JPH07222128A - Two-way broadcasting method, receiver and remote controller for two-way broadcasting - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a viewer to respond easily and surely to an interactive bidirectional program by multiplexing and broadcasting menu information which can be selected by a receiving person, and information for indicating the timing to display and erase the menu information on the side of a receiver. CONSTITUTION:When a menu display command signal is received from a broadcasting station, a menu program stored in a DRAM 23 is activated, the display image of a menu is formed from the received menu information onto a VRAM 25, and the overlay display of that image is performed on the screen of an image receiving tube 16. From the time point when this menu is displayed, a TV receiver is switched to a menu selection mode and when the viewer operates the button of a commander 34 within prescribed time from the display starting time point of the menu, the processing corresponding to a change object command and a menu selection command is performed. In the case of a deciding command, the selected item of the menu is automatically transmitted through a modem 33 to a telephone number preserved on a DRAM 35.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an interactive broadcasting method for broadcasting an interactive program which allows a receiver to select a menu, a receiving apparatus therefor, and a remote control apparatus for the receiving apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in television receivers, adjustment of image quality and sound quality, input switching, timer setting and the like are displayed on a menu so that a user can select and set them appropriately. The menu display of this selection setting is performed by the user manually opening the menu using a key provided on the receiver or a remote control transmitter (commander).

In addition, various control operations by the viewer, such as turning the power on / off, tuning a channel, and adjusting the volume, have recently been performed via a remote control commander. And, in the case of frequently operating tuning, etc., a direct tuning by a so-called ten-key operation corresponding to the numbers from "1" to "0" and a seesaw type or a mechanically independent pair of Up / down tuning is performed using the operation buttons.

When both direct channel selection and up / down channel selection are used together, the up / down channel selection button is often arranged at a position where it can be easily operated, and its size is often increased.

In addition, a commander is generally used for stepwise up / down control with a seesaw type operation button for volume adjustment with a high degree of freedom of setting and a high operation frequency. The operation buttons for adjusting the volume are also arranged at positions that are easy to operate, like the up / down tuning buttons.

[0006]

By the way, there has been proposed an interactive television broadcasting method for broadcasting an interactive program to which a receiver can make a response. In the case of this kind of interactive program, the response of the receiver is generally transmitted to a predetermined reply destination through a telephone line. In this case, in order to ensure that the reply destination receives the expected value response, it is better to provide the selection information to the recipient in a menu format and use the one selected from the menu as the response information. .

As a method of displaying the selection information for this response as a menu, as described above, there is a method of displaying it by a user's operation like a menu for adjusting the image quality and sound quality of the television receiver. . However, this method is troublesome because the user has to manually open the menu, and in some cases, the user omits the menu display and uses a response value other than the expected value as the reply information. Then, the response information to the reply destination becomes invalid, and there is a risk that the user will be wasted paying the usage fee of the telephone line.

Further, in an interactive television program that is experimentally broadcast in North America, during the football game, whether the next play is a "pass" or a "run", the viewer will not There are programs that offer prizes to viewers who have a high probability of hitting, with the prospect of expansion.

In this program, the timing of inputting the prediction of the game development is set on the broadcasting station side and displayed on the screen of the receiver by superimposing or the like. In response to this display, the viewer operates the "pass" button or "run" button of the commander dedicated to the program to input the prediction.

However, in the above-mentioned interactive broadcasting program, when the display due to the superimpose or the like is overlooked, there is a problem that the input timing is unknown and the response is missed. In addition, there is a problem that the size of the commander becomes large because an operation button dedicated to the prediction input is added.

[0011] Of course, a so-called graphical display in which a desired operation is instructed by displaying necessary operation buttons on the screen of the television receiver and designating (pointing) the buttons on the screen with a cursor. Using a user interface (GUI) technique, while providing the required control functions for various interactive broadcast services, it is possible to prevent the size of the commander from becoming too large without adding operation buttons to the commander. It is possible.

However, when the GUI is used, there is a problem that a delicate operation of the pointer is required in order to specify the button on the screen with the cursor. In addition, the functions frequently used by viewers such as tuning and volume adjustment are
When set to I, the processing time becomes long, and the operability of the pointer as described above is added, resulting in a problem that usability is deteriorated.

In view of the above point, an object of the present invention is to provide an interactive broadcasting method and a receiving apparatus for the interactive broadcasting program which allows the viewer to easily and surely respond.
Furthermore, it is in the area of providing a remote control device for the receiving device.

[0014]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the interactive broadcasting method according to the present invention provides an interactive program in which a receiver can return response information to a predetermined reply destination. , The menu information that the receiver can select is multiplexed with the broadcast signal and broadcast,
This menu information is characterized in that the receiving device side multiplexes and broadcasts information for instructing the display timing and the erasing timing.

Further, the bidirectional broadcasting receiver according to the invention of claim 2 corresponds to the reference numerals of the embodiments described later,
Receiving means 11 and 12 for receiving the interactive broadcast program, display means 16 for displaying information on a plurality of selection targets of the received interactive broadcast program in a menu format, and input means 34 for inputting information of a response to the selection targets. And a transmitting means 33 for transmitting the information of the input response to a predetermined reply destination, and a storing means 23 for storing the information regarding the selection target of the received bidirectional broadcast program, and then receiving a menu display command from the broadcasting side. And a means for displaying information on the selection target in a menu format on the display means.

Further, the bidirectional broadcast receiving apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention corresponds to the reference numerals of the embodiments described later,
Receiving means 11 and 12 for receiving the interactive broadcast program, display means 16 for displaying information on a plurality of selection targets of the received interactive broadcast program in a menu format, and input means 34 for inputting information of a response to the selection targets. And a transmitting means 33 for transmitting the information of the input response to a predetermined reply destination, which is a receiving device of the two-way broadcast, wherein a function of a predetermined operation section of the input means is selected by operating the menu format information. When the menu display command is received from the broadcast side after the information on the selection target is stored after the operation function conversion means for converting the information on the selection target is displayed, the information on the selection target is displayed on the display unit in the menu format and at the same time. The function of the operation unit is converted into an operation for selecting the selection target displayed in the menu format.

Further, the remote control device for the interactive broadcast receiving device according to the present invention receives the interactive broadcast program and displays the information regarding a plurality of selection items in the menu when the reference symbols of the embodiments described later are made to correspond. Stepping operation means 34t for remotely controlling a predetermined adjusting function of the receiving device which can be displayed in the form of
Remote control device 34 for interactive broadcast receiving device comprising
It is characterized in that an allocation function conversion means for converting the function allocated to the stepping operation means into a selection operation of a plurality of selection objects displayed in a menu format is provided.

[0018]

With this structure, the menu for response is displayed on the screen of the television receiver at the required timing set on the broadcast side of the interactive program, and the viewer's miss is prevented. At the same time, on the receiving side, for the menu displayed on the screen, without using an additional operation unit, using a remote control transmitter that maintains the conventional size and usability,
You can easily respond.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the bidirectional broadcasting method and its receiving apparatus according to the present invention will be described below. In this example, a multiplexed signal of the character multiplex broadcast format is used as the sub broadcast information.

That is, on the broadcast station side, the program-related information as the sub-broadcast information is formed in the character multiplex signal format, and is multiplexed with the main broadcast television signal for broadcasting. On the other hand, the receiving side separates and decodes the character multiplex signal from the received video signal, reproduces the program related information, stores it in the memory, and uses it for the response of the interactive broadcast program.

[Creation and Broadcast of Sub-broadcast Information] First, referring to FIG. 2, as sub-broadcast information of a bidirectional broadcast program,
Creation of selection procedure information and broadcasting will be described.

On the broadcasting station side, for example, selection procedure information for each question such as a quiz program is created and prepared for broadcasting the program. In the case of a three-choice question, a selection procedure is displayed in which three answers are displayed in a menu and the viewer is allowed to select one. In the case of a quiz program, for example, the reply destination is the receiving system on the broadcast station side, and the communication protocol to this system and the receiving telephone number are set as reply destination information.

During the broadcasting of a quiz program or the like, before the scene where the answer is left to the viewer, as shown in FIG. 2, the selection procedure information and the reply destination information are, for example, a character multiplex broadcasting format, a video signal. Will be multiplexed and broadcast during the vertical blanking period.

The time information is information on the date and time when the data of the character multiplex broadcasting format was transmitted.

The selection procedure information is, so to speak, a group of programs, such as a communication protocol, and is composed of selection procedure identification information, selection procedure, display data, time limit information, etc., and can be a considerable amount of information. , May be multiplexed over multiple fields.

The selection procedure identification information is an identifier indicating which selection procedure, that is, which question, questionnaire, or quiz question is the answer. The selection procedure identification information is added to the viewer's selection result and transmitted to the reply destination. Hereafter, based on this information, the answer is classified for each selection procedure.

The selection procedure is a menu selection program described by an intermediate language, and images, character strings, moving images, etc. are displayed on the screen according to the flow described here. Also, a response process such as reception of an operation from a viewer and switching of a screen in response to this operation is performed.

The display data is an image as described above,
Data such as fonts, graphics, animations, and movies used to display character strings and movies.

The time limit information is the valid time for replying to the selected content, which is indicated by the identifier as described above, and the time until the display is automatically stopped on the receiving side when there is no operation on the menu display. And. When the display is stopped on the receiving side, the scheduled time until the correct answer is broadcast is set.

Further, the effective time for replying to the selected content is the scheduled time until the correct answer is broadcast, and a slight margin time is added in consideration of the congestion of the telephone line as described above.

The reply destination information is composed of the communication speed at the time of reply, the presence / absence of parity, the presence / absence of NMP use, communication environment setting information such as the X-modem method, and the telephone number of the reply destination. On the other hand, according to the set environment,
Reply information as shown in FIG. 3 is returned from the viewer.

In this embodiment, after the broadcasting of the selection procedure information and the like as described above, in the middle of the interactive broadcast program,
Broadcast as sub-broadcast information at an appropriate timing set by the broadcasting station, such as when the menu display command signal for displaying information about the selection target on the receiving side in a menu format leaves the answer to the viewer. To be done.

Further, after the menu display command signal is broadcast, a menu deletion command signal for deleting the displayed menu is broadcast as sub-broadcast information at the middle or end of the program.

[Preparation of Reply Information] Corresponding to the broadcasting of the selection procedure information as described above, the receiving apparatus creates reply information as shown in FIG. 3 and transmits it through the telephone line.

The reply data identification information at the head is an identifier for distinguishing whether the data received on the broadcast station side is reply data or other access data. The next check data is used to check whether the data has changed due to bit loss during transmission, noise, or the like, and to make a match by using a checksum or the like.

Of the reply data, the selection procedure identification information is
The values shown in FIG. 2 are used to determine which menu and which question the answer from the viewer is. Even if the broadcasting station broadcasts in the order of question 1, question 2, ..., Depending on the situation of the telephone line, the answers from the viewers may not be returned in the same order as the broadcasting. Identification information is required.

As the selection result information, information indicating the menu item finally selected is returned. A number unique to the viewer, such as a telephone number or a manufacturing number of the receiving device, is used as the reply source identification information next to the reply data.

[Structure of Receiving Device] Next, the structure of an embodiment of the receiving device for bidirectional broadcasting according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 shows the entire structure of this embodiment, and FIGS. 5 and 6 show the structure of the main part thereof.

In FIG. 4, 10 is a signal system of the television receiver, and 20D is a control system thereof, and also a character multiplex signal decoder.

Broadcast radio waves received by the antenna 1 are supplied to the tuner 11. A tuning signal is supplied from the control system 20D to the tuner 11, and a broadcast signal of a desired channel is selected by the tuner 11 and converted into an intermediate frequency signal. This intermediate frequency signal is supplied to the intermediate frequency circuit 12. The intermediate frequency circuit 12 includes a video demodulator 13
And an audio demodulator 14 are included to demodulate video and audio signals.

The video signal S13 from the video demodulator 13 is supplied to the picture tube 16 via the video signal processing circuit 15.
The audio signal S14 from the audio demodulator 14 is supplied to the audio multiplex decoder 17, and the bilingual signal or the stereo signals SL and SR are decoded. Then, these signals SL and SR are supplied to the left and right speakers 19L and 19R through the amplifiers 18L and 18R, respectively.

In this embodiment, the video signal S13 from the video demodulator 13 is supplied to the character multiplex signal separation circuit 31,
The separated character multiplex signal is taken into the decoder 20D through the I / O port 262 and processed.

Further, in this embodiment, a modem (modulator / demodulator) 33 for data communication is provided to control a bidirectional broadcast program such as a response to a viewer participation type program, and the modem 33 is controlled. It is connected to the system bus 200 of the system 20D. The telephone line 2 is connected to the line connection terminal Line of the modem 33, and the telephone 3 is connected to the telephone terminal Tel.

The control system 20D includes a CPU 21 and a ROM 2
2, DRAM 23, SRAM 24, VRAM 25
And are respectively connected to the system bus 200. The ROM 22 stores various control programs in addition to the program for receiving and receiving the character multiplex signal as described above, and also stores font and graphic data used for display. The DRAM 23 is mainly used as a work area for calculation, and the SRAM 24 stores setting information and ID information of the receiving device itself. The VRAM 25 is used for display.

The control system 20D also includes an I / O port 26.
1, 262, 263, 264 and VTR control port 27. A control signal is sent through the I / O port 261 to the video signal processing circuit 15 and the audio multiplex decoder 17.
Is supplied to. In addition, a remote control transmitter (commander) 34
For example, the infrared remote control signal from the remote control receiver 3
5, the received remote control signal is decoded by the remote control decoding circuit 36, and the decoded remote control signal is output from the I / O port 261 to the control system 20D.
Is taken into.

The CPU 21 controls the commander 34 according to the user's operation according to the program in the ROM 22. For example, in the case of remote control operation such as channel selection and volume control, tuner channel selection and volume control are executed, and at the same time, font data for displaying necessary characters and symbols is read from the ROM 22 and VRA.
Transferred to M25. Then, the data of the VRAM 25 is supplied to the video signal processing circuit 15, and the video signal S13 is sent.
And (for example, superimposing), the image is displayed on the screen of the picture tube 16 for an appropriate time.

Data for tuning and volume control are
When each operation is written in the nonvolatile SRAM 24, when the power is turned off and then turned on again, a so-called last memory function is realized in which the same channel is auditioned at the same volume as immediately before the power is turned off. .

A tuning signal is supplied to the tuner 11 through the I / O port 263. Also, in this example,
Time data from the timer circuit 37 for notifying the real time or generating an interrupt at a predetermined time is input to the control system 20D through the I / O port 264.

Also, the control port 27 of the VTR
In this example, three VTR1, VTR2, and VTR3 can be controlled. The control system 20D receives the VTR through the control port 27.
It is possible to control the VTR by supplying a control signal to the VTR and taking in a status signal from the VTR.

Each VTR has a built-in tuner and an intermediate frequency circuit, and for example, the antenna 1 is connected via a distributor.
, And reserved recording can be performed under the control of the control system 20D.

[Structure of Commander] As shown in FIG. 5, the commander 34 of this embodiment has a power button 34p for controlling ON / OFF of the power of the television receiver, and a channel selection and volume control. In addition to the seesaw buttons 34t and 34v for inputting, a determination button 34d for inputting the determination of the menu selection operation as described above is provided.

As shown by the chain line in FIG. 6, the buttons 34d to 34v as described above are arranged in a matrix corresponding to the intersections of the connection lines xa to xd and ya to ye of the X port 34x and the Y port 34y. Multiple switches arranged
It is arranged so as to face SWaa to SWde.

When none of the buttons is pressed, the commander 34 is in the sleep state, and when any button is pressed, the commander 34 is in the operating state, and the CPU 34m causes the X port 3 to operate.
The 4x and Y ports 34y are scanned to recognize the position of the pressed button. While the button is being pressed, a remote control signal (command) corresponding to the button is sent from the CPU 34m, and the light emitting diode 34LD is driven via the amplifier 34a. This diode 34
The infrared remote control signal from the LD is received by the remote control receiver 35 on the television receiver side, processed as described above, and taken into the control system 20D.

Normally, "+" on the seesaw button 34t
When the side or "-" side is pressed, the channel number of the television receiver is controlled to be sequentially increased or decreased, and when the "+" side or "-" side of the seesaw button 34v is pressed, the volume is changed. It is controlled so as to gradually increase or decrease step by step.

In this embodiment, when the television receiver enters the menu selection mode upon receiving the menu display command signal from the broadcasting station as described above, as shown in FIG. 7, the commander 34 is selected. When the "+" side of the station button 34t is pressed, the target item of the menu is sequentially moved in the up direction, and when the "-" side is pressed, the target item of the menu is sequentially moved in the down direction, Button 3
By converting the function assigned to 4t, it is possible to deal with a small size menu having relatively few attention items.

Such conversion of the function of the operation button is performed by using the conversion table as shown in FIG. 7 stored in the ROM 22 on the television receiver side and using the remote control receiver 35.
The tuning command received by is converted by the CPU 21
Is performed by being recognized as a menu selection command.

As a result, in this embodiment, it is not necessary to add an operation button for selecting a menu to the commander, and the conventional size can be maintained. Also, with frequent use, the up and down tuning buttons that are familiar to the viewer's hand are used so that the button operation and the movement of the item of interest in the menu are controlled in the same direction, so that menu selection is possible. It is easy to understand and the usability of the conventional commander is maintained.

[Menu Display and Selection Response Processing] Next, the menu display and selection response processing in the embodiment of FIG. 4 will be described with reference to FIG.

In the initial state, it is assumed that the menu information of the above-mentioned interactive broadcast program is received from the broadcasting station and stored in the DRAM 23, for example.

In step 101 of FIG. 1, when the menu display command signal as described above is received from the broadcasting station, the menu program stored in the DRAM 23 is activated, and the ROM 22 is read from the received menu information.
A display image of the menu is formed on the VRAM 25 using the fixed data such as the above font and graphic, and is overlaid and displayed on the screen of the picture tube 16 through the video signal processing circuit 15 (step 102).

From the time when this menu is displayed, the television receiver switches to the menu selection mode, and in step 103, it is judged whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed from the time when the display of the menu was started. When the viewer operates any of the buttons on the commander 34 within this predetermined time (step 104), the remote control signal received by the remote control receiver 35 is based on the conversion table as shown in FIG. Then, it is determined whether or not the command is a conversion target (step 105). For example, when the "-" side of the tuning button 34t is pressed and the command is a conversion target, the conversion table of FIG. It is converted into a corresponding processing command for moving the attention item in the menu downward, for example (step 10).
6).

In the next step 107, it is judged whether or not the command from the commander 34 is a menu selection command. If it is a menu selection command,
For example, the screen display is changed so that the target item in the menu moves downward (step 108), and the process returns to step 103.

Again, in step 104, the commander 3
4 is operated, the process similar to that described above is performed, and if it is determined in step 107 that the command is not a menu selection command, it is determined whether the command from the commander 34 is a decision command (step 111). ). If the command is not the decision command, a process corresponding to a command other than menu selection such as volume increase / decrease is performed (step 112) and the process returns to step 103.

At step 104, a decision button 34d
Is operated and it is determined in step 111 that the command is a decision command, the selected item in the menu is addressed to a predetermined telephone number stored in the DRAM 23, and the above-described operation is performed through the modem 33. It is automatically transmitted at the set communication speed according to the reply destination information (step 113).

When this transmission is completed, the menu information stored in the DRAM 23 and the display image of the menu formed on the VRAM 25 are cleared, and the menu displayed on the screen of the picture tube 16 is erased (step 11).
4), the process ends.

If the viewer does not want to respond, if the commander is not operated until a predetermined time elapses in step 103, the process proceeds to step 114, the displayed menu is erased, and the process is executed. Ends.

In the above embodiment, when the menu display command signal from the broadcasting station is received, the interactive menu of the interactive program is automatically displayed on the screen of the picture tube 16 as an overlay, and the viewer , Using the commander as above,
By selecting an appropriate item in the displayed menu, it is possible to easily and surely respond without losing the opportunity. Also, by selecting a menu item, transmission of a response other than the expected value is prevented, and useless use of the telephone line is avoided.

[Other Embodiments] Next, other embodiments of the two-way broadcasting method, the receiving apparatus and the remote control apparatus according to the present invention will be described. In this example, a DTMF signal is used as a signal forming the sub broadcast information.

That is, on the broadcast station side, the program-related information as the sub-broadcast information is multiplexed (mixed) with the main broadcast audio signal and broadcasted as a signal structure in the DTMF signal format. On the other hand, on the receiving side, the DTMF signal is separated / decoded from the received broadcast audio signal, the program-related information is reproduced, stored in the memory, and used for telephone communication with a service station or for program reservation.

First, referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, D
The TMF signal will be described.

[DTMF signal] The DTMF signal system is 1
One is an audio band signaling scheme in which two tones of a low frequency group (low group) and the other of a high frequency group (high group) are simultaneously sent. Each of these low and high frequency groups consists of tones of four audio band frequencies, no two of which are in articulatory relation.

In the DTMF signal, the four frequencies in the low group are, for example, 697 Hz, 770 Hz, 852 Hz, 941H.
z, and the four frequencies of the high group are, for example, 1209 Hz,
It is set to 1336 Hz, 1477 Hz, and 1633 Hz. Then, each of the low group and the high group is combined with one frequency, and each DTMF composed of the combination is combined.
Signals (each of these DTMF signals are hereinafter referred to as function signals) are assigned to push buttons "0" to "D" arranged in 4 rows and 4 columns as shown in FIG.

In telephone communication, only 12 out of 16 functional signals of DTMF signals are generally used for subscriber address (telephone number) signals. That is,
"0" used as a so-called numeric keypad on the telephone
The function signals of the above 12 combinations correspond to the numbers "9" and the symbols "*" and "#". Figure 8
The function signals corresponding to the letters "A", "B", "C", and "D" indicated by broken lines in Fig. 3 are not generally used in Japan, but data using the push button (PB) dial. It is only used for transmission.

When a line is selected by a telephone number using such a DTMF signal, the signal transmission condition is as shown in FIG.
It is prescribed as shown in.

Due to the combination of the two frequencies and the transmission conditions as described above, the DTMF signal rarely occurs in the natural world and can be clearly distinguished from natural sound such as a human voice. It is possible to multiplex (mix) the broadcast audio signal and broadcast it, and separation on the receiving side is relatively easy.

By the way, the DTMF signal is also used in a multi-function telephone, and by pressing a button on a push-button type telephone from outside, the message recorded on the telephone at home can be played back or the answering machine can be recorded. You can record, play back, and delete the message.

[Broadcasting of a plurality of sub-broadcast information] On the transmitting side of this embodiment, that is, the broadcasting station side, when transmitting the sub-broadcasting information, "A", which is not used for PB line selection, as described above, Among the function signals meaning “B”, “C”, and “D”, the function signals “A”, “B”, and “C” are used as the transmission start information of the sub broadcast information, and the function of “D” is used. The signal is used as transmission end information.

Since there are three types of transmission start information, in this example, three types of sub-broadcast information can be distinguished and transmitted. In other words, the three types of sub broadcast information are
Any of the function signals of “A”, “B”, and “C”,
It is broadcast by being separated from the function signal of "D".

For example, regarding information regarding response access to interactive programs, for example, sub-broadcast information such as the telephone number (reception telephone number) of the access destination and the transmission rate, the function signal of "A" is used as the transmission start information and the transmission ends. It is transmitted between the function signal of information "D". Similarly, for sub-broadcast information related to environment settings such as the end limit of the telephone number of the answering side and the current time setting, the received data is cleared between the function signal of "B" and the function signal of "D". The information regarding the information is multiplexed and broadcast as a signal sandwiched between the "C" function signal and the "D" function signal.

On the receiving side, a numerical value sandwiched between any one of the function signals "A", "B", and "C" as the transmission start information and the function signal "D" as the transmission end information. The symbol data is regarded as a sub-broadcast data string (information group) and is separately stored in a predetermined storage area of the memory.

For example, as information relating to response access, a reception telephone number 0990 is set for a receiver whose interactive television standard version is 00.
In the case of permitting access to -1234-1234 at a transmission rate of 300 bps, the sub-broadcast information is such that the data string composed of each functional signal of the DTMF signal such as 00 # 0990 * 1234 * 1234 is "A". It is multiplexed with the main broadcast audio signal and transmitted in a state of being sandwiched between the function signal and the function signal of "D". Here, the first 00 in the data string is
The interactive television standard version indicates 00 (transmission rate 300 bps), and the numerical data after the symbol "#" is the reception telephone number.

In addition, for the receiver whose interactive television standard version is 01, the telephone number 0990-
In the case of permitting access to the 1234-1235 at a transmission rate of 1200 bps, the data string formed by the respective functional signals of the DTMF signal such as 01 # 0990 * 1234 * 1235 is "A" and "D". It is multiplexed with the main broadcast audio signal and sent out in a state of being sandwiched between the function signal of "." Here, the first 01 in the data string is
The interactive television standard version indicates 01 (transmission rate 1200 bps), and the numerical data after the symbol "#" is the reception telephone number.

In the data string relating to the response access as described above, the symbol "#" represents a separator (separation of individual data) and the symbol "*" represents a pause.

As information relating to environment setting, when access is restricted to only viewers having a specific telephone number (subscriber number), for example, when access is permitted only to the numbers ending with 0, 0 When the data string composed of each function signal of the DTMF signal such as # 0 permits access to only the number with the telephone number ending with 1, the each function signal of the DTMF signal such as 0 # 1 The composed data strings are respectively multiplexed with the main broadcast audio signal and transmitted while being sandwiched between the "B" function signal and the "D" function signal. In this case, the number “0” before the symbol “#” means that access is permitted from a telephone number having the number next to the symbol “#” as the end.

Further, when permitting access only to numbers having an even number at the end of the telephone number, each function signal of the DTMF signal such as 0 # 0 * 0 # 2 * 0 # 4 * 0 # 6 * 0 # 8 is used. The composed data string is multiplexed with the main broadcast audio signal and sent in a state of being sandwiched between the "B" function signal and the "D" function signal. Here, the symbol "*" means a logical sum.

Further, as the time information for the reservation of the broadcast program or the reservation of the recording, for example, the current time is 199.
In the case of 7:00 on Tuesday, December 15, 3rd, a data string composed of each function signal of the DTMF signal such as 1 # 1993121520700 is composed of the function signal of “B” and the function signal of “D”. It is multiplexed between the main broadcast audio signals and transmitted in a state of being sandwiched between them.

Also, when a certain broadcast program is viewed from the present time,
When broadcasting from 7:00 to 7:29 on the next Sunday, the data string composed of each function signal of the DTMF signal such as 10 # 07000729 is composed of the function signals of "B" and "D". When it is sent by being sandwiched between the function signals and another broadcast program is broadcast on the following Monday from 12:00 to 14:15, each function signal of the DTMF signal such as 11 # 12001415 is used. The composed data string is sandwiched between the "B" function signal and the "D" function signal and transmitted.

In the data string relating to the environment setting as described above, the symbol “#” represents a separator and the symbol “*” represents “OR (logical sum)”.

As information on clearing the received data, for example, in the case of clearing the number restriction, a data string composed of each functional signal of the DTMF signal such as 99 # 0 is a functional signal of "C". When the reception telephone number is cleared, it is sandwiched between the function signal of "D" and transmitted, and in the case of clearing the reception telephone number, the data string composed of each function signal of the DTMF signal such as 99 # 1 is "C". It is sent by being sandwiched between the function signal of "" and the function signal of "D".

In this embodiment, in the case of displaying information on a plurality of selection targets in the menu format on the screen of the picture tube 16 in a two-way broadcast program, each function signal of the DTMF signal such as 88 # 0 is used. The data string to be generated is sandwiched between the function signal of “C” and the function signal of “D”, and is transmitted at a required timing in the middle of the bidirectional broadcast program.

When the menu displayed on the screen of the picture tube 16 is to be erased, the data string composed of the respective functional signals of the DTMF signal such as 88 # 1 has the functional signal of "C" and the functional signal of "C". It is sandwiched between the function signal of "D" and transmitted during or at the end of the bidirectional broadcast program.

As described above, the function signals of "A", "B", "C" and "D" which are not used as the selection signal of the telephone line are set to the transmission start information and the transmission end information of the sub broadcast information. Thus, even if the DTMF sound is transmitted, for example, in a scene where a telephone call is made in a drama, it is not confused with the program-related information. In addition, the sub broadcast information can be transmitted and received with certainty.

[Structure of Receiving Device] Next, FIGS.
Another embodiment of the interactive broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of the receiving apparatus of this embodiment.
0 and the configuration of the main part thereof is shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, parts corresponding to those in FIGS. 4 to 6 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

In FIG. 10, 20C is a control system,
Reference numeral 41 is a preprocessing circuit, and 42 is a DTMF decoder.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, the audio signal S14 from the voice demodulator 14 is passed through the preprocessing circuit 41 to D
It is supplied to the TMF decoder 42. The DTMF decoder 42 constantly searches the DTMF signal in the input signal, and when detecting the DTMF signal, decodes which function signal the DTMF signal is. That is,
Numbers from "0" to "9", "#", "*", and "A"
"D" is decoded. Then, the decoded data is supplied to the control system 20C.

The data from the modem 33 is DTM.
The DTMF signal supplied to the F decoder 42 and sent through the telephone line 2 is transferred to the DTMF decoder 42.
It is possible to decode the data in the control system 20C through the I / O port 262.

In the case of this example, a commercially available DTMF decoder which is widely used is used as the DTMF decoder 42. The pre-processing circuit 41 is provided to perform pre-processing so that the DTMF signal can be decoded with higher accuracy even when the commercially available DTMF decoder is used as the DTMF decoder 42. That is, the preprocessing circuit 41 causes the audio signal S14
For, remove frequency components other than the DTMF signal,
The input signal of the DTMF decoder 42 is a signal allowed by a commercially available DTMF decoder, and is composed of a filter circuit. The other structure is the same as that shown in FIG.

[Other Configuration of Commander] As shown in FIG. 11, the commander 34 of this embodiment has a power button 34p for controlling on / off of power to the television receiver.
And a cross-shaped seesaw button 34c for controlling channel selection and volume, and a decision button 34d for inputting the decision of the menu selection operation as described above,
The slide switch 34s is provided.

As shown by the chain line in FIG. 12, the buttons 34c to 34p and the slide switch 34s as described above are connected to the connecting line xa of the X port 34x and the Y port 34y.
Are arranged so as to face the switches SWaa to SWde arranged in a matrix corresponding to the intersections of .about.xd and ya to ye. Further, the CPU 34m has a built-in ROM 34rm that stores a conversion table having the contents shown in FIG. The remaining electrical configuration is similar to that shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, the slide switch 3
In the normal mode in which 4s is on the normal side (the right side in FIG. 11), when the upper side or the lower side of the cross-shaped seesaw button 34c is pressed, the channel number of the television receiver is controlled to increase or decrease sequentially. In addition, when the right side or the left side of the seesaw button 34c is pressed, the volume is controlled to gradually increase or decrease in a stepwise manner.

In the pointer mode in which the slide switch 34s is switched to the point side (left side in FIG. 11), as shown in FIG. 13, when the upper side of the seesaw button 34c is pressed, the target item of the menu is moved upward. The menu item is controlled to move, and when the lower side is pressed, the menu item of interest is controlled to move downward, and when the right side of the seesaw button 34c is pressed, the menu item of interest moves to the right direction. When the left side is pressed, the function assigned to the button 34c is converted so that the target item of the menu moves to the left, so that the menu corresponds to a large size menu having a relatively large number of target items. be able to.

In the pointer mode in which the slide switch 34s is on the point side, a 1-bit flag is set and the conversion table stored in the ROM 34rm is used according to this flag for the conversion of the function of the operation button. Done. Then, the command received by the remote control receiver 35 is recognized by the CPU 21 as a menu selection command.

As a result, also in this embodiment, it is not necessary to add an operation button for selecting a menu to the commander, and the conventional size can be maintained.

Also, with frequent use, using the cross-shaped channel selection / volume buttons that are familiar to the viewer's hand, the button operation up / down / left / right and the movement of the item of interest of the menu are in the same direction. Since it is controlled, the menu selection is easy to understand and the usability of the conventional commander is maintained.

The menu display and selection response process in this embodiment are performed according to the steps of FIG. 1 as described above except for the conversion table used.
Has the same effect.

In the commander of FIG. 11 as described above, the cross-shaped seesaw button 34c and the slide switch 34 are provided.
In addition to s, the conversion table as shown in FIG. 13 is mounted, but as shown in FIG. 14, a cross-shaped seesaw button 34c may be provided to eliminate the slide switch. Further, as shown in FIG. 15, instead of the cross-shaped seesaw button 34c, a tuning button 34t and a volume button 34v arranged vertically to each other may be used.

When the slide switch of the commander is excluded as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the conversion table of FIG. 13 must be mounted on the television receiver side as in the embodiment of FIG. become.

Further, in the case of a menu having a relatively large number of attention items and a large size, the menu is displayed partially and the displayed portion is scrolled vertically and horizontally according to the selection operation of the commander. The image hidden by the display can be reduced, and the capacity of the VRAM as the image buffer can be reduced to reduce the cost.

Needless to say, the present invention can be applied not only to the above-described broadcasting method using radio waves and its receiving apparatus, but also to the case of cable broadcasting called CATV.

[0111]

As described above, according to the present invention, on the broadcast side, in the interactive broadcast program, after the menu-type information relating to a plurality of selection targets is broadcast as the sub-broadcast information, it is transmitted at a required timing. , The menu display command is broadcasted, the receiving side stores the information about the selection target in the memory, and it is displayed on the screen in the menu format according to the display command. The menu can be automatically selected with, and there is no need to open the menu manually.

Since the response signal can be selected from this menu, a signal other than the expected value can be prevented from being generated as the response signal, and the user can use the wasteful line. It prevents charges from being generated and does not give unnecessary load to the line.

Further, in the remote control device according to the present invention,
Remote control signals assigned to operation buttons such as channel selection or volume are converted to menu selection signals, so the receiving side does not have to add an operation unit to the menu displayed on the screen, A remote control transmitter that maintains size and usability can be used to easily respond.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of an embodiment of a bidirectional broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram for explaining selection procedure information.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram for explaining reply information.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a bidirectional broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention.

5 is a front view showing a configuration of a main part of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a DTMF signal.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining transmission conditions of a DTMF signal.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of another embodiment of a bidirectional broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention.

11 is a front view showing the configuration of the main part of the embodiment of FIG.

12 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of the embodiment of FIG.

13 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the embodiment in FIG.

FIG. 14 is a front view showing another configuration of the commander.

FIG. 15 is a front view showing another configuration of the commander.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 signal system 13 video demodulator 14 audio demodulator 16 picture tube 20C control system 20D control system and character multiplex decoder 21 CPU 22 ROM 23 DRAM 24 SRAM 31 character multiplex signal separation circuit 33 modem 34 remote control transmitter (commander) 41 preprocessing Circuit 42 DTMF decoder

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. In the case of providing an interactive program in which a receiver can return response information to a predetermined reply destination,
The menu information that the receiver can select is multiplexed with the broadcast signal to be broadcast, and the menu information is also broadcast on the receiving device side for instructing the display timing and the erasing timing. A two-way broadcasting method characterized in that 2. A receiving means for receiving a bidirectional broadcast program, a storage means for storing information in a menu format relating to a received selection target of the bidirectional broadcast program, and a plurality of selection targets for the received bidirectional broadcast program. Display means for displaying information in a menu format, input means for inputting information on a response to the selection target, transmission means for transmitting the information on the input response to a predetermined reply destination, and information on the selection target. A receiver for bidirectional broadcasting, comprising: means for displaying information on the selection target in the menu format on the display means when a menu display command from the broadcast side is received after storing. 3. The interactive broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising operation function conversion means for converting a function of a predetermined operation part of the input means into a selection operation of the information in the menu format, A two-way broadcast receiving apparatus, wherein the function of the predetermined operation unit is converted into an operation of selecting the selection target displayed in the menu format. 4. A two-way broadcast device comprising stepping operation means for receiving a two-way broadcast program and remotely controlling a predetermined adjusting function of a receiving device capable of displaying information regarding a plurality of selection targets in a menu format. A remote control device for a receiving device, characterized in that allocation function conversion means for converting the function allocated to the stepping operation means into a selection operation of the plurality of selection objects displayed in the menu format is provided. Remote control device for interactive broadcast receiver.