KR20090012876A - A broadcasting receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

A broadcasting receiver is provided to improve sensitivity of a wireless signal and increase a receiving rate by applying an angle, a path and space diversity. A signal selecting receiver(101) receives a broadcast signal from a plurality of antenna elements through a plurality of paths. According to the intensity of a broadcasting signal received from the signal selecting receiver, a controller(110) controls to receive a signal selectively. A display unit(112) outputs the received signal.

Description

Broadcasting receiver

The present invention relates to a broadcast receiving apparatus, and more particularly, to a broadcast receiving apparatus having a diversity function.

Digital broadcasting is a service that provides a digital television receiver with various multimedia signals such as video and audio. The digital broadcast receiver includes a broadcast receiving antenna to receive a wireless broadcast signal through the antenna. The broadcast signal propagates to a wireless environment, which is a standby space, in the form of a wireless signal and reaches the antenna of the receiving device. Since a broadcast signal propagates to a wireless environment and reaches an antenna of a receiver, there are many obstacles inside and outside and reflects, refracts, and transmits the broadcast signal. Therefore, there are multiple paths in which the broadcast signal propagates from one point to another. Multiple paths have different path lengths, resulting in path differences and increasing or decreasing signal strength.

In the conventional digital television receiver having only a single antenna, since a broadcast signal is received by one antenna, a multipath phenomenon occurs in the broadcast signal, and reception errors due to some multipaths are recovered by an equalizer and a decoding technique. In a shaded area where the multipath phenomenon is severe, such as an indoor reception environment, the broadcast signal may not be properly received and thus becomes incapable of receiving a broadcast signal or the broadcast screen may be interrupted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a broadcast receiving apparatus that receives a multi-path broadcast signal with a plurality of antennas and improves reception performance.

The present invention provides a signal selection receiver for receiving a broadcast signal from a plurality of antenna elements in a plurality of paths, a controller for controlling to selectively receive a signal according to the strength of the broadcast signal received from the signal selection receiver, and outputting the received signal. It provides a broadcast receiving device comprising a display unit.

The effects of the broadcast receiving device according to the present invention will be described below.

In order to overcome the multipath phenomenon, the broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention may apply angle, path, and spatial diversity to improve the sensitivity of a wireless signal to increase reception rate and reduce error occurrence. In addition, by arranging a plurality of antennas and applying angles, paths, and spaces differently, a signal having a large signal strength may be received or a plurality of radio signals may be combined to increase the strength of a wireless signal.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, preferred embodiments of the present invention that can specifically realize the above object will be described.

1 illustrates an embodiment of a broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the broadcast receiving apparatus may include a signal selection receiver configured to receive a broadcast signal from a plurality of antenna elements in a plurality of paths, and control to select and receive a signal according to the strength of the broadcast signal received from the signal selection receiver; It includes a display unit for outputting the received signal.

Referring to the configuration of the broadcast receiving apparatus, the broadcast receiving apparatus includes a signal selection receiver 101, a demodulator 102, a demultiplexer 103, a system information decoder 104, and an SI database. system information database (105), carousel decoder (106), application database (107), A (udio) / V (ideo) decoder 108, user interface 109, The controller 110 may include a controller 110, a storage unit NVRAM or a flash memory 111, and a display part 112, or may be externally connected to a security module.

The broadcast receiving device may be, for example, a digital television receiver. In this case, the digital television receiver groups and displays overlapping channel information among broadcast signals received according to the present invention.

The selection signal receiver 101 may receive an airwave or cable digital television signal (DTV signal) through an antenna and transmit the received signal to the demodulator 102. In this case, the signal selection receiver 101 may be controlled by the controller 110 to control channel switching, and report the result and strength of the signal received by the control to the controller 110. Can be.

The signal selection receiver 101 according to the present invention receives a mobile broadcast signal through a plurality of paths from a plurality of antenna elements. Although the broadcast signal transmitted from the transmitter is the same broadcast signal according to the reception environment or the position of the antenna, the reception sensitivity of the signal may be different. In addition, when an error occurs or noise occurs during mobile transmission, the reception sensitivity of the signal may be different. Therefore, rather than receiving mobile broadcast service data through only one antenna element, receiving mobile broadcast service data through a plurality of paths, and effectively selecting and outputting one broadcast signal to be processed is effective in increasing reception sensitivity. Diversity reception improves the sensitivity of the wireless signal by applying angle, path, and spatial diversity to overcome the multipath phenomenon, thereby increasing reception and reducing error occurrence. Diversity reception receives a signal having a large signal strength by arranging a plurality of antennas and applying angles, paths, and spaces differently, or increases the strength of a wireless signal by combining a plurality of wireless signals.

The signal selection receiver 101 includes a tuner, and after tuning a frequency of a specific channel through the tuner, down-converts to an intermediate frequency (IF) signal and outputs it to the demodulator 102. In this case, after signal processing in the tuner, a broadcast signal having a good reception sensitivity may be selected from a plurality of signals processed by the tuner, or may be synthesized into one signal and output. Alternatively, the plurality of received signals may be compared to select a broadcast signal having a good reception sensitivity, or may be synthesized into one signal for output and then processed by the tuner.

At this time, the signal selection receiving unit 101 is controlled by the channel manager in the application control unit 110, and also reports the result and strength of the broadcast signal of the channel being tuned to the channel manager.

An embodiment of the detailed structure of the signal selection receiver 101 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6.

The demodulator 102 may demodulate and transmit the broadcast signal tuned by the signal selection receiver 101 to the demultiplexer 103. In this case, when demodulating, the demodulator 102 may perform VSB (vestigial side band) demodulation when the signal received from the signal selection receiver 101 is an over-the-air broadcast signal. In this case, quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) demodulation or vestigial side band (VSB) demodulation may be performed. In this case, demodulation of the over-the-air broadcast signal may perform 8VSB demodulation, and demodulation of the cable broadcast signal may perform 64 or 256 QAM demodulation and 16VSB demodulation. This corresponds to an embodiment, and demodulation may be performed in other bands.

The demultiplexer 103 may demultiplex the broadcast signal demodulated by the demodulator 102. That is, the demultiplexer 103 may filter data related to audio, video, and data broadcasting from input transport stream packets.

That is, the demultiplexer 103 may demultiplex the received broadcast signal under the control of the SI decoder 104 and / or the carousel decoder 106. For example, the demultiplexer 103 may demultiplex tables including audio, video and data broadcast related data from transport stream packets as described above. In this case, the demultiplexing unit 103 may perform the demultiplexing by inspecting a header part common to each received table.

That is, the demultiplexer 103 may create a section of the table for A / V broadcasting service and transmit the section to the SI decoder 104, and filter the carousel data to filter the table section for the data broadcasting service. Can be sent to the carousel decoder 106.

In addition, the demultiplexer 103 may demultiplex the A / V transport stream packet under the control of the controller 110. Therefore, when the A / V PID (Packet IDentifier) of the corresponding virtual channel is set, the demultiplexer 103 demultiplexes the elementary stream of the A / V to A / V. Each may be transmitted to the decoder 108.

The SI decoder 104 is an SI control module that parses a table section included in a broadcast signal. The SI decoder 104 may perform a slave operation under the control of the controller 110.

That is, the SI decoder 104 may control the demultiplexer 103 to parse a table section included in the broadcast signal. That is, the SI decoder 104 may set the PID for the table in the demultiplexer 103 to create the table section.

The SI decoder 104 may receive and parse the PSI table generated by the demultiplexer 103 for the MPEG-2 system or the PSIP table generated by the demultiplexer 103 for the ATSC. The SI decoder 104 may store the parsed information in the SI database 105.

In this case, the SI decoder 104 may parse the data of the actual section data that is not filtered or not by the demultiplexer 103, that is, read all of them, and record the data in the SI database 105. have.

The carousel decoder 106 may receive and parse data broadcasting related data transmitted from the demultiplexer 103, for example, an application information table.

The carousel decoder 106 may perform a slave operation like the SI decoder 104 under the control of the controller 110.

The user interface unit 109 is an interface to which a user signal is input. A signal for selecting a user setting mode is input, and various user selection signals are input. The user signal input through the user interface unit is input to the controller. The user setting signal through the OSD is input through the user interface unit. The diagnostic menu selection signal according to the present invention is input, and the mux channel editing signal is input.

The A / V decoder 108 may receive the A / V elementary stream packets from the demultiplexer 103 and decode them in a manner such as MPEG-2 or AC3. The A / V decoder 108 may transmit and decode the decoded A / V data to the display unit 112 by synchronizing synch with a video display processor (VDP).

The controller 110 may receive a decoding state from the A / V decoder 108 and control the display 112 with the OSD. In this case, the controller 110 may manage an application status and a database, and manage and control an OSD related to data broadcasting.

In addition, according to the present invention, when the diagnostic menu selection signal is input, the controller 110 controls to output a diagnostic menu. At this time, based on the strength (strength) information of the signal provided by the signal selection receiving unit 101, and controls to display the mux or channel information. In other words, indexes are assigned in order of signal strength so that the MUX information is arranged. The channel edit signal also identifies muxes due to the index and controls to perform the edit function accordingly.

The display unit 112 may output A / V data decoded and received from the A / V decoder 108 through a screen in the case of an audio signal through a screen in the case of a video signal. have. In this case, when the data decoded and received from the decoder 108 is a video signal and is output through a screen, the display unit 112 may be controlled by OSD (On Screen Display) graphic data.

2 illustrates an embodiment of a structure of a signal selection receiver according to the present invention.

An embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

Array antennas can be arranged at regular intervals, or at least half-wavelength spacing, to combine the beam patterns of individual antennas with each other to achieve better antenna gain and beam pattern than using a single antenna.

Two or more antennas (which will be described as two antennas in this embodiment) are wideband antennas that accommodate all terrestrial broadcasting frequency bands and are installed to have different reception directions. As shown in FIG. 2, one of the broadcast signals received through the two antennas is selected, or the antenna switch / combining unit 12 connects the two signals to the tuner 24 and a channel selected by the viewer through the antenna. And a tuner 24 for receiving the carrier frequency and converting the carrier frequency into an intermediate frequency signal and a channel demodulator 102 for processing the intermediate frequency signal.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of a detailed configuration of the antenna switch / coupling portion of FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 3, the antenna switch / combining unit 21 according to the present invention has a phase shifter such that the phase of the radio broadcast signal received from the antenna 1 is matched with the phase of the radio broadcast signal received from the antenna 2. Combiner, which combines the radio broadcast signal received from antenna 2 and the radio broadcast signal received from antenna 2 through a phase shifter into one tuner unit, which is normally used in the off state and then received from antenna 1 And a switch for measuring the signal-to-noise ratio (hereinafter referred to as SNR) for the signal and operating the antenna 2 to receive a broadcast signal if the measured SNR is below the reference SNR.

4 illustrates an embodiment of a structure of a signal selection receiver according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, a signal receiver, for example, a tuner, is present as many as the number of antennas. The antenna may be both two or more surfaces, but in this embodiment, it will be described as a structure having two antennas.

The signal selection receiver 101 may include a plurality of tuners 41 and 42, a signal comparison selector 43, and a multiplexer (MUX) 44 to receive broadcast signals through a plurality of paths and output them as a single signal. Can be.

Various implementations are possible in the signal selection receiver having such a configuration.

The first tuner 41 and the second tuner 42 receive a frequency band of a predetermined channel, perform RF signal processing, and output an IF signal.

At this time, the received RF signal or the down-converted IF signal is output to the signal comparison selector 43. The signal comparison selection unit compares the strengths of the received signals, selects a signal having the best reception sensitivity, and outputs the selection signal to the multiplexer 44.

In this case, the signal comparison selecting unit 43 may receive an RF signal and compare the signal strengths, or may receive a down-converted IF signal and compare the signal strengths. In addition, the first tuner 41 and the second tuner 42 may output all of the received signals to the multiplexer 44, or may output only the signals selected from the signal comparison selector 43 to the multiplexer 44. have. To this end, the signal comparison selector 43 sends control signals for signal comparison and selection to the first tuner and the second tuner.

The multiplexer may select one signal from the signals received from the first tuner 41 and the second tuner according to the selection signal received from the signal comparison selector, and output the one signal to the synchronizer 213. To this end, a received signal that is not selected has an output value of 0, and outputs only one selected signal.

5 illustrates an embodiment of a structure of a signal selection receiver according to the present invention.

Referring to Fig. 5, a signal receiver, for example a tuner, is present regardless of the number of antennas. The antenna may be both two or more surfaces, but in this embodiment, it will be described as a structure having two antennas.

The signal selection receiver 101 receives first and second band-pass filters 51 and 52 and a signal comparison selector 53 to receive a broadcast signal through a plurality of paths and output the signal as a single signal. ), A multiplexer (MUX) 54, and an RF signal processor 55.

The first band pass filter 51 and the second band pass filter 52 receive a broadcast signal of a predetermined frequency band under the control of the application control unit 220, and transmit the RF signal to the signal comparison selector 53. Output The signal comparison selecting section 53 compares the strengths of the received signals, selects the signals having the best reception sensitivity, and outputs the selection signals to the multiplexer 54.

The first band pass filter 51 and the second band pass filter 52 may output all the received signals to the multiplexer 54, or only the signals selected from the signal comparison selector 53 to the multiplexer 44. You can also output To this end, the signal comparison selecting unit 43 sends a control signal for signal selection to the first band pass filter 51 and the second band pass filter 52.

The multiplexer may select one signal from the signals received from the first signal receiver 41 and the second signal receiver according to the selection signal received from the signal comparison selector, and output the one signal to the synchronizer 213. To this end, the received signal that is not selected has an output value of 0, and outputs only one selected signal to the RF signal processor 55.

The RF signal processor 55 down-converts the selected RF signal to an intermediate frequency IF and outputs the converted RF signal.

6 illustrates an embodiment of a structure of a signal selection receiver according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, a method of outputting a broadcast signal received through a plurality of paths as a single signal is provided.

The signal selection receiver 101 includes at least two reception signal processing units 60 and 70, a combiner 80, and a gain adjuster 90 to receive broadcast signals through a plurality of paths and output them as a single signal. do. Looking at the first received signal processor 60 of the at least two received signal processor 60, 70, the antenna 10, the sync block 61, the threshold detector 62, the output unit 63, the memory controller 64, the memory 65.

First, a reception signal processor 60 for processing a signal received from one antenna among at least two antennas will be described.

The sync block 61 matches the frequency and phase of the received signal. The present invention assumes that the received signal has a synchronization pattern.

The threshold detector 62 measures the gain from the signal received from the sync block 61 to determine whether this signal is helpful for combining, and if so, sends it to the output 63 and does not help. If it is determined, the output of the output unit 63 is zero. When the signal is transmitted, the signal strength of the signal may be weakened, such as encountering an obstacle or bending a course. In this case, the noise ratio becomes high, so that the signal cannot be transmitted clearly, so that the combiner does not add the signal. will be.

The output unit 63 outputs a signal determined to be gained by the threshold detector 62 to the combiner 80, and in the case of a signal determined to be not gained by the threshold detector 62. Zero (0) is the output value.

The memory controller 64 detects a sync pattern from the output of the sync block 61 and generates a write signal of each memory. At this time, the memory of the first detected path is set as the reference memory.

The memory 65 stores a signal output from the output unit 63. The length of the memory 65 is set in consideration of the maximum delay time that may occur between the paths. That is, the length of memory should be set to be longer than the maximum delay time. When the unread signal stored in the reference memory is filled by a certain amount, a read signal is always generated to read the signals of all memories including the reference memory at the same time and increase the address.

The combiner 80 adds the signals of the memory 65 of the first signal processor 60 and the memory of the entire signal processor. In this case, since the noise is a random signal, the average value becomes '0' and the signal strength increases, resulting in a large signal-to-noise ratio.

The gain adjuster 90 adjusts the gain of the signals added by the combiner 80. The gain can be adjusted by a simple method of dividing the number of paths used in combining, or by measuring the signal strength of each path and dividing it by a different ratio according to the strength of each signal.

The operation of the received signal processor 60 is equally applied to the received signal processor 70 that processes a signal received from another antenna. Although the present embodiment has exemplified the case where there are two reception signal processing units, the present invention is not limited thereto.

The above description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains may make various modifications and changes without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical idea of the present invention but to describe the present invention, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of protection of the present invention should be interpreted by the following claims, and all technical ideas within the scope equivalent thereto should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention.

1 is an embodiment of a broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention

Figure 2 is an embodiment of the structure of a signal selection receiver according to the present invention

3 is an exemplary embodiment of a detailed configuration of the antenna switch / coupling portion of FIG.

Figure 4 is an embodiment of the structure of a signal selection receiver according to the present invention

Figure 5 is an embodiment of the structure of a signal selection receiver according to the present invention

Figure 6 is an embodiment of the structure of the signal selection receiver according to the present invention

* Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings *

101: signal selection receiver 102: demodulator

103: demultiplexer 104: SI decoder

105: SI database 106: carousel decoder

107: application database 108: A / V decoder

109: user interface unit 110: control unit

111: storage unit 112: display unit

Claims (6)

A signal selection receiver configured to receive broadcast signals from a plurality of antenna elements in a plurality of paths; A control unit for controlling to selectively receive a signal according to the strength of the broadcast signal received from the signal selection receiver; And a display unit for outputting the received signal. The method of claim 2, The signal selection receiving unit A signal receiver for receiving signals in a plurality of paths; A signal comparison selection unit comparing the signals received through the plurality of paths, selecting a single output signal and outputting a control signal; And a multiplexer for outputting a single signal according to the control signal of the signal comparison selector. The method of claim 2, The signal comparison selector The broadcast reception device, characterized in that for selecting one signal from among the signals received through a plurality of paths according to the signal strength. The method of claim 2, The signal comparison selecting unit combines the signals received through a plurality of paths, and outputs them as a single signal. The method of claim 1, wherein the signal selection receiver At least two sync blocks for matching the frequency and phase of a signal received at two or more antennas; At least two threshold detectors for determining whether to output the signal by measuring the gain of the matched signal in the sync block and determining whether the signal is a gain signal; At least two memory controllers for detecting a sync pattern of a matched signal in the sync block and generating a write signal of each memory; At least two outputs connected to the sync block and a threshold detector; At least two memory units controlled by the memory controller and storing data; A combiner for adding data stored in the at least two memory units; And a gain adjuster for adjusting a gain of the signal added by the combiner. The method of claim 5, And the threshold detector measures a gain of a signal matched in the sync block and sets the output of the output unit to zero if it is determined that the gain is not obtained.

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