JP2007324974A - Television receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a television receiver which stops a viewing processing function when only watching a program guide and only performing recording processing and, thereby achieving an advanced power saving function. <P>SOLUTION: Whether or not an instruction for receiving program guide information as one of various kinds of character information is input under a state that a viewing function of the television program for displaying an image of the television program and outputting sound corresponding to the image of the television program is OFF is judged. When it is judged that the instruction for receiving the program guide information is input under the state that the viewing function of the television program is OFF, the program guide information is acquired while leaving the viewing function of the television program is OFF, background of a screen is set to a black screen to display the program guide information in the background of the black screen. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a television receiver having a function of receiving character information such as information on a program and a program guide in addition to a function of receiving a television program, and in particular, a character information display state for receiving the character information. Alternatively, the present invention relates to a television receiver that can save power consumption to the minimum power necessary for its function under the related conditions.

Patent Document 1 relates to an information device including image processing, such as a PC, so that not only a composite signal of an image is input to the information device but also a TV tuner is incorporated so that a TV image signal can be obtained. This is a document related to improvement of configured information equipment.
Usually, an information device such as a PC only outputs a display signal, and it is necessary to connect to a display device such as a monitor in order to actually display an image. On the other hand, in the display device in the information device described in Patent Document 1, in addition to the function of displaying a display signal from the information device, the display device has a built-in TV tuner and a function of displaying a TV program and the like. In this case, in addition to the operation on the information device side, it is possible to perform so-called viewing processing for displaying an image of a television program and outputting sound corresponding to the television program.
On the other hand, the TV program recording process has a function called recording reservation for designating recording at a certain time. In this case, an information device such as a PC is set in a standby state, and a timer is started to execute recording at the recording start time. As described above, the control unit on the PC side as an information device that is not used during recording reservation is generally set to a standby state.
JP 2002-209157 A

As described above, in the conventional case where the information device has a TV function, the control unit of the PC and the display device having the TV function are controlled by different systems. When there is no use at all, there is no resistance to putting the control unit as an information device in a standby state, so a soil has been established that accepts such processing as common sense.
However, in general television receivers, it is fundamental to perform television program viewing processing (hereinafter referred to as viewing processing) for displaying television program images and outputting audio corresponding to the television program images. Because it is a function, the so-called television receiver is put into a standby state, for example, when watching the program guide or when recording processing is being performed, such as stopping the viewing state on the television receiver. I never had the idea.
In such a situation, the present invention reverses the common sense of the field of television receivers. When the television receiver is only looking at the program table or only performing the recording process, the viewing processing function is provided. The purpose is to provide a television receiver having a high power saving function.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a television receiver having a function of receiving various character information in addition to a function of receiving a television program. Viewing state judging means for judging whether or not an instruction to receive program guide information as one of the above-mentioned various character information is inputted in a state where the viewing function of the TV program for outputting the sound corresponding to the image of the TV is off When the viewing state determining means determines that the instruction to receive the program guide information is input in a state where the viewing function of the TV program is OFF, the program with the viewing function of the TV program being turned OFF is determined. And a power saving function executing means for acquiring table information and setting the background of the screen to a black screen and displaying the program guide information on the background of the black screen. It is configured as tio down receiver.

  In such a television receiver, if the information related to the recording reservation is displayed as the various character information on the background of the screen set to the black screen in the processing state by the power saving function executing means, further power saving is achieved. The effect is achieved.

In this case, a command for receiving character information related to the television program is generally given as a command from a remote controller.
Some of the above television receivers use a backlight that illuminates the screen from the back, but the backlight is used even though the display of normal character information does not require a high level of brightness. Has high power consumption. Therefore, it is desirable that the power saving function executing means executes a process for reducing the luminance of the backlight below that in the viewing state.
The display of the character information as described above does not require a large screen like the display of a general television program. In a television receiver, power consumption varies depending on the area for displaying an image. In view of this point, it is possible to further reduce power consumption by further providing a screen reduction display means for reducing and displaying the various character information in the processing state by the power saving function execution means.

  According to the present invention, there is provided a television receiver having a function of receiving various character information in addition to a function of receiving a television program, and corresponding to the display of the image of the television program and the image of the television program. A viewing state judging means for judging whether or not an instruction to receive program guide information as one of the various character information is inputted in a state where the viewing function of the television program for outputting sound is OFF; When the viewing state determination means determines that a command to receive the program guide information is input when the viewing function of the TV program is OFF, the program guide information is acquired with the viewing function of the TV program turned OFF. And a power saving function executing means for setting the screen background to a black screen and displaying the program guide information on the black screen background. Therefore, it is possible to provide a television receiver having a highly power saving function by stopping the viewing processing function when only watching the program guide or recording processing. it can.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings for understanding of the present invention.
FIG. 1 is a control block diagram of a television receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a power saving state in the television receiver, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a screen display state at the time of receiving a program guide in the receiver, and FIG.
First, the configuration of the television receiver according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described using the control block diagram of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, broadcast radio waves are received from an antenna ANT through a distributor 1 to a television receiver T. The television receiver T is provided with a digital TV tuner C1, and the broadcast radio wave received from the distributor 1 is demodulated into an analog signal by the demodulator R1 via the digital TV tuner C1.
The broadcast signal demodulated into an analog signal is input to the decoder / data broadcast processing ASIC. The ASIC includes a decoding / data processing unit 3 that receives the demodulated broadcast signal and extracts program data and character data such as character multiplexed data from the broadcast signal.

Program data (an example of a program) and character multiplexed data (an example of various character information) output from the decode / data processing unit 3 are output to the main circuit Cm via the program / data change-over switch SW1.
The signal output to the main circuit Cm includes a video signal and an audio signal, and the video signal is input to the video switch SW3.
The video signal output from the video switch SW3 is input to the video signal processing circuit 5 such as a graphic controller, and is displayed as an image on the liquid crystal screen LCD via the liquid crystal controller 7.
Further, the audio signal output to the main circuit Cm is output to the amplifier 9 via the audio switch SW4 and drives the speaker 11.

Here, the decoding / data processing unit 3 and the program / data changeover switch SW1 are controlled by the control unit 13 of the ASSIC.
The control unit 13 is controlled by a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as a microcomputer) 15 operated by an external remote controller RC.
Accordingly, as a result, the decode / data processing unit 3 and the program / data changeover switch SW1 are controlled by the microcomputer 15.
The microcomputer 15 further controls switching of the video switch SW3 and the audio switch SW4 and also controls the video signal processing circuit 5. Details of the control will be described later.

A signal from an external input such as a DVD or CD-ROM or an analog tuner is also input to the video switch SW3 and the audio switch SW4 and processed in the same manner as program data and character multiplexed data.
The remote controller RC includes various operation buttons such as a program guide operation button MB, and the microcomputer via the remote control receiver RRC on the television receiver T side and the power management unit ECC connected to the remote control receiver RRC. 15 is wirelessly connected.

The power management unit ECC is connected to a backlight BL that controls the brightness of the screen by illuminating the digital TV tuner C1 and the liquid crystal screen LCD from the back, and turns on / off the viewing of programs by the digital TV tuner C1. , Turn on / off the backlight BL or adjust the illuminance.
The microcomputer 15 is connected to a conventionally known EPG display recording reservation processing unit 17 that acquires and displays a television program guide, or makes a recording reservation according to the television program guide. The EPG display recording reservation processing unit 17 is connected to an EPG information memory 19 for storing program guide information.

As can be understood from the above description, the television receiver T according to this embodiment includes two power-saving systems.
One is based on the power management unit ECC, and controls the digital TV tuner C1 in accordance with a program guide acquisition instruction from the program guide operation button MB of the remote controller RC, as shown by the EPG single activation unit in FIG. This is a power-saving system that prevents the TV program from being displayed on the liquid crystal screen LCD and that controls the backlight inverter INV to darken the backlight.
The other is that the microcomputer 15 controls the EPC display recording reservation processing unit 17 in accordance with a program guide acquisition instruction from the program guide (EPG) operation button MB of the remote controller RC, and is displayed on the liquid crystal screen LCD. Power saving processing by setting the background of the screen to be a black screen, and processing for displaying character information on the liquid crystal screen LCD by controlling the program / data changeover switch SW1 of the ASIC through the control unit 13 Is.

Details of these power saving processes will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
Here, S1, S2,... Are numbers of processing procedures (steps) of the microcomputer 15 or the power management unit ECC. Note that some operators' procedures are included to facilitate understanding.
First, the processing starts when the operator presses the program guide operation button MB of the remote controller RC (S1).

When the program guide operation button MB is pressed, a signal from the remote controller RC is transmitted to the remote controller receiver RRC. This signal is transmitted to the microcomputer 15 via the power management unit ECC.
When the microcomputer 15 receives a signal indicating that the program guide operation button MB has been pressed from the power management unit ECC, the microcomputer 15 determines whether or not the program / data switch SW1 is switched to the program side from the signal from the control unit 13. Then, it is determined whether or not the program is currently being viewed (S2).
If it is determined that the program is not viewed (NO in S2), the following two processes are executed.

[Backlight control]
In this processing, a signal for reducing the amount of light of the backlight BL is sent from the power management unit ECC that has received the program guide operation signal from the program guide operation button MB to the inverter INV, and the inverter INV reduces the brightness of the backlight BL to the minimum value. Set to min (S3). This reduces the brightness of the backlight BL. As described above, the power saving effect is achieved by slightly reducing the brightness of the monitor screen. Although the brightness of the monitor screen is slightly reduced, only the character information is displayed at this time, as will be described later, so the darkness of the screen does not greatly affect the user's sense.

  With respect to the backlight BL, when the power management unit ECC receives a signal to brighten the backlight BL from the remote controller RC (YES in S4), the brightness is increased (S5).

[Acquisition of program guide]
By pressing the program guide operation button MB, a process for acquiring a program guide is executed as another process.
That is, the microcomputer 15 that has received a signal from the program guide operation button MB via the power management unit ECC sends a signal to the EPG display recording reservation processing unit 17 and transmits the program guide (EPG) via GPS or the Internet or other communication means. Information) is acquired (S6).
Next, the microcomputer 15 accesses the video signal processing circuit (graphic controller) 5 and sets the background of the monitor screen to a black screen (S7). This saves power for the background. Further, the microcomputer 15 displays the program guide information (EPG information) acquired in S6 in a state where the frame is reduced on the power saving screen (S8). Normally, the reduction of a frame is not a reduction of a similar shape that makes a character or the like smaller, but it may of course be reduced similarly.

In this state, when a signal to make a recording reservation is input (for example, when a program in the program guide is selected and a reservation process for the program is selected) (YES in S9), A reservation is executed (S10).
If it is subsequently determined that the viewing state is off (NO in S11), the process returns to S1, and the determination process (S1) for determining whether or not the program guide operation button MB is pressed is continued. The
When the viewing state is restored (NO in S11), the digital TV tuner C1 is driven by the power management unit ECC, and the viewing state of the program (display of the TV program image and sound corresponding to the TV program image) is displayed. Return to the state where the output is performed.

  On the other hand, if a signal for increasing the brightness of the screen is input in the reduced display state of the program table in S8 (YES in S12), it can be determined that the power saving mode has been exited. The table is enlarged and displayed on the full screen (S13).

Furthermore, if the program guide update information is input when the program guide is being reduced in S8 (YES in S14), the power saving mode should be canceled, so the power management unit ECC The digital TV tuner C1 is driven to return to a program viewing state (a state in which a television program image is displayed and sound corresponding to the television program image is output) (S15).
In addition, when viewing of the program is started in the state where the program guide is reduced in S8 (YES in S16), the program is naturally returned to the viewing state (S15).

As described above, in this embodiment, when the program guide operation button MB of the remote controller RC is pressed while no program is being viewed, the character information is not restored without returning to the program viewing state as before. Since only the program guide is displayed, it is possible to quickly and easily check the program guide in a power saving state. At this time, of course, the voice is also disconnected, so the power saving effect is further enhanced.
In addition, when the processing for reducing the luminance of the backlight is also performed at the same time, the power saving purpose is further achieved.
Furthermore, if the background screen is set to a black screen, further power saving is expected.
Further, if the display area of the program guide is narrowed, further power saving is achieved, but this effect is achieved by the reduced display of the program guide frame as described above.
The image of FIG. 3 displays this in a visually easy-to-understand manner.

The control block diagram of the television receiver which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The conceptual diagram for demonstrating the power saving state in the said television receiver. The conceptual diagram which shows the screen display state at the time of the program schedule reception in the television receiver. The flowchart which shows the power saving process sequence of the control part in the said television receiver.

Explanation of symbols

ANT ... antenna 1 ... distributor T ... television receiver C1 ... digital TV tuner R1 ... demodulator 3 ... decode / data processor SW1 ... program / data switch Cm ... main circuit SW3 ... video switch SW4 ... audio switch 5 ... Video signal processing circuit 7 ... Liquid crystal controller LCD ... Liquid crystal screen ECC ... Power management unit RRC ... Remote control receiving unit RC ... Remote control MB ... Program guide operation button INV ... Inverter BL ... Backlight 17 ... EPG display recording reservation processing unit 19 ... EPG information memory

Claims (5)

A television receiver having a function of receiving various character information in addition to a function of receiving a TV program,
An instruction to receive program guide information as one of the above-mentioned various character information is input when the TV program viewing function for displaying the TV program image and outputting the sound corresponding to the TV program image is OFF. Viewing state determination means for determining whether or not
When the viewing state determination means determines that an instruction to receive the program guide information is input in a state where the viewing function of the TV program is OFF, the program guide information remains with the viewing function of the TV program turned OFF. Power saving function executing means for setting the screen background to a black screen and displaying the program guide information on the black screen background;
A television receiver comprising:   The television receiver according to claim 1, wherein in the processing state by the power saving function execution means, information relating to recording reservation is further displayed as the various character information on the background of the screen set as the black screen.   The television receiver according to claim 1, wherein the command for receiving character information related to the television program is a command from a remote controller.   The television receiver according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the power saving function executing means further executes a process of lowering a luminance of a backlight that illuminates the screen from the back side with respect to a luminance in the viewing state. .   5. The television receiver according to claim 1, further comprising a screen reduction display unit that reduces and displays the various character information in a processing state by the power saving function execution unit.

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