JP2001357014A - Network system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a network system, by which a subscriber can receive an Internet service such as read of a home page even from a place such as destination of a business trip or destination of a visit other than subscriber's home. SOLUTION: Concerning the network system, in which a CATV device for providing Internet services through a CATV network and a provider device for providing Internet services without through the CATV network are connected to the Internet, inside each of the CATV device and the provider device, authentication servers are respectively provided for authenticating whether a person operating a subscriber terminal connectable to the provider device is a subscriber with the contract of receiving Internet services provided by the CATV device or not.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a CATV (CAb)
le TeleVision: cable television
The present invention relates to a network system that provides an Internet connection service using a line, and more particularly, to a network system that enables a user receiving the service to receive the service via another network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a conventional network system. In FIG. 2, a network system includes a CATV device 70 installed in a normal CATV station, a subscriber device 72 installed in a subscriber's home (a person who has applied for receiving a service provided by the network system), and a specific device. A CATV network 71 installed in the area is provided, and the CATV device 70 and the subscriber device 72 transmit and receive data bidirectionally via the CATV network 71.

The CATV device 70 includes a rebroadcasting unit 75 for broadcasting a program provided from another television station, and a voluntary broadcasting unit 76 for broadcasting a program produced by the own station using a camera 78 or the like. A recording / reproducing unit 76 for recording a program provided by another television station or a program produced by the own station, or for reproducing a program for broadcasting via the rebroadcasting unit 75 or the independent broadcasting unit 77; Firewall unit 79 for preventing unauthorized access to
W (World Wide Web) server 81 and DNS (Domain Name)
System: A station server 80 that includes a domain name system) server 82 and a mail (mail) server 83 and performs Internet services such as browsing of home pages.
And at least one of rebroadcast program data output from the rebroadcast unit 75, independent broadcast program data output from the independent broadcast unit 77, and Internet data output via the station server 80 or directly taken in from the outside. CAT
And a mixing unit 84 for outputting to the V network 71.

[0004] The CATV device 70 acquires Internet data from a site (not shown) via a higher-level provider 73 that provides Internet services such as browsing home pages or directly connected to the Internet 74. Further, the CATV device 70
Internet data can also be obtained from a site (not shown) provided in the ATV device 70.

On the other hand, the subscriber unit 72 distributes the rebroadcast program data or the independent broadcast program data output from the mixing unit 84 to the television receiver 87, and distributes the Internet data to the personal computer 89. Vessel 85,
A home terminal 86 for displaying the program data received from the CATV network 71 on a television receiver 87, a television receiver 87 for receiving and displaying the program data,
A modem 88 for performing two-way high-speed data communication using a vacant band not used for TV broadcasting, and a data processing for transmitting and receiving Internet data to and from the outside via a CATV network 71 so that a subscriber can browse a homepage or the like. And a personal computer 89 used as an apparatus.

[0006]

However, in the conventional network system, when a subscriber receives an Internet service such as browsing a homepage, it is necessary to access the CATV device from the subscriber device at home via the CATV network. In addition, there has been a problem that the CATV apparatus cannot be accessed from places other than the home such as a business trip destination or an outing.

[0007] It is an object of the present invention to provide a network system in which a subscriber can receive an Internet service such as browsing a home page even from a place other than home, such as a business trip or going out.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention employs the following configuration. That is,
According to one aspect of the present invention, a network system of the present invention includes a first device that provides an application service via a first network and a second device that provides an application service without passing through the first network. Are network systems connected to a second network, and a person operating a subscriber terminal connectable to the second device in the first device is connected to the network device by the first device. First to authenticate whether the subscriber has subscribed to the provided application service
A user operating a subscriber terminal connectable to the second device in the second device is contracted to receive an application service provided by the first device. A second authentication server for authenticating whether or not the subscriber is a subscriber;
The first authentication server and the second authentication server allow the person operating the subscriber terminal to receive the application service provided by the first terminal. Authenticate whether the subscriber is a subscriber to receive application services provided by the device.

Preferably, in the network system according to the present invention, the first device is a network system that performs CATV broadcasting.
An ATV apparatus, wherein the second apparatus is a provider apparatus that provides an Internet service, the first network is a CATV network, the second network is the Internet, and the application service is a homepage. It is desirable to be an Internet service that includes browsing.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a network system according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, a network system includes a CATV device 1 installed in a normal CATV station, a subscriber device 3 installed in a subscriber's (person who has applied for receiving a service provided by the network system) home, and a specific A CATV network 2 installed in a region is provided. The CATV device 1 and the subscriber device 3 transmit and receive data bidirectionally via the CATV network 2.

The CATV apparatus 1 is connected to a higher-level provider 4 that provides Internet services such as browsing a homepage, or directly to the Internet 5.
To obtain Internet data from a site (not shown). Further, the CATV device 1 can acquire Internet data from a site (not shown) provided in the CATV device 1.

[0012] The Internet 5 is connected to another provider 6 that provides Internet services such as browsing of a home page, separately from the above-mentioned upper provider 4. The subscriber terminal 7 receives the same service as when the subscriber using the subscriber device 3 uses the subscriber device 3 from a place other than home, such as a business trip or going out. Is configured to be connectable to the upper provider 4 or the other provider 6 via a public line or the like.

When the subscriber attempts to receive the service using the subscriber terminal 7, the upper provider 4 or the other provider 6 determines that the subscriber is an authorized subscriber (network system). Authentication servers 41 and 61 for authenticating whether or not the user is a person who has applied for receiving the service provided by the user.

On the other hand, the CATV apparatus 1 includes a rebroadcasting unit 11 for broadcasting a program provided from another television station.
And a voluntary broadcasting unit 13 for broadcasting a program produced by the own station using the camera 14 or the like, and recording a program provided from another television station or a program produced by the own station, or
The recording / reproducing unit 12 for reproducing a program for broadcasting via the rebroadcasting unit 11 or the independent broadcasting unit 13 and the input / output of data signals are controlled, and the data signals from the authentication servers 41 and 61 are transmitted to the authentication server 18. The I / F (interface) unit 15 for distributing and distributing other data signals to the firewall unit 16, the firewall unit 16 for preventing unauthorized access from the outside, etc., and the subscription via the authentication servers 41 and 61. Server 18, WWW server 19, DNS server 20, Ma for authenticating whether or not the user using remote terminal 7 is an authorized subscriber
station server 17 having an il server 21 for performing Internet services such as browsing of homepages;
1 to the CATV network 2 at least one of the rebroadcast program data output from the first server 1, the independent broadcast program data output from the independent broadcast unit 13, and the Internet data output via the station server 17 or directly taken in from the outside. And a mixing unit 22 for outputting.

The subscriber unit 3 has a configuration similar to that of the conventional subscriber unit 72 described with reference to FIG. 2, and includes a distributor, a home terminal, a television receiver, a modem, a personal computer, and the like. Is provided. In the network system configured as described above, a subscriber who cannot use the subscriber device 3 because he or she is at a place other than home, such as a business trip or going out, is, for example, a portable personal computer or a personal computer at a business trip. Information (ID, password, etc.) indicating that the user (subscriber) has accessed the other provider 6 or the higher-level provider 41 from the client terminal 7 and has applied for the service provided by the network system.
Is entered, authentication processing is performed between the authentication server 41 or the authentication server 61 and the authentication server 18 to authenticate that the subscriber is an authorized subscriber.

Then, the subscriber who has been authenticated as a regular subscriber can use the subscriber terminal 7 to receive the same service as when the subscriber device 3 is used. it can. The present invention has been described in detail above, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment.
For example, the CATV network 2 and the Internet 5 may be different networks, and may be a network provided by one company and a network provided by another company.

That is, the present invention can take various configurations or shapes without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0018]

As described above, according to the present invention, a subscriber can receive an Internet service such as browsing a homepage even from a place other than home, such as a business trip or going out. .

Furthermore, those who have not applied to receive the services provided by the network system due to frequent business trips or going out have a large profit to apply for the services, and the users are not provided with the services. There is a benefit for the provider.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a network system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a conventional network system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 CATV apparatus 2 CATV network 3 Subscriber apparatus 4 Host provider 5 Internet 6 Other providers 11 Rebroadcasting part 12 Recording / reproducing part 13 Independent broadcasting part 14 Camera 15 I / F part 16 Firewall part 17 Station server 18 Authentication server 19 WWW server Reference Signs List 20 DNS server 21 Mail server 22 Mixing unit 41, 61 Authentication server 70 CATV device 71 CATV network 72 Subscriber device 73 High-order provider 74 Internet 75 Rebroadcasting unit 76 Recording / playback unit 77 Voluntary broadcasting unit 78 Camera 79 Firewall unit 80 Station server 81 WWW server 82 DNS server 83 Mail server 84 Mixer 85 Distributor 86 Home terminal 87 Television receiver 88 Modem 89 Personal computer

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5B085 AE23 BE07 BG07 5C064 BA01 BA07 BB05 BB10 BC10 BC16 BC18 BC20 BC21 BC27 5K030 GA15 HC01 HC13 KA01 KA07 LD20

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A first device that provides an application service via a first network and a second device that provides an application service without passing through the first network are connected to a second network. In the network system, a subscriber who operates a subscriber terminal connectable to the second device in the first device and subscribes to an application service provided by the first device. A first authentication server that authenticates whether or not the subscriber terminal is provided in the second device by a person operating a subscriber terminal connectable to the second device by the first device. A second authentication server that authenticates whether the subscriber is a subscriber who has subscribed to the application service to be provided, and Therefore, when an access to receive the provided application service is made, a person operating the subscriber terminal can be operated by the first device by the first authentication server and the second authentication server. A network system for certifying whether a subscriber has subscribed to a provided application service. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first device is a CATV device that performs a CATV broadcast, the second device is a provider device that performs an Internet service, the first network is a CATV network, The network system according to claim 1, wherein the second network is the Internet, and the application service is an Internet service including browsing a homepage.