Set-Top Box Search and Rescue Module for Remote Diagnostics
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Solution Overview
Problem
Set-top boxes (STBs) often become inaccessible to head-ends due to communication errors, leading to costly disruptive reboots or in-home service calls, as existing methods lack effective mechanisms for diagnosing and repairing connectivity issues remotely.
Innovation Solution
A standalone Search and Rescue (SAR) application is deployed to distressed STBs, enabling in-field discovery, diagnosis, and repair by re-establishing communications between the STB and the head-end without the need for rebooting, using a proxying mechanism to gather diagnostic information from responsive devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a set-top device becomes inaccessible through the RF network, then remote diagnosis and repair cannot be performed, but disruptive reboots or in-home service calls are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a Search and Rescue (SAR) module as an intermediary component that can be deployed to alternative accessible set-top devices. This SAR module acts as a mediator to communicate with and diagnose the inaccessible set-top device through the RF network, enabling remote diagnosis even when the primary device is unreachable. The SAR module retrieves diagnostic information such as log files from the inaccessible device without requiring physical access or disruptive reboots.
2Productivity
If remote diagnosis tools are implemented, then service calls can be reduced, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a copying mechanism where the SAR module is deployed to alternative accessible set-top devices that replicate the functionality needed for diagnosis. Instead of requiring complex built-in diagnostic tools in every device, the system creates functional copies of the diagnostic capability through the SAR module running on accessible devices. This approach reduces service calls while avoiding the need to significantly increase the base device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The SAR module is designed as a universal, multi-functional component that can operate on any accessible set-top device to diagnose any inaccessible device in the network. This universal approach allows the same SAR module to handle various diagnostic scenarios (retrieving log files, checking device status, attempting reconnections) without requiring device-specific complex diagnostic tools, thereby reducing service calls while maintaining manageable system complexity.
3Reliability
If the set-top device is rebooted to restore connectivity, then communication can be re-established, but service disruption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by deploying the SAR module to accessible set-top devices before the inaccessible device requires rebooting. The SAR module proactively retrieves diagnostic information and attempts to re-establish communication with the inaccessible device through software-based interventions. This preliminary diagnostic and repair action can resolve connectivity issues without requiring the time-consuming disruptive reboot, thereby restoring communication while minimizing service disruption.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for performing in-field discovery, diagnosis and/or repair of a set-top device includes the steps of: determining whether at least a first set-top device is non-responsive to a head-end via a communication channel established between the head-end and the first set-top device; executing a search and rescue (SAR) module on the first set-top device when it is determined that the first set-top device is non-responsive to the head-end; and re-establishing communications between the first set-top device and the head-end by the SAR module executing on the first set-top device.