JP2010232927A - On-vehicle reception device, and method of inspecting antenna connection state - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an on-vehicle reception device capable of determining an antenna connection state correctly without erroneous determination. <P>SOLUTION: A CPU 36 powers on an amplifier 2 and performs communication with an RF baseband processing unit 12 to detect the signal level of a connection unit 39 (step S4). Thereafter, the CPU 36 powers off the amplifier 2 and performs communication with the RF baseband processing unit 12 to detect the signal level of the connection unit 39 (step S6). Then, the CPU 36 compares the signal level detected in the step S4 with the signal level detected in the step S6 to determine a connection state between an antenna 40 and a receiver 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle-mounted receiving device that receives broadcast waves using an antenna.

  In recent years, in-vehicle receivers that receive diversity reception and receive broadcast waves with high sensitivity have been provided. (For example, patent document 1).

  Such a vehicle-mounted receiving apparatus uses a plurality of antennas, and switches to the antenna having the best reception sensitivity among the plurality of antennas, and always maintains a good reception state. Also, in such a vehicle-mounted receiving apparatus, conventionally, the connection state between the antenna and the receiver is confirmed by visual observation of the antenna wiring directly before being mounted on the vehicle, or on the display after being mounted on the vehicle. Inspected by checking the output video and audio.

JP 2005-217474 A

  However, when directly checking the antenna wiring, it is easy to inspect the connection state between the antenna and the receiver because it is necessary to disassemble the vehicle once after the receiver is mounted on the vehicle. It can not be done in a difficult work. It is also conceivable to check the connection state between the antenna and the receiver based on whether or not the level of the signal received by the antenna is higher than the threshold value. Even if a malfunction occurs due to a disconnection with the receiver, radio waves are received by the disconnected wiring part, so the signal level is not necessarily zero, and the signal is not judged to be a threshold value. May occur.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an in-vehicle receiver that can make an accurate determination without erroneously determining an inspection of an antenna connection state.

  The vehicle-mounted receiving device according to the present invention includes an antenna connection unit that can be connected to an antenna through an amplifier, a signal input unit through which an inspection signal is input through the antenna connection unit, and the signal input when the amplifier is on. Detecting the level of the inspection signal input to the signal input unit and the level of the inspection signal input to the signal input unit when the amplifier is off, and based on the level difference between the antenna and the antenna And an inspection unit for inspecting a connection state between the antenna connection unit and the antenna connection unit.

  An antenna connection state inspection method according to the present invention includes a step of detecting an inspection signal through an antenna connection unit connectable to an antenna through an amplifier, and an inspection signal input to the signal input unit when the amplifier is on. The level and the level of the inspection signal input to the signal input unit when the amplifier is off are detected, respectively, and the connection between the antenna and the antenna connection unit based on the level difference And checking the state.

  According to the present invention, an inspection signal is detected through an antenna connection that can be connected to an antenna via an amplifier, and the level of the inspection signal detected when the amplifier is on and when the amplifier is off. The level of the inspection signal is detected, and the connection state between the antenna and the antenna connection unit is inspected based on the level difference. Therefore, an accurate determination can be made without misjudging the inspection of the antenna connection state.

It is a figure which shows the embodiment outline of the vehicle carrying the vehicle-mounted receiving apparatus by this invention. It is a figure which shows the processing flow which CPU performs in order to implement | achieve the test | inspection operation | movement of the vehicle-mounted receiver by one Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic for demonstrating operation | movement of the vehicle-mounted receiving apparatus by this invention. It is a signal waveform figure obtained by operation | movement of the vehicle-mounted receiver by this invention. It is a figure which shows the embodiment outline of the vehicle by which the other vehicle-mounted receiving apparatus by this invention is mounted. It is a figure which shows the processing flow which CPU performs in order to implement | achieve the test | inspection operation | movement of the vehicle-mounted receiver by other embodiment of this invention.

  Embodiments of a vehicle-mounted receiving device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of an embodiment of a vehicle equipped with an in-vehicle receiving device according to the present invention.
In FIG. 1, a receiver 10 as a vehicle-mounted receiving device mounted on a vehicle 1 includes an RF baseband processing unit 12, an OFDM demodulation processing unit 14, a TS signal separation processing unit 16, a first video decoder 20, and a second video. The decoder 22, the audio decoder 24, the video switching processor 26, the encoder 28, the D / A converter 30, the RAM 32, the ROM 34, the CPU 36, the system bus 38, and the like. The receiver 10 is connected to the antenna 40, the vehicle-mounted display 50, and the speaker 60 via the connection portions 39, 39e, and 39f, respectively, and is operated by a remote controller (not shown) or the like. In addition, the amplifier 2 is disposed between the antenna 40 and the connection portion 39. Further, the RF baseband processing unit 12 and the OFDM demodulation processing unit 14 of the receiver 10 are included in a tuner as a signal input unit.

  The amplifier 2 is turned on / off by a power supply circuit 70 provided in the receiver 10. On / off of the amplifier 2 by the power supply circuit 70 is controlled by the CPU 36 as an inspection unit. The power supplied from the power supply circuit 70 to the amplifier 2 may be sent directly to the amplifier 2 or may be sent to the amplifier 2 via a connection line between the amplifier 2 and the connection unit 39.

  When displaying a digital television program on the display 50, the RF baseband processing unit 12 receives a digital television signal from a broadcasting station (not shown) and checks the antenna connection state. A test signal is received from the generator 100. As the inspection signal, an unmodulated signal or a modulated signal on which no data is superimposed is used. An OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) demodulation processing unit 14 demodulates a digitally modulated signal, performs error correction processing, and the like, and sends a TS (transport stream) packet signal to the TS signal separation processing unit 16.

  The TS signal separation processing unit 16 simultaneously sends a TS packet signal and an error signal (transport error signal or Reed-Solomon (RS) error signal in the header portion of the packet) to the counter processing unit 18 for switching video data. . The TS signal separation processing unit 16 separates the TS packet signal into first video data, second video data, and audio data, and sends them to the first video decoder 20, the second video decoder 22, and the audio decoder 24, respectively. Here, the first video data corresponds to encoded data encoded by the MPEG2 system, and the second video data corresponds to encoded data encoded for the MPEG4 system. In OFDM, since three types of signal carriers can be carried simultaneously, a maximum of three types of video data can be separated from the TS decoding unit 16, but in this embodiment, encoding is performed using the MPEG2 system and the MPEG4 system. Two video decoders 20 and 22 are provided to handle the encoded data. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a third video decoding unit can be provided.

  One of the synchronized video signals from the first video decoder 20 and the second video decoder 22 is selected by the video switching processor 26 and displayed on the display 50 via the encoder 28. The digital audio signal from the audio decoder 24 is converted into an analog signal by the D / A converter 30 and output from the speaker 60 in synchronization with the video signal.

  The counter processing unit 18 uses the TS packet signal and the error signal from the TS signal separation processing unit 16 to output a video switching signal as will be described later. The video switching processing unit 26 switches video based on the video switching signal from the counter processing unit 18 and interrupts output or video output.

  The CPU 36 operates in accordance with software stored in the ROM 34 while using the RAM 32, and controls each element connected to the system bus 38. As will be described later, the CPU 36 communicates with the RF baseband processing unit 12 and inspects the connection state between the antenna 40 and the receiver 10. The CPU 36 may switch the video by detecting the state of the counter processing unit 18 according to a program stored in advance in the ROM 34 and sending a control signal to the video switching processing unit 26.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a processing flow executed by the CPU 36 to realize the inspection operation of the in-vehicle receiving device according to the embodiment of the present invention. First, in step S1, the CPU 36 sets the receiver 10 to the inspection mode. Next, in step S2, the CPU 36 matches the reception frequency of the receiver 10 with the frequency of the inspection signal.

  Next, in step S3, the CPU 36 turns on the power of the amplifier 2. Next, in step S <b> 4, the CPU 36 detects the signal level of the connection unit 39 by performing communication with the RF baseband processing unit 12.

  Next, in step S5, the CPU 36 turns off the power supply of the amplifier 2. Next, in step S <b> 6, the CPU 36 detects the signal level of the connection unit 39 by performing communication with the RF baseband processing unit 12. Next, in step S7, the CPU 36 compares the signal level detected in step S4 with the signal level detected in step S6.

  Next, in step S <b> 8, the CPU 36 displays the result of the antenna connection state obtained by this processing flow on the display 50. Next, in step S9, the CPU 36 completes the inspection mode.

  According to the present embodiment, the connection state between the antenna 40 and the receiver 10 is determined based on the level of the test signal when the power of the amplifier 2 is on and the level of the test signal when the power of the amplifier 2 is off. Check the antenna connection status based on the difference from the level. As a result, even when the signal level is small but the connection state is normal, an accurate determination can be made without erroneously determining the inspection of the antenna connection state.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the in-vehicle receiver according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a signal waveform diagram obtained by the operation of the in-vehicle receiver according to the present invention.

  3, antenna ANT corresponds to antenna 40 in FIG. 1, amplifier AMP corresponds to amplifier 2 in FIG. 1, and point A for detecting the level of the inspection signal corresponds to RF baseband processing unit 12. The power supply and level detection unit DTV corresponds to the receiver 10 of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3a, when the connection between the antenna ANT and the point A is normal and the voltage B is supplied from the power supply and level detection unit DTV to the amplifier AMP and the amplifier AMP is turned on, the antenna ANT is strong. Receive radio waves. Therefore, the signal level detected at point A is high as shown in FIG. 4a. The signal detected at point A is a sine wave. As shown in FIG. 3b, when the connection between the antenna ANT and the point A is normal, the power supply and the supply of the voltage B from the level detection unit DTV to the amplifier AMP are stopped and the amplifier AMP is turned off. ANT receives weak radio waves. Therefore, the signal level detected at point A is very low as shown in FIG. 4b. As a result, when the connection between the antenna ANT and the point A is normal, the signal level detected at the point A changes and a signal level difference occurs.

  As shown in FIG. 3c, when a disconnection occurs between the amplifier AMP and the point A, and there is an abnormality in the connection between the antenna ANT and the point A, the voltage B is supplied from the power supply and level detection unit DTV to the amplifier AMP. Even if the amplifier AMP is turned on and the antenna ANT receives a strong radio wave, the radio wave does not propagate to the point A. Therefore, the signal level detected at point A is very low as shown in FIG. 4c. As shown in FIG. 3d, when there is an abnormality in the connection between the antenna ANT and the point A, the power supply and the supply of the voltage B from the level detection unit DTV to the amplifier AMP are stopped and the amplifier AMP is turned off. Even if ANT receives a weak radio wave, the radio wave does not propagate to point A. Therefore, the signal level detected at point A is very low as shown in FIG. 4d. As a result, when there is an abnormality in the connection between the antenna ANT and the point A, the signal level detected at the point A does not change and no signal level difference occurs.

  As described above, by using the difference between the signal level when the amplifier AMP is turned on and the signal level when the amplifier AMP is turned off, the connection state of the antenna ANT can be satisfactorily tested. By making a determination based on the signal level difference in this way, a misdiagnosis is prevented when the signal level does not reach the threshold value. Thereby, the inspection in various vehicle types can be performed without changing the receiver setting.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an outline of an embodiment of a vehicle equipped with another in-vehicle receiving device according to the present invention. The present embodiment includes antenna connection portions 39a, 39b, 39c, and 39d that can be connected to the antennas 40a, 40b, 40c, and 40d via the amplifiers 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d, respectively, and the antenna connection portions 39a and 39b. , 39c, 39d, a plurality of inspection signals corresponding to the respective antennas are input to the RF baseband processing unit 12.

  In the present invention, the CPU 36 controls the power supply circuit 70 to turn on and off the amplifiers 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d, respectively, and when the amplifiers 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d are on, the antenna connection portions 39a, 39b, 39c, The levels of the plurality of inspection signals input to 39d and the levels of the plurality of inspection signals input to the antenna connecting portions 39a, 39b, 39c, 39d when the amplifiers 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d are off. Each is detected, and based on each of these level differences, the connection state between one of the antennas 40a, 40b, 40c, and 40d and the corresponding antenna connection portions 39a, 39b, 39c, and 39d is inspected.

  Conventionally, in an in-vehicle receiver having such a plurality of antennas, as a method for inspecting the connection state between each antenna and the receiver, the connection state is confirmed from the video and audio output generated in the receiver. If this method is used, there is a problem such as disconnection or poor contact in the connection between a part of the plurality of antennas (for example, one of the four antennas) and the receiver. However, since the video and audio are output without abnormality, there is a risk that the product will be shipped with the abnormality in the connection state such as disconnection or poor connection between the antenna and the receiver, There arises a problem that a low-quality product is provided to the user. This is due to the current situation that the connection state cannot be easily inspected for each of the plurality of antennas.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the connection state between the antennas 40a, 40b, 40c, 40d and the receiver 10 can be inspected for each of the antennas 40. A high-quality in-vehicle receiver can be provided.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a processing flow executed by the CPU 36 to realize the inspection operation of the in-vehicle receiving device according to another embodiment of the present invention. The description of the portion that performs the same processing as in FIG. 2 is omitted. In the processing flow shown in FIG. 6, after step S6, in step S10, the CPU 36 determines whether all the inspections of the antennas 40a, 40b, 40c, and 40d have been completed. If all the inspections have not been completed, in step S11, the CPU 36 returns to step S3 after switching the antennas so as to inspect the antennas that have not been inspected. Then, as with other antennas, the power supply of the amplifier is turned on and off, and the connection state between the antenna and the receiver is inspected. When the connection inspection of all antennas is completed, the process proceeds to step S8.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and many changes and modifications can be made. For example, the antenna 40, the display 50, and the speaker 60 may be detachable from the television receiver 10 even if they are fixed to the receiver 10.

1 Vehicle 2, 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d Amplifier 10 Receiver 12 RF Baseband Processing Unit 14 OFDM Demodulation Processing Unit 16 TS Signal Separation Processing Unit 18 Counter Processing Unit 20 First Video Decoder 22 Second Video Decoder 24 Audio Coder 26 Video switching processor 28 Encoder 30 D / A converter 32 RAM
34 ROM
36 CPU
38 System bus 39, 39a, 39b, 39c, 39d, 39e, 39f Connection 40, 40a, 40b, 40c, 40d Antenna 50 Display 60 Speaker 70 Power supply circuit

Claims (4)

An antenna connection that can be connected to the antenna via an amplifier;
A signal input unit through which an inspection signal is input through the antenna connection unit;
Detecting the level of the inspection signal input to the signal input unit when the amplifier is on and the level of the inspection signal input to the signal input unit when the amplifier is off, and An inspection unit for inspecting a connection state between the antenna and the antenna connection unit based on a level difference of
A vehicle-mounted receiving device comprising:   When inspecting the connection state between the antenna and the antenna connection unit, power is supplied to the amplifier when the amplifier is turned on, and supply of power to the amplifier is stopped when the amplifier is turned off. The in-vehicle receiver according to claim 1, further comprising a power supply circuit controlled by the inspection unit. Having a plurality of antenna connecting portions connectable to a plurality of antennas via a plurality of amplifiers,
A plurality of inspection signals corresponding to each antenna are input to the signal input unit through the plurality of antenna connection units,
The inspection unit inputs levels of the plurality of inspection signals input to the signal input unit when the plurality of amplifiers are on, and inputs to the signal input unit when the plurality of amplifiers are off. Detecting a level of each of the plurality of inspection signals, and inspecting a connection state between one of the plurality of antennas and the corresponding antenna connection unit based on each of the level differences. Item 3. The vehicle-mounted receiving device according to Item 1 or 2. Detecting an inspection signal through an antenna connection that can be connected to the antenna via an amplifier;
A level of a test signal detected when the amplifier is on and a level of a test signal detected when the amplifier is off are detected, respectively, and based on a difference between the levels, the antenna and Inspecting a connection state between the antenna connection unit;
An antenna connection state inspection method comprising:

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