KR20140113124A - Antenna Apparatus having satellite-detecting module and method for detecting satellite using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method for detecting a satellite in a portable antenna apparatus comprises the steps of: setting the antenna apparatus with reference to one among a plurality of transponder (TP) information included in a TP list for satellite search of any satellite and the location information of the antenna apparatus; receiving a satellite signal; and determining whether the satellite signal is a signal from a satellite (hereinafter, ″target satellite″) to be searched. The method further comprises the steps of: when the first satellite signal is not a signal from the target satellite, calculating the location of the target satellite based on the first satellite signal; changing the azimuth, elevation, or skew of the antenna, or the parameter of the satellite signal according to the calculating result; and determining whether a received satellite signal is a signal from the target satellite, with respect to each of TP information for satellite search included in a TP list for satellite search of the target satellite, until the signal from the target satellite is received.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to an antenna apparatus having a satellite search module and a satellite search method using the antenna apparatus.

The present invention relates to an antenna apparatus having a satellite search module and a satellite search method using the antenna apparatus, and more particularly, to an antenna apparatus having a satellite search module capable of searching for a satellite even if a satellite signal of the satellite is changed, To a search method.

With the development of communication technologies using satellites, satellite broadcasting services as well as satellite communication services have been commercialized and widely used. In satellite broadcasting, it provides a TV broadcasting service using a geostationary satellite located at an altitude of about 36,000 km above the equator. Recently, a variety of portable antenna devices have been developed for viewing satellite broadcasts while camping or traveling.

In this regard, Fig. 1 schematically shows an example of a prior art portable satellite broadcasting system. Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional portable satellite broadcasting system includes an antenna device 10, a set-top box 20, and a television 30. The antenna apparatus 10 is a device for receiving a satellite signal from a satellite and includes an antenna unit 11 and a low noise block down converter (LNB) 12, and has a size I have. The antenna unit 11 is a dish-shaped antenna or a plate-shaped antenna or the like for receiving satellite signals. The LNB 12 performs processes such as amplification of the received satellite signal, noise removal, and frequency conversion. Also, the satellite signal transmitted from the satellite is a kind of electromagnetic wave, and thus has a polarizing property such as a horizontal polarization or a vertical polarization. The LNB 12 also includes a function of selecting only certain types of polarized waves among the satellite signals do.

The set-top box 20 selects a desired channel (i.e., frequency) of the received satellite signals and transmits the selected channel to the TV 30, and the selected channel is displayed on the TV 30.

In this conventional satellite broadcasting system, when the antenna apparatus 10 is fixed on the ground, since the position of the stationary satellite is always constant, the position of the antenna unit 11 may be determined during the initial installation, The direction of the antenna unit 11 should be set so that the antenna unit 11 faces the target stationary satellite (hereinafter referred to as "target satellite") whenever the antenna unit 10 is installed in a specific place do. In order to search for the target satellite and set the direction of the antenna unit 11, conventionally, the satellite search transponder (TP) information as shown in FIG. 2 is associated with each satellite and stored in advance.

A transponder is a power-amplifying repeater installed in a satellite, amplifies the radio waves received from terrestrial stations, and transmits the amplified signals to the ground. In general, one broadcasting satellite is equipped with several to several tens transponders. FIG. 2 shows a case where the antenna device 10 pre-stores the signal transmitted from a specific transponder designated as "TP1" . In Fig. 2, the satellite signal of TP1 has a frequency of 11747 MHz, a symbol rate of 21300, and a horizontal (H) polarization. In this information, NID means the network ID of the satellite, and is a unique number assigned to each satellite to identify the satellite. That is, in the information of FIG. 2, it can be seen that the satellite signal of TP1 is a signal received from the satellite whose NID is 173. Therefore, for example, when searching for a satellite with NID 173 as the target satellite, the antenna apparatus 10 compares the received satellite signal with the satellite search TP information of FIG. 2, If they match, it is confirmed that this signal is the target satellite.

However, the satellite operator may change the satellite signal of the TP. For example, a situation may occur in which the frequency of the TP is changed to another frequency, or other variables such as symbol rate or polarization are changed. In this case, since the search TP information for the satellite stored in the device 10 is no longer valid, the antenna device 10, which stores only one TP for satellite search for each satellite, The user can recognize that the antenna device 10 is defective and the antenna device manufacturer must completely retrieve the antenna device 10 and change the search TP information for each device Hassle occurs.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, an antenna apparatus having a satellite search module capable of searching for satellites even if a satellite signal of TP stored as TP information for satellite search is changed, and a satellite search method using the same can be provided.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for searching a satellite of a portable antenna apparatus, the method comprising: referring to one of a plurality of TP information in a satellite search transponder (TP) list of an arbitrary satellite, Setting a device; Receiving a satellite signal; And determining whether the satellite signal is a signal of a satellite (hereinafter, referred to as "target satellite") to be searched for. If the first satellite signal is not a signal of a target satellite, Calculating a position of the target satellite based on the position of the target satellite; Changing the azimuth angle, elevation angle, or skew of the antenna, or a parameter of the satellite signal according to the calculation result; And determining whether a satellite signal to be received is a signal of a target satellite for each of a plurality of satellite search TP information of a satellite search TP list of the target satellite until receiving the signal of the target satellite The method of searching a satellite of a portable antenna apparatus according to the present invention further comprises the steps of:

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an antenna apparatus having a satellite search module for searching for a satellite, the satellite search module comprising: a tuner unit for setting a parameter of a satellite signal to be received from a satellite; An NID detector for detecting a satellite identification number (NID) from the received satellite signal; A storage unit for storing a satellite search TP list having a plurality of satellite search transponder (TP) information for each satellite for each of a plurality of satellites; (Hereinafter referred to as "target satellites") of the target satellite, and sequentially sets the parameters of the satellite signal with reference to the TP information for each of the plurality of TP information of the target satellite And a controller for determining whether the satellite signal is a signal of the target satellite when the satellite signal is received.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for searching a satellite of a portable antenna apparatus, the method comprising: referring to one of a plurality of TP information in a satellite search transponder (TP) list of an arbitrary satellite, Setting a device; Receiving a satellite signal; And determining whether the satellite signal is a signal of a satellite to be searched (hereinafter referred to as "target satellite"), and if the first satellite signal is not a signal of a target satellite, ; And determining whether a satellite signal to be received is a signal of a target satellite for each of a plurality of satellite search TP information of a satellite search TP list of the target satellite until receiving the signal of the target satellite The method of searching a satellite of a portable antenna apparatus according to the present invention further comprises the steps of:

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an antenna apparatus having a satellite search module for searching for a satellite, the satellite search module comprising: a parameter setting unit for setting a parameter of a satellite signal to be received from a satellite; A storage unit for storing a satellite search TP list having a plurality of satellite search transponder (TP) information for each satellite for each of a plurality of satellites; (Hereinafter referred to as "target satellites") of the target satellite, and sequentially sets the parameters of the satellite signal with reference to the TP information for each of the plurality of TP information of the target satellite And a controller for determining whether the satellite signal is a signal of the target satellite when the satellite signal is received.

According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, even if one of the satellite search TP information becomes unusable, by storing the satellite search TP list including a plurality of satellite search TP information in correspondence with each satellite, It is possible to provide an advantage that information can be used instead.

According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, when one of a plurality of TP information in a satellite search TP list becomes unavailable or a predetermined time elapses, the antenna device automatically scans the entire frequency to obtain a satellite search TP list The TP information for all the satellites can be prevented from becoming unavailable at the same time, thereby providing a continuous phase broadcasting service.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a prior art satellite broadcast system,
2 is a view for explaining TP information for satellite search used in satellite search in the prior art,
3 is an exemplary block diagram of a satellite broadcast system according to a first embodiment of the present invention;
4 is a view for explaining an exemplary TP list for satellite search used in satellite search according to an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 5 is an exemplary block diagram of a satellite search module in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 6 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method of searching for satellites in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of managing a TP list for satellite search according to an embodiment of the present invention;
8 is a diagram for explaining a change in the TP list for satellite search by the method of FIG. 7,
9 is an exemplary block diagram of a satellite broadcasting system according to a second embodiment of the present invention;
10 is an exemplary block diagram of a satellite broadcast system according to a third embodiment of the present invention;
11 is an exemplary block diagram of a satellite broadcasting system according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
12 is an exemplary block diagram of a satellite broadcasting system according to the first embodiment of the present invention;
13 is an exemplary block diagram of a satellite search module in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, and
14 is an exemplary block diagram of a satellite broadcasting system according to the second embodiment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein but may be embodied in other forms. Rather, the embodiments disclosed herein are provided so that the disclosure can be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

In this specification, when an element is referred to as being on another element, it may be directly formed on another element, or a third element may be interposed therebetween. Further, in the drawings, the thickness of the components is exaggerated for an effective description of the technical content.

Where the terms first, second, etc. are used herein to describe components, these components should not be limited by such terms. These terms are used merely to distinguish one element from another and are not intended to limit the present invention.

In the present specification, the singular form includes plural forms unless otherwise specified in the specification. The terms "comprises" and / or "comprising" used in the specification do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other elements.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In describing the specific embodiments below, various specific details have been set forth in order to explain the invention in greater detail and to assist in understanding it. However, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be understood by those skilled in the art without departing from such specific details. In some instances, it should be noted that portions of the invention that are well known in the description of the invention and not significantly related to the invention do not describe confusion in describing the present invention.

3 is an exemplary block diagram of a satellite broadcast system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, a satellite broadcasting system according to an embodiment may include an antenna device 100, a set-top box 20, and a TV 30.

According to one embodiment, the antenna apparatus 100 may include an antenna unit 110, a low noise conversion converter (LNB) 120, a driving unit 150, a polarization setting unit 170, and a satellite search module 200 have.

The antenna unit 110 receives a satellite signal as a plate-shaped or plate-shaped member. Preferably, to receive satellite signals from any satellite, the antenna portion 110 must be positioned to detect the direction of this satellite and point it towards that satellite. For example, when the antenna apparatus 100 is portable, the antenna apparatus 100 is fixed on the ground, and then the antenna unit 110 is driven so as to face a specific satellite to receive a signal.

The LNB 120 can perform processes such as amplification of a satellite signal received from the antenna unit 110, noise removal, and / or frequency conversion. Also, the LNB 120 may include a function of selecting and receiving only a specific type of polarized wave among the satellite signals.

In the illustrated embodiment, the LNB 120 is coupled to the set-top box 20 and the satellite signal module 200 so that the satellite signals output from the LNB 120 are transmitted to the set- Respectively.

In general, the LNB can be classified into various types according to the polarization, frequency, and output of the satellite signal to be received. For example, if a single polarized wave LNB can receive both a horizontal polarized wave and a vertical polarized wave based on the polarized wave, it is called a dual LNB if it can receive both the horizontal polarized wave and the vertical polarized wave, and a low band : 10.7GHz ~ 11.7GHz) and high band (11.7GHz ~ 12.75GHz) signals are received, it is called a universal LNB, and when only one band is received, it is called a single local LNB. Also, according to the output of the LNB, one output is called a single LNB, two is called a twin LNB, and four is called a quad LNB. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the LNB 120 may be implemented as any type of LNB among various LNBs classified according to such polarization, frequency, and output, and the present invention is not limited to any particular kind of LNB.

The driving unit 150 drives the antenna unit 110 such that the antenna unit 110 faces a specific artificial satellite. In the preferred embodiment, the driving unit 150 receives the control signal for driving the antenna from the satellite search module 200 and drives the antenna unit 110 based on the control signal to generate the azimuth angle, And / or the polarization angle (skew). Here, the azimuth angle is the vertical angle of the antenna unit 110, and the polarization angle (skew) is the angle of rotation of the antenna unit 110, respectively.

The polarization setting unit 170 sets the LNB 120 such that the LNB 120 receives signals of specific polarization and band of the satellite signals. In a preferred embodiment, the polarization setter 170 receives a control signal for polarization setup from the satellite search module 200 and sets the polarization and the band to receive for the LNB 120 based on the control signal.

The satellite search module 200 searches for a specific satellite to which the antenna unit 110 desires to receive a signal and directs the antenna unit 110 toward the satellite so that satellite signals (for example, a specific satellite The signal of the broadcast channel). In the illustrated embodiment, the satellite search module 200 may include a tuner unit 210, an NID detection unit 220, a control unit 230, and a storage unit 240.

In a preferred embodiment, the storage unit 240 may store a list of transponder (TP) satellites for each satellite for each of a plurality of satellites. The TP list for satellite search (hereinafter simply referred to as "TP list") includes a plurality of TP information for satellite search (hereinafter, simply referred to as "TP information"). FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary TP list for satellite search according to an embodiment of the present invention, including TP information for each of the three TP information, TP1, TP2, and TP3.

For each TP, the TP information includes frequency, symbol rate, polarization, and NID information. In Fig. 4, the satellite signal of TP1 is a satellite signal having a frequency of 11747 MHz, a symbol rate of 21300, H polarized wave, and NID specified by 173. Similarly, the satellite signal of TP2 has a frequency of 11785 MHz, a symbol rate of 21300, H polarized wave, and NID of 173. The TP3 satellite signal has a frequency of 11938 MHz, a symbol rate of 21300, an H-polarized wave, and a NID of 173.

Since the TP list in FIG. 4 is a TP list for one specific satellite, the NIDs in the three TP information are all the same. Thus, TP lists for any particular satellite generally have the same NID, but for some particular TPs the NID may be different. In this specification, it is assumed that the NIDs of the satellite signals received from one satellite are all the same for convenience of explanation.

The storage unit 240 stores one TP list for each satellite, and each TP list has a plurality of TP information as shown in FIG. In this way, the storage unit 240 stores a plurality of pieces of satellite search TP information for each satellite, and the satellite search module 200 searches for a target satellite ("target satellite") using the satellite search TP list can do.

The tuner unit 210 sets the parameter of the satellite signal by the control unit 230 and passes only the signal corresponding to the set parameter of the received satellite signal. The parameter of the satellite signal may be at least a part of the TP information. For example, the parameters include at least one of frequency, symbol rate, and polarization of the satellite signal. When arbitrary parameters are set by the tuner unit 210, only signals corresponding to the set parameters among the satellite signals that have passed through the antenna unit 110 and the LNB 120 can pass through the tuner unit 210.

The NID detector 220 detects a satellite identification number (NID) from the received satellite signal. The NID detector 220 transmits the detected NID to the controller 230.

The control unit 230 controls the tuner unit 210, the antenna driving unit 150, and the polarization setting unit 170 to search for a target satellite. The control unit 230 controls the driving unit 150 to direct the antenna unit 110 toward the target satellite and controls the polarization setting unit 170 to select the desired polarization signal, And the tuner unit 210 to receive the symbol rate signal. When the satellite signal is received through the antenna unit 110, the signal is compared with the satellite search TP list of the target satellite stored in the storage unit 240 to determine whether the signal is the target satellite signal.

Also, in a preferred embodiment, the control unit 230 may further include a function of changing (updating) the TP list for satellite search. For example, if the satellite signal is analyzed by referring to the satellite search TP list of the target satellite but the satellite signal corresponding to the referenced TP list is not received, the controller 230 obtains the satellite search TP list of the target satellite Can be changed. As another example, if the number of times that the controller 230 has searched for an arbitrary target satellite is equal to or greater than a predetermined number, or if the number of times of powering on / off of the antenna apparatus 100 is equal to or greater than a preset number, You can also change the list.

In order to change the TP list for satellite search, the controller 230 scans the satellite signals of the target satellites over a predetermined number of frequency bands, and transmits a TP corresponding to at least one of the plurality of satellite signals received by the scanning The TP list can be changed by adding the information to the satellite search TP list of the target satellite.

3, the antenna device 100 may further include a remote controller 40 connected by wire or wirelessly. In one embodiment, the remote control 40 includes a button for selecting one of the searchable satellites as a target satellite. When the user selects the satellite to search for a specific satellite, a selection signal is transmitted to the satellite search module 200, and the controller 230 of the satellite search module 200 searches the selected satellite as a target satellite.

In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the antenna device 100 is connected to the set-top box 20. The set-top box 20 can receive satellite signals output from the LNB 120, and the user can view satellite broadcasts on the TV 30 by operating the set-top box 20.

The set-top box 20 may communicate with the satellite search module 200 according to an embodiment. Communication between the set-top box 20 and the satellite search module 200 may be performed through a signal line between the set-top box 20 and the satellite search module 200 shown in FIG. 3, for example. When the set-top box 20 and the satellite search module 200 can communicate with each other, for example, when the user selects a specific satellite broadcasting channel in the set-top box 20, the antenna unit 110 must be driven or the LNB 120, In this case, the satellite search module 200 receives a control signal for the driving unit 150 and / or the polarization setting unit 170 from the set-top box 20 The controller 110 can drive the antenna unit 110 or change the polarization setting of the LNB 120 by transmitting the control signal to the driving unit 150 and / or the polarization setting unit 170.

Or alternatively, the set-top box 20 may independently control the LNB 120 without going through the satellite search module 200. For example, the set-top box 20 can transmit a control signal to the LNB 120 through a signal line between the LNB 120 and the set-top box 20 or an arbitrary signal line not shown in FIG. In this embodiment, for example, when the user needs to change the polarization setting by selecting a specific satellite broadcast channel, a control signal relating to polarization setting from the set-top box 20 is transmitted to the LNB 120 through such a signal line, It is possible to change the polarization setting of the polarization beam splitter 120.

The satellite search module 200 may drive the antenna unit 110 according to a user command or a user selection signal received from the set-top box 20 and may store data stored in the storage unit 240 It may be transferred to the set-top box 20 or may be received from the set-top box 20 and stored in the storage unit 240.

3, the polarization setting unit 170 is shown as a separate component from the satellite search module 200. However, in an alternative embodiment, the polarization setting unit 170 may be implemented in the satellite search module 200 It is possible. The position where the polarization setting unit 170 is specifically implemented is not particularly limited.

5 is an exemplary block diagram of a satellite search module in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 5, the satellite search module 300 may include a tuner chip 311, a NID detection chip 315, and a control unit 320.

The tuner chip 311 can set a frequency and a symbol rate of a satellite signal to be received. The frequency and the symbol rate of the satellite signal to be set in one embodiment are determined and set by the control unit 320. That is, the control unit 320 transmits a control signal to the tuner chip 311, and the tuner chip 311 sets the frequency and the symbol rate of the satellite signal by the received control signal.

When a predetermined frequency and a symbol rate are set in the tuner chip 311, among the satellite signals received by the satellite search module 300 through the LNB 120, a satellite corresponding to a frequency and a symbol rate set by the tuner chip 311 Only the signal can pass through the tuner chip 311. The satellite signal passed through the tuner chip 311 is input to the NID detecting chip 315 and the NID detecting chip 315 detects the satellite identification number (NID) from the satellite signal. The NID detection chip 315 transfers the detected NID to the control unit 320. [

In one embodiment, the tuner chip 311 may be implemented as a chip having a function of setting a frequency and a symbol rate of a satellite signal. However, in an alternative embodiment, the frequency setting function of the satellite signal and the symbol rate setting function may be separately implemented as separate chips. Also, in other alternative embodiments, at least some of the functions for setting the satellite signal and the symbol rate may be implemented in software.

Likewise, the NID detection chip 315 may also be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software according to an embodiment. It goes without saying that the tuner chip 311 and the NID detecting chip 315 may be implemented in one single chip.

The control unit 320 can control the tuner chip 311, the driving unit 150, and the polarization setting unit 170 to search for the target satellite. For example, the control unit 320 controls the driving unit 150 so that the antenna unit 110 faces the target satellite, controls the polarization setting unit 170 to select a desired one of the received satellite signals, The tuner chip 311 can be set to receive a desired signal of a predetermined frequency and a symbol rate. The control unit 320 may further include a function of changing (updating) the TP list for satellite search.

According to an embodiment, the control unit 320 may be implemented as a microcontroller unit (MCU). (CPU) 321, a memory 323, and a storage unit 325 in the chip of one control unit 320, as illustrated in FIG.

The CPU 321 controls the operation of the antenna device 100 by executing a program loaded in the memory 323. [ The memory 323 may be implemented as a volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM), as the space in which the program stored in the storage device 325 is loaded. The storage device 325 may be a nonvolatile storage device for storing data such as a solid state drive (SSD) such as a flash memory or a storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD). In a preferred embodiment, the satellite search function and / or the update function of the TP list for satellite search described above may be implemented as a software program in any storage device (not shown) located outside the storage device 325 or control unit 320, And this program can be loaded into the memory 323 and executed by the CPU 321 to update the TP list for satellite search and / or satellite search.

Meanwhile, the storage device 325 may store a list of satellite search TPs for each satellite as shown in FIG. 4, and a predetermined TP list necessary for updating the satellite search search list or the satellite search TP list may be stored in the memory 323 Lt; / RTI >

Furthermore, the storage device 325 may store not only the TP list for satellite search for each satellite but also a TP list (hereinafter also referred to as "TP list for satellite broadcasting ") for the satellite broadcast channel provided by each satellite. The satellite broadcast TP list may include the same TP information as the satellite search TP list shown in FIG. That is, the TP list for satellite broadcasting for each satellite includes TP information of all satellite broadcasting channels provided by the satellite. For example, if the satellite provides 10 satellite broadcast channels, the satellite TP list of the satellite includes TP information for 10 TPs. And each TP information may include information about frequency, symbol rate, polarization, and NID as in FIG.

In one embodiment, the plurality of satellite search TP information belonging to the satellite search TP list is selected from the satellite broadcast TP information in the satellite broadcast TP list. For example, a satellite broadcast TP list for satellite having 10 satellite broadcast channels includes 10 satellite broadcast TP information, and if a plurality of pieces of TP information among the 10 satellite broadcast TP information are selected as satellite search TP information A list of TPs for satellite search as in Fig. That is, according to one embodiment, some TP information in the TP list for broadcasting satellites can constitute a TP list for satellite search.

A selection criterion for selecting a part of the TP information in the satellite broadcast TP list as the satellite search TP information may be arbitrarily set. In one embodiment, the TP information having a large signal strength can be selected as the TP information for satellite search. However, it goes without saying that other criteria may be applied according to the embodiment.

Although the TP list for satellite broadcasting may be stored only in the storage device 325 of the satellite search module 300, it may be stored in the storage device 325 and storage means (not shown) of the set- . In this case, since the satellite broadcast TP list stored in the storage unit 325 and the storage means of the set-top box 20 must be synchronized, the satellite search module 300 receives the satellite broadcast TP list of the set- Or the set-top box 20 receives the satellite broadcast TP list of the satellite search module 300 at regular intervals and compares the received list with the stored list. Alternatively, in an alternative embodiment, the TP list for satellite broadcasting may be stored only in the set-top box 20, and in this case, the satellite search module 300 may receive the satellite broadcast TP list from the set-

3 and FIG. 5, the tuner chip 311 of FIG. 5 embodies the tuner unit 210 of FIG. 3, and the NID detecting chip 315 of FIG. 5 corresponds to the NID detector 220 of FIG. And the control unit 320 of FIG. 5 is an embodiment that embodies the control unit 230 and the storage unit 240 of FIG. However, it is needless to say that the satellite search module 200 of FIG. 3 is not limited to the satellite search module 300 shown in FIG. 5 but may be implemented by a satellite search module having a different structure.

In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the tuner chip 311 and the NID detecting chip 315 may be implemented by different IC chips or hardware, but two or more functional units may be integrated into one IC chip, And the control unit 320, the entire satellite search module 300 may be implemented as one IC chip. As described above, it is understood that the satellite search module 200 or 300 shown in FIG. 3 or 5 is merely a functional representation of the module, and that the satellite search module can be implemented in various combinations of hardware according to the embodiment.

6 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method for searching for satellites in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 6, in step S110, the antenna apparatus 100 sets the antenna apparatus 100 by referring to the position information of the antenna apparatus and the TP information for satellite search of the target satellite.

In this step S110, the antenna apparatus 100 sets the antenna unit 110 with reference to its own position information. For example, the antenna apparatus 100 can recognize its current position on the ground surface using its own GPS information, and determine the elevation angle and the polarization angle of the antenna unit 110 using the current position of the antenna apparatus 100 and the position of the target satellite Skew) can be set. The control unit 230 of the antenna device 100 calculates the elevation angle and skew of the antenna unit 110 using the GPS information of the antenna device 100 and then transmits a control signal to the driving unit 150, The driving unit 150 drives the antenna unit 110 so that the antenna unit 110 has a predetermined elevation angle and skew based on the control signal.

In the case where the antenna device 100 is a portable antenna device, since the user fixes the antenna device 100 on the ground surface while orienting the antenna device 100 in an arbitrary direction, Therefore, the azimuth angle of the antenna unit 110 is not set at this step S110. However, if the antenna device 100 includes a geomagnetic sensor, the antenna device 100 can determine the direction of the antenna device 100. In this case, the controller 230 controls the angle &thetas; So that the antenna unit 110 can be driven toward the target satellite.

Meanwhile, in step S110, the antenna apparatus 100 refers to the satellite search TP information stored in the storage unit 240 (or the storage device 325 or an arbitrary storage unit) To be set. For example, the control unit 230 may set the LNB 120 and the tuner chip 311 by referring to the frequency, symbol rate, and polarization information of the satellite signal included in any satellite search TP information. That is, the control unit 230 transmits the control signal to the polarization setting unit 170 by referring to the polarization information of the TP information, the polarization setting unit 170 sets the LNB 120 based on the control signal, The tuner chip 311 transmits a control signal to the tuner chip 311 with reference to the frequency and symbol rate information, respectively, and sets the frequency and the symbol rate of the satellite signal to be received based on the control signal.

At this time, preferably, TP information of one of a plurality of satellite search TP information in the satellite search TP list of the target satellite may be used as arbitrary satellite search TP information referred to in this step S110.

Thereafter, in step S120, the antenna apparatus 100 receives the satellite signal. That is, the antenna unit 110 of the antenna apparatus 100 receives an arbitrary satellite signal. At this time, the azimuth angle may be fixed at this time, but since the exact azimuth interval between the target satellite and the antenna device 100 is not yet known in this step S120, preferably, the azimuth angle is slightly changed For example, while rotating the antenna unit 110 from east to west).

Next, in step S130, the antenna apparatus 100 determines which TP information in the entire satellite search TP list corresponds to the received satellite signal, and determines whether or not the received satellite signal is a signal of the target satellite have.

If the satellite signal received in step S120 is transmitted to the satellite search module 200 through the LNB 120 and the transmitted satellite signal passes through the tuner unit 210, It can be determined that the signal has a frequency, a symbol rate, and a polarization set in step S110. The satellite signal transmitted through the tuner unit 210 is transmitted to the NID detector 220, and the NID detector 220 confirms the NID of the signal and notifies the controller 230 of the signal. Accordingly, the control unit 230 can acquire all of the parameters of the received satellite signal, i.e., frequency, symbol rate, polarization, and NID, and stores the parameters of the acquired satellite signal in the storage unit 240 It is possible to determine whether or not the received satellite signal is a signal of the target satellite by comparing it with the TP information of the search TP list.

As a TP information to be compared with a parameter of the satellite signal obtained at this time, in one preferred embodiment, all the TP information of all previously stored satellite search TP list can be compared with the parameter. For example, if the antenna apparatus 100 stores a satellite search TP list for a total of eight satellites and each satellite search TP list includes three satellite search TP information, then the total TP information is 24. Accordingly, the control unit 230 compares the parameters of the acquired satellite signals with the twenty-four satellite search TP information to determine whether corresponding TP information is present. However, in an alternative embodiment, it may be compared with the parameter of the satellite signal acquired only for TP information of some of the previously stored total TP information.

If it is determined that the received satellite signal is a signal of the target satellite, it is determined that the satellite signal is a signal of the target satellite (S140_Y) The elevation angle, the elevation angle, and the skew of the antenna unit 110 are set correctly. Therefore, the process proceeds to step S150, where the antenna unit 100 maintains the arrangement of the antenna unit 110, And receives a signal of a predetermined satellite broadcast channel.

If the user operates the set-top box 20 to select a specific one of the satellite broadcast channels provided by the target satellite in step S150, the set-top box 20 transmits the selected satellite broadcast channel to the LNB 120 and the set- 20 to receive satellite signals corresponding to the specific channel, thereby receiving the satellite signals of this particular channel and broadcasting through the TV 30.

3, when the set-top box 20 intends to control the LNB 120, the control signal is transmitted to the polarization setting unit 170 via the satellite search module 200, The setting unit 170 may control the LNB 120.

If it is determined in step S140 that the satellite signal is a signal of a satellite other than the target satellite (S140_N), the antenna device 100 is reset.

In order to reset the antenna apparatus 100, first, the position of the target satellite is calculated based on the satellite signal received in step S120 (S160). That is, since it is determined that the received satellite signal is a signal of a satellite other than the target satellite, the controller 230 can calculate the relative position of the other satellite and the target satellite to know how much the azimuth angle of the antenna unit 110 should be changed . Then, in step S170, the controller 230 drives the antenna unit 110 to rotate in the direction of the target satellite.

At this time, the controller 230 may change at least one of elevation angle or skew, or parameters (frequency, symbol rate, and / or polarization) of the satellite signal as well as the azimuth angle. For example, if the antenna is set with reference to the TP information of another satellite other than the target satellite in step S110, the azimuth angle, elevation angle, and elevation angle of the antenna unit 110 are determined by referring to the TP information of the target satellite, Or skew and may set at least one of the parameters of the satellite signal.

After resetting the antenna apparatus 100 in accordance with steps S160 and S170, the antenna apparatus 100, in step S200, performs a plurality of satellite searches of the satellite search TP list of the target satellite It is determined whether or not the received satellite signal is a signal of the target satellite.

Specifically, it is checked whether the parameter of the received satellite signal corresponds to the TP information of the satellite search TP list of the target satellite referred to in step S110 or S170 (step S220). If the parameter of the received satellite signal corresponds to this TP information (S230_Y), this means that the antenna apparatus 100 has correctly searched the target satellite, so that the flow proceeds to step S150, And receives a satellite broadcast channel signal.

If the parameter of the satellite signal does not correspond to this TP information (S230_N), this may mean that the target satellite no longer uses the satellite signal corresponding to this TP information, (I.e., frequency, symbol rate, and polarization) through the tuner unit 210 with reference to the second TP information in the search TP list (step S260). At this time, the LNB 120 can be set again by controlling the polarization setting unit 170 as necessary.

Thereafter, the controller 230 performs step S220 again to check whether the parameter of the received satellite signal corresponds to the second-referred satellite search TP information, and whether or not the parameter of the received satellite signal corresponds to the TP information. S150) or step S240, the above steps S220, S230, and S260 are repeated for each of the satellite search TP information of the plurality of target satellites until the target satellite signal is received. 6, N is the number of TP information included in the satellite search TP list of the target satellite.

In some cases, even if the above-described determining step S200 is performed on all (N) pieces of satellite search TP information of the satellite search TP list of the target satellite, the situation in which the signal of the target satellite is not received (that is, S240_Y ) May occur. This means that the target satellite does not use any of the satellite signals corresponding to the plurality (N) of satellite search TP information of the target satellites of the antenna apparatus 100, The target satellite can not be searched.

According to one embodiment, in this case (S240_Y), the control unit 230 can execute exception processing (S180). This exception handling can be implemented in various embodiments according to embodiments. For example, the antenna device 100 can be stopped as an exception process. However, as a preferred embodiment, the satellite search TP list of the target satellite may be changed (updated), which will be described later with reference to FIG.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of managing a TP list for satellite search according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 7, in step S310, the controller 230 determines whether it is necessary to change the satellite search TP list stored in the storage unit 240 or an arbitrary storage unit. In one embodiment, the control unit 230 may determine that there is a need to change the satellite search TP list of the target satellite in the following cases.

(i) The controller 230 does not receive the satellite signal corresponding to this TP information with respect to any satellite search TP information of the satellite search TP list of the target satellite during execution of the step (S200) of determining in Fig. 6 This is the case. For example, if it is determined that the signal corresponding to the first TP information of the target search satellite TP list has not been received as a result of repeating the determining step S200, the signal corresponding to the second TP information is received and the process proceeds to step S150 In this case, the controller 230 determines that the target satellite is no longer using the satellite signal corresponding to the first TP information, and can determine that it is necessary to change the satellite search TP list.

(ii) When the control unit 230 executes the determination step S200 of FIG. 6 on all (N) pieces of satellite search TP information of the satellite search TP list of the target satellite but does not receive the satellite signal S240_Y). That is, all the satellite signals corresponding to the plurality of satellite search TP information of the target satellite are no longer used by the target satellite, and the control unit 230 can determine that it is necessary to change the satellite search TP list.

(iii) the control unit 230 may determine that it is necessary to change the satellite search TP list according to the predetermined time or the search frequency. For example, when the number of times the control unit 230 searches for the target satellite becomes a predetermined value, the number of times the power of the antenna device 100 is turned on or off becomes a preset value, or a predetermined time period has elapsed The control unit 230 may determine that there is a need to change the TP list for satellite search.

If it is determined that there is a need to change the TP list (S320_Y), the controller 230 proceeds to step S330. As an example of changing the TP list, in step S330, the control unit 230 scans the satellite signal of the target satellite over a predetermined number of frequency bands. For example, if the frequency band used by the artificial satellite is from 11700 MHz to 12750 MHz, the control unit 230 scans the satellite signal over the entire frequency band while changing the frequency setting and the symbol rate setting of the tuner unit 210.

When receiving a plurality of satellite signals from the target satellites in the scanning step S330, the control unit 230 determines in step S340 whether the TP information of the satellite search TP list for this target satellite and the TP information of the satellite search TP list The TP information corresponding to at least one of the satellite signals received is deleted from the satellite search TP list of the target satellite, . At this time, a selection criterion for which TP information corresponding to which of a plurality of received satellite signals is to be added to the satellite search TP list can be arbitrarily set. For example, it is possible to add TP information having a large signal strength to the satellite search TP list, and other criteria may be applied according to the embodiment.

In this regard, FIG. 8 exemplarily shows that the satellite search TP list is changed. For example, if the satellite search TP list of the target satellite is the list of FIG. 4 and the control unit 230 determines that the result of repeatedly executing the step S200 is that the signal corresponding to the first TP (TP1) It is assumed that it has not received and the signal corresponding to the second TP (TP2) information is received and the process proceeds to step S150. In this case, the controller 230 determines to change the satellite search TP list, and as a result of performing the scanning in step S330, it is determined that the H-polarized satellite signal having the frequency of 11900 MHz and the symbol rate of 21300 has the highest signal intensity , The parameter of this signal can be changed to the first TP (TP1) information as shown in FIG.

On the other hand, the above-described steps S310 to S340 as described above can be added to arbitrary positions on the flow chart of Fig. Preferably, in the case of (i) above, it is possible to determine whether to change the search TP list during the process from step S230 to step S150 (steps S310 and S320) May perform the above-described steps S330 and S340 while receiving the channel signal selected by the user and providing it to the set-top box 20 (i.e., during step S150).

In the case of (ii) above, it is possible to determine whether to change the search TP list during the process from step S240 to step S180 (steps S310 and S320), and thus during the execution of the exception process That is, during step S180), the above-described steps S330 and S340 may be executed. Or in an alternative embodiment, the exception handling step S180 itself may include steps S310 through S340.

Also, it will be understood that steps (S310 to S340) may be executed regardless of the flowchart of FIG. 6 since the above situation (iii) depends on the predetermined time period or the number of searches.

9 is an exemplary block diagram of a satellite broadcasting system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Compared with the first embodiment of FIG. 3, the antenna device 100 of the second embodiment of FIG. 9 has the same or similar configuration as the antenna device 100 of the first embodiment. However, in the second embodiment, the LNB 120 of the antenna apparatus 100 can be connected to the external remote controller 41, and the remote controller 41 can be connected to the set-top box 20.

In this embodiment, the remote controller 41 further includes a relay function for transmitting the satellite signal transmitted from the LNB 120 to the set-top box 20. That is, the remote controller 41 may have the same function as the remote controller 40 of the first embodiment, and additionally has a function of relaying the satellite signal to the set-top box 20. At this time, the remote controller 41 can communicate with the satellite search module 200 through the signal line (the bold line shown in FIG. 9) between the satellite search module 200 and the remote controller 41 and, alternatively, And may communicate with the satellite search module 200 via any other signal line not shown in FIG.

As described above, when the antenna device 100, the remote controller 41, and the set-top box 20 are connected to each other as in the second embodiment, there is an advantage that only one output port is connected to the external device in the antenna device 100 .

10 is an exemplary block diagram of a satellite broadcasting system according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Compared with the first embodiment of FIG. 3, the third embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the satellite search module 600 is mounted in the remote controller 500 instead of the antenna device 400. That is, the satellite search module 600 does not necessarily need to be implemented in the antenna device 400, and may be installed in the remote controller 500 according to the embodiment, or may be installed in any device outside the antenna device 400 Do.

As described with reference to FIG. 3, the polarization setting unit 170 may be included in the satellite search module 200 according to the embodiment. In the embodiment of FIG. 10, the polarization setting unit 605 may be included in the satellite search module 600 of the present invention.

The components of the antenna device 400 and the satellite search module 600 in FIG. 10 are the same or similar to those of the antenna device 100 and the satellite search module 200 in FIG. 3, A detailed description will be omitted.

11 is an exemplary block diagram of a satellite broadcasting system according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

The satellite broadcasting system according to the fourth embodiment may include an antenna device 700, a set-top box 800, and a TV 30. 11, the antenna apparatus 700 may include an antenna unit 710, an LNB 720, and a driver 750, and each of the components 710, 720, and 750 may include an antenna unit 110, The LNB 120, and the driving unit 150, respectively, and may have the same or similar configurations, and thus the description thereof will be omitted.

11, the set-top box 800 includes a tuner chip 811, a main IC chip 830, a polarization setting unit 813, an NID detecting chip 815, and a control unit (MCU) 820 . The tuner chip 811 can set the frequency and the symbol rate of the satellite signal to be received under the control of the control unit 820. [

A satellite signal corresponding to a frequency and a symbol rate set by the tuner chip 811 among the satellite signals transmitted through the LNB 720 of the antenna apparatus 700, Can pass through the tuner chip 811, and the satellite signal thus passed is input to the main IC chip 830. The main IC chip 830 can extract a satellite broadcast signal that can be viewed by the user from the received satellite signal and transmit the extracted broadcast signal to the TV 30.

On the other hand, the satellite signal that has passed through the tuner chip 811 is also input to the NID detecting chip 815. The NID detecting chip 815 detects the satellite identification number (NID) from the satellite signal, To the control unit 820.

The control unit 820 can control the tuner chip 811, the driving unit 750, and the polarization setting unit 813 to search for the target satellite. In one embodiment, the control unit 820 may be implemented as a microcontroller unit (MCU).

The tuner chip 811, the NID detecting chip 815 and the control unit 820 described above are connected to the tuner chip 311, the NID detecting chip 315 and the control unit 320 described with reference to Fig. 5 Respectively, and have the same or similar functions, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

On the other hand, when comparing the first embodiment of FIG. 3 with the fourth embodiment of FIG. 11, it can be seen that the antenna device 700 of FIG. 11 does not include a separate satellite search module. That is, it can be seen that there is no satellite search module in the antenna device 700, and instead, the components of the satellite search module 200 of FIG. 3 and the polarization setting unit 170 are included in the set-top box 800. However, since the conventional general set-top box includes both the tuner chip 811 and the control unit 820 as well as the main IC chip 830, the fourth embodiment of FIG. 11 differs from the conventional set- 815) has been added. That is, the fourth embodiment adds the satellite search function of FIG. 6 and the change (update) function of the satellite search TP list of FIG. 7 to the existing set-top box. It will be appreciated that the additional functions at this time may be added in the form of hardware or software, or may be added in a form of a combination of hardware and software, depending on the embodiment.

11, the NID detection chip 815 is separately provided to detect the NID of the satellite signal. However, the NID detection function may be included in the main IC chip 830 in general. Thus, in an alternative embodiment, instead of using a separate NID detection chip 815, it may be implemented to detect the NID in the main IC chip 830 and to transmit the detected NID information to the control unit 820. [

12 is an exemplary block diagram of a satellite broadcast system according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 12, a satellite broadcasting system according to an embodiment may include an antenna device 1100, a set-top box 20, and a TV 30.

According to one embodiment, the antenna apparatus 1100 includes an antenna unit 1110, first and second low-noise conversion converters (LNB) 1120 and 1130, a driving unit 1150, a polarization setting unit 1170, (1200).

The antenna unit 1110 receives satellite signals as a dish-shaped or flat-plate shaped member. Preferably, to receive satellite signals from any satellite, the antenna portion 1110 must detect the direction of this satellite and position it towards this satellite. For example, when the antenna apparatus 1100 is portable, the antenna apparatus 1100 is fixed on the ground, and then the antenna unit 1110 is driven so as to face a specific satellite to receive the signal.

Each of the first and second LNBs 1120 and 1130 can perform processes such as amplification of a satellite signal received from the antenna unit 1110, noise removal, and / or frequency conversion. Also, each of the first and second LNBs 1120 and 1130 may include a function of selecting and receiving only a specific type of polarized wave among the satellite signals.

In the illustrated embodiment, the first LNB 1120 is coupled to the set-top box 20 and thus the satellite signal output from the first LNB 1120 is delivered to the set- The second LNB 1130 is connected to the satellite search module 1200 so that the satellite signals output from the second LNB 1130 are transmitted to the satellite search module 1200.

Generally, there are various kinds of LNBs, and there are two types, namely, a single LNB capable of receiving only one polarized wave of horizontal polarization and vertical polarization, and a dual LNB capable of receiving both horizontal polarization and vertical polarization. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, each of the first and second LNBs 1120 and 1130 may be either a dual or single polarized wave, a single output, or multiple outputs, Universal or a single local LNB.

The driving unit 1150 drives the antenna unit 1110 such that the antenna unit 1110 faces a specific artificial satellite. In the preferred embodiment, the driving unit 1150 receives a control signal for driving the antenna from the satellite search module 1200 and drives the antenna unit 1110 based on the control signal to generate the azimuth angle, elevation angle, And / or the polarization angle (skew). Here, the azimuth angle is a vertical angle of the antenna unit 1110, and the polarization angle (skew) is a rotation angle of the antenna unit 1110, respectively.

The polarization setting unit 1170 sets each of the first and second LNBs 1120 and 1130 so that each of the first and second LNBs 1120 and 1130 receives a signal of a specific polarization and a band of a satellite signal. In a preferred embodiment, the polarization setter 1170 receives a control signal for polarization setup from the satellite search module 1200 and for each of the first and second LNBs 1120, 1130 And sets the polarizations and bands.

The satellite search module 1200 searches for a specific satellite to which the antenna unit 1110 desires to receive a signal and directs the antenna unit 1110 to direct the satellite to obtain a satellite signal (for example, The signal of the broadcast channel). In the illustrated embodiment, the satellite search module 1200 may include a parameter setting unit 210, an NID detection unit 1220, a control unit 1230, and a storage unit 21040.

In a preferred embodiment, the storage unit 21040 may store a satellite search transponder (TP) list for each satellite for each of a plurality of satellites. The TP list for satellite search (hereinafter simply referred to as " TP list ") includes a plurality of TP information for satellite search (hereinafter, simply referred to as " TP information "). FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary TP list for satellite search according to an embodiment of the present invention, including TP information for each of the three TP information, TP1, TP2, and TP3.

For each TP, the TP information includes frequency, symbol rate, polarization, and NID information. In Fig. 4, the satellite signal of TP1 is a satellite signal having a frequency of 11747 MHz, a symbol rate of 2111300, H polarized wave, and NID specified by 173. Similarly, the satellite signal of TP2 has a frequency of 11785 MHz, a symbol rate of 2111300, an H-polarized wave, and a NID of 173. The satellite signal of TP3 has a frequency of 11938 MHz, a symbol rate of 2111300, an H-polarized wave, and a NID of 173.

Since the TP list of FIG. 4 is a TP list for one satellite, all the TP information is generally all the same NID, but the NID may be different for some special TP. In this specification, it is assumed that the NIDs of the satellite signals received from one satellite are all the same for convenience of explanation.

The storage unit 1240 stores the TP list for each satellite, and each TP list has a plurality of pieces of TP information as shown in FIG. As described above, the storage unit 21040 stores a plurality of pieces of satellite search TP information for each satellite, and the satellite search module 1200 searches for a target satellite ("target satellite") using the satellite search TP list can do.

The parameter setting unit 1210 sets the parameter of the satellite signal by the control unit 1230, and passes only the signal corresponding to the set parameter of the received satellite signal. The parameter of the satellite signal may be at least a part of the TP information. For example, the parameters include at least one of frequency, symbol rate, and polarization of the satellite signal. When arbitrary parameters are set by the parameter setting unit 1210, only signals corresponding to the set parameters among the satellite signals that have passed through the antenna unit 1110 and the second LNB 1130 pass through the parameter setting unit 1210 can do.

The NID detector 1220 detects a satellite identification number (NID) from the received satellite signal. The NID detector 1220 transmits the detected NID to the controller 1230.

The control unit 1230 controls the parameter setting unit 1210, the antenna driving unit 1150, and the polarization setting unit 1170 to search for a target satellite. In a preferred embodiment, the controller 1230 controls the driving unit 1150 to direct the antenna unit 1110 to the target satellite, controls the polarization setting unit 1170 to select the desired polarization signal, And a parameter setting unit 1210 for receiving a symbol rate signal. When the satellite signal is received through the antenna unit 1110, the signal is compared with the satellite search TP list of the target satellite stored in the storage unit 1240 to determine whether the signal is the target satellite signal.

Also, in a preferred embodiment, the control unit 1230 may further include a function of changing (updating) the TP list for satellite search. For example, if the satellite signal is analyzed by referring to the satellite search TP list of the target satellite, but the satellite signal corresponding to the referenced TP list is not received, the controller 1230 obtains the satellite search TP list of the target satellite Can be changed. As another example, if the number of times that the controller 1230 has searched for an arbitrary target satellite is equal to or greater than a predetermined number, or is greater than or equal to a preset number of times of powering on of the antenna device 1100, You can also change the list.

In order to change the TP list for satellite search, the control unit 1230 scans the satellite signals of the target satellites over a predetermined number of frequency bands, and determines a TP corresponding to at least one of the plurality of satellite signals received by scanning The TP list can be changed by adding the information to the satellite search TP list of the target satellite.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 12, the antenna apparatus 1100 may further include a remote controller 1040 connected by wire or wireless. In one embodiment, the remote control 1040 includes a button for selecting one of the searchable satellites as a target satellite. When the user selects the satellite to search for a specific satellite, a selection signal is transmitted to the satellite search module 1200, and the controller 1230 of the satellite search module 1200 searches the selected satellite as a target satellite.

In the embodiment of FIG. 12, the antenna device 1100 is connected to the set-top box 20. The set-top box 20 can receive the satellite signals output from the first LNB 1120 and the user can view satellite broadcasts through the TV 30 by operating the set-top box 20.

The set-top box 20 may communicate with the satellite search module 1200 according to an embodiment. Communication between the set-top box 20 and the satellite search module 1200 can be communicated directly between the set-top box 20 and the satellite search module 1200, for example, as indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 12, The set-top box 20 and the satellite search module 1200 can communicate with each other through the remote controller 1040 when communication between the set-top box 20 and the remote controller 1040 is possible.

In this embodiment where the set-top box 20 and the satellite search module 1200 are communicable, for example, when the user selects a specific satellite broadcast channel, the polarization of the satellite signal of this channel may be different from the polarization of the satellite signal currently being received . In this case, the satellite search module 1200 can control the first LNB 1120 by controlling the polarization setting unit 1170 based on the information about the polarization of the selected satellite broadcast channel signal.

Or in an alternative embodiment, the set-top box 20 may independently control the first LNB 1120 without going through the satellite search module 1200. For example, when the set-top box 20 transmits a control signal (not shown) to the first LNB 1120 through a signal line for transmitting a satellite signal between the first LNB 1120 and the set-top box 20 or an arbitrary signal line Can be transmitted. In this embodiment, for example, when the user needs to change the polarization setting by selecting a specific satellite broadcast channel, a control signal regarding the polarization setting from the set-top box 20 is transmitted to the first LNB 1120 May be transmitted to change the polarization setting of the first LNB 1120.

The satellite search module 1200 may drive the antenna unit 1110 according to a user command or a user selection signal received from the set-top box 20 and may store the data stored in the storage unit 21040 The data may be transmitted to the set-top box 20 or may be received from the set-top box 20 and stored in the storage unit 21040.

12, the polarization setting unit 1170 is shown as a separate component from the satellite search module 1200. However, in an alternative embodiment, the polarization setting unit 1170 may be implemented in the satellite search module 1200 It is possible. The position where the polarization setting unit 1170 is specifically implemented is not particularly limited.

13 is an exemplary block diagram of a satellite search module in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 13, the satellite search module 1300 may include a tuner unit 1311, a symbol rate setting unit 1313, an NID detecting unit 1315, and a control unit 1320.

The tuner unit 1311 can set the frequency of the satellite signal to be received and the symbol rate setting unit 1313 can set the symbol rate of the satellite signal to be received. The frequency and symbol rate of the satellite signal to be set in one embodiment are determined and set by the control unit 1320. The control unit 1320 transmits control signals to the tuner unit 1311 and the symbol rate setting unit 1313. The tuner unit 1311 and the symbol rate setting unit 1313 each receive the control signal And sets the frequency and symbol rate of the satellite signal.

When a predetermined frequency and symbol rate are set in the tuner unit 1311 and the symbol rate setting unit 1313, among the satellite signals received by the satellite search module 1300 through the second LNB 1130, the tuner unit 1311, Only the satellite signal corresponding to the frequency set in the symbol rate setting unit 1313 among the satellite signals passing through the tuner unit 1311 passes through the tuner unit 1311, It is possible to pass through the rate setting unit 1313. [ The satellite signal that has passed through the tuner unit 1311 and the symbol rate setting unit 1313 is input to the NID detecting unit 1315 and the NID detecting unit 1315 detects the satellite identification number (NID) from the satellite signal. The NID detection unit 1315 transfers the detected NID to the control unit 1320. [

The control unit 1320 can control the tuner unit 1311, the symbol rate setting unit 1313, the driving unit 1150, and the polarization setting unit 1170 to search for the target satellite. For example, the control unit 1320 controls the driving unit 1150 such that the antenna unit 1110 faces the target satellite, controls the polarization setting unit 1170 to select a desired one of the received satellite signals, The tuner unit 1311 and the symbol rate setting unit 1313 can be set to receive signals of desired frequency and symbol rate. The control unit 1320 may further include a function of changing (updating) the TP list for satellite search.

Meanwhile, according to the embodiment, the control unit 1320 may be implemented as a microcontroller unit (MCU). 13, a central processing unit (CPU) 1321, a memory 1323, and a storage unit 1325 may be included in a chip of one control unit 1320. [

The CPU 1321 controls the operation of the antenna device 1100 by executing a program loaded in the memory 1323. [ The memory 1323 can be implemented as a volatile memory such as random access memory (RAM) as a space in which a program stored in the storage device 1325 is loaded. The storage device 1325 may be a nonvolatile storage device for storing data such as a solid state drive (SSD) such as flash memory or a storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD). In one preferred embodiment, the satellite search function and / or the update function of the TP list for satellite search described above may be implemented as a software program in any storage device (not shown) located externally to the storage device 1325 or control unit 1320, And the program may be loaded into the memory 1323 and executed by the CPU 1321 to update the TP list for satellite search and / or satellite search.

Meanwhile, the storage device 1325 can also store a TP list for satellite search for each satellite as shown in FIG. 4, and a predetermined TP list required for updating the TP list for satellite search or for satellite search is stored in the memory 1323 Lt; / RTI >

Furthermore, the storage device 1325 may store not only the TP list for satellite search for each satellite but also a TP list (hereinafter also referred to as "TP list for satellite broadcasting ") for the satellite broadcast channel provided by each satellite. The satellite broadcast TP list may include the same TP information as the satellite search TP list shown in FIG. That is, the TP list for satellite broadcasting for each satellite includes TP information of all satellite broadcasting channels provided by the satellite. For example, if the satellite provides 10 satellite broadcast channels, the satellite TP list of the satellite includes TP information for 10 TPs. And each TP information may include information about frequency, symbol rate, polarization, and NID as in FIG.

In one embodiment, the plurality of satellite search TP information belonging to the satellite search TP list is selected from the satellite broadcast TP information in the satellite broadcast TP list. For example, a satellite broadcast TP list for satellite having 10 satellite broadcast channels includes 10 satellite broadcast TP information, and if a plurality of pieces of TP information among the 10 satellite broadcast TP information are selected as satellite search TP information A list of TPs for satellite search as in Fig. That is, according to one embodiment, some TP information in the TP list for broadcasting satellites can constitute a TP list for satellite search.

A selection criterion for selecting a part of the TP information in the satellite broadcast TP list as the satellite search TP information may be arbitrarily set. In one embodiment, the TP information having a large signal strength can be selected as the TP information for satellite search. However, it goes without saying that other criteria may be applied according to the embodiment.

Although the TP list for satellite broadcasting may be stored only in the storage device 1325 of the satellite search module 1300, it may be stored in the storage device 1325 and storage means (not shown) of the set- . In this case, since the satellite broadcast TP list stored in the storage device 1325 and the storage means of the set-top box 20 must be synchronized, the satellite search module 1300 receives the satellite broadcast TP list of the set- Or the set-top box 20 receives the satellite broadcast TP list of the satellite search module 1300 at regular intervals and compares the received TP list with the stored ones. Alternatively, the TP list for satellite broadcasting may be stored only in the set-top box 20, and in this case, the satellite search module 1300 may receive and use the TP list for satellite broadcasting from the set-top box 20 if necessary.

12 and 13, the tuner unit 1311 and the symbol rate setting unit 1313 of FIG. 13 may be considered as an embodiment of the parameter setting unit 210 of FIG. 12, The control unit 1320 may be regarded as an embodiment embodying the control unit 1230 and the storage unit 21040 of FIG. However, it is needless to say that the satellite search module 1200 of FIG. 12 is not limited to the satellite search module 1300 shown in FIG. 13 but can be implemented by a satellite search module having a different structure.

13, the tuner unit 1311, the symbol rate setting unit 1313, and the NID detecting unit 1315 may be implemented by different IC chips or hardware, but two or more functional units may be integrated into one IC chip And the entire satellite search module 1300 including the control unit 1320 may be implemented as one IC chip. As described above, it is understood that the satellite search modules 1200 and 1300 shown in FIG. 12 or 13 are merely functional representations of the modules, and that the satellite search module can be implemented in various combinations of hardware according to the embodiments.

14 is an exemplary block diagram of a satellite broadcasting system according to the second embodiment. Compared with the first embodiment of FIG. 12, the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the satellite search module 1600 is mounted in the remote controller 1500 instead of the antenna device 1400. That is, the satellite search module 1600 does not necessarily have to be implemented in the antenna device 1400, and may be installed in the remote controller 1500 according to the embodiment, or may be installed in any device outside the antenna device 1400 Do.

As described with reference to FIG. 12, the polarization setting unit 1170 may be included in the satellite search module 1200 according to the embodiment. In the embodiment of FIG. 14, the polarization setting unit 1605 may be a satellite search module 1600). ≪ / RTI >

The components of the antenna device 1400 and the satellite search module 1600 in FIG. 14 are the same or similar to those of the antenna device 1100 and the satellite search module 1200 in FIG. 12, A detailed description will be omitted.

As described above, although the present invention has been described with reference to the limited embodiments and drawings, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited by the described embodiments, but should be determined by the scope of the appended claims, as well as the appended claims.

100: antenna device 110, 410: antenna part
120, 420: LNB 150, 450:
170, 470: polarized wave setting unit 200, 300: satellite search module
210: tuner unit 220: NID detection unit
230: control unit 240:
311, 511: tuner chip 315, 515: chip for NID detection
320, 520: control unit

Claims (1)

A method for searching a satellite of a portable antenna apparatus,
(S110) setting the antenna apparatus by referring to one of a plurality of TP information of the satellite search transponder (TP) list of an arbitrary satellite and the position information of the antenna apparatus;
Receiving a satellite signal (S120); And
(S130, S140) of determining whether the satellite signal is a signal of a satellite to be searched (hereinafter, "target satellite"),
If the first satellite signal is not a signal of the target satellite,
Calculating a position of the target satellite based on the first satellite signal (S160);
Modifying an azimuth angle, an elevation angle, a skew, or a satellite signal parameter of the antenna according to the calculation result (S170); And
A step S200 of determining whether or not the received satellite signal is a signal of the target satellite, for each of a plurality of satellite search TP information of the satellite search TP list of the target satellite until receiving the signal of the target satellite, The method further comprising the steps of:

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