JP2005039681A - Television receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a television receiver for allowing a televiewer not to miss a program that the televiewer wants to watch, even a portion of the program without trouble to designate the program in advance. <P>SOLUTION: A viewing/listening history registering means 1a acquires the program name of a program watched by the televiewer from EPG (electronic program guide)data received by a receiving part 3 and records the program name as well as viewing/listening start time and viewing/listening end time as viewing/listening history data in a viewing/listening history recording part 8. When the televiewer watches the program, a program missing prevention notifying means 1b notifies the televiewer as a warning to the effect that the televiewer watches a program different from the past program through an image monitor part 6 and/or a sound monitor part 7 if a program name showing a program that the televiewer currently watches is different from the program name of the viewing/listening history data showing the program that the televiewer past watched in a time zone including the same time as the present time among the viewing/listening history data recorded in the viewing/listening history recording part 8. In addition, only viewing/listening programs whose viewing/listening continuous time is equal to or longer than a preset viewing/listening determination time 1c are recorded in the viewing/listening history recording part 8. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a television receiver, and in particular, has a receiving means capable of receiving an electronic program guide (EPG) and has an oversight prevention notification function for preventing overlooking of a program desired to be viewed. The present invention relates to a television receiver.

In recent years, a program providing service called “digital satellite broadcasting” has appeared. According to digital satellite broadcasting, a huge amount of channel information can be included in one system of TV signals by the digital multiplexing method. In this case, it is difficult to find a channel of a desired program from a large number of channels with the same feeling as in the case of analog TV broadcasting as before, for example, EPG (Electric Program Guide) A so-called electronic program guide is used to select a desired program.
On the television receiver side, a desired program is selected while watching an electronic program guide (EPG), and a timer is set to reserve a program for viewing or recording the desired program. It is possible to perform.

  As a program reservation method using EPG data, there is a technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-218333 “Program reservation apparatus and method, reception apparatus and method, recording apparatus, and recording medium” disclosed in Patent Document 1. According to the technique described in Patent Document 1, when a program to be viewed is designated, an end flag (a flag added to program data such as “follow next Monday”) is automatically set for the currently viewed program. Based on the end flag, it is possible to make a viewing reservation for the date and time of the next broadcast schedule related to the continuous program.

  Further, according to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-359793 “Timer reservation control device in information recording apparatus” shown in Patent Document 2, a program for timer reservation is selected and specified by EPG data, and at the same time, By specifying and making a reservation from the reservation start time to the reservation end time using, for example, a bar graph, it is possible to specify a part of the desired program and perform a partial program reservation with a simple operation Possible techniques are described.

JP 2002-218333 A (page 6-7, FIG. 2, FIG. 3) JP 2002-359793 A (page 4, FIG. 4, FIG. 5)

However, in the above-described conventional technology, for example, in the technology of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-218333 shown in Patent Document 1, the viewer needs to select and specify a program desired to be viewed in advance, and The entire program from the beginning to the end of the program with continuity will be reserved, for example, it is difficult to ensure that only a part of the program that you actually want to watch is not missed. Have.
In the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-359793 shown in Patent Document 2, after the viewer first designates a desired program, a part of the program that the user does not want to miss is set as the timer reservation start time for the program. There is a problem that it is necessary to specify in advance according to the end time, and the viewer may forget such specification itself and miss the program.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and even for a program having continuity, there is no inconvenience for a viewer to specify a part of a program desired to be viewed in advance, and An object of the present invention is to make it possible to provide a warning notification to the viewer so that the user can surely view the program without missing a part of the program.

The television receiver according to the present invention provides technical means for solving the problems as described above, and includes the following technical means.
First, a first technical means receives a receiving means for receiving electronic program guide data indicating a plurality of program contents sequentially transmitted together with a program name, and receives the program name of a program viewed by a user by the receiving means. Viewing history recording means that is acquired from the electronic program guide data and recorded as viewing history data indicating a history of viewing in the past together with a viewing start time and viewing end time of the viewed program, and a user viewing the program The program name acquired from the electronic program guide data regarding the program being viewed is currently being viewed among the viewing history data recorded in the viewing history recording means. If it is different from the program name of the viewing history data indicating that the program has been viewed in the past in a time zone including the same time as the time, And missed prevention announcement means for warning notifies the program name and watching a different program was, it is characterized in that a television receiver equipped with a.

  In the television receiver described in the first technical means, the second technical means records the program name, the viewing start time, and the viewing end time of the program viewed by the user in the viewing history recording means. When the viewing continuation time of the program is longer than a preset viewing judgment time, the viewing history record is recorded with the program name, viewing start time, and viewing end time of the program as the viewing history data. It is characterized by recording on a means.

  According to a third technical means, in the television receiver according to the second technical means, the preset viewing determination time can be changed and set by the user to an arbitrary value. Features.

  According to a fourth technical means, in the television receiver according to any one of the first to third technical means, the information used as the time zone including the same time as the current viewing time is the same as the previous day. Same time zone of same day of last week, same time zone of same day of last month, same time zone of same day of same week of last month, same time zone of same day of six months ago, same week of six months ago It is possible to use one or more combinations of the same time zone of the same day of the eye, the same time zone of the same month of the previous year, and the same time zone of the same day of the same week of the previous year. It is characterized by.

The television receiver according to the present invention provided with the technical means as described above has the following effects.
According to the television receiver of the present invention, when viewing history data of a viewed program is recorded, and when a new program is selected and viewed, the past (for example, the same time zone of the previous day or the same as the previous week) When viewing a program different from the program in the viewing history data indicating that the program was viewed during the same time zone of the day of the week, etc., a warning notification is given that the program is viewed differently from the past. Even if there is a continuous program, there is no hassle of making a reservation for viewing in advance, and as long as the television receiver is in the viewing state, the continuous program is not overlooked and the channel is set. It is possible to give a warning notification to the viewer so that the viewer can be surely switched.

  In addition, according to the television receiver of the present invention, the configuration is such that only the program that has been viewed for a predetermined time or longer, that is, the viewing determination time or longer, is recorded as viewing history data indicating a program that has been viewed. Therefore, it is possible to exclude programs that are not actually viewed simply by switching the channel from the viewing history data, and further, a viewing determination time for determining a program that is viewed by the viewer By changing to an arbitrary value, the selection of programs to be recorded as viewing history data can be changed.

  As described above, the television receiver according to the present invention includes: a) receiving means for receiving electronic program guide data indicating a plurality of program contents transmitted sequentially along with program names; and b) a viewer viewed. Viewing the program name of the program from the electronic program data received by the receiving means and recording it as viewing history data indicating the history of viewing in the past together with the viewing start time and viewing end time of the viewed program History recording means, and c) when the viewer is watching the program, the program name acquired from the electronic program guide data regarding the program being watched is recorded in the viewing history recording means. Among the viewing history data, a program name of the viewing history data indicating that the program has been viewed in the past in a time zone including the same time as the current viewing time, If you going on, it is characterized in that a television receiver equipped with missed prevention announcement means, a warning notice to the effect that watching a different from the program name, which has been viewed in the past program.

Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of a television receiver according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.
FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram showing an example of a block configuration in an embodiment of a television receiver according to the present invention. The television receiver 10 shown in FIG. 1 is configured to control the entire operation by the control unit 1. That is, in accordance with a control command from the control unit 1, the reception channel of the reception unit 3 to which the antenna 2 for receiving the digital satellite broadcast is connected is selected, and the reception output received by the reception unit 3 from the antenna 2 is The image signal that is input to the signal processing unit 4 appropriately controlled by the control unit 1, appropriately processed by the signal processing unit 4, and properly processed and restored is displayed on the screen by the image monitor unit 6. Then, the sound signal that has been properly processed and restored is output from the sound monitor unit 7.

  Here, the receiving unit 3 receives a broadcast signal transmitted by adding electronic program guide data (EPG data) indicating a plurality of program contents together with a program name to transmission program data. The received EPG data is sequentially notified to the control unit 1, and the control unit 1 can acquire a program name from the EPG data in addition to the broadcast start time and broadcast end time of a desired program. As described above, the EPG data is not limited to the case where the receiving unit 3 extracts the broadcast signal from the broadcast signal and notifies the control unit 1 of the EPG data. For example, the EPG data may be received via the Internet or the like. Absent.

  Further, a key operation unit 5 is provided for the viewer to give various control operation commands to the control unit 1, and the key operation unit 5 relates to operations such as channel selection and program recording reservation. A plurality of operation keys for providing various commands are provided.

  The control unit 1 includes a viewing history registration unit 1 a, and a viewing history recording unit 8 and a current time acquisition unit 9 are connected to the control unit 1. The viewing history registration unit 1a acquires the current time from the current time acquisition unit 9 every time the viewer changes the channel to be viewed and changes the viewing time of the program before the channel change, that is, the viewing end time. In addition to recording in the recording unit 8, the viewing start time of the viewing program after the channel change is recorded in the viewing history recording unit 8 together with the program name acquired from the EPG data regarding the viewing program. Also, the viewing history registration unit 1a records the time at which viewing of the program before power-off, that is, the viewing end time is recorded in the viewing history recording unit 8 as necessary even when the viewer turns off the power.

  Further, the control unit 1 is provided with an oversight prevention notification means 1b, which is used when the viewer performs an operation of starting the viewing by turning on the power or the channel. When a change is instructed, whether there is a program that was viewed in the past in a time zone including the same time as the current time by referring to the viewing history recording unit 8 based on the time information indicated by the current time If there is a program that has been viewed in the past, the name of the program that is currently being viewed is recorded in the past recorded in the viewing history recording unit 8. When the program name is different from the program name, a warning notification indicating that a program different from the program viewed in the past is being viewed is sent from the image monitor unit 6 and / or the audio monitor unit 7. Output to warn the viewer. Thus, even for a continuous program, it is possible to notify the viewer so that there is no hassle of making a reservation for viewing in advance and the viewing is not missed. It becomes possible.

  Here, when the viewing history registration unit 1a records the viewing history data in the viewing history recording unit 8, the control unit 1 stores the history of the viewed program so that the viewing history data invalid for the viewer is not recorded. In order to identify whether or not to record as viewing history data, a fixed time that is a threshold for comparison with the viewing duration of the viewer, that is, a viewing determination time 1c, is set in advance, and further, the key operation unit 5 Are provided with operation keys that allow the viewer to change the preset viewing determination time 1c to an arbitrary value. Thus, only a program that has been viewed for a predetermined viewing determination time 1c or longer is regarded as a program viewed by the viewer and recorded in the viewing history recording unit 8 as viewing history data. It is also possible to exclude programs that are not actually viewed simply by switching the channel from the viewing history data, and further change the viewing determination time 1c of the program that the viewer considers viewed to an arbitrary value. By doing so, it becomes possible to change the selection criteria of the program to be recorded in the viewing history recording unit 8 as viewing history data.

  Further, when the miss-prevention notification means 1b searches for a program that has been viewed in the past in a time zone including the same time as the current time, a past information including the same time as the current time is searched. For information used as time zones, the same time zone of the previous day, the same time zone of the same day of the previous week, the same time zone of the same day of the previous month, the same time zone of the same day of the same week of the previous month, the same day of 6 months ago One or more of the same time zone, the same time zone on the same day of the same week six months ago, the same time zone of the same month of the previous year, or the same time zone of the same week of the same year of the previous year These combinations can be used, and the viewer can select and specify any one or more combinations.

Next, the operation of the television receiver according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.
First, an operation when the viewing history registration unit 1a records viewing history data in the viewing history recording unit 8 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the viewing history registration unit 1a when viewing history data is recorded in the viewing history recording unit 8.

  First, when the viewer performs an operation to start viewing after turning on the power, or when an instruction to change the channel is given, the viewing history registration unit 1a uses the current time acquisition unit 9 as the viewing start time. Time is acquired (step S1). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the viewer has performed a power-off operation or channel switching with the key operation unit 5 (step S2). If the viewer has not performed any operation (step S2). NO), the determination operation in step S2 is repeated assuming that the viewing program that has started to be viewed is being viewed. On the other hand, if it is determined that the viewer has turned off the power or operated the channel switching key (YES in step S2), the viewing end time when viewing of the viewing program that has been viewed up to now is set as the current time. Obtained from the obtaining unit 9 (step S3).

  Thereafter, the viewing duration time of the viewing program is calculated from the viewing start time and viewing end time of the viewing program, and compared with a preset viewing determination time 1c (step S4). When it is determined that the user has only watched for a time shorter than the viewing determination time 1c (NO in step S4), it is considered that the viewing program has not been viewed, and the channel switching key has been operated. Returns to step S1 and returns to the process for acquiring the viewing start time with the new program whose channel has been switched as the viewing target program. If the power is turned off, the process of the viewing history registration unit 1a is terminated without returning to step S1. On the other hand, when it is determined that the viewing is continued for a time equal to or longer than the viewing determination time 1c (YES in step S4), in order to record in the viewing history recording unit 8 as the viewing history data viewed in the past, The program name of the viewing program is acquired from the EPG data, and recorded in the viewing history recording unit 8 together with the viewing start time and viewing end time. After that, if the channel switching key has been operated, the process returns to step S1.

  By repeating the operation as described above, the viewing history registration means 1a starts the viewing with information (program name, date, day of the week, and day information) related to the program that has been viewed over the preset viewing determination time 1c. Time and viewing end time) are sequentially recorded in the viewing history recording unit 8 as viewing history data indicating viewing history that has been viewed in the past.

  Next, the operation in the case where the missed prevention preventing means 1b notifies the viewer not to miss watching the program based on the past viewing history data recorded in the viewing history recording unit 8 will be described with reference to FIG. It demonstrates using the flowchart of these. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the miss-prevention notifying means 1b when notifying the viewer not to miss watching the program. The miss-prevention notifying means 1b Is regularly operated at a predetermined cycle when the user is watching the video.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 3, first, the missed prevention notification means 1b acquires the current time from the current time acquisition unit 9 (step S11). Furthermore, referring to the EPG data, the program name of the viewing program that the viewer is currently viewing is acquired (step S12). Next, based on the current time acquired in step S11, viewing history data indicating a history of viewing in the past in a time zone including the same time as the current time is read from the viewing history recording unit 8 and acquired. (Step S13). Here, as described above, the time zone corresponding to the time zone including the same time as the current time is the same time zone of the previous day, the same time zone of the same day of the previous week, the same time zone of the same day of the previous month, Same time of same day of same week of last month, same time of same day of 6 months ago, same time of same day of same week of 6 months ago, same time of same day of same month of previous year, One or more combinations of the same time zone on the same day of the same week are shown.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the program name of the currently viewed program acquired in step S12 is the same as the program name of the program that was viewed in the same past time period acquired in step S13. Determination is made (step S14). If the program names are the same (YES in step S14), it is determined that the program is viewed without missing the continuation of the continuous broadcast program that has been viewed in the past, and the operation of the miss-prevention notification means 1b is performed. finish. On the other hand, if it is determined that the program names are not the same (NO in step S14), it is considered that there is a risk of missing the continuation of the continuous broadcast program that was viewed in the past, and the program is viewed in the same time zone in the past. A notification for warning that a program with a program name different from the program name being viewed is being viewed is displayed on the screen of the image monitor unit 6 and / or output to the audio monitor unit 7 as a sound.

  By performing the operation like this, even if the viewer forgets to watch the continuous program that he / she wants to watch and starts to watch another program, the viewer sets a channel to the desired continuous program based on the warning notification. The opportunity to switch is obtained, and it is possible to reliably view the desired program (or a part of the desired program) without missing the same time period as the time period of viewing in the past. There is no need for the viewer to make a reservation in advance for the program to be played (or a part of the program).

It is a block block diagram which shows an example of the block configuration in embodiment of the television receiver which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the viewing history registration means in the case of recording viewing history data in a viewing history recording part. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the miss-prevention notification means when notifying a viewer not to miss watching a program.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Control part, 1a ... Viewing history registration means, 1b ... Missed miss notification means, 1c ... Viewing judgment time, 2 ... Antenna, 3 ... Reception part, 4 ... Signal processing part, 5 ... Key operation part, 6 ... Image monitor , 7 ... Audio monitor, 8 ... Viewing history recording unit, 9 ... Current time acquisition unit, 10 ... Television receiver.

Claims (4)

  Receiving means for receiving electronic program guide data indicating a plurality of program contents sequentially transmitted together with program names, and a program name of a program viewed by a user from the electronic program guide data received by the receiving means When the user is in a state of viewing the program, and viewing history recording means for recording as viewing history data indicating a history of viewing in the past together with the viewing start time and viewing end time of the acquired and viewed program, In the time zone in which the program name acquired from the electronic program guide data regarding the program being viewed includes the same time as the current viewing time among the viewing history data recorded in the viewing history recording means. If it is different from the program name of the viewing history data indicating that the program has been viewed in the past, a program different from the program name that has been viewed in the past is selected. Television receiver which is characterized by comprising a missed prevention announcement means for warning notification to the effect that hearing, the.   The television receiver according to claim 1, wherein when the program name, the viewing start time, and the viewing end time of the program viewed by the user are recorded in the viewing history recording means, the viewing duration of the program is set in advance. And a viewing history recording means for recording the program name, the viewing start time, and the viewing end time of the program as the viewing history data when the time is longer than the viewing judgment time. John receiver.   The television receiver according to claim 2, wherein the viewing determination time set in advance can be changed and set to an arbitrary value by a user.   4. The television receiver according to claim 1, wherein the same time zone of the previous day and the same day of the week of the previous week are used for information used as the time zone including the same time as the current viewing time. The same time zone of the same day of the previous month, the same time zone of the same day of the same week of the previous month, the same time zone of the same day of 6 months ago, the same time zone of the same week of the same week of 6 months ago, One or more combinations of the same time zone on the same month and the same time zone on the same day of the same week of the previous year can be used.

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