JP2006295389A - Television viewing reservation system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology which enables a user to carry out flexible reservation without caring about its location for a reserved time zone. <P>SOLUTION: The television viewing reservation system includes: a shared apparatus A of, e.g. a digital television receiver having a viewing reservation section and a reception section 106; and a possessed apparatus 107 being a television reception function attached mobile phone, wherein the possessed apparatus 107 transmits program information of an EPG 107b to a communication means 105 of the shared apparatus A via a communication means 107d, and establishes the program information to a program reservation information setting table 101. Further, reserving person information from a reserving person (viewing place) candidate list 102 and time information from a clock 103 are provided to the program reservation information setting table 101, which manages program viewing of the shared apparatus. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a television viewing reservation system, and more particularly to a reservation system for a plurality of televisions.

  Conventionally, a system for reserving watching TV has been proposed. For example, as a program reservation system, a program reservation system that automatically notifies a communication device carried by the user that the broadcast start time of a viewing reservation program has been reached. In this system, the reservation can be canceled by a response from the user who has received the notification. In addition, the program reservation system can detect a change in the broadcast time of a viewing reservation program or stop of the broadcast and notify the user, and can continue or cancel the reservation according to the user's response (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2002-320169 A

  In the above background art, even if the user knows that the broadcast start time of the reserved viewing program has been reached, it cannot be viewed. In the above background art, the change in the program broadcast time is detected and notified, and the reservation can be continued / cancelled. However, if the program broadcast time after the change is not at home, the reservation can be canceled. Cannot watch.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a technique for a user to make a flexible reservation without worrying about the location in the reservation time zone.

  The present invention is a system comprising a plurality of televisions having a viewing reservation function and communication means.

  That is, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a television system including a plurality of televisions each having a television reception function and a communication function, and at least one of the plurality of televisions includes a television program. A viewing reservation list is held, and the viewing reservation list is shared by the plurality of televisions via the communication function.

  By the above-mentioned means, 1) to make it possible to select which of a plurality of TVs to watch when viewing a TV program, and 2) when the viewing reservation time approaches, one TV is notified and the viewing Notifying that the device can be changed 3) If there is a change in the broadcast time of the reserved program, the other TV is notified and the reservation right after the change and the viewing device can select one or the other TV 4) The reservation is possible on one or the other television.

  For example, program information held by one TV for viewing reservation is transmitted to another TV using a communication means. The TV on the receiving side automatically turns on the tuner with the reception of the information as a trigger, and selects a channel based on the information. In addition, by providing a reservation candidate candidate list and a reserved program information setting table in the viewing reservation system, overlapping reservations and the like are managed. Another device receives the program information held by one device for viewing reservation, and the receiving side uses that information to activate the television.

  In addition, a plurality of other televisions can be registered in the television to be reserved for viewing. You can record program information / reservers / on which TV. By requesting viewing reservation using communication means for another registered TV, it is possible to notify the other TV when the viewing reservation time is reached, and to select again on which television the reservation person will actually view. Therefore, it is possible to view even if you are in another place at the reserved time.

  According to the present invention, the user can make a viewing reservation without worrying about the location of the reserved time zone. Further, there is an advantage that a new reservation can be made on the spot even when the broadcast time of the reserved program is changed.

  The program reservation system according to the present invention distinguishes the reservation reservation from a plurality of users, and the viewing reservation function, that is, the function of starting at a specified channel at the start time of the reserved program and turning off the power at the end time. And a function to perform. Further, the communication means has a function of notifying the user that the reservation time has been reached several seconds before the reservation time. This communication means is assumed to send a mail by a fixed telephone, but a similar mail can also be sent by a stationary television connected to a home network environment.

  More specifically, it is a system comprising 1) a digital television connected to a telephone line having a viewing reservation function and 2) a mobile phone capable of viewing the television. In the above 1), when making a viewing reservation, in addition to the program information extracted from the EPG, one of the viewing devices (1) or 2)) can be selected. When the digital television of 1) is selected, reserved program information and reservation (mobile phone owner) information are recorded.

  If it is 5 minutes before the reservation time, an email confirming the viewing device is transmitted to the mobile phone according to the reservation information, and if it is impossible to actually watch on the digital TV, the mobile phone can be selected. When the mobile phone is selected, the digital TV reservation is canceled and the mobile phone is reserved for viewing. Further, when the broadcast time of the reserved program is changed, it is notified from the digital television to the mobile phone that the reserved program information has been changed according to the reservation information, and the contents of the viewing reservation can be registered again. Assuming that the digital TV is a large-screen TV at home and the mobile phone is a mobile phone of a family, when changing the reservation content of a digital TV from the mobile phone, the digital TV reservation information and the mobile phone owner It is common to match.

  The system according to the present embodiment is reserved for viewing, for example, a shared TV in the living room and a personal TV owned by each family member in the room, a shared television in the home and a mobile phone with a television owned by each family member, etc. It is a system that shares functions. Such a system has the following characteristics.

  (1) It is possible to make a viewing reservation without having to pay attention to whether or not the reservation person is near the television reserved at the reservation time.

  (2) Not all televisions need to have a viewing reservation function, and only one television with a viewing reservation function may be provided.

  (3) By registering and managing reservations and viewing locations, for example, when a large-screen TV is not available, it is possible to make reservations using a mobile phone.

  (4) Mobile phone with TV is also within range. In this case, in this system, it can be handled as a case where the reservation person becomes the viewing place.

  (5) For example, when a dad reserves a program and the viewing time comes, there may be a case where the program reserved in the child's room is viewed.

  Hereinafter, a television reservation system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a television viewing reservation system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the television reservation system according to the present embodiment includes a shared device A and an owned device 100. The shared device A is, for example, a digital television A, and includes a viewing reservation unit 100 and a receiving unit 106. The owned device is, for example, a mobile phone 107.

  The viewing reservation unit 100 includes a reserved program information setting table 101, a reservation person (viewing place) candidate list 102, a clock 103, an input unit 104, and a communication unit 105. The receiving unit 106 includes an EPG 106a, a tuner 106b, and a display unit 106c. An antenna AT1 is connected to the tuner 106b.

  The owned device 107 includes a tuner 107a, an EPG 107b, a display unit 107c, a communication unit 107d, and an input unit 107e, and is a mobile phone with a so-called television reception function.

  The owned device 107 selects the tuner 107a based on the EPG 107b. Program information of the EPG 107b is transmitted to the communication unit 105 of the shared device via the communication unit 107d. The owned device 107 may be activated with the reception of program information as a trigger.

  The communication unit 105 sets program information in the reserved program information setting table 101. Reserving person information registration and reservation information are input to the reserved program information setting table 101 from the input unit 104 by inputting the reservation person. Furthermore, reservation information registration and reservation information input are described in the reservation person (viewing place) candidate list 102. Reservation information is entered in the reserved program information setting table 101 from the reservation (viewing place) candidate list 102. Further, time information is provided from the clock 103 to the reserved program information setting table 101. Program information is provided from the EPG of the receiving unit 106 to the reserved program information setting table 101 created in this way. The reserved program information setting table 101 created as described above manages the program viewing of the shared device.

  Next, the flow of processing in the television reservation system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a basic processing flow in the television reservation system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, first, in step 200, the process is started, and in step 201, a viewing reservation is made with the viewing location as the shared device A. The clock 103 notifies that the viewing reservation time has come. Next, in step 202, the reservation device's owned device 107 is notified of the arrival of the viewing start time, and program information is transmitted from the shared device A to the owned device 107. In step 203, it is determined whether or not there is a response (including a reservation person confirmation). As a result, if there is a response (YES), the process proceeds to step 204 to check whether or not to continue viewing reservation. If the viewing reservation is not continued (NO), if not confirmed, the viewing reservation is canceled in step 205 and the process returns to step 201. If the viewing reservation is to be continued (YES), the process proceeds to step 206 to check whether or not the viewing device is to be changed. If the reserved device is not changed (NO), the shared device is turned on in step 209 to select a channel. If the reserved device is to be changed (YES), in step 207, the owned device is turned on based on the program information to select a station. When the reservation end time comes from step 207 or step 209, the process proceeds from step 207 to step 208, where the power of the owned device is turned off. From step 209, the process proceeds to step 210, and the shared device is turned off. In either case, the process returns to step 201. In the processing described above, it is basically determined by reservation that viewing is to be performed on the shared device, and basically viewing is performed on the shared device. However, when it is desired to change the viewing device, it is notified again that the viewing reservation has been made before the start of viewing. Therefore, for convenience, for example, the viewing device can be changed so as to be viewed on the owned device.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing based on viewing with an owned device. As shown in FIG. 3, the process starts in step 300, and in step 301, a viewing reservation is made with the viewing location as the owned device. Here, the viewing reservation time is notified, and in step 302, the reservation owner's own device is notified of the arrival of the viewing start time, and the program information is transmitted. In step 303, a response (including confirmation of the reservation person) is made. If there is a response (YES), the process proceeds to step 304 to check whether or not to continue the viewing reservation. If the continuation of the viewing reservation is confirmed (YES), the process proceeds to step 306 to confirm whether or not to change the viewing device. When the viewing device is changed in step 306 (YES), the process proceeds to step 307 to determine the status of the shared device. If the shared device has not been reserved or is not currently being viewed (YES), the process proceeds to step 309 when the reservation start time is reached, and the shared device is turned on / selected. In step 311, the owned device is turned on and selected based on the program information. Next, when the reservation end time is reached, the shared device is turned off in step 310 or the owned device is turned off in step 312 and the process returns to step 301.

  If NO in steps 303 and 306, the process proceeds to step 311. If NO in step 304, the process proceeds to step 305 to cancel the viewing reservation and returns to step 301. If NO in step 307, the process proceeds to step 308 to notify the user that the change is an addition. In the above processing, the flow of processing when viewing with the owned device has been basically described.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of reservation candidate list creation processing according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, first, processing is started in step 400, and a name is input in step 401 (for example, Taro Hayakawa is input). In step 402, a nickname is entered (eg, dad). In step 403, a password is entered. In step 404, an owned device is selected. If the owned device is a device on the network, a selection is made from the devices on the network in step 406. When a mobile phone is selected as the owned device, a mobile mail address (such as an IP address) is input. If the steps 405 and 406 and the selection of the owned device are not selected, the process ends in step 407 as it is.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of a list of reservation candidates. In the reservation candidate list, for example, names, nicknames and passwords, owned devices, types of owned devices, and IP addresses such as mobile mail are described. When the reservation candidate is Taro Hayakawa, for example, the owned device may have an owned device with two routing tables such as a My mobile phone and a bedroom TV. Within this table, reservations are possible, but in practice it is generally necessary to have permission from another person in the same family for equipment owned by a different person.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of input processing of the reserved program information setting table according to this embodiment. This processing is an example of processing when a reservation is made while referring to a table in the shared device body. As shown in FIG. 6, first, in step 500, processing is started, and in step 501, a name or nickname is selected. In step 502, a password is input, and in step 503, a program is selected from the electronic program guide. In step 504, a viewing device is selected, and in step 505, the process ends.

  On the other hand, when making a reservation from an owned device such as a mobile phone, it is confirmed whether or not the large TV in the living room is vacant from the mobile phone. If it is available, (Y) it is possible to view on a shared device (large TV). In this case, for example, an e-mail is sent from a mobile phone to a large TV, and the large TV processes the e-mail. You may make it send a return mail like this. For example, on the screen of the e-mail, the user can also perform confirmation work related to viewing reservation and the like. For example, the channel, time, program name, etc. can be confirmed on the mail screen on the mobile phone of the person who made the viewing reservation. This e-mail screen may be sent based on a set value such as 5 minutes before the reservation time. Based on the result confirmed on the e-mail screen, for example, it is confirmed whether or not a reservation for viewing on another device is possible depending on the availability of the other device or its own schedule, and the viewing reservation on the other device is made. It is also possible.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the reservation table 101 (FIG. 1). As shown in FIG. 7, in the reservation table, date / time, channel, program name, reservation person, and viewing device are arranged in the order of the number (No). For example, in the first case, the date is 05/02/18 from 9:55 to 11:25, the program name is “XX” in 8 channels, the reservation person is the mother, and the viewing device is this unit. It is shown that. The second is the date of 05/02/18 from 10:55 to 11:25, with 4 channels, the program name “XX”, the reservation person is good, and the viewing device is good with this mobile phone. It shows that there is. Although the time zones overlap, viewing devices can be reserved because the viewing devices are different. By creating such a reservation table, different programs are not reserved at the same time on the same device (however, in the case of a double tuner, etc., different programs can be reserved on the same device. It is possible.)

  As described above, according to the program reservation system according to the present embodiment, the user can make a viewing reservation without worrying about his / her location in the reserved time zone, and the viewing reservation is made but the viewing reservation is made without the presence. There are fewer cases where you can't. Further, there is an advantage that a new reservation can be made on the spot even when the broadcast time of the reserved program is changed or even when the schedule of the program is changed. Note that both viewing devices may be mobile phones.

  The present invention can be used as a viewing reservation system including a plurality of devices.

It is a figure which shows the example of 1 structure of the television viewing-and-listening reservation system by one embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow of a basic process in the television reservation system by this Embodiment. It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow of the process based on viewing and listening with an own apparatus. It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow of the reservation candidate list creation process by this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of a list of reservation candidates. It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow of an input process of the reservation program information setting table by this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the reservation table 101 (FIG. 1).

Explanation of symbols

  A ... Shared device (digital TV), 100 ... Viewing reservation section, 101 ... Reserved program information setting table, 102 ... Reserving person (viewing place) candidate list, 103 ... Clock, 104 ... Input section, 105 ... Communication means, 106 ... Reception unit, 106a... EPG, 106b... Tuner, 106c... Display unit, 107... Owned device (cellular phone), 107a... Tuner, 107b.

Claims (10)

A television system including a plurality of televisions each having a television reception function and a communication function,
At least one of the plurality of televisions holds a television program viewing reservation list, and the viewing reservation list is shared by the plurality of televisions via the communication function. TV system.   The television system according to claim 1, wherein the reservation list can be referred to via the communication function.   3. The television system according to claim 1, wherein the television system has a viewing television selection function capable of selecting a television to be viewed at the time of viewing with reference to the viewing reservation list.   3. The television system according to claim 1, further comprising a viewing reservation selection function that refers to the viewing reservation list and selects a television for which a viewing reservation is made at the time of reservation.   The television system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a plurality of televisions that can be reserved can be registered in a television having the program viewing list.   6. The television system according to claim 1, further comprising a function of registering a user who may make a reservation in the television holding the communication function and the program viewing list. .   7. The system according to claim 1, wherein when a reserved time reserved in the viewing program list is reached, a notification to that effect is sent to a television selected as a viewing target television. 8. TV system.   The television system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein when a broadcast time of a reserved program is changed, the reservation person is notified based on the viewing program list. A reservation method in a television system, each of which includes a plurality of televisions each having a television reception function and a communication function, wherein at least one of the plurality of televisions holds a television program viewing reservation list. ,
Reserving a television for viewing with reference to the viewing reservation list;
Receiving a notification that the viewing reservation time is approaching;
Prompting you to check if your viewing device has changed,
And a step of changing a viewing device with reference to the viewing reservation list when there is a change. The program for making a computer perform the step of Claim 9.

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