JP2007288515A - Reception state display device, and method and program for reception state display - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To display how a reception state of a radio signal changes with respect to the lapse of time. <P>SOLUTION: During receiving of a television broadcast wave and displaying television video on a television video window WT, an operation processing part 10 of a computer system 1 displays on a display part 3 receiving state graph GRS, obtained by graphing how receiving state values VR representing the reception state of the television broadcasting waves by the numerical values change with respect to the lapse of time, to thereby enable a user to visually grasp how the receiving state values VR change in the lapse of time. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a reception status display device, a reception status display method, and a reception status display program. For example, the present invention is suitable for application to a portable television reception device that receives television broadcast waves and reproduces video and audio at various locations. It is a thing.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a portable television receiver, a video signal and an audio signal are extracted by demodulating a television broadcast wave that is carried by a user to a desired location and received via an antenna, and is displayed on a display unit. An apparatus that displays video and outputs audio from a speaker is widely used.

  By the way, although such a television receiver can correctly extract a video signal and an audio signal only when a television broadcast wave can be received with a reception sensitivity of a predetermined level or higher, the property of the television broadcast wave that is a radio signal is obtained. In addition, the reception state of the television broadcast wave changes variously depending on factors such as the location carried by the user and the direction of the antenna.

  For this reason, such a portable television receiver is premised on allowing the user to adjust the installation location, the direction of the antenna, and the like so that the television broadcast wave can be received satisfactorily.

  However, since the television broadcast wave is a radio signal, the user cannot visually grasp a place where reception intensity is strong. For this reason, it is difficult for the user to adjust the installation location of the television receiver, the direction of the antenna, and the like in order to receive the television broadcast wave satisfactorily.

Therefore, in a wireless slave unit that receives radio waves in the same manner as a television receiver, the display is changed in stages according to the reception intensity of the radio waves so that the user can visually grasp the reception status of the radio waves at that time. What has been made in this way has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-151226 (FIG. 1)

  By the way, in a television apparatus having such a configuration, a user may search for a state where the user can best receive a television broadcast wave while gradually changing an installation location, an antenna direction, and the like.

  At this time, if the television receiver changes the display according to the reception intensity as described above, the reception intensity at that time can be grasped by the user, but the display content is updated as needed. There is a problem that it is not easy to search for a state in which a television broadcast wave can be satisfactorily received because it cannot be directly compared with changes over time or past received intensity and depends on the user's memory. It was.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and intends to propose a reception status display device, a reception status display method, and a reception status display program capable of displaying a state in which the reception status of a radio signal changes over time. is there.

  In order to solve such a problem, in the present invention, a radio signal is received, a reception situation when the radio signal is received is detected as a numerical reception situation value, and a temporal change of the reception situation value is predetermined as a graph of a predetermined format. It was made to display on the display part.

  Thereby, it can be shown to a user as a graph that a reception situation value changes with progress of time.

  Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present invention, a reception status display device capable of presenting a user with a graph of how a reception status value changes with the passage of time and thus displaying a radio signal reception status changing over time, a reception status A display method and a reception status display program can be realized.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(1) Configuration of Computer Device In FIG. 1, a computer device 1 is configured as a so-called notebook computer device as a whole, and includes an operation unit 2, a display unit 3, an arithmetic processing unit (see FIG. (Not shown) etc. are integrated and can be easily carried by the user.

  The computer device 1 has an arithmetic processing function similar to that of a general computer device, accepts user operations via the keyboard 2A, the touch pad 2B, etc., and executes various programs in accordance with the operations. The execution result can be displayed on the display unit 3 formed of a liquid crystal panel.

  Further, the computer apparatus 1 as a radio signal receiving apparatus is configured to allow a user to view a television broadcast program. By receiving a television broadcast wave via the antenna 4, a predetermined demodulation process or the like is performed. The video signal and the audio signal are extracted, the video based on the video signal is displayed on the display unit 3, and the audio based on the audio signal is output from the left and right speakers 5.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the computer apparatus 1 has a circuit configuration centered on an arithmetic processing unit 10. As shown in FIG. 2B, the arithmetic processing unit 10 is used as a work area for a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 10A that performs arithmetic processing, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 10B that stores startup programs, and the CPU 10A. RAM (Random Access Memory) 10C are connected to each other via a bus 10D.

  In practice, when the power is turned on, the CPU 10A of the arithmetic processing unit 10 reads and executes the startup program from the ROM 10B, and further, from the storage unit 11 (FIG. 2A), which is a hard disk drive, etc. The basic program, the television broadcast reception program, the reception status graph display program, and other various application programs are read out, and these are expanded in the RAM 10C and executed to execute various processes.

  In addition, when the television broadcast reception program is executed by the arithmetic processing unit 10 based on the user's operation via the operation unit 2, the computer apparatus 1 receives the television broadcast wave WV by the antenna 4 and receives it at high frequency. To the unit 12.

  Incidentally, the high-frequency receiving unit 12 receives a television broadcast wave of so-called “one-segment” broadcasting, which is composed of only one segment among the 13 segments obtained by dividing the 6 [MHz] band in terrestrial digital television broadcasting. Has been made.

  The high frequency receiving unit 12 converts the television broadcast wave WV into a predetermined intermediate frequency signal SIF and supplies it to the demodulation unit 13. The demodulation unit 13 generates a transport stream signal STS by performing predetermined demodulation processing or the like on the intermediate frequency signal SIF, and supplies this to the arithmetic processing unit 10.

  The arithmetic processing unit 10 generates a video signal SV and an audio signal SA by performing a predetermined decoding process or the like on the transport stream signal STS, and sends the video signal SV to the display control unit 14. Are sent to the voice processing unit 15, respectively.

  In response to this, the display control unit 14 causes the display unit 3 to display a video (that is, a television video) based on the video signal SV. Further, the audio processing unit 15 converts the audio signal SA from digital to analog and sends it to the speaker 5 (FIG. 1), thereby outputting audio corresponding to the audio signal SA (that is, television audio).

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the arithmetic processing unit 10 is configured to display the television video window WT on the display unit 3 via the display control unit 14, and the television in the television video window WT is displayed. A television video based on the video signal SV is displayed in the video display area AR1.

  Incidentally, when the so-called multitasking OS is activated and the other application program such as a web browser is executed in parallel with the television broadcast reception program, the arithmetic processing unit 10 is as shown in FIG. In addition to the television video window WT, an application window WA corresponding to the application program is displayed on the display unit 3.

  In the television image window WT, in addition to the television image display area AR1 for displaying an image corresponding to the image signal SV, when the video content stored in the storage unit 11 is reproduced, An operation button area AR2 in which operation button groups for accepting operations such as stop and fast forward are arranged, and a program information display area AR3 for displaying the name of a program being broadcast in each channel of the television broadcast are displayed. .

  Furthermore, a reception status icon IRS indicating the reception status of the television broadcast wave is displayed on the upper left part of the television video window WT. As shown in FIG. 4, the reception status icon IRS is arranged like an antenna mark MA imitating the shape of an antenna and a bar shape, and the length thereof is gradually increased, like icons used in mobile phones and the like. The five bar marks MB1, MB2, MB3, MB4, and MB5.

  Actually, the arithmetic processing unit 10 (FIG. 2) acquires the reception status value VR obtained by quantifying the reception status of the television broadcast wave from the demodulation unit 13, and based on the reception status value VR, the lowest reception level LV0. Among the six stages from the first to the highest reception level LV5, it is determined to which reception level LV the reception status at this point is classified.

  Incidentally, the demodulator 13 receives a reception status value based on a MER (Modulation Error Ratio) that indicates the degree to which the vector representing the code fluctuates (separated) from the ideal vector, which is found when the digital signal is received and demodulated. The VR is calculated. The reception status value VR is expressed as a numerical value in 256 steps from 0 to 255, and the larger the value, the better the reception status.

  Subsequently, the arithmetic processing unit 10 receives only the antenna mark MA if the reception level is LV0, antenna mark MA and the bar mark MB1 if the reception level is LV1, and antenna mark MA, bar marks MB1 and MB2, if the reception level is LV2,. If the reception level LV5, the antenna mark MA and the bar marks MB1 to MB5 are displayed, and the display pattern of the reception status icon IRS is changed according to the determination result of the reception level LV at that time. ing.

  Incidentally, the arithmetic processing unit 10 is configured to update the reception status icon IRS every predetermined update period (for example, 1 second).

  As described above, when the television broadcast receiving program is activated, the computer apparatus 1 receives the television broadcast wave and displays the video in the television video display area AR1 of the television video window WT, and the television at that time is displayed. The display pattern of the reception status icon IRS is updated in accordance with the reception status of John broadcast waves.

(2) Display of reception status graph In addition to the above configuration, the computer apparatus 1 displays a television image on the television video window WT, and graphs and displays on the display unit 3 how the reception status value VR changes over time. It is made to be able to do.

  In practice, when the computer apparatus 1 accepts a predetermined graph display operation by the user, as shown in FIG. 5 corresponding to FIG. 3, the computer apparatus 1 reduces the reception channel selection area AR3 in the lower part of the television video window WT, and receives the reception status. A graph display area AR4 is provided, and the reception status graph GRS is displayed in the reception status graph display area AR4.

  Here, in the reception status graph GRS, as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 6, the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents the magnitude of the reception status value VR. It is represented by the situation curve CRS.

  In the reception status graph GRS, the display frame FR is divided into five in the vertical direction by the dividing line LB, and each divided area corresponds to the receiving level LV1 to the receiving level LV5 from the lower side. Further, the antenna mark MA is displayed at the upper left of the display frame FR, and the bar marks MB1 to MB5 are provided at positions below the antenna mark MA on the left side of each area divided in the display frame FR. Are combined and displayed as appropriate.

  As a result, the reception status graph GRS indicates to the user that the division line LB represents the boundary line of the reception level LV and that each divided area in the display frame FR corresponds to each reception level LV. It can be recognized.

  The computer apparatus 1 is configured to update the reception status graph GRS every predetermined update cycle (for example, 1 second) in accordance with the update cycle of the reception status icon IRS.

  As described above, the computer apparatus 1 displays the reception status graph GRS on the display unit 3 so that the user can visually grasp how the reception level LV changes with time.

  By the way, the computer apparatus 1 can display the reception status graph GRS on the display unit 3 by another display method different from the display method shown in FIG.

  For example, the computer apparatus 1 displays the television video window WT relatively large based on the user's operation instruction, as shown in FIG. 7, increases the proportion of the television video display area AR1, and displays the program information display area AR3 ( It is also possible not to display FIG.

  In this case, when the computer apparatus 1 accepts a reception status graph display operation by the user, as shown in FIG. 8, the computer apparatus 1 displays a graph window WG separately from the television video window WT and receives it in the graph window WG. A situation graph GRS is displayed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the computer apparatus 1 divides a part of the rectangular area in the television image display area AR1 of the television image window WT in accordance with the user's operation instruction, so as to display a graph display area as a so-called child screen. AR1X is provided, and the reception status graph GRS can be displayed in the graph display area AR1X.

  Furthermore, in response to a user's operation instruction, the computer apparatus 1 superimposes it on the television image in the television image display area AR1 of the television image window WT, as shown in FIG. It is also made to be able to let you.

  As described above, the computer apparatus 1 can change the display method of the reception status graph GRS as shown in FIGS. 8, 9, and 10 in addition to FIG. 5 in accordance with a user operation instruction. Even in this case, similarly to the case shown in FIG. 5, it is possible to allow the user to visually grasp how the reception level LV changes with time by the reception status graph GRS together with the television image. Yes.

(3) Reception Status Graph Display Processing Next, the reception status graph display processing procedure RT1 when the arithmetic processing unit 10 of the computer apparatus 1 displays the reception status graph GRS on the display unit 3 will be described using the flowchart of FIG. To do.

  That is, when the CPU 10A of the arithmetic processing unit 10 accepts an operation for displaying the reception status graph by the user in a state where the television broadcast reception program is activated, the reception status graph is received from the storage unit 11 (FIG. 2A). By reading the display program and developing it in the RAM 10C, the reception status graph display processing procedure RT1 is started, and the process proceeds to step SP1.

  In step SP1, the CPU 10A acquires the reception status value VR from the demodulator 13 (FIG. 2), and proceeds to the next step SP2.

  In step SP2, the CPU 10A generates a reception status graph GRS as shown in FIG. 6 based on the newly acquired reception status value VR and the previously acquired reception status value VR, and proceeds to the next step SP3.

  In step SP3, the CPU 10A displays the reception status graph GRS on the display unit 3 by the display method instructed by the user, that is, the display method of any of FIGS. 5, 8, 9, or 10, and then returns to step SP1. The reception status graph GRS is continuously updated by returning and repeating a series of processes.

  Incidentally, the CPU 10A ends the reception status graph display processing procedure RT1 when receiving a reception end graph display end instruction or a television image display end instruction from the user.

(4) Operation and Effect In the above configuration, when the arithmetic processing unit 10 of the computer apparatus 1 displays a television image on the television image window WT and receives a predetermined operation by the user, it is shown in FIG. As described above, the display unit 3 displays the reception status graph GRS in which the reception status value VR is changed over time.

  Therefore, the arithmetic processing unit 10 of the computer apparatus 1 can allow the user to visually grasp how the reception status value VR changes with time by using the reception status graph GRS.

  Thus, for example, when the user searches for a state (that is, a place and a direction) in which the television broadcast wave can be best received while gradually changing the position of the computer apparatus 1 and the direction of the antenna 4, the reception is performed. A change in the reception status value VR over time in the status graph GRS can be recognized by the user in association with a change in location or direction.

  That is, the arithmetic processing unit 10 of the computer apparatus 1 can directly compare the reception status values VR at different times on the reception status graph GRS with the naked eyes, so that the television broadcast wave can be received best. Can be easily searched by the user.

  Further, the arithmetic processing unit 10 represents the reception status value VR, which is a numerical value in 256 steps, in the reception status graph GRS as a graph, so that it is more detailed than the reception status icon IRS that changes the display pattern in 6 steps according to the reception level LV. It is possible to notify the user of the reception status.

  Further, the arithmetic processing unit 10 displays a dividing line LB representing the boundary of the reception level LV in the display frame FR of the reception status graph GRS, and displays bar marks MB1 to MB5 in appropriate combination for each divided area. Therefore, the correspondence between the reception status value VR and the reception status icon IRS can be easily recognized.

  According to the above configuration, the arithmetic processing unit 10 of the computer apparatus 1 causes the display unit 3 to display the reception status graph GRS that graphs how the reception status value VR changes with time when receiving a television broadcast wave. This allows the user to visually grasp how the reception status value VR changes with the passage of time.

(5) Other Embodiments In the above-described embodiments, the reception status value VR is calculated based on the MER in the demodulator 13 in accordance with the digital television broadcast wave subjected to quadrature amplitude modulation. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the reception status value is based on various other values indicating the reception status of the radio wave depending on the type of content (information) represented by the radio wave, the communication method, and the like. The VR may be calculated.

  In this case, for example, a BER (Bit Error Rate) that is an error rate in 1-bit units that can be calculated when the demodulation unit 13 performs demodulation processing, and an RSSI (Received Signal) that represents the strength of the signal received by the high-frequency receiving unit 12. Strength Indicator), C / N (Carrier / Noise) ratio, which is the ratio of carrier wave to noise in the signal received by the high frequency receiver 12, or when establishing a link in a bidirectional communication system such as a mobile phone system The reception status value VR can be calculated based on LQM (Link Quality Monitoring), which is a mutual communication quality guideline. At this time, the arithmetic processing unit 10 may acquire the reception status value VR from the high frequency reception unit 12 as shown by a broken line in FIG. 2 according to the calculation method of the reception status value VR.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the reception status graph GRS is displayed on the display unit 3 as a so-called line graph has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, for example, a bar graph such as that shown in FIG. The reception status graph GRS may be displayed as a graph composed of various methods such as a radar chart as shown in FIG.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the case has been described in which the display frame FR of the reception status graph GRS is divided by the dividing line LB and the bar marks MB1 to MB5 are appropriately combined and displayed in each area. The present invention is not limited to this. For example, the bar marks MB1 to MB5 may not be displayed in each area, or the display frame FR may not be divided by the dividing line LB as shown in FIG.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where both the television image and the reception status graph GRS are displayed on the display unit 3 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the resolution of the display unit 3 When the reception status graph GRS is displayed, the television image may not be displayed.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the reception status icon IRS is configured by a combination of the antenna mark MA imitating the shape of the antenna and the five bar marks MB1 to MB5 having a bar shape. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 15, a television mark MT and bar marks MB1 to MB5 schematically representing a television apparatus instead of the antenna mark MA. The reception status icon IRS may be configured by a combination of the above.

  Further, the number of bar marks MB constituting the reception status icon IRS is not limited to five, but may be an arbitrary number such as three as used in a general mobile phone. In this case, it is desirable to match the number of bar marks MB with the number of divisions in the display frame FR in the reception status graph GRS.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the case where both the reception status icon IRS and the reception status graph GRS of the television video window WT are displayed on the display unit 3 has been described. The present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the reception status graph GRS is displayed on the display unit 3, the reception status icon IRS may not be displayed on the television video window WT.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, when the portable computer device 1 receives a television broadcast wave, the reception status of the television broadcast wave is displayed as the reception status graph GRS. The present invention is not limited to this. For example, in various types of television devices such as stationary types, portable types, and in-vehicle types, or recording devices that receive television broadcast waves and record television programs, The reception status may be displayed as a reception status graph GRS.

  In this case, it is not limited to receiving a “one-segment” broadcast wave using one segment in terrestrial digital television broadcast, but a normal terrestrial digital television broadcast wave using 12 segments, a BS (Broadcast Satellite) digital television broadcast, or You may make it display the reception condition of various television broadcast waves, such as an analog television broadcast, as the reception condition graph GRS.

  In a stationary television apparatus or the like, when a fixed antenna is installed in a house or the like, it can be used as a guideline for finely adjusting the position and direction of the antenna.

  Incidentally, when the recording device does not have a display unit that can display the reception status graph GRS, the reception status graph GRS is generated as a video signal and sent to an external monitor device or the like, via the monitor device. The reception status graph GRS may be presented to the user.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the reception status of the television broadcast wave is displayed as the reception status graph GRS when the computer device 1 receives the television broadcast wave has been described. Is not limited to this. For example, when receiving various radio waves in a radio receiver that receives radio broadcast waves or a mobile phone that transmits and receives radio waves to and from the base station, the reception status of the radio waves is received. You may make it display on a predetermined | prescribed display part as a graph GRS.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 16, when a mobile phone 20 transmits / receives a radio signal modulated with voice or data to / from the base station 30, the reception status of the radio signal received from the base station 30 is shown as a reception status graph. You may display on the display part 22 as GRS.

  In this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 17, the mobile phone 20 acquires the reception status value VR when the base station 30 receives a radio signal from the mobile phone 20 as data, and the radio signal of the mobile phone 20 You may make it display both the reception condition graph GRS1 showing a reception condition, and the reception condition graph GRS2 showing the reception condition of the radio signal in the base station 30 on the display part 22. FIG. Thereby, in addition to the reception status of the radio signal received by the mobile phone 20, the user can visually check the transmission status of the radio signal transmitted from the mobile phone 20.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the reception status graph display program is stored in the storage unit 11 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the reception status graph display program is not shown in the CD. -Read and execute directly from a removable storage medium such as a ROM (Compact Disc-Read Only Memory) media or a memory stick (registered trademark of Sony Corporation) not shown, or install and execute in the RAM 10C or the storage unit 11 Furthermore, via a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable, IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11a / b / g standard wireless communication, terrestrial digital television broadcasting, etc. The reception status graph display program may be acquired and executed.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the antenna 4, the high frequency receiving unit 12 and the demodulating unit 13 as receiving means, the high frequency receiving unit 12 and the demodulating unit 13 as detecting means, and the arithmetic processing unit 10 as a display means. Although the case where the computer apparatus 1 is configured as a reception status display device has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and the reception status display device is constituted by reception means, detection means, and display means having other various circuit configurations. You may make it comprise.

  The present invention can also be used in various receiving apparatuses that receive radio waves.

It is a rough-line perspective view which shows the whole structure of a computer apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the circuit structure of a computer apparatus. It is a basic diagram which shows the display (1) of a television image. It is a basic diagram which shows the structure of a reception condition icon. It is a basic diagram which shows the display (1) of a reception condition graph. It is a basic diagram which shows the structure of a reception condition graph. It is a basic diagram which shows the display (2) of a television image. It is a basic diagram which shows the display (2) of a reception condition graph. It is a basic diagram which shows the display (3) of a reception condition graph. It is a basic diagram which shows the display (4) of a reception condition graph. It is a flowchart which shows a reception condition graph display processing procedure. It is a basic diagram which shows the reception condition graph (1) by other embodiment. It is a basic diagram which shows the reception condition graph (2) by other embodiment. It is a basic diagram which shows the reception condition graph (3) by other embodiment. It is a basic diagram which shows the structure of the reception condition icon by other embodiment. It is a basic diagram which shows the display (1) of the reception condition graph in a mobile telephone. It is a basic diagram which shows the display (2) of the reception condition graph in a mobile telephone.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Computer apparatus, 3 ... Display part, 4 ... Antenna, 10 ... Arithmetic processing part, 10A ... CPU, 10B ... ROM, 11 ... Memory | storage part, 12 ... High frequency receiving part, 13 ... Demodulator, VR ... reception status value, WT ... television video window, GRS ... reception status graph, IRS ... reception status icon, WG ... graph window.

Claims (9)

Receiving means for receiving a radio signal;
Detection means for detecting the reception status when receiving the radio signal as a numerical reception status value;
A reception status display device comprising: display means for displaying a change over time of the reception status value on a predetermined display unit as a graph of a predetermined format. The display section
The reception status value is divided into predetermined stages, and the display is changed according to the reception status value level, and the graph is displayed together with a display icon indicating an overview of the reception status value at that time. The reception status display device according to claim 1. The display section
The reception status display device according to claim 2, wherein a division line indicating a threshold value for each stage is displayed on the graph. The radio signal is a television broadcast wave,
The receiving means is
Receiving the television broadcast wave and extracting a video signal from the television broadcast wave;
The display means is
The reception status display device according to claim 1, wherein the graph is displayed on the display unit together with the video based on the video signal. The display means is
The reception status display device according to claim 4, wherein the graph is displayed on the display unit so as to overlap the video based on the video signal. The display means is
5. The reception status display according to claim 4, wherein the video based on the video signal is displayed in a predetermined video display area in the display unit, and the graph is displayed in a graph display area different from the video display area. apparatus. The radio signal is quadrature amplitude modulated,
The reception status display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reception status is MER (Modulation Error Ratio). A receiving step of receiving a radio signal;
A detection step of detecting the reception status when the wireless signal is received as a numerical reception status value;
And a display step of displaying the time-dependent change of the reception status value as a graph of a predetermined format on a predetermined display unit. For radio signal receiver
A receiving step of receiving a radio signal;
A detection step of detecting the reception status when the wireless signal is received as a numerical reception status value;
And a display step of displaying the time-dependent change of the reception status value as a graph of a predetermined format on a predetermined display unit.

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