JP3167206B2 - Vehicle multiplex broadcast receiver - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multiplex broadcast receiving apparatus for a vehicle for receiving a multiplex broadcast including a main broadcast and a sub broadcast including information for each area.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art JP-A-63-94400 discloses a map information communication system for vehicles. In this system, map information is transmitted by radio waves from a ground control unit in response to an information request signal from a vehicle. On the other hand, FM multiplex broadcasting, in which the main broadcast and the sub broadcast are transmitted on one radio wave (specific frequency band), is being put to practical use in various places. The content of the main broadcast is conventional analog audio information such as music and news, and the content of the sub broadcast is digital information such as traffic information and weather information for each region.

[0003] If the occupant is allowed to specify an area related to desired information in a multiplex broadcast receiving apparatus mounted on a vehicle, information on the area can be obtained through sub-broadcasts as long as the vehicle is in the radio area of the broadcasting station. can get.

[0004]

When a multiplex broadcast receiving apparatus for a vehicle is constituted by one tuner, if the tuning is changed when the vehicle advances to a position where the radio wave areas of the two broadcasting stations overlap, it is possible to advance in advance. Sub broadcast information can be obtained from the previous broadcast station. However, if the tuning is performed unnecessarily to a broadcast station to which the radio wave does not reach for the purpose of receiving the sub broadcast, the reception of the main broadcast is interrupted unnecessarily. The same applies to the case where the tuning is changed to a broadcasting station that does not provide the multiplex broadcasting service.

If two tuners are provided in a multiplex broadcast receiving apparatus so that a main broadcast of a certain broadcast station can be received by a main tuner and a sub-broadcast of another broadcast station can be received by a sub-tuner, a broadcast that does not reach a radio wave can be obtained. Even if the tuning of the sub-tuner is changed to a station or a broadcasting station that does not perform multiplex broadcasting, reception of the main broadcast is not hindered. However, there is a problem that useless interruption occurs in receiving the original sub broadcast.

An object of the present invention is to make it possible to obtain information over a wide area through a sub broadcast while minimizing interruption of reception of a main broadcast and a sub broadcast.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention employs a configuration for performing tuning in accordance with the availability of a sub-broadcast related to information on a designated area.

[0008] More specifically, the invention of claim 1 relates to a main broadcast.
Receiver for receiving multiplex broadcasts with sub broadcasts
In a multiplex broadcast receiving apparatus for a vehicle having a step, tuning change is permitted only when multiplex broadcast in a designated area can be received. That is, FIG.
~ As shown in Fig. 4, which broadcasting station
Information on which areas
Station data storage device that stores data indicating whether it is provided
Step 26 and own-vehicle-position detecting means for detecting the own-vehicle position
32 and an area designator to specify the area for which you want information
With reference to the step 42 and the station data storage means 26,
The broadcasting station corresponding to the designated area, and
If the detected vehicle position is within the radio wave area of the transmitting station
Only when the receiving means 40 selects the broadcast station.
Providing a tuning control means 44 for giving a command;
did.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is displayed which multiplex broadcast related to which area information is receivable, and the occupant is allowed to select desired area information within the display range. That is, as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 5, and 6,
Information on which broadcasting station and which area through sub-broadcasting
Indicates to which radio service area
Station data storage means 26 that stores
Vehicle position detecting means 32 for performing the operation, and station data storing means
26, the radio wave area including the detected vehicle position.
The broadcasting station that has the
Display means 4 for displaying the area related to the information provided
6, stomach area obtained the information from among the displayed area finger
Area specifying means 42 for specifying
6 and select a broadcasting station corresponding to the designated area.
Tuning system for giving a command to the receiving means 40 to select
The structure provided with the control means 44 was adopted.

[0010]

According to the first aspect of the invention, the tuning control means is provided.
Corresponds to the designated area with reference to the station data storage means 26.
And the radio area of the specified broadcast station.
It is determined whether or not the multiplex broadcast related to the information of the designated area is receivable at the position of the own vehicle by checking whether or not the own vehicle is within the vehicle . When the multiplex broadcast can be received, the receiving means 40 is tuned to a broadcast station in the designated area, so that information on a wide area can be obtained through the sub broadcast. Conversely, when it is determined that the vehicle cannot be received because the position of the vehicle is outside the radio wave area of the multiplex broadcasting related to the information of the designated area, or the broadcasting station in the designated area does not provide the multiplex broadcasting service. , The tuning change of the receiving means 40 is prohibited. Therefore, even in the case of one tuner, the reception of the main broadcast is not interrupted unnecessarily,
In the case of two tuners, useless reception of the sub broadcast is not interrupted.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the station data storage device
With reference to step 26, a radio wave having a radio wave area including the own vehicle position
The transmitting station is specified, and the display means 46 displays which area of the multiplex broadcast related to the information can be received according to the own vehicle position. When the occupant designates a desired area within the display range, the receiving means 40 is transmitted to a broadcasting station in the designated area.
Is tuned, so that a wide range of information can be obtained through sub broadcasts. Further, since the area where the multiplex broadcast cannot be received is not displayed on the display means 46, the area is not specified, and the reception inhibition of the main broadcast and the sub broadcast can be prevented.

[0012]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a vehicle-mounted FM according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a multiplex broadcast receiving device.

In FIG. 1, an antenna 2 is means for receiving FM radio waves from a broadcasting station. A radio frequency (RF) amplifier 4 connected to the antenna 2, a frequency mixer 6,
The local oscillator 8, the intermediate frequency (IF) amplifier 10, and the FM detector 12 are circuit blocks that constitute one FM tuner of the superheterodyne system, and are shared for receiving a main broadcast and a sub broadcast.

The main broadcast signal being output from the FM detector 12 is
The sound is converted into stereo sound by a stereo demodulator 14, left and right audio amplifiers (audio amplifiers) 16 and left and right speakers 18.

The sub broadcast signal being output from the FM detector 12 is:
Sampled by the FM multiplex decoder 20. 2
2 is an interface, 24 is a CPU, 26 is a ROM,
28 is a RAM. The ROM 26 has, in addition to a program for controlling the operation of the FM multiplex broadcast receiving apparatus,
Stores map information and mesh information indicating a regional division. Also, data such as which broadcasting station provides the multiplex broadcasting service, which broadcasting station provides information about which mesh through sub-broadcasting, and the range of the radio wave area of each broadcasting station are stored in the ROM 26. Is stored in The digital information of the sub broadcast sampled by the FM multiplex decoder 20 is stored in the RAM 28 for each mesh.
Is stored in

Reference numeral 30 denotes a display, and 32 denotes a navigation system for detecting the position of the vehicle. The navigation system 32 includes a dead reckoning method for estimating the relative position of the own vehicle based on, for example, an azimuth sensor and a distance sensor, and a satellite navigation method (Global Positioning System) for receiving radio waves emitted from artificial satellites and measuring the absolute position of the own vehicle. And so on. On the screen of the display 30, a detailed map of the vicinity of the own vehicle is displayed, and the position of the own vehicle detected by the navigation system 32 is displayed. When the screen of the display 30 is switched, a mesh map of the vicinity of the own vehicle is displayed together with the place names as shown in FIG. A touch switch is provided on the screen of the display 30, and by touching one of the meshes, designation of the mesh is transmitted to the CPU 24 as a touch input T. The CPU 24 sends a tuning command F to the local oscillator 8 so as to select a broadcasting station that is executing the multiplex broadcasting only when the multiplex broadcasting providing the information of the designated mesh can be received at the own vehicle position. give. Further, information on the specified mesh is read from the RAM 28 and further displayed on the screen of the display 30.

The operation of the FM multiplex broadcast receiving apparatus having the above configuration will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 2, the presence or absence of the reception of the FM broadcast is confirmed in step S11, and in step S12, a mesh-like map of the vicinity of the own vehicle is displayed on the screen of the display 30 together with the place name with reference to the ROM 26 in step S12. . FIG. 3 shows a display example of the screen. In FIG. 3, the areas (information areas) IA related to the information provided by the broadcast station A through the sub-broadcast are meshes # 6, 7, 10, and 11, and the information area IB of the broadcast station B is other meshes # 8, 12 And so on. Also, it is assumed that the radio wave area WA of the broadcast station A and the radio wave area WB of the broadcast station B are partially overlapped with the meshes # 7, 8, 11, and 12. The current position of the vehicle is in mesh # 7 (Hiroshima) and is progressing toward mesh # 8 (Kaita-shi). While broadcasting the main broadcast information of broadcast station A from speaker 18, mesh # 6 is in progress. Sub-broadcast information regarding 7, 10, 11 is stored in the RAM 28. That is,
In the example shown in FIG. 3, the screen including the mesh adjacent to the information area IA of the currently receiving broadcasting station A is displayed on the display 3.
It is reflected in 0.

The occupant touches one of the meshes on the screen of the display 30 to select a mesh from which sub broadcast information is to be obtained. As shown in FIG. 2, the CPU 24 waits in step S13 until a mesh is selected, and if the selection is performed, the process proceeds to step S14 to determine whether tuning to a broadcasting station covering the selected mesh is performed. Check whether or not. At this time, the ROM 26 is referred to again in order to know the relationship between the broadcasting station and the mesh. For example, if mesh # 7 is selected while tuning to broadcast station A as described above, step S15
Then, it is checked whether or not the broadcasting station is performing multiplex broadcasting by referring to the ROM 26. When multiplex broadcasting is performed, the sub broadcast information on the selected mesh is R
Since the data is always stored in the AM 28, data can be picked up from the RAM 28 (steps S16 and S17). In step S18, the picked-up data is displayed on the screen of the display 30 to notify the occupant of, for example, multiplex information of mesh # 7.

If it is determined in step S14 that the broadcasting station covering the selected mesh has not been tuned, the process proceeds to step S19. For example, if the mesh # 8 of the destination is selected when the tuning is performed on the broadcasting station A as described above, the mesh # 8 is not included in the information area IA of the broadcasting station A. Needs to be changed. In step S19, it is checked whether or not there is a broadcast station covering the selected mesh. At this time, the result of the detection of the vehicle position by the navigation system 32 and the R
The data in the OM 26 is referred to, and only when the own vehicle is within the radio area of the broadcasting station covering the selected mesh, the tuning command is sent from the CPU 24 to the local oscillator 8 in step S20 so as to select the broadcasting station. F is given. For example, if the vehicle is at a position where it can receive the radio waves of both broadcasting stations A and B, for example, at mesh # 7,
When the destination mesh # 8 is selected, the tuning is changed from the broadcasting station A to the broadcasting station B.

After changing the receiving broadcast station in this way, the operation proceeds to step S15. In step S15, by referring to the ROM 26 as described above, it is checked whether or not the changed broadcasting station is performing multiplex broadcasting. When multiplex broadcasting is performed, the sub-broadcast information on the selected mesh is stored in the RAM 28,
Data pickup can be executed from step 8 (steps S16 and S17). Therefore, step S
At 18, the multiplex information of mesh # 8 is reported to the occupant.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the tuning change is permitted only when the multiplex broadcast related to the mesh specified by the occupant can be received at the own vehicle position. While avoiding as much as possible, you can obtain sub broadcast information in a wide range of areas.

In the embodiment described above, the screen of the display 30 has a mesh map of the vicinity of the vehicle (FIG. 3).
4), but may be simplified so that only the place names near the own vehicle are displayed as shown in FIG.
The occupant selects an area related to desired sub broadcast information by touching any place name display on the screen of the display 30, for example, the display of "8. Kaita City".

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the name of the place may be displayed only in an area where the multiplex broadcast can be received at the own vehicle position, and the occupant may select desired area information within the range. FIG. 6 shows the operation of the FM multiplex broadcast receiving apparatus in this case.
Shown in However, the configuration of the device is the same as in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6, whether or not an FM broadcast has been received is checked in step S21, and R
The tunable area is searched with reference to the OM 26, and the name of the receivable area is displayed on the screen of the display 30 in step S23. At this time, the result of the detection of the position of the vehicle by the navigation system 32 and the data in the ROM 26 relating to the radio wave area of each broadcasting station are referred to, and only the broadcasting stations where the vehicle is within the radio wave area are referred to. Is displayed.

The occupant selects one of the place names displayed on the screen of the display 30 to designate an area relating to the desired sub broadcast information. The CPU 24 waits in step S24 until a place name is selected, and when the place name is selected, the process proceeds to step S25 to check whether or not tuning to a broadcast station covering the selected area is performed. If the tuning has not been performed, the process proceeds to step S26 to change the tuning, and then proceeds to step S27 to check whether or not the broadcasting station performs multiplex broadcasting. If the tuning has already been performed on a broadcasting station covering the designated area,
Proceed directly to step S27. The operation after step S27 is the same as the operation after step S15 in FIG. 2, and a detailed description will be omitted.

As described above, if the occupant can be designated only in the area where the multiplex broadcast can be received at the position of the own vehicle, as in the case of the operation in FIG. You can get sub broadcast information.

In a case where a plurality of FM tuners are provided in the multiplex broadcast receiving apparatus so that a main broadcast of a certain broadcast station can be received by a main tuner and a sub broadcast of another broadcast station can be received by a sub tuner, If the present invention is applied to the tuning change, it is possible to obtain sub broadcast information in a wide area while avoiding interruption of reception of not only the main broadcast but also the sub broadcast as much as possible. Also, of course, the same information about a mesh
Are provided by multiple broadcasting stations through sub broadcasts
In this case, for example, check to the broadcasting station with the higher received electric field strength.
You can do tuning.

[0029]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the tuning change is permitted only when the multiplex broadcast related to the area designated by the occupant can be received at the own vehicle position. Therefore, information on a wide area can be obtained through the sub broadcast while minimizing interruption of reception of the main broadcast and the sub broadcast.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the occupants can be designated only in the area where the multiplex broadcast can be received at the own vehicle position, so that the interruption of the reception of the main broadcast and the sub broadcast is suppressed as much as possible. , A wide range of information can be obtained through sub-broadcasting.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a multiplex broadcast receiving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of the multiplex broadcast receiving apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a screen display example on the display in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another example of screen display on the display in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing still another screen display example on the display in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating another operation example of the multiplex broadcast receiving device of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

2 Antenna 4 High Frequency (RF) Amplifier 6 Frequency Mixer 8 Local Oscillator 10 Intermediate Frequency (IF) Amplifier 12 FM Detector 14 Stereo Demodulator 16 Audio Frequency Amplifier (Audio Amplifier) 18 Speaker 20 FM Multiplex Decoder 22 Interface 24 CPU 26 ROM (Station data storage means) 28 RAM 30 Display 32 Navigation system (own vehicle position detecting means) 40 Receiving means 42 Area specifying means 44 Tuning control means 46 Display means F Tuning command T Touch input

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-3-19000 (JP, A) JP-A-64-43715 (JP, A) JP-A-1-276829 (JP, A) JP-A-6-188767 (JP) , A) Utility model registration 2557539 (JP, Y2) Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-57777 (JP, B2) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04B 1/16 G08G 1/09 G08G 1 / 123 H04H 1/00

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A multiplex broadcast having a main broadcast and a sub broadcast.
Multiplex broadcast reception of a vehicle provided with a receiving means for receiving a vehicle
The device, which broadcaster sends information about which area through sub-broadcasting
Indicates to which radio service area
Station data storage means storing the data , own vehicle position detection means for detecting the own vehicle position , area designation means for specifying an area where information is desired to be obtained, and referring to the station data storage means, The specified area
The broadcast station corresponding to the
Only when the detected vehicle position is within the wave area
Command to the receiving means to select the broadcasting station.
Tuning control means for providing
A multiplex broadcast receiving device for vehicles. 2. A multiplex broadcast having a main broadcast and a sub broadcast.
Multiplex broadcast reception of a vehicle provided with a receiving means for receiving a vehicle
The device, which broadcaster sends information about which area through sub-broadcasting
Indicates to which radio service area
And station data storage means for storing data, and a vehicle position detecting means for detecting the vehicle position, by referring to the station data storage unit, the sensed vehicle
Identify the broadcasting station that has the radio area including the position, and
Displays the area related to the information provided by the specified broadcasting station.
Display means for specifying the area for which information is to be obtained from the displayed areas
Referring to the area data storing means and the station data storing means.
Command the receiving means to select a broadcast station corresponding to
Tuning control means for providing
Multiplex broadcast receiving device for vehicles.