JP2006246452A - Broadcast receiving terminal apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a broadcast receiving terminal apparatus for allocating a tuner mounted so as to enable more users to hear and view a desired channel. <P>SOLUTION: To a monitor 1 connected anew among monitors 1-1 to n there is allocated, if there is one among respective tuners 22-1 to 4 to which no monitor 1 is allocated, the one, while unless there is such a tuner, any tuner 22 is allocated. In the tuner 22 to which the one monitor 1 is allocated, when a change of any channel is required from the monitor 1, the channel is changed without condition. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a broadcast receiving terminal device that can receive broadcast signals transmitted by channel and transmit (distribute) the received broadcast signals to an external device.

  Until now, viewing of broadcast programs has been performed by a dedicated receiver, but recently, personal computers (hereinafter referred to as “PCs”) are increasingly used for viewing. Viewing on a PC is often performed with a built-in or connected tuner, but at present, a device (broadcast receiving terminal device) with a built-in tuner is installed separately, and the broadcast signal received by the device is transmitted to the PC. It is also made to send to and watch. As the conventional broadcast receiving terminal device, for example, there is one described in Patent Document 1.

  The conventional broadcast receiving terminal device described in Patent Document 1 is provided with a plurality of tuning units (tuners) that extract broadcast signals of a specified channel, so that each TV monitor (each connected via an AV outlet) ( A desired broadcast signal can be transmitted to an external device. The broadcast signal channel to be transmitted can be designated from the TV monitor side.

  In the conventional broadcast receiving terminal device described in Patent Document 1, the tuner is operated for the number of channels designated from the TV (television) monitor side. Accordingly, the same tuner is assigned to the TV monitor that transmits the broadcast signal of the same channel. However, even if the tuners are allocated in such a manner, if the number of tuners is smaller than the number of broadcast stations (channels) and the number of target TV monitors is larger than the number of broadcast stations, the channel (broadcast of the channel desired by the user) It is impossible to always watch the program. At present, there are many broadcast stations (channels) that transmit broadcast signals. Therefore, if a large number of tuners are installed so that all broadcast stations can always be supported, the cost of the broadcast receiving terminal device becomes very high. For this reason, it is considered important to allocate tuners having a number smaller than the number of broadcast stations so that more users can view a desired channel.

The conventional broadcast receiving terminal device described in Patent Document 1 transmits a broadcast signal by wire to a TV monitor, but some conventional broadcast receiving terminal devices transmit wirelessly. Monitors (display devices) are also becoming more multifunctional, and some of them can transmit and receive signals wirelessly.
JP 2003-289451 A

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a broadcast receiving terminal device that assigns a tuner that is mounted so that more users can view a desired channel.

  Both of the broadcast receiving terminal devices of the first to third aspects of the present invention are provided with the following means on the premise that the broadcast signal transmitted for each channel is received and the received broadcast signal can be transmitted to an external device. To do.

  The broadcast receiving terminal device according to the first aspect includes a plurality of channel selection means for receiving and outputting a broadcast signal of a specified channel from among broadcast signals, and a broadcast signal output by each of the plurality of channel selection means, respectively. A communication unit that can transmit to the device, a channel selection unit that is assigned to the external device that starts receiving a broadcast signal among the plurality of channel selection units, and a channel that is set in each of the plurality of channel selection units, and Channel selection management means for selecting based on the presence / absence of an external device assigned to each of the plurality of channel selection means and transmitting the broadcast signal output from the selected channel selection means by the communication means.

  Note that the channel selection management means selects the channel selection means if there is a channel selection means to which no external device is assigned among the plurality of channel selection means for the external device that starts receiving the broadcast signal. It is desirable to assign. In addition, when no other external device is assigned to the channel selection means assigned to the external device that changes the channel of the broadcast signal, it is desirable to set the channel after the change to the channel selection means. When another external device is assigned to the tuning means assigned to the external device to be changed, if there is a tuning means to which no external device is assigned among the plurality of tuning means, the tuning means is It is desirable to newly assign the external device.

  The broadcast receiving terminal apparatus according to the second aspect further includes other communication means for communicating with other external apparatus provided with the channel selection means in addition to the configuration of the first aspect described above. The means selects a channel selection means to be assigned to the external device as a target to which the channel selection means provided in another external device that can communicate with the other communication means can be assigned.

  The broadcast receiving terminal device according to the third aspect includes a first communication unit that can transmit a transmission signal to be transmitted for each external device, and a channel selection unit that receives and outputs a broadcast signal of a designated channel from the broadcast signals. A second communication means for communicating with another external device comprising: a second communication means for receiving a broadcast signal by the second communication means to an external device to which the first communication means is to transmit a broadcast signal Channel selection management means for allocating an external device and transmitting the broadcast signal.

  The channel selection management means selects the other external device to be assigned to the external device by selecting the channel set in the other external device capable of receiving the broadcast signal by the second communication means and the other external device. It is desirable to carry out based on the presence / absence of an external device assigned to each device.

  The present invention relates to a channel set in each of the plurality of channel selection means and a plurality of channel selection means assigned to the channel selection means among the plurality of channel selection means for the external device that starts receiving the broadcast signal. The selection is made based on the presence / absence of the assigned external device. By considering the presence or absence of such an external device, it is possible to preferentially assign channel selection means that are not currently used. By considering the channels set for each channel selection means, even if there are no channel selection means that are not currently used, the channel set for each channel selection means can be viewed as a range. Can do. As a result, a user of the external device that occupies the channel selection means can view an arbitrary channel at an arbitrary timing, and more users can view a desired channel.

  When the channel selection means provided in another external device connected via the communication network is assigned (can be used) as the channel selection means, more people can view the desired channel. Will be able to. Moreover, since the number of channel selection means can be increased / decreased at any time as necessary, it is possible to cope with the situation and improve convenience. Since available resources (channel selection means) are used as necessary, the resources can be used more efficiently.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a configuration of a broadcast receiving system constructed using a broadcast receiving terminal device according to the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the broadcast receiving system includes a total of n monitors 1 assigned with 1-1 to n, and a broadcast receiving terminal device (hereinafter referred to as “receiving terminal”) that transmits broadcast signals to the monitors 1. 2). The receiving terminal 2 according to the present embodiment is realized as one that receives a broadcast signal transmitted for television (television) broadcasting and transmits it to the monitor 1 wirelessly.

  The receiving terminal 2 is equipped with a total of four tuners (channel selection means) 22 to which 22-1 to 4 are attached. The four tuners 22 are used to operate as virtual tuners 21 that transmit broadcast signals of channels desired by the user to the respective monitors 1. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the tuner 22-1 operates with one channel (ch) specified (set), and represents that the 1ch broadcast signal demodulated and extracted is transmitted to the monitor 1-1. Yes. The same applies to the other tuners 22-2-4. The virtual tuner 21 supports a total of seven channels, for example 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12.

  The monitor 1 is, for example, a PC on which a display device is mounted or connected, or a monitor on which a wireless communication function is mounted or connected. The user of the monitor 1 operates a remote control (remote control) device or the like to select a desired channel (number), and the channel number thus selected is transmitted from the monitor 1 to the receiving terminal 2. The

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the receiving terminal 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the receiving terminal 2 transmits to the monitor 1 a CPU 201 that performs control of the entire terminal 2, a ROM 202 that stores programs and various control data, and a work RAM, for example. A display control unit 203 that outputs a broadcast signal to be divided into a video signal and an audio signal, a wireless LAN processing unit 204 that wirelessly communicates the video signal and the audio signal input from the control unit 203, and for wireless communication An antenna 205 mounted, a television antenna 206 that receives broadcast signals for television broadcasting, a total of four tuners 22-1 to 22-4, and a virtual tuner processing unit 207 that controls each tuner 22 are configured. Has been.

The operation in the above configuration will be described.
Data (signal) transmitted from the monitor 1 is received by the wireless LAN processing unit 204 via the antenna 205. Thereby, when the user connects the monitor 1 to the receiving terminal 2, the wireless LAN processing unit 204 notifies the CPU 201 of that fact.

  The CPU 201 that has received the notification assigns the tuner 22 to the newly connected monitor 1 if there is a tuner 22 to which no monitor 1 is assigned. If such a tuner 22 does not exist, any tuner 22 to which another monitor 1 has already been assigned is assigned. In this way, the channel (broadcast program) can be watched.

  Each tuner 22 receives a broadcast signal (a signal including a video signal and an audio signal) of a designated channel from broadcast signals received by the television antenna 206. The received broadcast signal is output to the virtual tuner processing unit 207. The broadcast signal is output from the virtual tuner processing unit 207 in the form of digital data regardless of the adopted method. The tuner 22 may be an external one.

  For example, a broadcast signal output from the virtual tuner processing unit 207 is transmitted to the display control unit 203, and is divided into a video signal and an audio signal and input to the wireless LAN processing unit 204. The CPU 201 causes the video signal and audio signal input to the wireless LAN processing unit 204 to be transmitted by designating a transmission destination in units of the extracted tuner 22. Thereby, viewing of the broadcast program of the channel on the connected monitor 1 is realized.

  When the user designates a channel number by operating the remote controller or the like, the channel number is transmitted from the monitor 1 and received by the wireless LAN processing unit 204 via the antenna 205. Thereby, the received channel number is sent from the wireless LAN processing unit 204 to the CPU 201.

  The CPU 201 that has received the channel number (hereinafter referred to as “reception channel number”) identifies the tuner 22 assigned to the monitor 1 that transmitted it, and whether or not another monitor 1 is assigned to the identified tuner 22. To determine. As a result, if it can be confirmed that no other monitor 1 is assigned, the virtual tuner processing unit 207 is instructed to set a reception channel number for the identified tuner 22. If not, that is, if it is confirmed that another monitor 1 is allocated, it is then checked whether there is a tuner 22 to which no monitor 1 is allocated, and the presence of such a tuner 22 exists. If it can be confirmed, the tuner 22 is newly assigned and the reception channel number is set. Otherwise, in other words, if there are a plurality of monitors 1 assigned to the specified tuner 22, and there is no other tuner 22 to which no other monitor 1 is assigned, the tuner setting the reception channel number If such a tuner 22 can be confirmed, the confirmed tuner 22 is newly assigned. If such a tuner 22 cannot be confirmed, the channel change is invalid. This is because when different monitors 1 are assigned to all the tuners 22, the channels that can be viewed must be limited to the channels set in any of the tuners 22. In other words, it is to avoid the occurrence of a user who ends viewing of the channel that has been viewed until then unintentionally.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, one monitor 1 among the assignable tuners 22 is provided for the monitor 1 that has requested one of them at the start of connection or when the channel is changed. If there is a tuner 22 that is not assigned, it is assigned with priority. When such an assignment is made, the user of the monitor 1 assigned to only one tuner 22 occupies the tuner 22 while the assignment continues, and assigns an arbitrary channel to an arbitrary timing. You can watch on In the present embodiment, the assignment as described above is performed so that more users who can do this can be secured.

  3 to 8 are flowcharts of the entire process. Hereinafter, the operation of the receiving terminal 2 will be described in detail with reference to flowcharts of the overall processing shown in FIGS. The entire process is realized by the CPU 201 executing a program stored in the ROM constituting the memory 202.

  First, in step 401, initialization associated with power-on is performed. In the subsequent step 402, the virtual tuner processing unit 207 is instructed to activate the tuners 22-1 to 2-4 (denoted as "tuner (1) to (4)" in the figure). In the next step 403, each element of the array variable for managing the channel number set for each tuner 22 (denoted as “tuner CH (1) to (4)” in the figure, hereinafter, the notation is used) is predetermined. Substitute the channel number. In the next step 404, each element of the array variable for management of the monitor 1 assigned to each tuner 22 (denoted as “connection monitor [1] [1] to [4] [n]” in the figure. NULL (0) is substituted for each of (notation is used). After that, in step 405, each element of the array variable for counting the number of monitors 1 assigned to each tuner 22 (denoted as “number of connections [1] to [4]” in the figure. Hereinafter, the notation is used). After substituting 0 for each, step 406 is entered. The first subscript (the subscript closest to the array variable name) of the connection monitor, which is the array variable, specifies the corresponding tuner 22.

  In step 406, it is determined whether data is received from the monitor 1. If the wireless LAN processing unit 204 receives the data, the determination is yes and the process moves to step 407. Otherwise, the determination is no and the process returns to step 406. Thereby, it waits to receive some data from the monitor 1.

  In step 407, data indicating the monitor 1 that has received the data (in this case, expressed as “monitor number”, which will be used hereinafter) is substituted into the variable M. In the next step 408, it is determined whether or not the received data is for a connection request. If the request is for the connection request, the determination is yes and the process proceeds to step 409 in FIG. 4, and if not, the determination is no and the process proceeds to step 420 in FIG.

In steps 409 to 419 in FIG. 4, processing for assigning the tuner 22 to the monitor 1 that has requested connection is performed.
First, in step 409, 1 is substituted into the variable n. In the next step 410, it is determined whether or not the value of the number of connections [n], which is an element designated by the value of the variable n, is zero. The value of the number of connections [n] represents the number of monitors 1 assigned to the tuner 22 corresponding to the value of the variable n. For this reason, when the monitor 1 assigned to the tuner 22 does not exist, the determination is YES, and the process proceeds to step 414. If not, the determination is no, the value of the variable n is incremented in step 411, and it is determined whether or not the value of the variable n is larger than 5 in the next step 412. If the value is greater than 5, the determination is yes, 1 is substituted for variable n in step 413, and then the process proceeds to step 414. Otherwise, the determination is no and the process returns to step 410 above. In this way, the tuner 22 not assigned by the monitor 1 is specified.

  In step 414, the number of connections [n] is incremented. In the next step 415, 1 is substituted into the variable m. In the subsequent step 416, it is determined whether or not the value of the connection monitor [n] [m], which is an element designated by the values of the variables n and m, is NULL (0). If the value is not NULL, the determination is no, the variable m is incremented in step 417, and then the determination in step 416 is performed again. Thereby, while incrementing the value of the variable m, an element to which a value other than NULL is substituted is searched. On the other hand, if the value is NULL, the determination is yes and the process moves to step 418.

  In step 418, the value of the variable M is substituted into the connection monitor [n] [m]. In the next step 419, transmission to the monitor 1 (denoted as “monitor M” in the figure) corresponding to the value of the variable M of the broadcast signal extracted by the tuner 22 corresponding to the value of the variable n is started. The transmission is realized, for example, by executing a timer interrupt process.

  In step 420 of FIG. 5, it is determined whether the data received from the monitor 1 is for connection termination. If the data is for connection stop, the determination is yes and the process proceeds to step 421, and if not, the determination is no and the process proceeds to step 431 in FIG. If no data is received from the monitor 1 for a predetermined time or more, it is considered that data for stopping the connection has been received.

In steps 421 to 430, processing for responding to the suspension of connection with the monitor 1 is performed.
First, in step 421, 1 is substituted into the variable n. In the next step 422, 1 is substituted into the variable mm. In the next step 423, it is determined whether or not the value of the connection monitor [n] [m] designated by the values of the variables n and m is equal to the value of the variable M. If the values are equal, the determination is yes and the process moves to step 424. Otherwise, the determination is no and the process moves to step 427.

  In step 427, it is determined whether or not the value of the connection monitor [n] [m] is NULL. If the value is NULL, the determination is yes and the process moves to step 428. Otherwise, the determination is no, and after the value of the variable m is incremented in step 430, the process returns to step 423.

  In step 428, the value of the variable n is incremented. In the following step 429, it is determined whether or not the value of the variable n is larger than 5. If the value is greater than 5, the determination is yes and the process returns to step 406 in FIG. Otherwise, the determination is no and the process returns to step 422.

  The element specified by the second subscript of the connection monitor, which is an array variable, is substituted in such a manner that the value of the second subscript is filled in the smaller one. As a result, for example, a value other than NULL is assigned to the element specified by the second subscript value 1 and 3, and NULL is assigned to the element specified by the second subscript value 2. It is managed not to be. From this, the determination of YES in step 427 means that it has been confirmed that the monitor 1 corresponding to the value of the variable M has not been assigned to the tuner 22 corresponding to the value of the variable n.

  In step 424, NULL is assigned to the connection monitor [n] [m], and no value other than NULL is assigned to an element designated by a value larger than the value of the variable m. In the next step 425, the value of the number of connections [n] is decremented. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step 426, and the transmission of the broadcast signal extracted by the tuner 22 corresponding to the value of the variable n to the monitor 1 corresponding to the value of the variable M is stopped. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step 406 in FIG.

  In step 431 of FIG. 6 in which the determination in step 420 is NO and the process proceeds, it is determined whether or not the received data is for channel change. If it is for that channel change, the determination is yes and the process moves to step 432. Otherwise, the determination is no and the process moves to step 406 in FIG.

  In step 432, the received channel number to be changed is substituted into the variable P. Thereafter, 1 is assigned to each of the variables n and m (steps 433 and 434), and then the process proceeds to step 435 to determine whether or not the value of the connection monitor [n] [m] is equal to the value of the variable M. . If the values match, the determination is yes and the process moves to step 440. Otherwise, the determination is no and the process moves to step 436.

  In step 436, it is determined whether or not the value of the connection monitor [n] [m] is NULL. If the value is not NULL, the determination is no, the value of the variable m is incremented in step 439, and then the process returns to step 435. Otherwise, the determination is yes, and after incrementing the value of the variable n in step 437, the process proceeds to step 438 to determine whether or not the value of the variable n is greater than 5. If the value is greater than 5, the determination is yes and the process returns to step 406 in FIG. Otherwise, the determination is no and the process returns to step 434. Thereby, the tuner 22 assigned to the monitor 1 corresponding to the value of the variable M is specified while sequentially changing the values of the variables m and n.

  In step 440, it is determined whether or not the value of the tuner CH [n], which is an element designated by the value of the variable n, does not match the value of the variable P. If the user of the monitor 1 corresponding to the value of the variable M selects a number different from the channel number set in the tuner 22 corresponding to the value of the variable n, the determination is YES and the process proceeds to step 441. If not, that is, if the user selects the same channel as the channel currently being viewed, the determination is no and the process returns to step 406 in FIG.

  In step 441, it is determined whether the value of the number of connections [n] is 1. If the value is 1, that is, if the monitor 1 assigned to the tuner 22 corresponding to the value of the variable n is only the monitor 1 corresponding to the value of the variable M, the determination is YES, and in step 442 the tuner CH After substituting the value of the variable P for [n] to change the channel number set in the tuner 22 corresponding to the value of the variable n, the process returns to step 406 in FIG. Otherwise, the determination is no and the process moves to step 443 in FIG.

  Thus, in this embodiment, if there is only one monitor 1 assigned to the tuner 22, the designated channel is set unconditionally according to the channel change from the monitor 1. Yes. Thereby, the user of such a monitor 1 can always view a desired channel arbitrarily.

  In Step 443 of FIG. 7, 1 is substituted into the variable a. In the next step 444, it is determined whether or not the number of connections [a] is zero. If the value is 0, that is, if there is no monitor 1 assigned to the tuner 22 corresponding to the value of the variable a, the determination is yes and the process moves to step 447. Otherwise, the determination is no and the process moves to step 445.

  In step 445, the value of the variable a is incremented. In the following step 446, it is determined whether or not the value of the variable a is larger than 5. If the value is greater than 5, the determination is yes and the process moves to step 453 in FIG. Otherwise, the determination is no and the process returns to step 444. Thereby, a tuner 22 to which no monitor 1 is assigned is searched.

  A determination of YES in step 444 means that such a tuner 22 has been found. Therefore, in steps 447 to 452, the tuner 22 is assigned and processing for starting transmission of the broadcast signal extracted by the tuner 22 is performed.

  In step 447, NULL is assigned to the connection monitor [n] [m], and no value other than NULL is assigned to an element designated by a value larger than the value of the variable m. In the next step 448, the value of the number of connections [n] is decremented. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step 449, and the transmission of the broadcast signal extracted by the tuner 22 corresponding to the value of the variable n to the monitor 1 corresponding to the value of the variable M is stopped.

  In step 450 following step 449, the value of the variable M is substituted into the connection monitor [a] [1]. At the next step 451, 1 is assigned to the number of connections [a]. After the substitution, the process proceeds to step 452 to start transmitting the broadcast signal extracted by the tuner 22 corresponding to the value of the variable a to the monitor 1 corresponding to the value of the variable M. After the start, the process returns to step 406 in FIG.

  In this way, in the present embodiment, when a channel for transmitting a broadcast signal to any one of the assigned monitors 1 is changed, there is a tuner 22 to which no monitor 1 is assigned. For example, a monitor 1 for changing the channel is assigned to the tuner 22.

  When the monitors 1 are assigned to all the tuners 22, the channels that can be viewed must be limited to the channels set in any of the tuners 22. This creates restrictions on channel selection. The probability of assigning a tuner 22 to which no monitor 1 is assigned becomes higher as the user watches longer. In the present embodiment, there is a tuner 22 to which no monitor 1 is assigned so that such a user is less restricted in channel selection, in other words, so that a desired channel can be viewed. For example, a monitor 1 for changing the channel is assigned to the tuner 22.

  The determination of YES in step 446 means that there is no tuner 22 to which no monitor 1 is assigned. Therefore, in step 453 and subsequent steps in FIG. 8 in which the determination is YES and the process proceeds, processing for dealing with such a case is performed.

  First, in step 453, 1 is substituted into the variable a. In the following step 454, it is determined whether or not the value of the tuner CH [a] is equal to the value of the variable P. If the values match, the determination is yes and the process moves to step 457. Otherwise, the determination is no, the value of variable a is incremented in step 445, and then the process proceeds to step 446 to determine whether the value of variable a is greater than 5. If the value is greater than 5, the determination is yes and the process returns to step 406 in FIG. Otherwise, the determination is no and the process returns to step 454. Thereby, the tuner 22 in which the channel number designated to be changed is set is searched.

  In step 457, NULL is assigned to the connection monitor [n] [m], so that a value other than NULL is not assigned to an element designated by a value larger than the value of the variable m. In the next step 458, the value of the connection monitor [n] is decremented. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step 459, and the transmission of the broadcast signal extracted by the tuner 22 corresponding to the value of the variable n to the monitor 1 corresponding to the value of the variable M is stopped. After the cancellation, the process proceeds to step 460.

  In step 460, 1 is substituted into the variable b. In the following step 461, it is determined whether or not the value of the connection monitor [a] [b] is NULL. If the value is NULL, the determination is yes and the process moves to step 463. Otherwise, the determination is no, the value of variable b is incremented in step 462, and the process of step 461 is executed again.

In step 463, the value of the variable M is substituted into the connection monitor [a] [b]. In the next step 464, the number of connections [a] is incremented. In step 465, which proceeds after the increment, transmission of the broadcast signal extracted by the tuner 22 corresponding to the value of the variable a to the monitor 1 corresponding to the value of the variable M is started. After the start, the process returns to step 406 in FIG.
<Second Embodiment>
In the first embodiment, the broadcast signals respectively received by the four tuners 22-1 to 2-4 are distributed to each monitor 1 so that the user of each monitor 1 can view a desired channel. ing. However, the number of users who can view a desired channel is limited by the number of tuners 22. For this reason, the second embodiment enables more users to view a desired channel.

  Currently, an increasing number of electrical devices are equipped with a communication function capable of communicating via a communication network. For example, a broadcast receiver compatible with terrestrial digital broadcasting is usually equipped with a communication function. An electric device equipped with a communication function can control the operation from the outside. For this reason, in the second embodiment, a larger number of users can be connected by using electric devices (other external devices) that can be connected or can be connected via a communication network. The desired channel can be viewed. Such an electric device will be hereinafter referred to as an “external tuner” for convenience.

  The configuration of the receiving terminal according to the second embodiment is basically the same as that in the first embodiment. The operation is basically the same for the most part. For this reason, the same or fundamentally the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment are used as they are, and the description will be made by focusing on only the portions different from the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a configuration of a broadcast receiving system constructed using the broadcast receiving terminal device according to the second embodiment.
In the broadcast receiving system, as shown in FIG. 9, a total of five external tuners 90 denoted by 90-1 to 5 are connected to the receiving terminal 2 by a wired LAN. The external tuner 90 with 90-1 and 90-2 is, for example, a television, and the external tuner 90 with 90-3-5 is, for example, a recorder. By connecting such an external tuner 90, the receiving terminal 2 is configured to virtually include nine tuners 22. As shown in FIG. 2, since it is necessary to perform communication with each external tuner 90, the receiving terminal 2 includes a wired LAN processing unit 211 for performing communication via the wired LAN.

  10 and 11 are flowcharts of the entire processing according to the second embodiment. FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 are excerpts that are relatively different from the first embodiment, more specifically, those that are executed instead of the flowcharts shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. It is shown. Therefore, a different part from the first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 6 to 8 in addition to FIGS. 10 and 11.

  In step 401 of FIG. 3, initialization is performed. In the second embodiment, at this time, the external tuner 90 connected to the wired LAN is automatically recognized, and the result of adding the number of the internal tuners 22 to the number of recognized external tuners 90 is substituted into the variable S. When the total number of available tuners is calculated and stored in this way, a predetermined channel number is assigned to each element tuner CH (1) to (S) in step 403, and in the next step 404, connection is established. NULL is assigned to each of the monitors [1] [1] to [S] [n], and then 0 is assigned to each of the number of connections [1] to [S] in Step 405. The main changes in the flowchart shown in FIG. 3 are as described above.

Next, the change part in the flowchart part shown in FIG. 4 is demonstrated in detail with reference to FIG.
As described above, the total number of available tuners is substituted into the variable S. Therefore, in the second embodiment, it is determined in step 412 whether or not the value of the variable n is larger than the value obtained by adding 1 to the value of the variable S. A determination of YES when the magnitude relationship is established means that one or more monitors 1 are assigned to all available tuners.

  In the second embodiment, the process proceeds to step 1001 by determining YES in step 410 or executing the process in step 413. In step 1001, it is determined whether the tuner designated by the value of the variable n is the external tuner 90 or not. The internal tuner 22 is specified by a value from 1 to 4. Therefore, if the value is 5 or more, the determination is YES, and the corresponding external tuner 90 is activated (changed to a state in which a broadcast signal can be received) in step 1002, and then the process proceeds to step 414. Otherwise, the determination is no and the process proceeds to step 414 without executing the process of the other steps.

Next, the change part in the flowchart part shown in FIG. 5 is demonstrated in detail with reference to FIG.
Each external tuner 90 is configured to perform a broadcast signal receiving operation only during a necessary period as necessary. Therefore, in the second embodiment, after the process of step 426 is executed, in order to cope with the case where the monitor 1 that has transmitted the broadcast signal received by the external tuner 90 requests the connection stop, Move to 1011.

  In step 1011, it is determined whether the tuner specified by the value of the variable n is the external tuner 90 or not. As described above, if the value is 5 or more, the determination is yes and the process proceeds to step 1012. Otherwise, the determination is no and the process returns to step 406 in FIG.

  In step 1012, it is determined whether the value of the number of connections [n] is zero. If there is no other monitor 1 assigned to the external tuner 90 that has been assigned so far, the value is 0, so the determination is YES, and the external tuner 90 is stopped in step 1013 (the broadcast signal is received). 3), the process returns to step 406 in FIG. Otherwise, the determination is no and it is not necessary to stop the external tuner 90, and the process returns to step 406 in FIG.

  In step 429, as in step 412 of FIG. 10, it is determined whether or not the value of the variable n is larger than the value obtained by adding 1 to the value of the variable S. The migration destination according to the determination result is the same as in the first embodiment. This also applies to the process in step 438 in FIG. 6, and the only change from the first embodiment in FIG. 6 is the process in step 438.

In the flowchart portion shown in FIG. 7, the following points are different from those of the first embodiment.
The flowchart portion shown in FIG. 7 is executed to cope with the channel change. If another monitor 1 is assigned to the tuner that has received the broadcast signal until then, the other monitor 1 users are searched for other assignable tuners so that they can continue to watch, and the found tuner is found. New allocations are made. There is a possibility that the tuner newly assigned in this way is the external tuner 90. For this reason, in the second embodiment, for example, the processing of steps 1001 and 1002 shown in FIG. 10 is executed between steps 451 and 452. Otherwise, in step 446, it is determined whether or not the value of the variable a is larger than the value obtained by adding 1 to the value of the variable S. The migration destination according to the determination result is the same as in the first embodiment. This is the same in the process of step 456 in FIG. 8, and only the process of step 456 is changed from the first embodiment in FIG. 8.

  In the second embodiment, it is assumed that the external tuner 90 can be freely used, but this is not necessarily the case. A person other than the user of the monitor 1 may use the external tuner 90 in some cases. In that case, for example, the external tuner 90 used by such a person may be excluded from the assignment target, or the assignment may be performed in a form that prioritizes the use. In the latter case, for example, when an external tuner 90 whose channel has been changed by a user is generated, the tuner 1 to which the assigned monitor 1 does not exist or the broadcast of the channel that has been set up until then is assigned. You may make it allocate the tuner which has received the signal. Since such an operation can be performed, even if the external tuner 90 cannot be freely used, that is, even if there are restrictions on the use, more users of the monitor 1 can view a desired channel. .

  In the present embodiment (the first and second embodiments), the received broadcast signal is transmitted to the monitor 1 in real time. However, the broadcast signal is stored (recorded) for time-shifted viewing. It may be possible. As shown in FIG. 2, the time-shifted viewing is for storing a broadcast signal extracted by each tuner 22 (external tuner 90 or may be included) for a predetermined time in units of channels. This can be realized by installing a time shift storage area 222 and a time shift processing unit 221 that performs processing for reading out and transmitting a broadcast signal to be transmitted to the monitor 1 from the storage area 222. As shown in FIG. 12, a channel that is not used may be assigned to a channel for time-shift viewing. As a channel to be recorded in order to enable time-shift viewing, another channel that can be extracted by the tuner 22 that is being viewed by the user of the monitor 1 or not assigned may be selected. In FIG. 12, reference numerals such as “1-1” assigned to the user indicate that the user of the monitor 1 is given the reference numeral.

  The broadcast signal to be received in this embodiment is a television broadcast, but may be a radio broadcast. The time shift viewing as described above may also be applied to a video on demand (VOD).

  A program for realizing the receiving terminal 2 as described above may be distributed by being recorded on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a DVD, or a removable flash memory. Part or all of the program may be distributed via a communication network such as a public network. In such a case, the user can apply the present invention to the device by acquiring the program and loading it into a broadcast receiving terminal device equipped with a plurality of tuners. Therefore, the recording medium may be accessible by a device that distributes the program.

It is a figure explaining the structure of the broadcast receiving system constructed | assembled using the broadcast receiving terminal device by 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the broadcast receiving terminal device by 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart of the whole process. It is a flowchart of whole processing (continuation 1). It is a flowchart of whole processing (continued 2). It is a flowchart of whole processing (continuation 3). It is a flowchart of whole processing (continued 4). It is a flowchart of the whole process (continuation 5). It is a figure explaining the structure of the broadcast receiving system constructed | assembled using the broadcast receiving terminal device by 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart of the whole process (2nd Embodiment: Extract 1). It is a flowchart of the whole process (2nd Embodiment: Extract 2). It is a figure explaining the example of the realization method of time shift viewing-and-listening.

Explanation of symbols

1-1 to n monitor 2 broadcast receiving terminal device 22-1 to 4 tuner 90-1 to 5 external tuner 201 CPU
202 Memory 203 Display Control Unit 204 Wireless LAN Processing Unit 205 Antenna 206 Television Antenna 207 Virtual Tuner Processing Unit 211 Wired LAN Processing Unit 221 Time Shift Processing Unit 222 Time Shift Storage Area

Claims (7)

In a broadcast receiving terminal device that receives a broadcast signal transmitted by channel and can transmit the received broadcast signal to an external device,
A plurality of channel selection means for receiving and outputting a broadcast signal of a designated channel from the broadcast signals;
Communication means capable of transmitting broadcast signals output by the plurality of channel selection means to different external devices;
The channel selection means to be assigned to the external device that starts receiving the broadcast signal among the plurality of channel selection means, the channel set in each of the plurality of channel selection means, and the channel selection means Channel selection management means for selecting based on the presence or absence of each assigned external device, and causing the communication means to transmit a broadcast signal output by the selected channel selection means,
A broadcast receiving terminal device comprising: The channel selection management unit selects the channel selection unit if there is a channel selection unit that does not allocate an external device among the plurality of channel selection units for the external device that starts receiving the broadcast signal. assign,
The broadcast receiving terminal device according to claim 1. The channel selection management means sets the changed channel to the channel selection means when no other external device is assigned to the channel selection means assigned to the external device that changes the channel of the broadcast signal.
The broadcast receiving terminal device according to claim 1 or 2. The channel selection management means, when assigning another external device to the channel selection means assigned to the external device that changes the channel of the broadcast signal, does not assign an external device among the plurality of channel selection means. If station means exists, the channel selection means is newly assigned to the external device.
The broadcast receiving terminal device according to claim 1, 2, or 3. Further comprising other communication means for communicating with another external device comprising the channel selection means,
The channel selection management means selects a channel selection means to be assigned to the external device as a target to which channel selection means provided in another external device that can communicate with the other communication means is assigned.
The broadcast receiving terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. In a broadcast receiving terminal device that receives a broadcast signal transmitted by channel and can transmit the received broadcast signal to an external device,
First communication means capable of transmitting a transmission signal to be transmitted for each external device;
A second communication means for communicating with another external device including a channel selection means for receiving and outputting a broadcast signal of a designated channel from the broadcast signals;
Channel selection management means for allocating another external apparatus capable of receiving a broadcast signal by the second communication means to transmit the broadcast signal to the external apparatus to which the first communication means is to transmit the broadcast signal;
A broadcast receiving terminal device comprising: The channel selection management unit selects the other external device to be allocated to the external device, the channel set in each other external device capable of receiving a broadcast signal by the second communication unit, and the other Based on the presence of external devices assigned to each external device,
The broadcast receiving terminal device according to claim 6.