Patent ID: 8264341

Claim:
A broadcast signal retransmission system using illuminating light communication, comprising: one or more visible-light-emitting diode (LED) lighting fixtures, each comprising LEDs providing area illumination, each of the lighting fixtures of which converts a broadcast channel signal received through a power line into a light signal and outputs the converted light signal as illumination light; a home server, including a radio frequency (RF) receiver; one or more smart communicators, each of which includes an RF transmitter, and each of which performs a request message transmit operation for a desired broadcast channel by generating a channel request message and by sending the channel request message that includes a location reference in an RF signal to the home server, and decodes the illumination light from a corresponding LED lighting fixture into a reply broadcast signal and outputs the reply broadcast signal; and wherein the home server receives the RF signal, including the channel request message, from a particular smart communicator through the RF receiver, the home server for: receiving a multi-channel broadcast signal, and upon reception of the channel request message containing a desired broadcast channel information and the location reference from the particular smart communicator, setting a signal switching path on the basis of the location reference; and transmitting the broadcast channel signal associated with the desired broadcast channel information through the signal switching path on a power wave carried on the power line leading to the LED lighting fixture installed at the site indicated by the location reference.