MXPA01003086A - Communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

In a communication system a communication device (2) is present for receiving a wideband broadcast signal from a head-end. For providing a return channel to enable interactive TV services, a GSM transceiver (34) is included in the communication device. In order to be able to provide also telephone services access control means (30) are present in the communication device (2) in order to control the access to the GSM transceiver without access conflicts causing an incorrect working system. The access control means switch between the return signals transmitted by a processor (12) and the telephone signals transmitted by a telephone terminal (22). In an embodiment of the invention, the communication device (2) is integrated in a TV set (3).

Description

COMMUNICATION SYSTEM The present invention relates to a communication system comprising a broadband distribution network coupled to a first port of a communication device, and a telephone network coupled to a second port of the communication device, the communication device comprises means for transmitting control signals to transmit control messages related to the signals that are received from the broadband distribution network via the telephone network.

The present invention also relates to a communication device and a TV receiver comprising said communication device.

A communication system according to the preamble is known from EN 301 195, "Digital Video Broadcasting ** (DVB), Interaction channel through the global system for mobile communication, Digital TV systems are currently deployed in several countries. , mainly based on DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting) or ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee) standards, both standards provide the possibility of introducing interactive services, such interactive services may include, but are not limited to, Video on demand, payment for event, purchase from home and games With the purpose of introducing these interactive services, it is necessary that the communication device transmit control messages to a server via a return channel In the above mentioned standard the use of a telephone network as the GSM network for the return channel.

The problem with the communication network described above is that only interactive services can be provided as defined in said standard. The object of the present invention is to provide a communication system according to the preamble in which additional services can be provided. To achieve the above objective, the present invention is characterized in that the communication system comprises access control measures that are placed to control access to the telephone network by the means of transmitting control signals and at least one telephone terminal. By introducing the access control means for controlling access to the telephone network, it becomes possible to provide additional POTS services without the need for a connection to an additional telephone network. The access control means prevent the occurrence of access conflicts when the telephone network must simultaneously be used to transmit control signals and to transmit telephone signals. A characterization of the invention is characterized in that the communication devices comprise the access control means. By integrating the access control means in the communication device, a single device is obtained in which the telephone terminals can be connected. A characterization of the present invention is characterized in that the access control means comprise converting means that are adapted to convert the telephone signals of the telephone network into telephone signals for the telephone terminal, and to convert telephone signals of the telephone terminal into telephone signals for the telephone network. By introducing the conversion means, it becomes possible to use telephone terminals different from those used with the telephone network. This makes it possible for common wired telephone terminals to be used where the telephone network is a network of mobile radio as GSM. This in particular is suitable for introducing interactive broadband services and telephony services in areas where an adequate communication infrastructure is not available. In an alternative characterization of the present invention characterized in that at least one telephone terminal is a wireless terminal, and in which a communication system comprises a base station for wireless terminals. This allows the use of wireless telephones in the communication system according to the invention. Another characterization of the invention is characterized in that the communication network comprises a TV receiver coupled to the communication device, and in that the TV receiver comprises at least one telephone terminal. By integrating the telephone terminal into a TV receiver, it becomes possible to provide a simple device for telephony and advanced broadcast services. It is also possible to integrate the communication device and the telephone terminal into a TV set. This provides a complete integration of telephone and TV functions. The present invention will now be explained with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 shows a first characterization of the invention in which the telephone network is a wired telephone network. Fig. 2 shows a second characterization of the invention in which bs access control means are integrated in the communication device. Fig. 3 shows a characterization of the invention where wireless connections are used.

In the communication system according to Fig. 1, the first port of the communication device 2 is connected to a broadband distribution network via an antenna 4. This communication device can be a set-top box used with a TV receiver 3. Alternatively, it is also possible for the communication device to be integrated into the TV receiver 3. In this case the network Distribution is a terrestrial or satellite channel such as DVB-T or DVB-S. Alternatively, the broadband distribution network can also be a CATV distribution network. The first port of the communication device 2 is connected to an input of a front terminal 6. An output of the front terminal 6 is connected to an input of a channel decoder 10 which derives a current of (error corrected) digital symbols from the input signal of the front terminal 6. The output signal of the decoder 10 may be for example a transport stream MPEG-2. The output of the decoder 10 is connected to a processor 12. In the case that an MPEG-2 signal is used, the processor 12 is accommodated to extract and decode the video signal carried by the transport stream MPEG-2. The processor 12 is also accommodated to extract control information from the transport stream MPEG-2 and to read commands entered by a user or a user interface 7. The decoded audio and video signals from the communication device 2 are supplied to a 3 TV receiver for play-back. In interactive TV systems it is common for signals from set-top box 2 to be transmitted to a main terminal for the purpose of controlling the signals to be received from the broadband distribution network. Said control signals may include signals for selecting a particular TV program from a video request service or for transmitting time stamps to the main terminal in cases of pay-per-view impulse systems. These signals to be transmitted are applied to a modem 16. This modem 16 transmits the control signals via the combiner 20 and via the telephone network to the main terminal. The selection means 18 is arranged to connect the output of the modem 16 to the telephone network 21. The combination of the combiner 20 and the selection means 18 constitute the means of access control. If during the transmission of data via a modem 16 the telephone 22 is activated to establish a telephone call, this is signaled via the selection means 18 to the processor 12. The processor 12 then transmits the current command via the modem 16 and subsequently terminates the call to the main terminal to release the telephone line for the telephone call to be made by the telephone 22. The processor 12 can subsequently transmit a message on the TV receiver informing that certain command can not be issued during the telephone call. Some information such as Pay-Per-Moment PULSE delivery pulses can be stored temporarily in set-top-box 2 until the telephone line is again available. The processor also informs the user that certain services are again available when the telephone call has ended. The combiner 20 may comprise an exchange matrix which can connect to the modem 16 or the telephone terminal 22 to the telephone network 21. It also comprises means for determining whether the telephone terminal is disconnected, even if there is a connection between the modem 16 and the telephone network. This detection can easily be done by applying a current source to the telephone terminal and detecting the voltage across its terminals a-b. In the communication system according to Fig. 2, a mobile radio network is used in place of the wired telephone network. The telephone terminal 22 is now connected to a subscriber line interface (SLIC) 21. As such, the set-top box comprises an RJ-11 connector for connecting a cable telephone. The subscriber line interface 21 is positioned to provide power supply and signal tones to the telephone terminal 22. It also comprises means for detecting when a telephone terminal is unhook The subscriber line interface also comprises an analog to digital converter and a digital to analog converter. The analog to digital converter is placed to convert the analog signal received from the telephone terminal into a digital signal to be transmitted in the mobile radio network. The digital to analog converter is positioned to convert the digital signal received from a mobile radio network into an analog signal for the telephone terminal 22. The subscriber line interface is a common device available in the market as an integrated circuit which is well known to experts in the art. The access control measures 30 are set to make the selection between the control signals of the processor 12 and the signals of / for the subscriber line interface 21. The signals of the access control means 30 are applied to the means of conversion 32, which convert these signals into a signal that is suitable to be transmitted in a mobile radio network. The operations performed by the conversion means 32 include the assembly of structures comprising the signals to be transmitted and the addition of the appropriate headers to them in order to comply with the operating standard of the mobile radio system. This standard can be for example a GSM. The signals converted at the output of the conversion means are provided to a transmitter and receiver 34 that transmits these signals via the antenna 35 to the mobile radio network. The antenna 35 is also used to receive signals from a mobile radio network. These signals can be directed to the processor 12 or to the telephone terminal 22. The transmitter and receiver 34 receive the signals from the mobile radio network and present them to the conversion means 32. The conversion means 32 convert the data provided by The access control means 30. It is possible that the communication device 2 further comprises an integrated RF unit 32 which is used to control various devices such as audio systems, VCRs, etc. Then the access control means 30 can also be placed to select the integrated RF unit 32 as the source or destination to be connected to the conversion means 32. In the communication system according to Fig. 3, the connections to the Telephone terminal 22 is also made wireless. To achieve that purpose, a DECT base station 31 is connected to access control means 30. The arrangement according to Fig. 3 has a plurality of antennas. These antennas can be combined into a single antenna by using suitable coupling means to couple the DECT transmitter and receiver 31, the transmitter and receiver integrated RF 42 and the GSM transmitter and receiver. These coupling means may consist of a plurality of bandpass filters to separate the different RF signals. Of course, the frequencies for the DECT transmitter and receiver 31, the integrated RF transmitter and receiver 42 and the GSM transmitter and receiver then must be different.

Claims (13)

CHAPTER CLAIMING Having described the invention, it is considered as a novelty and, therefore, the content is claimed in the following:
1. CLAIMS 1. A communication system comprising a broadband distribution network coupled to a first port of a communication device, and a telephone network coupled to a second port of the communication device, the communication device comprises transmission means of control signals for transmitting control messages related to signals received from the broadband distribution network via the telephone network, characterized in that the communication system comprises access control means that are arranged to control access to the telephone network by means of means for transmitting control signals and at least one telephone terminal.
2. 2. Communication system according to claim 1, characterized in that the communication device comprises the access control means.
3. 3. Communication system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the communication device comprises conversion means that collide to convert telephone signals from the telephone network into telephone signals for the telephone terminal, and to convert telephone signals from the terminal telephone telephone signals for the telephone network.
4. 4. Communication system according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one telephone terminal comprises a wireless terminal, and in that the communication system comprises a base station APRA wireless terminals.
5. 5. Communication system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the telephone network is a mobile radio network.
6. 6. Communication system according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the communication network comprises a TV receiver coupled to the communication device, and in which the TV receiver comprises at least one telephone terminal.
7. 7. Communication system according to one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that the one TV receiver comprises the communication device.
8. 8. Communication device comprising a first port for receiving signals from a broadband distribution network, and a second port coupled to a telephone network, the communication device is positioned to transmit control messages related to signals received from the distribution network broad band via the telephone network, characterized in that the communication device comprises control means placed to control access to the telephone network by means of signal transmission means and at least one telephone terminal.
9. 9. Communication device according to claim 7, characterized in that the second port comprises an air interface for a mobile radio network.
10. 10. Communication device according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the third port comprises a connector for a wired telephone terminal.
11. 11. Communication device according to claim 6, characterized in that the third port comprises an air interface of a wireless telephone system.
12. 12. Communication device according to one of claims 6, 7 or 8, characterized in that the first second port comprises an air interface for a mobile radio network.
13. 13. TV receiver comprising a communication device according to one of claims 7, 8 or 9.