JP2007281686A - Television receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a television receiver capable of simply and certainly establishing a plurality of rating information. <P>SOLUTION: A table associated with a rating information 25 is stored at a rating information storage. Information in the table can be referred based on an instruction from a control unit 21. The rating information storage 25 associates mutually commonly-established common items in a plurality of rating information having different criteria on parental control, and stores the plurality of rating information. A control unit 21 can establish the common items collectively, based on the association about the age limit. When a block of rating information on a viewing program is not established and the viewing program has a rating of a level equal to or over the one established for other rating information by a user, the user can be told of broadcasting by, for example, a displayed message and feel at ease to leave his/her child watch the television receiver, even if the program which he/she does not want to show to his/her child is broadcast. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a television receiver, and more particularly to a television receiver having a parental control (lock) function.

  In order to limit the viewing of harmful programs, by setting a rating that is considered unfavorable to watch, if the rating of the received program matches the set rating, the program is controlled so that it cannot be viewed The technique is disclosed in Patent Document 1. In this document, a viewing control circuit called V-Chip is proposed. Further, as a patent document relating to V-Chip: parental control (lock), Patent Document 2 sets a time to apply so that parental control can be viewed without entering a password. Patent Document 3 discloses a technique for displaying a rating on the screen in order to immediately determine whether the program being viewed is a program that the parent wants to watch and is not desired to be shown to the child.

US Pat. No. 4,554,584 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-25182 JP 2000-184305 A

  However, none of the above-mentioned documents considers the simultaneous setting of a plurality of pieces of rating information, and there is a first problem that if there are a plurality of pieces of rating information to be set, it takes time for user settings.

  Furthermore, when the rating information is set but the other rating information is not set, even if a program with the same rating level is broadcasted, for example, even a child can view it. There's a problem.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a technique for easily and reliably setting a plurality of rating information.

  The television receiver according to the present invention adds, to the menu, items that can be set in common with the first problem apart from the block setting for a plurality of rating information, and restricts the viewing of the plurality of rating information by inputting an age or a number. Set at the same time.

  Also, for the second problem, when the rating information (type) of the viewing program is not set as parental control, other information is set and the rating level of the program is equivalent to the set level. If it is large, a message is displayed on the screen so that the user can confirm that the program can be shown to the child.

  That is, according to one aspect of the present invention, a television receiver having a function of performing viewing restriction processing on a received program based on a set rating, and stores a plurality of rating information having different standards regarding viewing age restriction. There is provided a television receiver comprising: a rating information storage unit; and a control unit that restricts viewing with reference to the rating information in the rating information storage unit.

  Preferably, the control unit imposes actual viewing restrictions by comparing the first viewing restriction information set by the user with the second viewing restriction information set for the program. Further, in the first rating information among the plurality of rating information, the setting regarding viewing age restriction is not set, the viewing age restriction based on the second rating information is set, and the rating level of the program is When the level is equal to or higher than the level set in the receiver, it is preferable to perform control to display a message notifying that effect.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a television receiver having a function of performing a viewing restriction process on a program received based on a set rating, and a plurality of pieces of rating information having different criteria regarding viewing age restriction are obtained. A rating information storage unit for storing common items that can be set in common among the rating information, and a control unit that collectively sets the common items based on the association A receiver is provided. It is preferable to have a display control unit that adds the common item as a menu display item. The common item may be associated with an age or a prescribed character string or numeric string. The display control unit may display a button capable of setting the viewing restriction of the rating information in stages in the menu display. Further, in the first rating information among the plurality of rating information, the setting regarding viewing age restriction is not set, the viewing age restriction based on the second rating information is set, and the rating level of the program is When the level is equal to or higher than the level set in the receiver, it is possible to perform control to display a message notifying that effect. Thereby, for example, it can be made possible for the user to check before viewing whether the program can be shown to children or the like.

  According to the present invention, in a television receiver having parental control (lock), when there are a plurality of rating information, it is possible to save time and effort of user setting by setting in common.

  Further, according to the present invention, it is possible for a user to check before viewing whether or not the program can be shown to children.

  In this way, parental control can be easily set, and there is an advantage that even if the parental control is forgotten to be set, it can be viewed with peace of mind with the child.

  The television receiver according to the present embodiment described below will be described with reference to the drawings. The television receiver according to the present embodiment relates to a processing technique in a case where a plurality of rating information settings are duplicated.

  FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration example of a television receiver according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the television receiver A according to the present embodiment includes a receiver body 1 and a remote control device 15 that performs an operation for controlling the receiver body 1. The receiver body 1 includes a tuner unit 3, a signal processing unit 5, a display control unit 7 that performs display-related control, a display unit 11, a remote control light receiving unit 17, a control unit 21 that controls the whole, and viewing and listening. A viewing control unit 23 that performs control relating to the rating information, and a rating information storage unit 25 that stores rating information. In the rating information storage unit, tables related to rating information 25 as shown in Tables 1 to 9 described below are stored. In the television receiver A, information in Tables 1 to 9 can be referred to as appropriate based on instructions from the control unit 21.

  Hereinafter, the television receiver according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with an emphasis on the technology relating to viewing restriction. Tables 1 to 9 below are tables showing a plurality of rating information having different criteria related to viewing age restrictions, and are stored in the rating information storage unit 25. Even if the rating information is not stored in the television receiver A, it is only necessary that the rating information can be referred to via the Internet, for example.

  The rating information storage unit 25 stores a plurality of pieces of rating information with different standards regarding the viewing age restriction in association with common items that can be set in common among the plurality of pieces of rating information. The control unit 21 can collectively set common items based on the association regarding age restriction. If the rating information block of the viewing program is not set and the rating is equal to or higher than the level set by the user with other rating information, for example, it is not desired to display it to the child by displaying a message. Even if such a program is broadcast, the user can be notified and can be viewed with peace of mind.

  A table regarding rating information in North America is shown below as an example of rating information.

  Table 1 shows an overview of rating information in North America. Examples of rating information for children include TV-Y and TV-Y7, and examples of information for all viewers include TV-G, TV-PG, TV-14, and TV-MA. The numbers shown in these pieces of information are numbers related to viewing age restrictions. By sending such rating information together with the broadcast of the television program, a desired viewing age restriction can be performed. TV-Y is a program for children, and the number following Y (for example, 7) means that viewing restrictions are imposed on children from 0 to 6 years old. A certain age, for example, 0-6 years old, was entered by imposing one or more conditions from TV-Y (no age limit in particular) to TV-MA (not suitable for under 17 years old) In this case, if all of TV-MA to TV-Y7 are set, all of them are blocked. This rating system is referred to as TV Guidelines or TVG.

  Table 2 is a table when TV-Y (TV-Y7) and others are separated. As shown in Table 2, restrictions from TV-Y7 and TV-G to TV-MA are imposed. For example, when input is made between 0 and 6 years old, TV-Y7 and TV-MA TV-G is blocked.

  Table 3 is a table showing movie ratings (MPAA Rating). G is no age limit, PG is a limit for children, and a subsequent number of 13 indicates that it is unsuitable for those under 13 years of age. PG13 is an inappropriate movie for those under the age of 13, R is a movie that requires parents to be accompanied by parents under the age of 17, NC-17 is a movie forbidden to watch under the age of 17, and X is also 17 years of age Below are movies that are forbidden to watch. Here, if an age from 0 to 12 years old is input, X to PG are blocked, if 13 to 16 years old are input, X to R are blocked, and 17 years and older are not blocked.

  Table 4 is a table showing rating information of English broadcasting in Canada. E is a program exempted from viewing restrictions, C is a program that a child under 8 years old can watch alone, C8 + is a program that a child over 8 years old can watch alone, and so on. There are provisions under different conditions.

  Table 5 is a table showing French broadcast rating information in Canada. E is a program exempted from viewing restrictions, G is a program that a child over 8 years old can watch alone, 8ans + is a program that is not recommended for those under 8 years old, etc. Is provided.

  Table 6 is a table showing the minimum rating level set by age input for TVG, MPAA, English version of Canada, and French version of Canada. For example, when a viewing age restriction of 0 to 6 years is imposed, different settings are set for TV-Y7 for TVG, PG for MPAA, C8 + for the English version of Canada, and 8ans + for the French version of Canada. Alternatively, there may be a rule that is not set.

  Table 7 shows a case where the viewer's age is 13 years as a setting example. For example, when the administrator inputs 13, the menu screen shown in FIG. 4 is displayed, and the level setting for each rating type is displayed based on the above-mentioned rules as described later with reference to FIG.

  Table 8 is a table showing an example of inputting with a 4-digit code. Each of TVG, MPAA, English version of Canada, and French version of Canada corresponds to the numbers “0” and “1” of the digits of the input code. The first digit corresponds to the TVG setting, the second digit corresponds to the MPAA setting, the third digit corresponds to the Canadian English setting, and the fourth digit corresponds to the Canadian French setting. For example, code input of “0000” means that nothing is set, and code input of “0004” imposes TV-PG viewing restrictions on TV-PG, but MPAA, English version of Canada, Canada This means that there are no viewing restrictions on the French version of. Table 8 shows an example in which there is no duplication of four types of viewing restrictions.

  Table 9 is a table showing an example of inputting with the same 4-digit code as in Table 8. However, when there is an overlap in viewing restrictions in TVG, MPAA, English version of Canada, French version of Canada It is a table | surface which shows an example. For example, when the input code is “1111”, viewing restrictions are set such that TVG is TV-MA, MPAA is X, Canadian English version is 18+, and Canadian French version is 18ans +. As described above, a plurality of rating information (MPAA, TV Guidelines, Canadian English, Canadian French) may exist as setting items.

  Hereinafter, the function of the television receiver A of FIG. 1 that can refer to the rating information will be described in detail by showing an example of the display menu.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the display unit 11 and a processing example related to viewing restriction. It is a figure which shows the example of a menu display at the time of setting a parental control item in the menu item in the hierarchy above this hierarchy. As shown in FIG. 2, it is a menu display example displayed on the display screen 31 of the display unit 11. In the example of FIG. 2, a level setting area 33 and a password input area 35 are arranged in the left area of the display screen 31.

  In this way, in the level setting process, first, a password is set, and after setting the password, the parental control selection needs to input the correct password. The parental control items cannot be selected unless the correct password is entered.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a first example of viewing age setting menu display. In the area on the left side of the display screen 31, three items of a viewing age setting 37, a code setting 39, and a detailed setting 41 are provided so as to be selectable. In the figure, the viewing age setting 37 is selected. In this case, a viewing age input area 47 and a related description 45 “Please enter viewing age” are provided in the area on the right side of the screen.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a second example of viewing age setting menu display. In the area on the left side of the display screen 31, three items of a viewing age setting 37, a code setting 39, and a detailed setting 41 are provided so as to be selectable. In the figure, the viewing age setting 37 is selected. In this case, in FIG. 4, a viewing age input area 47 and a related description 45 “Please enter viewing age” are provided in the area on the right side of the screen. When the viewing age setting 37 is focused, the focus is moved to the age input with the right cursor key of the remote controller or the like, and the age is input. The rating is displayed when the age is entered. For example, the focus can be moved to the decision 53 and the detailed setting 55 with the down cursor key or the like. When the enter key is pressed in the focused state, a viewing age input area 47 is displayed, and a display 51 indicating that the input to be set is as follows is made. When the decision 53 is pressed, the focus moves to the viewing age setting 47, and when the detailed setting 55 is pressed, the display screen shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a menu display example when selecting the detailed setting, and is a diagram illustrating a case after the determination button is pressed in the age setting. As shown in FIG. 5, TV Guidelines 57-1, MPAA 57-2, Can. English Ratings 57-3 and Can. Selection items of rating information with French Ratings 57-4 are displayed. In the figure, selection 58 is focused on TV Guidelines 57-1.

  In this case, D, L, S, V, and FV shown in Table 2 can be individually selected (62). TV-Y, TV-Y7, TV-G, TV-PG, TV-14, TV -MA and None can be selected (63). Actually, it is possible to easily set up to which limit the lock 65 is performed by the slide bar 61 for setting the viewing restriction based on the rating information having the movable bar 61a.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a menu display example when MPAA is selected with the down cursor. As shown in FIG. 6, when MPAA 57-2 is selected in the rating information selection item (58), the movie ratings shown in Table 3 are displayed on the right side (63), and slide bars 61 and 61a are used for sliding. And restrict viewing. In the figure, viewing restrictions up to R are imposed.

  In FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a menu display at the time of English Ratings selection. As shown in FIG. 7, Can. When English Ratings 57-3 is selected (58), the ratings shown in Table 4 are displayed on the right side (63), and slides 61 and 61a can be slid to impose viewing restrictions. In the figure, viewing restrictions up to G are imposed.

  FIG. 8 shows the case where Can. It is a figure which shows the example of a menu display at the time of English Ratings selection. As shown in FIG. 8, Can. When French Ratings 57-4 is selected (58), the ratings shown in Table 5 are displayed on the right side (63), and viewing restrictions can be imposed by sliding with the slide bars 61 and 61a. In the figure, viewing restrictions of up to 16 ans + are imposed.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a first display example of the code setting menu display. As shown in FIG. 9, when the code setting 39 is selected, a display 71 such as “Please input the code in the instruction manual” is displayed on the right side of the display screen 31. Here, a code can be entered in the 4-digit input field 73.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a second display example of the code setting menu display. As shown in FIG. 10, when the code setting 39 is selected, for example, a 4-digit input field 73 is displayed on the right side of the display screen 31, and a code can be input here. The level to be set is displayed in the lower area (75), and the user can check the level. Here, after confirmation, determination 77 or detailed setting 79 can be performed. When the code setting is focused, the focus can be moved to the code input with the right cursor key among the direction keys of the remote control. Ratings are displayed when a code is entered. The focus can be moved to “OK” or “Detail setting” with the down cursor key. Here, pressing ENTER moves the focus to the code setting, and pressing “detail setting” displays the following.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a menu display example of a menu when the detailed setting is selected (after pressing the enter button in code setting). In the example shown in FIG. 11, when the focus is set on the TV Guidelines 57-1 in the menu at the time of selecting the detailed setting after pressing the enter button in the code setting (58), the slide bar 61 / 61a is used to slide the slide. , Viewing restrictions up to TV-14 are set.

  11, when MPAA is selected with a downward direction key (down cursor) as shown in FIG. 12, an MPAA setting candidate 63 is displayed as indicated by reference numeral 63. . Here, in FIG. 12, the viewing restriction up to PG-13 is set by sliding with the slide bars 61 and 61a.

  FIG. 13 shows a case where the Can. It is a figure which shows the example of a menu display changed from the display shown in FIG. 11 at the time of selecting English Ratings57-3 (58). Can. When English Ratings is selected, the rating information described in Table 4 is displayed as indicated by reference numeral 63 as indicated by reference numeral 63. Here, a slide limit is set up to 14+ by sliding with the slide bars 61 and 61a.

  FIG. 14 shows the case where Can. It is a figure which shows the example of a menu display which changed from the display shown in FIG. 11 at the time of selecting French Ratings57-4 (58). Can. When French Ratings is selected, the rating information described in Table 5 is displayed as indicated by reference numeral 63 as indicated by reference numeral 63. Here, the viewing limit up to 13 ans + is set by sliding with the slide bars 61 and 61a.

  As described above, in the television receiver according to the present embodiment, the rating information storage unit stores the tables shown in Tables 1 to 9 above. Based on this, it is possible to refer to the information in Tables 1 to 9 as appropriate. Therefore, for example, based on an operation in which the user sets an age, viewing restrictions up to a rating level corresponding to the age can be automatically set. Therefore, the operation becomes very simple.

  It is also possible to set the rating in detail by inputting numbers or symbols corresponding to tables (tables 1 to 9 and the like) that are associated in advance and whose contents are determined.

  Next, a television receiver according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a message display example in the case where the same age is not restricted for viewing age with different rating information. When watching the rating program of MPAA NC-17 with TV-14 set to TVG and nothing set to MPAA, the display screen 31 shows “Viewing age (NC-17) of this program is It will be subject to age restrictions for other rating information currently set. "Is displayed to alert the user, and there are three types of buttons: display deletion 83, viewing restriction 85, and detailed setting 87. ing. In the figure, it is assumed that the display erase 83 is focused. When the enter button is pressed in “Display Erase” 83, the display is erased. When the enter button is pressed in “viewing restriction” 85, viewing restriction is applied. When the enter button is pressed in “detail setting” 87, a display as described below is made.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the MPAA selection menu when the detailed setting is selected. As shown in FIG. 16, when the MPAA 57-2 is focused (58), the rating information items shown in Table 3 are displayed (63), and viewing restrictions can be set by sliding with the slide bars 61 and 61a. . In the figure, since 61a is at the lowest position, no viewing restrictions are imposed. In this way, it is possible to set so as not to impose any viewing restrictions.

  Next, the flow of viewing age restriction setting processing according to the present embodiment based on the display menu will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when the same age is not restricted for viewing age with different rating information. In other words, this is an example in which the received rating system is not set to restrict viewing. In this case, when rating is received in step S1, it is determined whether or not the viewing restriction setting of the rating system received in step S2 is not set. If it is set (No), the process proceeds to step S15, a normal viewing restriction determination process is performed, and the process proceeds to step S14 and the process is terminated. If Yes, the process proceeds to step S3, and it is determined whether the viewing restriction setting of another rating system has been set. If not set (No), the process proceeds to step S14 and the process is terminated. If it has been set (Yes), the process proceeds to step S4, and it is determined whether the viewing restriction setting level (age) of another rating system is lower than the received level. If not (No), the process proceeds to step S14 and the process is terminated. If it is below (Yes), the process proceeds to step S5, and a message indicating that other ratings are restricted is displayed.

  Next, for example, it is determined whether or not the enter key is pressed within one minute (step S6). If No, the process proceeds to step S7, and the display is erased. If Yes, the process proceeds to step S8, where it is determined whether or not display erasure is selected. If display erasure is selected (Yes), the display is performed. An erasing process is performed (step S9). If the display erasure is not selected (No), the process proceeds to step S10, where it is determined whether or not the viewing restriction is selected. If the viewing restriction is selected (Yes), the process proceeds to step S11 and the viewing restriction is performed. If the viewing restriction selection has not been performed (No), the process proceeds to step S12. In step S12, it is determined whether or not to perform detailed setting selection. If selected (Yes), the process proceeds to step S13, and the detailed setting screen is displayed. If not selected (No), the process proceeds to step S14 and the process is terminated.

  According to the higher-level processing, if the same age is not restricted for viewing by different rating information, a message indicating that viewing is restricted based on other rating information is displayed when the age is lower, and the user Waiting for a response from the user, any one of display erasure, viewing restriction selection, and detailed setting selection can be performed. In this way, it is determined whether different age information is the same age limit, and an opportunity to perform resetting is given based on the determination result, so that contradictions regarding a plurality of viewing age limits can be resolved.

  If the parental control setting of the rating information of the viewing program is not set and if the age is the same as or higher than the age set in other rating information, a message to that effect is displayed on the screen. By allowing the user to check whether the program can be shown to the user, there is an advantage that a final judgment opportunity is given, and for example, the parent can watch TV with peace of mind together with the child.

  The present invention is applicable to a television receiver.

It is a functional block diagram which shows one structural example of the television receiver by this Embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the display unit 11 and a processing example related to viewing restriction. It is a figure which shows the 1st example of a viewing age setting menu display. It is a figure which shows the 2nd example of a viewing age setting menu display. It is a figure which shows the example of a menu display at the time of detailed setting selection, and is a figure which shows the case after pushing the determination button by age setting. It is a figure which shows the example of a menu display at the time of MPAA selection with a down cursor. Use the down cursor to select Can. It is a figure which shows the example of a menu display at the time of English Ratings selection. Use the down cursor to select Can. It is a figure which shows the example of a menu display at the time of French Ratings selection. It is a figure which shows the 1st example of a code setting menu display. It is a figure which shows the 2nd example of a code setting menu display. It is a figure which shows the example of a menu display of the menu at the time of detailed setting selection (after pressing the determination button by code setting). It is a figure which shows the example of a display when it changes from the display shown in FIG. 11, and MPAA is selected with the direction key (down cursor) to a downward direction. By pressing the down direction key (down cursor), Can. It is a figure which shows the example of a menu display changed from the display shown in FIG. 11 at the time of selecting English Ratings57-3 (58). With the down cursor, select Can. It is a figure which shows the example of a menu display which changed from the display shown in FIG. 11 at the time of selecting French Ratings57-4 (58). It is a figure which shows the example of a message display in case the same age is not restrict | limited by different rating information. It is a figure which shows the example of a MPAA selection menu display at the time of detailed setting selection. It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow of a process in case the same age is not restrict | limited by different rating information.

Explanation of symbols

A ... TV receiver, 1 ... receiver body, 3 ... tuner unit, 5 ... signal processing unit, 7 ... display control unit, 11 ... display unit, 15 ... remote control device, 17 ... remote control light receiving unit, 21 ... control unit, 23 ... Viewing control unit, 25 ... Rating information storage unit.

Claims (8)

A television receiver having a function of performing viewing restriction processing of a program received based on a set rating,
A rating information storage unit for storing a plurality of rating information having different standards for viewing age restriction;
A television receiver, comprising: a control unit that performs restriction on viewing with reference to the rating information in the rating information storage unit.   The control unit imposes actual viewing restrictions by comparing first viewing restriction information set by a user with second viewing restriction information set for a program. The television receiver according to 1.   The first rating information among the plurality of rating information is not set with respect to viewing age restriction, and the viewing age restriction based on the second rating information is set. 3. The television receiver according to claim 1, wherein when the level is equal to or greater than the level set in the above, a control is performed to display a message notifying that effect. A television receiver having a function of performing viewing restriction processing of a program received based on a set rating,
A rating information storage unit that stores a plurality of rating information with different standards for viewing age restriction in association with a common item that can be set in common among the plurality of rating information;
And a control unit configured to collectively set the common items based on the association.   The television receiver according to claim 4, further comprising a display control unit that adds the common items as menu display items.   The television receiver according to claim 5, wherein the common item is associated with an age or a prescribed character string or numeric string.   7. The television receiver according to claim 5, wherein the display control unit displays a button capable of stepwise setting a viewing restriction of the rating information on the menu display. 8.   The first rating information among the plurality of rating information is not set with respect to viewing age restriction, and the viewing age restriction based on the second rating information is set. The television receiver according to any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein when the level is equal to or greater than the level set in, a control is performed to display a message notifying that effect. .

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