevant to the user can be sometimes disregarded, for the reason that the targeted region of the regional information is not explicitly specified. For example, the information which targets all the regions belonging to Seoul can be disregarded, even though the information is relevant to the user. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a preferred embodiment in which matching of targeted region of the regional information with the postal code is performed by OR operation (or inclusive operation). As used herein, "OR operation" is defined as an operation which selectively filters the information that targets the region "including" the postal code-specified area. As thus, when the postal code, inputted by the user and stored into the memory of the digital broadcasting receiver, is "137-XXX" (301) (wherein "1" represents Seoul, "3" represents a Central region of Seoul, "7" represents "Seocho-gu" of the Central region, and "X" represents truncation operator which accepts any number positioned in the character), the information that targets Seoul, the Central region of Seoul, Seocho-gu, or its sub-regions is accepted. Specifically, when the targeted region of the received regional information (302) is "137-XXX" (302a) or "137-7XX" (302b), the information is stored into the storage of the digital broadcasting receiver, because the targeted region is exactly the same with the user-specified region. Further, when the targeted region of the received regional information is "1XX-XXX" (302c) or "13X-XXX" (302d), the information is also stored into the storage of the digital broadcasting receiver, because the targeted region includes the user-specified region. To the contrary, when the targeted region of the received regional information is "2XX-XXX" (302e), the information is disregarded because the information targets outside of Seoul. In the same manner, the received regional information which targets the region "14X-XXX" (302f) or "134-XXX" (302g) is also disregarded because the information targets outside of the specified region even though the targeted region belongs to Seoul. In a meanwhile, in response to the user's request, the selectively filtered regional information by OR operation is displayed depending on categories to which the regional information belongs. Such a category-dependent display provides users with easy browsing. FIG. 4 shows an user interface displayed on a user's display in which filtering of the regional information is performed by OR operation. The information which targets "137-XXX" or its sub-region (401), the information which targets "13X-XXX" (402), and the information which targets "1XX-XXX" (403) are classified according to the categories to which the information belongs and displayed on a user's display in a hierarchically separated form. In this case, the user can notice the detailed contents by clicking the displayed items. Therefore, the filtering of the regional information with the postal code combined with OR operation enables users to effectively filter the received regional information and provides hierarchical management of the filtered regional information.

FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 exemplify filtering of the regional information with only one postal code. But, the user may store two or more postal codes into the memory of the digital broadcasting receiver. For example, if the user wants to receiver the regional information related to "Yongin city, Kyunggi" as well as "Seocho-gu, Seoul", he can receive two regional information by inputting two postal codes "137-XXX" (OR operation) and "427-XXX" (AND operation) with the input device and storing them into the memory. FIG. 5 shows a user interface displayed on a user's display in which filtering of the regional information is performed with two postal codes. The regional information corresponding to the postal code "137-XXX" (501), the regional information corresponding to the postal code "13X-XXX" (502), the regional information corresponding to the postal code "1XX-XXX" (503) are selectively filtered and accepted by OR operation in the same manner as described in FIG. 4, and the other region corresponding to the postal code "427-XXX" (504) is also filtered by AND operation. In this case, both the regional information which targets the regions including "137-XXX" and the regional information which targets the region exactly corresponding to "427-XXX" is accepted. Conclusively, the user can filter two or more regional information to be desired by adequate combination of AND operation and OR operation with the postal codes. Filtering by OR operation is preferable, because it provides the advantage of hierarchical maintenance and search of the filtered information.

Confirmation whether the received information is regional information, and/or extraction of the targeted region of the regional information is performed by consulting meta data of the received information. The meta data is structural data that is a collection which describes elements of the resource and adequate for fast and adequate search. Further, even though a targeted address other than a postal code is assigned to the meta data, it would be evident that matching is performed after conversion of the address into the postal code by referring a postal code registry (which will be stored into the memory) have been performed.

The filtering method according to the present invention can be applicable to various digital broadcasting receivers. Examples include a set top box and portable terminals such as DMA which treat broadcasting signals. Preferably, the digital broadcasting receiver is a set top box and display is a digital television.

Claims

1. A method for selectively filtering regional information transmitted to a digital broadcasting receiver with a postal code, comprising: a) confirming whether an information transmitted to a digital broadcasting receiver is a regional information; c) if the information is the regional information, extracting a targeted region from the information and confirming whether the targeted region is matched with a postal code stored in a memory; and, d) storing the information which is matched with the postal code into a storage of the digital broadcasting receiver.

2. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the matching of the step b) is performed by AND operation that selectively filters the information which targets the region belonging to the postal code-specified region.

3. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the matching of the step b) is performed by OR operation that selectively filters the information which targets the region including the postal code-specified region, and the filtered information is displayed in a category-dependently separated form, in response to user's request.

4. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the digital broadcasting receiver is a set top box and the treated information is displayed on a digital television.