JP2006140640A - Mobile communication apparatus with television watching function - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mobile communication apparatus with a television watching function that makes it easy for a user to select a program. <P>SOLUTION: A control portion 31 which functions as a Web client portion sends out a URL for connection with an EPG server which has a base station ID at its tail when a television function start key is turned ON. The EPG server has a database wherein pieces of program information of respective areas are made to correspond to respective base station IDs. When the URL is received, program information of programs which are currently broadcast is taken out of the database according to the base station ID at the tail and transmitted to a mobile phone 10. The control portion 31 displays channel selection buttons including program names. The user views the display of the channel selection buttons, selects a program, and operates a channel selection button, so that the mobile phone 10 performs broadcast reception processing by a digital broadcast reception portion 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a mobile communication device with a TV viewing function, such as a mobile phone or a car navigation system that can receive a TV broadcast.

Television broadcasting differs greatly depending on the region even if the receivable channels are in the same prefecture (see Patent Document 1). In digital terrestrial broadcasting, program information is loaded on broadcast waves, and the receiver can display an EPG (Electronic Program Guide) based on the program information (see Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3).
JP 2004-64590 A JP 2002-252815 A JP-A-8-56205

  However, in a mobile communication device with a TV viewing function having a relatively small screen (display), even if an EPG display similar to that of a stationary broadcast receiving apparatus is performed, it is not convenient for the user. In particular, in digital broadcasting, it takes time to display an image (in H.264 of 1-segment broadcasting, it takes 2 seconds at the minimum and 5 seconds at the maximum), so unnecessary channel selection causes stress on the user.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a mobile communication device with a TV viewing function that allows a user to easily select a program.

  In order to solve the above problems, a mobile communication device with a television viewing function according to the present invention is a mobile communication device with a television viewing function provided with a television broadcast receiving means for receiving a television broadcast and a communication means for transmitting and receiving information. Means for acquiring program information of a currently broadcast program when an event occurs, means for displaying a channel selection button displaying a program name based on the acquired program information, and an operation on the channel selection button Means for receiving a broadcast by the television broadcast receiving means based on the program information (hereinafter referred to as a first configuration in this section).

  With the above-described configuration, since a channel selection button that displays the program name is displayed based on the program information of the currently broadcast program, channel selection is easy even in a mobile communication device with a relatively small screen. become. And operation for the channel selection button (pressing the numeric keypad corresponding to the button arrangement, pressing the numeric keypad corresponding to the number assigned to the button, placing the cursor on the button and pressing the enter key, display on the touch panel Broadcast operation is performed based on the program information when a channel selection button is touched, etc., so that a desired program can be easily viewed.

  In the first configuration, the program information of the currently broadcast program may be extracted from the broadcast wave received by the television broadcast receiving means (hereinafter referred to as the second configuration in this section).

  In the first configuration, program information of the currently broadcast program may be acquired from a server on the network connected by the communication means (hereinafter referred to as a third configuration in this section).

  In the third configuration, the communication means may be configured to send a communication base station ID to the server (hereinafter referred to as a fourth configuration in this section). Alternatively, in the third configuration, the mobile communication device may include a unit that acquires the position information of the mobile communication device, and may be configured to transmit the position information at the time when the predetermined operation is performed to the server (hereinafter, referred to as “the server”). In this section, it is referred to as a fifth configuration).

  In any one of the third configuration to the fifth configuration, the reception quality information of each broadcast is acquired from the server in addition to the program information, and the channel selection button for the receivable broadcast or the broadcast whose reception quality is a predetermined standard or higher May be configured to perform the following display (hereinafter referred to as the sixth configuration in this section). According to this, since the number of channel selection buttons can be reduced as much as possible, channel selection by the user becomes more efficient. Further, if the number of channel selection buttons is small, each channel selection button can be displayed large on one screen. It should be noted that by collecting actual reception data in each region and collecting the reception quality data, the reception quality of each broadcast in each region is made into a database and the server has this.

  In any one of the first configuration to the fifth configuration (which may be either a configuration for acquiring program information of a currently broadcast program from a broadcast wave or a configuration for acquiring from a server), the television set when the predetermined event occurs Display that serves as the channel selection button for a broadcast that can be received by broadcast reception means and that generates reception quality data for each channel, and that is within the broadcast in the program information that can be received or that has a reception quality that exceeds a certain standard. May be configured (hereinafter referred to as the seventh configuration in this section). In such a configuration, the mobile communication device with a TV viewing function itself checks the reception quality to reduce the number of channel selection buttons as much as possible.

  Broadcasting obtained from program information acquired from the server when the predetermined event occurs in any of the third configuration to the fifth configuration (configuration in which program information of a currently broadcast program is acquired from the server) The television broadcast receiving means may attempt to receive radio waves, generate reception quality data, and display the channel selection button for a receivable broadcast or a broadcast having a reception quality equal to or higher than a certain standard. Good (hereinafter referred to as the eighth configuration in this section). In this configuration, the mobile communication device with a TV viewing function itself checks the radio wave reception quality to reduce the number of channel selection buttons as much as possible. Moreover, since the channels to be inspected are broadcasts obtained from the program information acquired from the server, the number of channels to be inspected is reduced, and processing in a short time is possible. Furthermore, communication with the server and broadcast wave reception quality inspection can be performed simultaneously in parallel, and the time until the display of the channel selection button is completed can be shortened.

  In the seventh configuration or the eighth configuration (configuration for checking radio wave reception quality), the television broadcast receiving means may include two tuners, and generate the reception quality data using one tuner (hereinafter referred to as the tuner). In this section, it is referred to as the ninth configuration). According to this, while displaying a program of a certain channel with another tuner, it is possible to inspect the reception quality with the one tuner and to display the channel selection button after the inspection.

  In any one of the first configuration to the ninth configuration, the predetermined event may be a press of a television function activation button (hereinafter referred to as a tenth configuration in this section). In the tenth configuration, when the TV function activation button is pressed before the predetermined time has elapsed since the TV viewing OFF process was performed, the last channel broadcast received video is displayed, and the TV function is activated after the predetermined time has elapsed. When the button is pressed, it may be configured to display the channel selection button.

  In any one of the first configuration to the ninth configuration, the predetermined event may be a base station change in the communication. For example, when the mobile communication device with the TV viewing function is moved, the base station is changed, and the program information of the currently broadcast program may be acquired at the timing of the change.

  In any one of the first configuration to the ninth configuration, the predetermined event may be a channel change operation. For example, when channel up / down operation is performed, program information of a currently broadcast program may be acquired.

  The mobile communication device with a TV viewing function configured as described above may be configured to display the channel selection button superimposed on the received video display.

  As described above, according to the present invention, even when the screen is small, the user can easily select a program by the display as the channel selection button including the program name of the program currently being broadcast. In particular, when program information of a program currently being broadcast is acquired from the server, it is possible to quickly display a channel selection button. Further, when programs (channels) are narrowed down by received signal quality or the like, the number of channel selection buttons to be displayed is reduced, and there is an effect that program selection becomes easier.

  A mobile phone which is a mobile communication device with a TV viewing function according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a mobile phone 10. The cellular phone 10 includes a telephone function unit 30 and a digital broadcast receiving unit 20. The telephone function unit 30 includes a control unit 31, a wireless communication unit 32, a voice processing unit 33, a memory unit 34, a key input unit (operation unit) 35, a display unit (for example, a liquid crystal panel) 36, data And a processing unit 37. The voice signal received in the normal telephone process is given to the speaker 38 via the voice processing unit 33, while the voice uttered by the user is converted into a voice signal by the microphone 39 and subjected to processing such as amplification by the voice processing unit 33. The audio signal is sent out by the wireless communication unit 32. The data processing unit 37 performs processing on the received packet. The wireless communication unit 32 performs voice and data transmission / reception processing and predetermined protocol processing (transmission time processing and reception time processing) with the base station 60. The control unit 31 performs overall control in the telephone function unit 30 and performs processing for cooperation with the digital broadcast receiving unit 20. For example, as a basic process, when the TV function activation key is turned on in the key input unit 35, an ON command is given to the digital broadcast receiving unit 20, and the video output from the digital broadcast receiving unit 20 is displayed on the display unit 36. A process of giving the digital broadcast receiving unit 20 a channel selection command with the number as a channel number when the numeric keypad of the key input unit 35 is operated is performed. Further, the telephone function unit 30 acquires program information through data communication, and performs processing for giving the program information to the digital broadcast receiving unit 20. Details of this processing will be described later.

  Next, the digital broadcast receiver 20 will be described with reference to FIG. The terrestrial antenna 1 gives the received signal to the terrestrial digital tuner 2. The terrestrial digital tuner 2 extracts a signal having a specific frequency from the high-frequency digital modulation signal including video / audio data. The terrestrial digital tuner 2 includes a demodulation circuit, a deinterleave circuit, an error correction circuit, etc., and demodulates the selected digital modulation signal to output a transport stream.

  The demultiplexer (DEMUX) 3 converts the transport stream into a video stream such as MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group), an audio stream, PSI / SI (Program Specific Information / Service Information) and broadcast information (region identifier, service). Type, broadcasting station identification, service number, remote control key ID). The demultiplexer 3 supplies the video stream and the audio stream to the AV decoder 4 and supplies PSI / SI, broadcast information and the like (these information is called program information) to the CPU 13.

  The AV decoder 4 includes a video decoder that decodes a video stream and an audio decoder that decodes an audio stream. The video decoder decodes an input encoded signal to obtain a quantization coefficient and a motion vector, and performs inverse DCT transform, motion compensation control based on the motion vector, and the like. The audio decoder decodes the input encoded signal to generate audio data. The video data generated by the decoding is output to the video processing circuit 5, and the audio data is output to the audio processing circuit 6.

  The video processing circuit 5 receives video data from the AV decoder 4 and generates, for example, RGB data. The RGB data is given to the display unit 36 for video display. The audio processing circuit 6 receives the audio data output from the AV decoder 4 and performs D / A conversion to generate, for example, a right (R) sound analog signal and a left (L) sound analog signal. These audio signals are supplied to the speaker 38 or a speaker (not shown) provided separately from the telephone.

  The OSD (On Screen Display) circuit 12 outputs video data based on character information and color information instructed to be output from the CPU 13 to the adder 20. The adder 20 performs processing for incorporating the video data into the received video data output from the AV decoder 4. The OSD circuit 12 can display a menu screen, a channel selection button screen, and the like.

  A memory (for example, RAM, EEPROM, flash memory, etc.) 14 stores a channel table (a channel list in which frequency information, broadcast station name, etc. are associated with remote control key IDs and channel numbers) and the like. The memory 14 also stores a receivable table, which will be described later.

  The CPU 13 exchanges information with the telephone function unit 30 via the external input / output interface 9. The CPU 13 can perform channel search processing by the digital broadcast receiving unit 20 itself and channel selection processing using the search result (channel table), etc. Channel selection processing using program information of the program is also performed. This will be described later.

  The mobile phone base station that forms a line connection relationship with the mobile phone 10 is the base station that is closest to the mobile phone base station that is present in plural. The mobile phone 10 can be connected to a server on the Internet (hereinafter referred to as an EPG server) via a mobile phone base station. The control unit 31 also functions as a mail processing unit and a Web client unit. The wireless communication unit 32 performs communication processing during operation of the Web client unit, communication processing during mail communication operation, and the like.

  The control unit 31 that functions as a Web client unit stores, in the memory unit 34, files such as program information transmitted from the resource side, processing for transmitting a notation (URL) that specifies how to reach resources existing on the Internet, and so on. Processing to store and processing to generate display image data by interpreting files are performed. The control unit 31 functioning as a mail transmission / reception unit performs a process of receiving a mail from a mail server on the Internet or transmitting a mail text to the mail server.

  The mobile phone 10 can acquire a base station ID from a mobile phone base station that forms a line connection relationship. When the TV function activation key is turned ON, the control unit 31 functioning as a Web client unit transmits a URL for connecting to the EPG server (for example, “http: //WWW.OO EPG.jp/ ”Etc.) is sent at the end of the URL with the base station ID added. The EPG server has a database in which program information (broadcast station name, channel, program name, broadcast time, program content, etc.) in each region is associated with each base station ID. When the URL is received, the program information of the currently broadcast program in the area is extracted from the database using the base station ID at the end of the URL and transmitted to the mobile phone 10.

  An outline of the above processing is shown in the flowchart of FIG. When the mobile phone 10 detects that the TV function activation key has been pressed (YES in step S1), it connects to the EPG server using the Internet (step S2). The EPG server detects the base station ID, which is area information (step S3), and extracts and transmits the program information of the currently broadcast program that matches the area information (step S4). The mobile phone 10 acquires the program information of the currently broadcast program sent from the EPG server and stores it in the memory unit 34 (step S5).

  The control unit 31 instructs the digital broadcast receiving unit 20 to select a channel (reception quality inspection) for each program included in the program information of the currently broadcasted program sent from the EPG server. At this point, the digital broadcast receiver 20 does not perform the received video display process, but performs the tuning process and the received radio wave level detection for the designated channel. Note that the error rate may be calculated by demodulating the received radio wave instead of the received radio wave level. The control unit 31 receives radio wave reception quality information (received radio wave level, error rate, etc.) from the digital broadcast receiving unit 20, compares it with a reference value (for example, this reference value is held in the memory unit 34), It is determined whether the radio wave reception quality is above a certain level or whether broadcast reception is possible. Even if the program (channel) information can be received from the EPG server, the program information about the program that does not satisfy certain quality or cannot be received is discarded and a receivable table is created. This receivable table includes a channel number (remote control key ID), a program name, a broadcast station name, a broadcast time, a program introduction, and the like. For example, the control unit 31 sends the completed receivable table to the digital broadcast receiving unit 20, and the digital broadcast receiving unit 20 stores the received receivable table in the memory 14.

  The control unit 31 creates a table in which the numeric key number of the key input unit 35 and the channel number are associated with each other and stores the table in the memory unit 34. Based on the contents of the receivable table, the CPU 13 of the digital broadcast receiving unit 20 uses the OSD circuit 12 to generate image data of the channel selection button and supply it to the display unit 36 as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, nine channel selection buttons of 3 × 3 are displayed on one screen. Each channel selection button displays a broadcast station name, a broadcast time, and a program name. In the channel selection button display, for example, a channel having a higher viewing frequency (viewing frequency data may be generated for each broadcast station name or program name) or a channel having a higher radio wave reception level is on the upper side. You may perform the process of assigning to. When there are 10 or more receivable programs, the next page is created and the remaining channel selection buttons are displayed on the next page. Conversely, when the number of channel selection buttons is small, the channel selection buttons and characters may be displayed larger. When the user operates the numeric keypad, the control unit 31 provides information on the numeric keypad number to the digital broadcast receiving unit 20. The CPU 13 of the digital broadcast receiving unit 20 refers to the receivable table, acquires the channel number (frequency information) from the numeric keypad number, performs tuning processing, demodulation processing, and decoding processing, and supplies the received video to the display unit 36. To do.

  An outline of the above processing is shown in the flowchart of FIG. The mobile phone 10 extracts a broadcast station from the program information (step S11), and detects the signal level (received radio wave level) of the extracted broadcast station (step S12). When the signal level is equal to or higher than a certain value, the broadcast station program information is stored in the receivable table (step S14). Then, a channel is assigned to the numeric keypad (step S15), and a channel selection button is displayed (step S16).

  There are two methods for assigning channels to the numeric keypad: a method for assigning numeric keys corresponding to the channel selection button arrangement, and a method for assigning numbers to selection buttons and associating the numbers with the numeric keypad numbers. It is not limited to assigning a channel to the numeric keypad, but the cursor (for example, frame display) on the channel selection button is moved according to the operation of the cross key (direction key) of the key input unit 35, and the enter key is operated. The process of recognizing that the button at the cursor position has been selected, or when using the touch panel, the process of recognizing that the button directly touched by the user has been selected may be performed. In the channel selection button display shown in FIG. 5, the broadcast station name, broadcast time, and program name are displayed, but the program introduction (program detailed information) is further displayed in the channel selection button on which the cursor is placed. It is good also (refer also FIG. 6).

  In the above embodiment, the EPG server is configured to know the position (region) of the mobile phone 10 by sending the base station ID to the EPG server. A global positioning system) may be installed to acquire position information (latitude / longitude information) by itself and send this position information to the EPG server. Of course, the position (region) of the mobile phone 10 may be grasped on the EPG server side by a method other than these, and program information of a program currently being broadcast in that region may be given to the mobile phone 10.

  In the above embodiment, the acquisition of the program information of the currently broadcast program from the EPG server and the process of receiving the broadcast wave reception quality are performed in parallel to shorten the processing time. The broadcast wave reception quality inspection process may be started after acquiring the program information of the current broadcast program from the EPG server. It is not necessary to omit the display to be a channel selection button based on reception quality or broadcast reception inability judgment, and even if the reception quality is below a certain level or a program judged to be broadcast reception inability, it becomes a channel selection button for that program. It is good also as performing a display. However, in this case, the channel selection button of the program is displayed in a different mode from the other channel selection buttons, such as displaying in a different color (for example, red) from other buttons or displaying an “x” mark. Is good. Further, the channel selection button may be displayed in green when the reception quality is good and in reddish color when the reception quality is not good.

  Moreover, the acquisition of the program information of the program currently being broadcast can be acquired not only by the EPG server but also by receiving broadcast waves. However, in this case, it is considered that a relatively long time is required as compared with the case where program information is acquired from the EPG server.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the mobile phone 10 performs broadcast reception to inspect reception quality, but reception quality information may be received from the EPG server. For example, actual reception may be attempted in each region, radio wave reception quality of each broadcast in each region may be collected to create a database, and the EPG server may have this database. Alternatively, for example, each base station may be provided with an antenna and a broadcast receiving facility, and radio wave reception quality of each broadcast that can be received at the site may be collected periodically or in real time and given to the EPG server. The station itself may provide the mobile phone 10 with program information and reception quality information as an EPG server. Note that broadcasts that are determined to be unreceivable by the EPG server or whose reception quality is below a certain level may be excluded from the program information sent to the mobile phone 10.

  The display serving as the channel selection button is not limited to that shown in FIG. 5, but may be performed in a bulleted manner (in a list display manner) as shown in FIG. In this case as well, for example, the mobile phone 10 may perform channel selection by moving the cursor (color change) by operating the cross key, placing the cursor on a desired location, and pressing the enter key.

  The digital broadcast receiving unit 20 may include two tuners and generate the reception quality data using one tuner. According to this, while receiving the program reception video image of a certain channel (such as the last channel or the channel first determined to satisfy the reception quality) with another tuner, the reception quality at the one tuner is displayed. It is possible to display a channel selection button after the inspection.

  In the above-described embodiment, the connection to the EPG server and the reception quality inspection are performed using the depression of the television function activation button as an event. However, the present invention is not limited to always performing such processing when the television function activation button is depressed. Absent. For example, if the TV function activation button is pressed before a predetermined time (for example, 3 minutes) has elapsed since the TV viewing is turned off, it is considered that there is no change in the program reception status. When the TV function start button is pressed after the predetermined time has elapsed while the display of the last channel broadcast reception video is performed without performing the following display (EPG server connection, program information reception, etc.) Considering that there is a possibility of change, display (processing such as EPG server connection, program information reception) serving as the channel selection button may be performed.

  In the above-described embodiment, the connection to the EPG server and the reception quality inspection are performed using the depression of the television function activation button as an event. However, the present invention is not limited to the depression of the television function activation button. When the station is changed, display (processing such as EPG server connection and program information reception) serving as the channel selection button may be performed. Further, when a channel change operation (channel up / down operation or the like) is performed, display (processing such as EPG server connection and program information reception) serving as the channel selection button may be performed.

  Moreover, it may be configured to display the channel selection button superimposed on the received video display. For example, in a configuration in which program information and reception quality information are received from an EPG server, broadcast reception video display of, for example, the last channel is also executed simultaneously with the depression of the TV function activation button, and after the receivable table is created, It is good also as performing the display process used as a channel selection button. Of course, when an operation is performed on the channel selection button, the broadcast reception video of the corresponding channel is displayed, and the channel selection button is not displayed. Similar superimposition processing is also possible when two tuners are provided. In addition, when the radio wave reception quality inspection using the tuner is not performed, the same superimposition processing can be performed with one tuner. Until the channel selection button can be displayed, OSD display such as “receiving the last channel”, “currently creating a channel selection button”, or “please wait for a while” may be displayed on the screen.

  In the above example, a mobile phone is illustrated as a communication device with a TV viewing function. However, it can also be configured as an in-vehicle device having a communication function and a broadcast receiving function.

It is the block diagram which showed the mobile telephone of embodiment of this invention. It is the block diagram which showed the broadcast receiving part of the mobile telephone of embodiment of this invention. It is the flowchart which showed the processing content of embodiment of this invention. It is the flowchart which showed the processing content of embodiment of this invention. It is the front view which showed the external appearance and display content of the mobile telephone of embodiment of this invention. It is the front view which showed the other example of the external appearance and display content of the mobile telephone of embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Mobile phone 20 Digital broadcast receiving part 30 Telephone function part 31 Control part 32 Wireless communication part

Claims (14)

In a mobile communication device with a TV viewing function provided with a TV broadcast receiving means for receiving a TV broadcast and a communication means for transmitting and receiving information, a means for acquiring program information of a program currently being broadcast when a predetermined event occurs; Means for displaying a channel selection button with a program name displayed based on the acquired program information, and broadcast by the television broadcast receiving means based on the program information when the channel selection button is operated. A mobile communication device with a TV viewing function, comprising: a means for performing reception. The mobile communication device with a TV viewing function according to claim 1, wherein program information of the currently broadcast program is extracted from a broadcast wave received by the TV broadcast receiving means. machine. The mobile communication device with a TV viewing function according to claim 1, wherein the program information of the currently broadcast program is acquired from a server on the network connected by the communication means. Communication equipment. 4. The mobile communication device with a television viewing function according to claim 3, wherein the communication means is configured to send a communication base station ID to the server. 4. The mobile communication device with a TV viewing function according to claim 3, further comprising means for acquiring position information of the mobile communication device, wherein the position information at the time when the predetermined operation is performed is transmitted to the server. A mobile communication device with a TV viewing function, characterized by being configured. 6. The mobile communication device with a TV viewing function according to claim 3, wherein reception quality information of each broadcast is acquired from the server in addition to the program information, and receivable broadcast or reception quality is a constant standard. A mobile communication device with a TV viewing function, configured to display the channel selection button for the broadcast described above. 6. The mobile communication device with a television viewing function according to claim 1, wherein when the predetermined event occurs, the television broadcast receiving means tries to receive radio waves of each channel and receives reception quality data. Generated and displayed as the channel selection button for a receivable broadcast or a broadcast whose reception quality is equal to or higher than a certain standard among the broadcasts in the program information. Communication equipment. 6. The mobile communication device with a TV viewing function according to claim 3, wherein said TV broadcast receiving means is used for a broadcast obtained from program information acquired from said server when said predetermined event occurs. A TV viewing function configured to generate reception quality data by trying to receive radio waves and to display the channel selection button for a receivable broadcast or a broadcast whose reception quality is a certain standard or higher. Mobile communication equipment with. 9. The mobile communication device with a TV viewing function according to claim 7, wherein the TV broadcast receiving means includes two tuners, and generates the reception quality data using one tuner. Mobile communication device with TV viewing function. 10. The mobile communication device with a TV viewing function according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined event is a press of a TV function start button. 11. The mobile communication device with a TV viewing function according to claim 10, wherein when the TV function start button is pressed before a predetermined time has elapsed since the TV viewing OFF process, the last channel broadcast received video is displayed. On the other hand, a mobile communication device with a TV viewing function configured to display the channel selection button when the TV function activation button is pressed after the predetermined time has elapsed. 10. The mobile communication device with a television viewing function according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined event is a change of a base station in the communication. 10. The mobile communication device with a television viewing function according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined event is a channel change operation. The mobile communication device with a television viewing function according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the television viewing function is configured to display the channel selection button superimposed on a received video display. Mobile communication equipment with.

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