JPH03218496A - Reservation setter and timer using this setter - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the ease of use of the reservation setter by providing a character transmitting/receiving means having information A and information B as one set of contents, memory means, display means, and input means for the information B corresponding to the assigned information A. CONSTITUTION:The character broadcasting transmitting/receiving means 1 receives a character broadcasting program, the contents of which are corresponding tables. The received program is stored in the memory means 2. The display means 3 takes the name of the TV program out of the means 2 and displays the same. The assigning means 4 selects and assigns at least one TV program name from the names displayed on the means 3. The inputting means 5 takes the reservation information for the timer corresponding to the TV program name assigned by the means 4 out of the means 2 and inputs the same to the timer 6. The operation to convert the TV program name to the timer reservation information and the operation to input the same to the timer are automated in this way and the reservation setting of less errors is executed by the simple operation involving the mere selection of the TV program name.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a device for setting a desired reservation time in a timer, and is particularly effective for use in a timer for a video tape recorder that records television broadcasts. It is something.

[Prior Art] Hereinafter, a video tape recorder (hereinafter referred to as V) with a built-in timer for recording television (hereinafter referred to as TV) broadcasting
TR) will be explained below.

Conventionally, in a VTR that has a function to start and end recording at a scheduled time (hereinafter referred to as a scheduled recording function), the desired TV
Research has been conducted on technology for setting (hereinafter referred to as "reservation setting") the information necessary to record a program on a VTR. The main issue in this research is how to make error-free reservation settings in as few steps as possible. In general, the subject of scheduled recording is recognized by the user of the scheduled recording function as a TV program name, whereas in the timer that controls scheduled recording, it is expressed as the scheduled time and other information. Below, information directly used by the timer, such as reservation time, is collectively referred to as timer reservation information. In many conventional reservation setting technologies, users have to do a lot of work when setting reservations. T
V program name must be converted into timer reservation information. If the user makes a mistake during this conversion process, correct reservation settings will not be possible. Furthermore, the converted timer reservation information is difficult for the user to intuitively understand, and even if there is an error when inputting it to the timer, there is a high possibility that the user will not notice the error. T! Many errors in actual reservation settings are caused by errors in this conversion and input work. In addition to the above-mentioned reservation setting technology in which the user directly inputs reservation information for the timer into the timer, the following technology has been proposed in the past6 (Example of Prior Art 1) JP-A-58 -68690 publication and JP-A-63-48
Publication No. 497 proposes that timer reservation information is recorded as a barcode, a reservation setting device reads the timer reservation information from the barcode, and the reservation is set by inputting the timer reservation information into the timer. ing. In this technology, a correspondence table between TV program names and barcodes is attached to a reservation setting device using this technology, and the user of the scheduled recording function inserts the barcode corresponding to the desired TV program name into the correspondence table. Reservations can be set by selecting one from among them and having the reservation setting device read this barcode. At that time, the user does not have to convert the TV program name to timer reservation information or enter timer reservation information into the timer, so there is less worry that the user will make an input mistake.
This is an effective proposal for eliminating setting errors.

(Prior art example 2) In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-269091. We propose to start and end recording when the code set in the VTR matches the code superimposed on the TV broadcast, thereby achieving the same effect as scheduled recording using a timer. In this technology, the information input into the VTR by the user is the code. [The problem that the invention tries to solve! 1N] The above conventional technology does not take into consideration the fact that the broadcast time of a TV program is changed or that a new TV program is substituted. Therefore, when using l in the prior art example above to set a reservation for a VTR, if the contents of the correspondence table are older than the above changes, the reservation will be set incorrectly. It is the responsibility of the user of the scheduled recording function to prepare the latest correspondence table, which is one of the disadvantages of the prior art example. In reality, magazines and other publications are used to regularly provide users with information on TV.
A correspondence table between program names and barcodes is being provided. Therefore, the user has to go to a bookstore or the like and purchase the publication, which is a hassle. Also in the prior art example 2 above. Since only publications have been proposed as a method of providing codes corresponding to TV program names, this method has the same problem as the above-mentioned prior art example 1.

A first object of the present invention is to automatically prepare the latest correspondence table between TV program names and timer reservation information, thereby improving the usability of a reservation setting device.

The second object of the present invention is to use the above correspondence table to
To automatically perform a conversion work from a V program name to timer reservation information and an input work to a timer, thereby making it possible to perform error-free reservation setting.

[Means for solving the problem] To achieve the above purpose, teletext is used as a means to obtain a correspondence table between TV program names and timer reservation information. Teletext broadcasting is a system in which text and graphic information are superimposed on TV broadcasts as digital information and viewed on the receiving side using a teletext receiver. Currently, multiple teletext programs are simultaneously superimposed and broadcast on one TV channel. One teletext program is broadcast repeatedly every few minutes, so there is no need to be aware of the broadcast time zone in order to receive it.

The operating system for teletext broadcasting is characterized in that the cost of broadcasting is borne by the information provider, while the receiver does not have to pay reception fees.

The present invention is based on the premise that at least one teletext program is broadcast with a correspondence table in which at least one set of TV program name and timer reservation information is written in accordance with a format that can be used by the present invention. , and that it can be easily implemented by, for example, companies that would benefit from the invention, by bearing the cost of teletext broadcasting. Hereinafter, the above correspondence table that can be used in the present invention will be simply referred to as a correspondence table.

[Effect] The structure and operation of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIG.

The present invention comprises teletext receiving means 1, storage means 2, display means 3
, a designation means 4, and an input means 5. Further, 6 is a timer that is reserved according to the present invention.

Teletext receiving means 1 receives a teletext program containing the correspondence table and stores it in storage means 2. The storage means 2 stores the above-mentioned correspondence table which is the content of received teletext. The display means 3 retrieves the TV program name from the storage means 2 and displays it.
The designation means 4 is for selecting and designating at least one TV program name from among those displayed on the display means 3. The input means 5 takes out the timer reservation information corresponding to the TV program name specified by the specifying means 4 from the storage means 2 and inputs it into the timer 6. With the above configuration and operation, the object of the present invention is achieved.

[Embodiment] Figure 2 is an external view showing an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to VTR reservation setting. 7 is a VTR, which has a built-in timer 6 (not shown in the figure) for recording TV programs. 8 is an operation panel connected to the VTR 7 with a connection line 9;
10 is a TV signal cable that guides TV broadcast waves to the VTR 7. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the operation panel 8 a 8 a is T
This is a liquid crystal screen that displays the V program name and corresponds to display means 3. Reference numeral 8b indicates a transparent touch panel which overlaps the liquid crystal screen 8a and allows the user to select a TV program name by pressing with a finger, and corresponds to the specifying means 4. 8c is a reservation setting start switch, and 8d is a reservation setting end switch. 8e is a scroll button, which has contact points in four directions: up, down, left, and right.
Figure 4 is a block diagram of this embodiment. 20 is a teletext receiver, which corresponds to teletext receiving means l. 21 is a microcomputer which has a function equivalent to the input means 5, and also controls the teletext receiver 20 and the LCD display touch panel 8b. 22 is microcomputer 2
It is a memory connected to 1, and a part of its capacity is used as storage means 2.
Use as.

Timer 6 is electronic, and the VT is activated according to the timer reservation information stored in the built-in timer memory (not shown in the figure).
Controls the operation of R7. The timer reservation information is input by the microcomputer 21 writing the timer reservation information into the timer internal memory.

The reservation setting operation according to this embodiment will be explained below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, and the internal operation at that time will be explained with reference to FIG. 4.

First, when the reservation setting start switch 8C is pressed, the teletext receiver 20 receives the teletext program broadcasting the correspondence table, and sends the received correspondence table to the microcomputer 21.
The microcomputer 21 temporarily stores the correspondence table in the memory 22, extracts only the TV program names from the correspondence table, and displays them as a list on the liquid crystal screen 8a. When a user presses a portion of the liquid crystal screen 8a where a desired TV program name is displayed with a finger, the touch panel 8b reports the pressed portion to the microcomputer 21. The microcomputer 21 searches the memory 22 for the TV program name displayed in the reported portion, retrieves timer reservation information corresponding to the TV program name from the memory 22, and inputs it to the timer 6.

When the reservation setting end switch 8d is pressed, this embodiment ends its operation and no longer accepts any operations other than the reservation setting start switch 8C. Next, a supplementary explanation will be given regarding the operation of this embodiment. How to select a teletext program Teletext broadcasts multiple programs simultaneously, and each teletext program has a unique program number.

By giving the program number to the teletext receiver 20, individual teletext programs can be selected. The teletext receiver 20 used in the present invention can achieve its purpose if it can receive only the teletext programs broadcasting the correspondence table, so for example, the teletext receiver 20 may be equipped with a ROM in which the program number of the teletext program is recorded. , the teletext receiver 20 can obtain a correspondence table by selecting the program number in the ROM. In addition, non-volatile RAM can be used instead of the above ROM.
You can change the program number you receive at any time by using a dip switch or a dip switch. In addition, in this embodiment, the reservation setting start switch 8c
After pressing , teletext reception starts, but the teletext receiver 20 is operated constantly or intermittently, and the memory 22
It is also possible to always store the latest correspondence table. According to this method, the time from when the reservation setting start switch 8C is pressed until the TV program name is displayed on the liquid crystal screen 8a is shortened, and the usability is improved.

Example of correspondence table format FIG. 5 shows an example of the format of the correspondence table that can be used in the present invention.

Character strings sent via teletext are divided into lines separated by newline characters. One set of TV program name and timer reservation information is written in one line. The TV program name and timer reservation information are separated by a delimiter. The delimiter is a character that is not used in TV program names, such as '@'. TV program names are written as a string of alphanumeric, kana, and kanji characters using JIS codes. The timer reservation information is written as an 11-digit number string using the same JIS code, with the first 8 digits representing the reservation time, the next 2 digits representing the broadcast channel number, and the last 1 digit representing the broadcast day of the week. Of the eight digits indicating the reserved time, the first four digits indicate the recording start time and the next four digits indicate the recording end time. First 2 of each 4 digits
The time is expressed as a number from 00 to 23, with the last 2
The digits are minutes expressed as numbers from 00 to 59. The two digits representing the broadcast channel number are channel numbers expressed as numbers from 01 to 99. The digits representing the broadcast days are numbers 1 to 7, each representing Sunday to Saturday. If the TV program is broadcast every day regardless of the day of the week, 0 is entered in the digit representing the day of the week. This makes it possible to make reservations for TV programs that are broadcast at a fixed time every day all at once. If you need timer reservation information other than those shown above, you can send it in the same way by extending the format of the timer reservation information. The teletext receiver 20 writes the received character string as is into the memory 22. The microcomputer 21 reads the string of alphanumeric, kana, and kanji characters from the beginning of the line to one character before the delimiter.
Displayed on the LCD screen 8a as the program name. When inputting the timer reservation information to the timer 6, the microcomputer 21 decomposes the character string into each piece of information in the above-mentioned order, starting with the character following the delimiter, and converts it into a data format that can be input to the timer 6. .

The above format is an example, and it is also possible to add an error correction code to the above format, or conversely use a format that is compressed to eliminate redundancy.

The above explanation assumes that the text mode of teletext is used to send the correspondence table, but the above JI
A correspondence table written in S code can also be regarded as a binary code and sent in the graphic mode of teletext. At that time, if you receive this teletext program with a normal teletext receiver, a meaningless screen will be displayed.
A correspondence table of the amount of information in bytes can be sent in one teletext program.

Examples of display methods In general, the number of TV programs broadcast per day is about several hundred in many regions. In the present invention, if a list of TV program names for one day is to be displayed, a high-definition liquid crystal screen 8a with a very large number of pixels is required. Therefore, in order to display a large number of TV program names on the liquid crystal screen 8a, which has a relatively small number of pixels, the following display method is adopted.

This display method will be explained with reference to FIG. 30 is a two-dimensional table provided in the storage means, in which TV program names are arranged with the horizontal axis as the broadcast channel and the vertical axis as the broadcast time. 31 is an actual display range, and this range is cut out from table 30 and displayed on the liquid crystal screen 8a. If the user wants to view TV program names other than those displayed, the display range 31 in the table 30 is moved by pressing the scroll button 8e. 32 is the display range after movement. That is, by pressing the scroll button 8e to the left or right, the name of a TV program of another channel is displayed, and by pressing up or down, the name of a TV program of another broadcast time is displayed. This allows the user to search for a desired TV program name and select it for scheduled recording. For example, when using the liquid crystal screen 8a having 400 pixels in the vertical direction and 640 pixels in the horizontal direction, only about 100 TV program names can be displayed, but by using the above display method, it is possible to display and select the TV program names for one day. In this embodiment, the display device 3 and the designated device i! 4, we used the liquid crystal screen 8a and the touch panel 8b, but there are also other T
This can also be achieved by combining a V screen, a light pen, a barcode printer, and a barcode reader.

Further, although the reservation setting device and the timer 6 in this embodiment are realized as independent devices, it is also possible to realize the present invention as part of the functions of the timer 6.

Although the above embodiment shows an example of recording a TV program, the reservation setting device according to the present invention can also be applied to recording a radio program.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, it is possible to always automatically obtain the latest correspondence table, and the user does not have to worry about obtaining the correspondence table.

In addition, by using the above correspondence table for reservation setting, TV
The work of converting a program name to timer reservation information and the input work to a timer can be automated, and reservation settings with fewer errors can be made with a simple operation of just selecting a TV program name.

Furthermore, by adding additional information to the correspondence table, it is possible to improve functions such as batch reservation setting of band programs.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the present invention. Figure 2 is an external view of one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an enlarged and partially sectional view of the operating plate 8 of the above embodiment. Fourth
The figure is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the above embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram used in the present invention. 1... Teletext receiving means, 2... Storage means, 3...
- Display means, 4... Designation means, 5... Input means, 6
...Timer, 7...VTR, 8...Operation version. 8a
...LCD screen, 8b...Touch panel = 8c...Reservation setting start switch, 8d...Reservation setting end switch, 8e...Scroll button, 9...Connection line, 10
...TV signal cable, 20...Teletext receiver,
21...Microcomputer, 22...Memory, 30...Table, 31...Display range, 32...Display range after movement.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Teletext receiving means for receiving a teletext program including at least one set of information A and B as contents; a display means for displaying information A; a designation means for designating at least one of the displayed information A; and inputting information B corresponding to the designated information A into another device. A reservation setting device comprising: input means for inputting information; 2. A timer comprising the reservation setting device according to claim 1 and controlling other equipment according to the content of information B given from the reservation setting device. 3. Information A is the name of the television broadcast program, information B is
3. The timer according to claim 2, wherein the timer is configured to receive a teletext broadcast containing the broadcast time of the television program as the timer, and to control a device that records the television broadcast.