JP2007180832A - Video recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a video recorder and its power supply control method which secure the power saving property in the video recorder while enabling to perform a direct recording reservation through a network. <P>SOLUTION: While preparing a power supply control means which controls transition of power supply status of the video recorder according to time, the power control information stored in the power supply control means is made possible to be changed through the network. Although an electronic mail is used when a user transmits the power supply control information from a remote place to the video recorder, it is possible to directly perform the video recording reservation by the user after the power supply of the video recorder is switched on based on the power supply control information and it is possible to operate through the network. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a recording apparatus that enables user control from a remote location while suppressing power consumption.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, recording apparatuses used for recording television broadcasts are of a type that records on a hard disk drive and stores recording data on an optical disk such as a DVD (generally HDD / Also called DVD recorder) is becoming mainstream. Some of such recording apparatuses further have a network connection function, and can download a TV program guide from the Internet.

This network connection function is particularly useful when a user makes a reservation for program recording from the outside to the home recording device. For example, as in the inventions disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, it is possible for a user to make a reservation for program recording from a remote location to a recording device at home using electronic mail. It is also possible for the user to make a reservation for program recording directly to the home recording device via the Internet.

When making a reservation for program recording from a remote location to a home recording device, if the user is in a state where the user can connect to the network, the person who makes a reservation for recording the program directly via a network such as the Internet uses e-mail. In many cases, the user can intuitively understand it rather than making a reservation. However, in order to make a reservation for direct program recording via the network, the recording apparatus must be in an operating state and connectable to the network, that is, the power must be turned on. On the other hand, in the unlikely event that the recording apparatus is kept on even though it is not used for a long time, it may be a waste of power. As an example of an invention that attempts to solve such a problem, there is an invention disclosed in Patent Document 3.

JP-A-2004-153530 (second page claim 1, FIGS. 8 to 11)

JP-A-2004-186720 (second page claim 1, FIG. 2)

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-290397 (Claim 2, claim 7, FIG. 9 on the second page)

As described above, there is a problem that it is necessary to always turn on the recording device in preparation for making a reservation directly from the outside via a network with a conventional recording device, which may cause a waste of power. .

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a recording apparatus that achieves both user convenience and power saving.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a recording apparatus that performs recording based on a video signal, a timer that supplies time information, and a power information storage unit that stores information on turning on or off the power of the recording apparatus And a power control unit that controls the power of the recording device according to information stored in the power information storage unit and time information from the timer, and a communication control unit that connects to an external network, The information stored in the power information storage unit can be changed via the communication control unit.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a recording apparatus that achieves both user convenience and power saving.

An embodiment of a recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The recording apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 records the received video information on a predetermined recording medium. In addition, the information recording / reproducing unit 111 capable of reproducing information that has already been recorded in response to a reproduction request, recording to the information recording / reproducing unit 111, reproduction from the information recording / reproducing unit 111, and operation of each unit described below are controlled. And a microcomputer (MPU, that is, a main control unit) 101.

The information recording / reproducing unit 111 records information on a disk drive unit 113 capable of recording and reproducing information with respect to a disk manufactured in conformity with, for example, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) standard, and a disk set in the disk drive unit 113. A temporary recording unit 115 functioning as a buffering memory capable of temporarily holding a certain amount of data to be reproduced or data reproduced from the disc. Specifically, the temporary recording unit 115 is a recording target until the disk is replaced with a disk having a remaining recording capacity when the remaining recording capacity of the disk is used up during recording. It can be used to temporarily store information. Further, in this apparatus, in addition to the disk drive unit 113, for example, a hard disk drive HDD 117 suitable for recording and searching (reproducing) a large amount of information is provided.

The information recording / reproducing unit 111 encodes the input information so that the information recording / reproducing unit 111 can record the information, and the information output from the information recording / reproducing unit 111 is decoded so that the output device described below can display the information. A decoder 131 is connected.

Connected to the encoder 121 are an AV input unit 123 capable of inputting information to be recorded from the outside, and a tuner unit 125 capable of receiving video and audio distributed from an information distributor represented by, for example, a broadcaster. Has been.

Connected to the decoder 131 is an AV output unit 133 that supplies the reproduction information decoded by the decoder 131 to an output device represented by a reproduction device (television) or a monitor device.

The MPU 101 also has power control information such as the time when the power is turned on and off according to the day of the week, the date, and the time, and the recording (broadcast) start date / time. Timer microcomputer unit 141 that can input recording reservation information such as date / time, recording source, recording rate, recording method (audio recording format) and the like (hereinafter abbreviated as recording reservation) from the main body of the recording apparatus 1 or an attached remote controller (not shown). Is connected.

The timer microcomputer unit 141 is connected to a timer circuit (clock unit) 143 that manages the time used for managing the operation of the recording apparatus 1 and a user operation input unit 145 that receives an operation request (instruction) from the user. Has been.

The MPU 101 also includes a display unit 151 for displaying information input to the timer microcomputer unit 141 or an operating state of the recording apparatus 1 main body, an input of recording reservation from the outside via a network network, and a designated reply destination. A communication control unit 103 capable of informing whether recording reservation is possible and a memory 105 capable of holding recording reservation information and the like are connected.

According to the control program stored in the memory 105, the MPU 101 performs recording control to the disk, copy control, deletion control, change of the operation of the recording / playback apparatus input to the timer microcomputer unit 141 via the user operation input unit 145, The display to the user using the display unit 151 is controlled.

The timer microcomputer unit 141 and the timer circuit (clock unit) 143 are driven by a battery even when the power of the recording apparatus 1 is not turned on. The timer microcomputer unit 141 monitors the timer circuit 143 while The power control information set by the user is managed. When the power-on time is reached, the power supply control unit 147 is instructed to turn on the power, and when the power-off time is reached, the power supply control unit 147 is instructed to turn off the power. In addition, as will be described later, power control when connecting to the mail server at predetermined intervals is performed in the same manner.

Similarly, at the time of recording reservation, the timer microcomputer unit 141 manages the recording reservation information set by the user while monitoring the timer circuit 143, and starts recording to the MPU 101 when the recording reservation start time is reached. When the recording reservation end time is reached, the MPU 101 is instructed to end recording.

The user operation input unit 145 can receive an operation request from a user, for example, change the operation of the recording device 1 or accept recording reservation information, and receives data for receiving a control signal from a remote control (remote control terminal) (not shown). And a control signal input unit (not shown) capable of outputting a control signal to the timer microcomputer unit 141 in response to a direct input instruction from a user through an operation panel (not shown) of the apparatus 1 main body.

The power control unit 147 supplies power to each unit in the recording apparatus 1 through a power supply wiring (not shown). As described above, in response to an instruction from the timer microcomputer unit 141 when a predetermined time is reached, the power is turned on / off.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the connection between the recording apparatus 1 and the network according to the embodiment of the present invention. 1 can be connected to the input terminal 3 and the mail server 5 via a network such as the Internet. The input terminal 3 includes, for example, a mobile phone or a computer that can be connected to a network. The mail server 5 is also connected to the network, and can receive and store an electronic mail from the input terminal 3 when the address specified by the input terminal 3 exists.

If the input terminal 3 can be used even when the user is in a remote place and the recording apparatus 1 is powered on, the recording apparatus 1 can be directly used as indicated by the arrow 201 using the input terminal 3. 1 can be reserved for recording.

On the other hand, when the recording apparatus 1 is not turned on, the user can use e-mail and once send information for changing the setting related to power control to the mail server 5 as described later. Yes (arrow 203). Thereafter, the recording apparatus 1 turns on the power according to the power control information stored therein, connects to the mail server 5 at a predetermined interval, and tries to acquire an e-mail. If there is a target e-mail in the mail server 5, the recording device 1 downloads the e-mail (arrow 205). The recording device 1 changes the power control information according to the content of the downloaded email. Specific examples will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of power control information stored in the recording apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The recording device 1 is turned on or off according to this information except when the user manually operates the recording device 1. The information on the first line is information regarding power on / off applied from Monday to Friday. In the example of FIG. 3, from Monday to Friday, the power is turned on at 10:00 and the power is turned off at 13:00.

The information on the second line is information regarding power on / off applied on Saturday and Sunday. In the example of FIG. 3, the power is turned on at 10:00 on Saturday and Sunday, and the power is turned off at 23:30.

The information on the third line is setting information for the recording apparatus 1 to confirm the presence / absence of received mail to the mail server 5 via the network. In the example of FIG. 3, a server “XXX.YYY.ZZZ” is designated as the POP3 server for receiving mail.

The part “title: control” indicates the title of the mail to be sent when the user wants to change the power control information of the recording apparatus 1 from a remote location, as will be described later. The following information indicates that the user's mail account is “aaa” and the password used for connection with this mail account is “ppp”.

The information “interval: 60” at the end indicates that the recording apparatus 1 connects to the mail server 5 every 60 minutes (hereinafter referred to as regular access). The time interval set in this “interval:” portion is independent of the information related to power on / off described in the first and second lines.

When the recording apparatus 1 periodically accesses the mail server 5, if the recording apparatus 1 is in a power-on state, the communication control unit 103 executes the connection without any problem, but the recording apparatus 1 is powered on. If not turned on, the power supply control unit 147 is instructed to turn on the power again from the timer microcomputer unit 141, and the communication control unit 103 executes connection after the power supply control unit 147 turns on the power. If the power was not originally turned on, the communication control unit 103 connected to the mail server 5 via the network network for periodic access to check the mail, and then the power control unit 147 turned off the power. It is preferable to return to the state of saving power again.

In addition, since the periodic access is merely a short power-on time for downloading the mail, the user directly changes the setting for the recording apparatus 1 via the external network during the time specified in “interval:”. This is not expected.

The power control information is basically stored in the timer microcomputer unit 141. However, the information portion related to the network, that is, the information on the third row in the example of FIG. 3 may be stored in the communication control unit 103.

A specific operation flow will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 shows the mutual exchange between the user, the network server (including a mail server and other servers), and the recording apparatus 1 in time series.

First, the user sends out a change mail for changing the power supply control information of the recording device 1 (step S401). The e-mail is transferred over the network to a designated mail server. At this stage, the recording device 1 is not necessarily turned on, and the user knows that the power is not turned on, for example, without accessing the recording device 1 directly via the network. Is convenient to use.

As described with reference to FIG. 3, the recording apparatus 1 performs periodic access to the network server (step S <b> 402). Here, when a mail for changing the information stored in the recording device 1 has arrived on the server, the recording device 1 receives the mail (step S403). The recording apparatus 1 subsequently changes the power supply control information based on the information included in this mail (step S404).

Based on the changed power control information, the recording apparatus 1 turns on the power when the conditions included in the control information are satisfied (step S405). In this state, the recording apparatus 1 can be directly controlled via the network. The user can make reservation recording settings for the recording apparatus 1 via the network server (steps S406 and S407). It is also possible to change the power supply control information at this stage.

FIG. 5 shows the power control information when the user changes the power control information of the recording apparatus 1 from a remote location, without using e-mail and connecting directly via the network and sending the information directly to the recording apparatus 1. It is a figure which shows the example of.

The information on the first line indicates information of a server to be used in order for the user to send information to the recording apparatus. In this example, a server “XXX.YYY.ZZZ” is designated. The file name including the power supply control information to be set is “control.html”. Other information is the same as the information in FIG.

The information on the second line indicates power control information for switching the power state of the recording apparatus 1. In this example, the information includes that the power is turned on at 10:00 and the power is turned off at 23:30 from December 28 to January 3.

FIG. 6 shows a power supply stored in the recording apparatus 1 when the user adds a setting as illustrated in FIG. 5 from a remote place when the recording apparatus 1 has the power control information illustrated in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of control information. This is just a combination of the information of FIG. 3 and the information of FIG.

When the recording apparatus 1 operates according to this information, the date information is prioritized over the day information. For example, when January 1 is Monday, the recording apparatus 1 is turned on at 10:00 and 23: The power is cut off at 30.

In this way, the power of the recording apparatus 1 can be controlled by sending power control information in advance by e-mail so that the user can directly send information to the recording apparatus 1 from a remote location. In general, it is necessary to set a lot of information such as day of the week, time, broadcasting station, and program as information for reserved recording, and it is troublesome to send all of them by e-mail. However, if the power control information is sent by e-mail and it is possible to ensure that the recording apparatus 1 is turned on at a time convenient for the user, it is possible to make a reservation with few errors on the network. In this example, since the power can be turned on during the lunch break on weekdays, the user can make a recording reservation directly via the network.

In order to make this possible in the conventional recording apparatus, it is necessary to always turn on the power. However, according to the present invention, it is possible to save power.

In the above-described embodiment, the description has been made based on the fact that there are two types of power supply states, the on state and the disconnected state. However, in addition to this, the power saving state of the recording apparatus 1 may include a power saving state. I do not care.

The embodiments described above include inventions at various stages, and inventions at various stages can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent elements or a plurality of processes. For example, even if some constituent requirements or some steps are deleted from all constituent requirements shown in the embodiment, the problem described in the column of the problem to be solved by the invention can be solved, and the effect of the invention When the effects described in the column of [1] are obtained, a configuration in which this configuration requirement or process is deleted can be extracted as an invention.

It is the schematic which shows the structure of the video recording apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the structure of the video recording apparatus and network which concern on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the example of the power supply control information which the video recording apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention stores. It is a flowchart figure which shows the operation | movement regarding the exchange between the video recording apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention, and a network. The figure which shows the example of the power supply control information which the video recording apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention stores. The figure which shows the example of the power supply control information which the video recording apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention stores.

Explanation of symbols

1 Recording device 101 MPU
103 communication control unit 141 timer microcomputer unit 143 timer circuit 147 power supply control unit

Claims (4)

A recording device for recording based on a video signal,
A timer for supplying time information;
A power information storage unit for storing information on turning on or off the power of the recording device;
A power control unit that controls the power of the recording apparatus according to information stored in the power information storage unit and time information from the timer;
A communication control unit for connecting to an external network;
The information stored in the power information storage unit can be changed via the communication control unit. When the information stored in the power information storage unit is changed via the communication control unit, the setting of the setting device is changed from another device connected to the external network via the communication control unit The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: When the information stored in the power information storage unit is changed via the communication control unit, a predetermined mail is received from the mail server connected to the external network via the communication control unit, and the mail The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information stored in the power information storage unit can be changed based on the information. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the recording apparatus further performs access to a mail server connected to the external network at a predetermined time interval.

Images