JP4414826B2 - Mobile communication device with TV viewing function - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a mobile communication device with a TV viewing function.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, mobile phones with a TV viewing function have been provided. Such mobile phones receive terrestrial analog broadcasts with a built-in small tuner and display received images on a liquid crystal display panel. Similarly, terrestrial digital broadcasting can be received by a small device (Patent Document 1). However, because the screen of mobile devices such as mobile phones is small and lacks the definition of the image, it is necessary to save the request that you want to watch on your home TV, etc. The request comes out.

  The function of reserving recording from the outside is realized as a network recording reservation function in a video recorder, and it is possible to make a recording reservation by itself without requiring a family member or an acquaintance at home to record the program. In order to realize this network recording reservation function, it is necessary to transmit information (broadcast channel, start time, end time, etc.) of a program to be recorded on a home video recorder from a device outside the home. In the IPv4 (internet protocol version 4) environment, which is currently the mainstream, fixed global addresses are rarely assigned to devices in the home, and a firewall is installed at the entrance of the Internet in consideration of network security. Often prevent unauthorized access to devices in the home. For this reason, in order to realize the network recording reservation function, a special mechanism for transmitting the program information from the outside to the home video recorder is required. This mechanism is classified into three main categories, “mail method”, “data registration method” and “real-time method”. Each method will be described below.

  First, the “mail system” shown in FIG. 5 will be described. A user sends a fixed format mail in which recording command information is written using a PC (personal computer) or a mobile phone to a mail server registered in advance in the video recorder. The video recorder reads the mail of the account of the video server registered at regular time intervals, and if there is a standard mail in the read mail, the recording command information is automatically extracted and the recording reservation process I do. In addition to using e-mail that does not require real-time information transmission methods, it is not possible to record e-mail from a video recorder in real time because e-mail cannot be delivered immediately to the mail server.

  Next, the “data registration method” shown in FIG. 6 will be described. A user accesses a Web server installed on the Internet from a remote location using a PC or a mobile phone, and selects a program to be reserved from an EPG (electronic program guide) written on the Web page. Similarly, the Web server transfers the program information selected by the user to a data server on the Internet. The video recorder reads the data registered in the data server at regular time intervals in the same way as the mail method, reads the recording command information if it exists in the data server, and automatically extracts the recording command contents. To perform recording reservation processing. Since the exchange of information between the Web server and the data server and between the data server and the video recorder is performed by an arbitrary protocol such as POP (mail reception protocol) or HTTP (Web protocol), the data server functions as a mail server or a Web server at the same time. have. This method, like the mail method, cannot be recorded in real time because the data cannot be read out immediately after the data reaches the data server. Although it is similar to the mail system, here, the user is distinguished depending on whether the user sends an email from outside or selects a program from a Web page.

  Finally, the “real time method” will be described. This method can transmit information to the video recorder in real time, unlike the two methods described above. Although there are several implementation methods, an example is shown in FIG. This creates an environment in which a video recorder in the home can be accessed directly from the outside using VPN (virtual private network) and dynamic DNS (domain name system), and the web server in the video recorder and the PC or mobile phone in the outside are directly connected. Exchange data. Since this method is characterized by real-time characteristics, users on the go often exchange information using HTTP using a Web browser.

By using these network recording reservation functions, the demand for suddenly recording a program on a home video recorder while watching a TV of a mobile phone on the go can be met to some extent.
JP 2003-110955 A

  However, in order to use the network recording function described above, a web browser is used to access a web server on the Internet, a web server in a home video recorder is accessed, or a certain format from a mailer. Therefore, a mobile phone with a small screen cannot perform recording reservation processing while watching TV satisfactorily. For this reason, the television set that the user wants to watch cannot be viewed during the recording reservation process. In addition, troublesome recording reservation processing in which the user recognizes the channel and broadcast time of the currently viewed program and selects a program from the EPG on the Web page or directly inputs channel selection information (program identification information) into a form. Must.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a mobile communication device with a TV viewing function that can easily perform a process of recording a TV program on a home video recorder while watching the TV program.

  In order to solve the above problems, the portable communication device with a TV viewing function according to the present invention has a means for receiving a television broadcast and a portable communication device with a TV viewing function having an information communication function, when a predetermined button is operated. Means for creating a recording command transmission character string by incorporating a character string serving as channel selection information of the currently received television broadcast into a previously stored character string, and addressing the recording command transmission character string to a predetermined address And means for transmitting in advance.

  If it is said structure, the video recording command transmission character string in which channel selection information was incorporated will be produced only by operating a predetermined button, and will be transmitted to the destination designated beforehand. Therefore, there is no need to call the mailer to create a mail text as the recording command information or to select a program from the EPG on the Web page. The process of recording with the video recorder can be easily performed.

  In the mobile communication device with the TV viewing function configured as described above, the recording time in the recording command is determined by the number of operations of the predetermined button, and the recording command transmission character string is created by incorporating a character string based on the recording time May be. The recording command transmission character string may be transmitted as a mail text. Further, the recording command transmission character string may be incorporated into a notation for specifying a method for reaching a resource existing on the network and transmitted.

  The portable communication device with a TV viewing function according to the present invention is a television currently receiving when a predetermined button is operated in the portable communication device with a TV viewing function and means for receiving a TV broadcast and an information communication function. It comprises means for creating a recording command remote control code incorporating broadcast channel selection information, and means for sending a remote control signal based on the recording command remote control code.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to easily perform the process of recording the program on a home video recorder while watching the television program.

  Hereinafter, a portable communication device with a TV viewing function according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a mobile communication device (hereinafter simply referred to as a mobile phone) 10 with a TV viewing function of this embodiment. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a recording reservation system. This system includes a mobile phone 10, a server 30, the Internet 40, and a video recorder 50 installed in the home. The video recorder 50 can be realized by an existing video recorder equipped with a network recording reservation function. Also, the existing server 30 that implements the network recording reservation function can be used.

  In the block diagram of FIG. 1, a tuner 11 receives a television broadcast wave based on channel selection information obtained by a user's channel selection operation, and performs demodulation and detection to generate a video signal. The display unit 12 is composed of a liquid crystal panel, for example, and displays video based on the video signal of the television broadcast, displays images generated by the Web client unit 17, and is generated by an OSD (On Screen Display) circuit (not shown). The displayed image is displayed. The communication control unit 13 performs communication processing when the Web client unit 17 operates, communication processing when the mail transmission / reception unit 18 operates, and the like. In addition to performing various processes in the mobile phone 10, the CPU 14 also performs processes related to character string generation for recording, which will be described later. Further, the current television channel, current time, and today's date are recorded in the memory 15 by the processing of the CPU 14. Various programs are stored in the memory (ROM, RAM, EEPROM, flash memory, etc.) 15. The operation unit 16 is provided with a numeric keypad, a cross key (arrow key), and various function keys. In this embodiment, a video recorder recording button (not shown) is provided on the operation unit 16. Note that the video recorder recording button may be a dedicated button, or a method using a button that corresponds to the notation of “recording” on the display on the screen, or a button displayed on the screen. It may be itself (touch panel type).

  The Web client unit 17 transmits a notation (URL) that specifies how to reach a resource existing on the Internet, interprets an HTML file transmitted from the resource side, and generates display image data. I do. The mail transmitting / receiving unit 18 performs a process of receiving a mail from a mail server on the Internet or transmitting a mail text to the mail server. The recording reservation processing unit 19 performs a recording reservation process which will be described later. In addition to storing various data in the database 20, network recording reservations such as information (e-mail address, IP address, host name, etc.) specifying the video recorder 50 set by the user, channel → broadcaster ID correspondence table, secret word, etc. Necessary information is registered. The telephone unit 21 performs processing for a telephone which is an original function.

  When exchanging information from the server 30 to the video recorder 50 by mail in the mail method or data registration method, for example, a character string of the following format is created by the recording reservation processing unit 19 as a recording command transmission character string and mailed. It is given to the transmitting / receiving unit 18.

open [aikoba] tv [broadcasting station ID] [start time] [end time] [date]
When exchanging information with the video recorder 50 by the data registration method or the real-time method on the Web, a URL character string of the following format, for example, is created by the recording reservation processing unit 19 as the recording command transmission character string. It is given to the client unit 17.

http: // [server name] / [server CGI program path]? id = [broadcasting station ID] & word = [aikoba] & start_time = [start time] & end_time = [end time] & date = [date]
FIG. 4 shows the processing contents of the CPU 14 and the recording reservation processing unit 19. When the CPU 14 detects the pressing of the video recorder recording button (YES in step S1), the CPU 14 counts the number of pressings within a predetermined time (step S2). For example, the recording time is calculated from the number of times the button is pressed, such as 30 minutes if the number of times the button has been pressed is 1 hour, or 1 hour if the number of times the button has been pressed (step S3). The recording end time is calculated from the current time and the recording time, and stored in the memory 15 (step S4). With reference to the broadcast station ID correspondence table stored in the database 20, the broadcast station ID is specified from the current selected channel and stored in the memory 15 (step S5). Further, the word is stored in the memory 15 (step S6). Transmission data (recording command transmission character string) in accordance with the recording reservation method on the video recorder 50 side based on the broadcasting station ID, secret word, current time (recording start time), recording end time, and today's date stored in the memory 15 ) Is created (step S7). Then, the data is transmitted to the video recorder 50 by each protocol (step S8). Note that the format of information sent to the video recorder 50 is the same as the format of information sent by the conventional network recording reservation function in this embodiment, and the video recorder 50 side is the same as the conventional network recording reservation. The recording reservation is completed by processing.

  A configuration example for recording reservation in the video recorder 50 is shown in FIG. In this configuration diagram, a recording information receiving unit 51 and a recording reservation registration unit 52 implement a network recording reservation function. The recording information receiving unit 51 functions as a POP (mail reception protocol) client or an HTTP (Web protocol) server by each method of the network recording reservation function.

  When the exchange of information from the server to the video recorder is done by email in the email method or data registration method, as described above, the character string in the following format is written in the email and the recording information receiving unit It reaches the POP client.

open [aikoba] tv [broadcasting station ID] [start time] [end time] [date]
These pieces of information are transferred to the recording reservation registration unit 52, which checks whether the format is determined, extracts information necessary for recording, and registers it in the recording reservation information database 53.

  On the other hand, when the exchange of information from the data server to the video recorder is performed on the Web by the data registration method or the real-time method, as described above, the request for the URL in the following format is the recording information receiving unit 52. It is sent to a Web server in the video recorder 50.

http: // [server name] / [server CGI program path]? id = [broadcasting station ID] & word = [aikoba] & start_time = [start time] & end_time = [end time] & date = [date]
In this case, the recording reservation registration unit 52 is a CGI (commom gateway interface) program in the server, and the CGI program is “? 'Extract the following information and register it in the recording reservation information database. Although the above example shows the case of a GET (document acquisition) request, program information (channel selection information) can be similarly acquired using a CGI program in the case of a POST (data transmission to the server) request. .

  As described above, the recorded program information (recording command content) received by the recording information receiving unit 51 by the protocol used in each method is passed to the recording reservation registration unit 52. The recording reservation registration unit 52 extracts necessary program information and registers it in the recording reservation information database 53. Based on the information in the recording reservation information database 53, the CPU 54 starts recording by instructing the recording unit (with a broadcast receiving function) 55 to record the specified program at a specified time.

  In the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, the recording time is determined by the number of times the “video recorder recording button” is pressed, and the recording end time is calculated. 15 is stored in the EPG, the currently viewed program can be searched from the EPG, and the end time can be automatically specified. Therefore, the recording reservation is performed using this time. May be. Further, when the EPG is stored on the video recorder 50 side, since the program can be specified on the video recorder side, the currently watched channel and the current time are transmitted without transmitting the recording time. As a result, the recording reservation time can be set on the video recorder side.

  Further, even if the exchange of information to the video recorder 50 is other than email or Web, information in a fixed format reaches the recording information receiving unit 51 according to the method, and the recording reservation registration unit 52 acquires program information. Is possible. In the above embodiment, the command is given to the video recorder 50 by e-mail or Web. However, the command may be given to the video recorder 50 by giving the mobile phone 10 the function of a normal remote controller. That is, when the video recorder recording button is operated, the CPU 14 creates a recording command remote control code by incorporating channel selection information of the currently received television broadcast, and an infrared light emitting unit (not shown) is based on the recording command remote control code. The remote control signal may be transmitted. With such a configuration, a recording command remote control code incorporating channel selection information is created simply by operating the video recorder recording button, and a remote control signal based on this code is transmitted. That is, when the user wants to record the television program on the home video recorder 50 while viewing the television program using the mobile phone 10 in the house instead of outdoors, the video recorder recording button is pressed. You only have to operate it. The video recorder 50 that has received the remote control signal executes a channel selection process and a video recording process based on the channel selection information in the same manner as when the normal remote control signal is received. The first video recorder recording button operation may not include the ON code for the video recorder 50, and the second video recorder recording button button operation may include the ON code for the video recorder 50. If the video recorder 50 is in the ON state, the video recorder operates by the first button operation. On the other hand, if the video recorder is in the OFF state, the video recorder 50 is operated by the second button operation.

It is the block diagram which showed the structure of the portable communication apparatus (mobile phone) with a television viewing function of embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which showed the outline | summary of the video recording reservation system. It is the block diagram which showed the structure of the video recorder. It is the flowchart which showed the processing content for recording reservation. It is explanatory drawing which showed the recording reservation system by a mail system. It is explanatory drawing which showed the video recording reservation system by a data registration system. It is explanatory drawing which showed the video recording reservation system by a real-time system.

Explanation of symbols

10 Mobile phone (mobile communication device with TV viewing function)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Tuner 13 Communication control part 16 Operation part 17 Web client part 18 Mail transmission / reception part 19 Recording reservation process part

Claims (4)

In a mobile communication device with a TV viewing function having means for receiving a TV broadcast and an information communication function, a character string serving as channel selection information of the currently received TV broadcast is stored in advance when a predetermined button is operated. a generating means for generating a recording command send string incorporated in the string you are, a transmitting means for transmitting to the destination of a video recorder on the network that is previously designated the recording command transmission string of the predetermined button Determining means for determining a recording time in a recording command by the number of operations, wherein the creating means incorporates a character string based on the determined recording time into the recording command transmission character string. Mobile communication device. 2. The mobile communication device with a TV viewing function according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit adds a recording time by a predetermined time every time the predetermined button is operated . 3. The mobile communication device with a television viewing function according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the transmission means transmits the recording command transmission character string as a mail text to a video recorder on the network. Mobile communication device with functions. 3. The mobile communication device with a television viewing function according to claim 1, wherein the transmission means incorporates the recording command transmission character string into a notation for specifying a method for reaching a resource existing on the network. A portable communication device with a TV viewing function, characterized by being transmitted to the above video recorder .

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