JPS598487A - Terminal managing system in catv system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify the operation, by taking a data at a terminal A as a basic data for a terminal B when a user of the terminal device A uses the terminal device B. CONSTITUTION:When the user of the terminal A uses the terminal B because of room change, a center CPU110 makes the content of a terminal managing table A to the content of a table B. Then, an accounting channel number is produced and informed to the terminal B based on the value of an accounting channel flag section of the table B. Thus, the state of the terminal B is made to the same state of the terminal A before the change. Since the data of the terminal A is taken as the basic data of the terminal B, the operation is simplified.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention provides a system in which multi-channel television programs can be transmitted via cable or the like, and in which two-way communication is possible between a center and a terminal. If the user watches the video on a terminal device and stores the information on the terminal device, and the terminal user is forced to use another terminal device for some reason, the information from the old terminal device can be transferred to the new terminal device. It relates to methods for obtaining information.

Hereinafter, a case where the present invention is applied to a hotel will be described as an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 shows the system configuration. The broadcasting center 100 and the terminal devices 300 in each guest room are connected to a transmission line 20.
They are connected via 0.

The broadcasting center 100 includes a center computer system (hereinafter referred to as center CPU) 110. Video and audio information source group 120. Video and audio switching device 130° head end 140
．． It is composed of a modem 111. A signal from an antenna 150 installed outside the hotel for receiving commercial television broadcasting is input to the head end 140 via the couple 15.

The center CPU 11Q is a computer, a display device, a magnetic disk device, a floppy disk device, a magnetic tape device, and a line printer device.

It consists of a cart reader device, etc. Source group 120
is the independent broadcasting studio equipment 121. Video tape recorder 122. It is composed of a video disc device 1231, a character/graphics generator 124, and the like. The source group 12o and the video/audio switching device 130 are controlled by the center CPU 110 via the cables 11 and 12. Various video and audio signals from the source group 120 are input to the video and audio switching device 130 via the cable 14, and the center CPU 11
The video/audio signal selected by the video/audio switching device 130 based on the control signal from 0 is input to the head end 140 via the cable 16. Further, in order to perform bidirectional data transmission between the center CPU 110 and the terminal device 300, the center CPU 110 and the head end 140 are connected via a modem 111 and a cable 13. The head end 140 has the function of modulating various input video and audio signals, and the modulated video and audio signals and the center CPU 110.
A function of mixing the data signal output from the terminal device 30 with the data signal modulated by the modem 111 and outputting the mixed signal to the transmission path 200, the terminal device 30
The modulated data signal sent from 0 via the transmission line 200 is sent to the center CP via the cable 13 and the modem 111.
It has functions such as outputting to U110.

The transmission line 200 includes a bidirectional trunk amplifier 21o, a bidirectional branch amplifier 220 . Bidirectional branch 23Q, series unit 24
0 and cable 21.

The terminal device 300 is a terminal control device 310. Keypad 320 for selecting channels and television receiver 33
Consists of 0. The terminal control device 310 is a center CP
The keypad 320 has the function of transmitting and receiving data to and from the U110, and transmits video and audio signals sent via the transmission line 200 to the keypad 320.
It has a function of frequency-converting the channel selection signal and outputting it to the television receiver 330. The terminal control device 310 and the keypad 320 are connected by a cable 31. FIG. 2 shows an external view of the six-key pano 320 in which the terminal control device 310 and the television receiver 330 are still connected by the cable 32. The display section 321 displays the channel selected by the key group 322, 323, 324 and the key 326.

The key 326 is a key that is pressed when the user wants to continue viewing the pay channel selected in the key group 322. The channels selected by keys 323, 324 and 326 are free channels.

The key 327 is a key for turning on or off the power of the television receiver 330.

In order to enable data transmission between the center CPU 110 and multiple terminals, the transmission method is a multi-drop polling method, a unique number (address) is assigned to each terminal device, and a command with the address added is sent from the center CPL 1110. Data is sent to each terminal device 3 in the format shown in Figure 3 (a).
00 Hebisoton real sequentially, each terminal device 30o
The terminal control unit FT310 receives the bit-serial lower data from the center CPU and transfers all the data again to the third
Reassemble it into the format shown in figure (a) and temporarily store it in memory.

The terminal device 310 compares the address data in the received data with its own address, and only if they match, determines that the data from the center is valid, processes according to the instruction at that time, and returns the data to the center CPU 110 within a specified time. The upper data is transmitted bit serially in the format shown in FIG. 3 (b).

The operation will be explained below. The center CPU 110 and the terminal device 300 have a modem 111. head end 14o
, bidirectional Gator transmission and reception is performed via the transmission path 2o○. The video/audio signal from the source 120 is selected by the video/audio switching device 130, input to the head end 140 together with the video/audio signal from the television antenna 150, and distributed to the terminal device 300 via the transmission path 200. In this system, free channels provided free of charge can be viewed freely by operating the keypad 320.

When a paid channel that is provided for a fee is selected by operating the keypad, it can be viewed for free for a certain period of time, and then a paid notification channel is selected by the function of the terminal control device 310, and a paid message is sent to the television receiver 330. Output.

At this time, when the key 326 of the keypad 320 is pressed, the terminal control device 310 selects the pay channel again, stores that this channel has become a pay state, and causes the television receiver 330 to receive the channel. This paid information is sent back to the center when polling from the center CPU 110 is received. Terminal control device 310,
If a paid channel (hereinafter referred to as a charged channel) that has become a paid state is selected again by operating the keypad 320, the paid public channel will not be received.
Therefore, the selected billing channel is received on the television receiver 330 without any pressing operation of the key 326. That is, the terminal control device 310 stores which channels are free channels and paid channels, and which paid channels are charged channels, so that the user of the terminal device 300 can operate the keypad 320. I can do it.

The operation of the present invention will be explained below. Center CPU1
10 indicates the status of each terminal device 300 (charging channel) for all terminal devices 300.

Channels being viewed, other system-specific data, etc.) are managed using the terminal management table shown in Figure 4.
It has a function of notifying the contents of this terminal management table to the corresponding terminal device 300. Any one terminal device 300
' is terminal A, and another arbitrary terminal device 300 is terminal B. Furthermore, the terminal management table regarding terminal A in the center CPU 110 is referred to as table A, and the terminal management table regarding terminal B is referred to as table B. Now, when a terminal user decides to use terminal B due to a room change or the like, the center CPU 110 changes the contents of table A to the contents of table B as shown in FIG.
Terminal B generates a charging channel number based on the value of the charging channel flag section of
to the same state as terminal A before the change. for example,
The value of the billing channel flag section is as shown in Figure 6.
85” means that the pay channel 1.6.8 is in the charging state.The heel center CPU 110 outputs a series of command data to the terminal B as shown in FIG. 7 based on the transmission format shown in FIG. .Terminal B is the center CPU11
In response to the command from o, the ACK status and the received channel data are sent back to the center CPU 110 to indicate that the command has been received normally. The center CPU 110 checks this sent back data, and if an abnormality is detected, resends the same command data. The contents of the command are shown in FIG.

As described above, in the CATV terminal management system of the present invention, a person who was using terminal device A can
When it is decided to use the terminal device A, the data in the terminal device A can be used as the basic data for the terminal device B, so the operational ability can be simplified.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the keypad of the terminal device, Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the data transmission format between the center CPU and the terminal device, and Fig. 4 is a diagram showing the terminal of the center CPU. A diagram showing a management table, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of changing the terminal management table, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the configuration of the charging channel flag section in the terminal management table, and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of sending command data. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing command types in command data.

100...Broadcast center, 110...Center CPU.

400...Transmission path, 500...Terminal bag device, 610...Terminal control device, 620...
...Kinoshinodo, 630...TV receiver.

Name of agent: Patent attorney Toshio Nakao and 1 other person No. 1
Figure 2 Figure 24 Figure 3 (A) Zonta - Hanami (C bar'4) (Tl)
= 帛ふ, -tton 4 (4 bars 41) Figure 4 and Figure 5 Tefinomuha Table is two nights after 1 East * Xi Is I] Monthly 49 purchase - 7゛γhi "Korui 1 No. 6 Fig.4%
Figure 8 shows the 14th lock.

Claims (1)

[Claims] CA from a transmission line connecting a center computer system, a terminal device having a terminal control device, a receiver, and a keypad, and the above-mentioned converter system and terminal control device.
A TV network is formed, and the center computer system has a function of transmitting various broadcast channels to the terminal control device, and a memorization function of storing the status of the terminal device in a terminal management table, and the terminal control device has a function of storing the status of the terminal device in a terminal management table. a function of receiving and storing commands from the center computer system, and a function of receiving and storing commands from the center computer system;
A terminal that has the function of selecting a channel and converting a channel, and that is managed by the terminal management table of the center when the user of the terminal device changes any terminal device A to any other terminal device B. The management information for device A is changed to the management information for terminal device B, and based on the new information for terminal device B, a command is issued to terminal device B and stored in the terminal device along with the terminal management information of the center. A CA that makes it possible to use terminal device B in exactly the same state as terminal device A by making the information the same.
Terminal management method in TV system.