JP2609824B2 - Two-way CATV system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a two-way CATV system, and more particularly to all or desired groups or individual subscribers connected to a network from a two-way caller terminal at a subscriber's home connected to the network. The present invention relates to a two-way CATV system that performs audio announcement broadcasting to homes.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Voice announcement broadcasting in a conventional two-way CATV system involves a procedure of starting broadcasting from a two-way caller terminal (for example, a terminal installed in a district chief residence) connected to a network to a broadcasting center. After that, the receiver reads the data flowing on the data line on the downstream side, and when the subscriber terminal matches the own group ID held by the subscriber terminal, catches the voice announcement broadcast line and receives the broadcast. It is supposed to be. In the conventional system, voice announcement broadcasting can be performed simultaneously for all subscribers, for each group, and individually according to the group ID classification of the transmission destination. Generally, the terminal on the subscriber side is a reception-only device. In the case of receiving a voice announcement broadcast using a two-way subscriber terminal, the broadcaster is usually limited to a broadcast center.

[0003]

In the conventional two-way CATV system as described above, when a voice announcement broadcast is performed, when the receiver is absent or at home, the receiver is far away from the receiving terminal. In such a case, it is impossible to listen to the broadcast contents, and it becomes impossible to correctly notify the broadcast contents to be transmitted from the sender. Further, even when a means for storing broadcast contents is installed in the receiving terminal, the sender cannot confirm whether or not the receiver has listened to the broadcast.

[0004] Further, it is impossible for the receiver side to confirm the sender and the reception time unless the sender also includes the broadcast sender and the broadcast start time in the broadcast contents.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Bidirectional CATV of the present invention
In a two-way CATV system, a two-way subscriber terminal and a two-way caller terminal are connected to a center of a two-way CATV network, the two-way subscriber terminal includes the two-way caller terminal. A voice memory that stores the contents of the audio announcement broadcast received from the center through the center, a reception display unit that visually displays that the broadcast has been received, and responds to the sender with data indicating the confirmation that the broadcast was received and the content was heard An input operation means for notifying and reproducing the voice memory, wherein the two-way caller terminal includes a clock unit for generating time information indicating a start time of the broadcast; and the two-way subscriber terminal. A display unit for receiving and visually displaying broadcast reception acknowledgment data sent from the terminal via the center, wherein the center transmits a call transmitted from the two-way caller terminal. An audio notification broadcast center device having a data conversion processing unit that converts an address into a caller name, and converts the broadcast start time information transmitted from the two-way caller terminal into audio data together with the broadcast start time information is provided. I do.

[0006]

Next, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 3 are block diagrams showing one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 shows a system configuration of the present embodiment. FIG. 1 shows a two-way subscriber terminal 31, and FIG. FIG. 3 is an example of a system configuration diagram. FIGS. 4A to 4E are format diagrams illustrating a data format according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram illustrating a procedure of audio announcement broadcasting according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, a two-way subscriber terminal 31 in this embodiment has an audio memory unit 1 for always storing audio announcement broadcast contents as audio, and an audio announcement broadcast when receiving a response of confirmation of reception. An RF MOD unit 2 that modulates transmission data to a broadcast transmitter (two-way transmitter terminal 32) to an RF band and transmits the data through the center device 41, a voice notification broadcast center device 41
Receiving the RF band polling data for returning the response data of the confirmation of reception from the RF band, and demodulating it.
EM unit 3, remote control keypad 4 for instruction operation that can be used for response operation for confirmation of reception and reproduction operation of voice memory, remote control receiving unit 5 for receiving instruction signal from remote control keypad 4 and issuing instruction data, receiving notification broadcast The reception display unit 6 includes an LED or an LED segment for visually indicating that the operation has been performed, and the control data and the broadcast audio PCM data including a broadcast type, a broadcast destination group ID, and a broadcast CH number broadcast from the audio announcement broadcast center device 41 are displayed. RF DEM unit 7 for receiving and demodulating as an RF band PCM multiplex signal, PCM DEMUX unit 8 for separating the demodulated signal into time slots, decoder unit 9 for decoding audio PCM data into audio signal, decoded audio signal Unit 10 for amplifying the sound, speaker unit 1 for audio output
1. Terminal 12 for external speaker connection, branching / coupling unit 13 for branching / coupling RF band signals, C for performing various operation controls
The PU unit 14 includes a storage unit 15 for storing address, group ID information, control information, and the like.

[0009] Instead of the remote control keypad 4 and the remote control receiving unit 5, a key input unit composed of ten keys can be used. Further, the T shown in the broken-line frame
V receiving system (TV tuner section 16, descramble section 1
7, a video detection unit 18, an audio detection unit 19, and an on-screen unit 20) are added, and an audio notification broadcast reception function is added as a type of interactive home terminal.

[0010] The two-way caller terminal 32 shown in FIG.
The MOD unit 21 modulates data including a broadcast type, a broadcast destination group ID, a broadcast start time, and a sender address to the audio announcement broadcast center device 41 in the RF band and transmits the RFM.
OD section 22, RF DEM section 23 for receiving and demodulating regular polling data from voice notification broadcast center apparatus 41 in which response information of reception confirmation is embedded and normal polling data for prompting a broadcast transmission request, broadcast type / broadcast destination group A key input unit 24 for inputting an ID or the like, a display unit 25 for visually displaying a reception verifier, a clock unit 26 for generating broadcast start time data (start time data for live broadcast),
A microphone unit 27 for broadcasting, a branching unit 28 for branching and coupling RF band signals, a CPU unit 29 for performing various controls,
Storage unit 3 for storing address information, control information, etc.
0.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a system configuration, in which a two-way caller terminal 32 and a two-way subscriber terminal 31 are connected to the terminal side of the network 33, and a two-way caller terminal 32 and a two-way subscriber are connected to the center side. MOD for modulating and demodulating data in the RF band for performing polling / selection with the user terminal 31
EM unit 34, data conversion processing unit 35 for converting the destination address into a caller name and converting it to audio PCM information together with broadcast start time data, and FM DEM unit 36 for receiving broadcast audio from bidirectional caller terminal 32 , The voice PCM data from the data conversion processor 35 together with the control signal
It comprises a PCM MUX section 37 for M-multiplexing, an RF MOD section 38 for modulating PCM multiplexed signals into RF band data, a broadcasting section 39 for performing audio announcement broadcasting directly from the center, and a CPU section 40 for performing various controls. The audio notification broadcast center device 41 is connected to the audio notification broadcast center device 41 and a head end device 42 for connecting various video and audio signals to the network 33. Further, when the two-way subscriber terminal 31 is a terminal to which a function of a two-way home terminal is added, control information of a video system (scramble control, subscriber response control, etc.) other than the audio announcement broadcast control is transmitted. A home terminal controller device and a subscriber management device are added.

Referring to FIGS. 4 (a) to 4 (e), FIG. 4 (a) urges a broadcast transmission request from the two-way caller terminal 32 and receives confirmation response data from the two-way subscriber terminal 31. (B) is the broadcast start data (up) transmitted by the bidirectional caller terminal 32, and (c) is the reception acknowledgment response data transmitted by the bidirectional subscriber terminal 31 (D), FIG. (D) shows periodic polling data (down) for periodically notifying the bidirectional sender terminal 32 of reception confirmation response data, and (e) of FIG. This is a format indicating transmitted PCM multiplexed data (downlink).

Next, an example of the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the sequence of FIG.

[0014] From the voice announcement broadcasting center device 41,
Normal polling (see FIG. 4A) for receiving a broadcast transmission request from the two-way transmitter terminal 32 is performed. The broadcast sender can input a broadcast type / broadcast destination group ID from the key input unit 24 of the two-way sender terminal 32 at any time and can give an instruction. According to the normal polling data from the audio announcement broadcast center device 41, the key input information (broadcast type / broadcast destination group ID) and the sender address / broadcast start time (time data is generated from the clock unit 26). The broadcast start data (FIG. 4B) is transmitted to the audio announcement broadcast center device 41. Next, the upstream broadcast audio carrier 50 set in advance for each of the two-way caller terminals 32.
Is used to transmit the broadcast audio to the audio announcement broadcast center device 41. The voice notification broadcast center device 41 converts the caller address into a caller name, converts it into voice PCM data together with broadcast start time data, and further performs a conversion process on the broadcast voice into voice PCM data. Various information from the sender (broadcast type / broadcast destination group ID / sender address)
And control information is created from the audio CH number to be broadcast, and the audio PCM data and control information are broadcast as PCM multiplexed data 51 on the bidirectional CATV network 33.

The two-way subscriber terminal 31 reads the group ID in the control information field of the PCM multiplexed data to be broadcast, and if it matches the group ID held by itself, the terminal is designated according to the control information. Broadcast audio contents, decode the corresponding audio PCM data and broadcast 52 through the speaker 11, store the same contents in the audio memory 1, and turn on the LED of the reception display unit 5.
4 to notify that the broadcast has been received. As described above, the broadcast contents include the sender name and the broadcast start time. In this case, when the subscriber is absent or far away from the terminal, it is possible to visually recognize that the notification broadcast has been made, and to reproduce and confirm the broadcast content by the lighting state of the LED of the reception display unit 6. In this embodiment, the reception acknowledgment response function and the voice memory reproduction function are shared, and the contents of the voice memory 1 are reproduced by operating the remote control keypad 55 and polling data from the center is transmitted. , And returns the response data 56 of the reception confirmation with the sender address and the own terminal address added. At the same time,
The LED of the reception display unit 6 is turned off 57.

When the subscriber is at home and close to the terminal, the remote control keypad 4 is operated 58 to respond to the polling data from the center side in response data 56 of the reception confirmation and the sender address and the response data 56. It returns with its own terminal address. At this time, the audio broadcast is reproduced, and the LED is turned off 57. The voice notification broadcasting center device 41 transmits the responder address of the reception confirmation collected by the periodic polling 59 to the sender. The transmission data includes a sender address and a group of responder addresses for confirmation of reception. In the case where the sender address in the polling data transmitted periodically coincides with its own address, the bidirectional sender terminal 32 fetches the responder address group and displays it on the display unit 25 (60).

With the above operation, the sender can be easily authenticated and the broadcast time can be easily confirmed, and the sender can confirm the reception from the broadcast destination. Further, since the two-way subscriber terminal 31 incorporates the audio announcement broadcast portion as an extension of the function of the two-way home terminal, the authentication of the caller and the confirmation of the broadcast time become possible in the two-way home terminal.・ Voice notification to TV channel together with voice notification at the time of emergency broadcast such as earthquake information ・ TV
Notification by voice / character by on-screen display to the user becomes possible. Further, by using the present method for the subscriber response service, it is possible to confirm the name of the subscriber who has read the contents of the notification contents of the circular notice service.

[0018]

As described above, according to the present invention, the authentication of the sender and the confirmation of the broadcast time are broadcast as audio information, so that even if the sender does not broadcast his / her own name, the receiver side can use it. Easy confirmation of the sender. Also,
The sender can confirm the reception by receiving the authentication response received by the subscriber at the broadcast destination.

[0019]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a two-way subscriber terminal 31 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a two-way caller terminal 32 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a system configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 4A to 4E are data format diagrams according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing a procedure of audio announcement broadcasting in one embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 audio memory section 2 RF MOD section 3 RF DEM section 4 remote control keypad 5 remote control reception section 6 reception display section 7 RF DEM section 8 PCM MUX section 9 decoder section 10 AMP section 11 speaker section 12 external speaker terminal 13 branch connection section 14 CPU unit 15 Storage unit 16 TV tuner unit 17 Descramble unit 18 Video detection unit 19 Audio detection unit 20 On-screen unit 21 FM MOD unit 22 RF MOD unit 23 RF DEM unit 24 Key input unit 25 Display unit 26 Clock unit 27 Microphone unit 28 Branch / Coupling Unit 29 CPU Unit 30 Storage Unit 31 Bidirectional Subscriber Terminal 32 Bidirectional Caller Terminal 33 Bidirectional CATV Network 34 RF MODEM Unit 35 Data Conversion Processing Unit 36 FM DEM Unit 37 PCM MUX Unit 38 RF MOD Unit 39 Broadcast Department 40 CPU unit 41 Voice announcement broadcasting center device 42 Head end device 48 Normal polling 49 Broadcast start data 50 Broadcast voice carrier 51 PCM multiplexed data 52 Speaker broadcast 53 Voice memory storage 54 LED lighting 55 Remote control keypad operation (when no subscriber is present) 56 Receipt confirmation response data 57 LED off 58 Remote keypad operation (when subscriber is at home) 59 Periodical polling 60 Responder group display

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A two-way CATV system in which a two-way subscriber terminal and a two-way caller terminal are connected to a center of a two-way CATV network. An audio memory for storing audio announcement broadcast contents received from a user terminal through the center, a reception display unit for visually displaying that the broadcast has been received,
An input operation means for receiving the broadcast and confirming the content of the broadcast and notifying the sender of the content and providing an input operation means for reproducing the voice memory is provided. A clock unit for generating time information representing time; and a display unit for receiving and visually displaying broadcast reception acknowledgment data sent from the interactive subscriber terminal through a center, wherein the center includes A voice notification broadcasting center having a data conversion processing unit for converting a caller address transmitted from a caller terminal into a caller name and converting the data into voice data together with the broadcast start time information transmitted from the two-way caller terminal. A bidirectional CATV system comprising a device. 2. The input operation means of the two-way subscriber device includes a keypad for remotely transmitting a control signal in response to an input operation, a response of the verification data upon receiving the control signal, and reproduction of the voice memory. 2. The bidirectional CATV system according to claim 1, further comprising: a remote control receiving circuit for generating a start signal. 3. The two-way CATV system according to claim 1, wherein said two-way caller device has a key input unit for input operation including data input for identification of said broadcast.