JP2000092403A - Television receiving set - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a user to preset channels without being aware of it. SOLUTION: When channel-up or channel-down is indicated through a remote controller 40, a microcomputer 50 detects it and then detects a nearby station- present channel in the channel indication direction, based on channel kind information on station presence or station absence stored in a channel position of an EEPROM 60 and a tuner 10 directly controls a local oscillation frequency to receive it. When no channel kind information is stored in the channel position, presence of a station is determined based on whether or not a synchronizing signal is present, and while the channel kind information is stored, a nearby station-present channel is detected and received by the tuner 10.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a television receiver, and more particularly, to a television receiver having a channel preset function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a television receiver of this type is provided with a tuner employing a so-called frequency synthesizer system. When a desired channel is designated from a remote controller or an operation panel, a microcomputer detects and responds. The channel data is supplied to a tuner, and the tuner receives a television signal of a corresponding channel frequency by controlling a local oscillation frequency based on the channel data. Of course, the reception channel may be directly instructed by the remote controller or the operation panel, but the reception channel may be instructed by operating the channel up button or the channel down button. In this case, not all channels are necessarily channels with stations, so channels with stations are preset, and when the above channel up button or channel down button is operated, the nearest station is set based on the preset contents. Operational convenience is achieved by having the tuner receive the presence channel.

When a predetermined operation is performed on a remote controller or an operation panel in performing the channel preset as described above, a menu screen is displayed by an OSD or the like, and the user executes the operation according to the menu screen. Then, the microcomputer detects and determines the presence or absence of a station from the presence or absence of a synchronization signal while switching the reception channel of the tuner substantially continuously over all channels,
The result of the determination is stored in a memory or the like. When the channel up button or the channel down button is operated after the channel preset is completed once in this way, the microcomputer searches the same memory, skips the stationless channel, detects the nearest channel with a station, and tunes the tuner. To receive.

On the other hand, in the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-138714, in performing channel presetting, first, a channel matching switch is depressed to set a channel matching mode, and thereafter, a memory position of a channel data memory is set to a desired position. Set to the position. Then, after a predetermined time has elapsed, the channel scan is started, and when the synchronization signal is detected, the channel scan is temporarily stopped. Here, when the memory switch is depressed, the corresponding channel data is stored in the memory position. Further, when a predetermined time has elapsed without depressing the memory switch, the channel scan is started again, and the channel scan is similarly temporarily stopped when a synchronization signal is detected.

[0005]

The above-mentioned conventional television receiver has the following problems.
When performing a channel preset, the user must operate consciously, which is difficult for an unfamiliar user to understand.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a television receiver capable of performing channel presetting without the user being conscious of it.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a signal according to a desired channel frequency is received while a local oscillation frequency is directly controlled and a predetermined signal processing is performed. And a channel instructing means for instructing a channel up or channel down of a receiving channel in the tuner means, a channel type storing means for storing a channel type with or without a station for each channel; When a channel up or a channel down is instructed by the channel instructing means, the tuner means causes the tuner means to receive the nearest channel with a station based on the channel type in the channel instructing direction stored in the channel type storing means. The above-mentioned channel Preset reception control for determining the presence or absence of a station based on the output of the tuner means for a channel in which the channel type is not stored, detecting the nearest station-present channel while receiving the channel type, and causing the tuner means to receive the channel. Means.

In the invention according to claim 1 configured as described above, the channel type storage means stores the channel type with or without the station for each channel, and the channel instructing means sets the channel up or down. When the channel down is instructed, the preset reception control means causes the tuner means to receive the nearest station-present channel based on the channel type in the channel indication direction stored in the channel type storage means. In other words, the tuner means receives a signal corresponding to the channel frequency of the local station while directly controlling the local oscillation frequency, performs predetermined signal processing, and outputs the signal. Of course, in an initial state such as at the time of introduction, there may be a channel for which the channel type is not stored in the channel type storage unit, but in this case, the preset reception control unit outputs the output of the tuner unit for the same channel. Based on this, it is determined whether or not there is a station, and the nearest channel with a station is detected while the channel type is stored, and the tuner means similarly receives the channel.

Therefore, when all channels are scanned by instructing channel up or channel down from a state where no channel type is stored in the channel type storage means, the channel preset is completed. When channel up or channel down is instructed by the channel instructing unit after the channel preset is completed, the preset receiving control unit determines the nearest channel with the station based on only the channel type stored in the channel type storing unit. The tuner means receives the signal.

As described above, in the present invention, the channel preset is automatically performed in response to the channel up or channel down instruction. However, usually, the user recognizes that the channel preset is being performed in the meantime. Not. Therefore, the invention according to claim 2 is
2. The television receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the preset reception control means detects the nearest channel with a station after receiving a channel up or channel down instruction by the channel instruction means, and receives the channel with the tuner means. The configuration is such that the video and audio are muted before the operation is performed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when a channel up or a channel down is instructed by the channel instructing means, the preset receiving control means starts muting of the video and audio, and there is a nearest station. After the channel is detected and received by the tuner means, the mute is released. Note that the video muting here is only required to make the video based on the output of the tuner means invisible, and a method such as so-called blackout or blueback can be adopted.

In an initial state such as at the time of introduction, the channel type storage means does not store the channel type for any channel. Therefore, when the appropriate channel is received by the tuner means, and if the channel is a stationless channel, the user may consider erroneously recognizing that it is necessary to individually perform channel presetting. Therefore, the invention according to claim 3 is:
In the television receiver according to any one of claims 1 and 2, the preset reception control unit includes:
In the initial state in which the channel type for any channel is not stored in the channel type storage unit, it is determined whether or not there is a station while sequentially switching the reception channel of the tuner unit starting from the terminal channel after power-on. In this configuration, the channel with the station detected first is received while the channel type is stored.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the power is turned on in an initial state in which the channel type of any channel is not stored in the channel type storage unit, the preset reception control unit ends. While the receiving channel of the tuner means is sequentially switched from the channel No. as a starting point, the presence or absence of a station is determined and the channel type is stored.

When a reception failure has occurred, such as when an antenna is not connected, the preset reception control means determines that there are no stations for all channels, and stores the channel type with no stations in the channel type storage means. Will be done. Therefore, assuming such a case, the invention according to claim 4 is the television receiver according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the preset reception control means includes a station for all channels. When it is determined that there is no channel type, the channel type stored in the channel type storage unit is deleted and the channel type is returned to the initial state.

[0015] In the invention according to claim 4 configured as described above, the preset reception control means determines the presence or absence of a station for each channel as described above, and stores the channel type in the channel type storage means. If it is determined that there is no station over all channels, the channel type stored in the channel type storage means is deleted and the channel is returned to the initial state.

[0016]

As described above, according to the present invention, the channel preset is automatically performed in response to the channel up or channel down instruction, so that the channel preset can be performed without the user being conscious. It is possible to provide a simple television receiver.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the video and audio are muted during the channel preset, the user does not feel uncomfortable.

Further, according to the invention according to claim 3,
Even if the power is turned on in the initial state, the channel with station is received while performing the channel preset.
The user can be made aware that there is no need to individually perform channel presets.

Further, according to the invention of claim 4,
When the channel type without a station is stored in all channels, the same channel type is deleted and returned to the initial state. If the antenna is not connected, the wrong channel type may be stored. There is no.

[0020]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a television receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the input terminal of the tuner 10 is C
An ATV coaxial cable is connected, and the tuner 10 receives a signal corresponding to a desired channel frequency via the CATV coaxial cable, selects only a required signal, amplifies the signal at a high frequency, and outputs the amplified signal. The tuner 10 employs a so-called frequency synthesizer system, compares a local oscillation frequency with a reference oscillator frequency, and selects a reception channel by directly controlling the local oscillation frequency by a PLL system. It is configured.

The signal output from the tuner 10 is VI
The signal is input to the F circuit 21 and the SIF circuit 22, and is output to the signal system circuit 30 after being subjected to video intermediate frequency amplification and audio intermediate frequency amplification, respectively. In other words, in the present embodiment, a so-called separate carrier system is adopted, and noise such as buzz is reduced by separately amplifying the intermediate frequency for each of video and audio. You can change it. As described above, in the present embodiment, a signal corresponding to a desired channel frequency is received while the local oscillation frequency is directly controlled by the tuner 10 of the frequency synthesizer system, and the tuner 10 is controlled by the VIF circuit 21 and the SIF circuit 22. The signals output from the amplifier 10 are respectively subjected to video intermediate frequency amplification and audio intermediate frequency amplification, and these circuit configurations constitute tuner means as a whole.

The signal system circuit 30 includes a video IC 31 and an audio IC 32. The signal after the video intermediate frequency amplification output from the VIF circuit 21 is a video IC 3
1, after the video signal is detected, the synchronization signal is separated and output, and the video detection output is subjected to various signal processing to generate a composite video signal.
Output via the video output terminal. On the other hand, the SIF circuit 2
2 is input to the audio IC 32, is subjected to audio detection by the audio IC 32, is separated into the L side and the R side, and is appropriately amplified. And output via the R side audio output terminal.

The receiving channel of the tuner 10 can be selected using the remote controller 40. The remote controller 40 employed in the present embodiment is configured as schematically shown in FIG. 2, and has a power button 41, a channel button 42 from “0” to “9”, Up / Down button 43
And a volume button 44 and the like. Here, for example, when selecting "ch3", input "0" or "3" with the channel button 42, or with the channel up / down button 43 with "ch2" selected. Or
This can be done by instructing channel down with the channel up / down button 43 from the state where "ch4" is selected. Of course, in the present embodiment, the remote controller 40 having the channel up / down button 43 constitutes a channel instruction unit.

When the tuner 10 operates the remote controller 40 to select a desired reception channel, the remote controller 40 transmits a corresponding infrared remote control signal. Then, the microcomputer 50 detects the remote control signal via a remote control signal light receiving unit (not shown), and transmits predetermined channel data so that the tuner 10 selects a corresponding channel. And tuner 10
Directly controls the local oscillation frequency based on the same channel data and tunes to the signal of the corresponding channel frequency as described above.

By the way, in this embodiment, the CAT
It is assumed that the channel is applied to the V broadcast, and since the selectable channels are abundant from "ch1" to "ch125", the user can use the channel up / down button 4
It can be said that in many cases, the station is tuned using No. 3. Of course, not all channels are necessarily channels with stations, so it is not advisable to switch the receiving channel of the tuner 10 strictly in units of adjacent channels when the channel up / down button 43 is operated. Therefore, in this embodiment, channel up /
Each time the down button 43 is operated, the receiving channel of the tuner 10 is switched on a channel-by-station basis. Next, the internal processing of the microcomputer 50 when the channel up / down button 43 is operated will be described.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the internal processing procedure of the microcomputer 50 when the channel up / down button 43 is operated. In the figure, in step S105, mute of video and audio output is started. That is, the video I is controlled by the microcomputer 50.
Composite video signal from C31 and audio I
Mute the L and R audio signals from C32. Here, the muting of the video output is only required to make the original video output invisible, and a method such as blackout or blueback may be used.

In the next step S110, EEPR is performed in a direction corresponding to channel up or channel down.
The channel position in the OM 60 is moved from the current channel to the adjacent channel to acquire channel type information. That is, the memory space of the EEPROM 60 is divided into channel positions corresponding to the respective channels as shown in FIG. 4A, and a memory channel ("M" in the figure) indicating presence of a station at each channel position. The channel type information is stored as to whether or not there is a skip channel (“S” in the figure) indicating that there is no station.
60 constitutes a channel type storage means. More specifically, channel type information may be obtained while appropriately moving a predetermined pointer between channel positions. Of course, in the initial state such as at the time of introduction, FIG.
As shown in (b), no channel type information is stored in any channel position, and the channel type information is sequentially stored in each channel as described later. The internal processing by the microcomputer 50 is also executed when the power is turned on in an initial state such as at the time of introduction, and in this case, step S
At 110, the channel position is set to "ch1".

In step S115, it is determined whether or not the channel type information has already been stored in the channel position set in step S110. If it has been stored, in step S120, the presence or absence of a station is determined based on the channel type information. It is determined whether there is no station. If it is determined that there is no station, step S11
It returns to 0, shifts to the channel position of the next adjacent channel, detects channel type information, and repeats the same processing until it detects a channel with station. If it is determined in step S120 that there is a station, step S12
In step 5, the channel data of the current channel position is transmitted to the tuner 10 to receive the channel with the local station, and in the next step S130, the mute is released and the processing ends. When transmitting the channel data in step S125, it can be assumed that the broadcast signal deviates from the center frequency. Therefore, an AFT voltage generated according to the deviation between the actual video carrier and the reference frequency is obtained, This A
The transmission channel data may be finely adjusted using the FT voltage.

On the other hand, if it is detected in step S115 that the channel type information is not stored in the current channel position, the channel data corresponding to the same channel position is sent to the tuner 10 in step S135, and the corresponding data is transmitted. Tune to the channel frequency. Although not described above, the synchronization signal separated by the video IC 31 is also supplied to the microcomputer 50, and in the next step S140, it is detected whether or not the synchronization signal is supplied from the video IC 31. Here, if the synchronization signal is supplied, it means that a broadcast signal exists at the same channel frequency. In this case, after storing the channel type information of the memory channel in the channel position in step S145, In step S130, the mute of the video and audio output is released.

On the other hand, if no synchronization signal is supplied in step S140, it means that there is no broadcast signal at that channel frequency, and in this case, step S1
At 50, the channel type information of the skip channel is stored in the channel position. Thereafter, in step S155, it is detected whether or not the channel type information of the skip channel is stored in the channel positions of all the channels.
The process returns to 110 and shifts to the channel position of the next adjacent channel, and the same processing is repeated. When "ch1" has no stations in the initial state, the same processing as that at the time of channel up is performed. Therefore, the adjacent channel in this case is “ch2”. If it is detected in step S155 that the channel type information of the skip channel is stored in the channel position of all channels, the channel type information of all channel positions is deleted in step S160.

The meaning of the internal processing by the microcomputer 50 is as follows. That is, when the channel up / down button 43 is operated, the microcomputer 50 first shifts to the channel position of the channel adjacent to the current channel according to the channel up or channel down direction, and stores the data in the same channel position. Channel type information is detected. If the channel is a skip channel, the channel is sequentially shifted to the same channel position, and when the channel type information of the memory channel is detected, the channel data is transmitted to receive the channel. At this time, when it is detected that the channel type information is not stored, it is determined whether or not the channel has a station based on the presence or absence of the synchronization signal, and based on the determination result, whether the skip channel or the memory channel is selected. While storing the channel type information in the corresponding channel position, when a station-present channel is detected, that channel is received.

If the channel type of the skip channel is stored for all channel positions, it is highly likely that the coaxial cable is not connected to the tuner 10 or that a poor connection is likely to occur. , The channel type information stored in all channel positions is deleted, and presetting is performed again as described above. As described above, in the present embodiment, the microcomputer 50 constitutes a preset reception control unit.

As described above, in the present embodiment, it is not necessary for the user to individually designate a channel preset as in the related art, and the user operates the channel up / down button 43 to cycle through all the channels. Stores channel type information of a skip channel or a memory channel. After that, only the channel with station is selected based on only the channel type information stored in each channel position.

Next, the operation of this embodiment configured as described above will be described step by step from the time of introduction. After initial settings such as connecting a coaxial cable to the tuner 10 and turning on the power by pressing down a power button 41 arranged on the remote controller 40, the microcomputer 50 detects and mutes the video and audio outputs. Start (step S105). Thereafter, the channel position of the EEPROM 60 is set to "ch1", and an attempt is made to acquire channel type information (step S110). However,
In the initial state, as shown in FIG. 4B, since no channel type information is stored in any channel position, channel data for receiving "ch1" is transmitted to the tuner 10 (step S1). S
115, S135).

Then, the tuner 10 outputs a signal in synchronization with the frequency of "ch1" by directly controlling the local oscillation frequency based on the same channel data. Originally, the output signal is VIF circuit 21 and SIF
After the video intermediate frequency amplification and the audio intermediate frequency amplification are performed by the circuit 22, the synchronizing signal is separated by the signal system circuit 30 and supplied to the microcomputer 50. However, FIG.
As can be seen from (a), since “ch1” is a stationless channel, the signal system circuit 30 cannot separate the synchronization signal, and the synchronization signal is not supplied to the microcomputer 50 either. Therefore, the microcomputer 50 determines that “ch1” is a stationless channel (step S140),
The channel type information of the skip channel is stored in the channel position of "ch1" (step S15).
0).

Thereafter, the microcomputer 50 detects whether or not the channel type information of the skip channel is stored for all the channel positions (step S1).
55). Of course, at this time, the channel type information of the skip channel is not stored for all the channel positions. Then, the microcomputer 50 shifts the channel position from “ch1” to “ch2” and tries to acquire the channel type information in the same manner (step S110). In this case, however, the channel type information is not stored. The channel data for receiving "ch2" is transmitted to the tuner 10 (steps S115 and S135). As can be seen from FIG. 4A, since "ch2" is a channel with a station, the microcomputer 50 can detect a synchronization signal (step S140), and the channel type of the memory channel is set at the channel position of "2ch". After storing the information (step S145), the mute of the video and audio output is released (step S130).

When channel up is instructed by operating the channel up / down button 43 provided on the remote controller 40 from the state where "ch2" is received in this manner, the microcomputer 50 similarly detects video and audio signals. The output mute is started (step S105), and the channel position is shifted from “ch2” to “ch3” (step S110). Then, channel type information stored in the same channel position is to be acquired, but, of course, the channel type information is not stored at this time. Therefore, the microcomputer 50 sets “ch3”
Is transmitted to the tuner 10 (steps S115 and S135), and it is detected whether or not a synchronization signal is supplied (step S140). FIG.
As can be seen from (a), since “ch3” is a stationless channel, the microcomputer 50 cannot detect the synchronization signal, and stores the channel type information of the skip channel in the channel position of “ch3”.

Thereafter, the microcomputer 50 shifts the channel position from "ch3" to "ch4" (step S110). However, since the channel type information cannot be obtained, channel data for receiving "ch4" is transmitted to the tuner 10. (Steps S115 and S13)
5) It is detected whether or not a synchronization signal is supplied (step S140). As can be seen from FIG.
Since “4” is a channel with a station, the microcomputer 50 can detect the synchronization signal, and after storing the channel type information of the memory channel in the channel position of “ch4” (step S145), cancels the mute (step S145). S130). Thereafter, each time the channel up / down button 43 is operated in the same manner, the channel type information is sequentially stored in each channel position, and only the station-present channel is received.

As described above, when the channel up / down button 43 is operated to make a round for all the channels, the channel type information of the skip channel or the memory channel is stored in the all channel positions. When the channel up / down button 43 is operated after the channel type information is once stored in all the channel positions, the microcomputer 50 performs the channel up or channel down based on only the channel type information stored in each channel position. The tuner 1 detects the nearest station-existing channel according to the direction and
0 (steps S105 to S130).

As described above, when the channel up or the channel down is instructed by the remote controller 40, the microcomputer 50 detects the channel based on the channel type information with or without the station stored in the channel position of the EEPROM 60 and based on the channel type information. When the channel with the station nearest to the designated direction is detected and the local oscillation frequency is directly controlled and received by the tuner 10, the channel type information is not stored in the channel position. The presence / absence of a station is determined and the channel type information is stored, and the nearest channel with a station is detected and received by the tuner 10, so that channel presetting can be performed without the user's awareness. A television receiver can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration of a television receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a remote controller used in the television receiver.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a microcomputer when a channel up / down button is pressed.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a channel position.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Tuner 21 ... VIF circuit 22 ... SIF circuit 30 ... Signal system circuit 31 ... Video IC 32 ... Audio IC 40 ... Remote control 41 ... Power button 42 ... Channel button 43 ... Channel up / down button 44 ... Volume button 50 ... Microcomputer 60 ... EEPROM

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. Tuner means for receiving a signal corresponding to a desired channel frequency while directly controlling a local oscillation frequency, performing predetermined signal processing and outputting the signal, and channel up or reception channel in the tuner means. Channel instructing means for instructing channel down; channel type storing means for storing a channel type with or without a station for each channel; and storing the channel type when channel up or channel down is instructed by the channel instructing means. When the tuner means receives the nearest channel with the station based on the channel type in the channel indication direction stored in the means, the tuner means for the channel in which the channel type is not stored in the channel type storage means. And a preset reception control means for detecting the nearest station-present channel and receiving the same by the tuner means while storing the channel type by judging the presence or absence of the station based on the output of the television set. Receiver. 2. The television receiver according to claim 1, wherein the preset reception control means detects the nearest channel with a station after a channel up or a channel down is instructed by the channel instructing means. A video and audio mute until the tuner means receives the video and audio. 3. The television receiver according to claim 1, wherein the preset reception control means stores the channel type of any channel in the channel type storage means. In the initial state, after the power is turned on, the reception channel of the tuner means is sequentially switched from the terminal channel as a starting point, the presence or absence of a station is determined, the channel type is stored, and the first detected channel with a station is received. A television receiver characterized by the above-mentioned. 4. The television receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said preset reception control means stores said channel type storage means when it is determined that there is no station over all channels. A television receiving apparatus for erasing a stored channel type and returning to an initial state.