JP4504834B2 - Polling communication system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a polling communication system suitable for, for example, a local television distribution network laid in an accommodation facility such as a hotel or an inn or an inpatient facility such as a hospital.

  Conventionally, when watching TV broadcasts on a local TV distribution network laid in accommodation facilities such as hotels and inns, or hospitalized facilities, etc., terrestrial analog broadcasts received by antennas, BS / 110 ° CS digital broadcasts, A dedicated TV broadcast receiver receives multiple programs such as digital terrestrial broadcasts and independent broadcasts broadcast independently within the facility, and outputs the demodulated output to a TV receiver connected to the TV broadcast receiver. Watching free or paid.

  For example, in the case of a hotel, this television broadcast receiving apparatus is installed in each guest room, and is connected to a management apparatus that supervises and manages the plurality of television broadcast receiving apparatuses via a communication line to constitute a communication system.

  In this communication system, the management device performs two-way communication of downlink data and uplink data by polling, and in the downlink data, an individual address that designates one of a plurality of television broadcast receivers and a check-in of a passenger who uses the guest room / Transmits control information such as checkout and viewing prohibition information, etc., and in the uplink data, the TV broadcast receiving device whose specified individual address matches returns paying billing information etc., and sequentially updates the specified individual address By repeating the same communication, the management device controls and manages a plurality of television broadcast receiving devices.

  The polling communication is performed by repeatedly transmitting and receiving a plurality of television broadcast receiving devices one by one from the management device. Therefore, the longer the number of television broadcast receiving devices, the longer the time required for the communication to go through. There is a problem that it takes.

In this regard, communication is performed by a polling method in which the destination data of the downlink data transmitted from the center apparatus to the plurality of terminals is sequentially changed, and the uplink data is collected from the terminal having the same destination address to the center apparatus. Provide another address information for transmission, and the terminal having the same address information as that of its own terminal performs full-duplex communication in which uplink data is transmitted to the center device, and the terminal transmits the downlink data addressed to itself. A technique that can shorten the waiting time until reception and improve the response of two-way communication has been considered. (For example, Patent Document 1)
Japanese Patent No. 3350398

  The technique described in Patent Document 1 improves the response of bidirectional communication by performing full-duplex communication, but the center device is simultaneously sent from a plurality of terminals having a destination address and different addresses. It is premised on having the ability to process incoming data, which places a heavy burden on the center device.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the object of the present invention is to improve the transmission efficiency of downlink data even in an inexpensive management apparatus with relatively low processing capability, and to increase the number of data in a shorter time. It is an object of the present invention to provide a polling communication system capable of causing any terminal device to execute arbitrary control data.

  The invention according to claim 1 of the present application includes a designated address of one terminal device that requests a response and an additional address of one or more terminal devices that do not require a response, calculated from the designated address by a predetermined calculation. Control data is transmitted in downlink data while updating each address sequentially, and the management device that accepts the response from the terminal device corresponding to the designated address as uplink data, and the control data with the designated address addressed to the own device are downloaded. When the data is received, the response is sent back to the management device as uplink data and the received control data is executed. When the control data with the additional address addressed to the own device is received as downlink data, the response is received. And a plurality of terminal devices that execute the control data.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the quotient obtained by dividing the total number of the plurality of terminal devices by the total number of the designated address and the additional address transmitted at a time in the invention according to claim 1. Accordingly, an additional address for the designated address is set.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since control data from the management apparatus can be simultaneously notified to a plurality of terminal apparatuses without affecting the communication speed for obtaining a response, the management is inexpensive and relatively low in processing capacity. Even in the device, it is possible to increase the transmission efficiency of downlink data and to allow a large number of terminal devices to execute arbitrary control data in a shorter time.

  According to the invention described in claim 2, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1 above, the designated address and the additional address are specified by being distributed according to the total number of terminal devices and the total number of addresses transmitted at one time. Therefore, it is possible to equalize the transmission of control data and further increase the transmission efficiency of downlink data.

  Referring to the drawings, an embodiment in the case where the present invention is applied to a local television distribution system including a television broadcast receiving device installed in each guest room in a hotel facility premises and a management device for overall control thereof will be described below. explain.

  FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the entire system. BS / 110 ° CS digital broadcasting is received by a dedicated antenna 1, and terrestrial analog broadcasting and terrestrial digital broadcasting are received by a dedicated antenna 2, respectively. The signals are arranged on the same frequency axis by the mixer 3 and sent to the mixer 6.

  The mixer 6 also receives control data or the like from the management device 4 that performs overall control of the entire system via the data line 5, and the mixer 6 mixes these inputs, It is distributed to a television broadcast receiving device (referred to as “receiving device” in the figure) 8, 8,... That is a terminal device installed in each guest room via a coaxial transmission line 7 constituting a distribution network. These television broadcast receivers 8, 8,... Are all connected to a television receiver (not shown).

  The coaxial transmission line 7 forms a bidirectional distribution network by polling by connecting the management device 4 and the television broadcast receiving devices 8, 8,... Across the mixer 6 and the data line 5. While the control data is distributed as downlink data from the management device 4 to the individual television broadcast reception devices 8, 8,..., Response data, etc. are transmitted from the television broadcast reception devices 8, 8,. Is transmitted as uplink data.

  For convenience of explanation, it is assumed that the number of guest rooms in this hotel is nine, and the total number of television broadcast receivers 8 installed in each of the guest rooms “101” to “109” is nine. It is assumed that the address for identifying each television broadcast receiving device 8 is the same as the room number, such that the address of the television broadcast receiving device 8 installed in the “101” room is “101”.

  Next, FIG. 2 illustrates the functional circuit configuration of the management device 4 as described above. In the figure, reference numeral 21 denotes a control unit that executes transmission data creation, reception data detection, analysis, and the like. The control unit 21 has an input unit 22, an address storage unit 23, a transmission unit 24, and a reception unit 25. Is connected.

The input unit 22 inputs control data to be transmitted.
As shown in FIG. 5, the address storage unit 23 stores the addresses of the television broadcast receivers 8, 8,... Installed in each guest room in a nonvolatile manner in association with the serial numbers.

  The transmission unit 24 modulates transmission data created by the control unit 21 into high-frequency downlink data and outputs the modulated data to the data line 5 via the splitter 26.

  The splitter 26 separates and mixes upstream data and downstream data. The upstream data sent from the television broadcast receiver 8 via the data line 5 is separated by the splitter 26 and demodulated by the receiver 25. And sent to the control unit 21.

  FIG. 3 exemplifies the functional circuit configuration of the television broadcast receiver 8. In the figure, reference numeral 31 denotes a control unit that performs detection and analysis of received data, creation of response data, and the like. For this control unit 31, a response data storage unit 32, a self-address storage unit 33, a transmission unit 34, and a reception unit The unit 35 is connected.

The response data storage unit 32 temporarily stores the response data created by the control unit 31.
The self-address storage unit 33 stores a unique address assigned to each television broadcast receiver 8 in a nonvolatile manner.

  The transmission unit 34 modulates the response data created by the control unit 31 into high-frequency uplink data and outputs the modulated data to the coaxial transmission line 7 via the splitter 36.

  The splitter 36 separates and mixes uplink data and downlink data. Downlink data sent from the management device 4 via the coaxial transmission line 7 is separated by the splitter 36 and demodulated by the receiver 35. To the control unit 31.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.
In this operation example, for one transmission of control data, one address (variable A1) that requests a response and two additional addresses (variables A2 and A3) that do not request a response, a total of three It shall be sent with an address.

  In that case, the total number of addresses stored in the address storage unit 23 is T, the number of addresses transmitted at one time is S, and the quotient of the division “T / S” is N (if there is a remainder, it is incremented in a natural number unit), Based on the designated address A1, the additional address A2 = A1 + N and A3 = A1 + 2N.

  In this embodiment, since T = 9 and S = 3, N = 9/3 = 3 (no remainder), and the value obtained by adding “+3” to the designated address A1 is the additional address A2, “+6”. This value becomes the additional address A3. However, the address value is cyclically assigned, and when the address value exceeds the maximum value “109”, it is calculated by returning to the minimum value “101” next.

  4 shows the processing contents executed by the management device 4 and each of the television broadcast receiving devices 8, 8,... At the time of polling communication, the control unit 21 in the management device 4 and the control in the television broadcast receiving device 8. Each unit 31 controls the operation.

  Initially, in the management apparatus 4, the control unit 21 designates a start address (step C01).

Here, when the designated address is set to the initial value “101” as the start address with reference to the address storage unit 23, the additional address A2 = “104 (= 101 + 3)” and the additional address A3 = “107 (= 101 + 2 × 3)” The control unit 21 creates control data to be transmitted using these address values A1 to A3, modulates the data by the transmission unit 24, and transmits the data from the splitter 26 via the data line 5 and the coaxial transmission line 7 to the television broadcast receiving apparatus. Send to 8, 8, ... (Step C02)
6A shows the format structure of the data created and transmitted by the control unit 21 at this time, and the control common to the normal polling communication or all television broadcast receivers 8, 8,... An identification code portion L1 based on a character code for performing simultaneous transmission identification is arranged, and then the designated address A1, the control data, and a simple check code LRC (Longitudinal Redundancy Check code) A portion L2 consisting of

  Subsequently, the additional address A2 and the part L3 made of the control data, the additional address A3 and the part L4 made of the control data are arranged, and the part L5 made of CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) is arranged at the end. It shall be.

  On the other hand, the television broadcast receiving device 8 that receives the data is always waiting for data reception from the management device 4 (step G01), and when it is determined that data has been received, the data contents are then batched. It is analyzed, and it is determined whether or not the address value of the designated address A1 in the data portion L2 matches the own address value stored in the own address storage unit 33 (step G02).

  Here, when the designated address A1 coincides with its own address, response data is first created and transmitted to the management device 4 (step G03), and thereafter based on the control data attached to the designated address A1. The process is executed (step G04), and the series of processes based on the data reception is completed as described above, and the process returns to the process from step G01 in preparation for the reception of the next control data.

  FIG. 6B shows a format structure of response data transmitted from the television broadcast receiving apparatus 8 to the management apparatus 4 at this time, and a portion F1 composed of a text start command STX is arranged at the head position, and then A part F2 composed of its own address and the response data is disposed, and a part F3 composed of CRC is disposed at the end.

  If it is determined in step G02 that the designated address A1 does not match the self address stored in the self address storage unit 33, then either of the received additional addresses A2 and A3 and the self address are received. Are matched (step G02).

  Here, if the additional address A2 or A3 coincides with its own address, the process based on the control data attached directly to the additional address A2 or A3 is executed without performing a response to the management device 4. (Step G04) Assuming that the series of processes based on the data reception has been completed, the process returns to the process from Step G01 in preparation for receiving the next control data.

  If the control data attached to the designated address A1 or the additional addresses A2 and A3 has already been executed, the control unit 31 determines this and determines the control data in step G04. It is assumed that the execution of the process is omitted, and only response data is transmitted to the management apparatus 4 when it is added to the designated address A1.

  If it is determined in step G05 that the additional addresses A2 and A3 do not match their own addresses, the control data is not addressed to the television broadcast receiving apparatus 8, and the next control is immediately performed again. Returning to the process from step G01 in preparation for data reception.

  On the other hand, on the management device 4 side that has received the response data from the television broadcast receiver 8, there is a response from the television broadcast receiver 8 designated by the designated address after the transmission of the control data. It is determined whether or not the response of the television broadcast receiving apparatus 8 at the designated address is normal depending on whether or not there is (step C03).

  Here, when it is determined that the response is normal, it is assumed that the transmission of the control data of the designated address to the television broadcast receiving device 8 is completed, and the designated designated address and each additional address associated therewith are “+1” respectively. After the update setting (step C04), the process returns to the above-described step C02 so as to perform the same process on the next television broadcast receiving apparatus 8.

  Further, when it is determined in step C03 that the response from the television broadcast receiver 8 at the designated address is not normal, that is, as a result of analyzing the content of the response data sent, the correct result shown in FIG. If it is not in the data format, or if the response data has not been received for a certain period of time, the number of retransmissions of the control data to the television broadcast receiving device 8 specified by the specified address is updated by “+1”. After setting (step C05), after confirming that the updated and retransmitted number of times has not reached the predetermined number (step C06), the process returns to the process from step C02 again to transmit control data. Try again.

  If it is determined that the number of retransmissions updated and set in step C06 has reached a predetermined number of times, that is, if a normal response is not obtained even if the control data is transmitted a predetermined number of times, Assuming that the transmission of the control data to the television broadcast receiving device 8 is once abandoned, the process proceeds to step C04, where the designated designated address and each additional address associated therewith are updated and set to “+1”, and the next television broadcast is sent. The processing returns to the above-described step C02 to perform the same processing on the receiving device 8.

  As described above, the management apparatus 4 transmits control data with a plurality of addresses while sequentially updating and setting the contents of the designated address and the corresponding additional address accordingly. Downlink data in the direction of the devices 8, 8,... Can be transmitted with high transmission efficiency.

  FIG. 7 shows combinations P1 to P9 of designated addresses and additional addresses to be executed by the polling. By performing polling in the combinations P1 to P9 cyclically, for example, a terminal as in the present embodiment. If the number of addresses transmitted simultaneously by the TV broadcast receivers 8, 8,... Is 3 and the number of addresses simultaneously transmitted is 3, all TV broadcast receivers 8, 8 in a cycle time of 3 times “9/3”. Transmission of control data to, ... can be completed.

  FIG. 8 shows the timing of the polling operation based on the address combination of FIG. 7, and response data is sent from the television broadcast receiving apparatus 8 designated by the address A1 indicated by the symbol “◯” to the management apparatus 4 in the figure. Can be seen.

  The television broadcast receiver 8 designated by the additional address A2 indicated by the symbol “◇” and the additional address A3 indicated by the symbol “Δ” executes processing corresponding to the control data as shown in the figure, but the response data Since the operation of transmitting to the management device 4 is not executed, the control data is transmitted to the television broadcast receiving devices 8, 8,... Can be sent to.

  Therefore, even the management device 4 that has been used at a low cost and has a relatively low processing capacity has improved the transmission efficiency of downlink data, and the television broadcast receiving devices 8 and 8 that are a large number of terminal devices in a shorter time. ,... Can execute arbitrary control data.

  In addition, when selecting the additional address based on the designated address, the quotient “S / T” divided by the total number of addresses T transmitted simultaneously with the total number S of the plurality of television broadcast receivers 8, 8,. Since the address at a position separated by the quotient with respect to the designated address is set as the additional address, the transmission of control data is equalized as shown in FIG. It becomes possible to raise more.

  As the control data that needs to be promptly transmitted from the management device 4 to each of the television broadcast receiving devices 8, 8,... As a terminal device in the above operation, for example, welcome guidance at the time of passenger check-in There are many controls in the operation of a hotel, such as viewing prohibition / cancellation of television broadcasting, viewing prohibition / cancellation of some pay broadcasting, or free opening processing of pay broadcasting.

  In the case of a system that performs polling for each unit that has been generally used in the past, for example, in a hotel with a number of guest rooms (that is, the total number of television broadcast receivers) of about several tens to several hundreds, Although there is a difference in communication speed and data amount, if it is polled using addresses for three units at the same time, as in this embodiment, for example, compared to the case where it is several tens of seconds to several minutes. Of course, the time required can be reduced to about [1/3].

  In the above embodiment, the control data is transmitted with two additional addresses attached to the reference designated address. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the installation of the television broadcast receiving device 8 is described. The number of additional addresses may be appropriately selected according to the number, the processing capability of each television broadcast receiving device 8, and the processing capability of the management device 4.

  In the above embodiment, the control data is input through the input unit 22 of the management apparatus 4. However, the management apparatus 4 is connected to the host computer of the hotel and necessary control data is input from the host computer as appropriate. It is good.

  In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

  Further, the above embodiments include inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent elements. For example, even if some constituent elements are deleted from all the constituent elements shown in the embodiment, at least one of the problems described in the column of the problem to be solved by the invention can be solved, and described in the column of the effect of the invention. In a case where at least one of the obtained effects can be obtained, a configuration in which this configuration requirement is deleted can be extracted as an invention.

1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an entire local television distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The block diagram which shows the functional circuit structure of the management apparatus which concerns on the same embodiment. The block diagram which shows the functional circuit structure of the television broadcast receiver which concerns on the embodiment. The flowchart which shows the processing content at the time of the basic polling operation | movement with the management apparatus which concerns on the embodiment, and each television broadcast receiver. The figure which illustrates the address of each television broadcast receiver memorize | stored in the address memory | storage part of the management apparatus which concerns on the embodiment. The figure which shows each data format of the downlink data from the management apparatus which concerns on the embodiment, and the uplink data from a television broadcast receiver. The figure which shows the example of a combination of the address of the polling operation | movement which concerns on the same embodiment. 6 is a timing chart of a polling operation according to the embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... (BS * 110 degree CS digital broadcasting) antenna, 2 ... Terrestrial analog / digital broadcasting antenna, 3 ... Mixer, 4 ... Management apparatus, 5 ... Data line, 6 ... Mixer, 7 ... Coaxial transmission Line, 8 ... TV broadcast receiving device, 21 ... control unit, 22 ... input unit, 23 ... address storage unit, 24 ... transmission unit, 25 ... reception unit, 26 ... splitter, 31 ... control unit, 32 ... response data storage unit 33 ... Self address storage unit, 34 ... Transmitting unit, 35 ... Receiving unit, 36 ... Splitter.

Claims (2)

Control data with additional addresses of one or more terminal devices not requiring a response, which are calculated by a predetermined calculation from the designated address of one terminal device requesting a response, and the specified address are sequentially updated. A management device that transmits in downlink data while receiving a response from the terminal device corresponding to the specified address in uplink data;
When control data with a specified address addressed to its own device is received as downlink data, the response is sent back to the above management device as uplink data and the received control data is executed, and an additional address addressed to itself is attached. A polling communication system comprising: a plurality of terminal devices that execute received control data when the received control data is received as downlink data.   The management device sets an additional address for the designated address according to a quotient obtained by dividing the total number of the plurality of terminal devices by the total number of the designated address and the additional address transmitted at a time. Item 10. A polling communication system according to item 1.

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