EP1055330A1 - Systeme de communication interactif comprenant des utilisateurs connectes par groupes - Google Patents

Systeme de communication interactif comprenant des utilisateurs connectes par groupes

Info

Publication number
EP1055330A1
EP1055330A1 EP99963572A EP99963572A EP1055330A1 EP 1055330 A1 EP1055330 A1 EP 1055330A1 EP 99963572 A EP99963572 A EP 99963572A EP 99963572 A EP99963572 A EP 99963572A EP 1055330 A1 EP1055330 A1 EP 1055330A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
users
transmission medium
group
communication system
convergence point
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP99963572A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Américo Brajal
Bertrand Anseaume
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Koninklijke Philips NV
Original Assignee
Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV filed Critical Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV
Publication of EP1055330A1 publication Critical patent/EP1055330A1/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L12/00—Data switching networks
    • H04L12/28—Data switching networks characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N7/00—Television systems
    • H04N7/16—Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems
    • H04N7/173—Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal
    • H04N7/17309—Transmission or handling of upstream communications
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/60—Network structure or processes for video distribution between server and client or between remote clients; Control signalling between clients, server and network components; Transmission of management data between server and client, e.g. sending from server to client commands for recording incoming content stream; Communication details between server and client 
    • H04N21/61—Network physical structure; Signal processing
    • H04N21/6156—Network physical structure; Signal processing specially adapted to the upstream path of the transmission network
    • H04N21/6193—Network physical structure; Signal processing specially adapted to the upstream path of the transmission network involving transmission via a satellite
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/60—Network structure or processes for video distribution between server and client or between remote clients; Control signalling between clients, server and network components; Transmission of management data between server and client, e.g. sending from server to client commands for recording incoming content stream; Communication details between server and client 
    • H04N21/63—Control signaling related to video distribution between client, server and network components; Network processes for video distribution between server and clients or between remote clients, e.g. transmitting basic layer and enhancement layers over different transmission paths, setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet between remote STB's; Communication protocols; Addressing
    • H04N21/643—Communication protocols
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N7/00—Television systems
    • H04N7/16—Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems
    • H04N7/162—Authorising the user terminal, e.g. by paying; Registering the use of a subscription channel, e.g. billing
    • H04N7/165—Centralised control of user terminal ; Registering at central

Definitions

  • Interactive communication system comprising users connected in groups.
  • the invention relates to a communication system comprising a communication medium between a main station and at least one convergence point for serving a group of users, said convergence point having a certain transmission capacity on the transmission medium.
  • the invention also relates to a main station and a user terminal designed for use in such a system.
  • the invention applies in particular to SMATV (Satellite Master Antenna Television) systems.
  • the convergence point is provided with transmission means on the transmission medium which have a given capacity such that at any given moment the access to the transmission means is limited for the users of one and the same group.
  • the technical report TR 101 201 Nl.1.1 published in October 1997 by ETSI describes an interactive SMATV distribution system.
  • a group of users share the same transmitter and the same transmission antenna for transmitting requests to the main station of the communication system. Since the transmitter is capable of transmitting on one carrier only at any given moment, this means that only one user can transmit at any given moment.
  • Management means are accordingly necessary for managing the access of the users of a same group to the transmission medium.
  • Fig. 1 The solution proposed in said document is shown diagrammatically in Fig. 1. It consists in joining together a satellite transmission network 1 and a cable network 2: the convergence point 3 is formed by a satellite antenna 4 connected to an interactive satellite terminal 5 which in its turn is connected to a central station 6 of a cable network 2.
  • the central station 6 of the cable network 2 is a cable network head in the sense of recommendation ETS 300 800 of ETSI. It serves the final users 7 and provides the interface with the satellite transmission network 1. It is seen as one single user by the satellite transmission network, and the final users remain unknown to the satellite transmission network.
  • This solution involves the following problem: the central station 6 is a cable network head in the sense of recommendation ETS 300 800. It accordingly involves a comparatively expensive equipment. The cost of this equipment is shared among the users of the network 2. This solution is thus only viable financially if the network 2 comprises a sufficiently great number of users.
  • the invention has for its object to provide an effective and less expensive solution for small groups of users. This object is achieved with a system, a main station, and a user terminal as claimed in Claims 1, 5, and 7 of the present patent application.
  • the main station which governs the path between the convergence point and the users in a communication system according to the invention.
  • the main station assigns the reservations on the transmission medium directly, taking into account the fact that the access to the transmission medium is limited for one and the same group of users.
  • the main station assigns to the users speaking time intervals on a carrier, making sure not to assign the same time interval on different carriers to different users of one and the same user group.
  • the main station is provided with tables which can be manually programmed by an administrator of the communication system so as to contain the configuration of the communication system, in particular information on the membership of the users of a user group.
  • the users of a user group are each provided with an identifier which renders it possible to identify the user and the group to which he belongs, and they comprise transmission means for transmitting said identifier to the main station when they establish connection with the communication system.
  • This identifier is formed, for example, by the physical address (MAC address) of the terminal, formatted in two parts, a first part identifying the convergence point and a second part identifying the terminal.
  • This physical address is transmitted in the address field of the connection-establishing messages emitted by the users when they make connection with the system.
  • the invention also relates to a method of assigning reservations as defined in Claim 9 and an identification method for users as defined in Claim 10.
  • - Fig. 1 shows a system as described in the prior art
  • - Figs. 2 and 3 show communication systems according to the invention
  • - Fig. 4 shows the format of a physical address of a user terminal according to the invention
  • - Fig. 5 shows the format of a connection message sent by a user terminal to the main station
  • - Fig. 6 shows a method of assigning reservations on to the transmission medium by a main station according to the invention.
  • Fig. 2 shows a communication system according to the invention.
  • This system comprises two transmission media 9 and 10.
  • the transmission medium 10 constitutes a return path which renders it possible for the users Tj to transmit requests to the main station 11.
  • the main station 11 is provided with an access point 14 for the transmission medium 10.
  • the user To is an individual user. He is connected to the transmission medium by means of an individual access point 17.
  • the invention relates to all communication systems of the type as shown in Fig.
  • the main station 11 assigns to the users Tj reservations on the transmission medium in dependence on their membership of a user group.
  • each user is given an identifier which renders it possible to identify the user and the group to which he belongs. This identifier is then transmitted to the main station by the user when making connection with the transmission system.
  • This identifier is formed, for example, by the physical address of the terminal T, which is transmitted in each connection request sent by a terminal to the main station 11.
  • a particular physical address format is used for this: the physical addresses are formatted in at least two parts, one part identifying the convergence point and the other part identifying the terminal.
  • all addresses of the terminals are formed by stringing together a first address part Al stored in the convergence point or in the access point of the terminal and a second address part A2 stored in the terminal.
  • two distinct physical addresses may be applied to the terminal depending on its mode of connection (individual or collective) to the transmission medium.
  • a physical address part A2 and a complete physical address A3 are stored in the terminal. If the terminal is connected in the individual mode, the terminal is assigned the physical address A3, which is fully stored in the terminal.
  • a physical address formed by stringing together the physical address part stored in the terminal (A2) and the physical address part stored in the convergence point (Al) is assigned to the terminal.
  • the individual or collective mode of connection of the terminal (and thus the address to be used, A3 or Al and A2 joined together) is indicated by a status variable S which is stored in the terminal and whose value is defined during the installation of the terminal.
  • This second mode of realization renders it possible to have more addresses available for groups of terminals.
  • the main station 11 Upon the reception of connection requests, the main station 11 registers the physical address of the connected terminals in a table. The main station 11 traverses this table for assigning reservations to terminals of the communication system in order to determine the membership of the relevant terminals of a group of terminals.
  • Fig. 3 shows an example of an interactive SMATV distribution system according to the invention.
  • the main station 11 distributes data and control information to the user terminals Tj via a satellite 20. These users T; transmit data and requests to the main station 11 by means of this same satellite 20.
  • the terminals of an interactive satellite transmission system access the transmission medium by an access mechanism, for example a TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) mechanism combined with a frequency division FDMA (Frequency Division Multiple Access).
  • an access mechanism for example a TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) mechanism combined with a frequency division FDMA (Frequency Division Multiple Access).
  • Each carrier is for this purpose subdivided into time intervals with which different access modes are associated.
  • the following are used in particular:
  • contention time intervals which are accessible in a contention mode and to which all the terminals have free access, with the risk of collisions (a classical collision-resolving algorithm is used for resolving any collisions which may occur). These contention time intervals are particularly used by the terminals for making connection with the communication system.
  • the requests are transmitted, for example, in the contention time intervals, or following payload data in time intervals previously granted by the main station.
  • the transmitter is capable of transmitting and receiving only one carrier at any given moment.
  • the main station accordingly must not grant the same time interval on different carriers to users of one and the same group.
  • a specific addressing format is used for the terminals of the communication system.
  • each terminal of a communication system as represented in Fig. 3 is provided with a 48-bit address (referred to as MAC address) which is fixedly coded in each terminal or which is provided by an external source.
  • MAC address 48-bit address
  • Fig. 4 For example, one might choose to assign to these MAC addresses the format shown in Fig. 4:
  • the two bits of highest order (bO and bl) are reserved for ensuring the compatibility with the addresses defined in accordance with the IEEE 802.2 standard.
  • the physical address of a terminal is coded in 48 bits.
  • the bit of highest order (bO) indicates that it is an individual address or a group address (the use of a group address in the destination address field of a frame renders it possible for several terminals to receive the same frame).
  • the next bit (bl) serves to define the nature of the addresses, local or global.
  • the local addresses are administered by the responsible manager of a given network and have a significance only in this network, while the global addresses (also called universal addresses) are unique at planet level and are administered by the IEEE, who assign them to various manufacturers.
  • one part Al of the address of 22 bits length is stored in each access point and in each convergence point (i.e. in the equipment which connects the antenna to the terminal and which ensures in particular the functions of frequency translation), and one part A2 of the address of 26 bits length is stored in each terminal which is connected to this convergence point.
  • this address part is stringed together with the address part of
  • connection messages are diagrammatically shown in Fig. 5. They comprise more in particular an address field FI which contains the physical address of the terminal and a data field F2 which contains the characteristics of the required connection (the data rate required, the type of service, ).
  • the main station which receives these connection messages, thus automatically gets to know the groups of terminals.
  • the main station 11 assigns to the users reservations on the transmission media, taking into account their membership of a user group such that one and the same time interval is not granted to users of a same group on different carriers.
  • An example of the method according to the invention of granting reservations is shown in Fig. 6. This method renders it possible to grant n; reservations to each of the n terminals Tj which are connected to the communication system. In the example described here, each reservation is formed by a pair (time interval / carrier).
  • the main station carries out the following steps for each terminal T J : step 100: it searches among the terminals T 1; ..., T ⁇ (i.e. among the terminals to which it has already granted reservations) those which belong to the same group as the terminal Tj.
  • step 110 the main station grants n; reservations to the terminal Tj.
  • This operation is diagrammatically represented in the Figure by the following mathematical expression:
  • step 120 the main station assigns n; access rights to the terminal Tj in any manner.
  • the users which are part of a user group comprise listening-in means for listening in to the assignments made by the main station to the other users of their group, and control means for blocking the use of a time interval which is accessible in a contention mode if the main station has granted this same time interval (on another carrier) to another user of the same group.
  • Said listening-in means consist in that an analysis is made of the signaling information transmitted by the main station 11, which information gives the structure of the upcoming frames for each carrier.
  • the listening-in facility may be limited to a given number of carriers if the main station comprises means for assigning carriers chosen from among a sub-set of carriers to the users of a same group, as well as means for transmitting to the users of a group the list of the carriers liable to be relevant to them, i.e. the list of the carriers to be listened in to.
  • this collision risk is limited by the introduction of a power measurement device before the transmission.
  • the determination of a power threshold value which is considered normal for one single transmission and a comparison of the power level with this threshold value renders it possible to determine whether several users are trying to transmit data in the same time interval and to block the transmission if this is the case.
  • the transmission media 9 and 10 are both formed by satellite links.
  • the broadcasting media and the return path may be of different types.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Multimedia (AREA)
  • Computer Security & Cryptography (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Astronomy & Astrophysics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Radio Relay Systems (AREA)
  • Data Exchanges In Wide-Area Networks (AREA)
  • Mobile Radio Communication Systems (AREA)
  • Time-Division Multiplex Systems (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne un système de communication comprenant un support de transmission, des utilisateurs connectés par groupes à ce support de transmission à travers un point de convergence et une station principale configurée pour recevoir les données transmises par les utilisateurs via le support de transmission. L'accès au support de transmission est limité à tout moment à un même groupe d'utilisateurs. La station principale comprend des moyens permettant d'attribuer aux utilisateurs des droits d'accès au support de transmission après avoir établi leur appartenance à un groupe d'utilisateurs.
EP99963572A 1998-12-15 1999-12-13 Systeme de communication interactif comprenant des utilisateurs connectes par groupes Withdrawn EP1055330A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
FR9815839 1998-12-15
FR9815839 1998-12-15
PCT/EP1999/010050 WO2000036837A1 (fr) 1998-12-15 1999-12-13 Systeme de communication interactif comprenant des utilisateurs connectes par groupes

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1055330A1 true EP1055330A1 (fr) 2000-11-29

Family

ID=9534002

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP99963572A Withdrawn EP1055330A1 (fr) 1998-12-15 1999-12-13 Systeme de communication interactif comprenant des utilisateurs connectes par groupes

Country Status (7)

Country Link
EP (1) EP1055330A1 (fr)
JP (1) JP2002533028A (fr)
KR (1) KR20010086242A (fr)
CN (1) CN1143541C (fr)
AU (1) AU1982000A (fr)
CA (1) CA2320970A1 (fr)
WO (1) WO2000036837A1 (fr)

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5291554A (en) * 1992-05-28 1994-03-01 Tv Answer, Inc. Shared-price custom video rentals via interactive TV
US5715515A (en) * 1992-12-02 1998-02-03 Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. Method and apparatus for downloading on-screen graphics and captions to a television terminal
EP0852442B1 (fr) * 1992-12-09 2000-11-02 Discovery Communications, Inc. Système de diffusion de programmes de télévision
EP0742670B1 (fr) * 1995-05-08 2002-04-03 The Box Worldwide, Inc. Système vidéo interactif

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
See references of WO0036837A1 *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JP2002533028A (ja) 2002-10-02
WO2000036837A1 (fr) 2000-06-22
CN1143541C (zh) 2004-03-24
KR20010086242A (ko) 2001-09-10
CA2320970A1 (fr) 2000-06-22
AU1982000A (en) 2000-07-03
CN1296699A (zh) 2001-05-23

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