KR20110037664A - Operation method and set-top box of wireless data communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method of operating a data communication device for performing short-range wireless data communication using radio waves moving in a selected direction among a plurality of directions may include comparing signal strengths in a direction designated as a comparison target with signal strengths in a current direction. Making; If the signal strength of the current direction is greater, designating a next comparison target direction according to a signal direction list; And if the signal strength of the designated direction is greater, changing a current direction to the designated direction, updating the signal direction list, and designating a next comparison target direction according to the signal direction list. Steps.

DTV, Set Top Box, Wireless Data Communications, Priority

Description

Operation method and set-top box of a wireless data communication device {OPERATION METHOD OF WIRELESS DATA COMMUNICATION DEVICE AND SETTOP BOX}

The present invention relates to a method of operating a wireless data communication device such as a digital television receiver and a set-top box for wirelessly transmitting AV data.

BACKGROUND ART Televisions that reproduce video broadcasts are being enlarged and planarized in terms of their shape, and digitalization of digitally processing broadcast signals with a high performance processor is being performed in terms of processing broadcast signals.

In the case of a large flat-panel television, it is common to assign a function of processing a broadcast signal to a separate set-top box in order to install it in a desired area and to enhance the aesthetics of the television itself. That is, a television system in which a flat-panel television receiver and a set-top box are physically divided is implemented.

Recently, with the development of short-range wireless communication means such as Bluetooth communication, there is an attempt to perform data communication between the set-top box and a television through a wireless communication channel. However, due to the straightness of the radio signals traveling in the air, the user has had difficulty in the arrangement of the set-top box and the television. In particular, wireless data communication between the set-top box and the television may be disturbed by people's movement in the place where the television is installed.

An object of the present invention is to provide a set top box capable of improving radio transmission quality of AV data between a set top box and a television receiver.

In addition, the present invention is to provide a method of operating a wireless data communication device capable of modifying the propagation direction according to the communication environment.

A method of operating a wireless data communication apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object is, as a method of operating a data communication apparatus for performing short-range wireless data communication using radio waves moving in a selected direction among a plurality of directions. Comparing signal strength in a direction designated as a comparison target with signal strength in a current direction; If the signal strength of the current direction is greater, designating a next comparison target direction according to a signal direction list; And if the signal strength of the designated direction is greater, changing a current direction to the designated direction, updating the signal direction list, and designating a next comparison target direction according to the signal direction list. Steps.

Set-top box according to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, the tuner for tuning the channel; An AV extractor which extracts AV data by processing a signal received from the tuner; A short range communication unit configured to perform short range wireless data communication using radio waves moving in a selected direction among a plurality of directions to transmit the extracted AV data to an external receiver; For each of the plurality of directions, a prioritized signal direction list determined by referring to previously measured signal strength or frequency of use; And a short range communication control unit for selecting a current direction of radio waves for the communication according to the priority.

By implementing the set-top box of the present invention according to the above configuration, there is an advantage that the set-top box can improve the transmission quality of the AV data during the television receiving period.

Alternatively, when the operating method of the wireless data communication device of the present invention is implemented, there is an advantage that the radio wave direction can be appropriately modified according to the communication environment.

In the following description, a radio wave carrying data to be transmitted is referred to as a 'carrier', and a radio wave carrying information for signal strength test is referred to as a 'test wave'.

In the following description, the terms 'current direction' and 'current signal direction' refer to a transmission and / or reception direction of a 'carrier' in a wireless data communication device performing wireless data transmission with respect to a transmission target.

In the following description, 'designated direction' and 'designated signal direction' mean a transmission direction and / or a reception direction of a 'test wave' in a wireless data communication device.

FIG. 1 illustrates an operation method for performing an action according to movement of an obstacle, such as a person, by transmitting AV data using a short range wireless data communication technology.

The illustrated operating method may include: comparing signal strength of a current direction with signal strengths of other directions (S10); And when there is another direction having a greater signal strength than the current direction (S20), changing the current direction to the other direction (S30). In step S20, if there is no other direction in which the signal strength is greater than the current direction, the step S10 is repeated again.

An effect of the operating method of the wireless data communication device shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

In FIG. 2, the set top box 2 may transmit carrier waves in four directions from ① to ④, and each direction has a propagation path as shown by a dotted line. In the figure, when there is no obstacle, path ① has a signal strength of 10 dB, path ② has a signal strength of 20 dB, path ③ has a signal strength of 40 dB, and path ④ has a signal of 30 dB. Assume we have a century.

Since the signal strength of the path ③ of the above 4 paths is the largest, the AV data is transmitted by setting the path ③ in the current direction from the set-top box 2 to the television receiver 1. However, if a person is present as an obstacle in the position A in the figure, the current path (path ③) according to the operation method as shown in Figure 1 being performed in the set-top box 2 or television receiver 1 Recognizing that the signal strength of the path ④ is greater than the signal strength of, the current path is changed to the path ④.

However, the operation method illustrated in FIG. 1 has the advantage of being easy to implement because the simplest direction determination method is applied. However, when the number of signal directions that can be communicated is large, the execution time of step S10 is long, so that The disadvantage is that it interferes with the efficient transmission.

3 illustrates an embodiment of a method of operating a wireless data communication device to which a direction determining method according to a predetermined priority is applied.

The illustrated operation method may include: comparing signal strength in a direction designated as a comparison target with signal strength in a current direction (S120); If the signal strength of the current direction is greater (S130), specifying a next comparison target direction according to a signal direction list (S170); And when the signal strength of the designated direction is greater (S130), changing the current direction to the designated direction (S140), updating the signal direction list (S150), and comparing the signal direction list next time. And a step (S160) of specifying a target direction.

Here, the step S120 may include: radiating a measurement signal in the current direction at a transmitting device and measuring reception strength at a receiving device; Radiating a measurement signal in the designated direction at a transmitting device and measuring a reception strength at the receiving device; And comparing the measured two reception strengths.

The signal direction list may have a prioritized database form determined for each of the plurality of directions by referring to previously measured signal strength and frequency of use.

Alternatively, the signal direction list of a simpler implementation may have a prioritized database form, determined with reference to frequency of use, for each of the plurality of directions.

Here, as the 'pre-measured signal strength', for example, 'signal strength measured in a previous direction determination process' or 'average value of pre-measured signal strengths accumulated during a predetermined period' may be applied.

Here, as the frequency of use, for example, 'the total time the corresponding direction became the' current direction 'or' the number of times the steps S120, S130, and S170 performed by the corresponding direction becomes the 'current direction' may be applied. have.

Here, in the step S170, the next comparison target to perform the signal strength comparison step (S120, S130, S170) sequentially in each direction from the direction of high priority to the direction of the signal direction list, You can specify the direction.

Meanwhile, in step S160, the direction having the highest priority in the signal direction list may be designated as the next comparison target direction.

4 illustrates one embodiment of the signal direction list.

In the illustrated signal direction list, 'the total time that the direction became the' current direction 'was applied as the frequency of use, and the priority (ranking) was determined by comprehensively considering the signal strength and the frequency of use. One example of the method of determining the priority may be the following example.

For each direction, give 0 to 100 dB of signal strength symmetrically from 0 to 100 points, and in the percentage of total time used by the wireless data communication device, in the percentage of time recorded in the frequency of use field. Numbers from 0 to 100 can be given, and the sum of the two scores can be ranked from the largest to the smallest.

The direction determination processes included in the operation method illustrated in FIG. 3 perform signal strength comparison from a direction in which the possibility of changing to the current direction is higher than that of the direction determination procedures shown in FIG. Since it is possible to save time for performing the signal strength comparison for the signals, as a result, even if there are many directions for performing the signal strength comparison, the signal strength comparison and the direction determination can be performed smoothly. In other words, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of noise due to too frequent direction change.

Meanwhile, when the direction determination process of FIG. 3 is applied, the signal strength comparison process is performed even when the signal strength of the current direction is sufficient. As a result, even in a situation where the signal strength is sufficient, if a direction with a large signal strength is found even slightly, the current direction is changed. This unnecessarily increases the number of changes in the current direction, and rather has the disadvantage of degrading the transmission quality.

In order to overcome the above disadvantages, the direction determining process applied to FIG. 5 further includes determining whether the magnitude of the current direction signal strength is small enough to require a change.

That is, the method of operating the wireless data communication device shown in FIG. 5 includes the steps of measuring signal strength in a current direction (S110); Comparing the current direction signal strength with a predetermined reference value (S110); And if the reference value is larger in step S110, performing a process for changing the current direction, and if the reference value is smaller, performing step S110 again after a predetermined time.

Here, the reference value may be determined as a signal strength that can ensure the quality of the desired wireless data communication.

The process for changing the current direction may include: comparing signal strength of a direction designated as a comparison target with signal strength of a current direction (S120); If the signal strength of the current direction is greater (S130), specifying a next comparison target direction according to a signal direction list (S170); And when the signal strength of the designated direction is greater (S130), changing the current direction to the designated direction (S140), updating the signal direction list (S150), and comparing the signal direction list next time. And a step (S160) of specifying a target direction. There is a difference from the case of FIG. 3 to return to step S110 instead of step S120 after designating the next comparison target direction in step S160.

Processes except for steps S110, S115, and S160 are the same as those in FIG. 3, and descriptions thereof will not be repeated.

FIG. 6 shows the structure of the set top box 200 and the television receiver 100 in which the operating method of FIG. 3 or FIG. 5 may be performed. AV data containing a broadcast program is wirelessly transmitted from the set top box 200 to the television receiver 100.

The set top box 200 includes: a tuner 211 for tuning channels; An AV extractor 215 for processing the signal received by the tuner and extracting AV data; A short range communication unit (220) for performing short range wireless data communication using radio waves moving in a selected direction among a plurality of directions to transmit the extracted AV data to an external receiver; A prioritized signal direction list 260 determined for each of the plurality of directions by referring to a previously measured signal strength or frequency of use; And a short range communication control unit 250 selecting a current direction of radio waves for the communication of the short range communication unit 220 according to the priority.

The illustrated television receiver 100 includes a short range communication unit 120 for performing short range wireless data communication with a short range communication unit 220 of the set top box 200; An AV processor 130 for processing the AV data received from the short range communication unit 120 according to a predetermined algorithm to extract audio data and video data; A video processor 141 for outputting the video data to the display panel 145; An audio processor 151 for outputting the audio data to a speaker 155; And a signal strength measuring unit 110 measuring the strength of the signal received by the local area communication unit 120.

The short range communication control unit 250 of the set top box 200 or the control unit (not shown) of the television receiver 100 may perform the operation method of FIG. 3 or 5.

That is, the short range communication control unit 250 or the control unit (not shown) of the television receiver 100 sequentially selects each direction one by one in the signal direction list from the direction having the highest priority to the direction of the selected direction, The signal strength may be compared with the signal strength of the current direction, and if the signal strength of the selected direction is larger, the current direction may be changed to the selected direction.

The short range communication unit 220 of the set top box 200 may be a transmitter, and the short range communication unit 120 of the television receiver 100 may be a receiver.

The short range communication unit 220 of the set top box 200 may transmit a carrier wave or a test wave in a selected direction among a plurality of directions. For the function, the short range communication unit 220 may include an antenna that changes direction mechanically, or may include an antenna chip array including a plurality of parallel antenna chips. The emission signal strength, phase, timing, and the like of each of the plurality of antenna chips constituting the antenna chip array may be adjusted to control the radio wave emission direction of the entire antenna chip array.

The strength of the signal measured by the signal strength measuring unit 110 may be transmitted to the local area communication control unit 250 through the 2 local area communication units 120 and 220, and the local area communication control unit 250 may receive the received signal. The operating method of FIG. 3 or 5 may be performed using the measured signal strength.

As the two short range communication units 120 and 220, a Bluetooth communication device, a Zigbee communication device, or the like may be applied.

Although the technical spirit of the present invention has been described in detail according to the above-described preferred embodiment, it should be noted that the above-described embodiment is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. In addition, those skilled in the art will understand that various embodiments are possible within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention.

1 is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of performing an action in response to movement of an obstacle such as a person by transmitting AV data using a short range wireless data communication technology.

2 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the principle of the operation method of FIG.

3 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method of operating a wireless data communication device to which a direction determining method according to a predetermined priority is applied.

4 is a data structure diagram illustrating one embodiment of a signal direction list that may be used in the operating method of FIG.

5 is a flowchart illustrating another embodiment of a method of operating a wireless data communication device to which a direction determining method according to a predetermined priority is applied.

6 is a block diagram showing the structure of a set-top box and a television receiver on which the operating method of FIG. 3 or 5 can be performed;

Claims (9)

A method of operating a wireless data communication device for performing short range wireless data communication using radio waves moving in a selected direction among a plurality of directions, the method comprising: Comparing signal strength in a direction designated as a comparison target with signal strength in a current direction; If the signal strength of the current direction is greater, designating a next comparison target direction according to a signal direction list; And If the signal strength of the designated direction is greater, changing a current direction to the designated direction, updating the signal direction list, and specifying a next comparison target direction according to the signal direction list Operation method comprising a. The method of claim 1, Comparing the signal strength of the specified direction and the signal strength of the current direction, Radiating a measurement signal in the current direction at a transmitting device and measuring a reception strength at the receiving device; Radiating a measurement signal in the designated direction at a transmitting device and measuring a reception strength at the receiving device; And Comparing the measured two reception strengths Operation method comprising a. The method of claim 1, In the signal direction list, For each of the plurality of directions, the operation method characterized in that the priority determined by referring to the previously measured signal strength and frequency of use. The method of claim 1, In the signal direction list, Each of the plurality of directions, the operation method characterized in that the priority given by the reference frequency determined. The method according to claim 3 or 4, In the step of designating the next comparison target direction, And a next direction to be compared so as to sequentially perform the signal strength comparison step for each of the directions from the direction of high priority to the direction of low in the signal direction list. The method according to claim 3 or 4, In the process of designating the next comparison target direction, And specifying a direction of highest priority in the signal direction list as a next comparison target direction. The method of claim 1, Before comparing the signal strength of the specified direction and the signal strength of the current direction, Comparing the current direction signal strength with a predetermined reference value More, And comparing the signal strength in the specified direction with the signal strength in the current direction when the reference value is larger in the step of comparing the current direction signal strength with a predetermined reference value. A tuner for tuning the channel; An AV extractor which processes the signal received by the tuner and extracts AV data; A short range communication unit configured to perform short range wireless data communication using radio waves moving in a selected direction among a plurality of directions to transmit the extracted AV data to an external receiver; For each of the plurality of directions, a prioritized signal direction list determined by referring to previously measured signal strength or frequency of use; And A short-range communication control unit for selecting a current direction of radio waves for the communication according to the priority; Set top box comprising a. The method of claim 8, The short-range communication control unit, In the signal direction list, each direction is selected one by one from the highest priority direction to the lowest direction, and the signal strength of the selected direction is compared with the signal strength of the current direction. Set-top box to change to the selected direction.

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