JP2003347950A - Digital broadcast receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital broadcast receiver which enables a user to trace and keep listening to a broadcast program in conformity with the preference of the user when power is once interrupted and again applied to the receiver. <P>SOLUTION: The digital broadcast receiver includes: a memory 6a for storing information associated with that such as category and artist names desired by a user and set in advance; and a channel searching section 6b for comparing the setting information stored in the memory 6a with attribute information of each channel acquired from an information decode section 12 and searching a channel matched with the both, even when contents of a last reception channel are changed when powered up, the receiver can automatically select and receive a broadcast program in conformity with the preference of the user by omitting trouble of the user for confirming the contents of the broadcast programs while selecting a channel one by one. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a digital broadcast receiving apparatus, and more particularly to a digital broadcast receiving apparatus for receiving a digital broadcast in which attribute information is added to data of a broadcast content in each of a plurality of channels for broadcasting. It is suitable for use in

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, in addition to conventional analog radio broadcasting, in the United States, SDARS (Satellite Digital Audio Radi
o Service) and other satellite digital radio broadcasts
In the future, digital radio broadcasting by satellite and terrestrial broadcasting will be started in Japan. In these digital radio broadcasts, in addition to being able to reproduce high-quality stereo sound comparable to that of a music CD, it becomes possible to transmit and receive data such as simple moving pictures and characters such as frame-by-frame advance.

A conventional digital broadcast receiving apparatus for receiving the SDARS digital broadcast has a function called last channel reception. The last channel reception function stores the channel received immediately before the power of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus is turned off (in the case of an in-vehicle digital broadcast receiving apparatus, immediately before the accessory (ACC) is turned off) in the memory. Stored when power is turned on again (when accessory (ACC) is turned on)
In addition, this is a function that preferentially receives the last reception channel immediately before the power is turned off.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned last channel receiving function, when the last receiving channel is received again after the power is turned on, the broadcast content has already changed from that before the power was turned off according to the broadcast program of the station. Often it is not the content of the broadcast you like.
In that case, the user needs to search for the channel broadcasting the desired content again.

[0005] However, in the case of digital radio broadcasting, the number of channels is enormous as compared with conventional analog radio broadcasting. Therefore, there is a problem that a lot of trouble and time are required to find a broadcast program of interest from many channels, and this cannot be easily performed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and it is intended to continuously listen to a broadcast program that suits the user's preference when the power is once turned off and turned on again. The purpose is to be able to.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in a digital broadcast receiving apparatus of the present invention, information desired by a user with respect to attribute information such as a category and an artist name is set and stored in advance. When the power is turned on, a channel having attribute information that matches the stored setting information is searched from a plurality of channels and received.

In another aspect of the present invention, attribute information on a last reception channel received immediately before the power is turned off is stored, and when the power is turned on again,
A channel having attribute information that matches the stored information is retrieved from a plurality of channels and received.

According to the present invention configured as described above, even if the broadcast content of the last reception channel is changed when the power is turned on and is no longer the user's preference,
This eliminates the need for the user to confirm the contents of the broadcast program while switching channels one by one, and enables the user to automatically select and receive a broadcast program that suits the user's preference.

[0010]

(First Embodiment) A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the entire configuration of a digital broadcast receiving device according to a first embodiment.

In FIG. 1, a receiving antenna 1 receives a digital radio broadcast from a satellite or the ground. The front-end unit (F / E) 2 extracts a desired reception frequency component from a broadcast signal received via the reception antenna 1 and performs a frequency conversion process on the extracted broadcast signal to generate a signal. The output intermediate frequency signal is output to the baseband processing unit 3.

The baseband processing unit 3 includes a quadrature demodulation processing unit 3a, an FEC processing unit 3b, a deinterleave & descramble processing unit 3c, and an error detection / correction processing unit 3d. The baseband processing unit 3 first demodulates the interleaved received data by performing quadrature demodulation processing and FEC (Forward Error Correction) processing on the intermediate frequency signal input from the front end unit 2.

Next, the interleaving of the demodulated reception data is performed and the descrambling process is performed to return the reception data to the original data sequence. Finally, by performing a predetermined error detection / correction process (Reed-Solomon decoding process), highly efficient encoded data (MPEG (Moving Pic
output from the image separation coding unit 4) to the data separation unit 4.

The data separation unit 4, based on an instruction from the control unit 6, which will be described later, selects the channel selected by the user from the high-efficiency code data (MPEG data) of all the channels input from the baseband processing unit 3 or MPEG audio data, MPEG video data, and information data of the channel designated by the channel search function. Then, it outputs the separated MPEG audio data and MPEG video data to the audio / video decoding unit 5 and outputs the information data to the information decoding unit 12.

The audio / video decoding unit 5 receives the MPEG audio data input from the data separation unit 4,
The video data is decoded into an audio signal and a video signal, and the audio signal is output to the amplifier 7 and the video signal is output to the image synthesizing unit 9. The amplifier 7 amplifies the input audio signal at a predetermined amplification rate, and outputs a sound corresponding to the audio signal from the speaker 8. The image synthesizing unit 9 synthesizes a video signal input from the audio / video decoding unit 5 and an image signal input from the control unit 6, and displays the synthesized signal on the display unit 10. The information decoding unit 12 acquires attribute information from the information data input from the data separation unit 4 and outputs the attribute information to the control unit 6.

The control section 6 controls the entire digital broadcast receiving apparatus, and performs frequency tuning control by the front end section 2, instruction control of a reception channel to the data separation section 4, channel scan control, and the like. The operation unit 11
An operation for selecting a viewing channel and an operation for setting information desired by the user with respect to attribute information such as a music category (genre) and an artist name are performed.

The control unit 6 includes a memory 6a and a channel search unit 6b. The memory 6a includes the operation unit 1
Desired attribute information (category, artist name, song name, album name, etc.) set by the operation 1 is stored.
When the power of the digital broadcast receiving device is turned on, the channel search unit 6b acquires the attribute information of each channel decoded by the information decoding unit 12, and obtains the attribute information that matches the information stored in the memory 6a. Search for channels with. Then, a channel selection signal is output to the data separation unit 4 so as to select the searched channel.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a frame structure of digital broadcasting by SDARS. As shown in FIG.
In the ARS, n-channel broadcast content is time-division multiplexed into frames of a predetermined length, and these frames are sequentially transmitted, so that n-channel broadcasts can be transmitted simultaneously. The frame includes data of all channels 1 to n.

Each of the channel data includes header data and data of a broadcast content currently being broadcast (music data in the case of music). The header data includes control information and attribute information (label information). This label information includes the channel number, channel name,
It contains data such as category (genre), artist name, song name, album name, and the like.

FIG. 3 shows a channel search unit 6b in the control unit 6.
6 is a flowchart showing a flow of a channel search process performed by the CPU. It is assumed that the user operates the operation unit 11 to set and register desired attribute information in the memory 6a as a precondition for executing the processing of this flowchart. Here, a case where a desired category is set and registered will be described as an example.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the power of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus is turned on (in the case of a vehicle-mounted digital broadcast receiving apparatus, the accessory (ACC) of the vehicle is turned on) (step S1), the channel search unit is turned on. 6b acquires the attribute information (desired category) related to the user setting stored in the memory 6a (step S2), and receives a certain channel (for example, the first channel C) from the information decoding unit 12.
The attribute information of h1) is acquired (step S3).

Then, the category acquired in step S2 is compared with the category included in the attribute information acquired in step S3 (step S4), and it is determined whether or not both match (step S4). S5). If they do not match, the process returns to step S3, where the information decoding unit 1
Then, the attribute information of the next channel is obtained from No. 2 and the same comparison determination is performed as described above. As a result, when both categories match, a channel selection signal is output to the data separation unit 4 so as to select a channel to be compared at that time (step S6).

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the channel search process shown in FIG. 3 according to a specific example. In the example of FIG. 4, “ROCK” is used as the desired category.
Are registered in the memory 6a. Also, immediately before the power of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus was turned off, the user selected the channel Ch2 and watched the broadcast program of the category “ROCK”.

In this state, when the power of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus is once turned off and then turned on again after a predetermined time has elapsed, the broadcast content of the last receiving channel Ch2 has changed, and the category is "ROCK". To “COM
In this case as well, the channel search processing shown in FIG. 3 is performed, and thus the same “ROCK” as the category stored in the memory 6a is performed.
The channel Ch5 that broadcasts the broadcast content is automatically searched for and can be received.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, if the user sets and registers desired attribute information in the memory 6a, the last reception channel is set when the digital broadcast receiving apparatus is turned on. , The latest broadcast program matching the attribute desired by the user can be automatically searched and received. As a result, the user can follow and watch a broadcast program that suits his or her preference.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a digital broadcast receiving device according to the second embodiment. 5, components having the same functions as the components shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals. As shown in FIG. 5, in the second embodiment, the configuration of the control unit 16 is the first configuration.
Is different from the embodiment.

The control section 16 of the present embodiment includes a first memory 16a, a channel search section 16b, and a second memory 16c. The first memory 16a stores desired attribute information set by the user, similarly to the memory 6a shown in FIG. On the other hand, the second memory 16c stores the last reception channel number and other attribute information (eg, category, artist name, song name, album name, etc.) received immediately before the power of the digital broadcast receiving device is turned off. Remember.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are flowcharts showing the contents of the channel search processing performed by the control unit 16. Here, a case where the channel number and the category are stored in the second memory 16c as the attributes of the last reception channel when the power is turned off will be described as an example.

In FIG. 6, when an operation of turning off the power of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus (or turning off the accessory (ACC) of the vehicle in the case of the in-vehicle digital broadcast receiving apparatus) is performed (step S11), the control unit 16 is turned on. Stores the last received channel number and category received at that time in the second memory 16c (step S12), and then performs power-off processing (step S13).

In FIG. 7, when the power of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus is turned on (step S21), the channel search unit 16b sets the channel number of the last receiving channel stored in the second memory 16c to In addition to the acquisition of the category (step S22), the attribute information currently actually received for the last reception channel is acquired from the information decoding unit 12 (step S23).

Then, the category acquired in step S22 is compared with the category included in the attribute information acquired in step S23 (step S24).
It is determined whether the two match (step S25).
If they match, the last reception channel is selected as it is (step S26), and a channel selection signal therefor is output to the data separation unit 4 (step S2).
8).

On the other hand, if the categories do not match, that is, if the broadcast content of the last reception channel has changed and the category has changed, the channel search unit 16b
Acquires the attribute information related to the user setting from the first memory 16a and performs a channel search process (step S2).
7). The channel search processing performed here is the same as the processing of steps S2 to S5 shown in FIG. Then, a channel selection signal is output to the data separation unit 4 so as to select the channel searched by the channel search processing (step S28).

According to the second embodiment configured as described above, if the attribute of the last reception channel is not changed, the same channel as the last reception channel is selected as it is,
Only when the attribute is changed, the user can automatically search for and receive the latest broadcast program matching the desired attribute information set and registered in the first memory 16a.

For example, in the example of FIG. 4, it is assumed that "ROCK" is set and registered as a desired category in the first memory 16a. It is also assumed that immediately before the power of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus is turned off, the user selects the channel Ch7 and watches a broadcast program of the category “ROCK”.

In such a state, when the power of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus is once turned off and then turned on again after a lapse of a predetermined time, the first embodiment is performed even though there is no change in the category for channel Ch7. In the mode, the channel Ch5 is selected. On the other hand, according to the second embodiment, it is possible to continuously select and view the last reception channel Ch7.

In the flowchart of FIG. 7, the category of the last reception channel stored in the second memory 16c is compared with the category of the last reception channel actually received when the power is turned on. ,
It is determined whether or not to perform the channel search process according to the result. However, the category related to the user setting stored in the first memory 16a and the category actually received when the power is turned on for the last reception channel are determined. The current category may be compared.

For example, even if "ROCK" is set and registered as a desired category in the first memory 16a, a broadcast program "ROCK" is not always viewed just before the power is turned off. If another person other than the user who performed the setting registration drives, "ROCK"
There is a possibility that a broadcast program of a different category from the above is being viewed. Even in this case, if it is determined whether or not to perform the channel search process according to the comparison result with the category related to the user setting stored in the first memory 16a, the “ROCK” is always displayed after the power is turned on. It becomes possible to view broadcast programs.

In the example of FIG. 4 described above, if, for example, a broadcast program of channel Ch3 is being viewed immediately before the power of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus is turned off, according to the flowchart of FIG. Is turned on again, the last reception channel Ch3 is selected as it is.

On the other hand, if it is determined whether or not to perform the channel search process in accordance with the result of comparison with the category relating to the user setting, the channel Ch5 is turned on after the power is turned on.
Can be automatically searched for and the broadcast program "ROCK" can be viewed. Of course, if the channel Ch7 of “ROCK” was viewed just before the power of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus was turned off, the last reception channel Ch after the power was turned on.
7 can be continuously selected for viewing.

(Third Embodiment) Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a digital broadcast receiving device according to the third embodiment. 8, components having the same functions as the components shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals.
As shown in FIG. 8, in the third embodiment, the configuration of the control unit 26 is different from the first and second embodiments.

The control section 26 of the present embodiment includes a channel search section 26b and a second memory 26c. Like the second memory 16c shown in FIG. 5, the second memory 26c stores the last reception channel number and other attribute information (for example, the last reception channel) received immediately before the power of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus is turned off. Category, artist name, song name, album name, etc.).

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the contents of the channel search process performed by the control unit 26.
Note that the process of FIG. 9 is premised on that the number of the last reception channel and other attribute information are stored in the second memory 26 by the same procedure as the flowchart shown in FIG.
Assume that it is stored in c. Here, a case will be described as an example where a channel number and a category are stored in the second memory 26c as attributes of the last reception channel.

In FIG. 9, when the power of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus is turned on (step S31), the channel search unit 26b determines the channel number, the category, and the like for the last reception channel stored in the second memory 26c. (Step S32), and the information decoding unit 12
, The attribute information of a certain channel (for example, the first channel Ch1) is obtained (step S33).

Then, the category acquired in step S32 is compared with the category included in the attribute information acquired in step S33 (step S34).
It is determined whether or not both match (step S35).
If the two do not match, the process returns to step S33 to acquire the attribute information of the next channel from the information decoding unit 12,
The same comparison determination as described above is performed. As a result, if both categories match, a channel selection signal is output to the data separation unit 4 so as to select a channel to be compared at that time (step S36).

As described above, in the third embodiment, it is assumed that the category being broadcast on the last reception channel is a category that the user likes. If the broadcast content of the last reception channel changes when the power of the digital broadcast receiving device is turned on, the latest broadcast program that matches the user's preference is automatically searched for and received. Thus, the user does not need to set and register desired attribute information in the memory, and can continue watching and watching a broadcast program that suits his or her preference.

In the third embodiment, similarly to the above-described second embodiment, when the power of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus is turned on, it is first determined whether or not to perform a channel search process. May be.

In the first to third embodiments, SDARS has been described as an example of digital broadcasting, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be applied to digital television broadcasting such as digital radio broadcasting other than SDARS, CS broadcasting, BS broadcasting, and terrestrial digital broadcasting.

In addition, each of the embodiments described above is merely an example of a concrete embodiment for carrying out the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention is interpreted in a limited manner. It must not be. That is, the present invention can be embodied in various forms without departing from the spirit or main features thereof.

[0049]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, even if the broadcast content of the last reception channel changes when the power is turned on and the broadcast content is not the user's favorite broadcast content, Can automatically select and receive a broadcast program that suits the user's preference without having to check the contents of the broadcast program while switching channels one by one. As a result, regardless of whether the power is on or off, it is possible to follow and listen to a broadcast program that suits the user's preference.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration example of a digital broadcast receiving device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a frame structure of digital broadcasting by SDARS.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a channel search process performed by a channel search unit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for describing an operation of a channel search process according to the first embodiment along a specific example.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an overall configuration of a digital broadcast receiving device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of attribute information storage processing performed by a control unit according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a channel search process performed by a channel search unit according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration example of a digital broadcast receiving device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a channel search process performed by a channel search unit according to the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 receiving antenna 2 Front end 3 Baseband processing unit 4 Data separation unit 5 Audio / video decoding unit 6 control unit 6a memory 6b Channel search unit 7 Amplifier 8 Speaker 9 Image synthesis section 10 Display 11 Operation unit 12 Information decoding unit 16 control unit 16a first memory 16b Channel search unit 16c Second memory 26b Channel search unit 26c second memory

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A digital broadcast receiving apparatus for receiving a digital broadcast in which attribute information is added to data of a broadcast content in each of a plurality of channels for broadcasting, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus being set by a user with respect to the attribute information Attribute information storage means for storing desired information; and, when the power is turned on, searching for a channel having attribute information matching the information stored in the attribute information storage means from the plurality of channels. A digital broadcast receiving apparatus comprising: 2. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information stored in the attribute information storage means is a category of the broadcast content. 3. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information stored in said attribute information storage means is an artist name. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: second attribute information storage means for storing a last reception channel number and other attribute information received immediately before the power is turned off. Comparing the other attribute information stored in the attribute information storage means with the attribute information actually received when the power is turned on for the last reception channel. Selects and receives the last reception channel stored in the information storage means, and when the two do not match, selects a channel having attribute information matching the attribute information relating to the user setting stored in the attribute information storage means. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the digital broadcast receiving apparatus searches and receives from the plurality of channels. 5. A second attribute information storage means for storing a last reception channel number and other attribute information received immediately before the power is turned off, and wherein said channel search means includes: The attribute information actually received when the power is turned on for the last reception channel stored in the attribute information storage means, and the attribute information related to the user setting stored in the attribute information storage means, If the two match, the last reception channel stored in the second attribute information storage means is selected and received. If the two do not match, the user setting stored in the attribute information storage means is used. 2. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a channel having attribute information that matches the attribute information is searched and received from the plurality of channels. Apparatus. 6. A digital broadcast receiving apparatus for receiving a digital broadcast in which attribute information is added to data of a broadcast content on each of a plurality of channels and receiving the digital broadcast, the reception being performed immediately before the power is turned off. Second attribute information storage means for storing attribute information of the last reception channel, which has been stored, and an attribute which matches attribute information stored in the second attribute information storage means when the power is turned on. A digital broadcast receiving apparatus comprising: a channel search unit that searches for and receives a channel having information from the plurality of channels. 7. The information stored in the second attribute information storage means is the number of the last reception channel and other attribute information, and the channel search means is stored in the second attribute information storage means. The other attribute information is compared with the attribute information actually received when the power is turned on for the last reception channel, and if they match, the attribute information is stored in the second attribute information storage means. If the last reception channel is selected and received, and the two do not match, a channel having attribute information that matches the other attribute information stored in the second attribute information storage means is selected from among the plurality of channels. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the digital broadcast receiving apparatus searches for and receives the digital broadcast.