JP2004349946A - Television receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve user's operability by controlling the operation of a television receiver according to a user's television view time zone in a television receiver. <P>SOLUTION: The television receiver (TV) analyzes the user's television view time zone by managing a history of viewing of TV. When it is decided that the user watches at TV not in an ordinary television view time zone (YES at #21), a confirmation message asking the user about whether the user continues to watch at television is displayed on a screen (#22) and when there is no answer from the user within a specified time (YES at #24), the power source is automatically turned off, but when the user answers to indicate the intention of watching at TV within the specified time (YES at #23), the power source is kept ON (#25). Thus, the operation of the TV is controlled according to life cycles of the user to improve the user's usability of the TV. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a television receiver.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a television receiver having a so-called on-timer function, an off-timer function, or the like, which automatically performs operations such as turning on / off a power supply at a time set by a user in advance or after a set time has elapsed. TV) is known. However, in the conventional TV, the user has to set the time for performing various operations by himself, and the setting operation is complicated. Further, for example, if the user falls asleep while watching a TV before setting the time to turn off the power, the off timer function has not been useful.
[0003]
On the other hand, in recent years, TV has become widespread as an indispensable part of daily life, and TV viewing time occupies a certain percentage in a user's life cycle. Therefore, if the TV viewing time period of the user can be grasped, it becomes possible to control the operation of the TV suitable for the life cycle of the user without performing the complicated setting described above.
[0004]
By the way, there is known a TV that manages used histories and displays information based on the histories on a screen (for example, see Patent Document 1). Further, there is known a device that automatically turns off the power of a TV at a predetermined time by including a timer and a unit for acquiring program information (for example, see Patent Document 2). In addition, an apparatus that determines the end of a program being viewed by using an EPG (Electric Program Guide), notifies the user of the end of the program, and controls the power-off operation of the TV based on whether or not the user has responded to the notification. It is known (for example, see Patent Document 3).
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-46608 [Patent Document 2]
JP 2000-261737 A [Patent Document 3]
JP 2000-152124 A
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the invention described in Patent Literature 1, information on the TV viewing history can be displayed, but the history cannot be used to automatically control the operation of the TV. Further, in the invention described in Patent Document 2, it is not possible to control the TV off operation in consideration of the life cycle of an individual. Also, in the invention described in Patent Document 3, after the end of the program, if there is no response from the user, the power can be automatically turned off. You cannot control the operation.
[0007]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and it is possible to control the operation of a TV according to a user's TV viewing time zone, so that the usability suitable for a user's life cycle can be improved. An object is to provide a good television receiver.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a television comprising a timer capable of outputting date and time information and day of the week information, and control means for controlling a power-off operation based on an output value from the timer. In the receiver, power on / off for storing power on information including date and time information and day of the week information when the power is turned on, and power off information including date and time information and day of the week when the power is turned off. Information storage means, and a television viewing time zone analyzing means for analyzing a television viewing time zone for each day of the week of the user based on the stored power-on information and / or power-off information, and the control means, When the power is on, based on the output value from the timer and the analysis result by the TV viewing time zone analyzing means, the current day of the week and the current It is determined whether the time is out of the time zone. If the result of the determination is that the time is out of the TV viewing time zone, the user continues to watch the television at the break of the program using the electronic program guide information. A confirmation message as to whether or not the message is displayed on the screen and / or output by voice, and after waiting for a response from the user for a predetermined time after the screen display and / or voice output, no response is received from the user within the predetermined time. In such a case, the power is turned off, and if there is a response from the user to view within the predetermined time, the power-on state is maintained.
[0009]
In the above configuration, based on the power-on information and / or the power-off information stored by the power-on / off information storage means, the television viewing time zone for each day of the week of the user is analyzed. ON / OFF operation is controlled.
[0010]
Here, the analysis of the television viewing time zone is performed based on the power-on information and / or the power-off information. For example, a day is divided into a plurality of time sections, and the power is turned on for each section. This is performed by calculating the average value of the time or the time when the power is turned off. At this time, if the power is turned on or off multiple times in the same time section, for example, only the time when the power is turned on first or the last time the power is turned off in the section is analyzed. The data may not be used for analysis, and data in which the time from turning on the power to off or from off to on for a predetermined time or more may not be used. For example, by using only the time when the power is first turned on in the morning time section for analysis, the average time when the user wakes up and turns on the TV in the morning can be used as the information of the on-timer. By using only the time at which the power was last turned off in the night time division for analysis, the average time at which the user goes to sleep with the television turned off at night can be used as the information of the off timer. It is also possible to extract a time zone in which the power is turned on at a certain frequency or more, and to analyze the TV viewing time zone only in the extracted time zone.
[0011]
Furthermore, when the TV viewing time zone is analyzed, the following method can be used to analyze the TV viewing time zone more suitable for the life cycle of the user. For example, if the timer can output information on a holiday, the holiday is different from the life cycle of the weekday, so that the data of the power on / off information of the holiday should not be used in analyzing the TV viewing time zone on the weekday. To When the data of the power-on information and / or the power-off information deviates from the average value by a predetermined value or more, for example, when the TV viewing situation of the user is significantly different from the normal life cycle due to reasons such as holidays, Such data of the power-on information and / or the power-off information is not used in the analysis of the TV viewing time zone.
[0012]
Further, in the above configuration, when it is determined that the current day of the week and time are outside the user's normal TV viewing time zone, the user is inquired as to whether or not to continue watching TV, and within a predetermined time, If there is no response from the user, the power is automatically turned off. At this time, when the confirmation message is displayed on the screen, it is preferable to display the confirmation message on an on-screen display (OSD) so as to prevent the user from viewing the program as much as possible. In addition, the inquiry to the user is made at program breaks using the EPG, but may be confirmed at each program break after the first confirmation.
[0013]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in a television receiver including a timer capable of outputting date and time information, and control means for controlling an operation of the own device based on an output value from the timer, a power-on operation is performed. A storage unit for storing power-on information including time and date information and / or power-off information including date and time information when a power-off operation is performed; and based on the stored power-on information and / or power-off information. And a television viewing time slot analyzing means for analyzing a user's television viewing time slot, wherein the control means automatically determines at least an output value from the timer and an analysis result by the TV viewing time slot analyzing means. It controls the operation of the device.
[0014]
In this configuration, the TV viewing time zone of the user is analyzed based on the stored power-on information and / or off information, and the operation of the own device is controlled using the analysis result. As a calculation method at the time of the analysis, it is not always necessary to calculate for each day of the week, and for example, calculation may be performed separately for weekdays and holidays. The operation to be controlled is, for example, an operation of turning on / off a power supply, an operation of displaying a departure from a normal life cycle on a screen, and / or an operation of alerting the user by outputting a sound. There is.
[0015]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the television receiver according to the second aspect, the storage unit stores power-on information including date and time information and day-of-week information when a power-on operation is performed. The time zone analyzing means analyzes a television viewing time zone for each day of the week of the user based on the stored power-on information, and the control means includes at least an output value of the timer and the TV viewing time zone analyzing means. The power-on operation is controlled based on the analysis result.
[0016]
In this configuration, based on the stored power-on information, the television viewing time zone of each day of the user is analyzed, and the power-on operation is controlled by using the analysis result.
[0017]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the television receiver according to the second aspect, the storage means stores power-off information including date / time information and day-of-week information at the time of power-off operation. The time zone analyzing means analyzes a television viewing time zone for each day of the week of the user based on the stored power-off information, and the control means determines at least an output value of the timer and the TV viewing time zone analyzing means. The power off operation is controlled based on the analysis result.
[0018]
In this configuration, based on the stored power-off information, the user's television viewing time zone for each day of the week is analyzed, and the power-off operation is controlled by using the analysis result.
[0019]
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the television receiver according to any one of the second to fourth aspects, the control unit includes at least an output value from the timer and an analysis result by the television viewing time zone analysis unit. It controls the operation of its own device based on the electronic program guide information.
[0020]
In this configuration, in addition to the analysis result of the TV viewing time zone, by using the EPG, for example, while the program is being viewed, operations such as turning on / off the power, displaying various messages, and outputting sound are performed. Instead, these operations can be performed at program breaks.
[0021]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
A television receiver (hereinafter, referred to as a TV) according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a TV according to the first embodiment. The TV 1 is a device that receives a television broadcast signal distributed from a broadcast station via an antenna 3 and reproduces television broadcast video and audio based on the received signal.
[0022]
The TV 1 includes a remote control receiver 11 for receiving an infrared signal from the remote controller 2, a tuner 12 for receiving a television broadcast signal via the antenna 3, a decoder 13, and an OSD circuit for superimposing an on-screen display signal on a video signal. 14, a display 15 for displaying an image based on a video signal and an on-screen display signal, an audio output unit 16 for outputting audio based on an audio signal, a memory 17, and a timer 18 for outputting date and time information and day information. And a control unit 19 for controlling these units.
[0023]
The decoder 13 demodulates the television broadcast signal received by the tuner 12 into a video / audio signal or the like, extracts EPG (Electrical Program Guide) data in the television broadcast signal, and outputs the data to the control unit 19 and the memory 17. I do. The memory 17 (power on / off information storage means, storage means) stores power on information and power off information, and also stores an EPG.
[0024]
The control unit 19 (control means, television viewing time zone analysis means) controls the above-described units according to the operation of the remote controller 2 by the user, and controls the power on / off operation, and outputs the power on information and the power off information. Control of operation when storing in the memory 17, operation of analyzing a plurality of stored power-on information or power-off information to analyze a user's TV viewing time zone, reception channel of a television broadcast signal Control of the entire apparatus such as control of channel selection.
[0025]
Next, the analysis operation of the television viewing time zone will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 illustrates a TV viewing situation for one week of the user. On weekdays (from Monday to Friday), the TV 1 is turned on from about 6:30 to 7:30 in the morning, so the user wakes up at about 6:30 on weekdays and leaves the house at about 7:30. It is inferred that it is out. Also, since the viewing time zone on Saturday and Sunday is different from the weekday, it is inferred that this user is closed on Saturday and Sunday. Furthermore, since the power is turned off at around 24:00 from Monday to Thursday night, it is presumed that this user will go to bed around 24:00 unless the next day is closed. . In consideration of the life cycle of the user, when the user watches TV1 outside the normal TV viewing time zone, the user is inquired as to whether or not to continue watching TV1, and the power is automatically turned on / off. Controls off operation. Specifically, the operation of the TV 1 is controlled by the following procedure.
[0026]
When the power on / off operation is performed, the control unit 19 arranges and stores the power on information and the power off information in a plurality of tables in the memory 17 for each predetermined time interval. FIG. 3 shows, as an example of the above table, a table for storing power-off information from time divisions 22:00 to 26:00 (04:00). The power-off information for the past four weeks is stored in the table 30 for each day of the week, and the control unit 19 analyzes the TV viewing time zone of the user according to the flow shown in FIG. A power-off time 32 (hereinafter referred to as a power-off time) is determined.
[0027]
The control unit 19 determines the average value 31 for each day of the week using the power-off information for the past four weeks (# 1), and adds 10 minutes as a margin to the determined average value 31 (see FIG. 3). (# 2), the power-off time data 32 (see FIG. 3) is obtained (# 3). Here, the reason why the power-off time 32 is obtained by adding the margin to the average value 31 is to allow the power-off time to have a certain width so as not to hinder the user from watching the program.
[0028]
Next, the automatic power-off operation of the TV 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. While the power is on, the control unit 19 refers to the output value from the timer 18 and the power-off time 32 obtained by the above-described method to determine whether or not the power-off time 32 has elapsed ( # 21). If it is determined that the power-off time 32 has elapsed (YES in # 21), a confirmation message as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed on the OSD by superimposing on the video signal (# 22). Further, the control unit 19 determines whether or not the Enter key has been pressed within a predetermined time (# 23, # 24). If the Enter key has been pressed within the predetermined time (YES in # 23), the power supply is turned off. The on state is maintained (# 25), and if the Enter key is not pressed within a predetermined time (YES in # 24), the power is turned off (# 26).
[0029]
By controlling the power-off operation of the TV 1 as described above, for example, even if the user falls asleep while watching the TV 1 at night, the control unit 19 can control the TV viewing time of the user in a normal time. If the time is outside the TV viewing time, the power is automatically turned off.
[0030]
In the automatic power-on operation, the power-on time is obtained by the same method as the power-off time, and the power is automatically turned on when it is determined that the power-on time has elapsed.
[0031]
Next, a television receiver according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The TV 1 according to the second embodiment is different from the TV 1 according to the first embodiment in that the power on / off operation is controlled using the EPG.
[0032]
The power-off operation of the TV 1 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. The control unit 19 determines the power-off time 32 according to the same procedure as in the first embodiment, and determines whether or not the power-off time 32 has elapsed based on the output value from the timer 18 (# 31). ). When it is determined that the power-off time 32 has elapsed (YES in # 31), it is determined whether a program break is detected using the EPG (# 32), and the program break is detected. Then (YES in # 32), a confirmation message as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed by OSD on the video signal (# 33). Further, the control unit 19 determines whether or not the Enter key is pressed within a predetermined time (# 34, # 35). If the Enter key is pressed within the predetermined time (YES in # 34), the power supply is turned off. The on state is maintained (# 36), and if the Enter key is not pressed within a predetermined time (YES in # 35), the power is turned off (# 37).
[0033]
By controlling the power-off operation of the TV 1 as described above, the following effects are obtained as compared with the TV 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the timing of the OSD display of the TV 1 in the first embodiment and the second embodiment. 8, it is assumed that the power-off time 32 (see FIG. 3) has elapsed at the time point a. In the TV 1 of the first embodiment, a confirmation message is displayed on the display at the time point a in the figure. For this reason, a confirmation message may be displayed in the middle of the program, which may hinder viewing of the program. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, during the viewing of the program, the confirmation message is not displayed during the viewing of the program even after the power-off time 32 elapses, and the program is not always stopped at the break of the program, that is, at the time point b in the figure. Since the confirmation message is displayed, the viewing of the program is not hindered. If the user falls asleep in the middle of the program by confirming with the user whether or not to view at each break of the program after the power-off time 32 has elapsed (at times c and d in the figure) However, the power of the TV 1 can be automatically turned off.
[0034]
The present invention can be variously modified without being limited to the configuration of the above embodiment. For example, it is not always necessary to confirm with the user when performing the power on / off control of the TV 1, and the power may be automatically turned on or off after the power on / off time has elapsed. Further, the method of analyzing the television viewing time zone is not limited to the method described in the above embodiment, but manages the power-on information and / or the power-off information, and sets the time during which the user is watching TV at a certain frequency. It is only necessary to be able to grasp the belt. The information used for detecting a break in a program is not limited to the EPG. For example, a break in a program may be detected by detecting a CM using VBI (Vertical Blanking Interval) or the like. The viewed channel information may also be stored in the memory and used for operation control. Furthermore, the user may be allowed to arbitrarily set a margin for determining the power-off time or set a predetermined time for making an inquiry to the user. By allowing these conditions to be set by the user, TV operation control more suitable for the user's life cycle can be performed.
[0035]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the user's television viewing time zone is analyzed, and the on / off operation of the power supply is controlled using the analysis result. Is not set, the TV can be automatically controlled in accordance with the user's life cycle, and the user can watch television according to his / her own life cycle by simple operations.
[0036]
In addition, since the inquiry to the user at the time of the operation control is performed at the break of the program using the EPG, the confirmation message is not displayed on the screen and / or outputted as audio during the program viewing. The confirmation message does not prevent the user from viewing the program. Further, by controlling the power on / off operation using the analysis result of the television viewing time zone, the power on / off control is performed only in accordance with the output value from the EPG and the timer. In comparison, power supply control more suitable for the life cycle of the user can be performed.
[0037]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, by analyzing the user's television viewing time zone and controlling the operation of the own device using the analysis result, the user can easily operate the television to suit his / her own life cycle. You can watch.
[0038]
According to the invention of claim 3, by analyzing the user's television viewing time zone and controlling the power-on operation using the analysis result, the power supply is automatically turned on in accordance with the user's television viewing time zone. Can be turned on.
[0039]
According to the invention of claim 4, by analyzing the user's television viewing time zone and controlling the power-off operation using the analysis result, it is possible to prevent, for example, forgetting to turn off the television.
[0040]
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the analysis result of the user's television viewing time zone, by using the EPG, for example, while the program is being viewed, the power is turned on / off, and various messages are displayed and sound output Since these operations can be performed at a break between programs without performing such operations, the user can be prevented from obstructing the viewing of the program by these operations.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a television receiver according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram exemplifying a television viewing situation of a user.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a management table of power-off information in the receiver.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process for determining a power-off time of the receiver.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing automatic power-off processing of the receiver.
FIG. 6 is an exemplary view showing a confirmation message display screen of the receiver.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing automatic power-off processing of the television receiver according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a difference between an automatic power-off operation of the television receiver according to the first embodiment of the present invention and a television receiver according to the second embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Television receiver 17 Memory (power on / off information storage means)
18 timer 19 control unit (control means, TV viewing time analysis means)

Claims (5)

In a television receiver including a timer capable of outputting date and time information and day of the week information, and control means for controlling a power-off operation based on an output value from the timer,
Power on / off information storage means for storing power on information including date and time information and day of the week information when the power is turned on, and power off information including date and time information and the day of the week when the power is turned off; ,
A television viewing time slot analyzing unit that analyzes a television viewing time slot for each day of the week of the user based on the stored power-on information and / or power-off information,
The control means,
When the power is on, based on the output value from the timer and the analysis result by the TV viewing time zone analyzing means, whether the current day of the week and time are out of the user's TV viewing time zone. Judge,
As a result of the determination, when it is determined that the time is outside the TV viewing time slot, a confirmation message as to whether or not to continue watching TV at a break of the program using the electronic program guide information is displayed on the screen and / or Audio output,
A predetermined time after the screen display and / or voice output, waiting for a response from the user,
If there is no response from the user within the predetermined time, turn off the power,
A television receiver, wherein a power-on state is maintained when a response to the user for viewing is received within the predetermined time. In a television receiver including a timer capable of outputting date and time information, and a control unit that controls an operation of the own device based on an output value from the timer,
Storage means for storing power-on information including date and time information at the time of power-on operation and / or power-off information including date and time information at the time of power-off operation;
TV viewing time zone analyzing means for analyzing a user's TV viewing time zone based on the stored power-on information and / or power-off information,
The television receiver, wherein the control means controls an operation of the own apparatus based on at least an output value from the timer and an analysis result by the television viewing time zone analysis means. The storage unit stores power-on information including date and time information and day of the week information when the power-on operation is performed,
The television viewing time zone analyzing means analyzes the television viewing time zone for each day of the week of the user based on the stored power-on information,
3. The television receiver according to claim 2, wherein the control unit controls a power-on operation based on at least an output value of the timer and an analysis result by the television viewing time zone analysis unit. 4. The storage unit stores power-off information including date and time information and day-of-week information when a power-off operation is performed,
The TV viewing time zone analyzing means analyzes the TV viewing time zone for each day of the week of the user based on the stored power-off information,
3. The television receiver according to claim 2, wherein the control unit controls a power-off operation based on at least an output value of the timer and an analysis result by the television viewing time zone analysis unit. 4. 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit controls an operation of the own device based on at least an output value from the timer, an analysis result by the television viewing time zone analysis unit, and electronic program guide information. 5. The television receiver according to any one of 4.

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