KR20190048754A - Apparatus of supplying video signals received by satellite antenna to a plurality of user equipment and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a communication method of an image signal includes the steps of: receiving a first request for a first TV channel from a first user terminal; receiving a second request for a second TV channel from a second user terminal; allocating a first IP address to the first user terminal in response to the first request; allocating a second IP address to the second user terminal in response to the second request; and forwarding an image signal of the first TV channel to the first IP address and forwarding an image signal of the second TV channel to the second IP address.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for providing a video signal received through a satellite antenna to a plurality of user terminals,

The present invention relates to a satellite antenna control apparatus and a communication method thereof, and more particularly, to a satellite antenna control apparatus and a communication method therefor. More particularly, the present invention relates to a satellite antenna control apparatus and a communication method thereof, Control device and a communication method thereof.

As people's interest in camping culture grows, there is a growing need for an outdoor satellite antenna or a satellite dish for a car. However, in the case of a conventional vehicle satellite antenna, a satellite signal is provided to the user through a set top box. Therefore, there is a disadvantage that only one channel can be viewed at the same time, and it is difficult to watch TV in an outside environment when the vehicle is out of the vehicle.

There is a need for a satellite antenna apparatus for a vehicle and a communication method therefor which convert a video signal into an IP data form that can be transmitted using IP and allocate an IP address to each TV channel signal so that a plurality of user terminals can be connected .

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of communicating a video signal, the method comprising: receiving a first request for a first TV channel from a first user terminal; Receiving a second request for a second TV channel from a second user terminal; Assigning a first IP address to the first user terminal in response to the first request; Assigning a second IP address to the second user terminal in response to the second request; And forwarding the video signal of the first TV channel to the first IP address and forwarding the video signal of the second TV channel to the second IP address.

According to one aspect, there is provided a method comprising: receiving a video signal; Converting the video signal into IP data corresponding to transmission using IP; And extracting the video signal of the first TV channel and the video signal of the second TV channel from the IP data.

According to one aspect, a remote control separate from the satellite antenna receives a third request for a video signal of a third TV channel from a third user terminal; Assigning a third IP address to the third user terminal via the remote control in response to the third request; And forwarding the video signal of the third TV channel received by the remote controller to the third IP address.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a satellite antenna control apparatus for receiving a video signal through a satellite antenna, receiving a first request for a first TV channel from a first user terminal, A receiver for receiving a second request for two TV channels; Converting the video signal into IP data corresponding to transmission using an IP (Internet Protocol), assigning a first IP address to the first user terminal in response to the first request, 2) assigning an IP address to the second user terminal; And forwarding the video signal of the first TV channel extracted from the IP data to the first IP address and forwarding the video signal of the second TV channel extracted from the IP data to the second IP address A transmitting unit for allowing the first user terminal and the second user terminal to output images of TV channels corresponding to the first user terminal and the second user terminal, respectively; And a remote control unit for receiving the position control information from the user and transmitting the received position control information to the processor to control the processor to adjust the position of the satellite antenna.

1 is a front perspective view of a planar antenna according to an embodiment.
2 is a rear perspective view of a planar antenna according to an embodiment.
3 is a left side view of a planar antenna according to an embodiment.
4 is a right side view of a planar antenna according to an embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to exemplary drawings. It should be noted that, in adding reference numerals to the constituent elements of the drawings, the same constituent elements are denoted by the same reference symbols as possible even if they are shown in different drawings. In the following description of the embodiments, detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the best of an understanding clear.

In describing the components of the embodiment, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), and (b) may be used. These terms are intended to distinguish the constituent elements from other constituent elements, and the terms do not limit the nature, order or order of the constituent elements. When a component is described as being "connected", "coupled", or "connected" to another component, the component may be directly connected or connected to the other component, Quot; may be " connected, " " coupled, " or " connected. &Quot;

The components included in any one embodiment and the components including common functions will be described using the same names in other embodiments. Unless otherwise stated, the description of any one embodiment may be applied to other embodiments, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted in the overlapping scope.

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a planar antenna according to an embodiment, FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of a planar antenna according to an embodiment, FIG. 3 is a left side view of a planar antenna according to an embodiment, and FIG. 1 is a right side view of a planar antenna according to an example.

Satellites can transmit various information to the earth, for example, by orbiting a constant orbit around the earth.

The satellite may be variously classified into communication satellite, broadcasting satellite, meteorological satellite, scientific satellite, navigation satellite, earth observation satellite, technology development satellite, and military satellite depending on the purpose of use.

Various information observed in the satellite can be transmitted to the earth as radio waves. Hereinafter, a satellite signal, which is a video signal related to a satellite broadcast, will be described as an example.

The satellite signal may be received by a flat antenna.

The flat antenna is an antenna in which an opening surface for receiving a satellite signal is flat, and an antenna gain can be increased as compared with a parabola antenna, and there is an advantage that it can be less subject to installation location.

The flat antenna may include a signal receiving unit, a signal processing unit, and a signal tracking unit.

The flat antenna may be, for example, a rectangular parallelepiped.

However, the shape of the flat antenna is not limited to this, and any structure can be used as long as it is capable of receiving satellite signals efficiently. For example, the shape of the flat antenna may be varied depending on the area where the flat antenna is installed or the antenna gain required for the flat antenna.

In addition, the flat antenna may be fixed or not fixed at the position where the antenna installation is required. For example, when the flat antenna is mounted on a moving means such as an automobile or a train, the location where the flat antenna is located may be changed according to the movement of the moving means.

The signal receiving unit is disposed on one side of the flat antenna, particularly on the front side, and can receive satellite signals directly from the satellite.

Although not shown in detail, a waveguide that can separate and guide the satellite signal received from the satellite can be formed inside the signal receiving unit. In other words, the satellite signal received from the front of the signal receiving unit can be transmitted to the inner space of the signal receiving unit through the waveguide.

Further, a signal processing section may be disposed on the back surface of the flat antenna.

The signal processing unit may include, for example, a signal amplification element, a frequency conversion element, and an IP conversion element.

The signal amplification element may serve to amplify a satellite signal since the satellite signal received from the signal receiving unit is generally very weak.

The frequency conversion element converts the frequency of the satellite signal amplified by the signal amplification element and can convert the frequency to a standardized intermediate frequency. The intermediate frequency is typically normalized from 950 MHz to 2,150 MHz, so that there is device compatibility.

The signal amplifying element and the frequency converting element may be implemented by, for example, a low noise block down converter (LNB). Although not shown in detail, a frequency mixer and a local oscillator may be incorporated in the LNB for frequency conversion. have.

The IP conversion element may be implemented, for example, as an IP (Internet Protocol) server.

The above-described signal amplifying element and the satellite signal amplified and frequency-converted in the frequency converting element can be transmitted to the IP converting element.

The IP conversion element may convert the satellite signal into IP data corresponding to the transmission using the IP, for example, demodulate the received satellite signal and convert the satellite signal into IP data. More specifically, the IP conversion element can convert the demodulated RF video signal from either the DVB-S layer or the DVB-S2 layer to an IP (Internet Protocol) transport layer.

In order to transmit signals between the signal receiving unit 210 and the signal processing unit, a plurality of guiding elements may be provided in the signal processing unit.

The plurality of guiding elements may include a first guiding element and a second guiding element.

The first guiding element may guide the satellite signal received at the signal receiving unit to the signal amplifying element and the frequency converting element, and the second guiding element may receive the satellite signal amplified and frequency-converted from the signal amplifying element and the frequency converting element IP conversion element.

In this manner, the signal processing unit can be mounted on the back surface of the flat antenna, and the signal processing unit can be prevented from being exposed to the outside, and the aesthetics can be improved.

In addition, since the signal receiving unit and the signal processing unit are integrally provided, the flat antenna can be made thinner, a compact structure can be provided, loss of satellite signals received by the flat antenna can be prevented, The gain can be further improved.

For example, when the signal receiving unit and the signal processing unit are separately provided, the signal receiving unit and the signal processing unit must receive the signal by wire or wireless, so that the transmission rate of the signal may be reduced. Can receive.

The signal processing unit may include a plurality of terminals, and the plurality of terminals may transmit signals processed by the signal processing unit to various terminals.

The plurality of terminals may include a first signal output terminal, a second signal output terminal, and a third signal output terminal.

The first signal output terminal may output a satellite signal, in other words, a first signal, amplified from the signal amplification element and the frequency conversion element and having a frequency converted, to the first terminal.

The first terminal may be, for example, a communication device such as a set top box, and a satellite signal amplified and frequency-converted from the signal amplification element and the frequency conversion element may be transmitted through a communication device And output to a display device.

The communication device and the display device may be provided in the signal tracing unit so that the first signal output terminal can output a signal from the signal processing unit to the signal tracing unit.

Also, the first signal output terminal may be referred to as legacy in that it is connected to an existing terminal, for example, a set-top box.

The second signal output terminal is an IP data output terminal. The first signal transmitted to the IP conversion element is an IP data signal converted into IP data corresponding to the transmission using the IP, that is, the second signal is output to the second terminal can do.

Here, the second terminal may be an IP allocator, for example, a router, and the IP data converted by the IP conversion element may be transmitted to various terminals provided in the network such as a TV, a computer, or a mobile device through an IP allocator .

The third signal output terminal may output the IP data signal converted by the IP conversion element to the third terminal. Here, the signals output through the second signal output terminal and the third signal output terminal may be the same or different from each other. The third terminal may be a different terminal than the second terminal. For example, if the second terminal is an IP allocator disposed indoors, the third terminal may be an IP allocator disposed outdoors.

The third signal output terminal described above is additionally provided to the flat antenna in order to transmit IP data to the additional third terminal, and may be referred to as PoE (Power of Ethernet).

Although a plurality of terminals are described herein as including a first signal output terminal, a second signal output terminal, and a third signal output terminal, the number of the terminals and the types of equipment to which the terminals are connected may be variously configured .

By providing a plurality of terminals in the signal processor as described above, the flat antenna can be compatible with the existing terminal, and the signal of the flat antenna can be transmitted to various terminals.

The plurality of terminals may include a power supply terminal.

The power supply terminal may be provided as a separate terminal, or the first signal output terminal, the second signal output terminal, or the third signal output terminal may function as a power supply terminal.

The power supply terminal may supply power to the IP allocator or the terminal. Specifically, power can be supplied to the communication device and the display device of the signal tracking unit connected to the first signal output terminal, and to the IP allocator and the terminal connected to the second signal output terminal. Therefore, it is possible to independently supply power to various terminals connected to the flat antenna, so that the terminal can be operated without connecting other power lines to the terminal.

Furthermore, the plurality of terminals can contribute to tracking satellite signals from satellites and efficiently controlling the direction in which the signal receivers are directed. This is because the third signal output terminal is added to the signal processing unit, and the existing first signal output terminal is still provided without being removed, which will be described in more detail below.

The signal tracing unit may control a direction of the signal receiving unit based on a signal transmitted from the signal processing unit.

For example, the signal tracing unit may include a communication device, a display device, and a signal tracking element.

The communication device may receive a first signal output via a first signal output terminal. At this time, the first signal may be a signal obtained by amplifying and frequency-transforming the satellite signal received by the signal receiving unit.

As described above, since the first signal output terminal is connected to the communication device, the first signal can be output from a display device such as a TV connected to the communication device.

Further, the display device may be connected to the communication device, and may output the first signal received by the communication device as a video signal.

At this time, whether the satellite signal is tracked from the video signal output from the display device can be determined. For example, it is possible to determine whether the signal receiving unit is receiving an optimal satellite signal from the video signal output from the display device.

Specifically, if tracking of satellite signals is required to receive an optimal satellite signal, the signal tracking element can be activated.

The signal tracking element is a component that adjusts the direction in which the signal receiving portion is directed, and may adjust at least one of an elevation angle, an azimuth angle, and a skew indicating a direction in which the signal receiving portion is directed.

The azimuth angle represents the angle at which the front of the signal receiving unit looks at the satellite, and the azimuth represents the direction of the satellite based on the front of the signal receiving unit as east, west, south, and north. And the angle of the received polarization with the ground.

Specifically, the signal tracking element may be implemented manually by a user, or may be automatically implemented by mounting a driver (not shown) on the planar antenna.

For example, the driver may be provided with a plurality of motors connected to the lower end of the plate antenna, the elevation angle of the plate antenna being adjustable in the range of 15 to 90 degrees by the actuator, and the skew in the range of -60 to 60 degrees Can be adjusted automatically.

In this case, the planar antenna is fixed at a fixed position. However, when the planar antenna is mounted on the moving means, for example, it is necessary to consider the current position of the planar antenna from the GPS signal. To this end, a GPS can be mounted on the signal tracking element.

Further, since a plurality of terminals are connected to the flat antenna, it is possible to search for a specific satellite capable of receiving an optimal satellite signal from a signal receiving unit based on information received from a plurality of terminals, To the satellite.

If the user selects a specific artificial satellite, the front of the signal receiving unit may be directed to the specific satellite after searching for the specific satellite position from a plurality of terminals.

Further, in order to track the satellite signal, various terminals connected to the IP allocator as well as the communication device and the display device of the signal tracker can also be associated.

For example, referring to the information obtained from various terminals connected to the IP allocator, it is possible to operate the signal tracking element of the signal tracking section.

Thus, the signal tracing unit can track the optimal satellite signal through various methods and can control the direction to which the signal receiving unit is directed.

When a signal tracking element is provided under the flat antenna, a signal amplifying element for amplifying the satellite signal received by the signal receiving unit and a frequency converting element for converting the frequency of the amplified satellite signal may be provided on the back surface of the flat antenna An IP conversion element for converting a satellite signal whose frequency has been converted by the frequency conversion element into the IP data, and an IP allocator for assigning an IP address to the terminal, to a support provided at the bottom of the signal tracking element.

The flattened antenna composed of the signal receiving unit, the signal processing unit and the signal tracking unit described above can be connected to the IP allocator.

An IP allocator is a hardware and software device that can connect two or more networks to communicate from one network to another, and may have the ability to translate addresses between networks or convert protocols.

Specifically, the IP allocator may forward the satellite signal converted from the IP conversion element to the assigned IP address, and output the satellite signal from the terminal.

Although the IP allocator has been described herein as a separate component, it is natural that the IP allocator may be included in the terminal.

Also, the signal output from the signal processing unit can be transmitted to various terminals such as a mobile device, a set top box, a TV, various sensors, or a camera through an IP allocator.

The signal processing unit of the flat plate antenna is provided with a terminal capable of outputting a plurality of IP signals such as a second signal output terminal or a third signal output terminal and outputs a signal to the IP allocator provided in the room and the IP allocator provided in the room Lt; / RTI >

Here, the IP allocator can be installed not only in the room but also in the outdoors mounted on the back surface of the flat antenna. In other words, the IP allocator can be placed both indoors and outdoors, and the planar antenna can be provided integrally with the signal allocator, the signal processor, and the signal tracker as well as the IP allocator.

For example, when an IP allocator is embedded in a flat antenna, the signal processing unit of the flat antenna may include a signal amplification element, a frequency conversion element, an IP conversion element, and an IP allocation element.

In this case, the IP allocation element can wirelessly transmit and receive signals to the flat antenna or the terminal.

Furthermore, the terminal of the signal processing unit may be connected to a terminal such as an IP camera disposed outdoors, and can receive a signal from the IP camera.

However, the terminal disposed outside the room is not limited to the IP camera, and may be provided with various sensors such as a humidity sensor and an air purity sensor. Information obtained from the IP camera or the sensor may be transmitted to another terminal or a signal- .

Meanwhile, the satellite antenna control apparatus may include a main body of the satellite antenna control apparatus and a remote control section, and the main body and the remote control section may be separated from each other. Illustratively, the body of the satellite antenna control device may include a receiver, a processor, and a transmitter.

The main body of the satellite antenna control apparatus can receive a video signal. More specifically, the main body can receive a video signal for a satellite broadcast from a satellite via a satellite antenna. In one embodiment, the video signal may be transmitted through at least one of a DVB (Digital Video Broking) -S (Satellite) method and a DVB-T (Terrestrial) method. In addition, the body can adjust the position of the satellite antenna to improve the receiving strength of the video signal.

The remote control unit can receive the position control information from the user. In one embodiment, the user can input desired position control information by pressing an input button existing on the remote control unit. The remote controller can adjust the position of the satellite antenna by transmitting the position control information to the main body. In one embodiment, the transmission may be performed through Near Field Communication. More specifically, the transmission may be performed through a local area network (LAN) using at least one of an infrared (IR) channel and a radio frequency (RF) channel.

The remote control may also receive a request for a TV channel from the user terminal. The user terminal can transmit a request for a specific TV channel to either the main body, the satellite antenna, or a separate remote control unit. More specifically, the user terminal can transmit a request for a specific TV channel to the receiver of the main body. Therefore, the user terminal can have a wider reception range capable of receiving a video signal, and in addition, a better reception sensitivity can be expected.

Illustratively, the remote control can send a request to the body. More specifically, the remote control unit can transmit the request to the receiving unit of the main body. In this case, the processor of the main body can extract the video signal of the TV channel corresponding to the request from the IP data. In addition, the processor can identify the number of user terminals corresponding to the request and assign an IP address corresponding to each of the user terminals based on the confirmation. The processor may assign a first IP address to the first user terminal, a second IP address to the second user terminal, and a third IP address to the third user terminal.

The remote control unit can receive the video signal of the TV channel corresponding to the request from the main body. More specifically, the remote control unit can receive the video signal of the TV channel transmitted by the transmitting unit of the main body. In addition, the remote control unit can forward the received video signal to the IP address. Accordingly, the user terminal can access the IP address assigned to each of the user terminals and enjoy the video signal of the desired TV channel.

Hereinafter, a communication method of a satellite antenna control apparatus and a user terminal according to an embodiment will be described.

The first step is that the satellite antenna control device receives the first request for the first TV channel from the first user terminal. In addition, the second step is that the satellite antenna control device receives the second request for the second TV channel from the second user terminal. Additionally, the method may further comprise receiving a plurality of requests for at least one TV channel from a plurality of user terminals. In addition, the first step and the second step can be executed through the wireless communication network. The wireless communication network may be any one of a Bluetooth communication network, a Wi-Fi communication network, a Z-Wave communication network, a ZigBee communication network, and a Wi-Max communication network. In addition, the first TV channel and the second TV channel may be different TV channels. Also, the first TV channel and the second TV channel may be the same TV channel.

The third step is to allocate the first IP address to the first user terminal in response to the first request and allocate the second IP address to the second user terminal in response to the second request. In addition, when a new third request for a third TV channel is received from either the first user terminal or the second user terminal, each pre-allocated IP address can be used without assigning a new IP address.

In the fourth step, the video signal of the first TV channel is forwarded to the first IP address. In the fifth step, the video signal of the second TV channel is forwarded to the second IP address. The first user terminal and the second user terminal may respectively connect to the first IP address and the second IP address to output a video signal of a desired TV channel.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, And various modifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the spirit of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described, and all of the equivalents or equivalents of the claims, as well as the claims set forth below, fall within the scope of the present invention.

Claims (4)

Receiving a first request for a first TV channel from a first user terminal;
Receiving a second request for a second TV channel from a second user terminal;
Assigning a first IP address to the first user terminal in response to the first request;
Assigning a second IP address to the second user terminal in response to the second request; And
Forwarding the video signal of the first TV channel to the first IP address and forwarding the video signal of the second TV channel to the second IP address;
And transmitting the video signal.
The method according to claim 1,
Receiving a video signal;
Converting the video signal into IP data corresponding to transmission using IP; And
Extracting the video signal of the first TV channel and the video signal of the second TV channel from the IP data
Further comprising the steps of:
The method according to claim 1,
Receiving a third request for a video signal of a third TV channel from a third user terminal, the remote control being separated from the satellite antenna;
Assigning a third IP address to the third user terminal via the remote control in response to the third request; And
The remote control unit forwards the video signal of the third TV channel to the third IP address
Further comprising the steps of:
A receiver for receiving a video signal via a satellite antenna, receiving a first request for a first TV channel from a first user terminal, and receiving a second request for a second TV channel from a second user terminal;
Converting the video signal into IP data corresponding to transmission using an IP (Internet Protocol), assigning a first IP address to the first user terminal in response to the first request, 2) assigning an IP address to the second user terminal; And
Forwarding the video signal of the first TV channel extracted from the IP data to the first IP address and forwarding the video signal of the second TV channel extracted from the IP data to the second IP address, A transmitting unit for allowing the first user terminal and the second user terminal to output images of the corresponding TV channels;
A remote controller for receiving position control information from a user and transmitting the received position control information to the processor to control the processor to adjust the position of the satellite antenna;
And a satellite antenna.

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