JP2006295431A - Channel selection remote control device, channel selection program, and channel selection method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a channel selection remote control device enabling a user to select channels according to preference of the user with less button operations. <P>SOLUTION: The channel selection remote control device 1 is provided with a power supply state determination means 13, which determines an on-state or an off-state of a broadcast receiver on the basis of the depression of a power button 2a, a point information accumulating means 14, which generates and accumulates point information showing a degree that a certain channel is selected on the basis of the time clocked by a clocking means 5 when it is judged that the broadcast receiver is in the on-state, a point information storage means (a storage part 6) for storing a cumulative value of the point information for each channel, and a channel selection control means 17 for selecting the channels on the basis of the cumulative value of the point information when a channel selection button 2c is depressed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a channel selection remote control device that performs channel selection in a broadcast receiving device that receives a broadcast program by remote control, a channel channel selection program, and a channel channel selection method.

Currently, the broadcasting system has been digitized, and for example, digital broadcasting by a plurality of broadcasting waves such as terrestrial digital broadcasting, BS (Broadcasting Satellite) digital broadcasting, CS (Communication Satellite) digital broadcasting, etc. A broadcast program is transmitted as a digital signal to a home broadcast receiving apparatus.
Thus, by digitizing the broadcasting system, the quality of video and audio can be improved, and further, the development of compression / modulation technology makes it possible to provide multi-channel broadcasting programs.
In addition, when a user (viewer) selects a channel of a broadcast program to be viewed in a broadcast receiving apparatus, the user (viewer) generally selects a desired channel by remote operation using a remote control (remote control) apparatus. .

  However, in a general remote control device, there are only 12 numeric key buttons “0”, “1” to “12”, which are operation buttons for channel selection, and terrestrial digital broadcasting, BS digital broadcasting, It is not sufficient for channel selection of multi-channel broadcast programs in CS digital broadcasting or the like.

  In general remote control devices, there is a method of switching channels in order by pressing an arrow button or the like. However, in some cases, many arrow buttons must be pressed until a desired channel is selected. There is a problem that a desired broadcast program cannot be viewed quickly.

In addition, when selecting channels across media such as terrestrial digital broadcasting, BS digital broadcasting, and CS digital broadcasting, the channel selection operation is performed after pressing the button for selecting which media broadcast program to view. In addition, there is a problem that the channel selection takes time.
In order to solve such a problem, in the broadcast receiving device, the channel selected by the user is stored as viewing history information, and a list of the viewing history information is presented on the screen, so that the channel can be directly transmitted from the remote control device. Has been disclosed (see Patent Document 1).
JP 2004-336212 A (paragraph number 0012, FIG. 1)

However, with the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, a user can select a desired channel if the viewing history is once displayed on the screen and then the channel selection operation is not performed. There is a problem that the broadcast program that the user wants to watch cannot be viewed immediately.
In addition, when a plurality of users share a broadcast receiving device at home, the viewing history information is dispersed because the preference differs for each user, and the viewing history information list includes information unnecessary for a certain user. It will exist. That is, there is a problem that the user has to select the one that suits his / her preference from the list of viewing history information, which takes time.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems. Channel selection is performed with few button operations without the user being aware of media such as terrestrial digital broadcasting, BS digital broadcasting, and CS digital broadcasting. It is another object of the present invention to provide a channel selection remote control device, a channel selection program, and a channel selection method that can perform channel selection according to user preferences.

  The present invention was devised in order to achieve the above object. First, the channel selection remote controller according to claim 1 is configured to remotely select a channel in a broadcast receiving apparatus that receives a broadcast program by remote control. The channel selection remote control device to be performed is configured to include a power button, a channel selection button, a timing unit, a power source state determination unit, a point information accumulation unit, a point information storage unit, and a channel selection control unit.

In such a configuration, the channel selection remote controller determines the on / off state of the broadcast receiving device by pressing the power button by the power state determination means. For example, when the power button is first pressed, it is determined that the broadcast receiving device is turned on, and when the power button is pressed next, it is determined that the broadcast receiving device is turned off. As a result, the channel selection remote control device can measure the time during which the broadcast receiving device is turned on and the user is watching the broadcast program using the time measuring means.
It should be noted that the power button may be configured to control power on / off with one operation button, or a power on button and a power off button may be provided separately.

Then, the channel selection remote controller determines the degree to which the channel is selected based on the time when the channel is selected when the point information accumulating means determines that the broadcast receiving device is in the ON state. The point information shown is generated and accumulated.
The time when this channel is selected is the difference time between the time when the channel is selected and the time when other channels are selected (or the time until the power is turned off). It is a time indicating whether or not the broadcast program of the channel is being viewed. Therefore, here, the time is used as information indicating the frequency with which the channel is selected, and is converted into points.
Information pointed in this way (point information) may be the time measured itself, or may be the total of the points for the time measured with a predetermined time as one point. Then, the tuning remote controller stores the accumulated point information in the point information storage means.
Based on the accumulated value of the point information, it is possible to determine which channel of the broadcast program the user has been watching for a long time.

  Then, when the channel selection button is pressed, the channel selection remote control device preferentially selects a channel having a large accumulated point information value stored in the point information storage unit by the channel selection control unit. Thereby, the channel selection remote controller can preferentially select a channel that the user has been watching for a long time.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the channel selection remote control device according to the first aspect, wherein the point information accumulated value accumulated by the point information accumulation means is ranked in order of magnitude. A channel selection priority setting unit that sets the channel selection priority, and the point information storage unit stores the accumulated value of the point information and the channel selection priority in association with each channel. .

  In such a configuration, the channel selection remote controller sets the channel selection priority in the order of the magnitude of the accumulated value of the point information by the channel selection priority setting means. By setting the channel selection priority in advance when turning on or off the power of the broadcast receiving device, the channel selection remote controller can select the channel priority of the next candidate or the previous candidate when selecting a channel. The channel of the next candidate or the previous candidate can be selected only by searching for the value of the degree, and it is not necessary to determine the magnitude relationship in the total value of all point information.

  Furthermore, the channel selection remote control device according to claim 3 is the channel selection remote control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the channel selection remote control device includes channel information storage means, identification information reading means, and display means. .

In such a configuration, the channel selection remote control device stores channel identification information for identifying a channel in advance in the channel information storage unit in association with the channel. The channel identification information may be any information as long as it can identify a channel, and is information such as a broadcast station name and a channel number, for example.
Then, the channel selection remote controller reads channel identification information corresponding to the channel selected by the channel selection control unit by the identification information reading unit, and displays the channel identification information by the display unit. .
This allows the user to visually identify the currently selected channel.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the tuning remote controller according to the third aspect, in addition to the selected channel, the identification information reading means is a cumulative value of the point information of the channel. The channel identification information corresponding to the channels preceding and following in this order is read from the channel information storage means, and the display means displays the plurality of read channel identification information.

In this configuration, the channel-selecting remote control device is arranged in the order of the accumulated value of the point information of the selected channel, that is, the one before the channel being selected (that is, the one with higher priority) and the one after the channel ( In other words, the channel having a low priority order) is displayed on the display means, so that the channel that approximates the priority of the selected channel is presented to the user.
The priority order can be determined by referring to the order of the accumulated value of the point information. However, the calculation amount can be reduced by referring to the channel selection priority.

  Further, the channel selection remote control device according to claim 5 is the channel selection remote control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a user selection button, wherein the point information accumulating means is the user. The point information is accumulated for each user selected by the selection button.

  In this configuration, the channel selection remote control device accumulates point information for each preset user selected by the user selection button by the point information accumulation means. As a result, the channel selection remote controller can accumulate point information individually for each user, and can preferentially select a channel that the user has watched for a long time for each user.

  Further, in the channel-selecting remote control device according to claim 6, in the channel-selecting remote control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, the point information accumulating unit is configured to display a day of the week or a predetermined time zone. The point information is accumulated for at least one section, and the channel selection control means selects the channel based on the accumulated value of the point information in the current section.

In such a configuration, the channel selection remote controller uses the point information accumulating means to select a day of the week (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday,..., Saturday) or a predetermined time zone (for example, from 6 am to 9 am, from 9 am The point information is accumulated every time until 12:00) or every section determined by the combination. Thereby, the point information of the channel selected by the user is accumulated for each day of the week or for each time period, and more point information of the channel that the user has watched for a long time on the day of the week or the time period is accumulated.
Then, the channel selection remote control device selects a channel by the channel selection control means according to the size of the accumulated point information (or channel selection priority) at the current day of the week or time zone.

  Furthermore, the channel channel selection program according to claim 7 is a broadcast reception device that receives a broadcast program by a power button for operating on and off of a power source and a channel selection button for operating channel switching. In order to determine the channel selection channel, the computer is configured to function as a power state determination unit, a point information accumulation unit, and a channel selection control unit.

  In this configuration, the channel selection program determines the on / off state of the broadcast receiving device by pressing the power button by the power state determination unit. Then, the channel channel selection program determines the degree to which the channel is selected based on the time when a certain channel is selected when the point information accumulating unit determines that the broadcast receiving device is in the on state. The point information shown is generated and accumulated, and stored in the point information storage means for each channel.

When the channel selection button is pressed, the channel selection program should preferentially select the channel from the channel with the large accumulated value of the point information stored in the point information storage unit by the channel selection control unit. Determine the channel.
The channel tuning program is incorporated in a tuning remote control device that remotely controls the broadcast receiving device, and performs an operation of determining a tuning channel of the broadcast receiving device by using a power button and a tuning button of the tuning remote control device. Alternatively, it may be incorporated in the broadcast receiving apparatus, and an operation for determining the channel selection channel of the broadcast receiving apparatus may be performed by the power button and the channel selection button of the broadcast receiving apparatus.

  The channel tuning method according to claim 8 is a broadcast receiving apparatus that receives a broadcast program by a power button for operating on and off of a power source and a channel selecting button for operating channel switching. The channel selection method for determining the channel selection channel in FIG. 1 is a procedure including a power supply state determination step, a point information accumulation step, and a channel selection step.

In this procedure, the channel channel selection method determines the on / off state of the broadcast receiving device based on pressing of the power button in the power state determination step, and determines whether the broadcast receiving device is in the on state in the point information accumulation step. When it is determined, based on the time when a certain channel is selected, point information indicating the degree to which the channel is selected is generated and accumulated, and stored in the point information storage means for each channel.
In the channel selection method, in the channel selection step, the channel to be selected is preferentially determined from the channels having a large accumulated value of the point information stored in the point information storage means.

  According to the invention of claim 1, claim 7 or claim 8, the time when the channel selected by the user is selected is counted, and the channel having a large cumulative time (cumulative value of point information) is selected. Since the channel is preferentially selected, the user can select a channel that matches the user's preference with few button operations without being aware of media such as terrestrial digital broadcasting, BS digital broadcasting, and CS digital broadcasting. .

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, in order to set the channel selection priority ranking in the order of the size of the accumulated point information, the channel selection priority is set in the order of channel selection priority. You can select a channel. As a result, the calculation load on the channel selection remote controller can be reduced, and the channel selection operation can be performed at high speed.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the channel identification information such as the broadcast station name for identifying the selected channel is presented on the display means, the user can confirm which channel has been selected. It is possible to improve convenience during channel selection operation.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the selected channel, in addition to presenting the channel identification information of the channel preceding and following in the order of the cumulative value of the point information of the channel on the display means, the user can select the channel Candidate channels can be confirmed, and convenience during tuning operation can be improved.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, even when a plurality of people share the same broadcast receiving device, the point information is accumulated for each user by selecting the user to be used. Therefore, a channel that matches the preference of the person who operates the tuning remote controller is always selected, and the channel that the user wants to watch can be quickly selected.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the channel is selected according to the user's lifestyle in order to accumulate the time (point information) when the channel is selected by dividing into days of the week and time zones. Thus, the channel that the user wants to watch on a certain day of the week or a certain time zone can be quickly selected.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Here, first, the outline of the channel selection remote control device according to the present invention will be described, and then the configuration and operation of the channel selection remote control device will be sequentially described.
[Outline of tuning remote controller]
First, with reference to FIG. 1, the outline | summary of a channel selection remote control apparatus is demonstrated. FIG. 1 is an external view showing the entire tuning remote controller according to the present invention.
The channel selection remote control device 1 performs channel selection in the broadcast receiving device Tv that receives a broadcast program by remote control, and the user may select based on the time when the channel is selected. It is possible to select a channel with a high channel with priority.

When the user presses the power button 2a to turn on the power of the broadcast receiving device Tv, the channel selection remote control device 1 selects the channel based on the channel selection time. The degree of transmission (point information) is accumulated, and a remote control signal corresponding to the channel having the largest accumulated value is transmitted to the broadcast receiving device Tv. Then, the channel selection remote control device 1 transmits a remote control signal corresponding to the channel to the broadcast receiving device Tv in the order of the accumulated value of the point information when the user presses the channel selection button 2c.
Thus, the user can preferentially select a channel with a long viewing time based on the viewing time of the channel selected in the past by the tuning remote control device 1.
Further, the channel selection remote controller 1 can select a user when the user presses the user selection button 2b. And the channel selection remote control apparatus 1 makes it possible to select a channel according to the preference for each user by accumulating point information for each selected user.

Further, the channel selection remote controller 1 includes a display unit 3 such as a liquid crystal display, and the channel identification information display area Ch has names of channels that are preceded and followed by the rank of the channel being selected and the cumulative value of the point information of the channel ( Channel identification information) is displayed, and information (user identification information) for identifying the user selected by the user selection button 2b is displayed in the user identification information display area Us.
As a result, the channel-selecting remote control device 1 can present which user is currently using it, and can present the names of the channels in the order of the channels according to the user's preference. The operability for the user can be improved.

[Configuration of channel selection remote control device]
Next, the configuration of the tuning remote controller will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the tuning remote controller according to the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 2, the channel selection remote control device 1 includes an operation unit 2, a display unit 3, a remote control signal transmission unit 4, a timer unit 5, a storage unit 6, and a control unit 10. Yes.

The operation unit 2 includes a plurality of operation buttons for operating the broadcast receiving apparatus, and accepts an operation on the broadcast receiving apparatus when the user presses the operation button. Here, a power button 2a, a user selection button 2b, a channel selection button 2c, and a volume button 2d are provided as operation buttons.
Here, the power button 2a is a button for operating power on and off in the broadcast receiving apparatus. The user selection button 2b is a button for selecting a user who uses the channel selection remote controller 1. The channel selection button 2c is a button for operating channel switching in the broadcast receiving apparatus. Furthermore, the volume button 2d is a button for adjusting the volume in the broadcast receiving apparatus.
Further, the operation unit 2 detects that each operation button (power button 2a, user selection button 2b, channel selection button 2c, volume button 2d) is pressed, and the control unit 10 to be described later presses the pressed operation button. This is notified together with identification information for identifying. For example, the operation unit 2 notifies the control unit 10 of pressing of the operation button as an interrupt signal.

The display unit (display unit) 3 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display, and includes channel identification information for identifying a channel output from the display control unit 18 of the control unit 10 and a user who uses the channel selection remote controller 1. User identification information for identifying the user ID is displayed.
The display unit 3 displays channel identification information and user identification information output from the display control means 18 on the screen, which channel is currently selected and which user is currently using. It is shown to the user whether it is supposed to be.

  The remote control signal transmission unit 4 transmits a remote control signal to the broadcast receiving apparatus by infrared rays or radio waves. The remote control signal transmission unit 4 is output from the power / volume control unit 16 of the control unit 10 and is output from the button signal information for controlling the power and volume of the broadcast receiving apparatus or from the channel selection control unit 17. Channel signal information for designating the channel of the broadcast receiving apparatus is modulated into an infrared or radio remote control signal and transmitted to the broadcast receiving apparatus.

  The timekeeping unit 5 measures time and is a general timer. The time information (current time) measured by the time measuring unit 5 is used by the point information accumulating unit 14 and the channel selection control unit 17 of the control unit 10.

  The storage unit (channel information storage means, point information storage means) 6 is a general storage means such as a semiconductor memory. The storage unit 6 stores a data string (channel signal information) of a remote control signal corresponding to a channel and a data string (button signal information) of a remote control signal corresponding to an operation button of the operation unit 2, and each channel is selected. The accumulated value of the point information indicating the degree of localization is stored. Information stored in the storage unit 6 is read and written by each unit of the control unit 10 described later.

Here, a part of the information stored in the storage unit 6 will be described with reference to FIG. 3 (refer to FIG. 2 as appropriate). 3A and 3B are diagrams showing the storage contents of the storage unit, where FIG. 3A shows the contents of the remote control signal area for storing information related to the remote control signal, and FIG. 3B shows the user area for storing point information for each user. The contents are shown.
As shown in FIG. 3A, the remote control signal area is composed of a channel related area 6a related to a channel and an operation button related area 6b related to an operation button.

The channel-related area 6a is an area for storing information (channel identification information) for identifying a channel (broadcast station) and a data string (channel signal information) of a remote control signal in association with the channel.
Here, the channel identification information uses a character string of a broadcast station name (for example, “NHK general”) as information for identifying a channel (broadcast station). The channel identification information may be any information as long as it can identify the channel. For example, the channel identification information may be a character string of a number indicating the channel. This channel identification information is used as information displayed on the display unit 3.
The channel signal information is binary data indicating a data string of the remote control signal. This channel signal information is used as information for generating a remote control signal such as infrared rays in the remote control signal transmission unit 4.

The operation button related area 6b is an area for storing a data string (button signal information) of a remote control signal in association with the operation button.
Here, the operation buttons are “power button”, “volume button (+)” and “volume button (−)” for instructing increase / decrease in volume. “Volume button (+)” and “volume button (−)” respectively indicate one of the two volume buttons 2d shown in FIG.
Since the user selection button 2b and the channel selection button 2c are not directly transmitted as remote control signals, they are not associated with remote control signals here.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the user area is divided in advance for each of a plurality of users, and includes unique user areas 6A, 6B, 6C, and the like. Further, the user area includes an area for storing user selection information 60 indicating which user is currently selected and which unique user area (6A, 6B, 6C, etc.) is used. The user selection information 60 may be any information that identifies a unique user area, and is, for example, an address or number of each unique user area.
Here, since the structure of each unique user area (6A, 6B, 6C, etc.) is the same, the contents stored in the unique user area 6A will be described.

This unique user area 6A is an area for storing the accumulated point information (point information accumulated value) and the channel selection priority in association with the channel.
Here, the point information is obtained by summing points for a time when a predetermined channel is continuously selected (a user is continuously watching) with a predetermined time as one point.

  The accumulated point information is the accumulated point information from the past, and the larger this value is, the more users (here, user A) select the channel.

The channel selection priorities are ranked in order from the largest point information cumulative value, and indicate the order (priority) of channels that the channel selection remote controller 1 preferentially selects. . For example, by setting the channel selection priority based on the accumulated point information when the power of the broadcast receiving apparatus is turned on by the power button 2a, the channel selection by the channel selection button 2c can be selected. It becomes possible to quickly search for channels having priorities before and after the channel being stationed. The channel selection priority is used by the channel selection control unit 17 and the display control unit 18 of the control unit 10 to be described later in order to search for a channel selection target channel candidate or a candidate having a priority level.
Furthermore, here, the point information accumulated value and the channel selection priority of the unique user area 6A are divided into predetermined time intervals (point accumulated intervals α, β,...).

  This point accumulation section is divided into, for example, every day of the week (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, ..., Saturday), or every time zone (for example, from 6 am to 9 am, from 9 am to 12 am, etc.) It is determined in advance, for example, by dividing, or by dividing the section into a combination of day and time. Thus, by providing the point accumulation section, point information that matches the user's lifestyle is accumulated, and the channel that best suits the user's preference is selected at the channel selection stage.

Here, user identification information is stored as information for specifying a user who uses the unique user area 6A. Here, a character string (for example, “user A”) is stored in advance as user identification information. This user identification information is used as information displayed on the display unit 3. The user identification information is not limited to a character string, and may be a figure, an image, or the like.
Returning to FIG. 2, the description of the configuration of the channel selection remote control device will be continued.

  The control unit 10 controls the entire tuning remote controller 1. Here, the control unit 10 includes a push button analysis unit 11, a user switching unit 12, a power state determination unit 13, a point information accumulation unit 14, a channel selection priority setting unit 15, and a power / volume control unit 16. And a channel selection control means 17 and a display control means 18.

The push button analyzing unit 11 determines which operation button (power button 2a, user selection button 2b, channel selection button 2c, volume button 2d) based on the identification information for identifying the operation button notified from the operation unit 2. It analyzes (detects) whether the button has been pressed.
Here, when the power button 2a is pressed, the push button analyzing unit 11 notifies the power state determining unit 13 and the power / volume control unit 16 to that effect ("power button press notification").
When the user selection button 2b is pressed, the push button analyzing unit 11 notifies the user switching unit 12 ("user selection button press notification").

When the channel selection button 2c is pressed, the press button analysis unit 11 notifies the point information accumulating unit 14 and the channel selection control unit 17 to that effect (“channel selection button press notification”). It is assumed that information for identifying the two channel selection buttons 2c is also added to this “channel selection button press notification”.
When the volume button 2d is pressed, the pressed button analysis unit 11 notifies the power / volume control unit 16 to that effect (“volume button press notification”). It is assumed that information for identifying two volume buttons 2d is also added to this “volume button press notification”.

When the “user selection button press notification” is notified from the press button analysis unit 11, the user switching unit 12 uses which user's unique user area in the user area (see FIG. 3) of the storage unit 6. It is to switch between.
The user switching means 12 reads the user selection information 60 (see FIG. 3B) stored in the storage unit 6 at the stage of being notified of the “user selection button press notification” and determines which specific user area (6A , 6B, 6C, etc.) and the user selection information 60 is updated. Here, every time the “user selection button press notification” is notified, the “unique user area 6A” → “unique user area 6B” → “unique user area 6C” →. Switch.
Further, the user switching unit 12 instructs the display control unit 18 to switch the user identification information displayed on the display unit 3 (“user display switching instruction”) when the user area is switched.

  When the power button determination unit 13 is notified of the “power button press notification” from the press button analysis unit 11, the power source state determination unit 13 determines whether the power of the broadcast receiving apparatus is on (ON) or off (OFF). Judgment. The power state determination means 13 stores information indicating “off state” in the state information indicating the power state in the storage unit 6 in advance, and when the “power button press notification” is notified, the power state is turned on. It is determined that the state has changed, and the state information stored in the storage unit 6 is changed to “ON state”. Further, the power supply state determination unit 13 determines that the power supply state has changed to the off state when the “power button press notification” is notified when the state information stored in the storage unit 6 is “on state”. The state information stored in the storage unit 6 is changed to “off state”.

When the power supply state determination unit 13 determines that the power supply state has changed to the on state, the power supply state determination unit 13 instructs the channel selection priority setting unit 15 to set the channel selection priority (“setting instruction”), and the setting is performed. At this stage, the channel selection control means 17 is instructed to select a channel (“channel selection instruction”).
Further, when it is determined that the power supply state has changed to the off state, the power supply state determination unit 13 instructs the point information accumulation unit 14 to accumulate point information (“cumulative instruction”).

  As a result, the channel selection priority described in FIG. 3B is set (updated) when the broadcast receiver is turned on, and the channel is selected based on the channel selection priority. Will be. Further, when the power of the broadcast receiving apparatus is turned off, the point information total described in FIG. 3B is accumulated (updated).

  The point information accumulating unit 14 generates and accumulates the point information described in FIG. 3B based on the time when the channel is selected. This point information accumulating unit 14 generates point information when a “selection button press notification” is notified from the press button analyzing unit 11 or when a “cumulative instruction” is instructed from the power state determination unit 13. And the total is performed and the point information cumulative value stored in the storage unit 6 is updated.

Specifically, the point information accumulating unit 14 stores the time at which the currently selected channel is selected, and the time information (current time) output from the time measuring unit 5, which is stored in the storage unit 6. Point information is generated based on the difference time. For example, the point information accumulating unit 14 generates a total value of points corresponding to the difference time as point information with a predetermined time (for example, 1 second, 1 minute, 5 minutes, etc.) as 1 point.
Note that the currently selected channel and the time when the channel was selected are stored in the storage unit 6 together with the channel identification information selected by the channel selection control means 17 described later.

Then, the point information accumulating means 14 calculates the point information accumulated value corresponding to the channel currently selected in the current user area (see FIG. 3) and the point accumulated interval which is the time interval including the current time, The point information cumulative value is updated by adding the generated point information.
When this point information accumulated value exceeds the capacity of the storage area, the point information accumulating unit 14 relatively decreases the entire point information accumulated value in the point accumulated section. For example, all the point information accumulated values in the point accumulated section are set to a half value.

  The channel selection priority setting means 15 sets the channel selection priority ranked in the order of the point information accumulated value accumulated by the point information accumulation means 14. This channel selection priority setting means 15 is the size of the point information accumulated value in the point accumulated section in the current user area (unique user area) when the “setting instruction” is instructed from the power supply state determining means 13. Set the channel selection priority in the order of.

  The power / volume control means 16 controls the power and volume for the broadcast receiving apparatus. The power / volume control means 16 receives button signal information corresponding to the power button (FIG. 3 (a) stored in the storage unit 6 when the power button pressing notice is notified from the push button analyzing means 11. )) Is read out and output to the remote control signal transmitter 4. Further, the power / volume control means 16 receives button signal information corresponding to the volume button (FIG. 3 (FIG. 3)) stored in the storage unit 6 when the “volume button press notification” is notified from the press button analysis means 11. a) is read and output to the remote control signal transmitter 4.

The channel selection control unit 17 stores the channel selection control unit 17 in the storage unit 6 when receiving a “channel selection instruction” from the power supply state determination unit 13 or when receiving a “channel selection button press notification” from the press button analysis unit 11. Channel selection is performed based on the stored point information accumulated value (channel selection priority).
That is, the channel selection control means 17 determines the current time in the current user area (for example, the specific user area 6A; see FIG. 3B) when the power button 2a is pressed and the broadcast receiving apparatus is turned on. The channel signal information corresponding to the channel with the highest channel selection priority is read from the channel related area 6a (see FIG. 3A) in the point accumulation section that is a time section including the Output.

  In addition, when the channel selection button 2c is pressed, the channel selection control unit 17 accumulates points that are time intervals including the current time in the current user region (for example, the unique user region 6A; see FIG. 3B). In the section, channel signal information corresponding to a channel whose channel selection priority is one higher or lower than the channel selection priority of the currently selected channel is displayed in the channel related region 6a (FIG. 3 (a)). )) And output to the remote control signal transmitter 4.

  Note that whether one of the channels higher or lower than the channel selection priority of the currently selected channel is selected depends on which of the two channel selection buttons 2c is pressed. For example, in the case of the channel selection remote control device 1 described with reference to FIG. 1, when the downward (next candidate) operation button of the channel selection button 2c is pressed, the channel selection priority of the currently selected channel is exceeded. When a channel that is one higher is selected and the upward (previous candidate) operation button is pressed, a channel that is one lower than the channel selection priority of the currently selected channel is selected.

Further, the channel selection control means 17 specifies the selected channel to switch the channel identification information displayed on the display unit 3 (“channel display switching instruction”) when channel selection is performed. The display control means 18 is instructed together with information (here, the channel selection priority and the point accumulation section [see FIG. 3B)).
Further, the channel selection control means 17 stores the time when the channel was selected in the storage unit 6. This time is used as a reference time when the point information accumulation means 14 accumulates point information.

The display control means (identification information reading means) 18 performs display control of the display unit 3. When the “channel display switching instruction” is instructed from the channel selection control means 17, the display control means 18 receives channel identification information (for example, channel selection priority and point accumulation section included in the instruction). “NHK synthesis”, “NHK education”, etc.) are read from the storage unit 6 and output to the display unit 3.
Further, the display control unit 18 refers to the user selection information 60 (see FIG. 3B) stored in the storage unit 6 when the “user display switching instruction” is instructed from the user switching unit 12. The user identification information (for example, “user A”, “user B”, etc.) stored in the switched user area is read and output to the display unit 3.

  Note that the control unit 10 can cause a general computer to operate the program as a program (channel selection program) that causes each of the above-described units to function. Further, the channel selection channel determination program can be incorporated in the broadcast receiving apparatus and operated by an operation button of the broadcast receiving apparatus.

  As described above, the channel selection remote controller 1 stores the channel selection time for each channel, which is the history of the channel selected by the user, and selects a channel with higher priority as the channel selection time is longer. Therefore, the user can select a favorite channel with a few button operations.

The configuration of the channel selection remote control device 1 has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the user selection button 2b and the user switching unit 12 may be omitted from the configuration. Thereby, it can be configured as a simplified channel selection remote control device that can be operated by one user. Further, the volume button 2d is not an essential configuration and can be omitted.
Further, the display unit 3 and the display control means 18 may be omitted from the configuration. Thereby, it can also be configured as a small tuning remote controller.

In addition to the present configuration, the channel selection remote controller 1 may include initialization means for initializing the contents of the user area of the storage unit 6. Thereby, it is possible to cope with a change of the user or the like. Furthermore, the channel selection remote controller 1 may include a registration unit that registers user identification information in the user area of the storage unit 6. For example, by registering a user name or the like as user identification information and displaying the name in the user identification information display area Us (see FIG. 1) of the display unit 3, who is currently using the tuning remote control device 1. It becomes possible to make it clearer.
Here, the channel selection remote control device 1 has been described as remotely operating a television receiver that is a broadcast receiving device. However, the broadcast receiving device may be anything that switches channels, for example, a radio receiver. It may be a receiver.
Here, the user to be used is switched by the user selection button 2b. However, an authentication unit that performs biometric authentication such as fingerprint authentication may be provided to identify the user.

[Operation of tuning remote controller]
Next, the operation of the channel selection remote controller will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, first, an outline of the overall operation of the channel selection remote controller 1 will be described, and then each operation will be described.

(Overall operation)
First, referring to FIG. 4 (refer to FIG. 1 as appropriate), the overall operation of the tuning remote controller 1 will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the overall operation of the tuning remote controller according to the present invention.
First, when the user selection button 2b is pressed, the channel selection remote controller 1 displays the user identification information in the user identification information display area Us of the display unit 3, and the order of the user's viewing time in the channel identification information display area Ch. A user selection process for displaying channel identification information is performed (step S1; user selection step).

When the power button 2a is pressed, the channel selection remote controller 1 turns on the broadcast receiving device Tv and ranks channels (sets channel selection priority) based on the channel selection time. ) Is performed (step S2; power state determination step and point information accumulation step).
Subsequently, the channel selection remote controller 1 performs a channel selection process for transmitting a remote control signal for channel selection to the broadcast receiver Tv based on the channel selection priority (step S3; channel selection step). .
This channel selection process is also performed when the channel selection button 2c is pressed, and channel selection is performed based on the channel selection priority.

When the power button 2a is pressed again, the channel selection remote controller 1 turns off the power of the broadcast receiving device Tv and performs an end process for accumulating the channel selection time (cumulative point information). (Step S4; point information accumulation step).
Here, the process of step S1 is performed with the power of the broadcast receiving device Tv being turned off, but may be performed with the power being turned on.
Hereinafter, in this overall operation, the operation when each operation button is pressed will be described individually.

(Operation when user selection button is pressed)
First, referring to FIG. 5 (refer to FIG. 2 as appropriate), the operation when the user selection button 2b of the channel selection remote controller 1 is pressed will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation when the user selection button is pressed in the tuning remote controller according to the present invention. This operation corresponds to the operation in step S1 in FIG.
When the channel selection remote controller 1 detects that the user selection button 2b has been pressed by the push button analysis unit 11, the user switching unit 12 determines which specific area in the user area (see FIG. 3) of the storage unit 6 by the user switching unit 12. Whether to use the user area is switched (step S10).

The channel selection remote controller 1 is stored in the switched unique user area by the display control means 18 with reference to the user selection information 60 (see FIG. 3B) stored in the storage unit 6. The user identification information is read (step S11), and the user identification information is displayed on the display unit 3 (step S12).
Further, the channel selection remote control device 1 has channel selection priorities of “1”, “2”, and “N” (the lowest order) in the point accumulation section corresponding to the switched user and the current time by the display control means 18. ) "Is read from the storage unit 6 (step S13), and the channel identification information is displayed on the display unit 3 (step S14).

(Operation when the power button is pressed)
Next, referring to FIG. 6 (refer to FIG. 2 as appropriate), the operation of the channel selection remote controller 1 when the power button 2a is pressed will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation when the power button is pressed in the tuning remote controller according to the present invention. This operation corresponds to the operations in steps S2 and S3 when the power button 2a is first pressed in FIG. 4 and step S4 when the power button 2a is pressed for the second time.
When the channel selection remote controller 1 detects that the power button 2a is pressed by the push button analysis unit 11, the button corresponding to the power button 2a stored in the storage unit 6 by the power / volume control unit 16 is displayed. The signal information is read, and the remote control signal transmission unit 4 transmits the button signal information as a remote control signal to the broadcast receiving apparatus (step S20).

Then, the channel selection remote controller 1 determines the power supply state of the broadcast receiving device by the power supply state determination means 13 (step S21).
Here, when the power supply state of the broadcast receiving apparatus changes from the off state to the on state ([OFF → ON] in step S21), the channel selection remote control device 1 uses the channel selection priority setting means 15 to store the storage unit 6. The channel selection priority is set in the order of the size of the accumulated point information (point information accumulated) stored in (step S22).
Then, the channel selection remote controller 1 uses the channel selection priority setting unit 15 to obtain channel signal information of a channel having a channel selection priority “1” in the point accumulation section corresponding to the current user and the current time. Reading from the storage unit 6 (step S23), the remote control signal transmission unit 4 transmits the channel signal information as a remote control signal to the broadcast receiving apparatus (step S24).

Then, the channel selection remote controller 1 stores the time when the channel is selected by the channel selection priority setting means 15 in the storage unit 6 as the selection start time (step S25).
On the other hand, when the power state of the broadcast receiving device changes from the off state to the on state ([ON → OFF] in step S21), the channel selection remote controller 1 uses the point information accumulating unit 14 to select the channel selected. The point information is accumulated based on the time (step S26). Note that the process of accumulating the point information will be described in more detail later with reference to FIG.
Then, the channel selection remote controller 1 changes the power supply state (state information) stored in the storage unit 6 to the current power supply state (“on state” or “off state”) by the power supply state determination unit 13. (Step S27).

(Operation when the tuning button is pressed)
Next, referring to FIG. 7 (refer to FIG. 2 as appropriate), the operation when the channel selection button 2c of the channel selection remote controller 1 is pressed will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation when the channel selection button is pressed in the channel selection remote controller according to the present invention. This operation corresponds to the operation in step S3 when the channel selection button 2c in FIG. 4 is pressed.
When the channel selection remote controller 1 detects that the channel selection button 2c is pressed by the push button analysis unit 11, the point information accumulation unit 14 accumulates the point information based on the time of the selected channel. Perform (step S30). Note that the process of accumulating the point information will be described in more detail later with reference to FIG.
Then, the channel selection remote controller 1 uses the channel selection control means 17 to determine the channel selection direction as to whether the channel selection button 2c indicates the next candidate or the previous candidate (step S31).

When it is determined that the channel selection button 2c is a button indicating the next candidate ([next candidate] in step S31), the channel selection remote control device 1 uses the channel selection control means 17 to indicate the current user and the current time. The channel signal information of the channel whose channel selection priority is “n + 1” in the point accumulation section corresponding to is read from the storage unit 6 (step S32). “N” is the current channel selection priority.
Furthermore, the channel selection remote control device 1 uses the display control means 18 to select channels of channel selection priorities “n”, “n + 1”, and “n + 2” in the point accumulation section corresponding to the user and the current time. The identification information is read from the storage unit 6 (step S33), and the process proceeds to step S36.
When “n” is the lowest channel selection priority, “n + 1” and “n + 2” are set to “1” and “2”, respectively. As a result, all channels are managed in a ring shape.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the channel selection button 2c is a button indicating the previous candidate ([previous candidate] in step S31), the channel selection remote controller 1 uses the channel selection control means 17 to set the current user and the current time. The channel signal information of the channel whose channel selection priority is “n−1” in the corresponding point cumulative section is read from the storage unit 6 (step S34). “N” is the current channel selection priority.
Further, the channel selection remote controller 1 uses the display control means 18 to select channel selection priorities of “n−2”, “n−1”, and “n” in the point accumulation section corresponding to the user and the current time. Channel identification information of a certain channel is read from the storage unit 6 (step S35).
When “n” is “1” (the highest channel selection priority), “n−1” and “n-2” are changed to “N (the lowest channel selection priority)” and “ N-1 ″. As a result, all channels are managed in a ring shape.

Then, the channel selection remote controller 1 transmits the channel signal information read in step S32 or step S34 by the remote control signal transmitter 4 to the broadcast receiver as a remote control signal (step S36).
In addition, the channel selection remote controller 1 displays the channel identification information read in step S33 or step S35 on the display unit 3 (step S37).
Then, the channel selection remote controller 1 stores the channel selected by the channel selection control unit 17 and the time when the channel was selected (channel selection start time) in the storage unit 6 (step S38, step S38). S39).

[Point information accumulation processing]
Next, the point information accumulation process in step S26 in FIG. 6 and step S30 in FIG. 7 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 8 (refer to FIG. 2 as appropriate). FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the point information accumulation process.
When the point selection remote control device 1 accumulates point information, the point information accumulation unit 14 measures the time (current time) measured by the time measuring unit 5 and the time when the channel stored in the storage unit 6 is selected. Based on (the channel selection start time), point information corresponding to the difference time is generated (step S40).

Then, the channel selection remote controller 1 further generates the point information total value corresponding to the currently selected channel and the point total section that is the time section including the current time by the point information total means 14. By accumulating (adding) the point information, the point information accumulated value is updated (step S41).
The point information accumulation means 14 determines whether or not the accumulated value exceeds a predetermined upper limit value such as storage capacity when the point information is accumulated (step S42). The total point information accumulated value in the point accumulated section is decreased (step S43). The amount of decrease in step S43 is, for example, 1/2, 1/3, etc., and it is desirable to relatively decrease the entire point information accumulated value in the point accumulated section.
With the above operation, the channel selection remote controller 1 can preferentially select a channel according to the preference of each user.

[Comparison of tuning methods]
Finally, referring to FIG. 9, a channel selection method according to the present invention will be described in comparison with a conventional channel selection method. FIG. 9 is a diagram schematically showing a channel selection method, in which (a) shows a conventional channel selection method and (b) shows a channel selection method of the present invention. Note that (a) shows two types of methods [(a-1) and (a-2)] as conventional channel selection methods. In FIG. 9, each circle is represented as one channel.

  As shown in (a-1) of FIG. 9 (a), in the conventional channel selection method, when the broadcast wave (media: terrestrial digital broadcast, etc.) of the broadcast program that the user wants to watch is different, the user The channel is changed after the mode is changed (mode switching), and the user must always be aware of the mode when selecting a channel.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 9A, (a-2), other conventional channel selection methods manage all channels in a ring shape without making the user aware of the mode. In this case, for example, when the channel is switched from NHK synthesis (Ch011), which is digital terrestrial broadcasting, to BS-Hi-Vision (Ch103), which is BS digital broadcasting, many channels are selected. You have to press the button.

However, according to the channel selection method of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 9B, the channels are ranked (sorted) based on the time when the channels are selected and managed in a ring shape. Yes.
Therefore, for example, the channel with the highest channel selection priority (for example, NHK synthesis (Ch011)) and the channel with the second highest channel selection priority (for example, BS-Hi-Vision (Ch103)) are operated once. It becomes possible to switch with.
As described above, according to the channel selection method of the present invention, the user can quickly select a channel suitable for the user's preference with few button operations without being aware of the media mode.

1 is an external view showing the entire tuning remote controller according to the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the channel selection remote control apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is the figure which showed the memory content of a memory | storage part, Comprising: (a) shows the content of the remote control signal area | region which memorize | stores the information relevant to a remote control signal, (b) shows the content of the user area | region which memorize | stores the point information for every user. ing. It is a flowchart which shows the whole operation | movement of the channel selection remote control apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement at the time of the user selection button press of the channel selection remote control apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement at the time of pressing down the power button of the channel selection remote control apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement at the time of channel selection button press of the channel selection remote control apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a point information accumulation process. It is the figure which showed the channel selection method typically, Comprising: (a) is the conventional channel selection method, (b) has shown the channel selection method of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Channel selection remote control device 2 Operation part 3 Display part (display means)
4 Remote control signal transmission unit 5 Timekeeping unit 6 Storage unit (channel information storage means, point information storage means)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Control part 11 Press channel analysis means 12 User switching means 13 Power supply state determination means 14 Point information accumulation means 15 Channel selection priority setting means 16 Power source / volume control means 17 Channel selection control means (identification information reading means)
18 Display control means

Claims (8)

In a channel selection remote control device that performs channel selection by remote control in a broadcast receiving device that receives a broadcast program,
A power button for operating power on and off in the broadcast receiving device;
A channel selection button for operating the channel switching;
A time measuring means for measuring time;
Power state determination means for determining an on state and an off state of the broadcast receiving device based on pressing of the power button;
When the power receiving state determining means determines that the broadcast receiving apparatus is in an on state, the power receiving state determining means generates point information indicating the degree to which the channel is selected based on the time measured by the time measuring means, Point information accumulating means,
Point information storage means for storing the accumulated value of the point information accumulated by the point information accumulation means for each channel;
Channel selection control means for selecting the channel based on the cumulative value of the point information stored in the point information storage means when the channel selection button is pressed;
A channel-selecting remote control device comprising: A channel selection priority setting unit that sets a channel selection priority ranking in the order of the size of the accumulated point information accumulated by the point information accumulation unit,
2. The channel selection remote controller according to claim 1, wherein the point information storage unit stores the accumulated value of the point information and the channel selection priority in association with each channel. Channel information storage means for storing channel identification information for identifying the channel in association with the channel;
Identification information reading means for reading channel identification information corresponding to the channel selected by the channel selection control means from the channel information storage means;
Display means for displaying channel identification information read by the identification information reading means;
The channel remote controller according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising:   The identification information reading means reads from the channel information storage means channel identification information corresponding to the channel that is preceded and followed by the order of the accumulated value of the point information of the channel in addition to the selected channel, and the display means 4. The channel selection remote controller according to claim 3, wherein the read channel identification information is displayed. A user selection button for selecting a preset user who uses the broadcast receiving device,
5. The tuning remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the point information accumulating unit accumulates the point information for each user selected by the user selection button. The point information accumulation means accumulates the point information for each section of at least one of a day of the week or a predetermined time zone,
6. The channel selection control unit according to claim 1, wherein the channel selection control unit performs channel selection based on a cumulative value of the point information in the current section. Station remote control device. In order to determine a channel to be selected in a broadcast receiving apparatus that receives a broadcast program by using a power button for operating power on and off and a channel selection button for operating channel switching,
A power state determination means for determining an on state and an off state of the broadcast receiving device based on pressing of the power button;
When the broadcast receiving apparatus is determined to be in the on state by the power state determination means, point information indicating the degree to which the channel is selected is generated and accumulated based on the time when the channel is selected. Point information accumulating means for storing in the point information storage means for each channel;
Channel selection control means for determining a channel to be selected based on a cumulative value of point information stored in the point information storage means when the channel selection button is pressed,
Channel selection program characterized by functioning as A channel tuning method for determining a channel to be selected in a broadcast receiving apparatus for receiving a broadcast program by using a power button for operating power on and off and a channel selecting button for operating channel switching. ,
A power state determination step for determining an on state and an off state of the broadcast receiving device based on pressing of the power button;
When the broadcast receiving apparatus is determined to be in the on state in the power state determination step, point information indicating the degree to which the channel is selected is generated and accumulated based on the time when the channel is selected. Point information accumulating step for storing in the point information storage means for each channel;
A channel selection step for determining a channel to be selected based on a cumulative value of point information stored in the point information storage means when the channel selection button is pressed;
A channel tuning method comprising the steps of:

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