JP2010279001A - Receiver and auto-preset method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a receiver which requires shortened time for auto-preset, and to provide an auto-preset method using the receiver. <P>SOLUTION: The receiver includes an auto-preset function for storing a broadcast channel receivable at a present position. The receiver further includes: a plurality of branches each for receiving a broadcast signal transmitted from a broadcast station; a control section which divides the plurality of branches into a plurality of branch groups and causes the branch groups to receive in parallel broadcast signals of different frequency bands, respectively to thereby search for the broadcast channel receivable at the present position; a broadcast presence/absence determining section for determining presence/absence of broadcast on the searched broadcast channel; a program information acquiring section for acquiring program information on a program being broadcast from the broadcast channel of a broadcast channel for which the presence of broadcast has been determined; and a preset memory for storing the obtained program information and the corresponding broadcast channel while relating them with each other. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a receiving apparatus and an auto-preset method, and more particularly to a receiving apparatus having an auto-preset function for searching for and storing broadcast stations that can be received at a current position, and an auto-preset method using the same.

  Conventionally, as a receiving device that receives a broadcast transmitted from a broadcast station, a carrier frequency (hereinafter referred to as “broadcast channel”) of a broadcast station that can be received at the current position is automatically searched and stored in a predetermined memory. Devices with an auto-preset function are known.

  A receiving device having an auto-preset function is selected by the user from the broadcast channels stored in the memory, without having to search the selected broadcast channel each time when the user selects a broadcast channel. Since the selected broadcast channel can be immediately selected and received, the broadcast channel can be switched quickly.

  If such a receiving device is fixed, if auto-preset is performed once at the initial setting, it is not necessary to perform auto-preset, but if the used location is not fixed, it is received depending on the use location. Since the possible broadcast channels change, it is necessary to perform auto preset again.

  For example, in the case of a receiving device mounted on a vehicle-mounted television, the broadcast channel that can be received at that location varies depending on the traveling location of the vehicle. In this case, the receiving device needs to perform auto-preset again at that location.

  In a receiving apparatus that automatically performs auto-preset, each broadcast station sequentially searches all frequency bands used for broadcasting for each predetermined frequency to identify a broadcast channel that can be received at the current position (for example, a patent) Reference 1).

JP 2005-286711 A

  However, in the above conventional receiving apparatus, since all the frequency bands used by each broadcast station are sequentially searched for every predetermined frequency and the broadcast channel that can be received at the current position is specified, the auto preset is completed. There was a problem that it took time.

  For example, in the case of a receiver that receives digital television broadcasts, after auto-preset, after acquiring a TMCC (Transmission and Multiplexing Configuration and Control: transmission control information) signal related to the broadcast channel from the received broadcast signal for each broadcast channel It is necessary to acquire information such as NIT (Network Information Table), PAT (Program Association Table), and PMT (Program Map Table), and so on.

  In particular, since program information and the like are periodically transmitted from each broadcasting station at intervals of about 3 seconds, it takes about 3 to 6 seconds to preset one channel. It takes several tens of times longer to do.

  In the receiving device, if the user switches to a broadcast channel that has not been preset yet during auto-preset, it is not possible to quickly switch to that broadcast channel. This is inconvenient for the user.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a receiving apparatus that shortens the time required for auto-preset and an auto-preset method using the same.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention is a receiving device having an auto-preset function for storing a broadcast channel that can be received at the current position, and receiving a broadcast signal transmitted from a broadcast station. Control to divide the plurality of branches into a plurality of branch groups and allow each branch group to receive broadcast signals of different frequency bands in parallel to search for broadcast channels that can be received at the current position. A broadcast presence / absence determination unit that determines whether or not there is a broadcast on the searched broadcast channel, and a program related to a program being broadcast from the broadcast signal of the broadcast channel determined to be broadcast by the broadcast presence / absence determination unit A program information acquisition unit for acquiring information, and a broadcast channel corresponding to the program information acquired by the program information acquisition unit It was used as a receiver including a preset memory for storing in association.

  In the present invention, broadcast channels that can be received at the current position can be scanned by allowing a plurality of branch groups to receive broadcast signals in different frequency bands in parallel, so the broadcast channels are scanned in order from the lowest frequency. It is possible to shorten the time required for auto-preset by completing the scanning of the broadcast channel in a shorter time than that.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a receiving apparatus according to the present embodiment and an auto-preset method by the apparatus. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of changing the number of branches constituting a branch group according to the reception strength. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the receiving apparatus according to this embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing processing executed by the control unit of the receiving apparatus according to this embodiment. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a modification example in which a plurality of branches are divided into branch groups. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a modification of the broadcast channel search procedure.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a receiving device and an auto-preset method using the device will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, a case where the present invention is applied to a receiving device built in an in-vehicle television receiver that receives and displays a digital television broadcast will be described as an example. The present invention can be applied to all receivers such as a digital radio receiver, a mobile phone, a wireless device, and a wireless local area network (LAN) device.

  First, referring to FIG. 1, an auto-preset procedure for automatically searching and storing a carrier wave frequency (hereinafter referred to as “broadcast channel”) of a broadcasting station that can be received by the receiving apparatus according to the present embodiment at the current position will be described. I will explain.

  FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a receiving apparatus according to the present embodiment and an auto-preset method by the apparatus. As shown in FIG. 1A, the receiving apparatus according to the present embodiment receives a digital television signal (hereinafter referred to as “broadcast signal”) transmitted from a broadcasting station, a first branch 2 and a second branch 3. , The third branch 4 and the fourth branch 5 are provided.

  In the present embodiment, four receiving systems are provided in the receiving device, but the number of receiving systems provided in the receiving device is not limited to four, and any number of receiving systems can be used as long as there are at least two systems. A system may be provided.

  The detailed configuration of the receiving apparatus will be described later with reference to FIG. 3. The first branch 2 of this receiving apparatus includes an antenna 20 that receives a broadcast signal and an antenna 20 that is arbitrarily switched by switching the receiving frequency. A tuner 21 that receives a broadcast signal on a broadcast channel, and a demodulator 22 that demodulates the broadcast signal modulated by a predetermined modulation method are provided.

  Similarly, the second branch 3 includes an antenna 30, a tuner 31, and a demodulator 32. The third branch 4 also includes an antenna 40, a tuner 41, and a demodulator 42, and the fourth branch 5 also includes An antenna 50, a tuner 51, and a demodulation unit 52 are provided.

  When receiving a broadcast signal on the broadcast channel selected by the user, the receiving device receives the broadcast signal of the same broadcast channel by the plurality of reception systems, and receives the broadcast signal received by each reception system. A diversity system that removes noise contained in the broadcast signal by combining is adopted.

  In addition, when the broadcast channel that can be received at the current position changes due to traveling of the vehicle, the reception device scans a predetermined frequency band and automatically searches for and stores the broadcast channel that can be received at that location. It has an auto preset function.

  In particular, when performing automatic presetting, this receiving apparatus divides four receiving systems into two branch groups as shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, a receiving system having four control units, which will be described later, is a group A composed of a first branch 2 and a second branch 3, and a group B composed of a third branch 4 and a fourth branch 5. This is divided into two branch groups.

  Then, the control unit of the receiving device searches the broadcast channel that can be received at the current position by causing the A group and the B group to sequentially receive broadcast signals of different frequency bands in parallel.

  Hereinafter, the search for the broadcast channel by each branch (here, the first branch 2 and the second branch 3) constituting the A group is performed as a search A, and each branch (here, the third branch 4 and the fourth branch) constituting the B group. The search for the broadcast channel by branch 5) is referred to as search B.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1B, the A group is caused to scan the frequency band from 470 MHz to 620 MHz in order from the lowest frequency to perform a search A of receivable broadcast channels, and B The group is caused to scan the frequency band from 770 MHz to 620 MHz in order from the highest frequency to perform a search B of receivable broadcast channels.

  In search A and search B executed at this time, broadcast presence / absence determination is performed to determine whether or not a digital television broadcast being broadcast (hereinafter referred to as “broadcast”) exists in the frequency band of each broadcast channel.

  As described above, in the receiving apparatus of this embodiment, search A and search B are started simultaneously from the lowest frequency side and the highest frequency side of the frequency band used in the digital television, and the search target frequency is the highest frequency and the lowest frequency. The search A and the search B are terminated when the center frequency with the frequency (here, 620 MHz) is reached.

  Therefore, according to this receiving apparatus, the conventional reception that has searched for the next receivable broadcast channel while increasing the frequency band to be searched in order from the lowest frequency to the highest frequency of the frequency band used in digital television. It is possible to complete the determination as to whether or not there is a broadcast on each broadcast channel in half the time compared to the device.

  In addition, when the receiving apparatus determines whether or not there is a broadcast for one broadcast channel, the receiving apparatus determines whether or not to broadcast based on a plurality of broadcast signals that are diversity-received by a plurality of branches. Therefore, the presence / absence determination of broadcasting can be performed more accurately than the case where the presence / absence determination of one broadcasting channel is performed.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 1 (c), the receiving apparatus uses the broadcast signal received on the broadcast channel determined to have a broadcast by the above-described broadcast presence / absence determination, program information on the program being broadcast on the broadcast channel, and the like. To get.

  The receiving device performs auto-preset by associating the acquired program information and the like with the broadcast channel from which the program information is acquired and storing them in a preset memory. Also at this time, the receiving apparatus receives broadcast signals of a plurality of broadcast channels simultaneously by a plurality of branch groups, and acquires program information and the like of each broadcast channel from the broadcast signals.

  As described above, the receiving apparatus of this embodiment also receives broadcast signals of a plurality of broadcast channels in parallel by a plurality of branch groups, and acquires program information and the like from each received broadcast signal, even when acquiring program information and the like. To do.

  Therefore, according to this receiving device, it is possible to reduce the time required to complete acquisition of program information and the like regarding all receivable broadcast channels, and to efficiently reduce the time from start to completion of auto-preset. it can.

  Furthermore, this receiving apparatus determines the reception strength related to the broadcast signal of the broadcast channel determined to be broadcast by the broadcast presence / absence determination. Then, the control unit of the receiving apparatus changes the number of branches in the branch group used for receiving the broadcast signal for acquiring the program information or the like according to the determined reception strength, and causes the broadcast signal to be received.

  In the present embodiment, the control unit of the receiving device determines the reception intensity of the received broadcast signal in three stages of “high”, “medium”, and “low”, and determines the number of branches according to the determination result for each branch. Configure the settings assigned to the group. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of changing the number of branches constituting a branch group according to the reception strength.

  When the reception intensity of the received broadcast signal is determined to be “high”, the control unit of the reception device changes the number of branches in each branch group to “1” as illustrated in FIG.

  Specifically, when there are four broadcast signals whose reception strength is determined to be “high” in the plurality of broadcast signals received in parallel, the control unit selects the A group by the first branch 2. The second branch 3 forms a B group, the third branch 4 forms a C group, and the fourth branch 5 forms a D group.

  Then, the control unit receives each of the four broadcast signals of different broadcast channels whose reception strength is determined to be “high” in parallel in each branch group configured in one branch in this manner, thereby providing program information and the like. Get it.

  Thereby, according to this receiving apparatus, for example, when all broadcast signals of all broadcast channels determined to have broadcasts by the broadcast presence / absence determination are determined to have a high reception intensity, each broadcast signal is divided into four systems. The acquisition of program information and the like can be completed in ¼ time compared to the case where the program information and the like are received by all reception systems.

  When the control unit of the receiving apparatus determines that the reception intensity of the received broadcast signal is “medium”, the number of branches in each branch group is changed to “2” as shown in FIG. 2B. .

  Specifically, when there are two broadcast signals whose reception intensity is determined to be “medium” in a plurality of broadcast signals received in parallel, the control unit first branch 2 and second branch 3 constitutes the A group, and the third branch 4 and the fourth branch 5 constitute the B group.

  Then, the control unit receives in parallel each of the two broadcast signals of different broadcast channels whose reception strength is determined to be “medium” in each branch group configured by two branches, and thereby displays program information and the like. Get it.

  Thereby, according to this receiving apparatus, for example, when all broadcast signals of all broadcast channels determined to have broadcasts by the broadcast presence / absence determination have been determined to have a reception intensity of “medium”, The acquisition of the program information and the like can be completed in half the time compared to the case where the program information and the like are received by all reception systems.

  In addition, for the broadcast signal whose reception strength is determined to be “medium”, this reception apparatus receives the same broadcast signal with diversity using two reception systems and acquires program information and the like, so the reception strength is “high”. It is possible to obtain program information and the like by performing noise removal by a diversity method from a broadcast signal having a reception intensity “medium” that is expected to be affected by noise compared to the broadcast signal determined to be.

  Further, when the reception unit of the received broadcast signal determines that the reception intensity of the received broadcast signal is “low”, the control unit of the reception apparatus changes the setting of the number of branches in the branch group to “4” as illustrated in FIG.

  Specifically, when a broadcast signal whose reception intensity is determined to be “low” exists in a plurality of broadcast signals received in parallel, the control unit determines whether the first branch 2 and the second branch 3 The third branch 4 and the fourth branch 5 constitute an A group.

  Then, the control unit causes the branch group constituted by four branches to receive the broadcast signal whose reception intensity is determined to be “low” and acquire program information and the like. As described above, the reception device receives the same broadcast signal with diversity using all four reception systems and acquires program information and the like for the broadcast signal whose reception intensity is determined to be “low”.

  Therefore, according to this receiving apparatus, it is possible to obtain program information and the like by performing noise removal by a diversity method using all branches from a broadcast signal having a reception strength of “low” that is difficult to receive normally due to the influence of noise. In addition, program information and the like can be accurately acquired even in places where it is relatively difficult to receive broadcasts, and auto-preset can be performed efficiently.

  Next, the configuration of the receiving apparatus according to the present embodiment will be specifically described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the receiving apparatus according to this embodiment. In the figure, only components necessary for explaining the characteristics of the receiving apparatus according to the present embodiment are shown, and descriptions of general components are omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the receiving apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a first branch 2, a second branch 3, a third branch 4, a fourth branch 5, a preset memory 6, a signal synthesis unit 7, and a broadcast reproduction unit. 8, a channel switching operation unit 9, a control unit 10 and the like.

  The first branch 2 constitutes one receiving system capable of receiving a broadcast signal by itself, and includes an antenna 20, a tuner 21, a switching unit 23, a demodulating unit 22, a phase synchronizing unit 24, A program presence / absence determination unit 25, a reception intensity determination unit 26, and a program information acquisition unit 27 are provided.

  The second branch 3 also includes an antenna 30, a tuner 31, a switching unit 33, a demodulation unit 32, a phase synchronization unit 34, a program presence / absence determination unit 35, a reception intensity determination unit 36, and a program information acquisition unit. 37.

  The third branch 4 also includes an antenna 40, a tuner 41, a switching unit 43, a demodulation unit 42, a phase synchronization unit 44, a program presence / absence determination unit 45, a reception strength determination unit 46, and a program information acquisition unit. 47.

  The fourth branch 5 also includes an antenna 50, a tuner 51, a switching unit 53, a demodulation unit 52, a phase synchronization unit 54, a program presence / absence determination unit 55, a reception intensity determination unit 56, and a program information acquisition unit. 57.

  Since the first branch 2, the second branch 3, the third branch 4, and the fourth branch 5 have the same configuration, only the configuration of the first branch will be described here.

  The tuner 21 is a tuning circuit that causes the antenna 20 to receive a broadcast signal of a broadcast channel designated by a control signal input from the control unit 10. In the present embodiment, the tuner 21 receives a broadcast signal modulated by OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) and outputs the broadcast signal to the demodulator 22.

  The demodulator 22 is a processor that returns the TS (Transport Stream) packet to the phase synchronizer 24 by OFDM demodulation of the broadcast signal input from the tuner 21. Since OFDM demodulation is a known technique, it will be briefly described here.

  The demodulator 22 performs A / D (analog / digital) conversion on the time domain broadcast signal input from the tuner 21, and then converts the signal into a frequency domain broadcast signal by performing FFT (Fast Fourier Transform). Then, OFDM demodulation of the broadcast signal is performed by performing inverse mapping.

  A switching unit 23 that is turned on / off based on the control of the control unit 10 is provided between the demodulation unit 22 and the phase synchronization unit 24. As will be described in detail later, in the present embodiment, the control unit 10 controls the switching unit 23 to be turned ON / OFF, thereby dividing and controlling a plurality of branches into a plurality of branch groups.

  When the phase synchronization unit 24 performs diversity reception of the broadcast signal by the first branch 2 and another branch (for example, the second branch 3), the broadcast signal received by the first branch 2 and the broadcast received by the other branch It is a processing unit that performs phase synchronization with the signal and outputs the broadcast signal to the subsequent program presence / absence determination unit 25, the program information acquisition unit 27, and the signal synthesis unit 7.

  The program presence / absence processing unit 25 acquires TMCC (Transmission and Multiplexing Configuration and Control: transmission control information) from the broadcast signal input from the phase synchronization unit 24, and scans set in the tuner 21 based on the acquisition result. It is a processing unit for determining whether or not there is a broadcast on the inside broadcast channel.

  TMCC is composed of a group of information including transmission parameter information necessary for decoding of broadcast signals, and is information transmitted from each broadcast station at a relatively short time interval of about 300 ms.

  The program presence / absence determination unit 25 determines that there is a broadcast on the broadcast channel when acquisition of this TMCC is successful on the broadcast channel being scanned set in the tuner 21. Further, the program presence / absence determination unit 25 determines that there is no broadcast in the broadcast channel being scanned when the TMCC cannot be acquired even after a predetermined time (for example, 300 ms) has elapsed.

  The reception strength determination unit 26 is a processing unit that determines the reception strength of the broadcast signal of the broadcast channel that is determined by the program presence / absence determination unit 25 to be broadcast and outputs the determination result to the control unit 10.

  The reception strength determination unit 26 detects the amplitude of the broadcast signal received by the first branch 2 and determines that the reception strength is “medium” when the amplitude is within a predetermined amplitude range.

  The reception strength determination unit 26 determines that the reception strength is “high” when the reception strength of the detected broadcast signal is higher than the amplitude range described above, and when the reception strength is lower than the amplitude range described above. The reception strength is determined to be “low”.

  The program information acquisition unit 27 uses a broadcast signal of a broadcast channel determined to have broadcast by the program presence / absence determination unit 25 as program information and the like as NIT (Network Information Table), PAT (Program Association Table), and PMT (Program Map Table). ) And the like and output to the preset memory 6.

  The NIT includes information on the network such as the channel number and frequency information of the broadcast channel that received the broadcast signal, the modulation method, and the guard interval. Further, the PMT includes a PID (packet ID) for identifying each packet constituting the audio and video of the program being broadcast. The PAT stores a list of programs included in a certain TS as a PID list of PMTs.

  The preset memory 6 is composed of a non-volatile storage device such as a flash memory, and corresponds to information such as NIT, PAT, and PMT input from the program information acquisition unit 27 and a broadcast signal acquired from the information. The broadcast channel is stored in association with it.

  Also, between the demodulator 22 of the first branch 2 and the demodulator 32 of the second branch 3, between the demodulator 32 of the second branch 2 and the demodulator 42 of the third branch, and the demodulator of the third branch 4. Switching units 61, 62, and 63 that are turned ON / OFF according to the control of the control unit 10 are respectively provided between 42 and the demodulation unit 52 of the fourth branch 5.

  As will be described in detail later, in the present embodiment, the control unit 10 controls the switching units 61, 62, and 63 to be turned ON / OFF, thereby dividing and controlling a plurality of branches into a plurality of branch groups.

  The signal synthesis unit 7 is a processing unit that synthesizes each broadcast signal input from each of the four branches or each branch group formed by the control of the control unit 10 with a maximum ratio and outputs the synthesized signal to the broadcast reproduction unit 8.

  The signal synthesizing unit 7 synchronizes the phase of each input broadcast signal, performs weighting according to the reception intensity of each broadcast signal, and then adds (synthesizes) each broadcast signal to perform broadcasting. Perform maximum ratio combining of signals.

  The broadcast playback unit 8 performs a D / A (digital / analog) conversion on the combined broadcast signal and a decoder that performs a composite processing on the broadcast signal (TS packet) after the maximum ratio combining input from the signal combining unit 7. And a D / A converter.

  The audio broadcast signal D / A converted by the D / A converter of the broadcast reproduction unit 8 is output to a speaker and output, and the video broadcast signal is output to a display and displayed as a television image.

  The channel switching operation unit 9 is an operation button operated to switch the broadcast channel that the user views. When the channel switching operation unit 9 accepts a channel switching operation by the user, the channel switching operation unit 9 outputs an operation signal corresponding to the operation to the control unit 10.

  The control unit 10 sets a broadcast channel to be received by each tuner 21, 31, 41, 51 based on the operation signal input from the channel switching operation unit 9.

  Further, the control unit 10 determines that the broadcast channel that can be received at the current position has changed based on the reception strength determination result regarding the broadcast signal input from each of the reception strength determination units 26, 36, 46, and 56. In case, execute auto preset.

  The processing executed when the control unit 10 performs auto-preset will be described later with reference to FIG. 4, but the control unit 10 performs the switching unit 23, 33, 43, 53, when performing auto-preset. By performing ON / OFF control of 61, 62, and 63, a plurality of branches are divided into a plurality of branch groups.

  Then, the control unit 10 causes each branch group formed by division to receive a broadcast signal, search for a broadcast channel that can be received at the current location, and store the searched broadcast channel in the preset memory 6.

  Specifically, the control unit 10 determines that the reception intensity of the broadcast signal that has been received so far continues in advance for a predetermined time based on the determination result of the reception intensity by each of the reception intensity determination units 26, 36, 46, and 56. When it falls below the set lower limit, it is determined that the broadcast channel that can be received at the current position has changed, and auto-preset is started.

  When the auto-preset is started, the control unit 10 first turns off the switching unit 62 and turns on the switching units 61 and 63, so that the branch group (A group) constituted by the first branch 2 and the second branchi 3 is established. Form.

  At this time, the control unit 10 turns on the switching units 23 and 43 and turns off the switching units 33 and 53, so that the branch group (B group) configured by the third branch 4 and the fourth branch 5 is established. Form.

  Then, the control unit 10 causes the tuners 21 and 31 to perform a search A of a broadcast channel that can be received from the lowest frequency used in the digital television broadcast to the higher frequency, and causes the tuners 41 and 51 to perform the digital television broadcast. A search B of broadcast channels that can be received from the highest frequency used to a lower frequency is sequentially performed.

  Then, the control unit 10 causes the program presence / absence determination units 25 and 45 to perform broadcast presence / absence determination for each broadcast channel. Then, the control part 10 acquires the program information etc. regarding each broadcast channel determined that the broadcast exists as a result of the broadcast presence / absence determination.

  At this time, the control unit 10 performs ON / OFF control on the switching units 23, 33, 43, 53, 61, 62, and 63 for a broadcast signal for which the reception strength is determined to be “high”, so that one branch Is formed, and the branch group receives broadcast signals to acquire program information and the like.

  Further, the control unit 10 controls the switching units 23, 33, 43, 53, 61, 62, 63 to be turned on / off for a broadcast signal whose reception strength is determined to be “medium”, and is configured from two branches. The branch group is formed, and the broadcast signal is received by the branch group to acquire program information and the like.

  Further, the control unit 10 controls the switching units 23, 33, 43, 53, 61, 62, and 63 for the broadcast signal whose reception strength is determined to be “low”, and includes four branches. The branch group is formed, and the broadcast signal is received by the branch group to acquire program information and the like.

  Next, processing executed when the control unit 10 performs auto-preset will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing processing executed by the control unit 10 of the receiving device 1 according to this embodiment. Here, processing related to auto-preset will be described, and description of other processing will be omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the receiving device is powered on, the control unit 10 first determines whether or not the broadcast channel that can be received at the current position has changed (step S1), and can be received. If it is determined that the broadcast channel has changed (step S1: Yes), the process proceeds to step S2.

  On the other hand, if the control unit 10 determines that the broadcast channel that can be received at the current location has not changed (No at Step S <b> 1), the control unit 10 ends the process. Note that the series of processing shown in FIG. 4 is repeatedly executed by the control unit 10 while the receiving device 1 is powered on.

  In step S2, the control unit 10 starts search A by group A (first branch 2 and second branch 3) and search B by group B (third branch 4 and fourth branch 5), and then The process proceeds to step S3.

  In step S <b> 3, the control unit 10 determines whether there is a broadcast channel (TMCC acquisition channel) that has successfully acquired TMCC as a result of search A and search B, and determines that there is a TMCC acquisition channel. If so (step S3: Yes), the process proceeds to step S4. On the other hand, when it determines with the TMCC acquisition channel not existing (step S3: No), the control part 10 moves a process to step S2.

  In step S4, the control unit 10 determines whether or not the reception intensity related to the broadcast signal of the TMCC acquisition channel is “high”, and if it is determined that it is “high” (step S4: Yes), the processing To step S5. On the other hand, if the control unit 10 determines that the reception intensity is not “high” (step S4: No), the process proceeds to step S7.

  In step S5, the control unit 10 causes each branch group to acquire information including program information such as NIT, PAT, and PMT in parallel from broadcast signals of different broadcast channels, and then moves the process to step S6.

  In addition, when it is determined that the reception intensity of the received broadcast signal is not “high” (step S4: No), the control unit 10 determines whether or not the reception intensity of the broadcast signal is “medium”. Is determined (step S7).

  When it is determined that the reception intensity of the received broadcast signal is “medium” (step S7: Yes), the control unit 10 determines that the A group (first branch 2 and second branch 3) and the B group ( Information including program information such as NIT, PAT, and PMT is acquired in parallel from broadcast signals of different broadcast channels in the third branch 4 and the fourth branch 5) (step S8), and then the process proceeds to step S6. .

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the reception intensity of the received broadcast signal is not “medium” (step S7: No), the control unit 10 determines that the reception intensity is “low” and is identical to the group A (all branches). Information including program information such as NIT, PAT, and PMT is simultaneously acquired from the broadcast signal of the broadcast channel (step S9), and then the process proceeds to step S6.

  In step S6, the control unit 10 stores the information acquired in step S5, step S8, or step S9 in the preset memory 6, and then ends the process and starts the process again from step S1. Then, the control unit 10 repeatedly executes the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4 while the receiving device 1 is powered on.

  As described above, the receiving apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment has a plurality of branches, namely, the first branch 2, the second branch 3, the third branch 4, and the fourth branch 5, when performing auto-preset of the broadcast channel. A plurality of branch groups composed of combinations are formed, and broadcast signals of different broadcast channels are received in parallel by each branch group, thereby searching for broadcast channels that can be received at the current position.

  For this reason, according to the receiving apparatus 1, the search for the broadcast channel can be completed in a shorter time by searching for the broadcast channel in order from the lowest frequency by one or a plurality of branches. The time required can be shortened.

  In addition, when it is determined that a broadcast exists in the searched broadcast channel, the reception device 1 changes the number of branches in the branch group that receives the broadcast signal according to the reception intensity of the broadcast signal received on the broadcast channel. To do.

  At this time, the receiving apparatus 1 increases the number of branches of the branch group that receives the broadcast signal as the received intensity of the received broadcast signal is weaker, and receives the broadcast signal by a plurality of branches that configure the branch group. .

  Therefore, according to this receiving apparatus 1, since it is possible to obtain program information and the like with high accuracy even from a broadcast signal having relatively low reception intensity, there is no need to repeatedly obtain program information and the like for the same broadcast channel. This also shortens the time required for auto-preset.

  Further, the receiving device 1 increases the number of branch groups by reducing the number of branch groups constituting the branch group that receives the broadcast signal as the reception intensity of the received broadcast signal is stronger. Broadcast signals are received in parallel.

  And the receiver 1 acquires program information etc. in parallel from each broadcast signal received by each each branch group. As a result, the time required to complete the acquisition of program information for all channels can be shortened, and the time required for auto-preset can be shortened.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, when a plurality of branches are divided into branch groups, the number of constituent branches in each branch group is the same. However, the number of constituent branches in each branch group is not necessarily the same. There is no.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a modification example in which a plurality of branches are divided into branch groups. As shown in the figure, when dividing into a plurality of branch groups, the first branch 2, the second branch 3, and the third branch 4 may constitute the A group, and the fourth branch 5 may constitute B. .

  If the A group and the B group are configured in this way, a broadcast signal having a reception strength of “high” can be received by the B group, and a broadcast signal having a reception strength of “medium” can be received by the A group.

  As a result, a broadcast signal having a reception strength of “medium” that is normally received by a branch group constituted by two branches can be received by a branch group constituted by three branches. Can acquire program information and the like more accurately.

  In the above embodiment, when searching for a broadcast channel that can be received at the current position, the center frequency of the lowest frequency and the highest frequency is determined from the lowest frequency and the highest frequency of the frequency band used in digital television broadcasting. However, the broadcast channel search procedure is not limited to this.

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a modification of the broadcast channel search procedure. As shown in the figure, when searching for a broadcast channel, for example, a search A that causes a broadcast signal in a frequency band from 470 MHz to 545 MHz to be received by the A group consisting of the first branch 2 to search for the broadcast channel, and 545 MHz. A search group B for receiving a broadcast signal in a frequency band from ˜620 MHz to the B group consisting of the second branch 3 to search for a broadcast channel, and a broadcast group in the frequency band from 695 MHz to 620 MHz for the C group consisting of the third branch 4 The search C for receiving the broadcast channel and searching for the broadcast channel and the search D for receiving the broadcast signal in the frequency band from 770 MHz to 695 MHz to the D group consisting of the fourth branch 5 and searching for the broadcast channel are executed in parallel. May be.

  In this way, by performing broadcast channel search for different frequency bands in parallel by the four branch groups, the time required to complete the search for the broadcast channel is further shortened, and the time required for auto presetting. Can be further shortened.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Reception apparatus 2 1st branch 3 2nd branch 4 3rd branch 5 4th branch 6 Preset memory 7 Signal composition part 8 Broadcast reproduction part 9 Channel switching operation part 10 Control part 20, 30, 40, 50 Antenna 21, 31 , 41, 51 Tuner 22, 32, 42, 52 Demodulator 23, 33, 43, 53 Switching unit 24, 34, 44, 54 Phase synchronization unit 25, 35, 45, 55 Program presence / absence determining unit 26, 36, 46, 56 Reception strength determination unit 27, 37, 47, 57 Program information acquisition unit

Claims (4)

A receiving device having an auto preset function for storing broadcast channels that can be received at the current position,
A plurality of branches for receiving broadcast signals transmitted from a broadcasting station;
A control unit that divides the plurality of branches into a plurality of branch groups, and causes each branch group to receive broadcast signals of different frequency bands in parallel to search for broadcast channels that can be received at the current position;
A broadcast presence / absence determining unit that determines whether or not a broadcast exists in the searched broadcast channel;
A program information acquisition unit for acquiring program information relating to a program being broadcast from a broadcast signal of a broadcast channel determined to be broadcast by the broadcast presence determination unit;
A receiving apparatus, comprising: a preset memory that stores the program information acquired by the program information acquisition unit in association with a corresponding broadcast channel. A reception strength determination unit that determines a reception strength related to a broadcast signal of a broadcast channel determined by the broadcast presence / absence determination unit;
The control unit changes the number of branches constituting the branch group used for receiving the broadcast signal for acquiring the program information according to the reception strength of the broadcast signal determined by the reception strength determination unit. The receiving device according to claim 1.   The said program information acquisition part acquires the said program information in parallel from each broadcast signal of a different broadcast channel received in parallel by each said branch group, The Claim 1 or Claim 2 characterized by the above-mentioned. Receiver device. An auto-preset method by a receiver having an auto-preset function for storing broadcast channels that can be received at the current position,
Dividing a plurality of branches receiving a broadcast signal transmitted from a broadcasting station into a plurality of branch groups;
Searching for a broadcast channel that can be received at the current position by causing each branch group to receive broadcast signals of different frequency bands in parallel;
Determining whether there is a broadcast on the searched broadcast channel;
Obtaining program information relating to a program being broadcast from a broadcast signal of a broadcast channel determined to be broadcast;
And storing the acquired program information and the corresponding broadcast channel in a preset memory in association with each other.

Images