JP2011119840A - Optical subscriber line-terminating device and communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical subscriber line-terminating device capable of detecting power ON/OFF at a set top box and carrying out power supply control of a video signal-processing unit, in order to reduce power consumption at the optical subscriber line-terminating device. <P>SOLUTION: The optical subscriber line-terminating device includes a video signal-processing unit 11, a communication signal-processing unit 12, and a set top box state determination unit 13. The video signal-processing unit 11 receives video signals, performs signal processing, and outputs processed signals to the side of a set top box 6. The communication signal-processing unit 12 acquires an IP address of the set top box 6 while it receives communication signals, performs signal processing, and outputs processed signals to outside. Then, the communication signal-processing unit 12 transmits a signal for determining an operating state of the set top box 6 through LAN, and transmits a signal showing the operating state of the set top box 6 based on whether there is a response from the set top box 6 in a predetermined period or not. The set top box state determination unit 13 receives the signal showing the operating state of the set top box 6, and performs power supply control of the video signal-processing unit 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical subscriber line terminator constituting a GE-PON (Gigabit Ethernet (registered trademark) -Passive Optical Network) system, and more particularly to an optical subscriber line terminator having a function of processing a communication signal and a video signal. About.

  In the GE-PON system, in addition to the Internet connection and IP (Internet Protocol) telephone service, the demand for a broadcasting / communication integrated service for distributing multi-channel video is rapidly expanding. Along with this, optical subscriber line terminators having a function capable of supporting both video signals as well as conventional communication signals such as Internet communications and IP telephones have become widespread.

  Such optical subscriber line terminators are installed at each subscriber's home, and in recent years there has been an increasing need for lower power consumption of home appliances. It is desirable to be. However, for example, even when a subscriber is connected to the Internet but is not viewing a video signal on a television receiver (hereinafter referred to as a TV) via the optical subscriber line terminator, the optical subscriber line terminator The function of receiving the video signal is always in an operating state and consumes power wastefully.

  In a conventional optical subscriber line terminator, a method for reducing the power consumption of the optical subscriber line terminator when the subscriber is not viewing a video signal is that a set top box (hereinafter referred to as STB) is turned on / off. When the STB transmits a status signal indicating the use state of the STB via the power line, and the optical subscriber line end device receives the signal, the video signal processing unit in the optical subscriber line termination device An optical subscriber line termination device that is turned on and off is disclosed. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2002-84535 A

  However, in the method of the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, since the communication of the status signal between the optical subscriber line terminating device and the STB is via the power line, both devices need to support power line communication. Since it is necessary to provide a function of transmitting a status signal when the STB is turned on / off, there is a problem that a dedicated STB must be installed.

  In addition, in an example using a remote control, the user needs to turn on / off the power of the video signal processing unit of the optical subscriber line terminating apparatus by remote control in addition to turning on / off the power of the TV by the remote control. There is a problem that the user's operation becomes complicated. Further, when the optical subscriber line terminating device is installed at a position away from the STB, the operation by the remote controller is impossible.

  When the remote control signal for turning on / off the TV and the remote control signal for turning on / off the video signal processing unit of the optical subscriber line terminator are combined, the optical subscriber line terminator is used. When the video signal processing unit is recording the video by the VTR connected to the STB, when the user turns off the TV, the power of the video signal processing unit of the optical subscriber line terminating device is also linked. There is a problem that an unintended operation of the user occurs such that the recording by the VTR is interrupted.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and an object of the present invention is to reduce the power consumption of the video signal processing unit of the optical subscriber line terminating apparatus without providing a dedicated STB or remote controller.

  In order to achieve the above object, an optical subscriber line termination device according to the present invention receives a video signal, performs signal processing of the video signal, and communicates with a video signal processing unit that outputs to the set top box side. Receives a signal, performs signal processing of the communication signal, outputs the signal to the outside, obtains IP address information of the set top box, and transmits a signal for determining the operating state of the set top box via the LAN A communication signal processing unit for transmitting a signal for notifying the operation state of the set top box based on whether or not there is a response from the set top box within a predetermined period; and an operation state of the set top box. A set-top box state determination unit that receives a notification signal and performs power supply control of the video signal processing unit.

  According to the present invention, the optical subscriber line termination device automatically detects power on / off of the STB and controls the power supply of the video signal processing unit, thereby reducing the power consumption of the optical subscriber line termination device. be able to.

It is a block diagram showing the structure of the GE-PON system shown in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram showing the structure of the optical subscriber line termination | terminus apparatus and STB shown in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart figure which determines the state of STB shown in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart figure which determines the state of STB shown in Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a block diagram showing the structure of the optical subscriber line termination | terminus apparatus and STB shown in Embodiment 3 of this invention. FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of an Ethernet (registered trademark) frame that is a snooping target according to a third embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram showing the structure of the optical subscriber line termination | terminus apparatus and STB shown in Embodiment 4 of this invention. It is a flowchart figure which determines the state of STB shown in Embodiment 4 of this invention.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
Embodiments of an optical subscriber line terminating apparatus according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. The following embodiment is an embodiment for embodying the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention within the scope thereof.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration diagram of a GE-PON system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In the illustrated system, the video distribution device 1 and the OLT 2 on the base station side are connected to the optical subscriber line termination device 5 according to the present invention via an optical transmission path branched into a plurality by an optical splitter 4. However, the OLT 2 in FIG. 1 corresponds to the communication signal. Further, the optical subscriber line terminating device 5 and the TV 7 are connected via the STB 6. The video distribution apparatus 1 is placed in a carrier's accommodation station or the like, and converts the video signals multiplexed by FDM (Frequency Division Multiplexing) method into FM signals in a lump to increase the intensity of the optical carrier in the 1.5 μm band. The transmission is performed by a so-called SCM (Sub-Carrier Multiplexing) transmission method for modulation. On the other hand, a communication signal such as an Ethernet (registered trademark) frame is an upstream direction (direction from the optical subscriber line terminating device 5 side to the OLT 2 side) 1.3 μm band between the OLT 2 and the optical subscriber line terminating device 5. Downlink (direction from the OLT 2 side to the optical subscriber line termination device 5 side) is transmitted at a wavelength of 1.49 μm band.

  The 1.5 μm band video signal and the downstream 1.49 μm band communication data signal are combined by the wavelength demultiplexing unit 3 and transmitted to the optical subscriber line terminating device 5. Further, the 1.3 μm band uplink signal sent from the optical subscriber line terminating device 5 is demultiplexed by the wavelength demultiplexing unit 3 and transmitted to the server 9 that distributes the video via the OLT 2 or the network 8.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the optical subscriber line terminating device 5 and the STB 6 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The optical subscriber line terminator 5 demultiplexes the optical signal received from the video distribution device 1 and the OLT 2 into a video signal and a communication signal, and a video signal is transmitted among the demultiplexed signals. A video signal processing unit 11, a communication signal processing unit 12 through which a communication signal is transmitted, an STB state determination unit 13 that determines the operating state of the STB 6 and controls the power supply of the video signal processing unit 11, and an optical subscriber line termination The power supply unit 14 of the device 5 is configured. The power supply unit 14 converts a commercial power supply (AC 100 V) into a DC power supply and supplies power to each part of the optical subscriber line terminating device 5. The optical demultiplexer 10 may be installed either inside or outside the optical subscriber line terminating device 5. The STB state determination unit 13 may be incorporated in the communication signal processing unit 12.

  Next, connection between the optical subscriber line terminating device 5 and the STB 6 will be described. The output side of the video signal processing unit 11 is connected to the video signal input terminal 15 of the STB 6, and the communication signal processing unit 12 is connected to the IP function unit 17 in the STB 6. The IP function unit 17 transmits and receives communication signals such as an Ethernet (registered trademark) frame to and from the server 9 and the OLT 2. Further, the video signal output terminal 16 of the STB 6 and the TV 7 are connected. The communication signal processing unit 12 and the IP function unit 17 of the STB 6 need to be connected via a LAN, but do not need to be directly connected, and a device such as an HGW (Home Gateway) intervenes between them. Also good.

  Next, the processing operation of the signal arriving at the optical subscriber line terminating device from the OLT side will be described. The optical signal transmitted to the optical demultiplexer 10 is demultiplexed into a video signal and a communication signal as optical signals having different wavelengths. Next, the video signal is received by the video signal processing unit 11, subjected to signal processing such as photoelectric conversion and FM demodulation processing, and then input to the video signal input terminal 15 of the STB 6, and a signal that can be viewed on the TV in the STB 6. And is transmitted to the TV 7 through the video signal output terminal 16. On the other hand, the communication signal is received by the communication signal processing unit 12 and subjected to signal processing such as photoelectric conversion, demodulation, and decoding, and then output to the UNI (User Network Interface) side here. Although not shown at the end on the UNI side, for example, a PC or the like for a user to connect to the Internet is connected.

  Next, a flow for determining the operation state of the STB 6 will be described with reference to FIG. In step 11, the communication signal processing unit 12 periodically transmits a ping request or a traceroute request to the IP function 17 of the STB 6 as a signal for determining the operation state of the STB 6. Alternatively, if there is no router of L3 or more between the communication signal processing unit 12 and the IP function unit 17, the arp request may be transmitted periodically. Note that the communication signal processing unit 12 does not need to transmit all of the ping request, the traceroute request, and the arp request, but only needs to be able to transmit any one type. Any method other than the above three methods can be used as long as the optical subscriber line terminating device 5 issues a communication signal to the STB 6 and there is a response from the STB 6 to determine whether it is operating or stopped. There may be.

  Here, in order to make a ping, traceroute, and arp request to the IP function unit 17, it is assumed that the communication signal processing unit 12 acquires the IP address information of the STB 6. When STB6 is compatible with IPv6 (Internet Protocol Version 6), the neighbor discovery protocol (hereinafter referred to as NDP) can be used. Therefore, anycast address is assigned to STB6 in advance and communication is performed. Using the NDP from the signal processing unit 12, the STB 6 can be discovered and the IP address information can be acquired.

  In step 12, the communication signal processing unit 12 determines whether a response to the ping, traceroute, or arp request is returned from the IP function unit 17.

  If there is a response to the ping, traceroute, or arp request from the IP function unit 17, the process proceeds to step 13, and an STB operation state notification signal indicating that the STB 6 is operating is transmitted to the STB state determination unit 13. Next, when receiving the STB operation state notification signal that the STB 6 is operating, the STB state determination unit 13 instructs the power supply unit 14 to supply power to the video signal processing unit 11.

  On the other hand, when the communication signal processing unit 12 transmits a ping, traceroute, and arp request in step 12, if there is no response from the IP function unit 17, the process proceeds to step 15. When a timer is set in the STB state determination unit 13 and the STB operation state notification signal indicating that the STB 6 is operating is not received from the communication signal processing unit 12 within the set timer cycle time and time-out occurs. In step 16, the STB state determination unit 13 instructs the power supply unit 14 to stop the power supply to the video signal processing unit 11. In addition to stopping the power supply, it is also possible to perform power control in a low power consumption state, that is, a standby state. The timer cycle time is variable. For example, if it is set to several seconds, the time from when the user turns off the STB power until the video signal processing unit power supply is stopped is within a few seconds, and power consumption is wasted as much as possible. Can be reduced. On the other hand, the supply of power to the video signal processing unit is started after the user turns on the STB. Generally, a response such as a ping request is returned via the LAN in units of several milliseconds. Therefore, when the user turns on the power, the power is supplied to the video signal processing unit 11 almost at the same time, and a fast start-up can be realized.

  From the above operation, when the user turns on the STB 6 to view the video signal, the communication signal processing unit 12 notifies the STB state determination unit 13 that the STB 6 is operating, and the video signal Power supply to the processing unit 11 is started. Then, while the user continues to watch, the communication signal processing unit 12 periodically sends a signal for determining the operation state of the STB 6 such as a ping request to the STB 6. In this case, since the response from the STB is obtained, the notification that the operation is in progress is continued to be transmitted to the STB state determination unit 13, and the STB state determination unit 13 continues to supply power to the power supply unit 14 from the video signal processing unit. Give instructions. When the user finishes viewing the video signal and turns off the STB 6, the communication signal processing unit 12 cannot receive a response from the STB 6, and sends a notification that the STB 6 is operating to the STB state determination unit 13. Therefore, the STB state determination unit 13 times out, and the STB state determination unit 13 instructs the power supply unit 14 to stop the power supply of the video signal processing unit 11. As a result, it is possible to automatically control the power supply of the video signal processing unit 11 according to the use state of the STB and to reduce the power consumption of the optical subscriber line terminating device 5 without involving the operation of the user. It becomes.

  According to the above configuration, the power control of the video signal processing unit 11 can be automatically controlled without using a dedicated STB or remote control and without any user operation. In addition, since the video signal processing unit 11 and the TV 7 are not linked to each other, the TV 7 is turned off even when the video received by the video signal processing unit 11 is recorded by a VTR connected to the STB. However, the above-mentioned problems such as interruption of recording are also solved. The present invention can be achieved even when a plurality of STBs 6 are connected to one optical subscriber line terminating device 5. For example, the communication signal processing unit 12 acquires the IP address information of a plurality of STBs and sends a signal for determining the operation state to each of them. Then, if there is an operation state notification signal indicating that one STB is in operation from among a plurality of STBs, power supply to the video signal processing unit 11 is continued. When notification that all the STBs are operating cannot be obtained, the power supply to the video signal processing unit 11 is stopped or controlled to be in a low power consumption state.

  In addition, since the power line communication mentioned in the configuration of the prior art cannot communicate unless the power supply system to both devices is common, the power supply system differs depending on the installation location of the devices. In some cases, communication is impossible, and there is a problem that the installation location is limited. In the present embodiment, it is also possible to supply power from the optical subscriber line terminating device 5 to the STB 6 by using a PoE (power over Ethernet (registered trademark)) function. In this case, for example, if the communication signal processing unit 12 has a power supply function and the IP function unit 17 has a power reception function to perform power supply, the power supply system depends on a power supply system that causes a problem in power line communication. The problem about the restriction of the installation location of the optical subscriber line terminating device 5 and the STB 6 can be solved.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
In the STB state determination of the first embodiment, the timer is set in the STB state determination unit 13, but the timer may be set in the communication signal processing unit 12.

  A flow for determining the operation state of the STB 6 will be described with reference to FIG. In step 21, the communication signal processing unit 12 periodically transmits a ping request or a traceroute request to the IP function 17 of the STB 6. As in the first embodiment, the arp request may be transmitted periodically if there is no router of L3 or higher between the communication signal processing unit 12 and the IP function unit 17. Moreover, as a premise, it is the same that the communication signal processing unit 12 acquires the IP address information of the STB 6. If it is not acquired, it may be acquired by the aforementioned NDP.

  In step 22, the communication signal processing unit 12 determines whether a response to the ping, traceroute, or arp request is returned from the IP function unit 17.

  If there is a response to the ping, traceroute, or arp request from the IP function unit 17, the process proceeds to step 23, and an STB operation state notification signal indicating that the STB 6 is operating is transmitted to the STB state determination unit 13. Next, when receiving the STB operation state notification signal that the STB is operating, the STB state determination unit 13 instructs the power supply unit 14 to supply power to the video signal processing unit 11.

  On the other hand, when the communication signal processing unit 12 transmits a ping, traceroute, and arp request in step 22, if there is no response from the IP function unit 17, the process proceeds to step 25. A timer is set in the communication signal processing unit 12, and the communication signal processing unit 12 repeats the operations of steps 21 and 22 for the STB 6. If a response cannot be obtained from the STB 6 and a time-out occurs, the process proceeds to step 26, and the STB operation state notification signal indicating that the STB is stopped is transmitted from the communication signal processing unit 12 to the STB state determination unit 13. To do. In step 27, the STB state determination unit 13 instructs the power supply unit 14 to stop the power supply to the video signal processing unit 11. As in the first embodiment, in addition to stopping the power supply, power control can be performed in a low power consumption state, that is, in a standby state.

  From the above operation, as in the first embodiment, the video signal processing unit 11 operates only when the user uses the STB to view the video signal. Power consumption can be reduced.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
Even when the STB 6 does not support IPv6 and NDP cannot be used, the communication signal processing unit 12 can automatically acquire the IP address information of the STB 6 by the following method.

  A method for setting the IP address information of the STB 6 in the communication signal processing unit 12 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of the optical subscriber line terminating device 5 according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. The optical subscriber line terminating device 5 is obtained by adding an STBIP extracting unit 18 to the subsequent stage of the communication signal processing unit 12 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The IP function unit 17 of the STB 6 communicates with the server 9 on the network 8 in FIG. 1 via the communication signal processing unit 12 and the optical demultiplexer 10. The STBIP extraction unit 18 steals the contents of the Ethernet (registered trademark) frame passing through this route (snooping), and stores it in the IP header in the frame from the Ethernet (registered trademark) frame transmitted and received by the STB 6 with the server 9. The source IP address or the destination IP address corresponding to the IP address of the STB 6 is extracted, and the IP address information of the STB 6 is transmitted to the communication signal processing unit 12. Although the STBIP extraction unit 18 is independent of the communication signal processing unit 12 in the figure, the communication signal processing unit 12 may have the function of the STBIP extraction unit 18.

  The packet to be extracted is based on the type and content. For example, FIG. 6 shows an outline of a configuration diagram of an Ethernet (registered trademark) frame for communicating viewing information such as a user ID and billing information in the PayPerView method. The STBIP extraction unit 18 snoops the source IP address and destination IP address portions of the frame being communicated, determines that the STB 6 is data transmitted / received to / from the server 9, and determines the source IP address or destination IP address. Among them, the one corresponding to the IP address of the STB 6 is extracted and transmitted to the communication signal processing unit 12. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment of the present invention.

  With the above configuration, even when the STB 6 does not support IPv6 and NDP cannot be used, the communication signal processing unit 12 can automatically acquire the IP address information of the STB 6.

Embodiment 4 FIG.
In the first and second embodiments, the communication signal processing unit 12 makes a ping request or the like to the IP function unit 17, but as shown in FIG. 7, the STB state determination unit 13 is connected to the IP function unit 17 via the LAN. In this case, the STB state determination unit 13 may directly make a ping request to the IP function unit 17.

  In FIG. 8, a flow for determining the operation state of the STB will be described. In step 41, the STB state determination unit 13 periodically transmits a ping request or a traceroute request to the IP function 17 of the STB 6. Similarly to Embodiments 1 and 2, if there is no router of L3 or more between STB state determination unit 13 and IP function unit 17, an arp request may be transmitted periodically. As a premise, the STB state determination unit 13 acquires the IP address information of the STB 6 as well. If not acquired, the above-mentioned NDP may be used, or the STBIP extraction unit 18 may be provided in the LAN path to acquire IP address information by snooping.

  In step 42, the STB state determination unit 13 determines whether or not a response to the ping, traceroute, and arp requests is returned from the IP function unit 17.

  If there is a response to the ping, traceroute, or arp request from the IP function unit 17, the process proceeds to step 43 to instruct the power supply unit 14 to supply power to the video signal processing unit 11.

  On the other hand, when the STB state determination unit 13 transmits a ping, traceroute, and arp request in step 42, if there is no response from the IP function unit 17, the process proceeds to step 44. A timer is set in the STB state determination unit 13 and a response cannot be obtained within one timer cycle time from the STB 6, and if timed out, the process proceeds to step 45, and the STB state determination unit 13 connects the power supply unit 14. It instructs the video signal processing unit 11 to stop supplying power. As in the first and second embodiments, in addition to stopping the power supply, it is possible to perform power control in a low power consumption state, that is, a standby state.

  According to the above configuration, it is possible to determine the operation state of the STB and control the power supply of the video signal processing unit 11 without applying a load to the communication signal processing unit 12.

1 Video distribution equipment 2 Optical subscriber line intra-station equipment (OLT)
3 Wavelength demultiplexing unit 4 Optical splitter 5 Optical subscriber line termination device 6 Set-top box (STB)
7 Television receiver (TV)
8 Network 9 Server 10 Optical demultiplexer 11 Video signal processing unit 12 Communication signal processing unit 13 STB state determination unit 14 Power supply unit 15 Video signal input terminal 16 Video signal output terminal 17 IP function unit 18 STBIP extraction unit

Claims (4)

An optical subscriber line capable of receiving communication signals and video signals and transmitting video signals to the set-top box side in a communication network system in which station side devices and optical subscriber line terminators are connected to each other via optical fibers A termination device,
A video signal processing unit that receives the video signal, performs signal processing of the video signal, and outputs the video signal to the set top box;
Receives the communication signal, performs signal processing of the communication signal, outputs the signal to the outside, obtains the IP address information of the set top box, and transmits a signal for determining the operating state of the set top box to the LAN. A communication signal processing unit that transmits a signal notifying the operating state of the set top box based on whether or not there is a response from the set top box within a predetermined period;
A set-top box state determination unit that receives a signal notifying the operation state of the set-top box and performs power supply control of the video signal processing unit;
An optical subscriber line terminating device. An optical subscriber line capable of receiving communication signals and video signals and transmitting video signals to the set-top box side in a communication network system in which station side devices and optical subscriber line terminators are connected to each other via optical fibers A termination device,
A video signal processing unit that receives the video signal, performs signal processing of the video signal, and outputs the video signal to the set top box;
Obtains the IP address information of the set top box, transmits a signal for determining the operating state of the set top box via the LAN, and whether there is a response from the set top box within a predetermined period A set-top box state determination unit that performs power supply control of the video signal processing unit,
An optical subscriber line terminating device.   3. The optical subscriber line terminating device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the set-top box snoops a communication signal transmitted / received to / from a video distribution server via the Internet, and transmits a source IP address or destination IP address information. An optical subscriber line terminating device further comprising a set top box IP address extracting unit for acquiring   A communication system in which the optical subscriber line terminating device according to claim 1 and the station side device are connected so as to form a passive optical network via an optical transmission line.

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