JP2004056444A - Television receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a television receiver which detects an on-state of the receiver and automatically turns off the power with a simple arrangement even when the receiver is in a broadcasting time zone. <P>SOLUTION: The television receiver for receiving a television broadcast signal and displaying a program of a desired channel includes means 6, 8 for detecting the fact that the receiver received a predetermined number of consecutive programs of an identical broadcast channel, and a means 11 for controlling turning off operation of the power. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a television receiver for receiving a television broadcast signal and displaying a program of a desired channel, and more particularly to a television receiver capable of detecting an unattended state and automatically turning off the power. It is about.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, in order to prevent useless power consumption in a so-called detached state television receiver in which the user is not viewing a display image, the detached state of the television receiver is detected and automatically detected. There have been proposed various devices capable of turning off the power.
[0003]
For example, JP-A-59-171271, JP-A-7-29966, JP-A-9-312783, and the like detect the presence or absence of a video signal and a synchronization signal included in a television broadcast signal and detect the absence of these signals. When the presence is detected, it has been proposed that the power supply be turned off by determining that it is in a state of being left in spite of the end of the television broadcast to save energy.
[0004]
Also, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-78246 discloses that when a user leaves a seat without turning off the power while watching TV, this is detected by a sensor, and when a certain time has passed after the detection, the power is automatically turned off. It is disclosed that unnecessary power consumption is prevented by controlling and switching to an operation standby mode.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the case where the power is turned off in accordance with the presence or absence of the video signal and the synchronization signal included in the above-described conventional television broadcast signal, it is possible to prevent useless power consumption after the end of the television broadcast. In other words, the power cannot be automatically turned off until the end of the television broadcast, even in the state where the television broadcast is left unattended.
[0006]
Therefore, for example, long before the end of the television broadcast, if the user goes out or sleeps by leaving the television receiver alone, there is a problem that wasteful power consumption occurs. .
[0007]
In addition, in the above-described conventional apparatus that controls power off when the absence of a viewer is detected, a sensor (infrared sensor) for sensing the viewer is required, which complicates the configuration and costs. There is a problem that this leads to an increase in
[0008]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and detects a non-attached state with a simple configuration and automatically controls the power to be turned off even during a time period during which a television broadcast is being performed. It is intended to provide a television receiver capable of performing such operations.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A first invention of the present application is a television receiver for receiving a television broadcast signal and displaying a program on a desired channel, and detecting a reception of a predetermined number of continuous programs on the same broadcast channel. Means, and power supply control means for controlling power cutoff based on a detection result by the detection means.
[0010]
That is, when it is detected that a continuous program of the same broadcast channel has been received for a predetermined number or more, it is determined that the television receiver is in the on-off state, and the power is automatically turned off. It is possible. As a result, even when a television broadcast is being performed, it is possible to determine the detached state of the television receiver with a simple configuration, and to reliably prevent unnecessary power consumption. Can be.
[0011]
The second invention of the present application is characterized in that when detecting that a predetermined number of continuous programs on the same broadcast channel has been received, an OSD means for performing an on-screen display for notifying power cutoff is provided, and the power control means is provided. After the on-screen display is performed for a predetermined time, the power supply is controlled to be shut off.
[0012]
That is, by performing an on-screen display for notifying the power-off before the power is automatically turned off, if the user is watching, it is possible to confirm the intention to continue the program watching. It becomes possible, and usability can be improved.
[0013]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of a television receiver according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, for example, regarding a digital broadcast receiver. Here, FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a main part in the television receiver of this embodiment, FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an automatic power-off control operation in the television receiver of this embodiment, and FIG. It is an explanatory view showing an example of (electronic program guide).
[0014]
In FIG. 1, 1 is a tuner, 2 is a demodulation unit that performs digital demodulation and outputs a TS (Transport Stream) as digital data, 3 is a packet separation unit (DEMUX) that separates each data packet from the TS, and 4 is an image. A video decoding unit for decoding data, 5 is an audio decoding unit for decoding audio data, 6 is an EPG processing unit that performs a process of configuring an EPG display screen from data information, and 7 is an OSD processing unit that generates an on-screen display signal. , 8 are control CPUs.
[0015]
Reference numeral 9 denotes a synthesizing unit for synthesizing a video signal, an audio signal, a display screen of an EPG, and an on-screen display signal based on the control data from the control CPU 8, reference numeral 10 denotes a display device using an LCD, CRT, or the like; It is a system power control unit of the television receiver. Each of the blocks 1 to 7, 9, and 11 is connected to the control CPU 8, and the control CPU 8 determines control data based on data from each block and receives digital data, displays an image, and turns on / off the power. And other operations are controlled.
[0016]
Next, the operation of the digital broadcast receiver will be described. A broadcast signal received by a receiving antenna (not shown) is input to the tuner 1, and the tuner 1 receives control data indicating a selected channel from the control CPU 8 and selects a channel. The received signal whose channel has been selected is sent to the demodulation unit 2, where the demodulation unit 2 performs digital demodulation. According to the control data from the control CPU 8, for example, a TS (Transport Stream) including the selected program is selected. Output as data.
[0017]
The packet separating unit 3 separates and extracts packets of the selected program from the input TS, and outputs video data and audio data of the program. The packet separation unit 3 further separates and extracts program arrangement information (Service Information) transmitted simultaneously in the TS, and outputs the program arrangement information to the EPG processing unit 6.
[0018]
The packet separation unit 3 extracts a transmission control signal (PSI: Program Specific Information), time information, and the like transmitted by the TS, and sends them to the control CPU 8 as control information. Control data for controlling packet separation is sent from the CPU 8.
[0019]
The video data output from the packet separation unit 3 is encoded by MPEG-2, and the video decoding unit 4 decodes the video data and outputs a video signal. In the video decoding unit 4, the decoding operation is performed based on the control data from the control CPU 8. At the time of decoding, data such as a sequence header and a sequence end code in the video data is identified, and the image size and the aspect ratio are determined. Data indicating the video format based on the ratio, the scanning method and the frame frequency, the start of the sequence, the detection of a sequence end code (sequence end code), and the like are sent from the video decoding unit 4 to the control CPU 8.
[0020]
The audio data output from the packet separation unit 3 is also encoded, and the audio decoding unit 5 decodes the audio data and outputs an audio signal. Then, in the audio decoding unit 5, similarly to the video decoding unit 4, the decoding operation is performed based on the control data from the control CPU 8, and at the time of decoding, data such as a header in the audio data is identified and sampling is performed. Data indicating the audio format and the like based on the frequency, the number of audio channels, and the like are sent from the audio decoding unit 5 to the control CPU 8. The video signal and the audio signal output from the video decoding unit 4 and the audio decoding unit 5 are both sent to the synthesizing unit 9.
[0021]
Next, the program arrangement information (SI data) output from the packet separation unit 3 to the EPG processing unit 6 will be described. The EPG processing section 6 processes the input SI data to form an EPG display screen and outputs a signal indicating the EPG display screen. As described above, the SI data includes information such as the channel name, the title of each program, the start / end time, the progress status, and the like, and the EPG processing unit 6 performs processing based on these data, and displays the EPG display screen. Is composed. The EPG display screen signal output from the EPG processing unit 6 is sent to the synthesizing unit 9.
[0022]
Further, the OSD processing section 7 generates various character signals and character signals based on an instruction from the control CPU 8 and outputs the generated signals to the synthesizing section 9. As described above, the video signal from the video decoding unit 4, the audio signal from the audio decoding unit 5, and the EPG display screen signal from the EPG processing unit 6 are sent to the synthesizing unit 9. These are combined based on the control data, and the display signal after the combination is displayed on the display device 10.
[0023]
Here, the synthesizing unit 9 receives various control data for performing a display operation from the control CPU 8. The control data is a signal for synthesizing a display signal, and is formed based on data such as a video format and an audio format from each block described above.
[0024]
Also, when the user operates a remote controller or the like (not shown) to select a reception channel, a program, or the like, and to display or hide an EPG screen by a viewer's operation, the content of the operation is sent to the control CPU 8, Control data for selecting a reception channel, a program, and the like, and instructing display or non-display of the EPG screen is sent from the control CPU 8 to the synthesizing unit 9.
[0025]
Therefore, usually, based on the control data from the control CPU 8, the video signal and the audio signal of the selected program are output to the display device 10 as they are as the display signals in the synthesizing unit 9, and the display device 10 uses the input display signals as the display signals. Program video and audio are provided to a viewer by a certain video signal and audio signal.
[0026]
On the other hand, when the viewer performs an operation of instructing display (or non-display) of the EPG on an operation member or the like of the remote controller, the content of the operation is sent to the control CPU 8, and the control CPU 8 displays (or non-displays) the EPG. Is output to the synthesizing unit 9. That is, the control data from the control CPU 8 is sent to the synthesizing unit 9 as control data instructing display of an EPG or as control data instructing non-display.
[0027]
Therefore, when the display screen of the EPG is not displayed on the display device 10, the synthesizing unit 9 superimposes the EPG display screen signal on the video signal based on the control data from the control CPU 8 instructing the display of the EPG. Then, the display signal combined with the EPG is output to the display device 10. As a method of synthesizing the EPG on the display screen, there is a method of superimposing a normal video screen on the EPG display screen, or a method of dividing the screen and displaying the normal video screen and the EPG display screen simultaneously. .
[0028]
Further, when the viewer turns on / off the power using a remote controller or the like, when an on-timer / off-timer reaches a set time, and when a detached state described later is detected, control is performed. The CPU 8 issues an on / off control instruction to the system power control unit 11 to control the power drive of the digital broadcast receiver.
[0029]
In the digital broadcast receiver according to the present embodiment, switching of a broadcast program is detected with reference to the EPG, and when n consecutive programs are selected for reception on the same broadcast channel, the television receiver is switched. Is determined to be in an off-state, and an on-screen display for notifying that the power is to be shut off is performed, and then the power is controlled to be turned off.
[0030]
This will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. In the flowchart of FIG. 2, when the power is turned on and the reception of the television broadcast signal is started, it is monitored whether or not the user has performed a channel change instruction operation (step 1). The switching of the broadcast program is detected by comparing the program arrangement information (SI data) output from the section 3 to the EPG processing section 6 with the current time information obtained from the internal clock (step 2).
[0031]
When the switching of the broadcast program is detected, the number N of the continuously received programs is counted up (step 3), and it is determined whether or not the number N of the continuously received programs reaches a predetermined number n (step 3). 4). Here, n is a natural number such as “3” or “4” set at the time of shipment from the factory, and may be arbitrarily set by the user. If a channel change by a user's instruction is detected in step 1, the number N of continuously received programs is reset to 1 (step 5), and the presence or absence of a channel change is monitored again.
[0032]
When it is detected in step 4 that the number N of continuously received programs has reached the predetermined number n of preset programs, the OSD processing unit 7 displays a message such as "power off" on the on-screen display. An instruction is output (step 6). Encourage users to confirm their intention to continue watching. Here, if the user inputs an instruction to continue viewing the received program using an operation member such as a remote controller (step 8), the number N of continuously received programs is reset to 1 (step 8), and the presence or absence of a channel change is monitored again. Return to operation.
[0033]
Then, when a preset time t (for example, 10 seconds) elapses from the OSD display for confirming the intention to continue viewing (step 9), the user has no intention to continue viewing, that is, in a state in which the user is left unattended. When it is determined that there is, the instruction to turn off the power is output to the system power control unit 11 (step 10), and the operation is terminated.
[0034]
Here, for example, when the EPG as shown in FIG. 3 is acquired and n = 3, the user turns on the system power at 00:00 and starts viewing the broadcast program BBB on the SSS broadcast channel. Thereafter, even if the user falls asleep while keeping the television receiver unattended, at time 00:50 at which the third broadcast program DDD continuous from the broadcast program BBB on the SSS broadcast channel starts to be broadcast, After displaying the OSD for confirming the intention to continue viewing, the system power can be automatically turned off.
[0035]
Similarly, when n = 4, at time 01:25 when the fourth broadcast program EEE starting from the broadcast program BBB on the SSS broadcast channel starts to be broadcast, the user can confirm the intention to continue viewing. After performing the OSD display, the system power can be automatically turned off.
[0036]
As described above, in the digital broadcast receiver of the present embodiment, the switching of the broadcast program is detected by comparing the current time information with the EPG multiplexed on the television broadcast signal, and n consecutive broadcast channels in the same broadcast channel are detected. When the reception of the plurality of programs is selected, it is determined that the television receiver is in the detached state and the power is controlled to be turned off.
[0037]
Therefore, not only at the end of the television broadcast, but also during the time period when the television broadcast is being performed, the television receiver can be kept on and off with a very simple configuration without any special sensors. By determining the state, wasteful power consumption can be reliably prevented.
[0038]
Further, by performing on-screen display for notifying of power-off for a predetermined time t before automatically turning off the power, it is possible to confirm the intention of continuing to view the received program. When the user is watching the program, an instruction to continue viewing can be input before the power is turned off, thereby improving usability.
[0039]
In the embodiment of the present invention, the number N of continuously received programs is detected by using the EPG included in the digital broadcast signal. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The number of continuously received programs may be detected using a call sign indicating the start and end of the program. Further, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to digital broadcast receivers, but is also applicable to analog broadcast receivers.
[0040]
【The invention's effect】
Since the liquid crystal display device of the present invention is configured as described above, when it is detected that a continuous program of the same broadcast channel has been received for a predetermined number or more, the television receiver is kept on. It is possible to automatically turn off the power by judging that it is in the state. That is, even when a television broadcast is being performed, it is possible to determine the detached state of the television receiver with a simple configuration and to reliably prevent unnecessary power consumption. it can.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a main part of an embodiment of a television receiver of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an automatic power-off control operation in one embodiment of the television receiver of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example (only a main part) of an EPG (electronic program guide).
[Explanation of symbols]
Reference Signs List 1 Tuner 2 Demodulation unit 3 Packet separation unit 4 Video decoding unit 5 Audio decoding unit 6 EPG processing unit 7 OSD processing unit 8 Control CPU
9 synthesis unit 10 display device 11 system power control unit

Claims (2)

A television receiver for receiving a television broadcast signal and displaying a program of a desired channel,
Detecting means for detecting that a predetermined number of continuous programs on the same broadcast channel have been received;
A television receiver, comprising: power supply control means for controlling power cutoff based on a detection result by the detection means. The television receiver according to claim 1,
When detecting that a predetermined number of continuous programs of the same broadcast channel have been received, an OSD means for performing an on-screen display for notifying power shutoff is provided,
The television receiver, wherein the power supply control means controls the power supply to be cut off after the on-screen display is performed for a predetermined time.

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