KR20020037780A - Interactive cable television receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A device for receiving an interactive CATV(Cable TV) is provided to add an interactive communication function capable of using the Internet to an existing CATV receiver, so that a user watches a cable broadcasting as well as using the Internet. CONSTITUTION: An OOB(Out Of Band Channel) tuner(21) tunes in a downstream band among signal bands distributed by an in-band tuner(11). A memory(26) stores application data including transmission data and receiving data. A controller(25) receives MAC data from an INA(Interactive Network Adaptor) in response to a user selection, to set an Internet access environment, and has access to the Internet. The controller(25) controls a downstream and an upstream for the application data in the state of being connected to the Internet, and controls read/write processes of data in the memory(26), then controls a transmitting of the application data to a TV. An oscillator(27) generates a clock signal. A cable modem(24) performs an A/D conversion, demodulation, and a buffering for a downstream signal from the OOB tuner(21), and modulates upstream data to carry out an upstream process at determined time.

Description

Interactive Sci. TV receiver {INTERACTIVE CABLE TELEVISION RECEIVER}

The present invention relates to an INTERACTIVE system. Television (CATV) receivers, particularly for e-mail, e-commerce, web surfing, etc. By applying it to a television receiver, an interactive system can use the Internet while watching cable broadcasts and also use the Internet without a separate computer. A television receiver.

Generally, digital systems. Television (CATV) receivers, also called digital cable broadcasting set-top boxes (STBs), are divided into analog receivers for receiving analog broadcasts currently being broadcasted in Korea and digital receivers for receiving digital broadcasts. Receiving apparatus for receiving the is commonly used as a method to secure more channels of the broadcast by using the compression using the MPEG method, and also to maintain a clear image quality.

1 is a conventional S.A. As a schematic diagram of a television (CATV) receiver, referring to FIG. The CATV receiver receives a video signal compressed by the MPEG II standard, a data signal related to an audio signal compressed by the MPEG I standard, TELETEXT, and the like through a cable and performs tuning, QAM demodulation, Through a series of processes such as compression restoration process, the selected cable broadcasting channel can be viewed.

Such conventional S.A. A television receiver (CATV) receives a frequency and data related thereto from a control unit, and amplifies a tuner 11 for selecting a broadcast channel through the cable and amplifies a signal corresponding to a broadcast channel output from the tuner 11. A filter unit 13 which passes only the unit 12, a broadcast channel of the amplifier 12 (approximately 6 MHz or 8 MHz according to the corresponding broadcast method), and a QAM that demodulates the output signal of the filter unit 13. A demodulator 14, an AGC 15 that automatically controls gain in accordance with the reception level provided by the QAM demodulator 14, and the operation and broadcast of the receiver in response to the channel selection of the receiver and the user. A control unit 16 for controlling channel tuning, modulation, compression restoration, and synchronization of video and audio signals, and an internal MPEG II and MPEG I decoder for input video signals and audio signals under control of the control unit 16; MPEG decoder performing compression restoration (17 And a memory 18 for storing the application data including the demodulated data and the decompressed data under the control of the controller 16. At this time, the S.A. A television receiver (CATV) provides the received data to the television via the TV connection unit 19.

Such conventional S.A. Television (CATV) receivers can watch cable broadcasts, but two-way communication is not possible, so they cannot perform other functions while watching broadcasts. There is a problem that you need to buy more devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an Internet access and Internet use function for e-mail, e-commerce, web surfing, and the like. By applying it to a television receiver, an interactive system can use the Internet while watching cable broadcasts and also use the Internet without a separate computer. A television receiver is provided.

1 is a conventional S.A. A schematic diagram of a television (CATV) receiver.

2 is an interactive system according to the present invention. It is a block diagram of a television receiver.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

11: IN BAND TUNER 21: OOB tuner (OUT OF BAND TUNER)

22: second filter unit 23: second amplifier unit

24: cable modem 25: control unit

26 memory 27 oscillator

28: gain amplifier

As a technical means for achieving the above object of the present invention, the apparatus of the present invention is connected to the INA (Interactive Network Adapter) and the broadcast station transmitting apparatus via a cable, and the received signal (broadcast signal and communication signal ( And an in-band tuner for distributing a downstream signal), for providing a signal (upstream signal) to the INA, and for tuning a channel of a broadcast signal among the received signals through the cable. A television (CATV) receiver, comprising: an OOB tuner for tuning a downstream band of a signal band distributed by the in-band tuner; A memory for storing application data including data to be transmitted and received data; By controlling the operation of each part, in response to the user's selection through the input means, MAC data is received from the INA to set up the Internet connection environment, and then connected to the Internet, and downstream and upstream of the application data while connected to the Internet. A control unit for controlling read / write of data in the memory and controlling transmission of data of an application to a television; An oscillator for generating a clock signal; And a cable modem for performing A / D conversion, demodulation (restoration), and buffering on the downstream signal from the OOB tuner, and modulating upstream data to upstream at a predetermined time.

Hereinafter, interactive S.A. according to the present invention. The television receiver will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings referred to in the present invention, components having substantially the same configuration and function will use the same reference numerals.

2 is an interactive system according to the present invention. As a configuration diagram of a television receiver, referring to FIG. 2, an interactive system according to the present invention. The television receiver is connected to an INA (Interactive Network Adapter) and a broadcast station transmitter via a cable, and distributes the received signal (broadcast signal and communication signal (downstream signal)) through the cable, and sends the signal (upstream signal) to the INA. And an in-band tuner (11) for tuning a channel of a broadcast signal of the received signal through the cable. In a television receiver (CATV), an OOB tuner 21 for tuning a downstream band of the signal bands distributed by the in-band tuner 11, and application data including data to be transmitted and received data are stored. Memory 26 to control the operation of each unit, receives MAC data from the INA in response to the user's selection through the input means to set the Internet connection environment, and then access the Internet, the application in the state connected to the Internet A control unit 25 for controlling downstream and upstream of data, controlling read / write of data in the memory 26, and controlling transmission of application data to a television; and an oscillator for generating a clock signal ( 27) A / D conversion, demodulation (restoration), and buffering are performed on the downstream signal from the OOB tuner 21, and the upstream data is modulated and determined. And a cable modem 24 upstream in real time.

Also, the interactive S.A. The television receiver amplifies the second filter unit 22 for passing down-band band signals among the output signals of the OOB tuner 21 and the output signal of the second filter unit 22 with a set gain to the cable modem. A second amplifying section 23 provided to 24, a gain amplifying section 28 for amplifying an upstrip signal of the cable modem 24, and a detection level of a received signal by the cable modem 24. In accordance with the OOB tuner 21 further comprises an AGC 29 for automatically controlling the received signal level.

Operation according to the device of the present invention configured as described above will be described in detail below based on the accompanying drawings.

The present invention is a conventional S.A. By adding an interactive (bidirectional) communication function that enables the Internet to be used for a television receiver, it is possible to provide a high-speed communication system. The TV (CATV) receiver allows the user to watch cable broadcasting and to use the Internet. To this end, the interactive systems of the present invention. The television receiver is connected to the INA (Interactive Network Adapter) and the broadcast station transmitter via a cable.

The INA (Interactive Network Adapter) serves as a bridge of a network, and specifically, a plurality of system connected by cable. Manage your TV receiver. That is, a plurality of S.A. Provides MAC data to television receivers so that each receiver can set up the Internet connection environment, and 1: 1 1: 1 communication using broadcast data (downstream and upstream) after connecting to the Internet. Performs a single cast that performs

First, the process of setting the Internet connection environment will be described. The interactive system according to the present invention shown in FIG. The control unit 26 of the television receiver controls the operation of each unit in the receiver, and performs the corresponding operation in response to the user's selection through the input means. The modem 24 establishes an Internet connection environment and connects to the Internet.

The MAC (Media Access Control) data is data exchanged with an INA, also called a headend facility. The INA controls the receiver and manages information of the receiver through the MAC data. The MAC data includes connection setting information, that is, slots used, time of use, power during upstrip, and the like, which can avoid collisions between a plurality of receiving apparatuses when connecting to the Internet.

Next, the 1: 1 bidirectional communication process will be described, with INA and each system connected to the Internet as described above. The television receiver performs 1: 1 bidirectional communication through the downstream of downloading the application data and the upstrip process of uploading the application data.

Meanwhile, the interactive S. a. The in-band tuner 11 of the television receiver distributes the received signal (broadcast signal and communication signal (downstream signal)) through the cable to the OOB tuner 21, and also sends the signal (upstream signal) to the INA. It also provides a channel of the broadcast signal of the received signal through the cable.

First, the process of downstream application data from the INA, the cable modem 24 under the control of the control unit 25, the environment setting for using the Internet using the MAC data, the control unit A downstream process is performed under the control of (25).

The OOB tuner 21 tunes a downstream band of the RF received signals distributed by the in-band tuner 11 to provide an IF signal, and the IF signal passes from the second filter section 22 to the downstream band. After that, the second amplifier 23 is amplified to a processable level at a later stage and provided to the cable modem 24.

The cable modem 24 is time-synchronized with the clock signal of the oscillator 27 and operates under the control of the controller 25 to perform demodulation and restoration while converting the received analog signal into digital data. The restored data is buffered and stored in the memory 26.

In this case, the control unit 25 provides the data stored in the memory 26 to the television through the TV connection unit 19 so that the information provided from the Internet can be viewed on the television.

Next, the process of upstreaming the application data to the INA, the control unit 25 controls the upstream of the application data to the cable modem 24 in response to the user input, accordingly, the cable modem 24 The application data stored in the memory 26 is modulated to perform an upstrip to a power level of an appropriate signal at a predetermined time, wherein the power level of the upstrip is adjusted by the gain amplifier 28.

The application data upstreamed from the cable modem 24 is provided to the INA through the in-band tuner 11. The AGC 29 automatically controls the reception signal level of the OOB tuner 21 in accordance with the detection level of the reception signal by the cable modem 24.

According to the present invention as described above, the Internet access and Internet use function can be used for e-mail, e-commerce, web surfing, and the like. By applying it to a television receiver, it is possible to use the Internet while watching cable broadcasting, and also has a special effect of allowing the Internet to be used without a separate computer.

The above description is only a description of one embodiment of the present invention, the present invention is capable of various changes and modifications within the scope of the configuration.

Claims (2)

It is connected to the INA (Interactive Network Adapter) and the broadcasting station transmitter via a cable, distributes the received signal (broadcast signal and communication signal (downstream signal)) through this cable, and provides a signal (upstream signal) to the INA; And an in-band tuner 11 for tuning a channel of a broadcast signal among the received signals through the cable. In a television (CATV) receiver, An OOB tuner 21 for tuning a downstream band of the signal bands distributed by the in-band tuner 11; A memory 26 for storing application data including data to be transmitted and received data; By controlling the operation of each part, in response to the user's selection through the input means, MAC data is received from the INA to set up the Internet connection environment, and then connected to the Internet, and downstream and upstream of the application data while connected to the Internet. A control unit 25 for controlling the read / write of data in the memory 26 and controlling transmission of data of an application to a television; An oscillator 27 for generating a clock signal; And a cable modem 24 for performing A / D conversion, demodulation (restoration), and buffering on the downstream signal from the OOB tuner 21, and modulating upstream data to upstream at a predetermined time. Interactive S.A. TV receiver. The system of claim 1, wherein the interactive system. TV receiver A second filter unit 22 which passes a down strip band signal among the output signals of the OOB tuner; A second amplifying unit (23) for amplifying the output signal of the second filter unit with a set gain and providing it to the cable modem (24); A gain amplifier unit 28 for amplifying an upstrip signal of the cable modem 24; And an AGC (29) for automatically controlling the reception signal level of the OOB tuner (21) in accordance with the detection level of the reception signal by the cable modem (24). TV receiver.