JP2008258843A - Personal computer with program recording function and program recording program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a personal computer with a program recording function, which avoids double recording of recorded data, and a program recording program. <P>SOLUTION: The personal computer with a program recording function includes: a login management part 301 which manages logins from users; a recording reservation part 302 which accepts a recording reservation from a currently logging-in user; a data storage part 121 which stores data managed by user individual folders prepared per user and a shared folder shared among a plurality of users, into storage areas; and a reservation management part 303 which sets a user individual folder as a preservation destination of data to be recorded by the recording reservation from the currently logging-in user in the case of non-overlap between this recording reservation and recording reservations from other users and sets the shared folder as the preservation destination of data to be recorded in the case of overlap between them. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a personal computer with a program recording function and a program recording program.

A conventional document (Patent Document 1) shows a dedicated recording apparatus for recording a television broadcast. In the case where a plurality of users reserve recording of the same program, this dedicated recording apparatus records the reserved recording data and changes the flag corresponding to each user in the user identification header corresponding to the recording data. To do.
JP 2006-79707 A

  In recent years, personal computers having a television broadcast recording function have been used, for example, in homes by a plurality of users. In such a personal computer with a program recording function, even when a plurality of users reserve recording of the same program, it is necessary to avoid duplication of recording data and efficiently use the recording storage area.

  However, in a personal computer with a program recording function, the recording data management environment is significantly different from the recording-dedicated device shown in the above-mentioned conventional document. That is, in a personal computer with a program recording function, recorded data is managed by a file management application (for example, Windows Explorer (registered trademark)). Therefore, it is necessary to avoid duplicate recording of recorded data while taking into consideration the management environment of recorded data in a personal computer.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a personal computer with a program recording function and a program recording program capable of avoiding duplicate recording of recorded data.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, a personal computer with a program recording function according to the present invention is prepared for each user, a login management unit that manages login by a user, a recording reservation unit that accepts a recording reservation by a logged-in user, and a user Data storage unit that stores data managed in a user individual folder and a shared folder shared by multiple users in a storage area, and a recording reservation by a logged-in user does not overlap with a recording reservation by another user Set the storage destination of the recording data by the recording reservation in a user individual folder, and set the recording destination of the recording data by the recording reservation in a shared folder in the case of duplication, and set the storage destination in the user individual folder Recording data acquired based on the recorded recording reservation is saved in the user individual folder, and the save destination is shared. Characterized in that it comprises a recording processing unit for storing the recording data obtained based on the set recording reservation to a folder in the shared folder, the.

  Further, the program recording program according to the present invention includes a login management function for managing login by a user, a recording reservation function for accepting a recording reservation by a logged-in user, and a recording reservation by a logged-in user as a recording reservation by another user In the case where there is no duplication, the storage destination of the recording data by the recording reservation is set in a user individual folder prepared for each user, and in the case of duplication, the recording data storage destination by the recording reservation is shared by a plurality of users Reservation management function set in the folder and the recording data acquired based on the recording reservation set in the user individual folder are saved in the user individual folder and acquired based on the recording reservation set in the shared folder The computer realizes a recording processing function for storing recording data in a shared folder.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the personal computer with a program recording function and program recording program which can avoid duplication recording of recording data can be provided.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description, the same reference numerals are used for the same elements or elements having the same function, and redundant description is omitted.

[Configuration of personal computer with program recording function]
With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the configuration of a personal computer 10 with a program recording function according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the present embodiment, the personal computer 10 with a program recording function is realized as a notebook personal computer, but may be realized as a desktop personal computer.

  FIG. 1 is a front view of the notebook personal computer 10 with the display unit opened. The computer 10 includes a computer main body 11 and a display unit 12. The display unit 12 incorporates a display device composed of a TFT-LCD (Thin Film Transistor Liquid Crystal Display) 17, and the display screen of the LCD 17 is positioned substantially at the center of the display unit 12.

  The display unit 12 is attached to the computer main body 11 so as to be rotatable between an open position and a closed position. The computer main body 11 has a thin box-shaped casing, and a keyboard 13, a power button 14 for turning on / off the computer 10, an input operation panel 15, a touch pad 16, and the like are arranged on the upper surface thereof. Has been.

  The input operation panel 15 is an input device that inputs an event corresponding to a pressed button, and includes a plurality of buttons for starting a plurality of functions. These button groups also include a TV start button 15A. The TV activation button 15A is a button for activating a TV function for reproducing and recording TV broadcast recording data. When the TV activation button 15A is pressed by the user, a TV application program for executing the TV function is activated.

  In this computer, in addition to a general-purpose main operating system, a dedicated sub-operating system for processing AV (audio / video) data is installed. The TV application program is a program that operates on the sub-operating system.

  When the power button 14 is pressed by the user, the main operating system is activated. On the other hand, when the TV activation button 15A is pressed by the user, the sub operating system is activated instead of the main operating system, and the TV application program is automatically executed. The sub-operating system has only a minimum function for executing the AV function. For this reason, the time required for booting up the sub operating system is much shorter than the time required for booting up the main operating system. Therefore, the user can immediately watch / record / play TV by simply pressing the TV start button 15A.

  Next, the system configuration of the computer 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the computer 10 includes a CPU 111, a north bridge 112, a main memory 113, a graphics controller 114, a south bridge 119, a BIOS-ROM 120, a hard disk drive (HDD) 121, an optical disk drive (ODD) 122, an analog TV. It includes a tuner 123A, a digital TV tuner 123B, an embedded controller / keyboard controller IC (EC / KBC) 124, a network controller 125, and the like.

  The CPU 111 is a processor provided for controlling the operation of the computer 10, and is loaded into the main memory 113 from the hard disk drive (HDD) 121, a main operating system (main OS) / sub operating system (sub OS), Various application programs such as the TV application program 101 and the file management application program 102 are executed. Note that the main OS and the sub OS have a function of managing login to the computer 10 by the user.

  The TV application program 101 has a function of managing a recording reservation by a user, a function of recording a program reserved for recording and storing the recorded data in the hard disk 121, and a function of reproducing the recording data stored in the hard disk 121. is doing.

  The file management application program 102 is a program for managing various data stored in the hard disk 121. The file management application program 102 manages a variety of data stored in the hard disk 121 by creating a plurality of folders in the storage area of the hard disk 121 and storing data in each folder. In particular, in the present embodiment, the file management application program 102 is shared by a plurality of users and a user individual folder prepared for each user as a folder for storing recording data received by the TV tuners 123A and 123B. Generated by the shared folder. An example of the file management application program 102 that is generally used is Windows Explorer (registered trademark).

  The CPU 111 also executes a system BIOS (Basic Input Output System) stored in the BIOS-ROM 120. The system BIOS is a program for hardware control.

  The north bridge 112 is a bridge device that connects the local bus of the CPU 111 and the south bridge 119. The north bridge 112 also includes a memory controller that controls access to the main memory 113. The north bridge 112 also has a function of executing communication with the graphics controller 114 via an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus or the like.

  The graphics controller 114 is a display controller that controls the LCD 17. The graphics controller 114 displays the video data written in the video memory (VRAM) 114A on the LCD 17.

  The south bridge 119 controls each device on an LPC (Low Pin Count) bus and each device on a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus. The south bridge 119 incorporates an IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) controller for controlling the HDD 121 and the ODD 122. Further, the south bridge 119 has a function of controlling the TV tuners 123A and 123B and a function of controlling access to the BIOS-ROM 120.

  The HDD 121 is a storage device that stores various software and data, and corresponds to a data storage unit described in the claims. The HDD 121 stores a recording reservation list registered by the user and also stores recording data received by the TV tuners 123A and 123B. The recording reservation list includes recording reservation information (program title, broadcast channel, broadcast time, etc.) for specifying a program reserved for recording, and storage destination setting information (user individual folder or shared) for specifying a storage destination of recording data Folder).

  An optical disk drive (ODD) 122 is a drive unit for driving a storage medium such as a DVD or a CD in which video content is stored. The TV tuners 123A and 123B are receiving devices for receiving TV broadcast waves and acquiring broadcast recording data such as TV broadcast programs.

  The embedded controller / keyboard controller IC (EC / KBC) 124 is a one-chip microcomputer in which an embedded controller for power management and a keyboard controller for controlling the keyboard (KB) 13 and the touch pad 16 are integrated. . The embedded controller / keyboard controller IC (EC / KBC) 124 has a function of powering on / off the computer 10 in accordance with the operation of the power button 14 by the user. Furthermore, the embedded controller / keyboard controller IC (EC / KBC) 124 can also power on the computer 10 in accordance with the operation of the TV start button 15A by the user. The network controller 125 is a communication device that executes communication with an external network such as the Internet.

[TV application program]
FIG. 3 shows functional blocks of the TV application program 101 executed by the computer 10. As functional blocks constituting the TV application, there are a recording reservation unit 302, a reservation management unit 303, a recording processing unit 304, a reproduction processing unit 305, and the like. Note that the login management unit 301 is a functional block of the main OS and the sub OS.

  The login management unit 301 manages login to the computer 10 by the user. Specifically, immediately after the computer 10 is started, the login management unit 301 performs a process for displaying a login screen for prompting input of a user ID and a password on the display screen 17, and the user ID and When the password is input, it is determined whether or not the combination of the user ID and the password is appropriate. Here, when the combination of the user ID and the password is appropriate, the login management unit 301 permits the user to log in and uses information (user identification information) for identifying the user who uses the computer 10. Delivered to the reservation manager 303.

  The recording reservation unit 302 accepts the recording reservation when the user performs an operation of reserving recording of the program using the keyboard 13 or the mouse. Then, the recording reservation unit 302 delivers the received new recording reservation information to the reservation management unit 303.

  The reservation management unit 303 manages recording reservations. In order to manage recording reservations, a recording reservation list is prepared on the hard disk 121. When there is a new recording reservation by the logged-in user, the reservation management unit 303 searches the recording reservation list stored in the hard disk 121, and whether another user has already made a recording reservation for the same program. Determine whether or not. Here, when the recording reservation of the same program has not been made yet, the reservation management unit 303 adds the recording reservation information from the recording reservation unit 302 to the recording reservation list and the user identification information from the login management unit 301. Accordingly, the storage location of the recorded data is set in the user individual folder for the logged-in user. On the other hand, if a recording reservation for the same program has already been made, the reservation management unit 303 rewrites the recording reservation list so that the storage destination of the program is set to the shared folder.

  When the logged-in user makes a recording reservation for the same program, and the recording data storage destination is set to the shared folder, the reservation management unit 303 indicates that the recording data storage destination is set to the shared folder. Is immediately displayed on the display screen 17. In addition, when another user logs in to the computer 10 thereafter, the reservation management unit 303 displays on the display screen 17 that the recording data storage destination has been changed to the shared folder. Thereby, the user can know that the recording data storage destination is the shared folder.

  The recording processing unit 304 reads the recording reservation list stored in the hard disk 121, controls the TV tuners 123A and 123B to receive the program when the broadcast time of the program included in the recording reservation list is reached, and sets the TV tuner. The recording data received by 123A and 123B is stored in the hard disk 121. When the recording data storage destination is set in the user individual folder in the recording reservation list, the recording processing unit 304 stores the recording data in the user individual folder, while the recording data storage destination is shared. If the folder is set, the recorded data is stored in the shared folder.

  The reproduction processing unit 305 reads the recorded data stored in the hard disk 121 and performs processing for reproducing the recorded data and displaying it on the display screen 17. Note that the reproduction processing unit 305 can also display the reception data received by the TV tuners 123A and 123B on the display screen 17 in real time.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the process of the TV application program 101 executed by the computer 10, and in particular, a flowchart of the process of the program recording program from when a recording reservation is received until the program recording is performed.

  When the user operates the keyboard and inputs the user ID and password properly on the login screen immediately after the computer 10 is activated, the computer 10 permits the user to log in (S401). Further, the computer 10 acquires user identification information by the login of the user.

  When the user designates any program to be broadcasted by operating the keyboard or mouse and makes a recording reservation, the computer 10 accepts the recording reservation by the user (S402). Then, the computer 10 searches the recording reservation list database to determine whether or not the program reserved for recording by the logged-in user has already been reserved for recording by another user (S403).

  Here, when the program reserved for recording by the logged-in user is not yet reserved for recording by another user, the computer 10 adds the recording reservation from the recording reservation unit 302 to the recording reservation list, and Based on the user identification information, the storage location of the recorded data is set to the folder for the logged-in user (S404).

  On the other hand, when a program reserved for recording by a logged-in user is already reserved for recording by another user, the computer 10 displays a recording reservation list so that the storage destination of the program is set to the shared folder. Rewrite (S405). Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the computer 10 displays on the display screen that the recording data storage destination has been changed to the shared folder (S406).

  Thereafter, when the broadcast time of the program registered in the recording reservation list is reached, the computer 10 starts recording the program (S407). Here, if the recording data storage destination is set in the user individual folder in the recording reservation list, the computer 10 stores the recording data in the user individual folder, while the recording data storage destination. Is set in the shared folder, the recorded data is stored in the shared folder.

  FIG. 6 schematically shows an example of processing by the reservation management unit 303. Here, user A makes a recording reservation for title 1 and title 3, and user B makes a recording reservation for title 2 and title 3. The reservation management unit 303 sets the recording data storage destination in the user individual folder for the user A for the title 1 for which only the user A makes a recording reservation. Further, the reservation management unit 303 sets the recording data storage destination in the user individual folder for the user B for the title 2 for which only the user B reserves the recording. In addition, the reservation management unit 303 sets the recording data storage destination to the shared folder for the title 3 that both the user A and the user B make a recording reservation.

  The user A can play back and view the recorded data of the title 1 by executing the file management application program and opening the user individual folder for the user A. Also, the user B can reproduce and view the recorded data of the title 2 by executing the file management application program and opening the user individual folder for the user B. Further, the user A and the user B can reproduce and view the recorded data of the title 3 by executing the file management application program and opening the shared folder.

  According to the computer 10 with the program recording function of the present embodiment, when the same program is reserved for recording by a plurality of users, the file management application program 102 provides the storage destination of the recorded data in the shared folder. While adapting to the recording data management environment, it is possible to avoid duplicate recording of the recording data. Therefore, since the storage area of the hard disk 121 is prevented from being wasted, the storage area of the hard disk 121 can be used effectively for storing other data.

  In particular, when there are two or more TV tuners 123A and 123B as in the present embodiment, if there are two or more recording reservations for the same program in the recording reservation list, the recording data is received by each TV tuner and the hard disk 121 is recorded. It is conceivable that they are stored in duplicate. On the other hand, in the computer 10 of the present embodiment, only one recording reservation is made for the same program by the processing of the TV application program 101 described above, so two pieces of the same recording data are obtained by two or more TV tuners. The situation stored above can be avoided reliably.

  In the above-described embodiment, the computer 10 stores the recorded recording data in the hard disk 121. However, in other embodiments, the computer 10 shares the storage area of the optical disc 122 with a user individual folder and / or a shared folder. The recorded recording data may be stored as a folder. In yet another embodiment, the computer 10 may store recorded recording data using a storage area of another storage device connected via a home network as a user individual folder and / or a shared folder. By using another storage device, it is possible to cope with a situation where the storage capacity of the hard disk 121 is insufficient.

It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the personal computer with a program recording function of this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of the personal computer with a program recording function of this embodiment. It is a functional block diagram of a TV application program. It is a flowchart of a TV application program. It is a display screen which notifies a user of the change of the storage destination of recording data. It is a figure which shows roughly an example of the preservation | save destination setting of recording data.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Notebook-type personal computer, 11 ... Computer main body, 12 ... Display unit, 101 ... TV application program, 102 ... File management application program, 121 ... Hard disk, 122 ... Optical disk, 123A, 123B ... TV tuner, 301 ... Login management , 302 ... Recording reservation unit, 303 ... Reservation management unit, 304 ... Recording processing unit, 305 ... Playback processing unit

Claims (6)

A login management unit for managing a user's login status;
A recording reservation unit that accepts recording reservations by logged-in users;
A data storage unit for storing data managed in a user individual folder prepared for each user and a shared folder shared by a plurality of users in a storage area;
When the recording reservation by the logged-in user does not overlap with the recording reservation by another user, the storage destination of the recording data by the recording reservation is set in the user individual folder, and when it overlaps, the storage destination of the recording data by the recording reservation A reservation management unit that sets the shared folder to the shared folder;
Recording data created based on a recording reservation set in the user individual folder is stored in the user individual folder, and recording data created based on a recording reservation set in the shared folder is stored in the shared folder A recording processing unit to be stored in
A personal computer comprising: A login management unit for managing a user's login status;
A recording reservation unit that accepts recording reservations by logged-in users;
A data storage unit for storing data managed in a user individual folder prepared for each user in a storage area;
When the recording reservation by the logged-in user does not overlap with the recording reservation by another user, the storage destination of the recording data by the recording reservation is set in the user individual folder, and when it overlaps, the storage destination of the recording data by the recording reservation A reservation management unit configured to set a shared folder of another storage device connected via a network;
Recording data created based on a recording reservation set in the user individual folder is stored in the user individual folder, and recording data created based on a recording reservation set in the shared folder is stored in the shared folder A recording processing unit to be stored in
A personal computer comprising:   3. The personal computer with a program recording function according to claim 1, wherein the reservation management unit notifies the user that a storage destination of recording data with overlapping recording reservations is set to a shared folder. Login management function to manage user login status,
Recording reservation function for accepting recording reservations by logged-in users,
When the recording reservation by the logged-in user does not overlap with the recording reservation by another user, the storage destination of the recording data by the recording reservation is set in the user individual folder prepared for each user. Reservation management function to set the recording data storage destination to a shared folder shared by multiple users,
Recording data created based on a recording reservation set in the user individual folder is stored in the user individual folder, and recording data created based on a recording reservation set in the shared folder is stored in the shared folder Recording processing function to save to,
Is a program recording program that makes a computer realize.   5. The program recording program according to claim 4, wherein the recording processing function stores recording data having overlapping recording reservations using a storage area of another storage device connected through a network as a shared folder.   6. The program recording program according to claim 4, wherein the reservation management function informs a user that a storage destination of recording data having overlapping recording reservations is set in a shared folder.

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