Cable broadcasting system

• US 6,570,928 B1
• Filed: 12/29/1999
• Issued: 05/27/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Masprodenkoh Kabushikikaisha.
• Original Assignee: Masprodenkoh Kabushikikaisha.
• Inventors: Shibata, Eiji
• Primary Examiner(s): PHU, PHUONG M
• Application Number:
  US09/473,609
• Time in Patent Office: 1,245 Days
• Field of Search: 375/257, 375/222, 375/295, 375/356, 375/219, 375/220, 275/149, 275/127, 275/105, 275/118, 275/128, 275/148, 275/150, 275/106, 455/70
• US Class Current: 375/257
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/12 Arrangements for observation, testing or troubleshooting
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/28 Arrangements for simultaneous broadcast of plural pieces of information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/76 Wired systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/13 Arrangements for device control affected by the broadcast information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/37 for identifying segments of broadcast information, e.g. scenes or extracting programme ID
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/08 by repeating transmission, e.g. Verdan system H04L1/1858 and H04L1/189 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/10 Adaptations for transmission by electrical cable H04N7/12 takes precedence

Abstract

In a proposed cable broadcasting system in which a command signal transmitted from a center equipment to a transmission line for setting an operation mode of a tap device on the transmission line, the command signal can be transmitted without fail even when an instantaneous power failure occurs because of thunderbolt and the like. The center equipment transmits a command signal with a retransmission number indicating the number of transmission plural times at intervals of a time longer than the duration time of the instantaneous power failure. The tap device determines whether the new received data of the command signal is a command to the tap device itself by using the address of the received data. When the command is for itself, it is determined whether the command (received command) coincides with the command previously used for setting the operation mode. When they do not coincide with each other, the operation mode is set in response to the received command. To the contrary, when they coincide with each other, the retransmission number given to each command is compared. When the retransmission number of the received command is equal to or smaller than the previous number, the operation mode is set in response to the received command.

Claims

1. A cable broadcasting system provided with

a center equipment including a broadcasting equipment for transmitting a broadcasting signal to a transmission line, and a transmission equipment for producing and transmitting to said transmission line a command signal for setting an operation mode of an electronic device provided on said transmission line,

a power supply device for supplying said transmission line with power signals for operating electronic devices disposed on said transmission line with electricity, and

a plural electronic devices disposed dispersedly on said transmission line, for executing processing of signal transmission for a broadcasting signal passing through said transmission line, provided with a receiving circuit for receiving the command signal transmitted from said center equipment to said transmission line, a control circuit for setting the operation mode of the electronic device in response to the command signal when the command signal received at said receiving circuit is a command signal to said electronic device, and a power source circuit for taking in said power signals from said transmission line and converting said power signals to a voltage for operation to supply each said built-in circuit with electricity, wherein

said transmission equipment of said center equipment is provided with

a transmission data producing means for producing a transmission data including an identification data for identifying an electronic device when said electronic device whose operation mode is to be set is designated from the outside and a command data for indicating command content,

a transmission data outputting means for giving the transmission data produced by said transmission data producing means a number data indicating the transmission number and outputting the transmission data having been given with said number data plural times at predetermined time intervals, and

a transmission means for converting a transmission data outputted from said transmission data outputting means to a command signal and transmitting said command signal to said transmission line, and

said control circuit of said electronic device is provided with

a command signal identifying means for determining whether the command signal received at said receiving circuit is for said electronic device, based on said identification data constituting said command signal,

a command content determining means for determining whether the command data constituting said command signal coincides with the previously received command signal for said electronic device, when said command signal is determined to be for said electronic device by said command signal determining means,

a transmission number determining means for determining whether a number data given to the new received command signal is larger than a number data given to the previously received command signal to said electronic device, when said command signal is determined to coincide with the previously received signal, and

an operation mode setting means which does not carry out setting of the operation mode based on the new received command signal when said number data given to the new received command signal is determined to be larger than the number data given to the previously received command signal by said transmission number determining means, and carries out setting of the operation mode in response to the new received command signal when said number data given to the new received command signal is equal to or smaller than the number data given to the previously received command signal and when said command data is determined to be different from the previously received command data by said command content determining means.

2. A cable broadcasting system according to claim 1, wherein

in said transmission equipment of said center equipment, when said transmission data is outputted at said predetermined time intervals, said transmission data outputting means continuously outputs plural transmission data obtained by giving said transmission data the same number, and

said control circuit of said electronic device is provided with

a command signal selecting means for selecting one of the command signals as a command signal transmitted from said center equipment, and operates said command signal identifying means, said command content determining means, said transmission number determining means and said operation mode setting means, when command signals consisting of the same transmission data are received continuously by said receiving circuit.

3. A cable broadcasting system according to claim 1, wherein

said electronic device is a tap device provided with

a directional coupler for branching a part of a broadcasting signal from said transmission line and outputting said branched broadcasting signal from a tap output terminal to a terminal device,

a latching relay provided in a signal pass from said directional coupler to said tap output terminal, for changing over the condition of on or off of said signal pass, and

an operation circuit for changing over the condition of on or off of said signal pass by supplying said latching relay with electricity,

said control circuit sets the condition of on or off of said signal pass changed over by said latching relay, by controlling said operation circuit in response to a commandsignal from said receiving circuit, and

said power source circuit supplies said receiving circuit, said control circuit and said operation circuit with electricity.

4. A cable broadcasting system according to claim 3, wherein

said tap device is provided with a splitter for distributing the broadcasting signal having been branched by said directional coupler further to a plural number and outputting said distributed broadcasting signals to each of plural tap output terminals,

latching relays are provided in the plural signal passes from said splitter to said plural tap output terminals, respectively, and

said control circuit supplies in order each said latching relay with electricity to set the condition of on or off of each said signal pass in order by controlling said operation circuit, when said control circuit controls the condition of on or off of each said signal pass in response to said command signal.