JP2007036911A - Mobile terminal device, network broadcasting reception program and network broadcasting reception method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To listen or view broadcast contents by performing access to a desired broadcasting station on a network by a simple operation. <P>SOLUTION: Tuning information for selecting a desired network broadcasting station is displayed at a display part 14 so as to be arranged in the order of high possibility of tuning by a user. Also, this mobile terminal device is provided with a communication agent network corresponding radio communication part 1 and a short range radio communication part 2, and when the desired tuning information is selected by the user, the short-range radio communication part 2 whose communication costs are free or inexpensive is preferentially connected to the network broadcasting station corresponding to the tuning information so that the broadcast contents can be fetched. Also, the respective transmitting speeds of the communication agent network corresponding radio communication part 1 and the short range radio communication part 2 are monitored during the viewing or listening of the broadcast contents, and the radio communication part to be used for communication with the network broadcasting station is switched to the radio communication part whose transmission speed is satisfactory so that the stable viewing(listening) of the broadcast contents can be attained. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention has a function for receiving broadcast contents such as radio broadcasts and video broadcasts broadcast over a network, for example, a mobile phone, a PHS phone (PHS: Personal Handyphone System), a PDA device with a wireless communication function ( The present invention relates to a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a portable terminal device suitable for application to a notebook personal computer device, a network broadcast receiving program, and a network broadcast receiving method.

  Nowadays, many Internet broadcasting stations that perform Internet broadcasting such as radio broadcasting and video broadcasting via the Internet are known. As a system for receiving this Internet broadcast, an Internet radio / video receiver system is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-207666 (Patent Document 1).

  In this Internet radio / video receiver system, a Web address of a desired Internet broadcast station received from an external device or a Web address of a desired Internet broadcast station manually input by a user is wirelessly transmitted via a client system.

  The wirelessly transmitted Web address is received by the remote control receiver system and transmitted to the request module. The request module accesses the Internet broadcast station corresponding to this Web address and takes in the Internet broadcast. Thus, a desired Internet broadcast can be listened to (viewed) by remote operation via the client system.

JP 2002-207666 (pages 5 to 6: FIG. 2)

  However, in the case of the Internet radio / video receiver system disclosed in Patent Document 1, a web address corresponding to a desired Internet broadcast station is received from an external device or manually input every time the remote operation is performed. There is a need to. For this reason, every time an Internet broadcast is listened to (viewed), there is a problem that a very troublesome input operation of a Web address corresponding to a desired Internet broadcast station is required.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and a portable terminal device, a network broadcast receiving program, and a program capable of accessing (listening to) an Internet broadcast by accessing a desired Internet broadcast station with a simple operation. An object is to provide a network broadcast receiving method.

The portable terminal device according to the present invention is a means for solving the above-described problems.
Channel selection information storage means for storing channel selection information for selecting a broadcast station that distributes broadcast signals via a network;
A rearrangement order designating means for designating a rearrangement order of a plurality of tuning information stored in the tuning information storage means;
In accordance with the rearrangement order designated by the rearrangement order designation means, the operation means for sequentially selecting the channel selection information,
Communication means for performing communication with a broadcasting station corresponding to the channel selection information selected via the operation means, and taking in a broadcast signal distributed from the broadcasting station via the network;
Reproduction means for reproducing the broadcast signal taken in by the communication means.

Moreover, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the network broadcast receiving program according to the present invention provides
Causing the computer to function as a channel selection information storage control unit that stores channel selection information in the channel selection information storage unit for selecting a broadcast station that distributes broadcast signals via a network;
By causing the computer to function as the channel selection information storage control unit, a plurality of channel selection information stored in the channel selection information storage unit is designated by the rearrangement order designation unit corresponding to the selection operation of the operation unit. According to the rearrangement order, let the computer function as a selection control means to select sequentially,
By causing the computer to function as the selection control means, communication is performed with the broadcast station corresponding to the selected channel selection information, and the broadcast signal distributed from the broadcast station is captured via the network. To allow the computer to function as a communication control means for controlling the communication means,
A computer is caused to function as a reproduction control means for controlling the reproduction means so as to reproduce the broadcast signal captured by the communication means.

Moreover, the network broadcast receiving method according to the present invention is a means for solving the above-described problems.
The channel selection information storage control means stores channel selection information in the channel selection information storage means for selecting a broadcast station that distributes broadcast signals via a network;
The selection control means sequentially controls the plurality of channel selection information stored in the channel selection information storage means in accordance with the rearrangement order designated by the rearrangement order designation means in response to the selection operation of the operation means. And steps to
The communication control means performs communication with the broadcasting station corresponding to the channel selection information selected in the above step, and controls the communication means so as to take in the broadcast signal distributed from this broadcasting station via the network. And steps to
And a playback control means for controlling the playback means so as to play back the broadcast signal fetched by the communication means.

  In the present invention, channel selection information for selecting a broadcast station that distributes broadcast signals via a network is stored in the channel selection information storage unit, and stored in the channel selection information storage unit. Each channel selection information can be sequentially selected in accordance with the rearrangement order designated by the rearrangement order designation unit in response to the selection operation of the operation unit. Then, communication is performed with a broadcast station corresponding to the selected channel selection information, and a broadcast signal distributed from the broadcast station is taken in via the network and reproduced.

  As a result, the user simply selects the channel selection information in accordance with the specified rearrangement order by simply specifying the rearrangement order of the channel selection information and operating the operation means. The signal can be heard (viewed).

  According to the present invention, it is possible to listen to (view) broadcast contents by accessing a desired broadcast station on a network with a simple operation.

  The present invention can be applied to a mobile phone.

[Configuration of mobile phone]
First, FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the cellular phone of this embodiment is a wireless network compatible with a communication carrier network that performs wireless communication with a base station provided in the communication carrier network of the carrier of the mobile phone. By performing short-range wireless communication between the unit 1 and a relay station such as a base station or a wireless LAN card (LAN: Local Area Network) provided in the store or office, the Internet or the like via the relay device And a short-range wireless communication unit 2 that enables communication with a server device or the like connected to the public line network.

  The wireless communication unit 1 corresponding to the carrier network includes an antenna 3 for transmitting / receiving data to / from the base station, data to be transmitted to the base station to the antenna 3, and data received by the antenna 3 to the reception system. A distributor 4 for distributing, a transmission system including a transmission circuit 5 and a transmission integrated circuit unit 6 (transmission IC), and a reception system including a reception circuit 7 and a reception integrated circuit unit 8 (reception IC). Yes.

  The short-range wireless communication unit 2 includes a short-range wireless communication antenna 9 that transmits / receives data to / from the base station and the wireless LAN card, and a short-range wireless communication unit 2 based on a communication protocol standardized by, for example, “IEEE 802.11b”. And a wireless LAN module 10 that performs distance wireless communication.

  In addition to user information such as address book, telephone book, schedule book, text information of mobile mail sent and received, and still image information and moving image information captured by a camera device (not shown), this mobile phone has various settings. The memory 11 stores information, various communication programs, and various application programs, a timer 12 that counts the current time, and an operation unit 13 that performs a predetermined input operation.

  Various communication programs stored in the memory 11 include a communication program for performing wireless communication with a base station provided in the communication carrier network, and a base station provided in the store or office. A short-range wireless communication program for performing short-range wireless communication with a relay device such as a wireless LAN card is stored.

  The various application programs stored in the memory 11 include a camera application program for performing imaging with the camera device, a music player application program for reproducing music data, and a predetermined network such as the Internet. A network broadcast receiving program for receiving a radio broadcast or a video broadcast distributed from a network broadcast station provided above is stored.

  The various setting information stored in the memory 11 indicates channel selection information for accessing a desired network broadcast station among the network broadcast stations, and the display order of each channel selection information designated by the user. Display order designation information, selection number information indicating the number of times each user accesses each network broadcasting station, and the like are stored.

  In addition to the address book and phone book information stored in the memory 11 and the text information of mobile mail sent and received, the mobile phone displays a video broadcast video received from an Internet broadcasting station, etc. 14, communication control based on a communication unit and various application programs stored in the memory 11, a speaker unit 15 that outputs a sound of radio broadcast and video broadcast received from an Internet broadcasting station in addition to a ring tone. And a control unit 16 (CPU) that performs various input / output controls.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the appearance of the mobile phone. As shown in FIG. 2, the entire mobile phone has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the display unit 14 such as a liquid crystal display unit is provided in a substantially upper half area of the front part 21a of the case. Is provided. The operation unit 13 is provided in a substantially lower half area of the front portion 21a and a right side surface portion 21b of the housing.

  Specifically, the front part 21a has 12 keys 22 for inputting numbers and characters as the operation part 13, a cross key 23 for moving the cursor up and down, left and right, and an on-hook key 24. (End call key) and off-hook key 25 (speech key) are provided. Further, on the right side surface portion 21b, as the operation unit 13, a network broadcast key 26 for instructing start of viewing (listening) of network broadcast and a channel selection for selecting a network broadcast station for viewing or listening. An up key 27 and a channel selection down key 28 are provided.

In this example, the channel selection up key 27 and the channel selection down key 28 are provided as keys for selecting a network broadcasting station. However, the upper key and the lower key of the cross key 23 are used for this selection. The station up key 27 and the channel selection down key 28 may be used.

[Network broadcast viewing (listening) operation]
Next, a network broadcast viewing (listening) operation in the mobile phone according to the embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of a network broadcast viewing (listening) operation in the mobile phone according to the present embodiment. The flowchart of FIG. 3 shows the operation of the CPU 16 based on the network broadcast receiving program stored in the memory 11 shown in FIG. 1, and the CPU 16 detects this by turning on the main power of the mobile phone. The process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3 is started.

  When viewing (listening) a network broadcast, the user designates viewing (listening) of the network broadcast by operating the network broadcast key 26 shown in FIG. 2, but the CPU 16 detects that the main power is turned on. Then, monitoring of the presence / absence of operation of the network broadcast key 26 is started. When the operation of the network broadcast key 26 is detected in step S1 of the flowchart of FIG. 3, the process proceeds to step S2, and a usable communication line is detected.

  Specifically, as described above, the mobile phone according to the embodiment is a wireless network compatible with a communication carrier network that performs wireless communication with a base station provided in a communication carrier network of the communication carrier of the mobile phone. Connects to a public line network such as the Internet through short-distance wireless communication between the communication unit 1 and a relay station such as a base station or a wireless LAN card provided in a store or office. A short-range wireless communication unit 2 that enables communication with the server device and the like.

  Of these two wireless communication units 1 and 2, wireless communication using the communication carrier network compatible wireless communication unit 1 often requires a communication fee, but uses the short-range wireless communication unit 2. Wireless communication often does not require a communication fee. For this reason, in the mobile phone of the embodiment, when the short-range wireless communication unit 2 can be used, the short-range wireless communication unit 2 is preferentially used for communication.

  That is, when the process proceeds to step S2, the CPU 16 first determines whether or not communication using the short-range wireless communication unit 2 is possible. If communication using the short-range wireless communication unit 2 is possible, the process proceeds to step S3, and communication using the short-range wireless communication unit 2 cannot be performed. If communication using 1 is possible, the process proceeds to step S12.

  In step S3, CPU16 sets the radio | wireless communication part used for communication to the said near field communication part 2, and advances a process to step S4. In step S12, the CPU 16 sets the wireless communication unit used for communication in the communication carrier network-compatible wireless communication unit 1, and advances the process to step S4.

  As will be described later, the CPU 16 displays channel selection information for selecting a desired network broadcast station on the display unit 14 when viewing (listening) of the network broadcast is designated. The display order can be specified by the user. For this reason, in step S4, the CPU 16 displays the channel selection information on the display unit 14 in the display order designated by the user, and the process proceeds to step S5.

  The user selects the channel selection information corresponding to the desired network broadcasting station by operating the channel selection up key 27 or the channel selection down key 28 from the channel selection information displayed in the specified display order. However, in step S5, the CPU 16 determines whether or not a radio broadcast network broadcasting station has been designated by this channel selection.

  That is, network broadcast stations include radio broadcast stations that distribute only audio and video broadcast stations that distribute audio and video. Therefore, in step S5, the CPU 16 determines whether or not a radio broadcast station that distributes only audio is selected from the radio broadcast station and the video broadcast station. If it is determined that the radio broadcast station has been selected, the process proceeds to step S6. If it is determined that the video broadcast station has been selected, the process proceeds to step S13.

  As described above, only audio is distributed from the radio broadcasting station. For this reason, when determining that the radio broadcast station has been selected and proceeding to step S6, the CPU 16 stops driving of the display unit 14 unnecessary for listening to the sound and proceeds to step S7. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the inconvenience that the power is consumed unnecessarily by driving the display unit 14 when listening to the radio broadcast (power saving mode).

  On the other hand, when viewing a video broadcast, it is necessary to display an image. For this reason, when the CPU 16 determines that the video broadcast station has been selected and proceeds the process to step S13, the CPU 16 controls the display unit 14 necessary for displaying the video so that it can be driven, and proceeds the process to step S7.

  Next, it is necessary to control the output of sound both when the radio broadcast station is selected by the user and when the video broadcast station is selected. Therefore, in step S7, the CPU 16 sets the speaker unit 15 shown in FIG. 1 in a drivable state, and proceeds to step S8.

  In step S8, the CPU 16 performs communication control on any one of the wireless communication units 1 and 2 so as to start communication with the network broadcasting station selected by the user in step S5, and the process proceeds to step S9. To proceed. That is, if the short-range wireless communication unit 2 is set as a wireless communication unit to be used in step S3, the CPU 16 performs communication control on the short-range wireless communication unit 2 in step S8 to control the network. When communication with the broadcasting station is started and the communication carrier network compatible wireless communication unit 1 is set as the wireless communication unit to be used in step S12, the CPU 16 performs communication in step S8. Communication control is performed on the carrier network compatible wireless communication unit 1 to start communication with the network broadcasting station.

  As a result, the radio broadcast distributed from the network broadcast station selected by the user is captured via any one of the wireless communication units 1 and 2, and the sound corresponding to the radio broadcast is transmitted via the speaker unit 15. A video broadcast that is output or distributed from a network broadcast station that is selected by the user is captured via any one of the wireless communication units 1 and 2, and audio corresponding to the video broadcast is transmitted via the speaker unit 15. The video corresponding to the video broadcast is displayed on the display unit 13.

Next, when communication with the network broadcast station is started as described above, the CPU 16 performs communication with the network broadcast station based on the current time counted by the timer 12 shown in FIG. 1 in step S9. It is determined whether or not a predetermined time has passed since the start. Then, the process proceeds to step S10 at the timing when the passage of the predetermined time is detected, and “1” is selected as the number of times of channel selection information stored in the memory 11 and corresponding to the network broadcasting station that is currently communicating. Increment.

[Channel selection information]
Here, the content distributed from the network broadcast station includes “broadcast station name” of the network broadcast station that distributes the content, “broadcast station address” of the network broadcast station, and “ Streaming file address "and information indicating" genre (news, movie, drama, variety, popular song, jazz, rock music, etc.) "of contents distributed by network broadcasting stations are added and distributed. It has become.

  Therefore, every time the content is fetched from the network broadcasting station, the CPU 16 extracts the “broadcasting station name”, “broadcasting station address”, “streaming file address”, and “genre” from the fetched content. These pieces of information are stored and controlled in the memory 11 as “channel selection information” together with the date counted by the timer 12 and the channel selection count indicating the number of channel selections by the user.

  In the increment processing of the selection frequency executed in the step S10, the channel selection frequency of the channel selection information corresponding to the currently selected network broadcast station stored in the memory is incremented by “1”. I mean.

  That is, each time a network broadcast station is selected, the channel selection information corresponding to each network broadcast station is stored in the memory 11, and the same network broadcast station as that previously selected is selected again. When stationed, the number of channel selections of the channel selection information corresponding to this network broadcasting station is incremented by one.

  In step S9, the increment process is executed after the elapse of a predetermined time. This is because when a predetermined time elapses after the channel selection, a true viewing or listening process is performed. This is because the CPU 16 determines that the channel selection has been made. As a result, it is possible to prevent inconvenience that the channel selection frequency is incremented in channel selection for watching and listening.

Next, in step S11 of the flowchart of FIG. 3, the CPU 16 designates the selection of another network broadcast station by the user or designates the end of viewing (listening) of the network broadcast, so that the current channel selection is performed. It is determined whether or not the end of viewing (listening) of the network broadcast is designated. If it is determined that the end of viewing (listening) of the currently selected network broadcast is not designated, the process returns to step S8, and the channel selection of the currently selected network broadcast is continuously controlled. If it is determined that the end of viewing (listening) of the currently selected network broadcast is designated, the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG.

[Channel selection information display operation]
Next, the display operation of each channel selection information in step S4 of the flowchart of FIG. 3 will be described in detail. In the case of the mobile phone of this embodiment, each time a network broadcast station is selected as described above, the channel selection information corresponding to each network broadcast station is stored in the memory 11 and is selected in the past. When the same network broadcast station as the selected network broadcast station is selected again, the channel selection frequency of the channel selection information corresponding to this network broadcast station is incremented by one.

  When the display order is not designated by the user, the CPU 16 reads out each channel selection information stored in the memory 11 in the order of the first letter of the broadcasting station name, for example, and these are shown in FIG. Display control is performed on the display unit 14 as described above. As can be seen from FIG. 4A, the CPU 16 is configured to display each channel selection information separately for each radio broadcast network broadcast station and each video broadcast network broadcast station. Each channel selection information of the radio broadcast network broadcast station is displayed as a default, and when the display of the video broadcast network broadcast station is designated by the user, each of the radio broadcast network broadcast stations displayed as the default is displayed. The channel selection information is switched to each channel selection information of the video broadcasting network broadcasting station and displayed.

  Next, the display order of each tuning information displayed in this way can be arbitrarily specified by the user. Specifically, when selection of the display order of the channel selection information is specified by the user via the operation unit 13, the CPU 16 displays a selection screen for selecting the channel selection information as shown in FIG. 4B, for example. Is controlled on the display unit 14.

  As can be seen from FIG. 4B, the channel selection information display order selection screen is a “genre order” in which the channel selection information is rearranged and displayed in the order of the genre such as news, movie, jazz, and rock music. , “Selected number order”, which displays the selected channel information in the order of the number of times selected in the past, “Random”, which displays the selected channel information randomly, and displays the selected items in the order specified by the user. Selection menus such as “customize” for rearranging and displaying the station information and “date order” for rearranging and displaying the channel selection information in the order of newest channel selection date are displayed.

  When the user selects a desired selection menu via the operation unit 13, the CPU 16 stores this selection menu in the memory 11 as “display order designation information”. When the processing proceeds to step S4 in the flowchart of FIG. 3, the display order of each channel selection information is rearranged based on the “display order designation information” stored in the memory 11 and displayed on the display unit 14. To do.

  For example, channel selection information of channel A, channel B, channel C, channel D... That is a network broadcasting station that distributes radio broadcasting is stored in the memory 11, and the past channel selection frequency is channel C, channel. In the order of A, channel D..., When “selection order” is selected by the user on the display order selection screen shown in FIG. The channel selection information is rearranged in the order of channel C, channel A, and channel D and displayed on the display unit 14 as shown in FIG.

  Further, when a desired display order is designated by the user (= “customization”) such as channel A, channel D, channel B,..., The CPU 16 selects the channel A, channel designated by the user. The channel selection information is rearranged in the display order of D and channel B... And displayed on the display unit 14.

  As a result, the channel selection information can be displayed in order from the top of the display area of the display unit 14 in the descending order of possibility of channel selection by the user. The user selects and operates channel selection information corresponding to a desired broadcast station by operating the channel selection up key 27 or the channel selection down key 28 (or the upper key or the lower key of the cross key 23) of the operation unit 13. However, each time the selection operation via the channel selection up key 27 and the channel selection down key 28 is detected, the CPU 16 sequentially controls each channel selection information according to the display order of each channel selection information.

  As a result, it is possible to easily select a network broadcast station desired by the user with a simple operation by simply operating the channel selection up key 27 or the channel selection down key 28 of the operation unit 13.

In this example, the user is made to recognize the channel selection information currently being selected by displaying, but this is to allow the user to recognize the channel selection information currently being selected by a predetermined voice. May be.

[Timer function and switching operation of wireless communication unit]
Next, the cellular phone according to this embodiment can preliminarily designate the time for continuous viewing (listening) of the network broadcast by the timer function, and also uses the short-range wireless communication unit 2 with priority. Although communication is performed with each network broadcasting station, the wireless communication unit used for communication is appropriately switched to the wireless communication unit 1 corresponding to the carrier network according to the communication state. The flowchart of FIG. 5 shows the flow of such a timer function and wireless communication unit switching operation.

  When the timer function is used, the user operates the operation unit 13 to designate a continuous viewing (listening) time for continuously viewing (listening) the network broadcast, for example, 30 minutes, 1 hour or the like. The CPU 16 stores the continuous viewing (listening) time designated by the user in the memory 11 and, based on the current time counted by the timer 12 at the timing when viewing of the network broadcast is started, The counting of the continuous viewing (listening) time stored in the memory 11 is started.

  For example, when the user designates the continuous viewing (listening) time of “30 minutes”, the CPU 16 determines whether or not 30 minutes have passed since the start of viewing of the network broadcast in step S21 of the flowchart of FIG. . Then, when 30 minutes have elapsed since the start of viewing of the network broadcast, the continuous viewing (listening) time specified in advance by the user is reached, so that the capturing of content from the network broadcasting station is stopped (= communication stopped). Then, one of the wireless communication units 1 and 2 is controlled to stop, and the process of the flowchart of FIG.

  On the other hand, if 30 minutes have not been detected since the start of viewing of the network broadcast, the CPU 16 advances the process to step S22, and the transmission speed of the wireless communication unit currently used for communication with the network broadcast station is predetermined. It is determined whether or not the transmission speed is exceeded (for example, whether or not it is 24 kbps or more). If it is determined that the transmission speed of the wireless communication unit currently used for communication with the network broadcasting station is not 24 kbps or higher, the process proceeds to step S26.

  In step S26, since the transmission speed of the wireless communication unit currently used for communication with the network broadcast station is not 24 kbps or higher, the CPU 16 uses one of the wireless communication units currently used for communication with the network broadcast station. The communication stop control is performed, and switching control of the wireless communication unit is performed so that the other wireless communication unit is used to capture the content from the network broadcasting station. Thereby, for example, when the wireless communication unit currently used for communication with the network broadcasting station is the short-range wireless communication unit 2, the wireless communication unit 1 corresponding to the communication carrier network is used instead of the short-range wireless communication unit 2. If the wireless communication unit currently used for communication with the network broadcast station is the wireless communication unit 1 corresponding to the carrier network, this communication business is performed. Communication with the network broadcasting station is performed using the short-range wireless communication unit 2 instead of the person network compatible wireless communication unit 1.

  Next, when the wireless communication unit to be used is switched as described above, the CPU 16 advances the processing to step S27, and determines whether or not the transmission rate of the wireless communication unit after the switching is equal to or higher than a predetermined transmission rate. When the transmission rate of the wireless communication unit after switching is lower than the predetermined transmission rate, the transmission rates of the wireless communication unit before switching and the wireless communication unit after switching are both lower than the predetermined transmission rate. 5 indicates that it is difficult to communicate with the network broadcasting station by using either wireless communication unit. Therefore, the CPU 16 controls to stop communication by both wireless communication units, and the flowchart of FIG. The processing shown in FIG.

  On the other hand, when the transmission rate of the wireless communication unit after the switching is higher than the predetermined transmission rate, this is a better communication state after the switching than before the switching of the wireless communication unit. In step S28, the CPU 16 returns the predetermined value to step S21 with a predetermined time interval such as 100 msec. Thereby, the communication between the wireless communication unit after switching and the network broadcasting station is continuously performed until it is determined in step S22 that the transmission speed is lower than the predetermined transmission rate.

  In this way, by switching the wireless communication unit used for communication with the network broadcasting station, the inconvenience of frequent switching control of the wireless communication unit can be prevented by providing a predetermined time interval. (= It is possible to prevent inconvenience that the radio communication unit is frequently switched according to the transmission speed).

  Next, when it is determined in step S22 that the transmission speed of the wireless communication unit currently used for communication with the network broadcasting station is equal to or higher than the predetermined transmission speed, the CPU 16 advances the process to step S23, The wireless communication unit used for communication with the network broadcasting station determines whether the wireless communication unit 1 is a communication carrier network compatible wireless communication unit 1 or the short-range wireless communication unit 2, and the wireless communication unit currently used Is a communication carrier network compatible wireless communication unit 1, it is determined whether or not the transmission rate of the short-range wireless communication unit 2 is equal to or higher than a predetermined transmission rate.

  If it is determined in step S23 that the wireless communication unit currently used for communication with the network broadcast station is the short-range wireless communication unit 2, and the wireless communication unit currently used for communication with the network broadcast station Is the communication carrier network compatible wireless communication unit 1, but if it is determined that the transmission speed of the short-range wireless communication unit 2 is lower than the predetermined transmission speed, the CPU 16 advances the process to step S 29, 13, it is determined whether or not the end of viewing (listening) of the network broadcast is designated. When the end operation of viewing (listening) of the network broadcast is detected, the CPU 16 controls to stop communication by both wireless communication units, and ends the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. If it is determined that the end of viewing (listening) of the network broadcast is not designated, the process returns to step S21, and communication with the network broadcast station is performed using the currently used wireless communication unit. continue.

  On the other hand, in step S23, the wireless communication unit currently used for communication with the network broadcasting station is the wireless communication unit 1 compatible with the carrier network, and the transmission speed of the short-range wireless communication unit 2 is a predetermined transmission rate. If it is determined that the speed is greater than or equal to the speed, the CPU 16 advances the process to step S24 to control the communication carrier network compatible wireless communication unit 1 currently used for communication with the network broadcasting station to stop communication, and instead uses short-range wireless communication. The short-range wireless communication unit 2 is controlled to communicate with the network broadcasting station using the communication unit 2.

  Thereby, since the transmission speed of the short-range wireless communication unit 2 is low, even when communication is performed using the wireless communication unit 1 corresponding to the communication carrier network, the timing at which the transmission speed of the short-range wireless communication unit 2 is recovered. Thus, the wireless communication unit used for communication with the network broadcasting station can be switched to the short-range wireless communication unit 2. That is, the short-range wireless communication unit 2 can be used preferentially among the communication carrier network-compatible wireless communication unit 1 and the short-range wireless communication unit 2.

Next, when the CPU 16 switches the wireless communication unit used for communication with the network broadcasting station from the communication carrier network compatible wireless communication unit 1 to the short-range wireless communication unit 2 in this way, in step S25, for example, The predetermined time is returned to step S21 with an interval of a predetermined time such as 100 msec. As a result, it is possible to prevent the inconvenience of frequent switching control of the radio communication unit as described above (= the inconvenience of frequent switching of the radio communication unit according to the transmission speed can be prevented).

[Effect of the embodiment]
As is clear from the above description, the mobile phone according to this embodiment displays the channel selection information for selecting a desired network broadcasting station on the display unit 14 in order of the possibility of being selected by the user. can do. Each time the user operates the channel selection up key 27 or the channel selection down key 28 (or the upper key or the lower key of the cross key 23) of the operation unit 13, each channel selection is performed according to the display order of each channel selection information. Information is sequentially selected and controlled. As a result, it is possible to easily select a network broadcast station desired by the user with a simple operation by simply operating the channel selection up key 27 or the channel selection down key 28 of the operation unit 13.

  In addition, a wireless communication unit 1 and a short-range wireless communication unit 2 compatible with a communication carrier network are provided, and broadcast content is fetched preferentially using the short-range wireless communication unit 2 that is free or inexpensive of communication costs. Thereby, viewing (listening) of broadcast content can be made free or inexpensively.

  Also, during the viewing (listening) of the broadcast content, the transmission rates of the wireless communication unit 1 and the short-range wireless communication unit 2 compatible with the communication carrier network are monitored, and the wireless communication unit with a good transmission rate is connected to the network. A wireless communication unit used for communication with a broadcasting station is switched. Therefore, stable viewing (listening) of broadcast content can be achieved.

  In addition, when switching control of the wireless communication unit used for communication with this network broadcasting station, because it is designed to determine the right or wrong of switching control of the wireless communication unit with a predetermined time interval, It is possible to prevent inconvenience that the wireless communication unit frequently switches according to the transmission speed.

  When the broadcast content to be captured is a radio broadcast distributed from a network radio broadcast station, the display unit 14 unnecessary for listening to the radio broadcast is controlled to stop. As a result, it is possible to prevent the inconvenience of wasting power from the power source.

  In addition, it has a timer function, and when the continuous viewing time (continuous listening time) of the broadcast content reaches a time designated in advance by the user, the communication with the network broadcast station is stopped and controlled. Viewing (listening) of broadcast content can be forcibly terminated. For this reason, the continuous viewing time (continuous listening time) of the broadcast content can be limited within the time set by the user.

  The network broadcast key 26 is operated to designate viewing (listening) of the network broadcast, and the network broadcast is viewed (listened) with a simple operation of simply designating a desired network broadcast station based on the channel selection information. Therefore, the network broadcast can be viewed (listened) by operating the mobile phone at approximately the same interval as an existing radio receiver or television receiver.

  In addition, since the short-range wireless communication unit 2 is provided, it is possible to perform communication even when it is difficult to use the communication carrier network-compatible wireless communication unit 1 in a disaster or the like, and a cellular phone capable of handling a disaster or the like Can be provided.

  In addition, when the application program of the network browser is activated to communicate with the network broadcasting station, the burden on the CPU 16 and the memory 11 and the power consumption increase. However, in the case of the mobile phone of this embodiment, the network broadcasting is performed as described above. By operating the key 26 to designate viewing (listening) of the network broadcast, the network broadcast can be viewed (listened) with a simple operation by simply designating the desired network broadcasting station based on the channel selection information. The burden and power consumption on the CPU 16 and the memory 11 can be greatly reduced.

In addition, since the mobile phone can be viewed and listened to by operating the mobile phone at approximately the same interval as existing radio receivers and television receivers, the spread of the mobile phone can be expected. The network broadcasting system can be constructed at a very low cost compared to other broadcasting systems. For this reason, it is possible to provide a new network business using a broadcasting system with a small initial investment and a mobile phone that can easily watch (listen) to a network broadcast.

[Modification]
In the above description of the embodiment, the present invention is applied to a mobile phone. However, the present invention is not limited to a PHS phone (PHS: Personal Handyphone System), a PDA device (PDA: Personal Digital Assistant), and a notebook type. The present invention may be applied to other terminal devices such as personal computer devices and stationary personal computer devices. Even in this case, the same effect as described above can be obtained.

  Finally, the above-described embodiment is merely disclosed as an example of the present invention. For this reason, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and according to the design or the like, as long as the technical idea according to the present invention is not deviated from other embodiments. Of course, various modifications are possible.

1 is a block diagram of a mobile phone according to an embodiment to which the present invention is applied. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the mobile telephone of embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of viewing-and-listening operation | movement of the network broadcast in the mobile telephone of embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the rearrangement operation | movement of the display order of the channel selection information for channel-selecting the desired network broadcasting station in the mobile telephone of embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating switching operation | movement of the radio | wireless communication part in the mobile telephone of embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  1 wireless communication unit for communication carrier network, 2 short-range wireless communication unit, 3 antenna for wireless communication unit for communication carrier network, 4 distributor, 5 transmission circuit, 6 transmission IC, 7 reception circuit, 8 reception IC, 9 Short-range wireless communication unit antenna, 10 wireless LAN module, 11 memory, 12 timer, 13 operation unit, 14 display unit, 15 speaker unit, 16 control unit (CPU), 21a front part of mobile phone casing, 21b mobile phone Right side of telephone casing, 22 12 key, 23 cross key, 24 on hook key, 25 off hook key, 26 network broadcast key, 27 channel up key, 28 channel down key

Claims (12)

Channel selection information storage means for storing channel selection information for selecting a broadcast station that distributes broadcast signals via a network;
A rearrangement order designating means for designating a rearrangement order of a plurality of tuning information stored in the tuning information storage means;
In accordance with the rearrangement order designated by the rearrangement order designation means, the operation means for sequentially selecting the channel selection information,
Communication means for performing communication with a broadcasting station corresponding to the channel selection information selected via the operation means, and taking in a broadcast signal distributed from the broadcasting station via the network;
Reproducing means for reproducing the broadcast signal taken in by the communication means. The mobile terminal device according to claim 1,
The communication means includes a short-range wireless communication means for capturing the broadcast signal via a short-range wireless communication network, and a communication carrier network compatible wireless communication means for capturing the broadcast signal via a communication carrier network. Having at least
When capturing the broadcast signal, the short-range wireless communication unit is preferentially used to capture the broadcast signal among the short-range wireless communication unit and the communication carrier network-compatible wireless communication unit. While controlling each wireless communication unit and capturing the broadcast signal, the communication state of each wireless communication unit is monitored, and the broadcast signal is transmitted using the wireless communication unit having the better communication state. A portable terminal device comprising switching control means for performing switching control of wireless communication means used for capturing the broadcast signal so as to capture the broadcast signal. The mobile terminal device according to claim 2,
The switching control means performs the switching control with a predetermined time interval between the switching control of the wireless communication means and the next switching control of the wireless communication means. Mobile terminal device. It is a portable terminal device given in any 1 paragraph among Claims 1-3,
The continuous reproduction time of the broadcast signal reproduced by the reproduction means is counted, and the reproduction operation of the reproduction means is performed when the counted continuous reproduction time reaches the time specified via the operation means. A portable terminal device comprising timer means for stop control. The mobile terminal device according to claim 4,
A selection number counting means for counting the number of selections of the broadcasting station corresponding to the channel selection information selected via the operation means,
In the rearrangement order designating means, when the rearrangement of each channel selection information is designated in the descending order of the number of selections counted by the selection number counting means, the operation means performs the selection operation each time the selection operation is performed. A portable terminal device, wherein the channel selection information is sequentially selected in descending order of the number of selections counted by the selection number counting means. The mobile terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
When the broadcast signal reproduced by the reproduction means is an audio-only broadcast signal, the portable terminal has display stop means for controlling driving stop of the display means during reproduction of the audio-only broadcast signal. apparatus. Causing the computer to function as a channel selection information storage control unit that stores channel selection information in the channel selection information storage unit for selecting a broadcast station that distributes broadcast signals via a network;
By causing the computer to function as the channel selection information storage control unit, a plurality of channel selection information stored in the channel selection information storage unit is designated by the rearrangement order designation unit corresponding to the selection operation of the operation unit. According to the rearrangement order, let the computer function as a selection control means to select sequentially,
By causing the computer to function as the selection control means, communication is performed with the broadcast station corresponding to the selected channel selection information, and the broadcast signal distributed from the broadcast station is captured via the network. To allow the computer to function as a communication control means for controlling the communication means,
A network broadcast receiving program for causing a computer to function as reproduction control means for controlling reproduction means so as to reproduce the broadcast signal fetched by the communication means. The network broadcast receiving program according to claim 7,
When the computer functions as the communication control means, the short-range wireless communication means provided as the communication means for capturing the broadcast signal via the short-range wireless communication network, and the communication carrier network Of the communication carrier network compatible wireless communication means for capturing broadcast signals, the communication control means for controlling each wireless communication means so as to capture the broadcast signals using the short-range wireless communication means preferentially. Function as a computer
While the broadcast signal is captured by any one of the wireless communication means, the communication state of each wireless communication means is monitored, and the broadcast signal is captured by using the wireless communication means having the better communication state. As described above, a network broadcast receiving program which causes a computer to function as switching control means for switching control of wireless communication means used for capturing the broadcast signal. A network broadcast receiving program according to claim 7 or claim 8,
Causing the computer to function as broadcast type determination means for determining whether the broadcast signal reproduced by the reproduction means is an audio-only broadcast signal or an audio and video broadcast signal;
When it is determined that the broadcast signal reproduced by the reproducing means is a sound-only broadcast signal when the computer functions as the broadcast type determining means, the display means is displayed during reproduction of the sound-only broadcast signal. A network broadcast receiving program characterized by causing a computer to function as display stopping means for controlling the stop of driving. The channel selection information storage control means stores channel selection information in the channel selection information storage means for selecting a broadcast station that distributes broadcast signals via a network;
The selection control means sequentially controls the plurality of channel selection information stored in the channel selection information storage means in accordance with the rearrangement order designated by the rearrangement order designation means in response to the selection operation of the operation means. And steps to
The communication control means performs communication with the broadcasting station corresponding to the channel selection information selected in the above step, and controls the communication means so as to take in the broadcast signal distributed from this broadcasting station via the network. And steps to
A network broadcast receiving method comprising: a reproduction control unit controlling the reproduction unit to reproduce the broadcast signal captured by the communication unit. The network broadcast receiving method according to claim 10,
In the step of controlling the communication means by the communication control means, the short-range wireless communication means provided as the communication means for capturing the broadcast signal via the short-range wireless communication network, and the communication carrier network are used. Control each wireless communication means so as to capture the broadcast signal using the short-range wireless communication means preferentially among the communication carrier network compatible wireless communication means for capturing the broadcast signal,
While the switching control means captures the broadcast signal by any one of the wireless communication means, the communication state of each of the wireless communication means is monitored, and the broadcast communication is performed using the wireless communication means having a better communication state. A network broadcast receiving method, comprising: a step of switching and controlling wireless communication means used for capturing the broadcast signal so as to capture the signal. The network broadcast receiving method according to claim 10 or 11,
A step of determining whether a broadcast signal reproduced by the reproducing device is a sound-only broadcast signal or a sound and video broadcast signal;
In the above step, when it is determined that the broadcast signal reproduced by the reproduction means is an audio-only broadcast signal, the display stop means controls to stop driving the display means during reproduction of the audio-only broadcast signal. And a network broadcast receiving method comprising the steps of:

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