JPH1168686A - Broadcast reception system for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a blank from being caused in a broadcast content obtained in a vehicle even when the vehicle passes through a place in a bad reception state because of presence of a shield such as a tunnel. SOLUTION: The broadcast reception system for vehicle includes an on board broadcast receiver and a reception auxiliary center. The reception auxiliary center acquires broadcast data from a broadcast station and sends the data to a vehicle. The on board broadcast receiver directly receives a broadcast radio wave from a broadcast station and acquires the broadcast data through the reception auxiliary center. When the vehicle enters a defective reception area, the vehicle cannot directly receive data. The content of the broadcast during the defective reception is acquired by the reception auxiliary center, which sends the content of the broadcast during the defective reception to the vehicle when the communication state of indirect reception is good after the reception is defective. Thus, no partial defect in the broadcast content acquired by the vehicle is caused.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicular broadcast receiving system for receiving a broadcast from a broadcasting station on a vehicle side, and more particularly, to a broadcast suitable for an occupant even when passing through a place where reception conditions are poor. Regarding systems that can be provided.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art It is well known that a vehicle broadcast receiving apparatus for receiving various broadcasts is mounted on a vehicle. The various broadcasts are, for example, radio broadcasts and television broadcasts, and terrestrial broadcasts and satellite broadcasts. Each broadcast station has a broadcast area that can receive the broadcast of the broadcast station,
It emits broadcast waves to vehicles and other users in the broadcast area. The occupant of the vehicle can operate the in-vehicle receiving device to receive a broadcast from a desired broadcast station, and receive presentation of the broadcast content by video or sound.

A vehicle broadcast receiving apparatus is disclosed in, for example,
-336256. The receiving device disclosed in the publication has means for detecting the current position of the vehicle, determines which broadcasting station the vehicle is currently in the broadcast area, and notifies the user of a broadcasting station that can receive a broadcast at the current position.

[0004]

As a problem of the prior art, there is a place where reception is poor and a broadcast cannot be received (reception poor place) even in a broadcasting area of a certain broadcasting station. For example, inside a tunnel or under an elevated. FIG.
Shows a state of broadcast reception when a vehicle passes through a poor reception location. When the vehicle receiving the broadcast enters a location where the reception condition is poor, the broadcast cannot be received suddenly.
The broadcast is received again after passing a place where the reception condition is poor, but the broadcast content is progressing from the suspension to the resumption of the reception. As described above, when the vehicle passes through a place having a poor reception condition, a blank portion is generated in the broadcast content received by the vehicle, and the user cannot sufficiently grasp the broadcast content.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems. An object of the present invention is to prevent a blank portion from being generated in a broadcast content obtained by a vehicle even when the vehicle passes through a place where reception conditions are poor due to a shield such as a tunnel. The present invention pays attention to the fact that a multipurpose system in which a moving vehicle and an information center are connected by a communication means is intended, and a broadcast receiving system for a vehicle which can be suitably realized by utilizing such a system. I will provide a.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

(1) (a) A vehicle broadcast receiving system according to the present invention is a system for receiving a broadcast from a broadcast station on a vehicle side, acquires broadcast data from the broadcast station, and transmits the acquired broadcast data to a communication unit. An auxiliary reception center for transmitting to a vehicle by using the on-vehicle broadcast reception which is mounted on the vehicle and directly receives broadcast data from a broadcasting station and receives via the reception auxiliary center for receiving broadcast data. Device. The reception assistance center transmits the broadcast data during the failure when the reception status of the direct reception in the vehicle is poor, after the reception status of the direct reception is deteriorated, and when the communication status of the via reception is good. Then, it is sent to the in-vehicle receiver. Here, the broadcast data is data representing broadcast content.

According to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, a reception assistance center for assisting reception of a broadcast in a vehicle is provided, and a broadcast reception system is constituted by the reception assistance center and the on-board broadcast reception device. The in-vehicle broadcast receiving device can directly receive broadcast data from a broadcast station and can also perform via reception via a reception auxiliary center.

[0008] The in-vehicle broadcast receiving apparatus receives broadcast data directly while the receiving condition of direct reception is good. When a vehicle passes through a place where a shield is present, the reception status of direct reception becomes poor and direct reception cannot be performed. The broadcast data during failure at this time is acquired by the reception assistance center, and is sent to the in-vehicle receiving device when the communication condition of the via reception is good. Therefore,
Even when the vehicle passes through a place where the broadcast reception condition is poor, it is possible to prevent a blank portion from being generated in the broadcast content acquired by the vehicle. Since a part of the broadcast content is not lost, the user can sufficiently grasp the broadcast content.

(B) In one aspect of the present invention, the reception assistance center includes: a reception status detection means for obtaining a reception failure time at which the reception status of the direct reception at the vehicle becomes poor; Broadcast storage means for storing subsequent broadcast data as the broadcast data during failure. Preferably, the reception status detecting means obtains the reception failure point based on the current position data of the vehicle and reception poor location data indicating a location where the reception status of the direct reception is poor. For example, the current position data of a vehicle is stored in a GPS (global positioning system) mounted on the vehicle.
It is detected by a device or the like and sent to the reception assistance center. The poor reception location data is stored in the reception assistance center in advance. By referring to the current position data and the unnecessary reception location data, it is possible to know when the vehicle enters a location where the reception status of the direct reception is poor (reception failure time). Note that, in the present invention, unlike the above configuration, it is also preferable to provide the reception status detecting means on the vehicle side.

[0010] (c) In a tunnel or the like, the reception situation may deteriorate in both direct reception and pass-through reception. Via reception of broadcast data during a failure is performed after the vehicle has left the tunnel. Therefore, the broadcast content presented to the occupant in the vehicle is delayed in time from the broadcast transmitted by the broadcast station. This delay is preferably recovered by the following arrangement.

In one aspect of the present invention, the broadcast storage means of the reception assistance center stores broadcast data continuously even after the reception status of the direct reception is recovered on the vehicle side. A center-side synchronization processing means for synchronizing a broadcast provided by the via reception with an original direct reception broadcast by performing a process of shortening broadcast data stored in the broadcast storage means in time; Is provided.

In one aspect of the present invention, the on-vehicle broadcast receiving device includes: a vehicle-side broadcast storage unit for storing broadcast data directly recovered after the reception status of the direct reception is recovered; Vehicle-side synchronization processing means for performing a process of shortening broadcast data in time, and presenting the broadcast data processed by the vehicle-side synchronization processing means to the occupant, so that broadcast presentation delayed due to poor reception can be performed. Synchronize with the original direct reception broadcast. In this configuration, more preferably, the vehicle-side synchronization processing means performs processing for shortening the time even on the in-fault broadcast data sent from the reception assistance center.

Here, the process of shortening the broadcast data in terms of time refers to a process for enabling the stored broadcast data to be reproduced in a fast-forward manner, or a process for allowing the broadcast contents to be appropriately thinned and reproduced. .

[0014] According to these aspects, by performing the process of shortening the broadcast data in time, the broadcast content presented to the occupant can catch up with the broadcast transmitted by the broadcast station. When synchronization between the two is obtained, normal direct reception is performed again, and the broadcast received directly from the broadcasting station can be presented to the occupant in real time.

(2) (a) A broadcast receiving system for a vehicle according to another aspect of the present invention is a receiving auxiliary center for acquiring broadcast data from a broadcasting station, and is mounted on a vehicle and communicates with the receiving auxiliary center via a communication means. And an in-vehicle broadcast receiving apparatus for receiving broadcast data via the reception auxiliary center. A broadcast data compression unit for compressing partial broadcast data obtained by dividing broadcast data obtained from a broadcast station at predetermined time intervals, and a communication when transmitting each compressed partial broadcast data to a vehicle; And communication confirmation means for confirming the success or failure of the above. The in-vehicle broadcast receiving device expands the partial broadcast data sent from the reception assistance center,
It has a reception data processing means for continuous reproduction by connecting in time series.

According to the present invention, the broadcast data is acquired by the in-vehicle broadcast receiving device exclusively by way of the via reception. In the reception assistance center, the broadcast data obtained from the broadcast station is compressed for each partial broadcast data. The compression processing may be performed by a known method, for example, may be processing in conformity with the international standard MPEG. The reception assistance center sends the compressed partial broadcast data to the vehicle while confirming the success or failure of the transmission. In the vehicle, the partial broadcast data transmitted from the reception assistance center is expanded and connected in time series to be continuously reproduced.

When a vehicle passes through a poor reception place such as a tunnel, communication of partial broadcast data cannot be performed. However, the reception assistance center surely sends the partial broadcast data to the vehicle before or after passing through the poor reception location while confirming the success or failure of the transmission. Since the partial broadcast data is compressed, the partial broadcast data is transmitted in a time significantly shorter than the actual broadcast time before and after passing through the poor reception location. Therefore, on the vehicle side,
Subsequent partial broadcast data can be acquired one after another at a time when partial broadcast data can be continuously and continuously reproduced.

As described above, according to the present invention, even when a vehicle passes through a poor reception location, it is possible to prevent a blank portion from being formed in the broadcast content acquired by the vehicle, and furthermore, to provide a broadcast presentation for passengers without interruption. Can be performed continuously.

(B) In one aspect of the present invention, the reception assistance center has a broadcast data compression unit for compressing partial broadcast data obtained by dividing broadcast data obtained from a broadcast station at predetermined time intervals. Then, each of the compressed partial broadcast data is transmitted to the vehicle a plurality of times. Since the partial broadcast data is compressed, it can be transmitted many times within a period of time equal to the predetermined time. It is only necessary that the partial broadcast data be satisfactorily received on the vehicle side at least once out of the multiple transmissions. Therefore, even if you pass through a poor reception area,
Except for exceptions (such as stopping in a long tunnel), a continuous partial broadcast data group is reliably acquired on the vehicle side. As a result, similarly to the above (2) (a), it is possible to prevent a blank portion from being formed in the broadcast content acquired by the vehicle, and further, it is possible to continuously perform the broadcast output for the occupants without interruption.

(3) A vehicle broadcast receiving system according to another aspect of the present invention is a receiving auxiliary center for acquiring broadcast data from a broadcasting station and transmitting the acquired broadcast data to the vehicle using communication means; And an on-board broadcast receiving apparatus mounted thereon for performing direct reception for directly receiving broadcast data from a broadcasting station and for receiving via data via the reception auxiliary center. The reception assistance center has a designated program storage unit for storing broadcast data of a designated broadcast program designated by the vehicle. The in-vehicle broadcast receiving device includes: a reception status detection unit configured to detect that reception status has deteriorated during direct reception of the broadcast data of the designated broadcast program; and the reception auxiliary center transmits the broadcast data after the reception failure time point. Requesting means for requesting the user. The reception assistance center sends the broadcast data stored in the designated program storage means to the vehicle in response to a request from the on-board broadcast receiving device.

In this embodiment, the designated broadcast program is determined on the vehicle side and sent to the reception assistance center. The reception assistance center stores broadcast data of the designated broadcast program. For example,
It is assumed that the broadcast reception situation in the vehicle deteriorates when 30 minutes of the one-hour program has elapsed. The vehicle requests the transmission assistance center to transmit the broadcast data after the lapse of 30 minutes. In response to this request, the broadcast data is read from the designated program storage means and sent to the vehicle. As described above, according to this aspect, similarly to the above-described (1), it is possible to prevent a blank portion from being generated in a broadcast content acquired by a vehicle when passing through a place where the broadcast reception condition is poor. Since a part of the broadcast content is not lost, the user can sufficiently grasp the broadcast content.

[0022]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiment 1 Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter, referred to as an embodiment) will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration. The vehicle broadcast receiving system according to the present embodiment includes an in-vehicle broadcast receiving device 1.
And an information center 20 functioning as a reception auxiliary center of the present invention. The information center 20 individually communicates with each in-vehicle broadcast receiving device 1. The in-vehicle broadcast receiving device 1 can directly receive a broadcast transmitted by the broadcast station B (direct reception) and can receive a broadcast via the information center 20 (via reception).

In the in-vehicle broadcast receiving apparatus 1, the control section 3 controls the entire apparatus, and the control section 3 is connected to the broadcast receiving section 5 and the communication section 7. The broadcast receiving unit 5 directly receives a broadcast wave transmitted by the broadcast station B. As is well known, there are several broadcasting stations on each of radio and television. The control unit 3 controls the broadcast receiving unit 5,
Switch the broadcasting station. In the figure, one broadcasting station B is shown as a representative. The communication unit 7 performs various data communications with the information center 20. This data communication includes:
The transmission of the broadcast data from the information center 20 to the in-vehicle broadcast receiving device 1 is included. The control unit 3 appropriately presents one of the broadcast data obtained using the broadcast receiving unit 5 and the broadcast data obtained using the communication unit 7 to the occupant.

The control section 3 is connected to a broadcast content presentation section 9 and an operation section 11. Broadcast content presentation unit 9
Is a device for presenting broadcast data to occupants, and functions as so-called AV equipment. The broadcast content presentation unit 9 has a display and a speaker. A speaker is used when outputting a radio broadcast, and a display and a speaker are used when outputting a television broadcast.
The operation unit 11 is a means for the occupant to operate the in-vehicle broadcast receiving device 1, and includes a joystick and various switches. The operation unit 11 may include a voice recognition device for recognizing voice commands issued by the occupant. The occupant can operate the operation unit 11 to select a broadcast type (broadcast type and broadcast station name).

Further, a GPS device 13 is connected to the control unit 3. The GPS device 13 detects the current position of the vehicle using radio waves transmitted from the artificial satellite, and transmits the current position to the control unit 3. It should be noted that other current position detecting means may be provided instead of the GPS device 13. Various current position detecting means used for so-called satellite navigation, autonomous navigation, and radio navigation can be applied. In addition, it is preferable that the present position detecting means of the present system is configured to be used by the on-vehicle navigation device.

The control unit 3 sends the current position data input from the GPS device 13 to the information center 20 using the communication unit 7 together with the identification code of the vehicle. Further, the control unit 3
The broadcast type currently being received directly is sent to the information center 20.

Next, the information center 20 will be described.
The center control unit 22 controls the entire center. The center control unit 22 performs data communication with each vehicle using the center communication unit 24.

The center control unit 22 is connected to a poor reception location database 26. This database is
It includes data indicating a poor reception location, that is, a location where it is difficult to directly receive a broadcast from the broadcasting station B. The database has map data, so that it is possible to know where the poor reception location is on the map. The poor reception location is, for example, in a tunnel or under an overpass. The poor reception location data is prepared for each broadcast type.

A broadcast acquisition communication unit 28 and a broadcast storage unit 30 are connected to the center control unit 22. The center control unit 22 uses the broadcast acquisition communication unit 28 to acquire necessary broadcast data from each broadcast station. The broadcast data may be obtained by wirelessly receiving a broadcast wave (similar to direct reception in a vehicle). Further, the broadcast data may be obtained using a wired communication unit. Broadcast storage unit 30
Stores the broadcast data acquired by using the broadcast acquisition communication unit 28.

The center control unit 22 includes a reception failure prediction unit 3
2. It has a storage capacity calculation unit 34, a broadcast reception failure determination unit 36, and a communication failure determination unit 38. Receiving failure prediction unit 32
Predicts a poor reception location through which the vehicle passes, based on the current position data and the broadcast type sent from the vehicle. Preferably, the traveling direction is detected based on a temporal change of the current position data, and a poor reception location existing in the traveling direction is searched.
Further, the poor reception prediction unit 32 predicts the time required for the vehicle to pass through the poor reception place (that is, the duration of the poor reception state). For this prediction, the general required time required to pass through each bad reception location is stored in the poor reception database 26. Preferably, the center control unit 22 acquires traffic information such as traffic congestion around a poor reception location. The reception failure prediction unit 32 predicts the passing time with reference to the traffic information.

The storage capacity calculation unit 34 calculates the storage capacity required for the broadcast storage unit 30 to store the broadcast data while the vehicle passes through the poor reception location, based on the prediction result.

The broadcast reception failure judging section 36 detects a point in time at which the direct reception of the broadcast from the broadcasting station B becomes defective in the vehicle and a point in time at which the vehicle recovers. Here, the poor reception location where the vehicle is predicted to pass is compared with the current position sent from the vehicle, and the time when the current position enters the poor reception location and the time when the current position exits are detected.

In the communication failure judging section 38, the center communication section 2
It is determined whether or not the communication state with the vehicle using No. 4 is good. This judgment is sent from the vehicle and sent to the center communication unit 2
4 is performed based on the strength of the radio wave received.

Next, the operation of the system of the present embodiment will be described on the assumption that a vehicle passes through a tunnel as an example of a poor reception location. When the vehicle enters the tunnel, the in-vehicle broadcast receiver 1 also performs direct reception using the broadcast receiver 5,
Via reception using the communication unit 7 cannot be performed. After leaving the tunnel, the functions of the broadcast receiving unit 5 and the communication unit 7 are restored.

FIG. 4 shows the operation of the information center 20. Normally, on the vehicle side, the broadcast by the broadcast station B is directly received using the broadcast receiving unit 5. The control unit 3 of the in-vehicle broadcast receiving apparatus 1 sends the broadcast type being received together with the current position of the vehicle to the information center 20 as needed. Information Center 2
The center control unit 22 of 0 acquires the broadcast type transmitted from the vehicle (S2). The reception failure prediction unit 32 of the center control unit 22 performs the above-described reception failure prediction, and obtains a reception failure location through which the vehicle will pass and a time during which the reception failure state continues (S4). Then, the storage capacity calculation unit 34
As a result, the storage capacity required to store the broadcast during the reception failure is calculated, and a memory corresponding to the storage capacity is secured in the broadcast storage unit 30 (S6). Next, the broadcast reception failure determining unit 36 determines whether or not the vehicle has actually arrived at the reception failure location based on the current position data of the vehicle (S
8). When the vehicle reaches the poor reception location, the center control unit 22 starts acquiring broadcast data from the broadcast station B using the broadcast acquisition communication unit 28. The broadcast data is written to the memory area in the broadcast storage unit 30 secured in S6 (S10).

When the vehicle enters a location with poor reception, data communication using the center communication unit 24 is also disabled.
The communication failure determining unit 38 of the center control unit 22 determines whether or not the data communication function has been restored (S12). Until the communication function is restored, the broadcast data storage in S10 is continued.

When the vehicle leaves the poor reception area, the data communication function is restored. The center control unit 22 includes a broadcast storage unit 30
Is read out and sent to the vehicle using the center communication unit 24 (S14). Center control unit 22
Is the acquisition of broadcast data from the broadcast station B, writing of the broadcast data to the broadcast storage unit 30 (S10),
The transmission (S14) of the broadcast data read out from the program is continued in parallel. Therefore, the broadcast data is continuously transmitted from the information center 20 to the in-vehicle broadcast receiving apparatus 1 with a delay from the original broadcast by the passage time of the poor reception location. This transmission is
The process is continued until the vehicle notifies the change of the broadcast type.

FIG. 5 shows the operation of the on-board broadcast receiving apparatus 1. As described above, the vehicle normally receives the broadcast wave directly from the broadcast station using the broadcast receiving unit 5 (S2).
0). The control unit 3 uses the broadcast content presentation unit 9 to present the broadcast content to the occupant in real time. The control unit 3 determines whether the reception state is good or not based on the intensity of the radio wave received by the broadcast reception unit 5 (S22). If the reception is possible, the broadcast reception in S20 is continued. When the vehicle enters the poor reception location, the broadcast receiving unit 5 and the communication unit 7 stop functioning. Control unit 3
Waits for the communication function of the communication unit 7 to recover (S2
4) When the communication function is restored, the broadcast data sent from the information center 20 is acquired and presented to the occupant using the broadcast content presentation section 9 (S26). The broadcast data acquired here is data transmitted by the information center 20 in S14 of FIG.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the broadcast data during the failure when the vehicle passes through the location where the reception is poor and the reception status of the broadcast radio wave is poor is stored in the broadcast storage unit 30 of the information center 20. Is done. The in-failure broadcast data is read from the broadcast storage unit 30 and sent to the vehicle when the communication state between the information center 20 and the in-vehicle broadcast receiving device 1 is good.
Therefore, no blank portion occurs in the broadcast content acquired by the vehicle, so that the occupant can sufficiently grasp the broadcast content.

In a modification of the present embodiment, the reception failure prediction in S4 of FIG. 4 may be performed by the vehicle. Preferably, the in-vehicle broadcast receiving device 1 and the navigation device are integrated. The navigation device stores data of a poor reception location as a part of the map data. The location of poor reception on the route to the destination set for navigation is determined, and at this time, travel time may be calculated based on dynamic traffic information that changes every moment using VICS or the like. In addition, the transit time of the poor reception location is required. The calculation of transit time is
This is performed according to a known travel time calculation method (a method of calculating a travel time between two points on a map). The calculated transit time and the like are sent to the information center 20 via the communication unit 7 as prediction results.

In another modified example of the present embodiment, a broadcast storage unit (vehicle-side broadcast storage unit) similar to that on the center side is also provided in the on-vehicle broadcast receiving device 1. After the vehicle exits the poor reception location, under the control of the control unit 3, broadcast data is acquired using the broadcast receiving unit 5 and stored in the vehicle-side broadcast storage unit. Control unit 3
First, the broadcast data during reception failure is acquired from the information center 20 and output to the broadcast content presentation unit 9. Further, it reads and outputs the broadcast data after the recovery from the vehicle-side broadcast storage unit. Broadcast data in the vehicle-side broadcast storage unit is subjected to so-called FIFO processing. According to this modification, the information center 20 only needs to send the broadcast data to the vehicle while the vehicle passes through the poor reception location. Therefore, only the minimum necessary broadcast data needs to be communicated, and the communication time can be reduced and the communication cost can be reduced.

In this embodiment, the center control section 22 of the information center 20 is provided with a broadcast reception failure judging section 36. The broadcast reception failure determining unit 36 determines whether or not the vehicle can directly receive the broadcast of the broadcasting station B based on the current position of the vehicle (S8 in FIG. 4). By the way, on an actual road, a place where the vehicle cannot receive the broadcast of the broadcasting station B (poor reception place) and a place where the vehicle cannot communicate with the information center 20 (poor communication place) are almost the same in many cases. For example, in a tunnel, vehicles cannot receive broadcasts or communicate with the center. Therefore, in a modification of the present embodiment,
The broadcast reception failure determining unit 36 may determine whether or not direct reception by the vehicle is possible (whether or not the vehicle is in a poor reception location) based on the communication state between the vehicle and the center. When the communication radio wave from the vehicle received by the center communication unit 24 is weakened, it is determined that the reception status of the direct reception at the vehicle has become poor. Of course, at this time, the communication status between the vehicle and the information center 20 also becomes poor. This modification is similarly applied to the following embodiments.

"Embodiment 2" As described above, Embodiment 1
Now, after the vehicle passes the poor reception location,
It is presented to the occupant with a delay from the broadcast of the original broadcasting station.
In the second embodiment, this delay is recovered by the following synchronization processing.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of this embodiment. As shown in the drawing, as compared with the configuration of FIG. 3, a synchronization monitoring unit 50 is added to the control unit 3 on the vehicle side, and a center synchronization processing unit 52 is added to the center control unit 22 on the center side.

The center synchronization processing section 52 includes the broadcast storage section 30
A process (synchronization process) for shortening the broadcast time is performed on the broadcast data read from the. Fast-forward processing or thinning-out processing of broadcast contents is appropriate as the synchronization processing. In the fast-forward process, as shown in FIG. 7, the broadcast time is reduced without increasing the original broadcast content (broadcast speed is increased). For example, when the broadcast data is video data, a process of reducing frame data is performed. The broadcast data after the fast-forward processing is sent to the vehicle, and is reproduced by the control unit 3 using the broadcast content presentation unit 9. Therefore, the broadcast presentation is performed in the same manner as when the reproduction speed is increased in a tape recorder or a VCR. On the other hand, in the thinning-out processing, as shown in FIG. 8, the broadcast speed is kept constant, and broadcast data for a predetermined time is thinned out at predetermined time intervals. Therefore, when the broadcast data after the thinning process is output by the vehicle, the broadcast content is not completely presented,
The entire broadcast content is transmitted to the crew. It is preferable that the fast-forward process and the thinning process are properly used. In the present embodiment, when the reception failure period is short, such as when passing through a short tunnel, fast-forward processing is performed. When the reception failure period is long, the thinning process is performed or both processes are performed.

In the center control section 22, data indicating the broadcast time of each section of the data is added to the broadcast data. The broadcast time is the time at which the broadcast was performed by the broadcast station B. Therefore, by referring to the broadcast time, it is possible to know which portion of the broadcast data was broadcast at the broadcast station B and when.

The broadcast data added with the broadcast time and subjected to the synchronization processing is sent to the vehicle using the center communication unit 24. The synchronization monitoring unit 50 of the control unit 3 on the vehicle side compares the broadcast time added to the broadcast data with the current time. By this comparison processing, the synchronization monitoring unit 50 detects whether or not the broadcast sent from the information center 20 has caught up with the broadcast by the broadcast station B (whether or not the broadcast has been synchronized). When the broadcast time and the current time match, the synchronization monitoring unit 50 determines that both broadcasts are synchronized, and generates a synchronization signal. The synchronization signal is sent to the information center 20 via the communication unit 7.

Next, the operation of the system of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 9 shows the operation of the information center 20, and S2 to S
8 is the same as that in FIG. In S30, center control unit 22 acquires broadcast data from broadcast station B and stores it in broadcast storage unit 30. Then, the communication failure determination unit 38 of the center control unit 22 determines whether the communication function with the vehicle has recovered (S32), and the storage of the broadcast data is continued until the communication function recovers. When the communication function is restored, the broadcast data is read from the broadcast storage unit 30, the center synchronization processing unit 52 performs synchronization processing (fast-forward processing or thinning processing) (S34), and transmits the synchronized broadcast data to the vehicle. Is performed (S36). The control unit 3 determines whether a synchronization signal has been received from the vehicle (S38).
Return to 30. Therefore, even after the vehicle leaves the poor reception location, the storage, synchronization, and transmission of broadcast data are continued. When the synchronization signal is received in S38, the processing in FIG. 9 ends. The center control unit 22 stops transmitting broadcast data to the vehicle.

FIG. 10 shows the operation of the on-board broadcast receiving apparatus 1, and the processes in S20 to S24 are the same as those in FIG. S40
, The control unit 3 receives the broadcast data from the information center 20 and presents it to the occupant using the broadcast content presentation unit 9. Since the broadcast after the synchronization processing is presented, the presented broadcast content approaches the broadcast content received by the broadcast receiving unit 5. The synchronization monitoring unit 50 compares the broadcast time added to the broadcast data with the current time as described above. If they do not match, the process returns to S40, and the data communication with the information center 20 is continued. If the judgment in S42 is YES,
A synchronization signal is generated by the synchronization monitoring unit 50, the synchronization signal is sent to the information center 20 (S44), and the process returns to S20. The control unit 3 stops presenting the broadcast data sent from the information center 20. Then, the control unit 3 causes the broadcast content presentation unit 9 to present the broadcast data directly received from the broadcast station B. This returns to the state before entering the poor reception location.

FIG. 11 is a time chart showing the state of the synchronization processing of this embodiment. The vehicle enters the poor reception location at time t1, and exits the poor reception location at time t2.
The broadcast is not received by the vehicle during the poor reception period, and the broadcast data during the poor reception period is stored in the information center 20. Time t
When the vehicle leaves the location with poor reception at 2, the information center 20
And the communication function of the in-vehicle broadcast receiving device 1 is restored. The information center 20 synchronizes the stored broadcast data and sends it to the vehicle. Due to the effect of the synchronization processing, the broadcast data in the vehicle is shorter (t2) than the reception failure period (t1 to t2).
To t3). The information center 20 also stores the broadcast data from time t2 to time t4, performs synchronization processing, and sends the data to the vehicle. At time t4, the broadcast data transmitted from the information center 20 is synchronized with the broadcast transmitted from the original broadcast station B. At time t4, the vehicle resumes the normal reception processing for presenting the broadcast received from the broadcast station.

[Third Embodiment] In the present embodiment, a broadcast synchronization process is performed in the same manner as in the second embodiment. However, in the third embodiment, the in-vehicle broadcast receiving apparatus 1 performs the synchronization processing mainly. FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, the control unit 3 on the vehicle side has a vehicle synchronization processing unit 55 and a broadcast data decompression unit 56 in addition to the synchronization monitoring unit 50 similar to that in FIG. The control unit 3 is connected to a broadcast storage unit 57 for synchronization processing. On the other hand, information center 2
0, the center control unit 22 sets the broadcast data compression unit 59
Having.

In the present embodiment, in principle, the information center 20 sends only the broadcast data during the poor reception period to the vehicle. The broadcast data is read from the broadcast storage unit 30, compressed by the broadcast data compression unit 59, and then transmitted to the vehicle. The compression method may be a known method suitable for communication, and may be, for example, a method based on MPEG. On the vehicle side, the broadcast data is expanded by the broadcast data expansion unit 56. The vehicle synchronization processing unit 55 performs a process (synchronization process) for presenting the expanded broadcast data in a shorter time than the original broadcast. Here, the fast-forward presentation process and the thinning-out presentation process are performed according to the same principle as the synchronization process in the second embodiment.

Further, the broadcast storage unit 57 for synchronization processing on the vehicle side.
Stores the broadcast data directly received from the broadcast station B using the broadcast receiving unit 5 after the vehicle leaves the poor reception location.
The broadcast data is stored in such a manner that it is possible to know which part of the data was received and when (broadcast time). The vehicle synchronization processing unit 55 also performs synchronization processing on broadcast data stored in the synchronization processing broadcast storage unit 57. The synchronization monitoring unit 50 performs the same synchronization determination as in the second embodiment by comparing the broadcast time of the broadcast data being reproduced with the current time.

Next, the operation of the system of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 13 shows the operation of the information center 20.
The operation of the information center 20 is almost the same as in the first embodiment. However, after the communication function with the vehicle is restored in S12,
In S50, the broadcast data stored during the poor reception period is transmitted, and the process ends. The broadcast data is transmitted after being compressed by the broadcast data compression section 59.

FIG. 14 shows the operation of the in-vehicle broadcast receiving apparatus 1, and the processes in S20 and S22 are the same as those in FIG. S52
, The control unit 3 determines whether the communication function with the information center 20 has been restored. After the recovery, the compressed broadcast data during the reception failure period is received (S54). The compressed broadcast data received here is called a stored broadcast (A).

In parallel with the processing of S52 and S54, S56,
The process of S58 is performed. The control unit 3 determines whether or not the state of receiving the broadcast from the broadcasting station B has been restored based on the intensity of the radio wave received by the broadcast receiving unit 5 (S56). The broadcast data thus stored is stored in the broadcast storage for synchronization processing 57. The broadcast data stored here is called a received broadcast (B).

The stored broadcast (A) received in S54 is expanded by the broadcast data expansion unit 56 of the control unit 3, and is further synchronized by the vehicle synchronization processing unit 55 (fast forward reproduction or thinning reproduction).
Is performed (S60). The data after the synchronization processing is output to the broadcast content presentation section 9 and presented to the occupant.

After presentation of the stored broadcast (A), the control unit 3
At 56, the received broadcast (B) stored in the broadcast storage for synchronization processing 57 is read. The received broadcast (B) is subjected to synchronization processing by the vehicle synchronization processing section 55, output to the broadcast content presentation section 9, and presented to the occupant (S62).

As described above, the synchronization monitoring unit 50 makes a synchronization determination by comparing the broadcast time added to the received broadcast (B) being reproduced with the current time (S64). If not synchronized, the flow returns to S62 to receive broadcast (B)
Is continued. For this continuation process, the control unit 3 keeps writing the broadcast data acquired by the broadcast receiving unit 5 in the broadcast storage unit 57 for synchronization processing. Therefore, the synchronization processing broadcast storage unit 57 performs a so-called data FIFO process. If YES is determined in S64, the process returns to S20. The control unit 3 stops the synchronization processing.
The broadcast data received from the broadcasting station B is presented to the occupant without being shortened. This returns to the state before entering the poor reception location.

FIG. 15 is a time chart showing the state of the synchronization processing of this embodiment. As in FIG. 14, the broadcast data in the reception failure period (t1 to t2) is stored in the information center 20. The broadcast data stored in the information center 20 is sent to the vehicle as a stored broadcast (A). Due to the effect of the compression process, the stored broadcast (A) is transmitted in a short time (t
2 to t5). The stored broadcast (A) is expanded and synchronized on the vehicle side, and presented by the broadcast content presentation unit 9 between times t2 and t6.

On the other hand, on the vehicle side, broadcast data is received from broadcast station B using broadcast receiving section 5 after time t2.
The broadcast data is written in the broadcast storage for synchronization processing 57 as the received broadcast (B). The received broadcast (B)
After the time t6 when the presentation of the stored broadcast (A) ends, the data is read, synchronized, and output. When the synchronization state is obtained at time t7, normal reception processing is restarted.

[Embodiment 4] FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing the configuration of this embodiment. The above embodiments (1 to 3)
Unlike this, the in-vehicle broadcast receiving device 1 of the present embodiment exclusively acquires broadcast data from the information center 20. That is, the broadcast data is transmitted from the broadcast station B to the vehicle via the information center 20 (via reception). Since the vehicle does not directly receive the broadcast wave from the broadcast station B, the broadcast receiving unit 5 is omitted from the in-vehicle broadcast receiver 1.

In the present embodiment, the occupant of the vehicle
Is operated to select a desired broadcast type (broadcast type and broadcast station name), the broadcast type is input to the control unit 3. The control unit 3 uses the communication unit 7 to change the broadcast type to the information center 20.
Send to

The center control unit 22 uses the center communication unit 24 to individually communicate with each vehicle. When receiving the broadcast type from the vehicle, the center control unit 22 sends the broadcast acquisition communication unit 28
And broadcast data indicated by the broadcast type to broadcast station B
To get from. The acquired broadcast data is stored in the broadcast storage unit 3
0 is stored.

Here, the center control section 22 divides the broadcast data obtained from the broadcast station B into predetermined unit times T as shown in the time chart of FIG. The broadcast data for the predetermined time T is called unit broadcast data (corresponding to partial broadcast data of the present invention). The center control unit 22 assigns an identification ID (ID / 1, ID / 2, ...) to each unit broadcast data.
, And the unit broadcast data is stored in the broadcast storage unit 30. The center control unit 22 waits for one unit time T to elapse, and reads the unit broadcast data obtained at the unit time T from the broadcast storage unit 30. The read unit broadcast data is transmitted to the broadcast data compression unit 6 of the center control unit 22.
Compressed at 0. The compression method may be a known method suitable for communication, and may be, for example, a method based on MPEG. The compressed unit broadcast data (with ID) is transmitted from the communication unit 7 to the vehicle. As described above, the information center 20 compresses the sequentially obtained unit broadcast data and sends it to the in-vehicle broadcast receiving device 1.

The communication confirmation section 62 of the center control section 22 confirms whether or not the unit broadcast data could be transmitted (communication success or failure). If the vehicle is passing through a poor communication location, data cannot be transmitted. If the vehicle enters a location with poor communication during transmission, data transmission ends in failure. When the broadcast data cannot be transmitted, the center control unit 22 retransmits the unit broadcast data based on the determination of the communication confirmation unit 62. In FIG. 17, the unit broadcast data to which ID · n has been added fails in the first transmission and is retransmitted.

On the vehicle side, the communication unit 7 receives the unit broadcast data, and the control unit 3 writes the unit broadcast data into the storage unit 64. The unit broadcast data is read from the storage unit 64 in the order of reception, and is expanded by the broadcast data expansion unit 66. The expanded unit broadcast data is transmitted to the broadcast content presentation unit 9.
And the broadcast contents are presented to the occupants. Here, the unit broadcast data is connected in time series and continuously reproduced. For this continuous reproduction, the control unit 3 controls the data processing so that there is no time gap between the presentation of the two unit broadcast data. The control unit 3 checks the ID added to each unit broadcast data so that no error (time-series error) occurs in the output order of the unit broadcast data.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the operation of the system according to this embodiment. The center control unit 22 of the information center 20 acquires the broadcast data of the broadcast type specified by the vehicle (S70). An ID is added to the unit broadcast data acquired in S70 (S72), and the unit broadcast data is stored in the broadcast storage unit 30 (S74). Each time the unit time T elapses, the unit broadcast data is read from the broadcast storage unit 30 and compressed by the broadcast data compression unit 60 (S76). The compressed data is transmitted to the vehicle using the center communication unit 24 (S78), and the communication confirmation unit 62 confirms whether the data could be transmitted (S80). If the data has not been sent, the process returns to S78 and the data is resent. In the information center 20, the above processing is performed on each unit broadcast data.

In the in-vehicle broadcast receiving apparatus 1, the received unit broadcast data is temporarily written into the storage section 64. Each unit broadcast data is stored in the storage unit 6 at a timing suitable for continuous reproduction.
4 and expanded by the broadcast data expansion unit 66 (S84). The control unit 3 confirms that there is no error in the reproduction order of the unit broadcast data by relying on the ID (S86),
The unit broadcast data is output to the broadcast content presentation unit 9. The broadcast content presentation unit 9 sequentially presents the unit broadcast data groups to the occupants (S88).

As described above, in this embodiment,
Broadcast data is divided into unit broadcast data indicating the broadcast content of a unit time. Each unit broadcast data is transmitted from the information center 20 to the in-vehicle broadcast receiver 1. By performing the compression process, the unit broadcast data can be transmitted in a time significantly shorter than the original broadcast time (ie, the unit time T). The success or failure of the communication is confirmed, and if the communication is not performed normally, the unit broadcast data is retransmitted. Therefore, occurrence of partial loss of broadcast data received by the vehicle is prevented.

In particular, in the present embodiment, unit broadcast data can be continuously reproduced without gaps. This is because the transmission time of the unit broadcast data is short, so that the transmission try can be performed many times during the unit time T. For example, in FIG.
The first transmission of the D · n unit broadcast data has failed because the vehicle has passed through a location with poor communication. However, the second transmission is completed before the end of the reproduction of the previous unit broadcast data (ID · n−1). Therefore, the unit broadcast data of ID · n is presented to the occupant following the previous data.

Further, the present embodiment has an advantage that it is possible to cope with the occurrence of a reception failure situation that is difficult to predict. A poor reception location that is difficult to predict may occur in the broadcast area. Even in such a case, according to the present embodiment, partial omission of broadcast presentation can be prevented.

In this embodiment, the unit time T
Is appropriately set in consideration of the transit time of a communication failure location. If the unit time T is too short and shorter than the passage time of the communication failure location, the effect of the present embodiment cannot be obtained suitably.
The unit time T needs to be longer than the passing time by a certain degree or more. This is to ensure that the unit broadcast time data is transmitted before and after the vehicle passes the poor reception location. However, if the unit time T is too long, the delay of the broadcast content presented by the vehicle with respect to the actual broadcast increases, which is not preferable. The unit time T is appropriately set in consideration of these points according to the communication failure location assumed by the system. Further, the unit time T may be set differently according to the traveling area of the vehicle. For example, in an urban area, an underpass is assumed as a poor communication place, and in a suburb, a tunnel is assumed as a poor communication place.

In addition, in this embodiment, the information center 20 acquires live broadcast data from the broadcast station B. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 17, the presentation of the broadcast to the occupant is delayed at least by the unit time T from the actual broadcast. On the other hand, when processing recorded (or recorded) broadcast data, the information center 20 preferably acquires broadcast data in advance. Broadcast data can be presented to an occupant in a state near real time.

[Fifth Embodiment] In the present embodiment, as in the above-described fourth embodiment, a process of compressing and transmitting unit broadcast data is performed. However, in the fourth embodiment, the information center 20 individually communicates with each vehicle. However, in the present embodiment, the information center 20 transmits broadcast data to an unspecified number of vehicles without performing individual communication. Therefore, the information center 20 operates as if it were a second broadcast station, and broadcasts the same contents as the broadcast station B in a different form from the broadcast station B. However, while the broadcasting station B targets all general users in the broadcasting area, the information center 20
Transmits broadcast data mainly to vehicles. The configuration of the system of this embodiment is the same as that of FIG. 16 of the fourth embodiment. However, the communication confirmation unit 62 (in the center control unit 22), which is a configuration for individual communication, is not required.

FIG. 19 shows the operation of the system of this embodiment. In the information center 20, S70 to S76
Then, the same processing as in FIG. 18 is performed. That is, each unit broadcast data is obtained from the broadcast station B, and the unit broadcast data is written into the broadcast storage unit 30 with an ID added thereto.
When the predetermined time T has elapsed, one unit of broadcast data is stored in the broadcast storage unit 30. The unit broadcast data is read and compressed. As a difference from the fourth embodiment, in the present embodiment, compressed data is repeatedly transmitted a plurality of times (N times) (S92). The transmission is performed to an unspecified vehicle, and the individual communication is not performed. Preferably, transmission is performed as many times as possible between the start of transmission and the elapse of the unit time T. Assuming that one transmission time of unit broadcast data is t, the number of transmissions N is T / t.

On the vehicle side, the unit broadcast data transmitted from the information center 20 is received by the communication section 7 (S94).
The control unit 3 writes the received broadcast data into the storage unit 64. However, even if the same unit broadcast data is received a plurality of times, the second and subsequent data writing is not performed. Whether the unit broadcast data is the same is determined based on the ID added to the data. When the vehicle passes through the poor communication area, the in-vehicle broadcast receiving device 1 cannot receive the unit broadcast data. However, the unit broadcast data is transmitted a plurality of times. Therefore, the in-vehicle broadcast receiving apparatus 1 can receive the unit broadcast data once before or after the communication failure location. Subsequent processing is the same as in the fourth embodiment. The unit broadcast data read from the storage unit 64 is decompressed (S96), the ID is confirmed so that there is no time-series error (S97), and the unit broadcast data is sequentially sent to the occupant by the broadcast content presentation unit 9. It is presented (S98).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, similarly to the fourth embodiment, occurrence of partial omission of broadcast data received by the vehicle is prevented. Further, the unit broadcast data can be continuously reproduced without gaps.

[Embodiment 6] The system of this embodiment is
As in the first embodiment, an in-vehicle broadcast receiver and an information center are provided. The information center acquires the broadcast data from the broadcast station and sends it to the in-vehicle broadcast receiver. The in-vehicle broadcast receiving apparatus can perform “direct reception” and “via reception” described in the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, a terrestrial television broadcast is received by the vehicle. However, it is needless to say that this embodiment can be applied to other broadcasts, that is, radio broadcasts and satellite television broadcasts, as in the other embodiments.

In particular, in the present embodiment, a reserved program is designated by an occupant on the vehicle side. The reserved program corresponds to the “designated broadcast program” of the present invention. At the information center, broadcast data of the reserved program is recorded. The information center sends broadcast data of the reserved program to the vehicle in response to a request from the vehicle. As a result, generation of a blank portion of broadcast data due to passage through a poor reception location is prevented. In addition, in connection with the designation of the reserved program, in the present embodiment, as described below, various processes for enabling the occupant to easily watch the desired broadcast are performed.

FIG. 20 shows the overall configuration of the system of this embodiment. In the in-vehicle broadcast receiving apparatus 100, the control unit 102 controls the entire apparatus. The broadcast receiving unit 5, the communication unit 7, the broadcast content presenting unit 9, the operation unit 11, and the GPS device 13 are connected to the control unit 102. These configurations are the same as the configurations denoted by the same reference numerals in FIG. 3 of the first embodiment. Note that the broadcast content presentation unit 9 functions as a so-called AV device. The broadcast content presentation unit 9 is controlled by the control unit 102 and switches to a television or radio.

Further, a background storage unit 104 is connected to the control unit 102. The control unit 102 causes the background storage unit 104 to store the broadcast data received from the broadcast station B using the broadcast receiving unit 5. The control unit 102 is connected to a control processing memory 106. The control processing memory 106 stores information indicating the specifications of its own in-vehicle AV equipment.

Next, the information center 110 will be described. The center control unit 112 controls the entire center. The center communication unit 24 and the broadcast acquisition communication unit 28 are connected to the center control unit 112 as in the first embodiment. Further, the center control unit 112 controls the Internet 1
14 is also connected.

Further, the center control section 112 is connected to a program table creation data storage section 116. The center control unit 112 uses the data in the program table creation data storage unit 116 and data obtained from the Internet 114 to create program table data to be sent to the vehicle. The program table creation data storage unit 116 stores a broadcast area table indicating a broadcast area of each broadcast station. The broadcasting area is an area where broadcasting by various media can be received, as described above. Each broadcasting station (channel) has a different broadcasting area. In addition, the program table creation data storage unit 11
Reference numeral 6 stores control code tables for various in-vehicle AV devices. The program table creation processing using these pieces of information will be described later.

Further, a reservation reception content storage unit 118 and a broadcast storage unit 120 are connected to the center control unit 112. When the vehicle transmits a recording request for a reserved program, the center control unit 112 causes the reservation reception content storage unit 118 to store data representing the reserved program. This data includes the broadcast station, program name, program start time, and end time. When the broadcast of the reserved program starts, the center control unit 112 acquires the broadcast data of the program from the broadcast station B. The acquired broadcast data is stored in the broadcast storage unit 120. The center control unit 112 responds to a request from the vehicle,
The broadcast data is read out from the server 20 and sent to the vehicle using the center communication unit 24. In the present embodiment, when transmitting broadcast data, data compression is performed in accordance with MPEG, which is an international standard.

Next, the operation of the system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 21 and 22. FIG. 21 shows a process for the occupant to select a desired broadcast station or broadcast program. First, in the in-vehicle broadcast receiving apparatus 1, the control unit 3
The program guide selection menu screen of FIG. 23 is displayed on the display of the broadcast content presentation unit 9. The occupant selects one item from the menu screen. Here, it is assumed that “TV program guide” is selected (S100). The in-vehicle broadcast receiving apparatus 100 adds vehicle information to the data indicating the selected item (S102), and further adds the current location information of the vehicle (S104). The vehicle information is a vehicle identification I
D and data indicating the specifications of the in-vehicle AV equipment, and are read from the control processing memory 106. The current location information is G
The current position of the vehicle detected by the PS device 13.
The control unit 102 sends a request for “TV program table” (to which vehicle information and current location information is added) to the information center 110 using the communication unit 7 (S106).

In the information center 110, the program guide request is received by the center communication unit 24 and input to the center control unit 112 (S110). The center control unit 112 searches for a receivable broadcast station at the current position of the vehicle (S11).
2). Here, the broadcast area table stored in the program table creation data storage unit 116 is referred to check which broadcast station the current location of the vehicle belongs to. The center control unit 112 obtains the broadcast program of the searched broadcasting station using the Internet 114 (S114).

The center control unit 112 creates a transmission program guide by reconstructing the information indicated in the obtained broadcast program so as to be suitable for display on the vehicle (S).
116). FIG. 24 is an example of a program table. Vehicle at time 1
It is assumed that a program guide request is sent at 8:50. It is assumed that the current position of the vehicle is inside the broadcast area of broadcast stations X, Y, and Z. The program table shows broadcast programs of broadcast stations X, Y, and Z after 19:00.

An AV control code is added to the program table data. As a result, FIG.
When the program guide is presented by the vehicle, the occupants are broadcast stations X to
When one of Y is selected, a channel code indicating a broadcast station is input to the control unit 102. The control unit 102 can automatically perform channel matching depending on the code. Also, if the crew selects any broadcast program,
A code indicating a program name, a broadcasting station broadcasting the program, a broadcast start time, and an end time is input to the control unit 102. Using this code, the control unit 102 automatically performs a process of presenting the selected broadcast program to the occupant. For the above process of adding the AV control code, the center control unit 112 refers to the vehicle device control code table stored in the program table creation data storage unit 116.

The center control unit 112 transmits the created program guide data to the vehicle using the center communication unit 24 (S
118). In the vehicle, when the program guide data is received (S
120), the control unit 102 outputs the program guide data to the broadcast content presentation unit 9. The program shown in the program guide data is displayed on the display of the broadcast content presentation unit 9 (S122). The occupant operates the operation unit 11 to select a broadcast station in the program guide (S124) or to select a broadcast program (S126). When the occupant selects a broadcasting station in S124, the control unit 102
The V function is switched to the television (S134). Control unit 10
Under the control of 2, the channel setting corresponding to the selected broadcast station is performed, and the broadcast wave of the broadcast station is transmitted to the broadcast receiving unit 5.
And the broadcast content presentation unit 9 presents the broadcast.

If no broadcast station is selected in S124,
At 126, it is determined whether a broadcast program has been selected. When a broadcast program is selected, the occupant can select whether or not to request the information center 110 to record the broadcast program. Then, it is determined whether or not a recording request instruction has been input (S128). If YES, the control unit 102
Sends the designated program name to the information center 110 (S130).
This designated program is subsequently processed as a reserved program. The reserved program may be a program that has already been broadcast.

If the determination in S128 is NO, S126
It is determined whether or not the program designated by is currently being broadcast (S132). After transmitting the reserved program name in S130, the determination in S132 is performed. If you are currently broadcasting, S
Proceed to 134. Accordingly, the AV function of the broadcast content presentation unit 9 is switched to the television, and the broadcast wave of the broadcast station broadcasting the designated program is received. Then, the broadcast of the designated program is presented to the occupant in the broadcast content presentation unit 9.

If the designated program is not being broadcast at S132, a schedule item indicating the designated program is added to the vehicle schedule (S136). The vehicle schedule is
It is stored in the control processing memory 106. The schedule items of each program include a program name, a broadcast station name, a broadcast start time, and an end time. The control unit 102 refers to the vehicle schedule and, when the start time of the specified program added in S136 is reached, controls the broadcast receiving unit 5 and the broadcast content presentation unit 9 to receive the specified program, as in S134. The television is automatically turned on, and the broadcast is presented to the crew.

[0094] At S 130, the control unit 102 transmits a recording request for the reserved program to the information center 110. This recording request is received by the center communication unit 24 on the center side (S140). The center control unit 112 adds the reserved program to the center-side schedule (S142). The center-side schedule is stored in the reservation reception content storage unit 118. As a part of this schedule, data indicating the reserved program (program name, program start time, end time, etc.) is written. The center control unit 112 refers to the data in the reservation reception content storage unit 118, acquires the broadcast data of the reserved program from the broadcast station B when the start time of the reserved program is reached, and stores the broadcast data in the broadcast storage unit 120. Note that the program name is specified in the recording reservation. When the start time of the reserved program is delayed, the center control unit 112 also delays the recording start time. Thereby, the recording of the reserved program is performed reliably.

Next, with reference to FIG. 22, a description will be given of processing executed when a vehicle passes a poor reception location during broadcast reception. Times indicating various events related to FIG. 22 are defined as follows.

[TNG]: The broadcast receiver B is the broadcast station B
"TSTART": Start time of the reserved program (the reserved program is shown in FIG. 2).
"TEND": End time of the reserved program "TNOW": Current time "TGOOD": To enable the in-vehicle broadcast receiver 1 to receive the broadcast wave from the broadcast station B again. Time (time when the vehicle leaves the poor reception location) "DEND": last time of the broadcast data (edited data) sent by the information center in response to the request of the vehicle (time when the last part of the edited data was broadcast by the broadcasting station B) In FIG. 22, in S150, a broadcast by a certain broadcasting station is received by the vehicle using the broadcast receiving unit 5 (direct reception). The occupant is watching the television program presented by the broadcast content presentation unit 9. The control unit 102 determines whether the reception status of the broadcast wave is good (S15).
2) If it is good, television watching is continued. When a vehicle enters a tunnel or under an overpass, the reception status becomes poor,
You cannot watch TV. This time is TNG. When the vehicle enters the poor reception location, the control unit 102 determines whether the program being watched is a reserved program (that is, a program for which recording has been reserved in the information center in FIG. 21) (S1).
54). If NO, the process returns to S105.

If the program being received is a reserved program in S154, the control unit 102 stores the TNG in the control processing memory 10
No. 6 (S156). Then, the control unit 102
Waits until the communication function with the information center 110 using the communication unit 7 is restored. Normally, when the reception status becomes poor in S152, communication with the information center is also disabled. When the communication function is restored, the control unit 102 reads out the TNG from the control processing memory 106 and requests the information center 110 for broadcast data of the reserved program after the TNG (S15).
8). Here, a broadcast data request signal indicating the program name and TNG is transmitted.

Further, on the vehicle side, the control section 102 waits until the broadcast reception using the broadcast receiving section 5 is restarted (S1).
60). When the vehicle leaves the poor reception location, broadcast reception resumes. The control unit 102 records the restart time TGOOD in the control processing memory 106 (S162). Also, the broadcast data (directly received broadcast data) received by the broadcast receiving unit 5 after TGOOD is stored in the background storage unit 104 (S164).

On the other hand, in the information center 110, as described above, the broadcast data of the reserved program is obtained from the broadcast station B,
It is stored in the broadcast storage unit 120. The broadcast data request signal transmitted by the vehicle in S158 is received by the information center 110 in S170. The center control unit 112 executes S170
Then, the current time TNOW at the time of receiving the program and the reserved program end time TEND are compared (S172). TNOW is equal to TEND or TEN
If it is later than D (the broadcast of the reserved program has already been completed), the process proceeds to S174, where the broadcast data from TNG to TEND is edited. As an editing process, a process of reading out broadcast data of a corresponding period from the broadcast storage unit 120 (extraction process) is performed. The broadcast data that has undergone the editing process is referred to as edited data. The center control unit 112 adds the final time DEND to the edit data (S176). Here, DEND is equal to TEND. Then, the center control unit 11
2 compresses the edited data and sends it to the vehicle (S18)
2). As described above, MPEG is employed as a compression method.

At S172, if TNOW is before TEND, the broadcast of the reserved program by broadcast station B has not ended yet. In this case, the broadcast data from TNG to TNOW is edited (S178). Here, as the editing process, a process of reading the broadcast data of the corresponding period from the broadcast storage unit 120 is performed. TNOW is added to the edited data as the final time DEND (S180). The editing data is transmitted to the vehicle (S182).

The in-vehicle broadcast receiving apparatus 100 is connected to the information center 1
10 receives the edited data transmitted (S190). The control unit 102 reproduces the edited data (S192). The control unit 102 expands the edited data, and
Output to The broadcast content presentation section 9 presents the broadcast content represented by the edited data to the occupant.

The control unit 102 compares DEND added to the edited data with TEND (S194). DEND is TE
If it is equal to ND or after TEND (NO), S19
The process proceeds to 6 and ends. This is because the broadcast program was watched by the occupants to the end by playing the edited data.

When DEND is before TEND in S194,
The editing data does not include the broadcast contents up to the end of the program. Therefore, the control unit 102 compares DEND with TGOOD (S198). If DENO is equal to or later than TGOOD (NO), the process proceeds to S200. As shown in FIG. 25, the broadcast data stored in the background storage unit 104 is data after TGOOD, and therefore includes data after DEND. Then, the broadcast data after DEND is read and sequentially reproduced (S200). The control unit 102 acquires and records broadcast data by direct reception until TEND. In S200 described above, the FIFO processing of the data in the background storage unit 104 is performed until the last of the reserved program is reproduced.

On the other hand, in S198, DEND becomes TGOOD
If it is earlier, the process proceeds to S202. In this case, as shown in FIG. 26, the broadcast data from DEND to TGOOD is not stored in the background storage unit 104. Therefore,
The control unit 102 transmits the broadcast data of this period to the information center 1
Request 10 A broadcast data request signal indicating the program name, DENO, and TGOOD is transmitted. In the information center 110, D
Broadcast data is continuously obtained after END and stored in the broadcast storage unit 120. The broadcast data from DEND to TGOOD indicated in the broadcast data request signal is stored in the broadcast storage unit 12.
It is read from 0 and sent to the vehicle. The control unit 102
Following playback of the edited data in S192, DEND to TGOO
Play broadcast data up to D. Further, broadcast data after TGOOD is read from the background storage unit 104 and reproduced. The determination in S194 and S198 is made in S19 so that these reproduction processes are performed continuously without interruption.
It is preferably performed during the process of reproducing the edited data in step 2.

The system of the sixth embodiment has been described. According to the present embodiment, a reserved program (corresponding to a designated broadcast program of the present invention) is designated on the vehicle side. The designated reserved program is stored in the information center. When the broadcast reception is interrupted due to the vehicle passing through the poor reception area, the broadcast data after the interruption is transmitted from the information center to the vehicle. Therefore,
There is no lack of broadcast content, and the crew can enjoy the broadcast sufficiently.

In some cases, the vehicle is not used at the start of the broadcast of the reserved program. Also, broadcasting of a reserved program may start while traveling in a poor reception location. In these cases, the broadcast start time TSTART is regarded as TNG in FIG.
The processing of FIG. 22 is performed. Thereby, all the broadcast contents are presented by the vehicle from the beginning. Further, during the broadcast time of the reserved program, the vehicle may not be used at all. In this case, the information center sends the recorded broadcast data to the vehicle the next time the vehicle is used.

The preferred embodiments 1 to 6 of the present invention have been described above. In any of the embodiments, it is possible to prevent a blank portion from being generated in the broadcast content acquired by the vehicle when passing through a poor reception location.

A plurality of the various functions described above may be provided in the system so that the occupant can appropriately instruct execution of a desired function. The switching of the plurality of functions may be automatically performed according to the traveling area, the traveling environment, the broadcast type, and the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a state of broadcast reception when a vehicle equipped with a conventional vehicle-mounted broadcast receiving device passes through a poor reception location.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a vehicular broadcast receiving system of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the information center of the system of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation of the in-vehicle broadcast receiving device of the system of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a fast-forward process which is an example of a synchronization process performed in the information center of the system of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a thinning process as an example of a synchronization process performed in the information center of the system in FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the information center of the system of FIG. 6;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the in-vehicle broadcast receiving device of the system of FIG. 6;

FIG. 11 is a time chart showing the operation of the system of FIG. 6;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a third embodiment of the present invention.

13 is a flowchart showing the operation of the information center of the system shown in FIG.

14 is a flowchart showing the operation of the on-board broadcast receiving device of the system in FIG.

FIG. 15 is a time chart showing the operation of the system in FIG. 12;

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a time chart illustrating the operation of the system in FIG. 16; is there.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the operation of the system of FIG.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the operation of the system according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

21 is a flowchart showing the operation of the system in FIG.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing the operation of the system in FIG. 20.

23 is a diagram showing a program guide selection menu screen presented to an occupant in a vehicle in the system of FIG. 20.

24 is a diagram showing a program guide screen presented to an occupant in a vehicle in the system of FIG. 20.

FIG. 25 is a view for explaining the processing of S200 when the determination of S198 in FIG. 22 is NO.

FIG. 26 is a diagram for explaining the processing of S202 when the determination of S198 in FIG. 22 is YES;

[Explanation of symbols]

1 in-vehicle broadcast receiving device, 3 control unit, 5 broadcast receiving unit,
7 communication unit, 9 broadcast content presentation unit, 11 operation unit, 13
GPS device, 20 information center, 22 center control unit, 24 center communication unit, 26 reception failure location database, 28 broadcast acquisition communication unit, 30 broadcast storage unit, 32
Reception failure prediction unit, 34 storage capacity calculation unit, 36 broadcast reception failure determination unit, 38 communication failure determination unit, B broadcast station.

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A vehicular broadcast receiving system for receiving a broadcast from a broadcast station on a vehicle side, comprising: receiving broadcast data from the broadcast station; and transmitting the obtained broadcast data to the vehicle using communication means. And a vehicle-mounted broadcast receiving device mounted on the vehicle and performing direct reception for directly receiving broadcast data from a broadcasting station, and via-reception for receiving broadcast data via the reception assistance center, The reception assistance center transmits the broadcast data during failure when the reception status of the direct reception in the vehicle is poor, after the reception status of the direct reception is degraded, and when the communication status of the via reception is good. A vehicle broadcast receiving system for sending to the on-vehicle receiving device. 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the reception assistance center includes: a reception status detection unit that obtains a reception failure point at which the reception status of the direct reception at the vehicle becomes poor; A broadcast storage means for storing broadcast data after a point in time as the broadcast data during a defect, and a broadcast receiving system for a vehicle. 3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the reception status detecting means is configured to perform the reception based on current position data of the vehicle and reception failure location data indicating a location where the reception status of the direct reception is poor. A broadcast receiving system for a vehicle, wherein a receiving failure point is determined. 4. The system according to claim 2, wherein the broadcast storage means of the reception assistance center continuously stores the broadcast data even after the reception status of the direct reception is recovered on the vehicle side. The reception assistance center further performs a process of shortening the broadcast data stored in the broadcast storage unit in time, thereby converting the broadcast provided by the via reception into the original direct reception broadcast. A vehicular broadcast receiving system comprising a center-side synchronization processing means for synchronizing. 5. The system according to claim 2, wherein the in-vehicle broadcast receiving apparatus stores the broadcast data directly received after the reception status of the direct reception has been recovered. Storage means, and a vehicle-side synchronization processing means for performing a process of shortening the post-recovery broadcast data in terms of time, comprising: presenting the broadcast data processed by the vehicle-side synchronization processing means to the occupant; A broadcast receiving system for a vehicle, characterized in that the broadcast presentation delayed for this purpose is synchronized with the original direct receiving broadcast. 6. A vehicular broadcast receiving system for receiving a broadcast from a broadcasting station on a vehicle side, comprising: a receiving auxiliary center for acquiring broadcast data from a broadcasting station; An in-vehicle broadcast receiving device connected via a means for receiving broadcast data via the reception auxiliary center, wherein the reception auxiliary center divides broadcast data obtained from a broadcasting station at predetermined time intervals. A broadcast data compression unit for compressing the partial broadcast data, and communication confirmation means for confirming the success or failure of communication when each of the compressed partial broadcast data is sent to the vehicle. A broadcast data receiving system for a vehicle, comprising: a received data processing means for expanding partial broadcast data sent from the reception auxiliary center, connecting the data in time series, and continuously reproducing the data. Beam. 7. A vehicular broadcast receiving system for receiving a broadcast from a broadcasting station on a vehicle side, comprising: a receiving auxiliary center for acquiring broadcast data from a broadcasting station; An in-vehicle broadcast receiving device connected via a means and receiving broadcast data via the reception auxiliary center, wherein the reception auxiliary center divides broadcast data obtained from a broadcast station at predetermined time intervals. A broadcast data compression unit for compressing the partial broadcast data, transmitting the compressed partial broadcast data to the vehicle a plurality of times, and transmitting the compressed partial broadcast data to the vehicle a plurality of times; 1. A broadcast receiving system for a vehicle, comprising a receiving data processing means for expanding data, connecting the data in a time series, and continuously reproducing the data. 8. A vehicular broadcast receiving system for receiving a broadcast from a broadcast station on a vehicle side, comprising: receiving broadcast data from the broadcast station; and transmitting the obtained broadcast data to the vehicle using communication means. And a vehicle-mounted broadcast receiving device mounted on the vehicle and performing direct reception for directly receiving broadcast data from a broadcast station, and via-reception for receiving broadcast data via the reception auxiliary center, The reception assistance center has designated program storage means for storing broadcast data of a designated broadcast program designated on the vehicle side, and the on-vehicle broadcast receiving device has a reception status during direct reception of the broadcast data of the designated broadcast program. A reception status detection unit for detecting that the reception has failed; and a requesting unit for requesting the reception auxiliary center to transmit broadcast data after the point of reception failure. Is responding to a request from the vehicle-mounted broadcast receiving apparatus, a broadcast receiving system for a vehicle, characterized in that sending the broadcast data stored in the designated program storage means to the vehicle.