JP2009094882A - Digital broadcast receiving device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress battery consumption by reducing power consumption. <P>SOLUTION: When a digital terrestrial broadcast receiving tuner being a tuning receiving part 301 of a mobile station 101 is activated (S801), the counting of a radio wave search timer being a search stop timer is started (S802) to perform radio wave search of a designated channel (S803). When the radio wave search is completed here (S804 and S805), the radio wave search is stopped to be able to start viewing (S807). When a radio wave state later gets worse to make it impossible to tune a channel, radio wave search is activated again (S809), and in such a case, the radio wave search timer is started likewise (S810). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a digital broadcast receiving apparatus and method, and more particularly to a digital broadcast receiving apparatus and method having a tuner unit that performs channel search by specifying a channel.

  Conventionally, small in-vehicle or portable receivers that receive terrestrial (analog) television broadcasts have been used, but with the advent of the 1Seg service, digital broadcast reception that has been fixed and used in a fixed location Various types of devices have been developed, such as dedicated portable receiving devices and devices that incorporate a digital broadcast receiving function into a mobile phone and can be viewed as needed. Here, mobile stations compatible with terrestrial digital broadcasting, such as 1Seg compatible mobile phones, have a built-in terrestrial digital tuner. When completed, the designated channel is displayed on the screen and can be viewed by the user.

  Portable receivers such as one-seg compatible mobile phones are basically battery-powered and can only operate for a limited time until discharge, so various power-saving functions have been proposed. ing. Among such proposals, a technique for analog broadcasting is proposed, but a technique for controlling the power supply of the receiving unit with a timer in order to reduce battery consumption in a portable receiver for analog TV broadcasting is proposed ( For example, see Patent Document 1). A portable one-segment receiver having a power saving function has also been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

JP-A-2005-33671 JP 2007-104490 A

  However, in the conventional portable or mobile phone built-in type digital broadcast receiving apparatus, even when the channel search is not successful due to a poor reception radio wave state, the radio wave search of the designated channel is continued. Also, in the case of a mobile station that supports digital terrestrial broadcasting in the folding format (shell type), even if the mobile station is folded during the channel radio wave search, the channel search is not interrupted and the search state continues to be a problem. .

  In other words, in the case of the conventional apparatus, even if the reception tuner is activated to receive the terrestrial digital broadcast at the mobile station, the radio wave condition is bad due to being received indoors and the channel cannot be viewed. The reception tuner of the mobile station continues to search for the radio wave of the designated channel until the designated channel can be received. The radio wave search (channel search) operation for receiving the designated channel has been continued unless the user performs an operation for canceling the reception of the terrestrial digital broadcast to the mobile station. For example, in a mobile station with a foldable housing, the mobile station reception tuner is in the radio wave search (channel search) state of the specified channel, and the user gives up viewing and folds the mobile station in the folded form or accidentally Even if you close the case of an open / close type mobile station without canceling reception of digital radio broadcasting, the mobile station will continue without ending radio wave search (channel search) for the specified channel of digital terrestrial broadcasting . For this reason, compared with the case where normal standby control is performed without starting the digital broadcast reception tuner of the mobile station, power is consumed rapidly, and the operation itself for the user to stop receiving terrestrial digital broadcasts Until the user performs, there is a problem that the charging capacity of the battery rapidly decreases without the user's knowledge and the battery becomes empty in a short time.

  In addition, terrestrial digital broadcasts are not specified if they are stored in a case without extending the mobile station antenna, so it is often impossible to receive terrestrial digital normally and receive specified channels. The radio wave search status is set for the selected channel. Therefore, when the user stores the antenna in the housing, there is a problem in that the battery capacity is reduced because the radio wave search is continuously performed even when there is a certain received radio wave intensity at the position of the mobile station.

  Furthermore, when the channel radio wave search has been completed successfully and the program on the specified channel can be viewed, the channel viewing state is maintained even if the user intentionally or mistakenly folds and closes the folded mobile station in the channel viewing state. In order to continue, there is a problem that the power supply capacity of the battery rapidly decreases without the user's knowledge.

  Also, radio wave search or channel reception could not be stopped while terrestrial digital reception software was running. With the terrestrial digital software running, radio wave search or channel reception was stopped or terminated, and it was not possible to continue to display only the screen that was received immediately before. While terrestrial digital software is running, radio wave search or channel reception is always accompanied, and when terrestrial digital search or channel reception is terminated, terrestrial digital software must be terminated. The radio wave search or channel reception is performed even when the screen that has been received until immediately before is displayed and the radio wave search or channel reception is unnecessary due to current consumption.

  The present invention solves such a problem, and by incorporating timer control in channel search or the like, it is possible to limit useless channel search or data reception, reduce power consumption, and reduce battery consumption. An object of the present invention is to provide a digital broadcast receiving apparatus and method.

  In order to achieve such an object, the invention described in claim 1 is a digital broadcast receiving apparatus, wherein tuning means for extracting information in synchronization with a channel of a desired digital broadcast, In order to tune to a channel, a channel search means for searching for a desired channel and an information output means for outputting information extracted by the tuning means are provided, and the channel search means is predetermined when a predetermined condition is satisfied. If the search for the desired channel is not completed even after the elapse of the given time, the search is terminated.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the first aspect, the predetermined condition is that the channel search means starts searching for a desired channel.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus further includes an outer shape change detecting unit that detects a change in the outer shape, and the predetermined condition is that the channel search unit selects a desired channel. During the search, the outer shape change detecting means detects a change in the outer shape.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the first, second, or third aspect, the channel search means is a search stop timer that expires at a predetermined time when a predetermined condition is satisfied. Counting is started, and when the search for a desired channel is completed, the counting is stopped.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus further includes outer shape change detecting means for detecting a change in outer shape, and the information output means searches for the channel search means. When the progress change detecting means detects a change in the outer shape while outputting the extracted information after the completion of the process, if the outer shape does not return to the original state after a predetermined time has elapsed The output of information is terminated.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the fifth aspect, the information output means starts counting a viewing stop timer that expires at a predetermined time when a predetermined condition is satisfied. The counting is stopped when the search for the desired channel is completed.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the fifth or sixth aspect, the outer shape change detecting means is a housing open / close sensor.

  The invention according to claim 8 is a digital broadcast receiving method, wherein a digital broadcast channel is searched using a digital broadcast receiving device, and digital broadcast information distributed through the channel is received. A tuning step for extracting information in synchronization with a channel of a desired digital broadcast; a channel searching step for searching for a desired channel if the channel is not tuned to the desired channel in the tuning step; An information output step for outputting information, and when the channel search step satisfies a predetermined condition, when a search for a desired channel is not completed even after a predetermined time has elapsed by setting a search stop timer, The search is terminated.

  According to the present invention, there is provided a digital broadcast receiving apparatus that tunes to a desired digital broadcast channel and extracts information, and searches for the desired channel in order for the tuning means to tune to the desired channel. A channel search means and an information output means for outputting the information extracted by the tuning means. When the channel search means satisfies a predetermined condition, the search for a desired channel is completed even after a predetermined time has elapsed. If not, the search is terminated, so that useless channel search or data reception can be restricted, power consumption can be reduced, and battery consumption can be suppressed.

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

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the wireless mobile station 101 can communicate with the mobile communication system 1 via a wireless link, and can receive a digital broadcast distributed from the terrestrial digital broadcast station 110. When the mobile station 101 starts a reception tuner, a tuning reception unit 301 and a channel search unit 302, which will be described later, in order to start reception of terrestrial digital broadcasting, the mobile station 101 receives a channel specified by the user. I do. If the search for the specified channel is not completed during the radio wave search, the radio wave search is continued, but if you move to a place with good radio wave conditions, such as outdoors, the channel search becomes possible and the radio wave search is completed. The user can start viewing in synchronization. Further, when moving to a place where the radio wave condition is poor such as indoors in the viewing start state, it is detected that the channel is not tuned, and the radio wave search is restarted to enter the radio wave search state.

  In general, in a portable mobile station receiver, there is a possibility that the reception state recovers due to movement of the mobile station during the radio wave search, and viewing may start, so the radio wave search is continuously performed. In such a case, after viewing the channel is disabled, the radio wave search is performed while the reception screen until the previous time is displayed, or the radio wave search state is entered without displaying the previous screen. It is also possible to perform a radio wave search while displaying a screen indicating that

  When starting the radio wave search (channel search), the mobile station 101 sets an internal timer and starts the radio wave search timer operation. During the radio wave search (during channel search), the radio wave search timer is advanced, The radio wave search timer is stopped when the specified digital terrestrial broadcast channel is received and viewing starts. When the radio search timer reaches the specified time and the timer expires, even if the mobile station 101 has not completed the radio search, if the timer has expired, the radio search is stopped and the operation of the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner And terrestrial digital broadcast reception operation is terminated.

  Also, when starting reception of digital terrestrial broadcasting and activating the reception tuner, the mobile station 101 receives a channel specified by the user, and therefore performs radio wave search for the channel and starts viewing the channel after completion of the radio wave search. However, since the mobile station 101 sets the viewing timer at the start of viewing, the timer advances during viewing. When returning to the radio wave search state from the start of viewing, the viewing timer is stopped and this time the radio wave search timer is started. Thus, in this embodiment, the radio wave search timer and the viewing timer are set and stopped in conjunction with each other. When the viewing timer expires, the viewing is stopped, the operation of the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner is terminated, and the reception operation of the terrestrial digital broadcast is terminated.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the mobile station 101 of the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, description will be given using a mobile phone incorporating a digital broadcast receiving function as an example of the mobile station 101. As shown in FIG. 2, the mobile station 101 has a foldable casing. As a basic function, the mobile station 101 makes a call by using the keypad 102 with the casing open, Characters input from the keypad 103 can be displayed and mail can be created and transmitted, or received and displayed. In this embodiment, since such a mobile station 101 is used as a receiver for digital broadcasting, the broadcast content is received by the built-in tuner, the video distributed on the screen 103 is displayed, and the sound is output by a speaker (not shown). .

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing functional modules of the mobile station 101 of this embodiment. In general, various functions of the mobile station 101 are realized by combining a plurality of modules implemented by hardware or software. That is, each function can be shown in a module configuration as shown in FIG. 3, for example. However, this is merely an example, and the functions of each module are shared by several modules, or the functions of some modules. It goes without saying that it is possible to assume a module that integrates. The module configuration of each individual system will be described below, but these modules are executed in cooperation with each other, and the processing of this embodiment described later is achieved.

  Referring to FIG. 3, the tuning reception unit 301 is tuned when a desired channel is designated and channel search is completed, and outputs a program image and audio data distributed from the digital broadcasting station 110, and a channel search unit. When a desired channel is designated, 302 searches for the channel. In addition, the image / sound output unit 303 outputs image and sound data output in synchronization with the channel to the screen 103 or a speaker (not shown), and the data communication management unit 305 implements a call other than digital broadcasting, a mail transmission / reception function, and the like. To do.

  Next, FIG. 8 shows a flow of radio wave search and viewing processing of this embodiment. When the terrestrial digital broadcast reception tuner that is the tuning receiver 301 of the mobile station 101 is activated (S801), the radio wave search timer that is a search stop timer starts counting (S802), and the radio wave search for the designated channel is started. (S803). Here, when the radio wave search is completed (S804, S805), the radio wave search is terminated and viewing can be started (S807). In this embodiment, when the radio wave condition subsequently deteriorates and channel tuning cannot be performed, the radio wave search is started again (S809), and at that time, the radio wave search timer is similarly started (S810). In the present embodiment, as described above, when the radio wave search timer expires and when the viewing timer expires, the radio wave search is stopped and the viewing is stopped. However, the screen that has been received immediately before this time may be continuously displayed. In this case, when the radio wave search is started again, it is possible to require a radio wave search request for channel reception by operating a button on the mobile station. It is also possible to have either a radio wave search timer or a viewing timer, and to perform timer control during radio wave search and viewing. The mobile station 101 may not be able to communicate with the mobile communication system via a wireless link, but may be dedicated to receiving terrestrial digital broadcasts.

  As described above, the present embodiment has been described using the example in which the digital broadcast receiving apparatus and method of the present invention are applied to a receiving apparatus incorporated in a mobile phone. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various types including a dedicated portable receiving apparatus can be used. It can be applied to a digital broadcast receiving apparatus.

(Second Embodiment)
In this embodiment, a change in the outer shape of the mobile station 101 is detected and the state is reflected in an efficient search process. That is, the mobile station 101 of this embodiment is a folding type as shown in FIG. 2, and the open / closed state can be detected by a sensor. In general, it can be inferred that the user does not want to watch the digital broadcast in a state where the screen 103 cannot be seen in the folded state, and changing the various processes in such a case is also in terms of user friendliness. It is valid. As described above, the change in the outer shape of the casing is a clue to guess the user's will, and in this embodiment, the change in the outer shape is grasped by the sensor and used for the search process.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a wireless mobile station can communicate with a mobile communication system via a wireless link, and can receive terrestrial digital broadcasting. When the mobile station activates the reception tuner to start terrestrial digital broadcast reception, the mobile station performs channel radio wave search to receive the channel specified by the user. During the radio wave search, when the external shape of the mobile station is folded with the terrestrial digital liquid crystal inside, as shown in FIG. 12, it is determined that the user is not willing to watch. The radio wave search timer, during viewing, sets the viewing timer and starts the radio wave search timer or viewing timer operation, and during radio wave search (during channel search) or during viewing, the radio wave search timer or viewing timer is advanced. While performing such processing, the radio wave search timer or viewing timer expired without the user opening the fold and returning to the terrestrial digital viewing shape of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 or FIG. In this case, the radio wave search is stopped, the viewing is stopped, the operation of the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner is terminated by the timer trigger, and the reception operation of the terrestrial digital broadcast is terminated.

  FIG. 9 shows the flow of radio wave search termination due to expiration of the radio wave search timer relating to the mobile station outer shape change of this embodiment, and FIG. 10 shows the flow of radio wave search termination due to expiration of the viewing timer relating to mobile station outer shape change. The sequence of the tuner part 301 which is a tuning receiver of embodiment, and the electromagnetic wave search part 302 which is a channel search part is shown.

  When the radio wave search timer expires or when the viewing timer expires, the radio wave search is stopped or the viewing is stopped. The screen that has been received until then may be displayed continuously. In this case, when the radio wave search is started again, a radio wave search request for channel reception is required by a button operation of the mobile station. Only either the radio wave search timer or the viewing timer is provided, and timer control can be performed during radio wave search and viewing.

  The mobile station cannot communicate with the mobile communication system via a wireless link, and can only receive digital terrestrial broadcasts.

(Third embodiment)
In the second embodiment described above, the mobile station 101 includes a sensor for detecting folding. When the folding is detected, it is assumed that there is no willingness to watch, but in this embodiment, for example, the antenna 104 shown in FIG. The same processing is performed assuming a mobile device equipped with a sensor that detects whether or not is used (drawn).

  As shown in FIG. 1, a wireless mobile station can communicate with a mobile communication system via a wireless link, and can receive terrestrial digital broadcasting. Since the mobile station starts receiving terrestrial digital broadcast, the user extends the terrestrial digital antenna 104 as shown in FIG. When the reception tuner is activated, the mobile station performs channel radio wave search in order to receive the channel specified by the user. When the terrestrial digital antenna 104 is stored in the housing as shown in FIG. 7 during the radio wave search, the user is determined not to be interested in viewing and the radio wave search is performed when the antenna 104 is stored. During radio wave search timer, during radio wave search timer, set the watch timer to start radio wave search timer or watch timer operation, and during radio wave search (during channel search) or while watching radio wave search timer or watch timer In the meantime, unless the user extends the terrestrial digital antenna 104 and returns to the terrestrial digital viewable shape shown in FIG. 6, the radio wave search timer or the viewing timer expires, Stop viewing, end the operation of the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner, and end the reception operation of the terrestrial digital broadcast.

  In addition, regarding the radio wave search timer and viewing timer, when the antenna is retracted or folded and closed, combining the shape of the terrestrial digital antenna and the shape of the folding mobile station When the radio wave search is in progress, the radio wave search timer is set. When the radio wave search is in progress, the watch timer is set. The timer is advanced while one of the above shapes is used, and the antenna is not extended or the folding is opened. Otherwise, the radio wave search timer or the viewing timer expires, the radio wave search is stopped, the viewing is stopped, the operation of the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner is terminated, and the reception operation of the terrestrial digital broadcast is controlled.

  When the radio wave search timer expires or when the viewing timer expires, the radio wave search is stopped or the viewing is stopped. The screen that has been received until then may be displayed continuously. In this case, when the radio wave search is started again, a radio wave search request for channel reception is required by operating a button on the mobile station. Only either the radio wave search timer or the viewing timer is provided, and timer control can be performed during radio wave search and viewing.

  The mobile station cannot communicate with the mobile communication system via a wireless link, and can only receive digital terrestrial broadcasts.

  In the above description, the antenna 104 is assumed to be a sensor that detects whether or not the antenna 104 is being used. However, the present invention is not limited to this. If the received signal level is less than or equal to the prescribed received level, the outer shape of the antenna 104 is changed, and the radio wave search timer and viewing timer can be used to perform timer control during radio wave search and viewing.

It is a figure which shows the system configuration | structure in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically the mobile station of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the module structure of the receiver of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the external shape change of the mobile station of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the external shape change of the mobile station of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the external shape change of the mobile station of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the external shape change of the mobile station of this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the receiver in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the receiver in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the receiver in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the sequence of the process in the receiver in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the external shape change of the mobile station of this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

10, 20, 30, 40 Base station 100 Radio control device 200, 203 Switching device 201, 204 Packet service node 101 Mobile station 102 Keypad 103 Screen 110 Terrestrial digital broadcasting station 301 Tuning reception unit 302 Channel search unit 303 Video / audio output Unit 304 Case open / close detection unit 305 Data communication management unit

Claims (8)

Tuning means for extracting information in synchronization with a desired digital broadcast channel;
Channel searching means for searching for the desired channel in order for the tuning means to tune to the desired channel;
Information output means for outputting information extracted by the tuning means,
The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the channel search means terminates the search when the predetermined condition is satisfied and the search for the desired channel is not completed even after a predetermined time has elapsed.   2. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined condition is that the channel searching unit starts searching for the desired channel. It further comprises outer shape change detecting means for detecting a change in outer shape,
3. The digital broadcast according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined condition is that the outer shape change detecting unit detects a change in outer shape while the channel searching unit searches for the desired channel. Receiver device.   The channel search means starts counting a search stop timer that expires at the predetermined time when a predetermined condition is satisfied, and stops counting when the search for the desired channel is completed. The digital broadcast receiver according to claim 1, 2 or 3. It further comprises outer shape change detecting means for detecting a change in outer shape,
The information output means, after the search of the channel search means is completed, and when the progress change detection means detects a change in outer shape while outputting the extracted information, after the elapse of a predetermined time, 5. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output of information is terminated when the outer shape does not return to the original state.   The information output means starts counting the viewing stop timer that expires at the predetermined time when a predetermined condition is satisfied, and stops counting when the search for the desired channel is completed. The digital broadcast receiver according to claim 5.   7. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the outer shape change detecting means is a case opening / closing sensor. A digital broadcast receiving method for searching for a digital broadcast channel using a digital broadcast receiver and receiving digital broadcast information distributed through the channel,
A tuning step for extracting information in synchronization with a desired digital broadcast channel;
A channel search step for searching for the desired channel when not tuned to the desired channel in the tuning step;
An information output step for outputting the information extracted in the tuning step;
In the channel search step, when a predetermined condition is satisfied, a search stop timer is set and the search is terminated when the search for the desired channel is not completed even after a predetermined time has elapsed. Digital broadcast reception method.

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