KR19990003637A - Set-top box with electronic entertainment game - Google Patents

Abstract

end. The technical field to which the invention described in the claims belongs:

Video On Demand (VOD) System

I. The technical problem the invention is trying to solve:

Implement a set-top box with built-in electronic entertainment game.

All. The gist of the solution of the invention:

The present invention provides an electronic entertainment game using a set-top box by adding interface devices, that is, a game pack connection device and an external control signal input unit, to use internal resources in the set-top box as it is and to connect a game pack that is frequently used in the market. video game).

la. Important uses of the invention:

For set-top boxes in video on demand systems

Description

Set-top box with electronic entertainment game

The present invention relates to a Video On Demand (hereinafter referred to as VOD) system, and more particularly, to a set top box (STB: Set Top Unit).

After the standardization of Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) 2 has reached its peak, the world's attention has begun to move toward realizing MPEG 2 application services. In particular, the experiment of the practical use of VOD service that can be seen through the network at the time desired by the user by combining MPEG 2 and the computer network is actively conducted worldwide. The movement to realize the application service of MPEG 2 is not only technical, but also accelerates the development of applications such as on-demand movies, remote shopping, network games, on-demand news, and distance education based on the VOD system. have. Against this backdrop, which has been around since 1993, the DAVIC (Digital Audio Visual Council) was established in March 1994 and is currently actively standardizing activities for interactive multimedia services such as VOD.

VOD service is a service that allows subscribers to see the program they want when they want to see it at any time. Representatives that subscribers can receive VOD services include movies, but there are also TV programs, education programs, and sports recently broadcast. In the VOD service, there are a content provider, a producer of video information, an information provider, an end user, a consumer (subscriber) of the information, and a network provider in charge of distributing information therebetween. Characteristic three elements of the VOD system consists of an application server 6, a network 8 and a set-top box 10, as shown in the example of the VOD system configuration shown in FIG. The various image information in the content (eg, videotape) 2 provided by the content provider are provided to the application server 6 by the input server 4. The application server 6 collectively stores the image information and application software for controlling the image information and selectively transmits the image information to the end user device (set top box, indoor receiving device) according to the end user's request. The application server 6 may be understood to be a virtual movie theater or department store amusement center existing in the network. Network 8 should consist of a broadband network capable of delivering information in units of several Mbps for full-scale video distribution. In particular, in the access network, various transmission media such as optical fiber, coaxial, spiral pair cable (telephone line), and satellite may be applied. Set-top box 10 is installed in the end user's home, serving as the destination of the broadband transmission line, and decodes the digital information of the application server 6 and displays it on a TV (TeleVision) or executes various applications. It also communicates the end user's request to the application server 6 using the remote control.

As shown in FIG. 1, if the set-top box 6 installed in the end user's home is a set-top box employing an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) network, the set-top box 6 is a network interface unit having a high speed modem function for demodulating and demodulating ATM cell data. Interface unit) and an MPEG decoder and a video and audio output unit for providing video and audio data to the external device such as a TV, which is viewed by the final subscriber under the control of the main controller. .

When a user watches a movie, a recently aired TV program, an educational program, or a sport using a set-top box, a front panel control panel or a remote controller provided in the set-top box is generally used for viewing selection.

If a user can play a variety of video games using a set-top box with such a feature, it will be convenient for users who want to play games at home.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a set-top box with a built-in electronic entertainment game function.

In accordance with the above object, the present invention, in the set-top box of the on-demand video system, a game pack connection device that can be connected to a game pack containing a variety of electronic entertainment game programs and to perform an internal interface, the user electronic entertainment A game pad, which is a control device capable of playing a game, an external control signal input unit configured to perform an internal interface of the control signal of the game pad, and a key input on the game pad corresponding to a user performing an electronic entertainment game using the game pack. According to the present invention is characterized in that it comprises a control device for reading the program of the electronic entertainment game from the game pack to perform the electronic entertainment game.

1 is an example of the configuration of the VOD system,

Figure 2 is a block diagram of a built-in electronic entertainment game function built in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention,

3 is a control flowchart performed by the central processing unit 20 of FIG. 2 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a block diagram of the set-top box built-in according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, a central processing unit (CPU) 20, a memory 22, a network interface unit 24, an MPEG decoder 26, a video and audio output unit 28, a remote control receiver 30, and a key input unit 32 are provided in a general set top box. A newly provided configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention for performing an electronic entertainment game using a set-top box is a game pack for connecting a game pad 34, an external control signal input unit 36, and a game pack 38. Connection device 40.

CPU 20 controls the overall operation of the set-top box. The memory 22 is composed of a program ROM (ROM) and a random access memory (RAM). Various control programs of the CPU 20 are mapped to the ROM. RAM stores various data under the control of the CPU 20. The network interface unit 24 is connected to the network through a transmission medium such as a telephone line or an optical cable, and performs transmission and reception interfacing between the network and the MPEG decoder 26. The MPEG decoder 26 is controlled by the CPU 20 through the system bus and decodes the MPEG data stream applied through the network interface 24 to output the audio data and the video data. In the video and audio output unit 28, the video output unit converts the digital video processed by the MPEG decoder 26 into an analog form and outputs it to the monitor of the TV 42, which is an external device. The audio output unit converts the digital audio processed by the MPEG decoder 26 into an analog form, amplifies it, and outputs it to the speaker of the TV 42 which is an external device. The remote controller receiver 30 receives an infrared signal transmitted from a remote controller (REMOCON: REMOte CONtroller) based on a user's remote controller key selection and outputs it to the CPU 20. The key input unit 32 is a front panel control panel of the set top box and outputs key data according to the pressing of a key provided in the front panel control panel to the CPU 20.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, among the newly provided components (game pad 34, external control signal input unit 36, game pack 38, game pack connecting device 40), the game pad 34 uses a game pack 38 to allow a user to play an electronic game. For example, a joystick may be used as a control device for enabling the control. The external control signal input unit 36 is a device for allowing a control signal applied to the game pad 34 to interface with the CPU 20. Game Pack 38 is a product that can be easily obtained in general electronics stores and contains various kinds of electronic entertainment games. Game Pack 38 typically consists of erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM). Game pack connection device 40 is an interface device for connecting the game pack 38 to the set-top box. In addition, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the CPU 20 performs the control as shown in FIG. 3.

3 is a control flowchart performed by the CPU 20 of FIG. 2 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a control operation according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. The control operation according to an embodiment of the present invention is to play an electronic entertainment game using a set-top box.

When the user connects the game pack to the game pack connector 40 and turns on the power of the set-top box, the CPU 20 determines this in step 100. If it is determined in step 100 that the power of the set-top box is on, the process proceeds to step 102. In step 102, a menu asking whether to play an electronic entertainment game using Game Pack 38 is displayed on the TV 42 screen by using a boot program mapped to a ROM of memory 22. In response, the user will press a button to play the game using the key input unit 32 or the game pack 38 using the remote control. The CPU 20 determines whether the user presses a button to play the game using the game pack 38 in step 104. If the button is not pressed by the user, the process proceeds to step 106 and the initial operating program mapped to the ROM in the memory 22 of the set-top box is moved to the RAM in the memory 22, and then the general set-top box function is performed in step 108. However, if the user presses a button to play the game using the game pack 38, the process proceeds to step 110, in which the game programs in the game pack 38 are transferred to the RAM, and in step 112, the game program is executed using the control signal input from the game pad 34. Play the entertainment game.

As described above, the present invention can play an electronic game using the set-top box by using an internal resource in the set-top box as it is and adding an interface for accessing a game pack that is frequently used in the market.

Claims (2)

In the set-top box of the video system on-demand, it is possible to connect to a game pack containing various electronic entertainment game programs, and a game pack connecting device to perform an internal interface, and a game pad, which is a control device that allows a user to play electronic entertainment games. And an external control signal input unit configured to perform an internal interface of the control signal of the game pad, and a program of the electronic entertainment game based on a key input on the game pad corresponding to the user performing the electronic entertainment game using the game pack. Read the game pack in the electronic entertainment game function set-top box, characterized in that configured as a control device for performing the electronic entertainment game. According to claim 1, When the control device is set-top box power-on state outputs a menu asking whether to play a game using a game pack on the screen of the external output device of the set-top box so that the user responds to the menu Set-top box with built-in electronic games, characterized in that the key input.