JP2012151637A - Digital broadcast receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital broadcast receiver capable of performing guidance voice for improving induction effects by voices to enhance users' convenience.SOLUTION: A digital broadcast receiver includes: a voice generating part 9 for converting character string data stored in a readout data storage part 10 into a guidance voice signal to be generated; a character/graphics drawing part 11 that generates data for making a display 12 to draw characters and graphics; and a control part 8 for controlling the voice generating part 9 and character/graphics drawing part 11 based on the remote control signal received by a remote control receiver 6. The control part 8 performs control such that, in an action for guiding operation of the remote controller, when a preset predetermined time has elapsed after drawing data generated by the character/graphics drawing part 11 was displayed on the display 12, guidance voice based on the signal generated in the voice generating part 9 is output.

Description

  The present invention relates to a digital broadcast receiver.

  Digital broadcasting has started in Japan, and viewers (hereinafter also referred to as users) operate a digital broadcast receiver using an operation remote controller (hereinafter also simply referred to as a remote controller) in order to view a desired program. By selecting a channel, it became possible to view high-resolution and high-quality programs. The digital broadcast receiver can provide various services to the user in addition to displaying the selected program. For example, the function for performing various settings and selections on the menu screen, the broadcast time and the broadcast program Has a function to display a program guide that can be seen at a glance.

  Since the services of digital broadcast receivers tend to increase in complexity and complexity, users can be guided by directing operations or reading out displayed character strings (hereinafter also referred to as guidance voices). There is a need to improve convenience.

  If the guidance sound is performed every time the screen is displayed, it may be troublesome for some users, but if the guidance sound is not performed, it may not be understood how to operate. Therefore, it is necessary to perform guidance voice that improves the effect of guidance by voice.

  Conventionally, a voice guide operation unit having an ON / OFF button for a user to input whether or not to output a voice guide has been provided. When a user presses a button for selection input for a predetermined time or more, the user Accepts an execution request for the function assigned to the button for selecting and inputting the function assigned to the button for selecting and inputting by the user when the button for selecting and inputting by the user is pressed for less than a predetermined time. An image forming apparatus that outputs a description by voice is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 4175019

  In Patent Document 1, it is necessary for the user to voluntarily perform a predetermined operation in order to guide the explanation of the function assigned to the button, and it cannot be said that the effect of guidance by voice is sufficient.

  The present invention has been made to solve these problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a digital broadcasting receiver capable of providing guidance voice that improves the effect of guidance by voice and enhancing user convenience. And

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a digital broadcast receiver according to the present invention includes a remote control signal receiving unit that receives a remote control signal transmitted from a remote control operated by a user, and guidance audio that guides the user to operate the remote control. A text-to-speech data storage unit that stores character string data used to generate text, a voice generation unit that converts the character string data stored in the text-to-speech data storage unit into a guidance voice signal, and a character or graphics A drawing data generation unit for generating data for drawing on the display unit, and a control unit for controlling the sound generation unit and the drawing data generation unit based on the remote control signal received by the remote control signal reception unit. In the operation for guiding the operation, the control unit displays the drawing data generated by the drawing data generation unit on the display unit. Et al., After a predetermined time set in advance has elapsed, and controlling so that the output of the guidance sound based on the signal generated by the sound generation unit is performed.

  According to the present invention, a remote control signal receiving unit that receives a remote control signal transmitted from a remote control operated by a user, and character string data used to generate guidance voices that guide the user to operate the remote control are stored. A reading data storage unit, a voice generation unit that converts and generates character string data stored in the reading data storage unit into a guidance voice signal, and a drawing that generates data for drawing characters and graphics on the display unit In the operation of guiding the operation of the remote controller, the control unit includes the data generation unit and a control unit that controls the voice generation unit and the drawing data generation unit based on the remote control signal received by the remote control signal receiving unit. After the drawing data generated by the generation unit is displayed on the display unit, a predetermined time elapses, and then the voice To control such that the output of the guidance sound based on the signal generated by the generating unit is performed, performs a guidance voice to improve the effect of induction by voice, it is possible to improve the user experience.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the digital broadcast receiver by embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the control part by embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the program schedule displayed on the display part by embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation guide column displayed on the display part by embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation menu displayed on the display part by embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the character string data memorize | stored in the reading data storage part by embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the output of the guidance audio | voice of the operation guide column displayed on the display part by embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the restrictions of the PCM encoding parameter as described in the standard "ARIB-STD B24 data broadcasting encoding system and transmission system in digital broadcasting" of a digital broadcasting receiver.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  First, guidance sound in the digital broadcast receiver according to the present embodiment will be described.

  In order to realize the guidance sound, it is necessary to install a function for converting a character string displayed on the screen into sound independently from the sound reproduction output of the broadcast program. A technique for converting a character string into sound is a sound code using PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) described in “ARIB-STD B24 Data Broadcast Coding and Transmission System in Digital Broadcasting” which is a standard of a digital broadcast receiver. This can be realized by using an AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format) of the standardized file format (see FIG. 8). When PCM data corresponding to a character desired to be read out is extracted (converted) from the PCM data stored in the AIFF format at the sampling frequency defined in FIG. 8, it can be reproduced as sound.

  Next, the configuration of the digital broadcast receiver according to the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a digital broadcast receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the digital broadcast receiver according to the present embodiment includes a tuner 1 that is a channel selection circuit for receiving broadcast waves such as satellite digital broadcast, terrestrial digital broadcast, or cable television broadcast, and tuner 1 The demodulator 2 is a demodulator for returning (demodulating) the modulated data included in the broadcast wave received at 1 to the data before being sent by the broadcast wave, and the data demodulated by the demodulator 2 A demultiplexing unit 3 that is a circuit that separates encoded video data and encoded audio data that have been multiplexed before being transmitted by broadcast waves, and a code that is demultiplexed by the demultiplexing unit 3 A video decoding unit 4 which is a circuit for decoding the converted video data, an audio decoding unit 5 which is a circuit for decoding the encoded audio data separated by the demultiplexing unit 3, and a video decoding unit 4 Decoded video data Outputs audio data decoded by the audio decoding unit 5 and the display unit 12 which is a display device typified by a liquid crystal monitor or a plasma monitor, for example, which displays certain video, characters, graphics, etc. And an audio output unit 13 which is an audio output device.

  In addition, the digital broadcast receiver according to the present embodiment is a remote control light receiving unit that is a receiving circuit that receives a signal (remote control signal) transmitted from a remote control (not shown) used by a user to operate the digital broadcast receiver. 6 (remote control signal receiving unit), a remote control signal analyzing unit 7 which is a circuit for analyzing the remote control signal received by the remote control light receiving unit 6, and a channel for the tuner unit 1 based on the analysis result by the remote control signal analyzing unit 7. An instruction for switching, an instruction for generating a guidance voice signal to the voice generation unit 9, and an instruction for generation of drawing data for causing the display unit 12 to draw characters and graphics to the character / graphics drawing unit 11 In order to cause the display unit 12 to draw characters and graphics based on the control unit 8 that is a control circuit that performs the above-described operation and an instruction from the control unit 8 Character / graphics drawing unit 11 (drawing data generation unit), which is a circuit that generates data (drawing data), and character string data used to generate guidance voices that guide the user to operate the remote control Based on an instruction from the reading data storage unit 10 which is a storage medium such as a non-volatile memory and the control unit 8, character string data to be output as guidance voice is read from the reading data storage unit 10 and voice data (guidance voice) And a sound generation unit 9 that is a circuit that converts the signal (generates sound data).

  Next, the operation of the digital broadcast receiver according to the present embodiment will be described.

  The tuner 1 receives at the frequency of the broadcast wave on which the program to be viewed is broadcast. The received broadcast wave is returned (demodulated) by the demodulator 2 to the data modulated by the broadcaster to be transmitted by the broadcast wave to the data before being transmitted by the broadcast wave, and on the transmission path for transmitting the broadcast wave. Repair the generated data error. The data demodulated / restored by the demodulator 2 is separated into video data and audio data by the demultiplexer 3. At this time, the video data and the audio data are each encoded. The encoded video data separated by the demultiplexing unit 3 is decoded by the video decoding unit 4 and generated as a video that can be recognized by a person. Also, the encoded audio data separated by the demultiplexing unit 3 is decoded by the audio decoding unit 5 and generated as speech that can be recognized by a person. The generated video / audio is output from the display unit 12 and the audio output unit 13, respectively, and the user can view the program.

  When changing the program being viewed (switching to another program), the user switches the channel by operating the remote controller. The remote control light receiving unit 6 receives a remote control signal transmitted from the remote control and outputs it to the remote control signal analysis unit 7. The remote control signal analysis unit 7 analyzes the input remote control signal and outputs the analysis result to the control unit 8. Based on the analysis result by the remote control signal analysis unit 7, the control unit 8 instructs to receive a broadcast wave of a program to be channel-switched if the remote control signal is a signal related to a channel selection operation. The tuner 1 switches the frequency of the broadcast wave to be received (switches the channel) in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 8 and receives the broadcast wave of the program to be channel-switched. The video / audio of the program received after the channel switching is output (reproduced) from the display unit 12 and the audio output unit 13, respectively.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control unit 8 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a program guide displayed on the display unit 12 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation guide column displayed on the display unit 12.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the program table generally has a well-known television radio column composed of a two-dimensional matrix of a channel information axis (horizontal direction in the figure) and a time axis (vertical direction in the figure). ing. In the present embodiment, a portion surrounded by a broken line in FIG. 4 is an operation guide column for explaining the button operation of the remote controller. In the operation guide column, icons corresponding to buttons (for example, an arrow button, a return button, a blue button, a red button, and a yellow button shown in FIG. 4) arranged on the remote control (image diagram of remote control buttons) and each icon And a description corresponding to is displayed. It is assumed that the broken line shown in FIG. 4 is not actually displayed on the display unit 12.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 8 confirms the analysis result of the remote control signal analyzed by the remote control signal analysis unit 7 (step S201), and determines whether or not the remote control signal is a signal related to the channel selection operation. Is performed (step S202). If it is determined in step S202 that the signal is not related to a channel selection operation (a signal related to an operation other than channel selection), the screen displayed on the display unit 12 includes a screen including a character string that is a target of guidance voice (for example, 3), it is determined whether or not the screen includes the operation guide column shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 (step S203). If it is determined in step S203 that the screen does not include the character string that is the target of the guidance voice, a screen to be displayed on the display unit 12 is determined (step S205), and characters and graphics are displayed to the character / graphics drawing unit 11. The drawing data is instructed to be generated, and the generated drawing data is displayed on the display unit 12 (step S206).

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S202 that the signal is related to a channel selection operation, the tuner 1 is instructed to select a channel (channel switching).

  If it is determined in step S203 that the screen includes the character string that is the target of the guidance voice, the button on the remote control corresponding to the icon (see FIG. 4) displayed in the operation guide field is operated (pressed). ) Is determined (step S204). If it is determined in step S204 that the remote control button corresponding to the icon displayed in the operation guide field is not operated, a screen to be displayed on the display unit 12 is determined (step S205), and character / graphics drawing is performed. The unit 11 is instructed to generate drawing data of characters and graphics, and the generated drawing data (for example, a program guide including the operation guide column shown in FIGS. 3 and 4) is displayed on the display unit 12 ( Step S206).

  After step S206, a timer (predetermined predetermined time) from when the screen is displayed on the display unit 12 until the guidance voice is output is set (time measurement is started) (step S207). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not a new remote control signal has been received before the set timer has elapsed (steps S208 and S209), and no remote control signal has been received until the set timer has elapsed. For example, the character string for outputting the guidance voice is determined (step S213), and the voice generation unit 9 is instructed to generate the guidance voice signal and output the guidance voice from the voice output unit 13 (step S214). . If it is determined in step S203 that the screen does not include the character string that is the target of the guidance voice, the guidance voice is not output even if the set timer has elapsed.

  If it is determined in step S204 that the remote control button corresponding to the icon displayed in the operation guide column has been operated, the timer set in step S207 is canceled (step S211), and the operated remote control is reset. Processing corresponding to the button (processing corresponding to the icon displayed in the operation guide column in FIG. 4) is performed (step S212).

  By performing the above-described operation processing, the guidance voice is output after the set timer time has elapsed after displaying the screen that is the target of the guidance voice. That is, in an operation for guiding the operation of the remote controller, after a predetermined time has elapsed since the character or graphics (drawing data) generated by the character / graphics drawing unit 11 is displayed on the display unit 12. The guidance voice is output based on the signal generated by the voice generation unit 9. In addition, if the remote control button corresponding to the icon displayed in the operation guide column (see FIG. 4) is operated before the guidance voice is output, the user determines that the guidance is unnecessary and outputs the guidance voice. Instead, processing corresponding to the operated button on the remote control is performed.

  In FIG. 2, the guidance voice is not output when a button on the remote control displayed in the operation guide column is operated before the guidance voice is output. The guidance voice may be terminated when a button on the remote control (corresponding to the guidance voice) displayed in the column is operated.

  The timer setting value in step S207 in FIG. 2 may be a fixed value by software processing, or by storing a desired timer setting value in a non-volatile storage medium in advance, for example, The user may arbitrarily change the set value of the timer by an operation on the menu screen. That is, the set value of the timer may be arbitrarily variable.

  In addition, although the guidance sound is output after the timer of step S208 in FIG. 2 has elapsed, the guidance sound may be repeatedly output until the remote control light receiving unit 6 receives the remote control signal next time.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation menu displayed on the display unit 12 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, characters / characters can be recognized so that the user can recognize the location indicated by the cursor (the shaded portion in the figure) and the location not designated by the cursor (the shaded portion in the drawing). The graphics drawing unit 11 generates drawing data. In the present embodiment, items that can be set by the user are displayed in a visually easy-to-understand manner by using a hierarchical structure for the operation menu.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing character string data stored in the reading data storage unit 10 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the read-out data storage unit 10 stores the character string displayed in the display unit 12 by dividing it into character string data of a predetermined part and character string data of an arbitrary part. Has been.

  For example, character strings (information) whose display contents are determined in advance, such as operation menus and operation guide fields (see FIG. 5), are stored in the reading data storage unit 10 in character string units. In the present embodiment, natural guidance voice can be output by assigning a character string for reading to the icon displayed in the operation guide column.

  On the other hand, for a character string that is not uniquely determined, such as the contents described in the program guide, the speech generation unit 9 divides it into phrase units and analyzes appropriate readings to create character data for reading, and a reading data storage unit 10 is stored.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of guidance voice output in the operation guide column displayed on the display unit 12 according to the present embodiment. After the program table as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed on the display unit 12, after elapse of a predetermined time set in advance (after elapse of the timer set in step S207 of FIG. 2), for example, The guidance voice is output from the voice output section, such as “I'm going to crawl and crawl well.” In the guidance voice, a blank between character strings indicates that one beat is given.

  From the above, in the operation of guiding the operation of the remote controller, the guidance sound is output after a predetermined time has elapsed after the screen on which the guidance sound is output is displayed on the display unit. In addition, it is possible to perform guidance voice that improves the effect of guidance by voice, such that the user can listen to guidance while considering the operation method, and it is possible to improve user convenience.

  In this embodiment, the guidance voice output in the operation guide column displayed on the display unit 12 has been described. However, the reading data storage unit 10 also stores character string data such as the contents described in the operation menu and the program guide. Since it is stored (see FIG. 6), for example, an operation menu instructed by an operation of a remote controller or a predetermined part of a program guide may be read out.

  As an application example of the present invention, it can be applied to a digital broadcast receiver.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Tuner, 2 Demodulation part, 3 Demultiplexing part, 4 Video decoding part, 5 Voice decoding part, 6 Remote control light-receiving part, 7 Remote control signal analysis part, 8 Control part, 9 Voice generation part, 10 Reading data storage part, 11 characters・ Graphics drawing unit, 12 display unit, 13 audio output unit.

Claims (5)

A remote control signal receiver for receiving a remote control signal transmitted from a remote control operated by the user;
A reading data storage unit for storing character string data used for generating guidance voice for guiding the user to operate the remote control;
A voice generation unit that converts the character string data stored in the reading data storage unit into a signal of the guidance voice;
A drawing data generation unit that generates data for drawing characters and graphics on the display unit;
Based on the remote control signal received by the remote control signal receiving unit, a control unit that controls the sound generation unit and the drawing data generation unit;
With
In the operation of guiding the operation of the remote controller, the control unit generates the sound after a predetermined time has elapsed after the drawing data generated by the drawing data generation unit is displayed on the display unit. The digital broadcast receiver is controlled so that the guidance voice is output based on the signal generated by the unit.   The digital broadcast receiver according to claim 1, wherein the guidance sound includes information in an operation guide column of the remote controller displayed on the display unit.   The digital broadcast receiver according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined time can be arbitrarily variably set.   4. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs control so that the guidance voice is repeatedly output after the predetermined time has elapsed until the remote control signal receiving unit receives the remote control signal. 5. The digital broadcast receiver described in 1.   5. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein when the user operates the remote controller corresponding to the guidance sound during the output of the guidance sound, the control unit ends the output of the guidance sound. 6. The digital broadcast receiver according to the above.

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