JP2002353780A - Channel preset device and channel preset method for receiver provided with a plurality of tuners - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce a channel preset time. SOLUTION: A control microcomputer 17 controls a plurality of tuner/IF sections 14, 15 to allow each tuner/IF section to sequentially execute channel selection simultaneously without channel duplication and discriminates a channel through which a broadcast program can be receptible so as to allow a memory 18 to sequentially store selection data of the receptible channel.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a channel preset device and a preset method for a device such as a television receiver having a tuner capable of receiving a plurality of broadcast channels.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a television receiver, a normal V
Equipped with HF tuner and UHF tuner, the total number of channels is more than 60, but some channels are prohibited from broadcasting in the same area to prevent interference, or broadcasting is possible but possible. Some channels are not available, and not all channels can be received.

Therefore, a system has been put into practical use in which actually receivable channels are extracted and only channel selection data of those channels are stored in a storage means so that receivable channels can be easily selected. Has been provided.

[0004] This system is called a channel preset, and this system uses a tuner, for example, one channel.
Control is performed so that channel selection operations for all channels are performed sequentially from the channel, and for example, an AFT (Automatic
Fine Tuning) determines whether or not a broadcast signal is present on the channel based on the output. If there is an AFT output, it is determined that a broadcast signal is present. , And if there is no AFT output, the operation directly proceeds to select the next channel.

In the above-described channel preset system, the presence / absence of a broadcast signal is sequentially and sequentially determined for all channels, and the channel data with the broadcast signal is stored. It takes a considerable amount of time to finish, and there has been a demand for shortening the preset time.

[0006] Conventionally, as a proposal for reducing the time required for presetting, for example, there is an apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-150346.

In this apparatus, channel search is performed alternately using a plurality of electronic tuning tuners to determine the presence / absence of a broadcast signal and to store channel selection data when a broadcast signal is present.

In this apparatus, a plurality of tuners are alternately provided.
A tuner that performs a channel search, and a tuner that is not performing a channel search is in a halt state during that period, cannot greatly reduce the time as compared with a case where a channel search is performed by one tuner, and its effect is not sufficient. It can be said that.

[0009]

As described above, in the conventional channel preset device, various proposals have been made for the purpose of shortening the preset time, but in a situation where satisfactory results have not always been obtained. There is a demand for a more effective preset device.

According to the present invention, a plurality of tuners capable of receiving the same plurality of channels are caused to perform a channel selection operation at the same time without duplicating the channels, to determine the presence or absence of a broadcast signal, and to perform presetting. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a channel presetting device and a channel presetting method for a receiver having a plurality of tuners that realize a shortened preset time.

[0011]

According to the present invention, there is provided a channel presetting device for a receiving apparatus having a plurality of tuners, wherein a plurality of tuners and channel selection data are sequentially supplied to the tuners to perform channel selection. Station means, as a result of a channel selection operation based on the channel selection data, based on a signal output from the tuner, determination means for determining whether or not the channel is capable of receiving a broadcast signal, A channel presetting device of a receiving device comprising tuning data storage control means for storing the tuning data of the channel in a storage means when it is determined that a broadcast signal can be received by the means, The tuning means, wherein the plurality of tuners execute a tuning operation without overlapping channels with each other, and at least a part of the tuning operation is the Characterized in that it is composed of the channel selection data to be performed in a time which is common to each other between the number of tuners to supply to the plurality of tuners.

According to the present invention, a plurality of tuners are assigned different channels, respectively, and a tuning operation for presetting is performed at the same time, so that the presetting time can be greatly reduced. .

Further, in the channel presetting method of the receiving apparatus according to the present invention, a tuner capable of receiving a plurality of channels is sequentially supplied with tuning data corresponding to the plurality of channels to perform a tuning operation. It is determined whether or not the broadcast signal of the channel selected by the channel selection operation can be received based on the output, and the channel selection data of the channel determined to be capable of receiving the broadcast signal is sequentially stored in the storage means. In the channel preset method of the receiver configured to perform the channel selection operation of the plurality of tuners that do not overlap each other, and at least a part of the channel selection operation to the plurality of tuners, A channel presetting method for a receiving device, wherein the method is executed in the same time zone between tuners.

According to the present invention, a plurality of tuners are respectively assigned different channels, and a tuning operation for presetting is performed at the same time, so that the presetting time can be greatly reduced. .

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of a television receiver provided with the channel preset device of the present invention.

The television receiver 10 shown in FIG.
It has a function that can display a plurality of video signals including received signals of a plurality of channels on one display screen.
Are provided.

That is, the broadcast signal caught by the antenna 11 is supplied to the distributor 13 via the antenna terminal 12 and distributed to two paths by the distributor 13, one of which is supplied to the main tuner / IF unit 14. And the other is supplied to the sub-tuner / IF unit 15.

These tuners / IF sections 14 and 15 are provided on the same channel, for example, VHF 1 to 1
It is configured so that 2 channels and 13 to 62 channels of UHF can be received.

The tuning operation of the tuners / IF units 14 and 15 is executed under the control of a control microcomputer 17 based on a signal from a control input unit 16 operated by a viewer.

The control input unit 16 is, for example, a remote control hand unit. By operating a numeric key indicating a channel number to be selected, a control microcomputer 17 is operated.
The remote control signal is output to
The remote control signal is decoded, the tuning data of the corresponding channel is read out from the memory 18, and the tuner / IF is read.
By supplying the signals to the sections 14 and 15, the target channel is selected.

The reason that two tuners / IF units are provided, the main tuner / IF unit 14 and the sub-tuner / IF unit 15, is that received images of a plurality of channels can be displayed on multiple screens by a single display means. This is for displaying, so that the tuners / IF units 14 and 15 can simultaneously perform a tuning operation.

The main tuner / IF unit 14 converts the broadcast signal of the selected channel into an intermediate frequency signal based on the channel selection data supplied from the control microcomputer 17, further detects the video signal, and sends it to the switching unit 19. Derive.

The sub-tuner / IF unit 15 also converts the broadcast signal of the selected channel into an intermediate frequency signal based on the channel selection data supplied from the control microcomputer 17, further detects the video signal, and detects the video signal. Is derived.

The switching section 19 selectively switches video signals supplied from the tuners / IF sections 14 and 15 to the video signal processing section 20 or the video signal processing section 21 under the control of the control microcomputer 17. Output. That is, the video signal processed and output by the video signal processing unit 20 is used to display a single image on the entire screen of a display unit such as a CRT, which will be described later, or to display it on half of the screen. The video signal processed and output by the unit 21 is used for multi-screen display.

Therefore, the main tuner / IF unit 14
Is displayed as a single video, the output is switched to be output to the video signal processing unit 20. In that case, the output video signal of the sub-tuner / IF unit 15 is derived to the video signal processing unit 21.

When the video signal of the main tuner / IF unit 14 is displayed on a multi-screen, the video signal is guided to the signal processing unit 21 and the video signal of the sub tuner / IF unit 15 is converted to the video signal processing unit 21. It is switched so that it is led to.

The video signal processed by the video signal processing section 20 is supplied directly to the switching section 22 and also to the horizontal / vertical compression section 23.

The horizontal / vertical compression section 21 converts a video signal so that it can be displayed on a half screen, and the converted video signal is supplied to a switching section 22 via a synthesis section 24.

The switching unit 22 switches between a normal display screen and a special display screen, and is controlled by the control microcomputer 17. In the normal display screen, the switching unit 22 selects the output of the video signal processing unit 20. To the display processing unit 23,
The display processing unit 25 performs processing such as superimposing a character signal from a character generating unit, which will be described later, on the video signal from the switching unit 22 as necessary, and supplies the processed signal to a display unit 26 made of a CRT.

A video signal is supplied from the video signal processing section 20 to a synchronization separation section 27, where the synchronization signal is separated and supplied to a deflecting section 28, which deflects the electron beam of the CRT of the display section 26. Done.

As described above, the video signal output from the video signal processing unit 20 is displayed on the display unit 26.

The video signal output from the video signal processing unit 21 is supplied to the multi-screen processing unit 29 and is also output to the synchronization separation unit 30.

The multi-screen processing unit 29 processes the video signal supplied from the video signal processing unit 21 for multi-screen display. The multi-screen processing unit 29 is supplied with a synchronization signal from the synchronization separation unit 30, and further includes a video signal processing unit. In order to synchronize with the 20 video signals, a synchronization signal from the synchronization separation unit 27 is also supplied. In the multi-screen processing unit 29, the control microcomputer 17
Is converted into a video signal for two-screen display or a video signal for multi-screen display on the basis of the control signal from. For this reason, the multi-screen processing unit 29 has a built-in memory.

The video signal output from the multi-screen processing unit 29 is synthesized by the synthesizing unit 24 with the output video signal of the video signal processing unit 20 converted by the horizontal / vertical compression unit 23, and each video signal processing unit 20 , 21 as a multi-image of the output of the video signal processing unit 21, or the output of the video signal processing unit 20 is a half screen, and the other half of the video signal is the output of the video signal processing unit 21. The video signal is converted into a video signal to be displayed, supplied to the display unit 26 via the display processing unit 25, and displayed.

The character generator 31 is provided to control the microcomputer 1
Under the control of 7, character information for screen display is generated and output to the display processing unit 25.

The channel preset in the present invention is:
It is executed under the control of the control microcomputer 17.

That is, the control microcomputer 17 divides all the channels corresponding to the tuners / IF units 14 and 15 into two bands and allocates them to the tuners 14 and 15 in advance. For example, channels 1 to 31 are allocated to the tuner / IF unit 14 and the channel 32 is allocated to the tuner / IF unit 15.
To 62 are assigned, and the channel preset operation is set to be executed simultaneously by the tuners / IF units 14 and 15.

The tuner / IF units 14 and 15 output a discrimination signal based on the AFT signal when a broadcast signal is received on a selected channel, and this is output to the control microcomputer 17 directly or via a waveform shaping circuit. You. The control microcomputer 17 determines whether or not a broadcast signal has been received on the selected channel based on the input determination signal, and stores channel selection data of the channel determined to have received the broadcast signal in the memory 18.
To memorize.

In the television receiver 10 configured as described above, if the viewer outputs a channel preset instruction from the control input unit 16, the control microcomputer 1
Numeral 7 gives tuning data for selecting channel 1 to the main tuner / IF section 14 and simultaneously gives tuning data for selecting channel 32 to the sub tuner / IF section 15.

The main tuner / IF section 14 selects a channel 1. When a broadcast signal is present in the channel 1, the control microcomputer 17 determines the broadcast signal based on the input determination signal, and selects the channel 1. The data is stored in the memory 18 as a broadcast receivable channel.

Next, the control microcomputer 17 gives channel selection data to the main tuner / IF section 14 so as to select the next channel 2, and causes the channel 2 to be selected. The control microcomputer 17 determines the presence / absence of a broadcast signal based on the determination signal. If the broadcast signal cannot be received, the control microcomputer 17 transmits the tuning data to the main tuner / IF so that the next channel 3 is selected. To the unit 14.

As described above, the main tuner / IF unit 14
Performs channel selection operation up to channel 31 sequentially based on channel selection data from the control microcomputer 17, and channel selection data of channels receivable for broadcast are sequentially stored in the memory 18.

The sub-tuner / IF unit 15 also starts tuning based on tuning data from the control microcomputer 17 at the same time that tuning for presetting of the main tuner / IF unit 14 is started.

That is, first, the channel 32 is selected, and based on the discrimination signal, the presence or absence of the reception of the broadcast signal is determined. If it is determined that the broadcast signal cannot be received, the control microcomputer 17 next proceeds to the channel 33. Is given to the sub-tuner / IF unit 15, and the selected channel 33
If the broadcast signal cannot be received at the channel, the process proceeds to the next channel. If the broadcast signal is received at the channel, the tuning data of the channel is stored in the memory, and the process proceeds to the tuning of the next channel. Up to 62,
The tuning operation is sequentially performed while the tuning data of the channel on which the broadcast signal has been received is stored in the memory 18 to terminate the preset operation.

The above-described preset operation will be described again with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, it is assumed that each of the tuners / IF units 14 and 15 has receivable channels from channel 1 to channel M, and the main tuner / IF unit 14 selects a channel from the first channel to the Nth channel. In charge of sub tuner / IF
10 is a flowchart in the case where a unit is in charge of an m-th (= N + 1) -th channel to an M-th channel.

When the processing is started in step S21, the processing steps for the main tuner / IF unit 14 are initialized in step S22n, and n is set to zero. Similarly, in step S22m, the processing steps for the sub-tuner / IF section are initialized, and m corresponds to the last channel assigned to the main tuner / IF section 14 (the last channel assigned to the main tuner / IF section). Channel).

In the next step S23n, n = n + 1 is executed, and similarly, in step S23m, m = m + 1 is executed.

At the next step S24n, channel selection of the n-th channel is executed, and similarly, at step S24m, channel selection of the m-th channel is executed.

At the next step S25n, it is determined whether or not a broadcast signal exists on the n-th channel. If a broadcast signal exists, channel selection data of the n-th channel is stored in the memory at step S26n. Similarly, it is determined in step S25m whether a broadcast signal is present on the m-th channel. If a broadcast signal is present, channel selection data of the m-th channel is stored in the memory in step S26m.

After the processing in step S26n is executed, the process moves to step S27n. Step S25n
If it is determined that there is no broadcast signal at step S
27n, it is determined whether or not n has become N in step S27n, that is, whether or not the channel selection processing of the last channel assigned by the main tuner / IF unit 14 has been completed. Returning to step s23n,
Through steps S24n, S25n, and S26n, processing of channel selection of the next channel, determination of broadcast presence / absence, and storage of channel selection data in the case of broadcast presence are performed. When n becomes N, it is determined that the preset process of the assigned channel has been completed, and the process ends in step S28n.

Similarly, after the processing in step S26m is executed, and when it is determined in step S25m that there is no broadcast signal, the flow shifts to step S27m. It is determined whether the sub-tuner / IF unit 15 has completed the channel selection processing of the last channel in charge. If m is not M, the process returns to step s23m, and steps S24m and S24m
After 25m and S26m, each process of channel selection of the next channel, determination of broadcast presence / absence, and storage of channel selection data in the case of broadcast presence is executed. When m becomes m, it is determined that the preset processing of the assigned channel has been completed and step S28
It ends with m.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the main tuner / IF unit 14 and the sub tuner / IF unit 15
In this case, the preset processing is executed simultaneously by assigning different channels to each other, so that the processing time can be reduced.

Even if the same number of channels are assigned to the tuners / IF units 14 and 15 and the preset processing is started at the same time, the end times are not necessarily the same. IF
The processing time of the channels processed by the units 14 and 15 in the same common time zone is reduced. In other words, the preset processing is all completed within the preset processing time of the tuner / IF unit, which takes longer time.

FIG. 3 shows an example in which each of the preset channels is displayed on the display unit on the screen during the preset processing in the embodiment shown in FIG.

That is, the screen of the display unit 26 has the left half 2
6a shows the preset status of the main tuner / IF unit 14 in half screen display, and the right half 26b shows the sub tuner / IF unit 14.
The preset status of the IF unit 15 is displayed on 12 multi-screens.

The main tuner / IF unit 14 is controlled by the control microcomputer 17 so as to sequentially select channels from channel 1 to channel 31. The main tuner / IF unit 14 stores channel selection data of a channel for which a broadcast signal can be received in the memory 18, and
The received video signal is supplied to the video signal processing unit 20 via the switching unit 19.

The sub-tuner / IF unit 15 is controlled by the control microcomputer so as to sequentially select the channels 32 to 62, stores the channel selection data of the channel from which the broadcast signal was received in the memory 18, and stores the received video. The signal is output to the video signal processing unit 21 via the switching unit 19.

The output of the video signal processing unit 20 is supplied to a synthesizing unit 24 via a horizontal / vertical compression unit 23, and the output of the video signal processing unit 21 is supplied to a synthesizing unit 24 via a multi-screen processing unit 29. Output to the display processing unit 25 via the unit 22.

In the display processing unit 25, under the control of the control microcomputer 17, the number indicating the channel number generated by the character generation unit 31 is superimposed on the video of the channel from which each broadcast signal could be received.

That is, the screen 26a of the display unit 26 is the channel 28, and the images of the channels 34 to 60 are displayed on the screen 26b.

As described above, by displaying the image of the preset channel and the channel number on the screen,
The execution status of the preset can be confirmed, and a reliable preset operation can be executed.

In FIG. 3, the main tuner /
Screen 2 of the display unit 26 displays the preset status by the IF unit 14.
6a, the preset status of the sub-tuner / IF unit 15 is monitored on the screen 26b, but the preset status of the main tuner / IF unit 14 is monitored on the multi-screen 26b. The preset status of the unit 15 may be monitored on the half screen 26 a by switching the output of the main tuner / IF unit 14 to the video processing unit 21 by the switching unit 19 and outputting the output of the video signal processing unit. Is output to the video processing unit 20.

Further, by further adding a multi-screen processing unit, all the preset states of the tuners / IF units 14 and 15 may be monitored on a multi-screen.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a part of another embodiment of the present invention, and the same parts as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the main tuner / IF unit 41 is a tuner for receiving terrestrial broadcasts, and the sub tuner / IF unit 42 is a tuner for receiving satellite broadcasts such as BS and CS. , Dedicated Yagi antenna 43
And a broadcast signal from the parabolic antenna 44 via the antenna terminals 45 and 46. In this case, of course, the receiving channels of the tuners / IF units 41 and 42 are completely different, so that a measure for preventing the preset channels from overlapping is not required.

Each of the tuners / IF units 41 and 42 is controlled via a control microcomputer 17 by a remote control signal from a control input unit 16 such as a remote control hand unit to execute channel selection.
When a broadcast signal is received, the control microcomputer 17 outputs a determination signal indicating that the broadcast signal has been received. For example, the main tuner / IF section 41 determines whether or not a broadcast signal has been received based on the AFT, and the sub-tuner 42 determines whether or not a broadcast signal has been received based on the AFT and receives the broadcast signal. It is determined whether or not the signal is scrambled. If the scramble cannot be released even if the broadcast signal can be received, it is determined that the signal cannot be received.

The video outputs of the tuners / IF sections 41 and 42 are selectively supplied to the video signal processing sections 20 and 21 via the switching section 19, and thereafter, for example, by the same circuit block as the block shown in FIG. Processed and displayed on the display.

Also in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, under the control of the control microcomputer 17, the channel preset operation is simultaneously executed by the tuners / IF units 41 and 42, and the channel selection data of the channel on which the broadcast can be received is obtained. Can be configured to be stored in the memory 18. According to this, it is possible to shorten the time by the time for performing the preset processing in common.

As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of tuners are assigned different channels to execute the preset processing at the same time, so that the preset time can be shortened.

[0071]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By allocating different channels to a plurality of tuners and executing the preset processing at the same time, the time for channel presetting can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a channel preset device of a receiving device including a plurality of tuners according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a main part of another embodiment of a channel presetting device of a receiving device including a plurality of tuners according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11, 43, 44 Antenna 14, 41 Main tuner / IF unit 15, 42 Sub tuner / IF unit 16 Control input unit 17 Control microcomputer 18 Memory 19, 22 Switching unit 20, 21 Video signal processing Unit 23 horizontal / vertical compression unit 24 synthesis unit 25 display processing unit 26 display unit 28 deflection unit 29 multi-screen processing unit 31 character generation unit

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of tuners, channel selection means for sequentially supplying channel tuning data to the tuners to perform channel selection, and a signal output from the tuner as a result of a channel selection operation based on the channel selection data. Determining means for determining whether the channel is capable of receiving a broadcast signal, and determining whether the broadcast signal can be received by the determination means. In a channel preset device of a receiving device, comprising: tuning data storage control means for storing the tuning data in a storage means, wherein the tuning means performs a tuning operation without the plurality of tuners overlapping a channel with each other. Executing the tuning data and the tuning data so that at least a part of the tuning operation is performed in a time common to the plurality of tuners. Channel preset apparatus for receiving apparatus provided with a plurality of tuners, characterized in that it is configured to supply the Yuna. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of tuners is configured to receive a plurality of mutually overlapping channels. 3. The channel preset device according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of tuners is configured to receive a plurality of non-overlapping channels. 4. The receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tuning unit is configured to allocate a different channel frequency range to each of the plurality of tuners. Channel preset device. 5. A first tuner having a VHF channel receiving function and a UHF channel receiving function, respectively.
And a second tuner, wherein the tuning means supplies tuning data for tuning the VHF channel to the first tuner, and supplies the UH to the second tuner.
3. The channel presetting device for a receiving device having a plurality of tuners according to claim 2, wherein the channel presetting device supplies tuning data for selecting an F channel. 6. The channel preset device according to claim 1, wherein the tuners are a tuner for receiving a satellite broadcast and a tuner for receiving a terrestrial wave. 7. The plurality of tuners according to claim 6, wherein the determination means determines that the received broadcast signal is a channel that cannot be received when the received broadcast signal is scrambled. Preset device for receiving equipment. 8. A display device for displaying a signal received by the tuner, wherein a broadcast signal of a channel determined to be receivable by the determination device is sequentially displayed by the display device. A channel preset device for a receiving device comprising a plurality of tuners according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: 9. A tuner capable of receiving a plurality of channels is sequentially supplied with tuning data corresponding to the plurality of channels to perform a tuning operation, and selects a channel by the tuning operation based on an output of the tuner. Channel preset of a receiver configured to determine whether or not a broadcast signal of the selected channel can be received, and sequentially store channel selection data of the channel determined to be capable of receiving the broadcast signal in the storage unit. In the method, the plurality of tuners are each caused to perform a tuning operation of a non-overlapping channel, and at least a part of the tuning operation is performed in the same time zone among the plurality of tuners. A channel presetting method for a receiving device.