JP3611513B2 - Digital broadcasting system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a digital broadcast receiver equipped with an e-mail (hereinafter referred to as E-mail) transmission / reception function.Digital broadcasting system forThe present invention relates to a technique related to program reservation using the e-mail function.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Program reservation in a digital broadcast receiver without an e-mail transmission / reception function is performed by a user performing key operations interactively with a monitor screen. Hereinafter, a procedure until a program reservation is performed in a digital broadcast receiver having no e-mail transmission / reception function will be described.
[0003]
FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional digital broadcast receiver having no e-mail transmission / reception function. In the configuration shown in FIG. 10, first, a broadcast broadcast by satellite broadcasting or terrestrial broadcasting is received by the antenna 1000, and a received signal is input to the tuner unit 1001, and a tuned signal is extracted therefrom. Next, a TS (Transport Stream) demodulator 1002 performs QPSK demodulation and error correction to extract TS data. Next, the transport processing unit 1003 separates the TS data into audio data, video data, and program information data, and passes them to the next blocks.
[0004]
The MPEG audio demodulation unit 1004 receives audio data from the transport processing unit 1003, demodulates it into digital audio data, and the demodulated digital audio data is converted into an analog audio signal by the audio D / A 1005, The data is output to the TV monitor 1006 and the recording (recording) device 1009.
[0005]
The MPEG video demodulation unit 1007 receives video data from the transport processing unit 1003, demodulates it into digital video data, and the demodulated digital video data is converted into an analog video signal by the video encoder 1008, and then the TV The data is output to the monitor 1006 and the recording device 1009.
[0006]
The program information demodulation unit 1010 receives program information data from the transport processing unit 1003 and demodulates program information (broadcast time, program title, program content, program genre) broadcast on each channel (hereinafter referred to as CH). The demodulated program information data is stored in the memory 1011.
[0007]
An example of storing the program information in the memory 1011 is shown in FIG. The entire program information is stored as shown in 200, the program information scheduled to be broadcast on the CH is stored next to the CH number, and then the next CH number and the scheduled broadcast program information are stored. The contents of the program information scheduled to be broadcast are configured such that the program information scheduled to be broadcast is arranged in order of time as indicated by 201. Furthermore, as shown in 202, the contents of the single program information are composed of a broadcast start time, a broadcast end time, a program title, a program genre, and program contents.
[0008]
The above operation is a process from receiving a broadcast to outputting a program to a monitor.
[0009]
Next, a procedure for program reservation processing will be described. First, a user requests to display a program guide screen (screen for displaying information on an unbroadcast program (program to be broadcast) to reserve a program) for reserving a broadcast program, such as a remote control or an operation panel. Are input through the operation key input unit 1014. Then, the operation key reception control unit 1017 determines that the program guide display key has been pressed, and requests the OSD (On Screen Display) display processing unit 1012 to display the program guide. Upon receiving the program guide display request, the OSD display processing unit 1012 takes out the program information from the memory 1011 and creates program guide screen data that can grasp what program is broadcast on each CH. The created program guide data is transferred to the video encoder 1008, mixed with the digital video data demodulated by the MPEG video demodulator 1007, output as an analog video signal to the TV monitor 1006, and displayed as a program guide screen. .
[0010]
FIG. 11 shows an example of a program guide screen. Briefly describing the program guide screen 1100, the channel number 1101 is arranged vertically at the left end of the screen, and the broadcast time information 1102 is arranged side by side on the screen. Each program is displayed in a button shape like a broadcast program column 1104 and can be selected with a cursor 1103. When the position of the cursor 1103 further moves from the end of the broadcast program column 1104, a scroll operation is performed, and the broadcast program column 1104 ahead is displayed.
[0011]
When such a program guide screen 1100 is displayed on the TV monitor 1106, the user operates the cursor key of the operation key input unit 1014 to move the cursor 1103 to the broadcast program column 1104 to be reserved. Thereafter, when the user operates the enter key of the operation key input unit 1014, the reservation operation for the designated program is completed.
[0012]
When the program to be reserved is specified, the operation key reception control unit 1017 passes the processing to the reservation reception control unit 1016. The reservation reception control unit 1016 reads the reserved program information from the memory 1011 and sets the program reservation setting. Process.
[0013]
The reservation execution control unit 1015 monitors until the current time reaches the broadcast start time of the reserved program. When the current time becomes the reservation time, the tuner unit selects the channel designated by the reservation. 1001 and the transport processing unit 1003 are controlled. When a recording reservation is designated, the recording device control unit 1013 is used to control the recording (recording) device 1009 to enter a recording state. The recording device control unit 1013 may be a video mouse for controlling a video deck, an IEEE 1394 output for an IEEE 1394-equipped device, or the recording device itself may be incorporated in a broadcast receiver.
[0014]
As described above, when a program (recording) reservation is made in a broadcast receiver (or a broadcast receiver with a recording device), the reservation must be made by directly operating the broadcast receiver with a remote control or an operation panel switch. For this reason, conventionally, there is no means for remotely operating the device from the outside when the program (recording) reservation is forgotten or when the user wants to go out or when a program to be reserved is found. Therefore, the reservation operation could not be performed.
[0015]
By the way, in recent years, Internet communication from a mobile terminal has become possible, and there are increasing opportunities to use the Internet even when away from home. In consideration of such an environment, it is conceivable to perform a reservation operation on the broadcast receiver from the outside using the e-mail function.
[0016]
In this case, it is assumed that the broadcast receiver has an e-mail function, but it is possible to make a program (recording) reservation from the outside using a mobile terminal or the like. As described above, when a program (recording) reservation operation is performed using the e-mail function, at present, the user designates the broadcast CH, the program broadcast start time, and the program broadcast end time, and the program ( It is common to make a recording) reservation. In the remote control system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-59867, a system has been proposed in which a video recording reservation is made by specifying a date and time by e-mail, and other connected devices (such as an air conditioner and a security device) are controlled. ing.
[0017]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the system as disclosed in the above-mentioned prior application publication, if the broadcast CH of the program to be reserved, the program broadcast start time, and the program broadcast end time are not grasped firmly, the reservation cannot be performed and the destination In order to perform this reservation operation, it is inconvenient because it is necessary to refer to magazines and materials such as program guides.
[0018]
In addition, since the automatic e-mail reception time on the reservation device side is fixed, there is also a problem that the reservation operation cannot be performed unless the e-mail for reservation is sent before the automatic reception time from the outside.
[0019]
The present invention has been made in view of the above points. The purpose of the present invention is to make a program reservation by simply specifying a program title and a program genre of a program to be reserved by e-mail, or to set an E on the broadcast receiver side. By enabling remote control of automatic mail reception, it is intended to improve usability in a reservation operation by e-mail.
[0020]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is equipped with an email transmission / reception function.,Means for receiving digital broadcast, means for decoding and storing unbroadcast program (broadcast scheduled program) information from broadcast, means for automatically receiving e-mail regularly, and detecting program reservation information from received e-mail Means for reading the program title information to be reserved from the program reservation information, means for searching for the program corresponding to the read program title information from the stored non-broadcast program information, and automatically searching for the corresponding program by the search Program reservation means, and at the reservation start time, there is means for automatically recording by controlling the storage device at the same time as the channel selection. Even if the broadcast time of the program to be reserved is not known, the program can be sent by e-mail. You can make a program reservation just by specifying the title.In a digital broadcast system for a digital broadcast receiver, when a broadcast request for an automatic reception signal of an e-mail is received from the user on the program broadcast station side, the program broadcast station is directed to the digital broadcast receiver designated by the requested user. A means for transmitting an automatic email reception signal on a broadcast is provided, and the digital broadcast receiver has means for receiving the automatic email reception signal and automatic email reception upon receipt of the automatic email reception signal. Means for receiving, and is configured so that automatic e-mail can be received at the convenience of the user when making a program reservation using e-mail.
[0021]
In addition, the present invention is equipped with an e-mail transmission / reception function.,Means for receiving digital broadcast; means for decoding and storing unbroadcast program information from broadcast; means for automatically receiving e-mail periodically; means for detecting program reservation information from received e-mail; Means for reading program genre information to be reserved from reservation information, means for searching for a program corresponding to the read program genre information from stored non-broadcast program information, and automatically reserving a program corresponding to the search Means and means for automatically recording by controlling the storage device at the time of channel selection at the reservation start time, and only specifying the program genre by e-mail without knowing the broadcast time of the program to be reserved Can make program reservationsIn a digital broadcast system for a digital broadcast receiver, when a broadcast request for an automatic reception signal of an e-mail is received from the user on the program broadcast station side, the program broadcast station is directed to the digital broadcast receiver designated by the requested user. A means for transmitting an automatic email reception signal on a broadcast is provided, and a digital broadcast receiver has means for receiving the automatic email reception signal and automatic email reception when the automatic email reception signal is received. And a means for receiving, and configured to automatically receive an e-mail according to the convenience of the user when making a program reservation using the e-mail.
[0022]
Further, according to the present invention, when a program reservation e-mail is received by the above-described digital broadcast receiver and there is a corresponding program by a program search, the received program reservation information does not include the corresponding program. In the case of reservation acceptance failure information, a means for returning the reservation e-mail to the user who sent the reservation e-mail or a designated e-mail address, or a user who sent the reservation e-mail with the reservation completion information when the reservation execution was completed Alternatively, it has a means for replying to a designated e-mail address, and is configured so that the reception status or execution status of the program reservation can be grasped even from outside without directly operating the broadcast receiver.
[0024]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0025]
<FirstExample>
FIG. 1 illustrates the present invention.The first example used in a digital broadcasting systemIt is a block diagram which shows the structure of a digital broadcast receiver. BookExampleHowever, the TV monitor and the recording (recording) device are included in the digital broadcast receiver, but the TV monitor and the recording device may be external devices connected to the digital broadcast receiver ( belowExamples of digital broadcast receiversThe same applies to the above).
[0026]
In FIG. 1, 100 is an antenna, 101 is a tuner, 102 is a TS demodulator, 103 is a transport processor, 104 is an MPEG audio demodulator, 105 is an audio D / A, 106 is a TV monitor, and 107 is an MPEG video demodulator. , 108 is a video encoder, 109 is a telephone line or external network, 110 is a network connection unit, 111 is a mail receiving unit, 112 is a reservation information detection unit, 113 is a reservation reception control unit, 114 is a reservation execution control unit, and 115 is A program information demodulating unit 116 is a memory, 117 is a recording device control unit, and 118 is a recording (recording) device.
[0027]
BookExampleA procedure for receiving a digital broadcast program will be described. First, a digital broadcast wave is received by the antenna 100. Digital broadcast waves to be received are satellite broadcasts and terrestrial broadcasts. Note that reception of cable broadcasting is also conceivable. In this case, a broadcast signal is input to the tuner unit 101 via the cable.
[0028]
A signal received by the antenna 100 is sent to the tuner unit 101, and only a signal tuned to the frequency received there is sent to the TS demodulation unit 102. The tuning frequency at this time is switched in accordance with the CH to be viewed. In the TS demodulator 102, a transport stream is extracted through QPSK demodulation and error correction processing. This transport stream includes MPEG video data, MPEG audio data, and program information data (program broadcast time information, program title information, program content information, and program genre information for each channel) by the transport processing unit 103. ) And sent to the next block.
[0029]
The MPEG audio demodulation unit 104 receives MPEG audio data from the transport processing unit 103, demodulates it into digital audio data, and the demodulated digital audio data is converted into an analog audio signal by the audio D / A 105, The data is output to the TV monitor 106 and the recording device 118.
[0030]
The MPEG video demodulation unit 107 receives MPEG video data from the transport processing unit 103, demodulates it into digital video data, and the demodulated digital video data is converted into an analog video signal by the video encoder 108. The data is output to the TV monitor 106 and the recording device 118.
[0031]
The program information demodulation unit 115 receives program information data from the transport processing unit 103, demodulates program information (broadcast time, program title, program content, program genre) broadcast on each CH, and demodulates program information. Is stored in the memory 116. Information stored in the memory 116 is the same as that described in the prior art, and is stored, for example, in the form shown in FIG.
[0032]
The above is the broadcast program reception procedure.
[0033]
Next, a program reservation procedure using e-mail will be described. A telephone line or an external network 109 is connected to the network connection unit 110, and Internet communication is possible. The network connection unit 110 is a modem or the like if the connected one is a telephone line (including a mobile phone line network), and an Ethernet connection unit if the external network is, for example, Ethernet.
[0034]
Through the network connection unit 110, the mail reception unit 111 automatically receives and receives mail periodically (at a set time) using a mail reception protocol such as POP3 (Post Office Protocol Version 3). The received mail text is stored in the memory 116. At this time, it is assumed that provider settings and telephone line settings have been completed. The reservation information detector 112 reads the mail text from the memory 116 and detects program reservation information.
[0035]
FIG. 3 shows a processing flow for detecting program reservation information from the mail text. The processing flow will be described in order. First, the mail body data 300 is read from the memory 116 (step S301), the mail body is keyworded line by line (step S302), and it is determined whether or not the keyword is detected (step S302). Step S303). Here, the keyword to be detected is a keyword 313 such as “*** Email reservation information ***” shown in the example of the email text 312, and is a keyword that can be separated from the normal email text. Keep it.
[0036]
If the keyword cannot be detected, it is confirmed whether or not the line is the last line of the mail body (step S310), and if it is the last line, the process is terminated (step S311). If the detected line is not yet the last line, keyword detection is performed by advancing one line (step S302).
[0037]
If a keyword is detected, the process proceeds to detection of program title information (step S304), and information on the program title 314 in the mail body 312 is acquired here. In the example illustrated in FIG. 3, information “OxΔ record” is acquired. Next, the program title of the program information 202 (FIG. 2) for each program stored in the memory 116 is searched to determine whether there is a program title detected in step S304 (see FIG. 2). Step S305). As a determination method, when all the program title character strings to be compared match, there is a method for determining that there is a corresponding program title, or when there is a program title including the character string obtained in step S304, the corresponding program title Possible methods are considered.
[0038]
If there is no corresponding program in step S305, the process ends (step S311). If there is a corresponding program, the process proceeds to detection of the corresponding program information (step S306). Here, from the program information 202 of each program shown in FIG. 2, the CH number of the corresponding program, broadcast start time, broadcast Get end time.
[0039]
In step S307 following step S306, the recording control information 315 in the mail body 312 is acquired. In the example illustrated in FIG. 3, information indicating that a program is recorded is acquired.
[0040]
Although the acquisition of the program reservation information is completed as described above, it is confirmed at this point in step S308 that there is not enough information or that there is no inappropriate information (that is, whether the reservation information has been acquired normally). If the reservation information cannot be acquired normally, the process ends (step S311). If all the reservation information can be acquired normally, the program reservation information is passed to the reservation reception control unit 113 (step S309). ).
[0041]
In this way, the program reservation information (CH number, broadcast start time, broadcast end time, recording control) read out by the reservation information detection unit 112 is passed to the reservation reception control unit 113. The reservation reception control unit 113 automatically makes a program reservation based on the received reservation information.
[0042]
The reservation execution control unit 114 monitors the start time of the reserved program. When the current time reaches the reservation time, the reservation execution control unit 114 controls the tuner unit 101 and the transport processing unit 103 to select the reserved CH. If the program is reserved to be recorded (specified by the recording control information 315 in FIG. 3), the recording device control unit 117 is controlled to bring the recording device 118 into the recording state, and the channel selection CH To record automatically. At this time, for example, when the recording device 118 is a video deck, the recording device control unit 117 is a video mouse device.
[0043]
By the above operation, program reservation is automatically made by sending an e-mail text 312 as shown in FIG. 3 to a digital broadcast receiver (to an e-mail address to which the receiver automatically receives) by e-mail from the outside. It can be performed.
[0044]
<SecondExample>
Second example used in the digital broadcasting system of the present inventionThe configuration of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus of FIG.ExampleThe operation is the same as that of the first processing only by the reservation information detection unit 112.ExampleAnd different.
[0045]
BookExampleFIG. 4 shows a processing flow for detecting program reservation information from the mail text. The processing flow will be described in order. First, the mail body data 400 is read from the memory 116 (step S401), the mail body is keyworded line by line (step S402), and it is determined whether or not a keyword is detected (step S402). Step S403). Here, the keyword to be detected is a keyword 413 such as “*** Email reservation information ***” shown in the example of the email body 412, and is a keyword that can be separated from the normal email body. Keep it.
[0046]
If the keyword is not detected, it is confirmed whether or not the line is the last line of the mail body (step S410), and if it is the last line, the process is terminated (step S411). If the detected line is not yet the final line, keyword detection is performed by advancing one line (step S402).
[0047]
If a keyword is detected, the process proceeds to detection of program genre information (step S404), and information on the program genre 414 in the mail body 412 is acquired here. In the example shown in FIG. 4, information called sports is acquired. Next, the program genre in the program information 202 (FIG. 2) for each program stored in the memory 116 is searched to determine whether there is a program genre detected in step S404 (step S404). Step S405). Since there may be a plurality of programs having the same genre, all the corresponding programs are detected at this time. If there is no corresponding program in step S405, the process ends (step S411).
[0048]
If there is a corresponding program in step S405, the process proceeds to detection of the corresponding program information (step S406). In step S406, the CH number, broadcast start time, and broadcast end time of the corresponding program are acquired from the program information 202 of each program shown in FIG. When there are a plurality of corresponding programs, the CH number, broadcast start time, and broadcast end time are acquired for each corresponding program.
[0049]
In step S407 following step S406, the recording control information 415 in the mail body 412 is acquired. In the example shown in FIG. 4, information that a program is recorded is acquired.
[0050]
Although the acquisition of the program reservation information is completed as described above, it is confirmed in step S408 that there is insufficient information at this point or that there is no inappropriate information (that is, whether the reservation information has been acquired normally). If the reservation information cannot be acquired normally, the process ends (step S411). If all the reservation information can be acquired normally, the program reservation information is passed to the reservation reception control unit 113 (step S409). ).
[0051]
The processes after the reservation acceptance control unit 113 are the same as those in the first embodiment.
[0052]
<ThirdExample>
FIG. 5 illustrates the present invention.The third example used in a digital broadcasting systemIt is a block diagram which shows the principal part structure of a digital broadcast receiver, and abbreviate | omitting illustration about the part completely the same as FIG. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 501 denotes a reply mail creation unit, and 502 denotes a mail transmission unit.
[0053]
The book in the part shown in FIG.ExampleThe operation of will be described. Through the network connection unit 110 connected to the telephone line or the external network 109, the mail receiving unit 111 automatically receives the e-mail periodically and stores the received mail body in the memory 116. The process so far is the firstExampleAs explained in.
[0054]
Then bookExampleThe processing operation by the reservation information detection unit 112 will be described with reference to the processing flow of FIG. First, the first mentionedExampleOr secondExampleThe program information to be reserved is acquired by the means (method) described in the above, and when the program reservation information can be normally acquired, the program reservation information is passed to the reservation reception control unit 113 (step S600).
[0055]
At the same time, it is determined whether or not the reservation information has been successfully acquired (step S601). If the reservation information is successfully acquired, the program reservation information at that time (the broadcast CH of the reserved program extracted by the search process, In addition to the program title, program genre, broadcast start time, broadcast end time, and recording control information), the reply mail creation unit 501 is notified that the reservation information has been successfully acquired (step S602). On the other hand, if the acquisition of the reservation information has failed, a reply indicating that the acquisition of the reservation information has failed along with information on the reason for the failure (when the designated CH does not exist, the reservation start time is later than the end time, etc.) The mail creation unit 501 is contacted (step S603).
[0056]
In this way, the reservation information detecting unit 112 acquires the program reservation information, and the acquired program reservation information is transferred to the reservation reception control unit 113, where the program reservation is performed.
[0057]
Then bookExampleThe operation of the reservation execution control unit 114 will be described with reference to the processing flow of FIG. First, it is monitored that the current time becomes the broadcast start time of the reserved program (step S700), and the reservation start process is executed when the current time becomes the broadcast start time of the reserved program (step S701). Next, it is monitored that the current time becomes the broadcast end time of the reserved program (step S702), and the reservation end process is executed when the current time becomes the broadcast end time of the reserved program (step S703). ). Here, the reservation end process is a process of canceling the recording state of the recording device 118 when the program is being recorded (the broadcast receiver is turned on or key-locked at the start of the reservation). If so, perform each release operation). So far, first and secondExampleThis is the same as the operation of the reservation execution control unit.
[0058]
Next, the reply e-mail creation unit 501 is notified of the completion of the reservation (automatic channel selection reception or automatic recording by reservation) together with the executed program reservation information (step S704).
[0059]
With the above operation, the reservation information detection unit 112 and the reservation execution control unit 114 pass the reservation processing status information to the reply mail creation unit 501. In this example, the reservation processing status is monitored by both the reservation information detection unit 112 and the reservation execution control unit 114. However, only one of them may be monitored, that is, reservation information acquisition may be performed. Only success / failure may be notified, or only reservation execution completion may be notified.
[0060]
There are three reservation processing statuses: reservation information acquisition success, reservation information acquisition failure, and reservation end. The reply mail creation unit 501 automatically creates a mail text as shown in FIG. 8 corresponding to these three states. An example of the mail text shown in FIG. 8 will be described in order.
[0061]
When the reservation information acquisition is successful, a mail text as shown by 800 in FIG. 8 is created. The contents include reservation CH information 801 of the received program reservation information, program title 812, program genre 813, reservation start time 802, reservation end time 803, and recording control information 804. The reply mail creation unit 501 stores the memory 116. These pieces of information read from are inserted into the mail text field when reservation information acquisition is successful.
[0062]
Further, when reservation information acquisition fails, a mail text as shown by 805 in FIG. 8 is created. If the reservation information acquisition fails, the reservation failure information 806 passed from the reservation information detection unit 112 is inserted into the mail text field when the reservation information acquisition fails.
[0063]
At the end of the reservation, an e-mail text as shown by 807 in FIG. 8 is created. The contents include reservation CH information 808 of program reservation information that has been reserved, program title 814, program genre 815, reservation start time 809, reservation end time 810, and recording control information 811. These pieces of information read from 116 are inserted into the mail text field at the end of the reservation.
[0064]
In this way, the reply mail creation unit 501 creates an email text indicating the reservation processing status, and the created reservation processing status email text is sent to the user who sent the reservation email or to the designated user. The mail is transmitted by the unit 502 through the network connection unit 110 through the telephone line or the external network 109. As a transmission protocol at this time, SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is generally used.
[0065]
With the above operation, when a reservation is made by specifying only the program title or program genre by e-mail, the reservation processing status such as what program is reserved is confirmed by e-mail on the go. be able to.
[0066]
<4thExample>
FIG. 9 illustrates the present invention.The fourth example used in a digital broadcasting systemIt is a block diagram which shows the principal part structure of a digital broadcast receiver, and abbreviate | omitting illustration about the part completely the same as FIG. In FIG. 9, reference numeral 905 denotes an e-mail automatic reception signal detection unit. In addition to the above block diagram, FIG. 9 also shows the flow of processing by the user and the broadcasting station.
[0067]
BookExampleThe operation of will be described. Here, it is assumed that an e-mail for making a program reservation by the user has already been transmitted to the digital broadcast receiver that makes the program reservation.
[0068]
BookExampleThen, in order to forcibly perform automatic email reception on the receiver side, a transmission request for automatic email reception is made from the user to the broadcasting station side by telephone or email (step S900). The broadcast station side receives this transmission request (step S901), and broadcasts the e-mail automatic reception signal to the designated digital broadcast receiver (step S902). Other receivers also receive this signal because it is broadcast, but by sending it on the EMM signal, it is sent individually to the receiver. This method is based on the satellite digital CS broadcast SKYPerfecTV! This is the same method as the function of the personal mail (referred to as EMM mail) operated in (as of May 2000).
[0069]
What is broadcast in this way is received by the antenna 100, only the signal tuned by the tuner unit 101 is taken out, and converted into a transport stream by the TS demodulation unit 102. Then, the transport processing unit 103 separates the email automatic reception signal information and passes it to the email automatic reception signal detection unit 905.
[0070]
The E-mail automatic reception signal detection unit 905 decodes the EMM signal to determine whether this signal is transmitted to its own device (the IC card processing unit is necessary for decoding the EMM signal, but the illustration is shown here. Check the e-mail automatic reception signal. When the automatic email reception signal transmitted to the device is detected, the automatic email reception signal detector 905 causes the email receiver 111 to perform forced automatic reception.
[0071]
The mail receiving unit 111 uses a protocol such as POP3 through the network connection unit 110 to receive an e-mail from the telephone line or the external network 109 (at this time, it is assumed that the connection destination provider has already been set. To do). The process of receiving an e-mail using the network connection unit 110 and the mail receiving unit 111 is the same as in the first embodiment. The automatically received e-mail text is stored in the memory 116.
[0072]
The processing operation after receiving an email isExampleOr the second2Similar to the example.
[0073]
Like thisExampleThen, it is possible to force the digital broadcast receiver to automatically receive e-mail by requesting the broadcast station at a timing convenient for the user.
[0074]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, it is possible to perform a reservation operation from the outside without operating the receiver directly and without knowing the broadcast CH and broadcast time of the program or the title, broadcast CH and broadcast time of the program. When a program reservation is made by e-mail to a receiver capable of receiving an e-mail, after a reservation e-mail is transmitted, a broadcast request for an e-mail automatic reception signal is sent to the digital broadcast receiver desired by the user from the broadcasting station. By issuing it, it is possible to cause the receiver side to automatically receive e-mails at a time that suits the circumstances of the user, so it is possible to cope with a sudden reservation operation. Moreover, useless automatic email reception can be eliminated. Also, when a program reservation is made by specifying a program title or program genre by e-mail, the reservation reception status or reservation execution completion status is returned by e-mail from the digital broadcast receiver that has received the e-mail. Therefore, it is possible to grasp the contents of the program reservation such as what kind of program has been reserved and the execution end status of the reservation at the place where the user is away.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 of the present inventionThe first example used in a digital broadcasting systemIt is a block diagram which shows the structure of a digital broadcast receiver.
FIG. 2 of the present inventionDigital broadcast receiver for each exampleIt is explanatory drawing which shows the storage structure of the program information to the memory used by FIG.
FIG. 3 of the present inventionFirst example digital broadcast receiver used in a digital broadcast systemIt is explanatory drawing which shows the processing flow etc. by the reservation information detection part in FIG.
FIG. 4 of the present inventionSecond example of a digital broadcast receiver used in a digital broadcast systemIt is explanatory drawing which shows the processing flow etc. by the reservation information detection part in FIG.
FIG. 5 shows the present invention.The third example used in a digital broadcasting systemIt is a block diagram which shows the principal part structure of a digital broadcast receiver.
FIG. 6 shows the present invention.Third example digital broadcast receiver used in a digital broadcast systemIt is a flowchart which shows the processing flow by the reservation information detection part in FIG.
FIG. 7 shows the present invention.Third example digital broadcast receiver used in a digital broadcast systemIt is a flowchart which shows the processing flow by the reservation execution control part in FIG.
FIG. 8 shows the present invention.Third example digital broadcast receiver used in a digital broadcast systemIt is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the mail text produced by the reply mail preparation part in FIG.
FIG. 9 shows the present invention.The fourth example used in a digital broadcasting systemIt is explanatory drawing which shows the principal part structure etc. of a digital broadcast receiver.
FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional digital broadcast receiver.
FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of a program guide used when directly operating a digital broadcast receiver.
[Explanation of symbols]
100 antenna
101 Tuner
102 TS demodulator
103 Transport processing section
104 MPEG audio demodulator
105 Voice D / A
106 TV monitor
107 MPEG video demodulator
108 Video encoder
109 Telephone line or external network
110 Network connection
111 Mail receiver
112 Reservation information detector
113 Reservation reception control unit
114 Reserved execution control unit
115 Program information demodulator
116 memory
117 Recording device control unit
118 Video recording device
501 Reply mail creation part
502 Email reply
905 Email automatic reception signal detector

Claims (3)

E-mail sending / receiving function
Means for receiving digital broadcasts;
Means for decoding and storing unbroadcast program information from the broadcast;
A means of automatically receiving e-mail periodically;
Means for detecting program reservation information from the received email;
Means for reading program title information to be reserved from program reservation information;
Means for searching for a program corresponding to the read program title information from stored unbroadcast program information;
Means for automatically reserving a program corresponding to a search,
At the reservation start time, means for automatically recording by controlling the storage device at the same time as channel selection,
A digital broadcast system for a digital broadcast receiver that can make a program reservation just by specifying the program title by e-mail without knowing the broadcast time of the program to be reserved,
When a broadcast request for an automatic reception signal of an e-mail is received from the user, the program broadcast station transmits the automatic e-mail reception signal on the broadcast to the digital broadcast receiver designated by the requested user. Providing means,
The digital broadcast receiver is provided with means for receiving a transmitted electronic mail automatic reception signal, and means for automatically receiving an electronic mail when the electronic mail automatic reception signal is received,
A digital broadcasting system characterized in that, when making a program reservation using e-mail, automatic e-mail can be received at the convenience of the user. E-mail sending / receiving function
Means for receiving digital broadcasts;
Means for decoding and storing unbroadcast program information from the broadcast;
A means of automatically receiving e-mail periodically;
Means for detecting program reservation information from the received email;
Means for reading program genre information to be reserved from program reservation information;
Means for retrieving a program corresponding to the read program genre information from the stored unbroadcast program information;
Means for automatically reserving a program corresponding to a search,
At the reservation start time, means for automatically recording by controlling the storage device at the same time as channel selection,
A digital broadcast system for a digital broadcast receiver that can make a program reservation just by specifying a program genre by e-mail without knowing the broadcast time of the program that it wants to reserve,
When a broadcast request for an automatic reception signal of an e-mail is received from the user, the program broadcast station transmits the automatic e-mail reception signal on the broadcast to the digital broadcast receiver designated by the requested user. Providing means,
The digital broadcast receiver is provided with means for receiving a transmitted electronic mail automatic reception signal, and means for automatically receiving an electronic mail when the electronic mail automatic reception signal is received,
A digital broadcasting system characterized in that, when making a program reservation using e-mail, automatic e-mail can be received at the convenience of the user. The digital broadcasting system according to claim 1 or 2,
When the digital broadcast receiver receives an e-mail for program reservation, if there is a corresponding program by program search, the digital broadcast receiver accepts the received program reservation information, and if there is no corresponding program, accepts the reservation. A means of returning failure information to the user who sent the reservation e-mail or the specified e-mail address, or the reservation completion information when the reservation execution is completed, the user who sent the e-mail for reservation or the specified e-mail address A digital broadcasting system characterized in that it has a means for replying to the program and can grasp the reception status or execution status of the program reservation even from outside without directly operating the broadcast receiver.

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