JP3603081B2 - Television receiver - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to timer recording of a recording device (in the present invention, a VTR will be described below as an example). A television receiver (hereinafter, referred to as a television) has a function of instructing a VTR to perform recording, and performs recording from a television. The present invention relates to recording control of a television receiver in which a VTR automatically records according to an instruction.

  Conventionally, when a timer recording is performed on a television channel by a VTR, timer recording is performed on the VTR side by recording reservation. As a known example relating to this, the one described in Patent Document 1 below is known.

JP-A-1-212096

The present invention can also easily timer recording between different manufacturers and then, when controlling the external recording device manufacturer different from the television receiver once revision receiver side performs timer recording, to prevent a malfunction an object more reliably possible to allow the timer recording of a desired program while.

In order to achieve the above object, a television receiver according to the present invention receives a first remote control signal transmitted from a remote control, and is configured to be controllable by the received first remote control signal. In the receiver,
A remote control signal transmitting unit for transmitting a second remote control signal for controlling the external recording device set according to a maker of the external recording device to be connected to the external recording device to the external recording device; Recording reservation means for setting a start time and a channel, and setting screen display means for displaying a setting screen including a plurality of items related to the setting of the external recording device,
One of a plurality of items in the setting screen is selectable,
The television receiver can execute a test operation when a test key provided on the remote controller is operated while the setting screen is being displayed,
The remote control transmission unit,
(a) at the recording start time set by the recording reservation unit, a command for recording the desired program to the external recording device is transmitted to the external recording device as the second remote control signal;
(b) When a test key is operated for an item selected from the setting screen, it is determined whether the external recording device operates correctly with the set second remote control signal as the second remote control signal. A confirmation command for confirmation is transmitted to the external device, and the confirmation command includes contents corresponding to the item selected from the setting screen .

According to the configuration of the present invention described above, it is possible to confirm whether the setting of the second remote control signal is correct by the test operation, and to prevent failure in timer recording.

  In recent years, remote controls using infrared rays have become widespread for all electronic devices, especially for home electronic devices. Televisions and VTRs are widely used as if they were typical. According to the present invention, the remote control code of the VTR is stored in the inside of the television so that the television can reserve the channel to be recorded at a desired time, and the VTR can be programmed according to the remote control code of the VTR stored in the television. A remote control signal generator that generates an infrared remote control signal is prepared, and when the scheduled recording start time comes, the TV transmits a remote control code for power-on, channel selection and recording to the VTR through the remote control signal generator, and a recording end time. Then, by transmitting the remote control code of stop and power off, the VTR performs recording according to these remote control codes output from the television, that is, the VTR receives the remote control code transmitted from the television by the VTR's own remote control receiver. Then, as if the user were recording with a VTR remote control They behave as if they were instructed to carry out the recording.

  According to the television receiver of the present invention, timer recording can be easily performed between VCRs without a built-in BS tuner, including a BS channel, even between different manufacturers. Also, program reservation can be easily made by the same reservation method.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention and shows a system configuration for controlling recording of a VTR from a television. The example in FIG. 1 assumes a general installation state of a television and a VTR at home, and shows a case where the television 1 is housed on the television stand 26 and the VTR 18 is housed in the television stand 26. A remote control infrared light emitting section 22 is attached to the distal end of the television 1 via a connection cable 21. In the example of this figure, the remote control infrared light emitting section 22 is placed in the TV stand 26 in the vicinity of the remote control light receiving section 19 of the VTR 18. The type of signal output from the remote control infrared light emitting unit 22 will be described later in detail, but the remote control light receiving unit 19 of the VTR 18 detects the infrared signal from the remote control infrared light emitting unit 22 and controls the recording of the VTR 18. I have.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of the inside of the remote control infrared light emitting section 22 of FIG. In the hemispherical remote control infrared light emitting section 22, infrared light emitting diodes 23a and 23b are provided to reduce the directivity and to make the light emitting axes cross each other so that infrared rays are spread and emitted over a wide range. Are located in The light emitting section 22 is convenient to handle when a fixing member 22a such as a magnet is attached to the bottom face so as to be fixed to the cover of the TV stand 26 or the VTR 18 as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 3 shows an internal circuit of the remote control infrared light emitting unit 22 of FIG. The remote control infrared light emitting unit 22 is an example in which infrared light emitting diodes 23a and 23b are connected in series, but can operate even if the relative positional relationship between the infrared light receiving unit 19 of the VTR 18 and the remote control infrared light emitting unit 22 changes. It is sufficient that a sufficient light emission output is obtained, and the circuit is not limited to the circuit of FIG.

  In FIG. 1, the other end of the connection cable 21 with the remote control infrared light emitting section 22 attached to the tip is connected to the television 1, but since the connection cable 21 extends inside and outside the television stand 26, It is more convenient for the connected side to be removable.

  FIG. 4 is an example of a diagram showing only a portion according to the present invention in connection between the television 1 and the VTR 18. When the VTR 18 does not have a built-in BS tuner, the TV 1 has a BS output terminal 15 for supplying the VTR 18 with a video signal and an audio signal received and demodulated by the BS tuner built in the TV 1. The output of the output terminal 15 is connected to the external input terminal 17 of the VTR 18 by a connection cable 24, and the video and audio of the BS channel are supplied to the VTR 18.

  The VTR 18 is intended to be operated by an infrared remote controller, and includes an infrared light receiving photodiode 20 for receiving an infrared signal from a remote control transmitter (not shown in FIG. 4) of the VTR itself. The remote control light receiving section 19 is provided. Therefore, when a remote control code of the VTR 18 is stored in the television 1 and a code corresponding to power-on, channel selection, recording and the like is modulated at a predetermined frequency and output to the recording control output terminal 16 as a remote control signal, the remote control infrared light emitting section 22 An infrared remote control signal is transmitted through the remote controller, and this signal is received by the remote control light receiving unit 19 and is remotely controlled. That is, the VTR 18 is operated not only by the remote control transmitter of the VTR 18 (not shown) but also by a control signal output from the television 1. In this case, if the infrared wavelength of the remote control infrared light emitting section 22 is substantially equal to the infrared wavelength of the remote control transmitter of the VTR 18 itself, the transmission efficiency is high, and the operation is preferably performed even with low power.

  FIG. 5 shows an internal configuration of the television 1. In the figure, a signal received by a VHF / UHF antenna 2 is obtained as a V / U channel video and audio signal by a V / U tuner 3 including intermediate frequency amplification and detection. On the other hand, the BS channel received by the BS antenna 4 is converted into an intermediate frequency signal of about 1 GHz by a converter built in the BS antenna 4, and is input to the BS tuner 5 including the intermediate frequency amplification and detection. Obtain an audio signal. The V / U and BS video / audio signals are input to a signal switching circuit 6, which supplies BS channel video / audio signals to a BS output terminal 15, and sends the signals to a signal processing circuit 10. Supply video signal. The signal processing circuit 10 separates the video signal from the signal switching circuit 6 into a luminance signal, a chrominance signal, a synchronization signal, and the like, and superimposes the screen display signal from the screen display circuit 7 on the video signal including the luminance signal and the chrominance signal. The image is imposed and displayed on the surface of the CRT 11. The screen display circuit 7 has a built-in character generator for displaying information such as channel numbers and recording reservation contents on the surface of the CRT, and performs signal processing on a screen display signal composed of R, G, B and blanking signals. Supply to circuit 10. The recording control signal generation circuit 14 is controlled by the main microcontroller 8 by serial control data including information consisting of a control command and a channel number, converted into a remote control signal sequence generated by the serial control data, and converted into a recording control output terminal 16. Output. The memory circuit 9 stores channel information such as a receivable channel number, and reservation information such as a recording start time, a recording end time, and a recording channel, and is also used as a backup memory when AC power is cut off due to a power failure or the like. . The main microcontroller 8 is connected to the V / U tuner 3, the BS tuner 5, the signal switch 6, the screen display circuit 7, the recording control signal generating circuit 14, the memory circuit 9, and the remote control receiving circuit 12 of the television 1 itself. Control the circuit. The remote control receiving circuit 12 of the television 1 itself has an infrared light receiving photodiode 13, and converts the infrared remote control signal into an electric remote control signal. The remote control signal output from the remote control receiving circuit 12 of the television 1 itself is decoded by the main microcontroller 8, and performs channel selection, setting, correction or cancellation of the recording reservation contents displayed on the CRT screen.

  FIG. 6 shows the internal configuration of the recording control signal generation circuit 14. 12, a remote control code corresponding to the function of the VTR 18 as shown in FIG. 12 is stored in a memory area 14g in the sub-microcontroller 14a, and a carrier predetermined by serial control data from the main microcontroller 8 is stored. A remote control signal modulated by a remote control code can be output. The output remote control signal is connected to the base terminal of a drive transistor 14c that drives the infrared light emitting diode 23 through the resistor 14b. The resistors 14d and 14e limit the drive current of the infrared light emitting diode 23. The resistor 14f delays the recovery time (rise time) when the drive transistor 14c is turned off due to the stray capacitance of the connection cable 21. This is to prevent The jack 16a is a jack portion of the recording control output terminal 16, and is used to insert a mini plug or the like connected to the tip of the remote control infrared light emitting portion 22. 22 is a structure that can be removed when unnecessary.

  FIG. 7 shows only the minimum keys of the remote controller transmitter 25 according to this embodiment. 25a is a reservation key for instructing reservation, 25b is a test key for testing whether the recording channel instructed to the VTR is correct, and 25c to 1 are used to input numbers at the time of reservation or to select a channel. A 10-key consisting of 9 digits, and 25 m are cursor keys for moving a menu screen displayed on the CRT surface or a selection position of reservation setting or reservation contents in the upward, downward, left, and right directions.

  FIG. 13 shows an example of the reservation setting contents displayed on the CRT of the television 1. When the reservation key 25a is pressed with the remote control transmitter 25 of the television 1 facing the infrared light receiving section of the television 1, the main microcontroller 8 displays the reservation screen of FIG. Here, the cursor key 25m is pressed in the left-right direction to select a program reservation that is reserved only for the television 1 or a recording reservation that is recorded on the VTR 18. When the reservation is selected, the television screen is as shown in FIG. 13 (2), and the user waits for the next item, the designation of the reservation date. FIG. 13 (2) shows an example in which the recording reservation is selected. A method for performing flashing or the like, even if the program reservation character is displayed with the characters erased or the other characters are left in a different color without erasing the characters. May be. When the reservation date is entered with the ten keys 25c to l in FIG. 13 (2), the screen shown in FIG. 13 (3) is displayed and a screen for waiting for input of the reservation start time is displayed. When all necessary items such as the end time and the selected channel have been input in this way, all the input items are displayed as shown in FIG. 13B, and the reservation is completed by pressing the reservation key 25a again.

  In the above-described example, the case where the user inputs the reservation item for each item is shown. However, such an input method is troublesome because there are many input items, and in addition, the operation is difficult. In recent years, there are many simple methods, such as a bar code method, a G code of Gemstar, and a date, a channel, a recording start time, and a recording time, which are collectively coded by several digits, and the numbers are input to make a reservation. It has been adopted and its code has been widely published in the program section of newspapers and magazines. Using this G code system makes it easier to make reservations. FIG. 14 is an example of a screen when the G code method is adopted. FIG. 14 (1) is displayed when the reservation key 25a is pressed similarly to the case of FIG. 8 (a), and when the recording reservation is selected with the cursor key 25m, the character of the recording reservation is changed as shown in FIG. 8 (2). It is displayed in a different color (hatched in the drawing), and prompts for the input of a reservation code called a G code. When the user reads and inputs the reservation code from the program column of a newspaper, magazine, or the like, the state becomes as shown in FIG. 3 (3). When the reservation key 25a is pressed again, the main microcontroller 8 decodes this number, and the date, channel, , The recording start time, and the recording time, and a reservation list as shown in FIG. 9 is displayed. No. 1 indicates the content of the reservation already reserved, and the content newly reserved this time is displayed at No. 2. Here, “program” or “recording” displayed under “reservation” in FIG. 9 represents “program reservation” and “recording reservation”, respectively, and the number under “CH” represents a reserved channel, “V” next to the number indicates that the VTR 18 selects a reserved channel. FIG. 9 is an example of the list. If it is possible to identify “program reservation” and “recording reservation” and to identify the channel of the television 1 or the channel of the VTR 18, any other method may be used. There is no.

  Returning a little, the display LED 27 at the lower front of the television 1 in FIG. 1 is an LED for displaying whether the reservation content of the television 1 is a program reservation or a VTR 18 recording reservation, and lights up in green when the program is reserved. When a recording is reserved, it is displayed in a distinctive manner so as to light up in red. When a plurality of reservations are made, a program reservation and a recording reservation may be set at the same time. In this case, the recording is preferentially displayed and the LED 27 is lit in red. The TV remote control transmitter 25 is operated toward the infrared light receiving section 12 of the television 1 to select a channel of the television 1 or to set or correct the program reservation and recording reservation contents displayed on the CRT screen. Or to perform cancellation or the like.

  Next, execution of reservation will be described. Assuming that the current date is the 15th, at 8:00 am, a program reservation has been made, so the main microcontroller 8 turns on the power of the television 1 (however, if the power is already on, The state does not change.), And the V / U tuner 3 is controlled to select 12 channels. If there is no key operation on the remote controller or the like by the end time, the power is turned off at the end time of 9:00 am. At 11:00 pm, since a recording reservation has been made, the main microcontroller 8 sends a control signal of a maker code, a power supply, a CH, and a recording command previously selected on a menu screen or the like to the sub-microcontroller 14a. . The sub-microcontroller 14a outputs the set power command, CH command, and recording command as shown in FIG. At 11:30 pm of the end time, a stop command and a power supply command are similarly output to end timer recording.

  10A, the REC command is output slightly earlier than the reservation start time, and the stop command is output slightly later than the reservation end time. The difference from the timer time can be absorbed, and the desired channel can be recorded without fail. Of course, the power command and the CH command for starting the reservation are output before the recording command, and at the time when the REC command is output, the VTR must be in a recordable state. It goes without saying that the command must be output.

  Here, the power supply of the VTR in response to the power supply command often performs a so-called toggle operation of inverting the state each time a normal command is received. In such a case, the state of the VTR may be undefined in response to the power command, so that it is set in advance to output a single command such as power on or power off in preference to the toggle command. Further, when there is only a toggle command, it can be dealt with by turning off the power of the VTR in advance in the recording setting state.

  The operation of recording reservation of the BS channel differs depending on whether or not the VTR 18 has a built-in BS tuner. The information on whether the VTR 18 to be used has a built-in BS tuner or not is input by the user himself into the memory of the recording control signal generation circuit 14 of the television 1 together with the remote control code table of FIG. Enter it. By doing so, it is possible to determine whether to use the tuner of the television 1 or the tuner of the VTR at the time of recording reservation. If the VTR 18 has a built-in BS tuner, "∨" is displayed at the CH in FIG. When the VTR 18 does not have a built-in BS tuner, the display of “∨” can be prevented.

  When the VTR 18 has a built-in BS tuner, the recording reservation is executed by outputting the command of FIG. 10A from the remote control infrared light emitting unit 22 in the same manner as the recording reservation of the V / U tuner described above. When the VTR 18 does not have a built-in BS tuner, the command shown in FIG. 10B is output from the remote control infrared light emitting unit 22 to execute the recording reservation. In this case, since there is no "@" in the reservation in the television 1, the channel is selected by the BS tuner 5 and the video / audio signal is output to the terminal 15. The difference between FIG. 10A and FIG. 10B is that the CH command in FIG. 10A is an external input command in FIG. 10B. Although there are models that cannot select an external input even when the VTR 18 receives an external input command from the remote control infrared light emitting unit 22, in this case, it is necessary that the user input the VTR 18 in advance as an external input. When the VTR 18 receives the external input command, the input of the recording signal is switched to the video and audio of the selected BS channel outputted to the terminal 15 of the television 1, so that the desired recording of the BS channel can be performed.

  The signal output from the remote control infrared light emitting section 22 is a signal obtained by modulating a carrier of a predetermined frequency with a remote control code corresponding to each command, as shown in FIG. FIG. 11A shows a remote control code signal, and FIG. 11B shows an infrared remote control signal obtained by modulating a carrier of a predetermined frequency with (A). FIG. 9A shows a header indicating the start of a series of data and a code called a custom code which is determined for each maker or model. Subsequently, a data code shown in FIG. Continue. The custom code of the VTR is determined so as not to cause a malfunction when the maker is different, and a code is assigned to each maker as shown in FIG. FIG. 15 shows an example in which the code is different between the case where the VTR has a built-in BS tuner and the case where the VTR is not built-in. Therefore, if the custom codes of these manufacturers are comprehensively stored in advance in the memory within the recording control signal generation circuit 14 together with the remote control codes of FIG. 12 so that these can be selected, the manufacturers of the television 1 and the VTR 18 can Even if they are different, it is possible to output a code corresponding to the maker of the VTR 18 to be used from the television 1, and it is possible to make a recording reservation.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily perform timer recording between different manufacturers, and perform timer recording by controlling an external recording device of a different manufacturer from the television receiver on the television receiver side. Thus, timer recording of a desired program can be performed more reliably.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the controller is constituted by the main microcontroller 8 and the sub-microcontroller 14a. However, the main and sub may be constituted by one. In addition, the method of storing the remote control codes of major other manufacturers in the sub-microcontroller 14a has been described. However, the procedure is displayed on the screen display circuit 7 and the remote control code of the VTR 18 used from the infrared receiver 12 of the television 1 is displayed. It can also be configured by having a so-called learning function for reading codes and storing the above-mentioned commands such as power supply, channel, recording, and stop. Further, in the present embodiment, the case of the method of inputting a number as the reservation method has been described, but by pressing the reservation key 25a of the remote control transmitter 25 twice, the reservation setting screen by the number input shown in FIG. The reservation list shown in FIG. 8 can be directly called. In this case, in addition to confirming the reservation, the user can use the cursor keys 25m of the remote control transmitter 25 to correct, cancel, or set a new reservation, such as the channel, date, start time, and end time, so that the program can be extended. A reservation can be made in the same manner even when there is a channel, or when a channel such as a newspaper, in which a digitized code is not posted, is reserved.

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a remote control infrared light emitting unit 22 of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is an internal circuit diagram of a remote control infrared light emitting unit 22 of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating input / output terminals and a remote control light emitting / receiving unit in the system configuration diagram of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of the television receiver 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of a recording control signal generation circuit 14 of FIG. FIG. 2 is an external view of a remote control transmitter 25. It is a display example (1) on a CRT surface. It is a display example (2) on a CRT surface. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a command procedure at the time of recording control. It is a figure showing an example of a command of a remote control code. It is a figure which shows an example of the correspondence of the function of a VTR, and a remote control code. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of display on a CRT screen when recording reservation is made, in which display contents are filled in for each reservation item. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a display example on the cathode ray tube surface when recording reservation is made with a numeric code called a G code. It is a figure showing the example of the custom code corresponding to every maker.

Explanation of reference numerals

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Television receiver, 3 ... V / U tuner, 5 ... BS tuner, 7 ... Screen display circuit, 8 ... Main microcontroller, 11 ... CRT, 14 ... Recording control signal generation circuit, 15 ... BS output terminal, 16 ... Recording control output terminal, 18... VTR, 22.

Claims (3)

In a television receiver configured to receive a first remote control signal transmitted from a remote control and to be controllable by the received first remote control signal,
A remote control signal transmitting unit for transmitting a second remote control signal for controlling the external recording device set according to a maker of the external recording device to be connected to the external recording device to the external recording device; Recording reservation means for setting a start time and a channel, and setting screen display means for displaying a setting screen including a plurality of items related to the setting of the external recording device,
One of a plurality of items in the setting screen is selectable,
The television receiver can execute a test operation when a test key provided on the remote controller is operated while the setting screen is being displayed,
The remote control transmission unit,
(a) at the recording start time set by the recording reservation unit, a command for recording the desired program to the external recording device is transmitted to the external recording device as the second remote control signal;
(b) When a test key is operated for an item selected from the setting screen, it is determined whether the external recording device operates correctly with the set second remote control signal as the second remote control signal. Sending a confirmation command for confirmation to the external device,
The television receiver , wherein the confirmation command includes contents corresponding to an item selected from the setting screen . 2. The television receiver according to claim 1, wherein the command for recording the desired program on the external recording device includes a power command and a recording command. The television receiver according to claim 1, wherein selection of an item from the setting screen is performed by a cursor key provided on the remote controller.

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