Cable Distribution System for Wide-Band Message Signals

Our present invention relates to a cable distribution system for wide-band message signals such as television programs.

Cable-television (CATV) systems are widely used in the transmission of programs to receiving stations at shielded or isolated locations where normal viewing by antenna-fed receivers is unsatisfactory. In such systems the programs are relayed to various distribution points by separate high-frequency cables which may be part of a common trunk line. In a branched distribution system the receiving stations are connected to such a trunk line at various junctions; in a radial array a number of receiving stations are served through a common distribution center at the end of a trunk line.

In conventional CATV systems of the latter type, the subscribers at the receiving stations may select their programs with the aid of a switching network at the common distribution center, the switches of that network responding to d-c or low-frequency signals transmitted to the network over a line separate from the one used for supplying the selected program to the subscriber station.

The general object of our present invention is to provide a simplified distribution system, particularly for cable TV but not necessarily limited thereto, in which a distribution center is linked with each associated subscriber station by a single local line carrying selection signals to the distribution center and message signals to the subscriber station.

A more particular object is to provide a system of this kind whose local lines can also be used for the transmission of other messages in a lower frequency range, such as telephone, videophone or line-radio signals.

It is also an object of our invention to facilitate the supervision of active subscriber stations in such a system e.g. for the purpose of determining toll charges based on the duration of message reception.

In accordance with our present invention, each receiving or subscriber station includes a source of carrier wave having an elevated frequency above the band of messages (referred to hereinafter as TV programs) to be selectively received, this carrier wave being modulated with program-identifying pulse trains by a selector advantageously comprising a keyboard with self-locking keys adapted to be actuated one at a time. The carrier wave so modulated is transmitted to an associated control unit at the distribution center via a local line preferably consisting of two balanced conductors; at the control unit the carrier wave is demodulated and its pulse trains are translated into signals for operating an assigned switching matrix to connect that local line to a transmission path carrying the selected program.

The above and other features of our invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic overall view of a CATV distribution system embodying our invention;

FIG. 2 is a more detailed view of a program selector shown in block form in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a graph of a pulsed carrier wave used in the system of FIGS. 1 and 2.

In FIG. 1 we have shown a relay station ST of a CATV system picking up, e.g. via a master antenna, television programs V.sub.1, V.sub.2, . . . V.sub.n received on different frequency channels as is usual in the industry.

The base band of each channel includes video signals in the range of 0-5 MHz and audio signals in the range of 20-15 kHz. The signals of each channel, properly limited in frequency and adjusted in phase, are fed to a respective modulator-amplifier M.sub.1, M.sub.2, . . . M.sub.n receiving a high-frequency carrier wave from an oscillation generator G.sub.o. The band of the modulated carrier may extend from 2.5 to 9.25 MHz. The wider-band signals emitted by modulators M.sub.1 - M.sub.n are sent to a distribution center, including a switching network MC and several control units CM . . . CM.sub.x, via respective transmission paths J.sub.1, J.sub.2, . . . J.sub.n forming part of a common trunk J, these transmission paths being here shown as coaxial cables including amplifiers A.sub.1, A.sub.2, . . . A.sub.n and A.sub.1 ', A.sub.2 ', . . . A.sub.n '. The cables can be used at the same time for signaling at frequencies below 2.5 MHz, e.g. in data or voice transmission.

The switching network MC comprises a plurality of matrices SW . . . SW.sub.x assigned to respective subscriber stations TU . . . TU.sub.x, all these switching matrices being connected in parallel to the incoming transmission path so that their number can be varied at will as the number of associated subscriber stations changes. Each switching matrix comprises an array of preferably electronic switches SW.sub.1, SW.sub.2, . . . SW.sub.n as particularly indicated for the first station SW. A matrix of this kind has been disclosed in commonly owned application Ser. No. 537,920, now U.S Pat. No. 3,969,638, filed Jan. 2, 1975 by one of us, Giovanpietro Bassani, jointly with Gianfranco Marchetti. As shown in that commonly owned application, the switches of such a matrix are controlled by a decoder -- here designated DD -- allowing one such switch at a time to be closed for delivering the corresponding message signals to an output lead OL. The number n of switches per matrix, depending on the number of incoming programs, can also be changed as desired; in the present instance it will be assumed that n = 8.

The output lead OL of matrix SW extends to the associated control unit CM where the incoming message signals are fed to a balanced two-wire local line LU leading to the affiliated subscriber station TU; a similar line LU.sub.x is seen to extend between control unit CM.sub.x and subscriber station TU.sub.x. Line LU feeds a television receiver TV in station TU by way of an equalizer EQ and a frequency converter CV transposing the incoming HF band into the VHF range to which the receiver TV is tuned; this receiver, therefore, may be of the usual type designed for aerial pickup and does not require any particular adaptation.

Subscriber station TU further includes a selector S, more fully described hereafter with reference to FIG. 2, which works through a filter F.sub.2 into line LU for the purpose of transmitting to control unit CM a carrier wave of an elevated frequency f.sub.c well above the band of incoming TV signals; frequency f.sub.c may be 13.2 MHz, for example. This carrier wave, serving for channel selection and as a continuity signal, passes a filter F.sub.1 in unit CM and reaches a detector R forming part of a demodulation circuit controlling the decoder DD in a manner more fully described below.

Selector S, illustrated in FIG. 2, comprises a keyboard KB with n pushbutton-type keys K.sub.1, K.sub.2, . . . K.sub.n which can be individually depressed to select one of the n available TV channels. These keys are mechanically interconnected, in a manner well known per se, to prevent the actuation of more than one key at a time. Thus, the lowering of one key (e.g. K.sub.2) locks that key actuated, against the force of a restoring spring, and automatically releases any previously locked key (e.g. K.sub.1). This operation closes an individual key switch KS.sub.1, KS.sub.2, . . . KS.sub.n and also a common circuit breaker CB in the input of a timing circuit T.sub.1 which is effective to delay a rising (but not a falling) pulse flank for a predetermined period t.sub.1 of, say, 200 ms. A nonillustrated release button may be depressed to cut off all reception by restoring the key last depressed, thereby opening the circuit breaker CB. If, however, the actuation of one key is accompanied by the release of another key previously depressed, circuit breaker CB opens only for a brief instant and recloses immediately to energize or re-energize (after an intervening delay period t.sub.1) one input of an AND gate N in parallel with another timing circuit T.sub.2 introducing a delay of duration t.sub.2 which may be somewhat less than period t.sub.1 (see FIG. 3). After this second delay, a differentiation circuit D is energized to start a square-wave generator SG working on the one hand into an inverting second input of AND gate N and on the other hand into a stepping input of a decadic counter DC whose n stage output SO.sub.1, SO.sub.2, . . . SO.sub.n are sequentially energized by pulses P emitted at this time by generator SG. Key switches KS.sub.1 -KS.sub.n are included in the leads from the stage outputs SO.sub.1 -SO.sub.n of counter DC and extend to a stopping input of generator SG as well as to a resetting input of counter DC. Thus, the number of pulses P emitted by generator SG depends on the setting of keyboard KB and, in the present instance, is limited to two since the second pulse energizes the output SO.sub.2 in series with the actuated switch KS.sub.2.

A modulator MD receives the carrier wave of frequency f.sub.c from the local oscillator O and also receives the output of AND gate N for amplitude-modulating that carrier wave in accordance with the operation of generator SG. During continuous reception, with circuit breaker CB closed and generator SG inoperative, gate N has an output which lets the full amplitude of the carrier wave from oscillator O traverse the modulator MD to the filter F.sub.2 (FIG. 1) for transmission over Line LU to control unit CM. When the circuit breaker CB is opened, however briefly, gate N ceases to conduct for at least 200 ms and cuts off the output of modulator MD for a like period as illustrated in FIG. 3. Upon reclosure of the circuit breaker and re-energization of timing circuit T.sub.2, the leading edge of this d-c signal reaches the differentiator D after the interval t.sub.2 and triggers the square-wave generator SG into emission of its train of pulses P. The inversions P of these pulses are transmitted by gate N to modulator MD and result in corresponding short-term interruptions of the carrier. The number of these interruptions, therefore, corresponds to the number of pulses P emitted by generator SG. If the delay t.sub.1 is inherent in the operation of the keyboard KB, timing circuit T.sub.1 may be omitted.

At the control unit CM the detector R re-establishes the pulses P and transmits them through a gate B to a stepping intput of a digital (binary) counter CB which has a resetting input connected to the output of filter F.sub.1 through an integrator IN and an inverter IV. The integrator IN bridges the pulse gaps P and thus produces a continuous voltage as long as the carrier frequency f.sub.c is received from line LU. The output voltage of integrator IN also reaches a timing circuit T.sub.3 with a delay period t.sub.3 which is long enough to let the counter BC be stepped by the maximum number n of selection pulses. After this delay the timer T.sub.3 cuts off the gate B so that counter BC remains in the condition last reached until the cessation of carrier frequency f.sub.c causes it to be reset. The output voltage of integrator IN is further fed to charge calculator CC as a measure of the time during which a program is received by subscriber station TU.

In the assumed case of n = 8, three output leads OL' of binary counter BC will suffice to control the switching matrix SW through decoder DD. It could happen, however, that the keyboard KB of station TU is equipped with a larger number of keys so that one or more of these keys would not correspond to an available program. If such a key were inadvertently actuated, the counter BC would energize one or more additonal output leads OL" terminating at a decoder DE which, in that instance, would send to switching network MC a signal blocking the decoder DD.