JP2001102907A - Broadcast radio wave receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To avoid the continuation of no reception by maintaining the reception of a broadcast easily at low cost even when an electric field becomes weak. SOLUTION: This broadcast radio wave receiver has a pair of tuner pack 1 and PLL 3 connected to one antenna 5 and a microcomputer control circuit 6, which decides that the reception of the broadcast from a broadcasting station currently in reception is disabled when the control voltage (electric field intensity) Va from the tuner pack 1 varies below a prescribed voltage Vs continuously for a certain time Ts or more retrieves the frequency of a receivable broadcasting station and temporarily stores it in a memory while making it correspond to a preset CH, and selects a broadcast to be received.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a broadcast radio receiver, and more particularly, to a broadcast radio receiver in which no broadcast is received even when radio waves are weakened due to movement on a vehicle and the broadcast cannot be received. That avoids the maintenance of

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a broadcast radio receiver for selecting an arbitrary broadcast station and receiving a broadcast by radio waves of a specific frequency. For example, a broadcast radio receiver mounted on a traveling vehicle is known. Since the moving state changes the reception state of the radio wave, by using a plurality of tuner packs and PLLs, or by using a PLL capable of high-speed lockup, the frequency different from the frequency currently being received is obtained. Search for a broadcast station that is broadcasting the same broadcast, and when the radio wave of the frequency being received becomes weak, receive the broadcast of the broadcast station of the searched frequency before the unreceivable state is maintained. Some devices have a network follow function, such as receiving broadcasts without interruption.

As this type of broadcast radio receiver, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, one that connects two sets of tuner packs 1 and 2 and PLLs 3 and 4 to one antenna 5 and a microcomputer control circuit 6 is used. This first conventional example is shown in FIG.
As shown in the flowchart, when the broadcast of the broadcast station A is received using the tuner pack 1 and the PLL 3 (step P101), a signal corresponding to the electric field intensity output from the tuner pack 1, that is, the control voltage The output Va is input to and read from the microcomputer control circuit 6 (step P102).
And using PLL4 to search for the presence or absence of a receivable broadcast station (steps P103 and P104).
It is confirmed whether or not the searched (selected) broadcast of the broadcast station B is the same as the broadcast of the currently received broadcast station A by comparing the audio data (step P105), and if not, the process returns to the step P103. However, when it is determined that the broadcasting stations A and B are the same broadcasting station performing the same broadcasting (step P106), the control voltage value Vb of the broadcasting station B output from the tuner pack 2 is changed. Read by the microcomputer control circuit 6 (step P107),
Compared with the control voltage Va of the broadcasting station A, Vb ≦ Va
If there is no problem in receiving the broadcast of the broadcast station A, the broadcast of the broadcast station A is continued to be received as it is, and the process returns to step P101 to repeatedly perform the operation of searching for the next frequency and comparing the control voltage. In the case where it is better to receive the broadcast from the broadcast station B with Va ≦ Vb (when the reception intensity of the radio wave from the broadcast station A is weakened and the reception is not possible or when the reception is not possible), The broadcast of the broadcast station B is received by changing the reception frequency (steps P108 and P10).
9).

Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, there is a type in which a set of a high-speed lock-up PLL 7 and a tuner pack 1 is connected to an antenna 5 and a microcomputer control circuit 6.
In the second conventional example, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 8, when a broadcast of broadcast station A is received using tuner pack 1 and PLL 7 (step P101),
After reading the control voltage output Va from the tuner pack 1 into the microcomputer control circuit 6 (step P10
2) When a predetermined period of time elapses (step P
102-2), and search for a broadcast station of another receivable frequency (step P103-2). At this time, since the tuner pack 1 and the PLL 7 used for receiving the broadcast are used, the broadcast is interrupted momentarily. However, since the PLL 7 used can perform a high-speed lock-up, the time during which the broadcast is interrupted is reduced. Can be as short as possible. Thereafter, similar to the first conventional example,
If there is another broadcast station B of a receivable frequency (step P
104), when the broadcasts of broadcast station A and broadcast station B are the same (steps P105 and P106), tuner pack 1
Is compared with the control voltage Va of the broadcast station B from the broadcast station A, and if Va ≦ Vb, the control is changed to the reception of the broadcast of the broadcast station B (step P10).
7 to P109).

[0005]

However, a plurality of sets of tuner packs 1, 2 and PL as in the first conventional example are provided.
The use of L3 and L4 has the merit of being able to receive broadcasts of a plurality of frequencies at the same time, so that the search operation of another frequency can be performed without affecting the broadcast being received at the same time. In addition, there is a problem that the layout on the substrate becomes difficult.

Further, if the same operation can be performed by using one tuner pack 1 and one PLL 7 as in the second conventional example, there is an advantage that the circuit area on the substrate can be reduced, but there is also an advantage. Since the tuner pack 1 and the PLL 7 are used to search for another frequency during reception of the frequency, it is necessary to use a PLL 7 capable of high-speed lock-up in order to make this operation transparent to the user. There is also a problem that the cost is increased, and the sound quality is somewhat reduced as compared with the case where two PLLs are used.

In the case where it is common to receive the same broadcast by changing the frequency, it is effective to configure as in the first and second conventional examples, but the same broadcast is changed by changing the frequency. Is not common, for example, in Japan, there are not so many broadcasting stations originally, and very few broadcasting stations perform the same broadcasting. It becomes a less valuable function.

In consideration of such a situation, it is not always necessary to adopt a configuration in which the same frequency is selected and received when the electric field strength of a radio wave received during movement or the like becomes weak. It was conceived that selecting a broadcasting station to receive radio waves with sufficient electric field strength even in broadcasting would be effective as a measure to cope with weak radio waves while moving. .

Accordingly, the present invention provides a method for automatically retrieving a receivable frequency by automatically sweeping all frequencies when an electric field becomes weak while moving, for example, and determining a renewed broadcast frequency. By performing the so-called auto-preset operation, regardless of whether the broadcast is the same or not, the broadcast reception can be maintained easily and at low cost. An object of the present invention is to provide a broadcast radio receiver capable of avoiding a state and capable of receiving a comfortable broadcast.

[0010]

Means for Solving the Problems A first method for solving the above problems is described below.
According to the invention, when a radio wave from a broadcasting station becomes unreceivable (before or after the radio wave becomes unreceivable), a search means for searching for a radio wave of a receivable frequency, and a frequency of the radio wave searched by the search means are determined. Storage means for storing temporarily or presettable, switching means for switching the broadcast station to receive the radio wave of the frequency stored by the storage means, characterized by comprising,

In a second aspect of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, the searching means monitors an electric field intensity of a radio wave being received by taking an output from the tuner pack into a microcomputer, When the voltage falls below the set voltage for more than a preset time, it is determined that reception is not possible, and all frequencies of the band being received are automatically searched to search for receivable broadcast stations. It is assumed that.

According to the present invention, for example, the fluctuation of the electric field intensity of the broadcast (radio wave) being received is monitored by the output of the tuner pack, and when the voltage falls below the set voltage for a set time or more when moving, etc. Is determined to be unreceivable, a receivable frequency is automatically searched from all frequencies of the band being received, and if there is a receivable frequency, the frequency is temporarily or presetably stored and stored. The broadcast station is switched by receiving the radio wave of the frequency. Therefore, regardless of whether or not the broadcast is the same, it is possible to maintain the reception of the broadcast with a simple and low-cost configuration, and to avoid a situation where the broadcast is not received. it can. The frequency stored in the storage means may be a frequency used only at the time of the control, or may be preset as a frequency to be stored and held.

A third aspect of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is characterized in that, in addition to the configuration of the first or second aspect, the storage means switches the plurality of receivable frequencies searched by the search means by the switching means. It is characterized by being stored as possible.

According to the present invention, when a plurality of receivable frequencies are searched, the plurality of frequencies are switchably stored. Therefore, it is possible to switch the broadcast to be received by switching the frequency manually or automatically.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention for solving the above-mentioned problems, in addition to the configuration of the third aspect of the invention, the switching means sequentially switches frequencies stored in the storage means at predetermined time intervals, It is characterized in that the broadcast to be received is switched.

According to the present invention, the frequencies stored in a switchable manner are sequentially switched at set time intervals to switch the broadcast to be received. Therefore, automatically received broadcasts are switched at regular intervals. In this case, even when there is no input operation, it is preferable to stop the switching at an arbitrary timing, for example, after one round.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems, in addition to the configuration of any one of the first to fourth aspects, the switching means further comprises means for transmitting a radio wave which cannot be received, which is a cause for starting the search by the search means. A frequency is compared with a frequency stored in the storage means, and a matching frequency is prioritized.

According to the present invention, the searched frequency is compared with the frequency received before the search is started, and the broadcast of the matching frequency is preferentially received. Therefore, when it is determined that reception is not possible due to a temporary change in environment, reception of the original broadcast can be continued.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 are views showing an embodiment of a broadcast radio receiver according to the present invention. In the present embodiment, the same components as those of the above-described related art will be described with the same reference numerals.

Referring to FIG. 1, the broadcast radio receiver has a tuner pack 1 and a PLL 3 connected to a single antenna 5 and a microcomputer control circuit 6, and is similar to the first and second prior arts described above. It is composed of the same components as a general broadcast wave receiving circuit without the need for components for adding any special functions, and only by adding a simple algorithm of software used by the microcomputer control circuit 6. When the reception becomes impossible due to movement or the like at the time of reception of the broadcasting station, the broadcasting station of all frequencies is automatically searched, and is associated with the preset CH and stored in the memory in the primary memory. In addition to the storage, the frequency is automatically switched to a receivable frequency to receive a broadcast from a broadcasting station. During the auto-preset operation after the reception becomes impossible, the audio mute is suspended and the audio output is temporarily stopped.However, the time until the start of the auto-preset operation is determined by the user's mental state and the surrounding environment. By considering the worst value of the influence of the noise sufficiently and setting it to an appropriate value, it is thought that the discomfort of no sound can be solved.

The microcomputer control circuit 6 includes a tuner pack 1
When a signal corresponding to the electrolytic intensity of the frequency being received, that is, the control voltage Va, which is output from the controller, is taken in and the voltage Va fluctuates below a predetermined voltage Vs and continues for a predetermined time Ts or more, It judges that the broadcast from the broadcasting station that is currently being received becomes unreceivable, performs an auto-preset operation, associates the frequency of the searched receivable broadcasting station with the preset CH, temporarily stores the frequency in the memory, and broadcasts the broadcast to be received. At this time, the frequency determined to be unreceivable is compared with the temporarily stored frequency, and the matching frequency is preferentially selected to prevent malfunction due to a temporary change in the local environment. While recovering and continuing to receive broadcasts from the same station,
If broadcasts on the same frequency are still unreceivable,
At predetermined intervals, the receiving frequency is sequentially switched to the frequency stored in the memory in association with the preset CH, and it is checked which broadcasting station is stored in the CH that can be preset by the user. The reception of the broadcast can be continued by a preset operation.

More specifically, the microcomputer control circuit 6
As shown in the flowchart, when the broadcast station A is received using the tuner pack 1 and the PLL 3 (step P1), the control voltage output (electric field strength) Va output from the tuner pack 1 is transmitted to the microcomputer control circuit. 6 and read it (step P
2) It is checked whether or not the control voltage Va exceeds the control voltage Vs of the electric field strength that can be normally received (step P3), and if Vs <Va, the broadcast of the broadcasting station A can be normally received, the step P1 is performed. And the same processing is repeated, but when the reception is not normally possible at Va ≦ Vs (this Vs is set to be higher than the electric field strength at which the reception is disabled, and May be started), and a timer Ta for measuring the duration of the state is started (step P4).

Until the timer Ta is incremented and the time reaches the set time Ts, it is checked whether or not the control voltage Va of the electric field strength exceeds the control voltage Vs. Within the set time Ts, Vs <
When the control voltage Va returns to the level Vs exceeding the control voltage Vs and the level that can be normally received, the timer Ta is cleared, and then the step P1 is performed.
To prevent the temporary malfunction due to the surrounding environment (steps P5 to P5).
8) Even if the timer Ta to be incremented reaches the set time Ts and the time is up, if the electric field strength does not recover to the level Vs at which normal reception is possible with Va ≦ Vs, the control voltage Va of the electric field strength becomes Since the state in which the control voltage Vs is lower than the normally receivable control voltage Vs has been maintained for a certain period of time, it is assumed that the receiving broadcast station A is out of the receivable range, and all the frequencies are automatically swept and receivable. An operation of searching for a broadcast station of a frequency is started, and when there is a broadcast station of a receivable frequency, the frequencies corresponding to the number of storable CHs are associated with the preset CHs in ascending order of control voltage (electric field strength). It is temporarily stored in a memory (not shown) (step P9).

Next, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3, the frequency Fa of the broadcast station A received before starting the search for the receivable frequencies in steps P4 to P9,
The frequency fc temporarily stored in the memory in association with the CH by the search is compared with all the frequencies searched by incrementing the CH of the frequency fc, in order of the CH, and the frequencies fc of all the CHs are compared. If the frequency fc that matches the frequency Fa of the broadcasting station A is confirmed before the end of the process (steps P11 to P13), it can be determined that the decrease in the control voltage Va is temporary due to the surrounding environment. Then, the reception is resumed at the frequency Fa previously received at this point, and the reception of the broadcast of the broadcast station A is continued (step P14). Therefore, it is possible to recover the reception state of the previous broadcast while avoiding the switching of the broadcast due to the temporary malfunction. In this case, the memory CH is not overwritten by the automatically performed auto-preset operation.

On the other hand, if the frequency fc that matches the frequency Fa of the broadcasting station A cannot be confirmed, it is assumed that the previously received broadcasting station A is out of the completely receivable range. Assuming that the frequency F1 of the youngest CH among the frequencies temporarily stored in the memory is received, the broadcast station is switched (step P15).

The frequency f temporarily stored in the memory
When the user interrupts this process within a predetermined time Tc after switching to receive the broadcast of c, for example, when a preset input for selecting a frequency being received is input (steps P16 and P17). ), The broadcast station is switched so as to receive the broadcast of the selected frequency Fc (step P18). On the other hand, if the set time Tc has elapsed without any operation by the user, CH
Is received and the frequency fc of the next CH stored in the memory is received, and the broadcast station is switched (step P1).
9) If no operation is performed by the user even when the broadcast station is switched after receiving the frequencies fc of all the CHs stored in the memory (step P20), the frequency F
1 is continued (step P21). Therefore,
The broadcast reception can be continued without giving the user an unpleasant feeling by maintaining the unreceivable state, regardless of whether or not the broadcast is the same as the one previously received.

As described above, in this embodiment, a simple and low-cost configuration using only one tuner pack 1 and PLL 3 is used to automatically search for a receivable frequency when reception becomes impossible, and to provide a broadcast station. , The reception of the broadcast can be maintained, and it can be avoided that the broadcast is not received.

As another aspect of the present embodiment, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4, when the state in which the control voltage Va of the electric field strength is less than the control voltage Vs that can be normally received continues for a certain period of time, the microcomputer The control circuit 6 starts an operation of searching for a broadcast station of a receivable frequency (step P9). However, instead of automatically sweeping all frequencies, when there is a broadcast station of a receivable frequency, The search is stopped, the frequency is associated with the preset CH and temporarily stored in the memory (step P1).
0), the broadcast station of the frequency may be received and the broadcast station may be switched. In this case, it is possible to switch to a receivable broadcast simply when the reception becomes impossible.

In this embodiment, the broadcast to be received is switched by automatically switching the frequency temporarily stored in the memory in association with the preset CH. However, the broadcast may be switched by manual input by the user. It is needless to say that the channel may be switched to a receivable broadcast only when the reception becomes impossible without making the channel presettable.

[0030]

According to the present invention, when reception becomes impossible, a receivable frequency is automatically searched and a broadcast to be received is switched, so that broadcast reception is maintained with a simple and low-cost configuration. be able to. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the broadcast is not received, and it is possible to comfortably receive the broadcast regardless of whether the broadcast is the same.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a broadcast radio receiver according to the present invention, and is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a main part thereof.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the processing.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating processing subsequent to FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another aspect, and is a flowchart for explaining the processing;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a main part of the first conventional example.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the processing.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a main part of the second conventional example.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the processing.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 2 Tuner pack 3, 4 PLL 5 Antenna 6 Microcomputer control circuit 7 High-speed lockup PLL

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5J103 AA00 AA14 CB01 DA00 DA05 DA26 DA27 DA34 DA41 DA44 FA03 GA12 GB04 HC00 HC03 HC11 HD05 JA09 5K020 DD00 DD27 EE00 GG01 JJ01 JJ03 JJ09 KK07 NN01 5K061 AA03 BB12 CC00 CC16 CC06 CC16 CC16 JJ07

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A search means for searching for a radio wave of a receivable frequency when reception of a radio wave from a broadcasting station becomes impossible, and the frequency of the radio wave searched by the search means is stored temporarily or presettable. A broadcast radio receiver comprising: a storage unit; and a switching unit that switches a broadcasting station so as to receive a radio wave of a frequency stored by the storage unit. 2. The search means receives an output from a tuner pack into a microcomputer, monitors the electric field intensity of a radio wave being received, and disables reception when the voltage falls below a set voltage for a preset time or more. The broadcast wave receiver according to claim 1, wherein the broadcast radio receiver automatically determines all the frequencies of the band being received and searches for receivable broadcast stations. 3. The broadcast radio receiver according to claim 1, wherein the storage means stores the plurality of receivable frequencies searched by the search means in a manner switchable by the switching means. . 4. The broadcast wave receiving apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said switching means switches a broadcast to be received by sequentially switching frequencies stored in said storage means at predetermined time intervals. Machine. 5. The switching means compares a frequency of a radio wave that cannot be received, which is a cause of the search by the search means, and a frequency stored in the storage means, and gives priority to a matching frequency. The broadcast radio receiver according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: