WO2004032509A1

WO2004032509A1 - Set top box system for cable television, access point apparatus, and set top box apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2004032509A1
Application number: PCT/JP2002/010178
Authority: WO
Inventors: Tadashi Saitoh; Jun Tozawa
Original assignee: Renesas Technology Corp.
Priority date: 2002-09-30
Filing date: 2002-09-30
Publication date: 2004-04-15
Also published as: JPWO2004032509A1

Abstract

An STB system for CATV capable of arranging an STB apparatus freely in a home and omitting cable installation up to the STB apparatus in the home, thereby reducing the cost of installation of STB apparatus in the home. The STB system for CATV is connected to a coaxial cable and consists of an AP apparatus for receiving a video signal delivered via the coaxial cable and the STB apparatus (42) constituting a pair with the AP apparatus, connected to a TV, and outputting a video signal to the TV. On the STB apparatus, there is provided a POD (20) for descrambling a video signal from which radio signal is separated and which has been transmitted from the AP apparatus and performing customer viewing management by using control data. Moreover, on the AP apparatus and the STB apparatus (42), radio processing units are provided so that the AP apparatus is connected to the STB apparatus (42) by the radio signal and a video signal and customer viewing management control data are multiplexed by a single radio band when transmitted and received.

Description

Specification

Set-top box system for cable TV, access point device, and set-top box device

The present invention relates to an information transmission technology for a cable television (CATV: cabletelevision), and more particularly, to a set-top pox (STB) device and an access point (AP) for transmitting and receiving video signals wirelessly. A ccess Point) It relates to the technology which is effective when applied to the equipment and the STB system for CATV. Background art

According to the studies made by the present inventors, the following technologies can be considered for the information transmission technology for CATV.

For example, home-use CATV STB equipment can be converted to analog or digital through coaxial cable that is routed to each home, as shown in the “O pen Cable STB” standardized by the US Cable Lab. TV (television) signals to homes, and simultaneously transmit and receive customer viewing management information between homes and base stations through different frequency bands (OOB _: Out of Band). I have.

Further, for example, there is a technology as shown in FIG. 9 as an STB device studied as a premise of the present invention, and an outline thereof will be described below. FIG. 9 shows an example of the configuration of an STB device on which the present invention is based.

The STB device 35, which is a premise of the present invention, includes a FAT (forward Ap 1 ication transport) tuner 2, an AD converter 3, a QAM demodulator 4, a FEC decoder 5, switching: this switch 6, and an OOB tuner 1. 1, AD converter 12, QPSK demodulator 13, FEC decoder 14, MAC circuit for OOB 15, DA converter 16, QPSK modulator 17, POD (Point Of Deployment) interface 1 8, POD 20; POD ECC generator 21; POD control CPU 22; descrambler 23; demultiplexer 30; video decoder 31; video decoder 32; video output terminal 37 It consists of an audio output terminal 38 and a CPU 60 for controlling the STB device.

In the STB device 35, the TV signal is distributed to the STB device 35 installed in the home by the coaxial cable 45 wired to the home, and the STB device 35 restores the video signal and the audio signal. These are connected to a TV (not shown) from the video output terminal 37 and the audio output terminal 38 so that the viewer can enjoy the TV program. TV signals are transmitted on the FAT channel. As a modulation (compression) method, a digital modulation method such as MPEG-TS (MPEGTransportStream) is used.

One of multiple FAT channels is selected by FAT tuner 2, the signal of the selected channel is demodulated to a digital signal by AD converter 3, QAM demodulator 4, and error correction is performed by FEC decoder 5. After being processed, it is input to POD 20 via POD interface 18. In the POD 20, the scramble is released by the descrambler 23 and returned to the STB device 35 via the playback pod interface 18.

The switching switch 6 is for switching the digital modulation type TV signal, and outputs the signal descrambled by the POD 20 when the POD 20 is mounted, and when the POD 20 is not mounted. The signal before being descrambled is input to the demultiplexer 30 of the MPEG-TS. The demultiplexer 30 separates a video signal and an audio signal from the digitally modulated TV signal, and inputs them to the video decoder 31 and the audio decoder 32, respectively. The video decoder 31 decodes and outputs a video signal encoded (compressed) by the MPEG method. The audio decoder 32 also decodes and outputs the audio signal encoded (compressed) by the MPEG method or the AC-3 method. Data for various control of customer viewing management, which is different from the TV signal, is transmitted between the base station (not shown) and the STB device 35 installed in each home using a frequency band (OOB) different from the FAT channel. Sent and received. The control data sent from the base station to the STB device 35, including program information and information such as billing control, is selected by the OOB tuner 11, then the AD converter 12, QPSK demodulator 13 The data is decoded into digital data by, and error correction is further performed by the FEC decoder 14. The output of the FEC decoder 14 is input to the POD 20 via the POD interface 18 and to the OOB MAC circuit 15. In POD 20, the CPU 22 for POD control that performs charging control takes in the control data and uses this data for charging control.

On the other hand, the data input to the OOB MAC circuit 15 is obtained by selecting only necessary data by the OOB MAC circuit 15 and then controlling the STB device control CPU 60 which controls the entire STB device 35. Is input to Based on this information, the STB device control CPU 60 performs a reception application process for a pay broadcast according to a viewer's selection. In this process, specifically, data communication is performed between the CPU 60 for controlling the SB device and the CPU 22 for controlling the pod, and a request for viewing a pay broadcast is sent to the CPU 22 for controlling the pod. The POD control CPU 22 uses the control data transmitted via the OOB channel to transmit pay broadcast viewing information to the base station as necessary, and to allow the viewer to receive the broadcast. In the case of having, the descrambler 23 is controlled to release the scramble of the digitally modulated TV signal, thereby enabling viewing of the pay broadcast.

Paid broadcast viewing information is sent to the QPSL modulator 17 via the POD interface 18 after adding an error correction code by the POD ECC generator 21 and can be transmitted via the coaxial cable 45 The modulated signal is converted into an analog signal by the DA converter 16 and input to the OOB tuner 11. Further, it is sent to a base station (not shown) through a coaxial cable 45. By the way, as a result of the study by the inventor of the above-mentioned STB apparatus, the following has become clear.

For example, the STB device described above can transmit and receive not only TV signals but also various control data for customer viewing management using the same coaxial cable, and provide users with high-performance services with an inexpensive system configuration. It is an excellent system that can do this. However, since all information is transmitted via cables, cable wiring is indispensable for adding STB equipment. In other words, in order to add a second or subsequent STB device in the same home, a new cable must be connected to the room where the second or third STB device or TV is installed in the home. Installation work is required. Usually, the cables to each home are often already wired, but in most cases, the wiring in the home is not performed at all and requires a great deal of cost.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to allow the STB device to be freely arranged in the home, and to eliminate the need to install cables in the home up to the STB device. An object of the present invention is to provide a CATV STB system that can reduce installation costs.

The inventor previously separated the STB device into a portion connected to a cable and a portion connected to a TV in a PCT application (international application number: PCTZ JP 01/1 0209). We applied for an STB system for CATV, but the position where the POD is provided is different from the present invention.

The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings. Disclosure of the invention

The following is a brief description of an outline of typical inventions disclosed in the present application.

That is, the STB system for CAT V of the present invention is connected to a cable, and receives an image signal distributed through the cable, an AP device, and an STB connected to the TV and outputting a video signal to the TV. apparatus In a configuration in which a POD is provided on the STB device side to perform descrambling of the video signal separated from the wireless signal transmitted from the AP device and perform customer viewing management using the control data, Are connected by wireless signals, and not only TV signals (video signals), but also customer viewing management control data such as billing information are superimposed and processed in the same wireless signal in one wireless band. As a result, the wiring between the AP device and the STB device is eliminated and the STB device can be freely arranged without deteriorating the advantages of the system described above.

Furthermore, the STB system for CAT V of the present invention transmits the video signal, the control data to the pod, and the control data from the pod with time information added thereto, and performs the playback timing based on the time information at the time of reception. Can be controlled. In addition, by including a plurality of independent means in the AP device, it is possible to support a plurality of STB devices.

Therefore, according to the CATV STB system of the present invention, the STB device can be freely arranged in the home, and installation of a cable in the house up to the STB device can be omitted. As a result, the cost of home installation can be reduced. This is remarkable when the second and subsequent STB devices are added. ,is there.

In addition, the present invention eliminates the need for wiring between the STB device and the AP device, so that the STB device can be freely carried around the home, providing new convenience to viewers, and providing a new portable TV system. Applications can also be expected.

In particular, the present invention is effective when applied to a wireless receiver and a system for receiving a TV signal, such as an in-home STB device, and similarly, video playback in which a display unit and a signal source are separated. It can be applied to equipment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

1 to 6 show the STB system for CATV according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an AP device, FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing an STB device, FIG. 3 is a timing diagram showing data transfer, and FIG. 4 is a timing diagram showing data transfer in detail. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a data reception / header processing unit in the wireless MAC circuit, FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a data reception output control unit in the wireless MAC circuit, and FIGS. FIGS. 7A and 7B are diagrams for explaining a CATV STB system according to a second embodiment. FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram showing an AP device, FIG. 8 is a timing diagram showing data transfer in detail, and FIG. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an STB device studied as a premise of the invention. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In all the drawings for describing the embodiments, those having the same functions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their repeated description will be omitted.

(Embodiment 1)

The STB system for CATV according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 shows a configuration diagram of an AP device connected to a coaxial cable in the CATV STB system of the present embodiment. FIG. 2 shows a configuration diagram of an STB device connected to a TV.

The CATV STB system according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, is connected to a coaxial cable and forms an AP device that receives a video signal distributed through the coaxial cable, and forms a pair with the AP device. As shown in FIG. 2, the STB device is connected to a TV and outputs a video signal to the TV.

In FIG. 1, the AP apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, which is connected to the coaxial cable 45 and receives the video signal distributed through the coaxial cable 45, is the same as the S apparatus of FIG. Demultiplexer 30, video decoder 31, audio decoder compared to TB unit 35 32, MPEG decoder consisting of STB device control CPU 60, wireless MAC circuit 8, wireless PHY circuit 9, wireless RF circuit 10, AP device control CPU 41 It differs from the processing unit in that the device has a function of transmitting / receiving data as wireless information to / from the STB device 42 shown in FIG. 2 instead of reproducing an image. Also, there is no POD. That is, the AP device 1 according to the present embodiment includes a FAT tuner 2, an AD converter 3, a QAM demodulator 4, an FEC decoder 5, a wireless MAC circuit 8, a wireless PHY circuit 9, a wireless RF circuit 10, an OOB tuner 11 , An AD converter 12, a QPSK demodulator 13, an FEC decoder 14, a DA converter 16, a QPSK modulator 17, an AP device control CPU 41, a wireless input / output terminal 24, and the like. In FIG. 1, blocks having the same functions as those in FIG. 9 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and descriptions of those processes are omitted. The AP device 1 has a FAT tuner 2 as a selecting means for selecting a desired channel from the video signals distributed through the coaxial cable 45, and demodulates the video signal of the selected channel into a digital signal. A / D converter 3, QAM demodulator 4 and FEC decoder 5, as means, AP device control CPU 4, as first processing means for processing customer viewing control data, digitally modulated video signal and processing The wireless MAC circuit 8, the wireless PHY circuit 9, the wireless RF circuit 10, and the like as first wireless processing means for multiplexing the modulated control data, modulating the data, converting the modulated data into a wireless signal in one wireless band, and transmitting the signal. Each is provided. In the AP device 1, the wireless MAC circuit 8 includes the FAT channel data (digital channel, d in the figure) output from the FEC decoder 5 and the OOB channel down data output from the FEC decoder 14. (E in the figure) is input. Also, from the wireless MAC circuit 8, management data (OOB channel update data) sent from the STB device 42 in FIG. 2 to a base station (not shown) is output to the QPSK modulator 17 using the OOB channel. (F in the figure). This wireless MAC circuit 8 multiplexes the above three types of data on the time axis, and the wireless PHY circuit Input / output to 9.

In the wireless PHY circuit 9, modulation is performed after adding an error correction code to the input data (in the present case, for example, 256 Q AM modulation, but similar effects can be expected with other modulation methods) The signal is further converted to a high-frequency radio signal by the radio RF circuit 10 of the high-frequency processing unit, and output from the radio input / output terminal 24. On the other hand, the update data of the OOB channel sent from the STB device 42 is received by the wireless RF circuit 10, demodulated by the wireless PHY circuit 9, and sent to the wireless MAC circuit 8.

In FIG. 2, the STB device 42 according to the present embodiment has a receiving function paired with the AP device 1 in FIG. 1, is connected to a TV, and outputs a video signal to the TV. , Wireless input / output terminal 25, wireless RF circuit 26, wireless PHY circuit 27, wireless MAC circuit 28, switch 6, OOB MAC circuit 15, POD interface 18, POD 20, POD ECC generator 21, CPU for POD control 22, descrambler 23, demultiplexer 30, video decoder 31, audio decoder 32, STB device control CPU 47, video output terminal 37, audio It consists of output terminals 38 and so on.

The STB device 42 receives a radio signal transmitted from the AP device 1 using one radio band, converts the radio signal into a digital signal, selects a desired signal, and controls the video signal and customer viewing management. RF wireless circuit 26, wireless PHY circuit 27, and wireless MAC circuit 28 as the second wireless processing means for separating the control data from POD 20 as a development means for performing customer viewing management using, a demultiplexer 30 as a decoding means for decoding a descrambled video signal and outputting it to a television, a video decoder 31 and An audio decoder 32, an STB device control CPU 47 as second processing means for processing the separated control data, and the like are provided. In this STB device 42, a signal transmitted / received from the wireless input / output terminal 25 is converted into a baseband signal by the wireless RF circuit 26, and the baseband signal is converted by the wireless PHY circuit 27. Convert to digital signal and select necessary data by wireless M.AC circuit 28. Specifically, data output from devices other than the paired AP device 1 and transferred to other devices are excluded. The wireless MAC device 28 further separates two types of data (FAT channel data and OOB channel down data) sent to the STB device 42 from the three types of data multiplexed by the AP device 1, , Input / output to corresponding block.

Specifically, a video signal (d 'in the figure) transmitted from the FAT channel, which is data of the digital channel in FIG. 1, is connected to the POD interface 18 and the switching switch 6. The OOB channel down data (e in the figure) is similarly connected to the pod interface 18 and the OOB MAC circuit 15. The OOB channel update data (f, in the figure) output from the POD interface 18 is output from the POD interface 18 and sent to the wireless MAC circuit 28. The operation of the POD 20 is the same as the operation of FIG. 9 which is a premise of the present invention described above. The functions of the demultiplexer 30, the video decoder 31, and the audio decoder 32 are the same as those in the technique of FIG. 9 described above.

FIG. 3 shows a timing chart of wireless data transfer according to the present embodiment. In the figure, (1) is the timing of inputting FAT channel data to the wireless MAC circuit 8 on the AP device 1 side (d in Fig. 1), and (2) is the wireless MAC circuit 8 for the down data of the OOB channel. Input timing (e in Fig. 1), (3) is the timing of the update of the OOB channel sent from the STB device 42 to the wireless MAC circuit 8 in the AP device 39 ((f 'in Fig. 2, Is the input timing to the wireless MAC circuit 28 of the STB device 42), (4) is the timing of the three types of data actually transmitted wirelessly, and (5) is the wireless MAC circuit 2 of the STB device 42. 8 FAT channel data output timing (d and d in Fig. 2), (6) is the OOB channel down data output timing (e and d in Fig. 2), and (7) is from the STB unit 42 side. Output of OOB channel updater sent to AP device 1 The timing (f in Fig. 1) is shown.

At this wireless data transfer timing, the transmitting side adds time information to the FAT channel data, OOB channel down data, and OOB channel update data, and transmits them wirelessly. The playback timing is controlled based on the FAT channel, and the data is played back as FAT channel data, OOB channel down data, and OOB channel up data.

In FIG. 3, the data packet system IJ 54 (54-0, 54-1, · · · ·) is a data packet sequence 51 (51-0, 51-1, · · · ·) of the FAT channel. ), And similarly, the data packet system IJ 55 (55−0, 55−1,...) Is a down data packet sequence 52 (5) of the OOB channel.

The data packet sequence 5 6 (5 6-0, 56-1,...) Is the OOB channel update bucket sequence 5 3 (5

3-0, 5 3-1,-· ·) respectively.

The data packet sequence 5 7 (57-0, 57-1,-· ·) is replaced by the data packet sequence 51 (51-0, 51-1,-· ·) and the data packet sequence 58 (5 8-0, 58-1, · · ·) are assigned to the data packet sequence 52 (52-1 0, 52-1, · · ·) and the data packet sequence 59 (59-0) , 591-1,...) Correspond to the data packet sequence 53 (53-0, 53-1-,-).

The data shown in Fig. 3 (1) is input sequentially in time series in the form of packet 51. The wireless MAC circuit 8 measures the time from a certain reference period (T), and adds this value (t−l, t−1, 2,...) To the packet 54 as a wireless LAN header (see FIG. 54). (The hatched area in Fig. 3) and transmit wirelessly at the timing shown in Fig. 3 (4). The data sent by radio is transmitted to the STB device.

It is transmitted and received by 42, processed by the wireless RF circuit 26 and the wireless PHY circuit 27, and then input to the wireless MAC circuit 28. The wireless MAC circuit 28 obtains the embedded timing information from the header of the received wireless LAN of the bucket, and adjusts the output timing of the corresponding packet 57. That Therefore, the bucket sequence 51 containing the video data input to the wireless MAC circuit 8 is output as a packet sequence 57 at the same time interval with a delay of a fixed time (2 T in FIG. 3).

In Fig. 3 (4), 50 is a wireless LAN reference pulse (beacon pulse), and the transmission / reception timing of various data is determined based on this reference pulse. In the figure, 54-cUi, a dummy bucket for which the corresponding packet did not happen to be sent, can be omitted.

The packet sequence 58 in FIG. 3 (6) indicates the down data of the OOB channel sent from the AP device 1 to the STB device 42. This is transmitted by embedding the timing information (time (d-1, d-2,...) From a certain reference period (T)) in the header, like the data 51 and 54 of the FAT channel. The output timing is adjusted on the STB device 42 side based on the header information and output.

Bucket row 59 in FIG. 3 (7) shows the OOB channel update data sent from the STB device 42 to the AP device 1 on the contrary. Similarly to the other bucket trains, the timing information (time from a fixed reference period (T) (e-1, e-2, ...)) is added to the header in the wireless MAC circuit 28 of the STB device 42. ) Is embedded and transferred wirelessly, and the output timing is adjusted based on the information in the wireless MAC circuit 8 of the AP device 1 and output. FIG. 4 shows the wireless transmission timing of FIG. 3 (4) in more detail in the wireless data transfer of FIG.

In wireless LAN data transmission, data is transferred in a fixed period ^, indicated by T in Fig. 4. Furthermore, this cycle T is divided into three areas a, b, and c. For example, in area a, FAT channel data is transferred, in area b, OOB channel down data is transferred, and in area c, OOB channels are transferred. The channel updater is transferred. In the example shown in FIG. 3, only 54 packets are transferred in one period. However, there is no such restriction. As shown in FIG. 3, 54 (54−n, 54−n + 1) , 54 -n + 2, 54-n + 3), 5 5 (55-1, 55-2) and 56 (56-1, 56-2) have the same period T Can be transferred multiple times. When setting the area, determine the data rate of each channel at startup, and set based on that. In the embodiment of FIG. 4, three types of data are transmitted and received, and the data is divided into three time regions and transmitted and received, but the data packet type is identified by the header of each data packet. Thus, the same effect can be realized without dividing the area.

Normally, the data transfer rate of the OOB channel is lower than the transfer rate of the wireless LAN, so the same amount of data can be transferred in a short time over the wireless for both down and up transfers. Can be transmitted by a single wireless LAN signal. Specifically, for example, in the wireless LAN standard of IE EE802.11a, the data transfer rate is 54 Mbit / s, whereas the FAT channel is about 30-4 OMbit / s and the OOB channel is about 5 Mbit / s. It is.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the data reception / header processing unit 89 in the wireless MAC circuits 8 and 28 according to the present embodiment.

The data reception / header processing unit 89 of the wireless MAC circuits 8 and 28 of the present embodiment includes a packet input terminal 80, an input interface 81, an input buffer 82, a socket processing circuit 83, and a link. It comprises a control circuit 84, a timer 85, a latch circuit 86, a reference pulse generating circuit 87, an output terminal 88, and the like.

The data is received by the wireless MAC circuits 8 and 28. In the header processing から [89], when a packet is input from the packet input terminal 80, the latch signal 86 6 The value of the timer 85 at that point is held, and this data is sent to the input buffer 82. The bucket processing circuit 83 constructs a header as a wireless LAN and the contents of the bucket from these data, sends them to the link control circuit 84, and outputs them from the output terminal 88. In practice, processing delays are inevitable between the sender and the receiver, Use the value obtained by adding the delay offset value to the timer 85 value. The reference pulse of the wireless LAN is generated by a reference pulse generation circuit 87, and the timing of transmission and reception of various data is determined based on the reference pulse. FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the data reception output control unit 98 of the wireless MAC circuits 8, 28 according to the present embodiment.

The data reception and output control unit 98 of the wireless MAC circuits 8 and 28 of the present embodiment includes an input terminal 90, a link control circuit 91, a timer 92, a packet processing circuit 93, an output buffer 94, an output interface 95, comparator 96, packet output terminal 97, etc.

In the data reception / output control unit 98 of the wireless MAC circuits 8, 28, the bucket data input from the input terminal 90 is processed by the link control circuit 91, and then the packet data is processed by the packet processing circuit 93. The header as LAN is processed, and the packet body and timing information are transferred to the output buffer 94. The comparator 96 compares the timing information in the output buffer 94 with the value of the timer 92 in the link control circuit 91, and sends a start signal to the output interface 95 when they match. The output interface 95 starts outputting the bucket in the output buffer 94 from the bucket output terminal 97 after receiving the start signal.

In the actual operation of the CAT V STB system configured as described above, in the wireless MAC circuit 8 of the AP device 1, the data of the FAT channel and the down data of the OOB channel / The processing shown in FIG. 6 is performed, and the processing shown in FIG. 6 is performed in the wireless MAC circuit 28 of the STB device 42. Conversely, for the OOB channel updater, the processing shown in FIG. 5 is performed in the wireless MAC circuit 28, and the processing shown in FIG. 6 is performed in the wireless MAC circuit 8. As described above, according to the CATV STB system of the present embodiment, the AP device 1 that is connected to the coaxial cable 45 and receives the video signal distributed through the coaxial cable 45, It is connected to a TV and splits into an STB device 42 that outputs a video signal to this TV. In the configuration where 0 is provided on the STB device 42 side, the two are connected by a wireless signal, and not only the video signal, but also the control data for customer viewing management such as billing information is the same wireless signal. By superimposing and processing the STB device 42 in the home without changing the charging control method used in the base technology of the present invention or the device such as POD 20, It can be installed and moved to a different location, and can be transported without changing existing equipment, improving user convenience. Further, wiring work for the second and subsequent units, which was required in the prior art of the present invention, becomes unnecessary, and the construction cost can be reduced.

Further, the data transmitted from the pod 20 to the base station via the cable has the same configuration as the base technology of the present invention, and the pod 20 and its peripheral circuits do not need to be changed.

(Embodiment 2)

Second Embodiment A CATV STB system according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 7 shows a configuration diagram of an AP device connected to a coaxial cable in the CATV STB system of the present embodiment.

The CAT V STB system according to the present embodiment includes an AP device connected to a coaxial cable and receiving a video signal distributed through the coaxial cable, as shown in FIG. 7, and a pair of the AP device and the AP device. It is paired with n (2 or more (even possible)) and is composed of a plurality of STB devices as shown in FIG. 2 of the first embodiment, for example.

In FIG. 7, the AP device 48 connected to the coaxial cable 45 according to the present embodiment and receiving the video signal distributed through the coaxial cable 45 is the same as the AP device 1 of the first embodiment described above. In comparison, a plurality of receiving units 46 are provided, and a common multiplexer 40, a wireless MAC circuit 8, a wireless PHY circuit 9, and a wireless RF circuit 10 are provided for the plurality of receiving units 46. Is different. In the figure, the receiver 46 is composed of three sets (46-1, 46-2, 46-3), but is limited to three sets. No, any number is acceptable. In the initial state, only one set may be mounted, and each time an STB device is added, a new one may be added.

That is, the AP device 48 according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of reception units 46 (46-1, 46-2, 46-3), a wireless MAC circuit 8, a wireless PHY circuit 9, and a wireless RF circuit 1. 0, CPU 41 for AP device control, and 24 wireless input / output terminals. Each receiving unit 46 includes a FAT tuner 2, an AD converter 3, a QAM demodulator 4, an FEC decoder 5, a demultiplexer 61, an OOB tuner 11, an AD converter 12, a QPSK demodulator 13, It consists of an FEC decoder 14, a DA converter 16, a QPSK modulator 17, and the like.

In the AP device 48, unlike the AP device 1 of FIG. 1 of the first embodiment, a demultiplexer 61 for selecting digital channel data is provided after the output of the FEC decoder 5. The demultiplexer 61 converts the multiple video signals multiplexed on the same digital channel and the only video signal selected by the viewer at that time from the data associated with the multiple video signals. It works by selecting only the data packets that accompany it and discarding the other packets. Therefore, the output of the demultiplexer 61 can reduce the amount of data significantly compared to its input.

In the wireless MAC circuit 8, the data (g-1, g-2, g-3) of the FAT channel from the plurality of receiving units 46 (46-1, 46-2, 46-3) and the OOB The down data (e-1, e-2, e-3) of the channel is multiplexed and sent to the wireless PHY circuit 9, and the data is transmitted to the wireless RF circuit 10 and finally the wireless signal Is output from the wireless input / output terminal 24. On the other hand, the OOB channel update data (f_1, f_b) transferred from the STB devices corresponding to the plurality of receivers 46 (46-1, 46-2, 46-3), respectively. —2, f-1) are input to the wireless MAC circuit 8 through the wireless RF circuit 10 and the wireless PHY circuit 9 and transmitted to the corresponding receiving unit 46.

Figure 8 shows the timing of data transfer in wireless LAN according to this embodiment. FIG. The figure corresponds to Fig. 4 above, and differs from Fig. 4 in that the wireless transmission timing in (1) is not only divided into three areas (a, b, c), Divided into multiple areas,

Data corresponding to the pair of 46 and STB devices is transferred. In the example of FIG. 8, since the example of FIG. 7 has three sets of receiving units 46, the areas a, b, and c each have three more areas (al, a2, a3, b1, b1, and b2). 2, b 3, c 1, c 2, c 3) and the FAT channel data 54 (54-1-1, 54-1-2, 54-1-3, 54-) in each area 2-1, 5 4-3-1), Down data of OOB channel 5 5 (5 5-1-1, 5 5-1-2, 5 5-2-1, 5 5-3-1), OO B channel updater 5 6 (5 6-1-1, 5 6-1-2, 5 6-2-1,

5 6— 3— 1) is transferred.

The reception unit and STB device that can be handled by one AP device 48 can increase the total amount of data occupied by each reception unit and STB device within the range that does not exceed the data transmission capacity of the wireless LAN. it can. This can be determined in advance when installing the equipment, or it can be added sequentially later. In the second embodiment shown in FIG. 8, three types of data are transmitted and received by dividing them into three corresponding time domains, and further dividing and transmitting the data according to the corresponding STB device. However, as in the first embodiment, the same effect can be achieved without dividing the area by identifying the type of the data packet using the header of each data packet.

In the present embodiment, in the three MAC devices 42 shown in FIG. 2 corresponding to the AP device 48, for example, at the stage of the wireless MAC circuit 28, the corresponding receiver 46, for example, 46-1 in FIG. Since only this data is selected, the subsequent processing is the same as the processing shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the first embodiment. However, since unnecessary buckets are discarded by the demultiplexer 61 at the stage of the AP device 48, the amount of data input to the demultiplexer 30 of the STB device 42 has decreased, Final video signal The demultiplexer 30 is necessary because it is necessary to separate the audio signal from the audio signal.

Therefore, in the STB system for CATV according to the present embodiment, data for a plurality of STB devices is wirelessly transmitted using one AP device 48 having a plurality of reception units 46 and one radio frequency band. This has the advantage of reducing equipment costs and reducing the required frequency bandwidth. Of course, the advantages shown in the first embodiment can also be realized. As described above, the invention made by the inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiment of the invention. However, the invention is not limited to the embodiment, and various changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. Needless to say. Industrial applicability

As described above, the CATV STB system according to the present invention relates to a CATV information transmission technology, and is particularly useful for a CATV STB system that transmits and receives video signals wirelessly. It can be widely applied to devices and systems, and video playback devices in which the display unit and the signal source are separated.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. An access point device that receives the video signal distributed through the cable,

A set-top box device for outputting a video signal to a television,

A Cape Norte TV that connects the access point device and the set-top box device with a wireless signal and multiplexes and transmits / receives a digital modulation video signal and control data for customer viewing management in one wireless band. Set-top box system for

The set-top box device receives a wireless signal transmitted from the access point device, separates a video signal from control data for customer viewing management, descrambles the video signal, A set-top box system for a cable television, including a developing means for performing customer viewing management using control data.

2. In the cable television set-top box system according to claim 1,

The access point device includes: a selection unit that selects a desired channel from the distributed video signals; a demodulation unit that demodulates a video signal of the channel selected by the selection unit into digital data; First processing means for processing control data for management; a video signal demodulated by the demodulation means and control data processed by the first processing means; multiplexed; modulated; and converted to a radio signal And first wireless processing means for transmitting

The set-top box device receives the radio signal transmitted from the access point device K, converts the radio signal into a digital signal, selects a desired signal, and outputs the video signal and the control data for customer viewing management. A second radio processing unit for separating the video signal; a descrambling unit for descrambling the video signal separated by the second radio processing unit, performing customer viewing management using control data; and Decoding the uncompressed video signal A decoding means for outputting to the television, and a second processing means for processing the control data separated by the second wireless processing means.

3. In the cable television set-top box system according to claim 2,

The control data for the customer viewing management is transmitted from the first processing means of the access point device to the second processing means via the deployment means of the set-top box device, A set-top box system for a cable television, wherein data is transmitted and received bidirectionally from a second processing means to the first processing means of the access point device via the deployment means.

4. The cable television set-top box system according to claim 3,

The first wireless processing means of the access point device transmits the video signal and control data to the expansion device with time information added thereto, and the second wireless processing means of the set-top box device Controlling the playback timing based on the time information when the video signal and the control data to the expansion unit are received;

The second wireless processing means of the set-top box device adds time information to the control data from the expanding means, and transmits the control data.

Wherein the first wireless processing means of the access point device controls reproduction timing based on the time information when receiving control data from the expansion means. .

5. The cable television set-top box system according to claim 2,

The access point device includes a plurality of independent selecting means, the demodulating means, and the first processing means,

Characterized in that it is paired with a plurality of the set top box devices. Set-top box system for cable TV.

6. An access point device that receives a video signal distributed through a cable,

Selecting means for selecting a desired channel from the distributed video signals; demodulating means for demodulating the video signals of the channels selected by the selecting means into digital data; and controlling data for customer viewing management. First processing means for processing, and a video signal demodulated by the demodulation means and control data processed by the first processing means are multiplexed, and after being modulated, converted into a radio signal in one radio band. An access point device comprising: a first wireless processing means for transmitting the data.

7. The access point device according to claim 6,

The access point device, wherein the access point device includes a plurality of independent selection units, the demodulation unit, and the first processing unit.

8. A set-top box device that outputs video signals to a TV,

A second wireless processing means for receiving a wireless signal transmitted using one wireless band, converting the digital signal into a digital signal, selecting a desired signal, and separating the video signal and control data for customer viewing management; Decoding means for descrambling the video signal separated by the second wireless processing means, performing customer viewing management using control data, and decoding the video signal descrambled by the decoding means, A set-top box device comprising: decoding means for outputting to a television; and second processing means for processing the control data separated by the second wireless processing means.