JP2000348403A - Program reserving device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a program reserving device for reserving program by automatically generating a program table, and displaying program reservation information so that it can be understood visually easily. SOLUTION: A TV electronic wave of the program reserving device that has been received by an antenna 1 is converted into an image signal via a program reserving device 2 and is supplied to a television monitor 8. The program reserving device 2 is composed of a tuner 3, a system control part 4, a display control part 5, a recording/reproducing unit 6, and an operation input part 7. A program table reservation screen is displayed on a display such as the television monitor 8, and a program reservation is made easily on the screen, by reserving a program on the screen.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a program reservation device capable of reserving a television broadcast or a radio broadcast by using a program table displayed on a screen.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a recording reservation for recording a specific television broadcast program, information of a broadcast program is displayed on the screen only in characters when inputting program reservation information to be recorded. Since the user was provided with guidance for the reservation operation according to such a screen display, many users felt that the operation of the program reservation was difficult.

[0003] In the VTR industry, G-code reservation by Gemstar Development Corporation has been used, and recording reservation can be performed by a simple operation as compared with the conventional program reservation method.

[0004]

However, such a G
Even if it is a code reservation, it is necessary to input a few-digit number specifying a reserved program from a remote controller or the like. Cannot be entered. Therefore,
The user must always have a program guide including the G code at hand. In addition, as satellite digital broadcasting has begun and the number of programs to be provided has increased, there have been cases where it has been difficult to obtain a program guide, which has often caused inconvenience. Also, there is a problem that many users find it difficult to perform even a program reservation operation such as a G code reservation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems. It is an object of the present invention to automatically generate a program table, display program reservation information in a visually easy-to-understand manner, and display program reservation information. Is to provide a program reservation device that can perform the following.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A program reservation apparatus according to the present invention is a program reservation apparatus which can reserve a program based on a program table displayed on a monitor. Operation input means for making a reservation setting of a specific program by referring to a program table displayed on the monitor;
Storage means for storing the reserved program information set by the operation input means together with the program information for generating the program guide; and storing the reserved program information based on the reserved program information and the program information stored in the storage means. It comprises a display control means for superimposing and displaying the program on the program table, and a reception control means for controlling the receiving means based on the reserved program information stored in the storage means to receive the reserved program.

[0007] The reserved program information is program information determined on the basis of a signal for specifying a time zone and a broadcast station of a program table input from the operation input means. Further, the program reservation device according to the present invention further comprises display means for superimposing and displaying the reserved program information and the program information.

[0008] In the program reservation device according to the present invention,
A program table is generated with the start time and end time corresponding to each program receivable by the receiving means as initial values.

In the program reservation device according to the present invention,
The program table includes character information for specifying a channel number receivable by the receiving means.

In the program reservation device according to the present invention,
The operation input means sets a broadcast channel or frequency, a reservation start time, and a reservation end time based on the program information.

In the program reservation device according to the present invention,
The display control means controls to rearrange, add, or delete the program information stored in the storage means in units of reception channels.

Further, in the program reservation apparatus according to the present invention, the display control means stores a plurality of reception channel information in advance, inputs a specific area code from the operation input means, and receives receivable reception channel information. Is selected to generate a program guide.

Further, in the program reservation device according to the present invention,
The receiving means has an automatic channel selection function, and generates a program table based on information on a selectable reception channel.

In the program reservation device according to the present invention,
The operation input means has a plurality of types of reservation setting functions.

Further, the program reservation device according to the present invention further comprises a recording / reproducing means for recording / reproducing the program received by the receiving means, and the display control means includes a program which has been recorded by the recording / reproducing means, and an unrecorded program. The program is displayed in such a manner as to be distinguished from the program.

Further, in the program reservation device according to the present invention, the recording / reproducing means is arranged such that when a recorded program is selected, the program is searched for and reproduced.

Further, in the program reservation device according to the present invention, the recording / reproducing means automatically sets a temporary reservation for an unrecorded program corresponding to a recorded program.

In the program reservation device according to the present invention,
The operation input means is configured so that a plurality of reservation settings can be made for a corresponding program on a weekly basis or on a 24-hour basis.

Further, the program reservation device according to the present invention is
A terminal which can be connected to the external receiving device is provided, and the reserved program information is output to the connected external receiving device based on the program information from the external receiving device.

[0020]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.
An embodiment of the present invention will be described.

Embodiment 1 In the first embodiment, a description will be given of a program reservation apparatus which has many opportunities to make a program reservation, for example, a program reservation apparatus which is used by being incorporated in a VTR. The device may not be used, but may be simply a program reservation.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a program reservation device. Reference numeral 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an antenna for receiving a television broadcast. The television wave received by the antenna 1 is converted into an image signal via the program reservation device 2 and supplied to the television monitor 8. The program reservation device 2 includes a tuner 3, a system control unit 4, a display control unit 5, a recording / reproducing unit 6, and an operation input unit 7.

The tuner 3 is supplied with a television wave received by the antenna 1 and functions as a receiving means capable of receiving a plurality of programs being broadcast. In the tuner 3, the system control unit 4 converts the amplified radio wave selected from a plurality of radio waves into an image signal. The image signal converted here is sequentially supplied to the display control unit 5 and the recording / reproducing unit 6.

In the VTR, a video tape, for example, is used as a recording medium in the recording / reproducing unit 6. However, as the recording medium, various media that can record image signals, such as an optical disk, a magnetic disk, and a semiconductor memory, can be used. The recording / reproducing unit 6 reproduces the image signal once recorded and supplies it to the display control unit 5 as a reproduced image.

The operation input unit 7 is composed of switches as shown in FIG. 3, which will be described later. The operation input unit 7 is connected to the system control unit 4 and reserves a specific program to be received. It functions as an operation input unit that performs the operation. The system control unit 4 controls the tuner 3, the display control unit 5, and the recording / reproducing unit 6 according to the control command input from the operation input unit 7.

The recording / reproducing unit 6 stores program information for generating a program table to be described later.
Is stored together with the reserved program information reserved. Here, the reserved program information is given from the operation input unit 7 to the system control unit 4 as display of a program table and reservation information. The reservation information includes the program table itself and the program information reserved on the program table, and these pieces of information are recorded in the recording / reproducing unit 6. A series of these recording operations in the recording / reproducing unit 6 are controlled by the system control unit 4. Further, the display control unit 5 superimposes the program table as the reservation information set by the operation input unit 7 of the program reservation device 2 on the image signal from the tuner 3 and outputs it to the television monitor 8, for example, as shown in FIG. This is displayed as a program reservation table.

Next, the operation of the program reservation device having the above configuration will be described.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a program reservation screen in the program reservation device. The program reservation table T is displayed on the television monitor 8 together with reservation information such as a reservation date and time. In the program reservation table T, the abscissa indicates the names of channels that can be received by the tuner 3 and the ordinate indicates the time, and the cursor is blinking in the time frame in which the program is reserved.
Above the program reservation table T, program reservation information is displayed. The reservation information includes date information (for example, Thursday, October 15, 1998) in the reservation date and time column, time information (for example, pm 9:00 to pm 10:00), and reception channel information (for example, E in the channel display column). Broadcast) and channel numbers (10CH etc.) are configured as character information. When a program is reserved, the recording speed (for example, EP) of the recording / reproducing unit 6 is displayed in a frame indicating the time slot of the reservation.

It should be noted that whether the reservation information of these programs has been confirmed or not yet confirmed as new reservation information will be determined by the color of the frame indicating the reserved time zone in the program reservation table T. The design and the like are different so that they can be distinguished on the program reservation screen.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a switch array constituting the operation input unit of FIG. The switches of the operation input unit 7 include a reservation button 9 for performing program reservation, a cross-movement button 10 for moving a cursor, a date forward / return button 11,
Extend / Short button 12, Enter button 13, Cancel button 1
4 and so on.

The reservation button 9 functions as an ON / OFF switch of a reservation mode for displaying a program reservation screen. The cross key 10 is used to select a program to be reserved or a recorded program. This is used to move the cursor on the table T. The date return / forward button 11 is for changing the date of the program reservation table T.

The shortening / extending button 12 is a button for executing processing for extending / reducing the time for program reservation. The enter button 13 and the cancel button 14 are buttons for executing the process of deciding and canceling the program reservation, respectively.

Next, a method of making a program reservation by the program reservation device will be described.

The program reservation can be executed, for example, in the following procedure. First, a reservation button 9 is pressed to display a program reservation screen, and then a reservation date is determined by a date advance / return button 11. Next, when the channel and time zone of the program reservation can be determined using the cross movement button 10, the determination button 13
Press to determine the program reservation information. When the program is determined, it can be confirmed on the program reservation screen, for example, by changing the color of the cursor on the program reservation table T and displaying it.

As can be seen from FIG. 2, the time zone of the program reservation table T is divided in units of one hour. In order to extend the program reservation time, the user moves the cursor to the position on the program guide at the desired time by using the cross key and then presses the extension / reduction button 12.
It is configured so that the time of the program reservation once determined can be extended or shortened. Normally, the basis of television program reservation is one hour unit. However, by using the extension / shortening button 12, the time can be extended or shortened by, for example, 15 minutes or 30 minutes.

Further, the program reservation table T is configured to generate a program display signal with the start time and the end time corresponding to the program receivable by the tuner 3 as initial values. However, as described later, the initial value of the time zone may be configured to be appropriately changeable by the user according to the characteristics of the area and the desired program.

On the other hand, the reservation information for a specific program is:
It can be canceled by the same procedure. That is, the reservation button 9 is pressed to display the program reservation screen, the cursor is moved to a frame where the reservation information of the program is determined, and then the cancel button 14 is pressed.

As described above, in the apparatus according to the first embodiment, a program guide is automatically generated, program reservation information is displayed in an easily understandable manner, and program reservation can be performed by a simple operation. .

Embodiment 2 In the first embodiment, a broadcast station name (E broadcast) and the like are displayed as reception channel information in the channel display column together with the channel number (10CH).

However, since broadcasts of different broadcasting stations are transmitted in different regions even with the same channel number, it is preferable that the user can input arbitrary broadcasting station information. Therefore, in the second embodiment, when the user makes a program reservation, the display control unit 5 uses the name of the broadcasting station actually received or the newspaper (or television program information magazine) imaged by the user.
Etc., a reservation screen corresponding to a program guide described on a sheet of paper is automatically displayed.

Further, in order to compose a reservation screen according to the user's preference, a broadcast channel or frequency, a reservation start time and a reservation end time can be set by the operation input unit 7.

Further, the program display signal stored in the recording / reproducing unit 6 may be controlled by the operation input unit 7 so as to be rearranged, added, or deleted in units of reception channels.

Embodiment 3 In the third embodiment, a numeric key is added to the switch arrangement shown in FIG.
Is composed. By providing such a numeric key, a program reservation method conventionally used, for example, G
It is possible to make a reservation using a code, and such reservation contents can be displayed in the program guide display column (FIG. 2). This makes it easy to confirm the contents of the reservation.

Embodiment 4 FIG. In the first embodiment, an image signal of a program recorded in the recording / reproducing unit 6 is reproduced, and
The configuration was such that it could be supplied to the display control unit 5 as a reproduced image. Therefore, in the fourth embodiment, the recorded program and the unrecorded program are displayed separately in the program reservation table T shown in FIG. Is reproduced in a state in which the image signal is searched for. Therefore, it is possible to reliably and easily execute recording and reproduction of an image and the like without performing a special operation.

Embodiment 5 FIG. In the fifth embodiment,
When a recorded program is displayed in the display field of the program reservation table T shown in FIG. 2, the program is recorded as a provisional reservation on the reservation screen of the next week. As a result, the user calls the next week's reservation screen and, for example, the enter button 1 shown in FIG.
Press 3 to confirm the program reservation.

Embodiment 6 FIG. For example, serial drama
Some broadcast cycles (for example, daily or weekly) and / or the number of broadcasts up to the last broadcast are predetermined. Therefore, in the sixth embodiment, when the number of broadcasts is known in advance from a newspaper or a TV program information magazine, the number of broadcasts is input at the time of reservation input.

Thus, there is no fear of forgetting to make a reservation or recording an unnecessary program after the broadcast ends. Further, the reservation can be automatically set and the reservation can be canceled without making a reservation every week or canceling the reservation.

Embodiment 7 FIG. In the above-described first to sixth embodiments, examples in which the program reservation device of the present invention is applied to a VTR have been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to a tuner alone, a radio receiver, and the like. In this case, if the program reservation device itself has a built-in monitor for displaying a program table or has a monitor function for displaying program table information on an external monitor, program reservation can be performed in the same manner as in the above-described embodiments. it can.

[0049]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects.

According to the program reservation apparatus of the first aspect, even if there is no information such as a program table in the broadcast signal, it is similar to the program table of a newspaper or a TV program information magazine used in daily life when watching television. Since the created program table is created by the program reservation device, program reservation can be easily performed using the program table.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the reserved program information is a program information determined based on a signal for specifying a time zone and a broadcast station of a program table input from the operation input means. Therefore, the reservation operation can be easily performed by a single button click or the like.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the display means for displaying the program information set by the operation input means is provided, the program reservation can be easily performed while viewing such a program table. Can be performed.

According to the program reservation apparatus of the fourth aspect, the program table is generated with the start time and the end time corresponding to the program receivable by the receiving means as initial values, so that the program table is generated according to the user's area. Appropriate reservation screen can be displayed.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the program table includes the character information for specifying the channel number receivable by the receiving means, the program reservation can be performed with a small number of operations without inputting numbers or characters. Can be completed.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, since the operation input means sets the broadcast channel or frequency, the reservation start time and the reservation end time as the program information, the program reservation can be completed with a small number of operations.

According to the program reservation device of the present invention, the display control means controls to rearrange, add, or delete in units of reception channels based on the program information. A program reservation table can be created according to.

According to the program reservation device of the eighth aspect, the display control means stores a plurality of reception channel information in advance, and inputs a specific area code from the operation input means to receive the reception channel. Since a program guide can be generated by selecting information, a program guide corresponding to any region can be created accurately.

According to the program reservation apparatus of the ninth aspect, the receiving means has an automatic channel selection function and can generate a program table based on the information on the selectable reception channels. Can display a reservation screen.

According to the tenth aspect of the invention, there is provided a program reservation device.
Since the operation input means has a plurality of types of reservation setting functions, the contents of the reservation by, for example, the G code can be confirmed on the same reservation screen.

According to the program reservation device of the eleventh aspect,
Recording and reproducing means for recording and reproducing the program received by the receiving means; and in the display control means, the program recorded by the recording / reproducing means and the unrecorded program are distinguished and displayed. You can easily re-check the programs you have watched.

According to the program reservation apparatus of the twelfth aspect,
In the recording / playback means, when a recorded program is selected,
Since the program is searched for and reproduced, the recording / reproducing operation can be easily performed.

According to the program reservation device of the thirteenth aspect,
In the recording / reproducing means, a provisional reservation is automatically set for an unrecorded program corresponding to a recorded program.For example, when a series of programs corresponding to a recorded program such as a serial drama is reserved, Reservation operation can be performed reliably.

According to the program reservation device of the fourteenth aspect,
The operation input means is configured to be able to set a plurality of reservations for a program corresponding to the weekly or the 24-hour unit. Therefore, there is a risk that the reservation may be forgotten or an unnecessary program may be recorded after the broadcast ends. Absent.

According to the program reservation device of claim 15,
It has a terminal that can be connected to an external receiving device, and based on the program information from the external receiving device, outputs the reserved program information to the connected external receiving device. Also, the present invention is applied to a radio receiving device or the like, and has the same effect as the above-described invention.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a program reservation device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a program reservation screen in the device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation unit in the apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 antenna, 2 program reservation device, 3 tuner, 4 system control unit, 5 display control unit, 6
Recording / playback unit, 7 operation input section, 8 TV monitor, 9 reservation button, 10 cross movement button,
11 date forward / return button, 12 extend / shorten button, 13 enter button, 14 cancel button.

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. A program reservation device capable of reserving a program based on a program table displayed on a monitor, comprising: receiving means for receiving a plurality of programs being broadcast; and a program table displayed on the monitor. Operation input means for making a reservation setting of a specific program, and storage means for storing the reserved program information reserved and set by the operation input means together with program information for generating the program table; and Display control means for superimposing and displaying a reserved program on the program guide based on the reserved program information and the program information, and controlling the receiving means based on the reserved program information stored in the storage means. And a receiving control means for receiving a reserved program. 2. The program information according to claim 1, wherein the reserved program information is program information determined based on a signal for specifying a time zone and a broadcast station of a program table input from the operation input means. Item 2. The program reservation device according to Item 1. 3. The program reservation device according to claim 1, further comprising display means for superimposing and displaying said reserved program information and said program information. 4. The program guide according to claim 1, wherein a program table is generated by using a start time and an end time corresponding to each program receivable by said receiving means as initial values. The program reservation device described in the above. 5. The program reservation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said program table includes character information for specifying a channel number receivable by said receiving means. 6. The program reservation device according to claim 1, wherein the operation input means sets a broadcast channel or frequency, a reservation start time and a reservation end time based on the program information. . 7. The display control device according to claim 1, wherein the display control means controls the program information stored in the storage means to be rearranged, added, or deleted in units of reception channels. The program reservation device described in the above. 8. The display control means stores a plurality of reception channel information in advance, inputs a specific area code from the operation input means, selects receivable reception channel information, and displays a program table. 2. The program reservation device according to claim 1, wherein the program reservation is generated. 9. The program reservation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said reception means has an automatic channel selection function, and generates a program table based on reception channel information which can be selected. 10. The program reservation device according to claim 1, wherein the operation input means has a plurality of types of reservation setting functions. 11. A recording / reproducing means for recording / reproducing a program received by the receiving means, wherein the display control means displays a program recorded by the recording / reproducing means and an unrecorded program in a distinguishable manner. The program reservation device according to claim 1, wherein the program reservation is performed. 12. The program reservation apparatus according to claim 11, wherein, when a recorded program is selected, the recording / reproducing means locates and reproduces the program. 13. The program reservation apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said recording / reproducing means automatically sets a tentative reservation for an unrecorded program corresponding to a recorded program. . 14. The system according to claim 1, wherein said operation input means is capable of setting a plurality of reservations for a corresponding program on a weekly basis or on a 24-hour basis.
A program reservation device according to item 1. 15. A terminal which can be connected to an external receiving device, wherein the reserved program information is output to the connected external receiving device based on the program information from the external receiving device. The program reservation device according to claim 1, wherein: