KR101285668B1 - The method for downloading an OTA software, the broadcasting receiver for controlling the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a software download method using an OTA for solving a problem such as a timeout occurring in the process of downloading software in an OTA method, and a broadcast receiver therefor. The present invention provides a method of downloading software in an over-the-air (OTA) method, the method comprising receiving one download data block (DDB) constituting a specific software in a certain order, and a constant time that is used as a reference for a timeout from the reception time point. Determining whether the time has elapsed, storing the received DDB in a semi-permanent memory when the predetermined time has elapsed, and the DDB constituting the specific software is not stored in the semi-permanent memory upon retransmission. The present invention provides a software download method using an OTA, which includes parsing only a DDB having a block number, and storing the same in a semi-permanent memory. Therefore, according to the present invention, even if a timeout or the like occurs, the software download speed of the OTA method can be improved to the maximum.

Over The Air (OTA), DownloadDataBlock (DDB), Time Out

Description

The method for downloading an OTA software, the broadcasting receiver for controlling the same}

1 is a diagram illustrating a process of downloading software and the like using OTA according to the related art.

2 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a process of downloading software and the like using OTA according to the present invention.

3 is a diagram schematically illustrating another example of a process of downloading software and the like using OTA according to the present invention.

4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a broadcast receiver for downloading software using OTA according to the present invention (block diagram).

5 is a flowchart (flow chart) illustrating a control method of a broadcast receiver for downloading software using OTA according to the present invention.

Description of the Related Art [0002]

400: broadcast receiver 401: tuner

402: demultiplexer 403: audio buffer

404: video buffer 405: data buffer

406: MPEG decoder unit 407: signal synthesis unit

408: system control unit 409: OSD generation unit

410: memory unit 411: user input unit

The present invention relates to a broadcast receiver, a DTV, and more particularly, to a software download method using an OTA and a broadcast receiver therefor. Of course, the broadcast receiver includes not only a general television but also a mobile video device (eg, a mobile phone, a PDA, etc.) capable of receiving a broadcast signal.

The broadcast receivers can be broadly classified into analog televisions and digital televisions. In recent years, the broadcast receiver not only prevents deterioration of video and audio signals, but also does not see dual screens caused by the reflection of analog radio waves and produces no noise. Due to its inadequate advantages, digital television stands out in the market.

On the other hand, the digital television is released by embedding suitable software when the product is released. In this case, the software means software for controlling the operation of the digital broadcasting receiver and the user, such as a user interface, or the digital television itself.

The software means, for example, a program that is directly or indirectly related to system operation of a television, and is required to upgrade the software in order to further improve its performance or to change the user environment.

There are several ways to upgrade software such as digital television. First, there is a method in which a serviceman of a manufacturer who manufactures the digital television directly upgrades the software. Second, there is a method in which the user accesses the manufacturer's website and downloads and upgrades. Third, there is a method in which software of each manufacturer is included in the broadcast signal, and the television extracts the corresponding software from the broadcast signal transmitted from a broadcasting station or the like and automatically proceeds with the software upgrade process.

However, the third method is called an over-the-air method, and in some cases, the term OAD (Over Air Download) method may be used interchangeably. In particular, since the software can be transmitted to several digital broadcasting receivers at one time and the procedure is easy from the user's point of view, the interest in the OTA method is amplified.

Furthermore, in recent years, as the DTV market expands rapidly, software upgrades of DTVs are frequently occurring. Thanks to this trend, countries that require OTA, which requests and executes software downloads from broadcasters, are rapidly increasing.

1 is a diagram exemplarily illustrating a process of downloading software and the like using OTA according to the related art. Hereinafter, referring to FIG. 1, a process of downloading software or the like using a conventional OTA will be described below.

The stream shown in FIG. 1 is a visual representation of DDBs transmitted in a certain order. In addition, the meaning of a block-by-block number means a block number (blockNumber) of DDB.

The conventional OTA configuration is designed to receive DDBs in real time in order and apply them to the DTV. Therefore, in the process of receiving the DDBs, if the DDB of the missing block number exists, it has to wait until a new stream is received again and the DDB of the missing block number comes in.

However, for the sake of understanding, the DSM-CC Data Carousel method, which is one of digital broadcasting methods, is as follows. The DSM-CC Data Carousel method is a method of receiving data in the form of a file. In a data carousel, one file is composed of several blocks, which are contained in a table called DownloadDataBlock (DDB). have. In other words, when the receiving end receives and combines all the DDB tables, one file is created.

In particular, the conventionally implemented OTA configuration could be upgraded only if the DDB needed to upgrade the software was received within a certain time (eg, 10 minutes, etc.). Therefore, if the DDB was not received within a certain time during OTA download, it took time out and the software could not be upgraded.

However, the conventional technology for downloading software by the OTA method has the following problems.

Conventionally, in the process of downloading the software by the OTA method, if some DDB is not received and a timeout occurs, not only does the software upgrade fail, but even when OTA data comes in after the timeout, it is restarted from the beginning. Since the DDB must be stored one by one, there was a problem that the time delay became severe and the download efficiency was very bad.

On the other hand, in consideration of switching of other functions on the TV set side, the OTA applying the time-out function is common, and there is an urgent need to develop a technology for time-out.

The present invention is to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to download the same software as soon as possible, even if there is a missing DDB in the process of downloading the software in the OTA method, and timeout occurs thereafter. It is to provide a software download method using the OTA and a broadcast receiver for the same.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method for downloading software in an over-the-air (OTA) method, the step of receiving a download data block (DDB) constituting a specific software one by one in a certain order, and from the reception time, Determining whether a predetermined time which is a reference for timeout has elapsed; storing the received DDB in a semi-permanent memory when the predetermined time has elapsed; and when the DDB constituting the specific software is retransmitted. The present invention provides a software download method using an OTA, including parsing only a DDB of a block number not stored in the semi-permanent memory and storing the same in the semi-permanent memory.

The downloading method may further include upgrading a broadcast receiver with specific software stored in the semi-permanent memory.

The semi-permanent memory may include a hard disk drive (HDD).

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a broadcast receiver for downloading software in an over-the-air (OTA) system, the tuner unit for receiving a download data block (DDB) constituting a specific software one by one in a certain order, and the reception time And a determination unit for determining whether a predetermined time which is a reference for the timeout has elapsed, a first control unit for storing the received DDB in a semi-permanent memory when the predetermined time has elapsed, and the specific software. When the DDB is retransmitted, the software includes a software download function using an OTA, which includes a second control unit for parsing only the DDB of a block number not stored in the semi-permanent memory and storing it in the semi-permanent memory. Provide a broadcast receiver.

Therefore, according to the present invention, even if a timeout or the like occurs, there is an effect that the software download speed of the OTA method can be improved as much as possible.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of a process of downloading software and the like using OTA according to the present invention. Hereinafter, referring to FIG. 2, a process of initially storing a DDB transmitted in an OTA method will be described as follows.

As shown in the upper portion of FIG. 2, when a DDB having a block number of 1-255 is transmitted, the broadcast receiver stores the received DDB in an HDD or the like. However, the hard disk drive (HDD) is merely an example, and may be replaced with the HDD when it is a semi-permanent memory capable of maintaining the stored contents regardless of power on / off of the broadcast receiver.

However, the DDB stored in the HDD of the broadcast receiver, etc. may take time out during the downloading of the DDB. For example, a DDB having a block number of '5' and '10' may not exist. However, the present invention has one feature in that even if the downloading of a specific software fails due to timeout, all the received DDBs are not ignored or deleted, but only the received DDB is stored in an HDD, which is a semi-permanent memory.

3 is a diagram schematically illustrating another example of a process of downloading software and the like using OTA according to the present invention. Hereinafter, referring to FIG. 3, according to the present invention, a process of newly storing a DDB retransmitted by the OTA method will be described. In terms of time, following the process of FIG. 2, the process of FIG. 3 may be performed.

As shown in the upper portion of FIG. 3, when a DDB having a block number of 1-255 is retransmitted, the broadcast receiver does not need to store all of the DDBs of the block number of 1-255. Because, as shown in FIG. 2, since only the DDBs having the block numbers '5' and '10' are not received, only the DDBs having the block numbers '5' and '10' are re-transmitted in the retransmitted OTA stream. This is because it is enough to store the HDD on the receiver side or the like.

In summary, the present invention relates to a method of automatically upgrading a TV set when receiving a software upgrade file through a digital broadcast signal.

If you have not received all of the DDBs within a certain period of time during the software download of the OTA method, the previously received DDBs are stored on the HDD (sometimes referred to as DVR (Digital Video Recording)) and cannot be received after timeout. If only DDB is received and, as a result, all DDBs are received, the software of the broadcast receiver is upgraded.

That is, during the OTA, the received DDB is stored in the HDD. Checks whether there is a DDB that has not been received due to time out. When OTA data (for example, DDB) is transmitted after the timeout, only the DDB that is not received is stored in the HDD. When all the DDBs are received, the software upgrade of the broadcast receiver is started.

Therefore, according to the present invention, when some DDBs are not received due to the conventional timeout, and later attempts to download the DDB of the same software, it is possible to solve the problem of having to receive and store all the DDBs again. If the same software is retransmitted, the download time can be greatly reduced.

4 is a diagram (block diagram) illustrating a configuration of a broadcast receiver for downloading software using OTA according to the present invention. Hereinafter, referring to FIG. 4, the operation of downloading the OTA software by the broadcast receiver according to the present invention will be described.

As shown in FIG. 4, the broadcast receiver 400 according to the present invention includes a tuner unit 401, a demultiplexer 402, an audio buffer 403, a video buffer 404, a data buffer 405, The MPEG decoder 406, the signal synthesizer 407, the system controller 408, the OSD generator 409, the memory 410, and the user input unit 411 are included.

The broadcast receiver 400 may be, for example, a digital broadcast receiver, a DTV, or the like, and preferably has a function of downloading software of an OTA method.

The tuner 401 is responsible for tuning a digital broadcast channel. In some cases, it may be composed of a plurality of tuners. The demultiplexer 402 parses an MPEG transport stream, which is received through respective services multiplexed on the digital broadcast channel, into audio, video, and data. The audio buffer 403, the video buffer 404, and the data buffer 405 function to temporarily store the audio, video, and data, respectively.

The MPEG decoder 406 decodes the temporarily stored audio, video, and data and outputs the original audio and video signal. The OSD generator 409 generates and outputs an OSD image so that a user can check various broadcast information provided through digital broadcasting.

The signal synthesizing unit 407 combines the video output through the MPEG decoder 406 with the OSD video. The system control unit 408 generally controls the operation of each component of the broadcast receiver 400.

The memory unit 410 stores data necessary for the control and the like. The memory unit 410 may be configured of, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a flash memory, or the like.

On the other hand, the broadcast receiver 400 according to the present invention, while downloading the OTA-type software, even if all the DDB is not received, the received DDB is stored in the semi-permanent memory. The semi-permanent memory may be, for example, an HDD of the memory unit 410. Conventionally, when all the DDBs are not received due to timeout or the like, the received DDBs are also deleted, so that the already received DDBs must be received and stored later.

In addition, according to the OTA method, the process of downloading specific software transmits software related to system driving of a television through a service satellite (SI) of a digital broadcast signal through a broadcast satellite, and transmits the broadcast receiver 400. ) Receives it and stores it. In particular, the operation process related to the present invention will be described in detail as follows.

When a command to download specific software is input through the user input unit 411, the system controller 408 controls the demultiplexer 402 to parse DDB data related to the software. When all DDB data cannot be parsed due to a problem such as a timeout, the DDB data parsed up to the timeout point is stored in an HDD of the memory unit 410 or the like.

On the other hand, when the same software is later retransmitted in the OTA method, the system controller controls the MPEG decoder to identify only the DDB of the block number not stored in the HDD. By storing only the identified DDB in the HDD or the like, normal OTA software can be generated quickly.

5 is a flowchart (flow chart) illustrating a control method of a broadcast receiver for downloading software using OTA according to the present invention. Hereinafter, referring to FIG. 5, a method of downloading OTA-type software by the broadcast receiver according to the present invention will be described in the order of time. However, since the description of FIGS. 2 to 4 is described in a sequential order, even those of ordinary skill in the art can easily understand the description.

Download of the specific software of the OTA method is started (S501). However, the start of the download may be performed automatically or by a specific command on the user side.

It is determined whether the DDB defined in the OTA standard is received (S502). As a result of the determination (S502), when the DDB is received, the received DDB is stored in the HDD of the broadcast receiver or the like (S503). However, the HDD may be replaced with a semi-permanent memory that maintains the memory contents regardless of power on / off.

For example, it is determined whether all DDBs having a block number of 1-255 have been received (S504). As a result of the determination (S504), when all the DDBs are received, the broadcast receiver is upgraded with the software downloaded by the OTA method (S505).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S504 that all DDBs are not received, it is determined whether the OTA stream download time has exceeded the time that becomes the timeout criterion (S506). For reference, the timeout time may be designed, for example, about 10 minutes.

If it is determined in operation S506 that the timeout time has not been exceeded, step S502 is performed. On the other hand, if the determination result (S506), the timeout time is exceeded, the DDB received so far is stored in the HDD or the like (S507).

After the time-out, when receiving the OTA stream constituting the same software again, it is determined whether a new DDB which has not been received so far, that is, a new DDB which is not stored in the HDD, is received (S508). For example, the MPEG decoder of the broadcast receiver may be designed to parse only the DDB of a block number not previously stored.

In operation S508, when only a new DDB is parsed, step S503 is performed.

On the other hand, the terms used in the present invention (terminology) are terms defined in consideration of functions in the present invention, which may vary according to the intention or custom of a person skilled in the art, the definition of which is used throughout the present invention. It should be based on what has been done.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be modified by those skilled in the art as can be seen from the appended claims, and such variations are within the scope of the present invention. .

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention.

Referring to the software download method using the OTA according to the present invention described above and the effect of the broadcast receiver for this is as follows.

According to the present invention, even if the missing DDB exists in the process of downloading the software by the OTA method and a timeout occurs, thereafter, the same software can be downloaded as soon as possible.

For example, if a software download file is not received within a predetermined time, the software download file is stored in the HDD or DVR, and only the DDB that comes in after the timeout is stored. When the normal download file is completed, the upgrade is started. Even if it is timed out, the software can be upgraded, which increases the chance of applying the latest download file.

In addition, when the software is not upgraded before and the OTA method is received even after power on / off, it is sufficient to resave only the DDB which was not received in the DDB stored in the HDD before. There is an advantage that there is no need to receive and store.

Claims (6)

In the method of downloading the software by OTA (Over The Air) method, Receiving data using a data carousel scheme in a broadcast receiver; Receiving download data blocks (DDBs) constituting specific software included in the data one by one in a predetermined order; Determining whether a predetermined time which is a reference for a timeout has elapsed from the reception time; If the predetermined time elapses, storing the received DDB in a semi-permanent memory; In the case of re-receiving the DDB constituting the specific software using the data carousel method, the control unit included in the broadcast receiver primarily controls the MPEG decoder, thereby providing service information of the digital broadcast signal. From the data contained in the to identify the block number (DB) of the block number (blockNumber) not stored in the semi-persistent memory, and secondly parsing only the DDB of the identified block number (blockNumber), and stores in the semi-persistent memory How to download software using OTA, including the steps. The method of claim 1, The software download method using the OTA further comprises the step of upgrading the broadcast receiver to the specific software stored in the semi-permanent memory. The method of claim 1, The semi-permanent memory, Software download method using OTA including HDD (Hard Disk Drive). In the broadcast receiver to download the software in the OTA (Over The Air) method, A tuner unit for receiving data by using a data carousel method and receiving download data blocks (DDBs) constituting specific software included in the data one by one in a predetermined order; A determination unit that determines whether a predetermined time which is a reference for timeout has elapsed from the reception time point; And And a controller for storing the received DDB in a semi-permanent memory when the predetermined time has elapsed. When the DDB constituting the specific software is re-received using the data carousel method, the controller is primarily By controlling the MPEG decoder, a DDB of a block number not stored in the semi-permanent memory is identified from data included in service information of a digital broadcast signal, and secondly, the identified block number ( A broadcast receiver having a software download function using an OTA, wherein only DDB of blockNumber) is parsed and stored in the semi-permanent memory. 5. The method of claim 4, The semi-permanent memory, Broadcast receiver with software download function using OTA including HDD (Hard Disk Drive). 5. The method of claim 4, The broadcast receiver, Broadcast receiver with software download capability using OTA, including DTV (Digital TeleVision).

Images