JP2002101405A - Broadcast reception system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a broadcast reception system by which a user can acquire a program guide at an optional time and can easily recognize which programs are broadcast even away from home. SOLUTION: A server 10 is provided with an electronic program guide(EPG) database 12 that stores electronic program guides of each broadcast station and a service area database 13 that stores the service area of each broadcast station. A reception terminal 20 transmits position information and information denoting a receptible broadcast category to the server 10. The server 10 checks broadcast stations receptible by the reception terminal 20 based on sets of the information above, extracts the electronic program guides of the broadcast stations from the EPG database 12, generates a program list and transmits the list to the reception terminal 20. The reception terminal 20 displays the received program list on a display device and controls a broadcast receiver 42 to receive a program selected by the user.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a broadcast receiving system in which a program guide can be obtained at any time and a desired program can be reliably viewed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When receiving a television program or a radio program, it is possible to know which broadcast station, at what time, and which program is broadcast by looking at a program table of newspapers and magazines. However, when the user is away from home or traveling by car, it is difficult to know whether or not a favorite program is being broadcast, and the user often misses the program.

[0003] In recent years, an electronic program guide called EPG has been transmitted in television broadcasting. With this EPG,
Since the program table of the television broadcast is displayed on the screen, it is possible to know which program is broadcasted at which broadcast station, at what time, without any newspaper or magazine.

[0004]

However, since the EPG is not always broadcast, it is not always available immediately when desired. In addition, since the EPG obtained from the television broadcast does not include only the television program,
You can't know what programs will be broadcast on the radio.

When traveling by vehicle, the driver often drives while listening to the radio. For example, if you want to listen to a radio program that you listen to every week at home, but you can't receive a broadcast from a broadcast station that you received at home,
I don't know if the same program is being broadcast at the destination,
I often miss it. In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a broadcast receiving system in which a program guide can be obtained at an arbitrary time and a user can know what program is broadcast even at a destination. .

Another object of the present invention is to provide a broadcast receiving system capable of reliably viewing a desired program.

[0007]

A broadcast receiving system according to the present invention is a broadcast receiving system comprising a server connected via a communication line and a receiving terminal, wherein the server is an electronic broadcast for each broadcast type. An electronic program guide database storing a program guide, a service area database storing service area data for each broadcasting station, and receiving position information and receivable broadcast type information of the receiving terminal; First communication and control means for creating a program list according to the location information and the receivable broadcast type information with reference to the service area database and transmitting the program list to the receiving terminal, the receiving terminal comprising:
A second communication / control unit for transmitting the position information and the receivable broadcast type information and receiving the program list, and a program list storage for storing the program list received by the second communication / control unit Means, and display means for displaying the program list stored in the program list storage means on a display device.

In the present invention, a program guide database and a service area database are provided on the server side, and the receiving terminal transmits position information and receivable broadcast type information to the server. The server searches the service area database for a receivable broadcast station based on the information, and extracts a program table of the broadcast station from the electronic program guide database. Thereafter, the first communication / control means:
Based on the extracted program table for each broadcast station, a program list corresponding to the receiving terminal is created and transmitted to the receiving terminal. The receiving terminal
The program list sent from the server is displayed on the display device.

As described above, in the present invention, since the server manages the program table for each broadcast type and each broadcast station in a unified manner, the user can connect to the server at any time and receive at the receiving terminal. You can get the program list of various broadcasting stations. Thereby, the desired program can be reliably viewed.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a broadcast receiving system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The broadcast receiving system according to the present embodiment
, Receiving terminal 20, these servers 10 and receiving terminal 2
0 and other communication lines. The server 10 includes a plurality of receiving terminals 20
It is possible to connect at the same time.

[0011] From the receiving terminal 20 to the server 10, position information indicating the current position of the receiving terminal 20, broadcast type information indicating a receivable broadcast type, and an ID unique to each receiving terminal 20.
A code is sent. The server 10 creates a list of broadcast programs that can be received by the receiving terminal 20 based on the information, and transmits the list to the receiving terminal 20. Hereinafter, the configuration of the server 10 will be described.

The server 10 includes an EPG collection / storage unit 11 and E
PG database 12, service area database 1
3, a broadcast station search unit 14, an EPG search unit 15, and a communication / control unit (first communication / control unit) 16. EP
The G collection and storage unit 11 is connected to a broadcast receiving device 31 that receives, for example, VHF / UHF television broadcasts, BS / CS satellite broadcasts, and AM / FM radio broadcasts. And EPG
The collection and accumulation unit 11 extracts an EPG from the broadcast received by the broadcast receiving device 31 and records the EPG for each broadcast type in the EPG database 12.

The EPG collection / storage unit 11 stores the EPG for television broadcasts, the EPG for satellite broadcasts, and the EPG for radio broadcasts.
Are provided via a network, and EPGs of TV broadcasts, satellite broadcasts, and radio broadcasts are collected from these program information providing services 32 and recorded in the EPG database 12. You may do so.

In this manner, the EPG database 12
Stores an EPG for each broadcast type and for each broadcast station. The EPG that has already been broadcast is the EPG
Discarded from database 12. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a data configuration of the EPG. As shown in FIG.
The EPG includes a broadcast type (for example, VHF, UHF, B
S, CS, AM, FM, etc.), broadcast station name, broadcast start time for each program, data indicating broadcast end time and program name, and additional program information such as genre, album name, artist name and performer name Have been. The part of the broadcast type and the broadcast station name may be character string data, and may be a code for each broadcast type and a code for each broadcast station.

The service area database 13 records the information of the service area for each broadcasting station nationwide. When receiving the position information and the receivable broadcast type information from the receiving terminal 20, the communication / control unit 16 sends the information to the broadcast station search unit 14. Broadcast station search unit 14
Searches the service area database 13 for a broadcast station that can be received by the receiving terminal 20, based on the position information sent from the receiving terminal 20 and the broadcast type information that can be received. For example, when the receiving terminal 20 can receive a VHF / UHF television broadcast, a VHF television broadcasting station and a UHF television broadcasting station that can be received at the position of the receiving terminal 20 are extracted. When the receiving terminal 20 can receive AM / FM radio broadcasts, it extracts an AM radio broadcast station and an FM radio broadcast station that can be received at the position of the receiving terminal 20. When the receiving terminal 20 can receive VHF / UHF television broadcasting, BS / CS satellite broadcasting, and AM / FM radio broadcasting, those receiving stations that can be received by the receiving terminal 20 are extracted.

The EPG search unit 15 stores the EPG for each broadcast station extracted by the broadcast station search unit 14 in the EPG database 1
Read from 2. At this time, the current time is referred to, and the program currently being broadcast and within a fixed time from the current time (for example, 1
Within a time period), the information of the program to be broadcasted is extracted. The program information retrieved by the EPG retrieval unit 15 is
It is sent to the control unit 16. The communication / control unit 16 creates a program list based on the extracted program information, and
Send to 0.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the receiving terminal 20 will be described. The receiving terminal 20 is connected to a broadcast receiving device 42 for receiving a broadcast, a positioning device 41 for detecting the current position of the receiving terminal 20, and a display device 43 such as a CRT or a liquid crystal panel. The receiving terminal 20 is mounted on, for example, a vehicle,
It is connected to the server 10 via a vehicle-mounted telephone. in this case,
GPS of car navigation device as positioning device 41
(Global Positioning System) Receiver can be used. However, the receiving terminal 20 is not limited to a vehicle and may be an indoor terminal.

As the positioning device 41, a PHS (Personal Handy Phone System) can be used other than the above-mentioned GPS receiver. In this case, the receiving terminal 20
Is connected to the server 10 by PHS, the approximate position of the receiving terminal 20 is notified to the server 10. Further, instead of the positioning device 41 that actually detects the position like a GPS receiver, the user may be able to input the position (latitude / longitude, address, etc.) from an input device such as a keyboard.

The broadcast receiving device 42 includes a VHF / UHF television receiver, a satellite broadcast (BS / CS) receiver, an AM / FM
Such as a receiver. One or more of these broadcast receiving devices 42 are connected to the receiving terminal 20. When the broadcast receiver 42 includes a television receiver, a program list may be displayed on the television receiver instead of the display device 43.

As shown in FIG. 1, the receiving terminal 20 includes a position detecting section 22 and a communication / control section (second communication / control means).
23, a program list storage unit 21, and a display / selection unit 24
And a receiving device control unit 25. The position detection unit 22 receives a positioning signal from the positioning device 41 and outputs position information to the communication / control unit 23.

The receiving device control unit 25 includes a broadcast receiving device 42
Not only the receiving frequency (or channel) of the broadcast receiving device but also the type of broadcast that can be received by the broadcast receiving device 42 is determined. For example, each broadcast receiver 42 has a device type (V
A type code indicating an HF / UHF receiver, an AM / FM receiver, a BS / CS receiver, etc.) is stored, and the type code is sent to the receiving device control unit 25. The receiving device control unit 25 determines a broadcast type that can be received by the receiving device 42 based on the type code.

The communication / control unit 23 sends the position information output from the position detection unit 22 and the receivable broadcast type information output from the reception device control unit 25 to the server 10, and is sent from the server 10. The program list is stored in the program list storage unit 21. The display / selection unit 24 reads the program list from the program list storage unit 21 and displays the program list on the display device 43. Then, when the user selects a desired program by looking at the program table displayed on the display device 43, the receiving device control unit 2
5 is a broadcast receiving device 4 for receiving the selected program.
2 is controlled.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the broadcast receiving system according to the present embodiment. First, step S
At 11, the receiving terminal 20 acquires the latitude and longitude of the current position from the positioning device 41. In step S12, the receiving terminal 20 detects a broadcast type that can be received by the broadcast receiving device 42.

Thereafter, the flow shifts to step S13, where the receiving terminal 20 connects to the server 10 via a communication line and transmits a program list request message to the server 10. The program list request message includes position information indicating the current position, broadcast type information indicating a receivable broadcast type, and the receiving terminal 20.
Contains a unique ID code. When the server 10 receives the position information, the receivable broadcast type information and the ID code from the receiving terminal 20 in step S21, the process proceeds to step S22, and the service area database 13
Is used to extract broadcast stations that can be received by the receiving terminal 20. Next, the process proceeds to step S23, and the program list of the extracted broadcasting station is created with reference to the EPG database 12. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S24, and the program list is transmitted to the receiving terminal 20.

When receiving the program list in step S14, the receiving terminal 20 moves to step S15 and displays the program list on the display device. Then, in step S16, when the user selects a desired program, in step S16
The process proceeds to 17 to control the receiving frequency (or channel) of the broadcast receiving device 42 so as to receive the selected program.

When a plurality of programs are selected,
Reception is started in order from the earliest broadcast start time, and when the broadcast start times are the same, processing such as preferentially receiving the previously selected one is performed. In the present embodiment, as described above, the EPG and the service area for each broadcasting station are stored in a database in the server 10. Then, the broadcast type information indicating the receivable broadcast type and the position information indicating the current position are transmitted from the receiving terminal 20 to the server 10, and the server 10 receives the broadcast information based on the information.
Searches for receivable programs, creates a program list corresponding to the receiving terminal 20, and transmits it to the receiving terminal 20. Receiving terminal 2
At 0, the program list sent from the server 10 is displayed on the display device. In this way, the user can always connect to the server 10 and obtain a list of programs that can be received at the current location. As a result, it is possible to know what program is to be broadcasted at which broadcast station and at what time, even at the destination, and to avoid missing a desired program.

Also, in the present embodiment, the server 10
Since the PG is centrally managed, each broadcast receiver 42
Even if it does not support G, it is possible to select a program using the EPG. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, even when a plurality of broadcast receiving devices 42 are connected to the receiving terminal 20, programs with different broadcast types can be received by the same operation.

(Modification) The information of the program selected by the user is sent to the server 10, the user's preference is analyzed by the server 10, and the user's preference is reflected when the program list is next sent to the user. You may. That is, after displaying a list of programs that can be received by the receiving terminal 20 on the display device as described in the above embodiment, when the user selects a favorite program, the receiving terminal 20 displays information on the selected program. , Together with the ID code. Server 10
Then, for each user (for each ID code), the selected program is stored in association with the artist name, genre (music, news, sports, etc.), broadcast time, etc., and what program the user desires Accumulate the information of Nono. Based on this information, for example, a keyword common to the program selected by the user is created. Then, when the program list is transmitted to the receiving terminal 20 next, data indicating a recommended program (hereinafter, referred to as recommended program data) is added to a program (a program including a keyword) that matches the user's preference. I do. The receiving terminal 20 displays the program to which the recommended program data is added in a color different from other programs. This allows the user to know that his favorite program is being broadcast or will be broadcast.

Further, only the program to which the recommended program data is added may be displayed on the screen. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example in which only a program to which recommended program data is added is displayed on a screen. However, on this screen, the current time is 18:00
This is an example in which the broadcast receiving device 42 corresponds to FM radio broadcast and BS broadcast at 0 minute and the current position is near Tokyo. In this display example, the start time is not displayed for the program currently being broadcast. In particular, programs that are considered to meet the user's preferences are checked in the initial state and are in a selected state. Therefore, when the "OK" button is pressed in this state, the selected (chucked) program is automatically received.

The user can release the selection or select another program by a predetermined operation. When the broadcast time of the selected program comes, the receiving device control unit 25
The broadcast receiving device 42 is controlled to receive the selected program. Alternatively, a user's favorite genre or artist may be registered in the server 10 in advance, and the server 10 may search for only a program that matches the genre or artist. In this case, the recommended program may be automatically received without displaying the selection screen as shown in FIG. Thus, the user can surely view the desired program without complicated operations.

In the above example, the communication type is VHF
Although the / UHF receiver, BS / CS receiver, and AM / FM receiver have been illustrated, the present invention can be applied to digital broadcasting (satellite digital and terrestrial digital) whose broadcasting will start in the future. In the above embodiment, the case where both the EPG database 12 and the service area database 13 are provided in the main computer system of the server 10 has been described. It may be installed inside.

In the example shown in FIG. 4, the program list is displayed only by characters, but when the display broadcast receiving device 42 includes a television receiver, image data indicating the contents of the program is added to the EPG. In addition, an image may be displayed when the program list is displayed so that the contents can be easily grasped.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When a program guide database and a service area database are provided on the server side, and the receiving terminal transmits position information and information of a broadcast type receivable by the receiving terminal to the server,
The server creates a list of programs that can be received by the receiving terminal using the program guide database and the service area database, and transmits the list to the receiving terminal. Thus, the user can connect to the server at an arbitrary time and check a receivable program. Therefore, it is possible to know whether or not a desired program is being broadcast even at the destination.

Further, by providing reception control means for controlling the broadcast receiving means so as to receive the program selected by the user, the desired program can be surely viewed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a broadcast receiving system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a data configuration of an EPG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the broadcast receiving system according to the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example in which only a program to which recommended program data has been added is displayed on a screen;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Server, 11 ... EPG collection and accumulation | storage part, 12 ... EPG database, 13 ... Service area database, 14 ... Broadcast station search part, 15 ... EPG search part, 16 ... Communication / control part, 20 ... Receiving terminal, 21 ... Program List storage unit, 22: position detection unit, 23: communication / control unit, 24: display / selection unit, 25: receiving device control unit, 31, 42: broadcast receiving device, 32: program information providing service, 41: positioning device 43, a display device.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04H 7/00 H04H 7/00 H04N 5/44 H04N 5/44 D Z 5/445 5/445 Z 7 / 08 7/20 630 7/081 7/08 Z 7/20 630 F-term (reference) 5C025 BA14 BA27 BA28 CA09 CA10 CB05 CB06 CB08 DA04 DA07 DA08 5C063 AB03 AC02 AC05 CA29 CA34 CA36 DA13 EB04 EB30 EB33 EB40 EB49 5C01 A06 506 BB01 BB07 BB10 BB17 DD02 DD12 FF11 GG10 JJ07

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A broadcast receiving system comprising a server connected via a communication line and a receiving terminal, the server comprising: an electronic program guide database storing an electronic program guide for each broadcast type; A service area database storing service area data for each station, receiving the position information of the receiving terminal and receivable broadcast type information, and referring to the electronic program guide database and the service area database to obtain the position information and First communication / control means for creating a program list according to the receivable broadcast type information and transmitting the program list to the receiving terminal, wherein the receiving terminal transmits the location information and the receivable broadcast type information to the receiving terminal. Second communication / control means for transmitting and receiving the program list, and storing the program list received by the second communication / control means Broadcast receiving system characterized by comprising: a program list storage means, and display means for displaying the program list stored in the program list storage unit in the display device that. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the receiving terminal is connected to a broadcast receiving unit, determines a broadcast type receivable by the broadcast receiving unit, generates the receivable broadcast type information, and generates the receivable broadcast type information. 2. The broadcast receiving system according to claim 1, further comprising a receiving control unit that outputs to the control unit and controls the broadcast receiving unit so as to receive a designated program. 3. The receiving terminal transmits the location information to a GPS.
The broadcast receiving system according to claim 1, wherein the broadcast receiving system acquires the information from a receiver. 4. The electronic program guide stored in the electronic program guide database is obtained from another electronic program guide providing service connected via a network. The broadcast receiving system as described. 5. The receiving terminal transmits, to the server, data of a program selected by a user among the programs displayed on the display device, and the first communication / control means transmits the program data when creating the program list. The broadcast receiving system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the data is used.