KR20050019282A - Digital set top box and program download method for digital set top box - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A digital set-top-box and a program downloading method of the digital set-top-box are provided to download a program using a control unit connected to a to-be-controlled device used less frequently and transmit the downloaded program to another control unit to thereby prevent a user from being obstructed from using the to-be-controlled device and rapidly download the program. CONSTITUTION: A digital set-top-box includes a plurality of control units(100,200) and a data communication unit(300). The plurality of control units independently control a plurality of to-be-controlled devices. The data communication unit transmits data among the control units. A control unit that downloads a program transmits the downloaded program to another control unit through the data communication unit.

Description

Program download method of digital set top box and digital set top box {DIGITAL SET TOP BOX AND PROGRAM DOWNLOAD METHOD FOR DIGITAL SET TOP BOX}

The present invention relates to a digital set-top box, and more particularly, so that a user can use a controlled device that is being used by a user when a program download of a set-top box that can independently control a plurality of controlled devices so that a quick download can be made. It relates to a digital set-top box and a program download method of a digital set-top box.

Digital satellite broadcasting is gaining attention due to its commercial advantage of being able to broadcast many channels, for example, about five channels compared to one analog channel of airwaves, and various functions such as high image quality, sound, interactive service, and internet connection. .

The digital set-top box industry is growing mainly in the US and Europe, and is showing high growth in the Middle East and Asia due to the introduction of digital satellite broadcasting.

Digital satellite broadcasting is mainly led by pay broadcasting companies, and the direct purchase of pay broadcasting business accounts for a large portion of the digital set-top box market.

In terms of technology, digital set-top boxes have the ability to code analog content on the broadcasting station and decode the transmitted signal into analog signals for users to watch on regular television through satellite or cable terrestrial.

Since this process must go through a very complicated process, various technical problems must be solved in order for a broadcaster to provide various broadcast services.

First of all, the standard adopted by most broadcasters in terms of broadcast standards is the European standard called DVB (digital video broadcasting), but the US military adopts its own standard called digital satellite service (DSS).

In addition, several companies such as Media-Guard, NDS, and Viaccess are competing in a technology called conditional access system (CAS) that restricts reception so that only subscribers can receive in pay broadcasting.

1 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a digital set top box according to the related art.

The digital set-top box according to the related art is driven by the controller unit 10 and the controller unit 10 to control the overall operation of the digital set-top box while receiving a broadcast signal from a satellite and displayed on a TV. A program storage unit 20 for storing a program, and a memory 30 to facilitate the smooth data exchange between the controller unit 10 and the external device.

Here, the controller 10 controls the overall operation of the digital set-top box and stores the broadcast signal received by the tuner 11 and the tuner 11 to receive the broadcast signal in the memory unit 20. It includes a processing unit 12 to process through the output to the TV.

In this case, the program driven by the controller 10 is downloaded when the download request signal from the satellite is received.

For example, when an upgrade or bug fix of a program driven by the controller 10 is made, the program is downloaded from the satellite.

In the program down method as shown in FIG. 2, a download request signal from the satellite is first received by the tuner 11 in a first step (S1).

In the second step, the program is downloaded from the satellite according to the download request signal (S2).

In this case, the processing unit 12 downloads the program when the version of the program stored in the program storage unit 20 is upgraded by a broadcasting company or a bug is corrected, otherwise the download is not performed.

In the third step, the downloaded program is stored in the program storage unit 20 (S3).

In the fourth step, when the storing of the program is completed, the digital set-top box is rebooted (S4).

In the fifth step, after the rebooting, the controller unit 10 drives a program stored in the program storage unit 20 (S5).

In this case, when the digital set-top box is used for a digital satellite TV, a user may not watch TV while receiving the download request signal and downloading a program.

On the other hand, as another method for solving the above problems, there is also a method of downloading the program little by little while the user is using the controlled device, which has the advantage that the obstructions to the user's viewing is eliminated There is a problem that the download speed is inhibited.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to allow a user to continuously use a controlled device in use in a set-top box that independently controls a plurality of controlled devices, and at the same time, a rapid programming. To provide a program download method of a digital set-top box and a digital set-top box to be downloaded.

In order to achieve the above object, the digital set-top box according to the present invention includes a plurality of control units for independently controlling a plurality of controlled devices, and a data communication unit for transmitting data between the control units. The control unit transmits the program downloaded via the data communication unit to another control unit.

The program download method of the digital set top box according to the present invention also includes a first step of downloading a program to a predetermined control unit and a second step of transmitting the downloaded program to another control unit.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 3, the digital set-top box according to the present invention has a plurality of control units 100 and 200 for independently controlling a plurality of controlled devices and data communication between the control units 100 and 200. It includes a data communication unit 300 to be made.

Here, the plurality of control units (100, 200) is made up of the first control unit 100 and the second control unit 200, and the number of the control unit for controlling it is changed as the number of controlled devices to control is changed. .

In addition, the first control unit 100 and the second control unit 200 are configured in the same configuration to each independently control the controlled device.

The first control unit 100 and the second control unit 200 may include a first controller unit 110 and a second controller unit 210 for controlling overall operations of the controlled device and the control unit, respectively, A first program storage unit 120 and a second program storage unit 220 in which programs driven by the first controller unit 110 and the second controller unit 210 are stored, and the first controller unit 110 and It includes a first memory 130 and a second memory 230 to facilitate the data exchange between the second controller 210 and the external device.

In this case, the first program storage unit 120 and the second program storage unit 220 generally use a flash memory, and the first memory 130 and the second memory 230 use SDRAM.

In addition, the first controller unit 110 and the second controller unit 210 may include a first tuner 111 and a second tuner 211 that receive signals from the outside, and the first tuner 111 and the second tuner. And a first processor 112 and a second processor 212 for processing a signal received through the tuner 211 through a program stored in the first program storage 120 and the second program storage 220. do.

For example, when the digital set-top box is used for digital satellite broadcasting, the first control unit 100 and the second control unit 200 respectively control the TV, and the first tuner 111 and the second The broadcast signal is received from the satellite through the tuner 211, and is processed through the programs stored in the first program storage unit 120 and the second program storage unit 220 to be output to the TV.

In this case, when a program stored in the first program storage unit 120 and the second program storage unit 220 is upgraded by a broadcasting company or a bug is corrected, the digital set-top box downloads the corresponding program from the satellite. do.

The satellite transmits a download request signal to the digital set top box when the program is upgraded or bug fixed, and the digital set top box receives the download request signal and downloads the program.

Meanwhile, when the download request signal is received by the plurality of control units 100 and 200, the digital set-top box downloads the program from an arbitrary control unit and downloads the program to another control unit through the data communication unit 300. To send the program.

Here, the data communication unit 300 is a UART is used for a small amount of data communication or IEEE 1284 is used for a large amount of data communication.

Looking at the program download method of the digital set-top box configured as described above are as follows.

In the program download method of the digital set-top box according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 4, first, a download request signal is received by the digital set-top box in a first step.

In the second step, the program is downloaded from an arbitrary control unit according to the download request signal (S12).

In this case, the downloaded program is stored in the program storage unit of the control unit where the download is performed.

In the third step, when the download is completed, the download completion message is transmitted to the other control unit through the data communication unit 300 (S13).

In the fourth step, when the completion message is transmitted, the digital set-top box is reset and all the control units are rebooted (S14).

In the fifth step, after the reboot of the control unit, the program stored in the program storage unit included in the control unit into which the program is downloaded is checked (S15).

The sixth step transmits the status message according to the check result to the other control unit (S16).

In the seventh step, when an upgrade or bug fix is performed as a result of the check, the downloaded program is transferred to another control unit and stored in the program storage unit of the corresponding control unit (S17).

Referring to the program download method as described above in more detail with reference to FIG. 6, first, a download request signal is received by the first control unit 100 and a program is downloaded by the second control unit 200.

First, when a download request signal is received by the first control unit 100 (S21), the first control unit 100 transmits the request signal to the second control unit 200 through the data communication unit 300. Transmit. (S22)

According to the request signal, the first control unit 100 and the second control unit 200 confirm that the program has received the download request signal. (S23, S24)

The first control unit 100 transmits an operation state message according to the operation state of the digital set-top box to the second control unit 200 (S25), and the second control unit 200 transmits the The response message according to the operation status message is transmitted to the first control unit 100. (S26)

In this case, when the user downloads the program, the user may transmit a state such as a scheduled recording set by the user in advance to the second control unit 200 so that the download of the program is not performed when the user's setting and download overlap. When the next download request signal is received, the program is downloaded.

When the response message is transmitted, the first control unit 100 outputs a program-down menu to the user (S27). When the user performs a download, a download selection message is sent to the second control unit 200. (S28)

The download of a program is started in the second control unit 200 according to the download execution message (S29).

When the download of the program is completed (S30), a download complete message is transmitted to the first control unit 100 (S31).

When the download complete message is transmitted, the first control unit 100 and the second control unit 200 are reset and rebooted (S32, S33).

When the first control unit 100 and the second control unit 200 are rebooted, the second control unit 200 waits for the synchronization signal to be transmitted from the first control unit 100 (S34).

A synchronization signal for synchronizing with each other in the first control unit 100 is transmitted from the first control unit 100 to the second control unit 200 (S35), and downloaded from the second control unit 200. It waits for the transmitted program to be transmitted (S36).

That is, when the program downloaded from the second control unit 200 is an upgraded program or a bug is corrected, the downloaded program is waited to be transmitted.

When the synchronization signal is transmitted from the first control unit 100, the second control unit 200 checks whether the downloaded program is upgraded or bug-fixed (S37). The downloaded program is transmitted to the first control unit 100 (S38).

The transmitted program is transmitted to the first control unit 100, and the transmitted program is stored in the first program storage unit 120 of the first control unit 100 (S39).

When the program is transmitted to the first control unit 100, the program downloaded from the first control unit 100 and the second control unit 200 is driven. (S40, S41)

Here, the first control unit 100 receives a download request signal and the program is downloaded from the second control unit 200, which is mainly used when a user uses a controlled device connected to the first control unit 100. The program is downloaded through the second control unit 200 having a relatively low frequency of use.

For example, when the first control unit 100 and the second control unit 200 are connected to the TV, respectively, the user can be quickly downloaded without watching the TV while the TV is connected to the first control unit 100. The program is to be downloaded through the second control unit 200 so that the program can be downloaded.

Meanwhile, referring to a case in which the first control unit 100 receives the download request signal and the program is downloaded from the first control unit 100, as shown in FIG. 6, first, the first control unit 100 is used. When the download request signal is received (S51), the first control unit 100 checks the download request signal (S52).

Checking the request signal confirms the operation state of the digital set-top box.

That is, when the scheduled recording set by the user and the time for downloading the program are overlapped, the user's convenience is improved by allowing the program to be downloaded when the next download request signal is received.

If it is possible to download the digital set-top box, the program download related menu is output to the user (S54).

If the user selects a program download through the menu, the program is downloaded from the satellite (S55).

When the program download is completed (S56), the first control unit 100 transmits a download complete message to the second control unit 200. (S57)

When the completion message is transmitted to the second control unit 200, the first control unit 100 and the second control unit 200 are reset and rebooted (S58, S59).

When the first control unit 100 and the second control unit 200 are rebooted, the second control unit 200 waits for the synchronization signal to be transmitted from the first control unit 100 (S60).

The first control unit 100 transmits a synchronization signal to the second control unit 200 (S61) and checks the state of the downloaded program at the same time (S62).

That is, it is checked whether the downloaded program is upgraded or a bug has been fixed.

In addition, when the second control unit 200 receives the synchronization signal, the second control unit 200 waits for the program downloaded from the first control unit 100 to be transmitted.

When the check result is upgraded or bug fixed, the first control unit 100 transmits the downloaded program to the second control unit 200 (S64).

The second control unit 200 receives and stores the program downloaded from the first control unit 100 (S65).

When the transfer of the program from the first control unit 100 to the second control unit 200 is completed, the first control unit 100 and the second control unit 200 will drive the downloaded program. S66, S67)

Although the present invention has been described in detail above, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains may variously modify the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims. It is apparent that the present invention may be modified or modified. Therefore, a simple change according to an embodiment of the present invention will not be possible without departing from the technology of the present invention.

According to the present invention having the above-described configuration, in a digital set-top box including a plurality of control units capable of independently controlling a plurality of controlled devices, the control unit is connected to a controlled device having a less frequently used user. The program can be downloaded, and the downloaded program can be transmitted to another control unit, thereby preventing the user from being disturbed while using the controlled device due to the program download, and the program can be downloaded quickly. There is.

1 is a view showing a digital set-top box according to the prior art,

2 is a diagram illustrating a program download method of a digital set-top box according to the prior art;

3 is a view showing a digital set-top box according to the present invention;

4 is a diagram illustrating a program download method of a digital set-top box according to the present invention;

5 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of a program download flow of a digital set-top box according to the present invention;

6 is a diagram illustrating a second embodiment of the program download flow of the digital set-top box according to the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols on main parts of the drawings>

100: first control unit 110: first controller unit

120: first program storage unit 130: first memory

200: second control unit 210: second controller

220: second program storage unit 230: second memory

Claims (7)

And a plurality of control units for independently controlling a plurality of controlled devices, and a data communication unit for transmitting data between the control units, wherein the control unit that has downloaded the program controls another downloaded program through the data communication unit. Digital set-top box for transmitting to the unit. The method of claim 1, And if the program is downloaded, a completion message is sent to the other control unit, and the other control unit sends a response message to the control message to which the program has been downloaded. The method of claim 2, And if the response message is sent to the control unit from which the program is downloaded, the downloaded program is sent to the other control unit. A first step in which the program is downloaded to any control unit, And a second step of transmitting the downloaded program to another control unit. The method of claim 4, wherein The first step is a first step of receiving a download request signal; A second process of transmitting the request signal to a control unit to which the program is downloaded; And a third process of downloading the program according to the request signal. The method of claim 5, wherein The second step is a program download method of the digital set-top box, characterized in that when the download of the program is completed, a download complete message is transmitted to another control unit. The method of claim 6, The second step includes a first process of rebooting all control units when the completion message is transmitted; And a second process of transmitting the software downloaded from the control unit from which the program has been downloaded to the other control unit after the rebooting.