JP2006311148A - Broadcasting receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a broadcasting receiver easily used by a user. <P>SOLUTION: The broadcasting receiver 1 comprises: an area channel information storage means 13 for storing a correspondence relation between a channel number in an area and a broadcasting station; a user channel information storage means 14 for storing a correspondence relation between a channel number which is manually set and the broadcasting station; and a setting means (control means) for setting the channel number for tuning based on area channel information stored in the area channel information storage means 13 and user channel information which is stored in the user channel information storage means 14. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a broadcast receiving apparatus, and more particularly to generation of channel selection channel information to be referred to when a user selects a broadcast station in a reception area.

  In recent years, a technique of incorporating a TV tuner in a mobile phone is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). In terrestrial digital broadcasting or satellite digital broadcasting, broadcasting using a transmission band of 1 or 3 segments is scheduled mainly for small portable receivers with high portability.

  Also, in the television channel setting, the reception area is specified by inputting the region information, and the user can perform the setting operation by setting the channel setting and the direct tuning key setting with the recommended channel setting information of the region. A television setting method for assisting television is known (for example, see Patent Document 2).

There is also known a television receiver that can set a broadcast station of the same series as a broadcast station in the original reception area in the same memory area (direct key) even if the reception area changes (see, for example, Patent Document 3). ).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-9920 JP-A-9-172581 JP 2003-179823 A

  By the way, when the television setting method is applied to a mobile broadcast receiver such as a mobile phone, the reception area changes with the movement of the device, unlike a broadcast receiver with a fixed installation position for home use, etc. Each time the reception area changes, it is necessary to input area information and set a new reception channel in the direct key. At that time, if regional information is entered, the channel setting (preset setting) recommended for the new region will be set, so the broadcasting station of the same series as the broadcasting station of the original region is set to the same direct key as the original region. Not necessarily. For this reason, the user (user) needs to get used to setting a new region.

Furthermore, when a technique that can set a broadcasting station of the same series as a broadcasting station in the original receiving area is applied to the same memory area (direct key) even if the receiving area changes, the following problems occur.
(1) When moving to an area that does not have the same affiliated station as the source receiving area, the memory area (direct key) that does not have the same affiliated station becomes an empty area. Since the area is used as a reference, nothing is set in the direct key.
(2) In order to avoid the above (1), when control is performed so that a memory area (direct key) that does not have the same affiliated station is not a free area, the direct key once set always remains set. For example, with 12 direct keys, it becomes full just by moving several areas.
(3) When one broadcasting station moves from an area where a program of a plurality of affiliated stations (key stations) is being broadcast, affiliated stations that are not intended by the user may be set. It is hard to understand whether it was done.
(4) In the situation of (3) above, if an essential (appropriate) affiliated station is not set, the actual (recommended) channel setting is restored when returning to the original reception area. Disappear.
(5) In addition, when a plurality of channels of the same affiliated station can be received at the reception point, affiliated stations in regions not intended by the user may be set, so it is difficult to determine which regional affiliated station is set. Even if one affiliated station is set, the channel of another affiliated station is not set as a direct key.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a broadcast receiving apparatus that is easy for the user to understand and use.

  The broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention stores regional channel information storage means that stores the correspondence between channel numbers and broadcasting stations in the region, and stores the correspondence between channel numbers set manually and broadcasting stations. A setting for setting a channel number for channel selection based on user channel information storage means, regional channel information stored in the regional channel information storage means, and user channel information stored in the user channel information storage means Means.

Preferably, in the present invention, the regional channel information storage means and the user channel information storage means also store sequence information corresponding to the stored broadcast station, and the setting means corresponds to the broadcast station of user channel information. The local channel information broadcasting station having the sequence information is set to the channel number of the user channel information with reference to the sequence information to be processed.
Preferably, in the present invention, the setting means sets the broadcast station of the regional channel information to a channel number based on the regional channel information, and when the channel number is set with reference to the user channel information, The channel number set on the basis of the channel information is preferentially set.
Preferably, in the present invention, the regional channel information storage means and the user channel information storage means also store a character image corresponding to the stored broadcasting station, and display information on the channel number set by the setting means. In this case, it is characterized by having control means for displaying the character images stored in the regional channel information storage means and the user channel information storage means based on the set channel number.

  The channel setting method according to the present invention is based on regional channel information consisting of correspondence between channel numbers and broadcasting stations in a region, and user channel information consisting of correspondence between manually set channel numbers and broadcasting stations. Set the channel number for tuning.

  The broadcast receiving apparatus of the present invention has an advantage that it is easy for the user to use.

The present invention is widely applicable when a broadcast receiving function is added to a mobile device that can move freely, such as a computer, a mobile phone, a game machine, a camera, a car navigation system, or a moving image playback device.
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described using a mobile phone as an example.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a mobile phone according to the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, a signal (OFDM modulated signal) superimposed on a broadcast radio wave transmitted from a radio tower 100A of a broadcast station (or relay) installed in each reception area is transmitted to a broadcast receiver (mobile phone). ) 1 antenna 4 receives. The broadcast radio wave includes broadcast signals of a plurality of broadcast stations for each frequency band (channel). As will be described later, the broadcast receiving apparatus 1 selects one broadcast station from the radio wave by direct channel selection or scroll channel selection. The radio signal from the selected broadcasting station is demodulated to reproduce a video signal and an audio signal. In digital broadcasting, for example, the frequency range is defined as UHF 13 ch to 62 ch (470 MHz to 770 MHz), and the number of channels is 49 ch.

The mobile phone 1 has, as a basic configuration for broadcast reception and data communication, an antenna 2 for receiving radio waves for data communication (and telephone calls), wireless communication means (means including modulation and demodulation, and other signal processing circuits). 3. Broadcast receiving means (means including demodulation and other signal processing circuits) 5, channel selecting means 6, output means 7 including display means 7A and driving means (driving circuit) 7B, scroll selection such as a cross key Station input means 8A, direct channel selection input means 8B such as a numeric keypad, and the like. These means are controlled by a control means such as a CPU.
The broadcast receiving antenna 4 and the antenna 2 for data communication and telephone call can be shared. The output means 7 includes sound output means such as a speaker.

  When broadcast radio waves are input to the antenna 4 from the radio tower 100A such as a broadcast station, the broadcast receiving means 5 converts the frequency and demodulates the broadcast signal from the lower frequency signal after the conversion. At that time, the signal of the specific frequency range (channel selected) specified by the user is demodulated by the scroll channel selection input unit 8A or the direct channel selection input unit 8B by the function of the channel channel selection unit 6, and the video of the channel is selected. The signal and the audio signal are input to the driving unit 7B and output (reproduced) by the display unit 7A and a speaker (not shown).

Prior to this reception and playback, the user needs to set the reception channel of the broadcasting station in advance, and display channel setting items on the display means 7A to display regional channel information (region name, region code, region number, city). Enter the area code.
The regional channel information needs to be changed for each viewing area. Generally, at the time of purchase, information on the purchased area and information on the Tokyo metropolitan area are often preset as defaults. Therefore, when changing a region different from the preset or a region once set, it is necessary to reset information of a new region according to the region.

Since the broadcast receiving apparatus 1 of the present embodiment has a broadcast receiving function added to a mobile device in particular, it automatically acquires information related to the broadcasting station in the location area so as to eliminate the setting of the area. A function for automatically setting regional channel information based on the acquired information is provided.
As a configuration for realizing the function, as shown in FIG. 1, the mobile phone 1 includes an area-specific broadcasting station acquisition unit 11, a channel allocation unit 12, an area channel information storage unit 13 that acquires information about broadcasting stations in the area. User channel information storage means 14, channel selection channel information storage means 15, user channel update means 16 and external information input / output means 17 are provided.

Of these, three storage means, that is, the regional channel information storage means 13, the user channel information storage means 14, and the channel selection channel information storage means 15, when these are provided as independent memory devices, The form is arbitrary, when dividing | segmenting and implement | achieving or when utilizing a part of existing memory or microcomputer built-in memory.
The external information input / output means 17 is for outputting channel selection channel information (details will be described later) to an external device or inputting it from the outside through, for example, infrared communication, short-range radio, a memory card, or the like. In addition, when an infrared communication as the external information input / output means 17, a short-distance wireless circuit, a memory card slot and a reading circuit, etc. already exist for another use, they may be used.
Further, the regional broadcast station acquisition means 11, the channel assignment means 12, the user channel update means 16, and the channel selection means described above may be realized as hardware, or as functions of programs in the control means. It may be realized by software.

FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of channel information stored in the regional channel information storage unit 13, the user channel information storage unit 14, and the channel selection channel information storage unit 15.
The “channel number” in FIG. 2 represents a number used when the broadcast receiving apparatus of this embodiment selects a channel. Further, it may be used as a display channel number displayed on the display means. For the channel number i (i = 1 to N), the broadcast station name i, the series information i of each broadcast station, the selection information i, and the character information i are stored in association with each other by an address or the like.

Here, “affiliation information” refers to the name of an upper affiliated broadcasting station (key station) that broadcasts (distributes) a program or the like to a local broadcasting station or identification information thereof.
“Selection information” is information indicating whether the channel can be selected in channel switching or whether the channel is skipped (“skip”) when channel switching is performed. In the selection information, all the channels are “permitted (selectable)” by default, and the user sets “not permitted” or is based on the selection information setting of each channel included in the regional channel information. Basically, in the regional channel information, a channel that does not have a corresponding broadcasting station in the region is set as “not permitted”.

  Further, the information on affiliated stations can be obtained, for example, when the broadcast receiving means 5 shown in FIG. 1 obtains a BIT (Broadcast Information Table) included in a data stream defined by the digital broadcast standard. When the character image of the affiliated station cannot be obtained from the BIT, as will be described later, it is also possible to acquire the character image via the network 101 by wireless data communication.

  The regional channel information storage unit 13 stores a broadcast station name, series information of the broadcast station, and a character image indicating the broadcast station for each reception channel in the region.

  User channel information storage means 14 includes channel setting information (such as correspondence between reception channels and channel numbers) and selection information when the user manually (customizes) settings, selection information, broadcast station name corresponding to the set reception channel, The broadcast station affiliate information and the character image group of the broadcast station or affiliate broadcast station are stored.

  Note that manual (customized) channel setting performed by the user means setting a reception channel not included in the regional channel information, changing the correspondence between the reception channel and the channel number based on the regional channel information, or specifying a specific channel. In this example, information based on channel settings manually performed by the user is referred to as “user channel information”.

The channel selection channel information storage unit 15 stores channel information (channel selection channel information) generated from each storage information of the user channel information storage unit 14 and the regional channel information storage unit 13 of the location area. The channel selection channel information is generated by the channel allocation means 12. The channel selection channel information storage means 15 stores, for each channel number assigned by the channel assignment means 12, a broadcast station name, series information, a local broadcast station and a character image group of the corresponding affiliate broadcast station, and selection information.
Note that the channel selection channel information can be shared by transmitting and receiving to / from other devices via the external information input / output means 17 such as infrared rays, short-range wireless, or memory card. In addition, after sharing information, one device can be used as a remote control for the other device.

When it is detected that the area has changed, the area-specific broadcast station acquisition means 11 issues a transmission request for information regarding the broadcast station in the area from the antenna 2 to the base station 100B using the data communication transmission path. This request signal includes a server for managing a local broadcast station character image information database 102 via a network 101 such as the Internet, a server for managing an affiliated broadcast station database 103, and a database of local independent stations not belonging to the affiliated group. (Not shown) are collectively sent to a server for managing. These servers permit the request, and broadcast receiving apparatus 1 sends information on the broadcasting station and the broadcasting station in the area including the character image (hereinafter referred to as regional channel information) via the data communication transmission path. Send to. The transmitted data communication signal is received by the antenna 2, demodulated by the wireless communication unit 3, and stored in the regional channel information storage unit 13 as regional channel information. The regional channel information may be received via the broadcast receiving means 5.
In order to detect the change of the area, a method of determining the area by the area information included in the broadcast wave, a method of determining the area by periodically acquiring electronic information program data, the electric field strength of the radio wave or the frequency band If there is a method of monitoring changes or a position detection function by GPS or the like, a method of using that function is used.
In addition, since this example is a mobile phone, regional channel information is acquired using a data communication function. If this function is not available, a database of regional channel information for the whole country is built in, or external information is stored. The input / output means 17 may be configured to input from, for example, a memory card.

The channel allocating unit 12 reads user channel information from the user channel information storage unit 14 and reads out the regional channel information from the regional channel information storage unit 13 every time the region changes or periodically, and reflects both. Set (generate) station channel information. The channel selection channel information is stored in the channel selection channel information storage means 15.
Here, an example of generation of channel selection channel information when the region changes will be described. For example, in a state where the user channel information storage unit 14 stores the first broadcasting station, the regional channel information corresponding to the changed area stored in the regional channel information storage unit 13 is the series of the first broadcasting station. 2 is assigned to the channel number for which the first broadcasting station is set based on the user channel information. In other words, the local channel information broadcasting station is set based on the user channel information. For this reason, in the channel selection channel information after the change, the affiliated broadcast station, the character image of the affiliated broadcast station, and the like are inherited by the channel number originally used by the user.
For broadcast stations that do not have affiliated broadcast stations that match the user channel information, the settings are set as they are based on the regional channel information. In setting, the channel number of the user channel information is set with priority, and when it overlaps with this, it is replaced with an unused channel number.
The channel number referred to here is an apparent number viewed from the user, and is different from the numbers 1 to 49ch used when assigning frequency bands.

  As other roles, the channel allocating means 12 controls the selection information when there is no broadcasting station corresponding to the channel number, and reflects the change of the channel number by the user operation in the selected channel information. That is, the channel allocation means 12 collates the storage contents of the regional channel information storage means 13, the storage contents of the user channel information storage means 14, and the storage contents of the channel selection channel information storage means 15, When there is no broadcasting station corresponding to the number, the selection information regarding the channel number is changed from “permitted” to “not permitted (skip)”.

  Further, the channel assignment unit 12 receives a change instruction via the control unit when a change in channel number or a change in channel selection information is instructed by the user operation from the operation unit 8, and these changes are received as channel selection channel information. And reflected in user channel information. When the channel selection information is changed by the user, when the information from the channel selection channel information storage unit 15 is read by the channel channel selection unit 6, the “permission” of the selection information is set according to the operation from the user. Or “not permitted (skip)” may be set by the channel selecting means 6. In that case, it is necessary to reflect the change by this setting in the stored contents of the channel selection channel information storage means 15 and the user channel information storage means 14.

  The user channel update means 16 stores the information stored in the channel selection channel information storage means 15 in the user channel information in order to reflect the current region information in the user channel information when a certain condition is satisfied after the channel selection channel is generated. Copy to information storage means 14. Here, the certain condition is, for example, that the stay time in the current region exceeds a predetermined time, or that the channel setting is changed by a user operation regardless of the stay time (for example, a channel number or selection information change instruction). That means. The staying time in the same area may be monitored by the elapsed time since it was detected that the area has changed, the elapsed time since the change of regional channel information, the change in radio wave intensity or program guide, etc. The elapsed time when the data in the user channel information storage means is not changed can be monitored and determined.

  The character image of the user channel information may be rewritten at the time of copying, but preferably the character image is accumulated and accumulated as history information without rewriting. In addition, if the number of character images to be accumulated is limited (for example, from the newest one to three is accumulated and stored), and new character images are added, the oldest one is deleted to improve the memory utilization efficiency. .

  The user can arbitrarily change the channel number assignment by selecting the channel setting change mode (the mode in which the user manually sets the channel) and operating the operation means 8. When this operation is performed, the changed information is reflected in the stored information in the user channel information storage means 14 and the channel selection channel information storage means 15, and thereafter, unless the changed channel number is changed again, the user Will be inherited as the channel number you want to use in the future.

The channel selection channel information generated and changed in this way is read from the channel selection channel information storage unit 15 to the output unit 7 when the user views the broadcast, and is displayed on the display unit 7A as a channel selection screen.
When the user who sees the channel selection screen selects one channel, the channel selection unit 6 selects a target channel by adjusting the reception frequency of the broadcast reception unit 5 to the frequency band corresponding to the selected channel. Then, the broadcast content of the channel is displayed on the display means 7A.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing flow for channel assignment. Hereinafter, the processing flow will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3.
In step S1, the change of the broadcast area is constantly monitored. If it is determined that the broadcast area has changed ("Yes"), the process proceeds to the next step S2, and if there is no change in the broadcast area ("No"), the determination in step S1 is "Yes" at predetermined time intervals. Repeat until.

  In step S2, the regional broadcast station acquisition unit 11 shown in FIG. 1 acquires new regional channel information (regional CH information) from the broadcast supplementary information or the network 101 via the broadcast reception unit 5 or the wireless communication unit 3, The regional channel information is stored in the regional channel information storage means 13. At this time, old information is deleted and new information is stored. If regional channel information is stored in advance, this step may be omitted.

  In step S <b> 3, the channel assignment unit 12 compares the sequence information of the regional channel information newly stored in the regional channel information storage unit 13 with the sequence information in the user channel information storage unit 14.

  The reception channel of the regional channel information that matches the sequence information included in the user channel information is inherited and assigned to the corresponding channel number based on the user channel information, and stored in the selected channel information. In addition, the broadcast station name, series information, character image, and selection information corresponding to the assigned reception channel are stored in the channel selection channel information (steps S4 and S5).

On the other hand, the reception channel of the regional channel information that does not match the sequence information included in the user channel information is “Yes” in step S3, and the processing flow skips to step S6.
In step S6, it is determined whether or not all the regional channel information (regional CH information) has been confirmed. If this determination is “Yes”, the process proceeds to the next step S7, and if “No”, the process flow returns to step S3. Steps S <b> 3 to S <b> 5 are repeated until confirmation of all reception channels of regional channel information is completed. That is, by repeating these steps S3 to S5, broadcast stations that match the user channel information are allocated.

In step S7, it is confirmed whether the channel allocating unit 12 shown in FIG. 1 has registered all the reception channels of the regional channel information in the channel selection channel information storage unit 15. This process is for performing a process when there is a broadcast station that does not match the user channel information. If all the reception channels of the user channel information and the regional channel information match, the determination in step S7 is “Yes”, and the entire processing flow ends.
On the other hand, if there is a broadcast station that does not match the user channel information, the determination in step S7 is “No”, so the processing flow proceeds to the next step S8.

In step S8, the channel allocating unit 12 shown in FIG. 1 checks whether the channel number (based on the regional channel information) corresponding to the searched unregistered reception channel is unused in the channel selection channel information storage unit 15. Investigate.
If it is not used, in step S10, the channel allocating unit 12 reads out information related to the broadcasting station (channel number, broadcasting station name, character image and selection information of the broadcasting station) from the regional channel information storage unit 13, and selects the channel. Registration is performed by storing in the channel information storage means 15.
If the channel number corresponding to the searched unregistered reception channel (broadcast station) is already used in the user channel information, the determination in step S8 is “No”. Therefore, in the next step S9, it is confirmed whether or not the channel number stored in the channel selection channel information storage means 15 is still free (unregistered). If the result of this confirmation is “Yes”, in step S11, the channel selection channel information storage means 15 registers information relating to the broadcast station in an unset channel number.
If the determination in step S9 is “No”, since there is no channel number to be registered, the registration process is skipped, the process returns to step S7, and the subsequent processes are repeated.
If there is no vacancy (unregistered) in the channel number stored in the channel selection channel information storage means 15, the user selects which channel number to register the unregistered reception channel (broadcast station). It may be registered forcibly according to a predetermined setting (for example, according to the channel number order or regional channel information setting), or notification to that effect (display, sound output, etc.) without registration at all ) May be performed.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of transition of channel selection channel information accompanying user movement. Hereinafter, a transition example of the selected channel information regarding the specific reception channel A will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4.
The area A shown in FIG. 4 is set as an area serving as a user's reference (for example, an area of a living base), and the user stores the reception channel A in the user channel information storage unit 14 in association with a certain channel number based on this area. ing. When the user is in the area A, the reception channel A stored in the user channel information storage unit 14 matches the reception channel A of the area channel information of the area A. Therefore, when the above-described channel allocation processing shown in FIG. 3 is performed, user channel (CH) information is obtained as shown in FIG. 1 of area A shown in FIG. 4 (numbers in the table are represented by numbers surrounded by circles). The channel number corresponding to the stored reception channel A is assigned the reception channel A of the regional channel (CH) information, and the channel selection channel information is generated (in FIG. 1, this information is represented by “A”). ing).

  When the user moves from area A to area C, the information in user channel information storage means 14 corresponds to area A, whereas the information in regional channel information storage means 13 corresponds to area C. . Therefore, channel selection channel information for the user to select a channel in area C is constructed while the reception channel C of the same affiliated station as the reception channel A included in the regional channel information inherits the channel number. Hereinafter, this information is referred to as “CH information for inheriting channel information of a certain channel number set in area A and selecting a broadcasting station of the same channel number with the same channel number in area C”. (C) ”. In this case, as shown in the chart 2 of the area C shown in FIG. 4, the user CH information remains “A”, but the regional CH information is changed from “A” to “C”. The information is rewritten from “A” to “A (C)”.

  Next, when the user moves from the area C to the area B, the channel selection CH information “A” for selecting a channel in the area B by inheriting the sequence information of a certain channel number set in the area A as in the previous area C. (B) "is constructed. In this case, as shown in the chart 3 of the area B shown in FIG. 4, the user CH information remains “A”, but the regional CH information is changed from “C” to “B”. The reception channel B (broadcast station) is set, and the channel selection CH information is rewritten from “A (C)” to “A (B)”.

  Next, when the user returns from the area B to the area A again, the region CH information returns to “A” used by the original user, and as a result, the state of Chart 1 shown in FIG. 4 is reproduced. The

  In the example of FIG. 4, the selection period by the user channel updating means 16 shown in FIG. 1 is because the stay period of the area C and the area B is short and the channel number is not intentionally changed by the user. The stored contents of the user channel information storage means 14 including the copy of the station CH information are not updated at all.

On the other hand, FIG. 5 shows transition of channel selection channel information when user channel information is updated in area C. In the following description of FIG. 5, the points different from FIG. 4 will be mainly described.
In the case of FIG. 5, by moving from area A to area C, CH information “A (C)” is selected for channel selection in area C by inheriting the sequence information of a certain channel number set in area A. This is the same as in the case of FIG.
In area C, it is assumed that the user CH information is updated when a predetermined time elapses or when the user intentionally changes the channel number. This is because the user channel update unit 16 shown in FIG. 1 copies the stored information in the channel selection channel information storage unit 15 to the user channel information storage unit 14 or the stored information in the user channel information storage unit 14 corresponds to the user operation. It is executed by changing the contents. The updated state of the user CH information is shown in FIG.

  Next, when the user moves from area C to area B, since the user CH information has already been updated to “A (C)” at this time, the series information of the updated user CH information “A (C)” And channel selection CH information “A (C (B))” for channel selection in area B is constructed. In this case, as shown in the chart 4 of the area B shown in FIG. 5, the user CH information is “A (C)”, and the regional CH information is changed from “C” to “B”. A reception channel B (broadcast station) of the same series based on (broadcast station) is set, and the channel selection CH information is rewritten from “A (C)” to “A (C (B))”.

Next, when the user returns from the area B to the area A again, since the user CH information has already been updated to “A (C)” at this time, the updated user CH information “A (C)”. The channel selection CH information “A (C (A))” for selecting the channel A in the area A is inherited. In this case, as shown in the chart 5 of the area A shown in FIG. 5, the user CH information is “A (C)”, and the regional CH information is changed from “B” to “A”. A reception channel A (broadcast station) of the same series based on (broadcast station) is set, and the channel selection CH information is rewritten from “A (C (B))” to “A (C (A))”. The channel selection CH information is different from the channel selection CH information “A” used by the original user, but reflects the update of the user CH information in the area C. Evolving into easy-to-use channel selection channel information.
That is, in FIG. 5, the reception channel C updated in the area C belongs to a plurality of series, for example, and includes an affiliated station of the reception channel A. However, if the representative series is different from the reception channel A, This channel number is inherited by the representative affiliated station (broadcast station) of the receiving channel C.
In the above example, one channel number is described as an example, but of course, the same applies to a plurality of channel numbers.

  4 and 5, the user's stay time in each area is monitored by the time measuring means in the control means of FIG. However, the criteria for determining the length of stay time for determining whether or not to update the user CH information is arbitrary. For example, the user channel is updated (copied) by setting a long time in the short-term travel mode and setting a short time in the long-term stay mode exceeding several months. Also, the user channel is updated when there is an intentional channel assignment by the user regardless of the length of stay. In any case, the user CH information is not updated in the example of FIG. 4, but the user CH information is updated in the area C in the example of FIG.

FIG. 4 assumes that, for example, when the user moves from the living base A across different broadcast areas for the purpose of entertainment, business trips, short-term trips, etc., the areas C, In B, the broadcast in that area can be viewed, but since these are temporary passing or staying areas, there is no need to change the user CH information.
On the other hand, FIG. 5 assumes that area A is a living base, but if area C is also a second living base, area C is not a living base, but the actual usage of TV is mainly In such a case, it becomes easy to construct new user channel information while inheriting the user channel information used in the previous area.

As described above, in the present embodiment, when the user moves from the area A to be used as a reference, such as a living base, and returns to the area A again, tuning is performed in each area by assignment based on the channel configuration customized by the user. When returning to the area A, the channel configuration does not need to be restored to the customization state originally set by the user.
In each of the areas A and C, the information on stations that are not actually broadcast is automatically “not permitted” as described above, so that the user cannot perform scroll tuning. It does not impair convenience.

FIG. 6 is a diagram specifically illustrating how the channel information of the user, the region, and the channel selection changes as a result of movement from area A to area B in FIG.
6, the stored contents of the user channel information storage means 14 (see FIG. 1), the stored contents of the regional channel information storage means 13, and the stored contents of the channel selection channel information storage means 15 are shown in order from the left. Each stored content indicates a channel number, broadcast station name, series information, and character image in order from the top.

In area A, user channel information is the same as regional channel information. For this reason, the channel selection channel information is the same as the user channel information.
In area C, of the regional channel information, the series information “N1” “N2” “Z1” “Z2” “Z3” of the channel numbers “1” “3” “4” “6” “8” is user channel information. Are the same as the series information corresponding to the channel numbers “4”, “8”, “6”, “10”, and “12”. For this reason, channel selection channel information is constructed in the following five processing steps.

  Processing Step 1: User channel numbers (channel numbers in user channel information) “4”, “8”, “6”, “10”, and “12” are inherited as channel numbers of channel selection channel information.

  Processing step 2: In the channel selection channel information corresponding to each of the inherited user channel numbers “4”, “8”, “6”, “10”, and “12”, the series information “other than the broadcasting station name of the user channel information” N1 ”,“ N2 ”,“ Z1 ”,“ Z2 ”,“ Z3 ”, and the character images“ n1, ”“ n3, ”“ a1, ”“ a2, ”“ a3 ”are inherited.

  Process Step 3: Broadcast station names “N1” “N2” “C1” “C2” “C3” of regional channel information having the same series information as the user channel numbers “4” “8” “6” “10” “12” , Character images “n1”, “n2”, “c1”, “c2”, “c3” are channel selection channel information respectively corresponding to the inherited user channel numbers “4” “8” “6” “10” “12”. Copied in place. At this time, when the same broadcasting station name and character image are used nationwide, duplicate copying of the broadcasting station name and character image is not performed. In this example, user channel number “4” and user channel number “8” correspond to this. In the sequence information in FIG. 6, for example, “A1 (Z1)” means that the sequence information is “Z1” but the broadcast station of the user channel information is “A1”. Whether the series is the same is determined based on the user channel information series.

  Processing step 4: Since the channel number “13” of the regional channel information is not assigned as the user channel number, the information regarding this channel is registered in the selected channel as it is.

  Processing step 5: Since channel numbers “10” and “12” of the remaining regional channel information are already assigned as user channel numbers, channel numbers “10” and “12” are unused channel selection channels. The numbers “1” and “2” are respectively assigned.

After channel selection channel information is constructed through such processing steps 1 to 5, user channel information is updated in area C in this example. In this case, the update of the user channel information is not due to the change of the channel number but because a predetermined time has elapsed.
Then, the previously selected channel selection channel information is copied to the user channel information storage means 14. In the case of this example, the broadcast station names “A1”, “A2”, and “A3” that are necessary for inheriting the previous user channel information (area A) may be deleted. Also, the sequence information “A1,” “A2,” “A3” peculiar to the area A is deleted, and only the current (area C) sequence information “Z1,” “Z2,” “Z3” remains as a new reference.

  Thereafter, in area B, channel selection channel information is generated based on the updated user channel information and area B regional channel information.

FIG. 7 shows an example of the channel selection screen.
On the channel selection screen, a channel number from the left, a character (image) 1 representing a broadcasting station in that area, a name of a broadcasting station in that area, and a character (image) 2 representing a broadcasting station in the area are displayed. The thick frame line indicates the currently selected channel. A shaded channel indicates a channel to be skipped when scrolling.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, when searching for a program or the like regularly viewed in area A in different areas C and B, the channel number of area A is continued based on the sequence information. Therefore, when the user remembers the channel number of area A on the display screen shown in FIG. 7, the channel of the program that he / she wants to watch can be selected.
Further, in this example, a character representing a broadcasting station in the area and a character representing an affiliated broadcasting station can be displayed for the channel to be selected. Therefore, even if the user forgets the channel number of area A when he / she goes to another area on a trip or the like, he / she can know which channel he / she uses regularly by watching the character of area A It becomes.
Further, since it is a character image, it can be displayed without taking up space even in the case of a small display such as a mobile phone terminal. In addition, when there are a plurality of broadcast stations that are affiliated, a plurality of characters can be displayed.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of a channel selection screen showing an example of the channel selection scroll.
If the down scroll is pressed while channel 1 is selected, channel 3 is in a non-selected state, so channel 3 is skipped and channel 5 is selected. This makes it possible to reach the target channel with a small number of times of pressing or time. Further, it is possible to select the channel number directly for the skipped channel.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the user channel information at a certain point is retained, and the channel selection channel in various regions is generated based on the user channel information, so that Even if you go, you can select the same channel as the usage of the region set as user channel information.
Even if the user channel information is returned to the area set as the user channel information, it is definitely set to the state set as the user channel information, so that it can be used comfortably at the destination and there is no need to reset it even when the user returns.
Furthermore, even when the channel number of the area set as the user channel information is forgotten, the user-friendliness is improved by displaying the character image of the broadcasting station set as the user channel information. Further, in a portable terminal having a small display screen area, a character image is used, so that it is simple and easy to understand and can be transmitted to the user without taking up space.
In the above embodiment, automatic channel setting has been described as an example. However, the present invention can also be applied when a user manually sets a channel in a region.

It is a block diagram of the mobile phone concerning this Embodiment. It is a graph which shows the structural example of the information memorize | stored in three memory | storage means. It is a flowchart of channel allocation. It is a figure which shows transition of the memory information accompanying a user's movement. It is a figure which shows transition of the memory information when there is update of user channel information. 6 is a chart showing a specific example of stored information when moving from area A to area B in FIG. 5. It is a figure which shows an example of a channel selection screen. It is a figure which shows transition of the channel selection screen at the time of channel selection scroll.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Mobile phone, 2, 4 ... Antenna, 3 ... Wireless communication means, 5 ... Broadcast receiving means, 6 ... Channel selection means, 7 ... Output means, 7A ... Display means, 7B ... Drive means, 8 ... Operation means, 8A ... Scroll channel selection input means, 8B ... Direct channel selection input means, 11 ... Regional broadcast station acquisition means, 12 ... Channel allocation means, 13 ... Area channel information storage means, 14 ... User channel information storage means, 15 ... Selection Station channel information storage means, 16 ... user channel update means, 17 ... external information input / output means

Claims (8)

Regional channel information storage means for storing the correspondence between channel numbers and broadcasting stations in the region;
User channel information storage means for storing the correspondence between the manually set channel number and the broadcasting station;
Setting means for setting a channel number for channel selection based on regional channel information stored in the regional channel information storage means and user channel information stored in the user channel information storage means;
A broadcast receiving apparatus. The regional channel information storage means and the user channel information storage means also store sequence information corresponding to the stored broadcast station,
2. The setting means sets a broadcast station of regional channel information having the sequence information as a channel number of the user channel information with reference to sequence information corresponding to the broadcast station of user channel information. The broadcast receiving apparatus described in 1.   The setting means, when setting the broadcasting station of the regional channel information to the channel number based on the regional channel information, when the channel number is set with reference to the user channel information, the setting means refers to the user channel information. The broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein priority is given to a set channel number. The regional channel information storage means and the user channel information storage means also store a character image corresponding to the stored broadcast station,
Control for displaying character images stored in the regional channel information storage means and the user channel information storage means based on the set channel number when displaying information related to the channel number set by the setting means. The broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: means.   Set channel numbers for channel selection based on regional channel information consisting of correspondence between channel numbers and broadcasting stations in the region and user channel information consisting of correspondence between channel numbers and broadcasting stations set manually. Channel setting method to be performed.   The regional channel information and the user channel information also have sequence information corresponding to the broadcasting station, and when setting the channel, the channel information is included with reference to the sequence information corresponding to the broadcasting station of the user channel information. 6. The channel setting method according to claim 5, wherein a broadcasting station of regional channel information is set to a channel number of the user channel information.   When the broadcasting station of the regional channel information is set to a channel number based on the regional channel information, if it is overlapped with the channel number set based on the user channel information, it is set based on the user channel information. 6. The channel setting method according to claim 5, wherein the channel number is set with priority. The regional channel information storage means and the user channel information storage means also have a character image corresponding to a broadcasting station, and when displaying information regarding the channel number set for the channel, based on the set channel number, 6. The channel setting method according to claim 5, wherein a character image included in the regional channel information and the user channel information is displayed.

Images