JP3098406B2 - Video and audio service system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system for providing video and audio services, and more particularly to a system for providing video and audio services to a plurality of guest rooms in a hotel according to their respective requirements.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, most hotels have been equipped with a VTR system.
By simply operating the R terminal, a desired video program can be freely viewed. In such a VTR system, video and audio signals are transmitted from a VTR unit provided in a control room to a VTR terminal in the guest room through a cable.

[0003] Furthermore, recently, due to the widespread use of video games, hotels where video game units are installed in addition to TV monitors in each guest room are increasing. When a guest in a guest room operates the video game unit and requests a video game service, the computer in the management room reads the corresponding video game program and downloads the program to the video game unit in the guest room.
The video game unit executes a video game program in response to a guest's key operation.

[0004]

However, recently,
The video game program is about 4Gbit CD-RO
As M is provided as a medium, the main body capacity of the program is increasing. In such a large video game program, unless the server and each video game unit are connected by a high-speed line, the guest will wait a long time until the game is started. For example, 24
In order to download an M-bit video game program within a time (several seconds) allowed by human senses, a high-speed line of about several Mbits / sec is required.

Further, since the game program is digital data, advanced digital transmission techniques such as error detection and error correction are required to transfer the game program with high reliability. In addition, since it is necessary to install a video game unit in each guest room separately from the VTR system, there is a problem that the cost of the entire system increases in proportion to the number of guest rooms.

An object of the present invention is to provide a system capable of providing video and audio services on demand without using high-speed digital transmission technology.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a system capable of providing video and audio services to a large number of places as required with a simple and low-cost configuration.

[0008]

The system according to the present invention comprises a management section, a plurality of terminal sections, and a transmission line connecting them, wherein the management section includes a plurality of first video sources and a plurality of first video sources. Two video sources are provided. The management section is further provided with a program memory storing a plurality of interactive software programs typified by a video game software program.

Each of the first video sources is connected to a transmission line and executes an interactive software program to generate first video and audio signals that change in response to control signals from a user. Each of the second video sources stores a plurality of video works and is connected to a transmission line to generate a second video and audio signal corresponding to a certain video work.

[0010] The management section further has a status memory for storing all usage of the first and second video sources. The terminal section sending the service request to the management section is identified, for example, by polling. The management section selects an available video source from the first and second video sources while referring to the status memory according to a service request from the terminal section. If the service request is an interactive software program, the program is transferred from the program memory to the first available video source and executed there. If the service request is a video work, one available second video source is controlled to generate a second video and audio signal of the requested video work.

In the terminal section, the service request is transmitted to the management section to connect to the available video source selected in the management section as described above.
The monitor reproduces video and audio from video and audio signals received from available video sources through this connection.
The terminal section is further provided with a keypad control, wherein if the service request is an interactive software program, the available first selected in the management section is selected.
Send a control signal to the video source.

[0012]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a video and audio service providing system according to the present invention. In the present embodiment, a video and audio service system of a hotel will be described as an example. The video and audio service system includes a system management room 10, a plurality of guest rooms R _{1 to} R _K , and a coaxial cable 20 connecting the system management room 10 to a guest room. In this communication system, a predetermined number of frequency channels are set.

A main computer 101 is provided in the system management room 10. The main computer 101 includes a video game computer 102 and a VTR control unit 10.
3 and further to the coaxial cable 20 through the data modem 104. The system management room 10 further includes a plurality of video sources, ie, video game units VGU ₁ -VGU _N and a video tape recorder VTR _1.
-VTR _M is provided (where N and M are integers less than the number K of guest rooms). Video game unit VGU ₁ -VGU _N are each demodulator DEM ₁ -DE
It is connected to the coaxial cable 20 through M _N and the modulators MOD ₁ -MOD _N. The frequency channels f _1C -f _NC are preset in the demodulators DEM ₁ -DEM _N ,
Further, the frequency channel f _1G -f _NG is a modulator MOD ₁ -MO
It is preset to _DN . In this embodiment, each video game unit VGUi can receive a control signal of the frequency f _iC from the guest room through the demodulator DEMi, and can transmit a video and audio signal of the frequency f _iG to the guest room through the modulator MODi. it can. In the present embodiment,
As an example, a frequency keying shift (FSK) modulation scheme is employed. Also, a video game unit VG
U ₁ -VGU _N operates under the control of video game computer 102.

Video tape recorder VTR ₁ -VTR
_M are each connected to a coaxial cable 20 through a modulator MOD _1V -MOD _MV . Modulator MOD _1V -MO
The frequency channels f _1V -f _MV are set in advance for D _MV . In the present embodiment, the video tape recorder VTRi can transmit to the room with the requested video and audio signals of a frequency f _iV through modulator MOD _iV. Video tape recorder VTR ₁ -VTR _M
It operates under the control of the TR control unit 103.

The main computer 101 includes necessary circuits such as a main processor 105, a memory 106, and a billing timer (not shown). The memory 106
STATUS file, COMMAND file and other necessary files are stored. The STATUS file is a file indicating the usage status of the video game units VGU ₁ -VGU _N and the video tape recorders VTR ₁ -VTR _M. The main processor 105 performs system management such as polling, video source assignment, and service billing, as described later.

The video game computer 102 comprises a processor 107 and a game data file 108,
The game data file 108 stores a plurality of game software programs. Processor 107
According to the COMMAND file in the memory 106,
The designated game software program is read from the game data file 108 and transferred to the designated video game unit. Upon receiving a game software program from the video game computer 102, the video game unit executes the program and generates video and audio signals in response to control signals received from the requesting cabin. This control signal is transmitted to a control channel (f _1C −
f _NC ) to the video game unit. The video and audio signals generated by the video game unit correspond to a video channel (one of f _1G -f _NG ) preset in the video game unit.
Is transmitted to the guest room through the Internet.

The VTR control section 103 controls the video tape recorder VTR _1- under the control of the main computer 101.
Controls VTR _M. More specifically, C in the memory 106
By referring to the OMMAND file, the VTR control unit 103 operates the specified video work (eg, movie) on the specified video tape recorder VTR.
The video and audio signals generated by the video tape recorder is transmitted through the video channel of the coaxial cable 20 (f _1V -f either _MV) into room that requested the video work.

In this embodiment, a polling sequence is employed to determine whether there is a guest room requesting the video and audio services. More specifically,
The main processor 05 of the main computer 101 includes:
Polling is sequentially performed for each guest room through a predetermined channel (f _1S −f _KS ) of the coaxial cable 20 to determine whether each guest room is requesting video and audio services. When a room requests a service (movie or game), the main processor 105 assigns a video source, specifies an available video channel, and in the case of a video game, a corresponding control channel. Do.

FIG. 2 is a detailed block diagram showing a terminal system provided in each guest room in the present embodiment. Each guest room is provided with a main terminal 201, a TV monitor 202, a keypad terminal 203, and keypads 204 and 205. Frequency converter 30 of main terminal 201
1 is connected to the coaxial cable 20 and the channel designation signal C
The frequency channel can be changed according to Hv.
Frequency converter 301 receives a signal wave of a designated channel from coaxial cable 20 and converts the received wave from a designated frequency to a predetermined frequency. The demodulator 302 demodulates the received wave having the converted frequency and outputs the demodulated wave to the control signal detector 303 and the video signal processing circuit 305 as a received signal. The control signal detector 303 detects a control signal such as a channel signal from the received signal, and outputs the control signal to the control unit 304. When receiving the control signal from the control signal detector 303, the control unit 304 determines the channel specified by the main processor 105 of the main computer 101, and converts the channel specifying signal CHv to the frequency converter 301.
Output to When the channel designation is completed, the demodulator 302
The video and audio signals demodulated by are output to the video signal processing circuit 305. The video signal processing circuit 305 separates the video signal and the audio signal, and the video signal is reproduced by the monitor 306 and the audio signal is reproduced by the speaker 307. Note that a service keypad for requesting video and audio services may be provided to the main terminal 201.

Keypads 204 and 205 are connected to a keypad interface 308 of the keypad terminal 203. The parallel signals received from each keypad are converted to serial signals by the keypad interface 308. The serial signal is modulated by the modulator 309, and the modulated wave is transmitted to the coaxial cable 20 through the frequency converter 310. Frequency converter 31
0 is the channel designation signal CH received from the control unit 304
The frequency channel can be changed according to c. In this embodiment, when a desired key on the keypads 204 and 205 is operated, a control signal corresponding to the operation key is generated and output to the keypad interface 308. Therefore, a control signal indicating a desired key operation is transmitted to the main processor 105 of the main computer 101 through the designated control channel of the coaxial cable 20.

The video game unit for executing the video game software program is installed in the system management room 10 and not in the guest room. Each guest room is simply provided with an operation keypad and a monitor terminal for reproducing audio and video. Since there is no need to transfer the video game software program from the system management room 10 to the guest room, the system uses the existing T
It is only necessary to install the coaxial cable 20 having a transmission speed higher than the transmission speed of the V transmission cable by several tens Kbits / sec necessary for transmitting the control signal. Further, it is not necessary to provide a memory for storing the video game software program in each guest room.

FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the present embodiment. The main computer 101 always performs polling by sequentially checking each guest room through the data modem 104. When a service request is received from the main terminal 201 of a certain room Ri, the main processor 105 of the main computer 101 transmits a channel signal designating an available video channel to the main terminal 201 of the room Ri. The available video channels are determined by the main processor 105 by the STAT of the memory 106.
It is determined by referring to the US file. According to the channel signal received from the main computer 101,
The main terminal 201 changes the frequency channel to the specified video channel. And the main computer 10
1 is an available video source (video game unit VG
U or video tape recorder VTR) transmits the video and audio signals of the requested service to the main terminal 201 of the guest room Ri.
The video game computer 102 is controlled so as to transmit the video game.

When the requested service is a video game, the main computer 101 designates a game control (GMC) channel in addition to the video channel. When the video channel and the GMC channel are designated, the video game unit VGU transmits the video and audio signals to the main terminal 201 of the passenger compartment Ri through the video channel of the coaxial cable 20. The video game unit VGU
From the keypad terminal 203 of the guest room Ri to the coaxial cable 20
Control (GM) received through the GMC channel of
C) Changing the video and audio signals in response to the signals.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the start operation of the video game service in this embodiment. Upon receiving the game service request from the guest room Rj, the main processor 105 stores the STATUS stored in the memory 106.
The file (402) is searched for an available video game unit. For example, video game unit VGU
If i is not already occupied, the main processor 1
05 designates a video game unit VGUi, designates a video channel of frequency f _iG and a control channel of frequency f _iC , and transmits the channel data to the main terminal 201 of the cabin Rj (401). Subsequently, the main processor 105 executes COMMA for executing the game.
An ND file is created (403).

The processor 107 of the video game computer 102 downloads the requested game data from the game data file 108 to the designated video game unit VGUi according to the COMMAND file (404). When the download of the game data is completed, the processor 107 sets the video game unit VG
The STATUS file is updated to indicate that Ui is occupied (405). The main processor 105
RESPONSE created by processor 107
When it is confirmed that the STATUS file has been updated using the file, the charging timer is started (40).
7). At the same time, the video game unit VGUi executes the requested game software program and
The video and audio signals are transmitted to the cabin Rj in response to the game control signal received from j (408).

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of ending the video game service in the present embodiment. Upon receiving the game end request from the cabin Rj, the main processor 105 stops the charging timer (409) and creates a COMMAND file for ending the game (410). COMMAN to end the game
According to the D file, the service end message is
j, where the message is sent to the TV monitor 20
2 is displayed. Further, the processor 107 sends a game end command to the video game unit VGUi (411). In response to the game end command received from the processor 107, the video game unit VGUi stops executing the game software program.

When confirming the end of the game (412), the processor 107 updates the STATUS file so that the video game unit VGUi can be used (4).
13). The main processor 105 includes a processor 107
Confirm that the STATUS file has been updated using the RESPONSE file created by
Delete the RESPONSE file. Thus, the game service ends.

According to the present invention, it is not necessary to provide the same number of video game units as the number of guest rooms in the system management room 10.
Based on the utilization rate of the video and audio system, only the number of video game units or video tape recorders smaller than the number of guest rooms is required to practically sufficiently satisfy the needs of guests.

Although the above embodiment employs a video tape recorder VTR, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to this, and other types of video sources such as a video cassette recorder or a video disk recorder can be used.

As described in detail above, since a plurality of video game units for executing the video game software program are installed in the system management room, it is necessary to transfer the game software program from the system management room to the guest room. There is no. For this reason, existing TV transmission channels or cables have low speed (several tens of Kbits / sec.
Various video and audio services can be provided to each guest room on demand only by adding a control signal transmission channel of degree c). Further, since the present embodiment can be built on an existing pay video service system, the billing system can be easily used.

[0031]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a video and audio service providing system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a detailed block diagram showing a terminal system provided in each guest room in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing an operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a start operation of a video game service in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an end operation of the video game service in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 System Management Room 20 Coaxial Cable 101 Main Computer 102 Video Game Computer 103 VTR Control Unit 104 Data Modem 105 Main Processor 106 Memory 107 Processor 108 Game Data File VGU ₁ -VGU _N Video Game Unit DEM ₁ -DEM _N Demodulator MOD _1- MOD _N modulator f _1C -f _NC control channel f _1G -f _NG video channel VTR ₁ -VTR _M video tape recorder MOD _1V -MOD _MV modulator f _1V -f _MV video channel R ₁ -R _K rooms 201 main terminals 202 TV monitor 203 keypad terminal 204 keypad 205 keypad 301 frequency converter 302 demodulator 303 control signal detector 304 control unit 305 video signal processing circuit 306 monitor 307 speaker 308 Keypad interface 309 Modulator 310 Frequency converter CH _V video signal channel designation signal CH _C control signal channel designation signal

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-6-351019 (JP, A) JP-A-7-322234 (JP, A) JP-A-7-203419 (JP, A) JP-A-4- 293158 (JP, A) National Technical Report Vol. 40, No. 2 (1994-4) pp. 280-286 National Technical Report Vol. 42, No. 5 (1996-10) pp. 521-525 (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 17/00 A63F 13/12 H04L 12/28 H04N 7/173 JICST file (JOIS)

Claims (9)

(57) [Claims] 1. A video and audio service system comprising: a management section; a plurality of terminal sections; and a transmission line connecting the management section and the plurality of terminal sections with a plurality of frequency channels, respectively. A first memory for storing a plurality of interactive software programs, each of which is connected to the transmission line, executes one interactive software program, and changes in response to a control signal;
A plurality of first video sources for generating video and audio signals, a plurality of first video sources each being connected to the transmission path, storing a plurality of video works, and generating a second video and audio signal corresponding to a certain video work; 2 video sources; a second memory for storing the usage status of the first video source and the second video source; and identifying one terminal section having a certain service request and storing the usage information stored in the second memory. First control means for selecting an available video source from the first video source and the second video source according to the service request by referring to a situation; and wherein the service request is directed to an interactive software program having the service request. A second control means for transferring the interactive software program from the first memory to the available video source if the service request is present. Third control means for controlling the available video source such that, when directed to the work, the available video source generates the second video and audio signals corresponding to the video work. Wherein each of the plurality of terminal sections transmits the service request to the first control means of the management section, and the transmission path between the available video source selected in the management section. Terminal control means for establishing a connection through the terminal; reproduction means for reproducing video and audio from video and audio signals received from the available video source through the connection; and wherein the service request is directed to the interactive software program. A keypad control to send the control signal to the available video source selected in the management section when the Video and audio service system comprising: means, composed of, the. 2. A video and audio service system comprising: a management section; a plurality of terminal sections; and a transmission line connecting the management section and the plurality of terminal sections through a plurality of frequency channels. And a plurality of first video sources; and a plurality of second video sources. Each of the plurality of first video sources is connected to the transmission line, and A first communication means for receiving a control signal from one terminal section through a first channel of the transmission path and transmitting a first video and audio signal to the terminal section through a second channel of the transmission path; Executing the interactive software program and changing the first software program in response to the control signal.
First processing means for generating a video and audio signal and sending the generated signal to the communication means, wherein each of the plurality of second video sources is connected to the transmission path, and is connected to a third channel of the transmission path. Transmitting means for transmitting two video and audio signals to one terminal section; storing a plurality of video works; and the second video and audio signals corresponding to the video works selected from the plurality of video works by the selection signal The management section further specifies a service and a terminal section requesting the service through a control channel of the transmission line, and the first video source and the second video source. 2 select an available video source from the two video sources, send the selection signal to the selected available video source, and channel to the terminal section. And system management means for transmitting the Le designation signal consists, each of the plurality of terminals sections are connected to the transmission line, transmitting the control signal to the management section through a first specified channel of said transmission path,
Second communication means for receiving video and audio signals from the management section through a second designated channel of the transmission path; and changing a channel according to the channel designation signal received from the management section through the control channel of the transmission path. Channel changing means; reproducing means for reproducing video and audio from the video and audio signals received from the second communication means; keypad control means for transmitting the control signal to the second communication means in accordance with a user operation; A video and audio service system, comprising: 3. The video and audio service system according to claim 1, wherein said transmission path is a coaxial cable. 4. The video and audio service system according to claim 2, wherein said transmission path is a coaxial cable. 5. The video and audio service system according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of channels are frequency-multiplexed on the transmission path. 6. The video and audio service system according to claim 1, wherein said interactive software program is a video game program, and said first video sources are each video game units. 7. The video and audio service system according to claim 2, wherein said interactive software program is a video game program, and said first video sources are each video game units. 8. The video and audio service system according to claim 1, wherein the first control unit charges the terminal section for a video and audio service specified by the service request. 9. The video and audio service system according to claim 2, wherein said system management means charges a fee for the video and audio service specified by said service request to said terminal section.