JP2011095818A - Content output device and power consumption management method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology for allowing a user to obtain a power saving situation in an electric power management setting method in a content output device. <P>SOLUTION: To reduce the power consumption in a television 10, a function limiting processing part 24 previously sets sources (51-53, 61-64) whose using frequency is assumed to be low by the user not to start, and displays the power saving state so that the user can obtain it. For a source where the function limit is set, the route of power supply from a power source circuit 40 is turned off by controlling a power switch part 45. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a content output apparatus and a power consumption management method, for example, a content output apparatus that outputs video / audio such as a television and a video, and a power consumption management method in such a content output apparatus.

  Concerning environmental issues, especially the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions, it has become a hot topic every day, and measures are being taken as a major theme in countries around the world. Under such circumstances, the industry is reducing energy consumption by reducing input energy and improving the distribution system. On the other hand, the consumption of ordinary households in the overall energy consumption occupies a large weight, but in the past, there were few ordinary consumers actively working to reduce energy consumption. However, in recent years, consumer trends are changing dramatically, and the company is showing positive efforts to achieve significant reduction targets.

  Under such circumstances, reduction of energy consumption for electric devices has been receiving more attention than ever as a point of appeal for products. Conventionally, various technologies have been proposed as electrical products having a function of reducing energy consumption. For example, as a mobile device, there is a technology that supplies power only to a function block in use in a video card player with a TV function and does not impair operability at the time of function switching (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2007-41951 A

  By the way, as described above, consumers have become much interested in reducing energy consumption, and there are increasing cases where they want to contribute more actively. However, the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 automatically There is a problem that power saving control is performed and it is difficult for the user to understand the power saving situation.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique that enables a user to grasp a power saving state and a technique that realizes effective power saving in a power consumption management method in a content output apparatus.

The apparatus according to the present invention relates to a content output apparatus having a plurality of functions. The content output device includes: a restriction target selection unit that selects a target to be restricted from the plurality of functions; a function operation stop unit that stops the operation of the selected function; and consumption of the selected function. Power calculation means for calculating power consumption based on a function other than the selected function by reflecting power, and power display means for displaying and outputting the calculated power consumption are provided.
Further, the function operation stop means may cut off power supply to the selected function.
The content output apparatus may be a television receiver, and the function whose operation is restricted may be a tuner.
The function subject to the operation restriction may be an external input function.
Further, the restriction target selecting means may select the function subject to the operation restriction based on the operation history for the function subject to the operation restriction.
Further, the restriction target selecting unit may release the operation restriction of the function selected as the operation restriction target based on the operation history for the function to be the operation restriction target.
The method according to the present invention relates to a power consumption management method for a content output apparatus having a plurality of functions. This power consumption management method is a power consumption management method for a content output apparatus having a plurality of functions, and includes a restriction target selection step for selecting a target for restricting operation among the plurality of functions, and a target for the operation restriction. A function operation stop process for stopping the function selected as a power supply, a power calculation process for calculating power consumption based on a function other than the function selected as the target of the operation restriction, and a display output of the calculated power consumption. A power display step.
Further, the function operation stop step may stop the function selected as the operation restriction target by cutting off power supply to the function selected as the operation restriction target.
The content output device may be a television receiver, and the function subject to the operation restriction may be a tuner.
The function subject to the operation restriction may be an external input function.
Further, the restriction target selecting step may select a function to be subject to the operation restriction based on an operation history for the function to be subject to the operation restriction.
Further, the restriction target selection step may release the operation restriction of the function selected as the operation restriction target based on the operation history for the function to be the operation restriction target.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, in the power management setting method in a content output device, the technique which a user can grasp | ascertain a power saving condition and the technique which implement | achieves effective power saving can be provided.

It is a functional block diagram which shows schematic structure of the television based on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a setting screen displayed for function restriction | limiting setting based on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the OSD display of the power consumption in the display screen based on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows a process when starting auditioning of the television based on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows a process when the function restriction | limiting setting is selected during the trial listening of the television based on embodiment of this invention.

  Next, modes for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter simply referred to as “embodiments”) will be described with reference to the drawings. The outline of the present embodiment is that a function that is assumed to be less frequently used by a user is set not to be activated in advance in order to reduce power consumption in a content output device such as a television or a DVD recorder, and the user can set a power saving state. It is displayed so that it can be grasped. Specifically, among the sources such as a tuner and an external input device, the power supply to the functional block related to the predetermined source is set to be stopped, and the power consumption corresponding to the operating source is displayed in OSD. Is. For example, in an environment in which satellite broadcasting cannot be received on a TV equipped with a plurality of types of tuners, the power supply path is turned off for the functions related to the satellite broadcasting tuner, and the functions are stopped. . Details will be described below.

  FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the television 10 according to the present embodiment. Here, functions mainly focusing on power consumption will be described, and since other functions can be realized by a known technique, description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

  The television 10 is, for example, a liquid crystal television, and includes a control unit 20, a display unit 30, an audio output unit 32, a power supply circuit 40, a power switch unit 45, an internal source unit 50, an external source unit 60, An operation acquisition unit 80 is provided.

  The display unit 30 includes an LCD panel and its drive circuit, and displays and outputs a video signal. The audio output unit 32 includes a speaker, an amplifier, and the like, and outputs an audio signal. The power supply circuit 40 acquires an AC power supply from the outside, converts it to a desired DC, and supplies power to each component. The power supply control is executed by a power management unit 23 described later.

  The control unit 20 is realized by an LSI (Large Scale Integrated Circuit) such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory, and a program stored in the memory and executing each function. The control unit 20 includes a main control unit 21, an output processing unit 22, a power management unit 23, a function restriction processing unit 24, and a power management table 25.

  The main control unit 21 comprehensively controls each component of the television 10. Further, the output processing unit 22 selects a desired source (51 to 53, 61 to 64) from the internal source unit 50 or the external source unit 60, acquires a content signal (video signal or audio signal), and displays the display unit 30. A signal corresponding to the drive format is output to the display unit 30 and an audio signal is output to the audio output unit 32.

  In addition, the output processing unit 22 displays, for example, a setting screen of the television 10 or an OSD (On Screen Display) screen that reflects the contents of the data broadcast or gives the selected channel number and time as necessary. An image to be finally displayed on the unit 30 is constructed.

  The power management unit 23 performs general power management control and performs power management control in function restriction, which is characteristic processing in the present embodiment. Although specifically described later, the power management unit 23 controls the power switch unit 45 to turn off the power supply to the source for which the function restriction is designated by the user.

  The function restriction processing unit 24 sets a function for accepting designation of function restriction from the user for the sources (51 to 53, 61 to 64) provided in the internal source unit 50 and the external source unit 60, and the function of the source that has received the designation. A limit control function for limiting. Further, the function restriction processing unit 24 calculates the power consumption during the function restriction with reference to the power management table 25 as one function of the restriction control function, and causes the display unit 30 to display the OSD. The power management table 25 records the power consumption of each function, more specifically, an approximate value of power consumption for each source.

  The internal source unit 50 includes a first tuner 51, a second tuner 52, and a third tuner 53. For example, the first tuner 51 is a terrestrial digital broadcast tuner, the second tuner 52 is a terrestrial analog broadcast tuner, and the third tuner 53 is a satellite broadcast tuner. Here, the first tuner 51, which is a terrestrial digital broadcast tuner, receives and decodes the terrestrial digital broadcast. The decoded signal is output to the output processing unit 22. The second tuner 52 and the third tuner 53 also have general reception / decoding functions and the like corresponding to the respective standards, and output a signal after predetermined processing to the output processing unit 22.

  The external source unit 60 includes an HDMI unit 61, a DVI unit 62, a LAN unit 63, and a DV terminal unit 64. The HDMI unit 61 includes an HDMI standard input terminal, acquires a signal of the standard from the outside, and outputs the signal to the output processing unit 22. The DVI unit 62 includes an input terminal of the DVI standard, acquires a signal of the standard from the outside, and outputs the signal to the output processing unit 22. The LAN unit 63 is an interface that enables network communication based on a predetermined communication standard (for example, 100BASE-T2 standard). The DV terminal unit 64 includes an IEEE 1394 standard terminal, acquires a signal of the standard from the outside, and outputs the signal to the output processing unit 22.

  The power switch unit 45 is a switch that controls power supply from the power supply circuit 40 to each source of the internal source unit 50 and the external source unit 60, and is controlled by the power management unit 23.

  The operation acquisition unit 80 is an interface for acquiring a user operation on the television 10 and includes a panel on which buttons to be directly operated are arranged, a wireless reception circuit for acquiring a wireless signal from the remote control 82, and the like. .

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described by focusing on the function restriction process.
First, the function restriction setting will be described. FIG. 2 is an example of a setting screen displayed for function restriction setting. The user causes the display unit 30 to display the illustrated power consumption management menu screen A10 by operating the remote controller 82 or the like.

  The power consumption management menu screen A10 is further divided into first to fourth setting areas A1 to A4, and predetermined setting is performed in each area. In the first setting area A1, a function restriction item is selected. When performing the function restriction, the user selects “Yes”, and adds a check (“V” notation) to the check box of the source (function) for which the function restriction is to be performed for the source displayed below. . That is, a source that is “checked” is an unnecessary function, and a source that is not checked is a required function.

  For the internal source unit 50, the check box of the third tuner 53 is checked, and the function of the third tuner 53 is not used. That is, the power supply to the third tuner 53 is interrupted by the power management unit 23 and the power switch unit 45. For the external source unit 60, only the HDMI unit 61 is unchecked. That is, the power supply for the other sources (62 to 64) is interrupted by the power management unit 23 and the power switch unit 45. When “None” is selected, power is supplied to all functions without restriction.

  In the second setting area A2, the user selects a display mode of the power saving situation. When “no display” is selected, the power consumption during use is not displayed. When “Number 1 (W)” is selected, for example, as shown in FIG. 3A, the power consumption excluding the power consumption of the circuit related to the function-restricted source is displayed as “wattage”. OSD is displayed on the lower left of the screen. Here, “123W” is displayed. Further, when “number 2 (level)” is selected, as shown in FIG. 3B, it is displayed at a predetermined level according to the power saving level, for example, at five levels. Here, the fact that it is level 2 is displayed. Furthermore, when “mark” is selected, as shown in FIG. 3C, marks based on plant illustrations reminiscent of environmental contributions are displayed in quantities corresponding to power consumption. In this display, when the power consumption is high, the number of marks may be increased or conversely. It is desirable to adopt a form in which the user is easily aware of the reduction in power consumption. The power consumption calculation is performed by the function restriction processing unit 24 with reference to the power management table 25 as described above.

  In the third setting area A3, the user performs settings related to the release of the function restriction. Here, a selection is made for processing when the user selects a function-restricted source while listening to the television 10 in a state where the function is restricted. When “no release” is selected, when a source whose function is restricted in the first setting area A1 is selected, the source is not activated. For example, even if the user presses a button for designating the third tuner 53 on the remote controller 82, the source is not changed, and playback of the source before the press is continued. When “automatic release” is selected, the source is automatically activated regardless of the function restriction designation. However, since the startup process is performed from the power supply process, it may take some time until the startup. If “cancel after notification” is selected, the display unit 30 once displays that the function-restricted source is selected, and the activation process is performed only when the button is pressed again. .

  In the fourth setting area A4, the user selects whether to reflect the history regarding the function restriction. When “Yes” is selected, the function restriction selection is automatically changed based on the source selection history in a certain past period. For example, in the first setting area A1, the function limitation is not made for the second tuner 52, but if the second tuner 52 has not been used for the past month, the function is not provided for the second tuner 52. Limited and the power supply is stopped. When “None” is selected, the usage history, that is, the source selection history is not reflected. The usage history is recorded in a predetermined storage area provided in the function restriction processing unit 24.

  When the “OK” button B1 is pressed, the contents set in the first to fourth setting areas A1 to A4 are recorded in a predetermined storage area of the function restriction processing unit 24, and in the subsequent display processing. The contents are reflected.

  Next, a process when listening to the television 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the user turns on the television 10, the main control unit 21 starts an initialization process. At that time, the function restriction processing unit 24 checks whether or not the function restriction is set (S10). When there is no function restriction setting (N in S10), the power switch unit 45 turns on the power supply paths for all the sources and performs normal display processing (S11). When there is a function restriction setting (Y in S10), the power management unit 23 controls the power switch unit 45 to turn off the power supply path for the source with the restriction function setting, and the source without the function restriction. Only is turned on (S12). Subsequently, the function restriction processing unit 24 refers to the power management table 25, calculates the power consumption of the source that is not function-restricted (S13), and displays it on the display unit 30 (S14). The power consumption may be displayed for a predetermined time only when the power of the television 10 is turned on or when the operation of the television 10 is performed.

  Next, processing when the user operates the remote controller 82 and presses the source button for which the function restriction is selected while viewing the television 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  When the user operates the remote control 82, the main control unit 21 that has received an instruction signal by the operation confirms with the function restriction processing unit 24 whether or not the operation is for a function-restricted source (S21). If the operation is for a source whose function is not restricted (N in S21), normal processing in response to the instruction is performed (S22). In the case of an operation on a source for which function restriction has been made (Y in S21), the function restriction processing unit 24 confirms whether stop cancellation has been set (S23). When stop cancellation is not set (N in S23), that is, when “no cancellation” is selected in the third setting area A3 in FIG. Continue.

  If stop cancellation is set (Y in S23), it is confirmed whether automatic cancellation is set (S24). When the automatic release is set (Y in S24), the function restriction processing unit 24 instructs the power management unit 23 to turn on the power supply path to a desired source, and performs display processing of the source, etc. (S25). When automatic release is not set (N in S24), the function restriction processing unit 24 confirms whether the same operation is performed again within a predetermined period, that is, whether the button is pressed twice (S26). . When the operation is performed again (Y in S26), power supply is started to the source whose function is restricted, and processing in response to the operation is performed (S25). When the operation is not performed again (N in S26), the function restriction processing unit 24 displays on the display unit 30 that the function restriction is not released (S27).

  According to the present embodiment, the user can set the functions of the television 10 to the minimum necessary, and the power consumption can be reduced. Moreover, the power consumption set during viewing can be grasped, and the user can more actively work on the power consumption reduction. Also, depending on the user's usage environment and mode of use, if functions that cannot be used or functions that are not scheduled to be used are known in advance, power supply is stopped, reducing power consumption due to the standby state of functions, etc. Can be dramatically reduced.

  The present invention has been described based on the embodiments. This embodiment is an exemplification, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to combinations of the respective constituent elements and processing processes, and such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention. . For example, in the above embodiment, as a function restriction for reducing power consumption, the power supply for the content source, particularly the video function, has been exemplified. It is also possible to apply functional restrictions relating to driving speed such as double speed control. Further, when the television 10 is turned on, a source whose function is restricted may be displayed to notify the user. Furthermore, the content output device is not limited to the television 10, and a video device such as a DVD recorder can also use the above technique.

10 TV 20 Control unit 21 Main control unit 22 Output processing unit 23 Power management unit 24 Function restriction processing unit 25 Power management table 30 Display unit 40 Power supply circuit 45 Power switch unit 50 Internal source unit 51 First tuner 52 Second tuner 53 3 tuner 60 external source unit 61 HDMI unit 62 DVI unit 63 LAN unit 64 DV terminal unit 80 operation acquisition unit 82 remote control

Claims (12)

A content output device having a plurality of functions,
A restriction target selecting means for selecting a target whose operation is to be restricted among the plurality of functions;
A function operation stop means for stopping the operation of the selected function;
Power calculation means for reflecting power consumption of the selected function and calculating power consumption based on a function other than the selected function;
Power display means for displaying and outputting the calculated power consumption;
A content output apparatus comprising:   The content output apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the function operation stop unit cuts off power supply to the selected function.   The content output apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the content output apparatus is a television receiver, and the function whose operation is to be restricted is a tuner.   The content output apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the operation restriction target function is an external input function.   The content according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the restriction target selecting unit selects the function subject to the operation restriction based on an operation history for the function subject to the operation restriction. Output device.   6. The restriction target selecting unit cancels the operation restriction of the function selected as the operation restriction target based on an operation history for the function to be the operation restriction target. The content output device according to any one of the above. A power consumption management method for a content output device having a plurality of functions,
Of the plurality of functions, a restriction target selection step for selecting a target for restricting operation;
A function operation stop process for stopping the function selected as the target of the operation restriction;
A power calculation step of calculating power consumption based on a function other than the function selected as the operation restriction target;
A power display step for displaying and outputting the calculated power consumption;
A power consumption management method comprising:   8. The consumption according to claim 7, wherein the function operation stopping step stops the function selected as the operation restriction target by cutting off power supply to the function selected as the operation restriction target. Power management method.   The power consumption management method according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the content output device is a television receiver, and the function whose operation is to be restricted is a tuner.   The power consumption management method according to claim 9, wherein the operation restriction target function is an external input function.   The consumption according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the restriction target selection step selects the function to be subject to operation restriction based on an operation history for the function to be subject to operation restriction. Power management method.   12. The restriction target selecting step of canceling the operation restriction of the function selected as the operation restriction target based on an operation history for the function subject to the operation restriction. The power consumption management method according to any one of the above.

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