JPS6260372A - Channel selecting program device for television receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automatically select a channel broadcasting a program when the time broadcasting the program comes up by providing a circuit counting the current data and a means storing information on television programs including data on broadcasting times, broadcasting stations and program names and designating any one out of programs displayed on a screen. CONSTITUTION:With the aid of a signal from a tuner 11, a television circuit 13 generates a tuning signal, outputs it to a television control part 12, and amplifies a television signal, after which the circuit 13 carries out operations such as video detection, synchronizing separation and sound detection, outputs the video signal to a CRT display part 15 through a display switching circuit 14, and further outputs the sound signal out of a speaker. The operation of a touch panel 16 on the front of the CRT display part 15 is detected by a key sense circuit 17 and transmitted to a CPU 18. Corresponding to a channel designating code from the CPU 18, a channel voltage generator circuit 26 generates a channel voltage, and outputs it to a television control part 12 and a VTR control part 28, to which a VTR 29 is connected. A reproduced output A is inputted to the display switching circuit 14, which selects an input signal from the CPU 18 and outputs it to the CRT display part 15. And a program memory 22 stores program information of one month for instance.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a channel selection program device for a television receiver that stores arbitrary television programs and automatically performs a channel selection operation according to the stored programs.

[Prior art and its problems] Currently, television receivers are widespread in most homes, and VTRs (video tape recorders) are also becoming more widespread.

The VTR is generally provided with a scheduled recording function. When performing this scheduled recording, you can set a program for any program by specifying the time and channel, but the program you want to reserve can be viewed in the Shinkai TV column or TV guide, etc. along with the desired program. It is necessary to check the broadcast date and time, and the checking operation is very troublesome.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is possible to easily select a specified program by displaying a TV program guide on a TV screen and specifying a desired program from among the displayed programs. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a channel selection program device for a television receiver that can perform program settings (1).

[Summary of the Invention] The present invention provides a program information storage means for storing television program information including broadcast date and time data, broadcast station data, and program name data, and a clock circuit for measuring the current date and time.
The television program list stored in the program information storage means is displayed on the screen of the television receiver, and by specifying any program from among the programs displayed on the screen, the specified program is registered. The time data of the clock circuit is compared with the broadcast date and time data of the registered program, and the program is automatically tuned when the broadcast time of the program arrives.

[Embodiments of the Invention] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. first,
The overall circuit configuration will be explained with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 11 denotes a tuner which selects a desired channel of broadcast waves from among the television broadcast waves induced in the antenna 10 according to instructions from the television control section 12, converts it to an intermediate frequency, and outputs it to the TV circuit 13. This TV circuit 13 creates a tuning signal from the TV signal from the tuner 11 and outputs it to the TV control section 12, and after amplifying the TV signal, performs processing such as video detection, synchronous separation, and audio detection. , the video signal is output to the CR7 display unit 15 via the display switching circuit 14, and the audio signal is output from a speaker (not shown). The above CR7 display section 15
A touch switch 16 is provided on the front surface of the screen. This touch operation of the touch switch 16 is detected by the key sense circuit 17 and sent to the CPU 18.

Further, the CPU 18 is connected to a keyboard 19 equipped with various control keys, a clock circuit 20 that measures the current time and date, and is also connected to the television control section 12 and the display switching circuit 14 via a pass line 21. , a program memory 22 for storing television program information, an input device 23 for inputting television program information, a work memory 24, and a display memory 2.
5, channel voltage generation circuit 26, mouse 27, V T
Rill 8 section 28 is connected. The channel voltage generation circuit 26 generates a channel voltage according to a channel designation code from the CPU 18 and outputs it to the television control section 12 and the VTR control section 28. A VTR 29 is connected to this VTR control section 28, and this VTR
The reproduction output A of R29 is input to the display switching circuit 14. This display switching circuit 14 selects an input signal according to a control command from the CPL1, 18, and selects an input signal from the CR7 display section 15.
Output to.

The program memory 22 stores, for example, one month's worth of program information, and the address area is divided into date units, each of which is set with a leading address (address X).

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of a part of the program memory 22, and includes program information such as date, channel, day of the week, start time, end time, program type, and broadcast information indicating that the program is currently being broadcast. A medium flag F1, a broadcast end flag F2 indicating that the program has ended, a television reservation flag F3 for reserving television operation, a VTR reservation flag F4 for reserving VTR operation, a program name, etc. are set. These program information are inputted from the input device 23 shown in FIG. 1, and as an input means, for example, there is a method using a barcode reader.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained. First, the input device 23 reads out program information for 131 minutes or one month, which is printed in a bar code on a television guide, for example, and stores it in the program memory 22 under the control of the CPU 18. After writing the television program information into the program memory 22, the CPU 18 executes initial processing according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

That is, the CP L118 sets the designated address N of the program memory 22 to "1" as shown in step A1 of FIG.
(first address), and the contents of the designated address N are read out from the program memory 22 in step A2. Then, as shown in step A3, the date of the program read from the program memory 22 and the current (today's) date read by the clock circuit 20 are compared, and if the current date is larger, that is,
If the broadcast date was yesterday and the broadcast has already ended, the program proceeds to step A4, sets flag F2, and then proceeds to step 86. In addition, if the current date and the program date match, step A3 to step A
Step 5 proceeds to step A4, where it is determined whether the current time measured by the clock circuit 20 has passed the end time of the program. If the current time has passed the end time of the program, the process proceeds to step A4, where flag F2 is set. Set. However, if the current time has not passed the end time of the program, the process advances from step A5 to step 80.

If it is determined in step A3 that the current date is smaller than the date of the program, that is, the program has not been broadcast yet, the process directly proceeds to step 80. In this step A6, it is determined whether the specified address N of the program memory 22 has reached the final address. If it has not reached the final address, the specified address N is incremented by 1 in step A7, and then the process returns to step A2. , the same process is repeated, program information is sequentially read out from the program memory 22, it is determined whether the broadcast has ended or not, and flag F2 is set for the broadcast that has ended.

Then, when the designated address N of the program memory 22 reaches the final address, that state is detected at step 80, and the initial processing is terminated.

After storing the TV program information in the program memory 22 as described above and completing the initial processing, the keyboard 1
By operating the keys at 9, a television program guide can be displayed on the CRT display section 15, and an arbitrary program can be set based on the displayed program. The setting operation of the program will be explained below according to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, as shown in step B1, the date of the program for which the program is to be set is input from the keyboard 19, and the "program guide" key is operated to command display of the program guide.

When the above key operation is performed, the CP IJ 18 reads the specified date data in step B2, and sets the start address X and end address XEND for the corresponding date area of the program memory 22 according to the date data as shown in step B3. occurs.

Then, as shown in step B4, the CPU 18 sets the designated address N for the program memory 22 as the leading address X, and reads out the stored information for one program from the program memory 22 in step B5. Next, the program information read from the program memory 22 is output to the work memory 24 as shown in step B6. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step B7, where it is determined whether or not the memory specified address N has reached the end address XEND.If the memory specified address N has not reached the end address
After 1J, return to step B5. Thereafter, similar operations are repeated to read program information on the specified date from the program memory 22 to the work memory 24. Then, when the memory specified address NS reaches the end address XEND, step B7
The determination result becomes YES and the process proceeds to step B9. C.P.
U 18 edits the program information read into the work memory 24 into an easy-to-read format in step B9, and then stores the editing result in the display memory 2 as shown in step B10.
Output to 5. This list of programs written in the display memory 25 is sent to the display switching circuit 14. In the above program setting mode, 1 to υ11 from cpu ia
The display switching circuit 14 is switched to the display memory 25 side by the command, and the television program guide stored in the display memory 25 is sent to the CRT display section 15 and displayed. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, this TV program guide displays the date, day of the week, channel, and programs and broadcast times of the day, as well as rTVJ, rVTRJ,
J, rENDJ operation designation items are displayed. Above r
TVj is a program selection mode for automatically selecting a specified program and displaying the image, rVTRJ is a scheduled recording mode, r
ENDJ is an operation designation item for instructing the end of processing. The program guide is provided with operation marks M indicating operation positions corresponding to each program and operation designation item. This operation mark M is displayed at a position corresponding to each touch electrode of the touch switch 16.

Therefore, when the user sees the program content displayed on the CRT display section 15, the user first selects rTVJ or rVTRJ.
After specifying the operating mode, touch the desired program with your finger. This touch operation is detected by the touch switch 16 and the key sense circuit 17, and the detection signal is
Sent to P U 18.

The CPU 18 detects the key sense signal sent from the key sense circuit 17 at step 811 in FIG. 4 and determines its content. If it is in the TV mode, the process proceeds to step B12; if it is in the rVTRJ mode, the process proceeds to step B13. Then, recognition processing for each designated program is performed. If the program recognition process in step 812 is finished, step [3
The program proceeds to step B14 to set the television reservation flag F3 in the program memory 22, and then returns to step B11 to wait until the next key touch input.

If the program recognition process in step B13 is finished, the process advances to step 815 to set the VTR reservation 7 lag F4 in the program memory 22, and then returns to step B11.
Waits until the next key touch input. Thereafter, a similar operation is performed every time a program reservation is made by key touch operation, and the TV reservation flag F3 or V is stored in the program memory 22.
TR reservation flag F4 is set. After completing the program reservation operation, touch the rENDJ item on the television screen. The touch operation on the rENDJ item is detected in step 811, and the program reservation process ends.

When the above program reservation is made, the CPU
Reference numeral 18 compares the contents of the regular program memory 22 with the clock data of the clock circuit 20, and when the broadcast start time of the reserved program arrives, it selects the channel for that program and also performs VTR recording operation.The details are as follows. The operation will be explained according to the flowchart in FIG. The clock circuit 20 constantly measures the current time and supplies current time information and current date information to the CPU 18. This CPU 1
8 is a clock circuit 2 as shown in step C1 of FIG.
Detection of the 1-minute pulse sent from 0 is always performed, and when the 1-minute pulse is detected, the process advances to step C2 and date data is read from the clock circuit 20. And C
P U 18 is the clock circuit 2 as shown in step C3.
In accordance with the date data of the current day read from 0, a start address X and an end address XEND for the corresponding date area of the program memory 22 are generated. And CPU 18
As shown in step C4, the designated address N for the program memory 22 is set as the leading address X, and the stored contents of the program memory 22 are read out in step C5. Then, in step C6, it is determined whether the broadcast end flag F2 is set, and if the flag F2 is not set, the process proceeds to step C7, where the magnitude relationship between the current time and the broadcast start time is determined. If the current time has passed the broadcast start time, it is determined whether the current time has reached the broadcast end time in step C8, and if the current time has not reached the broadcast end time, that is, the current broadcast If it is inside, proceed to step C9. Further, if it is determined in step C6 that the flag F2 is set (broadcasting has ended), and furthermore, if it is determined in step C7 that the current time has not reached the broadcast start time, the process proceeds to step C9 and the memory is It is determined whether the designated address N has reached the end address XEND, and if it has not yet reached the end address XEND, the memory designated address N is incremented by r+1J in step C10, and then the process returns to step C5. Also,
If it is determined in step C9 that the memory designated address has reached the end address XEND, the process returns to step C1 and waits until the next one-minute pulse is input.

Therefore, in step C7, if it is determined that the current time matches the broadcast start time, step C1
The program proceeds to step C1 to determine whether or not the television reservation flag F3 is set. If the television reservation flag F3 is set, the program proceeds to step C12 to turn on the television. Next, the CPU 18 outputs the channel code of the program being read from the program memory 22 at that time to the channel voltage generation circuit 26, as shown in step CI3. This channel voltage generation circuit 26 is a CPU 18
A channel voltage corresponding to the channel code from the TV is generated and output to the television control section 12. This TV control unit 1
2 controls the tuner 11 in accordance with the channel voltage from the channel voltage generation circuit 26, and selects a designated channel. The television signal tuned by the tuner 11 is processed by the TV circuit 13 to extract a video signal, which is sent to the CRT display section 15 and displayed. On the other hand, CP
When the process of step C13 is finished, or when it is determined that the TV reservation flag F3 is not set in step C11, Ll 18 executes step C1.
In step C11, it is determined whether the VTR reservation flag F4 is set or not.
After setting the broadcasting flag F1 as shown in 3, the process returns to step C9. However, the above VTR reservation flag F4
is set, step C14 to step C
15, the VTR 29 is powered on, and the VTR control section 28 selects a channel as shown in step Q16. Next M'CPU18 is V
A recording command is given to the TRIIJII1 section 28, and step C
17, the recording operation of the VTR 29 is started. Then, in step 018, 7 lags 1 during broadcasting are set, and then the process returns to step C9.

As mentioned above, automatic TV channel selection, V, TR
After that, when the end time of the program is reached and it is determined in step C8 that the current time measured by the clock circuit 20 matches the program end time, steps C8 to C19 are started. Step C1 determines whether the TV reservation flag F3 is set.
Proceed to step 2 and turn off the TV. Then step C
In step C21, the television reservation flag F3 is reset, and the process then proceeds to step C22. If it is determined in step C19 that the television reservation flag F3 is not set, the process immediately proceeds to step C22. This step C2
In Step 2, it is determined whether or not the VTR reservation flag F4 is set, and if it is set, the power to the VTR 29 is turned off in Step C23, and in Step C2
At step C4, the VTR reservation flag F4 is reset, and the process then proceeds to step C25.

If it is determined in step C22 that the VTR reservation 7 lag F4 is not set, the process immediately proceeds to step C25. In this step C25, 7 lag F during broadcasting
1 and then sets the broadcast end flag F2 in step C26 and returns to step C9. As described above, automatic channel selection processing and further automatic recording processing for reserved programs are performed.

In the above embodiment, a barcode reader is used as a means for storing television program information in the program memory 22, but other storage media such as memory packs, cassette tapes, and IC cards may also be used. Alternatively, by using Videotex, television program information may be read from the Videotex information center and stored in the program memory 22. Furthermore, if the program guide cannot be displayed all at once on the screen, it may be displayed in parts by scrolling or page breaks.

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, according to the present invention, broadcast date and time data,
A program information storage means for storing television program information including broadcasting station data and program name data, and a clock circuit for measuring the current date and time are provided, and the television program list stored in the program information storage means is stored in the television. Displayed on the screen of the receiver, by specifying any program from among the programs displayed on the screen, the specified program is registered, and the time measurement data of the clock circuit and the broadcast of the registered program are transmitted. By comparing the date and time data, the program is automatically selected when the broadcast time of the program arrives, so even if you do not have a newspaper at hand, you can display the TV program guide on the TV screen and see the program contents. In addition, by specifying a desired program from among the displayed programs, the program of the specified program can be easily set.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of information storage in a program memory, FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an initial processing operation, and FIG. Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the program reservation operation;
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of a television program list, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing operations when performing automatic channel selection and automatic recording of reserved programs. 10...Antenna, 11...Tuner, 12...
TV control section, 13... TV circuit, 14... Display switching circuit, 15... CRT display section, 16... Touch switch, 17 Key sense circuit, 18... CPU, 1
9... Keyboard, 2°... Clock circuit, 21...
Pass line, 22... Program memory, 23... Input device, 24... Work memory, 25... Display memory,
26...Channel voltage generation circuit, 28...VTR
Control unit, 29・VTR. Applicant's agent Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue S.1 Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] Program information storage means for storing television program information including broadcast date and time data, broadcast station data, and program name data; and a program information storage means that stores information on a television program on the screen of a television receiver. means for displaying a television program guide; means for specifying any program from the program guide displayed by the means; means for registering the program specified by the means; a clock circuit; and timekeeping data of the clock circuit. and means for comparing the broadcast date and time data of the registered program and automatically tuning the program when the broadcast time of the registered program arrives. channel selection program device.