JP4018407B2 - Receiving machine - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a receiver for receiving a multi-channel program.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Recently, various digital broadcasts that digitize video signals and audio signals and broadcast programs have been put into practical use. For example, digital broadcasting such as communication satellite digital broadcasting (CS digital broadcasting) and digital audio broadcasting DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) in Europe has been put into practical use, and high-quality video and audio program broadcasting is being performed. In general, since the digital broadcasting form can use radio waves more effectively than the conventional analog broadcasting form, many programs can be multiplexed with respect to one broadcast wave. For this reason, in various types of digital broadcasting, the number of receivable channels is significantly increased compared to conventional analog broadcasting, and so-called multi-channel broadcasting is realized.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in a receiver that receives multi-channel broadcasting, since the number of channels to be selected is large, the number of operations until the user selects a desired channel and listens to the program content increases, and the operation is complicated. In addition, there is a problem that it takes a long time to start listening to a program to be received. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, when a program of channel number 2 is received after a program of channel number 1 is received and a program of channel number 3 is further received, the channel number is increased or decreased for switching. When using the provided up / down keys, the channel numbers are switched in the order of 1 → 2 → 3 → 4 → 5 → 6. Then, when listening to the program of channel number 1 again, it is necessary to switch the channel number in the order of 6 → 5 → 4 → 3 → 2 → 1 as shown in FIG. The number of operations will increase.
[0004]
The present invention was created in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a receiver that can reduce the time and effort required to select a program.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-described problems, the receiver of the present invention includes a receiving unit that receives program information corresponding to a broadcast channel, and a history that stores history information of the broadcast channel corresponding to the program information received by the receiving unit. Based on the history information stored by the history storage means when the storage means, the operation means for instructing to change the broadcast channel to be received in the reception means, and the change instruction using the operation means are made, the reception means And a channel selection processing means for setting a broadcast channel to be received. By selecting a broadcast channel to be received based on the reception history of program information, it is possible to greatly reduce the labor and time required to select a program with a high selection frequency.
[0006]
Further, it is desirable that the above-described channel selection processing unit sequentially switches the broadcast channel to be received by the receiving unit based on the history storage unit when the change instruction using the operation unit is repeated a plurality of times. Since broadcast channels can be traced in order based on the reception history, programs that are highly likely to be selected by the user can be received one after another.
[0007]
In addition, it is preferable to further include history update means for performing processing for adding a broadcast channel corresponding to the program information to the history information when the reception duration of the program information by the receiving means exceeds a predetermined value. Since it is added as history information only when the reception continuation time is somewhat long, frequent history information is updated when it is received to confirm the contents of program information during channel selection or when it is selected by mistake. Thus, it is possible to include in the history information broadcast channels that are highly likely to be received.
[0008]
Further, the history information stored in the history storage means described above includes the reception frequency of program information by the reception means, and the channel selection processing means selects the reception target by the reception means next in descending order of reception frequency. It is desirable to set a broadcast channel. Since the broadcast channel is selected in consideration of the reception frequency such as the reception time and the number of receptions, it is possible to select a broadcast channel that is highly likely to be received.
[0009]
In addition, the above-described channel selection processing unit performs setting based on history information for a predetermined number of broadcast channels, and sets the next broadcast channel to be received in the order of reception frequency or broadcast channel number if the number exceeds that number. It is desirable to do. This makes it possible to receive a program of any other broadcast channel when the user does not actually want to receive a broadcast channel that is likely to be received.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a receiver according to an embodiment to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a receiver according to an embodiment. The receiver shown in FIG. 1 is for receiving a digital audio broadcast, and includes an antenna 1, a front end unit (F / E) 2, a demodulator 3, a channel selector 4, an audio decoder 5, and digital-analog. (D / A) It is comprised including the conversion part 6, the amplifier 7, the speaker 8, the control part 9, the operation part 10, the display part 11, and the memory 12. FIG.
[0011]
The front end unit 2 extracts a desired reception frequency (tuning frequency) component from broadcast waves received via the antenna 1 and outputs an intermediate frequency signal obtained by performing frequency conversion on the extracted signal. .
The demodulator 3 demodulates the broadcast data by performing a predetermined demodulation process after converting the intermediate frequency signal output from the front end unit 2 into digital data.
[0012]
For example, in the present embodiment, a plurality of programs are multiplexed into one broadcast signal and transmitted in units of predetermined frames. (1) Sync signal, (2) Attached information, (3) Distribution in order from the top Contains information. The synchronization signal is used for recognizing the start point of the frame. The distribution information is information for reproducing sound corresponding to the program, and includes a plurality of distribution information # 1, # 2, # 3,..., #N corresponding to the plurality of programs. The attached information includes various information related to the program of each broadcast channel. Specifically, the attached information includes a broadcast channel number and channel name corresponding to each program, a category representing the general contents of each program, identification information indicating whether each broadcast channel is currently being broadcast, Various other information is included. By examining this attached information, it can be determined whether or not the distribution information of each broadcast channel is currently being broadcast.
[0013]
Based on an instruction from the control unit 9, the channel selection unit 4 extracts distribution information of a desired broadcast channel from transmission data output from the demodulation unit 3 and outputs it to the audio decoding unit 5.
The audio decoding unit 5 generates audio data by performing a predetermined decompression process on the distribution information output from the channel selection unit 4.
[0014]
The digital-analog converter 6 converts the audio data output from the audio decoder 5 into an analog signal.
The amplifier 7 amplifies the analog signal output from the digital-analog converter 6 with a predetermined gain and outputs the amplified signal to the speaker 8. The speaker 8 outputs sound corresponding to the amplified analog signal.
[0015]
The control unit 9 controls each unit of the receiver in response to an operation instruction performed using the operation unit 10 to control reception of a program on an arbitrary broadcast channel and a direct seek function (described later) added in the present embodiment. Perform various control operations such as channel selection processing using The control unit 9 has a configuration as a computer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and performs a control operation by executing predetermined software (program) stored in the ROM or RAM.
[0016]
The operation unit 10 includes operation keys for a user to perform various operation instructions such as channel selection, and outputs a signal corresponding to the operation state of the operation keys to the control unit 9. For example, this operation key includes at least an up / down key 30 for instructing increase / decrease of the channel number being received and a “DS” key 32 for instructing validity / invalidity of the direct seek function.
[0017]
The display unit 11 displays the channel name and category added to the currently received broadcast channel or the operation status of the operation unit 10 by the user. The memory 12 stores the history information of the received channel.
The control unit 9 is configured to include functional blocks such as a reception processing unit 20, a history update processing unit 22, and a channel selection processing unit 24 in terms of functions. The reception processing unit 20 performs a process of controlling each configuration of the front end unit 2 and the demodulation unit 3 in order to receive a broadcast signal and output sound corresponding to each channel. The history update processing unit 22 performs a process of updating the history information stored in the memory 12 every time a new channel is selected. When the up / down key 30 provided in the operation unit 10 is pressed, the channel selection processing unit 24 performs a process of switching a reception target channel based on the history information stored in the memory 12. Next, when a channel to be received is determined, the channel number is sent from the channel selection processing unit 24 to the channel selection unit 4.
[0018]
The antenna 1, front end unit 2, demodulation unit 3, channel selection unit 4, and control unit 9 described above are receiving means, the operating unit 10 is operating means, the memory 12 is history storing means, and the history update processing unit 22 is history. The channel selection processing unit 24 corresponds to the update unit, respectively.
[0019]
The receiver of the present embodiment has such a configuration, and the operation thereof will be described next. The receiver of the present embodiment stores the history information when the channel to be received is switched, and the next time a specific operation is performed, based on the history information. A function for switching channels is provided, and in this specification, this function is referred to as a “direct seek function”.
[0020]
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the receiver that realizes the direct seek function.
When the power of the receiver is turned on, a program information reception operation corresponding to a specific broadcast channel is started based on the control of the reception processing unit 20 in the control unit 9 (step 100). For example, the channel number of the broadcast channel received when the power is turned off is stored in the memory 12, and when the power is turned on next time, this channel number is read and reception information of this channel number is received. Is done.
[0021]
Next, the channel selection processing unit 24 determines whether or not the direct seek function is valid (step 101). Whether the direct seek function is valid or invalid is set according to the pressed state of the DS key 32 provided in the operation unit 10. For example, when the DS key is pressed by the user, the direct seek function is enabled. Conversely, when the DS key 32 is not pressed, the direct seek function is disabled.
[0022]
If the DS key 32 is not pressed and the direct seek function is disabled, a negative determination is made in the determination of step 101, and then the channel selection processing unit 24 uses the up / down function provided in the operation unit 10. It is determined whether or not the down key 30 has been pressed (step 102). If the up / down key 30 is not pressed, a negative determination is made, and the process returns to step 101 to repeat the determination of whether or not the direct seek function is valid.
[0023]
If the up / down key 30 is pressed by the user, an affirmative determination is made in the determination of step 102, and then the history update processing unit 22 receives the program information corresponding to the current channel. It is determined whether or not a certain time has elapsed since the start (step 103). If the predetermined time has elapsed, an affirmative determination is made, and then the history update processing unit 22 adds the number of the channel currently being received to the history information stored in the memory 12 to obtain the history information. Update (step 104).
[0024]
After the update of the history information is completed, or when a negative determination is made in the determination of step 103 because a predetermined time has not elapsed since the start of the reception of the program information corresponding to the current channel, Next, the channel selection processing unit 24 determines a channel to be switched to according to the pressed state of the up / down key 30, and sends a command to the channel selection unit 4 to change to the next channel (step) 105). For example, when the up instruction area in the upper half of the up / down key 30 is pressed, a channel change process for incrementing the channel number by 1 is performed, and the down instruction area in the lower half of the up / down key 30 is pressed. If the channel number is changed, a channel change process for decreasing the channel number by 1 is performed.
[0025]
Next, based on the control of the reception processing unit 20, an operation of receiving program information corresponding to the switched channel is started (step 106). Thereafter, the process returns to step 102 and the process after the determination as to whether or not the up / down key 30 is pressed is repeated.
[0026]
In addition, when the DS key 32 provided in the operation unit 10 is pressed by the user and the direct seek function is enabled, an affirmative determination is made in the determination of step 101 described above, and then the channel selection process is performed. The unit 24 determines whether or not the up / down key 30 has been pressed (step 107). If the up / down key 30 is not pressed, a negative determination is made, and the process returns to step 101 to repeat the determination of whether or not the direct seek function is valid.
[0027]
If the up / down key 30 is pressed by the user, an affirmative determination is made in the determination of step 107, and then the channel selection processing unit 24 is based on the history information stored in the memory 12. Then, the next channel to be switched to is searched (step 108), and an instruction is sent to the channel selector 4 to change to the next channel (step 109). For example, when the down instruction area in the lower half of the up / down key 30 is pressed, the channel number received immediately before the current channel is specified based on the history information and changed to the specified channel. Processing is performed. In addition, when the down instruction area of the up / down key 30 is repeatedly pressed in this way, the channel is switched by tracing the reception channel in the past based on the history information each time. When the up instruction area in the upper half of the up / down key 30 is pressed, the channel is switched by tracing the reception channel in the opposite direction (direction from the past to the present) based on the history information.
[0028]
Next, based on the control of the reception processing unit 20, an operation of receiving program information corresponding to the switched channel is started (step 110). Thereafter, the process returns to step 102 and the process after the determination as to whether or not the up / down key 30 is pressed is repeated.
[0029]
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an overview of history information update processing performed when the direct seek function is disabled. In FIG. 3, the flow of time is represented by an arrow indicated by t. The numbers 1 to 6 are for sequentially indicating a plurality of channels on which the channel selection operation has been performed. For example, the numbers correspond to the channel numbers themselves.
[0030]
As described above, when the direct seek function is disabled (when a negative determination is made in step 101 of FIG. 2), history information is added for a channel that has been in a reception state for a certain period of time or longer. The In the example shown in FIG. 3, program information corresponding to channel numbers 1, 5, and 6 is continuously received for a predetermined time or more, and these channel numbers are added to the reception history each time. On the other hand, the reception time of the program information corresponding to the other channel numbers 2, 3, and 4 is a short time that is less than a certain time, and in this case, the history information is not updated. For example, when a user who has listened to the program of channel number 1 next wants to listen to the program of channel number 5, he / she presses the up / down key 30 several times to change the channel number to 2, 3 When switching to the order of 4, 5 or changing the channel while listening to each program for a few seconds to see if it is the program you want to listen to, and as a result, when you switch to channel number 5, the program you want to listen to It corresponds to the channel selection operation when found. In such a case, the history information is not updated for channel numbers 2, 3, and 4 that have been selected for a short time halfway from channel number 1 to 5, and the user really wants to listen. Only the channel number of the program is stored in the memory 12 as history information.
[0031]
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an outline of the channel switching operation performed when the direct seek function is enabled. As shown in FIG. 3, it is assumed that history information is updated in the order of channel numbers 1 and 5 and the current receiving channel number is 6, and the direct seek function is enabled at that time. When the user presses the down instruction area of the up / down key 30 in such a state, the history update processing unit 22 updates the history information for adding the channel number 6 corresponding to the program currently being received. Processing is performed, and the channel selection processing unit 24 searches for the channel number 5 received immediately before based on this history information, and performs channel switching. As a result, reception of the program of channel number 5 is started. In this state, when the down instruction area of the up / down key 30 is pressed again, the history is further traced toward the past, channel number 1 is searched and the channel is switched. When the up instruction area 30 is pressed, the channel number 6 is searched by tracing the history from the past corresponding to the point in time to the present, and the channel is switched.
[0032]
As described above, in the receiver according to the present embodiment, the history information indicating the reception history of the program information is stored in the memory 12, and the broadcast channel to be received is selected after switching based on the history information. Therefore, it is possible to reduce time and labor when the user selects a program with a high selection frequency that has been listened to in the past.
[0033]
In particular, when the direct seek function is enabled, by repeatedly pressing the up / down key 30, it is possible to call and receive programs that the user has received in the past by simple operations. The time and effort of channel selection operation can be greatly reduced.
[0034]
Also, by not updating the history information for programs with a short reception time, it is possible to leave only the programs that the user really wants to listen to as history information, thereby eliminating unnecessary program reception. For this reason, it is possible to avoid a complicated operation that is necessary.
[0035]
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a modification of the operation procedure of the receiver of the present embodiment. The flowchart shown in FIG. 5 is a process for determining whether or not channel numbers are duplicated between Step 103 and Step 104, and updating history information performed according to the determination result, compared to the flowchart shown in FIG. The difference is that the operations of steps 200 and 201 relating to the processing are added.
[0036]
That is, if a certain time elapses after reception of program information corresponding to the current channel is started and an affirmative determination is made in step 102, the history update processing unit 22 is then included in the history information. It is determined whether or not one or a plurality of channel numbers overlaps with the number of the channel at the present time at which the program is continuously received for a predetermined time or longer (step 200). If they are not duplicated, a negative determination is made, and the process proceeds to step 104 where the channel number is added and the history information is updated. If the channel number is duplicated, the history update processing unit 22 performs an update process for switching the history order corresponding to the channel number instead of adding the channel number to the history information (step 201). . For example, in the example shown in FIG. 3, when the program of channel number 1 is received again after receiving the program of channel number 6, the order of the channel numbers included in the history information is 1 → 5 → 6. Things are changed from 5 → 6 → 1. Then, the process proceeds to step 105 for switching channels.
[0037]
Thus, when the program reception history of the same channel number is included in the history information, the same program is repeated many times when the operation unit 10 is operated by eliminating the duplicate history and updating only the order. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the inconvenience of selecting and the trouble associated therewith, so that the operability can be improved and the time required for selecting a desired program can be shortened.
[0038]
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing another modification of the operation procedure of the receiver of the present embodiment. The flowchart shown in FIG. 5 replaces the processing of Step 104 and Step 108 with the processing of Step 300 and Step 301 for updating history information and switching channels in consideration of the listening frequency with respect to the flowchart shown in FIG. The point is different.
[0039]
That is, if a certain time elapses after the start of reception of program information corresponding to the current channel and an affirmative determination is made in the determination of step 103, the history update processing unit 22 is receiving at that time. The history information is updated in consideration of the listening frequency of the program (step 300). For example, the listening frequency and the number of times of listening can be considered as the listening frequency, and history information including such listening frequency is created.
[0040]
If the up / down key 30 is pressed after the direct seek function is enabled and an affirmative determination is made in step 107, the channel selection processing unit 24 then considers the listening frequency and records the history. A channel switching process based on the information is performed (step 301). For example, instead of searching for a channel to be switched next after tracing the reception history, a channel number having a high listening frequency is searched based on the history information. Thereby, it is possible to switch to a channel that is most likely to be listened to by the user.
[0041]
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing another modification of the operation procedure of the receiver of the present embodiment. The flowchart shown in FIG. 7 adds the processing of step 400 for determining whether or not the channel switching based on the history information has been completed between the processing of step 107 and step 108 with respect to the flowchart shown in FIG. The point is different.
[0042]
That is, even if the channel of the program that the user wants to listen to is not found even after tracing the reception history, for example, when it is desired to listen to a program that has not been listened to before, the channel is switched to a channel not included in the history information. There is a need. For this reason, when the channel switching based on the history information is completed (when affirmative determination is made in Step 400), the channel selection processing unit 24 proceeds to Step 105 and switches the channel not based on the history information. Like to do. As a result, if the channel that the user desires to listen to is not found after following the reception history, the user can switch to another channel as it is, and the time required for the user to receive the desired program can be reduced. it can.
[0043]
In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various deformation | transformation implementation is possible within the range of the summary of this invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, a receiver that receives a program provided by audio has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to a receiver that receives a program provided by video and audio.
[0044]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, by selecting a broadcast channel to be received based on the reception history of program information, the labor and time required for selecting a program with a high selection frequency can be greatly reduced. Can do.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a receiver according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of a receiver that realizes a direct seek function.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an overview of history information update processing performed when a direct seek function is disabled.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an outline of a channel switching operation performed when a direct seek function is enabled.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a modification of the operation procedure of the receiver of the present embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing another modified example of the operation procedure of the receiver of the present embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing another modified example of the operation procedure of the receiver of the present embodiment.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of conventional channel switching.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of conventional channel switching.
[Explanation of symbols]
2 Front-end unit 3 Demodulation unit 4 Channel selection unit 5 Audio decoding unit 6 D / A conversion unit 9 Control unit 10 Operation unit 12 Memory 20 Reception processing unit 22 History update processing unit 24 Channel selection processing unit 30 Up / down key 32 DS (Direct seek) key

Claims (4)

Receiving means for receiving program information corresponding to a broadcast channel;
History storage means for storing, as history information, the order of reception of the broadcast channels corresponding to the program information received by the receiving means for a certain period of time;
Operation means for giving an instruction to change the broadcast channel to be received in the receiving means;
When a change instruction using the operation means is made, the broadcast channel received by the receiving means is determined according to the order of reception of the broadcast channels based on the history information stored by the history storage means. Channel selection processing means for switching,
The channel selection processing means ends the switching of the broadcast channel based on the history information when the switching of the broadcast channel based on the history information is completed, and a change instruction using the operation means is made. when in the receiver, wherein to switch between the broadcast channels increase or decrease the channel number of the broadcast channels in order. In claim 1,
The channel selection processing means switches the broadcast channel to be received by the receiving means in order based on the history storage means when a change instruction using the operation means is repeated a plurality of times. And receiver. In claim 1 or 2,
Receiving further comprising history updating means for performing processing of adding the broadcast channel corresponding to the program information to the history information when the reception duration of the program information by the receiving means exceeds a predetermined value. Machine. In any one of Claims 1-3,
The history information stored in the history storage means includes the reception frequency of the program information by the receiving means,
The receiver is characterized in that the channel selection processing unit sets the broadcast channel to be received by the receiving unit next in descending order of the reception frequency.

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