JP4349939B2 - Program information display system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a program information display system for displaying information related to a television program on a television.

Conventionally, as a technique for displaying information on a proposed television program (hereinafter, program information) on a television, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technology for displaying a television program on a television receiver screen in the form of a program table. Yes.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-111984

  However, according to the technique described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to turn on the television receiver in order to view program information. Therefore, if the user forgets to watch the program information itself, the desired program cannot be searched from the program information. This can be prevented by always turning on the television receiver and keeping the program information displayed, but it is not preferable from the viewpoint of power saving. In addition, the TV program cannot be viewed while the program information is displayed.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object thereof is to make it possible to easily browse program information.

In order to achieve the above object, the program information display system according to claim 1 has at least a main display capable of displaying a television program and a screen smaller than the main display, and the main display is turned off. An image display device including a sub-display operable even in a state, and a program information transmission unit connected to the image display device and transmitting information related to a television program displayed on the main display to the image display device by e-mail Program information display means for extracting the program information received by the image display device from the program information transmission means from the electronic mail and displaying the program information on the sub-display, and the program information transmission means as the program information, It transmits at least the name of each program, broadcast start time, and broadcast channel. The program information display means displays a plurality of program information relating to a television program being broadcast at least at the current time on the sub display, and the program information display means displays the plurality of program information displayed on the sub display. Designation means for designating program information of a desired program from program information, a tuner for receiving a television program and displaying it on the main display, and program information designated by the designation means are displayed in the program information display. TV program display that is displayed on the sub-display by means of the program and that causes the tuner to receive a TV program corresponding to the TV program that is being broadcast at the current time and displays it on the main display. The program information display means displays program information relating to a TV program to be broadcast in the future. The television program display means displays program information designated by the designation means as program information relating to a television program to be broadcast in the future displayed on the sub display by the display means. In some cases, when the broadcast start time of a television program corresponding to the program information comes, the tuner is received by the tuner and displayed on the main display .

According to the program information display system configured as described above, even when the main display is turned off, the program information is displayed on the sub display, so that it can be browsed easily. Further, since the sub display has a smaller screen than the main display, even if the sub display is operated to display program information, the power consumption can be suppressed by turning off the main display. Furthermore, if the program information displayed on the sub-display is designated using the designation means, the program can be viewed on the main display. Furthermore, it is possible to make a reservation for a program to be viewed in the future using the sub-display. Then, when the broadcast start time of the designated program comes, the program is automatically displayed on the main display, so that it is possible to prevent a desired program from being missed.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the program information display system according to the first aspect, the main display is capable of operating only a part of the screen, and the sub-display is a screen of the main display. It is the said part.

According to the thus constructed program information display system, without newly providing a sub-display, and that achieves the present invention the same effect according to claim 1.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the program information display system according to the first or second aspect , when a TV program is displayed on the main display by the program information display means, the program is displayed. Display result transmission means for transmitting data indicating the outside to the outside of the image display device, and based on the data transmitted by the display result transmission means, the program information display means causes the TV program to be displayed on the main display. Preference information creating means for creating information indicating the preference of a user who is a TV program, and the program information transmitting means also transmits the preference information created by the preference information creating means to the image display device. The preference information received by the image display device from the program information transmission means is also the sub-display. Characterized in that it is intended to appear in.

According to the program information display system configured as described above, it is possible to know information on a program preferred by the user on the sub display.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the program information display system according to the third aspect , wherein the preference information creating means includes, as the preference information, a name of a program preferred by the user, a broadcast start time, and a broadcast channel. is intended to create information including, said the program information display means, a preference program designation means for designating the program information of a desired program from the program information displayed on the sub display, to receive TV programs When the preference information is designated by the tuner displayed on the main display and the preference program designation means, the main display is turned on at the start time of the TV program corresponding to the preference information, and the tuner receives the preference information. And a favorite program display means for displaying on the main display.

According to the program information display system configured as described above, if the preference information displayed on the sub-display is designated using the preference program designation means, the program can be reserved. Then, when the broadcast start time of the designated program comes, the program is automatically displayed on the main display, so that it is possible to prevent a desired program from being missed. Incidentally, the tuner according to 請 Motomeko 1, may be also used as the tuner according to claim 4.

  As described above, the program information display system of the present invention can be easily viewed because the program information is displayed on the sub display even when the main display is turned off. Further, since the sub display has a smaller screen than the main display, even if the sub display is operated to display program information, the power consumption can be suppressed by turning off the main display.

Further, if the program information displayed on the sub-display is designated using the designation means, the program can be viewed on the main display.
Then, using the sub display, it is possible to make a reservation for a program to be viewed in the future. Then, when the broadcast start time of the designated program comes, the program is automatically displayed on the main display, so that it is possible to prevent a desired program from being missed.

Information on programs preferred by the user can be found on the sub-display.
If the preference information displayed on the sub-display is designated using the preference program designation means, the program can be reserved. Then, when the broadcast start time of the designated program comes, the program is automatically displayed on the main display, so that it is possible to prevent a desired program from being missed.

  Hereinafter, examples showing embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an outline of a program information display system 1 to which the present invention is applied. The program information display system 1 includes a television device 3 with a sub-screen and a provider server 13 connected thereto via the Internet N as main parts. The television device 3 with a sub screen includes a main display 5, a speaker 6, an infrared sensor 7, a sub display 9, and the like, and an antenna 10 for receiving a television broadcast is connected thereto. The infrared sensor 7 is for receiving a command from the remote controller 11, and the sub-display 9 is for displaying program information to be described later.

  FIG. 2 shows an internal configuration of the television device 3 with a sub screen. The television device 3 with a sub-screen includes a CPU 41, a ROM 43, and a RAM 45, and includes an input / output interface 47 for exchanging signals with the above-described units and a bus 49 that connects these units. The tuner 51 is for extracting and demodulating a desired frequency from the radio wave received by the antenna 10, the demodulated video is displayed on the main display 5, and the demodulated audio is output from the speaker 6. The modem is for transmitting and receiving data via the Internet N. The HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 57 is for storing a program executed by the CPU 41 and data necessary for executing the program, and recording video and audio received by the antenna 10. The buttons 59 are for adjusting the brightness and color of the main display 5, and the time measuring device 61 is for outputting the current date and time. In addition, as a configuration other than these, a CD-ROM drive, a printer, a video recorder, and the like may be provided, and these may be connected.

  FIG. 3 shows a schematic configuration of the server 13. The server 13 includes a CPU 63 that executes various computer programs, a RAM 65 that functions as a work memory, a ROM 67 that stores a control program and data for comparison determination, and a communication control unit that controls the exchange of data with the Internet N. 69, an external storage device 71 that stores a large amount of programs executed by the server 13, information related to the user of the television device 3 with a sub-screen, and a bus 73 that connects these units are mainly configured. Further, the database 75 stores information on TV programs, for example, information such as what kind of genre and what name of the program starts broadcasting at what time, ends at what time, and who is the performer. The contents can be referred to by the CPU 63.

  The program information reception process executed by the CPU 41 of the television device 3 with a sub screen will be described with reference to FIG. This process is activated when the time counted by the time measuring device 61 reaches a predetermined time (for example, 5 am). That is, if it is determined that the predetermined time has come (S100: YES), the process proceeds to S110, an email regarding the program information is received from the server 13, and the process ends. If it is determined that the current time is not the predetermined time (S100: NO), this process is terminated without doing anything. The program information includes a channel on which the program is broadcast, date, start time, and end time.

FIG. 4B shows a program information display process for displaying the program information on the sub-display 9 based on the mail from the server 13 thus received. This process starts when the plug of the television device 3 with a sub-screen is inserted into an outlet. When this process is started, first the current time is acquired from the time measuring device 61 in S200. In subsequent S210, program information at the current time (obtained in S200) is extracted from the mail from the server 13 received in S110. In S220, it is determined whether or not there is additional information in the mail from the server 13 received in S110. The additional information indicates what field the user likes to view the program. A method for generating additional information will be described later.

If there is additional information (S220: YES), the process proceeds to S230, the additional information is added to the program information extracted in S210, and the process proceeds to S240. If there is no additional information (S220: NO), the process proceeds directly to S240. In S240, the program information extracted in S210 is displayed on the sub display 9. If additional information has been added in S230, the additional information is also displayed on the sub-display 9. Display form, with or without the additional information, the character indicating the channel and the program name has become like flows from the right end of the sub-display 9 to the left. For example, “1ch: news 3ch: quiz 4ch: document. If additional information has been added, the program of all channels will be displayed and will continue to be similar to “Drama“ XX ”from 9:00 tonight 8ch Tomorrow from 20:00” “Drama“ △△ ”” etc. Is scrolled. When the display of the additional information is completed, the program information is scrolled again from the beginning. When the program that has been broadcast up to that time has ended, the program information is updated and the next program is displayed along with the channel.

  When the user performs an operation for designating a program using the remote controller 11 with the program information or the additional information displayed on the sub-display 9, the infrared sensor 7 detects this and the program information shown in FIG. The specified process is started. When this process is started, first, program information or additional information data that was flowing when the remote controller 11 was operated is acquired (S300). Then, it is determined whether or not the data is additional information (S310). If the designated information (the display contents made on the sub-display 9) is not additional information (S310: NO), that is, if it is program information, the process proceeds to S320, and whether or not the main display 5 is in an ON state. Determine. The display on the sub display 9 is displayed regardless of the ON / OFF state of the main display 5 as long as the plug of the television device 3 with a sub screen is plugged into an outlet.

  If the main display 5 is OFF (S320: NO), the process proceeds to S330, the main display 5 is turned on, and the process proceeds to S340. If the main display 5 is in the ON state (S320: YES), the process directly proceeds to S340. In S340, the channel indicated by the program is set in the tuner 51 based on the data acquired in S300. For example, when the operation is performed with the remote controller 11 when “1ch: news” is displayed on the sub display 9, 1ch is set, and when the operation is performed with the remote controller 11 when “3ch: quiz” is displayed. If it is done, 3ch is set. That is, the main display 5 displays a program displayed as program information on the sub display 9.

  When a program for which program information has been designated by the user is displayed on the main display 5 in this way, data indicating that the program has been selected is transmitted to the server 13 as an e-mail (S350), and this processing is terminated. The server 13 creates additional information using the contents of this e-mail (that is, data indicating what program the user has watched). If the user designates additional information (S310: YES), the process proceeds to S360, the start time of the program is set, and the process is terminated.

  When the program start time is set in S360, the program display process shown in FIG. 6 is started. This process is started every predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds). When this process is started, first, the current time is acquired from the time measuring device 61 in S400. In subsequent S410, it is determined whether or not the present time is the start time (set in S360). If it is not the start time (S410: NO), this process ends. If it is the start time (S410: YES), the process proceeds to S420, and it is determined whether or not the main display 5 is in an ON state.

  If the main display 5 is OFF (S420: NO), the process proceeds to S430, the main display 5 is turned on, and the process proceeds to S440. If the main display 5 is in the ON state (S420: YES), the process directly proceeds to S440. In S440, the channel indicated by the program is set in the tuner 51 based on the data set in S360. For example, if the above operation is performed with the remote controller 11 when “subtitle 9” is displayed as “drama“ XX ”8ch” ”on the sub-display 9, 8ch is set. That is, the main display 5 displays a program displayed as additional information on the sub-display 9 when its broadcast time comes.

  When a program for which program information has been designated by the user is displayed on the main display 5 in this way, data indicating that the program has been selected is transmitted to the server 13 as an e-mail (S450), and this process ends. The contents of this e-mail (that is, data indicating what program the user has watched) are also used to create additional information.

  The server 13 performs the program information transmission process based on the mail received from the user of the television device 3 with a sub screen. This is shown in FIG. This process is started every predetermined time (for example, every 24 hours). When this processing is started, first, mail received from the user of the television device 3 with a sub-screen is analyzed in S510. Specifically, what kind of genre the program was watched, what time the program was watched, who watched the program that appeared, etc. are examined. Based on such analysis, additional information is created in S520. For example, for users who like dramas, create additional information that introduces drama programs, and for users who often watch TV from 20:00 to 21:00, introduce programs during that time period. Create additional information. The additional information created in this way is added to the program information of the program broadcast today (S530), transmitted to the corresponding user (S540), and this process is terminated.

  According to the program information display system 1 configured as described above, since the program information is displayed on the sub-display 9 even when the main display 5 is turned off, it can be easily browsed. Further, since the sub display 9 has a smaller screen than the main display 5, even if the sub display 9 is operated to display program information, the power consumption can be reduced by turning off the main display 5. I can do it. Further, if the program information displayed on the sub-display 9 is designated using the remote controller 11, the program can be viewed on the main display 5. In addition, if the additional information displayed on the sub-display 9 is designated, the designated program can be reserved. Then, when the broadcast start time of the designated program comes, the program is automatically displayed on the main display 5, so that it is possible to prevent a desired program from being missed. The additional information is very convenient because it is information about a program that the user likes.

  Here, the correspondence relationship between the present embodiment and the configuration requirements of the present invention is shown. The television device with sub-screen 3 corresponds to the image display device of the present invention, the program information display processing corresponds to the program information display means of the present invention, and the remote controller 11 serves as the specifying means of the present invention and the favorite program specifying means. The processing of S350 and S450 corresponds to the display result transmission means of the present invention, the processing of S300 to S340 corresponds to the television program display means of the present invention, and the processing of S400 to S440 corresponds to the favorite program of the present invention. It corresponds to the display means, the process of S520 corresponds to the execution preference information creation means of the present invention, and the process of S540 corresponds to the program information transmission means of the present invention.

As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to this, As long as the summary of this invention is not changed, it can implement in various aspects.
For example, the television device 3 with a sub-screen includes the sub-display 9 below the main display 5, but the main display 5 can drive only a part of the screen like a liquid crystal display device or an organic EL. If so, as shown in FIG. 8, a part of the screen (in this example, a belt-like portion 77 at the bottom of the screen) may be used as a sub-display.

1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a home network system 1 to which the present invention is applied. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure inside the television apparatus 3 with a sub screen. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure inside the server 13 of a provider. It is a flowchart which shows the outline | summary of the program information reception process and program information display process which are performed by CPU41 with which the television apparatus 3 with a sub screen is provided. It is a flowchart which shows the outline | summary of the program information designation | designated process performed by CPU41 with which the television apparatus 3 with a sub screen is provided. It is a flowchart which shows the outline | summary of the program display process performed by CPU41 with which the television apparatus 3 with a sub screen is provided. It is a flowchart which shows the outline | summary of the program information transmission process performed with CPU63 with which the server 13 is provided. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Program information display system 3 ... Television apparatus with a sub screen 5 ... Main display 9 ... Sub display 13 ... Server

Claims (4)

An image display device having at least a main display capable of displaying a television program, and a sub-display having a screen smaller than the main display and operable even when the main display is turned off;
Program information transmitting means connected to the image display device and transmitting information on the television program displayed on the main display to the image display device by e-mail;
Program information display means for extracting the program information received by the image display device from the program information transmission means from the electronic mail and displaying the program information on the sub-display ;
The program information transmitting means transmits at least a name of each program, a broadcast start time, and a broadcast channel as the program information,
The program information display means displays a plurality of program information on a television program being broadcast at least at the current time on the sub-display,
Designating means for designating program information of a desired program from a plurality of program information displayed on the sub-display by the program information display means;
A tuner for receiving a TV program and displaying it on the main display;
When the program information designated by the designation means is program information related to the television program being broadcast at the current time and displayed on the sub-display by the program information display means, a television program corresponding to the program information is displayed. TV program display means for receiving the tuner and displaying it on the main display;
With
The program information display means displays program information on a TV program broadcast in the future on the sub display,
The television program display means corresponds to the program information when the program information designated by the designation means is program information related to a television program to be broadcast in the future displayed on the sub-display by the display means. A program information display system , wherein when a broadcast start time of a television program comes, the tuner is received by the tuner and displayed on the main display . 2. The program according to claim 1, wherein the sub display is one in which the main display can operate only a part of the screen, and the sub display is the part of the screen of the main display. 3. Information display system. When a TV program is displayed on the main display by the program information display means, display result transmission means for transmitting data indicating that the program is displayed to the outside of the image display device;
  Based on the data transmitted by the display result transmitting means, preference information creation for creating information indicating a preference for a television program by a user who has displayed the television program on the main display on the program information display means Means,
  The program information transmission means also transmits the preference information created by the preference information creation means to the image display device,
  The program information display means also displays the preference information received by the image display device from the program information transmission means on the sub display.
  3. The program information display system according to claim 1, wherein the program information display system is a program information display system. The preference information creating means creates, as the preference information, information including the name of the program preferred by the user, the broadcast start time, and the broadcast channel,
  Preferred program designating means for designating program information of a desired program from the program information displayed on the sub-display by the program information display means;
  A tuner for receiving a TV program and displaying it on the main display;
  When the preference information is specified by the preference program specifying means, the main display is turned on at the start time of the TV program corresponding to the preference information, and the tuner receives the preference program display to be displayed on the main display. Means,
  The program information display system according to claim 3, further comprising:

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