JP2858604B2 - Preset tuner - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a preset tuner, and more particularly to a preset tuner capable of automatically presetting a reception frequency.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a preset tuner,
It is known that frequency data groups of several types of broadcasting stations are previously written in a read-only memory (ROM), and the frequency data groups can be selected and preset by designating the types. As an example, a number, a region name, a symbol, etc. are stored in a one-to-one correspondence for each type of broadcast station in advance, and a predetermined region name or the like is pressed, for example, by pressing an enter button, so that Tokyo → Osaka → Nagoya → There is a tuner that selects a frequency data group by calling cyclically in the order of Tokyo or the like. Further, as another example, a table in which numbers and area names are associated is separately prepared, and a number corresponding to a desired area is directly input based on this table to select a frequency data group. There are also tuners.

[0003]

By the way, in the above-mentioned conventional apparatus, in the method of retrieving the area name cyclically, there is not much problem when the number of stored area names is small. When the number of the stored area names is large, the pressing operation of the enter button must be performed many times before the desired area name is selected, so that the calling operation is troublesome. Also, when using a separately prepared table, there is no meaning given to the number corresponding to the region, so the calling operation must always refer to the table, and the calling operation is complicated. was there.

[0004] Further, when the above-mentioned preset tuner is mounted on a moving body such as a car, in addition to the above-mentioned problems, it is necessary to manually re-set the corresponding frequency data group according to the moving area. And it was complicated.
The present invention has been devised in view of the above problems and effectively solving them. An object of the present invention is to provide a preset tuner that can easily preset a frequency data group in a desired area without using a table or the like.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, an area is specified by a preset tuner for selecting a frequency data group concerning a plurality of broadcast stations stored in advance and presetting the selected frequency data group. A storage unit that stores a region code and a frequency data group relating to a broadcasting station corresponding to the region code in association with each other, a region input unit for inputting the region code, and a region code input to the input unit. Preset control means for selecting a frequency data group in the storage means and presetting the selected frequency data group in the tuner section. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in a preset tuner for selecting a frequency data group related to a plurality of broadcast stations stored in advance and presetting the selected frequency data group, the preset tuner includes: Storage means for associating and storing, area recognizing means for recognizing an area, selecting a frequency data group in the storage means based on the area recognized by the area recognizing means, and selecting the selected frequency data group. Preset control means for presetting in the tuner section.

[0006]

According to the first aspect, for example, as a region symbol,
The corresponding postal code or telephone area code is used,
By inputting this from the area input means, the preset control means selects a frequency data group relating to the broadcasting station corresponding to the input area code. The preset control means presets the selected frequency data group to the tuner section. According to the second invention, the area recognition means is a beacon or a GPS (GlobalPos).
The present control unit recognizes the current area where the preset tuner itself is located by using the Ionizing System, and based on the recognition result, the preset control unit selects a corresponding frequency data group from the storage unit and presets it to the tuner unit. Become.

[0007]

An embodiment of the preset tuner according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a preset tuner according to the first invention, and FIG.
Is a perspective view showing a CD radio cassette equipped with a preset tuner according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a remote controller. As shown in the figure, the preset tuner 2 stores a region code specifying a region and a frequency data group relating to a broadcasting station corresponding to the region code in association with each other, as shown in FIG.
A region input unit 6 for inputting a region code, a frequency data group in the storage unit 4 is selected based on the input region code, and the selected frequency data group is preset in the tuner unit 8. For example, it mainly comprises a preset control means 10 comprising a CPU or the like.
Here, in the present invention, the area symbol is a concept including characters and numerals.

[0008] A converter 12 is connected between the area input means 6 and the preset control means 10, and converts the input area code into a predetermined code to control the area.
To be entered. The above-mentioned area input means 6
The controller 14 is incorporated in a remote controller 14 shown in FIG. 3. The controller 14 is provided with various push buttons 16 including a numeric keypad for inputting numerical values and a registration button.
The input signal is configured to be transmitted to the CD radio cassette body 18 shown in FIG. 2 by an infrared signal or the like. Therefore, in the CD radio cassette body 18, a converter 12, a storage unit 4, a preset control unit 10, and a tuner unit 8 are provided in addition to the members necessary for the CD radio cassette. The radio cassette main body 18 has an operation button group 2 for executing various functions.
0, for example, a power button 20A for turning on / off the power, a mode selection button 20B for selecting a mode, a band switching button 20C for switching bands such as AM and FM, and an up / down button 20D for selecting preset stations P1 to P7.
Etc. are provided. The area input means 6 may be provided on the radio cassette body 18 side, and the number of preset stations is not limited to seven.

In this embodiment, a well-known number for specifying a region, for example, a telephone area code or a postal code is used as a region code for specifying a region, and in particular, a telephone area code is used. The case will be described. That is,
Generally, in various broadcasting stations such as AM, FM, UHF, and VHF, the area in which a broadcast can be listened to varies greatly depending on the transmission output centering on the station, and the number of stations that can be listened to depends on the number of installed broadcast stations. The number of possible broadcast stations also varies. And these areas correspond to the above-mentioned area code, etc.
As shown in Table 1 below, the storage unit 4 uses a telephone area code as an area code, and transmits a transmission frequency of a broadcast station that can be heard in an area specified by the area code as a frequency data group. A table associated with the outside number is stored. Table 1 shows the case of AM broadcasting.

[0010]

[Table 1]

In this embodiment, the preset stations P1 to P1
Up to P7 stations can be set, and each frequency corresponds to the transmission frequency of each broadcasting station. For example, since a large number of broadcasting stations are installed in the Tokyo area, all seven stations can be set, whereas in the Maebashi area, only five stations can be set because there are few broadcasting stations. One or more area codes correspond to one area, and the same broadcasting station is preset when an area code belonging to the same group is input. In Table 1 above, for explanation,
Although only four areas, Maebashi, Utsunomiya, Mito, and Tokyo, are described as areas, in fact, the same area code and frequency data group of broadcast stations that can be heard in the corresponding area are similarly linked across Japan. It is stored as a table.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. First, the preset operation of the frequency data group will be described. The power button 20A of the CD radio cassette body 18 is turned on (S1), and then the tuner is selected by the mode selection button 20B (S2). Next, the user operates the push button 16 of the remote controller 14 which is the area input means 6, and the area code which is the area code, for example, "0" and "2" when he lives in the Utsunomiya area.
"8" and "Registration" are input (S3). This input signal is transmitted to the CD radio cassette body 18 by an infrared signal or the like.
Is transmitted to the preset control means 10 comprising a CPU or the like via a converter 12. The control means 10 selects a frequency data group stored in the storage means 4 according to the area selection algorithm shown in FIG. 5 based on the inputted area code (S4).

That is, in the area selection algorithm shown in FIG. 5, the input of "0" is used as a trigger for starting, and the numerical values input following "0" are valid up to three, and N1, N2, N3 and further inputs are ignored. Further, when “register” is pressed, the input value X is calculated based on the following equation. At this time, N2,
If there is no numerical input corresponding to N3, it is set to "0". Input value X = N1 × 100 + N2 × 10 + N3 Then, this input value X is compared with the threshold value An assigned to each area as shown in the following formula, and the area No. n is determined, and a frequency data group corresponding thereto is adopted. Note that the threshold value An and the area No. n corresponds to each region as shown in Table 1. Threshold value An-1 <input value X ≦ threshold value An

More specifically, first, the process is in a waiting state in S20, and when "0" is input (S21), the process starts and waits for the next input (S22). And the numerical input is N
When "Registration" is pressed with only 1, the input value X at that time is calculated (S23), and "Registration" is performed only by inputting numerical values N1 and N2.
Is pressed, the input value X at that time is calculated (S24),
Numerical inputs are all entered as N1, N2, N3 and "register"
Is pressed, the input value X at that time is calculated (S25). In this embodiment, N1 is “2”, N2
Correspond to “8” and N3 to “0”, respectively, and the input value X =
280. In S26, first, the area No. is stored in the counter. Set the value 1 as n. Then, the input value X previously input and the threshold value An corresponding to each area are set to the area No. n while increasing n by one (S27,
S28), if NO in S27, that is, if the threshold value An becomes 280 in the present embodiment, the area No. at that time is determined. The frequency data group corresponding to n is selected.

When a predetermined area, that is, "Utsunomiya" is selected as described above, the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG.
The preset control unit 10 automatically presets the selected data group in the tuner unit 8. That is, 693KH _Z, P3 is the 594KH _Z, P2 to P1 954
1242K in the KH _Z, the P4 1134KH _Z, P5
The H _Z, P6 respectively automatically preset the 1530KHz (S5~S8). Then, when the above set is completed, the frequency corresponding to P1 is displayed on the display or the registration end is displayed (S9), and the preset operation ends. Next, when the preset operation is completed as described above, the operation shifts to the listening operation of the broadcasting station.
In this case, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6, first, the power button 20A is turned on (S1), a desired band is selected by the band switching button 20C, and a channel is selected by the up / down button 20D (S2). . Then, if a desired broadcast station is found, it is fixed there to listen to a favorite station (S3).

Although the above embodiment has been described with reference to an AM broadcast station, the present invention is not limited to this.
The same applies to shortwave broadcasting stations, VHF, and UHF. In addition, a postal code or the like can be used instead of a telephone area code, and in particular, when a postal code is used, a branch data can be used to form a frequency data group corresponding to a smaller area. it can. Further, the preset tuner according to the present invention can be applied not only to a CD radio cassette but also to other audio devices. As described above, according to the present embodiment, the presetting is performed by using a well-known area code as the area code, so that a desired area can be quickly selected from a large number of data groups without using a correspondence table or the like. Preset can be performed by selecting a frequency data group.

Further, even if a data group is formed corresponding to each smaller area, a desired frequency data group can be easily selected. Next, the second invention will be described. In the first invention, the case where the preset tuner is applied to a CD radio cassette has been described. However, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, this preset tuner is mounted on a moving body, for example, an automobile, and combined with a navigator system. It may be. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a vehicle equipped with a preset tuner combined with a navigator system, and FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a preset tuner according to the second invention. This type of navigator system has, for example, map information input in advance to a ROM or the like, obtains a current position of the vehicle using an azimuth sensor such as a geomagnetic sensor or a gyro, and a travel distance sensor, and determines the current position of the vehicle. The operation to be performed next by the operator with reference to the current position information and the map information in order to reach the specified destination is displayed on a display provided in the driver's seat in the vehicle.

As shown in the figure, the navigator system has an antenna 22 for receiving a beacon serving as a radio beacon signal and transmitting and receiving radio waves for communication. It is connected to the processing unit 30. The antenna 22 and the wireless device 24 constitute a first area recognition unit 26A which forms a part of the second invention. Map information such as a road traffic network is input to the CD-ROM drive 28 in advance.
The CD-ROM drive 28 includes the central processing unit 30
The map information is transmitted to the central processing unit 30 as needed.

The azimuth sensor 32 is composed of, for example, a geomagnetic sensor or a gyro, and determines the traveling direction of a vehicle 34 as a moving body. The traveling distance sensor 36 detects the traveling distance. The azimuth sensor 32 and the traveling distance sensor 36
Is connected to a position calculation circuit 38, where the X-Y component of the travel distance from the starting point is cumulatively added for each fixed distance travel based on the integral navigation so that the current position of the vehicle 34 can be obtained. Is configured. Therefore, the azimuth angle sensor 32, the traveling distance sensor 36, and the position calculation circuit 38 constitute the second area recognition means 26B. The position calculation circuit 38 is connected to the central processing unit 30 and sends the obtained current position information to the central processing unit 30.

As a means for obtaining the position information, for example, GPS (Global Pod) which is one of radio navigation systems is used.
A positioning system 40 may be used. The GPS 40 has recently received particular attention because it is a system that can perform high-accuracy position measurement using a plurality of artificial satellites. This GPS is configured as third area recognition means 26C for recognizing the area.
Further, as the area recognizing means, the area input means for inputting the area code for specifying the area in the manual described in the first invention may be used together with the above-mentioned area recognizing means.

The central processing unit 30 comprises, for example, a CPU for searching for an optimal route to a destination based on map information, position information, road traffic information, and the like input thereto.
It predicts the time required to reach the destination, requests the operator of the vehicle 34 to perform an operation, and outputs the obtained information to inform the operator. The central processing unit 30
Preset control means for selecting a frequency data group in a storage means to be described later based on the area recognized by each of the area recognition means 26A, 26B, and 26C and presetting the selected frequency data group to a tuner unit to be described later It is configured to have the function of A display control circuit 42 is connected to the central processing unit 30, and a display 44 provided below the front panel of the driver's seat is connected to the display control circuit 42.
The result obtained by the processing unit is configured to be visually recognized by displaying the result on the display 44.

An audio control circuit 46 is connected to the central processing unit 30, and the audio control circuit 46
Are sequentially connected to a voice synthesizing circuit 48 and a speaker 50, so that the result obtained by the central processing unit 30 can be output from the speaker 50 as voice information. Further, the central processing unit 30, which also has a function of a preset control unit, includes a storage unit such as a ROM that stores a region and a frequency data group related to broadcast stations in the region in association with each other, which constitute a part of the second invention. A tuner unit 54 is connected to which the frequency data group selected by the preset control means is preset.

Therefore, the preset tuner comprises the above-mentioned area recognition means 26A, 26B, 26C, the central processing unit 30 also having the function of the preset control means, the storage means 52 and the tuner unit 54. The storage unit 52 stores a table similar to Table 1 described in the first invention, and associates a large number of regions with frequency data groups relating to broadcast stations that can be heard in each region. In this case, in order to identify the area, the area code of the telephone is replaced or used in combination with the combination of latitude and longitude, the transmitting station of the beacon signal and the like are made to correspond to the frequency data group, and the area of the navigator system is It is configured such that a desired frequency data group can be selected based on the recognition result of the recognition means. The storage means 52 stores frequency data groups for not only AM stations but also other bands, for example, FM stations.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described. First, a signal such as traffic information is received from the antenna 22 as the vehicle 34 travels,
This signal is input to the central processing unit 30 via the radio 24. In addition, from the CD-ROM drive 28, the map information previously input thereto is input to the central processing unit 30. Further, the traveling direction information from the azimuth sensor 32,
The traveling distance information is input from the traveling distance sensor 36 to the position calculation circuit 38, and the position or area where the vehicle 34 is currently traveling is obtained. The position information is also input to the central processing unit 30. . Further, based on radio waves emitted from artificial satellites, the GPS 40 obtains a current position or area by radio navigation, and inputs the result to the central processing unit 30.

The central processing unit 30 searches for the optimum route to the destination, estimates the time required for the destination, and calculates the destination based on the traffic information, map information, and various pieces of position information input thereto. A search for the next operation to be performed by the operator in order to reach is performed. The obtained result is transmitted to the speaker 5 via the voice control circuit 46 and the voice synthesis circuit 48.
At 0, it is output as a voice to inform the operator audibly. The result is displayed on the display 44 via the display control circuit 42.

On the other hand, the central processing unit 30 is controlled so as to obtain information on the operation of the vehicle as described above, and based on the position information or the area information obtained by each of the area recognition means 26A, 26B, 26C. FM station or A
The frequency data group corresponding to the area where the vehicle 34 is currently traveling is selected in the same manner as described in the first invention with reference to the storage means 52 in which the frequency data group of the M station is stored (see Table 1). 1). Then, the central processing unit 30 automatically presets the selected frequency tader group sequentially to the preset stations P1 to P7 of the tuner unit 54. As described above, in the present embodiment, the preset tuner is combined with the navigator system, so that the driver or the operator can preset the frequency data group corresponding to the traveling area without any action. Becomes

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention, the following excellent functions and effects can be exhibited. First
According to the present invention, a desired frequency data group can be quickly selected from a large number of frequency data groups and presetting can be automatically performed without using a correspondence table or the like.
Further, a desired frequency data group can be easily selected even when a data group is formed corresponding to each smaller area. According to the second aspect, since the preset tuner is combined with the navigator system, the corresponding frequency data group can be completely automatically preset according to the area.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a preset tuner according to a first invention.

FIG. 2 is a CD equipped with the preset tuner shown in FIG.
It is a perspective view showing a radio cassette.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a remote controller used for a CD radio cassette.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a preset operation.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an area selection algorithm.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart when a listening operation is performed.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a vehicle equipped with a preset tuner combined with a navigator system.

FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a preset tuner according to a second invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 ... preset tuner, 4, 52 ... storage means, 6 ... area input means, 8, 54 ... tuner section, 10 ... preset control means, 12 ... converter, 14 ... remote controller, 18 ... CD radio cassette body, 26A, 26
B, 26C: area recognition means, 30: central processing unit (preset control means).

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) H03J 5/00-7/32

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A preset tuner for selecting a data group of transmission frequencies for a plurality of broadcasting stations stored in advance and presetting a data group of the selected transmission frequency, a region code specifying a region and the region code. Storage means for storing a transmission frequency data group related to a broadcasting station corresponding to the storage means, a region input means for inputting the area code, and the storage means based on the area code input to the input means. a preset control means for presetting the tuner data groups selected transmission frequency with selecting data group transmission frequency of said locations
A preset tuner wherein the area code is an area code or a postal code of a telephone number .