KR20100062680A - Method of changing channel - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A method for changing a channel is provided, which stores the preferred channel and approaches easily to the preferred channel. CONSTITUTION: Whether a channel change signal is inputted from the former channel change signal within the designated time is determined(S52). In case the channel change signal is inputted after the progress of the designated time, channel is presently changed to the preferred channel of the first priority(S55). If channel is one among the preferred channel, whether the channel is the preferred channel of the last order among the preferred channel is determined(S53,S54). If the channel is presently not the preferred channel of the last order, the channel is presently changed into the preferred channel of the next rank(S57).

Description

{Method of changing channel}

The present invention relates to a channel changing method, and more particularly, to a channel changing method for identifying a preferred channel according to a channel selection time of a portable TV user and easily accessing the preferred channel.

BACKGROUND Information communication terminals, such as portable TVs, generally include a channel selection device capable of receiving broadcast signals of several channels and selecting one of the channels. However, the number of channels that can be selected is greatly increased due to the development of compression technology and the expansion of the frequency band. However, most portable TV users do not watch all of these channels at the same time, but rather prefer to watch a particular favorite channel.

Thus, users of portable TVs usually specify a few preferred channels and change channels within these preferred channels. Conventionally, referring to a method for designating a preferred channel, once the entire channel is scanned, the portable TV user registers a favorite channel one by one as a preferred channel, and then presses a specific key to change within a preferred channel. This method will take a lot of time to select while checking many channels.

Another method is to select a preferred channel with the help of the Electronic Program Guide (EPG). However, this method is also inconvenient in that the portable TV user must directly select a channel that is preferred.

Portable TVs are typically smaller than home TVs in that they must be portable, and therefore, it is not desirable to have too many function keys (e.g., preference channel selection keys) separately mounted in the portable TV. In addition, it is not desirable that the preferred TV channel selection or modification is complicated in that portable TVs can be used on the go (eg when mounted on a vehicle), and it is desirable that such operation is simple and intuitive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a channel changing method for allowing a user of an information communication terminal such as a portable TV to easily access a preferred channel.

The channel changing method according to the present embodiment includes scanning a plurality of channels of a terminal; Setting a predetermined number of preferred channels according to the accumulated time in which each channel is selected and maintained in the plurality of channels; And changing the channel to the preferred channel when the channel change signal Sc is input by a specific key.

The preference channel may be set by ranking in order from a channel having a large cumulative time in which a channel is selected and maintained in each of the plurality of channels to a small channel.

The changing of the channel to the preferred channel may further include changing to the preferred channel having the highest priority when the channel change signal Sc is a channel change signal input for the first time after the terminal is turned on. If the channel change signal Sc is not the channel change signal that is input for the first time after the terminal is turned on, the predetermined time T _R from the last input channel change signal before the channel change signal Sc is input. Determining whether the channel change signal Sc is input after the elapsed time, and if the channel change signal Sc is input after the predetermined time T _R elapses, changing the channel to the preferred channel having the highest priority.

If the channel change signal Sc is input before the predetermined time elapses,

Determining whether the current channel is one of the preferred channels, and if the channel is not one of the preferred channels, changing the channel to increase the channel number in the non-preferred channels, and if the current channel is one of the preferred channels, And determining whether the current channel is the preferred channel of the last rank and changing the channel to a non-preferred channel if the preferred channel is the last rank.

If the current channel is not the preferred channel of the last rank, changing the channel to the next preferred channel.

The specific key may be a channel up button, and when the channel change signal is input with a predetermined key, the channel may be further changed to a non-preferred channel. The predetermined key may include a channel down button ( channel down button).

In the channel changing method according to the present embodiment, the user of an information communication terminal such as a portable TV grasps and stores a preferred channel without additional manipulation so that the user can access the preferred channel in an easy way, and thus it is convenient. You can change channel by channel.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art may easily implement the present invention.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a portable TV using the channel conversion method according to the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1, a portable TV includes a tuner 110, an audio processor 120, an image processor 130, a speaker 140, a display 150, a main memory 160, and a channel selector 170. Include.

The tuner 110 receives a TV signal by selecting one of a plurality of channels. The tuner 110 receives a TV signal of a channel selected by a control signal given by the channel selector 170, and sends an audio signal to the audio processor 120 among the received TV signals, and sends an image signal to the image processor 130. Send it separately.

The audio processor 120 decodes the audio signal provided from the tuner 110 and provides the decoded audio signal to the speaker 140 to convert the audio signal into an audible frequency sound. The image processor 130 undergoes decoding when receiving a digital signal, and undergoes A / D conversion when receiving an analog signal (eg, RGB or YUV, etc.). To be processed.

The speaker 140 converts an electrical signal provided from the audio processor 120 into sound in an audible frequency range, and the display unit 150 receives a signal processed by the image processor 130 and outputs an image. The display unit 150 may use an LCD.

The main memory 160 is a place where the received TV signal can be stored, and serves as a temporary storage place for recording and playing back a TV signal or decompressing a TV signal. The main memory 160 may use a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory or a hard disc drive (HDD).

The channel selector 170 receives a channel change signal from a user, generates a control signal for the tuner 110, and provides the same to the tuner 110. Hereinafter, the channel selector 170 will be described in more detail.

2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a channel selector according to the present embodiment. 2, the channel selector according to the present exemplary embodiment includes a clock 210, a channel memory 220, a timer 230, and a channel controller 240.

The clock 210 generates a periodic time signal, and provides a time signal for measuring the time for which the channel selected by the user is maintained. The clock 210 is connected to the timer 230 and the channel controller 250.

The channel memory 220 stores channel information. The channel memory 220 may store favorite channel information, information about a plurality of channels having different frequencies, and channel information used immediately before the power is turned off.

Information about a plurality of channels having different frequencies stored in the channel memory 220 may be stored as shown in Table 1, for example.

Channel number frequency Duration (T _A )
(Hour: minute: second) Preferred Channel Rank Selection when power off Channel # 1 11 A 01:58:58 4 ○ Channel # 2 7 C 14:08:36 One ㅧ Channel # 3 9 B 05:50:02 2 ㅧ Channel # 4 6 D 00:50:04 5 ㅧ Channel # 5 20 E 04:10:28 3 ㅧ

Referring to Table 1, the channel number, frequency, duration, preferred channel rank, and information on power off are stored for each channel.

The duration T _A is a time obtained by accumulating and summing a time for which a specific channel is intermittently maintained for a predetermined period (for example, one week or one month), and viewing the specific channel for the predetermined period. Means.

The preferred channel ranking is information in which the channel of the user of the portable TV is ranked and displayed. Here, the preferred channel means a channel in which a predetermined number is selected from the channel having the largest duration T _A in each of a plurality of channels. In other words, it means a channel selected by the user of the portable TV by a predetermined number, ranked from the channel watched the longest.

The selection when the power is off is information indicating a channel used when the power of the portable TV is turned off. This information may store the channel being watched when the portable TV is turned off so that the user can receive a TV signal for the channel when the portable TV is turned on again. The channel memory 220 may use a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory and a ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM). Although the channel memory 220 is illustrated separately from the main memory 160 in the present embodiment, this is not a limitation and the channel memory 220 may be included in the main memory 160.

The timer 230 checks the time signal input from the clock 210 to measure the time T _M during which the channel is selected and maintains, and provides the time to the channel controller 240. The time is accumulated and calculated as the duration T _A for each channel and used to determine the preferred channel rank of each channel.

Channel controller 240 is the timer 230, the received service T _M calculate the duration (T _A) and stored in the channel memory, a predetermined number based on the duration (T _A) of each channel, favorite channel from the Extract. Extraction of the preferred channel is the sorted (sort) of each channel in a large order of the duration (T _A) of the channel, appointed to the duration (T _A) ranking the channels in a predetermined number from the largest channel of the channel You can do this by selecting. The channel controller 240 stores the preferred channel rank in the channel memory 220. The predetermined number may be four, for example.

In addition, the channel controller 240 receives a channel change signal from the user and generates a control signal for the tuner 110. Here, the channel change signal input from the user may be a number of a channel using a numeric button, or may be a signal input by simply pressing a channel change key, that is, a channel up / down button. For example, when broadcast # 1 is channel number 11 and broadcast # 2 is broadcast on channel number 9, the channel number 11 or 9 may be inputted as a channel change signal using the numeric buttons. It is channel number 9, and it is also possible to input a channel change signal by a channel up button (for example, a button indicated by + or ▲).

When the channel number is directly input, the channel controller 240 may generate a control signal for changing the demodulation circuit of the tuner 110 to the frequency of the corresponding channel, and when the channel change signal is input by the channel up button, Change channel to favorite channel or non-preferred channel according to the condition

Hereinafter, the channel changing method according to the present embodiment will be described in detail.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a channel changing method according to the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 3, first, a plurality of channels of a terminal are scanned (S31). The channel controller 240 scans the duration T _A stored in the channel memory 220. As described above, the duration T _A is a time obtained by accumulating and adding the time for which a specific channel is intermittently maintained for a predetermined period (for example, one week or one month).

The channel controller 240 sets a predetermined number of preferred channels based on the duration of the scanned plurality of channels (S32). In the method for setting the preferred channel, the channels are sorted in order of increasing duration T _A , and a predetermined number of channels are selected from the channel having the highest priority. In this case, the channel having the largest duration T _A of the channel is the highest priority, and the channel having the largest duration is the next priority of the highest priority. The predetermined number may be four. The channel controller 240 stores the preferred channel in the channel memory 220.

If a channel change signal is input by a specific key, the channel controller 240 changes the channel to the preferred channel according to a predetermined condition (S33). Hereinafter, when the channel change signal is input, the channel change process will be described in detail.

4 is a diagram illustrating a case where a channel change signal is input according to the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 4, the channel change signal is input using any one of a channel up button, a channel down button, and a numeric button. Here, the number button may not exist in some cases, in which case the channel change signal is input only by the channel up / down buttons.

First, when directly inputting the number of the channel to be changed using the number buttons, the channel can be changed to the corresponding channel as in the general method.

When a channel change signal is input by using a channel down button (a button for changing a channel of a portable TV in a direction in which the channel number decreases, usually,-or ▼), the current channel (that is, If the channel before the channel change signal is input and changed) is one of the preferred channels, the channel change signal is changed to a non-preferred channel (a channel except the preferred channel). In other words, if the current channel is one of the preferred channels and the channel down button is pressed, the user moves away from the preferred channel. On the other hand, if the current channel is a non-preferred channel, the channel is changed in a general manner in the non-preferred channels. That is, the channel is changed in the direction in which the channel number decreases.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a channel change method when a channel change signal is input using the channel up button according to the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 5, a channel change signal Sc is input using a channel up button (a button for changing a channel of a portable TV in a direction in which the channel number increases, usually a button displayed as + or ▲). In this case, first, it is checked whether the channel change signal Sc is a channel change signal that is input for the first time after turning on the portable TV (S51). If it is input for the first time, it is changed to the preferred channel having the highest priority except the current channel (S55).

On the other hand, if the channel change signal Sc is not input for the first time _{, the} predetermined time T _R, from the previous channel change signal (that is, the last channel change signal input before the channel change signal Sc is input) _. For example, it is determined whether the channel change signal Sc is input within 10 seconds (S52). If the channel change signal Sc is input after the predetermined time T _R elapses, the channel is changed to the highest priority channel excluding the current channel (S55).

On the other hand, if the channel change signal Sc is input before the predetermined time T _R elapses, it is determined whether the current channel is one of the preferred channels (S53). If the current channel is one of the non-preferred channels other than the preferred channel, a general change is made in the non-preferred channel (S56, channel change in the direction of increasing the channel number in the non-preferred channel).

If the current channel is one of the preferred channels, it is determined whether the current channel is the preferred channel of the last rank among the preferred channels (S54). If it is the preferred channel of the last rank, it is changed to the non-preferred channel (S58), otherwise, the channel is changed to the preferred channel of the next rank (S57).

6 is a view showing the appearance of a portable TV employing the channel changing method according to the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 6, the portable TV may include only a minimum user key, such as a channel up button 61, a channel down button 62, and a volume button 63. Easily accessible Although not shown in the drawing, the portable TV further includes an infrared (IR) unit to change the above-described channel only by using a channel up / down button provided in the remote controller.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is clearly understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken by way of limitation, The present invention may be modified in various ways. Therefore, changes in the future embodiments of the present invention will not be able to escape the technology of the present invention.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a portable TV using the channel conversion method according to the present embodiment.

2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a channel selector according to the present embodiment.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a channel changing method according to the present embodiment.

4 is a diagram illustrating a case where a channel change signal is input according to the present embodiment.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a channel change method when a channel change signal is input using the channel up button according to the present embodiment.

6 is a view showing the appearance of a portable TV employing the channel changing method according to the present embodiment.

Claims (10)

Scanning a plurality of channels of the terminal; Setting a predetermined number of preferred channels according to the accumulated time in which each channel is selected and maintained in the plurality of channels; And changing the channel to the preferred channel when the channel change signal Sc is input by a specific key. The method of claim 1, The preferred channel is a channel change method, characterized in that the ranking is set in the order of the channel from the largest channel to the smallest cumulative time the channel is selected and maintained in each of the plurality of channels. The method of claim 2, wherein changing the channel to the favorite channel comprises: And if the channel change signal Sc is a channel change signal that is input for the first time after turning on the terminal, changing to a preferred channel having the highest priority. The method of claim 3, wherein If the channel change signal Sc is not a channel change signal that is input for the first time after the terminal is turned on, a predetermined time T from the last input channel change signal before the channel change signal Sc is input. _R ) determining whether the channel change signal Sc is input after the elapse of time, and changing the channel to the preferred channel having the highest priority if the channel change signal Sc is input after the predetermined time T _R elapses. Channel change method. The method of claim 4, wherein If the channel change signal Sc is input before the predetermined time elapses, Determining whether the current channel is one of the preferred channels, and if the channel is not one of the preferred channels, changing the channel to increase the channel number in the non-preferred channels. The method of claim 5, If the current channel is one of the preferred channels, determining whether the current channel is the preferred channel of the last rank and, if the preferred channel of the last rank, changing the channel to a non-preferred channel, further comprising: . The method of claim 6, And if the current channel is not the last favorite channel, changing the channel to the next favorite channel. The method according to claim 1, wherein And said specific key is a channel up button. The method of claim 1, And changing the channel to a non-preferred channel when the channel change signal is input with a predetermined key. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the predetermined key is a channel down button.

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