JPH0218630Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed explanation of the invention] [Technical field of the invention] This invention supplies PAY signals to each home via cable, and when receiving PAY broadcasts with a CATV converter, charges for reception are made fairly.
Regarding CATV converter.

[Background of the idea]

Nowadays, when you subscribe to CATV (cable television broadcasting), there are service channels that you can watch for a regular subscription fee, and PAY broadcasting that requires you to pay a special fee. PAY broadcasting is a channel that can be viewed by signing a contract with a broadcasting station.

PAY broadcasting is a system where you are charged for viewing, but the current method of charging is to connect the broadcasting station and each home using two-way communication means.
Broadcasting stations provide programs, and the broadcasting stations now confirm that the programs are being viewed in each home. The two-way communication method is called boring, and the broadcasting station sends the information necessary to receive the broadcast to the CATV converter in each home, and
The CATV converter in each home sends out information that distinguishes between QAY broadcasts and service channels, and the CATV converter in each home sends back information as to whether or not it is watching PAY broadcasts in response to the bowling from the broadcast station. In this way, the broadcast station decides whether to charge or not based on the information sent back by the CATV converter.

For the CATV above, from the CATV converter
In order to send back information to the broadcasting station that PAY broadcasting is being received, a viewing sensor for the TV receiver is required to detect the viewing status of each home's TV receiver.

[Conventional technology and problems]

Therefore, CATV equipped with conventional viewing sensors
A block diagram of the converter and television receiver is shown in FIG.

In the figure, 1 is the RF signal line, 3 is the output terminal,
4 is a connection line, 5 is an antenna terminal, 13 is a lead-in line,
14 is an input terminal, 15 is a brancher, 16 is a wideband tuner, 17 is a transmission output, 18 is a reception input, 1
9 is a control circuit, 20 is a CATV converter, 2
1 is a television receiver, and 22 is a control signal line.

In FIG. 2, the CATV converter 20 has a two-way communication function with the broadcasting station, and the signal from the broadcasting station is transmitted through the lead-in line 13.
The signal is input to the input terminal 14 of the CATV converter 20 , and the signal enters the CATV converter 20 from the input terminal 14 and is branched to the splitter 15 , the broadband tuner 16 , and the reception input 18 of the control circuit 19 .

A normal television signal is inputted from the splitter 15 to the wideband tuner 16, and the desired television signal is selected by controlling the wideband tuner 16 from the control circuit 19 through the control signal line 22. is selected, and the selected TV signal is output to the RF signal line 1 at the frequency of the second channel (an empty channel where no broadcasting is performed), which is commonly referred to on TV, and the RF signal line 1 is connected to the output terminal of the CATV converter 20. 3, and is input from the output terminal 3 to the antenna terminal 5 of the television receiver 21 through the connection line 4. Here, the television receiver 21 displays the television signal on the screen by tuning to the second channel.

On the other hand, the signal branched by the splitter 15 to the reception input 18 is a signal sent from the broadcasting station and includes information indicating that it is a PAY broadcast and information necessary to receive the PAY broadcast. ing. The signal at the reception input 18 is input to a control circuit 19, which processes the information from the reception input 18 and inputs a control signal necessary for reception to the broadband tuner 16 through a control signal line 22. Also, part of the information on the processing contents is sent to the broadcasting station via the transmission output 17, the branch 15, the input terminal 14, and the lead-in line 13.

That is, when the CATV converter 20 is receiving a PAY broadcast, the PAY TV signal and information indicating that it is a PAY broadcast are input to the branch 15 via the input terminal 14 through the lead-in line 13, and the branch 15 The PAY television signal is input to the broadband tuner 16, while information instructing PAY broadcasting is input to the control circuit 19 through the receiving input 18. The control circuit 19 processes the input information,
A viewer selectively inputs a desired channel, and a control signal necessary for receiving the channel is inputted to the broadband tuner 16 through a control signal line 22. The wideband tuner 16 performs a tuning operation for a desired channel according to control input from the control signal line 22. The PAY television signal is selected by the tuning operation, converted to the frequency of the carrier wave of an empty channel (for example, the second channel) of a general television receiver, and outputted to the RF signal line 1. PAY TV signal includes RF signal line 1, output terminal 3, connection line 4,
The signal is sent to the television receiver 21 via the antenna terminal 5.

The control circuit 19 determines that the PAY TV signal is selected, and after confirming the information indicating that it is a PAY broadcast, transmits and outputs information to the broadcasting station indicating that the PAY TV signal is being viewed. 17, a branch 15, an input terminal 14, and a lead-in line 13, and then sent to the broadcasting station. In the case of two-way communication, the address number attached to the CATV converter 20 is also sent to the broadcast station at the same time, so the broadcast station can know which CATV converter is connected by knowing the address number of the CATV converter 20.
You can see if you are receiving a PAY TV signal. Charges are then made according to the address number.

This conventional PAY broadcast billing system is
CATV converter receives PAY TV signal,
When the broadband tuner selects a PAY TV signal, the CATV converter sends information indicating that it is receiving a PAY broadcast back to the broadcast station, and the broadcast station uses the sent back information to transmit the CATV signal.
Because it determines the address number of the converter and charges according to the address number,
PAY broadcasting billing operations are determined by the status of the CATV converter, and the TV receiver is
It was now possible to perform billing operations even if you were not in a state where you could watch PAY broadcasts. For example, if you forget to turn off the switch, the TV receiver may turn off.
You will be charged when the CATV converter is on,
As a result, in the conventional example, if the CATV converter is in a state where viewing is possible, the user is charged an unreasonable amount even if the viewer is not actually viewing the video, which is an unreasonable problem.

[Purpose of invention]

The purpose of this invention is to provide a CATV converter that prevents unfair billing operations by charging for the reception of PAY broadcasts after confirming that the TV receiver is viewing the broadcast. be.

[Structure of the idea]

This invention focuses on the fact that the output channel of a CATV converter is always constant, and extracts the local oscillation signal of the tuner built into the TV receiver from the antenna terminal.
It is determined that a CATV signal is being viewed when the frequency corresponds to the output channel of the CATV converter, and if the CATV signal is from PAY broadcasting, charges are made.

[Example of idea]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, and the same parts as those explained in FIG. 2 are indicated by the same symbols.

In FIG. 1, 2 is a branching circuit, 10 is a detection circuit, 11 is an amplifier, 12 is a conversion circuit, 23 is a tuner, and 24 is a control circuit.
12 constitutes a detection means.

Signals from broadcasting stations are sent to CATV via lead-in line 13.
From the input terminal 14 of the converter 20 to the branch 15
The splitter 15 distributes the input signal to the wideband tuner 16 and the control circuit 24, the wideband tuner 16 selects the television signal, and the control circuit 24 divides the input signal from the signal input via the receiving input 18. Extract the signal and process the signal. Also,
The viewer inputs a tuning signal for selecting a desired channel into the control circuit 24, and sends, for example, a tuning voltage for selecting a desired television signal from the control circuit 24 to the wideband tuner 16 through the control signal line 22, and the wideband tuner The tuning frequency is determined by the tuning voltage, and the tuning operation is performed, and the frequency is converted to the frequency of the second channel.The output of the desired television signal is outputted from the broadband tuner 16 as an RF signal at the frequency of the second channel of the television. It is output to line 1, passes through branch 2, and is sent to output terminal 3.
From the output terminal 3 to the TV receiver 2 via the connection line 4
1 and enters the tuner 23 of the television receiver 21. When the tuner 23 is operated to receive the second channel, the television signal appears on the screen.

Here, the local oscillation signal of the tuner 23 leaks to the antenna terminal 5 of the television receiver 21, although slightly, and the leaked local oscillation signal is passed through the antenna terminal 5 and the connection line 4 to the CATV converter 2.
The signal is input to the output terminal 3 of 0, and is input to the detection circuit 10 via the branching device 2. The detection circuit 10 consists of a resonant circuit, and its resonant frequency is the same as that of the television receiver 21.
When the tuner 23 is switched to the second channel, it is set to tune to the local oscillation frequency oscillated by the tuner 23, and only the local oscillation signal of the second channel can be extracted. In other words, the detection circuit 10 extracts the local oscillation signal when the tuner 23 is tuned to the second channel, and the detection circuit 10
The local oscillation signal extracted by the amplifier 11 is once amplified by the amplifier 11 and then input to the conversion circuit 21. The conversion circuit 12 converts the local oscillation signal into a detection signal and sends the detection signal to the control circuit 24. The control circuit 24 is composed of a microcomputer, and when PAY discrimination information indicating that the television signal selected by the channel selection signal is a PAY broadcast and a detection signal are input, it indicates that the PAY broadcast is being viewed. Programmed to output PAY broadcast viewing signals. PAY broadcast viewing signal is transmission output 1
7 and a branch 15 to input terminal 14 and lead-in line 13
to the broadcast station via. Broadcasting stations perform billing operations based on viewing signals.

In this way, in the embodiment of the present invention, the operation of receiving a normal television signal is exactly the same as that of the conventional example, but when receiving a PAY television signal, the operation of the conventional example is different from that of the conventional example. The difference is that an additional signal is added to indicate that the TV receiver is receiving a PAY TV signal, and it is extremely important to perform billing operations after detecting that the TV receiver is receiving the PAY TV signal. This prevents billing operations from being performed on the basis that the CATV converter is in the receiving state even though PAY TV broadcasting is not being received.

[Effect of idea]

In the CATV converter according to the present invention,
If the TV receiver is not in viewing condition
Billing operations are no longer performed when the CATV converter is in viewing mode, making the relationship between viewing PAY TV broadcasts and billing more fair.
In addition, to detect the viewing status of the TV receiver,
This has extremely great effects such as extremely accurate determination based on the frequency of the local oscillation signal generated by the tuner of the television receiver.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a conventional example. 1...RF signal line, 2...brancher, 3...output terminal, 4...connection line, 5...antenna terminal, 10
...detection circuit, 11 ... amplifier, 12 ... conversion circuit, 13 ... lead-in line, 14 ... input terminal, 15 ...
...brancher, 16...broadband tuner, 17...
Transmission output, 18... Reception input, 19... Control circuit, 20... CATV converter, 21... Television receiver, 22... Control signal line, 23... Tuner, 24... Control circuit.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A CATV converter that converts a cable television broadcast selected according to a channel selection signal into a television signal of a predetermined channel and applies it to an antenna terminal of a television receiver, the local part of a tuner built in the television receiver. detection means for extracting an oscillation signal from the antenna terminal, detecting that the local oscillation signal has a local oscillation frequency corresponding to the predetermined channel, and outputting a detection signal; and detecting means for detecting that the cable television broadcast is PAY broadcast. show
A CATV converter comprising: a control circuit that inputs PAY discrimination information, the channel selection signal, and the detection signal and sends a PAY broadcast viewing signal to a broadcast station via a drop-in line.