JP2010187202A - Video device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a video device capable of easily setting viewing limitation in accordance with a situation of a user side. <P>SOLUTION: An automatic viewing limitation function is added to a normal viewing limitation function. In the case of performing automatic viewing limitation, the age of each viewer is inputted and stored in a storing part. Upon reproducing a program, it is determined which of the automatic viewing limitation and the normal viewing limitation is selected, and if the automatic viewing limitation is selected, viewing limitation is performed on the basis of the minimum age by referring to the age stored in the storing part. If the normal viewing limitation is selected, viewing limitation similar to the conventional one is performed on the basis of a preset viewing limitation condition. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a video device such as a television receiver, and more particularly to a video device having a viewing restriction function.

  Some television receivers (hereinafter referred to as “TV”) have a viewing restriction function to prevent children from watching adult programs that contain violent scenes or sexual depictions. . This viewing restriction function is a function for restricting reproduction of video and audio based on viewing restriction information included in a broadcast signal of a program and viewing restriction information preset on the television side.

  For example, in the United States, based on the Telecommunications Law enacted in 1996, information indicating the rating (viewing restriction level) of a program is embedded in a broadcast signal and transmitted. The viewing is restricted based on this. In the case of digital broadcasting, rating information is inserted into a stream signal in which video data, audio data, and the like are multiplexed and transmitted from a broadcasting station. On the viewer side, the rating of the program that the child does not want to show is set on the TV screen by operating the remote control. When a program corresponding to the set rating is received, a mute process for prohibiting reproduction of video and audio is performed on the television side, and the program is blocked and cannot be viewed.

  FIG. 18 is an example of a television screen for setting a rating based on the TV Parental Guideline in the United States. As ratings, a main rating Ra and a sub-rating Rb are prepared. The main rating Ra is a viewing restriction level, and the level increases as it goes up. TV-MA (Mature audience only) is a program for adults, TV-14 (Unsuitable for children under 14) is an inappropriate program for those under 14 years of age, and TV-PG (Parental guideline suggested) is under the supervision of parents. Programs that should be viewed, TV-G (General audience) is a program with no viewing problems across all ages, TV-Y7 (Appropriate for all children 7 and older) is a program suitable for children over 7 years old, TV-Y (Appropriate for all children) represents a program suitable for all children. The sub-rating Rb is for specifying a specific element in the program and blocking video and audio, and consists of five items. FV (Fantasy Violence) is fantasy or comical violence, V (Violence) is violence, S (Sexual Situation) is a sexual scene, L (Coarse Language) is a vulgar language, D (Suggestive Dialogue) is an obscene conversation Indicates that the program contains.

  The rating is set by operating the cursor K with the remote controller on the viewing restriction condition input screen 5g in FIG. 18 to select an item to be restricted for viewing and pressing the enter button on the remote controller. M in the figure is a lock mark displayed in the item column for which viewing restrictions are set.

  The viewing restriction function can be applied not only to a television but also to a disc device that reproduces a BD (Blu-ray Disc; registered trademark), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), or the like. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-228561 describes a viewing restriction technique in a DVD player. Here, the names, dates of birth, and passwords of all users are registered in the DVD player, and if all the passwords entered by each user when viewing the content are correct, the date of birth is based on the date of birth. The minimum age is determined, and the content is reproduced if the minimum age is higher than the viewing limit age on the content, and the content is not reproduced if the minimum age is lower.

JP 2000-354231 A

  In Patent Document 1, since viewing is restricted based on age, viewing restriction conditions cannot be set in detail. In addition, since the minimum age is extracted from those who have entered the password and the viewing is restricted, the minimum age as a reference varies each time depending on the user. For this reason, if a person who was not present at the time of entering the password and whose age is lower than the minimum age participates in viewing later, that person is allowed to view.

  When setting the rating on the screen shown in FIG. 18, it is possible to set the viewing restriction condition in detail by the combination of the main rating Ra and the sub-rating Rb, and it meets the user's request according to the set condition. You can restrict viewing. However, on the other hand, since there are a wide variety of setting items, the operation on the user side becomes very complicated, and there is a problem that setting takes time and effort for a user who does not need to set detailed conditions.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a video device in which viewing restriction can be easily set according to the circumstances of the user.

  The video device according to the present invention is a video device having a viewing restriction function for restricting playback of the content based on the viewing restriction information added to the content and the viewing restriction information set on the device side. Input means for inputting age information related to the age of the viewer, storage means for storing the age information input by the input means, and selection for selecting whether to perform automatic viewing restriction or normal viewing restriction Means and control means for controlling the viewing restriction according to the selection result of the selection means. When it is selected that the automatic viewing restriction is selected by the selection means, the control means refers to the age information, performs the viewing restriction based on the minimum age, and selects the normal viewing restriction by the selection means. In this case, viewing restriction is performed based on preset viewing restriction conditions.

  In this way, when automatic viewing restriction is selected, the viewing restriction is automatically performed based on the minimum age based on the age information of the viewer input in advance, so that users who do not need detailed condition setting Therefore, it is possible to save time and effort for setting the viewing restriction. Further, when the normal viewing restriction is selected, the same viewing restriction as the conventional one is performed based on the preset viewing restriction condition, so that it is possible to satisfy the request of the user who desires detailed condition setting.

  The content referred to in the present invention includes various types of content such as a TV program, content recorded on a recording medium such as an optical disc, and content provided through the Internet.

  In the present invention, there may be further provided a changing means for changing the age serving as a reference for automatic viewing restriction from the lowest age to another age, and the viewing restriction may be performed based on the age changed by the changing means. .

  In this way, the user can change the age serving as a reference for automatic viewing restriction to another age instead of the minimum age, and the automatic viewing restriction function can be expanded.

  Also, in the present invention, when the automatic viewing restriction is selected by the selection means, the viewing restriction may not be performed when the age that is the reference for automatic viewing restriction is a certain age or more. .

  In this way, even if the automatic viewing restriction is set, if the minimum age (or age after change) serving as a reference is a certain age or more, the viewing restriction can be automatically prevented. .

  According to the present invention, by adding the automatic viewing restriction function to the normal viewing restriction function, it is possible to obtain a video device that can easily set the viewing restriction according to the circumstances on the user side.

1 is a block diagram of a digital television according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the operation surface of a remote control. It is an example of a menu screen. It is an example of an apparatus setting screen. It is an example of a password input screen. It is an example of a viewing restriction setting screen. It is an example of an age input screen. It is a figure which shows automatic viewing-and-listening data. It is an example of a viewing restriction setting screen. It is an example of a reference age change screen. It is an example of a reference age change screen. It is a figure which shows the automatic viewing-and-listening data after an update. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of automatic viewing-and-listening setting. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of automatic viewing-and-listening change. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of a normal viewing-and-listening setting. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of viewing restrictions at the time of program reproduction. It is an example of a birth date input screen. It is an example of a viewing restriction condition input screen.

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

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a digital television (hereinafter simply referred to as “TV”) 100 as an example of video equipment. A digital broadcast signal transmitted from the broadcast station is received by the antenna 1 and input to the tuner 2. The digital broadcast signal includes a stream signal in which video data, audio data, EPG (electronic program guide) data, rating information, and the like are multiplexed. The tuner 2 extracts a broadcast signal corresponding to the channel selected by the remote controller 200 from the broadcast signal received by the antenna 1. The extracted broadcast signal is input to the signal processing unit 3. The signal processing unit 3 separates a video stream, an audio stream, a data stream, and the like from the broadcast signal, performs processing such as decoding and signal conversion on the video data and the audio data, and generates a video signal and an audio signal for reproduction. To do. The video output unit 4 performs processing such as image size conversion and image quality adjustment on the video signal generated by the signal processing unit 3 and outputs the signal to the monitor 5. The monitor 5 is composed of, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and displays a video based on a video signal output from the video output unit 4. The audio output unit 6 performs processing such as amplification on the audio signal generated by the signal processing unit 3 and outputs the signal to the speaker 7. The speaker 7 outputs sound based on the sound signal output from the sound output unit 6.

  A microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as a “microcomputer”) 8 is composed of a CPU and controls the operation of the television 100. In addition, the microcomputer 8 executes viewing restriction described later based on the rating information detected by the signal processing unit 3. Remote control receiver 9 receives a signal transmitted from remote controller 200. The operation unit 10 includes switches and buttons provided on the main body of the television 100. The storage unit 11 includes a memory such as a ROM or a RAM, and has an area in which the automatic viewing restriction data 20 and the normal viewing restriction data 30 are stored. The power supply unit 12 supplies power to each unit of the television 100. The interface 13 includes a connector for connecting an external device such as a DVD recorder or a hard disk recorder.

  In the above, the microcomputer 8 constitutes an embodiment of the control means in the present invention, and the storage unit 11 constitutes an embodiment of the storage means in the present invention.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an operation surface of the remote controller 200. The menu button 201 is a button for displaying a menu screen on the monitor 5 of the television 100. Number buttons 1 to 12 are buttons for channel selection and data input. The cursor button 203 is a button for selecting a predetermined item by moving the cursor on the screen. The decision button 204 is a button for confirming the item selected by the cursor button 203. The volume button 205 is a button for increasing / decreasing the volume output from the speaker 7. The channel button 206 is a button for advancing or returning the channel at the time of channel selection. The function button 207 is a button to which various other functions are assigned. The remote controller 200 is provided with various buttons in addition to these, but since they are not directly related to the present invention, descriptions of other buttons are omitted.

  Next, the setting of viewing restrictions in the television 100 described above will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, when the menu button 201 (FIG. 2) of the remote controller 200 is pressed, a menu screen 5a as shown in FIG. Next, when the cursor button 203 is operated to select “device setting” with the cursor K on the menu screen 5a and press the enter button 204, the screen of the monitor 5 is changed to a device setting screen 5b as shown in FIG. Switch.

  On the device setting screen 5b, by operating the cursor button 203, selecting “viewing restriction” with the cursor K and pressing the enter button 204, the screen of the monitor 5 is switched to a personal identification number input screen 5c as shown in FIG. Change. When a correct password is entered in the password input field A using the numeric buttons 202 and then the enter button 204 is pressed, the screen of the monitor 5 is switched to a viewing restriction setting screen 5d as shown in FIG. This viewing restriction setting screen 5d, together with the remote control 200, constitutes an embodiment of the selection means in the present invention.

  On the viewing restriction setting screen 5d, when the cursor button 203 is operated to select “ON” of “automatic viewing restriction function” with the cursor K and press the decision button 204, the screen of the monitor 5 is as shown in FIG. The screen is switched to the age input screen 5e. This age input screen 5e, together with the remote controller 200, constitutes one embodiment of the input means in the present invention. When the age of all the viewers is input to the age input field B using the numeric buttons 202 and then the enter button 204 is pressed, the automatic viewing restriction setting is completed.

  At this time, the automatic viewing restriction data 20 as shown in FIG. The viewing restriction flag is information indicating whether viewing is permitted or prohibited, and “0” represents permission and “1” represents prohibition. Here, the flag “1” is set to the minimum age of 6 years among the input ages. As a result, the television 100 automatically restricts viewing based on the age of six.

  On the other hand, when “OFF” of “automatic viewing restriction function” is selected with the cursor K on the viewing restriction setting screen 5d of FIG. 6 and the enter button 204 is pressed, the screen of the monitor 5 is displayed as the normal viewing shown in FIG. The screen changes to the restriction condition input screen 5g. On this screen, ratings are set in the same manner as before. The set data is stored in the storage unit 11 as normal viewing restriction data 30 (FIG. 1).

  Next, the automatic viewing restriction change will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 9, on the viewing restriction setting screen 5d (same as in FIG. 6), when “Change reference age” is selected with the cursor K and the enter button 204 is pressed, the screen of the monitor 5 is displayed as shown in FIG. The screen changes to the age change screen 5f. The viewing restriction setting screen 5d and the reference age changing screen 5f together with the remote control 200 constitute an embodiment of changing means in the present invention. In the initial state of the reference age change screen 5f, based on the automatic viewing restriction data 20 of FIG. 8, the cursor K is positioned in the age column of 6 years old in which the viewing restriction flag “1” is set. In order to change the reference age for viewing restriction, as shown in FIG. 11, the cursor K is moved to a desired age column (here, 14 years old), and the enter button 204 is pressed. Then, as shown in FIG. 12, the 14-year-old flag is rewritten from “0” to “1”, the 6-year-old flag is rewritten from “1” to “0”, and the automatic viewing restriction data 20 is updated. The Therefore, thereafter, automatic viewing restriction based on the age of 14 is performed.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a procedure for the above-described automatic viewing restriction setting. In step S1, “device setting” is selected on the menu screen 5a of FIG. (Note that “selection” through FIGS. 13 to 15 indicates that selection has been confirmed by pressing the determination button 204 of the remote controller 200.) In step S2, “viewing restriction” is displayed on the device setting screen 5b of FIG. Select. In step S3, a password is input on the password input screen 5c shown in FIG. Next, in step S4, the automatic viewing restriction function is set to ON in the viewing restriction setting screen 5d in FIG. Subsequently, in step S5, the age of the viewer is input on the age input screen 5e in FIG. Finally, in step S6, the automatic viewing restriction data 20 shown in FIG.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a procedure for changing the automatic viewing restriction described above. In step S11, “device setting” is selected on the menu screen 5a of FIG. In step S12, “viewing restriction” is selected on the device setting screen 5b of FIG. In step S13, the password is input on the password input screen 5c in FIG. Up to this point, the procedure is the same as steps S1 to S3 in FIG. Next, in step S14, “change reference age” is selected on the viewing restriction setting screen 5d in FIG. Subsequently, when the reference age is selected on the reference age change screen 5f of FIG. 10 in step S15, the automatic viewing restriction data 20 stored in the storage unit 11 is updated as shown in FIG. 12 in step S16.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the above-described normal viewing restriction setting procedure. In step S21, “device setting” is selected on the menu screen 5a of FIG. In step S22, “viewing restriction” is selected on the device setting screen 5b of FIG. In step S23, the password is entered on the password input screen 5c in FIG. Up to this point, the procedure is the same as steps S1 to S3 in FIG. Next, in step S24, the automatic viewing restriction function is set to OFF on the viewing restriction setting screen 5d in FIG. In the subsequent step S25, the viewing restriction condition is input (rating setting) in the same manner as in the conventional manner on the viewing restriction condition input screen 5g of FIG. When the input is completed, the normal viewing restriction data 30 is stored in the storage unit 11 in step S26.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a viewing restriction procedure during program playback. Each step in this flowchart is executed by the microcomputer 8. In step S31, it is determined whether viewing restriction has been set. When viewing restriction is not set, that is, when neither automatic viewing restriction (FIG. 13) nor normal viewing restriction (FIG. 15) is set (step S31: NO), the process proceeds to step S37. Video and audio of all programs are output without viewing restrictions. On the other hand, if viewing restriction is set, that is, if either automatic viewing restriction or normal viewing restriction has been set (step S31: YES), the process proceeds to step S32.

  In step S32, it is determined whether or not the automatic viewing restriction function (FIG. 6) is set to ON, that is, whether automatic viewing restriction or normal viewing restriction is selected. When the normal viewing restriction is selected (step S32: NO), the process proceeds to step S39, and the normal viewing restriction data 30 stored in the storage unit 11 is referred to. In step S40, normal viewing restriction is executed based on a plurality of viewing restriction conditions indicated by the normal viewing restriction data 30, that is, conditions set on the screen of FIG. Specifically, the rating information extracted from the broadcast signal by the signal processing unit 3 is compared with the normal viewing restriction data 30 stored in the storage unit 11, and if the viewing restriction conditions match, the signal processing unit 3 In FIG. 5, the video signal and the audio signal are muted so that the video and audio are not output.

  On the other hand, when the automatic viewing restriction is selected (step S32: YES), the process proceeds to step S33, and the automatic viewing restriction data 20 stored in the storage unit 11 is referred to. Then, in steps S34 to S36, the minimum age is extracted from the age included in the automatic viewing restriction data 20, and if the minimum age is less than 18 years (steps S34 to S36: YES), based on the minimum age in step S38. Perform viewing restrictions. Specifically, the rating information extracted from the broadcast signal by the signal processing unit 3 is compared with the minimum age included in the automatic viewing restriction data 20 stored in the storage unit 11, and the minimum age is viewed in the rating information. When the restriction condition is satisfied, the signal processing unit 3 performs mute processing on the video signal and the audio signal so that the video and audio are not output. When the reference age is changed from the lowest age to another age, the determinations in steps S34 to S36 are made for the changed age, and the viewing restriction in step S38 is performed based on the changed age. Is called.

  In steps S34 to S36, if the minimum age is 18 years or older (steps S34 to S36: NO), the process proceeds to step S37, and the video and audio of all programs are output without restricting viewing. In this case, even if the automatic viewing restriction function is set to ON, the program can be viewed.

  As described above, according to the above embodiment, since the automatic viewing restriction function is added to the normal viewing restriction function, when the automatic viewing restriction function is set to ON in the screen of FIG. Viewing is restricted. For this reason, for users who do not need detailed condition setting, it is only necessary to input the age, and it is not necessary to make complicated settings on the screen of FIG. . In addition, when the automatic viewing restriction function is set to OFF in the screen of FIG. 6, the automatic viewing restriction does not work and normal viewing restriction is performed. Therefore, a user who desires to set detailed conditions on the screen of FIG. Can meet the demands of.

  In addition, according to the above embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 9 to 12, the reference age for automatic viewing restriction can be changed from the lowest age to another age, so that the viewing restriction function has expandability. , User convenience can be improved.

  Further, according to the above embodiment, when the age that is the reference for automatic viewing restriction is a certain age or more, the viewing restriction is not performed, so even if automatic viewing restriction is set, the minimum age (or When the age after the change is, for example, 18 years old or older, viewing restrictions are not imposed and the program can be viewed.

  In the present invention, various embodiments other than those described above can be adopted. For example, in the above embodiment, ON / OFF of the automatic viewing restriction function is selected on the viewing restriction setting screen 5d in FIG. 6, but either an automatic viewing restriction button or a normal viewing restriction button is displayed. It may be possible to select directly.

  In the above embodiment, the age is directly input as the age information on the age input screen 5e in FIG. 7. However, as shown in FIG. 17, the birth date input screen 5e ′ is displayed and the age information is displayed. The date of birth may be entered.

  In FIG. 18, the setting of viewing restriction conditions in the United States is taken as an example, but setting of viewing restriction conditions in other countries may be adopted.

  Furthermore, in the above embodiment, a television is taken as an example of the video equipment. However, the present invention is not limited to the television, and is applicable to various video equipment such as a disk device, a personal computer, and a portable terminal that reproduces a disc such as a BD or DVD. Is possible.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Antenna 2 Tuner 3 Signal processing part 4 Image | video output part 5 Monitor 5d Viewing restriction setting screen 5e Age input screen 5f Reference age change screen 5g Viewing restriction condition input screen 6 Audio output part 7 Speaker 8 Microcomputer 11 Storage part 20 Automatic viewing restriction Data 30 Normal viewing restriction data 100 Television receiver 200 Remote control

Claims (3)

In a video device having a viewing restriction function for restricting playback of the content based on the viewing restriction information added to the content and the viewing restriction information set on the device side,
Input means for entering age information about the viewer's age,
Storage means for storing age information input by the input means;
A selection means for selecting whether to perform automatic viewing restriction or normal viewing restriction;
Control means for controlling viewing restrictions according to the selection result of the selection means,
The control means includes
If it is selected to perform automatic viewing restriction by the selection means, referring to the age information, perform viewing restriction based on the minimum age,
A video device characterized in that, when the selection means selects to perform normal viewing restriction, viewing restriction is performed based on a preset viewing restriction condition. The video equipment according to claim 1,
A change means for changing the age to be a reference for automatic viewing restriction from the minimum age to another age;
The video device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs viewing restriction based on the age changed by the changing unit. In the video equipment according to claim 1 or 2,
The control unit does not perform viewing restriction when the age that is a reference for automatic viewing restriction is equal to or greater than a predetermined age when automatic selection is performed by the selection unit. machine.

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