JP2006042161A - Receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a receiver capable of shortening a time required for direction search processing for obtaining the reception direction of an antenna. <P>SOLUTION: In omnidirectional search, as shown in a designated result A1, search processing is performed for four directions. In first and second search processing, as shown in designated results A2, A3, search processing are each performed for two directions centered at each designated direction. The search is performed eight times, and the search frequency is half in an antenna capable of switching the reception direction into 16 directions, compared to a case of searching all directions. A rough reception direction is decided at the time of ominidirectional search, thereby shortening the time required for direction search thereafter. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a receiving apparatus, and more particularly to a receiving apparatus that receives a broadcast signal from an antenna capable of switching a receiving direction.

  Television broadcasts are assigned frequency bands of VHF (Very High Frequency) and UHF (Ultra High Frequency). In general, a Yagi antenna is used to receive a television broadcast signal (hereinafter referred to as a broadcast signal).

  The Yagi antenna is composed of a reflector, a radiator, and a director, and has an advantage that it has a strong directivity toward the director side and a large gain due to the action of the reflector.

  For good reception, the Yagi antenna is installed so that the direction of the broadcasting station matches the directivity. In general, since the Yagi antenna is fixedly installed on the roof of a house or the like, once it is installed, it is not easy to change its directivity.

  Therefore, when a plurality of broadcasting stations exist in a distributed manner, the Yagi antenna can only receive broadcast signals from broadcasting stations in a specific direction according to the directivity.

  Therefore, an antenna (smart antenna) has been proposed that can receive radio waves from each broadcasting station that is distributed by switching directivity.

  This smart antenna is composed of, for example, a plurality of antenna elements, and the directivity can be switched by exciting each antenna element with an appropriate amplitude and phase.

  Therefore, by using the above-described smart antenna, it is possible to receive radio waves from each broadcasting station even when the broadcasting stations are distributed.

As an example of an antenna for switching the reception direction, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-7442 (Patent Document 1), a rotary antenna that sets an antenna position from an extreme value of an AGC voltage obtained when the antenna is rotated by a predetermined angle is disclosed. A satellite automatic tracking control method is disclosed. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-298226 (Patent Document 2) uses an array antenna including a plurality of antenna elements and scans the antenna directivity in all directions each time the reception channel is changed. An example of a receiver with a beam steering function for setting
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-7442 JP 11-298226 A

  From the viewpoint of user convenience, many receivers that receive broadcast signals have a so-called auto-scan function that searches for channels that can be viewed from channels assigned to television broadcasts and determines receivable channels. is doing. In particular, a receiving device capable of viewing digital TV broadcasts and analog TV broadcasts has a larger number of channels to be searched than when receiving only analog TV broadcasts. Therefore, the auto scan function will become a more important function for the receiving apparatus in the future in terms of improving the convenience for the user.

  However, in the reception direction search processing of the conventional receiving apparatus using the smart antenna, all directions are to be searched in order to determine the reception direction for the allocated channel. Therefore, there is a problem that the overall search time becomes longer as the number of receivable channels increases.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-described problem, and an object of the present invention is to take a time required for a direction search process for setting a receiving direction in a receiving apparatus that instructs a receiving direction to an antenna that switches the receiving direction according to channel selection. It is an object of the present invention to provide a receiving apparatus that can shorten the time.

  In summary, the present invention is a receiving device for receiving a broadcast signal by designating a receiving direction with respect to an antenna capable of switching the receiving direction, and receiving information indicating a receiving state of the broadcast signal by receiving the broadcast signal Is provided.

  The receiving unit receives a digital TV broadcast signal, outputs a reception information corresponding to an error rate obtained by performing a predetermined error correction process, and receives an analog TV broadcast signal and performs a predetermined synchronization signal capturing process. And an analog decoder for outputting reception information corresponding to the result of performing.

  The receiving apparatus designates each of the initial direction and the direction rotated by 90 degrees over 360 degrees from the initial direction with respect to the antenna, receives the reception information corresponding to each direction, determines the reception state, and performs the first reception. The direction is determined, the first and second directions rotated 45 degrees in the positive and negative directions from the first receiving direction are respectively designated with respect to the antenna, and each of the first and second directions is supported. Receiving the received information, determine the reception state, determine the second reception direction from the determination result of the first reception direction and the determination results of the first and second directions, and correct from the second reception direction. The third and fourth directions rotated by 22.5 degrees in the negative direction are respectively designated for the antenna, and the reception state is determined by receiving the reception information corresponding to each of the third and fourth directions. The determination result of the second reception direction and the determination result of each of the third and fourth directions Determining a third reception direction from further comprises a direction determining unit that determines a third receiving direction as a receiving direction of the broadcast signal.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a receiving apparatus for receiving a broadcast signal by designating a receiving direction with respect to an antenna capable of switching the receiving direction, and receiving the broadcast signal and indicating a reception state of the broadcast signal A reception unit that outputs reception information, and an initial direction and a direction rotated by a first angle over 360 degrees from the initial direction are specified for the antenna, and the reception state corresponding to each direction is received. The first reception direction is determined by determination, and the first and second directions rotated by a second angle smaller than the first angle in the positive and negative directions from the first reception direction with respect to the antenna Each is specified, receiving information corresponding to each of the first and second directions is received to determine the reception state, and the first reception direction determination result and the first and second direction determination results are 2 receiving direction is determined, and positive from the second receiving direction. And the third and fourth directions rotated in a negative direction by a third angle smaller than the second angle with respect to the antenna, respectively, and reception information corresponding to each of the third and fourth directions is designated. The reception state is determined and the third reception direction is determined from the determination result of the second reception direction and the determination results of the third and fourth directions, and the third reception direction is set as the broadcast signal reception direction. And a direction determining unit that determines as follows.

  Preferably, the direction determination unit receives information on the initial direction from the outside and determines the first reception direction.

  Preferably, the receiving device further includes a storage unit that stores information on the initial direction, and information on the third reception direction is stored in the storage unit.

  More preferably, the direction determination unit switches whether to read out the information of the initial direction from the storage unit or to receive it from the outside according to an instruction from the outside.

  Preferably, the receiving unit receives the digital television broadcast signal and the analog television broadcast signal and outputs reception information.

More preferably, the receiving unit receives a digital television broadcast signal and outputs received information corresponding to an error rate obtained by performing a predetermined error correction process; and
An analog decoder that receives an analog television broadcast signal and outputs reception information corresponding to a result of performing a predetermined synchronization signal acquisition process.

  According to the receiving apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the time required to set the receiving direction of a receivable channel. Moreover, according to the receiving apparatus of this invention, it becomes possible to reduce the burden of the user in a direction search process.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

[Embodiment 1]
1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a receiving apparatus according to Embodiment 1. In FIG.

  Referring to FIG. 1, receiving device 1 receives a broadcast signal from antenna 30 and outputs a switching instruction for switching the receiving direction each time the channel is switched to antenna 30. The receiving device 1 outputs a video signal and an audio signal to the television 40.

  The antenna 30 is a smart antenna. For example, the antenna 30 includes a plurality of antenna elements. The reception direction of the antenna 30 is determined by driving each antenna element with the amplitude and phase according to the switching instruction of the receiving device 1. As another example, for example, the antenna 30 includes a stepping motor that receives a switching instruction that is a pulse signal and changes the rotation angle according to the number of received pulse signals. Note that the television broadcast received by the antenna 30 may be either terrestrial broadcast or satellite broadcast.

  The receiving apparatus 1 receives a broadcast signal from the antenna 30, performs predetermined signal processing, outputs a video signal and an audio signal, and outputs reception information indicating a reception state of the broadcast signal, and a channel. In direction search processing for searching and determining the corresponding reception direction, determination processing is performed to determine whether or not a broadcast signal has been received by receiving reception information from the reception unit 2, and the reception direction is determined from the result of the determination processing And a direction determining unit 3 for performing the operation.

  The receiving unit 2 includes a tuner 10, a digital decoder 12, an analog decoder 14, and an MPEG decoder 16.

  The tuner 10 extracts and outputs a broadcast signal corresponding to the selected channel from the received broadcast signals. The digital decoder 12 receives a broadcast signal from the tuner 10, decodes it into an MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) signal, performs error correction processing, calculates an error rate of data included in the broadcast signal, and receives the error rate. Output as information.

  Here, the digital television broadcast signal is encoded with a Reed-Solomon code and a convolutional code and transmitted. Therefore, the digital decoder 12 can perform error correction in the above decoding process. In this error correction process, the digital decoder 12 calculates a reception data error rate of the received broadcast signal and outputs the reception data error rate to the control unit 20. At this time, since the digital decoder 12 performs error correction for each predetermined number of data included in the received broadcast signal, the received data error rate can be calculated within one frame (1/30 second) from the start of reception.

  In addition to Japanese ISDB-T (Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting for Terrestrial), digital television broadcasting includes US Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) and European DVB-T (Digital Video Broadcasting for Terrestrial). is there. In either system, since the broadcast signal is encoded and transmitted, error correction is possible, and the received data error rate can be calculated in the process. Therefore, the digital decoder 12 in the first embodiment of the present invention may use any of the above-described methods.

  The analog decoder 14 decodes the broadcast signal received from the tuner 10 and converts it into a digital signal, and outputs the video and audio digital signals to the MPEG decoder 16. In order to decode the video signal, the analog decoder 14 captures the horizontal synchronization signal and the vertical synchronization signal by various processes such as a frequency separation process and a synchronization signal separation process. The analog decoder 14 outputs the acquisition result of the horizontal synchronization signal as reception information.

  The horizontal synchronization signal has a sufficiently high frequency with respect to the vertical synchronization signal. Therefore, the horizontal synchronization signal is more susceptible to noise and the like than the vertical synchronization signal. That is, the reception state can be determined based on whether or not the horizontal synchronization signal has been captured.

  In addition to NTSC (National System Committee) systems such as Japan and the United States, analog television broadcasting includes PAL (Phase Alternation by Line) systems such as Germany and the United Kingdom and SECAM (Sequentiel Couleur a Memoire) systems such as France. However, in any system, since the horizontal synchronization signal is included in the broadcast signal, it is possible to detect whether or not the horizontal synchronization signal can be captured.

  Therefore, analog decoder 14 according to the first embodiment of the present invention may use any of the above-described methods.

  The MPEG decoder 16 decodes the signal received from the digital decoder 12 or the analog decoder 14 into a video signal and an audio signal, and outputs them to the television 40.

  The direction determination unit 3 includes a control unit 20 and a reception direction switching unit 22.

  The control unit 20 instructs the tuner 10 on the channel, receives reception information from the digital decoder 12 or the analog decoder 14 and performs a determination process, and determines the reception direction of the antenna 30 for the designated channel.

  An example of the determination process in the control unit 20 will be described. For example, if the result of the error rate sent from the digital decoder 12 is a predetermined reference value (for example, 10%) or less, it is determined that a broadcast signal has been received. Further, for example, when a signal indicating that the horizontal synchronization signal is captured as the reception information is sent from the analog decoder 14, it is determined that the broadcast signal has been received.

  The control unit 20 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 20A that executes a program for determination processing, and a memory 20B that stores information about a reception direction determined by a program to be executed, a program execution result, and a direction search process for each channel. including.

  The reception direction switching unit 22 receives information related to the reception direction of the antenna 30 from the control unit 20, and sends a switching instruction to the antenna 30 so as to switch the reception direction to the direction corresponding to the information.

  The receiving device 1 further includes a remote control receiving unit 44 that receives a command from the remote control 42 and sends a signal that instructs the control unit 20 to start the direction search process.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the reception direction of the antenna 30 of FIG.

  Referring to FIG. 2, numbers 1 to 16 are assigned clockwise in the receiving direction of antenna 30. The association between each number and direction is set before the direction search process. For example, the direction corresponding to the direction of number 1 is north, and the numbers 5, 9, and 13 correspond to directions of east, south, and west, respectively. Hereinafter, the direction of reception will be described using the direction.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an outline of the direction search process of the receiving apparatus 1 of FIG.

  Referring to FIG. 3, when the process is started, first, in step S1, an initial direction for starting the direction search process is set by the user. The initial direction is determined, for example, by the user operating the remote control to display a direction selection menu on the screen of the television 40 and selecting a direction in the menu. The determined initial direction information is stored, for example, in the memory 20B of FIG.

  Subsequent processing is performed by the direction determining unit 3. In step S2, a channel for determining a receiving direction is selected from a channel group of analog broadcasting and digital broadcasting. Next, in step S3, information in the initial direction is read from the memory 20B. Subsequently, in step S4, a direction search process, which will be described later, is performed, and the reception direction for the broadcast signal of the selected channel is determined.

  Subsequently, when the reception direction is set for the channels allocated in the analog broadcast and the digital broadcast in step S5, the process ends. On the other hand, if there is a channel for which the receiving direction is not set, the process returns to step S2.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing in detail the process of step S4 of FIG.

  Referring to FIG. 4, when the process is started, first, in step S11, as the receiving direction of antenna 30, there are a total of four directions including an initial direction and directions rotated by 90 °, 180 ° and 270 ° from the initial direction. An omnidirectional search process is performed in which the first reception direction is determined from the result of receiving the reception information corresponding to each direction and receiving the reception information and determining the reception state.

  Subsequently, in step S12, it is determined whether or not the first reception direction exists. If the first reception direction exists, the process proceeds to step S13 described later. On the other hand, if the first receiving direction does not exist among the four directions specified in step S11, it is determined that the broadcast signal of the corresponding channel cannot be received, and the process ends.

  Subsequently, in step S13, the receiving direction of the antenna 30 is specified in directions of + 45 ° and −45 ° with respect to the first receiving direction, and the second receiving direction is determined from the result of the direction search process for each receiving direction. A first refined search is performed.

  Subsequently, in step S14, the reception direction of the antenna 30 is specified in the directions of + 22.5 ° and −22.5 ° with respect to the second reception direction, and the third reception is performed from the result of the direction search processing for each reception direction. A second refined search is performed in which the direction is determined. When the third reception direction is determined in step S14, the process ends.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the reception direction specified in each step of FIG.

  Referring to FIG. 5, the designation result A1 shows an example of the reception direction designated when the initial direction is north in step S11 of FIG. In step S11, the antenna 30 is designated as the initial direction and the directions rotated by 90 °, 180 °, and 270 ° from the initial direction, that is, north, east, south, and west, and the omnidirectional search process is performed. The direction is determined.

  The designation result A2 shows an example of the reception direction designated when the first reception direction is north in step S13 of FIG. In step S13, directions of ± 45 ° centering on the north, that is, northeast and northwest are designated as the antenna 30, and a first narrowing search is performed in which the second reception direction is determined from north, northeast, and northwest.

  The designation result A3 shows an example of the reception direction designated when the second reception direction is north in step S14 of FIG. In step S14, directions of ± 22.5 ° centering on the north, that is, directions of north-northeast and north-northwest are designated as the antenna 30, and a third receiving direction is determined from among north, north-north-east, and north-northwest. 2 refinement search is performed.

  The designation result A4 indicates the reception direction determined in steps S11 to S14 in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the reception direction is north.

  In summary, in the omnidirectional search, the search process is performed in four directions as shown in the designation result A1, and in the first and second search processes, the designated directions are centered as shown in the designation results A2 and A3, respectively. The search process is performed in the two directions. The number of searches is eight, and the number of searches is halved compared to the case of searching in all directions with an antenna that can switch the reception direction to 16 directions. By determining the general antenna receiving direction at the time of omnidirectional search, the time required for the subsequent direction search is shortened.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing in detail the process in step S11 of FIG.

  Referring to FIG. 6, when the process is started, first, in step S21, the receiving direction of antenna 30 is designated as the initial direction.

  Subsequently, in step S22, a determination process is performed in which the reception state is determined based on the reception information of the broadcast signal received from the initial direction.

  An example of the determination process will be described. For example, if the result of the error rate sent from the digital decoder 12 of FIG. 1 is a predetermined reference value (for example, 10%) or less, it is determined that a broadcast signal has been received. For example, if the reception information sent from the analog decoder 14 in FIG. 1 indicates that the horizontal synchronization signal has been captured, it is determined that the broadcast signal has been received.

  Subsequently, in step S23, the subsequent processing is branched depending on whether or not the determination processing has been performed for each of the designated four directions. If the determination process has been performed for all four directions, the process proceeds to step S24. In step S24, of the four directions, the direction determined to be able to receive the broadcast signal is determined as the first reception direction.

  Note that, as a result of the determination processing in step S22, when there are two or more directions determined to be able to receive a broadcast signal, the following processing is performed.

  For example, when it is determined that the two directions of north and east are receivable directions, in step S24, the direction of the antenna 30 is designated as the middle of the two directions, that is, the northeast, and the reception information is acquired. In step S24, the direction in which the reception level is highest is determined as the first reception direction from the reception information corresponding to each of north, east, and northeast.

  If the broadcast signal is a digital broadcast signal, for example, the direction in which the error rate is the lowest is determined as the first reception direction. Further, if the broadcast signal is an analog broadcast signal, for example, the direction in which the horizontal synchronization signal is best captured is determined as the first reception direction.

  Furthermore, when there are three directions determined to be receivable in step S24, the direction of the antenna 30 is designated as a direction between two of the three directions, and reception information for each direction is acquired. For example, if the receivable directions are north, east, and south, the direction of the antenna 30 is designated as northeast and southeast, reception information for each designated direction is acquired, and the reception level is the highest as described above. The direction is determined as the first reception direction.

  If any of the four directions is determined to be a receivable direction, it is determined as abnormal reception, and the first reception direction process is not determined and the process ends.

  On the other hand, if there is even one reception direction for which the determination process is not performed in step S23, the process proceeds to step S25. In step S25, the reception direction of the antenna 30 is designated as a direction that has not been searched, and the process returns to step S22 again.

  When the first reception direction is determined in step S24, the process ends.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing in detail the process in step S13 of FIG.

  Referring to FIG. 7, when the process is started, first, in step S31, the reception direction of antenna 30 is designated in the direction of + 45 ° with respect to the first reception direction. Next, in step S32, as in step S22 of FIG. 6, a determination process for determining whether or not a broadcast signal can be received in the designated direction is performed.

  Subsequently, in step S33, the reception direction of the antenna 30 is specified in a direction of −45 ° with respect to the first reception direction. In step S34, determination processing is performed as in step S32.

  Subsequently, in step S35, a determination process for determining the second reception direction from the first reception direction and a direction of ± 45 ° with respect to the first reception direction, that is, three directions, is performed.

  Note that the determination process in step S35 is similar to the determination process in step S24 of FIG. 6, and when there are two or more receivable directions, a direction between the receivable directions is specified and the reception information is specified. The direction having the highest reception level is determined as the second reception direction from the directions acquired and determined to be receivable in steps S32 and S34 and the direction designated in step S35.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing in detail the process in step S14 of FIG.

  Referring to FIG. 8, when the process is started, first, in step S41, the reception direction of antenna 30 is designated in the direction of + 22.5 ° with respect to the second reception direction. Next, in step S42, a determination process is performed as in step S32 of FIG.

  Subsequently, in step S43, the reception direction of the antenna 30 is designated in the direction of −22.5 ° with respect to the second reception direction. In step S44, determination processing is performed as in step S42.

  Subsequently, in step S45, determination processing for determining the third reception direction from the second reception direction and the direction of ± 22.5 ° with respect to the second reception direction, that is, three directions, is performed.

  As described above, according to the receiving apparatus of the first embodiment, the first receiving direction is determined from the first specified four directions, and then the surrounding directions are searched around the first receiving direction. Thus, it is possible to reduce the number of search processes and shorten the search time.

  Furthermore, according to the receiving apparatus of the first embodiment, it is possible to shorten the time required for the direction search by specifying the direction in which the broadcast signals of the most channels can be received as the initial direction.

[Embodiment 2]
The receiving apparatus according to the second embodiment is a receiving apparatus that can reduce a user's operation burden in the direction search process.

  FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of the receiving apparatus according to the second embodiment.

  Referring to FIG. 9, receiving apparatus 1 </ b> A is different from receiving apparatus 1 of FIG. 1 in that it includes memory 24, and is otherwise the same as receiving apparatus 1. Therefore, the description of the same part as that of receiving apparatus 1 will not be repeated hereinafter.

  The memory 24 stores the information on the third reception direction determined for each channel by the direction search process as the initial direction information in the next direction search process. At the time of shipment (initial state) of the receiving apparatus 1A, information on the initial direction may or may not be written in the memory 24 in advance.

  The memory 24 is a storage device that holds information in a nonvolatile manner, and is, for example, a flash memory.

  The control unit 20 switches between information input from the remote control reception unit 44 and information stored in the memory 24 according to the user's specification, and acquires information on the initial direction in the direction search process.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing direction search processing in the receiving apparatus 1A of FIG.

  Referring to FIG. 10, when the process is started, first, in step S51, it is confirmed by control unit 20 whether or not data in the initial direction is stored in memory 24.

  Subsequently, when data is stored in step S52, the process proceeds to step S53, and when not stored, the process proceeds to step S54.

  In step S53, whether or not to use the information stored in the memory 24 is determined by the user, and the subsequent processing is branched according to the user's determination. If the information stored in step S53 is used, the process proceeds to step S55. On the other hand, if the stored information is not used and the reception direction is designated again by the user, the process proceeds to step S54.

  In step S54, as in step S1 in FIG. 3, the user operates the menu screen displayed on the television 40 with the remote controller, so that the initial direction is designated.

  Subsequent to step S53 or step S54, in step S55, a channel for determining a reception direction is selected from a channel group of analog broadcasting and digital broadcasting.

  In step S56, the control unit 20 reads data in the initial direction for the direction search process. When it is determined in step S53 that the data in the initial direction uses the data specified by the user, the CPU 20A reads the user-specified data temporarily stored in the memory 20B. On the other hand, when it is determined in step S53 that the data stored in the memory 24 is to be read, the CPU 20A reads the data in the reception direction corresponding to the channel from the memory 24.

  Subsequently, in step S57, a direction search process similar to that in step S4 in FIG. 3 is performed.

  Furthermore, when the reception direction is set for the channels assigned in the analog broadcast and the digital broadcast in step S58, the process ends. On the other hand, if there is a channel for which the receiving direction is not set, the process returns to step S55.

  Hereinafter, effects obtained by the receiving apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described.

  For example, when the installation location of the receiving apparatus moves due to reasons such as moving, the receiving direction is generally reset. In the receiving apparatus of the first embodiment, the user needs to specify the initial direction when resetting the receiving direction. Therefore, each time the installation location is moved, the user needs to grasp the direction in which broadcast signals of as many channels as possible can be received and designate the direction as the receiving apparatus.

  On the other hand, in the receiving apparatus of the second embodiment, when the reception direction for each channel is stored in advance in the memory, the user can execute the first direction search process without specifying the reception direction. Even if the reception direction for each channel is not stored in the memory in advance, once the direction search process is executed, the reception direction for each channel is stored in the memory. Therefore, for example, when the installation location of the receiving device moves, the direction searching process can be executed in the receiving device of the second embodiment even if the user does not know the optimum receiving direction at the moving location.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the first reception direction is determined from the first four specified directions, and then the surroundings are centered on the first reception direction. By searching for the direction, the number of search processes can be reduced, and the search time can be shortened.

  Furthermore, according to the second embodiment, it is possible to save the user from having to specify the initial direction, thereby reducing the operation burden on the user.

  The number of reception directions of antenna 30 and the angles of the omnidirectional search and the first and second narrow search shown in the first and second embodiments are examples for explaining the present invention. For example, if the number of receiving directions of the antenna 30 is 24, six directions are selected by setting the angle in the omnidirectional search to 60 °, the angle of the first narrowing search is ± 30 °, and the second narrowing search is performed. It may be ± 15 °. That is, the angle in the omnidirectional search and the angles in the first and second narrowing searches are appropriately set according to the number of reception directions of the antenna 30.

  In the receiving apparatuses according to the first and second embodiments, the initial direction is specified by the user. However, the initial direction may be specified in advance by the receiving apparatus. In this case, if the initial direction is greatly deviated from the optimal reception direction, the search time may be long, but the user need not specify the initial direction, and the operation burden on the user is further reduced.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above description of the embodiments but by the scope of claims for patent, and is intended to include meanings equivalent to the scope of claims for patent and all modifications within the scope.

3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a receiving device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure explaining the example of the receiving direction of the antenna 30 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the outline | summary of the direction search process of the receiver 1 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the process of FIG.3 S4 in detail. It is a figure which shows the example of the receiving direction designated by each step of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the process of FIG.4 S11 in detail. It is a flowchart which shows the process of FIG.4 S13 in detail. It is a flowchart which shows the process of FIG.4 S14 in detail. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a receiving device according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a direction search process in the receiving device 1A of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  1, 1A receiving device, 2 receiving unit, 3 direction determining unit, 10 tuner, 12 digital decoder, 14 analog decoder, 16 MPEG decoder, 20 control unit, 20A CPU, 20B, 24 memory, 22 receiving direction switching unit, 30 antenna , 40 TV, 42 remote control, 44 remote control receiver, S1-S58 step, A1-A4 designation result.

Claims (7)

A receiving apparatus for receiving a broadcast signal by designating the receiving direction with respect to an antenna capable of switching a receiving direction,
A reception unit that receives the broadcast signal and outputs reception information indicating a reception state of the broadcast signal;
The receiver is
A digital decoder that receives a digital television broadcast signal and outputs the received information in accordance with an error rate obtained by performing a predetermined error correction process;
An analog decoder that receives an analog television broadcast signal and outputs the received information according to a result of performing a predetermined synchronization signal acquisition process;
Each of the initial direction and the direction rotated by 90 degrees from the initial direction by 90 degrees is specified for the antenna, the reception information corresponding to each direction is received, the reception state is determined, and the first reception is performed. Directions are determined, and first and second directions rotated 45 degrees in the positive and negative directions from the first receiving direction are respectively designated for the antenna, and the first and second directions Receiving the reception information corresponding to each to determine the reception state, determining the second reception direction from the determination result of the first reception direction and the determination results of the first and second directions, The third and fourth directions rotated by 22.5 degrees in the positive and negative directions from the second reception direction are designated for the antenna, and correspond to the third and fourth directions, respectively. Receiving the reception information to determine the reception state, Direction determination to determine a third reception direction from the determination result of the second reception direction and the determination results of the third and fourth directions, and to determine the third reception direction as the reception direction of the broadcast signal A receiving device. A receiving apparatus for receiving a broadcast signal by designating the receiving direction with respect to an antenna capable of switching a receiving direction,
A receiving unit that receives the broadcast signal and outputs reception information indicating a reception state of the broadcast signal;
Each of the initial direction and a direction rotated by a first angle over 360 degrees from the initial direction is designated for the antenna, and the reception state is determined by receiving the reception information corresponding to each direction to determine the reception state. And the first direction and the second direction rotated by a second angle smaller than the first angle in the positive and negative directions from the first reception direction, respectively, are designated for the antenna. And receiving the reception information corresponding to each of the first and second directions to determine the reception state, determining the determination result of the first reception direction and determining each of the first and second directions. A second reception direction is determined from the result, and third and fourth directions rotated by a third angle smaller than the second angle in the positive and negative directions from the second reception direction are set to the antenna. For each of the third and fourth directions. Receiving the corresponding reception information to determine the reception state; determining a third reception direction from the determination result of the second reception direction and the determination results of the third and fourth directions; And a direction determination unit that determines the reception direction of 3 as the reception direction of the broadcast signal.   The receiving device according to claim 2, wherein the direction determining unit receives the information on the initial direction from the outside and determines the first receiving direction.   The receiving apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a storage unit that stores the information on the initial direction, wherein the information on the third receiving direction is stored in the storage unit.   The receiving device according to claim 4, wherein the direction determining unit switches between reading out the initial direction information from the storage unit and receiving the information from the outside in accordance with an instruction from the outside.   The receiving device according to claim 2, wherein the receiving unit receives a digital television broadcast signal and an analog television broadcast signal and outputs the reception information. The receiver is
A digital decoder that receives the digital television broadcast signal and outputs the received information according to an error rate obtained by performing a predetermined error correction process;
The receiving apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising: an analog decoder that receives the analog television broadcast signal and outputs the reception information according to a result of performing a predetermined synchronization signal capturing process.

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