United States Patent (19)
`Lett
`
`54) HOME COMMUNICATIONSTERMINAL
`HAVING AN APPLICATIONS MODULE
`
`75 Inventor: David B. Lett, Duluth, Ga.
`73 Assignee: Scientific-Atlanta, Inc., Norcross, Ga.
`
`Appl. No.: 564,020
`Filed:
`Nov. 29, 1995
`Int. Cl. ..................................................... H04N 7/16
`U.S. Cl. .................................. 348/10; 348/6; 455/6.2;
`455/6.3
`58 Field of Search .................................. 348/10, 11, 12,
`348/13, 6, 7, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18; 455/4.2,
`4.1, 5.1, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3,349; 358/84; 395/200.09;
`379/10, 14, 207, 201, 357; 364/514 R,
`514 A; 380/5, 10, 15, 20, 50; HO4N 7/16,
`7/173
`
`56)
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`1/1991 Frezza et al. ............................. 380/50
`4,982,430
`5,003,591 3/1991 Kauffman et al. ........................ 380/10
`5,367,571 11/1994 Bownen et al. .......................... 34.8/10
`
`140
`
`40-
`RF IPPV
`KEYBOARD
`LED DISPLAY
`U/D CONVERTER
`SERAL PORT
`
`104
`
`MCC
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`USOO5771064A
`Patent Number:
`11
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`5,771,064
`Jun. 23, 1998
`
`5,440,632 8/1995 Bacon et al. ................................ 348/3
`5,583,563 12/1996 Wanderscheid et al. ................. 348/13
`Primary Examiner John K. Peng
`ASSistant Examiner-Chris Grant
`Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Banner & Witcoff, Ltd.
`57
`ABSTRACT
`
`A home communications terminal for use in a communica
`tions network is provided. The home communications ter
`minal includes an applications module and a Subscriber
`terminal module. The applications module has a memory
`including a first memory portion, and a processing unit for
`executing program code Stored in the first memory portion
`of the memory of the applications module. The subscriber
`terminal module has a memory including a first memory
`portion for Storing a first boot-loader program, and a Second
`memory portion for Storing a Second boot-loader program. A
`processing unit of the Subscriber terminal executes the first
`boot-loader program to load program code in the Second
`memory portion of the memory of the subscriber terminal
`module and executes the Second boot-loader program to load
`program code in the first memory portion of the memory of
`the applications module.
`
`5 Claims, 19 Drawing Sheets
`
`300
`
`32KX6
`
`EXPANSION
`CONNECTOR
`326
`
`68,331
`(68020 WITH
`PERIPHERALS)
`EX. 32 KHZ
`CRYSTAL
`
`68HCO55C21
`SECUREMPU13
`
`128K BYE
`FASH
`EPROM
`
`FEPROM
`PROGRAMMING
`CONTROL
`REGISTER
`
`
`
`329
`
`336
`
`5V POWER SUPPLY
`
`2
`
`s'." BT
`
`M/4M BIT 37
`134
`
`Page 1
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 23, 1998
`
`Sheet 1 of 19
`
`5,771,064
`
`5s 2
`
`SATELLTE
`RECEIVERS
`
`BILLING
`COMPUTER
`
`18
`
`11
`
`12
`
`SYSTEM
`MANAGER
`
`VIDEO AND
`AUDIO
`CHANNELS
`
`
`
`20
`
`DATA
`CONTROLLER
`
`DATA
`
`2
`2
`
`HEAD END
`CONTROLLER
`
`24
`
`10
`
`MODUALTOR
`
`
`
`SCRAMBLER
`
`AUDIO/WB
`
`44
`
`48
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`CRC
`
`5
`6
`
`42
`
`HOME
`HOME
`HOME
`COMMUNICATIONSPO COMMUNICATIONS OPP COMMUNICATIONS
`TERMINAL
`TERMINAL
`TERMINAL
`
`46
`
`50
`
`TELEVISION
`RECEIVER
`
`TELEVISION
`RECEIVER
`
`F.G. 1
`
`TELEVISION
`RECEIVER
`
`Page 2
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 23, 1998
`
`Sheet 2 of 19
`
`5,771,064
`
`VIDEO
`DEMOD
`SYNCHRESTORE
`
`101
`
`100
`
`RF INPUT
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`PH-PPV MODULE
`
`RF-IPPV MODULE
`
`OUT-OF-BAND
`DATA RECEIVER
`
`150
`
`SAW
`FILTER
`
`UP/DOWN
`
`SYNCH
`DET
`
`LOOP
`FILTER
`
`106
`115
`
`111
`AM
`
`118
`
`105
`PULSE
`SHAPER
`117
`NE, VOLUME
`AUDIODATA
`of cert
`
`127
`
`PHONE/RF IPPV
`CONTROL
`OUT-OF-BAND
`DATA DECODER
`INPUT KEY
`SCANNER
`AND
`CONTROL
`
`146
`
`ON
`SCREEN
`DISPLAY
`
`E. GA
`DE
`SCRAMBLER
`CONTROL
`MEMORY
`CONTROL
`
`
`
`FRONT PANEL
`888 KEY PAD
`N-11 KEYS
`120
`
`R RECEIVER
`
`126
`
`FIG.2A
`
`Page 3
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 23, 1998
`
`Sheet 3 of 19
`
`5,771,064
`
`150
`
`132
`
`o
`VIDEO
`
`FM
`1g DEMOD
`115 VOLUME
`CONTROL
`121
`
`BPF
`
`131
`
`LPF
`
`
`
`STT MICRO
`
`154
`ROM/FLASH 136
`SECURE
`MICRO
`
`1.31
`CMB
`
`DRAM
`1
`157 143
`
`142
`
`RF OUTPUT
`
`FREQUENCY
`SELECTION
`
`144
`
`DATA PORT
`
`SUBSCRIBER
`TERMINAL MODULE 140
`APPLICATIONS
`300
`MODULE
`
`FIG.2B
`
`Page 4
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`US. Patent
`
`Jun. 23
`
`9
`
`1998
`
`Sheet 4 0f 19
`
`’5
`
`771,064
`
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 23, 1998
`
`Sheet 5 of 19
`
`5,771,064
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
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`
`Page 6
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 23, 1998
`
`Sheet 6 of 19
`
`5,771,064
`
`XD(7,0
`XA(19,0
`
`
`
`XROMOE
`XROMCE
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`FIG.4A
`
`Page 7
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 23, 1998
`
`Sheet 7 of 19
`
`5,771,064
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`XD7
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`HEADER 30
`
`PCB
`
`Page 8
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 23, 1998
`
`Sheet 8 of 19
`
`5,771,064
`
`
`
`OS. S;
`
`29FO40
`
`FIG.4C
`
`Page 9
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 23, 1998
`
`Sheet 9 of 19
`
`5,771,064
`
`
`
`EVEN ADDRESSES
`
`ODD ADDRESSES
`U4
`
`
`
`
`
`D
`B
`
`ODD ADDRESSES
`U2
`D7
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`BS-
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`A19
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`FIG.4D
`
`Page 10
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 23, 1998
`
`Sheet 10 of 19
`
`5,771,064
`
`
`
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`Page 11
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 23, 1998
`
`Sheet 11 of 19
`
`5,771,064
`
`
`
`47
`
`Page 12
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 23, 1998
`
`Sheet 12 of 19
`
`5,771,064
`
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`Page 13
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 23, 1998
`
`Sheet 13 of 19
`
`5,771,064
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`Page 14
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 23, 1998
`
`Sheet 14 Of 19
`
`5,771,064
`
`
`
`5
`
`5
`
`Page 15
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 23, 1998
`
`Sheet 15 0f 19
`
`5,771,064
`
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`Page 16
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`US. Patent
`
`Jun. 23, 1998
`
`Sheet 16 0f 19
`
`5,771,064
`
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 23, 1998
`
`Sheet 17 of 19
`
`5,771,064
`
`
`
`a
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`BANK
`
`3.
`
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`Page 18
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 23, 1998
`
`Sheet 18 of 19
`
`5,771,064
`
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`
`FIG.8
`
`Page 19
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 23, 1998
`
`Sheet 19 of 19
`
`5,771,064
`
`CONNECTOR
`
`INTERNAL
`PES
`
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`
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`MEMORY
`MODULE
`324
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`329
`
`Page 20
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`

`1
`HOME COMMUNICATIONSTERMINAL
`HAVING AN APPLICATIONS MODULE
`
`5,771,064
`
`2
`periods where one model is being taken out of Service and
`another is being placed in Service.
`Further, it makes it difficult for a Subscriber to obtain a full
`feature set of a subscriber terminal, even if he would pay for
`Some features which are important to him. Additional fea
`tures because of the extra hardware burden on each terminal
`must be justified on a system wide basis. If only a few
`Subscribers will pay for an additional feature the cost System
`wide for the extra memory or processing power to provide
`the feature could outweigh any potential revenues from that
`feature.
`What is needed is a way to individually and/or universally
`upgrade, add or change features without having to replace
`the entire Subscriber terminal.
`The difficulty of providing additional features for different
`consumers and upgrading has been addressed with varying
`degrees of Success by Some in the consumer industry. For
`example, many personal computer manufacturers provide a
`mother board which is attached to a bus connected to a
`number of expansion slots. Each expansion slot in this open
`architecture System can be used to configure a different
`System with the purchase of additional peripheral boards
`which plug into the slots.
`An open architecture is Somewhat incompatible with
`Subscriber terminal for Subscription television Systems. In
`the past, many of the microprocessors of the Subscriber
`terminals did not have the processing power to handle
`additional features. More importantly, the Subscriber termi
`nal is provided as a Secure device which provides condi
`tional access for the premium programming of the Subscrip
`tion Service. An open architecture which would encourage a
`subscriber to open the outer cover of the terminal could be
`inimical to this Security. Further, additional features gener
`ally require Some change in the Signals to or from the
`Subscription Service provider.
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention,
`a home communications terminal for use in a communica
`tions network is provided. The home communications ter
`minal includes an applications module and a Subscriber
`terminal module. The applications module has a memory,
`and a processing unit for executing program code Stored in
`the memory of the applications module. The subscriber
`terminal module has a memory for Storing a first boot-loader
`program and a Second boot-loader program. A processing
`unit of the Subscriber terminal executes the first boot-loader
`program to load program code in the memory of the Sub
`Scriber terminal module and executes the Second boot-loader
`program to load program code in the memory of the appli
`cations module.
`These and other objects, features and aspects of the
`invention will be more clearly understood and better
`described if the following detailed description is read in
`conjunction with the appended drawings.
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`FIG. 1 is a System block diagram of a Subscription
`television system of the CATV type which includes a
`multiplicity of home communications terminals.
`FIGS. 2A and 2B are a detailed block diagram of one of
`the home communications terminals of the System illustrated
`in FIG. 1.
`FIG. 3 is a detailed block diagram of the applications
`module of the home communications terminal of FIGS. 2A
`and 2B.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`1. Technical Field
`The present invention generally relates to home commu
`nications terminals for Subscription television Systems and,
`more particularly, to providing Such terminals having an
`applications module for providing increased flexibility and
`new and/or upgraded features.
`2. Description of Related Art
`The Subscriber terminal, more commonly known as a Set
`top terminal, is an integral component of Subscription tele
`Vision Systems. These Subscription television Systems can be
`cable television (CATV) systems, SMATV systems, a multi
`point, multidistribution subscription system (MMDS), or a
`direct-to-home (DTH) type of system. The terminals have
`conventionally provided the functions of tuning particular
`channels of the Subscription System which are outside the
`capability of the subscriber's television. Further, they pro
`vide conditional access to the particular Subscription Service
`through authorization codes and in many Services provide
`tiering or authorization of particular channels of the Service
`by descrambling.
`More recently, the subscriber terminal has become user
`friendly by providing an interactive, on-Screen display and
`other user functions that allow the Subscriber to manipulate
`the cable Service and his television receiver in additional
`manners. These features include Such things as Volume
`control, pay-per-view event confirmation, favorite channel
`listings, sleep timer features, parental control capability,
`messaging, program timers for recording VCR programs
`and other types of consumer friendly operational features.
`In addition, Some of the features found in newer television
`receivers can be provided for older receivers by the Sub
`Scription terminal. For example, channel identifiers, mute
`and remote Volume control can be accomplished by the
`Subscriber terminal making the Subscriber's television
`receiver appear to be a newer model with these capabilities.
`An advantageous example of a Subscriber terminal with
`these advanced consumer features is the 8600 Model series
`of Subscriber terminals manufactured by Scientific-Atlanta,
`Inc. of Norcross, Ga.
`The Subscriber terminals generally operate under the
`control of a microprocessor which has a control program
`stored in a read only memory (ROM), or a non-volatile
`memory such as a EPROM. The Subscriber terminal may
`also include other volatile memory such as DRAM to allow
`for the additional temporary Storage of data and other
`information. The memory of whatever type is generally
`limited to the particular purposes and features that are
`originally designed for the Subscriber terminal because of
`cost. Therefore, upgrades to the features of a Subscriber
`terminal which require additional memory space usually
`demand replacement of at least the memory modules and/or
`the deletion of some of the presently installed features. If the
`control processor is not powerful enough to process the
`additional features, it must also be replaced with a conse
`quent reprogramming of the central Software.
`Because of the wide dispersion and number of Subscriber
`terminals in a Subscription television System, Several hun
`dred thousand and usually one per household for a CATV
`System, the cost and difficulty of replacing Such terminals on
`a System basis is prohibitive.
`This prevents features which could be provided much
`Sooner to Subscribers to only be available over long phase in
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`AMAZON 1005
`Amazon v. SpeakWare
`IPR2019-00999
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`

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`5,771,064
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`FIGS. 4A-4H are schematic circuit diagrams of the
`applications module shown in FIG. 3.
`FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the connection of
`applications module 300 to subscriber terminal module 140.
`FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, 6D, 6E, and 6F are pictorial repre
`Sentations of Several download program code parameters
`transactions which the System uses to request the download
`ing of new program code to the home communications
`terminal.
`FIG. 7 is a pictorial representation of the download
`program code transaction which the System uses to down
`load program code which will Supplement or replace pro
`gram code in the memory Space of the Subscriber terminal
`module or the applications module illustrated in FIGS. 2 and
`3.
`FIG. 8 is a detailed electrical schematic diagram of the
`memory architecture of the home communications terminal
`illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3.
`FIG. 9 is a detailed memory map of the memory space
`created by the architecture illustrated in FIG. 8.
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION
`A subscription television system of the CATV type is
`more fully illustrated in FIG.1. The Subscription television
`system includes a headend 10 and a plurality of home
`communications terminals (HCTs) 40, 44 and 48 which are
`connected over a distribution system 52. Home communi
`cations terminals 40, 44, and 48 each include a Subscriber
`terminal module and, optionally, an applications module as
`will be described below. It will be appreciated although
`elements 40, 44, and 48 are designated as "home” commu
`nications terminals, their use is not limited to use in a home.
`Such terminals may be utilized, for example, in hotel rooms,
`businesses, Schools, hospitals, etc. AS is conventional, dis
`tribution system 52 may include coaxial or optical fiber
`cable, System amplifiers, line extenders, etc. Headend 10 is
`under the Supervision of a System manager 12 which con
`trols a hardware controller, headend controller 22. A billing
`computer 11 communicates with System manger 12 to
`authorize and transmit transactions to Subscribers.
`The television or other programming for the Subscription
`System may come from a Satellite downlink where it is
`decoded and demodulated by satellite receivers 18 into a
`number of channels. Each channel is either applied to a
`modulator 24 and 30 or a scrambler and modulator 26 and
`28 which, under the control of headend controller 22,
`remodulates the channels to the frequencies of the local
`Subscription System channel line up. For a premium or
`restricted channel Service (tiered pay-per-view, or the like),
`50
`Some channels are scrambled by any of the known CATV
`methods by scramblers and modulators 26 and 28, while the
`other channels can be transmitted without conversion. The
`program channels are then frequency division multiplexed
`onto distribution system 52 by an RF combiner 34 as a
`broadband television signal. The plurality of channels of
`programming can then be transmitted over distribution SyS
`tem 52 and Supplied to each of home communications
`terminals 40, 44, and 48.
`Scramblers and modulators 26 and 28 further may include
`the function of data insertion for its particular channel. This
`method of providing the data within the channel Signal is
`generally termed in-band Signaling. The data may be applied
`to any audio portion, Video portion or both audio and Video
`portions in combination, or any other portion of the televi
`Sion channel. Many Subscription television Systems have
`amplitude modulated data pulses on the audio Subcarrier.
`
`4
`Further, in other Subscription television Systems, data may
`be inserted into the vertical and/or horizontal blanking
`intervals of the video portion.
`The data which is inserted into the television channel in
`this manner can be conditional access data to globally or
`locally address and control home communications terminals
`40, 44 and 48, on screen text data, or other types of
`information from headend controller 22. Other data and
`information, Such as electronic program guides, and infor
`mation Services, can be inserted into the channels from a
`data controller 20. Data controller 20 can receive local data
`or national data from the Satellite downlink through Satellite
`receiver 18.
`In addition, data can be transmitted over distribution
`System 52 by out-of-band Signaling. In this mode, System
`manager 12 accesses an addressable transmitter 32 with
`transactions to transmit this data. Addressable transmitter 32
`may be used to modulate a data Signal on a frequency not
`asSociated with the television programming. The broadband
`television programming of the cable Systems has generally
`been applied from 50 MHz to 550 MHz and above, while
`out-of-band Signaling Systems have been used in non-video
`portions of these signals, such as at 108.2 MHZ with a
`frequency shift keying modulation technique. These trans
`actions are combined with the broadband television signal at
`RF combiner 36 and transmitted to home communications
`terminals 40, 44 and 48.
`Transactions in the System are designated as addressed (to
`a particular home communications terminal or group of
`home communications terminals) and global (to all home
`communications terminals). These transactions are in a
`Standardized format which can be sent over any of the
`communication paths mentioned.
`Signaling and data information may also flow in the
`reverse direction from the home communications terminals
`to the headend via a reverse signaling path through distri
`bution System 52. In one form, the reverse signals are digital
`biphase shift keying (BPSK) modulated and applied to a
`frequency below 50 MHZ. The signals flow back from the
`home communications terminals to an IPPV processor
`where they are decoded. In addition, any of home commu
`nications terminals 40, 44 and 48 may include a modem and
`telephone link 56 to a telephone processor 16 at headend 10.
`The information from processors 14 and 16 are directed to
`System manager 12, which communicates to billing com
`puter 11 to obtain authorization and billing information. The
`reverse signaling System has generally been used for order
`ing pay-per-view (PPV) or impulse-pay-per-view (IPPV)
`events. In the future, the reverse Signal path may be used for
`any number of additional interactive Services.
`Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B a detailed block diagram of
`one of the home communications terminals, for example, the
`one indicated as 40 of the Subscription television system will
`now be described. Home communications terminal 40
`includes a Subscriber terminal module 140 and an applica
`tions module 300. The broad band television signal from
`signal distribution system 52 is received at the input of
`up/down converter or tuner 100. An out-of-band data
`receiver 150 is also coupled to the broadband input.
`Conventionally, up/down converter 100 may include an
`input filter, such as a diplexer, to separate the 108.2 MHz
`out-of-band Signal and the broadband television signal.
`Up/down converter 100 can be tuned to a predetermined
`channel for receiving in-band Video and audio data when not
`in use. The channel may be predetermined from System
`manager 12 and, by one of the data transmission methods
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`described herein, the predetermined channel identification
`can be stored in home communications terminal 140.
`When in use, up/down converter 100 is tuned according
`to a channel entered by a Subscriber via a user interface
`having an IR receiver 124, remote control 126 and terminal
`keypad 122. Up/down converter 100 uses a phase locked
`loop under the control of a tuner control 102 to convert the
`Selected or predetermined default RF channel Signal to a
`45.75 MHz intermediate frequency (IF) signal. A multifunc
`tion control circuit (MCC) 104, preferably an application
`Specific integrated circuit (ASIC) combining many Sub
`Scriber terminal module control and data handling functions
`into a single package, is linked to up/down converter 100 by
`a bidirectional link to tuner control 102. The link has one
`path for tuning and a return link for feedback control of the
`tuning process. A feedback Signal for automatic gain control
`and one for automatic frequency control are transmitted to
`up/down converter 100 through filters 101,103, respectively
`from a video demodulator 109.
`A filter, Such as a SAW filter 106, filters the IF channel
`Signal to Split the Signal into Separate Video and audio
`portions for further processing. The Video portion is
`demodulated and descrambled by video demodulator 109
`under the control of a descrambler control 110 of MCC 104.
`Video demodulator 109 performs the sync restoration
`(descrambling of the video signal) for Sync Suppression
`Scrambling. The Video signal then passes through a band
`pass filter 130 and to a video inverter 132 where inverse
`Video inversion (descrambling) takes place. The descram
`bling of the Video portion, whether Sync Suppression, Sync
`inversion, Video line inversion, etc. is under the control of
`descrambler control 110 of MCC 104. Descrambler control
`110 provides the necessary timing Signals, inversion axis
`levels, and whether the video is inverted or not to video
`inverter 132 and Supplies the necessary timing, restoration
`levels and identification of Sync pulses to be restored to
`video demodulator 109. Descrambler control 110 usually
`receives Such descrambling information from pulses as
`in-band audio data.
`In the other path, the audio signal is converted from the
`41.25 MHz IF carrier to the intermodulation frequency of
`4.5 MHz by a synchronous detector 105. Feedback for
`automatic gain control of detector 105 is supplied from the
`output of a band pass filter 131. The audio signal may then
`be demodulated by an FM demodulator 119. An amplitude
`modulation detector 111 performs pulse detection to recover
`the in-band audio data which are amplitude modulated onto
`the audio carrier. The recovered in-band pulses are Supplied
`to an in-band audio data decoder 117 of MCC 104 for
`processing after being shaped by a pulse shaper 115. The
`in-band data, except for descrambling data, is Stored in a
`DRAM 137 for buffering. Descrambler control 104 accesses
`descrambling data directly for the Video descrambling
`operation. Volume control of the audio signal is performed
`under the control of a volume control 118 of MCC 104 and
`a control microprocessor 128 as described in U.S. Pat. No.
`5,054,071, incorporated herein by reference. After volume
`control, the audio signal is passed through a low pass filter
`123 and a mute switch 125. The output of mute switch 125
`is applied to a modulator 142.
`MCC 104 receives the video signal after demodulation
`and descrambling and Strips the in-band Video data from the
`VBI of the signal with a VBI decoder 129. The in-band
`Video data is transmitted at a frequency on the order of
`known teletext Systems, Such as about 4.0 megabits per
`Second, and a data clock provides an appropriate Sampling
`frequency higher than the Nyquist rate according to well
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`known techniques. In-band decoder 129 stores the data in
`DRAM 137 prior to processing by microprocessor 128,
`DRAM 137 serving as a data buffer.
`The output of video inversion circuit 132 is also supplied
`to an on screen display control 127 of MCC 104. On screen
`display control 127 Selectively generates on Screen character
`and graphic displays in place of or overlaid on the Video
`signal. Modulator 142 combines the video signal from the
`output of on Screen display control 127 and the audio signal
`from the output of mute circuit 125 and converts the
`combined signal to the channel frequency Selected by con
`trol microprocessor 128, such as channel 34 for NTSC. The
`combined and remodulated Signal is Supplied as an RF
`output to a television receiver in well known manner.
`Control microprocessor 128 controls the overall operation
`of the Subscriber terminal module 140. The Subscriber
`communicates to and controls microprocessor 128 through
`an interactive user interface with an on Screen display. The
`user interface includes a keyboard 122 on the front panel of
`Subscriber terminal module 140 and a remote 126 which
`generate Subscriber control Signals for channel tuning, Vol
`ume level control, feature Selection, and the like. These
`Subscriber control commands are decoded by an input
`Scanner and control 148 of MCC 104. A remote IR receiver
`124 of the user interface receives the commands from the
`infrared (IR) or other remote control 126, as is well known
`in the art, and provides commands to control microprocessor
`128. The user interface additionally includes a 4 digit, 7
`segment LED display 120 which displays the tuned channel
`numbers and diagnostics.
`When keyboard 122 or IR remote control 126 is utilized
`to Select a command, control microprocessor 128 operates to
`execute the command. For example, this operation may be
`to instruct tuner control 102 to appropriately control
`up/down converter 100 to tune a selected channel. The
`subscriber terminal module interacts with the subscriber by
`providing numerous on Screen displays which assist in the
`operation of the Subscriber terminal module. The on Screen
`displays provide information and prompts to guide the
`Subscriber through many of the complex features of the
`terminal. An example of on Screen display Screens for
`assisting in the operation of the Subscriber terminal module
`is described in commonly assigned application Ser. No.
`07/800,836, which is incorporated herein by reference.
`Descrambler control 110 of MCC 104 utilizes recovered
`descrambling data to generate appropriate control Signals,
`for example, inversion control and equalizing, Sync resto
`ration or regeneration for descrambling, or otherwise restor
`ing the input baseband television Signal. A Secure micropro
`cessor 136 determines whether descrambler control 110 of
`MCC 104 carries out descrambling on a particular channel
`or what form of descrambling is required at a particular time
`by interpreting the authorization and control data down
`loaded from System manager 12 (by any of the three data
`transmission Schemes discussed herein, out-of-band,
`in-band audio or in-band video) into the internal non-volatile
`memory (NVM) of the device. The NVM in secure micro
`processor 136 Stores Secure data, for example, authorization
`data, Scrambled channel data, Scrambling mode data, Some
`Subscriber terminal module configuration data and other
`required data.
`Control microprocessor 128 operates by running a control
`program which preferably is partially Stored in a read-only
`memory internal to the processor and partially Stored in a
`non-volatile memory such as Flash EPROM memory 134.
`Control microprocessor 128 communicates with the non
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`volatile memory 134 and an applications module 300 via a
`memory buS 141 which has data, address, and control lines.
`In addition, control microprocessor 128 controls data decod
`ers 117, 129 and 146 and tuner control 102, volume control
`118, on-screen display control 127, descrambler control 110
`and input key Scanner and control 148 via commands
`through MCC 104 and control microprocessor bus (CMB)
`131. Control microprocessor 128 also directly controls mute
`Switch 125 and the output frequency selection of modulator
`142. Control microprocessor 128 includes additional capac
`ity for other auxiliary device communications and control
`through a data port 144.
`Memory control 112 permits data coming from the three
`data decoders 117, 129 and 146 to be placed in a volatile
`memory such as DRAM 137. There it can be accessed by
`control microprocessor 128 via CMB 131. MCC 104 also
`distributes control instructions from control microprocessor
`128 to the other parts of MCC 104 to provide operation of
`the rest of Subscriber terminal module 140. MCC 104
`additionally connects to a Secure microprocessor bus (SMB)
`143 which permits communications between Secure micro
`processor 136 and other portions of subscriber terminal
`module 140.
`Memory control 112 and the microprocessor interfaces of
`MCC 104 are the central communications facility for control
`microprocessor 128 and Secure microprocessor 136.
`Memory control 112 receives requests to write to memory or
`read from memory from microprocessors 128, 136 and the
`other controls and data decoders. It resolves contentions for
`memory transfers, giving priority to real time applications
`and the microprocessors, and Schedules the data flow.
`Microprocessors 128 and 136