JP2006238389A - Television apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automatically perform channel switching, at any arbitrary point of time during a sleep timer operation. <P>SOLUTION: In a television apparatus 100 comprising a function for automatically turning off a power source after the lapse of a preset sleep timer time, when the channel key of a remote controller R is depressed within a fixed time after the sleep timer time is set by the remote controller R, a setting picture for setting a switching time until being switched to a channel corresponding to that channel key is displayed on a monitor 5. When the switching time is set on this setting picture, until the lapse of the sleep timer time, the channel is automatically switched at a point of time reaching the set switching time. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a television apparatus having a function of automatically turning off a power when a preset timer time elapses.

  Some television apparatuses have a sleep timer function. The sleep timer function is a function for automatically turning off the power when a predetermined time elapses even if the user goes to sleep while watching the television and sleeps with the television turned on. The sleep timer time until the power is turned off can be set with the remote control. For example, when the sleep key provided on the remote control is pressed once, the sleep timer time is set to 10 minutes, when pressed twice, it is set to 20 minutes, and when pressed three times, it is set to 30 minutes. .

  In a television apparatus having such a sleep timer function, while the sleep timer is operating, the program of the channel currently being viewed is aired until the power is turned off, but depending on the time of day, the program is currently being viewed during the sleep timer operation. In some cases, the program may end, and after the program ends, it may be desired to switch to another channel and go to bed while watching the program on that channel. Further, there is a case where it is desired to switch to another program from the middle even if the program does not end. FIG. 16 is a time chart showing an example thereof. In this example, since the sleep timer time is set to 30 minutes at time T1, the currently viewed 2CH program (CH is an abbreviation of the channel; the same applies hereinafter) ends at time T2 when 10 minutes have passed. At T2, the channel is switched to 6CH, the remaining 20 minutes are viewed on the 6CH program, and the power is automatically turned off at time T3 when 30 minutes of the sleep timer time has elapsed. However, in this case, in order to switch the channel from 2CH to 6CH at time T2, it is necessary to manually switch the channel by operating the remote controller, which is troublesome for the viewer and disturbs sleep.

On the other hand, in Patent Document 1 below, in a television apparatus having a sleep timer function that turns off the power at a set time, when the television broadcast ends before the sleep timer time elapses, the channel is switched to another channel. Or playing a videotape. Further, in Patent Document 2, in a television apparatus having an on-timer function that turns on at a set time, when there is no received radio wave of a preselected channel when the power is turned on, a video tape is played back. And receiving received radio waves of other receivable channels. However, in Patent Document 1, since the channel switching and the video tape reproduction are not performed unless the end of the television broadcast is detected, the viewer cannot arbitrarily select the time point at which the channel switching is performed during the sleep timer operation. The device of Patent Document 2 is an apparatus having an on-timer function opposite to the sleep timer function, and channel switching and video tape playback are performed only when the power is turned on. It is not possible to arbitrarily select the time point at which the channel is switched during operation.
JP 2002-281415 A JP 2003-46881 A

  As described above, in the conventional television apparatus, since the channel switching during the sleep timer operation must be performed manually, there is a problem that sleep is hindered in addition to complicated operation, The techniques of Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2 have a problem that the channel switching time point during the sleep timer operation cannot be arbitrarily selected.

  The present invention solves the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a television apparatus that can automatically perform channel switching during a sleep timer operation at an arbitrary time. It is in.

  The present invention relates to a tuner that extracts a signal of a predetermined channel from a broadcast signal, a signal processing unit that processes a signal extracted by the tuner, a monitor that displays video based on the video signal processed by the signal processing unit, and a signal In a television apparatus including a speaker that outputs audio based on an audio signal processed by the processing unit and a power control unit that automatically turns off the power when a preset timer time elapses, the timer time is When a channel key is pressed within a certain time after setting, a setting screen for setting the switching time until switching to the channel is displayed on the monitor, and it is set until the timer time elapses. The channel is automatically switched when the switching time is reached.

  In the present invention, if the channel key is pressed within a certain time after setting the timer time, a switching time setting screen is displayed on the monitor. In this setting screen, if the switching time until switching to the channel corresponding to the pressed channel key is set, the channel is automatically switched when the set switching time is reached until the timer time elapses. It is done. Therefore, even if you want to switch channels while the sleep timer is operating, you do not need to switch manually each time and can switch channels automatically at any time set on the setting screen. Released from. Further, since the setting screen for switching time is displayed simply by pressing the channel key corresponding to the channel to be switched, there is an advantage that the operation is simple and easy to understand.

  In the present invention, after setting the switching time on the setting screen and pressing another channel key, a new setting screen for setting the switching time until switching to the other channel is displayed on the monitor. According to this, by operating the channel key a plurality of times and setting a plurality of switching times, the channel switching can be automatically performed a plurality of times during the sleep timer operation.

  In the present invention, when the switching time set on the setting screen is within the range of the timer time and the setting of the switching time on the setting screen is completed, the channel is changed every time the set switching time is reached. An automatic switching operation is executed. As a result, channel switching is always performed within the set timer time range, and a warning can be issued when a setting is made to switch channels beyond the timer time.

  In the present invention, after the timer time is set, a setting screen for setting the switching time until switching to another channel is displayed on the monitor, and the set switching time until the timer time elapses. It is also possible to automatically switch the channel when reaching. In this case, when the switching time is set on the setting screen displayed on the monitor after setting the timer time, the channel is automatically switched when the set switching time is reached until the timer time elapses. Therefore, even if you want to switch channels while the sleep timer is operating, you do not need to switch manually each time and can switch channels automatically at any time set on the setting screen. Released from. In addition, since a plurality of switching times can be set at a time on the setting screen, this is effective when a plurality of channel switchings are desired.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, in addition to the switching time until switching to a predetermined channel, the switching time until switching to video playback using a preset video recording medium (for example, DVD or video tape) can be set on the setting screen. You may do it. According to this, even when the broadcasting of all channels ends during the sleep timer operation, it is possible to switch to the video on the video recording medium and continue viewing.

  According to the present invention, since channel switching during the sleep timer operation can be performed automatically at any time, there is no need to manually switch channels, and the viewer is free from troublesome operations and disturbed sleep. Is done.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a television apparatus (hereinafter referred to as “TV”) 100 according to the present invention, and the configuration of FIG. 1 is common to the embodiments described below. is there. Reference numeral 1 denotes an antenna that receives a broadcast signal, and reference numeral 2 denotes a tuner that extracts a signal of a predetermined channel from the broadcast signal received by the antenna 1. 3 is a signal processing unit for processing a signal taken out by the tuner 2, and 4 is a CRT driving circuit for generating a signal for driving a CRT (cathode ray tube) 5 based on a video signal output from the signal processing unit 3. 5 is a CRT as a monitor for displaying video, 6 is an audio circuit that performs processing such as detection and amplification on the audio signal processed by the signal processing unit 3, and 7 outputs audio based on the output of the audio circuit 6 Speaker.

  Reference numeral 8 denotes a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as “microcomputer”) that controls the operation of the television 100. The functions of the power supply control means, the first determination means, the second determination means, the display control means, and the channel switching means in the present invention are realized by the microcomputer 8. Reference numeral 9 denotes a power supply control circuit for controlling on / off of the power supply of the television 100, and constitutes a power supply control means in the present invention together with the microcomputer 8. 10 is a timer for counting time, 11 is a memory as a storage means composed of ROM, RAM and the like, 12 is an operation unit provided on the front panel of the television 100, and 13 is a remote controller for receiving a signal transmitted from the remote controller R. It is a receiving part.

  1 is a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) / VCR (Video Cassette Recorder) integrated television, and includes a DVD block 20 including a DVD recording / reproducing unit and a VCR block including a video tape recording / reproducing unit. 30. Reference numeral 21 denotes a DVD that is recorded and reproduced by the DVD block 20, and 31 is a video tape that is recorded and reproduced by the VCR block 30. The DVD 21 and the video tape 31 constitute a video recording medium in the present invention.

  FIG. 2 is an external view showing an example of the remote controller R. The configuration of FIG. 2 is also common to the embodiments described below. 51 is a sleep key for setting a sleep timer time, which will be described later, 52 is a channel key for setting a channel, and 53 is a decision key for confirming the setting. The remote controller R is provided with various keys other than these, but since they are not directly related to the present invention, description of other keys is omitted.

  FIG. 3 is a time chart for explaining the sleep timer operation and the channel switching between them. In this example, after setting the sleep timer time to 30 minutes at time T1, the current CH2 is switched from 2CH to 6CH at the time T3 when 10 minutes have elapsed, and the remaining 20 minutes are viewed on the 6CH program. In this example, the power is automatically turned off at time T4 when 30 minutes have elapsed. FIG. 4 shows a key sequence in the remote controller R when the above operation is performed. In the following, description will be given in order.

  First, in order to set the sleep timer time to 30 minutes at time T1, as shown in FIG. 4, the sleep key 51 of the remote controller R is pressed three times. Each time the sleep key 51 is pressed, the sleep timer time is incremented by 10 minutes. Therefore, when the sleep key 51 is pressed three times, the sleep timer time of 30 minutes is set.

  Next, after setting the sleep timer time as described above (that is, after pressing the sleep key 51 for the third time), the channel key 52 “6” is pressed within t seconds shown in FIG. The t seconds at this time is a predetermined value, and is set to about 2 to 3 seconds, for example. When the channel key “6” is pressed at time T2 within this time, a setting screen 5a as shown in FIG. 5A is displayed on the screen of the CRT 5. The setting screen 5a is a screen for setting how many minutes the switching from the currently viewed 2CH to the 6CH designated by the channel key “6” is performed. The time until switching to 6CH is the switching time. In the case of FIG. 3, since the switching time to 6CH is 10 minutes, “10” is entered in the switching time setting field of the setting screen 5a. Since the channel key 52 is also a numeric key, this switching time can be input using the channel key 52. Finally, by pressing the enter key 53, the setting of the switching time is completed. If the normal sleep operation without channel switching is performed, but the channel key 52 is accidentally pressed within t seconds after setting the sleep timer time, the switching is performed as shown in FIG. 5B (a). Set “0” as the time. Thereby, channel switching can be canceled. Further, as shown in FIG. 5B (b), the cancel button CB may be displayed on the setting screen 5a and the cancel button CB may be selected by the remote controller R so that the channel switching can be canceled.

  When the sleep timer time and the switching time are set as described above, the sleep timer operation is started, and when the time counted by the timer 10 (FIG. 1) reaches the time T3 at which the time is equal to the switching time (10 minutes), The channel automatically switches from 2CH to 6CH, and a 6CH program is broadcast for the next 20 minutes. Then, when the time counted by the timer 10 reaches the time T4 when it becomes equal to the sleep timer time (30 minutes), the power is automatically turned off, and the television 100 is in a non-operating state.

  In FIG. 3, the channel is switched only once during the sleep timer operation, but the channel can be switched a plurality of times during the sleep timer operation. FIG. 6 is a time chart for explaining channel switching in that case. In this example, after setting the sleep timer time to 50 minutes at time T1, the current CH2 is switched from 2CH to 6CH at time T3 when 10 minutes have passed, and 6CH at time T4 after viewing the 6CH program for 20 minutes. In this example, the program is switched from 8 to 8CH, the remaining 20 minutes are watched for 8CH programs, and the power is automatically turned off at time T5 when 50 minutes of the sleep timer time has elapsed. FIG. 7 shows a key sequence in the remote controller R when the above operation is performed. In the following, description will be given in order.

  First, in order to set the sleep timer time to 50 minutes at time T1, as shown in FIG. 7, the sleep key 51 of the remote controller R is pressed five times. As described above, every time the sleep key 51 is pressed, the sleep timer time is incremented by 10 minutes. By pressing the sleep key 51 five times, the sleep timer time of 50 minutes is set. Is done.

  Next, after setting the sleep timer time as described above (that is, after pressing the sleep key 51 for the fifth time), the channel key 52 “6” is pressed within t seconds shown in FIG. As described above, t seconds is a predetermined value, and is set to about 2 to 3 seconds, for example. When the channel key “6” is pressed at time T2 within this time, a setting screen 5a for setting the switching time from 2CH to 6CH as shown in FIG. 8A (a) is displayed on the screen of CRT5. . This setting screen 5a is the same as the setting screen 5a of FIG. 5A. In the case of FIG. 6, since the switching time to 6CH is 10 minutes, “10” is entered in the switching time setting field of the setting screen 5a. This switching time can be input using the channel key 52 as described above. After inputting the switching time to 6CH in this manner, the channel key 52 “8” is subsequently pressed as shown in FIG. Then, a new setting screen 5b for setting the switching time from 6CH to 8CH as shown in FIG. 8A (b) is displayed on the screen of CRT5. In the case of FIG. 6, the switching time to 8CH is 30 minutes, which is the total of 10 minutes of 2CH and 20 minutes of 6CH, so “30” is displayed in the switching time setting field of setting screen 5b. Is entered. Finally, by pressing the enter key 53, the setting of each switching time is completed. Also in this example, when the normal sleep operation without channel switching is performed, but the channel key 52 is accidentally pressed within t seconds after setting the sleep timer time, as shown in FIG. 8B (a). In addition, “0” is set as the switching time. Thereby, channel switching can be canceled. Further, as shown in FIG. 8B (b), the cancel button CB may be displayed on the setting screen 5a and the cancel button CB may be selected by the remote controller R so that the channel switching can be canceled.

  When the sleep timer time and the switching time are set as described above, the sleep timer operation is started, and the time counted by the timer 10 (FIG. 1) reaches the time T3 at which the time becomes equal to the first switching time (10 minutes). Then, the channel is automatically switched from 2CH to 6CH, and a 6CH program is broadcast for the next 20 minutes. Further, when the time counted by the timer 10 reaches the time T4 when it becomes equal to the next switching time (30 minutes), the channel is automatically switched from 6CH to 8CH, and the program of 8CH is broadcast for the following 20 minutes. The When the time counted by the timer 10 reaches the time T5 when it becomes equal to the sleep timer time (50 minutes), the power is automatically turned off, and the television 100 is in a non-operating state.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a series of procedures of the sleep timer operation described above. This procedure is executed by the microcomputer 8 according to a program stored in the memory 11. When the remote control receiving unit 13 receives a signal transmitted from the remote controller R every time the sleep key 51 is pressed, the microcomputer 8 sets a sleep timer time in the memory 11 according to the number of times the sleep key 51 is operated (step 1). S1). Subsequently, after setting the sleep timer time, it is determined whether or not the channel key 52 is pressed within t seconds (step S2). If the channel key 52 is not pressed within t seconds (step S2: NO), the process proceeds to a normal sleep operation (channel fixing) in step S3.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a specific procedure of step S3. In a normal sleep operation, it is determined whether or not the time counted by the timer 10 has reached the sleep timer time set in the memory 11 (step S21). When the sleep timer time is reached, the microcomputer 8 A command is given to the control circuit 9 to turn off the power (step S22).

  On the other hand, if the channel key 52 is pressed within t seconds after setting the sleep timer time (step S2: YES), the procedure proceeds to step S4 and subsequent steps. In step S4, the switching time setting screen 5a as shown in FIG. 5A or FIG. 8A (a) is displayed on the screen of the CRT 5. Then, it waits for the switching time to be input on this screen 5a (step S5). If the switching time is not input (step S5: NO), it is determined whether or not the cancel operation described above has been performed (step S6). If the cancel operation is performed (step S6: YES), the process returns to step S2 ( Or you may move to step S3). On the other hand, when the switching time is input by operating the remote controller R (step S5: YES), the input switching time is compared with the sleep timer time set in the memory 11 (step S7). It is determined whether or not the switching time is within the range of the sleep timer time (step S8). As a result of this determination, if the input switching time is not within the sleep timer time range (step S8: NO), it is determined that there is an error in the switching time input, and error processing is performed. As the error processing, for example, a message “There is an error in the input time. Please input the time again within the set sleep timer time.” Is displayed on the screen of the CRT 5.

  As a result of the determination in step S8, if the input switching time is within the range of the sleep timer time (step S8: YES), the process proceeds to step S9 to determine whether or not the channel key 52 is pressed again. As shown in FIG. 6, when the channel switching is performed a plurality of times during the sleep timer operation, the channel key 52 is pressed again (step S9: YES), so the process moves to step S4, as shown in FIG. 8A (b). A new setting screen 5b is displayed. Then, it is determined whether or not there is a time input and a cancel operation (steps S5 and S6). When the time for switching to the next channel is input (step S5: YES), whether or not the time is within the sleep timer time range. (Step S7, S8), if it is not within the range of the sleep timer time (step S8: NO), the above error processing is performed, and if it is within the range of the sleep timer time (step S8: YES), again It is determined whether or not the channel key 52 has been pressed (step S9). When the channel key 52 is pressed (step S9: YES), the above steps S4 to S9 are repeated.

  If the channel key 52 is not pressed in step S9 (step S9: NO), it is determined whether or not the setting of the switching time is completed depending on whether or not the determination key 53 of the remote controller R is pressed (step S10). If the setting is not completed (step S10: NO), the process returns to step S9 to determine again whether or not the channel key 52 has been pressed. When the channel key 52 is pressed (step S9: YES), the process proceeds to step S4 and the above-described procedure is repeated. On the other hand, if the channel key 52 is not pressed in step S9 (step S9: NO), and the setting key 53 is pressed in step S10 to complete the setting (step S10: YES), the process proceeds to step S11 and sleep according to the present invention. Move on to operation (channel switching). In step S10, instead of pressing the enter key 53, it may be determined that a predetermined time has elapsed and the setting may be completed.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a specific procedure of step S11. In the sleep operation of the present invention, first, it is determined whether or not the time counted by the timer 10 has reached the first switching time set in the memory 11 (step S31). In the case of FIG. 6, 10 minutes until switching to 6CH corresponds to the first switching time. When the first switching time is reached, the microcomputer 8 gives a command to the tuner 2 (FIG. 1) to switch to the set channel (step S32). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the time counted by the timer 10 has reached the next switching time set in the memory 11 (step S33). In the case of FIG. 6, 30 minutes before switching to 8CH corresponds to the next switching time. If the next switching time has not been reached (step S33: NO), it is determined whether or not the time counted by the timer 10 has reached the sleep timer time set in the memory 11 (step S34). If the sleep timer time has not been reached (step S34: NO), the process returns to step S33 to determine whether or not the next switching time has been reached again, and if it has reached, switching to the next channel is performed ( Step S32). Thereafter, steps S32 to S34 are repeated in the same manner. If the sleep timer time is reached (step S34: YES) without reaching the next switching time (step S33: NO), the microcomputer 8 gives a command to the power supply control circuit 9 to turn off the power (step S35). ).

  As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, when the sleep key 51 of the remote controller R is pressed a predetermined number of times to set the sleep timer time, and the channel key 52 is pressed within a predetermined time (t seconds), the switching time Is displayed on the screen of the CRT 5. When the switching time until switching to the channel corresponding to the pressed channel key 52 is set on the setting screen 5a, the channel is automatically set when the set switching time is reached until the sleep timer time elapses. Can be switched automatically. Therefore, even if it is desired to switch the channel during the sleep timer operation, it is not necessary to manually switch each time, and the channel can be automatically switched at an arbitrary time set on the setting screen 5a. Freed from obstruction. Further, since the switching time setting screen 5a is displayed simply by pressing the channel key 52 corresponding to the channel to be switched, there is an advantage that the operation is simple and easy to understand.

  Further, in the embodiment of FIG. 6, when the switching time is set on the setting screen 5a and then another channel key 52 is pressed, a new setting screen 5b for setting the switching time until switching to the other channel is displayed. It is displayed on CRT5. Accordingly, by operating the channel key 52 a plurality of times and setting a plurality of switching times, the channel switching can be automatically performed a plurality of times during the sleep timer operation. Further, when the switching time set on the setting screens 5a and 5b is within the range of the sleep timer time (step S8: YES), and the setting of the switching time on the setting screens 5a and 5b is completed (step S10). : YES), since the mode is switched to the sleep operation and the channel is automatically switched every time the set switching time is reached, the channel switching is always performed within the set sleep timer time range. When setting is made such that channel switching is performed exceeding the sleep timer time (step S8: NO), a warning can be issued.

  When the channel switching is performed a plurality of times as shown in FIG. 6, in the above example, the switching time input on the setting screens 5a and 5b is the time based on the time T1, but instead of this, the channel The time from the switching time to the switching time may be input. For example, when setting the switching time from CH6 to CH8 in FIG. 6, 30 minutes between times T1 and T4 are input in the above embodiment, but 20 minutes between times T3 and T4 are input. May be. In this case, the microcomputer 8 adds 10 minutes from T1 to T3 and 20 minutes from T3 to T4, and sets 30 minutes between T1 and T4 as the switching time.

  FIG. 12 is a time chart for explaining another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a channel switching setting screen. In the example of FIG. 12, after setting the sleep timer time to 80 minutes, when 30 minutes have elapsed, switching from 2CH currently being viewed to 6CH, viewing a 6CH program for 20 minutes, then switching from 6CH to 8CH, This is an example in which the program is switched from 8CH to 10CH after viewing the program of 15 minutes, the program of 10CH is viewed for the remaining 15 minutes, and the power is automatically turned off when 80 minutes of the sleep timer time elapses. In the case of this embodiment, after the sleep key 51 of the remote controller R is pressed eight times, for example, when the enter key 53 is pressed, the setting screen 5c of FIG. 13 is displayed on the CRT 5. On this setting screen 5c, a plurality of switching times can be set. When the channel key 52 of the remote controller R is used to input the switching time and channel, and finally the enter key 53 is pressed, the setting is completed. After that, the sleep timer operation is executed according to the above-described sequence of FIG. 12, the channel is automatically switched every time the set switching time is reached, and the power is automatically turned off after 80 minutes of the sleep timer time elapses. become.

  According to the embodiment of FIG. 12, when the switching time is set on the setting screen 5c displayed on the CRT 5 after setting the sleep timer time, the set switching time is reached until the sleep timer time elapses. The channel is automatically switched. Therefore, even if it is desired to switch channels during the sleep timer operation, it is not necessary to manually switch each time, and the channel can be automatically switched at an arbitrary time set on the setting screen 5c. Freed from obstruction. In addition, since a plurality of switching times can be set at a time on the setting screen 5c, this is effective when a plurality of channel switchings are desired.

  FIG. 14 is a time chart for explaining another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a channel switching setting screen. In the example of FIG. 14, after 30 minutes have elapsed after the sleep timer time is set to 90 minutes, the currently viewed channel is switched from 2CH to 6CH, and after viewing the 6CH program for 20 minutes, the viewing video is transferred from the television to the DVD. In this example, the remaining 40 minutes are viewed on the DVD, and the power is automatically turned off when 90 minutes of the sleep timer time elapses. In the case of this embodiment, after pressing the sleep key 51 of the remote controller R nine times and then pressing the enter key 53, for example, the setting screen 5d of FIG. In this setting screen 5d, in addition to the switching time from channel to channel, the switching time until switching to video reproduction by the DVD 21 set in advance in the DVD block 20 (FIG. 1) can be set. The switching time and channel are input using the channel key 52, and the character DVD can be input by pressing a key other than the channel key 52, for example. In the setting screen 5d, it is possible to set a title or a chapter to be reproduced on the DVD 21. When these inputs are completed and finally the enter key 53 is pressed, the setting is completed. Thereafter, the sleep timer operation is executed in accordance with the sequence shown in FIG. 14, and the channel is automatically switched when the first switching time is reached, and the television is automatically switched to the DVD image when the next switching time is reached. When 90 minutes of the sleep timer elapses, the power is automatically turned off.

  According to the embodiment of FIG. 14, in addition to the channel switching time, the switching time for video playback by DVD can be set on the setting screen 5d, so that all channels are broadcast during the sleep timer operation. Even in such a case, it is possible to switch to the DVD video and continue viewing. In the embodiment of FIG. 14, the switching time may be set by the method described with reference to FIGS. Needless to say, the video tape 31 can be used in place of the DVD 21 as the video recording medium.

  In the present invention, various embodiments other than those described above can be adopted. For example, in the above-described embodiment, a television using a CRT 5 as a monitor has been described as an example. However, the present invention can also be applied to a television using a monitor such as a liquid crystal display or a plasma display. In the above embodiment, a combo-type television including the DVD block 20 and the VCR block 30 is taken as an example. However, the present invention can also be applied to a single television. In the embodiment, the sleep timer time and the channel switching time are set by operating the keys of the remote controller R. However, the sleep timer time and the channel switching time are set by operating the keys provided on the operation unit 12 of the television main body. May be. Furthermore, the automatic channel switching function of the present invention is not limited to the sleep timer operation at bedtime, but can be applied when the off-timer operation is performed in an arbitrary time zone.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of the television apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is the external view which showed an example of the remote control. It is a time chart for demonstrating operation | movement of this invention. It is the figure which showed the key sequence in a remote control. It is an example of a setting screen. It is an example of a setting screen. It is a time chart for demonstrating operation | movement of this invention. It is the figure which showed the key sequence in a remote control. It is an example of a setting screen. It is an example of a setting screen. It is the flowchart which showed a series of procedures of sleep timer operation | movement. It is the flowchart which showed the specific procedure of step S3 of FIG. It is the flowchart which showed the specific procedure of step S10 of FIG. It is a time chart for demonstrating operation | movement of other embodiment. It is an example of a setting screen. It is a time chart for demonstrating operation | movement of other embodiment. It is an example of a setting screen. It is a time chart explaining operation | movement of a prior art example.

Explanation of symbols

2 Tuner 3 Signal processor 5 CRT
5a, 5b, 5c, 5d Setting screen 7 Speaker 8 Microcomputer 9 Power supply control circuit 10 Timer 12 Operation unit 13 Remote control reception unit 20 DVD block 21 DVD
30 VCR block 31 Video tape 51 Sleep key 52 Channel key 100 Television device R Remote control

Claims (6)

A tuner that extracts a signal of a predetermined channel from a broadcast signal;
A signal processing unit for processing a signal extracted by the tuner;
A monitor that displays video based on the video signal processed by the signal processing unit;
A speaker that outputs audio based on the audio signal processed by the signal processing unit;
Power control means for automatically turning off the power when the sleep timer time set by the remote control elapses;
In a television apparatus equipped with
First determination means for determining whether or not a channel key is pressed within a predetermined time after a sleep timer time is set by the remote control;
When the first determination unit determines that the channel key is pressed within the predetermined time, a setting screen for setting a switching time until switching to the channel is displayed on the monitor, and the setting screen is displayed. Display control means for displaying on the monitor a new setting screen for setting the switching time until switching to the other channel when another channel key is pressed after the switching time is set in
Second determination means for determining whether or not the switching time set on the setting screen is within the range of the sleep timer time;
When the second determination means determines that the switching time is within the range of the sleep timer time and the setting of the switching time on the setting screen is completed, the time until the sleep timer time elapses. A channel switching means for automatically switching the channel each time the set switching time is reached,
A television device characterized by comprising: A tuner that extracts a signal of a predetermined channel from a broadcast signal;
A signal processing unit for processing a signal extracted by the tuner;
A monitor that displays video based on the video signal processed by the signal processing unit;
A speaker that outputs audio based on the audio signal processed by the signal processing unit;
Power control means for automatically turning off the power when a preset timer time elapses;
In a television apparatus equipped with
When the channel key is pressed within a certain time after the timer time is set, a setting screen for setting a switching time until switching to the channel is displayed on the monitor.
A television apparatus, wherein a channel is automatically switched when the set switching time is reached until the timer time elapses. The television apparatus according to claim 2,
After setting the switching time on the setting screen, when another channel key is pressed, a new setting screen for setting the switching time until switching to the other channel is displayed on the monitor. Television equipment. The television apparatus according to claim 3.
When the switching time set on the setting screen is within the range of the timer time and the setting of the switching time on the setting screen is completed, the channel is automatically set every time the set switching time is reached. The television apparatus characterized by performing the operation | movement switched to. A tuner that extracts a signal of a predetermined channel from a broadcast signal;
A signal processing unit for processing a signal extracted by the tuner;
A monitor that displays video based on the video signal processed by the signal processing unit;
A speaker that outputs audio based on the audio signal processed by the signal processing unit;
Power control means for automatically turning off the power when a preset timer time elapses;
In a television apparatus equipped with
After the timer time is set, a setting screen for setting a switching time until switching to another channel is displayed on the monitor,
A television apparatus, wherein a channel is automatically switched when the set switching time is reached until the timer time elapses. The television apparatus according to claim 2 or 5,
A television apparatus characterized in that, in addition to a switching time until switching to a predetermined channel, a switching time until switching to video reproduction by a preset video recording medium can be set on the setting screen.

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