JPH10336614A - Multiple dwelling house multimedia system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain network management at all times by providing a cable MODEM required for 2-way communication between a terminal equipment and a CATV center station in a network utilizing the CATV to an adaptor. SOLUTION: A cable MODEM that conducts modulation/demodulation and communication control for 2-way communication between a terminal equipment 50 and a communication system of a CATV center station 1 is provided for adaptors 30, 31,... of houses. A MODEM 155 of the adaptor demodulates a video image, an audio signal and a control signal transmitted from a lobby interphone set 61, outputs the demodulated signal to a house information panel 70, modulates a received audio signal and sends it to the lobby interphone set 61, and an RF modulator demodulates the video and audio signal from the lobby interphone set 61 and the modulates the signal again and provides an output of the modulated signal to the television receiver 50. The power is always supplied to the adaptors 30,... and so long as power is failed in the multiple dwelling house, the adaptors conduct address management and operating state management of each cable MODEM in the CATV center station 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multimedia system for an apartment house equipped with an intercom system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an apartment house represented by a condominium, a visitor and a resident can talk using a lobby intercom device and a housing information panel installed at a common entrance. There is a case where an intercom system capable of viewing an image is provided.

[0003] In an apartment house, a T
The broadcast wave received by the V common receiving antenna is distributed to the TV receivers of each dwelling unit via a transmission line including a coaxial cable for TV listening and a directional coupler, an amplifier, a distributor, and the like. The transmission path for distributing the broadcast wave is called a TV joint hearing facility (hereinafter, referred to as “TV joint listening”) or the like.

[0004] In recent years, instead of installing a dedicated cable for connecting the lobby intercom apparatus and the house information panel, TV co-listening is used as a transmission path between the lobby intercom apparatus and the house information panel. A system has been proposed (Japanese Patent Publication No. 53-2195).

[0005] In this system, the video signal and the audio signal input from the lobby intercom apparatus are transmitted to the house information panel using the vacant band not used for transmission of the broadcast wave, and the vacant band is similarly used by using the vacant band. The audio signal input from the house information panel is transmitted to the lobby intercom device.

Further, the visitor specifies the dwelling unit to be visited, and the voice and video of the visitor are input to the lobby intercom apparatus, but are controlled so as not to be output to the unspecified dwelling unit information board. This control signal is similarly transmitted to the house information panel using the empty band. Therefore, the video signal, the audio signal, and the control signal are modulated to frequencies corresponding to the respective empty regions, and the modulated signals are demodulated into respective baseband signals.

[0007] Further, the service provided by CATV used to be the retransmission of a TV broadcast signal for an area where the TV broadcast signal is difficult to view, but for example, a CATV that provides a unique service such as a movie channel or a news channel. And the number of people who want to join CATV is increasing even if they are not in the difficult viewing areas.

[0008] Accordingly, the residents of the apartment house are also urban
I started to want to join the AV, TV co-listening and CAT
V is increasingly connected. On the other hand, in general, access from general subscribers to computer networks that have been rapidly spreading in recent years is usually limited to analog telephone lines and ISDs.
We use N lines. When accessing using an analog telephone line, a computer network is accessed via a modem, and when accessing using an ISDN line, a computer network is accessed via a terminal adapter.

[0009] With the advance of the information-oriented society, CATV
Attention has been paid to the area of the ATV service provision area and the broadband transmission path, and the CATV service has been made bidirectional, and the provision of communication services has begun.

For example, in an analog telephone, several tens of kbps, I
In SDN, a computer network is accessed at a transmission rate of 128 kbps. However, if bidirectional CATV is used, transmission can be performed at about several tens of Mbps, and a higher transmission rate can be obtained as compared to a telephone line. Therefore, of course, residents of the apartment house can also use the two-way CA
An increasing number of people desire to receive a service for accessing a computer network provided by TV at a high speed.

A conventional example will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG.
FIG. 6 is a wiring diagram of a multi-family house using TV listening, and FIG. 6 is a wiring diagram in each dwelling unit.

In FIG. 5, 150 is a CATV subscriber line, 151 is a TV common receiving antenna, 152 is a signal mixer / separator, 15 is a coaxial cable for TV listening, 153 is a distributor, and 154 is a directional coupler. , 7 is a residence, 61 is a lobby intercom device, 62 is an intercom control device, 1
55 is a modem.

The TV co-listening includes a TV co-listening antenna 151, a mixer / separator 152, a distributor 153, and a directional coupler 15.
4. It is composed of a coaxial cable 15 for common listening. CATV
Is connected to the TV co-listening and distributed to each dwelling unit.

The mixer / distributor 152 converts the broadcast wave received by the TV common receiving antenna 151, the signal transmitted from the lobby intercom apparatus 61, and the signal transmitted from the CATV received via the CATV subscriber line 150. The signals are mixed and input to the TV-sharing mixer / separator 152. On the other hand, the signals to the lobby intercom device 61 transmitted from each dwelling unit through the TV-sharing and the signals transmitted to the CATV are separated.
CATV subscriber line 150 and lobby intercom equipment 61
The signal is distributed to.

In FIG. 6, a coaxial cable 1 for TV listening is provided.
Reference numeral 5 is used as a transmission path between a lobby intercom device (not shown) and the house information panel 75. An output controller for controlling the visitor to be unable to talk to unspecified dwelling units using a lobby intercom device (not shown) is incorporated in the adapter device 35 together with the modem.

The signal from the CATV is transmitted to the information outlet 43.
Is selected by the CATV converter 84 connected to the.
When accessing a computer network using CATV, the terminal device 94 is accessed using a cable modem 128 provided for each terminal device.

[0017]

However, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, when the terminal device 94 is moved in the dwelling unit, it is necessary to move the cable modem 128 together, and the work is troublesome. Further, even when the power of the terminal device 94 is off, the power of the cable modem 128 is often turned off. Then, CATV center station 1
However, there is a problem that it is difficult to manage the address and operation state of each cable modem by the network management server.

[0018]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lobby intercom device arranged at a common entrance of an apartment house, an intercom control device arranged at a manager's office, and a house information panel arranged at each dwelling unit. A signal of an intercom system that manages the approach of a visitor to each dwelling unit to the dwelling unit, and a signal that a terminal device arranged in the dwelling unit of the apartment complex accesses a computer network via CATV, In a system that uses a TV common listening facility for distributing a TV broadcast signal received by a common receiving antenna installed in the apartment house to each dwelling unit as a common transmission path, an adapter device arranged in each dwelling unit includes: The video, audio and control signals transmitted from the lobby intercom device are demodulated and output to the housing information panel, and the audio input from the housing information panel A modulator / demodulator for modulating a signal and transmitting the same to the lobby intercom apparatus; an RF modulator for demodulating the video and audio signals transmitted from the lobby intercom apparatus and then modulating and demodulating the video and audio signals to the TV receiver; C
A cable modem that accesses a computer network via an ATV and modulates and demodulates a signal transmitted and received. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the first aspect, the transmission line connecting the terminal device and the adapter device of each dwelling unit is multi-drop connected. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the first aspect, the terminal device and the adapter device of each dwelling unit communicate wirelessly. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the first aspect, the terminal device and the adapter device of each dwelling unit communicate using infrared rays.

[0019]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below. This will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. CAT
The signal from the V center station 1 passes through the CATV 2
It is distributed to each dwelling unit via the coaxial cable 10 for TV listening.

The TV received by the TV co-listening antenna 151
Broadcast waves are also distributed to each dwelling unit via the coaxial cable 10 for TV listening. Reference numeral 20 denotes a head-end device provided in the apartment house, which adjusts, mixes and separates the level of the broadcast wave signal received by the TV co-listening antenna 151 and the signal transmitted from the CATV center station 1.

Since the mixing and separation of the signals can be performed without using the head end device 20, it is not essential to the present invention. Although not shown, mixing and separation can be performed by combining a mixer and a demultiplexing filter. Also, the head end device 2
0 mixed with the TV broadcast wave and the CATV broadcast signal
It is distributed to each dwelling unit through the coaxial cable 10 for co-listening, and is sent to the information outlet 40 through the adapter devices 30, 31,.

Here, the TV broadcast wave is transmitted to the adapter 3
.. Only pass through. At each dwelling unit,
If the TV receiver 50 is connected to the information outlet 40, the TV
You can watch the broadcast. In the case of CATV, channel selection and interactive service can be selected by a CATV converter 80 installed between the TV receiver 50 and the information outlet 40.

The lobby intercom apparatus 61 and the house information panels 70 and 71 in each dwelling unit are connected to each other using the coaxial cable 10 for TV listening. The visitor specifies the dwelling unit to be visited using the lobby intercom device 61 installed at the collective entrance 60. The present invention is not limited to the specific form, but may be a method in which a visitor inputs a room number of a visit destination.

The specified dwelling unit will be described below as a dwelling unit provided with the adapter device 30. The audio and video signals from the lobby intercom device 61 are demodulated by the modem installed in the adapter device 30 and output to the house information panel 70. In the adapter device 30, the lobby intercom device 6
The audio signal is transmitted to the home information panel 70, and the video signal is transmitted to the TV receiver 50 connected to the information outlet 40. The video signal to be transmitted is transmitted using a frequency other than the frequency band for transmitting a TV broadcast signal or a signal from CATV.

The signal of the room number specified by the visitor at the lobby intercom device 61 is converted into a data signal and sent to the head-end device 20. Signals are transmitted from the headend device 20 to the adapter devices 30, 31,... Via the TV coaxial listening coaxial cable 10. The adapter devices 30, 31,... Determine whether or not the identified dwelling unit. Adapter device 30 provided for the identified dwelling unit
Sends a signal to the house information panel 70 indicating that there is a visitor.

From the adapter device 30 which is determined to be the specified dwelling unit, a video signal of a visitor video taken by the lobby intercom device 61, which has been descrambled, is transmitted to the TV receiver 50 so that it can be viewed on the TV receiver 50. I do. At the dwelling unit determined not to be the specified dwelling unit, the scramble signal superimposed on the video signal is not decoded.

In the house information panel 70 to which a signal indicating that there is a visitor is sent, the resident is informed of this by a chime sound or the like, and the resident who has noticed the visitor is notified from the lobby intercom device 61 by the TV receiver 50. You can watch video signals.

At this time, the channel of the TV receiver 50 is switched to the designated channel manually by the resident, or automatically switched to the designated channel under the control of the adapter device 30. The resident confirms the visitor and makes a telephone call on the house information panel 70 or unlocks the door of the collective entrance 60 by operating the house information panel 70. Housing Information Panel 7
From 0, the audio signal is modulated and transmitted to the lobby intercom controller 61, and the data signal for unlocking the door is modulated or transmitted as a baseband signal.

The CATV 2 is connected to the CATV center station 1. The CATV center station 1 includes a switching hub 4, various servers 5, and a signal conversion device 6.
Gateways are also connected to external networks, such as the Internet and other personal computer communications. The signal conversion device 6 is connected to a CATV from a computer network.
Da used for communication in CATV2
ta format or RF signal, and the signal transmitted from the CATV subscriber to the computer network is converted to the CAT format.
The signal is selected from V-up signals, converted into a data format or a signal used in a computer network, and a CATV broadcast signal is transmitted in the down direction of CATV2.
The head-end device 20 provided in the apartment house is connected to the CATV 2 and the adapter devices 30, 31,.
The terminal device 90 is connected via. 40 in FIG.
Is an information outlet, to which the TV receiver 50, the terminal device 90, and the CATV converter 80 can be connected.

In the present invention, the terminal device 50 and the CAT
Cable modems for modulating and demodulating and controlling communication for two-way communication with the communication system of the V center station 1 are provided in the adapter devices 30, 31,... The terminal device 90 is, as shown in FIG.
0, 31,..., And even when the terminal device 90 is turned off or the terminal device 90 is moved, the adapter devices 30, 31,. Are not turned off. Adapter device 3
.. Are because the power is always on. Therefore, unless there is a power outage in the apartment, CAT
The V center station 1 can manage the address and the operating state of each cable modem.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the inside of the adapter device installed in each dwelling unit of the system according to the present invention and the connection state thereof. Each dwelling unit of the apartment house has an adapter device 32 incorporating various interfaces for receiving TV broadcast waves, transmitting / receiving signals to / from CATV2, and transmitting / receiving signals to / from a lobby intercom system, A CATV converter 81 for receiving an interactive service from the CATV center station 1 via the device 32, a house information panel 72 for exchanging signals with the lobby intercom device 61, a terminal device 91 for accessing a computer network, and the like are provided. .

In the adapter device 32, 101 is a filter, 102 is a tuner / VIF unit, 103 is a modem, 104 is a CPU, 106 is an RF modulator, 105 is an audio circuit, 107 is a cable modem circuit, and 108 is a connector. The filter 101 separates a signal transmitted from the dwelling unit and a signal distributed to the dwelling unit. Tuner / V
The IF unit 102 tunes to the signal transmitted from the lobby intercom device 61, and demodulates the video signal and the audio signal into baseband signals and distributes them.

The CPU 104 is a lobby intercom device 6
Based on the signal for identifying the dwelling unit transmitted from 1, it controls whether or not to output the video and audio signals transmitted from the lobby intercom device 61 to the house information panel 72 and the TV receiver 51. The RF modulator 106 modulates the video and audio signals demodulated to the baseband again and outputs the modulated signals to the TV signal receiving terminal. The audio circuit 105 outputs the audio signal demodulated by the tuner / VIF unit 102 to the house information panel 72 under the control of the CPU 104, and outputs the audio signal input through the house information panel 72 to the lobby intercom device 61 through TV co-listening. To the frequency used for transmission.

The modem 103 receives a signal for identifying the dwelling unit transmitted from the lobby intercom unit 61 among the signals received at each dwelling unit, demodulates the signal into a digital signal, and inputs the digital signal to the CPU 104. Lobby intercom control device 62 and lobby intercom device 61 from CPU 104
The digital signal to be transmitted to is modulated to a pre-assigned frequency by TV co-listening. The cable modem circuit 107 modulates and demodulates a signal transmitted via the CATV2 for accessing a computer network.

The connector 108 is connected to the cable modem circuit 10
7 is used to connect a terminal device 91. When a visitor operates a selection button of the lobby intercom device 61 or the like, the specified data signal such as the room number is modulated, and the specified signal is transmitted to the adapter device 32 and separated by the filter 101.

The separated data signal passes through the modem 103 and is judged by the CPU 104 at the CPU 104. If the data unit is a specified dwelling unit, a signal indicating that there is a visitor is sent to the house information panel 72. The video signal from the lobby intercom device 61 is
Tuned by the tuner / VIF unit 102, re-modulated by the RF modulator 106 to a frequency of a channel that can be viewed on the TV receiver 51, and transmitted to the TV receiver 51.

The terminal device 91 and the CATV center station 1
A cable modem 107 for performing modulation and communication control for two-way communication with a communication system with the
Inside. Reference numeral 108 denotes a connector provided on the adapter device 32 for connecting the terminal device 91.

FIG. 3 shows a connector for TV data output,
An example using a multi-drop type information outlet 41 combined with a connector for a terminal device 91 will be described. in this case,
The terminal device 92 and the TV receiver 52 can be easily connected from any room where the information outlet 41 is provided, which is convenient.

Reference numeral 12 denotes a coaxial cable for TV listening, 11
1 is a filter, 113 is a modem for the CPU 114,
112 is a tuner / VIF unit, 115 is an audio circuit, 116 is an RF converter, 73 is a house information panel, 82 is C
It is an ATV converter.

FIG. 4 shows that the signal from the cable modem circuit 127 is sent to the house information panel 74,
A case where a signal is transmitted to the terminal device 93 by wireless is shown. Others are the same as in FIG. House information panel 74
, A signal is transmitted to the terminal device 93 wirelessly.

The house information panel 74 is provided with a wireless modem 130, and a wireless modem 113 attached to the terminal device 93.
It can be transmitted and received wirelessly. Here, it is preferable that the wireless communication uses weak wireless communication of infrared rays or spread spectrum, because high-speed communication of about 10 Mbps can be performed relatively inexpensively in a small area in a dwelling unit.

[0042]

As described in detail above, the multi-dwelling house multimedia system of the present invention is an intercom system using a TV co-listening system and a TV receiver, and is adapted to an adapter device having output control and modulation / demodulation functions of a specific dwelling unit. , CAT
Terminal and CATV in a network using V
By providing a cable modem necessary for two-way communication with the center station, network management can be performed at all times. In addition, by adopting a multi-drop type information outlet or using a wireless or infrared communication type of information transmission system between the adapter device and the terminal device, the terminal device in the house can be easily moved and installed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a multi-family multimedia system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a multi-family multimedia system of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a multi-family multimedia system of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a multi-family multimedia system of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating conventional TV co-listening of an apartment house.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating conventional TV co-listening of an apartment house.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 CATV center station 2 CATV 3 Apartment 4 Switching hub 5 Various servers 6 Signal conversion device 7, 8, 9 House 10, 11, 12, 13, 15 Coaxial cable for TV listening 20 Head end device 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 Adapter device 40, 41, 42, 43 Information outlet 50, 51, 52, 53, 54 TV receiver 60 Assembly hall 61 Lobby intercom device 62 Intercom controller 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75 Housing information panel 80, 81, 82, 83, 84 CATV converter 90, 91, 92, 93, 94 Terminal device 101, 111, 121 Filter 102, 112, 122 Tuner / VIF unit 103, 113, 123 Modem 104, 114, 124 CPU 105, 115, 125 Voice Path 106, 116, 126 RF modulator 107, 117, 127 Cable modem circuit 108, 118 Connector 128 Cable modem 130 Wireless modem 131 Wireless modem 150 CATV subscriber line 151 TV co-listening antenna 152 Mixer / separator 153 Distributor 154 Direction Sex coupler 155 modem

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor St. Takahashi 1048 Ojimon, Monma-shi, Osaka Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] Claims 1. A lobby intercom device arranged at a common entrance of an apartment complex, an intercom control device arranged at a management room, and a house information panel arranged at each dwelling unit,
A signal of an intercom system that manages a visitor to each dwelling unit to enter the dwelling unit, and a signal that a terminal device arranged in the dwelling unit of the apartment house accesses a computer network via CATV, In a system for transmitting and receiving a TV broadcast signal received by an installed common receiving antenna to each dwelling unit by using a TV common hearing equipment for a common transmission line, an adapter device arranged in each dwelling unit includes a lobby. A demodulator that demodulates the video, audio signal, and control signal transmitted from the intercom device, outputs the demodulated signal to the house information panel, modulates the audio signal input from the house information panel, and transmits the modulated signal to the lobby intercom device; An RF modulator that demodulates the video and audio signals transmitted from the device, modulates the demodulated signals again, and outputs the resulting signal to the TV receiver; Housing multimedia system, characterized in that it comprises a cable modem modulates and demodulates signals transmitted and received access to the computer network via a CATV. 2. The multi-dwelling house multimedia system according to claim 1, wherein the transmission line connecting the terminal device and the adapter device of each dwelling unit is in a multi-drop connection. 3. The terminal device and the adapter device of each dwelling unit,
The multimedia system according to claim 1, wherein the system communicates wirelessly. 4. The terminal device and the adapter device of each dwelling unit,
The multimedia system according to claim 1, wherein communication is performed using infrared rays.