JPH1141586A - Digital broadcast system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To notify the executed result of a self-diagnostic program while dispersing time based on the instruction at the side of broadcast transmission by simultaneously distributing a packet for executing prescribed processing from the broadcast transmission side to a reception terminal and notifying the result of processing from the reception terminal to a terminal managing station. SOLUTION: The self-diagnostic program is sent to a reception terminal (IRD) 32 of an object while using an EMM packet on the satellite broadcastd transmission side. A main control part 46 of the IRD 32 executes the self- diagnostic program and records the executed result onto an IC card as a history. The instruction to notify the executed result (history) of the self-diagnostic program to the terminal managing station is received by the EMM packet. The main control part 46 calculates the time of notice by generating a pseudo random number while using a coefficient designated by the packet. At the time of notice, the history recorded on the IC card is notified to the designated transmission destination (terminal managing station).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a program upgrade from a broadcast transmitting side to a receiving terminal,
The present invention relates to a digital broadcasting system in which execution of a self-diagnosis program is instructed and an execution result of a receiving terminal is notified.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, digital satellite broadcasting systems include:
Practical application has just started, and various changes may be made to the receiving side in the current program for controlling the receiving terminal. This change (version upgrade) is generally intended to provide a new service and added value to the customer. As a countermeasure when such a program is upgraded, several methods are possible.

[0003] For example, by changing the program ROM built in the receiving terminal or replacing the entire receiving terminal, it is possible to cope with the program change. Further, by using the interface of the IC card provided in the receiving terminal, the IC card storing the new receiving program can be distributed to the customer, and the new program can be loaded from the IC card. However, when the number of already installed receiving terminals is large, it is difficult to replace the ROM of the receiving terminal and to collect the receiving terminal. Also, the method of distributing the IC card has a problem that not only is the burden on the cost large, but also because the IC card has a relatively small memory capacity, it is difficult to store the program there.

[0004] BS (Broadcasting Satellite), CS
(Communication Satellite), in satellite broadcasting such as digital CS, EMM (Entitl
ed Managemant Message), and sends an individual message to the receiving terminal. Therefore, US digital satellite broadcasting service providers may use this mechanism to distribute a program for upgrading the receiving terminal from the satellite and automatically upgrade the version of the receiving terminal. I have.

[0005]

However, whether the version upgrade has been completed normally for each receiving terminal depends on whether
At the end of the upgrade or at some later time,
There is a problem that the broadcast sending side cannot know unless the result of the version upgrade is notified from the receiving terminal.

[0006] In addition, if it is attempted to notify the result of the version upgrade from the receiving terminal at the end of the version upgrade, the version upgrade is instructed all at once using satellite broadcasting. There is a problem that they overlap. Furthermore, information transmission from the receiving terminal may become congested if the receiving terminal tries to connect to a certain line at the same time, even if the service provider of digital satellite broadcasting in the United States or Japan uses a telephone network. As a result, not only the information cannot be transmitted from the receiving terminal, but also other users of the telephone line are inconvenienced.

On the other hand, in a system such as a communication karaoke system in which terminal information management is divided into regions to reduce communication charges, the transmission destination depends on the region where the receiving terminal is installed. Since the (telephone number) is different, the telephone number of the management station in each area is logically numbered like a free dial, and even if a call is made with the same number, the connection destination is the management station in that area. in this case,
Just as the number of receiving terminals in charge of management by the management station differs, it is necessary to consider that the line capacity and the processing capacity of the management station vary.

[0008] Even when the result of the self-diagnosis of each receiving terminal is notified to the broadcast transmitting side, there is the same problem as in the above-described program version-up.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to disperse the execution result of the version upgrade of the program supplied from the broadcast transmitting side to the receiving terminal or the execution result of the self-diagnosis program based on the instruction of the broadcast transmitting side. It is an object of the present invention to provide a digital broadcasting system capable of notifying.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a digital broadcasting system comprising a broadcast transmitting side and a plurality of receiving terminals, wherein a specific receiving terminal indicated by an ID or an unspecified receiving terminal is provided. Then, a packet for performing a predetermined process is simultaneously distributed from the broadcast transmitting side, and after the receiving terminal performs the specified predetermined process, the receiving terminal is separately provided from the receiving terminal to the broadcast transmitting side using a wired line. A digital broadcast system configured to notify a terminal management station provided for each group of a plurality of receiving terminals of a result of a predetermined process.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in a digital broadcasting system including a broadcast transmitting side and a plurality of receiving terminals, a predetermined process is performed for a specific receiving terminal indicated by an ID or an unspecified receiving terminal. This is a digital broadcasting system in which a packet to be executed is distributed from a broadcast transmitting side all at once, and after a receiving terminal executes a prescribed process instructed, a result of the prescribed process is recorded on the receiving terminal side.

A predetermined process, for example, a self-diagnosis program is distributed to the IRD by digital broadcasting, and the IRD executes the self-diagnosis program. The execution result is recorded as a history on the IC card. Further, the IRD receives an instruction for notifying the terminal management station of the execution result of the self-diagnosis program from the digital broadcast, and according to the instruction, the execution result of the self-diagnosis program belongs to the notification time generated by the pseudo-random number. The notification is sent to the local terminal management office.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a system according to an embodiment to which the present invention is applied. This system conceptual diagram illustrates the relationship between receiving terminals existing in various places and terminal management stations existing for each block. First, a program broadcast from the uplink center indicated by 1 is converted into a broadcast signal. This broadcast signal
The data is distributed from the transmitting antenna 2 to a specific receiving terminal indicated by the ID or an unspecified receiving terminal via the satellite 3.

In this embodiment, there are an A block 4, a B block 10, and a C block 16 as an example of a region. A block 4 is an IRD (Integrated Reciever / Decoder) for digital CS broadcasting as an example of a receiving terminal.
5 and 7, receiving antennas 6 and 8, and a terminal management station 9. Similarly, the B block 10 includes IRDs 11 and 13, receiving antennas 12 and 14, and a terminal management station 15 as an example of a receiving terminal.
As an example of the receiving terminal, the receiving terminal includes IRDs 17 and 19, receiving antennas 18 and 20, and a terminal management station 21.

The broadcast signal received by the receiving antenna 6 of the A block 4 is supplied to the IRD 5. In IRD5,
Necessary data, for example, a self-diagnosis program is downloaded from the supplied broadcast signal, and the self-diagnosis program is executed according to an instruction from the broadcast transmission side. At this time, when the execution result of the self-diagnosis program reaches a predetermined time as will be described later, the IRD 5 is connected using a wired line such as a telephone line.
Is supplied to the terminal management station 9 in the A block 4. IRD
Is connected using a telephone line to a terminal management station corresponding to at least one of the terminal ID of the IRD, the area ID, and the execution result of the self-diagnosis program. Similarly, the broadcast signal received by the receiving antenna 8 is supplied to the IRD 7 and
At D7, the self-diagnosis program is executed according to the instruction from the broadcast transmitting side. At this time, when the execution result of the self-diagnosis program reaches a predetermined time as described later, the IRD 7 notifies the terminal management station 9 of the result. Further, the same processing is performed in the B block 10 and the C block 16, and the description is omitted.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an IRD for digital CS broadcasting according to an embodiment to which the present invention is applied. First, antenna & LNB (Low Noise Block down co
The signal downconverted by the (nverter) unit 31 is input to the IRD 32. The input signal is supplied to the tuner unit 41. The tuner 41 fetches a signal of the frequency specified by the main controller 46, and the demodulator 42 further performs QPSK (Qu
The signal modulated by adrature phase shift keying) is demodulated.

Subsequently, the error correcting section 43 corrects the error of the Viterbi-encoded or Reed-Solomon-encoded signal, transmits the signal by EMM or the like in advance, and transmits the signal to the IC card via the conditional access control section 47. Using the descramble key stored in the descramble section 4
It is descrambled by 4. The descrambled bit stream is output to the outside as high-speed data and supplied to the demultiplex unit 45.
In the demultiplexer 45, the packets are classified, the classified audio packets are supplied to the audio decoder 49, and the classified video packets are supplied to the video decoder 50.

The audio decoder 49 decodes the supplied audio packet, D / A converts the audio packet, and outputs the audio packet from the audio output, so that the audio is output from the television speaker. In the video decoding unit 50, the supplied video signal is decoded and D / A converted. The converted video signal is superimposed on a menu or the like by the OSD control unit 51 according to an instruction from the main control unit 46 as necessary, and output from a video output. The output signal is displayed on a television monitor. The main control unit 46 centrally monitors each block, controls each block in response to the operation of the remote controller 53, controls the modem unit 52 as necessary, and transmits and receives information through a telephone line.

In this embodiment, the operation from the delivery of the self-diagnosis program to the notification of the result of the diagnosis on a plurality of items of the IRD of the self-diagnosis program will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. First, in the control of the flowchart shown in FIG. 3, the descrambling key data of the self-diagnosis program packet is transmitted to the plurality of IRDs for which the self-diagnosis program is to be executed on the satellite broadcast transmission side, using the EMM packet. When detecting the EMM packet having the terminal ID of its own IC card, the IRD receives the packet and stores the descramble key indicated by the EMM packet in the IC card.

In step S1, the self-diagnosis program is received, and the descrambled and demultiplexed data is loaded into the main control unit 46. At the same time as loading is started, a message indicating that downloading is currently being performed is output from the analog output of the video. In step S2, after being developed on the memory of the main control unit 46, the execution right is transferred to the self-diagnosis program, and the self-diagnosis program is executed. At the same time as the execution of the self-diagnosis program is started, a message indicating that the self-diagnosis program is currently being executed is output from an analog output of video. In step S3, the execution result of the self-diagnosis program is recorded as a history in the IC card through communication with the IC card, and thereafter, the control returns to the program of the main control unit 46, and the execution processing ends. As an example, the self-diagnosis execution result, the date and time, and the like are recorded as a history in this IC card.

At the time when the self-diagnosis execution process ends, the message output to the effect that the self-diagnosis program is currently being executed ends. Then, at the time when the self-diagnosis program ends, a command to notify the execution result of the self-diagnosis program to the terminal management station is transmitted from the satellite broadcast transmission side for each IRD using an EMM packet. An example of the control when the EMM packet is received is shown in the flowchart of FIG.

In step S11, an instruction for notifying the terminal management station of the execution result (history) of the self-diagnosis program by an EMM packet is received. In step S12,
It is determined whether it is necessary to notify the terminal management station of the history recorded on the IC card. That is, the supplied EM
If the condition specified by the M packet matches the execution result of the self-diagnosis program, for example, the history is notified to the terminal management station only when there is an abnormality in the execution result of the self-diagnosis program. If so, step S13
If the execution result shows no abnormality, the control of this flowchart ends without notifying the history to the terminal management station.

In step S13, a pseudo random number is generated using the coefficient specified by the packet, and the notification time is calculated. By giving different random numbers to each IRD, duplication of notification time can be avoided. In step S14, the process waits until the notification time comes. Step S1
5, when the notification time comes, a call is made to a designated destination (if the area is an A block, the terminal management station 9 of the A block), and after connection, the history recorded on the IC card is transmitted to the terminal management station. Notice.

In this embodiment, the self-diagnosis program is distributed from the broadcast transmitting side to the receiving terminal as an example of the predetermined processing. However, a new version of the IRD operation program is distributed from the broadcast transmitting side to the receiving terminal. The receiving terminal may record the execution result of the version upgrade of the program on the IC card and notify the terminal management station at the notification time.

In this embodiment, the notification time is calculated by generating a pseudo-random number. However, if the result of the self-diagnosis program or the result of the version upgrade is normal, the terminal sends the terminal information from the IRD between what time and what time. The history may be notified to the management station, and if abnormal, the history may be notified from the IRD to the terminal management station between what time and what time different from the above-mentioned time.

[0026]

According to the present invention, it is possible to remotely instruct the execution of the self-diagnosis program from the broadcast transmitting side and make a self-diagnosis without a person going to the terminal installation location for maintenance management. In addition, the timing of execution of the self-diagnosis program and the like can be individually set by the terminal ID, so that, for example, in the case of a karaoke device, it can be set to a regular holiday of the store where the device is installed. Conversely, if the terminal is for general use, a broadcast pause time can be provided to simultaneously instruct self-diagnosis.

According to the present invention, the notification result of the execution result of the self-diagnosis program or the version upgrade can be distributed in accordance with the capacity of the terminal management station in the area, and the notification time can be changed due to overload. Efficient processing that avoids problems that occur can be performed. Further, the terminal management station can be notified of only the result of the execution of the self-diagnosis program or the result of the execution of the version upgrade that is abnormal, so that it is easy to pick up only the devices requiring maintenance.

According to the present invention, the timing of executing the self-diagnosis program or the version upgrade and the timing of notifying the execution result can be separately instructed. An instruction such as execution of a self-diagnosis program or execution of a version upgrade is issued, and the execution result can be individually transmitted such that the execution result is transmitted at a time in consideration of the load on the terminal management station.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of an example of a system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the IRD of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an embodiment of distribution of a self-diagnosis program according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of one embodiment of notification of a diagnosis result according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

31 ... antenna & LNB section, 32 ... IRD, 4
1 ... Tuner section, 42 ... Demodulator section, 4
3 ... error correction section, 44 ... descramble section, 4
5 demultiplexer section, 46 main control section, 47 conditional access section, 4
8 Remote control signal receiving unit, 49 Audio decoding unit, 50 Video decoding unit, 51 OSD control unit, 52 Modem unit, 53 Remote control

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI H04N 7/00 H04N 7/00 Z

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A digital broadcasting system comprising a broadcast transmitting side and a plurality of receiving terminals, wherein a packet for executing a predetermined process is transmitted to a specific receiving terminal indicated by an ID or an unspecified receiving terminal. Side, and after the receiving terminal performs the specified processing instructed, the receiving terminal is separately provided from the receiving terminal to the broadcast transmitting side using a wired line, and the plurality of receiving terminals A digital broadcasting system configured to notify a terminal management station provided for each group of a result of the predetermined processing. 2. A digital broadcasting system comprising a broadcast transmitting side and a plurality of receiving terminals, wherein a packet for executing a predetermined process is transmitted to a specific receiving terminal indicated by an ID or an unspecified receiving terminal. A digital broadcasting system that distributes all the data from the side at the same time, and after the receiving terminal executes the specified processing instructed, records the result of the predetermined processing on the receiving terminal side. 3. The digital broadcasting system according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined processing is execution of a version upgrade of a program of the receiving terminal. 4. The digital broadcasting system according to claim 1, wherein said predetermined processing is execution of a self-diagnosis program of said receiving terminal. 5. The digital broadcasting system according to claim 2, wherein a packet requesting notification of a result of the predetermined processing recorded in the receiving terminal is simultaneously distributed from the broadcast transmitting side; A digital broadcasting system in which a result of the predetermined processing is notified to a terminal management station using a wired line. 6. The digital broadcasting system according to claim 1, wherein whether or not the receiving terminal notifies the terminal management station of a result of the predetermined processing is designated according to a result of the predetermined processing. A digital broadcasting system designed to do so. 7. The digital broadcasting system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal management station for notifying a result of the predetermined processing by the packet includes an area ID of the receiving terminal, I
D. A digital broadcasting system characterized by being associated with at least one of the results of the predetermined processing. 8. The digital broadcasting system according to claim 1, wherein timing of notifying a result of the predetermined processing is dispersed based on an instruction of the packet. 9. The digital broadcasting system according to claim 8, wherein the instruction determines the notification time by performing an operation for generating a random number based on the ID of the receiving terminal. 10. The digital broadcasting system according to claim 8, wherein the instruction is to classify a notification time according to a result of the predetermined processing.