JP2006074640A - Digital broadcast receiving device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the big problem for a portable receiving device, to which battery life and reduction in size and weight are critical, wherein a position detection unit such as GPS is required, in addition to a broadcast receiving function, although it is necessary to newly tune in a channel when the device moves in a new receiving area during digital broadcasting viewing and listening. <P>SOLUTION: A broadcasting station list information on each receiving area, an information on a chain station where each broadcasting station belongs to, and a chain station information on the chain station of a broadcasting station and being composed of an area identification information are stored in a digital broadcast receiving device. When the name of a broadcasting station in a certain area or the name of a broadcasting station representing a chain is specified, the information stored in the receiving device is referred to, and a channel of a chain same to a specified broadcasting provider can be tuned in automatically, based on a receiving area information of the present location acquired from the received broadcast wave. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a digital broadcast receiver, and by effectively utilizing information transmitted from a broadcast station, in addition to basic functions provided in a general digital broadcast receiver, an effective channel selection method is provided to a user. It is to provide.

  Digital broadcasts can also be viewed by mobile receivers and portable receivers. In that case, it is assumed that the reception area will change as the user moves. There is a possibility that the program viewing state cannot be maintained due to the difference in broadcasting frequency.

  In such a case, as a method for the user to continuously watch the same program, the user physically confirms the presence / absence of a broadcast wave, the content of the received program, etc. while changing the channel in order, There is a method of finding a target program.

  Alternatively, instead of physically changing the channel in order, the user calls a table of frequencies that can be received at the current location, and sets the receivable frequencies included in the called table in order. There is a method of checking the contents and finding the target program.

  However, each of these methods has a problem that it takes a lot of time and effort to find a target program. As a method of improving these methods, the current location is identified by using a specific position detection device such as an in-vehicle navigation system, and map data for determining which reception region the current location belongs to is used for each reception region. A technique for easily selecting an affiliated station from the affiliated station frequency map is disclosed in Patent Document 1.

In the channel setting method disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is possible to greatly reduce the time and effort for a user to switch channels many times and confirm / determine whether or not the program content is the intended content. it can.
JP 2000-31157 A

  However, in the conventional channel setting method as shown in Patent Document 1, in addition to a device that is basically necessary for receiving and viewing digital broadcasts, position detection such as GPS (Global Positioning System) is performed. However, the implementation of these additional devices will lead to an increase in power consumption, and as a result, the continuous viewing time when the battery is driven will be shortened. There was a fatal problem for the receiver.

  In the case of a portable receiving device, since it is necessary for the user himself to carry the portable receiving device, it is desirable to be as small and light as possible, but mounting a device for position detection such as GPS, There was a possibility of being restricted from the aspect of miniaturization and weight reduction.

  The present invention includes means for easily selecting a target program or channel by a user even when the reception area changes only by an apparatus basically required for receiving and viewing a digital broadcast. It is an object of the present invention to provide a receiving apparatus that can be expected to reduce power consumption, size, and weight in a structural manner.

  In order to solve the above problems, a digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention acquires a digital broadcast wave transmitted from a broadcast station, and acquires area identification information from the broadcast wave received by the receiving means. Area identification information obtaining means, information storage means for storing affiliated station information of each broadcasting station and broadcast station information for each reception area defined by the standard, affiliated station specifying means for designating a specific affiliated station The broadcast in the reception area where the digital broadcast reception apparatus is present, wherein the digital broadcast reception apparatus is extracted from the area identification information acquired by the area identification information acquisition means and the information stored in the information storage means Based on the station information and the affiliated station information of the affiliated station specified in the affiliated station specifying means extracted from the information stored in the information storage means, Broadcast station selection means for selecting a broadcast station suitable for reception in a reception area where a digital broadcast reception device exists, and control of the reception means so as to receive broadcast waves of the broadcast station selected by the broadcast station selection means Receiving control means.

  Further, the affiliated station designating means in the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention is the broadcast station name corresponding to each affiliated station in the specific reception area defined by the standard or the broadcast station name representing each affiliated station. Or a frequency table arbitrarily created by the user.

  Further, the area identification information acquisition means in the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention reads an area identifier assigned to the broadcast wave in addition to broadcast contents such as video and audio from the broadcast wave transmitted by the broadcast station. It is what.

  In digital broadcasting, information that can specify a reception area to which a broadcaster belongs is sent together with viewing content, but the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention configured as described above is sent from a broadcasting station. By utilizing the above information other than viewing content, there is no need for a position detection device for specifying the current location, such as GPS, or a mass storage device for holding map data for specifying the reception area from the current location. The program viewing state can be maintained even when the reception area changes with the movement of the user, by using only the devices basically required for receiving the digital broadcast.

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a configuration example of an operation unit 3 that is a configuration block of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus illustrated in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a broadcast station database representing broadcast stations that provide services in a reception area defined by a standard.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a receiving means for viewing a digital broadcast. The receiving means 1 receives a broadcast station selection means 11 for receiving a broadcast wave of a broadcast station desired by the user, and the broadcast station selection means 11 receives the broadcast wave. Received signal processing means 12 for separating the received signal into various information signals such as video signals, audio signals and various broadcast wave identifiers, audio output means 13 for outputting the audio signals separated by the received signal processing means 12, and received signals And a video output means 14 for outputting the video signal separated by the processing means 12.

  Reference numeral 4 denotes control means, which is composed of a microcomputer or the like. The control means 4 receives a broadcast station selection means for selecting a broadcast station suitable for reception in a reception area where the digital receiver is present, and a broadcast wave of the broadcast station selected by the broadcast station selection means. A reception control means for controlling the means 1 is included, and the following control processing is performed. Based on the area identification information separated by the reception signal processing means 12 and obtained by the area identification information obtaining means 15 and the broadcasting station database stored in the information storage means 2, services are provided in the area where the digital broadcast receiving apparatus currently exists. A process of reading out broadcast station list information relating to broadcast stations to be performed, a process of reading out affiliated station information corresponding to the broadcast station designated by the user through the operation means 3 based on the broadcast station database stored in the information storage means 2, Based on the change processing of the display contents of the video output means 14 according to the instruction from the operation means 3, and the broadcast station list information and affiliated station information, the same affiliated station as the designated broadcast station in the area where the digital broadcast receiving apparatus exists Processing for selecting the corresponding broadcasting station is performed.

  The broadcasting station database stored in the information storage means 2 includes the broadcasting station name of the broadcasting station that provides services for each reception area defined by the standard, and the corresponding affiliated station information defined by the standard (in FIG. An example is shown), and data such as broadcast frequencies of broadcast stations / affiliated stations are stored.

  The operation means 3 for the user to perform various operations / instructions includes affiliated station designating means for designating a specific affiliated station as a function. The viewing screen 5 and a broadcast station designation method or broadcast station displayed on the viewing screen 5 It comprises an item selection key 6 for giving an instruction for the user to select a specific item from the list, and a decision key 7 for deciding to adopt the currently selected item. The operation means 3 is composed of a remote control using infrared rays and the like, and a remote control image control section for changing the display contents of the video output means 14 in response to an input from the remote control, and operates the remote control according to the display image. It is also possible to adopt a configuration for performing processing.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart of processing performed by the control means 4 of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 shows the operation of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention in the operating means 3 for designating the affiliated station from the reception area defined by the standard and the broadcast station list associated with the area. It shows an example of the display screen displayed on the viewing screen 5, (a) is a display example of the district selection screen, (b) is a reception area selection screen defined by the standard belonging to the district selected in (a) Display example (in this case, the screen when “Kinki” is selected in (a)), (c) is the broadcast station selection screen defined by the standard that the service is performed in the receiving area selected in (b) Is a display example (in this case, a screen when “Osaka” is selected in (b)). FIG. 7 shows an example of a display screen displayed on the viewing screen 5 in the operation means 3 for designating an affiliated station from a broadcast station name representing the affiliated group. FIG. 8 shows a display screen displayed on the viewing screen 5 in the operation means 3 for designating affiliated stations from a frequency table (channel list and display in FIG. 8) created by the user arbitrarily registering broadcast stations. An example is shown.

  Hereinafter, processing performed by the control means 4 of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings. In this example, the user who lives in Osaka selects the name of the broadcasting station that provides services in Osaka, the name of the broadcasting station that represents the service, and the frequency table that is used in Osaka. A case will be described in which a station instruction is given and a corresponding broadcast station is selected in the same series in Tokyo as the instructed broadcast station.

  In FIG. 5, first, in step S11, the video output means 14 is instructed to display a screen (FIG. 2) for the user to select a method for designating affiliated stations on the viewing screen 5, and the user selects an item. The video output means 14 is controlled so as to change the display contents as necessary according to the key input input using the key 6 and the enter key 7. When the affiliated station designation method is selected in step S11, the process proceeds to step S12. The selection of the affiliated station designation method here refers to the user receiving a broadcast station in the current location (Tokyo) by a specific reception defined by the standard. Broadcast stations registered in the frequency table created for regular viewing in the local area (Osaka), whether you want to know corresponding to the broadcasting stations belonging to the region, or the name of the broadcasting station that represents the affiliate The selection of this affiliated station designation method is set by the item selection key 6 and the decision key 7.

  In step S12, the affiliated station designation method set in step S11 is discriminated. If it is designated from the reception area defined in the standard and the broadcast station list associated with that area, the process proceeds to step S13, and the series is designated. If the designation is from a representative broadcasting station name, the process proceeds to step S16. If the designation is from a frequency table created by the user arbitrarily registering a broadcasting station, the process proceeds to step S17.

  In step S13, as a first stage for selecting a reception area defined by the standard when displaying a list of broadcast stations in the area, the name of the area that summarizes several reception areas is displayed on the viewing screen 5 (FIG. 6). (A)) The video output means 14 is instructed to control the video output means 14 to change the display contents as necessary according to the key input that the user inputs using the item selection key 6 and the decision key 7. To do. For example, when selecting a district name, refer to the list of broadcasting stations specified in the standard when the user performs service in the local area (Osaka), and the broadcasting station specified in the standard when performing service in the current location (Tokyo). If the affiliated station is to be supported, select “Kinki”, the district to which the local (Osaka) belongs. When a specific district name is selected in this way, the process proceeds to step S14.

  In step S14, the broadcasting station database stored in the information storage means 2 is searched based on the district name selected / set in step S13, and the reception area name corresponding to the district is displayed on the viewing screen 5 (FIG. 6 (b)) to instruct the video output 14 to perform. The video output means 14 is controlled so that the display content is changed as necessary in accordance with the key input that the user inputs using the item selection key 6 and the decision key 7. For selection of the reception area name, for example, “Osaka” is selected in order to refer to a list of broadcasting stations defined by the standard when the user performs service in the local area (Osaka). When a specific reception area name is selected in this way, the process proceeds to step S15. In addition to the hierarchical designation method using the district name such as “Kinki”, the designation of the reception area can be performed directly from the list of reception area names.

  In step S15, the broadcast station database stored in the information storage means 2 is searched based on the reception area selected / set in step S14, and service is provided in the reception area. In particular, the video output means 14 is instructed to display a list of broadcast station names belonging to any of the series on the viewing screen 5 (FIG. 6C). The video output means 14 is controlled so that the display content is changed as necessary in accordance with the key input that the user inputs using the item selection key 6 and the decision key 7. For example, if the user wants to select a broadcasting station in the same location as “Yomiuri Television”, which is serviced in the local location (Osaka), in the current location (Tokyo), the viewing screen “Yomiuri Television” is selected from the list of broadcasting stations displayed in 5. When a specific broadcasting station name is selected in this way, the process proceeds to step S19.

  On the other hand, in step S16, the video output unit 14 searches the broadcast station database stored in the information storage unit 2 and displays a list of representative affiliated station names representing the series on the viewing screen 5 (FIG. 7). To instruct. When the video output means 14 is controlled to change the display contents as necessary according to the key input that the user inputs using the item selection key 6 and the decision key 7, and a specific representative affiliated station name is selected. Move on to S19.

  In step S17, the video output means 14 is instructed to display on the viewing screen 5 a frequency table (indicated as a channel list in FIG. 8) created by the user and stored in the digital broadcast receiving apparatus. The video output means 14 is controlled so that the display content is changed as necessary in accordance with the key input that the user inputs using the item selection key 6 and the decision key 7. When a specific broadcast station name is selected from the frequency table displayed on the viewing screen 5, the process proceeds to step S18.

  In step S18, it is determined whether the broadcast station selected in step S17 is a broadcast station belonging to any series or an independent station. If it is a broadcast station belonging to any series, the process proceeds to step S19. If it is an independent station, the process proceeds to step S17. More specifically, if the user selects “Yomiuri TV” corresponding to the affiliated station represented by the name of the Nippon Television Network in step S17, the process proceeds to step S19, and the independent station “Sun” is selected. If "TV" is selected, the process proceeds to step S17.

  Next, in step S19, the broadcast station selected by searching the broadcast station database stored in the information storage means 2 based on the broadcast station selected in any of steps S15, S16 and S17 belongs. The affiliated station is specified, and the process proceeds to step S20.

  In step S20, it is determined whether or not the digital broadcast receiving apparatus is currently receiving a broadcast wave. If a broadcast wave is received, the process proceeds to step S23, and if not received, the process proceeds to step S21.

  In step S21, the broadcast station selection means 11 is instructed to search for a frequency that can be received at the current location by, for example, physically scanning channels in sequence, and the process proceeds to step S22.

  In step S22, it is determined whether or not a receivable broadcast wave has been detected as a result of the search in step S21. If a receivable broadcast wave exists, the process proceeds to step S23, and there is no receivable broadcast wave. If it is, the processing is terminated assuming that the broadcast cannot be received at the current location.

  In step S23, area identification information is acquired from receivable broadcast waves, a broadcast station database stored in the information storage means 2 is searched based on the area identification information, and a reception area corresponding to the current location is specified. Move on to S24. Note that the method for identifying the reception area corresponding to the current location is that multiple pieces of different area identification information are acquired except for identification information that means that services are performed in a plurality of reception areas (Kanto wide area, Kansai wide area, etc.). In such a case, the reception area corresponding to the current location is specified based on the area identification information corresponding to the broadcast wave having the highest reception intensity.

  In step S24, the broadcast station database stored in the information storage means 2 is searched based on the affiliated station information specified in step S19, and the service is performed in the reception area specified in step S23. A broadcast station belonging to the corresponding series is searched from the list of stations, and the process proceeds to step S25.

  In step S25, as a result of searching in step S24, there is a broadcasting station corresponding to the affiliated station specified in step S19 in the list of broadcasting stations defined in the standard when service is performed in the reception area corresponding to the current location. If there is a corresponding broadcasting station, the process proceeds to step S26. As a specific example in which the corresponding broadcasting station is specified, when “Yomiuri Television” is selected in Step S15 or Step S17 in the current location (Tokyo), or “Nippon Television Broadcasting Network” is selected in Step S16. In this case, “Nihon TV” corresponding to the same series as Yomiuri Television and Nippon Television Broadcasting Network is identified as the corresponding broadcasting station. If there is no corresponding broadcasting station, it is determined that there is no corresponding affiliated station in the current reception area, and the process ends.

  In step S26, the broadcast station selection means 11 is instructed to receive the broadcast station specified in step S25, and the process ends.

  As described above, the affiliated station information of the broadcast station designated by the user that can be referred from the broadcast station database stored in the information storage means 2, the information present in the broadcast wave transmitted in the digital broadcast service, and the broadcast station Based on the database, by taking the correspondence of affiliated stations from the broadcasting station information that is provided at the current location of the destination, the reception area changes only by the devices that are basically necessary for receiving and viewing digital broadcasting Even in this case, it is possible to easily select a target program or channel by the user, and to provide a digital broadcast receiving apparatus that is small and light and has low power consumption.

  The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention is basically only an apparatus necessary for receiving / viewing digital broadcasts, and requires a troublesome and time-consuming operation for the channel selection function accompanying the movement of the user. In particular, it is useful as a portable digital broadcast receiving apparatus and the like in which battery life, miniaturization, and weight reduction are important.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the digital broadcast receiver which concerns on embodiment of this invention Schematic which shows the structural example of the operation means which is one structural block of the digital broadcast receiver shown in FIG. The figure which shows an example of the broadcast station database showing the broadcast station which provides a service in the reception area defined by the standard The figure which shows an example of affiliate_id defined by the standard concerning the information of the affiliated station to which the broadcasting station corresponds The flowchart of the process which the control means of the digital broadcast receiver which concerns on embodiment of this invention performs In the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is displayed on the viewing screen in the operation means for specifying the affiliated station from the reception area defined by the standard and the broadcast station list associated with the area. Figure showing an example of a display screen The figure which shows the example of a display screen displayed on the viewing-and-listening screen in an operation means for designating an affiliated station from the broadcast station name representing an affiliate The figure which shows the example of a display screen displayed on the viewing-and-listening screen in an operation means for designating an affiliated station from the frequency table which the user arbitrarily registered and created the broadcasting station

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Reception means 2 Information storage means 3 Operation means 4 Control means 5 Viewing screen 6 Item selection key 7 Determination key 11 Broadcast station selection means 12 Reception signal processing means 13 Audio | voice output means 14 Image | video output means 15 Area identification information acquisition means

Claims (3)

Receiving means for receiving a digital broadcast wave transmitted from a broadcasting station;
Area identification information acquisition means for acquiring area identification information from the broadcast wave received by the reception means, information storage means for storing affiliated station information of each broadcast station and broadcast station information for each reception area defined by the standard; ,
A digital broadcast receiving device comprising affiliated station designating means for designating a specific affiliated station,
In the area identification information acquired by the area identification information acquisition means, the broadcast station information of the reception area where the digital broadcast receiving apparatus is extracted from the information stored in the information storage means, and in the information storage means Broadcast for selecting a broadcasting station suitable for reception in a reception area where the digital broadcast receiving apparatus exists based on the affiliated station information specified by the affiliated station specifying means extracted from stored information Station selection means;
A digital broadcast receiving apparatus comprising: a reception control means for controlling the receiving means so as to receive a broadcast wave of a broadcasting station selected by the broadcasting station selecting means. The affiliated station designating means is a broadcast station name corresponding to each affiliated station in a specific reception area defined by the standard, a broadcast station name representing each affiliated station, or a frequency table arbitrarily created by the user. 2. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the digital broadcast receiving apparatus can be designated by any of the above. 2. The digital broadcast reception according to claim 1, wherein the area identification information acquisition means reads out an area identifier assigned to the broadcast wave in addition to broadcast contents such as video and audio from the broadcast wave transmitted by the broadcast station. apparatus.

Images