JP2003018108A - Program-receiving method, program-receiving equipment and information-processing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a program-receiving method where a broadcast program can be received continuously, when moving from a reception enable region of radio waves, radiating from a radio station or a relay station to a reception enabled region of radio waves radiated from another relay station, when the broadcast program is received by using a portable program receiver. SOLUTION: In the program receiving method of a program receiver for receiving a program, a program-receiving method is adopted. The method is provided with a position information obtaining step for obtaining position information as information, showing the position of the program receiver, a program identifier accepting step for accepting program identifier which identifies programs, a channel-determining step which determines the channel number to be selected, on the basis of stored program information of each region, position information obtained by the position information obtaining step and program identifier accepted by the program identifier accepting step, and a program receiving step for receiving the program of a channel, which is identified by a channel number decided by the channel-determining step.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to transmission and reception of programs.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art It is well known that in recent years, information and communication-related technologies have been remarkably advanced, and portable information terminals have been steadily reduced in size and weight and improved in performance. In addition, digitization of satellite broadcast and terrestrial broadcast transmission signals is being realized. Due to these technological innovations, it is expected that television broadcasts can be viewed using mobile information terminals such as mobile phones.

[0003]

By the way, since the transmission / reception performance of terrestrial broadcasting depends on topographical conditions such as topography, it is necessary to spread the broadcasting signal to every corner of the broadcasting target area. It is common to provide relay stations for relaying radio waves in various places. However, if you use the same channel from all of the relay stations installed in various places, radio waves of the same channel may arrive from different broadcasting stations or relay stations in some areas, so multiple radio waves may interfere and the screen may be disturbed. Phenomenon occurs. Therefore, in order to prevent radio wave interference, different channels are assigned to each relay station or broadcasting station according to the location, and radio waves are transmitted.

Although the occurrence of interference can be prevented as described above, such a broadcasting system is contrary to the mobile property which is the basic property of the mobile information terminal. That is, when a user is watching a terrestrial broadcast program on a mobile information terminal while moving, the radio wave radiated from one broadcasting station or relay station is radiated from another relay station. When the radio wave is changed to a receivable area, the transmission / reception channel is changed and the reception of the broadcast is interrupted. In order to continuously watch the program, it is necessary to switch the receiving channels one by one, which complicates the work for the user.

[0005] In the region where I visit for the first time, I do not know the receiving channel of TV broadcasting or radio broadcasting, or
It is a thing that many people experience that they miss the program they are looking for because the timetable of the broadcast program varies from region to region.

[0006]

In order to solve the above problems, a program receiving method according to the present invention identifies a program by a position information acquiring step of acquiring position information which is information indicating a position of a program receiving device. A program identifier receiving step for receiving a program identifier to be stored, program information for each stored area, and position information acquired in the position information acquiring step;
A channel determining step of determining a channel number to be selected on the basis of the program identifier received in the program identifier receiving step, and a program receiving step of receiving a program of a channel identified by the channel number determined in the channel determining step. It shall be provided. Here, the "position information" means information for displaying the current position of the program receiving device, and examples thereof include latitude / longitude, prefectures, municipalities, and the like. The "program identifier" is an identifier for designating a broadcast program to be viewed.
The program name, the G code, etc., the program genre of the program, the program attributes such as performers, and the combination thereof can all serve as the program identifier. If such a program receiving method is adopted, the receiving channel can be automatically tuned according to the current position of the user carrying the program receiving device without the user's hand. Then, even if the user does not know in advance the reception channel number and the broadcast date and time of the program desired to be viewed, the user can receive and watch the program. In addition, the broadcast program can be continuously received even when the receiving channel of the broadcast program changes between regions.

Programs that can be received by the program receiving method according to the present invention are not limited to general television broadcasting and radio broadcasting programs. It goes without saying that it is possible to receive broadcast programs such as teletext, data broadcast and the like. That is, the "program" targeted by the present invention is data, and a part or all of the data is transmitted / received through a certain channel.

A program receiving apparatus according to the present invention receives a position information acquisition section for acquiring position information, a position information transmission section for transmitting the position information, and program information corresponding to the transmitted position information. It comprises a program information receiving section and a program information section for receiving a program based on the program information received by the program information receiving section. Here, the "program information" includes at least a reception channel number for receiving a broadcast program that the user desires to view.

Further, if the program receiving device has a program storage unit for storing the program received by the program receiving unit, the received program can be stored. Alternatively, by buffering the data, it is possible to realize the prevention of the disturbance of the video and audio when viewing the broadcast program, or to use the reception of the storage-type broadcast service.

On the other hand, an information processing apparatus that provides program information to a program receiving apparatus includes a location information receiving unit that receives location information transmitted by the program receiving apparatus, an area identifier for identifying an area, and one or more pieces of program information. A program information storage unit that stores the program guide information that it has, and a regional position that stores regional position information that pairs a regional identifier and one or more positional information that identifies the region identified by the regional identifier. Corresponding storage section,
A region identifier determining unit that determines a region identifier based on the position information received by the position information receiving unit and the region position information stored in the region position correspondence storage unit; and a region identifier determined by the region identifier determining unit. A program information acquisition unit that acquires paired program guide information from the program information storage unit; and a program information transmission unit that transmits the program guide information acquired by the program information acquisition unit to the program receiving device. To do. The program information acquired by the program receiving device is appropriately transmitted to the information processing device as necessary,
The information may be received by the position information receiving unit, or the information processing device may positively work on the program receiving device to request the transmission of the position information.

In order to allow the user to reserve the viewing of the program, the information processing device that provides the program information to the program receiving device receives the position information transmitted by the program receiving device. Section, a program reservation information storage section that stores reservation information having a program identifier, and a program information storage section that stores paired program guide information having an area identifier for identifying an area and one or more pieces of program information. A regional location correspondence storage unit that stores regional location information that is a pair of a regional identifier and one or more positional information that identifies the region identified by the regional identifier; and the positional information received by the positional information receiving unit. An area identifier determination unit that determines an area identifier based on the area position information stored in the area position information correspondence storage unit, and a program facial expression paired with the area identifier determined by the area identifier determination unit And a program information acquisition unit that acquires program information about a program identified by a program identifier stored in the program reservation information storage unit from the program information storage unit and the program information acquisition unit. A program information transmitting unit for transmitting program information to the program receiving device may be provided.

Further, the program information storage section also stores information on the relationship between regions identified by the region identifier,
The program information acquisition unit also acquires program guide information or program information paired with an area identifier that identifies an area having a certain relationship with the area identified by the area identifier determined by the area identifier determination unit, The program information transmitting unit configures the information processing device to transmit the program guide information or the program information acquired by the program information acquiring unit to the program receiving device,
Even when a user carrying the program receiving device moves between regions, the information processing device can receive appropriate program information and can view a broadcast program.

Further, the position information receiving unit further comprises a moving direction judging unit for receiving a plurality of position information and judging a moving direction of the program receiving device based on the plurality of position information, and the predetermined relation. If the area in is the area in the moving direction judged by the moving direction judging unit, the moving direction of the user carrying the program receiving device is judged and the program information about the area predicted to enter the future is displayed. The program receiving system can be transmitted to the program receiving device in advance, which makes the program receiving system more convenient for the user.

In some cases, it may not be possible to predict in which area the user is located at the start of broadcasting the broadcast program that the user desires to view. In addition, the relay program of a baseball game or the like may have its end time changed during program broadcasting, and the program immediately after this time may be delayed in time and broadcast. The reservation information or the program information is
The program information transmitting unit of the above-described information processing apparatus also includes start time information that is information on the start time of the program, and determines the time to transmit the program information based on the start time of the program information to be transmitted. These situations can be dealt with as long as it is provided with the transmission time determining means and the information transmitting means for transmitting the program information at the time determined by the transmission time determining means.

As one of the modes of transmitting the program information by the information processing apparatus, there is a mode in which the program information transmitting unit transmits the program information within a predetermined time when the position information receiving unit receives the position information. To be

According to the above description, it was the role of the information processing device to determine the area identifier from the position information. However, the current area identifier storage section stores the area identifier for identifying the current area. And a regional position correspondence storage unit that stores regional position information in which a regional identifier and one or more positional information that identifies the region identified by the regional identifier are stored, and the positional information acquired by the positional information acquisition unit. And an area identifier determination unit that determines an area identifier based on the area position information stored in the area position correspondence storage unit, an area identifier determined by the area identifier determination unit and the current area identifier storage unit. The location information transmitting unit further includes a location identifier comparing unit that compares the location information and the location identifier based on the comparison result of the location identifier comparing unit. Constitute a program reception device to transmits the location information or local identifier, on the side of the program reception apparatus may determine an area in which the user is currently present.

A program reservation information storage section which stores reservation information having a program identifier, and a program information storage section which stores paired program guide information having an area identifier for identifying an area and one or more pieces of program information. , A program information acquisition unit that acquires, from the program information storage unit, program information of all regions for the program identified by the program identifier stored in the program reservation information storage unit, and the program information acquisition unit. If the information processing apparatus is configured to include a program information transmission unit that transmits all program information, the user can watch the program regardless of which region the program is in when the program starts to be broadcast. It will be possible.

Of course, the program information acquisition unit according to the above-mentioned information processing apparatus is identified by the program identifier stored in the program reservation information storage unit that is included in the program guide information paired with all the area identifiers. The user can view the program regardless of the area in which the program is started at the start of broadcasting the program even by being configured to acquire the program information about the program to be broadcast from the program information storage unit. Will be possible.

[0019]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a system for implementing the program receiving method according to the present invention. This system is established by the existence of three members: a program receiving device 1, an information processing device 2, and a broadcasting station 3 which is a provider of broadcast programs. The broadcasting station 3 referred to here includes the concepts of both a base station and a relay station.

As shown in FIG. 2, the program receiving apparatus 1 has C
PU 1a, main memory 1b (RAM, ROM), wireless communication device 1c, program receiving tuner 1d, display 1
e, a voice output device 1f, an external input device 1g, an auxiliary storage device 1h, etc., and a main storage device 1b.
Alternatively, a program to be executed by the CPU 1a is stored in the auxiliary storage device 1h. In addition, the wireless communication device 1c
It has a function of transmitting / receiving a transmission signal and a reception signal in a predetermined frequency band and a modulation / demodulation function in order to exchange information. Then, in cooperation with each other, as shown in FIG. 3, the position information acquisition unit 11, the position information transmission unit 12, the program information reception unit 13, the program reception unit 14, the program accumulation unit 15, the program information storage unit 16, and the program. It serves as the identifier receiving unit 17.

The position information acquisition unit 11 works to acquire the position information LI. The position information LI is the program receiving device 1
This is information for indicating the current position of, such as latitude / longitude, prefectures, municipalities, and the like. As a method of specifying the current position of the program receiving apparatus 1, a method of measuring the distance from the program receiving apparatus 1 to two fixed points and applying the trigonometry like an existing mobile phone system, a global positioning system ( Applications of GPS) technology and others are possible. Since the present invention relates to a method of receiving a broadcast program, this position information LI does not necessarily have to be highly accurate.

The position information transmitter 12 is connected to the wireless communication device 1c.
Using the function of, the position information LI acquired by the position information acquisition unit 11 is transmitted to the information processing device 2, and the program identifier received by the program identifier reception unit 17 described below is transmitted to the information processing device 2. It also has the function to

The program information receiving unit 13 is a radio communication device 1c.
The program information or the program guide information transmitted from the information terminal device 2 is received by using the function of. The program information is a program reception tuner 1d that indicates a broadcast program that the user desires to view.
Information for receiving at least the reception channel number. Further, the program guide information is composed of two or more pieces of program information.

The program receiving unit 14 receives a broadcast program by using the function of the program receiving tuner 1d based on the program information or the program guide information, and makes it available to the user for viewing through the display 1e and the audio output device 1f. To work.

The program storage section 15 functions to store received programs. The program storage unit 15 controls the main storage device 1b (RAM) or an auxiliary storage device 1h such as a memory card when storing received programs.

The program information storage section 16 stores the program information or program guide information sent from the information processing device 2. The program information storage unit 16 may use the main storage device 1b or the auxiliary storage device 1h.

The program identifier receiving section 17 is provided with the external input device 1
It plays a role of receiving an input of a program identifier for designating a broadcast program desired to be viewed by the user via g.
When the user inputs the program identifier before the program information is provided in order to reserve the program desired to be viewed,
It may be performed to select a program to be viewed based on the program guide information already provided.

The information processing device 2 is intended to provide appropriate program information to the program receiving device according to the current position of the program receiving device 1. As shown in FIG.
It has a PU 2a, a main memory 2b, a modem 2c, an interface 2d, an auxiliary memory 2e, and the like, and has at least a normal information processing terminal function. A program to be executed by the CPU 2a is stored in the main memory 2b or the auxiliary memory 2e. It has been stored. And these cooperate, and FIG.
As shown in, the position information receiving unit 21, the program information storage unit 22, the region position correspondence storage unit 23, the region identifier determination unit 24, the program information acquisition unit 25, the program information transmission unit 26, and the program reservation information storage unit 27 of the present invention. , Plays the role of the movement direction determination unit 28.

The position information receiving unit 21 has a receiving function capable of receiving the position information LI transmitted from the program receiving device 1 using the modem 2c and the interface 2. The position information LI is wirelessly transmitted, but a relay station is interposed between the program receiving device 1 and the information processing device 2, and the position information LI received by the relay station is processed through a communication line. The system may be configured to be sent to the device 2.

The program information storage unit 22 stores program information regarding programs broadcast on each channel in each region.

The regional position correspondence storage unit 23 stores the position information LI regarding the current position of the program receiving device 1 and the program receiving device 1.
In order to correspond with the area identifier AD for identifying the existing area, area location information is stored which is paired with one or more location information LI for identifying the area identified by the area identifier AD. The region referred to here is a fixed region in which the same program can be received on the same reception channel without any trouble, and is identified by the region identifier AD. It should be noted that it does not prevent that the position information LI and the area identifier AD are the same. The program information storage unit 22 and the regional position correspondence storage unit 23 are usually composed of an auxiliary storage device 2e such as a hard disk drive.

Based on the regional position information stored in the regional position correspondence storage unit 23, the regional identifier determining unit 24 determines the presence of the program receiving device 1 from the positional information LI sent from the program receiving device 1. Area identifier AD that displays the area
To decide. The program information acquisition unit 25 includes the program information storage unit 2
From 3, the appropriate program information to be transmitted to the program receiving apparatus 1 is selectively acquired. When acquiring the program information, the program information corresponding to the area identifier AD determined by the area identifier determining unit 24 is selected, and the program identifier transmitted from the program receiving apparatus 1 or the program reservation information storage unit 2 described below is selected.
The program information may be acquired based on the program reservation information stored in 7.

The program information transmitting section 26 includes a program information acquiring section 2
The program information or the program guide information acquired by 5 is transmitted to the program receiving device 1. The program information is also delivered to the program receiving apparatus 1 by wireless transmission, but a relay station is interposed between the program receiving apparatus 1 and the information processing apparatus 2 to communicate from the information processing apparatus 2 to the relay station. The system may be configured such that program information is sent via a line and wirelessly transmitted from the relay station to the program receiving device.

The program reservation information storage unit 27 stores reservation information. The reservation information includes a program identifier for a program that the user has reserved for viewing. The reservation information is usually input by the user to the program receiving device 1 using the external input device 1g and transmitted from the program receiving device 1 to the information processing device 2. However, in the case where the program receiving apparatus 1 also has a network connection function, it may be transmitted to the information processing apparatus 2 via a communication line, and further, the reservation information is the reservation information.
It may come from other sources.

The moving direction judging section 28 is composed of the position information receiving section 2
1 for determining the moving direction of the program receiving apparatus 1 based on the plurality of position information LI received in time series. When the position information LI is relatively detailed such as latitude and longitude, the moving direction can be determined by the difference between the position information LI at two points. Since the present invention relates to the program receiving method, the moving direction may be macroscopically determined by using the position information LI of three or more points, for example. Incidentally, the moving direction determination unit 28 does not necessarily have to be included in the information processing device 2.

The program information storage unit 22 also stores information about the relationship between the areas identified by the area identifier AD, and the program information acquisition unit 25 stores the area identifier determination unit 24.
The area identifier AD that identifies the area identified by the area identifier AD determined in 1. and the area identifier AD that identifies the area existing in the moving direction of the program receiving apparatus 1 determined by the moving direction determination unit 28. The program guide information or the program information may also be acquired. Of course, the area identifier determination unit 2
There may be a plurality of areas having a certain relationship with the area identified by the area identifier AD determined in 4. As an example of the arrangement of the information processing device 2, when providing program information to the program receiving device 1, a plurality of information processing devices 2 are networked so that existing mobile phone systems have relay stations arranged in various places. It is conceivable that they are arranged in the same manner. Note that the information processing apparatus 2 and the broadcast program provider side appropriately exchange program information and store the latest program guide information in the program information storage unit 22, thereby extending the broadcast program. It is desirable to be able to respond to changes and so on.

Next, examples of the present invention will be specifically described. As shown in FIG. 6, it is assumed that there are four areas A, B, C, and X. The ellipse A that defines the area A is
This is a range in which the broadcast program transmitted from the base station group 3A can be received without any trouble. The ellipse B that defines the area B is the relay station 3
This is a range in which the broadcast program transmitted from B can be received without any trouble. The relay station 3B is for relaying the radio waves transmitted from the base station group 3A. The ellipse C that defines the region C is a range in which the broadcast program transmitted from the television tower 3C can be received without any trouble, but the broadcast program is provided to the region C in a base different from the base station group 3A. It is a group of stations. The ellipse X that defines the region X is a range that can receive not only the broadcast program transmitted from the base station group 3A but also the broadcast program transmitted from the base station 3X. The base station 3X is a broadcasting station whose policy is to provide programs closely related to the area X, and cannot watch programs produced by this broadcasting station in areas other than the area X. Then, the user of the program receiving apparatus 1 is supposed to watch a broadcast program while moving between these four regions.

7 to 9 show timetables of television broadcast programs broadcast in each region. FIG. 7 is a time table of programs broadcast in area X, FIG. 8 is area B, and FIG. 9 is area C. Channel ChA
1 and channel ChB1, and channel ChA2 and channel ChB2 broadcast programs of the same content with the same timetable except that the receiving channel numbers are different. The channel ChX can be received only within the area X, and the channel ChX cannot be received at a point within the area A but outside the area X. Also, channel ChC1 and channel C
hC2 is channel ChA1 and channel C, respectively.
In some cases, the same program as that broadcast by hA2 is being broadcast, and in other cases, a different program is being broadcast.

Under the above-mentioned situation, a part of the program guide information stored in the program information storage unit 22 of the information processing apparatus 2 is illustrated in FIG. This program table information focuses on programs that are broadcast at 8 pm, and corresponds to the display of programs at 8 pm on the timetables of FIGS. 7 to 9. Needless to say. Individual program information, which is a component of the program guide information, includes a program unique identifier UD, a program content identifier PD, a region identifier AD, and a channel number C.
N, program start time ST, program end time ET, title T
It consists of data records such as I, genre GR, and G code GC. The program unique identifier UD is attached to each program information so as to be unique and unique. The program content identifier PD is for identifying the content of the program, and even if the reception channel number CN and the broadcast date and time are different due to the difference in the region, the same identifier is attached when the program content is the same. It For example, program 4a, program 4
The e and the program 4h are broadcast on different channels in different regions, but their contents are exactly the same and are assigned the same program content identifier P1. The area identifier AD indicates an area where the program can be received. The channel number CN, the program start time ST and the program end time ET have literal meanings. Title T
I and genre GR are program attributes related to the content of the program, and are used when the user searches for a broadcast program. The G code GC is an encryption of the reception channel number, broadcast date, program start time, and program broadcast time length. Then, one or a combination of two or more of the items of the data record included in the program information is used as the program identifier. That is, the program content identifier PD may be used as a program identifier, and in order to specify a plurality of programs, for example, a region identifier AD and a genre GR
May be used as the program identifier.
Which item is used as the program identifier depends on how the user makes an intention to display the program desired to be viewed. The items in the data record are merely examples. Therefore, for example, a match card of a baseball game, a cast of a drama, and other program attributes may be further included in the program information.

The information notification method according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in the program receiving apparatus 1, step S1 of accepting a program identifier input to specify a broadcast program that the user desires to view is executed. The program identifier input by the user in step S1 may be the program content identifier PD for designating a specific broadcast program, and for designating a plurality of broadcast programs, for example, the broadcast start time ST of the program is designated. The genre GR of the program may be designated. By specifying the area identifier AD, the information processing apparatus 2 may be requested to provide program guide information regarding all programs that can be viewed in the area. Further, when the program identifier is not particularly specified. May request the program guide information of all programs that can be viewed in the area where the user is currently located. This step S1 is carried out for the purpose of reserving the reception of the broadcast program, or the program guide information is displayed so that the user can select the broadcast program to be watched, just as in the TV section of the newspaper.
It is implemented for the purpose of acquiring. The program identifier received by the program receiving apparatus 1 is transmitted to the information processing apparatus 2 (step S2), and the program identifier received by the information processing apparatus 2 (step S3) is the program reservation information storage unit 2.
7 (step S4).

Next, step S5 of acquiring the position information LI regarding the current position of the program receiving apparatus 1 is executed. Then, the acquired position information LI is also transmitted to the information processing device (step S6). In the present step S6, the program receiving device 1 may appropriately transmit the position information LI and the information processing device 2 may receive the position information LI, if necessary, from the information processing device 2 side.
May be positively requested to request the transmission of the position information LI. The position information acquisition step S5 and the position information transmission step S6 may be performed independently of other operations executed in the program receiving device 1 and the information processing device 2, and in this case, they are repeated at regular time intervals. It may be implemented.

In the information processing device 2, the area identifier AD is determined based on the acquired position information LI (step S7) and the area position information held by the information processing device 2 (step S8). This means that the area where the program receiving apparatus 1 is currently present is specified.

An example of the manner of determining the area identifier AD in the area identifier determining step S8 will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, it is assumed that the position information LI indicating the current position of the program receiving device 1 is latitude / longitude. At this time, regional position information is stored in the above-mentioned regional position storage unit 23 as shown in FIG. The area position information is, for example, the area identifier AD and one or more pieces of position information LI.
It is a pair of and. In FIG. 12, area A is defined as the inside of a polygon formed by fixed points A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, and in FIG. 13, area identifier AD for identifying area A and fixed points A1, A2, A
The location information LI of 3, A4, A5, and A6 is paired to form regional location information. It goes without saying that the region position information is similarly configured for the region B or other regions. When the information processing device 2 receives the position information LI transmitted from the program receiving device 1, by referring to the region position information, it is possible to identify in which region the program receiving device 1 exists. You can Of course, the method of defining the area is not limited to the method described above.
For example, a method of defining that a circle with a certain radius centered on a fixed point indicated by one piece of position information LI is regarded as an area may be considered.

Then, the program information or the program guide information is acquired based on the area identifier AD for identifying the specified area and the program identifier stored in the reservation information storage unit 27 (step S9), and the program receiving device. 1 (step S10). As a timing for transmitting the program information, a mode in which the information processing device 2 executes the transmission within a predetermined time after receiving the position information LI is considered to be preferable. This is because it is important to transmit the program information corresponding to the current area of the program receiving device 1. In addition, in a situation where a user reserves a received program, it may not be possible to predict in which area the user is present at the broadcast start time of the reserved program. Even in such a case, if the position information LI of the program receiving device 1 immediately before the broadcast start time can be received or acquired, the optimum program information can be transmitted to the program receiving device 1 according to the reservation. it can.

An area identifier AD for identifying an area having a certain relationship with the area currently specified in the area specifying step S8, in particular, an area existing in the moving direction of the program receiving apparatus 1 judged by the moving direction judging section 28. The program guide information or the program information to be paired may also be acquired in the program information acquisition step S9. "Some relations" between regions
For example, the adjacent relationship can be mentioned. In this embodiment, the adjacency relationship between regions can be represented by a graph as shown in FIG. 14 (i). Corresponding to this graph, the relationship between regions in the format as shown in FIG. 14 (ii), for example. Is stored in the program information storage unit 22 in advance. In response to the fact that it is possible to move from region A to region B or region X, in FIG. 14 (ii), the pointer is sequentially traced from the entry of region A (region identifier AD for identifying). Area B (area identifier AD for identifying)
And area X (area identifier AD for identifying) can be picked up as an area having a certain relationship. Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 12, an example of an embodiment of the above-described step S8 and step S9 will be described. In the current area specifying step S8, the area currently existing is specified as the area A from the position information LI of the program receiving apparatus 1 ′, and the information on the relationship between the areas stored in the program information storage unit 22 is referred to. Area B and area X related to area A are picked up. At the same time, the moving direction determination unit 28 determines the moving direction of the program receiving device 1'from the position information LI of the program receiving device 1'and the position information LI of the program receiving device 1. Further, with reference to the area position information stored in the area position correspondence storage unit 23, whether each of the area B and the area X exists ahead of the moving direction of the program receiving apparatus 1 ′. To determine. In this way, areas having a certain relationship with area A can be narrowed down to area B. Then, in the program information acquisition step S9, in addition to the program guide information or program information paired with the region identifier AD for identifying the region A, the program guide information or program information paired with the region identifier AD for identifying the region B is acquired. It will be acquired.

The program information or program guide information received by the program receiving apparatus 1 (step S11) is stored in the program information storage unit 16 (step S12), and the program is received when the program is received (step S13). Used to control the device 1. As a mode of viewing the broadcast program, reception is started at the broadcast start time of the program based on the provided program information, the user selects and views an arbitrary program from the provided program guide information, Etc. are possible. The embodiment of the present invention is as described above. Hereinafter, examples of implementation of the present invention will be described. (I) The user of the program receiver 1 is in the area X as of 8:00 pm
It is supposed to exist inside. It is assumed that the user wants to watch a baseball game. At this time, the program identifier transmitted from the program receiving device 1 to the information processing device 2 in accordance with the wishes of the user is “genre GR = baseball”. Position information L transmitted from the program receiving device 1
The current region is specified as X based on I, the programs 4a and 4d are selected, and the program information regarding the programs 4a and 4d is transmitted to the program receiving device 1. The user can select and watch the program 4a or the program 4d based on the received program information. (II) The user of the program receiver 1 is in the area A as of 8:00 pm
Suppose you are moving inside. It is assumed that the user wants to watch the drama program identified by the program content identifier P3. The position information LI and the program identifier are transmitted from the program receiving device 1 to the information processing device 2. Location information L
The current area is specified as A based on I, the program 4c is selected, and the program information regarding the program 4c is transmitted to the program receiving apparatus 1. The user can view the program 4c based on the received program information. However, it is assumed that the user is moving and is likely to leave the area A and enter the area B in the near future. In order to deal with such a situation, the program identified by the program content identifier P3 in the area B, which is an area adjacent to the area A (that is, the program 4g).
If the program information of is also transmitted to the program receiving device 1, the user can continuously watch the program. (III) It is assumed that the user of the program receiver 1 wants to reserve the reception of the baseball game identified by the program content identifier P1 that is broadcast from 7:00 pm. However, it is assumed that it is impossible to predict in which area A, B, or C the user is present at 7 pm. When reserving the reception of the program, reservation information including the program content identifier P1 which is a program identifier is transmitted to the information processing device 2 and stored in the program reservation information storage unit 27. At this time, based on the information of the program start time ST included in the program information of the program identified by the program content identifier P1, the time at which the program information transmission unit 26 of the information processing device 2 transmits the program information is determined. If the program information is transmitted to the program receiving apparatus 1 at the determined time, the area where the program receiving apparatus 1 exists immediately before the broadcast start time ST (that is, 7:00 pm) of the program identified by the program content identifier P1 , Program 4a, program 4
e, it becomes possible to select the most appropriate program from the programs 4h and transmit the program information, so that the user can view the program regardless of which area the user is in. (IV) It is assumed that the user of the program receiver 1 wants to reserve the reception of the baseball game identified by the program content identifier P1 that is broadcast from 7:00 pm. However,
It is assumed that it is impossible to predict in which area A, B, or C the user is present at 7 pm. When reserving the reception of the program, reservation information including the program content identifier P1 which is a program identifier is transmitted to the information processing device 2 and stored in the program reservation information storage unit 27. At this time, regarding the program identified by the program content identifier P1, by acquiring the program information in all areas and transmitting it to the program receiving apparatus 1, it is possible to view the program regardless of which area the user is in. You will be able to.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, a position information acquisition step of acquiring the position information LI which is information indicating the position of the program receiving device 1, a program identifier receiving step of receiving a program identifier for identifying a program, and storing the same. The program information for each region, the position information LI acquired in the position information acquisition step, the channel determination step for determining the channel number to be selected based on the program identifier received in the program identifier reception step, and the channel By adopting a program receiving method including a program receiving step of receiving a program of a channel identified by the channel number determined in the determining step, the program receiving apparatus 1
It is possible to automatically tune the reception channel according to the current position of the user carrying the device without bothering the user. Then, even if the user does not know in advance the reception channel number and the broadcast date and time of the program desired to be viewed, the user can receive and watch the program. In addition, the broadcast program can be continuously received even when the receiving channel of the broadcast program changes between regions.

The program receiving device 1 according to the present invention includes a position information acquisition unit 11 for acquiring position information LI and the position information L.
A position information transmitting unit 12 for transmitting I, a program information receiving unit 13 for receiving program information corresponding to the transmitted position information LI, and a program based on the program information received by the program information receiving unit 13. And a program information section 14 for receiving. With such a program receiver,
The above effects can be obtained.

The program receiving device 1 includes the program receiving section 1
If a program storage unit for storing the program received in 4 is also provided, the received program can be stored. Alternatively, by buffering the data, it is possible to realize the prevention of the disturbance of the video and audio when viewing the broadcast program, or to use the reception of the storage-type broadcast service. On the other hand, the information processing device 2 that provides the program information to the program receiving device 1 includes a position information receiving unit 21 that receives the position information LI transmitted by the program receiving device 1, an area identifier AD that identifies an area, and one or more areas. The program information storage unit 22 that stores the program guide information having the program information in a pair, and the area position information that makes a pair with the area identifier AD and one or more position information LI that specifies the area identified by the area identifier AD The area identifier corresponding to the area position information storing unit 23 storing the position information LI and the position information LI received by the position information receiving unit 21 and the area position information stored in the area position correspondence storing unit 23. An area identifier determining section 24, a program information acquiring section 25 for acquiring, from the program information storing section 22, program guide information paired with the area identifier AD determined by the area identifier determining section 24, The acquired program guide information by the information acquisition unit 25 shall be equipped with a program information transmitting unit 26 to be transmitted to the program receiver 1. With such an information processing apparatus 2, it is possible to specify the area where the program receiving apparatus 1 is currently present and provide the program guide information corresponding to the area to the program receiving apparatus 1.

In order to allow the user to reserve the viewing of the program, the information processing device 2 which provides the program information to the program receiving device 1 receives the position information LI transmitted by the program receiving device 1. The position information receiving unit 21, the program reservation information storage unit 27 that stores the reservation information having the program identifier, the area identifier AD that identifies the area, and the program guide information that has one or more pieces of program information are stored as a pair. The program information storage unit 22, the area identifier AD, and the area identifier AD
The area position correspondence storage unit 23 that stores the area position information paired with one or more pieces of position information LI that specify the area identified by the position information L and the position information L received by the position information receiving unit 21.
A pair of the area identifier determination unit 24 that determines the area identifier AD based on I and the area position information stored in the area position information correspondence storage unit 23, and the area identifier AD determined by the area identifier determination unit 24. A program information acquisition unit 25 for acquiring from the program information storage unit 22 program information about a program which is included in the program guide information and is identified by a program identifier stored in the program reservation information storage unit 27; A program information transmission unit 26 that transmits the program information acquired by the information acquisition unit 25 to the program reception device 1 may be provided.

Further, the program information storage unit 22 also stores information on the relationship of the regions identified by the region identifier AD, and the program information acquisition unit 25 stores the region identifier determined by the region identifier determination unit 24. Program guide information or program information paired with a region identifier AD that identifies a region having a certain relationship with a region identified by AD is also acquired, and the program information transmission unit 26 is acquired by the program information acquisition unit 25. By configuring the information processing device so as to transmit the program guide information or the program information to the program receiving device, even when the user carrying the program receiving device moves between regions, the appropriate information is transmitted from the information processing device. Information can be provided and broadcast programs can be viewed.

The position information receiving section 21 further includes a moving direction judging section 28 for receiving a plurality of position information LI and judging the moving direction of the program receiving apparatus 1 based on the plurality of position information LI. , The area that has a certain relationship,
If the area is in the moving direction judged by the moving direction judging unit 28, the program information regarding the area predicted to enter the future is judged by judging the moving direction of the user carrying the program receiving apparatus 1 in advance. The program reception system can be transmitted to the device 1 and is more convenient for the user.

In some cases, it may not be possible to predict in which area the user is located at the start of broadcasting of the broadcast program that the user desires to view. In addition, the relay program of a baseball game or the like may have its end time changed during program broadcasting, and the program immediately after this time may be delayed in time and broadcast. The reservation information or the program information is
The program information transmitting unit 26 of the information processing device 2 also includes start time information that is information on the start time of the program.
Includes a transmission time determining means for determining a time to transmit the program information based on the start time of the program information to be transmitted, and an information transmitting means for transmitting the program information at the time determined by the transmission time determining means. If so, they can deal with these situations.

If the program information transmitting unit 26 transmits the program information within a predetermined time when the position information receiving unit 21 receives the position information LI, it corresponds to the present area of the program receiving apparatus 1. The program information that has been set can be transmitted. In addition, in a situation where a user reserves a received program, it may not be possible to predict in which area the user is present at the broadcast start time of the reserved program. Even in such a case, if the position information LI of the program receiving device 1 immediately before the broadcast start time can be obtained, the optimum program information can be transmitted to the program receiving device 1 according to the reservation. That is, the provision of the program information or the program guide information from the information processing device 2 to the program receiving device 1 is preferably triggered by the reception or acquisition of the position information LI by the information processing device 2.

The program information acquisition section 25 relating to the information processing apparatus 2
From the program information storage unit 22 for the program identified by the program identifier stored in the program reservation information storage unit 27, which is included in the program guide information paired with all area identifiers AD. If the program is configured to be acquired, the user can watch the program regardless of which region the program is in at the start of broadcasting.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described in detail above. According to what I said above,
It was the role of the information processing device 2 to determine the area identifier AD from the position information LI, but as shown in FIG. 15, the current area identifier storage unit that stores the area identifier AD for identifying the current area is stored. 181, an area identifier AD and an area location correspondence storage section 182 that stores area location information that pairs up one or more pieces of location information LI that identifies the area identified by the area identifier AD, and the location information acquisition section. An area identifier determination unit 183 that determines an area identifier AD based on the position information LI acquired in 11 and the area position information stored in the area position correspondence storage unit, and an area identifier AD determined by the area identifier determination unit An area identifier comparison unit 184 that compares the area identifier AD currently stored in the area identifier storage unit is further provided, and the location information transmission unit 12 includes the area information transmitter. Location information LI and region identifier AD or position information L on the basis of a comparison result in the child comparison unit 184
It is also possible to configure the program receiving device 1 so as to transmit the I or the area identifier AD. Area identifier A here
The comparison of D is, in principle, a match / mismatch of the area identifiers AD, but when the area identifier AD has an inclusive relationship, the comparison can be performed also from this point of view. For example,
Region X exists in Region A, and Region A (outside Region X)
When entering area X from, new channel ChX
Since it becomes possible to receive the broadcast program, it is determined that it is necessary to transmit the position information LI or the area identifier AD to the information processing device. By adopting such an embodiment, the area where the user is currently present is determined on the program receiving apparatus 1 side, and the position information LI or area identifier AD is transmitted to the information processing apparatus 2 when necessary. In other words, the program receiving system can transmit the position information LI or the area identifier AD at the time of moving from one area to another area and receive the appropriate program information. In particular, when moving near the boundary between areas, the area identifier AD regarding the area where the program receiving apparatus 1 is currently located may often change. Even in such a case, the smooth transition of the receiving channel is possible, so that the user can comfortably continue watching the program.

Besides, the specific configuration of each unit and the procedure of the processing shown in FIG. 11 are not limited to those in the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Of course, the program may be installed in a general-purpose portable information terminal equipped with a TV tuner board or the like to implement the program receiving method according to the present embodiment, or an auxiliary storage device represented by a CPU, a main storage device, and a hard disk drive. It is also possible to implement the information processing apparatus 2 having the above-mentioned functions by installing a program in a general-purpose information communication terminal equipped with, a modem, an interface, etc., and it is essential to manufacture a dedicated apparatus. is not.

[0058]

The present invention is carried out in the form as described above, and has the following effects. That is,
By adopting the program receiving method according to the present invention, it is possible to automatically tune the receiving channel according to the current position of the user who carries the program receiving device without bothering the user. Become. Then, even if the user does not know in advance the reception channel number and the broadcast date and time of the program desired to be viewed, the user can receive and watch the program. In addition, the broadcast program can be continuously received even when the receiving channel of the broadcast program changes between regions.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a system for implementing a program receiving method according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram specifically showing the contents of hardware resources of a program receiving device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the program receiving device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram specifically showing the contents of hardware resources of the information processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the information processing apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a receivable area of a broadcast program.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a time table of programs broadcasted in a region X.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a time table of programs broadcasted in a region B.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a time table of programs broadcasted in a region C.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a data record structure of program guide information.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the contents of processing executed in this embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a mode of determining a region identifier.

FIG. 13 is a diagram exemplifying a data record structure of regional position information.

FIG. 14 is a diagram exemplifying information about relationships between regions.

FIG. 15 is a functional block diagram of a program receiving device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Program receiver 11 ... Position information acquisition unit 12 ... Position information transmitter 13 ... Program information receiver 14 ... Program receiver 15 ... Program storage section 16 ... Program information storage section 17 ... Program identifier reception section 2 ... Information processing device 21 ... Position information receiver 22 ... Program information storage section 23 ... Storage area corresponding to regional location 24 ... Area identifier determination unit 25 ... Program information acquisition unit 26 ... Program information transmission section 27 ... Program reservation information storage section 28 ... Movement direction determination unit UD ... Program unique identifier PD: Program content identifier AD: Area identifier CN ... Receiving channel number ST: Broadcast start time ET: Broadcast end time TI ... Program title GR ... Program genre GC ... G code LI ... location information

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04Q 7/38 H04B 7/26 109M (72) Inventor Sadaji Kageyama 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma-shi, Osaka Matsushita Electric Sangyo Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hidekazu Tanigawa 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 5C025 AA23 DA05 DA10 5C063 AA01 AC01 AC05 DA07 5K067 AA34 BB04 DD20 EE02 EE10 EE32 FF02 GG03 FF03 GG HH05 HH22 HH23

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. A program receiving method of a program receiving device for receiving a program, comprising: a position information acquiring step of acquiring position information which is information indicating a position of the program receiving device; and a program identifier for identifying the program. The channel number to be selected is determined based on the program identifier acceptance step, the stored program information for each area, the location information acquired in the location information acquisition step, and the program identifier accepted in the program identifier acceptance step. A program receiving method comprising: a channel determining step; and a program receiving step of receiving a program of a channel identified by the channel number determined in the channel determining step. 2. A position information acquiring unit for acquiring position information, a position information transmitting unit for transmitting the position information, a program information receiving unit for receiving program information corresponding to the transmitted position information, and A program receiving device comprising: a program receiving unit that receives a program based on the program information received by the program information receiving unit. 3. The program receiving apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a program storage unit that stores the program received by the program receiving unit. 4. A position information receiving section for receiving position information transmitted by the program receiving apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, a program guide information having an area identifier for identifying an area and one or more pieces of program information. And a program information storage section that stores
An area location correspondence storage unit that stores area location information that pairs an area identifier and one or more pieces of location information that identifies an area identified by the area identifier; the location information received by the location information receiving unit; The area identifier determining unit that determines the area identifier based on the area position information stored in the area position corresponding storage unit, and the program guide information that is paired with the area identifier determined by the area identifier determining unit. An information processing apparatus comprising: a program information acquisition unit that is acquired from a program information acquisition unit; and a program information transmission unit that transmits the program guide information acquired by the program information acquisition unit to the program reception device. 5. A position information receiving section for receiving the position information transmitted by the program receiving apparatus according to claim 2, and a program reservation information storing section for storing reservation information having a program identifier. , A program information storage unit which stores a program identifier information having a region identifier for identifying a region and one or more program information in a pair, and one or more position information for identifying the region identifier and the region identified by the region identifier. A regional position correspondence storage unit that stores regional position information paired with each other, and a regional identifier based on the positional information received by the positional information receiving unit and the regional position information stored in the regional position information corresponding storage unit. And a program identified by the program identifier stored in the program reservation information storage section, which has the area identifier determining section that determines the area identifier and the area identifier determined by the area identifier determining section. The information processing apparatus comprising a program information acquisition unit for acquiring program information of had from the program information storage unit, and a program information transmitting unit that transmits the acquired program information in the program information acquisition unit to the program reception apparatus. 6. The program information storage section also stores information on the relationship of areas identified by area identifiers, and the program information acquisition section is identified by the area identifiers determined by the area identifier determination section. Program guide information or program information paired with a region identifier for identifying a region having a certain relationship with the region is also acquired, and the program information transmitting unit acquires the program guide information or the program information acquired by the program information acquiring unit. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the information processing apparatus transmits the program to the program receiving apparatus. 7. The position information receiving unit further includes a moving direction determination unit that receives a plurality of position information and determines a moving direction of the program receiving device based on the plurality of position information, and the predetermined relationship. 7. The area in 1 is an area in the movement direction determined by the movement direction determination unit.
The information processing device described. 8. The reservation information or the program information also includes start time information, which is information on the start time of the program, and the program information transmitting unit determines the program information based on the start time of the program information to be transmitted. 8. A transmission time determination means for determining a transmission time, and an information transmission means for transmitting program information at the time determined by the transmission time determination means. Information processing equipment. 9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the program information transmitting unit transmits the program information within a predetermined time when the position information receiving unit receives the position information. 10. A current area identifier storage unit storing an area identifier for identifying a current area, and an area position paired with an area identifier and one or more pieces of position information for specifying an area identified by the area identifier. A regional position correspondence storage unit that stores information, and a regional identifier determination unit that determines a regional identifier based on the positional information acquired by the positional information acquisition unit and the regional position information stored in the regional position correspondence storage unit. And a region identifier comparing unit that compares the region identifier determined by the region identifier determining unit with the region identifier currently stored in the region identifier storing unit, wherein the location information transmitting unit includes the region identifier. 4. The program reception according to claim 2, wherein the position information and the area identifier, or the position information or the area identifier is transmitted based on the comparison result of the comparison unit. Apparatus. 11. A program reservation information storage unit that stores reservation information having a program identifier, and a program information storage that stores a program identifier information having a region identifier for identifying a region and one or more program information as a pair. A program information acquisition unit that acquires from the program information storage unit program information of all regions for a program identified by a program identifier stored in the program reservation information storage unit, and the program information acquisition unit. An information processing apparatus comprising: a program information transmission unit that transmits all acquired program information. 12. The program information about the program which the program information acquisition unit has in the program guide information paired with all area identifiers and which is identified by the program identifier stored in the program reservation information storage unit. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the information processing apparatus acquires the information from the program information storage unit. 13. A program receiving device for receiving a program,
A position information acquisition step of acquiring position information which is information indicating the position of the program receiving device, a program identifier reception step of receiving a program identifier for identifying a program, program information for each stored region, and the position information. A channel determining step of determining a channel number to be selected based on the position information obtained in the obtaining step and the program identifier received in the program identifier receiving step, and a channel identified by the channel number determined in the channel determining step. A program receiving program for executing a program receiving step of receiving a program. 14. An information processing device for transmitting program information, a position information receiving means for receiving position information transmitted by the program receiving device according to claim 2, or a region identifier for identifying a region. And a program information storage unit that stores program guide information having one or more pieces of program information in pairs, and area position information that makes a pair of area identifiers and one or more pieces of position information that identifies an area identified by the area identifiers. The stored area position correspondence storage means, the area identifier determination means for determining the area identifier based on the position information received by the position information reception means and the area position information stored by the area position correspondence storage means, the area A program information acquisition unit for acquiring from the program information storage unit program guide information paired with the area identifier determined by the identifier determination unit, and the program information acquisition unit. Program information transmission program for operating the acquired program guide information as program information transmitting means for transmitting to said program reception apparatus Te. 15. An information processing apparatus for transmitting program information, a program reservation information storage means for storing reservation information having a program identifier, a program guide having an area identifier for identifying an area and one or more pieces of program information. Program information storage means that stores information in pairs, and program information that acquires from the program information storage means program information of all regions for programs identified by the program identifier stored by the program reservation information storage means A program information transmission program for functioning as acquisition means and program information transmission means for transmitting all program information acquired by the program information acquisition means.