Television – Receiver circuitry – Remote control
Reexamination Certificate
1997-11-13
2001-04-03
Powell, Mark R. (Department: 2779)
Television
Receiver circuitry
Remote control
C348S558000, C348S192000, C348S086000, C348S014160, C455S001000, C455S001000, C455S001000, C370S204000, C370S275000, C370S278000, C370S282000, C375S298000, C375S310000, C375S321000, C375S268000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06211926
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a remote control apparatus for a digital cable television system and a method thereof, and in particular, to an improved remote control apparatus for a digital cable television system and a method thereof which are capable of remotely controlling and monitoring a HDTV (high definition television) VSB (vestigial side band)/QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) receiving unit for a digital cable television network.
2. Description of the Conventional Art
In the conventional analog cable television system, a converter is managed using a subscriber management system. A channel is additionally allocated for managing subscribers, and a scramble and non-scramble control and management of a receiving unit is performed.
However, in the digital cable television system, a remote control and monitoring technique of the VSM and QAM for a digital channel transmission method is not regulated in detail.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved remote control apparatus for a digital cable television system and a method thereof which overcome the aforementioned problems encountered in the conventional art.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved remote control apparatus for a digital cable television system and a method thereof which are capable of inserting and transmitting a control data into each channel of a head end (HE) which is an output unit of a transmitting unit and modulating a state checking data of a receiving unit for a VSB/QAM receiving unit based on a QPSK (quadrature phase shift keying) method, thus upwardly transmitting the data, whereby it is possible to remotely control and monitor a VSB/QAM receiving unit without additionally allocating a frequency band width.
In order to achieve the above objects, there is provided a remote control apparatus for a digital cable television system which includes a transmitting unit for carrying a control signal on an MPEG transport stream of each channel for a remote control of a high definition television (HDTV) VSB/QAM receiving unit and transmitting the same, and remotely monitoring and controlling a state of the HDTV VSB/QAM receiving unit in accordance with a state checking signal from the HDTV VSB/QAM receiving unit, and a receiving unit for receiving a control signal from the transmitting unit, controlling the HDTV VSB/QAM receiving unit, modulating a state checking signal from the HDTV VSB/QAM and transmitting the thusly modulated signal to the transmitting unit, wherein the transmitting means includes an MPEG encoder for encoding a base band and video/audio signal of each channel into the MPEG transport stream, a VSB/QAM modulator for modulating an output signal from the MPEG encoder, a multiplexer for multiplexing an output signal from the VSB/QAM modulator of each channel, a diplex filter for preventing an upward signal from being influenced when transmitting the output signal from the multiplexer to the receiving unit through the transmission network, a master modem for demodulating a signal from the receiving unit through the diplex filter and outputting a transmission signal to the MPEG encoder, and a remote controller connected with the master modem through a communication cable for remotely monitoring a state of the HDTV VSB/QAM receiving unit in accordance with a state checking signal from the HDTV VSB/QAM receiving unit through the master modem, and wherein the receiving means includes a diplex filter for preventing an upward signal from being influenced by a downward signal received from the head end through a transmission network which head end is an output unit of the transmitting unit, a tuner for tuning the downward signal from the diplex filter and outputting an IF signal, a signal separator for a downward signal from the diplex filter to the tuner and an additionally connected external terminal, a signal processor for processing an IF signal from the tuner and outputting a base band, video/audio signal, and a control signal, a state checking unit for outputting a state checking signal of the HDTV VSB/QAM receiving unit, a controller for controlling the HDTV VSB/QAM receiving unit in accordance with a control signal from the signal processing unit and outputting a state checking signal from the state checking unit, and a slave modem for QPSK-demodulating a state checking signal from the controller and outputting to the diplex filter.
In order to achieve the above objects, there is provided a remote control method for a digital cable television system which includes the steps of transmitting a functional code and data control code/setting code from a remote controller to a master modem after an initialization, judging whether data received is corrected by the master modem and transmitting a receiving unit data control or setting code to a slave modem in correction mode, identifying a data received and an ID, requesting a data re-transmission to a master modem when there is an error in the data received from the slave modem, judging whether the current mode is a correction mode when there is not an error therein initializing a receiving unit after a receiving setting code is received when the current mode is a correction mode as a result of the judgement, correcting data, and transmitting the state checking data to the master modem when the current mode is not a correction mode, identifying a data transmitted from the slave modem in the master modem, requesting data re-transmission when there is not an error in the data and transmitting a state checking data to the remote controller when there is not an error, and checking and diagnosing the data transmitted thereto, performing a receiving unit control code when there is an error in the data, and processing, storing and displaying the data when there is not an error therein.
Additional advantages, objects and other features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained as particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
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Coleman Henry D.
Hyundai Electronics Industries Co,. Ltd.
Powell Mark R.
Sajous Wesner
Sapone William J.
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