Process carried out by a gateway in a home network to receive video-on-demand and other requested programs and services

• US 6,678,740 B1
• Filed: 06/23/2000
• Issued: 01/13/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Terayon Communications Systems Incorporated (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Rakib, Selim Shlomo, Quinard, Fabrice Michel Raymond, Monta, Peter Albert
• Primary Examiner(s): Luu, Le Hien
• Application Number:
  US09/602,303
• Time in Patent Office: 1,299 Days
• Field of Search: 709/246, 709/247, 709/239, 348/722, 375/240.11, 382/300, 345/537, 345/603
• US Class Current: 709/247
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19656 Network used to communicate with a camera, e.g. WAN, LAN, Internet
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19658 Telephone systems used to communicate with a camera, e.g. PSTN, GSM, POTS
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19667 Details realated to data compression, encryption or encoding, e.g. resolution modes for reducing data volume to lower transmission bandwidth or memory requirements
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/41 Remote control of gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18584 Arrangements for data networking, i.e. for data packet routing, for congestion control data switching networks H04L12/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2801 Broadband local area networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/6418 Hybrid transport
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/6424 Access arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/168 specially adapted for link layer protocols, e.g. asynchronous transfer mode [ATM], synchronous optical network [SONET] or point-to-point protocol [PPP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/169 Special adaptations of TCP, UDP or IP for interworking of IP based networks with other networks protocols for interworking, protocol conversion H04L69/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/222 Secondary servers, e.g. proxy server, cable television Head-end provisioning of proxy services in data packet switching networks H04L67/56
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2665 Gathering content from different sources, e.g. Internet and satellite
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal

Abstract

A system for providing video-on-demand service, broadband internet access and other broadband services over T-carrier systems including a pull multiplexer cherrypicker at the head end is disclosed. The pull multiplexer receives upstream requests and cull out MPEG or other compressed video packets, IP packets and other data packet types to satisfy the requests or to send pushed programming downstream. The downstream can be DSL or HFC. Each customer has a cable modem, DSL modem or a gateway which interfaces multiple signal sources to a LAN to which settop decoders, digital phones, personal computers, digital FAX machines, video cameras, digital VCRs etc. can be attached. Each gateway can coupled the LAN to a DSL line or HFC through a cable modem or a satellite dish through a satellite transceiver. A PSTN and conventional TV antenna interface is also provided.

Claims

1. A process carried out in a gateway coupled to one or more peripheral devices via a local area network at a customer premises, comprising:

receiving from one or more peripheral devices coupled to a gateway via a local area network one or more requests identifying one or more video-on-demand programs and/or services one or more users of said one or more peripheral devices wish to enjoy;

transmitting said requests to a head end cherry picker multiplexer which can supply the requested data;

receiving one or more downstream messages indicating upon which logical channels and subchannels the data of the requested program(s) and/or services is modulated;

tuning to the specified logical channel and demultiplexing the specified subchannels and recovering the requested data as compressed video or other data packets;

if the requested program is an analog video broadcast on the airwaves or a cable TV hybrid fiber coaxial cable network, tuning to the requested signal, digitizing and demodulating the tuned signal to generate a baseband digital NTSC, PAL or SECAM video signal;

if necessary to meet bandwidth constraints decompressing recovered compressed video and other data packets and recompressing them to a lower bandwidth that can be transmitted to said one or more of said peripheral devices on the available bandwidth of said local area network;

converting digitized representations of NTSC, PAL or SECAM video signals to YUV format if said local area network has inadequate bandwidth to carry uncompressed video signals along with other network traffic then existing;

compressing YUV format data to MPEG packets having a state of compression that fits the available bandwidth on said local area network;

packetizing compressed video and other data into internet protocol packets (hereafter IP packets) and encapsulating the IP packets in LAN packets addressed to said one or more peripheral devices that requested one or more program(s) and/or services and transmitting said LAN packets over said local area network to the peripherals that requested the data;

receiving from said one or more peripheral devices upstream LAN packets and recovering encapsulated upstream IP packets therein; and

routing said upstream IP packets to either a cable modem, a DSL modem or a conventional modem for coupling to a network for transmission on an upstream logical channel.

2. A process carried out in a gateway at a customer premises, comprising:

receiving one or more local area network packets (hereafter LAN packets) from one or more peripherals in a customer premises coupled by a local area network to a gateway in said customer premises, said LAN packets containing requests identifying one or more video-on-demand programs and/or services a user wishes to enjoy;

transmitting said requests to a head end cherry picker multiplexer which is coupled to one or more servers that can supply data encoding the requested program(s) and/or service(s) or transmitting said requests via a conventional modem and a telephone network to a server coupled to a wide area network such as the internet;

receiving one or more downstream messages indicating upon which logical channels and subchannels the data of the requested program(s) and/or services is modulated;

tuning one or more tuners in said gateway to the logical channel(s) on which said program(s) and/or service(s) are being transmitted, and, if a regularly scheduled broadcast has been requested, tuning a tuner in said gateway to a logical channel upon which the broadcast is arriving either via the airwaves, satellite downlink, DSL line or hybrid fiber coaxial cable of a cable TV system;

recovering compressed video or other data encoding the program(s) and/or service(s) that have been requested if said data is digital using a DSL modem and/or a cable modem and/or a satellite dish receiver or transceiver and, if said requested program and/or service is transmitted to said gateway as an analog signal not modulated with digital data, recovering said analog signal and digitizing it to a digital representation of an NTSC, PAL or SECAM signal;

if necessary to meet bandwidth constraints on said local area network coupling said gateway to said one or more peripherals, decompressing recovered compressed video and other data packets and recompressing said video and other data packets to a lower bandwidth that can be transmitted on said local area network;

converting digitized representations of NTSC, PAL or SECAM video signals to YUV format if compression is required;

compressing YUV format data to a state of compression that fits available bandwidth on said local area network coupling said gateway to a plurality of said peripherals;

packetizing compressed video and other data into internet protocol packets (hereafter IP packets) and encapsulating said IP packets in LAN packets addressed to the one or more peripherals that requested one or more program(s) and/or services;

receiving upstream LAN packets and recovering encapsulated upstream IP packets therein;

routing said upstream IP packets to either a cable modem, a DSL modem or a conventional modem for transmission upstream on an upstream logical channel.

3. A process carried out in a gateway coupled to one or more peripherals via one or more local area networks or dedicated drop lines at a customer premises, comprising:

receiving one or more requests identifying one or more video-on-demand programs and/or services a user wishes to enjoy, said one or more requests being transmitted to a gateway from one or more peripherals coupled to said gateway by one or more local area networks or dedicated drop lines;

transmitting said requests to a head end which is coupled to one or more servers which can supply the requested data;

receiving one or more downstream messages indicating upon which logical channels and subchannels the data of the requested program(s) and/or services will be transmitted;

tuning to the specified logical channel and demultiplexing the specified subchannels and recovering the requested data as MPEG compressed video or other data packets in one or more MPEG transport streams;

if the requested program is an analog video broadcast received via a terrestial antenna or via a cable TV hybrid fiber coaxial cable network, tuning to the requested signal, digitizing and demodulating the tuned signal to generate a baseband digital representation of an NTSC, PAL or SECAM video signal;

if necessary to meet bandwidth constraints, decompressing recovered MPEG compressed video and other data packets and recompressing said MPEG video and other data packets to a lower bandwidth that can be transmitted on said local area network or dedicated drop line coupled to said peripheral that requested said video or other data;

converting said digital representations of said NTSC, PAL or SECAM video signals generated from said analog video broadcasts received by said gateway to YUV format if said local area network has inadequate bandwidth to carry uncompressed digital video signals along with other network traffic;

compressing said YUV format data to MPEG packets having a state of compression that fits available bandwidth on said local area network or dedicated drop line coupling said gateway to said peripheral which requested said video or other data;

packetizing said MPEG compressed video and/or other data packets carring data of a requested video program and/or service into internet protocol packets (hereafter IP packets) and, if said peripheral that requested said video program and/or service is coupled to said gateway by one of said one or more local area networks, transmitting the IP packets to the said one or more peripherals that requested the compressed video or other data encapsulated in said IP packets by encapsulating said IP packets in LAN packets if said local area network to which said peripheral is coupled uses LAN packets, and, if the peripheral that requested said data is coupled to said gateway by a dedicated drop line, transmitting said IP packets over the appropriate dedicated drop line to the peripherals that requested the data;

if a peripheral coupled to said gateway by a dedicated drop line capable of carrying analog video signals requested an CATV, terrestial or satellite dish analog video broadcast, tuning to the broadcast and routing the analog video signal to the appropriate drop line;

receiving upstream LAN packets from said one or more peripherals via said one or more local area networks and recovering upstream data from one or more dedicated drop lines and recovering upstream IP packets from the received data; and

routing said upstream IP packets to either a cable modem, a DSL modem, a satellite dish transceiver or a conventional modem for transmission upstream via an upstream logical channel.