Digital TV broadcast signal receiving system and outdoor appliance used therein

A digital TV broadcast signal receiving system comprising:

• an antenna control means to which a multi-directional antenna having a plurality of signal receiving directions and which controls an effective signal receiving direction of the multi-directional antenna;
• a tuner for receiving a TV broadcast signal through the multi-directional antenna and the antenna control means;
• a signal demodulation means for demodulating the TV broadcast signal received by the tuner;
• and
• a signal decoding means for decoding the demodulated signal, separating the demodulated signal into an audio signal and a visual signal and outputting them to a monitor apparatus;
• wherein the antenna control means, the tuner and the signal demodulation means are provided in an outdoor appliance placed in an outdoor location, and the signal decoding means is provided in an indoor apparatus which is placed in an indoor location and can perform bidirectional data communication with the outdoor appliance;
• a photovoltaic means for supplying electric power to each department of the outdoor appliance and to the multi-directional antenna, a first wireless interface which perform wireless communication with the indoor appliance in compliance with a predetermined wireless LAN technical standard or IEEE 1394 technical standard, and a first control means for controlling each department of the outdoor appliance are further provided in the outdoor appliance;
• a second wireless interface which perform wireless communication with the outdoor appliance and a second control means for controlling each department of the indoor appliance are further provided in the indoor appliance;
• the first wireless interface transmits the demodulated signal by the signal demodulation means to the second wireless interface, and the second wireless interface transfers the received demodulated signal to the signal decoding means;
• when a reception channel of the tuner is changed, the second control means transmits a control signal for changing the reception channel of the tuner to the first control signal through the second wireless interface and the first wireless interface;
• the first control means changes reception frequency of the tuner corresponding to the control signal, judges whether a signal receiving direction of a changed reception channel is same as that of a previously set reception channel or not, and when the signal receiving direction of the changed reception channel is not the same as that of the previously set reception channel, the first control means further outputs an antenna control signal to the antenna control means corresponding to the changed reception channel;
• the antenna control means outputs an antenna control signal and supplies drive voltage to the multi-directional antenna for changing the effective signal receiving direction, thereby, the digital TV broadcast signal can be received by the indoor appliance and the reception channel can be changed from the indoor appliance with laying no cable from the outdoor to the indoor, and the effective signal receiving direction of the multi-directional antenna can be optimized corresponding to the reception channel.

An outdoor appliance used in a digital TV broadcast signal receiving system comprising:

• an antenna controller to which a multi-directional antenna is connected and which controls an effective signal receiving direction of the multi-directional antenna;
• a tuner for receiving a TV broadcast signal through the multi-directional antenna and the antenna controller;
• a signal demodulator for demodulating the TV broadcast signal received by the tuner;
• a main controller for controlling each department of the indoor appliance;
• a wireless interface for transmitting the demodulated signal by a format in compliance with a predetermined technical standard with another wireless interface provided in an indoor apparatus placed in an indoor location;
• and
• a solar cell for supplying electric power to each department of the outdoor appliance and to the multi-directional antenna.