JP2007201911A - Cable tv receiving system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method by which software can be downloaded to a CATV receiver irrespective of a term. <P>SOLUTION: In response to polling timeout in a receiver, each of maker/model IDs and soft versions are informed to a CATV station. Receiving the information, the CATV station requests pertinent download data to a BS/terrestrial entrepreneur, who sends back the pertinent download data to the CATV station. The CATV station informs, to the receiver, that preparation for the download data has completed as well as storing the data in a server. When a request for receiving the download data has been performed from the receiver to the CATV station, the download data stored in the server are transmitted to the receiver. As a result, the receiver can receive the download data service. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cable television reception system, and more particularly to a software download technique for solving problems in cable television.

  In recent years, a television receiving system using a cable television network (hereinafter referred to as CATV (Community Antenna Television)) is being widely used. In the CATV service, a digital broadcasting service for receiving via a CATV network such as BS digital broadcasting is realized by installing a receiving device for receiving digital broadcasting or the like at a user's home and connecting to the CATV network. For example, a set top box (hereinafter referred to as STB) is provided.

  By the way, when repairing a defect in a CATV receiver or updating software accompanying a version upgrade, the current CATV receiver uses DL data (download data) submitted by a manufacturer to a BS operator or a terrestrial digital operator. ) And a schedule called SDTT (Software Download Trigger Table) describing the delivery schedule, the CATV provider receives BS digital broadcasts and terrestrial digital broadcasts, sends them to the CATV line, and the receiver acquires them from the CATV line The software is updated. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, the CATV station (transmission device) 1 is a broadcasting headend 5 and a broadcast modulator 7 is used to transmit a satellite broadcast such as a BS digital broadcast to the CATV network. It is provided in the device 1. The broadcast head end 5 receives the satellite broadcast by the antenna 3, takes out the MPEG2 transport stream, rewrites the NIT (Network Information Table) describing the transmission frequency and modulation method into the CATV transmission format, and rewrites the NIT. Is reinserted into the transport stream. The broadcast modulator 7 is a 64QAM modulator, which is a standard transmission system for domestic CATV, and adds a parity byte for error detection and correction purposes, converts it into a desired band, and sends it to the CATV network.

  As described above, when repairing a defect in a CATV receiver or updating software accompanying a version upgrade, the CATV station 1 uses the DL data submitted by the manufacturer to the BS operator, the terrestrial digital operator 45 or the like. Obtained via the antenna 3 and the broadcast head end 5, the CATV receiver software is updated via the CATV network 47. At this time, a DL schedule table called SDTT is simultaneously transmitted to allow the user (CATV receiver) to select a DL reservation time. When the DL reservation time comes, the receiver automatically goes into the standby state, downloads the software module written in the SDTT selected by the user, and updates the receiver software.

Japan CATV Technology Association Standard, JCTEA STD-007-1.0 [BS digital receiver] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-176112, “CATV System and Other Terminal Device for CATV”

  Since the technique described above is based on the premise that the download distribution is continuing, there is a problem that it becomes invalid when the period expires.

  Furthermore, since the capacity of the CATV line allocated for download is limited, if the number of receiver models put on the market increases, if a software malfunction common to all models occurs, the DL data of all models will always be available. Is not delivered, so if the user turns off the AC power of the receiver due to a long absence, etc., the DL data delivery period will be exceeded and the software will not be updated. There is a problem of end.

  An object of the present invention is to make it possible to update software even when the distribution period of DL data is exceeded.

  The receiver extracts the unupdated software version from the SDTT for the download data that has not been executed, and stores it in the nonvolatile memory. The receiver monitors the SDTT, and if it cannot be received for a certain period of time, transmits the software version of the unexecuted DL and the manufacturer ID / model ID to the station using the uplink.

  The cable TV station obtains unexecuted download data from, for example, a BS / terrestrial digital broadcaster, places it on the server on the station side, and notifies the receiver that the download data preparation is complete.

  The receiver accesses the server on the station side using a modem uplink, for example, and downloads unupdated software to update the software.

  That is, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cable television broadcast receiving apparatus capable of receiving a broadcast from a cable television broadcast station and capable of bidirectional communication with the cable television broadcast station. The receiving device for monitoring the reception of the download schedule table (SDTT) for updating the software sent from the receiver and performing the software update based on the SDTT, the receiving device identification ID for identifying the receiving device, and the reception There is provided a receiving device including a storage unit that stores version information indicating a version of software operating in the device and software version information that has not been updated.

  As a result, even after the SDTT download distribution period has passed, the receiving device identification ID for identifying the receiving device and the version information indicating the version of the software that has not been downloaded in the receiving device are transmitted to the cable television broadcasting station. By sending, a request to receive software that has not been updated from the cable television broadcasting station can be made.

  According to the present invention, even when the download service implementation period is exceeded, the download service can be re-provided depending on the situation. Accordingly, there is an advantage that the number of inquiries and complaints from the user to the CATV station or the receiver manufacturer is reduced, and it is possible to suppress the expense of dispatching service personnel.

A cable television receiving system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a CATV station (transmission apparatus) included in the cable television reception system according to the present embodiment. CATV station (transmitting apparatus) 1 in FIG.
The antenna 3, the broadcast head end 5, the broadcast modulator 7, the BS / terrestrial D broadcaster 45, and the CATV network 47 are the same as those in FIG.

  In FIG. 1, reference numerals 21 to 43 are devices used for a communication service via a cable modem, and the router 21 is connected between the intra-station LAN 23 in the CATV station transmitter 1 and the external WAN 17. Select the packet route with. The downlink modulator 27 is a modulator for the downlink signal from the cable modem termination device 25, and the uplink signal demodulator 31 is a demodulator that demodulates the uplink signal of the cable modem output from the user's home. The TFTP server 43 is connected to the LAN in the CATV station transmitter 1 and downloads information such as the MAC address of a device that requires an IP address such as a cable modem or a bidirectional receiver owned by the user. Used for. The DHCP server 37 is connected to the LAN in the transmission apparatus 1 of the CATV station, and gives an IP address to an IP connection device owned by the user. The IP address database 41 is registered from an IP address assigned to an IP connection device by the DHCP server 37, a global IP address assigned from a CATV station to a personal computer, or a private IP address.

  The transport stream of the digital broadcast signal that has been processed by the broadcast head end 5 and the broadcast modulator 7 and the signal output from the downlink modulator 27 are multiplexed as a downlink signal from the transmission apparatus 1 by the mixer 11. It is sent to the CATV network. The duplexer 15 extracts the upstream signal transmitted from the user's home from the CATV network by applying a low-pass filter, and passes it to the upstream demodulator 31. Normally, the upstream signal is arranged on the low frequency side (10-55 MHz) of the CATV band.

  Furthermore, the transmission device 1 includes a BS, a terrestrial digital broadcaster 45, and a communication device 35 for communicating via the Internet, for example, and a BS, a terrestrial digital broadcaster 45 via the communication device 35. A download server 33 for downloading download data from 45, and a database DB 33a for storing the received manufacturer ID / model ID and version number (hereinafter referred to as unexecuted download ID). The download server 33 receives an unexecuted download ID from the user via the CATV network 47, searches whether there is an applicable incomplete download ID in the database DB33a, and also applies an incomplete download ID in the DB33a. Is not present, the broadcaster 45 is inquired. When the download data corresponding to the incomplete download ID is received from the DB 33a or the broadcaster 45, the user is notified that the incomplete download data has been installed in the download server 33, and the download operation is prompted.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the receiver 101. In the receiver 101, the duplexer 103 is used to multiplex the upstream signal from the cable modem processing unit 101b with the broadcast signal and to extract the broadcast signal and the downstream signal to the cable modem processing unit 101b. The distributor 105 is used for extracting a downlink signal to the broadcast receiving unit 101a and the cable modem processing unit 101b. The distributor 105 distributes the downlink signal for the broadcast receiving unit 101a and the cable modem processing unit 101b.

  The broadcast receiving unit 101a is configured as follows. Broadcast tuner 107 is tuned to a broadcast receiving channel desired by the user. The broadcast demodulator 111 performs demodulation corresponding to the broadcast modulator 17. The MPEG2 decoder 113 decodes the MPEG2 data, and the graphics 115 multiplexes the video signal decoded by the MPEG2 decoder, the IP service characters or video information, and displays it on a display device such as a TV from the video output terminal 117. Output. The Ethernet transceiver 127 modulates the data output from the cable modem processing unit, outputs the data from the Ethernet terminal 129, and the Ethernet transceiver 127 also outputs an external signal via the Ethernet terminal 129. The same demodulation is performed to return to the Ethernet packet.

  The cable modem processing unit 101b is a processing unit corresponding to the function of the cable modem, and the down tuner 131 is a tuner for tuning to the down signal for the cable modem. The downlink demodulator 133 is a demodulator for demodulating the cable modem packet from the downlink signal tuned by the downlink tuner 131, and the same modulation scheme as that of the downlink modulator 27 is used. The upstream modulator 137 is a modulator for an upstream signal for a cable modem, and takes the same modulation scheme as the upstream demodulator 31.

  The MAC processing unit 135 performs packet selection by collating the MAC address in the cable modem packet with the MAC address recorded in the nonvolatile memory (1) 143 or the ROM 141, and further, the cable modem packet. It has a function to convert from a format to an Ethernet packet format. The non-volatile memory (1) 143 stores the cable network information of the bidirectional receiver such as the broadcast receiver IP address, the MAC address of the peripheral device, the modem IP address, the IP address of the peripheral device, etc. as shown in the figure. To do.

  The IP address of the broadcast receiving unit 101a is necessary to receive the IP service of the bidirectional receiver, and the IP address of the cable modem processing unit 101b is obtained from the TFTP server 43 (FIG. 1). Used for downloading. The ROM 141 is a non-volatile memory that records the MAC address of the cable modem processing unit 101b and the MAC address of the broadcast receiving unit 101a. These MAC addresses are written at the time of product shipment.

  Further, the broadcast receiving unit 101a is provided with a notification message ROM 123 and a nonvolatile memory (2) 125. The notification message ROM 123 records a message that prompts the user to perform a download operation. For example, there is a message as shown in FIG.

  The non-volatile memory (2) 125 includes a download non-execution flag indicating whether or not the software has been downloaded, information indicating a software version not yet implemented for the receiver, a manufacturer ID, and a model ID. ing. Based on such information, a request for downloading necessary data can be made.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation flow of the receiver according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, when the power is turned on in step S1, the IP connection session establishment processing unit is activated in step S2 to establish an IP protocol session between the cable modem processing unit 101b and the cable modem termination device 25. To do. In step S3, the SDTT reception monitoring unit is activated. Here, the SDTT is extracted by the demultiplexer unit in the MPEG2 decoder 113, knows the version of the download software being distributed, determines whether there is any software that has failed to download, and has not yet been downloaded. In such a case, request the incomplete download data from the CATV station. In step S4, the downlink packet monitoring unit is activated. Here, the MAC address and IP address in the received downlink packet are compared with the MAC address written in the ROM 141 and the IP address written in the nonvolatile memory (1) 143, and the result is sent to the receiver or the Ethernet terminal 129. If it matches the connected device, capture the packet, otherwise discard it. In particular, the present invention waits for a notification from the CATV station that incomplete download data has been prepared. Returning from step S4 to step S3, the monitoring of SDTT and downlink packets is continued.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing details of step S2 of FIG. The following is an example of adopting DOCSIS, which is a cable modem standard. As shown in FIG. 4, first, in step S2, when the process is started (step S11), the power of the cable modem is turned on in step S12. In step S13, the downlink tuner 131 scans all channels in the downlink transmission frequency band 90-770 MHz, and is the downlink signal output from the cable modem termination device 25 or the broadcast wave transmitted from the broadcast modulator 7? And the downstream tuner 131 is tuned when the QAM signal output from the cable modem termination device 25 is detected. The discrimination between the broadcast wave and the output of the cable modem termination device 25 is determined based on the difference in PID described in the MPEG2 transport stream header.

  In step S14, the upstream channel descriptor transmitted in the downlink signal tuned in step S12 is captured, and the upstream frequency described therein is provisionally acquired. In step S15, the upstream level acquired in step S14 and the downstream frequency acquired in step S13 are used to adjust the transmission level of the cable modem termination device 25 and the upstream signal.

  After the adjustment of the transmission level is completed, the cable modem processing unit 101b sends a DHCP discover message describing the MAC address of the cable modem recorded in the ROM 141 to the DHCP server 37 so that the DHCP server 37 allocates its own IP address. A call is sent to the terminal device 25.

  The cable modem terminator 25 forwards the message to the DHCP server 37, compares it with the database in the IP address database 41, and if the cable modem has a registered MAC address, the cable modem terminator 25 To the cable modem processing unit 101b. The assigned IP address is registered in the IP address database 41 (S16).

  Also, the cable modem configuration file 101b, which will be described later, is also notified to the cable modem processing unit 101b in this process.

  The acquired IP address of the cable modem processing unit 101b itself is held in the volatile memory 143. By assigning an IP address to the cable modem itself, communication control over IP can be performed in the following process.

  In S17, the cable modem configuration file notified in S16 is downloaded from the TFTP server 43, and the MAC address and cable modem processing of the IP connection device connected to the Ethernet terminal 129 via the duplexer 103 and distributor 105 are processed. The uplink frequency and the downlink frequency used by the unit 101b are acquired.

  If the downlink frequency or uplink frequency is different between the downlink frequency and the uplink frequency acquired in S13 and S14, the downlink tuner 131 is set in S17 to prioritize the downlink frequency and uplink frequency acquired from the configuration file in S17. After tuning to the acquired downstream frequency, the processes of S13 to S17 are performed again (S18, S19).

  The acquired MAC address and IP address of the IP connection device are held in the non-volatile memory (1) 143 and used as a criterion for determining whether the cable modem processing unit 101b transfers the received packet to the connection device, as will be described later. Is done.

  In S20, in order to assign an IP address to the broadcast receiving unit 101a as in S16, the MAC address of the broadcast receiving unit 101a recorded in the ROM 141 is notified to the DHCP server 37, and an IP address is issued. Through the above process, the IP connection session of the bidirectional receiver is established.

  Next, details of step S3 will be described with reference to FIG. First, processing is started in step S21, and a timer is set in step S22. In step S23, the demultiplexer unit in the MPEG2 decoder 113 determines whether SDTT has been received. If SDTT is supplemented by the demultiplexer unit, it is determined that SDTT has been received. If SDTT cannot be supplemented even if the timer times out, it is determined that SDTT has not been received. If it is determined that it is received (yes), the process proceeds to step S24, the timer is cleared, and it is determined whether or not the download is executed in step S25. In the case of executing (yes), the process proceeds to step S27, the updated version is stored in the nonvolatile memory 2, the unexecuted flag is reset, and the process returns to step S22. If the SDTT has not been received in step S23 (no), it is determined in step S28 whether or not the timer has timed out. If not timed out (no), the process returns to step S23. If it has timed out (yes), the process proceeds to step S29, and it is determined whether or not the unexecuted flag is set. If it is not set (no), the process returns to step S23. If the download service is not distributed to this receiver (no defect), this route is passed.

  If the unexecuted flag is set (yes), the process proceeds to step S30, the uplink is used to notify the station of the manufacturer / model ID and the software version that has not been updated, and the redistribution service to the station side Make a request. Thereafter, the process returns to step S23.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating details of the processing of the downlink packet monitoring unit in step S4. As shown in FIG. 6, first, when processing is started (step S31), it is monitored whether or not a packet is input to the MAC processing unit 135 in step S32, and waits until it is input (no). When input (yes), the process proceeds to step S33, where the Ethernet address of the input packet is the MAC address of the peripheral device stored in the non-volatile memory (1) 143, or the broadcast receiver MAC address recorded in the ROM 141, Determine if the modem MAC address matches. If not (no), the packet is discarded in step S36 and the process returns to step S32. If it matches (yes), the process proceeds to step S34, and it is determined whether or not it is the MAC address of the broadcast receiving unit 101a. If it is not the MAC address of the receiving unit (no), the process proceeds to step S35, and the packet is transferred to the external IP device via the Ethernet terminal 129. If it is the MAC address of the broadcast receiver (yes), the process proceeds to step S37, and the IP address of the bidirectional receiver recorded in the nonvolatile memory (1) 143 as to whether or not it is the IP address of the bidirectional receiver. Judgment is made by comparing with. If it is not the IP address of the bidirectional receiver (no), the process proceeds to step S36. If it is the IP address of the bidirectional receiver (yes), the process proceeds to step S38 to determine whether or not the port number is a download service. As an example of the port number, it is conceivable to assign a protocol number that is not used in UDP (User Datagram Protocol). If the port number is not a download service (no), the process proceeds to step S41 to receive another service such as an Internet service. If the port number is a download service (yes), the process proceeds to step S39 to display a notification screen shown in FIG. 8 to be described later to determine whether or not the user has permitted the download. ) Proceed to step S36. If the license is granted (yes), the process proceeds to step S40, and the download service is received via the cable modem downlink.

  Next, the communication procedure between the receiver and the CATV station will be described with reference to FIG. An exchange between the receiver 101, the CATV station 1, and the BS / terrestrial broadcaster 45 is shown. First, in response to the SDTT monitoring timeout, the receiver 101 notifies the CATV station 1 of the maker / model ID and the software version that has not been updated (201). If there is no download data corresponding to the download server 33 of the local station, the CATV station 1 requests the download data from the BS / terrestrial broadcaster 45 (202). The BS / terrestrial broadcaster 45 transmits the corresponding download data to the CATV station 1 (203). This corresponds to S30 in FIG. The CATV station 1 stores the download data in the download server 33, updates the database DB 33a, and notifies the receiver 101 that the preparation of the download data has been completed (204). This corresponds to the process of S38 in FIG. As will be described later, the receiver 101 provides options related to the download service through a user interface. When a download data reception request is made from the user interface to the CATV station 1 (205), the download data stored in the download server 33 is transmitted to the receiver 101 (206). As a result, the receiver 101 can receive a download service. As means for realizing 205 and 206, there is an FTP protocol.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a user interface screen for notification to the user. On the user interface screen 300, for example, “This receiver was not energized during the software update period, so the software is not the latest version.”, “The download redistribution service is available now. Information such as “Do you want to download?” Is notified, and the user sees this screen and can notify the CATV station 1 whether or not to receive the download redistribution service by clicking the button of Yes 301 or No 303.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, even when the download execution period is exceeded, the download can be received again. Accordingly, there is an advantage that the number of inquiries and complaints from the user to the CATV station or the receiver manufacturer is reduced, and it is possible to suppress the expense of dispatching service personnel.

  The present invention is applicable to a CATV system.

It is a figure which shows the example of 1 structure of the CATV station (transmission apparatus) contained in the cable television receiving system by one embodiment of this invention. It is a functional block diagram which shows one structural example of a receiver. It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow of operation | movement of the receiver by this Embodiment. It is a figure shown about the detail of step S2 of FIG. It is a figure shown about the detail of step S3 of FIG. It is a figure shown about the detail of step S4 of FIG. It is a sequence diagram which shows the example of a communication procedure between a receiver and a CATV station. It is a figure which shows the example of the user interface screen for notifying with respect to a user. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the conventional method.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... CATV station (transmission apparatus), 3 ... Antenna, 5 ... Broadcast head end, 7 ... Broadcast modulator,
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Mixer, 15 ... Splitter, 17 ... WAN, 21 ... Router, 25 ... Cable modem termination device, 27 ... Down modulator, 31 ... Up demodulator, 33 ... Download server, 33a ... Version number (No. ), 35 ... communication device, 37 ... DHCP server, 41 ... IP address database, 43 ... TFTP server, 45 ... BS, terrestrial D broadcaster, 47 ... CATV network, 101 ... receiver, 101a ... broadcast Receiving unit, 101b ... cable modem processing unit, 103 ... demultiplexer, 105 ... distributor, 107 ... broadcast tuner, 111 ... broadcast modulator, 113 ... MPEG2 decoder, 115 ... graphics, 117 ... video output terminal, 121 ... CPU, 123 ... Notification message ROM, 125 ... Non-volatile memory 2, 127 ... Ethernet transceiver, 129 ... Ethernet 131, downlink tuner, 133, downlink demodulator, 135, MAC processor, 137, uplink demodulator, 141, ROM, 143, nonvolatile memory 1.

Claims (11)

A cable television broadcast receiving apparatus that receives a broadcast from a cable television broadcast station and is capable of bidirectional communication with the cable television broadcast station, and is a download for updating software sent from the cable television broadcast station In a receiving apparatus that monitors reception of a schedule table (SDTT) and updates software based on the SDTT,
A storage unit that stores a receiving device identification ID for identifying the receiving device, version information indicating a version of software running on the receiving device, and software version information that has not been updated in the receiving device. A receiving apparatus comprising:   In the storage unit of the receiving device, when there is a software version for which the software update has not been performed and the SDTT for notifying the software update cannot be received, the receiving device identification stored in the storage unit The receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ID and the version information are transmitted to the cable television broadcasting station using the modem uplink of the bidirectional communication.   3. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising means for instructing whether or not to start downloading from the receiving device side when receiving a notification from the cable television broadcasting station that software is ready to be downloaded. The receiving device described.   A receiving apparatus that accesses the cable television broadcasting station using the modem uplink for two-way communication, downloads software to be updated, and updates the operating software to the downloaded software. . A cable television broadcasting station that transmits a cable television broadcast to a receiving device and is capable of two-way communication with the receiving device, and includes a download schedule table (SDTT) for updating software of the receiving device. In cable TV broadcasting stations that transmit,
A cable television broadcasting station, comprising: a download server that stores update software in association with a receiving device identification ID for identifying the receiving device and version information indicating a software version.   When a software version that has not been updated by the software acquired from the receiving device is installed in the download server, the receiving device is notified that the software exists and can be downloaded. The cable television broadcasting station according to claim 5.   The cable television broadcasting station according to claim 5, further comprising a database that holds the software.   The server (hereinafter referred to as a broadcaster server) installed in a broadcaster other than the cable television broadcasting station holds and is connected to a database that stores the software. Cable TV broadcast station. A cable television broadcast receiving apparatus that receives a broadcast from a cable television broadcast station and is capable of bidirectional communication with the cable television broadcast station, and is a download for updating software sent from the cable television broadcast station The reception of the schedule table (SDTT) is monitored, the software is updated based on the SDTT, the receiving device identification ID for identifying the receiving device, and the version information indicating the version of the software operating in the receiving device; A receiving device having a storage unit for storing software version information for which software update has not been performed;
A download schedule table (SDTT) for transmitting a cable television broadcast to the receiving device and capable of two-way communication with the receiving device for updating software of the receiving device A cable television broadcasting station having a download server that stores the update software in association with a receiving device identification ID for identifying the receiving device and version information indicating the version of the software;
Cable TV system equipped with.   The cable television system according to claim 9, further comprising the broadcaster server that is connected to the cable television broadcasting station and holds update software.   11. The cable television system according to claim 10, wherein when the software does not exist in the cable television broadcasting station, the software is received from the broadcaster server and installed in the download server.

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