KR102179496B1 - Bi-directional communication system and method of system information of cable broadcast - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system and a method for bidirectional communication of cable broadcasting system information. The present invention includes: a head end server transmitting broadcasting content through a cable network; and a set-top box receiving the broadcasting content transmitted from the head end server and outputting the content. The head end server transmits the system information to each set-top box via Ethernet. The set-top box receives the system information via the same Ethernet. According to the present invention, bidirectional system information communication is realized by means of Ethernet instead of a data over cable service interface specification (DOCSIS) network using an expensive cable modem. Accordingly, cost reduction and performance and efficiency enhancement can be achieved in the event of cable network expansion.

Description

Two-way communication system and method of cable broadcasting system information {BI-DIRECTIONAL COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND METHOD OF SYSTEM INFORMATION OF CABLE BROADCAST}

The present invention relates to a technology applied to cable broadcast, and more particularly, to a two-way communication system and method of cable broadcasting system information.

Existing cable broadcasting networks are configured to allow only one-way communication.

Since service products are different for each subscriber of a cable broadcasting service, it is necessary to receive and set different system information (SI) for each subscriber's settop box.

However, since the existing cable broadcasting network is capable of only one-way communication, when system information cannot be properly received from a set-top box, there is a problem in that it must wait until the system information is properly received again or turn off and on again to receive the system information again.

Accordingly, a cable modem that enables bidirectional communication in a cable network is used. The cable modem implements two-way communication in the out of band (OOB) area rather than the in-band (IB) area used for transmission of cable contents in the cable network.

When system information is not properly received from the head end server, the cable modem is configured to immediately re-receive by notifying the head end server whether system information is received.

However, there is a problem in that an expensive cable modem must be installed in a set-top box, and there is a problem in that bidirectional operation is possible only in a data over cable service interface specification (DOCSIS) network to which such a cable modem is attached. In particular, as the cable network is expanded, the cost of building the DOCSIS system increases and the efficiency is gradually decreasing.

In addition, the current cable operators and Internet operators are in the trend of mutually integrated operation, and in a situation where different networks are increasingly being integrated to have synergy, the existing two-way communication is very well established rather than expensive DOCSIS networks. It can be much more advantageous to use the Internet network.

Unexamined Patent Publication 10-2011-0070440 Registered Patent Publication 10-1694974

An object of the present invention is to provide a two-way communication system for cable broadcasting system information.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a two-way communication method of cable broadcasting system information.

A two-way communication system for cable broadcasting system information according to an object of the present invention includes: a head end server for transmitting cable broadcasting contents through a cable network; It may be configured to include a settop box for receiving and outputting broadcast content transmitted from the head end server.

Here, the head-end server may be configured to transmit system information (SI) to each set-top box through Ethernet.

In addition, the set-top box may be configured to receive system information through the Ethernet.

In addition, the system information may be configured to include channel configuration information of a corresponding subscriber as subscriber information of a cable broadcasting service subscriber.

The amount of cable broadcasting system information according to another object of the present invention described above "??* communication method, a head end server (head end server) to each set-top box (settop box) through Ethernet (ethernet) corresponding system information ( transmitting system information, SI); receiving, by the set-top box, system information from the head end server through Ethernet; the head end server transmitting cable broadcasting contents according to the system information to a cable network Transmitting to a corresponding set-top box through a (cable network); The set-top box may be configured to include receiving and outputting cable broadcasting content transmitted from the head end server.

Here, the system information may be configured to include channel configuration information of a corresponding subscriber as subscriber information of a cable broadcasting service subscriber.

According to the above-described two-way communication system and method of cable broadcasting system information, it is configured to implement two-way communication of system information using Ethernet instead of a data over cable service interface specification (DOCSIS) network using an expensive cable modem, There is an effect of reducing cost and improving performance and efficiency when expanding the cable network.

1 is a block diagram of a two-way communication system for cable broadcasting system information according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a flow chart of a communication method of "??* amount of cable broadcasting system information" according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a detailed flowchart of a two-way communication process of cable broadcasting system information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the present invention, various modifications may be made and various embodiments may be provided, and specific embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and will be described in detail in specific details for carrying out the invention. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to a specific embodiment, it is to be understood to include all changes, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. In describing each drawing, similar reference numerals have been used for similar elements.

Terms such as first, second, A, and B may be used to describe various elements, but the elements should not be limited by the terms. These terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another component. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element. The term and/or includes a combination of a plurality of related listed items or any of a plurality of related listed items.

When a component is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another component, it is understood that it may be directly connected or connected to the other component, but other components may exist in the middle. Should be. On the other hand, when a component is referred to as being "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that there is no other component in the middle.

The terms used in the present application are only used to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In the present application, terms such as "comprise" or "have" are intended to designate the presence of features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification, but one or more other features. It is to be understood that the presence or addition of elements or numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof, does not preclude in advance.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. Terms as defined in a commonly used dictionary should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the related technology, and should not be interpreted as an ideal or excessively formal meaning unless explicitly defined in this application. Does not.

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

1 is a block diagram of a two-way communication system for cable broadcasting system information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a two-way communication system 100 of cable broadcasting system information according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a head end server 110 and a settop box 120. Can be configured.

The two-way communication system 100 of cable broadcasting system information uses an ethernet instead of a DOCSIS (data over cable service interface specification) network using an expensive cable modem. Implement communication. When expanding the cable network, there is no need to build an expensive DOCSIS network, and you can easily build a two-way service. In addition, system information of a cable broadcasting service can be smoothly transmitted, and missing system information can be requested and quickly re-received.

Hereinafter, a detailed configuration will be described.

The head end server 110 is a server that provides a cable broadcasting service.

The head end server 110 may be configured to transmit cable broadcasting contents to the set-top box 120 through a cable network.

On the other hand, the head end server 110 does not transmit system information, that is, OOB SI (out of band system information) through an OOB (out of band) of the cable, but to each set-top box 120 through Ethernet. Can be configured to transmit.

The head end server 110 includes an OOB SI database 111, a set-top box information database 112, an OOB SI transmission control module 113, a cable communication module 114, a flute data generation module 115, and a multicasting control module. 116, an Ethernet communication module 117, and a flute data modification module 118. Hereinafter, a detailed configuration will be described.

The OOB SI database 111 may be configured to store OOB SI in advance. OOB SI is system information transmitted in an area other than the transmission band of cable broadcasting contents, that is, in-band (IB) in the existing DOCSIS network. The OOB SI is mainly subscriber information and may include channel configuration information for each subscriber. The number of channels of the subscribed cable broadcasting service may be different for each subscriber, and when the power of the set-top box 120 is turned on, the head end server 110 first transmits the OOB SI.

The set-top box information database 112 is information on a subscriber's set-top box, and may store information such as MAC address, IP address, and serial number in advance. Among other things, eCM 12, that is, information on whether a cable modem is provided. Can be stored in advance.

The OOB SI transmission control module 113 may be configured to control transmission by determining whether to transmit the OOB SI through an existing cable network, that is, a DOCSIS network or through Ethernet.

The OOB SI transmission control module 113 may control transmission of the OOB SI by referring to the OOB SI database 111 and the set-top box information database 112. The OOB SI transmission control module 113 checks whether the set-top box is a set-top box equipped with an eCM (embedded cable modem) 12 by referring to the set-top box information database 112, and then The set-top box 10 may be controlled to transmit OOB SI through the DOCSIS network, and the set-top box 120 without the eCM 12 may be controlled to transmit OOB SI through Ethernet.

The cable communication module 114 may transmit OOB SI to the set-top box 10 through a DOCSIS network under the control of the OOB SI transmission control module 113. In addition, the cable communication module 114 may be configured to transmit cable broadcasting content to the set-top box 10.

The flute data generation module 115 may be configured to read OOB SI stored in the OOB SI database 111 and generate flute data according to a file delivery over unidirectional transport (FLUTE) protocol.

The multicasting control module 116 may refer to the set-top box information database 112 and control the flute data including the OOB SI to perform multicasting through Ethernet.

The Ethernet communication module 117 may be configured to transmit a data packet of OOB SI according to the multicasting control of the multicasting control module 116.

Meanwhile, the Ethernet communication module 117 may be configured to receive a retransmission request for a missing OOB SI from the set-top box 120 and transmit it to the flute data modification module 118.

The flute data correction module 118 may control to retransmit the missing data according to the OOB SI retransmission request received from the Ethernet communication module 117. The multicasting control module 116 performs multicasting under the control of the flute data modification module 118 and the corresponding data may be retransmitted through the Ethernet communication module 117.

The set-top box 120 may be configured to receive and output broadcast content transmitted from the head end server 110 through a cable network.

The set-top box 120 may be configured to receive system information, that is, OOB SI, from the head end server 110 through Ethernet, not a cable network.

The set-top box 120 may be configured to immediately request and receive an OOB SI from which reception is omitted to the head end server 110 through Ethernet. In the case of retransmitting the OOB SI in the existing DOCSIS network, the entire OOB SI had to be retransmitted, but in the present invention, the time required for retransmission is remarkably shortened because only the data blocks that have been missed need to be retransmitted. .

The set-top box 120 is configured to include an Ethernet communication module 121, a flute data parsing module 122, an OOB SI parsing module 123, a missing data check module 124, and a flute data correction request module 125. I can. Hereinafter, a detailed configuration will be described.

The Ethernet communication module 121 may be configured to receive a data packet including OOB SI through the Ethernet communication module 117 of the head end server 110. Here, among the received data packets, only the data packets of the corresponding set-top box 120 may be taken and the rest may be discarded.

The flute data parsing module 122 may be configured to parse flute data from a data packet taken by the Ethernet communication module 121.

The OOB SI parsing module 123 may be configured to parse and recognize OOB SI from data after parsing flute data.

The missing data checking module 124 may be configured to identify a data block that is received as a result of parsing the flute data parsing module 122 and is missing. Information on the data blocks that are missing from reception may be transmitted to the flute data modification request module 125.

The flute data correction request module 125 may be configured to request retransmission of the missing flute data through the Ethernet communication module 121 by using information on the data block of missing reception. By repeating this process, all OOB SIs can be received.

2 is a flow chart of a communication method of "??* amount of cable broadcasting system information" according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, first, a head end server 110 transmits corresponding system information (SI) to each settop box 120 through Ethernet (S101). ).

Next, the set-top box 120 receives system information from the head end server 110 through Ethernet (S102).

Next, the set-top box 120 checks whether there is an omission of system information reception (S103).

Here, if there is a reception omission, the set-top box 120 requests the head end server 110 to modify system information through Ethernet (S104).

Next, the head end server 110 transmits the missing system information in response to a request to modify the system information (S105).

Next, the set-top box 120 receives previously missing system information from the head end server 110 via Ethernet (S106).

Next, the head end server 110 transmits cable broadcasting contents according to the system information to the corresponding set-top box 120 through a cable network (S107).

3 is a detailed flowchart of a two-way communication process of cable broadcasting system information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the two-way communication for OOB SI is shown in more detail.

First, when the power of the set-top box 120 is turned on, the set-top box requests a multicast group join in order to request OOB SI.

When the set-top box 120 requests to join a multicast group, the head end server 110 generates an OOB SI and generates a data packet according to the flute protocol. The flute data may be configured in the form of EXT_FDT or EXT_FTI. And multicasting is performed by generating a multicast packet for multicasting.

The set-top box 120 receives the multicast packet, analyzes a header, and processes it by checking whether it is a pre-promised transport session ID.

The set-top box 120 stores FDT information by processing EXT_FDT type data.

The set-top box 120 processes EXT_FTI type data and stores the entire block number after processing the LCT extension FEC header. Data blocks that have never been received are stored, and if the data blocks are not received, it is checked whether all data blocks have been received.

As a result of checking, if all data blocks are received, the OOB SI is processed and then updated. If all data blocks are not received, a query of the missing block is generated and transmitted to the head end server 110. And it receives the missing data block.

Although described with reference to the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can understand that various modifications and changes can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention described in the following claims. There will be.

110: head end server
111: OOB SI database
112: set-top box information database
113: OOB SI transmission control module
114: cable communication module
115: flute data generation module
116: Multicasting control module
117: Ethernet communication module
118: flute data modification module
120: set-top box
121: Ethernet communication module
122: flute data parsing module
123: OOB SI parsing module
124: Missing data check module
125: Flute data modification request module

Claims (4)

A head end server that transmits system information and cable broadcasting contents through a cable network;
Includes a set-top box for receiving and outputting the system information and cable broadcasting content transmitted from the head end server,
The system information,
It is composed of OOB SI (out of band system informaion) information of the DOCSIS (data over cable service interface specification) network including channel configuration information as subscriber information of a cable broadcasting service subscriber,
The head end server,
An OOB SI database in which the OOB SI information is stored in advance;
A set-top box information database in which information on a set-top box of a cable broadcasting service subscriber is stored in advance, including a MAC address, an IP address, a serial number, and whether a cable modem is provided;
An OOB SI transmission control module for determining whether to transmit the OOB SI information through an existing DOCSIS network or Ethernet with reference to the OOB SI database and the set-top box information database, and performing transmission control according to a determination result;
A cable communication module for transmitting the OOB SI and cable broadcasting contents to the set-top box through a DOCSIS network according to transmission control of the OOB SI transmission control module;
A flute data generation module that reads OOB SI stored in the OOB SI database and generates flute data according to a file delivery over unidirectional transport (FLUTE) protocol;
A multicasting control module for controlling flute data including OOB SI to multicast through Ethernet with reference to the set-top box information database;
According to the multicasting control of the multicasting control module, the OOB SI data packet is transmitted, and if there is a missing OOB SI, the OOB SI retransmission request is received from the set-top box and the received OOB SI retransmission request is delivered. Ethernet communication module;
It is configured to include a flute data modification module for controlling the multicasting control module to receive the OOB SI retransmission request from the Ethernet communication module and retransmit the missing OOB data,
The set-top box,
An Ethernet communication module for receiving a data packet including OOB SI from the Ethernet communication module of the head end server;
A flute data parsing module for outputting flute data by parsing a data packet received from the Ethernet communication module of the set-top box;
An OOB SI parsing module for recognizing the OOB SI by parsing the flute data output from the flute data parsing module;
A missing data check module configured to identify a data block that is missing received by using a parsing result of the flute data parsing module, and transmits information on the data block that is missing received as a result of the check to the flute data correction request module;
Flute data that receives information about the missing data block from the missing data check module, recognizes flute data corresponding to the missing data block, and transmits a corresponding OOB SI retransmission request through the Ethernet communication module of the set-top box. Is configured to include a modification request module,
The OOB SI transmission control module,
Controls to check whether the set-top box is a set-top box equipped with an eCM (embedded cable modem) by referring to the set-top box information database, and transmit OOB SI through a DOCSIS network as a result of the check And, the two-way communication system of cable broadcasting system information, characterized in that the control to transmit the OOB SI through Ethernet to the set-top box not equipped with the eCM.
delete Transmitting, by a head end server, corresponding system information (SI) to each settop box through Ethernet;
Receiving, by the set-top box, system information from the head end server via Ethernet;
Transmitting, by the head end server, cable broadcasting contents according to the system information to a corresponding set-top box through a cable network;
And receiving and outputting, by the set-top box, cable broadcast content transmitted from the head end server,
The system information,
It is composed of OOB SI (out of band system informaion) information of the DOCSIS (data over cable service interface specification) network including channel configuration information as subscriber information of a cable broadcasting service subscriber,
The step of transmitting the system information (SI) to each set-top box through the head end server (ethernet),
The OOB SI transmission control module refers to the OOB SI information stored in the OOB SI database and the information on the set-top box of the cable broadcasting service subscriber stored in the set-top box information database, and converts the OOB SI information to any of the existing DOCSIS network or Ethernet network. It determines whether to transmit through the transmission, performs transmission control according to the determination result, and generates flute data according to the file delivery over unidirectional transport (FLUTE) protocol by reading the OOB SI stored in the OOB SI database by the flute data generation module. , The multicasting control module refers to the set-top box information database and controls the flute data including OOB SI to multicast through Ethernet, and the Ethernet communication module controls the OOB SI according to the multicasting control of the multicasting control module. Transmitting data packets and receiving missing OOB SI, it is configured to receive an OOB SI retransmission request that is missing from the corresponding set-top box, and forward the received OOB SI retransmission request to the flute data modification module, and the flute data modification module It is configured to control the multicasting control module to receive an OOB SI retransmission request from the Ethernet communication module and retransmit the missing OOB data,
The step of transmitting the system information (SI) to each set-top box through the head end server (ethernet),
The OOB SI transmission control module checks whether the set-top box is a set-top box equipped with an eCM (embedded cable modem) by referring to the set-top box information database, and as a result of the check, a DOCSIS network is used as a set-top box equipped with the eCM. It is configured to control to transmit OOB SI through Ethernet, and control to transmit OOB SI through Ethernet to a set-top box not equipped with the eCM,
The step of receiving, by the set-top box, system information from the head end server through Ethernet,
The Ethernet communication module of the set-top box receives a data packet including OOB SI from the Ethernet communication module of the head end server, and the flute data parsing module parses the received data packet to output flute data, and OOB The SI parsing module parses the flute data output from the flute data parsing module to recognize the OOB SI, and the missing data check module uses the parsing result of the flute data parsing module to identify the received and missing data blocks and find out the result. The information on the missing data block is transmitted to the flute data correction request module, and the flute data correction request module receives information on the missing data block from the missing data check module and responds to the missing data block. It is configured to recognize the flute data and transmit the corresponding OOB SI retransmission request through the Ethernet communication module of the set-top box,
The step of transmitting, by the head end server, cable broadcasting contents according to the system information to a corresponding set-top box through a cable network,
The two-way communication method of cable broadcasting system information, characterized in that the cable communication module is configured to transmit the OOB SI and cable broadcasting content to the set-top box through a DOCSIS network according to transmission control of the OOB SI transmission control module. delete

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