JP2009253813A - Digital broadcast receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital broadcast receiver capable of performing a channel search efficiently. <P>SOLUTION: The digital broadcast receiver is provided with a tuner part for receiving a signal of a frequency of a designated channel, an OFDM demodulation means for performing OFDM demodulation of the signal received by the tuner part, an area setting part for setting a present receiving area, an adjacent area identification part for identifying an adjacent area of the area set by the area setting part on the basis of an adjacent area table containing data on adjacent areas of each area, an adjacent-area broadcast-station table creation part for creating an adjacent-area broadcast-station table containing data on broadcast stations in the adjacent area identified by the adjacent area identification part on the basis of a regional broadcast station table for each area containing data on broadcast stations corresponding to each receiving area, and a control part for instructing the tuner part to perform tuning on the basis of the adjacent-area broadcast-station table. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a digital broadcast receiving apparatus that performs channel search efficiently.

  As a method for searching for receivable channels performed by a conventional digital broadcast receiver, there are methods such as channel scanning and area presetting, for example. The channel scan is a function in which the digital broadcast receiver checks whether each channel can be received while switching the reception frequency one channel at a time from the UHF channel 13 to the channel 62. The digital broadcast receiver acquires an NIT (Network Information Table) of receivable channels and adds the channel to a list of services that can be viewed. Further, if the scanned channel cannot be received, the digital broadcast receiver checks whether or not the next channel can be received. On the other hand, in the area preset, the digital broadcast receiver stores in advance a plurality of channels that can be received in a predetermined area (for example, a prefecture) and corresponds to information such as a postal code or an area code input by the user. Call up and set the list of channels that can be received with.

  In the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1, in order to reduce the burden of user settings, the digital broadcast receiver scans all channels to search for receivable channels, and is included in the receivable channel broadcast signals. The number of receivable channels is calculated for each area identification information, and the area indicated by the area identification information having the largest number of receivable channels is estimated as a resident area.

  In the invention disclosed in Patent Document 2, as a method for speeding up channel scanning, a first step of performing preliminary scan processing for temporarily registering a channel having a received signal quality of a certain level or more as a receivable channel candidate, and A channel selection process is performed for the receivable channel candidates temporarily registered in the first step, and a second step of acquiring and registering necessary channel information is performed.

JP 2004-312203 A JP 2002-218335 A

  In digital broadcasting, since it is possible to realize stable viewing even with a portable electronic device such as a mobile phone, there is an increasing need for viewing a digital broadcasting program while moving. However, when the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 is applied to a portable electronic device, it is necessary to repeat the scanning process for all channels every time the area where the portable electronic device is located changes. In the invention disclosed in Patent Document 2, the determination of whether or not to become a receivable channel candidate is made based on the quality of the received signal, thereby reducing the viewable determination time per channel. On the other hand, the efficiency is low because the scanning process is performed.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a digital broadcast receiving apparatus that performs channel search efficiently.

  The present invention includes a tuner unit that receives a signal of a frequency of a designated channel, an OFDM demodulation unit that OFDM-demodulates a signal received by the tuner unit, a region setting unit that sets a current reception region, Based on an adjacent area table including adjacent area data, an adjacent area specifying unit for specifying an adjacent area of the area set in the area setting unit, and a broadcasting station by area including data of a broadcasting station corresponding to each receiving area Based on the table, based on the adjacent area broadcast station table, an adjacent area broadcast station table creating section that creates an adjacent area broadcast station table including data of broadcast stations in the adjacent area specified by the adjacent area specifying section, There is provided a digital broadcast receiving device including a control unit that instructs a tuner unit to select a channel.

  The digital broadcast receiving apparatus includes an information acquisition unit that acquires at least one of the adjacent area table, the area-specific broadcast station table, and the adjacent area broadcast station table.

  In the digital broadcast receiving apparatus, the control unit performs a channel scan based on frequency information assigned to a broadcast station indicated by the adjacent area broadcast station table, and a viewing channel list that can be viewed by the digital broadcast receiving apparatus. A viewing channel list creation unit for creating

  In the digital broadcast receiving apparatus, the channel scan direction is set based on the frequency information assigned to the broadcast station indicated by the adjacent area broadcast station table.

  The digital broadcast receiving apparatus includes an information storage unit that stores at least one of the adjacent area table and the regional broadcast station table.

  In the digital broadcast receiving apparatus, the region setting unit includes a result of channel scanning based on information on a frequency assigned to a broadcasting station indicated by the adjacent region broadcasting station table, and region identification information received by the tuner unit. Then, the current reception area is specified by calculating the detection rate of each area.

  The present invention provides a broadcasting unit including a tuner unit that receives a signal having a frequency of a designated channel, an OFDM demodulating unit that OFDM-demodulates a signal received by the tuner unit, and a region setting unit that sets a current reception region. Based on the reception device and the adjacent region table including the adjacent region data of each region, the adjacent region specifying unit that specifies the adjacent region of the region set in the region setting unit, and the broadcasting station corresponding to each receiving region An adjacent area broadcasting station table creating unit that creates an adjacent area broadcasting station table including data of broadcasting stations in the adjacent area specified by the adjacent area specifying unit based on an area-specific broadcasting station table; A broadcast reception unit comprising: a control unit that instructs the tuner unit to select a channel based on a station table; and a server that transmits and receives data to and from the broadcast reception device To provide a stem.

  The present invention provides a broadcasting unit including a tuner unit that receives a signal having a frequency of a designated channel, an OFDM demodulating unit that OFDM-demodulates a signal received by the tuner unit, and a region setting unit that sets a current reception region. An adjacent area specifying unit for performing transmission / reception of data with the receiving device and specifying an adjacent area of the area set in the area setting unit based on an adjacent area table including data of adjacent areas of each area, and each receiving area An adjacent area broadcast station table creation unit for creating an adjacent area broadcast station table including data of broadcast stations in the adjacent area specified by the adjacent area specifying unit based on an area-specific broadcast station table including broadcast station data corresponding to And a control unit that instructs the tuner unit to select a channel based on the adjacent area broadcasting station table.

  According to the digital broadcast receiving apparatus of the present invention, the broadcasting station table in the adjacent area that satisfies the channel existing in the adjacent area is created. In the so-called conventional channel scan function, the presence or absence of broadcasting is determined for all channels. However, by limiting the target to channels satisfying a predetermined condition, the scan time can be shortened.

  In addition, a channel list for viewing can be created by means of performing channel selection processing based on the broadcast station table information of the adjacent area created and registering data in a channel list that can be viewed when there is a broadcast. It is possible to reduce the time required for

  Further, in the function of searching for the next viewable channel in the forward direction or the reverse direction of the currently viewed frequency information, the search is performed only on the data existing in the broadcasting station table in the adjacent area, thereby performing It is possible to reduce the time required for searching for a channel that can be viewed.

  In addition, by providing an information acquisition unit in the digital broadcast receiving device, it is possible to place at least one of a broadcast station table, an adjacent region table, and a regional broadcast station table as a database outside the broadcast receiving device. It is possible to reduce the amount of use of the volatile memory.

  Further, by providing at least one of the adjacent area table and the regional broadcast station table in the information storage unit inside the broadcast receiving apparatus, the access time to the table can be shortened.

  In addition, by installing a database of a neighboring area broadcast station table and a database creation function outside the digital broadcast receiver, it is possible to easily manage the database in preparation for situations such as changes in broadcast station information.

  Furthermore, by having an area setting unit that estimates the current location from the result of searching based on the frequency information in the adjacent area broadcasting station table, the area can be estimated without mounting a GPS or the like.

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

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an embodiment of a digital broadcast receiver according to the present invention. A digital broadcast receiver shown in FIG. 1 includes an antenna 100, an OFDM tuner unit 101, a demultiplexing unit 102, a video decoding unit 103, an audio decoding unit 104, a broadcast information acquisition unit 105, a control unit 110, An area-specific broadcast station table storage unit 120 and an adjacent area list storage unit 121 are provided. The control unit 110 includes a viewing channel list creation unit 111, a region setting unit 112, an adjacent region specifying unit 113, a main control unit 114, and an adjacent region broadcast station table creation unit 115. The OFDM tuner unit 101 may have a configuration in which the tuner unit and the OFDM unit are separated.

  The radio wave received by the antenna 100 is input to the OFDM tuner unit 101. The OFDM tuner unit 101 selectively extracts a broadcast signal having a frequency that matches the frequency set by the control unit 110, demodulates the extracted broadcast signal, and then outputs a demodulated transport stream (TS). To do. The demultiplexing unit 102 separates the TS input from the OFDM tuner unit 101 into video data, audio data, and broadcast information data.

  The video decoding unit 103 decodes the video data input from the demultiplexing unit 102 and outputs the decoded video data. The audio decoding unit 104 decodes the audio data input from the demultiplexing unit 102 and outputs the decoded audio data. The broadcast information acquisition unit 105 decodes the broadcast information data input from the demultiplexing unit 102 and outputs the decoded broadcast information data to the control unit 110.

  The control unit 110 creates a broadcast station table in the adjacent area. The adjacent area list stored in the adjacent area list storage unit 121 is a list including an area ID and an adjacent area ID. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the adjacent area list. The regional broadcasting station table is a table composed of a regional ID and a viewable channel. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a regional broadcast station table. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the adjacent area broadcasting station table created by the control unit 110. As shown in FIG. 4, the broadcasting station table in the adjacent area is a list composed of a positive integer number n, channel CH, and reception availability determination result.

  The adjacent area list, the regional broadcast station table, and the adjacent area broadcast station table may be stored in, for example, a server accessible by the digital broadcast receiver via a network or a recording medium readable / writable by the digital broadcast receiver. good. In this case, the digital broadcast receiver is provided with an information acquisition unit. However, it is not always necessary to store all information in the digital broadcast receiver.

  Hereinafter, each component which the control part 110 has is demonstrated. In the region setting unit 112, a region where the digital broadcast receiver is located is set. The adjacent area specifying unit 113 acquires information about the area adjacent to the current area from the adjacent area list storage unit 121. The adjacent area broadcast station table creation unit 115 acquires information on channels that can be viewed in the adjacent area at the current position from the broadcast station table storage unit 120 by area, and creates an adjacent area broadcast station table.

  When the specific condition is satisfied, the main control unit 114 acquires the current region from the region setting unit 112, and selects the adjacent region of the current region extracted from the adjacent region list storage unit 121 by the adjacent region specifying unit 113. Acquire and create an adjacent regional broadcasting station table. Further, the main control unit 114 performs a channel scan when a specific condition is satisfied. The specific condition is, for example, a case where the region setting unit 112 determines that the current region has changed, or a case where an operation by the user is performed. The main control unit 114 performs a channel search according to a user operation.

<How to create an adjacent area broadcasting station table>
The operation of the control unit 110 that creates the broadcasting station table in the adjacent area shown in FIG. 4 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control unit 110 that creates a broadcasting station table in an adjacent area. Based on the area information set in the area setting unit 112, the main control unit 114 determines whether the area where the digital broadcast receiver of the present embodiment is located has changed (step S201). When it is determined that the area has changed, the adjacent area specifying unit 113 acquires information on the area adjacent to the current area from the adjacent area list storage unit 121, and specifies the adjacent area (step S202). Next, the adjacent area broadcast station table creation unit 115 acquires information on channels that can be viewed in the adjacent area from the regional broadcast station table storage unit 120, and creates a broadcast station table in the adjacent area (step S203).

<Channel scan>
The operation of the control unit 110 that performs channel scanning will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the control unit 110 that performs channel scanning. The main control unit 114 determines whether or not reception is possible from the channel corresponding to the number n = 1 assigned to the adjacent area broadcasting station table. Note that the maximum value (MAX) of the number n is the number of data listed in the adjacent area broadcasting station table shown in FIG.

  The main control unit 114 initially sets the number n to 1 (step S601), and then determines whether the number n is less than the maximum value (step S602). If the number n is greater than or equal to the maximum value, the main control unit 114 ends the channel scan process. On the other hand, if the number n is less than the maximum value, the main control unit 114 proceeds to step S603. In step S603, the main control unit 114 sets the frequency of the channel corresponding to the nth channel in the adjacent area broadcasting station table in the OFDM tuner unit 101, and tries to receive the broadcast of the channel.

  The main control unit 114 determines whether or not reception is possible in step S603 (step S604). When synchronization with the reception frequency is established, that is, when the broadcast of the corresponding channel can be received, the process proceeds to step S605. If not received, the process proceeds to step S606. In step S605, the viewing channel list creation unit 111 creates a channel list (viewing channel list) that can be viewed by the digital broadcast receiver of the present embodiment, and registers the channel in the viewing channel list. The process proceeds to S606. In step S606, the main control unit 114 increments the number 1 by one. After performing Step S606, the process returns to Step S602.

  In addition, as a condition for determining that the main control unit 114 can receive (OK) in step S604, in addition to the fact that the OFDM tuner unit 101 is synchronized with the reception frequency, the NIT (Network When the broadcast station information that is uniquely given throughout the country and is transmitted in the Information Table) is registered in the adjacent regional broadcast station table in advance and compared with the NIT acquired when the broadcast signal is received, it is the same You may limit to. In addition, by installing two OFDM tuner units 101, the above processing may be performed as a background of a normal digital broadcast viewing function.

  As described above, the channel scanning process can be efficiently performed by scanning only the channel having a high possibility of reception.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the main control unit 114 acquires the region identification information from the NIT included in the broadcast signal of the channel that the main control unit 114 determines to be receivable (OK) in step S604, and acquires the acquired region. You may count up for every area which identification information shows (step S701). By dividing the count-up result by the number of broadcast stations actually broadcast in each region, the detection rate of viewable channels for each region can be obtained.

  After performing step S701, the main control unit 114 estimates that the digital broadcast receiver of the present embodiment is likely to be located in an area where the viewable channel detection rate is the highest, and sets this area as the current area. The area setting unit 112 is set (step S702). The setting may notify the user that the area is to be switched, and may be determined according to the operation by the user. The method for realizing the region setting process is particularly effective when a location information acquisition function such as GPS / VICS is not provided in the digital broadcast receiver. A position information acquisition function having an external communication system may be used.

<Channel search>
The operation of the control unit 110 that performs the channel search will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control unit 110 that performs channel search. In the following description, it is assumed that the adjacent area broadcasting station table is an ascending list in order from the smallest physical CH.

  The main control unit 114 acquires the physical channel currently being viewed (step S801), and detects the position in the adjacent area broadcasting station table (step S802). When it is assumed that the current physical channel is 22CH and the adjacent area broadcasting station table as shown in FIG. 4 is held, the position of the channel currently being viewed in the adjacent area broadcasting station table is the number n. = Between 3 and 4.

  The main control unit 114 determines whether the search designation direction of the user is in ascending order (step S803). When the search designation direction is ascending order, the main control unit 114 determines whether or not the current position is at the end of the table (step S804). When the current position is at the end of the table, the main control unit 114 sets the frequency of the first physical channel (12CH in the case of FIG. 4) of the adjacent area broadcasting station table in the OFDM tuner unit 101, and broadcasts the channel. Is received (step S805). On the other hand, when the current position is other than the end of the table, the main control unit 114 sets the frequency immediately after the current position, that is, the frequency of 25CH corresponding to the number n = 4 in the above example to the OFDM tuner unit 101, and Attempt to receive a broadcast on the channel (step S806). The main control unit 114 determines whether the channel selection at step S805 or step S806 has succeeded (step S807). If the channel selection is successful, the channel search process is terminated, and if it has failed, the current position is incremented by one. After (step S808), the process returns to step S804.

  If the result of determination in step S803 is that the user's search designation direction is descending, the main control unit 114 determines whether the current position is the first in the table (step S809). When the current position is at the beginning of the table, the main control unit 114 sets the frequency of the last physical channel (38CH in the case of FIG. 4) of the adjacent area broadcasting station table in the OFDM tuner unit 101, and Attempt to receive broadcast (step S810). On the other hand, if the current position is other than the first in the table, the main control unit 114 sets the frequency immediately before the current position, that is, the frequency of 19CH corresponding to the number n = 3 in the above example to the OFDM tuner unit 101, and Attempt to receive channel broadcast (step S811). The main control unit 114 determines whether or not the selection in step S810 or step S811 has succeeded (step S813). If the selection is successful, the channel search process ends, and if the selection fails, the current position is decremented by one ( After step S812), the process returns to step S809.

  As described above, according to the digital broadcast receiver of this embodiment, the time required for searching for a receivable channel can be shortened. As a result, the convenience for the user can be improved.

  The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention is useful as a digital broadcast receiving apparatus mounted on a mobile device that searches for a receivable channel.

The block diagram which shows the structural example of one Embodiment of the digital broadcast receiver which concerns on this invention Figure showing an example of the neighboring area list The figure which shows an example of the broadcasting station table according to area The figure which shows an example of the adjacent area broadcasting station table produced by the control part Flowchart showing the operation of the control unit that creates the broadcasting station table in the adjacent area A flowchart showing the operation of the control unit 110 that performs channel scanning. A flowchart showing the operation of the control unit 110 that performs channel scanning and area setting. A flowchart showing the operation of the control unit 110 for performing a channel search.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Antenna 101 OFDM tuner part 102 Demultiplexing part 103 Image decoding part 104 Audio decoding part 105 Broadcast information acquisition part 110 Control part 111 Viewing channel list preparation part 112 Area setting part 113 Adjacent regional broadcasting station table preparation part 114 Main control part 115 Adjacent area specifying unit 120 Regional broadcast station table storage unit 121 Adjacent area list storage unit

Claims (8)

A tuner unit that receives a signal of a frequency of a specified channel;
OFDM demodulating means for OFDM demodulating the signal received by the tuner unit;
An area setting section for setting the current reception area;
An adjacent area specifying unit that specifies an adjacent area of the area set in the area setting unit based on an adjacent area table including data of adjacent areas of each area;
Adjacent regional broadcasting station that creates an adjacent regional broadcasting station table including broadcasting station data of the adjacent region specified by the adjacent region specifying unit based on a regional broadcasting station table including data of a broadcasting station corresponding to each reception region A table creation section;
Based on the adjacent area broadcasting station table, a control unit for instructing tuning to the tuner unit,
A digital broadcast receiving apparatus comprising:   The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an information acquisition unit that acquires at least one of the adjacent area table, the regional broadcast station table, and the adjacent area broadcast station table. The control unit performs a channel scan based on information on a frequency allocated to a broadcasting station indicated by the adjacent area broadcasting station table,
The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a viewing channel list creating unit that creates a viewing channel list that can be viewed by the digital broadcast receiving apparatus.   4. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a channel scan direction is set based on information on a frequency assigned to a broadcast station indicated by the adjacent area broadcast station table.   5. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an information storage unit that stores at least one of the adjacent area table and the area-specific broadcasting station table.   The area setting unit calculates a detection rate of each area from a result of channel scanning based on frequency information assigned to a broadcasting station indicated by the adjacent area broadcasting station table and area identification information received by the tuner unit. 4. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the current reception area is calculated and specified. A tuner unit that receives a signal of a frequency of a specified channel;
OFDM demodulating means for OFDM demodulating the signal received by the tuner unit;
A broadcast receiving device having a region setting unit for setting a current reception region;
An adjacent area specifying unit that specifies an adjacent area of the area set in the area setting unit based on an adjacent area table including data of adjacent areas of each area;
Adjacent regional broadcasting station that creates an adjacent regional broadcasting station table including broadcasting station data of the adjacent region specified by the adjacent region specifying unit based on a regional broadcasting station table including data of a broadcasting station corresponding to each reception region A table creation section;
A control unit that instructs the tuner unit to select a channel based on the adjacent area broadcasting station table, and a server that transmits and receives data to and from the broadcast receiving device,
A broadcast receiving system comprising: A tuner unit that receives a signal of a frequency of a specified channel;
OFDM demodulating means for OFDM demodulating the signal received by the tuner unit;
Send and receive data to and from a broadcast receiving device having an area setting unit that sets the current receiving area,
An adjacent area specifying unit that specifies an adjacent area of the area set in the area setting unit based on an adjacent area table including data of adjacent areas of each area;
Adjacent regional broadcasting station that creates an adjacent regional broadcasting station table including broadcasting station data of the adjacent region specified by the adjacent region specifying unit based on a regional broadcasting station table including data of a broadcasting station corresponding to each reception region A table creation section;
Based on the adjacent area broadcasting station table, a control unit for instructing tuning to the tuner unit,
A server characterized by comprising:

Images